Reliance Jio partners with Israel-based SaaS startup Screenz to offer interactive entertainment

The companies are creating an audience engagement platform, called Jio Screenz, which will benefit both broadcasters and advertisers. 

Reliance Jio has partnered with Israel-based interactive entertainment startup Screenz to create a platform that will allow two-way conversations between broadcasters and viewers in real-time. Jio Screenz will be the first-of-its-kind platform for “entertainment-based interactivity” in India.

It is aimed at driving higher audience engagement for traditional TV broadcasters and creating newer advertising opportunities for brands. Tel Aviv-based Screenz’s digital products have already been integrated by global broadcasting content producers like Viacom, Sony, Fox, ABC, Univision and more.

While both parties did not reveal financials, the estimated deal size is $28 million (100 million shekels in Israeli currency).

Screenz was founded in 2011 by Eli Uzan and is part of The Box Group, one of Israel’s leading digital entertainment companies. It is a SaaS-based platform that enables real-time conversations between television content and its viewers.

The Screenz platform has been employed by over 30 leading broadcasters for multiple TV genres from reality and news, to cooking, general entertainment and game shows. Among the popular television properties it has worked with are Big Brother, Master Chef, The Million Pound Drop, 101 Ways to Leave a Game Show, Hell’s Kitchen, The Taste, and so on. 

Jio Screenz plans to do the same for Indian TV shows. The platform will roll out to television content creators who can conceptualise and execute real-time interactions in the form of polls, quizzes, and votes. The platform can be enabled on any mobile app that supports Android, iOS and Jio KaiOS. Jio Screenz will also integrate conversations from Google, Facebook and Twitter.

Jio said in a statement to YourStory,

Industry experts believe that this dual-screen experience is the next game-changer and will redefine passive advertising on television and mobile. To ensure a continuous learning and feedback loop, it [Jio Screenz platform] supports rich data reporting and creates unique profiles for each user, hence enabling targeted advertisement.

The partnership with Screenz expands Jio’s ongoing focus on interactive entertainment. It comes shortly after it launched Jio Cricket Play Along, a gamified entertainment experience for IPL viewers on the My Jio app. Jio announced that Cricket Play Along has already notched up over 65 million unique users.

Earlier this month, Jio also announced the launch of an AI-led brand engagement platform, JioInteract, that has virtual showrooms, video call centres and catalogues, and is targeted at movie and brand promotions.

“Jio is a customer-obsessed organisation and will continue to bring disproportionate value, innovative features and best-in-class services to its customers, always,” it said.