Time spent on streaming TV is soaring, and media budgets are soaring and media budgets are following suit as companies report an average 25.1 percent of broadcast and cable advertising budgets going to streaming TV
The 2021 festive season has turned out to be better than expected for over the top (OTT) platforms like Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5, and MX Player, thanks to the presence of tent pole sports and entertainment properties complemented by aggressive spends by brands and marketers.
From the moment the “House of Gucci” trailer was released, Jared Leto’s transformation from svelte, long-haired actor to pudgy, balding fashion designer Paolo Gucci has been the talk of the film world.
A North Korean man has been sentenced to death for distributing copies of the hit Netflix series Squid Game. His execution will reportedly be carried out by the firing squad. Others have been sentenced to life imprisonment and hard labour for watching the show illegally.
Regional OTT players had their moment in the sun during the pandemic when consumers flocked to these platforms but how are they competing with deep-pocketed streaming giants to stay relevant?
For the upcoming 43rd edition of the Cairo Film Festival, which is the grande dame of Arab film events, fest chief Mohamed Hefzy and his team have assembled a rich mix of top notch Arab and international titles, including the world premiere of Tunisian star Dhafer L’Abidine’s directorial debut “Ghodwa” and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) premiere of “House of Gucci.”
Finding less traction on the big screen, creators of horror content are banking on streaming platforms to increase the appeal of the genre among the Indian audience.
Famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki revealed he is coming out of retirement once again to make a feature length animated film.
WhatsApp has won regulatory approval to double the number of users on its payments service in India to 40 million. The company had requested that there should be no cap on users of its payment services in India.
Spotify is in the process of testing a TikTok-style video feed that shows video clips of songs that are being played in a full-screen format. According to reports this feature was first spotted by Chris Messina who tweeted about it and shared a video of the Spotify feed with the new format. Messina described the feature as a “pared-down” version of a TikTok-style music feed. Currently, Spotify is testing the feature on beta in its iOS app.