Hungama.com, aggregator, developer, publisher and Bollywood and South-Asian content distributor was among one of the 10 companies that received an undisclosed amount of capital from Intel this year. Siddhartha Roy, COO, Consumer Business & Allied Services, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment provides an in-depth understanding on the association and shares the company’s forecast on the digital landscape and into the Middle East market with Radioandmusic.com (RnM).
Excerpts:-
How does it feel to be chosen as one of the innovative companies by Intel Capital?
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As a company we are delighted to have Intel Capital partner with us on the Hungama.com opportunity. We have been working with Intel Corp on several projects over the last two years and we hope to build a stronger association with them. We have been associated with them beginning from the Hungama Movies offering on Intel Insider for the 2nd Generation Dual Core processor.
Can you share (approximately) how much funds will be invested by Intel Capital? What is the nature of investment?
Since we are a private limited company, we cannot share these details.
In which areas will Hungama.com invest the funds?
Hungama.com will continue to be a great digital entertainment destination and will continue expanding to newer markets. The storefront has over 2 and half million pieces of content across genres and languages, in the form of music tracks, movies, music videos & dialogues and mobile content such as ringtones & wallpapers. As you are aware, we also launched the Hungama Movies offering in the Middle East on 1 October and will launch the service in Singapore next week.
You have very recently expanded in the Middle East market. How big is the market for Hungama.com- its growth potential and how are you planning to exploit the market.
South Asian population in GCC countries comprises of 48 per cent of the entire population. Keeping this is mind, consumer needs and current trends we ventured into this market which has a large base of South Asian diaspora that consumes Indian content and has great Internet connectivity and bandwidth. Hungama.com music storefront was already available in UAE. We extended our offering of Hungama Movies in the UAE. The habit of downloading or streaming movies and TV shows is gaining popularity and the trend is growing at a tremendous rate in India and worldwide. We launched the product during the consumer technology exhibition – GITEX Information Week 2012. Intel’s partnerships in the Middle East region with Lulu Hypermarket, Jacky’s Electronics, Jumbo etc. will support us to promote the product to the South Asian communities; aiding us to exploit the market to its full potential.
As Internet connectivity expands in India, what are the growth forecast of the digital entertainment industry. And which areas are potential thrust areas?
India is the third largest Internet market in the world. Internet connections are expected to reach 443 mn by 2016 with a growth rate of an average of 40 per cent per year. In terms of mobile connectivity also, total mobile connections to reach to 1365 mn by 2016 and GPRS base to mobile connections to grow from 32 per cent in 2012 to 45 per cent by 2016. Currently, the reach of the medium is very high. Digital Music is expected to reach INR 14.3 Billion by 2016. We see potential in music, social videos, education, lifestyle, gaming amongst other sectors.
As far as Hungama is concerned, as the internet and mobile connectivity penetrates more markets, we have already established a significant customer base in Tier II & III cities for Hungama.com music and movies services. Our relationship with BSNL, India’s largest Internet Service Provider and all the telecom subscribers in India has ensured that Hungama.com is available to each and every digitally connected consumer- should he choose to consume our service. We are the only storefront that is available across web, mobile, DTH, smart TV’s and tablets. We will ensure that the end customer in more markets can access content through anyone of the access points mentioned.
How much has Hungama’s contribution been on the front of digital growth In India this year?
Hungama has been at the forefront of digital in India. Hungama.com is the only platform agnostic digital entertainment storefront that caters to over 1.5 billion South Asians worldwide, via mobile, internet, connected devices, DTH and retail. Hungama.com has 20 million users via various touch points. Ever since its launch in India, Hungama Movies has a subscriber base of more than 50,000 paid users.
