SonyLIV will be investing more on regional language content: Uday Sodhi

SonyLIV is back with the second season of its signature web series, ‘#LoveBytes’, with LuvIt Chocolates as the presenting sponsor and powered by Nobroker. The series takes on the ever-debatable concept of love, break-ups, unrequited love and the repercussions of the ‘second chances’. 

The new season launched on October 11, 2017 and is available on the SonyLIV website as well as the mobile app. Viewers also have the option to avail the subscription service in case they want to binge watch all episodes. 

Season 1 of ‘#LoveBytes’ instantly struck a chord with the audience due to the relatability of the content. The series encapsulates the nitty-gritties of relationships and sheds light on the things that are necessary for an urban relationship to sustain itself. The first season took the viewers through the clicks and clashes between Ananya (Sukhmani Sadana) and Abhishek (Kushal Punjabi), a new-age couple. The first season ended on a bitter note with the lead couple, Ananya and Abhishek, ending their relationship. 

The second season takes on from there and revolves around how the two of them are dealing with their lives after choosing their individual paths. This season also introduces new characters like Gunjan (Shweta Gulati), Varun (Manish Goel), Soniya (Manasi Scott) and Vikram (Ayaz Khan), who impact the relationship of Ananya and Abhishek in their own ways. The series underlines the journey of these characters, all while discovering the true meaning of love. 

SonyLIV’s library of content today includes over 45 original web series. With the launch of the new season, the digital business of Sony Pictures Networks India is all set to change share newer perspectives on the idea of ‘Second Chances’. 

Uday Sodhi, EVP and Head – Digital Business, SonyLIV, remarked, “After the phenomenal success of the first season of our signature series ‘#LoveBytes’, we are launching the second season. Keeping our brand ethos of ‘We LIV to entertain’ in mind, we will continue to curate content that not only entertains the audience, but also establishes a connect with them. At SonyLIV, it is our constant endeavour to enhance viewer engagement while highlighting real-life relatable stories.” 

Speaking to Adgully on Season 2 of the web series, Sodhi said, “Three years back we did ‘#LoveBytes 1’, which was the first original show in the entire OTT space. After that we have added a lot many shows on SonyLIV, and now we are set for a new season, which is on a bigger scale with a great cast. This is sure to add new consumers to our platform, allowing people to binge watch long shows. It’s a complete new consumer base for us. Beside shows, sports and movies it gives us new category to develop and built new leadership position.” 

He further said that going forward, SonyLIV wants to develop more original content. According to Sodhi, the digital medium offers a greater scope for experimentation with different content, and there is far more liberty and creative freedom. For its marketing, SonyLIV will be concentrating more on social and digital media. 

Stressing on the thrust on original content, Sodhi said, “Currently, we have 40-odd originals in four languages. We are probably the largest platform for originals in the country today. A lot of originals are available for consumers across different languages and genres. It’s a clear area where consumers come to us to look for originals and they find the best to watch.” SonyLIV will be launching four to five new original shows in the next six to seven months. 

Along with the originals, international content, too, forms an important part of SonyLIV’s offering, with a lot of of international sports and movie contents. 

At the same time, there is also a huge demand for local language content, which has been spurred by the growing internet penetration in the country. “With more people looking for local language content, our key strategy going forward is to focus on building regional language content and be closer to our Indian audiences. While we will continue to bring in international content, we will be focussing and investing more on Indian content. We want to be the best platform where people can consume more content,” Sodhi affirmed. 

While maintaining that television has its own charisma, Sodhi noted that today mobile is the only mode of entertainment that people carry along with them. “This is the reason why we keep our shows of short duration. However, in the near future, we are planning to come up with long format content. Currently, we think that 10-15 minutes is the ideal time for the Indian audiences, because a lot of consumption is happening on mobile,” Sodhi concluded.