Bengali OTT hoichoi witnesses 40% jump in direct subscriptions
Other than home market in West Bengal, the company is also carrying out six productions in Bangladesh where it caters to the Bengali-speaking population
Bengali video streaming platform hoichoi has witnessed a 40% increase in direct subscriptions, and a 60% rise in individual watch-time per subscriber over last year, the company claimed Friday.
The service is looking at 24 original web shows and three theatrical films next year.
Other than home market in West Bengal, the company is also carrying out six productions in Bangladesh where it caters to the Bengali-speaking population and is also looking to target diasporic Bengali speakers in the Middle East through partnerships with telcos and offline marketing.
“The lockdown was a great boost to OTT viewership, in general, but things haven’t really slowed down for us thereafter. We believe in offering a value proposition and not underpricing ourselves. We’re completely focused on the paid customer base that we target,” Vishnu Mohta, co-founder of hoichoi said in an interview.
Mohta added that the company has continued to invest in a number of shows it puts out to ensure a healthy output.
Upcoming titles on the service include Durgo Rawhoshyo starring Anirban Bhattacharya and Sohini Sarkar, Chemistry Mashi starring Debasree Roy, the third season of Ritwik Chakraborty’s Gora, Parnashavarir Shaap featuring Chiranjeet Chakraborty and Surangana Bandyopadhyay, Debchandrima Singha Roy’s Parineeta, and the second season of Nikhoj starring Tota Roy Choudhury and Swastika Mukherjee, among others.
To further expand its reach, hoichoi is pursuing content syndication deals in other languages on various partner platforms for regional distribution, and has recently tied up with Reliance Industries-owned Viacom18’s JioCinema for dubbed Hindi versions of its shows and movies. One of the key strategic initiatives for the year ahead will involve exploring opportunities to make content available in more languages such as Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam through selected partners. However, the company retains the IP of all such syndicated content.
Original hoichoi productions have also been picked by other OTT platforms for remakes. For instance, Dayaa, a Telugu language remake of the platform’s Taqdeer, is currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar, and Indu, a remake of a Bengali show by the same name, will soon be available on the same platform.
While SVF Entertainment, the parent company of hoichoi, already produces and releases its own films in cinemas, the firm is now launching ‘hoichoi Studios’ to build its own pipeline for theatres. While SVF productions are released and monetized on other satellite and digital networks post theatres, the new films will only premiere on hoichoi post theatrical release, Mohta said while adding that the OTT platform is already marginally profitable.
Catch all the Business News , Corporate news , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
MoreLess
First Published:30 Sep 2023, 11:11 AM IST
- Top Gainers
- Top Losers
- 52 Week High