iWorld
Disney & Alibaba to launch OTT service in China
MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Company has inked a multi-year licensing deal with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to bring its digital subscription service DisneyLife to China via Alibaba’s online shopping site Tmall.
The Mickey Mouse-shaped device is priced at $125 for a one-year subscription and requires an Internet connection.
DisneyLife will provide Alibaba customers in China with an all-encompassing and immersive family friendly digital experience. The content will include Disney and Pixar’s movies, animation series, games, e-books, songs, travel services and Disney theme parks and resorts information.
Subscribers can access Disney merchandise and can also obtain information about, and plan a visit to Hong Kong Disneyland as well as Shanghai Disney Resort when it opens in 2016. In addition to the DisneyLife experience, shoppers can access other Alibaba products and services.
The Walt Disney Company, Greater China managing director Luke Kang said, “For nearly a century, Disney’s focus on quality storytelling and innovation has delivered audiences around the world the best stories, shared moments and extraordinary experiences. Disney and Alibaba share an ambition to exceed our audience’s expectations. DisneyLife directly connects us to China’s digital population and provides millions of kids and families the ability to explore and engage with Disney.”
“As we deliver on our goal to meet the needs of a consumers’ daily life, DisneyLife, launched by Ali Digital Entertainment Business Unit together with Disney, will provide the only holistic and trusted family friendly digital destination in China,” added Alibaba Digital Entertainment Business Unit general manager and Youku Tudou business group co-president of Wei Ming.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
