Mumbai : English news channel Republic TV is pivoting to digital, OTT and smart TV distribution with the latest addition of DistroTV to cater to the diaspora in the United Kingdom market.

The channel along with its Hindi news channel R Bharat has now set its sights on the international markets. With a view to address the news consumption pattern across all demographics, the channels are taking a market wise approach and targeting new age distribution platforms including the burgeoning OTT and connected TV sets ecosystem.  It’s also looking to syndicate its content library across various new age platforms.  

After content partnerships with all major OTT platforms Like Hotstar, Yupp TV, it has now added DistroTV in the UK and APAC markets.

Commenting on the strategy, Republic Media Network, group CEO, Vikas Khanchandani  said, "Republic TV is a news media technology company and has been the front runner to make its streaming services available across smart phones and connected TVs with its partnerships with OTT, OEMs and Telco platforms both within India and globally. The pandemic has accelerated streaming TV consumption driven by news & sports.  It’s an opportune moment for us to pivot our strategy in the UK market as streaming is outpacing pay TV in UK.” 

COO - India distribution head and international markets, Priya Mukherjee, COO said, the channel has reached a peak of 421K and maintains an average reach of around 200K in the last quarter during the pandemic. "Many platforms have approached us given the leadership position and the loyal audiences we built in the UK, in such a short time.  Our distribution capabilities, give us an opportunity, to approach each market differently and we are looking at all possible models that are best suited to our expansion plans, including a more, Direct to Consumer approach," she added.