Arre (brand)

History

Arre was founded by former Network TV18 CEO B. Sai Kumar, COO Ajay Chacko, and director Sanjay Ray Chaudhuri in October 2015. It was backed by media personality and Bollywood film producer Ronnie Screwvala, who also held a stake in the venture through his digital media company, UDigital. The term "Arre" is an Indian colloquialism that roughly translates to “whoa” in English.

In April 2016, Enam group invested an undisclosed amount in Arre, and along with the founders, acquired Ronnie Screwvala’s stake in the venture.

Development

The technology, architecture, design and developed by Monocept. The online platform is designed by French agency Area 17.

Products

Early in 2015, Arre announced Ho Ja Re-Gender based on the Israeli experimental format of Re-Gender originally produced by Armoza Formats. In the series, six participants are given a chance to experience life as a member of the opposite sex.

In August 2015, the company tied up with newspaper The Indian Express to produce investigative documentaries for a world audience. A documentary titled Death by Breath was released on 2 May 2016 which discussed the high levels of air pollution in the Indian state of New Delhi.

in January 2016, the company launched its first web sitcom titled I Don't Watch TV. Produced by Timbuktu Films, it is a satire on the Indian TV industry and stars television personalities like Nakuul Mehta and Bollywood film critic Rajeev Masand.

In April 2016, it launched A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend, a web cam fiction show produced by reality show producer and actor Raghu Ram.

In May 2016, it launched a podcast titled Trial By Error: The Aarushi Files based on the 2008 Noida double murder case, in partnership with online music streaming service Saavn.

In September 2016, Arre launched Official Chukyagiri that tells the story of Spandan Chukya, an MNC intern and the corporate world, seen through his eyes. Produced by Amritpal Singh Bindra, Anand Tiwari and their company Still & Still Moving Pictures.

Web series

Audio series

Documentaries

Partnerships

In August 2015, in association with The Indian Express, Arre produced a documentary titled Death by Breath which was based on New Delhi's air pollution problem.

In April 2016, Arre partnered with music streaming service Saavn to produce and distribute a podcast titled Trial By Error: The Aarushi Files based on the 2008 Noida double murder case.

In July 2016, Arre joined hands with internet-based TV streaming and OTT service provider, YuppTV, to distribute content on the its YuppTV Bazaar platform. Speaking about the partnership, Arre co-founder and managing director, B Saikumar, said "Arre is excited to reach out to an Indian and worldwide audience through YuppTV Bazaar's OTT platform. We look forward to a long-term association with YuppTV and hope to partner on many more content offerings on YuppTV Bazaar."

In September 2016, Arre tied up with Mumbai-based Goquest Media to distribute and monetise Arre’s content digitally across the world.

In September 2016 Arre also announced a distribution partnership with SonyLiv. The partnership will enable SonyLiv users to watch Arre’s latest web series on its web and mobile platforms. Arre's entire video content library will be available as a part of SonyLiv’s extensive catalogue in due course. In November 2016 this was followed by an announcement that both companies will co-produce a digital series starring actor Rithvik Dhanjani, who will also be co-producing the show. Release is planned for early 2017.

As of October 2016, Arre has also tied up with France's largest television network, TF1 Xtra and Vodafone Play.