Dish TV-owned entertainment platform Vzyis widening its play beyond OTT aggregation with the launch of Linear TV Streaming, bringing live television, streaming services and free entertainment into one app.
The new offering gives users access to more than 200 live TV channels alongside Vzy’s existing portfolio of over 29 OTT platforms and free content. The live television line-up includes channels from networks such as JioStar, Sony Pictures Networks India, Warner Bros Discovery India and Zee Entertainment, spanning national and regional programming across languages and genres.
But the more interesting part of Vzy’s pitch is not simply the number of services it is putting under one roof. The company is trying to organise entertainment around what a viewer wants to watch at a particular moment, rather than making users think about whether that content sits on linear television, an OTT service or another platform.
That thinking is reflected in the way Vzy has built its Linear TV experience. The app retains familiar television features such as an electronic programme guide, channel numbers and TV-style navigation, while keeping on-demand streaming within the same environment. It can also function as a remote-style control surface for connected televisions.
The approach is aimed at a household where viewing habits can differ sharply even under the same roof. One person may want live television, another may prefer an OTT show, while viewing can also shift between the television screen and a personal device. Vzy is positioning the platform around that mix instead of treating live TV and streaming as separate experiences.
Varun Jha, CBO, Vzy, said the company is building the product by starting with consumer behaviour rather than individual distribution formats.
“The ethos with which we are building Vzy has always been to work backwards from the consumer. Consumers today are no longer thinking in terms of content pipes or individual platforms; they are thinking in terms of a content feed, what is relevant to me, what fits the moment, and what I want to watch right now. That is the shift we are designing for.
Our ambition is to serve every consumer with relevant and contextual entertainment, whenever and wherever they want to watch, whether on the large screen with the family or on the small screen as an individual.
As connected TV becomes an increasingly important household screen, we see a significant opportunity to solve the fragmented entertainment experience at a household level and bring live TV, OTT and free content together in a much more unified way. This consumer obsession is part of Vzy’s DNA, and we intend to keep building and launching experiences that genuinely move the needle for Indian households and the Indian consumer.”
Vzy’s Linear TV plans start at ₹179 for access to more than 200 live channels. Its OTT offering starts at ₹199 for more than 29 OTT platforms. The company also plans to introduce combined live TV and OTT propositions.
The launch takes Vzy beyond being primarily an OTT aggregation proposition and towards a broader entertainment platform that brings live television, streaming and free content into a single discovery and viewing experience. The underlying bet is that, for consumers, the distinction between television and streaming is becoming less important than finding something relevant without having to move repeatedly between services.
