 "Viacom18’s content strategy for VOOT")
It may be the last broadcast network to launch an over-the-top (OTT)/ video on demand service, but Viacom18 is going all out as it prepares to present viewers with VOOT later this month.
The network, which is a joint venture between Network 18 and America’s Viacom Inc, will launch its OTT platform with close to 17,000 hours of content, which will include archived content from the network’s broadcast library, content acquired from independent producers in India and abroad, VOOT exclusives and VOOT originals.
Unlike its peers – Star India OTT platform hotstar), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL; OTT platform Ozee and Ditto) and Sony Pictures Network India (SPN; OTT platform SonyLIV), Viacom18 will not limit VOOT to content only from the broadcast library and aims to have a robust kids’ catalogue through an app within the app.
“In order to support an advertising led VOD platform, we need daily active users and daily watch time, which is the digital equivalent for TV audience measurement parameters like reach and time spent. For this, we needed to know exactly what kind of content we should put out. We conducted a study with BCG (the Boston Consulting Group) on consumption of YouTube videos. In the end we shortlisted four areas of focus – comedy, drama, kids content and reality,” says Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures.
While there is no dearth of reality, comedy and drama content in the network’s broadcast library across languages, VOOT will make use of the shows’ popularity to provide exclusive content. Not to be confused with ‘behind-the-scenes’ clips, this will include spin-offs of storylines for peripheral characters and extensions of the main storyline. “For example, on TV viewers see a one-hour cut of the day on Bigg Boss. VOOT will exclusively provide never seen before and videos and clips around the inmates which may not have been aired on TV. We have made exclusive content for all the genres and it can be accessed on the app or the website at launch,” says Gandhi.
Apart from this, there will be six to seven original web-films and/or web-series at launch and VOOT aims to add a couple every month thereon. Among the shows available at launch is a four part ‘mockumentary’ that follows Bollywood ‘badman’ Gulshan Grover’s attempt to be cast as a hero for the first time in his life. Another show stars Baba Sehgal as the head of a family (the Sodhis) that is obsessed with anything and everything to do with MTV Roadies, the youth adventure reality show.
Catching them young
VOOT will have close to 7000 videos across 80 animated/cartoon characters suitable for consumption by children between three and ten years. This includes not only Viacom18’s popular characters like Motu-Patlu, Dora and Shiva, characters that are on other networks on TV. This includes popular characters and shows like Cchota Bheem which have been developed by independent animation studios and licensed to broadcasters. For example, Cchota Bheem has been developed by Green Gold Animation and is aired on Turner’s Pogo.
Gandhi explains, “We noticed that kids’ content was among the highest consumed on YouTube. Given the nature of the portal, it was mainly pre-school content, but it gave us significant insight into the consumption by this age group. A lot of kids today learn to swipe before they learn to operate a TV remote. In order words, they are native to the digital devices and do not have the concept of appointment viewing. This makes them very important as a target group.”
He adds that not only are the numbers in terms of users high in the kids genre, but given their fascination and dedication to characters they like, kids prefer to watch shows/videos with their favourite animated characters for long, and on repeat. This means longer time spent per session, something that advertisers are always happy to note.
In order to make the app child-safe and easy to use, VOOT comes with the option of ‘gating’ (protecting via password or PIN) everything except the kid’s sub-app. Additionally, since children cannot be expected to type in search words and usually relate to pictures more than text, the VOOT Kids World sub-app has the shake feature. If the user shakes the phone while on the kids’ app, the screen displays the next four videos on the list, which can be accessed simply by tapping on it.
The network, which is a joint venture between Network 18 and America’s Viacom Inc, will launch its OTT platform with close to 17,000 hours of content, which will include archived content from the network’s broadcast library, content acquired from independent producers in India and abroad, VOOT exclusives and VOOT originals.
Unlike its peers – Star India OTT platform hotstar), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL; OTT platform Ozee and Ditto) and Sony Pictures Network India (SPN; OTT platform SonyLIV), Viacom18 will not limit VOOT to content only from the broadcast library and aims to have a robust kids’ catalogue through an app within the app.
“In order to support an advertising led VOD platform, we need daily active users and daily watch time, which is the digital equivalent for TV audience measurement parameters like reach and time spent. For this, we needed to know exactly what kind of content we should put out. We conducted a study with BCG (the Boston Consulting Group) on consumption of YouTube videos. In the end we shortlisted four areas of focus – comedy, drama, kids content and reality,” says Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures.
While there is no dearth of reality, comedy and drama content in the network’s broadcast library across languages, VOOT will make use of the shows’ popularity to provide exclusive content. Not to be confused with ‘behind-the-scenes’ clips, this will include spin-offs of storylines for peripheral characters and extensions of the main storyline. “For example, on TV viewers see a one-hour cut of the day on Bigg Boss. VOOT will exclusively provide never seen before and videos and clips around the inmates which may not have been aired on TV. We have made exclusive content for all the genres and it can be accessed on the app or the website at launch,” says Gandhi.
Apart from this, there will be six to seven original web-films and/or web-series at launch and VOOT aims to add a couple every month thereon. Among the shows available at launch is a four part ‘mockumentary’ that follows Bollywood ‘badman’ Gulshan Grover’s attempt to be cast as a hero for the first time in his life. Another show stars Baba Sehgal as the head of a family (the Sodhis) that is obsessed with anything and everything to do with MTV Roadies, the youth adventure reality show.
Catching them young
VOOT will have close to 7000 videos across 80 animated/cartoon characters suitable for consumption by children between three and ten years. This includes not only Viacom18’s popular characters like Motu-Patlu, Dora and Shiva, characters that are on other networks on TV. This includes popular characters and shows like Cchota Bheem which have been developed by independent animation studios and licensed to broadcasters. For example, Cchota Bheem has been developed by Green Gold Animation and is aired on Turner’s Pogo.
Gandhi explains, “We noticed that kids’ content was among the highest consumed on YouTube. Given the nature of the portal, it was mainly pre-school content, but it gave us significant insight into the consumption by this age group. A lot of kids today learn to swipe before they learn to operate a TV remote. In order words, they are native to the digital devices and do not have the concept of appointment viewing. This makes them very important as a target group.”
He adds that not only are the numbers in terms of users high in the kids genre, but given their fascination and dedication to characters they like, kids prefer to watch shows/videos with their favourite animated characters for long, and on repeat. This means longer time spent per session, something that advertisers are always happy to note.
In order to make the app child-safe and easy to use, VOOT comes with the option of ‘gating’ (protecting via password or PIN) everything except the kid’s sub-app. Additionally, since children cannot be expected to type in search words and usually relate to pictures more than text, the VOOT Kids World sub-app has the shake feature. If the user shakes the phone while on the kids’ app, the screen displays the next four videos on the list, which can be accessed simply by tapping on it.
