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How Muvizz, a startup involving Manoj Bajpai is changing the movie-on-demand industry in India?
About Muvizz
Muvizz.com is a place where one can find a movie with a hit storyline that has received huge criticism. The platform was developed with the intention to streamline the curated list of cult, classic and independent films.
Why we chose Muvizz as Startup of the Week?
- Muvizz is all a new idea to watch movies.
- Revenue model is of 3 types: pay per view, subscription for a month and advertisements.
- It has raised $350K in funding.
- Founding member includes actor Manoj Bajpai who started his entrepreneurial journey from this startup.
- It has gained social media visibility with more than 20K fans over Facebook and more than 600 followers on Twitter.
- It has over 2500 subscribers over the video streaming platform YouTube.
The Idea
It was the time when Abhayanand was eagerly waiting for the launch of the movie “Gangs of Wasseypur” on 22 nd June 2012. Abhayanand came across the problem; he was not able to watch the much awaited movie from Singapore on its release date. He already knew that this problem was not of a single man, rather it was faced by majority of people residing in various parts of the world and thus he finally decided to come up with a solution. In this way the idea germinated in the mind of Abhayanand and soon it got implemented using his personal fund. He along with Piyush Singh and Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpai founded Muvizz.
Growth
Keeping all the things aside and starting the entrepreneurial journey, actor Manoj Bajpai came in front and showed his interest in the idea and helped in mentoring and boosting the startup. Talking about his interest in the startup, Manoj says, “For me, muvizz.com is not a venture, it’s a passion.”
Muvizz is working to fund the filmmakers to uplift the status of independent films in India. Some of the funded films include the remake of Albert Pinto ko Gussa Kyun aata Hai with 15 lakhs. A short film Taandav by Devashish Makhija starring Manoj Bajpai has also been funded by the startup. The startup has also funded an upcoming short film “Kriti” directed by Mr. Shirish Kunder starring Manoj Bajpai, Radhika Apte and Neha Sharma.
Revenue Model
There are 3 revenue model upon which Muvizz get back money. There are three revenue models that we follow.
- Pay per view model: In this model, the user or viewer pay INR 62 for a movie on demand.
- Subscription video on demand: This model gives unlimited access after paying INR299 for a month. Users can watch any movie anytime without any ads.
- Advertisement: There are commercial advertisements in breaks in the videos for brand promotions. For paid services, there’s a 50 percent split of revenues between Muvizz and the content provider.
Funding and Future Plans
Three Singapore based investors Ashish Todi, MD at Frost Global Pte Ltd; Abhinav Patodia, director at Great Himalayan Shippers Ltd; and Kumar Shwetabh, CEO at Pacific Global Inc. came ahead to monetize the startup with a funding of $350K in angel round. The firm is again looking to raise fund of around $1.5-2 million from the same investors.
Muvizz tech team is in progress and soon going to launch their mobile app so as to increase their reachability and footprint among wider audience.
The platform too is evolving both in terms of content added and the technology in terms of the user experience. In reference to their contribution to the industry, they are also producing short films and are in talks for a feature film.
Eros Now, Hungama Play, Hotstar, HOOQ are some of the players in the same segment who are offering video on demand service to users. Most of them are monthly subscription-based platforms. Unlike most of the current players, Muvizz is focusing on niche content from cult classics and independent film makers.
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