User-generated content for broadcasters introduced

Chennai: Following the production success of Bid2Win and Bollywood Dhamaal, Cellcast Interactive India, providers of interactive content for television has launched Sumo TV, India's first end-to-end user-generated content solution for broadcasters.

"Sumo.TV invites individuals to share their personal or creative videos that could be featured on prime time television", said Mahesh Ramachandra, vice president, Cellcast Plc, UK. Sumo.TV has already been launched in the UK and China, and its promoters say, it has proved a hit with television audiences in there.

"In fact, in the UK market we have started a 24-hour channel with the content contributed by solely by viewers. This exceeds what even YouTube or MySpace can provide for their communities", Ramachandra added.

According to Cellcast Interactive India's CEO Pankaj Thakar, "The user generated content reflects a fundamental change in audience behavior, especially in the 18-34 age group in India where most of them are spending time online or on mobile creating and sharing their own content. Sumo.TV offers them an outlet to share their content with millions through the power of television."

"Importantly, the content contributors can earn revenue whenever their videos are watched or shown on television," he added. Every time a user's content is downloaded by another user, shown on television, or streamed on mobile services, he will receive a percentage of received revenues. Effectively, Sumo.TV users are being invited to set up their own mini-channels.

"Cellcast India plans to air the video content on local television and are currently in talks with a number of television channels about the same," he added.