‘Unlike Youtube, mypopkorn will have professional content’

Digital Media Convergence Ltd (DMCL), Essel group’s division on new media initiatives, has recently launched mypopkorn.com, an interactive portal that will aggregate professionally-generated video content from television channels such as Zee, Sony and Star. Eros Entertainment and Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts have joined the portal as strategic partners.

Ishwar Jha, CEO, DMCL, says about 18,000 hours of content has already been acquired and it is being edited and repurposed into webisodes - video clips for the web, each about 3 minutes long. Moreover, in a bid to counter pirated TV grabs that are put up online within hours of television broadcast, mypopkorn will also make these webisodes available within one hour of telecast. Jha spoke to DNA Money’s Arcopol Chaudhuri about the portal and DMCL’s plans in this space. Excerpts:

Don’t you think you’ve come too late into the scene for user-generated content? India’s hooked to YouTube, Orkut and now MySpace is here as well. How will you build up your brand?
Online video is just emerging. There is a lot of opportunity for everybody to coexist. Also the objective behind Youtube, Orkut and Myspace is different. Mypopkorn is a platform for people to watch professional content and the experience is very different. We have the PSIP benefits -personalising, socialising, integrating and participating - that a consumer can experience. Meaning, they can personalise the viewing, socialise with a virtual family, integrate on all devices and participate in opinion formation on the video. Continuous product development, innovative marketing ideas, exclusive content and a user-friendly navigational experience is what we believe will make this brand grow. Also, the layman’s experience is very much different. Try opening the website, watching the videos, you will understand.
Is there a substantial online audience that the content is being repurposed for? How does DMCL plan to monetise it?
Over 15 million broadband subscribers (approx 4 million in India and 11 million NRIs) want to access Indian entertainment-based content online. One reason for broadband not growing is the non-availability of rich media content. Through mypopkorn.com, we intend to increase the market size and at the same time address the entertainment need of global audience. To enhance the audience base, we have planned forward to offer content from Asian as well as content producers worldwide. Our long-term positioning is global entertainment for Asian audience.
How do you plan to arm-twist your way through India’s slow broadband connection speeds? Content streaming is still an issue and office traffic has to face firewalls?
The speed in India is surely an issue. Having said that the technology used by us allows the video to be streamed faster than any other video site today. However, in the last three months, telcos are offering broadband connections with high speeds at prices very small prices. Also, the operators have tested Wimax in top metros. Besides, the government’s plans for a higher broadband penetration in the country will resolve this problem in the near future.
True, office traffic have to face firewalls, but going ahead if we can offer content that benefits the user, this will also no longer be an issue. At present, we have many content owners willing to showcase educational and informative videos. We are finalising the content that can go under this category and very soon the same would be on the site.
Tell us about MyStage. And please explain the business model of paying users for uploading videos?
MyStage is a unique platform for consumers to showcase the talents of independent producers and creative artists who are seeking to launch their talent but cannot afford the standard means to showcase their talents. If you are a budding actor, musician, singer, director, news reporter or just anybody and have a video that can be shared with the world, this is a platform for you. Since there is a complete editorial check that is done before the videos are uploaded, it meets quality standards. Depending on the videos viewed by the users, we would pay the consumer per video viewed. The budding artist will not only get an opportunity to showcase their talent but also will get paid for showcasing their video.