Description

aha

is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service which offers Telugu and Tamil-language content. It is owned by Arha Media & Broadcasting Private Limited, a joint venture by Geetha Arts and My Home Group.^[3][4]

The service was soft launched on 25 January 2020 and launched officially on 25 March 2020, coinciding with Telugu New Year (Ugadi).^[5][6][7]

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 Rameswar Rao Jupally, who joined as a partner in the venture. Ajit Thakur heads the platform.^[7]

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 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]

Original programming[edit]

The service began its operation by acquiring digital rights of films such as Arjun Suravaram, Kaithi (Telugu dubbed version) and Choosi Choodangaane.^[7]

Original shows and series[edit]

The original scripted content which debuted on the service during the soft launch was Kotha Poradu, Shithappens and Geetha Subhramanyam 2020.^[17] Masti’s created by Krish debuted on 8 February 2020. For the first year, the scripted original content included 25 original shows.^[18][19] Talk show Sam Jam with Samantha Akkineni as its host premiered on aha on 13 November 2020.^[20] Aha has planning to offer over 50 original shows for the year 2021.^[21] Aha Talk show Unstoppable With NBK with Nandamuri Balakrishna ranked 5th on IMDB among the top 10 reality shows.^[22]