Mitron TV aims to add 50 mn new users, introduces monetisation mechanism

Mitron TV aims to double its user base to 100 million over the next six months as the Indian short-video firm introduces new monetisation mechanisms for creators on the platform, a top company executive said.

The company, which has completed one year of operations, had seen strong jump in user base after the Indian government last year banned a number of apps with Chinese links, including Mitron TV’s rival TikTok.

“It’s been a very exciting journey in the first year, we more than 50 million net installs (downloads) on the platform, organically. We started as a two-member team last year, now we have more than 55 members,” Mitron TV co-founder and CEO Shivank Agarwal told PTI.

He added that the company aims to have more than 100 million users on the platform in the next six months.

About 22 per cent of the userbase are creators who have posted more than two videos on the platform.

In June last year, the Indian government had banned 59 apps with Chinese linkages, including TikTok.

Since the ban, several homegrown apps like Roposo, Chingari and Josh (Dailyhunt) have seen significant growth in downloads and user signups on their short video platforms.

Facebook-owned Instagram had also joined the race with Reels, while YouTube pitched its India-first “Shorts” to fill the void created after the TikTok ban.

Many of these companies have also raised millions of dollars in funding to accelerate their growth plans.

Mitron TV has raised USD 5 million in funding from investors including Nexus Venture Partners, 3one4 Capital and angel investors like Deep Kalra (Make My Trip), Amrish Rau (Pine Labs), Jitendra Gupta (Jupiter Money) among others.

“In terms of technologies, we have made a lot of improvement, rolled out a recommendation engine, a full-fledged editor tool that is at par with any sophisticated tool available in the market. We are launching a lot of monetisation strategies for creators like Mitron Club and Mitron Academy,” he said.

Mitron TV co-founder and CTO Anish Khandelwal said creators have been very loyal to the platform, creating engaging content.

“Vernacular will be important and giving regional content to viewers is an important goal for us…Monetisation for creators would also be very important and in line with our vision of creating micro-entrepreneurs,” he said.

Khandelwal said Mitron Club will give creators an opportunity to create engaging content exclusively for users opting for the service.

The club members can directly connect with their favourite creators and request to create content that they would like to view, which in turn supports and encourages creators to create content and monetise their talent by reaching a larger audience.

Mitron Academy, on the other hand, will offer creators an opportunity to share educational videos to help users learn from the platform.

Additionally, with Mitron On-Demand, users will be able to place requests for on-demand content like – Astrology reading, song dedication, tips and hacks, birthday wishes among others.

Agarwal said the platform is witnessing engagement in Hindi as well as non-Hindi speaking belts.

“We have seen a good penetration from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, and Assam. We are also increasing our reach into the South Indian states as well,” he added.

Khandelwal noted that the company is currently working on app translation and will have it available in this quarter, wherein users can choose their preferred languages to browse through the platform. “We want to show content that is relevant to states or geography,” he added.

Asked about content moderation, Khandelwal said any video, even if it is live, goes through the moderation channels that include a manual queue and an automated queue.

He added that there are community guidelines in place to determine the kind of content that is allowed to stay and those that need to be removed from the platform.