BookMyShow launches streaming platform for its subscribers

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the movie viewing experience as restrictions kept theatres out of bounds for audience for several months, it was time for streaming platforms to come centre-stage and stream movies for the pleasure of their subscribers. This period also saw some OTT platforms coming up to the amazement of viewers.  

And now news from home grown movie and events ticketing platform BookMyShow. On Friday, the platform rolled out a transaction video-on-demand (TVOD) streaming platform that offers users the option to rent a movie for a finite duration or buy it for unlimited access.

With over 600 movie titles and over 72,000 hours of content, BookMyShow Stream will feature films and content from around the world along with India, the platform informed. With over 22,000 hours of content being ‘Exclusive’ to the platform at the time of its launch, BookMyShow Stream will feature multiple marquee premieres every Friday.

BookMyShow Stream' is a natural extension of our cinemas business and respects the existing theatrical windows for content. It empowers users to pay only for the content that they watch, a prevalent trend in other global cinema markets as yet untapped in India," Ashish Saksena, Chief Operating Officer -- Cinemas, BookMyShow said in a statement.

"With flexible purchase options and a seamless user interface, this new offering furthers BookMyShow's journey from being a gateway to an evolved curator of tent pole content experiences," he said.

Starting Friday, the new service will be home to Christopher Nolan's Tenet, Gal Gadot starrer Wonder Woman 1984, horror fantasy The Craft: Legacy.

Besides these, films like Alone, Yes God Yes, The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Guilty, Les Miserables, Unhinged and acclaimed Russian Sci-fi thriller Coma will premiere exclusively on the platform.

The platform will feature Hollywood content through partnerships with leading global production giants including Sony Pictures, Warner Brothers and Universal Pictures among others.

It will also bring films from the library of major Indian production houses such as Viacom18, Shemaroo and Rajshri Productions as also regional content providers like Divo and Sillymonks, among several others.

BookMyShow Stream will be one of the first Indian streaming platforms to host acquired content from independent film distributors like PictureWorks, Superfine Films, Impact Films, Kahwa Entertainment and VR films.

The platform is designed to offer a personalised experience based on a user's preferences, transaction and behaviour on BookMyShow.

It will be available for viewing on BookMyShow's mobile app and website as also Apple TV, Android TV, Firestick, Chromecast and desktop browsers, the company said, adding that the platform will allow users to experience features such as downloads, offline viewing and casting.