Yahoo! Video offers licensed content: Vishal Maheshwari

Interview with Senior Director and head of sales, Yahoo! India

Digital media and search engine major, Yahoo!, recently announced its entry into the licensed video content space for the Indian internet audience. Vishal Maheshwari, senior director and head of sales, Yahoo! India, spoke to Pravda Godbole about the new venture and the company’s plans.

Won't the late entry crowd you out? What's your strategy to stand out?
We are predicting the curve ahead by differentiating with our proposition of 'strictly original, fully licensed video content'. This differentiates us from other online video sharing sites. We believe there is a huge opportunity for premium licensed video content in India, and Yahoo! Video is the first step in that direction.

It is a premium video destination that hosts high quality, fully licensed and original content across categories like full-length movies, Bollywood, sports, news, lifestyle and entertainment. Here, content is sourced directly from leading films and television producers in the country and made available for free. Our Content Optimisation Relevance Engine (CORE) drives personalisation, helping users discover content of their interest, which they would otherwise not come across. With our strength in editorial programming, we have deep insights into what the user is looking for, aiding what we call 'serendipitous discovery of content'.

Yahoo! Video is all about official and original content, but why are you not hosting user-generated content?
Today, majority of online videos available on the Internet are user-uploaded and, in many cases, unlicensed. Yahoo! Video has a different proposition and offers a superior experience by providing a destination that serves licensed content only, sourced directly from the content producer, retaining brilliant quality and zero-clutter. Interesting formats such as mini-movies are also available for users to 'snack on', without having to watch the entire film.

Who are your content partners, genre-wise?
We are in partnership with 35 leading content producers in India. In news, we have tied with NDTV, Headlines Today, Aajtak, Newzstreet, ANI, Star News, Star Majha, Star Ananda; for movies we have with us Digit 9, Shemaroo, Ultra, Reliance Pictures, Sri Ganesh Video, Star Entertainment, PVR Pictures and Shree International. In the TV category our partners are Star Plus, Star One, Channel V, Star Pravah, Star Jalsa, Star Vijay, Star World, 9XM. For Bollywood, we have NDTV, Lehren, Glamsham, Saanskruti, Movie Talkies, Nine Winds and Digit 9.

What kind of content do you plan to get on Yahoo! Video in the near future? What about live streaming?
Based on content partnerships, we are planning to make videos available in a phased manner, factoring in audience interest and relevance. TV shows actually come on Yahoo! Video within 30 minutes to 24 hours of the actual telecast.

Yahoo! Video has live streaming capabilities — though we haven't yet done a live programme in India. On a global scale, we have had hugely successful live streaming for programmes like the Clinton Concert and the Prince William and Catherine Middleton's royal wedding.