JadooTV Delivers South Asian Channels, Movies to Customers Worldwide

By Jay Hipps, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

Many a high-tech success story begins in a garage, and so too it is with JadooTV, a Hacienda-based manufacturer of television set-top boxes that deliver regional programming and video-on-demand from South Asia to customers around the world.

"We started off literally in the owner's garage until we got our own office, then expanded later, and now we're expanding to a space with a bigger warehouse, just down the street at 5880 West Las Positas Boulevard," says Arsalan Salahuddin, the company's operations manager. "It's exciting." Worldwide, the company now employs 130 people.

The product that has enabled all that growth is a device which delivers over 400 South Asian television channels over any high-speed Internet connection.

"Our latest version, the Jadoo4, was launched in January of this year," says Salahuddin. "It's constantly growing - as long as there's better content coming out every year, the hardware gets updated. Every two to three years, roughly, our new model comes out. We started in 2008 and it was just called JadooTV. In 2010, we came out with the next model with a better processor, better Internet connectivity, and we called it Jadoo2."

The Jadoo4 adds a number of new features, thanks largely to the fact that it is based on Google's Android platform. "With third-party Android applications, you can watch Netflix, ESPN or HBO Go, browse the Internet, use Facebook... those are all available on our box."

What sets JadooTV's products apart is their unique programming package aimed at the South Asian diaspora. "Our motto is, 'Stay Connected to Your Culture,' so what we have is Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan people that moved out of their countries to Europe or Asia or North America, and of course they don't get the same channels they used to get back home," says Salahuddin. "We acquire content rights from those regions and provide those channels to our customers." In addition, JadooTV makes available over 250,000 hours of on-demand content, including Bollywood and other regional movies, sports, cooking, children's programs, and more.

Another unique feature of JadooTV's service is the fact that there are no monthly charges for owners of the $199 Jadoo4 set-top box. "As long as you have high speed Internet access, which is pretty common these days, you can use our device," says Salahuddin.

The company's latest innovation, released in September, is a mobile application called JadooGo which is available on both Android and iOS platforms. "With cord cutting becoming the norm, this release is a key component of our long-term strategy to release JadooGO on various connected platforms such as Smart TVs, gaming consoles and other mobile devices," says Sajid Sohail, JadooTV's CEO and founder.

The service provides mobile access to the same live and on-demand content available on JadooTV's set top boxes. Priced at $4.99 per month for those who purchase a subscription directly for use on Apple & Android mobile devices, JadooGo is also available at no cost for one year with purchase of the Jadoo4 set-top box. A free, 30-day trial is available to new JadooGo users.

For additional information, access the company's web site at www.jadootv.com.

Photo: JadooTV's bring South Asian programming, and player's, to the United States.

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