HOOQ, Southeast Asia’s largest video-on-demand service, announced this week that it will be the world’s first OTT service to localise its entire content library using machine learning and automated “smart dub” technology. HOOQ plans to localise English-language content for Indian audiences in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu by the end of 2019, to improve the accessibility of content for the diverse Indian market.

Speaking about the announcement, Zulfiqar Khan, Managing Director, HOOQ India, said in a statement, “We want to ensure that consumers across India are able to watch everything from international blockbuster movies to their favourite English-language series’ to amazing HOOQ Originals in a language that they know, understand and are comfortable with. Some people may have never even seen international content in their local language. We want to change that and become the service that expands the reach of international content into India like never before.”

HOOQ, as part of a year-long research and development project – both internally and with partners – will begin to process content using proprietary technology that leverages artificial intelligence and machine-learning to create “smart dubs” from scratch. HOOQ will focus on updating content in three languages, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu to start with, with more to be announced later in the year.

Peter Bithos, CEO, HOOQ, said, “We have rapidly grown our consumer footprint across India and Southeast Asia through continual focus, a deep understanding of local markets as well as key partnerships with market leading companies in the telco, digital services and entertainment space. It is through these partnerships that we have been able to grow at scale. As such, we will continue to enhance our existing relationships and cultivate new ones with like-minded partners to deliver a rich and meaningful video experience for consumers in India, in a language of their choice.”