MUMBAI: There’s palpable excitement at Punjabi OTT platform KableOne. It recently got onboarded onto the JioStore. Promoted by the Karnal (Haryana)-based Seven Colors Broadcasting with the backing of leading Punjabi film production house Saga Studios, the streamer was launched in iOS, android, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsun Tizen, LG WebOS, Firestick and CloudOS versions a month or so ago.
KabelOne’s offering includes movies on demand, live channels and radio. The app was developed by Modern Streaming Solutions. Saga Studios, has a a large movie library with some of the prominent films being Ardas Karan, Subedar Joginder Singh, Manje Bistre, Warning, and Cheta Singh, among others.
“We are bringing out stories from Punjab, for the world. I believe in the vision with which we have built this platform, and Punjab and its stories are definitely the next big thing,” KableOne CEO Simranjeet Singh had expressed in a release at the time of its launch.
Singh has partnered with Mumbai-based production houses like Shalimar Productions for films such as Constable Harjeet Kaur which are currently on the floor. Films such as Do Dooni Panj are slated for a release on 27 September, while others such as Warning and Cheta Singh are targeted to launch in early October. Subtitles in English make the films accessible to non-Punjabi viewers as well.
Amongst the live channels it is offering are those providing Sikh devotional hymns from across the world, YRF Music, and Saga Music Hits in Haryanvi.
Premium ad-free subscription is priced at Rs 4,000 annually, with four devices being allowed to be logged in simultaneously. The same offer is available for a biannual premium plan priced at Rs 2,500 for six months. If premium subscribers want to pay monthly, then their tab is Rs 600 a month. The Rs 2,500 one time payment per annum basic plan allows for just two devices to be logged in simultaneously, with the per monthly price being Rs 249. KableOne is currently giving away a Noise headphone priced at Rs 5,999 to premium subscribers.
Will the KabelOne catch on?
Subscription numbers were not available at the time of writing but keeping in mind the high disposable income in the hands of Punjabis the world over, it well might. But for it to sustain, the management will have to have deep pockets and keep refreshing the catalogue at regular intervals to reduce churn.
Streaming, as the big boys such as Disney+Hotstar, Netflix, Prime Video have learnt, requires lots of steam to stay in business.
