iWorld
Shemaroo’s digital evolution: OTT, telecom, and marketing insights
Mumbai: Shemaroo Entertainment has emerged as a trailblazer, seamlessly navigating the realms of broadcast, OTT and FTA platforms. With a rich legacy spanning decades, Shemaroo has continuously adapted to technological advancements and shifting consumer preferences, cementing its position as a leader in the industry.
Last month, the conglomerate took a significant leap in its expansion in the global telco, ISP (Internet Service Provider), and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) landscape by collaborating with four international telecom operators to extend its OTT platform, ShemarooMe.
In this move, partnerships with Zain, STC, and Mobily in Saudi Arabia, along with Vodafone in Qatar, facilitated by DCB (Direct Carrier Billing) partners, 3A net and one97 communications, showcase Shemaroo’s commitment to delivering diverse entertainment experiences worldwide.
Furthermore, effective marketing strategies are essential for capturing audience attention and driving user engagement. For broadcast platforms, Shemaroo adopts a multi-faceted approach, utilizing traditional advertising channels such as television, print, and outdoor media to create awareness and generate buzz around its content offerings. Strategic partnerships with broadcasters and syndication agreements further amplify the reach of Shemaroo’s content, ensuring maximum visibility among viewers.
On the other hand, marketing strategies for OTT platforms focus on leveraging digital channels to target specific audience segments. Through targeted online advertising, social media engagement, and influencer partnerships, Shemaroo effectively promotes its OTT offerings, driving subscriptions and maximizing viewer retention.
Indiantelevision.com caught up with Shemaroo Entertainment – Digital Business COO Saurabh Srivastava along with CMO Anuja Trivedi. Srivastava explained in depth about the plans for OTT app-ShemarooMe, telecom business expansion and YouTube channels milestones whereas Trivedi emphasised on Shemaroo’s marketing plans for broadcast & OTT platforms.
Edited excerpts
Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd COO- Digital Business Saurabh Srivastava
We are focused on increasing regional content offerings on our OTT platform, ShemarooMe, considering cost rationalization and improved evaluation metrics to achieve sustainable growth. We are actively investing in content and marketing, exploring opportunities in both SVOD and AVOD subscription models. Looking ahead, we aim to enhance user experience through personalization.
Expanding our telecom business, our goal is to provide entertainment across borders. By the year’s end, we aim to reach around 29 telecom providers across Southeast Asia, SAARC, and the MENA region, providing high-quality content to meet diverse viewer preferences.
Through our YouTube channels, Shemaroo Entertainment engages millions of fans daily by offering diverse content. With the two YouTube channels surpassing 50million subscribers and a cumulative base of over 138 million subscribers across all channels, we see a substantial audience there. We’re optimistic about our digital platforms’ future and through our content strategy and offerings, we remain committed to providing high-quality entertainment to our audiences across the globe.”
Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. CMO Anuja Trivedi
Our marketing strategy at Shemaroo Entertainment for both broadcast and OTT platform revolves around building awareness and fostering engagement while showcasing our unique offerings. With our OTT platform, ShemarooMe and broadcast channels- Shemaroo Umang, Shemaroo TV, Shemaroo MarathiBana and Chumbak TV, we aim to directly cater to our audience’s preferences.
Recognizing the immense potential in the Gujarati market, we are proud to position ShemarooMe as the premiere Gujarati-first platform. This emphasis is a crucial aspect of our marketing efforts.
Our past campaigns have focused on building our brand and establishing a strong presence in the industry. And with our recent collaborations like partnering with Balaji Telefilms for the new show ‘ChaahengeTumheItnaa’ on Shemaroo Umang and our extensive collection of Gujarati movies on ShemarooMe, we are poised for further growth.
We understand the impact of influencers and AI in content marketing and have implemented the same in our campaigns. Recent initiatives like for the promotion of the movie ‘Shubh Yatra,’ an AI-generated news reporter was created who describes the protagonist’s journey and collaborations with relevant influencers for our other projects on ShemarooMe have been successful.
Our marketing approach for all our brands emphasizes building awareness first, followed by consideration, to maximize our impact in the market.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
