Digital entertainment firm Hungama launched a new app, Hungama Play, to offer a library of over 6,500 movies on mobile phones and tablets.
The app, which is already live on Android , will be available for a monthly subscription of Rs 249.
“People are consuming huge amount of content on the go. On our Hungama app alone, we see over 50 per cent of people opting for video over just audio. So, we wanted to offer viewers the best of Hollywood, Bollywood and regional content on the mobile platform,” Hungama.com CEO Siddhartha Roy told PTI.
He added that the content will be available across seven bit rates to ensure that customers with slow Internet speeds can view the content easily.
“The substantial increase in smartphone usage and increasing data consumption gives us the confidence that the product will do extremely well in India,” Roy said.
Hungama will launch the iOS version of the app next week.
The content includes movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Silsila, Don 2, Dabangg, Marvel’s The Avengers, Interstellar and Horrible Bosses.
“Hungama has about 55 million monthly users… For the new app, we are aiming at about one million users,” he said.
The app will also allow consumers an a-la-carte option, where they can pay between Rs 60-120 to watch a single movie.
The digital firm will also introduce features like ‘Try and Buy’ feature, using which consumers can watch trailers along with the first 10 minutes of a movie for free before opting to subscribe and Play the entire movie.
Under the ‘Rent’ feature, subscribers can access any purchased movie to play out over seven days, while ‘subscription’ consumers can access almost the entire library for over 30 days.
“With Hungama Play, we aim to add a new dimension to entertainment that we provide to our digital consumers. Apart from movies from Indian and international studios, we are also looking at bringing non-fiction content to the platform as well,” he said.
In May this year, Hooq, that is a joint venture of SingTel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros, had announced the launch of its video-on-demand service in India. With over 15,000 international and local titles in its catalogue, Hooq said it will offer its services later this year at Rs 199 per month.
