Azaad, India’s first premium rural entertainment channel, has announced a strategic alliance with MX Player, India’s most extensive entertainment mega app, to enable exponential growth and connect the linear, rural, and digital worlds.
Azaad and MX Player are gearing up to reach out to the Indian diaspora with new stories rooted in the rustic fabric and culture, with a firm conviction in the “power of engaged connections” and a desire to meet viewers at their doorstep.
Azaad was just created by Beginnen Media, with the slogan “People First. Rural First.” MX Player, which has a vast and diverse audience of over 200 million monthly active users, believes in “everytainment” and caters to a wide range of entertainment preferences.
For both companies, this unique business move serves as a strategic content UnionShip.
This is the first alliance between two independent businesses to use their strengths, generate new content, and reach more enormous viewers in an industry where media giants repurpose their linear content for their Over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
Apart from the syndicated programming that is already on air, Azaad will soon add original content to its library.
India’s First Rural Entertainment Channel
OTT platforms and TV penetration have already begun to alter the way the world consumes content in recent years.
The pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns hastened the process significantly.
According to a recent PwC research, India is currently the fastest-growing OTT market in the world, on track to become the sixth-largest by 2024.
Growth will be seen by those who offer the most unified viewing and search experiences.
People will prioritise their spending in the post-COVID era, resulting in more freely available and easily accessible models in the long run.
OTT and television will not be competing mediums; instead, they will coexist and facilitate a transition for family home audiences who appreciate consistent viewing, as well as audiences who want to watch content on the move.
“The UnionShip with MX Player gives a seamless consumer experience on both mediums as we try to be innovators at the crossroads of TV and digital,” says Bharat Kumar Ranga, Managing Director of Beginnen Media.
Azaad is for those with rural attitudes who watch TV and use the internet for amusement.
On the internet, we wanted to locate the perfect anchor to complement Azaad.
MX Player quickly aligned with our mission since we share a consumer-centricity that will help us achieve our Azaad and MX Player expansion ambitions.
Azaad admired MX’s youthfulness, vitality, ambition for growth, and uncanny consumer centricity, and MX admired our notion and goal.
MX and Azaad would seem to consumers as a single platform.
This represents Beginnen Media’s entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to leveraging our innovation experience as a roadmap to move the industry forward to an entirely new way of doing business.”
“In an industry first, this association will transcend traditional TV and digital OTT to promote synergies and support growth for both parties, by generating inventive new content and appealing to a bigger audience set,” said Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Group.
This strategic relationship with Azaad, as a platform that can reach customers at every touchpoint, is bound to delight the masses and promote more engagement for both brands.”
“We believe that this distinct UnionShip with MX Player will undoubtedly be the best manner in which two standalone brands together will unlock the power of TV and OTT in an integrated manner by leveraging synergies to reach and engage with maximum viewers,” says Rachin Khanijo, Chief Marketing Officer of Beginnen Media.
We addressed this partnership both creatively and strategically to ensure an excellent audience match, and we want to scale it with anticipated metrics of what TV and digital can produce – both at an ascribed and holistic level.”
“This unique UnionShip complements MX strategically, adding many hues of entertainment to our diverse content offering and bringing with it fresh, young, and new flavours reflecting the ethos of today’s rural Indian fabric,” said Mansi Shrivastav, SVP and Head – Content Acquisitions & Alliances, MX Player.
We are well positioned to appeal to every palate with this diverse slate, and we are thrilled that our partnership with Beginnen Media’s premium heartland entertainment channel Azaad will increase viewership and promote market expansion.”
Keep an eye on this space for updates on the original material that will air on Azaad and be available to stream for free on MX Player.
Azaad can be found at
Azaad’s background Azaad, India’s ‘Initial Premium Hindi Entertainment Channel that will provide Content Exclusively for the’Rural Mindset,’ is Beginnen Media’s first offering.
From May 2021, Azaad will be offered on DD Free Dish and select Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) in the heartland markets under the slogan “People First. Rural First.”
It includes a variety of drama, action, and romance genres, as well as fun movies and children’s material.
Azaad will be found on DD Free Dish Channel 36.
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