NEW DELHI: Voot Select, the video streaming platform owned by Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd is building on the recent launch of its first-ever Kannada original web series Humble Politician, with the premiere of a new film Badava Rascal on 26 January. Directed by Shankar Guru, the romantic drama starring Daali Dhananjay, Amrutha Iyengar and Rangayana Raghu had released in theatres for the Christmas weekend.
Last year, Voot was in the news for the premiere of its reality show Bigg Boss OTT that recorded an estimated 1.5-2 million viewers each week and particular traction in the 15-30 age group. Big Boss OTT was the digital-only season of Viacom18’s popular reality show that airs on its Hindi entertainment channel Colors. The show made its debut on Voot on 8 August and was hosted by Karan Johar.
Media industry experts said that Voot, so far, has been a fringe player in India’s OTT segment dominated by Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+Hotstar. However, Bigg Boss OTT as property has helped create buzz around the service.
In an earlier interview with Mint, Ferzad Palia, head, Voot Select, Voot Kids, and international business, Viacom18 had said that the platform will bank on a freemium, or mix of advertising and subscription-driven strategies to drive growth in the Indian market, where it competes with nearly 60 other OTT platforms.
Apart from web extensions of its TV properties, Palia said the platform will focus on sports as well as its slate of international programming, thanks to partners like CBS Corporation, with which Viacom had merged in 2019.
Last week, Voot partnered with Ullu – an OTT service primarily known for adult content that is now also foraying into family shows, for 100 upcoming series. The shows will be available in multiple vernacular languages such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Bhojpuri besides English.
