With a commitment to taking Bengali Digital Entertainment to newer heights
Hoichoi announces 100+ Hours of fresh Original Content with more than 30 Originals; set to increase the content library to 2800 Hours in 1 year
Forays into Bangladesh and UAE markets to reach out to a wider audience
Introduces “hoichoi Top Up Card” - An industry first offline payment mechanism
Introduces “Pay Per View” model - first time in Bengali digital entertainment space
Backed by SVF (formerly known as Shree Venkatesh Films), Eastern India’s biggest entertainment company; hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali content platform has redefined India’s OTT space for regional languages and emerged as the one-stop destination for anyone looking for Bengali entertainment across borders and age groups.
In just 1 year of its launch hoichoi has streamed over 240 Million minutes of content. Encouraged by the audience response, hoichoi declared grand plans to launch 30 Original Shows and 12 Original Films equivalent to 100 plus hours of Original content in the upcoming year. It also announced plans to double the overall content library to approx. 2800 hours in the next 1 year by acquiring 200 Bengali movies, 12 of which will be World Digital Premieres.
The viewers of hoichoi will be spoilt for choice as there will be variation of content available across genres including Fantasy, Dark Comedy, Musical Thriller, Sitcom, Travelogue, Mystery, Paranormal Drama, Kids, Treasure Hunt, Psychological Horror, Detective Erotica etc. to be created by some of the finest production houses and directorial talent.
Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder, Hoichoi said, “We launched Hoichoi with the objective of making it the ultimate destination for Bengali entertainment and we believe we have taken great strides on our way to achieving it. Almost all the shows are loved by the audience and has become the reason for pop-culture references! The fact that the average time spent in-app for hoichoi is 60 minutes per day per subscriber is extremely encouraging, which is way above the industry average.
We had also stated that hoichoi wants to cater to the 250 million plus Bengalis living worldwide and expanding our footprint into Bangladesh and Middle East is an important step in that direction. These are markets with a potential of more than 180 million customers. While expansion into Bangladesh through local payment gateways, is a natural decision to reach a wider audience, entry into Middle East is aimed at connecting with the huge migrant Bengali population living in the Arabian Peninsula nation. We will soon launch “Dhaka Metro” - our first web series for the Bangladesh audience, which will be directed by Amitabh Reza Chaudhuri - Bangladesh’s award winning director. We intend to keep delighting our audience worldwide.”
Mahendra Soni, Director and Co-Founder, hoichoi said, “At hoichoi we try to keep a finger on the pulse of our audience. With almost 40% of our audience coming from non-urban areas, we decided to emulate the successful telecom model and introduce hoichoi Top Up cards to make it convenient for our customers to subscribe to hoichoi. This offline payment mechanism is never heard of before in the OTT industry and will help us reach the masses in Tier II and Tier III cities. One can simply purchase the hoichoi Top Up Cards available for subscribing to our 3 months, 6 months and 12 months plans from the nearest retailer and access the largest collection of the best in Bengali entertainment on hoichoi without having to do any online financial transaction.
Shrikant Mohta, Director and Co-Founder of hoichoi said, “At hoichoi we have consciously taken a decision to adopt the AD-Free SVoD model because we want to provide the best uninterrupted entertainment experience to our audience. In yet another first in the Bengali entertainment space, we are now introducing the ‘Pay Per View’ feature as part of the TVoD model. We will be releasing movies on hoichoi approximately in just two weeks of their theatrical release and the viewers will have the option to pay for the content on a-la-carte basis”
Other key initiatives by hoichoi include:
Option to have Bengali app and website interface along with the existing English one.
Some of the Original Shows will be dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Arabic.
hoichoi Brand Extension – now audience can buy their favourite merchandise.
Hoichoi, which means non-stop excitement, currently has a library of over 1400 hours of content including 500+ Bengali movies, 50+ hours of exclusive Original Web Series (22 shows streaming now) and 1000+ songs to serve the entertainment needs of Bengali audiences globally. It also launched its Fire TV and Apple TV apps for the TV viewing audience. Hoichoi is powered by ViewLift, the international content distribution platform and Amazon Web Services, world’s leading cloud computing solution provider which enables subscribers to stream videos seamlessly.
Ten important features of the Hoichoi app:
Content Library – largest collection of the best in Bengali entertainment content with 22 Original Web Series, over 500 movies and more than 1000 songs.
Download Now, Watch or Listen Later - Offline download facility available for accessing content anytime, anywhere.
AD-Free Seamless Viewing/Listening Experience - Unlimited HD streaming.
Multi-Device Capability – Hoichoi app is available for download on Android and iOS. It supports access across all popular platforms - Mobiles, PCs, Laptops and Tablets. It is Chromecast and AirPlay enabled and is available on Apple TV and Fire TV.
User Interface – Subscribers enjoy a smooth user experience, with a well-designed interface and appropriate classification of content.
Pay-Per-View model – Newly released movies will be coming on hoichoi soon after their theatrical release giving national and international users an exclusive chance to watch those films, bringing theatre experience to your homes!
Multiple Payment Options including UPI, Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking, Wallets and now hoichoi Top Up Card.
Programmatic Search Engine – gives accurate search results and relevant autocomplete suggestions in an instant.
Competitive Subscription Rates – 3 months (Rs. 149), 6 months (Rs. 249), 12 months (Rs. 399). International Rates: Monthly - $8.99 & Annual - $79.99
Coming Soon – Kids content, Roku TV access.
The Upcoming 30 Original shows are as follows:
Show Titles
Genre
Summary
Taranath Tantrik
Paranormal Drama
An adaptation of Taranath Tantrik story by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, directed by Q
Baishe Srabon
Thriller
A web-series adaptation of the iconic movie by the same name with a new cast
Dhaka Metro
Road trip/Drama
hoichoi's first Bangladesh project directed by award winning Bangladesh director Amitabh Reza Chaudhuri. The series is about a man who goes on a road trip around the outstirts of Dhaka city after leaving his job and his wife!
Charitraheen
Drama
"It is a take on immorality and infidelity. Set in the present time, the characters are portrayed to be characterless. As we keep guessing and judging, this series aims to take the viewers to a plane beyond all judgement. "
5 Phoron
Romance
5 Directors with 5 different perspective on love
Bidyut
Fantasy
Who is Bidyut? Is he a common man or just an illusion?
Dupur Thakurpo 2 : Part II
Comedy
Jhuma Boudi finally encounters Jibon Babu
Eken Babu: Season 2: E Kon Eken?
Detective Comedy
Eken Babu investigates a murder during Durga Puja
Hello: Season 2
Drama
"The story picks up from Season 1 where Joy Sengupta was having an affair with Priyanka Sarkar but it turned out to be her way of getting close to Raima Sen, who is Joy's wife. But why was she doing it? Where will this complicated bundle of relationships lead to?"
Shei Je Holud Pakhi : Season 2
Musical Thriller
Shom (Saswata Chatterjee) carries on his investigation about the murder and his lost daughter. Will this lead to a new mystery or will this bring out new aspects of Shom's character
Japani Toy: Season 2: Japani Doll
Comedy
Japani Toy returns with the second season but this time it is not just any sex toy, but a Doll!
Dhanbad Blues
Drama Thriller
A failed director (Rajatava Dutta) who suddenly realizes that he is extremely valuable to the mafia fraternity. Will he be a victim or himself become a Mafia?
6: Season 2: 6 6
Thriller
A new story continuing the franchise of 6. But why is it called 66?
Byomkesh: Season 4
Detective
An adaptation of Chorabali
Holy Faak: Season 2
RomCom
"When Indra and Diya see each other at their wedding in Season 1, they blatantly refuse to marry, creating a scene and leaving the place. While people are busy exiting the wedding, no one notices that the groom's grandfather Amit and the bride's grandmother Labanya are reluctant to leave. Right there, the grandparents' decide to get married. Thus, begins the chaos!"
VJ Bhow-Mik
Sitcom
What about a webseries on dogs and bitches?
The Experiment
Thriller
An intriguing tale of prisoners on whom experiments are conducted
Spiti Valley
Drama/Travelogue
An actor, a peaceful location and a psychological journey!
Nishachor
Mystery
When night becomes your greatest mystery!
Gogol S1 Part II
Kids
The completion to part I
Tansen-er Tanpura
Treasure Hunt
How is Tansen linked to a present day treasure hunt?
Bong Jononi
Comedy
A tribute to Bengali Mothers. The story is about a bengali mother who is struggling to understand the point of view of kids of this generation
Cell No. 42
Thriller
Why are random prisoners in a jail getting murdered?
Bloody Mary
Psychological horror
A story about mordern day vampires
Nikhoj
Thriller
A thriller around missing people where distorted bodies are found.
Murder by the Lake
Mystery
High society, morning walk friends - one found dead by the lakeside
Miss Tipsy
Detective Erotica
She was destined to be a detective but became tipsy instead
Money Honey
Thriller
A team of people dug a hole from inside a house and went upto the bank vault (based on a true story). This is the second Bangladesh Series.
Bou Keno Psycho
Dark Comedy
When psycho wives across the city unleash their terror on their husbands, the men are in dismay.
Comedy of Terrors
Thriller Comedy
When mysterious things start happening in an apartment
