MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • Dr Nirgudkar, Editor and Head of Zee 24 Taas, will hold additional charge as Chief of dna

    Dr Uday Nirgudkar of Zee 24 Taas to hold additional charge of dna

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dr Uday Nirgudkar, Editor and Head of Zee 24 Taas, will hold additional charge as Chief of dna. Dr Nirgudkar takes charge of the leading English daily which was helmed until July last year by Malcolm Mistry. He will report to CEO Ashish Pandit and Group CEO,Dr. Bhaskar Das.

     

    An MBA and doctorate in marketing from Pune University, in a career spanning over 20 years, Dr Nirgudkar has handled diverse businesses from conceptualization to execution.

     

    In the past, Dr Nirgudkar has been Business Head at IL&FS, COO of Godrej Lawkim (2004-06), Vice President at Aptech (1994-2002), Marketing Manager, Kores (1991-94) and Forbes, Forbes & Campbell (1989-91).

     

  • The channel will also have shows on tourist destination, Vaastu and interiors, new concepts in living styles

    Spin TV mandates Helios Media with revenue monetisation

    By A Correspondent

     

    Spin TV, the speciality TV channel focussing on the Real Estate sector have assigned the mandate of revenue monetisation to Helios Media

     

    Spin TV will offer consumers the ease of surfing from the comfort of their homes for a complete view of the property that they so desire to short-list. Along with such show-cases the channel will also have shows on tourist destination, Vaastu and interiors, new concepts in living styles and dream homes.

     

    OMNIL CEO, Manish Rachh said, “In Helios Media we saw their ability to position channels in the advertiser market in a way that works both in the favour of the advertiser and the channel. Since SPIN TV is in a very segmented space, it was important for us to assign the monetisation to a team that truly comprehends the value of such an offering.”

     

    Bala Iyengar , COO of Helios Media said, “The core of Helios Media is to look “Beyond Obvious” and we have been successfully achieving huge wins purely on the basis of providing the missing link between content and communication who are both addressing the same consumer base. Identifying of this space and appropriate positioning will therefore lead to true value of the channel.”

     

  • Even the entertainment factor is now commoditised across award shows with performances looking interchangeable like their sets, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: And the Awards are Here… Are you Bored already?

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    It’s the first quarter of a new calendar year, and the awards season has started in its full glory. Every media house worth its salt has a business stake in at least one, sometimes two or eve three, award shows. Every weekend has at least one being aired. By the end of it all, everyone would have won something. Because it’s just fine to create a category to fit in a desired winner. Or just force-fit the desired winner into an existing category anyway, like Mary Kom being a social drama at a recently aired awards show.

     

    The television audiences, of course, watch the awards shows for their entertainment value. The winners’ list is generally out in the media well before the actual telecast. In any case, with less than 5% of the TV audiences being theatre-goers, they couldn’t care less for who won the award for the Best Singer or the Best Supporting Actor, for example.

     

    Unfortunately, even the entertainment factor is now commoditised across shows. All performances, across award shows, look interchangeable, like their sets. In general, we have song-and-dance routines set to contemporary Bollywood hits, intercut with star reactions (mostly cheat footage) and anchors trying to make the audiences laugh with their film industry jokes.

     

    With such homogeneity of content, the shows with the better anchors tend to rate better. The Salman Khan-anchored Big Star Entertainment Awards may not have the equity of Filmfare or Screen Awards, but often ends up being higher-rated than them. Kapil Sharma hosting Filmfare this year should boost its viewership prospects.

     

    About a decade ago, a television channel had two reasons to air an awards show. It would get them the bucks, and it would propel their image of being a complete entertainment channel with big-ticket offerings. Today, the second reason is no longer relevant. Audiences have poor recall of even the biggest award shows, beyond their limited window of promotions and telecast. And channel association has weakened considerably over time, as media clutter increases and properties change hands between channels.

     

    Expecting India to have its own Oscars or Golden Globes is, of course, wishful thinking. IIFA was set up with the ‘Academy’ approach, but the film industry does not share a common view on awards. In fact, many stakeholders do not have a view to begin with. They are happy to be present if there is prior intimation that they are winning an award, or if they are being paid to perform on stage.

     

    But even with all these limitations, can the conceptualisers of such shows not stretch their imagination and at least conceive “entertainment” that’s not a rehash of what we have seen for almost 20 years now, about 8-10 times every year? Wishful thinking, did you say?

     

    No one wins an award for guessing that nothing’s going to change in a hurry.

     

  • To leverage Amagi's TV content localization platform to air Japanese copyrighted content in foreign countries with licensing and piracy safeguards

    Itochu Cable Systems announces partnership with Amagi

    By A Correspondent

     

    ITOCHU Cable Systems has announced its partnership with Amagi, the leader in cloud-based TV broadcast infrastructure and targeted advertising, offering overseas distribution of Japanese TV content through advanced cloud technologies.

     

    ICS works with leading TV networks in Japan to provide them a distribution platform for Japanese content in other countries. “Content licensing and distribution across multiple geographies can get quite complex. In Amagi, we have found the perfect content localization platform that can safeguard the interests of Japanese content owners. Amagi’s technology solutions are highly innovative and truly world-class,” said Kenichi Yamagata, General Manager, ICS.

     

    Amagi provides secure, reliable, and flexible channel playout at a fraction of traditional satellite broadcast costs. Using cloud technologies, Amagi enables both large and niche broadcasters to not only operate channels but to also localize content without creating new satellite feeds. Amagi has installations in more than 10 countries, and holds patents in the area of TV content watermarking for geo-specific localization.

     

    “Amagi has deployed its STORM platform in many countries to cater to content licensing, viewer preferences, and regulatory compliance challenges for TV networks. ICS being the leading video system integrator in Japan, we are very proud to partner with them, and offer our technology innovations and best-in-class TV broadcast platforms to their customers,” said KA Srinivasan, co-founder, Amagi.

     

  • Come March, the Hindi General Entertainment Channel space will see one more player…

    Zee launches &TV with much fanfare & Shah Rukh

     

    By Our Research Editor

     

    It’s been worth the wait. Industrypersons hoping that an all-new big-bang GEC will rev up the scene were not disappointed. Indian entertainment’s most sought after name – Shah Rukh Khan – was present at the launch.

     

    By the time you read this, you’ve already heard and read enough about what &TV is going to be all about. That it was to be called &TV was known now for around a year. In fact the industry was hoping for a surprise or a twist, but that didn’t happen. That a galaxy of production companies have been retained for some high visibility fictions and non-fictions was also known. In fact the names were there on the television fanzines and Indiantelevision.com even had rather detailed insider info on the launch.

     

    What was not known much in advance were the finer details of the big opening act of the channel – Shah Rukh Khan and a Siddhartha Basu/Big Synergy production ‘India Poochega – Sabse Shaana Kaun?’. Although Khan earned his stripes on the small screen, his recent outings with non-fiction (save the award shows) have been mixed. While Kaun Banega Crorepati was fine, others like ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?’ and ‘Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout’ failed to attract audiences.

     

    Television industry observers though aren’t too worried. What Shah Rukh Khan has done is draw attention to the channel and will pull viewers to it in the early days. Just as an Akshay Kumar did for Colors, a little less than seven years back. “The good thing is that SRK isn’t one to accept defeats easily and he will keep at it until he succeeds. So you never know!”

     

    The launch proeedings at the Reliance Mediaworks studio at Mumbai’s Film City were very business-like. Before Shah Rukh Khan descended on the stage (literally!), Zee Entertainment Managing Director and CEO Punit Goenka unveiled the logo with a tap on the backdrop. “&TV will offer a more substantial viewing experience to an audience that is always seeking fresh and relevant content. The channel extends our Hindi entertainment portfolio under the ‘&’ bouquet and will add to the consolidation of our leading position in the entertainment industry.”

    Said Rajesh Iyer, Business Head, &TV on what the channel will stand for: “While the spirit of &TV is young, it is deep-rooted in values. We intend to be a power house of entertainment, by tapping into and harnessing the powerful changes in the thinking, mindset and belief sweeping through this country of billions. As a new channel, we will lead with innovation, try new things and new ways to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive environment. We are thrilled to have Shah Rukh Khan as the host of our flagship non-fiction property and we are certain that the audience will enjoy a different side of their superstar! ”

     

    So will &TV be an attempt to flank parent Zee TV and shave away from rating points from Colors which has been consistently at #2 among the Hindi GECs over the last few months?

     

    “If &TV weans away viewers, it will do that for not just Colors but across all GECs. But rather than that, as we have seen in the past, the genre of Hindi entertainment will grow if &TV works with viewers,” said the analyst quoted earlier. But what is the guarantee of &TV working given that Pal has a dismal outing despite being from the Multi Screen Media/Sony stable and being headed by Anooj Kapoor who turned around the fortunes of Sab TV? “It’s impossible to guarantee anything. In broadcast, as it is in life. Just because a certain channel has failed till date doesn’t it mean it can’t bounce back and others will not do well.”

     

    This, it may be noted is Zee’s third attempt with a second GEC, if one does not put Zindagi in the same bracket.  EL TV and Zee Next started out with much enthusiasm, but did not create an impact and were pulled off. “Those were different days. The attention and budgets being given to &TV with Rajesh Iyer and his team are of a dramatically higher magnitude.” Indeed they are. An IndianTelevision report pegged marketing costs to be in the region of Rs 150 crore. Other trade wags say the entire outlay in the first year to be in the region of upwards of Rs 400 crore.

     

    &TV, MxMIndia learns, will be promoted extensively on the Zee TV network. An extensive 360-degree campaign has been envisaged. The channel’s tagline is Jashn Jeene Ka” which has been rendered by musical duo Sachin-Jigar.

    Other than India Poochega – SabseShaanaKaun?’ which is an adaptation from Who’s Asking, a format owned by Israel based Armoza, the channel also uveiled a host of fiction properties. Starting with, Begusarai, a quintessential quirky land set in the hinterland of Bihar with film-maker Tigmanshu Dhulia designing the first look of this multi-starrer film on TV, being one. There’s a historical thrown in the form of Razia Sultan, there BhabijiG har Par Hai!, a sitcom, and then there’s a soap titled Badii Devrani, which, as the name suggest, will have all the family melodrama built into it.

     

    According to a communiqué handed out to the media, the ampersand or & in &TV, signifies a conjunction of aspirations and rootedness which is synonymous with the spirit of new age India. “Through its content offering, the channel will bring together people and ideologies thus fostering cohesive viewing within Indian households. &TV will showcase a diverse and dynamic mix of relatable fiction, high voltage non-fiction, marquee events and blockbuster movies.”

     

    Does all of this look a bit like what some other channels are about? A rival broadcaster, while insisting on anonymity, says the comparisons with any channel are incorrect. There is a one billion-plus viewing public, and broadcasters are tailoring content to all tastes. “We scoffed at Sab’s programming as too downmarket, but see where it’s reached. Also, look at Life OK. Despite being from the Star India stable, it has carved a unique niche for itself.”

     

    Another senior industryperson told us that it’s all about how one works around the demographics.  “Remember what happened after LC1. With an increase in the number of panels and meters across the country, we could be in for a new beginning in television in India. And this is where an &TV can score.”

     

    &TV is scheduled to launch in March, though no dates are given yet. Interesting World Cup Cricket is going to be on till March 29, but being held in Australia and New Zealand, it won’t impact primetime viewing. The 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled from April 8 to May 24. Then there are the slew of programming on all of television.

     

    And did we hear that there could be a couple of more Hindi GECs that may launch in the next year? It’s a party that will never end. Like one of our infinitely loooong television dramas.

     

     

     

  • Q&A with Zindagi Business Head Priyanka Datta as the channel boasts of high impact, despite the low ratings

    We knew Zindagi won’t be in league of Zee, other GECs

     

    Okay, okay, this is for the second consecutive day that we are doing a big story on a Zee channel, but that’s a coincidence. No motive… no quid pro quo 🙂

     

    So should a Hindi general entertainment channel necessarily score big on the weekly ratings roster to be termed a success? Not if you are Zindagi, launched in June 2014, which hit upon the winning concept of airing Pakistani television shows at primetime. The concept has worked, carving a unique ‘premium’ niche for the Zee Entertainment channel. Pradyuman Maheshwari spoke with Priyanka Datta, Business Head of Zindagi. Excerpts from an interview:

     

    For India and Indians, Pakistani and everything Pakistani is perceived as Enemy #1. Did the seven-month run of Zindagi see any unsettling moments given the various issues we’ve had with our neighbour?

    When we launched the channels we too thought along these lines. In fact we had security outside our office and were ready for any possible backlash. But the response has been amazing. There is no negativity whatsoever, in fact there’s only appreciation from all quarters.

     

    The channel was launched with much fanfare on June 23, 2014. How has the year been for you?

    The response has been overwhelming. It wasn’t a mass channel to deliver major ratings like you see in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) space. We launched keeping the content for an ‘X’ mindset and we’ve reached that audience remarkably well. Now we intend to innovate and grow.

     

    If there’s one thing to differentiate the mindset of a ZeeTV versus that of Zindagi, what would it be?

    Zindagi very clearly caters to an absolutely progressive mindset. A person who can stand for her right, it has female audience-based shows, away from the melodrama, more in the realistic realm of things. That’s the content we offer and the audience we target.

     

    For an organisation which has a channel where ratings are always in three figures, it must’ve taken some to get used to this double-figure rating for a GEC?

    That’s all in the mind because in this very network you have English channels which also have a single figure rating but are doing very well in their genre. We knew Zindagi won’t be of the league of Zee or other Hindi GECs because the content differs widely. We felt it could’ve done a little better than what it’s delivering now, but we were not very way off.

     

    You haven’t caught the bug of reality or song-and-dance shows yet?

    We don’t intend to, this isn’t a typical Hindi GEC. I don’t think there’s any need for a reality show or non-fiction. For example, a DID doesn’t fit into it.

     

    No Pakistani DID?

    Zindagi isn’t a Pakistani channel. Currently, the content is all from Pakistan, primarily because the language affinity is there. In India, we don’t have finite shows in the Hindi space. That will take time to come on air here. We are already talking of regional productions as we go on, along the year.

     

    But, as of now, it is Pakistani…

    Yes, the content that you have is Pakistani. We’re looking at exploring content from various places like Turkey and Egypt from the second phase of this year.

     

    How have you done in adsales ?

    This channel is being received well. I’m sure we’ll do better as we go along.

     

    Are you able to attract any premium because of the kind of audience you have?

    Honestly speaking, whatever we are doing is the premium we are getting and selling on. We definitely can’t sell on ratings, seeing them as they are. It’s all on premium and the brands have only been growing. It’s faring pretty well. The mindset is also changing from an advertising standpoint. In the Hindi space, people so far are not used to buying content on premium. It’s all very CPRP- and GRP-linked. English channels, for instance, are bought on premium and perception, not ratings. Hindi channels haven’t been bought on perception because none existed to buy.

     

    The sentiment in Pakistan in the television industry is very popular towards Zindagi. It’s more money for them too. Are you cashing in on that in any way?

    We’re looking at getting more. We’ve already procured most of the cream they have produced so far. The good thing is, it’s not just the content that’s bringing the freshness. All their best actors and directors are into television. They are far more natural actors… they go to bed in nighties, not zari-lined sarees! That appeals very well to our audiences.

     

    Some of the Pakistani stars are quite a rage here, right?

    Yes, it’s working for them. Now, many Zindagi stars are getting into Hindi films. Like Fawad Khan was signed on for a film much earlier, but became a household name only after he was on Zindagi. Everywhere he went for the promotion of his film Khoobsurat, he was being asked about Zindagi Gulzar Hai and asked to sing, talk of his TV show etc.

     

    A version of this appeared in dna of brands dated January 19, 2014

     

  • Presenting TAM data for Week 3 (January 11-18, 2015) for various Hindi and Regional Entertainment Channels in select India markets

    TAM numbers for Hindi & Regional Channels in Week ​3​

    Namaskaar, Vannakkam, Hello. It’s that TAM, er, time, of the week when we bring you TAM ratings for the key GECs. So here we are presenting you TAM data for various Hindi and regional entertainment channels for ​Week 3 of 2015 (that’s for January 11-18, 2015).

     

    Note this list is not exhaustive and does not include some key and growing regional markets. Also, as you possibly know, this data is not sourced from TAM. So we’ve sourced it from a friendly subscriber. While we are confident that the numbers are correct, we urge advertisers and our readers in general to verify the data.

     

  • Zee TV plans to bring these to the masses in a book specially written and curated by author Rashmi Bansal

    Zee gets author Rashmi Bansal to curate book based on ‘Ummeed’ stories

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ms. Rashmi Bansal & Mr. Pradeep Hejmadi, Zee TV Business Head, announcing first of its kind crowd sourced book on Ummeed

    Zee TV recently announced an evolution in its core proposition to ‘HarLamhaNayiUmmeed’– a line that captures the beauty of re-discovering a new ray of hope with every moment of life. The channel, with its rich programming content that resonates with this proposition, has emerged as a beacon of hope to millions of viewers over the years. Apart from setting inspiring examples for the masses through the journeys of its strong, resilient fiction show protagonists and lending a national platform for celebrating the common man’s talent through its non-fiction formats, Zee TV’s endeavors of spreading hope have extended beyond the realms of just television content – the most recent case being ‘Hum Hai … Ummeed-e-Kashmir’ where the channel, along with its philanthropy partners, organized star-studded charity concerts to raise funds and provide shelters for the rehabilitation of flood-afflicted citizens of Jammu & Kashmir, Assam & Vishakhapatnam. As an interesting extension of its constant mission of spreading Ummeed, Zee TV recently invited its viewers to share their personal ummeed stories – real life accounts of their journeys of hope, successes and triumphs over any daunting obstacles and challenges life posed them with.

     

    The channel has received a good response and some very intriguing and inspiring stories of tiding over trials with the power of hope. Zee TV believes that the country has a lot to benefit from reading about these motivating accounts of Ummeed and plans to bring them to the masses in a book specially written and curated by author Rashmi Bansal — a writer, entrepreneur and a youth expert with six best-selling books on entrepreneurship, each of which have sold more than 1 million copies and been translated in 10 languages. She is also one of India’s most sought-after motivational speakers. Her books – be it I Have a Dream, Poor Little Rich Slum, Follow Every Rainbow, Take Me Home or Arise Awake, have captured the journeys of enterprising women, students, slum-dwellers and small-town entrepreneurs.

     

    Every single Ummeed entry shared by Zee TV’s viewers will be showcased on the channel’s official website, 10 entries per week will be featured on air through astons on Zee TV, the top 25 will make their way into the special book being curated by Rashmi Bansal while perhaps a select handful of the best stories will go on to inspire Zee TV’s upcoming shows.

     

    In an announcement of the book launch made at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the channel’s Business Head Pradeep Hejmadi said, “Zee TV has and will always stand for Ummeed. It is its articulation that will change to reflect the changing times. So, as we recently evolved our core proposition to HarLamhaNayiUmmeed, making it even more relevant to our viewers’ daily lives, we set out in search of inspiration. We called out to our own viewers to share their most moving, motivating accounts of triumphs and victories – stories where they held on to Ummeed and stayed afloat, tiding over tribulations and challenges, only to emerge winners. We’ve received an overwhelming response with thousands of people writing in with diverse subjects and issues. These are stories waiting to be told, as they have the potential to inspire. With Rashmi having made a significant contribution towards encouraging India’s youth, shaping careers and fostering entrepreneurial spirit, we are pleased to partner with her in bringing alive some of these most impressive crowd-sourced stories of Ummeed. Rashmi will curate and author a special book for Zee TV that will tell each of these truly inspiring Ummeed stories in the way only she can!”

     

  • The channel to be available in Sub-Saharan Africa from February 03, 2015

    Zee World launches in South Africa

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) announced the launch of a new television channel, Zee World, at a glittering event in Johannesburg. The channel aims to offer its viewers an extra-ordinary world of entertainment, and will be the first-of-its-kind to showcase television series, Bollywood movies, reality shows and more action packed content. Zee World is a GEC and is the first offering from ZEEL for mainstream viewers in Africa.

     

    Subhash Chandra

    “The corporate positioning of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘The world is my family’ is the driving force that enables us to bring authentic and entertaining content to global audiences, with a vision to reach a billion viewers by 2020,” said Essel Group & ZEEL Chairman, Dr. Subhash Chandra.

     

    Zee World is a customized channel experience for mainstream audiences in Africa and will be available from February 03, 2015 on DSTV channel 166. All content that will be aired has undergone extensive research and customization including editing and dubbing with most of the channel’s content dubbed in South Africa using local talent.

     

  • Starting January 31, Disney Channel takes the family route with clean, entertaining shows on weekends. A Q&A with Vijay Subramaniam, VP-Content &Communications, Media Network at Disney

    In the family way…

     

    Pardon our cheeky headline, but a channel like Disney doesn’t give you the liberty to do this ever. For, starting tomorrow (January 31), Disney Channel takes the family route. Kicking off its new credo will be five new live-action shows over weekends with a brand promise of ‘Shanivaar, Ravivaar only for Parivaar’. They are Kabhi Aise Geet Gaya Karo, Maan Na Maan Main Tera Mehmaan, Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass, Lage Raho Chachu and Zindagi Khattee Meethi featuring television veterans like Renuka Shahane, Mahesh Thakur, Sudhir Pandey, and Maninee Mishra. On the eve of the the change, Vijay Subramaniam, VP-Content and Communications, Media Networks, Disney India spoke with MxMIndia

     

    From a kids-centric channel to now a family one. Given your long association with the channel, how do you and the team feel about the transition?

    It feels amazing because it’s the journey we pretty much imagined for the channel and the brand in this country. We are a kids-centric family inclusive brand and our brand of entertainment will always be that. We are a young brand. When we came into the country, the first protocol was to connect with the kids which I think we’ve done consistently and successfully for a while. While doing that, we’ve also enjoyed a great deal of parental approval and participation. Now, we find we’re in a great place to complement our offering with the opportunity to entertain the entire family together. What we’re doing is adding one more offering or layer to our content offering.

     

    The kids’ domain was also getting a little cluttered.

    No, I’d say there’s always a marketplace for differentiated high quality programming. I don’t entirely believe there’s enough segmentation yet. The real journey for us is that the brand entertains kids and families together everywhere. That’s the uniqueness of the brand and there was a point in time where we too wanted to take the time to invite families to come and sit on the couch together and be entertained by the Disney channel.

     

    While the flagship Disney Channel turns ‘family’, your other kiddie properties continue

    Absolutely! I said it’s a compliment. It’s adding an existing layer to our entertainment offering. It’s stuff that kids will also enjoy. It’s made for the entire family. These are shows and stories that are not just uplifting and positive but are very entertaining.

     

    You had a re-run of Shararat on Disney for a very long time

    That’s right. Those were the early days of experimentation on what kind of stories work and how do audiences respond. More recently, we started putting shows like, The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir and Best of Luck Nikki. We even piloted a DisneyQ in the Family Mastermind format. These are progressive steps we’re looking to take to add to our existing offering and bring families into our entertainment foray.

     

    What are your targets in terms of ‘Made for Family’ content? What’s it going to increase a year from now?

    In terms of number of hours, right now there are three hours and we’ve not really set an outer goal yet. It is a significant step that we’ve taken and our entire focus is on being able to do this and set out the high quality content we’ve set out to deliver. I think our focus is really going to be on those two areas.

     

    The family content also pits you against the existing Hindi GECs which in a different league altogether. Are you going to match that in terms of presence, scale and emotions?

    Our aim is and remains to entertain kids and families together on the weekend using differentiated stories and storytelling. It is organic. We believe, over time, our popularity, through the stories and the shows, will increase and grow. We’re very clear and independent in our view of how our journey is going to be for us. We believe the opportunity is there for great stories which families gravitate towards. If you were to draw a parallel, you can look at the movie industry. There are blockbusters and there are standout films – both equally successful. I think that analogy would apply to us as well.

     

    Surely you would’ve done a fair bit of research on this, but, in a market where kids are drawn increasingly towards detective shows like CID or funnies like Comedy Nights with Kapil, do you see enough of a pull for clean entertainment?

    Absolutely. I completely agree with you in terms of what they are watching but, equally, there is an opportunity that they would be, if given, delighted to watch not just them but their parents and their grandparents. That opportunity is what we are tapping into.

     

    From where you are right now, any targets in terms of how you would fair in terms of the ratings roster?

    Unfortunately I can’t share our targets with you. We continue leading the marketplace and we will hopefully continue doing that. We want to now start tracking strongly in the family measurement scores and I know in India you don’t have co-viewing as a measure, so if you were to interpret family as the 25 plus audiences, we want to start tracking pretty strongly there as well. That would be the first measure, really.

     

    Were there any worries that you would alienate your core viewer: children on weekends?

    No, again going back to Best of Luck and The Suite Life of Karan & Kabir. Those steps gave us enough insight into how you can actually entertain kids with live action content. Because it is the stuff that they watch. If anything, we were energised by the fact that we will be able to entertain kids and families together with a new dimension which is live action which otherwise isn’t coming from the genre. Secondly, it’s the unique storytelling style that we’ve chosen that we pride ourselves in. At the heart of everything we do, we are kid-centric and family inclusive. All our stories have to pass on that filter.

     

    Are you looking at films in the near or distant future? The Disney family in the U.S. have a fairly large film component.

    That’s right. The DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies), you mean. They’re not on the anvil right now. Our entire focus is to deliver consistently high quality wholesome family entertainment that, with finite fiction is what we’ve started with and moved down the path of…

     

    How has it been in terms of advertisers?

    The response has been very encouraging. The fact is that it’s two-fold. Firstly, we do have a legacy with our partners. Our journey has been progressive and it’s been for them too. We have a large roster of partners that are already engaged with us, both as a network and as a Disney Channel. This has only expanded their horizons because this allows them to target other segments which currently they didn’t have an access to from a Disney standpoint. Secondly, the response to the uniqueness of our stories and the fact that it’s wholesome and fun and uplifting and really the dil ko choo jaaye part of it has been tremendous. A lot of brands have seen the qualitative values besides the quantitative ones to want to be a part of this journey.

     

    I’m sure you’d have done your research. But, at one level, it’s good to talk about the fact that you want to be associated with the good things. But it’s another when it comes to ratings and alike.

    Absolutely! I do believe that, ultimately, high quality, differentiated stories with values stand out. They will stand out and they will succeed on both parameters. That’s our belief. It is a journey, it is organic, it takes time because you’re asking people to first come and sample the stories. We’re pretty confident that through that sampling, they will be first entertained and therefore, engaged. That journey done consistently well, we will be successful.

     

    Are you looking at any regional feeds of this family format?

    Not at the moment. Again, singular focus, we’ve made a conscious choice of entertaining the Hindi speaking markets first.

     

  • The Barack Obama trip notwithstanding, the News Entertainer of the Week (also the Month) Award was snatched away by the ever-so-incorrigible Kiran Bedi, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: The Kiran Bedi School of Entertainment

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    The week that went may have only been above average on its news-worthiness, but it was one of the best weeks in recent memories on its news entertainment quotient. The Modi-Obama trip provided ample light moments, both on-field (the ‘chemistry’ between the two leaders themselves) and off-field (the reactions on social media and the hyperventilation on television). But the News Entertainer of the Week (also the Month) Award was snatched away by the ever-so-incorrigible Kiran Bedi.

     

    For almost two weeks now, she has been finding innovative ways of providing us daily entertainment. The Ravish Kumar interview for NDTV India is one of the most exciting news interviews in India in a while. If you watched the entire 20-minutes of it (important, because the most entertaining parts are packed in towards the end), you would agree that Bedi can get the best out of journalists. Kumar was in fine form, tongue-in-cheek at times, politely sarcastic at others, and outright brazen on a couple of occasions. I don’t watch much Hindi news except when work requires me to, but I know audiences rate Kumar very highly. Sir, you had me at “Excellent”.

     

    I’ve grown up in Delhi to the legends of Kiran Bedi. I was too young when the PMO car was towed, but I remember being told that Crane Bedi could take a crane anywhere, anytime, and pick up any vehicle. It was a personal story for my family. Our family two-wheeler had been towed (craned?) once as well.

     

    There were some not-so-positive stories from Mizoram and some fairly progressive ones from Tihar, over the years. But largely, Bedi was out-of-sight and out-of-mind. In 2008-09, she found mass audiences in her TV show Aap Ki Kachehri Kiran Ke Saath. Star Plus dared to give the show a primetime slot, and it turned out to be a good decision. Bedi was her natural, policing self, solving family disputes of people from lower socio-economic groups. She could talk down to them, with many being illiterate and most seeking desperate help.

     

    The show worked and made Bedi a popular face in a generation that may not have known much about her till then. The second season didn’t find much favor with the audience, for both content and time-slot issues. But if Bedi indeed ends up achieving anything significant in her political career, she has enough reasons to thank Aap Ki Kachehri (and hence Star and Big Synergy).

     

    My respect-for-Bedi bubble burst when she did that one ghoonghat act at the Ramlila Maidaan in 2011. I was least offended by what she said. What irked me was that it was just not well performed. She did that act in the same Kachehri policing tone, much like she gives all her interviews these days (before the ‘voice rest’). It’s like an actor who impresses you in her first film because of her unique style, but then goes on to perform every character in the exact same way thereafter.

     

    Style apart, her content has not much going for it either. If BJP can pull off the Delhi elections with Bedi at the helm, it would be their toughest win in the last two years. Much as I’d like to be entertained for the next five years by her, I’m tempted to think of my original home Delhi first, and wish that this entertainment ends on February 10. Side-actor Kejriwal can take over then.

     

  • The beleaguered Hindi Channel is going in for a content revamp and will be up for a relaunch

    Sony Pal not shutting yet, set for a revamp

    By A Correspondent

     

    There have been many rumours about the status of Multi Screen Media’s second Hindi general entertainment channel Sony Pal over the last few weeks, months possibly. The channel hasn’t fared too well in terms of television audience ratings ever since it launched on September 1.

     

    Despite boasting of shows from well-known production houses, the channel ratings were even lesser than some of the re-run channels of the established networks. Yesterday, as there was buzz that the channel is going in for re-runs of old Sony Entertainment Television properties, MSM issued a statement:

     

    Sony PAL was launched five months ago subsequent to which the channel carried out extensive research. Basis the research channel is in the process of realigning its content strategy. Sony PAL has achieved extensive distribution as a pay channel and will continue to be an important asset for the MSM Network.”

     

    A media agency veteran who MxMIndia spoke to was unimpressed and felt that the going is going to be tough for Pal if the changes initiated are not dramatic. “Remember, Zee is launching &TV from March, and all the other GECs are not sitting pretty in the meantime.”

     

    Indeed. But, then, like in the various soaps and tele-dramas, one can always expect a twist somewhere. Let’s wait for the revamp.