MUMBAI: Over-the-top (OTT) platforms have enabled storytellers to bring the magic of storytelling to everyone at the touch of their fingers. The recent advent of video-on-demand (VoD) has democratised the entertainment industry by allowing content creators to bring their stories to life. To celebrate these magical storytellers and to keep pace with these user consumption modes, Radio City and mid-day together celebrate India’s binge list with the launch of Hitlist Web Awards, a platform that recognises and felicitates the best work done by artists across the OTT space. The voting lines went LIVE from 14th February 2020 and ends on 8th March 2020, where the audience will get an opportunity to vote for their favourite stars. The activity will culminate with a grand award night on 19th March 2020 in Mumbai.

The nominees will be shortlisted across 14 categories, like Best Series, Best Adaptation (From a book and International Series), Best Creator, Best Writing, Best Web Film, and much more. The winners will be decided by a grand jury, headed by Mr. Mayank Shekhar, editor, mid-day hitlist, an award-winning journalist, author, and broadcaster. Radio City mid-day Hitlist Web Awards will be promoted across platforms, on air in Hindi speaking markets, where Mayank would review one famous web series each day on-air. The property will be promoted across digital, print and on ground platforms also.

Mr. Mayank Shekhar, Editor Hitlist, mid-day said “The OTT space has provided a platform to many individual content creators and creative mavericks to showcase their vision and talent and has gripped Indians with the plethora of shows available. We have witnessed experimentation by way of formats, genres, languages, and the subverting of conventionally popular tropes usually employed in mainstream cinema. According to an eMarketer report, the average Indian spent a little over 2 hrs daily watching videos.”

The OTT boom has placed India on the global map with our work getting recognized internationally while allowing the Indian audiences to get a taste of diverse global content. I'm positive the Radio City and Mid-Day Hitlist Web Awards will become one of our marquee properties in the coming years. It aims to facilitate the work done by the cast and crew of the shows and movies across multiple OTT platforms that we all have binged on. It is a platform to encourage talent and ensure that the art of storytelling thrives”, added Ms. Rachna Kanwar, COO, Digital Media, Jagran Prakashan Limited

Radio City RJs will also share interesting trivia about various shows and encourage listeners to participate in contests around the OTT industry and urge them to cast their vote. Radio City will create a Rag Rag Mein Binge-Watch jingle, featuring a mash-up of dialogues and sounds from the many popular web series, to promote the upcoming awards. To cast their votes, the audience can either log in to www.hitlistwebawards.com or send an SMS to HITLIST category name your choice (A/B/C etc) to 57575

Being the biggest cinema market in the world, Indian OTT market is one of the most exciting businesses to watch out for. A 2019 KPMG report mentions that India will have more than 500 million online video subscribers by FY 2023, which will make the country the second biggest in the world after China. In fact, as per a CISCO report, video traffic is expected to account for about 82% of all internet usage by 2022. Being a forerunner in recognizing and encouraging new talent, Radio City and mid-day are all set to reward the best names in the industry for their creativity, vision, and hard work.