Over the last ten odd years, video streaming has evolved to its current form due to the likes of popular platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and others. Now, video streaming has been termed as the next big avenue that’s gaining momentum on the interwebs. Dekkho, a new-age video streaming platform has today announced that it has minted a fresh $1.2 million in seed funding from a cohort of seven angel investors.
Founded in March 2016, Dekkho is the ambitious project of duo Tanay Desai and Vinay Pillai. The platform, which is yet to make a debut, is launching with the primary aim of offering an uncluttered and curated viewing experience to its users. It is currently working on uploading high-quality content from leading content producers in India and abroad. The streaming platform is expected to be made available for free, with less bandwidth requirements, and offline viewing facility.
Commenting on the said investment, Tanay Desai, Co-founder at Dekkho, said,
Indian consumers are far from paying for online content. We aim to create a sustainable, three-way ecosystem for content producers, advertisers, and users through a free-to-use service. We feel premium consumption will be primarily driven by three key factors – content diversity, user experience, and availability before anywhere else. Moreover, users will no longer have to find a compromise between quality and affordability with the launch of Dekkho.
In addition, the company is offering individuals to join the platform as a content creator with advantages in the form of per-view payouts, community interactions, and detailed analytics. Dekkho is trying at hand at building something that is fun, quirky, social and synonymous to YouTube but with a focus on the youth of the country. Talking about the same, Vinay Pillai, co-founder at Dekkho, says,
We are looking to revolutionise the way entertainment is consumed and delivered in India and create India’s first social video network, where users are closely connected to their favourite content creators. Indian consumers are far from paying for online content.
This means you’ll not only gain access to content from top digital channels such as Sony Music, Being Indian, Zee Music, Blush, Miss Malini, Times Group, ScoopWhoop, AIB, East India Comedy and Culture Machine but also individual content creators from the country. It has even brought in content from international artists such as Coldplay, Beyonce, Badshah, Papon, ArjunKanungo, Micheal Jackson, Chainsmokers and Sia on the platform to attract the youth.
Dekkho currently is reaching out to nearly 2 million social media users on a monthly basis. Prior to launch, it is advertising Even you also have the chance to apply for becoming a content creator on the platform and upload videos which might gain traction — but would it more successful amongst the likes of YouTube? It will surely provide some exclusivity to Indian content creators to come join the platform and interact with a growing set of individuals on the platform. Pillai further adds,
With a strong focus on young Indian viewers and their entertainment requirements, Dekkho will be the perfect platform for content developers to deliver their content to their target audiences. Through our team’s extensive global OTT experience, we understand the pulse of a young, Indian, viewing audience.
This makes us confident that we will soon become the default destination for all online video-based Indian entertainment content across Android, iOS, and web platforms.
The company has also signed strategic partnership deals with brands such as Paytm, Mobikwik, Lava, LeEco, and even Micromax to further extend the reach of entertainment content on its platform. The long-term vision of Dekkho is to create a video streaming culture through adaptive transcoding and subsidised data tariffs with multiple telecom service providers over the next five years. But, how successful will it become is the biggest question, which will only be answered post launch.
