IndiaCast and Spuul enter into association

Spuul, an online streaming service for Indian movies and TV programmes, has announced a deal with IndiaCast Media Distribution, under which Spuul will get rights to globally stream more than 60 current and upcoming Hindi and regional language films from Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Colors and Eenadu Television libraries. IndiaCast Media Distribution is a joint venture between TV18 and Viacom18.

IndiaCast is a multi-platform content asset monetisation entity and is responsible for domestic and international channel distribution, placement and content syndication of TV18, Viacom18, A&E Network and the Eenadu group.

Spuul will stream newly released movies in 2013 worldwide. In fact, movies like Inkaar, Oh My God and Jab We Met, along with regional hits like Samanyudu will be made accessible by next week. These movies can be viewed through computers and mobile phones.

Speaking about the association, Prakash Ramchandani, CEO, India, Spuul, says, "Spuul is proud to offer Viacom18's successful and award-winning films to our fast growing user base. We are constantly working to expand our range of great Indian movies, in different languages, so that users always find something appealing to watch."

Anuj Gandhi, group CEO, IndiaCast, says the association between IndiaCast and Spuul acts as a value addition for both the parties. "Watching movies online lets the viewers exercise this option at their own convenience. Spuul has a huge base of film and TV enthusiasts who, now with this association, will be able to choose from IndiaCast's plethora of commercial and regional movies, enriching the viewer experience."

Meanwhile, IndiaCast Media Distribution has also partnered with Tangerine Digital, a digital content management agency, to handle digital content of its flagship channels on digital platforms. The agency will be in charge of curating and packaging all Video on Demand (VOD) content on behalf of IndiaCast, at a tight turnaround time, especially for episode videos. Therefore, the agency will help IndiaCast increase its operational capabilities and integrate distribution abilities of the media houses and enable them to reach out to new markets.

Under the mandate, Tangerine will curate and publish episodic videos of six channels, which includes Colors, within 45 minutes of its appearance on air. It will also create individual episode videos of popular shows like Balika Vadhu and Uttaran, along with programme content of other five regional channels under ETV.

Gandhi says Tangerine has been a very strong partner in growing their digital footprint. "The team has always delivered successfully to our tight and aggressive schedules and has a rapid and effective response mechanism to meet dynamics of the digital environment. We are pleased to work with Tangerine and look forward to a long term fruitful association."

Kesavan Kanchi Kandadai, CEO, Tangerine Digital, adds that the media distribution industry is witnessing a phenomenal revolution in the way media content is circulated and consumed. Increase in bandwidth and easy access to internet through tablets and smartphones is encouraging exponential growth of online video consumption, in turn unlocking new channels in the way content is created, distributed and monetised. "We are entirely focused on this evolving digital environment and will continue to pioneer new and creative ways to engage, entertain and inform audiences."

Apparently, online video is witnessing a phenomenal growth with 3.7 million videos being consumed every month in India* (according to comScore).