MUMBAI: A US video firm has started working with a Bollywood producer on a streaming service soon after developments in India where VoD services such as Amazon and Netflix tried to get a toehold in the OTT market through original content agreements.

Netflix, late last year, signed a deal with Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies to distribute the studio’s films. Shortly later, Amazon announced its own content agreement in India with Xilam Animation, making the former the exclusive streaming platform for kids' shows such as “Zig & Sharko” and “Oggy & the Cockroaches.”

Brightcove, a provider of cloud services for video, has now partnered LoneRanger Productions to develop an over-the-top (OTT) service for the production company. The deal represents Brightcove's maiden deal with a Bollywood production company.

LoneRanger is headed by Vikram Bhatt, a 30-plus year veteran of the Bollywood market and the director of classic films such as Ghulam, Raaz, and 1920. With its transactional video on demand (TVoD) OTT service, LoneRanger claims to deliver the best of its mystery and suspense content to consumers. The service is expected to launch in mid-November.

"Today's viewing experience is as much about mobile delivery as it is about television. So, we have been looking for a partner that could help us revolutionise the user experience," Bhatt said.

"Brightcove's platform performance, player speed and technology stack were real differentiators in creating a service that was theater-like. We also wanted a vendor that could help us get to market quickly -- able to stand up our service within weeks after signing the contract," he added.

Brightcove CEO Andrew Feinberg said: "India has an enormous opportunity because of the explosive growth in online video in the region.