MUMBAI: Owing to the rising usage of mobile video consumption, leading content aggregator Techzone has partnered with service provider Aircel to enhance the mobile VAS platform by offering mobile video downloads to users.

Called as Video Store@ Re1, it will offer a library of over 20,000 videos across more than 12 languages priced at Rs one per video to Aircel subscribers. Apart from viewing and download, users will also be able to share the videos with their friends through social networking sites like facebook and twitter.

Consumers can access videos on mobile through WAP, GPRS, 2G and 3G in both prepaid and post paid segments. The platform has been powered by Techzone and covers content in 12 languages including English, Hindu, Marathi, Gujarati, Assamese, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam amongst others. Techzone further aims to add 800-1,000 videos per day to the existing video library.

It will feature videos across eight genres including bollywood, hollywood, realty, lifestyle, music, comedy and more. The service is aimed at introducing Aircel customers to the mobile internet experience.

Techzone MD Naveen Bhandari said, “The Indian VAS industry is changing at a steady pace with the consumers demanding the data for consumption at their closest accessible touch point: mobile handsets. Our association with Aircel has been long and fruitful. Through this VAS offering, we aim to increase the monetization and the availability of the content which we have acquired over a period by multifold. The pricing strategy of this VAS allows it to be a preferred choice of the masses.”

He also mentioned that earlier, video consumption on mobile was not gaining pace due to the lack of connectivity and bandwidth on mobile internet. But with the advent of Edge, 2G and 3G making the data delivery faster and consistent; consumers are now consuming video data better.

Aircel chief marketing officer Anupam Vasudev said, “At Aircel our aim is to offer innovative yet value for money products to our customers. With our focus on the youth who have a need to stay connected and updated at affordable prices, this unique VAS product will offer our customers the freedom to download videos at just Re one. As a committed data company, we will continue to enhance customer experience through our innovative products and services”.

Recent reports state that the total online video consumption in India has doubled in the past two years to 3.7 billion videos per month. This dramatic growth has been driven by a sizeable increase in the number of online video viewers, in addition to increasing consumption per viewer.

Bhandari added, “The total online video audience in India has grown 74 per cent to 54mn viewers, with the average viewer watching 18 per cent more videos and spending 28 per cent more time viewing. Also, it will be surprising to notice that 50-60 per cent of the total mobile data traffic is consumed by video alone. Hence, the scope of mobile video consumption is very high and is en-route to getting better and more re-defined with more features and better search options. With all the telecom service providers giving access to videos and video downloads at such low rates, it is going to be a tough competition for the video sharing sites.”