Ad-supported streaming service Voot[1], owned by Viacom18, has announced 17 new original series along with a second season for Swara Bhaskar-starrer It’s Not That Simple. In addition, Voot is set to expand beyond India in November, making its international debut with the UK.
The 17 new originals are spread across genres and come from a variety of creators, including Javed Akhtar, who is writing his first Web series. One of them, a talk show called Feet Up With The Stars, released its first episode Thursday on Voot.
“It’s always exciting when you’re doing something new,” Akhtar said at the announcement in Mumbai on Thursday. “The first time I wrote a film, I was paid Rs. 100 per month – this time I’m being paid a little more,” he joked.
Though Voot provided no release dates for all other series, Viacom18 MD Sudhanshu Vats emphasised that this was its “immediate, near-term slate” and they would come out within the next 6-9 months. In total, the streaming service is looking at a total of 150-200 hours of content.
Viacom18 Motion Pictures – behind films such as Padmaavat – will produce some of the new originals, under a new banner known as Tipping Point Films.
Voot’s reasoning for picking the UK as its first international market is the significant Indian-origin population of 1.825 million. The service will use a subscription-based model outside India, similar to Hotstar's expansion in the US and Canada[2].
Here is the complete list of the 17 new Voot originals:
Feet Up with the Stars – a talk show hosted by Anaita Shroff Adjania. Guests include Jacqueline Fernandez, Karan Johar, Sonam K Ahuja (neé Kapoor), Ayushmann Khurana, Bhumi Pednekar, Maliaka Arora, Kriti Sanon, Radhika...