MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, received the The Economic Times '40 under Forty' – India's Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014 at a function in Mumbai

    Zee CEO Punit Goenka recipient of ET’s 40 under Forty’ awards initiative

    By A Correspondent

     

    Punit Goenka

    Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, received the prestigious The Economic Times ’40 under Forty’ – India’s Hottest Business Leaders Award 2014 on April 29th at a glittering function held at the Four Seasons, Mumbai. He was presented the award by Deepak Parekh, Executive Chairman, HDFC. The list of the 40 winners was finalized by a study conducted by The Economic Times and Spencer Stuart to identify India Inc’s upcoming leadership.

     

    Out of the original list of 2000 leaders, the final 40 were identified based on a combination of quantitative business results (growth, margins and turnaround) as well as qualitative attributes (innovation, reputation, people leadership, and contribution to the ecosystem). The jury was chaired by Deepak Parekh, Executive Chairman of HDFC while the other eminent members on the panel were Anjali Bansal, Managing Director of Spencer Stuart India, Subodh Bhargava, Chairman, Tata Communications, Janmejaya Sinha, Chairman of Boston Consulting Group, Asia Pacific, Harish Manwani, COO, Unilever and Non-Executive Chairman, Hindustan Unilever, D Shivakumar, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo India and Sanjeev Bhikchandani, CEO and Co-Founder, Info Edge India.

     

    Other notable names who received the honour are Sachin Bansal, Co-Founder & CEO, Flipkart, Schauna Chauhan, CEO, Parle Agro, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo Air and Siddharth Roy Kapur, MD, The Walt Disney Company India, amongst others.

     

  • The show will be a special awards function showcasing the unique bonding between mother-daughter

    DD Sahyadri to telecast ‘Prerna Puraskar 2014’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Doordarshan’s Sahyadri channel will be commemorating Mother’s Day on 11th May, 2014 with the telecast of a special event ‘Prerna Puraskar, 2014’ which will be a special awards function showcasing the unique bonding between mother-daughter as well as focusing on the theme of ‘Ladki Padhegi to Ladki Badhegi.’

     

    This year the event has been designed in a way to extract a commitment from leaders of all sections of the society to support girl child education so that it paves the way for her all-round success and progress in life. The event proposes to tie up with people from a cross-section of the society and NGO’s who work towards the progress of the girl child.

     

    This event is supported and sponsored by Clinic Plus. Prerna Puraskar identifies the role of Doordarshan as a public broadcaster; it had also won the Bronze Lion Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival in 2006.

     

    The telecast of the awards show on Doordarshan Sahyadri will take place on 11th May, 2014 (Sunday), 3.30pm onwards.

     

  • The channel is innovating its programming to reach out to Generation Y

    NDTV Good Times to sport new identity, #LiveYoung

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lifestyle television channel NDTV Good Times is turning youthful. The channel is innovating its programming to reach out to Generation Y. One of the most important facets of their new look is the integration of social media in its tagline – #LiveYoung.

     

    Said Arati Singh, Channel Head, NDTV Good Times: “With an increasingly maturing lifestyle space in India at an inflection point, and as leaders in that space, we are redefining the lifestyle entertainment category codes by now catering to the youth and focusing on food, travel and fashion. Our content, look, feel and packaging will now clearly reflect this change. In the new avatar, the channel will take a fresher, edgier and more relevant approach to its programming targeted towards the young and the young at heart, and this association will also help us further our relations in the world of entertainment and hospitality.”

     

    The channel is celebrating its new brand identity at luxury restaurant Shiro on May 7 in Mumbai and May 8 in Bengaluru. The party will see all the anchors and celebs from the channel’s acclaimed shows. Translating their understanding of the role of digital media in the lives of today’s youth, Shiro and NDTV Good Times will be running a contest online that will give four lucky winners an exclusive chance to join the party.

     

  • Shamik Talukder appointed as Vice President and Head of Revenue Management & Business Development

    INS appoints Shamik Talukder as Head of Revenue Management

    By a correspondent

     

    Integrated Network Solutions (INS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. has announced the appointment of Shamik Talukder as Vice President and Head of Revenue Management & Business Development.

     

    With over 16 years of experience in Revenue assurance, Brand Development & Marketing in the M&E industry, Talukder’s new role will include Business Development & Revenue Management of LIVE Viacom18 (large format Live event Impact properties), BE Viacom18 (On ground activations in film advertising and promotions) and SPOTLIGHT (creation, management and operation of digital media interfaces for individual celebrities across genres).

     

    Speaking on the announcement, Jaideep Singh, Sr. Vice President and Business Head – INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our debut year has been a successful journey where we created multiple IPs. As we consolidate our offerings and build capacity across network we are happy to announce Shamik entry into the Viacom 18 family. Shamik’s keen understanding of the business and his contribution to the division will be vital to our growth story as we move into the next phase.”

     

    Shamik Talukder, Head of Revenue Management & Business Development, INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd. said, “INS has done some great work in the past year, and I am eager to be a part of it. With my new role at INS, I look forward to leveraging the popularity and strength of the existing IPs, creating engaging solutions for brands on the digital platform through Spotlight, build customized solutions for brands in the film advertising and promotion space. It is an exciting space to be in and combining the properties to create new business opportunities will be my focus.”

     

    Shamik is an expert in spearheading new businesses and setting them up for growth. He has a proven record that includes successful stints in Star TV, Radio Mirchi, Sony Entertainment Television managing the revenues of Radio Mirchi in the launch phase, managing revenues of Indian Idol, Bigg Boss during their debut in India and leading the team in Times OOH in bidding & winning the advertising contract of Mumbai and Delhi Airport and changing the dynamics of Airport advertising in India.

     

  • The league which is run by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has 10 teams, 9 from Australia and one from New Zealand

    TEN Sports to broadcast Hyundai A-League

    By a correspondent

     

    TEN Sports has signed a three-year deal to broadcast the Hyundai A-League, Australia’s premier football league from 2014/15 to 2016/17.

     

    The league which is run by the Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has 10 teams, 9 from Australia and one from New Zealand. Ten Sports will showcase 86 matches per season including the five games of the Final Series playoffs. TEN Sports will also broadcast weekly highlights of the league and 10 games of the FFA Cup for each of the three seasons.

     

    World Sport Group, who distribute the Hyundai A-League and FFA Cup worldwide on behalf of the FFA, brokered the TEN Sports deal.

     

    Rajesh Sethi, CEO, TEN Sports said, “At TEN Sports we endeavor to give our viewers the best of football action from across the globe and we are proud to add the A-League and the FFA Cup to our bouquet of premier football content. Australian football has grown leaps and bounds and offers to TEN Sports & TEN Action a different dimension to our existing portfolio. This world class football programming will be available live during the day time on weekends.”

     

    Each season of the Hyundai A-League runs from October to April and includes a 27-round regular season with an end-of-season finals series playoff tournament involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in the Grand Final. Winners from the A-League qualify for the AFC Champions League which is the UEFA Champions League equivalent in Asia. The League allows each team to have a marquee player and this has led to stars like Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey showcasing their skills in this fast-growing league.

     

  • The panel discussion on "Strategies for Success" highlighted the various issues faced by the new age entrepreneur in the country

    Bloomberg TV India hosts panel discussion on ‘Strategies for Success’

    By a correspondent

     

    Business news channel Bloomberg TV India hosted an exclusive evening with the industry honchos in Mumbai to discuss the growth in business with the right strategy.

     

    The fact that rapid socio-economic changes in the country are having profound impact across sectors set the tone for the evening. Keeping this in view, the panel discussion on “Strategies for Success” highlighted the various issues faced by the new age entrepreneur in the country from planning to execute to scale up the business idea and make a bench mark in the industry. Today, some of the biggest challenges faced by any entrepreneur are finding the right talent, keeping up with innovation, keeping up with government regulation, issues related to governance, managing partners and generating funds for the business.

     

    The panel discussion was a part of the ongoing series ‘Lessons in Strategy’ featuring Dr. Tarun Khanna, Professor, Harvard Business School. In continuation to the earlier series Lessons to Leadership; the current series focuses on issues every entrepreneur faces, and arms them with crucial knowledge to nurture a great idea into a successful business model.

     

    The series includes five interview session with Dr. Tarun Khanna and one panel discussion. Bloomberg TV India brings together leaders of Indian industry and the faculty of Harvard Business School, for a discussion on innovation and how relevant is it to scale up an innovative business idea.  Each episode of the series is based on important entrepreneurial aspects such as starting a new business, Scaling up existing business, Diversification of business, Globalization of the business and sustaining growth.

     

    The panel discussion on “Strategies for Success”, part of the ongoing series “Lessons in Strategy” will be telecast on May 10th at 8.30 pm and 10.00 pm respectively exclusively on Bloomberg TV India.

     

  • Shailesh Kapoor on how May 16 has emerged as the most promoted television date by far in our television history

    Shailesh Kapoor: May 16: Mother Of All TV Battles

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Cricket World Cup & IPL finals. Blockbuster movie premieres. Grand finales of big-ticket reality shows. Over the last decade, almost all the high-rating TV ‘events’ can be classified into these three categories. India does not have an annual showstopper like The Super Bowl. Our television highs are rather muted, very rarely attracting a pan-India audience base that cuts across demographics and viewing taste.

     

    The big day of election results, May 16, can be a rare exception. It has emerged as the most promoted television date by far in our television history, largely because it has become a political refrain. Across parties, “We shall talk on May 16” has been the default political response to many tough questions posed by journalists.

     

    Conducted over nine phases, these General Elections have been a long-drawn exercise in political theatre. And it will all climax in a matter of hours next Friday morning. News channels are set to start their live telecast from as early as 6am. The first leads will begin to come by 9am. And these days, they don’t trickle in; they come as a deluge. Before noon, the big question would have been answered: Will Modi-led NDA cross the 272-mark?

     

    Back in the 80s, this three-hour process would take three days. Doordarshan would entertain you with patriotic cinema (mostly Manoj Kumar films) with constant ticker updates and a news bulletin every two hours or so. EVMs have changed it all. Some from the old school may argue it’s taken the fun out of the counting process, but for me, EVMs remain one of the most significant (also one of the most under-rated) achievements of the Indian democracy.

     

    Coming back to May 16, the second half of the day will be more about reactions and analysis, even as the results begin to sink in. In the event of NDA falling short by a significant margin, the ‘event’ may extend itself beyond May 16, into the weekend, even the following week.

     

    Two factors, however, will stop May 16 from becoming a record-breaking viewership day in Indian news television history. One is the day itself. It happens to be a working Friday. I have strongly believed that all election result days should be Sundays. It will lead to higher awareness and participation in the democratic process over time. On a working day, TV viewership will take a beating, even though discussions around the results will continue to dominate offices across the nation.

     

    The second factor is a marketing problem. Historically, news channels have continued to market the results-day largely through on-air promotions. It should be an ideal day to get new viewers to watch, but there is a lot of promotion on the home channel, and very little outside. This time, by the sheer talk value these elections have generated, awareness about the results-day is very high. Hence, it will be a lesser concern to get the fringe, non-news viewers in. Now if only it was a Sunday!

     

    More than 20 news channels will fight a fierce battle on the results-day next Friday.  The results of this battle within the battle may have a long-lasting impact on our news television economy. So, fasten your seatbelts. And call in sick on May 16!

     

    TV Trails is a weekly column written by Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO of media insights firm Ormax Media. He spent nine years in the television industry before turning entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own. He can be reached at his Twitter handle @shaileshkapoor

     

  • The decision follows a case filed by India TV against India News for using a deceptively similar channel name

    Delhi HC asks India News to run scroll saying its not associated with India TV

    By A Correspondent

    The Delhi High Court has directed India News to run a continuous scroll on its channel saying that it is not associated with India TV in any way. The decision follows a case filed by India TV against India News for using a deceptively similar channel name.

    A similar directive was given to India News earlier by the Court last year when India TV challenged it for using an identical name.

    But after running the scroll for short period, India News stopped running the communication. India TV recently moved High Court with a contempt petition. Taking cognizance of the same, the Court has issued orders to India News for immediate compliance with the direction of the Court. The High Court has also ordered India News to submit their revenue accounts with the Court.

  • After issuing a denial last week, Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal announced his move from Zee New to RIL via a tweet

    Alok Agrawal quits @ZeeNews to join @RIL

    By A Correspondent

     

    Alok Agrawal
    Alok Agrawal

    When we called Zee News CEO Alok Agrawal last week to confirm the news of his quitting, he denied it. But, of course, the fact that he wasn’t present at a conclave of group CEOs at Zee, was enough indicator that something was amiss. The Zee spokesperson too said she wasn’t aware of the development.

     

    Last weekend, the news was circulated internally at Zee and yesterday (Monday), Mr Agrawal confirmed the news via a tweet. “Delighted to share my move to Team #RIL. Thank you Team @ZeeNews,” he wrote.

     

    Zee Media Corp of which Zee News is a part is a successful news media firm and flagship channel Zee News channel is counted among the Top 5 Hindi news channels though the Top 3 slots are occupied by Aaj Tak, ABP News and India TV.

     

  • Around 80 employees are currently serving a month's notice and will be given salaries for three months' towards their full-and-final settlement

    As UTV Stars goes Bindass, 80+ staff laid off

    By Shobhana Nair

     

    Last fornight, Disney India announced its first big move since the exit of founder-CEO Ronnie Screwvala. UTV Stars, which was launched with much fanfare in August 2011, was going to adopt the Bindass branding.

     

    However, while one expected it to be a minor rationalisation of resources, reports received by MxMIndia indicate that a sizeable part of the production team – including show producers, reporters, cameramen and editors have been given the pink slips earlier this month. Around 80 employees are currently serving a month’s notice and will be given salaries for three months’ towards their full-and-final settlement.

     

    Interestingly, UTV Stars was the only channel from the stable (other than the business channel which the group once owned) with a strong inhouse production unit. While the channel has a reasonable viewership given the nature of its offering and some of its shows have a fair following, what didn’t work for it was the fitment in the larger scheme of Disney India.

     

    The new Bindass-branded channel is scheduled to be launched in October this year with fresh packaging, content and a brand name. Sources say the company is mulling a music channel, given the opportunities in that space.

     

    The spokesperson from Disney India was unavailable for comment.

     

  • To be held every month, Life OK Now Awards will recognize and honour talent from the previous month in a glitzy awards ceremony

    Now, Life OK inks pact with Reliance Broadcast for film & TV awards

    By a correspondent

     

    Life OK in partnership with BIG Productions has introduced Life OK Now Awards, India’s first Instant awards to celebrate excellence in the field of film, music and television. The best entertainers from the film, music and television fraternities will be brought to the fore with a 100 percent audience voting campaign. To be held every month, Life OK Now Awards will recognize and honour talent from the previous month in a glitzy awards ceremony. Bollywood star Akshay Kumar has been roped in as the Face of the first edition of the awards.

     

    Ajit Thakur

    Announcing the launch of this innovative property, Ajit Thakur, General Manager, Life OK, said, “Captivating audiences with innovative and resonating content is one of our key strengths. Being India’s fastest growing GEC, our content innovations has cemented our connect with family audiences and every launch of ours has taken this connect a notch higher. This one-of-a-kind award will give an opportunity to the audiences to vote for, celebrate and cherish their favourite stars instantly and regularly. We are glad to be associated with BIG Productions and together we are all set to create fabulous entertainment for our viewers.”

     

    Conceptualized by Life OK, the awards will be produced by BIG Productions and have 92.7 BIG FM as the radio partner. As a part of the promotional campaign, Life OK will be creating engagement and excitement throughout the country by promoting various award categories across multiple media platforms. The awards property will reach huge HSM audiences through Life OK’s massive distribution network.

     

    A monthly entertainment property, Life OK Now Awards will have some of the most renowned Bollywood artistes come together to perform and entertain their fans and audiences. Audiences can cast their vote starting 19th May 2014 and get exclusive content with a simple process by giving a missed call on 1800 270 8701 or download the Life OK Now Awards app from android Store or Google Play or by logging on to www.lifeok.com/NowAwards .

     

  • News channels make hay as the General Elections results are announced + On MxM today

    It’s Raining Revenues on Results Day

     

    By A Correspondent [summary updated, story was filed yesterday]

     

    If you thought only politicians made for strange bedfellows, you mustn’t miss this. Over the last fortnight, leading English channel Times Now has been going to town with its promotions on Hindi news channel Aaj Tak. Nothing wrong with it. General entertainment channels often cross-promote teleserials on news channels, but in this case Aaj Tak has a sibling in Headlines Today which competes with Times Now.

     

    On MxMIndia Tomorrow
    Although every election is bigger than the previous ones, General Elections 2014 was by far the biggest for the media. These were the first general elections after the social media explosion. It was a ‘Made for Television’ election.

    On Friday, May 16, we will not come to you with our regular mid-morning edition. However, we have a special offering for that day:

     

    01. Livetweeting through the counting process. Our brand of commentary on the way the election results are being covered. Follow our Twitter handle: @mxmindia

     

    02. A very special edition at 4pm that day. Special Columns by Ranjona Banerji, Shailesh Kapoor and Amith Prabhu. Plus Mediaah! Also, a lot more of news and reactions.

     

    03. A Google Hangout on the election results at 4pm discussing the election coverage. To be aired live on YouTube and where you can interact with our guests.

     
    Shailesh Kapoor

    The stakes are big for Results Day or Friday, May 16. The Made-for-Television general elections of 2014 are destined to see a huge spike in viewership. “It has emerged as the most promoted date by far in our television history,” asserts Shailesh Kapoor, television insights specialist and CEO of Ormax Media, adding: “More than 20 news channels will fight a fierce battle on Results Day.  The results of this battle within the battle may have a long-lasting impact on our news television economy.”

     

    Prasanth Kumar

    According to Prasanth Kumar, Managing Partner, South Asia, Central Trading Group of GroupM, advertising demand for May 16 has been on the rise. “Advertisers have shown keen interest in election as a property with most taking 4-8-week sponsorship deals. For sponsors, about 10-15 per cent of their campaign monies have been parked for the Results Day.”

     

    “Inventory on news channels is flexible and especially on a day when we feel there would be a lot of breaking news with results and numbers being declared, it would be difficult to put a fix on the bookings,” added Mr Kumar.

     

    Anita Nayyar

    When asked whether her clients have chosen to advertise on news channels given the elections fever,  Anita Nayyar, CEO of media Havas Media Group, India and South Asia said: “It is a once-in-five-years opportunity hence many of our clients are taking advantage of the same. This is a captive audience for brands like auto and liquor who typically target the male audience and has not been a deterrent.”

     

    This time each party has been extremely aggressive in its marketing, says Nayyar. Eyeballs are expected to be on news. Even no IPL matches are scheduled for May 16 when cricket by itself is hot property in India.  All the channels – regional, Hindi and English (in that order) will see a spike from their regular viewership.

     

    And what kind of advertisers are making a beeline for news channels? “Elections tends to see a concentration of advertisers focused towards male audiences so does news. However, given the general elections, the female viewership is also better than the normal viewing of news channels,” Ms Nayyar said matter-of-factly.