iWorld
Why Ajit Mohan allowed Amazon Prime to advertise on Hotstar
MUMBAI: Hotstar subscribers were a little taken aback when they logged into their accounts to see Amazon Prime being promoted on the masthead during its launch week.
Some media observers even questioned whether Novi Digital (which runs Hotstar) CEO Ajit Mohan had lost it as he was allowing competitors to use India’s leading OTT/VOD platform to gain traction. Would the Times of India allow a fit and hungry rival to advertise its launch in the newspaper?
However, Ajit Mohan explained in an internal email to his team why he chose to allow Amazon Prime to advertise on it.
Indiantelevision.com has got access to this internal communication. Says Ajit in the email:
“Team:
Many of you have asked me over the last couple of days why we chose to allow Amazon Prime Video to advertise on Hotstar earlier this week, as part of their India launch. Here is why:
We are now an indispensable platform for any advertiser that is looking to target users on digital who actually have money to spend. And, nowhere else on digital, whether on social or on news or video, can they find audiences as engaged as they are on Hotstar. It is, therefore, not surprising that Prime Video was keen to launch their service on our platform.
Equally, we have always assumed that when users are given a choice, they will choose a service that offers a better experience and a more diverse content range. That’s the reason why we are the leading premium video service today. And we will continue to be the leader so long as we focus on retaining our extensive advantage on the above two. And, therefore, there is no reason for us to put artificial barriers vis-à-vis potential competitors. We are not planning to win by blocking others, we will win by continuing to do what we are doing well today.
Lastly, on Monday, the day Prime Video was on our masthead, we hit the highest watch time ever on Hotstar. Looks like we are adding value to our advertisers even as consumers are showing more and more loyalty to our service.”
We reached out to Hotstar to get more details on how much Amazon Prime paid for the prime position but came up against a wall. However, observers estimate that it is probably the highest that it has earned for that slot. Stay tuned in for more!
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.
