 "Sameer Nair")
Last week, Balaji Telefilms announced its foray into the digital world with Alt Digital Media Entertainment Limited, hoping to get in early into the online game and build a complementary channel to its television business. Also, the company hopes, Alt will help it tap into a world of on-the-go entertainment that is slowly opening up in the country as telecom companies and speedier broadband connections change the way people keep themselves engaged.
Alt Digital will launch in the first quarter of 2016. It will be an exclusively online platform for fresh content, developed solely for the digital consumer which can be accessed via the entire connected ecosystem spanning mobiles, computers, tablets, smart TVs and game stations. Sameer Nair, group CEO, Balaji Telefilms says, "As a creative production house, we felt that the time was right to foray into digital, given the way the space has evolved over the past couple of years. More and more people are consuming content on the mobile and other smart devices and gradually, people have started paying online. If we were to think about owning a platform five to seven years back, we would think of a new television channel. But today, digital is the way forward."
Alt will go beyond the current themes of television entertainment and focus more on younger, edgier and smarter content that suits the new medium. Their research shows that 75 per cent of Indian audiences accessing the internet are aged between 19 to 30 years and seek new entertainment. "It will have content alternative to the mainstream television content," says Nair and explains that the choice of Alt Digital for a name was quite simple. The Alt Entertainment brand that operates within Balaji is already aligned with fresh, younger and hipper content and was thus a good fit with the new product.
The online world is still evolving and the company wants to make sure that it is not caught short by its fast changing rules. This is why possibly, Nair aims to make sure that the platform launches with the widest possible distribution and is currently hard at work sorting out distribution deals with telecom companies and handset makers. Alt Digital will operate predominantly on the Subscriber Video on Demand (SVOD) model, which is a pay per view model (followed by the likes of Netflix). Other digital platforms currently follow a free content consumption model, or 'freemium' model where part of the content is free and the rest is available at a subscription fee.
"As a creative production house, we have the capacity to create differentiated content. Alt Digital will give us the opportunity to experiment with shorter formats, different durations and genres. We want to look at genres from comedy to horror to sci-fi and much more. To begin with, it'll have content in Hinglish (Hindi-English hybrid) since we will begin with an urban/metro skew and gradually get into more regional content," Nair explains. Also, he is quite clear that movies will not form a big part of Alt's content library.
Unlike Eros Now and Star India's hotstar, the Balaji platform will focus on exclusive content. While Eros Now which launched its mobile platform last month, will also have original content (three shows to begin with), it will borrow television content from mainstream general entertainment channels like Star Plus and Zee TV and movies from its studio library. Similarly, hotstar has sports content (which is also available on Star India's television network), movies from the network's library and Hindi, English and regional language shows that are (or have been) also aired on various channels across the network. Other platforms like Sony Liv, Ditto TV, Box TV and Spuul follow similar models where the content is mainly a replication of that what is available on television or at the movies (barring Eros Now which will start original productions shortly).
"For a consumer to pay, there should be a strong enough driver. The idea is to have content that is only and only available on Alt Digital - not on TV or in the theatres or any other platform. That is the proposition we want to drive and that is what will get the consumer to see value in paying for the content on the platform - original and exclusive content," he elaborates. The content will be developed in-house. It will also sign on other creative outfits including some online video producers who have made a mark for themselves.
Since the SVOD model may take a while to gain traction, the company is open to advertising, but will categorically stay away from banner ads and pop-ups. "This medium gives a good scope for intelligent advertising and we will look at premium sponsorships and co-branded content," says Nair. All of this will mean a significant investment but Nair shies away from a number. However Balaji is looking at digital very keenly, he says, and will not back away from making the necessary investments. After all, the show must go on.
SHOWS ON THE GO
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Alt Digital an exclusive web-only platform from Balaji
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Launching in 2016, will be available on mobiles, computers, tablets, smart TVs and game stations
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Content will not be free, subscription model being developed
- Promises non-intrusive advertising; smart and intelligent sponsorships
