ErosSTX-owned OTT platform Eros Now has collaborated with Google Cloud to operate its Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology for streaming the whole range of Eros Now movies and originals with automated subtitles. With this initiative, Eros Now becomes the first streaming service globally to mechanize this previously manual and demanding workflow with the assist of Google Cloud technologies.

With the use of AI frameworks and a vast amount of pre-existing data, Eros Now’s in-house Data Science team simulated, trained, and developed a cutting-edge model which performs equivalent to a human level and is able of generating subtitles in desired languages across movies and originals. It is another milestone accomplished by Eros Now to further enhance the viewing experience of users and is expected to compel higher consumer engagement levels on the streaming platform and will generate opportunities in "Text to Speech" automation.
The use of automated subtitles will allow users to enjoy a vast diversity of content, hassle-free, and without any language barriers. The model can cover a multiplicity of genres and modernization of languages. Dealing with gender non-neutral languages and a variety of punctuations used in different languages were just a few of the biggest challenges. The automation procedure has taken over six months for data scientists to perfect.

The new subtitling characteristic will first be available in the Arabic language to cater to the massive Arab audiences who enjoy Indian cinema, followed by other significant markets which consume Indian entertainment, globally. In the rich historical context of the Indo-Middle East relationship, Indian cinema, especially Bollywood movies, has acted as a channel for people to connect and get better commercial relationships and ties between the two regions. Additionally, the vast Indian audience residing in the Middle East, along with film production and shoots for various movies, events, and award functions, have all helped to further enhance the demand for Indian content amongst the locals living in the Middle East.

Stating on the development, Eros Now CEO Ali Hussein said, "Eros has always been a pioneer in adopting technology to satiate the demands of audiences and build a deeper connection with them by offering unlimited entertainment. The innovative use of artificial intelligence and machine learning will give customized subtitled content for the global audience, allowing us to target a wider set of subscribers and drive engagement across Eros Now’ rich consumer offering."

Google Cloud India Managing Director Bikram Singh Bedi added, "With the power of AI built on Google Cloud, Eros Now can deliver automated subtitles to further enhance the viewing experience of its users."