Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. have teamed up to launch a new online streaming service in India called the Hooq. The service will include offline viewing option, wide range of content including Hollywood and Indian movies, and television content. The service supports devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets and Android set-top boxes. Hooq will be available in India from June for Rs. 199 a month. The service will also be accessible to all customers in India through its website www.hooq.tv
Hooq is touted to have the biggest Hollywood catalogue that includes more than 5,000 Hollywood movies and television series and TV shows. This includes titles from Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Dreamworks, and Miramax such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Pulp Fiction, and TV series such as Nikita, The Shield, Friends, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. In addition, Hooq offers over 10,000 Indian film and TV content. To deliver this, HOOQ has partnered with India's popular studios, including YRF, UTV Disney, Rajshri, Reliance, Shemaroo, Sri Balaji, AP International, Whacked Out Media and over 50 other studios. Customers can watch local high-grossing films such as Chennai Express, Vishwaroopam, as well as classic films including Ek Duje Ke Liya and Andaz Apna Apna. Hooq will be competing with services such as Spuul, Hotstar and Bigflix. Also read: How to legally get movies & music for cheap online
“We are very excited to bring to Indian consumers the ultimate ad-free video-on-demand service at an amazingly low price. Hooq will offer India the largest and best catalogue of Hollywood and Indian content of any service available today,” said HOOQ Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Bithos. “Our ambition is to always bring the best experience with no compromises. We’ve built our service knowing the constraints and infrastructure issues faced by customers every day. We have designed our service specifically for the challenges of India and other countries like it. Hooq offers features to ensure you enjoy an uninterrupted viewing experience; including a custom setting for your quality preference, a bandwidth indicator to assess your internet connectivity and adaptive streaming to maximise available bandwidth,” he added.
“The growing interconnectivity and rapid adoption of smart devices present a great opportunity to enhance the way people live, work and play in Asia. With HOOQ, we want to revolutionize entertainment for our customers.” said Mr. Samba Natarajan, Singtel CEO, Group Digital Life. “Our unique telco assets and our partnership with Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. will position Hooq to become the largest over-the-top video service in the region.” Mr. George Chien, Executive Vice President, Networks at Sony Pictures Television, said: “We share the excitement of offering entertainment fans across Asia access to high quality video services directly to their mobile devices. Hooq provides a unique combination of Hollywood and local favorites while providing a high-quality viewing experience they’ve come to expect in today’s digital world.”
Mr. Anuraj Goonetilleke, Vice President Corporate Business Development and Strategy at Warner Bros. said: 'We’re very excited about the launch of our joint video-on-demand business across Asia, starting with the Philippines, Thailand and now in India. Providing world-class content to Asia’s entertainment fans will meet a voracious appetite for new and classic videos and TV episodes on-demand.’