ALTBalaji, in a move to deepen its existing presence, has partnered with PayPoint India to serve rural- and semi-rural markets, said the companies in their joint release.
This collaboration is aimed at helping the set of viewers who require digitalassistance and offline subscription payment options.
Access to content
According to ALTBalaji, with PayPoint’s 45,000-plus tech-enabled retailers across India where more than 80 per cent of its customers are spread across rural- and semi-rural markets, the partnership will help go deeper in these markets by making content more accessible.
The OTT platform noted that the PayPoint offline stores provide seamless assistance for activation, along with paying for subscription and renewals in cash and access the programme at the convenience of their homes.
With this, the subscribers of ALTBalaji will get access to a content library of 60-plus Indian originals created for the masses.
ALTBalaji, which is an alternative for mainstream entertainment, claims to witness an uptake of digital subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post-lockdown, versus an average of 10,600 in March in the pre-lockdown period, a growth of 60 per cent.
PayPoint, a leading offline-to-online (O2O) company operating pan India for 10 years, will provide access to its retail outlets to collect cash on behalf of ALTBalaji and allow the consumers to watch contents on ALTBalaji.
Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO, ALTBalaji, and Group COO, Balaji Telefilms, said in the official release: “Our increased focus towards creating desi originals for our Bharat audience has led to the massification of content. It has resulted in the rise in viewership and time spent on the platform from these regions.
He added: “Our association with Pay Point is a strategic step in the right direction that aligns us perfectly to establish a strong foothold in these rural and semi-rural markets. We’re glad to have curated yet another touchpoint that enhances the user experience and makes transactions easier. We believe that doing so shall see us foster the bond that we share with our customers by instilling the feeling of trust amongst them.”
Ketan Doshi, Managing Director of PayPoint India, said in the official announcement: “For ALTBalaji-like alternatives to mass entertainment, there is a huge fan following in the rural districts of India. However, for lower digital-savvy fans activating the service, doing an offline recharge is a hindrance. This partnership will be a boon for the population to do an instant activation and renewal recharge.”
“The offline recharge for such video-on-demand OTT service is the first-of-this-kind and one such industry initiative. The association will help ALTBalaji achieve higher subscriber’s base, while PayPoint will be adding one of its kind product to the kitty of services that it is providing to the customers across the length and breadth of India,” Ketan added.
ALTBalaji repository
ALTBalaji said that it has a repository of more than 60 originals across genres that cater to all kinds of audiences; the shows at ALTBalaji are a mix of thriller, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, and comedy, among others.
Each show present on the platform, or in the pipeline, has been created keeping in mind the audience’s interest across demographic and sociographic segments, said ALTBalaji.