Movie Channels
Pocket Cinema hits Rs 13 million ticketing revenue in its first year of operations
Mumbai: Pocket Cinema, has achieved a revenue milestone of Rs 13 million from ticketing sales in the first year of its operations. Pocket Cinema which was launched with a mere funding of Rs four crore, reached more than 1.22 lac downloads in just the first year. As per data till Jan 2023, the platform’s monthly active users were 25,300 and daily active users were 1,242.
The platform managed ticketing revenue of Rs 1.04 cr (till the end of Jan 2023). Further, it is significant to note that the customer acquisition cost is as low as INR 108. The platform earns from ticketing revenue, where-in 30 per cent of the ticketing revenue of every show is the platform’s ticketing revenue; 70 per cent is shared back as prize money. Advertising revenue has also started.
Pocket Cinema duo & Co-CEOs Anshuman Singh and Anil Verma said, “Being a GOTT (Gaming + OTT) platform we are not completely dependent on content. Consumers pay and watch our content more than once, as it increases their chances of winning, considering that the probability of answering correctly increases with repeat watch. We have reached and expanded our consumer base organically and have repeat consumers. Almost 43 per cent of our consumers pay and watch content at least 3.5 times in a month. Moreover, according to a report by IAMAI and Kantar, about 351 million of India’s 692 million active internet users are in the rural parts of the country, where internet penetration stands at 37 percent. And India is still the second largest online market in the world; thus, the scope of growth is truly immense”. The platform is vernacular with one language as of now; the other languages are in the pipeline.
They further added that the platform also offers a unique last mile connectivity to brands wherein all associated brands get to plug in their brand advertisements within the movie and the questions related to the brand ads are also a part of the questions asked after every movie. This ensures that the consumer watches the movie and the ads carefully, which works well for the brands as it helps them maximise the retention of their message at the last mile. Pocket Cinema plans to create and market more marquee properties like “Late Night Show” and morning “Bhakti Mein Shakti” as special events to various brands.
Movie Channels
Zee5 launches five free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus India
New genre-led channels bring comedy, drama, horror, classics and South films to Smart TVs.
MUMBAI: Zee5 just turned Samsung Smart TVs into a free entertainment buffet because when premium content costs nothing, even the remote control starts smiling. Zee5 has launched five curated free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus India, making high-quality, genre-specific entertainment available subscription-free to millions of Samsung Smart TV owners across the country.
The five channels now live are:
Zee Comedy Nation – Popular comedy shows and movies
Zee Dil Se – Compelling drama series
ZEE Horror Nights – Horror and supernatural content
ZEE Cine Classic – Timeless Indian films
ZEE South Flix – High-energy South Indian films dubbed in Hindi
All content is drawn from Zee5’s extensive library and programmed in a lean-back, always-on format ideal for large-screen viewing. This launch strengthens Zee5’s Connected TV strategy at a time when 64 per cent of its premium content watch time already comes from connected devices.
Zee5 chief business officer Siju Prabhakaran said, “At Zee5, we believe accessibility and scale will define the next phase of digital entertainment growth in India. Our presence on Samsung TV Plus strengthens our Connected TV strategy, enabling viewers to discover curated, genre-led content in a seamless, free, and premium environment.”
Samsung TV Plus India head of partnerships Kunal Mehta added, “Local partnerships are at the heart of how we grow Samsung TV Plus in India. Zee Entertainment is one of India’s most iconic media brands, and bringing their channels to our service means millions more Samsung Smart TV owners can enjoy premium local content, subscription-free.”
The channels are available directly through the pre-installed Samsung TV Plus app with no login or subscription required. This marks another milestone in Zee5’s CTV expansion and builds on its growing international presence, with Zee channels already available on Samsung TV Plus across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
In a streaming world where paywalls often block the fun, Zee5 and Samsung have quietly opened the gates, proving that sometimes the best things in life (and on your TV) really are free especially when they come with a side of comedy, drama, horror, classics and South Indian blockbuster energy.
