MxMIndia

Category: MEDIA

  • BIG CBS Networks unveils fresh programming and future plans for the network

    New programming to make BIG CBS bigger

    By A Correspondent

    BIG CBS Networks Pvt. Ltd., an equal joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network Limited and CBS Studios International, has announced its new fresh programming line-up and future plans for its channels. The network, which went live with three channels in a record breaking time of under six months, has captured hearts of the discerning Indian audiences and stands as the No 1 English General Entertainment Network today.

    In keeping with its promise of offering the latest seasons of programming, airing concurrent to the US, the channel has acquired fresh content from leaders in the international entertainment space like Boman Bridge, Alfred Haber, Bobby Goldstein and Medi-Asia. Offering audiences more than 25 hours of original fresh programming each week, on each channel, the Network offers audiences a further assortment of programming, and advertisers, the best platform to partner with for their brands.

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nikhil Mirchandani, Business Head, Television Channels, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd said, “We are very pleased with the way the channels have shaped and delivered. The channels have grown the market and we have been able to successfully bridge the existing void in international quality programming that existed. We now enter our next growth phase and are completely equipped with our hand-picked shows that match the tastes and sensibilities of our target audiences.”

    Mr Mirchandani further added, “BIG CBS’ programming is in keeping with our endeavour to offer Indians the latest, freshest and hottest content straight from America. Today, audiences have evolved and are looking for more than just soaps and films. The well travelled Indian viewer is always looking for quality content and we continue to bring the best of American television to our viewers here. Also, our effort to give audiences India-grown content has worked excellently for us with the overwhelming response to India’s Sexiest Bachelor. Tracing this success, BIG CBS is now launching the next Indian property, India’s Glam Diva. With this and more shows planned BIG CBS Network is poised to become a network to reckon with.”

  • Sony Entertainment Television launches music video of ‘Kuch Toh Log Kahenge’

    Sony serial’s title track goes the music video way

    By A Correspondent

    ‘Saiyyan Naino Ki Bhasha Samjhe Na’, the title track of Kuch Toh Log Kahenge, has become a rage right from the moment the promos of Kuch Toh Log Kahenge went on air. After the huge success of the title track, Sony Entertainment Television has launched a music video, which captures the magical chemistry between the lead couple Mohnish Behl playing Dr Ashutosh and Kritika Kamra playing young Dr Nidhi Verma.

    The excellent music, background score and the approach towards the title track of the show brings alive the theme of delicate and fine romance that will be budding between the lead protagonists. The enchanting video has been directed by Sony Entertainment Television’s on air promotion team and the music has been rendered by Mr Abhishek Arora. Singer Ms Sukanya Purkayastha of who rose to fame with ‘Kaisi Hai Yeh Udaasi’ from Kartik calling Kartik has lent her voice for the title track. The creative team at Leo Burnett, who have created the advertising campaign for the show and filmmaker Mr Gajaraj Rao, have created the lyrics of the song.

    Mr Danish Khan, Senior VP Marketing, Sony Entertainment Television said, “Since the time, the promos have hit the air, we have witnessed the rising amount of popularity of the title song amongst the viewers. Seeing the popularity of the song we decided to shoot the music video which has been created keeping in mind two important elements of the show – love and hesitation. With Kuch Toh Log Kahenge, we are hopeful to bring good old romance back on Indian television.”

    Kuch Toh Log Kahenge is a story of a budding love relationship between two doctors from diverse generations. Ashutosh (Mohnish Behl), a 38-year-old surgeon is married to his duty and is a disciplinarian, while Nidhi Verma (Kritika Kamra) is a 24-year-old carefree, jovial, MBBS graduate. The show is a striking portrayal of how both grow into a strong liking towards each other, eventually falling in love but are unable to express their feelings to each other due to the age gap.

    Kuch To Log Kahenge is aired every Monday to Friday at 8 pm on Sony Entertainment Television.

  • Though magazines worldwide have been going through a rough patch, this IRS shows an increase in magazine readership, both Hindi and English, over the last quarter.

    Magazine readership looking up

    By A Correspondent

    Magazines have been witnessing a bit of rough weather of late. It is not an Indian phenomenon but is being witnessed worldwide. However, this IRS Q2, 2011 shows an increase in readership of both Hindi and English magazines as compared to Q1, 2011. Here is a quick look at AIR for the same:

    Readership in this duration has increased for Kannada and Telugu publications also. For Assamese, Gujarati and Marathi it has gone down – while for other languages the response is mixed.

    Keeping the focus on English and Hindi magazines for the purpose of this article, is it safe to assume that this IRS marks the revival of magazines? Says Anita Nayyar, CEO – Havas Media, India & South Asia, “This IRS certainly indicates better health for magazines but not necessarily revival.”

    Rajni Menon, Associate Vice President, Carat Media India, too believes that it is not really the revival of magazines and mentions two reasons for marginal upward trend for the magazines. She said, “The Week and Business World have been actively working towards increasing readership and it has had an impact in the market. Secondly, new magazines which were not captured in IRS earlier, eg 2010 Q2 IRS did not cover the following magazines – Outlook Profit, Economist, People, Life Positive. The biggies like India Today, Outlook have seen only marginal shifts only.”

    However the experts believe that there is definite scope of growth in niche and special interest publications, which have shown an upward trend. Ms Nayyar said, “Niche magazines are doing better than mass magazines.” Ms Menon endorsed this, “There has been growth in numbers for niche magazines : India Today Travel Plus, Good Housekeeping, Femina WTW, so that could show an indicative trend along with the fact that one does see more new magazines on the stands every few months. Travel, Women, Lifestyle. “

    However, a major issue faced by media planners and buyers is that a number of niche magazines are not tracked in IRS. As per Ms Menon, “We still can’t make a definite decision on magazines because there are so many in the market which are not covered by IRS. Mainline magazines like Open and Tehelka are yet to be covered, so seeing new niche magazine get covered is a long shot.

    Ms Nayyar too stated that niche and special interest publications are set to grow, but most niche magazines are not tracked.

     

  • Star Movies fans can get a chance to watch Hollywood titles a day before the official release.

    Star’s Hollywood Blockbusters aims to thrill

    By A Correspondent

    Star Movies, India’s leading English movie channel, presents Star Movies Hollywood Premieres; an initiative that brings exclusive screenings of Hollywood titles for their fans a day prior to their official theatrical release by leveraging the strength of their studio tie-ups.

    To be a part of this experience viewer will have to participate in a simple contest and answer questions that will be broadcasted on Star Movies and their India Facebook fan page. Lucky viewers will get a chance to attend the exclusive premier screening of the latest upcoming movie titles by Star Movies Hollywood Premieres. Star Movies kickstarts the initiative with its inaugural movie premiere of The Three Musketeers on October 14 at select theaters in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata.

    The channel also holds the exclusive rights to premiere other Hollywood biggies like ‘In Time’, ‘Twilight Saga- Breaking Dawn’ and ‘The Darkest Hour among others.

  • India’s biggest Business Reality Show The Pitch is back, as BloombergUTV invites entrepreneurs to enter Season 2, with the potential to get funding up to Rs 5 crore.

    The Pitch returns to Indian TV

    By A Correspondent

    BloombergUTV, India’s premier business channel, today announced Season 2.0 of The Pitch – India’s Biggest Business Reality Show. The channel is inviting potential entrepreneurs with sound business ideas to send in their entries through www.yourmoneysite.com/thepitch. Surviving a gruelling series of tasks given by India’s biggest business leaders, the winner stands to receive a funding up to Rs 5 crore to execute their business plan.

    The Pitch aims to identify, evaluate and encourage potential entrepreneurs who not only have the most deserving business ideas, but also possess the critical skills required to execute those ideas successfully. Following the nationwide call-for-entries, a jury comprising of highly renowned professionals will shortlist the participants who will be called to make their elevator pitches in Mumbai. The jury and angel investors will closely evaluate these shortlisted aspirants not only on the merit of their business pitches, but also on their individual brilliance and identify the finalists who will appear on Season 2 of The Pitch.

    Mr Deepak Lamba, Business Head, BloombergUTV said, “Through this show, BloombergUTV continues to strengthen its commitment to enrich the business news viewing experience. We encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in the country and the response to Season 1 of The Pitch goes to prove that there is no dearth of ideas in the country. We will not only identify the next big business idea but also the most deserving entrepreneur who has the right balance of all the necessary elements required to succeed out there.”

    To enhance the experience of The Pitch, BloombergUTV has established strategic partnerships, each adding a distinct value to the proposition. The Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A); The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), LinkedIn are among several organizations and communities who have joined this unique platform to promote entrepreneurship in the country.

    This season of The Pitch is presented by Samsung Electronics and will see participants benefiting from the multiple features and utilities of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 750, from using the wireless keyboard to prepare for their documents to presenting directly from their tabs and of course receiving their tasks.

    Aspirants can send in their entries through www.yourmoneysite.com/thepitch or SMS PITCH to 59995 | ZipDial 022 33010050 for more information. The Pitch is scheduled to air exclusively on BloombergUTV from November 2011.

  • Digital News Show (DNS) will take place in December and will exhibit digital products by media groups, as well as technology solutions within the digital journalism realm.

    Rio to host first digital journalism fair

    By A Correspondent

    The first exhibition dedicated to showcase digital journalism related products and solutions will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in December. Digital News Show (DNS) will be attended by an audience of students, news executives, online media professionals and people interested in new media.

    Stands of media groups – as well solution development companies for the digital journalism industry – will take part in the event to display the latest innovations in this environment. Augmented reality, mobile applications, interactive infographics, QR codes, digital editions and publishing systems are some of the attractions that will be exhibited at the fair.

    In the two-day event, visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the technologies shown by exhibitors, and to purchase gadgets like tablet computers, smartphones, e-readers and digital cameras at attractive prices. Digital News Show will also realize discussion panels with online journalism related topics, such as ‘Interactive Infographics and Data Journalism’, ‘Investigative Journalism in the Digital Age’, ‘Newsgames’ and ‘News Content for Smartphones and Tablets’.

    Digital News Show is a production by Jornalistas da Web, an 11-year-old Brazilian website that covers the relationship between journalism and new media. The event will take place on December 10 and 11, at the SulAmérica Convention Center, in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The stands can be booked by exhibitors now. Tickets go on sale soon at www.digitalnewsshow.com.

  • UTV Stars and People present ‘The Mercedes Benz Best Dressed Show 2011’.

    UTV Stars to do catwalk show with People

    By A Correspondent

    After a successful launch, UTV Stars – The Official Channel of Bollywood has announced its partnership with People magazine for ‘The Best Dressed Show 2011’.

    The event will see an exclusive fashion show by ace designer Manish Malhotra. Walking the ramp as the showstopper will be actress Priyanka Chopra, who will also feature on the cover of the annual issue of People magazine, featuring the Best Dressed People of the year. The event is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, World Gold Council, Teachers Origin, Schwarzkopf, Vero Moda and Jack&Jones. This association marks the beginning of a long-term partnership with People for more such on-ground initiatives.

    Commenting on the association, Mr Nikhil Gandhi, Business Head, UTV Stars said, “UTV Stars has been able to etch a strong mark in the Bollywood, lifestyle and fashion space in a very short time. It has an urban upmarket appeal  and we have already tied up with like minded partners to make the 360 degree experience more holistic and true to the brand. I am happy to announce this association of UTV Stars with People magazine for the Best Dressed Show as out first such initiative among many others planned in the coming year”.

    Now in its third year, the India edition of People magazine is one of the fastest growing magazines across genres. Says Mr Indranil Roy, President, Outlook Group, “People magazine’s internationally acclaimed titles like Best Dressed, Sexiest Man Alive, Most Beautiful are getting very popular among celebrities and with readers in India. The ‘Mercedes Benz Best Dressed Show’ is our endeavour to popularize these titles further. We’re glad to partner with UTV Stars and amplify this property on national television.”

    UTV Stars now plans to extend its 360-degree presence with many such associations and prominent on ground properties. The brand has already initiated Advertiser Funded Properties, providing advertisers customized solutions and communication packages on air, on ground, on mobile, web, digital etc.

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    Ranjona Banerji: Sena on shaky ground, polls to decide all

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Mumbai has elections on February 16 to select its municipal corporators. Since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has a bigger budget than some state governments, this is an important election. It is also a political test for the incumbent Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party and a signal for the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance – which is in power in the state – about the roadblocks ahead for the next general election.

     

    Not surprisingly, election coverage has dominated Mumbai’s newspapers. Most seem to think that the ground is shaky for the Shiv Sena. This is, in a sense, a last bastion for the Sena – it has ruled the BMC for almost two decades. But everyday, newspapers are full of the shortcomings of the corporation and the corruption involved in most deals. Mumbai’s roads and water supply get the most attention and none of it positive.

     

    The general sense you get from newspapers is that this time there will be a challenge to Bal Thackeray from not just the Congress-NCP but also of course from his nephew Raj Thackeray and his breakaway party, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Uddhav Thackeray – the son and the main bone of contention – does not have the requisite firepower, seems to be the overwhelming feeling. There is also a discussion on whether both the Senas will cancel each other out.

     

    The Times of India and The Indian Express both carry interviews with chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who says he pushed for an alliance with the NCP this time – to avoid fracturing the vote as happened when both parties went alone in 2007.

     

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    All newspapers have also focused on the low voter turnout in Mumbai and have exhorted citizens to come out and vote. You could pick up any newspaper to find out all about the candidates from their bank balances to their educational qualifications. The new seat reservations have created some turmoil in parties, all of which have been faithfully recorded.

     

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    Interestingly, the high number of dry days – three have been decided by the Election Commission – has been cause for consternation in print. The bar and restaurant association has put in a plea reported in Wednesday’s papers to allow the sale of alcohol in the evenings of the dry days, after voting is over on Thursday. The right to drink is well-felt by most journalists, so it is easy to see why this forced abstinence should get prominence.

     

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    It is these little titbits which make newspaper reading so pleasant a pastime. The oddities of life rarely find room in the high-pitched breaking news landscape of TV land.

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    BJP suffers the wrath of young India

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    It was wishful thinking on my part that Porngate would slowly lose currency on television. Quite the opposite happened, in fact, as emotions in TV studios ratcheted up as the day progressed. By the evening, this was the worst transgression ever committed. Bad as it was, it is still open to question whether it deserved quite so much rage. It usually seems that TV channels inIndiaare quite sympathetic to the rightwing – except of course those which are seen as open Congress supporters.

     

    But even those with saffronish tinges – or especially those with saffronish twinges – were the angriest with these porn-watching Karnakata ministers. A humble theory could be that the extreme Hindutva rightwing in Karnataka has been making life miserable for young people and this was revenge time for the young people in television.

     

    The Times of India in its editorial took a sober tone but was no less damning of the behaviour of these MLAs. Nor did it fail to rip into the moral hypocrisy of the Hindutva rightwing. The Hindustan Times decided to take a more jokey tone, which seems as inappropriate as TV’s relentless coverage. Hindustan Times kindly informed us that the minister was mistaken in thinking he was watching a rape when it actually was a “bukkake”. One could thank the newspaper for increasing our knowledge of terms used in pornography but one is not sure if this has any connection to the case in point.

     

    One has to agree with author and columnist Shobhaa De when she said on Times Now that this was one of the rare times that she actually felt sorry for BJP spokesperson Nirmala Seetharaman, in having to defend her party’s action (or inaction) against the three ministers.

     

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    It was heartening to read Shailaja Bajpai in her TV review column in Indian Express asking whether such intrusive coverage was necessary about cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s cancer. It is also intriguing that the cricketer tweeted that he had not spoken to any newspapers since his latest treatment started. So where did all those “interviews” come from?

     

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    The Economic Times has front-paged (I’ve decided this is a convenient noun to make into a verb!) a story about how Indian companies are now trying to be kinder to employees who are being laid off. The usual tendency is apparently to be as insensitive as possible. Citibank, for instance, is now looking for jobs for the 100 people it “let go” of. Does this give heart to people who think their jobs are on the chopping block?

     

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    Pranab Mukherjee, Union finance minister, is losing sleep over the size ofIndia’s subsidy burden. I suppose that in itself is good news.

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    Media gets it wrong on Republic Day

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Republic Day is not about freedom from colonial rule, it’s about the Constitution and the way we rule ourselves. How did the media respond? After 63 years, maybe they feel that there’s little left to say, even though we have, in 2011, suffered a number of crises that examine or question our schedule of rights, responsibilities, freedoms and systems.

     

    Even the advertisers got it wrong. Bank of America, for instance, talked about some medieval version of the Panchatantra that they had helped restore. Wonderful news though that is, it has nothing whatsoever to do with India becoming a Republic. The Google doodle was some very cute cavorting elephants – but cute does not quite cover what Republic Day means.

     

    Anna Hazare used the opportunity to declare that “gram sabhas” are more important than the Lok Sabha. Luckily Mumbai is newspaper-free on January 27 or Hazare’s urban supporters would have been really confused. He was not, you see, talking about a sprouted moong salad or any other health food. What he means is that village assemblies are more important and should be more powerful than the elected representatives chosen by systems laid down in our very carefully constructed Constitution. As The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition put it, “Struggling to stay relevant amid signs of growing public indifference, Anna Hazare…” The Deccan Chronicle’s Hyderabad edition, it must be pointed out, did not bother to front-page Hazare archaic notions.

     

    But what the DC does have is an interesting story about how Nitin Gadkari, BJP party president, has changed his tune a bit about Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for prime minister. Now he says Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley are in the race too. Perhaps the BJP, which is so enamoured of the US presidential system, now wants to internally implement the US political party system for choosing presidential candidates. It will be great fun if they do it – Modi, Swaraj and Jaitley locked in public fights with each other for the privilege of running for prime minister. Can you imagine the amount of fodder for our TV anchors?

     

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    Talking of TV (as I ran through the channels on Republic Day), the terrible story of a battered baby at New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences dominated the headlines, together with the Indian cricket teams continuing travails in Australia. Virat Kohli’s century in Adelaide got some accolades but it was mainly doom and gloom. The battered baby got front page lead in the Delhi edition of the Hindustan Times, so can I forecast a more “people-friendly” 2012 in the media?

     

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    For the first time in several years, the Republic Day awards did not cause media hysteria. If Sachin Tendulkar had got his 100th 100th, the fact that he did not get a Bharat Ratna may have been a matter of huge melodrama. As it happens, no one got a Bharat Ratna.

     

    My only observation here is possibly a very visible parochialism where newspapers were happiest about awards given to local people. Now not only do you have to be jingoistic about India as a media person, you also have to fall prey to all the foibles of regional identity politics. I hope that’s not a prediction!

     

  • In Freaking News, Ranjona Banerji reviews the fare on primetime news and in the papers

    TV journos, please develop some sense

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    If you have ever felt that you wanted to get bored to the point of death, as a sort of scientific experiment, you would do worse than to try and make sense of daytime TV news. Having just listened to a 5 minute conversation between an anchor and reporter about the latest on the controversy about the army chief’s age, all I could fathom was that the Supreme Court has dismissed a petition. Meanwhile, the anchor and reporter repeated the same thing about five times, over and over again. Plenty of ‘of courses’ and ‘in facts’, in fact, of course, studded this conversation.

     

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    West Bengal’s hospitals have always had plenty of horror stories in and around them but now that TV has tasted blood there, one can see that there is unlikely to be an escape from the scanner right now. Mamata Banerjee had better watch out.

     

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    Mid-Day was first off the block to tell us about extraordinary behaviour of the captain of the capsized ship, Costa Concordia, as he apparently ran away from his ship – later he said he tripped and fell into a lifeboat. The transcript of the conversation between the Italian Coastguard and the captain was an eye-opener. The captain has been accused of trying some kind of stunt which led to the cruise liner running aground. Indian TV and newspapers have as usual only concentrated on the Indians affected by this accident which makes looking for the complete picture a tedious task. Is there no life – or death – outside our geographical borders?

     

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    Suresh Kalmadi gets bail and as usual, our TV channels behave as if he has been acquitted of corruption charges. There are few simple things for journalists to remember here: you are innocent until proven guilty in India, bail is a permissible legal option and I throw this in for good measure: it is okay to criticise the armed forces.
    This hysterical self-righteousness demonstrated by most of our TV reporters is not just annoying, it is potentially dangerous.

     

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    It might also help if our TV reporters and anchors develop a sense of humour instead of trying to save India’s sensitivities from the BBC programme Top Gear. Surely, we can work on the principle that we are a mature society and can take a few jokes? Or, perhaps Indian news channels should have special telecasts for Indians living abroad who get quite upset quite easily? Then those of us left behind in India can live our lives in peace.

     

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    Meanwhile, we still don’t know if writer Salman Rushdie is coming to the Jaipur Lit Fest or not. So much for investigative journalism or a well-constructed publicity stunt?

     

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    Veteran and respected journalist Harish Khare has quit as media adviser to the Prime Minister, says The Times of India because he is upset at the appointment of TV journalist Pankaj Pachauri as communications adviser. Is this something to watch out for?

     

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    The death of TOI’s film critic Nikhat Kazmi on Friday morning was a sad way to start the day.

     

  • HTC has come up with some really silly stuff for their new handset called 'Explorer'

    Debrief: HTC: Fingering around

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Quite understandably, desperation has set into the advertising for mobile phones. After all, every single route and trick has been exhausted in this highly cluttered category. HTC has come up with some really silly stuff for their new handset called ‘Explorer’. They have used the ‘finger’ as the creative device.

     

    In the various TVCs, a man’s fingers literally walk and reach the lady he’s trying to patao. In her bedroom, her bath tub, wherever she goes. And yes, since this is advertising, she gets pataoed. In real life, the lady would file charges for stalking. The concept is this: Win her heart by hectically running your fingers on the smart phone.

     

    [youtube width=”400″ height=”250″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy3j3jM7FOE[/youtube]

    Not only is the finger idea not original (remember Small B’s ‘ungli cricket’?), the way they’ve used it here is ugly and off-putting. Almost creepy, what with fingers relentlessly chasing a woman around. Worse, the situation of wooing a woman… how new is that? The least they should have done was to make sure the ugly unglis do something new.

     

    Bottom-line: Advertising that’s tired, tasteless, boring and repulsive. I understand some amount of advertising fatigue has set into this product category, but fingering with the creative? That’s so not on.

     

    Rating: (On a scale of 1 to 5): 0. The middle finger, anyone?