MUMBAI: India's largest music streaming app, Gaana has announced its first batch of platform-exclusive line-up of podcasts and shows, including ‘Ummeed’ with Zakir Khan, ‘Confessions’ with Sunny Leone and ‘Life ki Ranneeti’ with Rannvijay Singha that will go live on Gaana in Nov-Dec’19. These are a part of the brand’s overarching vision to host the country’s widest and most diverse range of original audio content by the end of FY 2021.

Commissioned by Gaana, produced by the hosts and syndicated from networks, the shows and podcasts in multiple languages span categories like Comedy, Bollywood, Devotional, News, Kids, Motivational, Astrology, Business, Lifestyle and Culture and Self Help among others.

Gaana currently hosts over 3000 diverse shows & podcasts in multiple languages including ‘Cyrus Says’, ‘The Bhagavad Gita’, ‘Stories of Akbar Birabal’, KadhaiPodcast's PonniyinSelvan and ‘Paisa Vaisa’ among others.

Speaking at the launch, Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal said, “Shows and Podcasts have the potential to be among the most popular mainstream non-music genres in our country owing to the diversity of our audience. At Gaana, we have been investing steadily in this space, and have now taken it up a notch with our Original Shows and Podcasts that would engage our users with interesting content that will inform, entertain and enthral them in more ways than one.”

Gaana Podcast Originals ‘Confessions’ Host and Bollywood Diva Sunny Leone said, "I have always been judged by people for who they assume me to be. Judging someone is easy, even if you may not have walked in their shoes, or don't know the whole story. This fear of judgement leads most of us to brush our dark secrets under the carpet, and suffer in isolation. My upcoming Gaana Podcast Original ‘Confessions’ is about sharing this emotional burden that often seems too ugly to embrace. During the course of the show, I'll help fans embrace themselves by helping them reconcile even though they may have wronged or have been wronged. There's no judgement and no questions asked, just a friend in need."

Gaana Podcast Original 'Life Ki Rann Neeti' host, Rannvijay Singha said, "In my first ever podcast, 'Life Ki Rann Neeti', I wanted to unravel the journey, sacrifices and struggles that individuals go through before they achieve success and stardom. The idea behind the podcast was to share deeply personal stories from the lives of my family and friends who have inspired me and been an influence in my journey. I want to share the same lessons through fun and insightful conversations, while offering today's millennial's life-lessons that will help them garner success in their personal and professional lives."

India is the world’s third-largest podcast market, second only to the US and China, and is one of the fastest-growing podcast markets globally. This presents a massive opportunity of growth for original podcasts and shows in the Indian market.