iWorld
VOOT garners 7.5 billion minutes of watchtime in October
MUMBAI: In a world where loyalty is a diminishing commodity, Viacom18’s Advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) platform VOOT has emerged as the most preferred premium OTT service with a fiercely loyal fanbase of 80 million Monthly Active Users (across multiple platforms ), and a phenomenal 65 per cent growth in watch-time month on month.
With 7.5 billion minutes of watch-time (as per the latest third-party source App Annie, Oct ’19) on the app, VOOT’s watch-time is more than the combined watch-time of its nearest AVOD competitors. Not just that, as per the report, the platform engagement of VOOT at 29% (as measured by the average Daily Active Users to Monthly Active Users ratio) and time spent of 50 mins per day per user makes it the No. 1 premium AVOD platform in the OTT category on engagement. This shows that when it comes to brand love & viewer loyalty, viewers in India have made a clear choice.
“Driving consistent engagement is the holy grail that we all at VOOT constantly focus on. And our fundamental belief is that in this age, businesses need to converge data and technology with impeccable storytelling to drive consumer engagement – and do it every single time – to earn, not buy, loyalty. Everything else is noise. And our persistence and single-minded focus on driving this ambition has created a unique and a superlative experience for our consumers on our platform. The massive 7.5 billion minutes of watch-time on app last month is a testimony to the success of this belief and is sure to help establish a long-lasting relationship with the audiences.” VOOT AVOD business head Akash Banerji said.
The stupendous growth in the scale of this loyalty has come on the back of Voot’s consistent focus on offering a massive depth of premium content across genres, languages, formats and content duration. Vernacular content in particular has played a pivotal role in driving this massive growth, growing at more than 2X over last year and contributing close to one-fourth of total consumption on the platform.
Driving share of attention on the back of blockbuster reality content has always been VOOT’s forte and Bigg Boss this year, across languages, has packed an even bigger punch. The latest season of Colors’ Bigg Boss Hindi on VOOT that offers a plethora of interactivity features, first time a live magazine show right from the studios and a massive roster of exclusive not-seen-on TV content, has led to the creation of a strong & loyal ‘Asli Fan’ base on VOOT. The show with a nearly 1 billion views, has become the biggest digital entertainment property, India has ever seen.
It is this reach and loyalty that has ensured that advertisers have made VOOT an integral part of their outreach and engagement plan. Enhanced and immersive user experiences and continued audience patronage is driving VOOT towards new echelons of growth.
iWorld
Prime Video to stream Tamil thriller Exam from May 15
Seven-episode series from National Award-winner A. Sarkunam streams in India and 240-plus countries
MUMBAI: Prime Video announced on April 27th that Exam, a taut seven-episode suspense drama set against the crucible of high-stakes competitive testing, will premiere on May 15th in India and across more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Written and directed by A. Sarkunam, a National Award-winner, the series is produced under the Wallwatcher Films banner by the creative duo Pushkar and Gayatri, who have previously delivered Suzhal: The Vortex (both seasons) and Vadhandhi: The Fable of Velonie for the platform. Dushara Vijayan and Aditi Balan lead the cast, with Abbas in a pivotal role.
The show will stream in Tamil with dubbed versions in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and subtitles in 15 languages, including English, a distribution sweep that underscores Prime Video’s push to globalise Indian regional content.
Nikhil Madhok, director and head of originals at Prime Video India, framed the series as both timely and commercially astute. “Exam is a very timely and relevant story that captures the emotional intensity of competitive exams and masterfully transforms it into a thrilling high-stakes drama,” he said. “We believe it is a story that will resonate deeply with millions.” Madhok noted that it was a privilege to once again collaborate with Pushkar and Gayatri following the success of Suzhal and Vadhandhi.
For Pushkar and Gayatri, the series is as much a moral reckoning as a thriller. “With Exam, we wanted to dig into ambition, injustice, and those moral crossroads that people face when pushed to the edge,” the creative producers said. “At the heart of this story is a young woman who refuses to remain powerless. Her journey is not about glamorising defiance, but about exploring the emotional and ethical cost of standing up to a system stacked against her.” They described Prime Video as “an incredible collaborator” and “the perfect home” to bring the series to global audiences.
Wallwatcher Films, which Pushkar and Gayatri founded and run, has been on a productive streak with the platform. Beyond Exam, the company is also readying Vadhandhi Season 2 for Prime Video, making the duo one of the platform’s most active regional creative partners.
The real exam, it seems, is for Prime Video itself: can a Tamil drama about systemic injustice and a young woman’s defiance crack audiences from Chennai to Chicago? If Pushkar and Gayatri’s track record is anything to go by, the answer is likely yes, and the results will be out on May 15th.
