After Amazon, ALTBalaji signs up on Opera TV

Content app ALTBalaji said it has signed on with Opera TV, a platform that powers smart TVs, DVD players and other instruments.

“All Smart TVs, Blu-ray disc players and Set-top boxes powered by Opera TV will provide instant access to over 250 hours of original content from ALTBalaji. Simultaneously, ALTBalaji Subscribers will now be able to access the service using the Opera TV Store,” the Indian company said.

The announcement comes within days of the app going online on Amazon Fire TV platform, and indicates that the company is serious about tapping all avenues to monetize its content, the Indian company said.

In the past 5 years, over 150 million connected TV devices have been enabled by Opera TV, awarding it a global market share of 33 percent in Smart TVs, it added.

Opera TV claims to power millions of devices each year, including SmartTVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players, Game Consoles and chipsets for more than 60 corporate customers. The customers of Opera TV include equipment manufacturers, pay-TV operators, broadcasters and Content publishers.

The platform claims to have over a thousand apps for TV and offers the Opera Devices software development kit for creating and rendering HTML5-based interfaces.

The platform also supports streaming of content as well as a special browser for TVs.

ALTBalaji was launched globally on 16 April 2017 with 6 original shows, the app has already clocked more than 3mn downloads and Subscribers from over 75 countries.

Sunil Nair, COO, ALTBalaji said, “As per statistics, 29 percent of all TVs are Smart TVs, and 93 percent of SmartTV owners connect their TV to the Internet. The wider offering and the intensive use of video on-demand content, fuel this development. Our aim is to provide a seamless and enjoyable user experience through our integration with Opera TV and making available our shows on the connected Screens.”

ALTBalaji offers original Indian language shows like Dev.DD, Karrie Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Boygiri, Bewafaa sii Wafaa, Romil and Jugal, The Test Case and Maya Thirrai.

The platform also features content from filmmakers like Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkummar Rao, Hansal Mehta and Sakshi Tanwar.