hoichoi targets to reach 100 Originals by end of 2022: Vishnu Mohta

hoichoi has been growing consistently ever since it launched five years ago. The Bengali-language streamer seeks to maintain the momentum in 2022 with its list of content of varied genres, from mythological thrillers, cop dramas, unconventional love stories, and women empowerment social dramas to brand-new detectives from both India and Bangladesh. The streaming platform is targeting to reach 100 Originals by the end of 2022, says Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder, Hoichoi TV, in an interview with Adgully. He states that the streamer has witnessed 4X growth in viewership and 2X growth in overall watch time not only in India, but also in Bangladesh. The streamer plans to deepen its presence in South-Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and the Middle-East to target the Bengali-speaking population. Excerpts from the interview:

How has been hoichoi’s journey in 2021?

The year 2021 has been a remarkable one for hoichoi as we celebrated our fifth anniversary, with many exciting announcements. We have undertaken some strategic partnerships with key players in the market along with delivering at least two Original shows and one world premiere of a theatrically released film, every month for the audience. hoichoi has also witnessed 4X growth in viewership and 2X growth in overall watch time not only in India, but also in Bangladesh. A lot of celebrated directors and phenomenally talented artists have marked their debut in the world of web series or in Bengali OTT with hoichoi. In the upcoming year, the prominent Bengali OTT platform is also set to undertake many collaborations that are more exciting with prominent creators and artists from both India and Bangladesh. Therefore, this year has given hoichoi all the reasons to end it on a grand note.

Is the regional OTT space poised for the next big growth in India? How will regional OTT players shape India’s OTT landscape over the next two years or so?

In the last few years, there has been significant growth in the number of OTT players that began catering to the audiences, which also signifies the rising demand among the people for OTT content in general. Also, in the last two years, the regional OTT content not only came up rapidly, but also raised the bar of the content creation phenomena in the Indian OTT space. Predominantly, during the year, the most loved OTT content came out of the regional spaces. Thus, it will be safe to say that the regional OTT platforms will be a huge determining factor in the Indian OTT landscape.

What is your revenue and subscription target for the year 2022? What are the other plans – including content strategy, etc. – lined up for 2022?

hoichoi has been consistent in going bigger and better every year. Similarly, in the year 2022 as well it aims to maintain that trend with its boundless list of interesting content of varied genres, from mythological thrillers, cop dramas, unconventional love stories, and women empowerment social dramas to brand new detectives from both India and Bangladesh. hoichoi has revealed a full list of new Original shows for its fifth year, as the platform is targeting to reach 100 Originals by the end of 2022.

What are your plans to expand your global market reach, such as Southeast Asia? Which are the other markets you plan to foray into in 2022?

hoichoi is a global platform that is catering to 250+ million Bengalis around the world. The international markets already contribute 40% of the overall direct subscription revenue for hoichoi. We have partnerships with various leading ISP players like Link3 in Bangladesh for broadband subscription bundling. Grameenphone, one of the leading telecom operators in Bangladesh, is a partner for mobility subscription bundling along with Sohoj for Malaysia.

Collaborations with the biggest creators and partners have played a key role in creating content and distributing the platform among a diverse audience base. hoichoi plans to deepen its presence in the South-Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore for the large Bengali-speaking population. hoichoi also looks to partner with key telecom operators in the South-Asian Markets. In the Middle-East, we plan to strengthen our grip by taking a similar approach. We are also planning to launch “sachet pricing.” As hoichoi is currently available worldwide, we plan to introduce digital gift cards across multiple countries around the world.