Bangaluru-based interactive vernacular video OTT platform, Homscreen Network, has raised $2 million from venture capital firm Saama Capital to scale up the platform and add more languages, reported Times of India.

The startup intends to use the funds to strengthen its content delivery platform and introduce more new languages in the coming year.

In a statement, Homescreen co-founders Soum Paul and T V Mahalingam, said "we are working with creative folks from the interior regions of India and are greatly enthused by the impact of our media offerings."

Promoted by K Ganesh's Growthstory, Homescreen Networks' platforms include SparkTV (for regional audiences) and TheBigScope, for English language. The content is currently available in 5 languages (Hindi, Tamil, Bengali and English), and distributed through partner platforms like JioNews, DailyHunt, Sharechat, SonyLIV, and its own app – SparkTV.

“HSN is producing rich editorially driven content at scale from deep within India, and we believe it is a highly effective way to engage India's emerging audience that’s growing at the rate of 40 million year on year," said Suresh Shanmugham, managing partner at Saama Capital.

Indian consumer is increasingly consuming the content on digital platforms and this trend is observed for all type of content including news (text), music (audio), or video (OTT). The OTT video market in India is gradually becoming a mainstream entertainment destination in the midst of growing Internet users.

With Netfllix, AltBalaji, and Amazon Prime gained huge popularity in India the Indian OTT market, which is currently valued at $500 million, is expected to reach an astounding $5 billion by 2023, as per a Boston Consulting Group report.

Just a few days back, Contagious Online Media, the parent of YouTube channel and over-the-top (OTT) digital media platform The Viral Fever (TVF) and TVF Play, had raised $5 million in funding from Tiger Global.

Indian government's DST too had launched an Internet-based channel last year, which is dedicated to Science & Technology. Vigyan Prasar, under the active guidance of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), launched an over-the-top (OTT) channel -- i.e TV content via the internet -- in August last year.
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