Eros Now Adds Voice Search In Indian Languages To Streaming App With Microsoft Partnership

OTT video streaming platform Eros Now has partnered with Microsoft to leverage Microsoft Azure for three main areas of technology development including an intuitive online video platform, interactive voice search in ten languages, and a personalised content-recommendation engine for consumers. 

Peggy Johnson, executive vice president of Microsoft Corporation said, “By using our combined expertise across technology and media, we have an opportunity to build on that foundation and re-imagine entertainment for the rapidly growing audience of digitally-connected consumers in India.”

The new Eros Now platform is said to offer seamless delivery of content for its consumers across geographies and languages, supported by a robust infrastructure including Azure Content Delivery Network (CDN). 

Further, Eros will integrate Azure AI tool to support voice search for video content in 10 Indian languages. Also, the OTT company has planned to create an engine to deliver personalised content recommendations for consumers by leveraging its own user data, combined with Azure AI, analytics, cloud data warehousing solutions and Azure media services. 

Eros Now is Eros International Plc on-demand South Asian entertainment video which co-produces, acquires and distributes Indian language films. With over 12K movie titles, music videos, television programming among other content, accessible from mobile, web and TV, Eros Now claims to have over 154.7 Mn registered users and 18.8 Mn paying subscribers worldwide.

Growth Of OTT Video Streaming In India

According to Microsoft India president, Anant Maheshwari, “India is one of the fastest-growing digital entertainment and media markets worldwide, driven by the growth in online video content.”

The latest Google’s A Year In Search Report has also shown that India’s video viewership is exploding across content verticals including automobile, financial services, science, and hobby videos among others. It estimated that India will have about 500 Mn online video users by 2020. 

India is estimated to emerge in the top 10 lists in the global OTT market by 2022 with revenue of over $803 Mn (INR 5,500 Cr), according to an audit and consultancy firm PwC.

Other players in the India’s OTT segment include Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE Entertainment’s Zee5, Reliance-backed ALTBalaji, Times Internet’s MX Player, and Youtube Originals, among others. 

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