Amidst an explosion of incredible content and an ever-expanding, large, and diverse Indian Consumer base, India’s first premium rural entertainment channel, Azaad, and India’s leading streamer MX Player announced a strategic partnership to bring together the linear, rural, and digital worlds together.

With the strong belief in the ‘power of engaged connections’ and the aspiration to meet its viewers at their doorstep, Azaad and MX Player are all set to reach out to the Indian diaspora with new stories embedded in the rural fabric and culture.

Beginnen Media recently launched Azaad with the tagline ‘People First. Rural First’. MX Player, with its large and diverse audience of over 200 million monthly active users believes in ‘everytainment’, caters to its audiences with varied entertainment fare.

As per the company’s press release, this unique business move comes as a strategic union for both brands.

In an industry, where the norm is that media conglomerates repurpose their linear content for their Over-the-top (OTT) platforms, this is the first partnership where two standalone entities have come together to leverage their strengths, create unique content, and reach wider audiences, the release claimed.

Azaad will soon add to its repertoire of original content, besides the syndicated content that is currently on air.

Beginnen Media’s Managing Director, Bharat Kumar Ranga, in a statement said, “The UnionShip with MX Player offers a seamless consumer experience on both mediums as we attempt to be innovators at the intersection of TV and digital. Azaad is for people with rural mindsets where people access entertainment on both TV and the internet. We needed to find the right anchor that compliments Azaad on the internet.

“MX Player immediately aligned to our vision as we share a commonality of consumer centricity that will assist us with our expansion goals for Azaad and MX Player. MX valued our idea and intent and Azaad loved their youthfulness, vigor, hunger for growth, and uncanny consumer centricity.”

Elaborating on the same, Karan Bedi, CEO, MX Group, added, “In an industry first, this association will transcend traditional TV and digital OTT to drive synergies and foster growth for both players, by creating innovative new content and catering to a larger audience set. As a platform that can reach consumers at every touchpoint, this strategic partnership with Azaad is sure to entertain the masses and drive more engagement for both brands.”

The original content will air soon on Azaad and stream for free on MX Player.