Voot Explained

Voot
Owner:Viacom18
(2016–2023)
Company Type:Streaming
Current Status:Discontinued
Successor:JioCinema
Area Served:India
United Kingdom (Virgin Media only)
United States (Sling TV only)
Location City:Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Type:OTT platform
Commercial:Yes
Registration:Optional

Voot was an Indian subscription video-on-demand and over-the-top streaming service owned by Viacom18, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Network18 and Viacom. The service was initially launched on 4 May 2016. It initially launched as an advertising-supported service, before introducing a subscription tier in 2020 under the Voot Select banner.

History

Launched in March 2016, Voot initially operated as an advertising-supported service.[1]

In February 2020, Voot introduced a paid subscription service known as Voot Select, offering exclusive original series, and early access to selected programmes before their television premiere.[2]

In April 2022, Reliance Industries and Paramount Global announced additional financial backing from Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems to expand their streaming business. This would include Reliance's competing JioCinema service being brought under Viacom18.[3] [4] The agreement was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in September 2022.[5]

The two services initially co-existed, but Voot began to wind down and migrate its content to JioCinema in August 2023, beginning with sports rights such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and upcoming rights to the Indian Premier League.[6] New series of Voot originals began premiering on JioCinema in June 2023.[7] [8]

In August 2023, Voot was shut down in favour of JioCinema.

Programming

Voot had content from Colors TV, MTV, Nickelodeon, and other Viacom18-owned television channels. It also hosted Bollywood films for streaming.[9] It had produced several 'Voot Originals' shows for streaming as well. In the children's segment, it worked on shows in Malayalam.[10]

In March 2021, it was announced that Voot Select would add original programming from U.S. parent company Paramount Global's upcoming global streaming service Paramount+, as well as selected CBS and Showtime original series.[11]

Original series

!Title!Genre!Premiere!Cast(s)
Chinese BhasadComedy1 May 2016[12] [13]
SoadiesComedy drama2016Baba Sehgal, Anju Mahendru,[14] Raghu Ram, and Rajiv[15]
SinskaariSex relatedweb-chat Show18 May 2016Alok Nath[16]
BadmanMockumentary8 July 2016[17] Gulshan Grover, Chunky Pandey
Shaadi BoysSatiricalcomedy-drama22 July 2016[18] [19] Aakash Ahuja
It's Not That SimpleDrama6 October 2016[20] [21] Swara Bhaskar, Akshay Oberoi, Karan Veer Mehra, Vivan Bhatena
UntagComedy drama1 January 2017[22] Meiyang Chang, VJ Andy, Dipannita Sharma and Shiv Panditt
Yo Ke Hua BroComedy18 August 2017[23] Aparshakti Khurana, Gaurav Pandey, Ridhima Pandit, Sumeet Vyas and Shamita Shetty
Stupid Man Smart PhoneTravel show20 September 2017Sumeet Vyas
Time OutDrama27 November 2017[24] [25] [26] Tahir Raj Bhasin and Sarah-Jane Dias
Its Not That Simple 2Drama14 December 2018[27] Swara Bhaskar, Akshay Oberoi, Karan Veer Mehra, Vivan Bhatena
ShortcutsAnthologyThriller8 February 2019
Fuh Se FantasyAnthologyRomance5 April 2019
MarziPsychological thriller2 March 2020Rajeev Khandelwal and Aahana Kumra[28]
AsurThriller2 March 2020Barun Sobti, Arshad Warsi, Anupriya Goenka, Ridhi Dogra, Sharib Hashmi, Amey Wagh[29]
The Raikar CaseCrime Thriller9 April 2020Ashwini Bhave, Atul Kulkarni, Kunal Karan Kapoor, Lalit Prabhakar, Neil Bhoopalam, Parul Gulati
Illegal - Justice, Out of OrderPolitical Thriller12 May 2020Neha Sharma, Akshay Oberoi, Deepak Tijori, Piyush Mishra
The Gone GameCrime Thriller20 August 2020Sanjay Kapoor, Shweta Tripathi, Arjun Mathur, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Dibyendu Bhattacharya
CrackdownAction Thriller23 September 2020Saqib Saleem, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rajesh Tailang
CandyThrillerSeptember 2021Richa Chadda, Ronit Roy, Manu Rishi, Gopal Datt
Bigg Boss OTTReality ShowAugust 2021Karan Johar, Divya Agarwal, Nishant Bhat, Pratik Sehajpal, Shamita Shetty
Ranjish Hi SahiDramaJanuary 2022Tahir Raj Bhasin, Amala Paul, Amrita Puri
Apharan 2 - Sabka Katega DobaraAction Drama18 March 2022Arunoday Singh, Mahie Gill, Monica Chaudhary, Nidhi Singh, Varun Badola
London FilesCrime, Thriller21 April 2022Arjun Rampal, Purab Kohli, Gopal Dutt, Sapna Pabbi, Medha Rana, Warren Palmer
Baked - The Bad TripComedy2 May 2022Pranay Manchanda, Shantanu Anam, Manik Papneja, Kriti Vij
Aadha IshqRomantic, Thriller12 May 2022Gaurav Arora, Aamna Sharif, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Pratibha Ranta
Code M Season 2Crime, Thriller9 June 2022Jennifer Winget, Tanuj Virwani
Cyber VaarCrime, Thriller10 June 2022Mohit Malik, Sanaya Irani
The Great Weddings of MunnesComedy Drama4 August 2022Abhishek Banerjee, Barkha Singh, Paresh Ganatra, Sunita Rajwar, Aakash Dabhade

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Viacom18 launches video-on-demand platform Voot – The Economic Times . The Economic Times . live . 2016-11-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161224122151/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/viacom18-launches-video-on-demand-platform-voot/articleshow/51606120.cms . 24 December 2016.
  2. Web site: 4 March 2020 . Viacom18 launches Voot Select, a subscription-based video streaming service . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200305170039/https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/viacom18-launches-voot-select-a-subscription-based-video-streaming-service/article30980114.ece . 5 March 2020 . 2020-03-06 . businessline . en.
  3. Web site: Ramachandran . Naman . 27 April 2022 . James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree, Reliance, Viacom18 Strike $2 Billion Deal to Create Giant Indian TV and Streaming Company . 20 May 2022 . Variety.
  4. Web site: 2023-04-17 . Bodhi Tree-Viacom18 deal: Why the new deal points towards Reliance's aggressive push in broadcasting business . 2023-05-07 . Business Today . en.
  5. Web site: 2022-09-22 . CCI approves merger of Jio Cinema OTT platform with Viacom18 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221113081308/https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/cci-approves-merger-of-jio-cinema-ott-platform-with-viacom18-347904-2022-09-22 . 13 November 2022 . 2022-11-13 . Business Today . en.
  6. News: Laghate . Gaurav . 2022-10-06 . Viacom18 to shift sports content to JioCinema . The Economic Times . 2023-05-30 . 0013-0389.
  7. Web site: Jha . Lata . 2023-08-09 . Voot folds into JioCinema; users now free to migrate . 2023-08-12 . mint . en.
  8. Web site: 2023-08-15 . Viacom18 completes merger of JioCinema and Voot OTT platforms, majority subscribers transitioned . 2023-08-17 . BusinessLine . en.
  9. Web site: Viacom18 launches video-on-demand platform Voot. Money Control. 29 March 2016 . 2016-11-07. 8 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161108063622/http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/viacom18-launches-video-on-demand-platform-voot_6055981.html. live.
  10. Web site: Digital platforms mainstream regional content. Shuchi. Bansal. 11 October 2017. Live Mint. 18 April 2021. 18 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210418112104/https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/JUouupMyF9AzfUN1Vw7NNJ/Digital-platforms-mainstream-regional-content.html. live.
  11. News: March 11, 2021 . Paramount Plus Content Finds Home on India's Voot Select (EXCLUSIVE) . . live . March 17, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220317051724/https://variety.com/2021/streaming/global/paramount-plus-india-voot-select-viacom18-1234928412/ . March 17, 2022.
  12. News: TV writer makes directorial, web debut with 'Chinese Bhasad' – Times of India. The Times of India. 2016-11-07. 8 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230408175616/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/TV-writer-makes-directorial-web-debut-with-Chinese-Bhasad/articleshow/52399327.cms. live.
  13. Web site: Chinese Bhasad. Voot. 2016-11-07. 27 June 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627120823/https://www.voot.com/shows/chinese-bhasad/1/387817. live.
  14. News: Ready for Badman and Soadies? – Times of India. The Times of India. 2016-11-07. 18 September 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160918154936/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Ready-for-Badman-and-Soadies/articleshow/52432173.cms. live.
  15. Web site: Soadies. Voot. 2016-11-07. 7 July 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220707102319/https://www.voot.com/shows/soadies/1/387819/meet-the-soadies/406772. live.
  16. News: Sanskari 'Babuji' goes 'Sins-kaari': Alok Nath to discuss sex online. 2016-11-07. 8 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161108052432/http://www.indiatvnews.com/entertainment/bollywood-alok-nath-new-show-mandana-karimi-320997. live.
  17. Web site: Badman. Voot. 2016-11-07. 8 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230408175617/https://www.voot.com/movie/badman-the-movie/410139. live.
  18. News: Web series Shaadi Boys a satirical take on extravagance in Indian weddings, say writers. 2016-07-24. The Indian Express. 2016-11-07. 7 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161107221908/http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/web-series-shaadi-boys-a-satirical-take-on-extravagance-in-indian-weddings-say-writers-2932465/. live.
  19. News: Shaadi Boys. The Times of India. 2016-11-07. 30 July 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160730073256/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/news/hindi/Shaadi-Boys-100-Mentertainment/articleshow/53264782.cms. live.
  20. Web site: VOOT launches its sixth original web-series. www.afaqs.com. 6 October 2016 . 2016-11-07. 8 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161108051909/http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/49150_VOOT-launches-its-sixth-original-web-series. live.
  21. News: Gaekwad. Manish. Swara Bhaskar glams up for web series 'It's Not That Simple'. Scroll.in. 2016-11-07. en-US. 7 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161107221344/http://thereel.scroll.in/818281/swara-bhaskar-glams-up-for-web-series-its-not-that-simple. live.
  22. News: Life is all about untag-ging yourself!. 2017-01-08. Times of India. 3 September 2017. 16 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170916061841/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tv/life-is-all-about-untag-ging-yourself/articleshow/56390339.cms. live.
  23. Web site: Aparshakti Khurana relates to his character in the new web series Yo Ke Hua Bro. The Indian Express. 30 August 2017. 2017-08-30. 4 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904014324/http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/television/aparshakti-khurana-relates-to-his-character-in-the-new-web-series-yo-ke-hua-bro-4820779/. live.
  24. Web site: Voot's new original 'Time Out' out on November 28. Exchang4media. 2017-11-27. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201142507/http://www.exchange4media.com/industry-briefing/voots-new-original-time-out-out-on-november-28_87362.html. live.
  25. Web site: 'Time out' Review: The Unrealistically Realistic Life in a Metro. Almas. Khateeb. 3 January 2018. TheQuint. 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419101215/https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/hot-on-web/time-out-review-voot. live.
  26. Web site: Time Out on Voot. Voot. 2017-12-01. 3 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220403194918/https://www.voot.com/shows/time-out/1/547323. live.
  27. Web site: 'It's Not That Simple' season 2: Swara Bhasker is back to questioning gender bias. Scroll Staff. Scroll.in. 5 December 2018 . 19 April 2019. 19 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190419101217/https://scroll.in/reel/904623/its-not-that-simple-season-2-swara-bhasker-is-back-to-questioning-gender-bias. live.
  28. Web site: Marzi first impression: An engaging thriller owned by Aahana Kumra and Rajeev Khandelwal. 2020-03-06. The Indian Express. en-US. 2020-03-06. 8 April 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200408024628/https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/web-series/marzi-first-impression-engaging-thriller-ahaana-kumra-rajeev-khandelwal-6300692/. live.
  29. Web site: All You Need to Know About Voot Select: Price, Originals, Exclusives. NDTV Gadgets 360. 3 March 2020 . en. 2020-03-06. 7 March 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200307005223/https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/voot-select-launch-price-free-trial-originals-app-live-channels-2189278. live.

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