Video streaming service HOOQ hires Salil Kapoor as India MD

Video-on-demand service HOOQ has appointed former Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor as managing director of its India operations. Kapoor's mandate is to expand HOOQ's presence in India, the company said in a statement.

HOOQ, a joint venture between Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel), Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros., was established earlier this year. HOOQ claims to deliver about 30,000 hours of Hollywood and Bollywood movies, besides local programming on an on-demand basis.

"The freedom of enjoying premium content from anywhere and at any time clubbed with better internet connectivity and growing smartphone penetration will drive the subscriber growth for HOOQ," Kapoor said.

Hong Kong-based media research firm Media Partners Asia (MPA) estimates the online video market at Rs 1,000 crore (about $150 million) in terms of revenue. Of this, about Rs 900 crore is from advertising, with subscription revenue around Rs 100 crore.

HOOQ competes with Hotstar, Sony Liv, Ditto TV, Hungama, Vuclip, Eros Now, Spuul, YuppTV, NexGTv and others. Sony Liv is the video-on-demand platform of Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (formerly known as Multi Screen Media), a unit of Sony Pictures Television India. Sony Liv shows original digital content, catch-up content, sports and music besides movies.

HOOQ currently operates in the Philippines, Thailand and India with a population footprint of over 1.4 billion people.

Kapoor who did his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi joined Blue Star in 1994. he then moved to LG Electronics. After working at various positions at LG, in 2005 he joined Microsoft India as head of marketing services and brand. In 2007, he moved to Samsung India as national sales head and product group head, home appliances, before joining Dish TV in 2008.

Warner Bros and Sony Pictures compete with 21st Century Fox, the media house controlled by Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch also controls News Corp, the parent of this news website.

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