New Delhi: Ticketing site BookMyShow that has launched a pay-per-view streaming vertical BookMyShow Stream will add a bunch of new titles to its library this month. Movies on offer will include Icelandic horror thriller I Remember You, English horror film The Power, mystery drama Midsommar, family adventure comedy The Witches and romantic comedy Superintelligence.
Launched with 600 movie titles this February, BookMyShow’s TVoD (transaction video-on-demand) service that hopes to offer 2,000 films over the next 9-12 months brings a range of Hollywood, Hindi and independent, foreign cinema in partnership with American studios such as Sony Pictures, Warner Bros and Universal Pictures, Indian production houses like Viacom18, Shemaroo and Rajshri Productions as well as regional content providers like Divo and Sillymonks, among others.
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It is available for viewing on BookMyShow’s mobile app and website as well as Apple TV, Android TV, Firestick, Chromecast and desktop browsers. BookMyShow Stream allows users to experience features such as downloads and offline viewing.
Founded in 2007, BookMyShow is owned by Big Tree Entertainment Pvt Ltd and has seen investments from media and entertainment group Network18 owned by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, and global equity investors like Accel Partners and SAIF Partners in the past. Network18 currently owns a 39% stake in BookMyShow.
“TVoD that sits somewhere between theatrical and subscription platforms is a legitimate opportunity window that exists in India," Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer, cinemas, BookMyShow had said on the vertical’s launch. Saksena had called the latest move an extension of the company’s cinema ticketing business and not one that would compromise on or take away from it.
After a few sporadic attempts, TVoD or the pay-per-view model that allows users to pay for individual offerings instead of an entire content library made its first big mainstream splash in the Indian market last year, albeit with little success. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd rolled out Zee Plex in October while Shemaroo Entertainment had launched a TVoD service ShemarooMe Box Office in July.
