Category: DIGITIZATION

  • Tata Sky adds MAX 2 to its bouquet

    By A Correspondent

     

    Multi Screen Media’s second Hindi movie channel – ‘MAX 2’, will now be available on Tata Sky. The channel will reach out to millions of households across the country further to its association with Tata Sky thereby expanding its viewer base via the DTH platform.

     

    Besides Tata Sky, MAX 2 is available on other DTH platforms comprising Videocon d2h, Airtel, Dish TV and Reliance Digital TV. The channel is also available on leading cable operators like DEN, Siti Cable, Hathway and InCable to name a few.

     

    Speaking on the association with Tata Sky, Neeraj Vyas, Sr. EVP & Business Head, MAX & MAX2 said, “We are pleased to announce the availability of MAX 2 on India’s leading DTH platform – Tata SKY which widens the channel’s reach. We have received numerous requests from Tata Sky viewers for showcasing MAX 2 and are convinced that our association will help us reach out to a larger audience. We are sure the subscribers will love the channel and will enjoy savoring the timeless films of Indian cinema.”

     

  • AL Jazeera English now available on Airtel D2H

    By A Correspondent

     

    Al Jazeera English has signed a distribution agreement with Airtel Digital TV thereby expanding its distribution network in India. The channel will be available on the Airtel Digital TV’s Channel No. 321. With this partnership, Al Jazeera English will now be accessible on all major D2H platforms such as Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance and Airtel Digital TV in India.

     

    Abdulla Al Najjar, Executive Director, Marketing and Distribution, Al Jazeera Media Network, said: “We are very pleased with this agreement. We have a strategic commitment to employ new avenues and platforms for audiences across the world to access our content. We look forward to delivering Al Jazeera English’s ground-breaking content for audiences across India with such partnerships.”

     

    Al Jazeera English’s association with Airtel Digital TV will allow them to cater to its users on the network. Viewers will now be able to access Al Jazeera’s award winning news and programme content from around the world at a click of a button. Globally, Al Jazeera English is available in over 260 million households across 130 countries.

     

    Launched in November 2011 in India, Al Jazeera English is known for its belief in the shared humanity of the global community, and as a result keeps real people at the centre of the story.

     

  • Tata Sky’s an-ad-a-day approach casts its spell on the viewers

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the aim to achieve maximum reach, Tata Sky has launched a unique offering – Daily Recharge which allows consumers to recharge their DTH subscription just at Rs. 8 daily and get all their desired channels on that day.

     

    The consumer in towns and villages are value conscious. This consumer in most regions still perceives the DTH category as premium and expensive, as compared to the local cable. Tata Sky’s Daily recharge in this case tackles this barrier by providing an entry to the world of quality television viewing at a price lesser than any MSO or DTH player in the world. Not only in small towns and villages, also the urban metros, Daily Recharge will become a huge incentive for consumers to shift from Analog to digital, thereby adding to the cause of digitization.

     

    For such a unique product the campaign too had to be innovative. What was to be achieved was a behavioural shift, hence it went beyond the 30 sec format of advertising as it would have left the consumers with a new piece of information but would have failed at engaging them. The challenge was to amplify the everyday usage of the brand and thus the benefits associated with it.

     

    Thus the product was launched with a unique love story that promotes everyday usage in an interesting manner. The promise: “Daily milenge toh pyaar to hoga hi” is a simple expression of the product benefit and the brand promise. To further reinforce daily usage the campaign evolves over multiple episodes. Set in a small town in Kashmir, the multiple episodes slowly unravels how the product works and intelligently amplifies the benefits of Daily Recharge, through Mannu (Prit Kamani) and Neelu (Himani Sisodiya) the protagonists of the love story.

     

    Sukesh Nayak

    Sukesh Nayak, Executive Creative Director, O&M Advertising said: “The product was innovative so the creative idea had to be innovative. For daily recharge we came up with an idea of daily love story. Every day the love story unfolds itself with a new film on national television. The campaign is interactive. The boy and girl update their social profile on daily basis as the story unfolds. People also end up helping the boy decide what to do next every single day to take the love story forward through an immersive digital experience.”

     

    Commenting on Tata Sky’s new campaign launched with the IPL, Malay Dikshit, Chief Communications Officer, Tata Sky said: “For the first time, we have advertised during the IPL as it provides the continuity needed by the daily format of this campaign. The brand promise of ‘Daily milenge toh pyaar toh hoga hi” is a simple expression to stay connected with the viewers on a daily basis with our convenient offering. The brand needed to reach out and communicate to a set of audience that are spread across various geographies of the country and still have an affinity with the existing subscribers. O&M has beautifully brought alive this journey with the help of this addictive love story.”

     

  • NetworkPlay wins Airtel Digital TV’s monetization mandate

    By A Correspondent

     

    NetworkPlay, an SVG Media company, announced winning an exclusive mandate from Airtel Digital TV to monetize all their digital advertising inventories. Airtel Digital TV is the DTH arm of leading global telecommunications provider Bharti Airtel. SVG Media is the largest Indian Ad-Tech company with brands like Tyroo, DGM India, Seventy Nine & NetworkPlay in its portfolio.

     

    In addition to DTH advertising, SVG media delivers performance, mobile and native advertising to digital marketers and advertisers and helps leading publishers monetize their digital assets.

     

    Anurag Gupta, India MD, SVG Media said, “NetworkPlay has been working with Airtel DTH since their launch in India. Today, we are extremely delighted to take our relation to the next level with this exclusive partnership, which further strengthens our position in the industry as a leading digital ad-tech company.  NetworkPlay’s technology will help in significantly growing the advertising revenues for Airtel Digital TV.”

     

    “With the increasing penetration of HD technology, coupled with an overall growth in the DTH sector, the business is expected to multiply as more brands have started to explore DTH as a platform to reach out to the television audience”, he further added.

     

  • Living Foodz set for Sept 11 launch

    By A Correspondent

     

    Living Entertainment has announced the launch of an international food and lifestyle channel ‘Living Foodz’. This foodtainment channel specializes in exploring the evolving social status of food; moving out of the confines of the conventional kitchen into a world of entertainment and adventure with food. Having food at its core, Living Foodz will explore different perspectives towards food and the way it touches people – from lifestyle, travel, wellness to food infotainment and reality.

     

    The channel will be available across all DTH providers like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon and all other leading cable networks in dual feed Hindi and English from 11th September 2015.

     

    Living Entertainment in India will be an extension of the Living network belonging to Essel Group which already exists in the international markets. Living aims at bringing alive all things factual with an element of entertainment in order to appeal to the global audiences. Living in India will truthfully echo the ‘Living’ philosophy and encompass everything that will help one to discover, awaken and transform oneself.

     

    In sync with the corporate brand positioning of ZEEL – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -The World is My Family”, Living Foodz will resonate the philosophy perfectly with the energetic programming mix. For the Indian market, Living Foodz will be the international food & lifestyle channel that will have a universal feel; which will appeal to the new age Indian. This foodtainment channel is targeted at both men and women across all age groups in urban digital households. The core audience set would comprise of well-travelled & connected people with high interest level of food.

     

    Within a year, Living Foodz will be available across countries worldwide producing global food content for global audiences. The audience will be taken on an exhilarating food expedition alongside eminent celebrity chefs and food personalities like Ranveer Brar, Gautam Mehrishi, Rocky & Mayur, Vicky Ratnani, Kunal Kapur, Rakhee Vaswani through their different shows. With a substantial increase of audience interest in various niche sectors, Living Foodz, has the right formula that is sure to enthrall one and all.

     

    Speaking on the new initiative, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL and Essel Group said, “We are very proud to present Living networks in India. This is yet another endeavor from our group to bring the world closer through entertainment. Living is all about global mindsets and experiences. This is also in line with our group philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family”. Our group has always believed in creating not just great content but building genres and brands that are milestones.”

     

    Also present for the launch, Punit Goenka, Managing Director & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited said, “With Living, we intend to make global content for global audiences. This will be for the first time ever that original content from India will be available to audiences across the globe. We are very proud to present this new form of entertainment to our audiences”

     

    Commenting on the occasion Piyush Sharma, CEO Zee Living- India APAC says, “Living is our endeavor to showcase audiences with great lifestyle content. Growth of digitization is leading to fragmentation of audiences, thereby creating an opportunity for differentiated and genre specific content. Moreover, increasing digital households are giving rise to increased audience expectations and demand for more diverse viewing opportunities. Under this scenario we are providing Living Foodz to people who love exploring and knowing more about food.”

     

  • Tata Sky launches digital campaign for ‘Tata Sky+ Transfer’ STB

    By A Correspondent

     

    Tata Sky has launched its first digital-only campaign for its upcoming ‘Tata Sky+ Transfer’ set-top box. The campaign features three teaser commercials followed by the main commercial which goes on-air from 1st September 2015.

     

    The campaign introduces Tata Sky’s latest product the Tata Sky+ Transfer, which enable the set top box recording to be available on the subscribers’ tablets and phones.

     

    This campaign uses Tata Sky’s trademark style of using hyperboles and humor to drive home the product messages in an interesting manner. The protagonists “Transferkars” are a TV addicted family- a family of six each madly passionate about his/her show and the campaign is a series of films that bring alive the lengths that they go to carry their favourite TV shows with them.  The commercial portrays ‘Tata Sky+ Transfer’ as an innovative product which solves these problems by enabling subscribers to transfer recorded content on their mobile devices and view it at their convenience. Hence, the campaign concludes with the sign off ‘Record. Transfer. Carry.’

     

    Shedding light on what consumer behaviours drove this innovative campaign, Malay Dikshit Chief Communications Officer – Tata Sky said “Today time comes at a premium, the consumer is increasingly finding it difficult to be constrained by fixed timing and location for viewing even recorded content. Thus the demand for convergence and portability of content. The rapid increase of Wi-Fi enabled homes open up new possibilities and potential for new offerings. The Tata Sky+ Transfer box delivers on this sweet spot allowing subscribers to use their connected homes to enjoy their space and identity. Our focused digital-approach with this new campaign along with the launch of an interactive micro-site would surely intrigue existing and prospective subscribers.” He concluded stating, “It is just the beginning of our endeavours to un-box entertainment for our subscribers.”

     

    Talking about the creative on the campaign George Kovoor –  Sr. Creative Director at Ogilvy One stated, “Tata Sky has once again set the benchmark through this unique digital first campaign. At the heart of the campaign is a family of obsessive TV show fans who not only engage the consumers but also demonstrate the Transfer product in a simple yet entertaining story. Fans can follow this family and their quirks on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and even an interactive microsite.”

     

    The task for us was to create a high impact campaign centered around digital devices like smartphones & tablets, demonstrating clearly and in a memorable way how to and in what situations this product is used.

  • Himanshu Dhoreliya appointed Content Head at Videocon d2h

    By A Correspondent

     

    Videocon d2h Limited has announced the appointment of Himanshu Dhoreliya as Content Head. Reporting to CEO Anil Khera, he will be based in Videocon d2h’s Mumbai headquarters.

     

    Himanshu Dhoreliya comes to Videocon d2h with an impressive track record and more than a decade of experience in content development, content management and channel distribution for leading media and entertainment companies.  Most recently, he was the CEO and co-founder of TelevisionPost.com.

     

    Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman of Videocon d2h stated, “The expertise that Himanshu Dhoreliya brings to the table will definitely add to and strengthen our content management bandwidth. This is an especially vital role and I believe that with his extensive experience & leadership, he will bring the best for brand Videocon d2h.”

     

    Anil Khera, CEO–Videocon d2h added, “We are very pleased to welcome Himanshu Dhoreliya as Content Head, a role that will benefit greatly from his intuitive knowledge of the DTH industry. We are hopeful that he will help lead Videocon d2h in developing innovative content acquisition strategies while maximizing the use of our services to fulfil the needs of our valued customers – all, of course, keeping in sync with Videocon d2h’s goal of being the best in the industry.”

     

    Prior to TelevisionPost.com, Dhoreliya held positions with MSM Discovery Pvt. Limited, the joint venture broadcast distribution company owned by Multi Screen Media (formerly SET India and owned by Sony Entertainment Television) and Discovery Networks, as well as ESPN Software India Pvt. Limited.

     

  • Media biggies meet Modi, want speeding up of TV digitisation

    By A Correspondent

     

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a roundtable meeting with top American CEOs from the media and entertainment sector.  This happened last Thursday, September 24, to be precise.

     

    The CEOs present included Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman, News Corp and 21stCentury Fox; James Murdoch, CEO, 21st Century Fox; Robert Thompson, CEO, News Corp; David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery Communications; Michael Lynton, CEO, Sony Entertainment; Michael Roth, CEO, Interpublic Group of Companies; Shane Smith, CEO, Vice Media; Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP; Jeff Bewkes, CEO, Time Warner; Nancy Dubuc, CEO, A&E Networks, Anthony Pratt, Chairman, Visy Industries; William Duhamel, Route One Investment Company; and Jeff Ubben, CEO, ValueAct Capital.  Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India was the only Indian M&E CEO in the meeting.

     

    According to a release, the CEOs appreciated the Prime Minister for energetic and dynamic leadership, and expressed optimism about the future of India. Specifically, the CEOs were enthusiastic about the digital transformation that is taking place in India through the Digital India initiative. They said that the current strong trajectory of the Indian economy makes it at a unique moment to accelerate growth in this sector.  The CEOs called for speeding up of television digitisation and strengthening of the cellular (mobile) infrastructure.

     

    The Prime Minister and CEOs observed that the changes in technology and media in recent times have led to an enormous democratisation of knowledge. The Prime Minister said that the world is now in a technology- driven era, where growth of digital infrastructure is as important as growth of physical infrastructure. He suggested to the CEOs that India represents both the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge for them, and urged them to keep regional languages in mind, as they firm up investment plans for India. He spoke of his government’s vision to connect 600,000 villages through broadband connectivity. He asked CEOs to visualise the citizen of the 21st century, and think about what values s/he will represent and what challenges s/he will face. He also spoke of the role that digital technology can play in human resource development. The Prime Minister emphasised that he saw a key role for digital technology in further strengthening democracy, and in India’s development narrative.

     

  • Big Magic now available on DD Free Dish

    By A Correspondent

     

    BIG Magic Ganga and BIG Magic have strengthened their distribution with India’s leading free to air digital network – DD Free Dish. With DD Free Dish, BIG Magic and BIG Magic Ganga will now benefit with deep penetration across the rural regions of the country. This move will gradually fortify their position in the rural belt, making them easily available for discerning viewers. BIG Magic Ganga will be available on DD Free Dish Channel No. 16.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited stated, “We are happy to announce our availability on DD Free Dish, which allows our channels BIG Magic and BIG Magic Ganga to immediately grow across the geography. We are confident that our content will be thoroughly enjoyed by the new audiences, further enhancing our reach and position. Strengthening our distribution is a strategic move which will not only widen our audience base and popularity but will also give better value to our advertisers.”

     

    BIG Magic delivers more than 5 hours of original programming, compared to any other GEC channels in the region that only have syndicated content. A Channel which is based on the positioning of being positive, uplifting and nurturing a sense of pride amongst the aspirational audience pool of the region. It taps into the insights of Religion (devotion andbhakti); Reality (game shows, social), Family Movies and Fiction to help people in the region to excel and shed their backward perception and imagery.

     

    Popular shows like BIGMemsaab, TeekhiKhabar, election special RaagChunavi, blockbuster movies every weekend, along with upcoming devotional shows Mangal Utsav for Diwali and Chhath special, BIG Magic Ganga offers exquisite and dynamic content for family viewing which resonateswellwith the masses. With more unique shows in the pipeline, BIG Magic Ganga is poised to engage, enrich and entertain new audiences across the country.

     

    BIG Magic offers content which is cutting edge, quirky, differentiated and entertaining. With original content including a high degree of humour, viewers can enjoy shows in the non-fiction space, focused on building iconic characters which are stand out, quirky and funny. The content offered is platform agnostic with a large play in the digital and mobile medium.

     

    With this association, BIG Magic and BIG Magic Ganga markthe beginning of new prospects for the channel in terms of increased viewership, new audience base, robust expansion plan, etc.

     

    The channel will engage with viewers and trade partners locally and nationally through a multimedia campaign across its radio network, 92.7 BIG FM and other multiple platforms.

     

  • SRK launches Assocham Knowledge Report on Digitisation and Mobility of M&E sector

    By A Correspondent

     

    Superstar Shah Rukh Khan along with Rana Kapoor, President, ASSOCHAM and MD & CEO, YES BANK and Venugopal Dhoot, Past President, ASSOCHAM and Chairman & MD, Videocon Industries, unveiled the ASSOCHAM Knowledge Report on ‘Digitization & Mobility: Next frontier of growth for M&E’ at an event held at Taj Land’s End, Mumbai recently.

     

    The Report provides key insights on evolving trends, challenges and future opportunities across Broadcasting Digitization, the Film Industry and Mobile Entertainment segment. Organizations in the Indian Media and Entertainment industry are poised for substantial growth in the coming years. The growing demand for content consumption from Tier II and Tier III cities will enable the entire Media & Entertainment value chain to connect with, engage and monetize India’s strongest asset – our youthful demographic.

     

    Speaking at the launch, Rana Kapoor said, “The Indian Media & Entertainment industry has undergone a positive transformation with better content generation, mobility & digitization and growth in new media, resulting in an exemplary shift in consumer behavior and media consumption patterns. Recent regulatory interventions such as, the increased FDI limit in the broadcast distribution platforms like cable TV networks, DTH, head end-in-the-sky (HITS), mobile TV and radio, will continue to be key enablers for growth of this industry.”

     

    With the rise of internet users in to 200 million currently, the impact of digital technology on media consumption has already demonstrated the power of the Internet to disrupt linear traditional media.

     

  • Digitisation Dhamaka in 3 years

     

    By Megha Mandavia

     

    Rating agency Crisil said the next two phases of digitisation of television distribution that is expected to extend until 2018 fiscal end would be best so far for all stakeholders in the industry.

     

     

    DTH and MSOs to gain Rs 4,800 crore after investing Rs 22,000 crore

    Government and broadcasters to gain Rs 10,000 crore sans investments

     

    Excert from the executive summary of the CRISIL report:

    The next two phases of digitisation of television (TV) distribution, which we foresee extending all the way to fiscal 2018-end, should be the best so far for all the stakeholders.

     

    CRISIL analysis shows stakeholders would benefit by Rs 14,800 crore:

    > Of this, direct-to-home (DTH) operators are expected to garner as much as Rs 3,300 crore

    > Multi-system operators (MSOs) are expected to receive Rs 1,500 crore

    > Broadcasters are estimated to receive Rs 3,900 crore

    >Incremental tax revenues of Rs 6,100 crores are estimated to accrue to the government, thanks to increased disclosure of revenues by local cable operators (LCOs) and increase in overall subscription base. Of this, around 80% will accrue to the central government through licence fee and service tax, and the rest to state governments through entertainment tax

     

    CRISIL estimates that given their already stretched balance sheets and high capital expenditure (Capex) requirement in these phases, MSOs will be able to garner only 45% of the incremental digital market in the next two phases of digitisation. The balance will go to DTH service providers. This is in contrast to the previous two phases of digitisation wherein MSOs garnered 67% of incremental digital market together with LCOs.

     

    DTH’s upper hand in ‘cable-dark’ and sparsely populated regions will aid its market growth. And while incremental revenues will be on similar lines for both, profit share will be significantly more for DTH firms as they have complete access to subscription revenues unlike MSOs, which share a large part of their revenues with LCOs. While MSOs will continue to benefit from carriage revenues from broadcasters, CRISIL believes they are unlikely to receive incremental carriage revenues after digitisation.

     

    The only catch for the DTH operators is that they need to invest around Rs 13,700 crore over the implementation period. For MSOs, capital expenditure (capex) need is around Rs 8,300 crore. The capex requirements will be insignificant after the digitisation phase.

     

    LCOs, who had hitherto been disclosing only an estimated 20% of their analog subscription base, are the only stakeholders who will lose in this phase of digitisation.

     

    CRISIL believes the increase in overall market share and higher profits combined with promoter backing to part-fund the capex will benefit the credit profile of DTH operators. On the other hand, MSOs will have to increase their revenue share with LCOs to nearly 60% to prevent deterioration in their credit profile.

     

    Furthermore, while easing of foreign direct investment (FDI) norms will support fund raising plans for both DTH and MSO operators, the ability of MSOs to attract FDI funding will remain contingent on  improving their revenue share with LCOs.

     

    Direct-to-home (DTH) operators are expected to garner as much as Rs 3,300 crore, multi-system operators (MSO) Rs 1,500 crore, broadcasters Rs 3,900 crore and government Rs. 6100 crore in taxes, according to Crisil.

     

    “CRISIL estimates that given their already stretched balance sheets and high capital expenditure (capex) requirement in these phases, MSOs will be able to garner only 45% of the incremental digital market in the next two phases of digitisation. The balance will go to DTH service providers,” the report said.

     

    This is in contrast to the previous two phases of digitisation wherein MSOs garnered 67% of incremental digital market together with local cable distributors (LCOs), it added.

     

    Crisil said DTH’s upper hand in ‘cable-dark’ and sparsely populated regions will aid its market growth. “While incremental revenues will be on similar lines for both, profit share will be significantly more for DTH firms as they have complete access to subscription revenues unlike MSOs, which share a large part of their revenues with LCOs,” it added.

     

    The Indian television industry is the second largest television market of the world, after China, with television penetration in the country exceeding 165 million households in 2014, according to ICRA.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • DishTV & Shemaroo jointly unveil Miniplex

    By A Correspondent

     

    In yet another move to expand their gradient of value-added services, dish TV has tied up with Shemaroo Entertainment, one of India’s leading entertainment content houses to launch a new premium service called Miniplex.

     

    This premium movie service will premiere latest blockbuster movies every Friday. Additionally, it’s is an ad free subscription based service which will also showcase other recent movies.

     

    With Miniplex, customers can avail premium movie content for a subscription fee of Rs 60 per month. This premium movie service will be available on channel number 212 on DishTV & Zing. Customers can easily activate this service by giving a missed call on 18002741100 or through SMS

     

    Speaking to the tie-up, Arun Kumar Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, DishTV said: “Being a pioneer and market leader DishTV has always stood up to its promise of providing maximum Width and depth of content. We have always taken the lead in enhancing the value proposition and believes in providing the maximum and the best in entertainment to its subscribers. We are glad to announce our partnership with Shemaroo to launch Miniplex on our platform. The experience of watching latest movies at a click of a button has redefined the way consumers watch movies today. With this latest addition to our value added service we take the entertainment quotient a notch higher and allow movie buffs to watch latest blockbusters in the comfort of their home at relatively much reasonable cost.”

     

    Hiren Gada – Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited, shared his thoughts on the occasion: “We are glad to now launch Miniplex on DishTV. This tie up will enhance our reach across the country. A number of movies get released in theatres but go missing on TV. Miniplex intends to bridge this gap through premium ad free viewing experience. The service is already doing well on other platforms and we are happy to offer it to DishTV audience now.”

     

    Miniplex is a cross platform subscription-based movie premiere service that provides the audiences a unique opportunity to view Premiere and also Premium movie content for a nominal monthly subscription fee. The service offers an un-paralleled experience to the movie viewers with ease of consumption as movies are scheduled at fixed timings throughout the day.