BookMyShow Stream inks a three-year partnership with ITV Studios

The partnership will focus on TV series, will expand BookMyShow Stream’s strong foreign language content slate further with the addition of globally loved British TV series.

In a short span of time, the uber-convenient Transaction Video-on-Demand (TVOD) category has gained popularity in India’s burgeoning OTT space and BookMyShow Stream has carved a niche for itself by offering a versatile mix of specially curated content across films and long-form content series for a wide, loyal and digitally savvy consumer base.

With more global studios and production houses increasingly recognizing this window and its ability to tap into a discerning, transacting audience base that is both, choosy about the content they want to watch, especially celebrated around the world and not easily accessible as also willing to pay for each such title, India is becoming a hotbed for the growth of this model as seen at BookMyShow Stream, India’s largest home-grown TVOD streaming platform from the house of BookMyShow – India’s leading entertainment destination. Towards this BookMyShow Stream has partnered with ITV Studios to offer the best of global entertainment to Indian cinephiles over a span of three years bringing the multifaceted British studio’s most popular titles on the platform.

The partnership with ITV Studios will not only cement BookMyShow Stream’s selective and specially curated slate of foreign language content that spans languages across the world including gems from internationally recognized film festivals but will also grow the slate further over the long term with the addition of globally loved British TV series.

The partnership will also see the launch of a dedicated widget ‘ITV Studios’ on the TVOD platform that will open the gateway to tastefully created and compelling British thrillers, mystery and drama series. Every fortnight will see the release of a new title with the home of quality, original British dramas, unveiling exceptional talent in front of and behind the camera with some of the most well-loved, top-notch storylines making their way to discerning Indian viewers.

As part of the launch, consumers on BookMyShow and BookMyShow Stream will be able to access the following premium, sought-after titles under the ITV Studios widget on the platform. Bookings for these titles are now live on BookMyShow Stream here.

• Our House: Our House is a mini-series based on the best-selling eponymous novel by author Louise Candlish. The plot centers on the protagonist Fiona Lawson, who returns to her home in London and is baffled to find strangers moving in and her personal belongings vanishing mysteriously. She perceives this to be a mistake and later discovers her husband Bram is missing as well. The taut thriller by Sheree Folkson keeps you hooked as the plot unfolds frame by frame.

• Karen Pirie: A cold case drama commissioned by ITV from World Productions (the producers of Line of Duty and The Pembrokeshire Murders) which introduces Val McDermid’s iconic detective Karen Pirie to television audiences. Adapted by Emer Kenny from the celebrated crime writer’s best-selling series of novels, the drama centres on DS Karen Pirie, a truly contemporary and brilliant young Scottish detective with a quick mouth and tenacious desire for the truth. Scottish actress Lauren Lyle has won hearts with her portrayal of the lead character in this absolutely unmissable series.

BookMyShow Stream will also showcase other acclaimed TV Series including World Productions’ Line of Duty and Pembrokeshire Murders, Litvinenko produced by ITV Studios and Tiger Aspect Productions, Tall Story Pictures’ Bancroft, ITV Studios and Urban Myth Films’ A Confession, Endeavour by Mammoth Screen, Grace from Tall Story Pictures, Vaudeville Productions, Second Act Productions and Monumental Television’s Murder in Provence on its platform through this year.

Speaking on the partnership, Augustus Dulgaro, Executive Vice President - Distribution, Asia Pacific at ITV Studios, said, "This partnership with BookMyShow Stream which will showcase our rich variety of drama including ‘Karen Pirie’, which, following its highly successful debut, has been recommissioned for another season, the critically acclaimed ‘Line of Duty’ and the compelling ITVX series ‘Litvinenko’. We’re delighted to take our shows to an even wider audience and to continue to look at how we can provide these global audiences with new ways to access some of our best-known content.”

Speaking on the partnership with ITV Studios, Ashish Saksena, COO - Cinemas, BookMyShow, said, “The TVOD space in India has grown considerably and the ‘Pay for what you want to watch’ has become popular with discerning Indian consumers. We have seen consumers on BookMyShow showing a very clear preference for selecting the titles they want to watch and choosing to rent or buy as per their convenience. As our repertoire has been getting meatier through our journey of the past 2 years, we have been getting and building a handpicked library across films and TV series that aren’t easily available in the country for discerning viewers especially with celebrated foreign language films from around the world. We are thrilled to work with the coveted ITV Studios, a name synonymous with some of the best entertainment content from the UK who have doubled down on the TVOD format of content consumption in India recognizing the potential of this mammoth opportunity in India. With the premiere, bespoke slate of titles that have been introduced through “ITV Studios” on our platform, Indian cinephiles will have a chance to experience entertainment at several notches higher with a partnership that aims to offer an unparalleled content viewing experience for India.”