Aha (streaming service)
Aha (stylised as aha) is an Indian over-the-top streaming service which offers Telugu and Tamil-language content. It is owned by Arha Media & Broadcasting Private Limited, a joint venture between Geetha Arts and My Home Group.[4][5] The service was soft launched on 25 January 2020 and launched officially on 25 March 2020,[6] coinciding with Ugadi, the Telugu New Year.[7][6]
History[edit]
Allu Aravind revealed that he was enamoured with the digital environment and developed a habit of binge-watching. Soon he came up with the idea of starting a streaming platform for hosting solely Telugu content. He then discussed the idea with his family, who encouraged him and which led to talks with Jupally Rameswar Rao, who joined as a partner in the venture, Allu Aravind and Jupally Ramu Rao are active promoters who run the business, while Jupally Meghana Rao is the Head of marketing advisory committee and Ravikant Sabnavis heads the platform as CEO.[5]
Market and expansion[edit]
After opting for a soft launch on 8 February 2020 an event named aha Preview was conducted, where all the film makers who worked on ''aha Originals'' attended and presented their work.[8] In November 2020, aha announced actor Allu Arjun as its brand ambassador.[9] The platform has acquired one million subscribers within a year of its launch,[10] and by July 2021, it has over 1.5 million paid subscribers. In November 2021, the total paid active subscribers were 1.8 million, and as of March 31st 2024, the total paid active subscribers were 2.5 million,[6] and 40-million-plus users, catering predominantly to the markets of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.[11]
In August 2021, aha launched aha kids, a sub-brand focusing on children's programming. It is scheduled to launch on 10 September, coinciding with Vinayaka Chavithi.[12] aha 2.0 was launched[13] in November 2021 on a cloud-native platform from Firstlight Media.[14][15]
The Tamil language version of Aha was launched in February 2022.[16]