Food delivery and restaurant searching app, Zomato today launched Zomato Originals, an online video streaming services. Zomato has become the latest entrant in video streaming segment that in last one year has witnessed major players entering the segment. The restaurant aggregators', Zomato originals is expected to take on rivals Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The viewership of online video content has witnessed a significant increase since the internet boom in 2016 and statistics suggest that video content and entertainment series play a crucial role in connecting consumers to go online and experience the world of e-commerce.
The online videos can be watched through the "Videos" tab in Zomato app where content is categorised into genre letting users watch 3-15 minute videos across shows, recipes and 'Sneak Peek' restaurant stories. Zomato will be launching in total 18 original shows in the next three months which will be available to watch on the app. More than 2,000 videos featuring the shows, sneak peek and recipe videos as well will be offered by Zoamto. Notably, Zomato Originals will be exclusive to India while the other videos can be streamed anywhere in the world, as reported by a financial daily, Mint.
Deepinder Goyal, Zomato founder, and CEO said, "We are constantly looking for new ways to engage our users around food. Most of our users visit the app several times a week. This presents an opportunity to further delight our users using Zomato Originals." Interestingly, all Zomato Original shows are made around food, but with a twist. Comedy, reality, fiction, advice and celebrity interviews would also be included in the shows to make it more appealing to its viewers. Durga Raghunath, Senior Vice-President (Growth), Zomato, added, "We combined all things food with binge-worthy genres and came up with a diverse slate of shows. With shows in both Hindi and English, we hope every corner of India will tune in to Zomato to hone their taste buds." The most interesting part is that unlike other online streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon which has paid subscription, Zomato originals would be available free of cost to all of its viewers.
