In a video streaming market populated by giants, a humble start-up with Keralites at the helm is all set to launch one such platform which promises to provide content for free to its users
. Titled 'Mainstream TV', its focus is entirely on content in Malayalam, ranging from movies to web series to travel shows and stand-up comedy shows.
The past couple of years have been witness to the gaining popularity of Over-the-top (OTT) platforms, which deliver film and TV content through the internet, without requiring users to subscribe to a traditional cable television service.
But, much of the content has remained paid. ‘Mainstream TV,’ set up by a group of young professionals experienced in visual media, aims at nurturing local content creators. “Many small-time content creators, who have unique material on their hands, find it hard to approach or even afford the big players. We are thus aiming to provide a democratic space, where anyone can come in. Also, since all of us belong to Kerala, although our company is based in Bengaluru, we do have a much better understanding of the changing tastes of the local market. Once we attain enough growth, we plan to turn this even into a releasing platform for movies,” says S.Shiva, one of the founders of Mainstream TV.
Though the team is in the process of launching the platform to the public in a few days time, they have already made available the mobile android application as well and in App store on a pilot basis.
An application will soon be made available for Smart TVs, while it will also be incorporated into the Firestick.
Currently they have a library of around 700 Malayalam movies and around 3,000 short videos, with more being acquired. But their main focus will be on their own content, which includes a web-series as well as some short format content, which includes a weekly stand-up comedy show based on the contemporary events.
As they are a free service, they plan to generate revenues from advertisements, in the model followed by streaming services like YouTube.
