BookMyShow hosts 6,400 online events

New Delhi: With the coronavirus pandemic disrupting the movie-going experience, ticket booking platform BookMyShow (BMS) went virtual and hosted 6,400 online events and streamed 37,381 hours of content through its platform.

Over 2.33 lakh consumers registered and bought tickets to watch these virtual events on BookMyShow, the company said in a report.

The 'ShowOffTheYear2020' report, based on consumer data insights from April 1 to December 18, said sports (cricket), music shows, workshops, performances (acts such as circus), comedy and online games emerged as the most popular genres.

"(BMS) hosted 6,400 virtual events of which over 80 per cent were paid/ticketed events and the remaining were free. A total of 37,381 hours of content (was) streamed through BookMyShow. A total of 2,33,219 consumers registered and bought tickets to watch virtual events on BMS," it added.

BMS launched a slew of virtual live offerings as soon as the lockdown came into force, starting with 'Live From HQ', 'Rambo Circus' digital edition - Life Is A Circus', 'Theatre Live - The Stage Comes Home', '#LiveInYourLivingRoom', #StayFitIndiaChallenge and others.

"BookMyShow lined up some of the best of international artists and marquee experiences delivered straight to the safety of people's homes including Dua Lipa's Studio 2054, Triller Presents: Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr., Sunburn Home Festival, Tomorrowland Around The World – Digital Edition and newer artists such as Taylor Castro, Willie Gomez, The Buckleys and many more," it added.

Mumbai topped the tally of tickets sold, followed by Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Lucknow. 'Life Is A Circus' was the top performing virtual events (with over 60,000 viewers), followed by Triller Presents: Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. and Sunburn Home Festival. Ashish Hemrajani, founder and CEO of BMS, said over this past year, the company has innovated with at-home, technology-led virtual entertainment.

"With over 80 per cent of our events being ticketed today, it is evident that there is a growing demand for exclusive, curated and premium live virtual events. While a complete return to out-of-home entertainment will probably take a few more months, we foresee the future of entertainment to remain strong as people love to socialise and get out," he said.

He added that there is an opportunity for a hybrid model where both, out-of-home and a live experience on-ground may co-exist, and BookMyShow will bring the best of both to its consumers in India and across the world.