Voot to enter UK market in Nov; launch 18 premium web series

Viacom18's advertising led video-on-demand platform Voot is planning to launch its international distribution, starting with the UK in November.

It will also be launching 18 multi-lingual premium web series across genres and adding news to its content offering, according to a company statement.

"Voot is all set to debut internationally starting November 2018 with its entry into the United Kingdom. With an Indian origin population of around 1.825 million, the UK market presents a significant reach opportunity for Voot to leverage," the statement said.

Operating as an ad-supported service in the country, Voot claims to have over 35 million monthly active users.

The company said it will be launching 18 multi-lingual premium web series cutting across genres, as part of its Voot originals and has tied up with various brands of the network.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the network's movie studio, will now be producing web-series for Voot, under the banner of Tipping Point Films, according to the statement.

"Furthermore, diving deeper into the regional markets, the regional broadcast entertainment cluster of Viacom18 will be producing multi-lingual Voot originals specifically for the discerning digital audience," it said.

Voot will also be adding news to its content offering, with a partnership with Network18's news media organisation, with 16 live channels across 13 languages, it added.

"Voot is integral to our strategy as we gear up for a future-ready Viacom18 that is screen, platform and pipe agnostic. We are building a digital-first brand to harness Viacom18's strengths across its brands, creative franchises and businesses in multiple Indian languages," said Sudhanshu Vats, managing director, Viacom18.

Viacom18 Media is a joint venture between Mukesh Ambani-owned TV18, which owns 51 per cent, and US-based Viacom, which has a 49 per cent stake.