Telly

What Telly does

Telly, doing business as Mahatat, is a privately held video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco. The company curates and distributes premium entertainment content sourced from two specific verticals — Bollywood cinema and the Arab regional entertainment industry — providing on-demand access to movies and series through a web-based interface available in both English and Arabic. According to the company, Mahatat is described as one of the fastest growing VOD platforms in this niche, though the rate of expansion is not independently quantified.

The core product is the Mahatat streaming platform, delivered as a single web application at mahatat.com. It offers user-facing features including personalized watchlists, content categorization across Movies and Series, trending and "New on Mahatat" feeds, featured content sections, and self-serve account creation and management. The technology stack appears to be a standard consumer web-streaming delivery model. There is no native mobile application presence in major app stores, and no disclosed proprietary AI/ML, recommendation, or personalization engine. Marketing is conducted via organic social channels on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, with no paid acquisition or B2B distribution partnerships disclosed.

Telly generates revenue through a recurring subscription streaming model targeted at entertainment consumers in the Middle East and South Asia regions. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer service with no enterprise or B2B motion visible in the data. Across its history, the company has raised approximately $21 million in disclosed funding from 2007 through 2015, with investors including Azure Capital Partners, Cinemagic, Felicis, Lumia Capital, Wavemaker Ventures, MVI, XG Ventures, Amidzad Partners, and Plug and Play. It executed three acquisitions (Frugalo in March 2012, Cull TV in May 2012, and Sha-Sha in December 2013) to consolidate content and adjacent capabilities. Specific subscription pricing, subscriber counts, revenue figures, and current headcount growth are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Telly

Legal name

Mahatat

Website

https://mahatat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Telly, doing business as Mahatat, is a private video-on-demand streaming platform delivering premium Bollywood and Arab regional movies and series to entertainment consumers worldwide via a subscription-based web platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Streaming Services

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)

SIC

Cable & Other Pay Television Services (4841)

akta.pro primary industry

Premium Video Add-Ons & Channel Bundles (OTT Aggregators) (MPACAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Customer Support, CRM & Retention Tooling (Helpdesk, Churn, Messaging) (MPAHAJAM)

Keywords

• Video on demand streaming
• Bollywood content streaming
• Arab regional content
• Premium OTT platform
• Bilingual streaming service

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. VOD Subscription/Streaming: Mahatat generates revenue through video-on-demand streaming services, offering premium content from Bollywood and the Arab region to subscribers. The platform features content categories including movies, series, trending content, and featured programming available through its streaming interface.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Telly operates Mahatat, a direct-to-consumer video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform that delivers premium movies and series sourced from Bollywood cinema and Arab regional entertainment to individual viewers. The platform provides on-demand streaming through a web-based interface with category browsing (Movies, Series, Trending, New on Mahatat), personalized watchlists, and English/Arabic language options. Content is offered on a recurring subscription basis to entertainment consumers in the Middle East and South Asia markets.

Product overview

Mahatat is a single-platform VOD streaming service offering premium content sourced from Bollywood and the Arab region. The platform provides access to movies and series through its web interface, with features including user watchlists, content categorization, account management, and customer support resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mahatat VOD Streaming Platform

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Shahid (MBC Group): MENA's leading subscription VOD platform offering premium Arabic series, movies, and MBC network content. Most direct competitor to Mahatat in the Arab regional content vertical.
• StarzPlay / Lionsgate+: Subscription VOD service with a strong foothold in MENA offering Hollywood, Arabic originals, and exclusive content. Directly overlaps Mahatat's Arab content positioning with much larger scale.
• Eros Now: Subscription VOD platform specializing in Bollywood and Indian regional cinema with a large movie and music video library. Directly comparable to Mahatat's Bollywood content vertical.
• ZEE5: Zee Entertainment's subscription VOD service offering Bollywood, Indian regional, and a growing slate of originals in multiple languages. A scaled direct competitor in the Indian content streaming space.
• YuppTV: Subscription VOD and live TV service focused on South Asian language content (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, etc.) for the global South Asian diaspora — overlapping with Mahatat's Bollywood audience.
• ALTBalaji: Subscription VOD platform from Balaji Telefilms offering original Hindi web series and Bollywood content. Competes directly with Mahatat for Bollywood-focused subscribers.

Broad incumbents

• Netflix: Global subscription VOD incumbent with growing Arabic and Indian content investment. Operates broadly rather than specializing in Mahatat's niche, but increasingly encroaches on the same target audience.
• Disney+ Hotstar: Large-scale subscription VOD service combining Disney, Marvel, and significant Indian-language and Bollywood content. Broad incumbent competing for the same South Asian / diaspora streaming spend.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC42poAF7mnNTN_zZEQJf3jw
• Facebookfacebook.com/TellyApp
• Instagraminstagram.com/mahatatapp
• Xx.com/tellyapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/telly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Telly