TelecomLive April-2020

[ News Bytes ] www.telecomlive.com 60 Telecom LIVE April 2020 screen simultaneously. Voot Select will bring content from Viacom18's extensive portfolio of channels on the digital platform 24 hours before the episodes debut on TV. It will also house more than 30 originals, global content through partner- ships with international studios, more than 1,500 Bollywood and regional language movies and stream over 35 live TV channels. Voot's app previously was primarily advertise- ment-driven and con- tained content from its television channels. Video streaming play- ers oppose DCCC regu- lation model Many video streaming platforms have opposed the idea of an institu- tional self-regulatory model. Recently, Hotstar, Jio, SonyLiv and Eros formed an adjudicatory body Digital Content C omp l a i n t C o u n c i l (DCCC), which will be headed by a retired judge and have representations from industry and the government. Amazon Prime has refused to join the newcouncil. OTT players including N e t f l i x , A m a z o n , MXPlayer, Zee, AltBalaji and Arre believe it is ade- quate to have companies redressing complaints on their own and there is no need t o have DCCC , which is similar to Broad- casting Content Com- plaints Council (BCCC). Th e y f e e l t h a t s e l f - regulatory model fol- lowed by TV can't be adopted by OTT players as TV is for family viewing purposes while OTT is an i n d i v i d u a l v i e w i n g medium. I&B minister Prakash J a v a d e k a r g a v e t h e industry 100 days to set up an adjudicatory body and finalise a code of conduct. OTT platforms, robust internet connectivity help drive smart TV sales in India: Report Popu l ar i t y o f OTT content platforms and robust internet connec- tivity is driving growth for the smart TV market in India, according to a report by Counterpoint Research. India's smart TV seg- ment was the fastest- growing segment with an up of 25 pc yearly growth in 2019. The segment saw the entry of smartphone brands such as Motorola, Nokia, OnePlus with their Smart TVs. The budget- oriented smart TV sector will dominate the market as the majority of Indians are likely to test the water with less costly smart TV before making any high- value purchase decision. The new-age brands from Xiaomi to OnePlus are offering high specifi- cations and some unique features at highly afford- able price-points target- ing urban users via e- c omme r c e c h a nn e l s which have led to some serious price-cuts by competition during the year. According to the study, shipments of TVs in India grew 15 pc annually and reached the highest-ever 15 mn units in 2019, driven mainly driven by budget smart TVs with 32-inch TVs the leading segment and penetrating sub-$150price bands. "Non-smart TV grew by 7 pc yoy in 2019.While Samsung, LG, Sony are expe- riencing a yoy decrease in their non-smart TV busi- ness, brands like BPL, Sansui and others are still bank- ing on the non-smart TV segment that mainly caters to the rural market, B2B segment or a second bedroom TV inmany cases,” the agency said in a statement. Amazon makes kids and family content avail- able for free As more and more people work from home due to the coronavirus quarantine, Amazon has made a num- ber of its kids and family content available free to watch on Prime Video. Shows such as "Pete the Cat", "Baahubali: The Lost Legends", "Just Add Magic" Magic", "The Stinky Dirty Show", nursery rhymes and stories of 'Chhota Bheem' are available for free for Indian viewers. Viewers don't need a Prime account but they still need to set up an account onAmazon. Hotstar offers free content, aims to thrive in Tier-II, Tier-III markets Star India-ownedOTT platformHotstar announced a new 360-degree marketing campaign offering select free content, including movies, television shows and news, to users in 'Hindi-speaking' markets of Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Hotstar's free content includes movies like Chhichhore, Mission Mangal; TV shows B P O & B R O A D C A S T I N G - B Y T E S