Kavipuvi Viamedia has announced the launch of ‘YUV’, its app for streaming original, mobile-first Tamil short form entertainment video content at an industry-shaking subscription price of Re 1 a day. YUV is an audacious bet on the demand for OTT content in Indian languages, targeting the growing population of young smartphone users at a time when data prices have hit all-time lows.

YUV, an ad-free platform, targets more than a million subscribers in its first year, relying on the strength of its content which includes Web series, short films, short format shows and Tamil indie music. In an online arena suffocated with political satire and current affairs commentary, YUV stands out as a pure entertainment space offering contemporary, saucy and irreverent short form content targeting the youth. Aimed at the youth under 30, the smartphone generation, YUV eyes a potential Tamil Nadu market of about 30 million users. It also aims to attract the millions-strong Tamil diaspora with its exclusive mobile-first approach. The content is subtitled in English, opening it up to subscribers across the world.

“We are a pure subscription-based, creative-vision driven platform, committed to our signature style of short-form, fun and impactful content. In fact, we want to nurture a whole creative ecosystem around YUV,” said Lakshmipathy Ramasubbu, founder and director, Kavipuvi Viamedia Pvt Ltd.

While Re 1 a day subscription is a segment-defining announcement, the value deal is the yearly subscription for Rs 99. Subscribers can also choose Rs 5 a week or Rs 20 per month plans. There is a free option as well: watch a short ad at sign-up and get a one-day free pass. “This is sachet pricing for sachet content. Our costs are low, and our approach is different from other OTT players who mainly produce television-kind of material,” said Ramasubbu.

Some of the popular content on the app includes the series “Livin’”, which was the only webseries from south to feature in many national media top 10 webseries lists and the Indias most awarded short film 93* Not Out. YUV also offers a variety of independent music including Tamil and English rap.

YUV showcases 80 minutes of original content a week and will ramp it up to three hours a week of new programming by the end of the year. The company has an in-house creative staff of over 25 youngsters and is working with more than 100 content creators across Tamil Nadu. It will have hyperlocal content for Tamil audiences, factoring in regional variations in dialects, sensibilities and style.

YUV is brought from the makers of Madras Central, the largest Tamil entertainment channel on YouTube with nearly 1.5 million subscribers. Kavipuvi Viamedia is founded by media industry veterans and advised by experts in finance and the entertainment industries.

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