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Shemaroo ties up with Israeli mobile association for Vas

Indiantelevision.com Team

(2 September 2008 4:00 pm)

MUMBAI: In a bid to give a push to the mobile value added services (Vas) industry in the country and also to expand its new media presence, Shemaroo has tied up with Israel Mobile and Communications Association (IMA) to explore business opportunities.

The aim is to bring their technical solutions to Indian mobile operators along with content that Shemaroo will handle. Shemaroo will offer its own content that will be tailored for the medium as well as aggregated content.

IMA, which provides new technological solutions for mobile, has over 100 member companies.

“Our aim now is to take content on the mobile to the next level. With 3G set to be introduced, we feel that this is the right time for such an initiative. Operators that we have spoken with have reacted positively. In the first round, six Israeli technology companies will showcase their solutions. We are conducting a road show across the country to showcase what we have to offer. Our job is to bring in the content. We will also utilise our relationships in the industry," says Shemaroo Entertainment director Jai Maroo.

Shemaroo recently launched Shilpa’s Yoga for the mobile. "We have our own post production facility. We have a high definition digitsation pipeline. So we control the quality of content before it goes to our digital partners. We are also the DVD authoring studio for Sony Pictures,” adds Maroo.

IMA founder and CEO Eyla Reshef says that while Israel is small it is a technological hub. Instant Messaging was first introduced by ICQ, an Israeli company that was subsequently acquired by AOL. “India represents a huge opportunity as it has 280 million mobile subscribers. At the moment Arpus are falling and operators will look at the content area to offer a richer experience. Abroad, content accounts for 25 per cent of an operator's revenue. In India this portion is small. So the potential is there.”

One of the Israeli companies that is pushing its solutions through the tie up is Pudding Media, a mobile startup that uses technology to help operators generate revenue through ads.