KKR-led Emerald puts $50m into Netflix rival YuppTV

Private equity giant KKR's media and entertainment platform

Emerald Media

is investing $50 million (Rs 330 crore) to buy a large minority stake in YuppTV , a Netflix-styled online video provider to Indian and South Asian diaspora globally. The Atlanta-based YuppTV currently offers movies and videos on demand besides live and catch-up TV across 14 languages, mostly Indian. The 10-year-old company has an over-the-top (OTT) content model which enables subscribers to stream content, without a set-top box, over the internet.Last year,

KKR

committed $300 million to back Emerald Media, co-founded by

Rajesh Kamat

and Paul Aiello, to invest in a portfolio of assets. Emerald has a mandate to invest up to $75 million to buy majority or significant minority ownership in media, entertainment and digital companies across Asian markets.

YuppTV will deploy the new funding to expand the geographic footprint and develop original content.“We are fully convinced about the potential of online video consumption and we are big believers in the OTT content model. As the world moves from traditio nal consumption to multiscreen delivery mediums, YuppTV offers a combination of proprietary technology , strong content partnerships and revenues of scale,“ Emerald Media MD Rajesh Kamat told TOI.KKR and Emerald are set to announce the latest investment deal on Tuesday .

Netflix

and

Hulu

have fuelled a boom in OTT services, with some local Indian studios like Eros too attempting similar services to woo the digital audience.

YuppTV claims peak monthly traffic of 20 million viewers, and average revenue per user of around $20. However, it didn't disclose the existing number of paid subscribers.“More than capital, we are looking at the strategic guidance an investor like Emerald will provide us,“ YuppTV founder

Uday Reddy

said.