Yahoo! India launches 'Yahoo! Video'

Signs up major film production houses and TV networks to provide original and licensed content

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | November 23, 2011

Yahoo! India, the premier digital media company, today launched 'Yahoo! Video' video.yahoo.in, a dedicated premium video destination that offers original content across multiple genres such as News, Entertainment, Lifestyle and Movies. Yahoo! Video delivers a high quality video experience, free for all Internet users in India and guarantees a trusted and safe environment for publishers and content providers to host their valuable content. Yahoo! India has currently partnered with 35 leading content producers including NDTV, Star TV, Shemaroo, Headlines Today, PVR Pictures and Ultra.

The launch of Yahoo! Video is a critical step towards meeting the growing appetite of Indian online users. According to a recent ComScore report, over 30 million unique users in India watch online videos each month and on average each user consumes about 58 videos a month.

At the launch, Arun Tadanki Managing Director, Yahoo! India said, “Online video consumption is growing at a rapid pace, however, what the Indian market lacked was a safe and piracy free destination delivering high quality and strictly original content. Yahoo! Video is a bold step and redefines the online video category through licensed, original and diverse content promising an unparalleled experience to Indian users.”

Yahoo! Video offers content acquired from original sources, spanning short and full-length movies, video capsules across news, entertainment, lifestyle, sports, providing access to an archive of thousands of videos. Important to note, Yahoo! India recently launched “Movieplex” - a destination where users enjoy licensed full-length movies for free.

Yahoo! Video also provides an unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to connect with their target audiences through a range of innovative video & display advertising solutions.

Suparna Singh, Deputy CEO and Managing Editor, NDTV Convergence said, "We are very excited about this partnership with a leading Internet brand like Yahoo!.  NDTV doesn't believe in walled gardens in the rapidly-expanding digital space. Early diagnosis has shown that Yahoo! does not cannibalize our business – it provides an additional audience and a new video platform that we believe users will enjoy. Yahoo! has shown respect and understanding for real news, and we look forward to increasing our reach together.”

On behalf of Star India, one of the key partners for Yahoo! Video, Lalit Bhagia, Vice President – Digital, Star India said, “Yahoo! is the most trafficked web destination in the country reaching more than 80% of the Indian internet audience. We find the whole concept of “content in context” as the key differentiator for Yahoo!'s video strategy. We believe that hosting our TV shows and News videos on Yahoo! Video will provide unbeatable reach to our content.”

Talking about the association with Yahoo!, Jai Maroo, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., “Our association with Yahoo! India is a harbinger of the exciting possibilities and potential in the digital entertainment space. We are working together to not only serve diverse audiences but to also provide a legal video content alternative. The association started with Shemaroo being one of the launch partners for Yahoo!'s Movieplex and we pushed the innovation quotient higher with our recent tie-up for the exclusive online premiere of “Super K” on the Movieplex platform on Yahoo! Movies.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com