3 September 2014: Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there's clearly no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a go. Malena Amzah spoke to 19 online/OTT platforms in the region about what they have, what they would like to have, and the biggest things they think are standing in their way. Analysts might not be over the moon about the short/medium term profit prospects of OTT, but there’s no shortage of companies in Asia willing to give multi-screen options a good go. This includes established free- and pay-TV broadcasters, who are moving lock, stock and tech barrel into non traditional delivery, leveraging the rights they own in new spaces and creating – or hoping to – original content for online services. Channels and acquisitions execs are also pushing hard for as many rights as possible, hoping to drive online viewership, engagement and revenue. What are these and their stand-alone online platform rivals most concerned about? Interviews with 19 platforms* in Asia showed that piracy is the top concern along with access to and cost of rights, and censorship, which drives users away. Priorities include presenting a simple and easy-to-use entertainment service, available everywhere with broad content choices at the right price models and designs that serve multiple user groups’ needs. Here’s what else they said...Ditto TVDitto TV is an Indian over-the-top platform offering live TV and on-demand content on internet-enabled devices, including mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, entertainment boxes and connected TVs. Ditto TV was created by Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL)."With increasing screen sizes, and the increase in numbers of handsets, we will be looking at bundling with handset providers and mobile phone operators." Manoj Padmanabhan, Business Head, Ditto TVAims to Revolutionise “the way TV and VOD con- tent is delivered and enjoyed, spurring the transition from traditional appointment TV viewing to a more flexible, customisable alternative”.Who’s driving the initiative Manoj Padmanabhan, business head, Ditto TV Users More than four million Geo-blocked Content is geo-blocked for different regionsBusiness/pricing model Subscription-based model. Ditto TV pays a per-subscriber fee to content providers. Users download the app for free but pay a fee based on the package they choose. Offers daily, weekly and monthly packages, which comprise a mix of free and paid content.The offering105 live multi-genre channels from the Times Group, TV Today Network, Sony Entertainment Television and BBC, among others. Also offers catch-up TV content from general entertainment channels such as Zee TV and Colors along with regional channels. Content includes TV shows such as Comedy Nights with Kapil, Balika Vadhu, Dance India Dance, Jodha Akbar; classic MTV Bakra, MTV Coke Studio, Hum Paanch (featuring Vidya Balan); and movies such as Chennai Express, English Vinglish.Content wishlist Planning to acquire ethnic/local content in each marketRights Exclusive and non-exclusive New titles Catch-up TV catalogue is refreshed with all on-air daily episodic content. Adds about 500-600 hours of content a month Social media “Ditto TV being a completely digital medium, social media campaigns help us connect well with our users.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]Biggest challenge in 2014 “A recurring challenge is collecting payments from users. To work around this, we have moved to a 360-degree payment mechanism. Rather than having just an online payment mechanism, we have started various offline methods as well. We offer prepaid cards and virtual cards wherever internet services or devices are sold, and also work with distribution and payment collection solution providers like Oxigen, besides mobile operators. We are trying to partner with every company that a customer is likely to have a billing relationship with. There is also a cash-on delivery model, where Ditto TV prepaid cards are delivered to the doorstep.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]Priorities for 2014 “With increasing screen sizes, and the increase in number of handsets, we will be looking at bundling with handset providers and mobile phone operators. We are also working on technology that will allow users to view content on rent, so that they can pay to watch only a particular content.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]The best thing that has happened to the OTT industry in Asia so far this year is... A greater willingness to partner and a growing understanding of OTT as a value add. “This is a big shift towards bringing content directly to consumers’ screens and it is very encouraging... on the whole.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]What do you think will have the most impact on the OTT industry in Asia in 2015? “The ecosystem is growing very fast and we are optimistic that improved and better quality bandwidth as well as reduction in internet rates coupled with the penetration of mobile phones and tablets, is going to have a very positive impact on the OTT industry in Asia.” [Manoj Padmanabhan]The best thing that has happened to Ditto TV this year is The Ditto TV revamp and the new interface that allows users to directly login to the website from their user ID, thus surpassing the need to download the app to their desktops.* All information and opinion was supplied by the platforms themselves and fact checked for accuracy as far as humanly possible. ContentAsia has not road-tested all the platforms and offers no opinion on how well any of them work or what the strengths and weaknesses are from a consumer perspective.Issue Three 2014