Mumbai: Beginnen Media’s premium rural entertainment channel Azaad and entertainment app MX Player have announced a strategic partnership to enable exponential growth by bringing together the linear, rural, and digital worlds.
With the strong belief in the ‘power of engaged connections’ and the aspiration to meet its viewers at their doorstep, Azaad and MX Player are all set to reach out to the Indian diaspora with new stories embedded in the rural fabric and culture, said the statement. “Azaad will soon add to its repertoire original content, besides the syndicated content that is currently on air,” it added.
Beginnen Media recently launched Azaad with the premise of being ‘People First. Rural First’ and MX Player, with its large and diverse audience of over 200 million monthly active users caters to its audiences with varied entertainment palettes.
“The union with MX Player offers a seamless consumer experience on both mediums as we attempt to be innovators at the intersection of TV and digital," said Beginnen Media’s managing director, Bharat Kumar Ranga. "Azaad is for people with rural mindsets where people access entertainment on both TV and the internet. We needed to find the right anchor that compliments Azaad on the internet. MX Player immediately aligned to our vision as we share a commonality of consumer centricity that will assist us with our expansion goals. MX valued our idea and intent, and Azaad loved their youthfulness, vigour, hunger for growth, and uncanny consumer centricity. For consumers, MX and Azaad will appear like one common platform. This reflects Beginnen Media’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to using our experience of innovation as the roadmap for propelling the industry forward to an all-new way of doing business," he added.
“In an industry first, this association will transcend traditional TV and digital OTT to drive synergies and foster growth for both players, by creating innovative new content and catering to a larger audience set. As a platform that can reach consumers at every touchpoint, this strategic partnership with Azaad is sure to entertain the masses and drive more engagement for both brands,” shared MX Group CEO, Karan Bedi.
“We believe that this distinct UnionShip with MX Player will surely be the best manner in which two standalone brands together will unlock the power of TV and OTT in an integrated manner by leveraging synergies to reach and engage with maximum viewers,” said Beginnen Media CMO, Rachin Khanijo. “We have approached this association creatively as well as strategically to ensure that there’s a strong audience fit and have planned on scaling it with projected metrics of what TV and digital are expected to deliver – both at an attributed and holistic level.”
“This unique union compliments MX strategically - adding many hues of entertainment to our diverse content offering and bringing with it fresh, young, and new flavours reflecting the ethos of today's rural Indian fabric," said MX Player, SVP, and head – content acquisitions and alliances, Mansi Shrivastav. "With this distinctive slate, we are well poised to cater to every palette and are excited that this association with Beginnen Media's premium heartland entertainment channel Azaad will enhance viewership and aid market expansion.”