Viacom18 plans to launch its video-on-demand (VOD) service VOOT in the UK in November.
VOOT will be offered as a freemium service rather than a subscription model, in partnership with UK telcos, the company said.
“There are two important cost components if one goes behind the paywall. One is the acquisition cost and the other is marketing. At this juncture as we test the international water our thinking is that partnering with telcos is a good step forward,” Viacom18 MD Sudhanshu Vats is reported as saying in Television Post.
Viacom18 channels such as Colors, Rishtey, Colors HD, MTV Beats and Rishtey Cineplex are already available in the UK, which is home to 1.8 million people of Indian origin.
Voot is also set to launch 18 original series over the coming months, starting with chat show Feet Up With Stars, hosted by Anaita Shroff. Celebrities set to feature on the show include Karan Johar, Sonam Kapoor, Rajkumar Rao, Ayushmann Khuranna and Bhumi Pednekar.
The new series will be produced in collaboration with Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ Tipping Point Films and Viacom18’s regional TV network. Three will be original regional web series: Dagalti (Tamil), Sirrai (Tamil) and I See You (Kannada).
Voot content head Monika Shergill said “we have been extremely lucky to be partnering with a galaxy of very talented and committed actors, writers and directors to bring forth our second bundle of Voot Originals, starting with 18 multi-genre and multi-lingual series”.
The VOD platform also now offers live news through the addition of TV18’s bouquet of 16 channels in 13 languages.