Voot, Google join hands to launch mobile website

Google has developed PWAs for e-commerce portals such as Flipkart

Google and Viacom18’s over-the-top (OTT) platform Voot have joined hands to launch a video-on-demand (VOD) progressive web app. PWA is a webpage that acts like an app. 

In the past, several companies such as Flipkart have opted to develop a PWA. But this is the first time anywhere in the world, that a media company has created a PWA.

For OTT platforms, especially since all of them are focusing on consumption via mobile, a challenge has been to reduce the number of uninstallations by users. Often, users consume content then uninstall the app, mainly because of limited space on their phones.  

“Mobile websites in India are not very evolved and considering the data speeds in the country, they do not provide a very good experience. So, while people may want to watch some content, either because of limited memory on their phone or the not-so-pleasing experience of the mobile website, they may not come to a platform. We wanted to make sure that doesn’t happen, and by introducing the PWA, we are casting a wider net because this means not only app-savvy users but those comfortable using mobile websites can also now watch Voot content with greater ease,” says Gaurav Gandhi, chief operating officer, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, the arm of Viacom18 that runs and operates Voot.