HT Labs, a HT Media innovation hub for digital-first products, announced the launch of content discovery and recommendation platform OTTplay. The platform will enable users to discover shows and movies based on preferences across 10 languages and more than 35 OTT (over the top) platforms.
The service will be available on web and app (Android and iOS), HT Labs said in a statement.
“The aim is to democratize the watching and discovery experience and by playing in the OTT space, we want to lead the viewer to the right movie or show that he/she would like across OTTs based on his taste and the time he has to view. Most end up watching only what’s promoted on their homepage... We want to help users discover shows and films based on what they’ve watched and liked and would want to watch more of,” HT Labs co-founder Avinash Mudaliar said.
The platform will urge users to share their preference of shows and movies by swiping left on titles they ‘dislike’ and swiping right or clicking on the ‘heart’ icon to convey that they’ve enjoyed watching a title. The user is also encouraged to share information on their favourite actors, filmmakers and genres to better understand their content preferences.
Once these preferences are captured, the recommendation engine will suggest titles available across the 35 OTT channels in India.
Another user-friendly feature on OTTplay is the option to filter recommended movies and shows based on genre, language and provider. It will also tell the user whether the title is available for free or requires a subscription for watching. Each movie or show page lists the trailer, a brief synopsis, multiple reviews curated from various publishers and also a ‘watch now’ link which sends users directly to the OTT channel where it’s available for instant viewing.
Once a user has made a selection, the titles can also be added to a watch-list and accessed anytime.
OTTplay aims to establish itself as a preferred destination for the latest OTT news, reviews and listicles which are produced internally and also supported by publications such as Hindustan Times, Desi Martini, Livemint and Film Companion to ensure users are updated on their favourite stars and their forthcoming releases.
Disclosure: HT Labs is an arm of HT Media, which owns the entity that publishes TechCircle and VCCircle.