The Viral Fever

This article is about an Internet video on demand service. For the flu, see Influenza.

The Viral Fever
Type of business
Type of site
OTT streaming platform
Available in
HeadquartersMumbai
Area servedWorldwide
Owner
  • Contagious Online Media Network Private Limited
Founder(s)Arunabh Kumar
Key people
  • Vijay Koshy (President)
  • Ronit Agarwal (Talent cast)
  • Manish Saini (Executive Director)
Industry
Products
URLtvfplay.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedAugust 3, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-08-03)
Current statusActive

The Viral Fever, abbreviated to TVF, is an Indian video on demand and over-the-top media service and YouTube channel started by TVF Media Labs in 2010, and currently owned and operated by Contagious Online Media Network Private Limited.[1] According to the founder Arunabh Kumar, the thought behind starting TVF was to reach out to the younger generation who seldom watch television entertainment.[2]

The Viral Fever was one of the early arrivals on the Indian digital entertainment segment with videos covering a range of topics on Indian politics, movies, lifestyle, and emerging social concepts.[3] The Viral Fever was the pioneer of web series in India with cult hits like Permanent Roommates, Hostel Daze, TVF Pitchers and TVF Tripling.

The company runs the app and website TVFPlay to host their videos. TVF conceptualised the idea of promoting movies through the creation and distribution of original digital content. The Ishq Wala song series is one such venture.[4]

Their first web series, Permanent Roommates, debuted in 2014.[5] It was the second most-viewed long-form web series in the world by June 2015.[6] A second original series titled TVF Pitchers was released in June 2015. It portrays engineers at different companies who quit their jobs to create a startup company.[7] Owing to its growing popularity, with both TVF Pitchers and Permanent Roommates being watched by millions around the globe, the company received $10 million in funding from Tiger Global in February 2016.[8]

  1. ^ "The new kings of satire". Outlook Business. 17 April 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  2. ^ Saxena, Aditi (6 February 2015). "Entertainment channel for youth". Economic Times India. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. ^ "Entertainment Network for serious laughter". New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Bollywood Movies promo through songs". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  5. ^ Lakhani, Somya (30 December 2015). "Year 2015: When the web series formula arrived in India". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 4 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  6. ^ Parthasarathi, Priyanka (18 June 2015). "Permanent Roommates: Going the web way". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. ^ Mitul, Manas (2 September 2015). "TVF 'Pitchers' ii review: Just like beer, this intelligent web series flows freely". First Post. Archived from the original on 30 December 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  8. ^ Chopra, Vidit (17 February 2016). "Online Videos creator TVF receives $10 million in funding from Tiger Global". Venture Gali. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.