Reliance Entertainment to enter video market in US, Canada

Company in talks with Hollywood studios for distribution of English movies on its video-on-demand division

Reliance Entertainment Digital, a part of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance group, today said it is set to enter the video-on-demand market in the US and Canada this quarter, aiming to target the Indian diaspora there.

The firm, which is set to premier sci-fi web series 'Electric City' produced and written by Hollywood actor Tom Hanks on BIGFLIX.Com in India, also said it was currently in talks with a number of Hollywood studios for distribution of English movies on its video-on-demand division in the country.

"Our idea has been that Indians should be able to watch Indian movies wherever they are. We are planning to take our video-on-demand services to US, UK and Canada," Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal told PTI.

At present the company is gearing up to launch the service in the US and Canada.

"We should be able to start the service this quarter itself in the US and Canada. For in-house TV, we are in talks for distribution partnership with those who are already in touch with the Indian community in these markets," he said.

For the on-the-go customer, Agarwal said the company is targetting mainly tablet users on Apple's iOS and Google's Android platform.

Commenting on the company's plans for the Indian market, Agarwal said premier of 'Electric City' by BIGFLIX.Com, which is the Indian distribution partner, is one of the examples of bringing more exclusive contents.

"Original content will be a big growth driver for video on demand," he said.

In order to add more Hollywood titles for its niche Indian audience, he said: "We plan to add more movies and even serials. We have been talking to several studios in Hollywood but it is taking time."

On the whole, Agarwal said the firm would double the titles of its movies library to 4,000 in the next four months.

"At present our library has about 2,000 titles. Our catalogue segment is moderately good. We need to enhance it in the next four months. So we would be doubling the number of titles in the next four months," he said.

Moreover, the company would also expand regional movies offering by adding Bengali and Bhojpuri to its library in addition to the existing Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam titles, Agarwal added.