MUMBAI: Eros Now, the digital arm of Eros International announced its foray into the original content space with its first series Side Hero, with all episodes available for binge-viewing from 24 September 2018. Directed by Rohan Sippy and produced by Ramesh Sippy entertainment productions, Side Hero stars Kunaal Roy Kapur as a fictionalised version of himself, trying to become a lead hero and prove that acting is not just a hobby.
The web series consists of eight episodes with duration of 25-30 minutes. According to Eros Group chief content officer Ridhima Lulla, all the shows Eros Now intends to create are multi-seasonal. The OTT platform plans to roll out one to two originals a month. “We don’t want to restrict ourselves in the genres we want to create. This one is comedy, you will also see in drama, thriller, mythology or fantasy,” she added.
The show’s quirky tagline ‘IskoKaunDekhega’ takes a dig at Kunaal Roy Kapur’s character showcasing Side Hero’s self-deprecating humour.
Eros Digital chief operating officer Ali Hussein said, “The platform is planning to launch regional content in early 2019. All our short form content is free and long form content is behind the pay-wall. Currently, we are trying to figure out how to work with the advertisers not just in the short form but also in the long form space. We won’t be like a traditional AVOD brand. We are in conversation with top 10 brands in the country like Cadbury, Fevicol, Nivia, Myntra, Diageo and they have all reached out to us.”
Lulla mentioned that there will be regional focus too as Eros doesn’t want to only look at Hindi content. “First few months we will focus on Hindi but in the next couple of months we will be kicking off a lot of regional content as well,” she said.
The digital entertainment platform plans to strategically encompass marketing elements such as on-air promotions, creating social media buzz, on-ground association, outdoor campaigns, radio spots and various PR tools, making it an impactful campaign. Side Hero will be extensively promoted on major broadcast channels through a 15-day long campaign alongside aggressive promotions on leading radio stations in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Eros Now will also tactically use outdoor medium for promotions at 100+ sites in Mumbai.
“We have got our partners like Google, Apple and many more doing something interesting for us. I think the surrounding noise of it is bigger than what Netflix and Amazon can potentially do because we are not necessarily dependent on a third party medium. Media value of our budget will be bigger than Amazon and Netflix because of our partnerships,” Hussein added.
As of August 2018, Eros Now enjoys viewership from 100+ countries and is further strengthening its global presence. Eros Now will leverage its partnerships with leading international brands like Xiaomi Mi TV, Dialog Axiata and more to present its original content across Asia and beyond.
“We are launching in at least 4-5 new countries in terms of specific alliance and partnerships in the next 3-4 months. We are already present to localise partners in key NRI markets around the world,” he concluded.
