Telugu language content on streaming platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, ShareChat and others, has seen a significant rise in the lockdown. Bisbo Telugu, an animated news channel on YouTube too is no exception.
According to an estimate published in The New Indian Express, nearly 80+ prominent Telugu video channels on YouTube have almost a million subscribers each, and are growing by the hour.
“Regional languages have their own flavour and the lockdown has given content creators the opportunity to bring their immense creativity to these platforms. Based on our viewership on Bisbo Telugu, the audience seems largely interested in an equal dose of Tollywood-type action, crime-dramas and glamour”, said Bisbo founder Shakir Ebrahim.
Ebrahim’s Bisbo is one of India’s premiere YouTube channels for animated news explainers and visual content. Bisbo converts current news into stories which are dramatised, detailed and analytical. It now has channels in 10 Indian languages, including Telugu.
“Our own Telugu stream, which is currently 15 months old, has over 150,000 subscribers and 16.5 million views. Our top 10 Telugu language videos have been about the Indo-Pakistan conflict, immigration to the US, bank and train robberies. We’ve also seen a keen interest in videos on the personalities of Anil Ambani, BR Shetty and the Sabarimala case,” noted Ebrahim.
He also added that the viewers for the Telugu stream may primarily be from India, but the channel receives an international audience as well. 7 per cent of Bisbo Telugu viewers are from abroad including the Middle East and the US.