Startup Street: Video Streaming Platform Dekkho Prepares To Take On Hotstar, Zee Live
Dekkho, a content aggregator platform, has collaborated with Sony Pictures and AIB.
Indian startups are increasingly looking at changing the set ways of business. This week on Startup Street a home-grown video streaming platform was in preparation mode to give some tough competition to established players, there were some unexpected management changes, and some businesses just got leaner.
‘Dekkho’, The Youtube-Cum-Netflix Startup
New-age content aggregator and video streaming platform Dekkho is all set to go live starting January 17 and will compete with the likes of Hotstar, Zee Live and Sony LIV.
Founded by Vinay Pillai and Tanay Desai, Dekkho is an over-the-top content provider similar to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, except it does not charge its users and instead has an advertising-led revenue model. It provides content to Indians all over the world in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telegu and select foreign languages, Pillai told BloombergQuint over the phone.
Dekkho intends to aggregate content from Star, Zee, Sony and other production houses to create a one stop-platform for Indians. Pillai said content on the streaming platform can be viewed even at the lowest bandwidth and has an offline feature, making it more user friendly for people using it in India where network speed and coverage is often abysmal.
Dekkho has tied up with Sony Music and All India Bakchod and is in talks with other content creators. The startup is also tying up with mobile companies such as Lava and LeEco which will have an inbuilt Dekkho application in their handsets.
The founders do not plan to produce original content in the near term.
There is a lot of unseen original content in India which can be showcased through our platform and we want to create an ecosystem where the creator doesn’t have to sell their IP away like they would to television networks in India. Producing in-house content means a large financial outlay to build it out and that can only be justified if you already have a built in audience and a revenue source to justify that spend.Vinay Pillai, Co-Founder, Dekkho
Incorporated in March 2016, the startup has received around $2 million in seed funding and a second round of funding from high net worth individuals. While the startup intends to achieve profitability on per view from the get go, the startup is more concerned with establishing an active audience by the year end that achieving overall profits.
Housing.Com’s CEO Moves To Snapdeal
Jason Kothari, the former chief executive officer of Housing.com, has been snapped up by Snapdeal as its chief strategy and investment officer.
This announcement comes just days after the SoftBank-backed Housing.com merged with PropTiger to form India’s largest online real estate services company. The new entity formed after the merger will be lead by PropTiger’s Chief Executive Officer, Dhruv Agarwala.
At Snapdeal, Kothari will lead a number of critical teams including strategy, corporate development, investments and strategic partnerships, the e-commerce company said in a media statement.
I’m excited to join Kunal and Rohit at Snapdeal during a defining period in Indian e-commerce that will shape the future of the Indian internet space. Snapdeal is on its way to building one of India’s best companies, and I look forward to helping in making that potential a reality.Jason Kothari, Chief Strategy And Investment Officer, Snapdeal.
Kunal Bahl, co-founder and chief executive officer of Snapdeal welcomed Kothari on board, “Jason is a strong business leader and entrepreneur who has already been the CEO of two successful companies.”
Google To Sell Satellite Imagery Startup, Skybox
Alphabet Inc., may sell its satellite business, Skybox Imaging, recently renamed Terra Bella, that it had acquired three years ago for a hefty $500 million and is in talks with another satellite imaging startup Planet, according to Bloomberg.
The transfer will be through an equity sale after which Google will hold some stake in Planet, the report added.
The move is in line with Alphabet’s recent efforts towards financial discipline. The company also recently shut down its Titan drone project.