MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • By choosing to do so, the Advertising Standards Council of India has failed in its duty, writes Pradyuman Maheshwari in Mediaah!

    Mediaah! Why is ASCI mum on CNBCTV18-ET Now issue?

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

    The stakes are high in the news television business. The winner – in this the leader of the pack – generally takes it all – and given that it’s not an easy business to run, there are just too many claims on counter-claims on which is the #1 channel.

    Earlier this month, ET Now released large ads in The Times of India claiming it’s the No 1.

    On Monday, June 15, we received a mail from a PR agency claiming to represent CNBC-TV18 that ASCI asks ET Now to withdraw the misleading ads.

    Quality journalism requires some no-brainer rigour. You don’t trust the source even it may otherwise be credible. If Company X says it has won a case in the courts, you want to see the Court Order. Ditto with an FIR with the cops.

    But for some, publishing is pure commerce. Like that phrase we’ve been hearing in the ongoing political drama: quid pro quo! This is not the time to shout out loud about the rigour we follow. On to the case…

    So I called the ASCI secretariat on Monday and asked if the advertising self-regulator ever gave out individual dispute orders. The person taking my call said “No”, and was surprised that the channel had done so because ASCI normally discourages the winning party from going to the media about winning a certain dispute.

    In fact the outcomes of each complaint is made public only after allowing enough time for a review request by the losing party.

    I thought it was fair.

    What this basically meant is that while CNBC-TV18 may have had its complaint upheld, the order was conveyed officially but privately to both parties (CNBC-TV18 and ET Now) and not expected to go public… ASCi would do that after two months (on June 2, we received info on upheld complaints of March 2015).

    I asked ASCI if it had indeed issued the order restraining ET Now. I got no comment. I could approach either CNBC TV18 or ET Now for more, I was told. I thought that it was a strange reaction, but then ASCI is esteemed Self-Regulator.

    We dug into ASCI’s CCC reports over the last six months and did not find any complaints against both channels.

    The story was simple until Tuesday evening. Yesterday, that’s Wednesday, June 17, The Times of India’s Mumbai edition had an ET Now ad under the paper’s masthead (on Page1) claiming the channel is #1. It was similar to the earlier one which was contested by ASCI. Now. while technically, ET Now is required to withdraw ads by June 22, the operative word is ‘by’ and not ‘after’.  In all fairness, after hearing of the ASCI order, it should have stopped carrying the dispute ad.

    My immediate response was to write to ASCI, the Advertising Standards Council of India.

    My questions:

    1. What steps does ASCI take if and when an advertiser violates its advisory and continues with its advertisements even after the advisory has been issued to the advertiser?

    2. Has ET Now contested the ASCI advisory/order on withdraw advertising that was found to be misleading.

    I waited all day only to be told by the Secretary General late evening by mail that I will not get the answers. The reason: “In our last conversation I have very clearly indicated that as a policy, ASCI does not comment on individual cases. Your query below not being generic, it would not be right to comment on the same. Our request would be to not quote ASCI since this news has not been issued by ASCI.”

    Needless to say, I was surprised with the ASCI response. At MxMIndia, our intent in approaching ASCI was simply this: “If CNBC-TV18 made a false claim on Monday, it must be exposed and if ET Now has mocked at an ASCI advisory and gone ahead with an ad, then it must be exposed too.”

    By not responding to our query, and possibly because it doesn’t want its name dragged into a controversy between two powerful media groups, we are being compelled to look at motives behind ASCI not being transparent on the incident, even if there aren’t any. As my namesake ACP Pradyuman would say in the serial CID: Kuchh toh gadbad hai!

    Also, clearly, ASCI – as a body needs to be vigilant in its attempt to lay standards in the business and craft of advertising. Perhaps it makes sense for ASCI to have in its fold some non-advertising/media industry biggies who would not be soft on erring members of the fraternity. And be strong and aggressive with advertisers who are incorrect and do not honour the ASCI code in letter and spirit.

    By not doing so, it’s only doing great disservice to the industry that has set it up.

    Remember, it was not very long ago that a minister of the central government had raised questions on ASCI’s efficacy. Some industry commentators had even raised questions about whether ASCI can deliver.

    We believe it can, but not if chooses to stay mum on key decisions such as these.

     

    Here’s the press release we received from a PR agency representing CNBC-TV18:

    ASCI asks ET NOW to withdraw misleading ads

    June 15, 2015, Mumbai:

    The Advertising Standards Council of India, (ASCI) has upheld CNBC-TV18’s complaints against the advertising campaign released by ET NOW news channel on May 31. ASCI has advised ET NOW to withdraw or modify appropriately the said ads by 22nd June 2015.

    Their campaign, launched on 31st May, 2015, was declared to be based on BARC data and their ‘internal data’.  In its ruling, ASCI made the following observations:

    On ET NOW’s claim – “India’s No. 1 Business Channel.”

    ASCI has upheld the complaint against this claim. Firstly, the data provided by the Advertiser is for leadership among English Business channels only and it does not consider the other regional business channels. Hence it was concluded that this declaration is misleading by omission on the advertiser’s part and contravenes Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code.
    Secondly, the source quoted is of BARC covers only two weeks of data. It refers to TV audience in the 10 to 75 lakh town class and this does not constitute the whole of India and this contravened Chapters IV.1 (b) & (d) of the ASCI Code.
    On ET NOW’s claim – “Built on Expertise. Monthly Positive Stock Calls: ET Now – 1044 CNBC TV18 -326”

    ASCI has upheld the complaint against this claim. The proprietary data source quoted for the claim, “Monthly Positive Stock Calls: ET Now – 1044 CNBC TV18 -326” was “Research – Consult Kraft | Period: Nov ’14 to Apr ’15 | Based on Avg.  Monthly Positive Stocks recommendations All Market Days, 7:30am to 3:30pm. This data period does not overlap with the viewership data period referred to in the advertisement.  The data provided therefore, was likely to mislead by implication and ambiguity and this contravenes Chapter I.4 of the ASCI Code.
    On ET NOW’s claim – “Built on Speed. 6 out of 10 Business Stories Break on ET Now”
    ASCI has upheld the complaint against this claim. This claim was not substantiated with evidence to prove that the Advertiser was indeed able to break more stories / break stories faster than others and was therefore misleading. This contravened Chapters I.1 and I.4 of the ASCI Code.

  • The focus of our news media has shifted progressively over the last two decades from reporting the news to owning the news, writes Shailesh Kapoor

    Shailesh Kapoor: Lalit Modi: A Scam-Starved Media’s Saviour

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    The first 11 months of the Modi government at the Centre haven’t been the most eventful ones for the news media. In UPA-2, the media had the problem of plenty. One after the other, new scams would emerge, competing with each other for attention and news space. But that dried up May last year, after Narendra Modi came to power.

     

    The Delhi elections and the exciting, sometimes dubious, brand of politics by the Aam Aadmi Party ensured that there was some fodder for news channels to provide their viewers with their daily dose of political voyeurism. The occasional foot-in-the-mouth statements from the fringes in the ruling party also helped. But overall, it has been a lean, scam-free year.

     

    Till last week only, though. Starved for scams, the news media took to the Lalit Modi story like fish to water. It was like a homecoming after being away for an extended period of time. Five days down, the relentless coverage continues across channels and newspapers. And we know we haven’t seen the end of this ‘scam’ yet.

     

    Compare this controversy to 2G, Coalgate, CWG and other such big stories from UPA-2 and you would agree that this one is much weaker in content. There’s no real sense of loot after all. And lobbying and politician-corporate nexus have existed from times even before any of us were born. But, as they say, never let facts come in the way of a good story. Or in this case, never let facts decide how big a story it can be.

     

    There are many elements that make the Lalit Modi-Sushma Swaraj-Vasundhra Raje revelations newsworthy and highly entertaining too. First, the protagonist itself. Lalit is a media character in his own right. He’s not exactly the most pleasurable listening experience, but his unapologetic display of defiance makes it tough to ignore him. He gets journalists to fly to far-off Montenegro to interview him, and while a couple of them are in-flight, tweets that he will have to cancel the interviews because his ‘UK Lawyers’ advised him so.

     

    In many ways, Lalit is the face of crony capitalism that the Prime Minister has been accused of encouraging. It’s difficult for the Congress to launch a full-blown attack given the Robert Vadra precedent, but the controversy offers a delicious opportunity to the opposition nonetheless. I’m surprised no one has connected the common surname of the two Modis yet and tried to create a story out of it. Or may be I missed it.

     

    That the other two protagonists are women who have risen to powerful positions gives the story even more teeth in a country where politics is still a male bastion. This is a heady cocktail of powerplay, IPL, family ties, women empowerment, lifestyle of the rich and the famous, and even cancer. Our media would have to be too naïve to not lap it up.

     

    How this story has developed is also a good commentary of the state of our news media today, where the focus has shifted progressively over the last two decades from reporting the news to owning the news. There is bound to be impact and a head or two may roll in this case. And since the next scam may not be in sight, this story will be dragged for as long as it can sustain.

     

    So you know which industry you want to join if you want free trips to Montenegro and the likes.

     

  • The gap between the top two channels has narrowed down further with Sony Max beating Zee Cinema to the top spot by just 4 GRPs, as per analysis done by the S-Group, the strategic consulting arm of TAM Media Research

    Hindi movie genre drops marginally as Max beats Zee Cinema in Week 24: TAM

    The gap between the top two channels has narrowed down further with Sony Max beating Zee Cinema to the top spot by just 4 GRPs, as per analysis done by the S-Group, the strategic consulting arm of TAM Media Research

     

     

    • Total TV as well as Hindi Movie Genre have dropped marginally in Wk 24, 2015 (7th – 13th June) with the share of the genre standing undisturbed at 19%, as compared to last week. A drop in Reach as well as Time Spent on the genre led to its decrease by 7 GRPs.

     

    • UTV Movies, which edged past &Pictures last week, has stuck on to the fourth position by a whisker. Other rankings remain unchanged.

    • The top 3 channels lost viewership during Prime-time, with only Star Gold managing to make up for it by increasing during off-prime, both the changes being minimal.

     

    • The movie channel premiere of ‘Khamoshiyan’ on Sony Max helped Saturday’s viewership. However, it didn’t compensate for the overall decrease.

     

    • Star Gold continues to rely on the Action genre. Last week, South Dubbed titles brought in viewership, while this week Salman Khan’s movies like ‘Jai Ho’, ‘Ready’, and ‘Bodyguard’ helped it sustain.

     

    • Z Cinema increased throughout the weekdays, but lost 7 GRPs during weekend prime-time due to lack of titles with TSV as high as that of ‘Lingaa’ last week. On the other hand, Drama movies came through for the channel and ‘Vivah’ scored a rating of 0.9 to help it gain viewership during rest-of-day-part.

     

    • Saturday did well for UTV Movies due to the premiere of ‘Ek Paheli Leela’ that garnered 4 GRPs. UTV Action, which had dropped last week, regained lost viewership owing to high Time Spent. ‘Journey to the West – Conquering the Demons’, aired during weekday prime-time was the top rated movie for the channel.

     

    • Top 3 movie airings for the week are as shown below:


  • Any characters in Thakraney's book resembling people in advertising and journalism, we asked someone in the know. "Yes," we were told. "Especially in the media. He has not even tried to conceal the resemblance too much."

    MediaAsides: Times mulls realty channel, Anil Thakraney’s crime novel characters resemble media folk…

    By Mediaahwallah

     

    And on a day when Pratap Bose has announced his new agency, we are back dearies.  With some goss, some asides and some gupshup.

     

    Times Network to launch real estate channel

    We aren’t sure whether this it’s going to be very high on the ratings roster, but our sources in Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, DN Road and Kamla Mills Compound tell us that it’s going to happen soon.

     

    The spreadsheets have been approved, the sanctions have been got and if all goes as per plan, Times Network will launch a full-fledged channel on the real estate sector.

    If our memory serves us right, in the mid-1990s, NEPC had come up with an exclusive real estate channel. It didn’t last too long.

    But in the case of Times of India group, the real estate sector depends a great deal on the print avatar, so this could well work.

    We will wait and watch.

     

    Lalit Modi takes on Vineet Jain

     

    Lalit Modi
    Vineet Jain

    If you don’t follow Lalit Modi on Twitter, do so now (the handle is @lalitkmodi).

    Obviously reacting to the aggressive coverage on him on Times Now, Modi is now taking the battle to the Times camp, and he has been taking on Bennet, Coleman (the Times of India and Times Now parent company) managing director Vineet Jain in his tweets.

    None of Modi’s attempts to embarrass Jain have been successful so far, as other than tweeting several times all of the weekend, there has been no dramatic claim or expose. Until the time of writing at least.

     

     

    Anil Thakraney’s crime novel has characters having close resemblances with media folk

    Anil Thakraney

    MxMIndia regulars and folks in the ad and media business are familiar with Anil Thakraney’s writings.  Thakraney’s first book – a crime thriller — is due to be released on July 22 and is titled ‘An Invitation to Death’. The story is about a serial killer and is set in contemporary India.  According to info available on Thakraney’s website (anilthakraney.com), the protagonist is Darius Irani, a hyper-intelligent young man who goes on a murderous spree, targeting young, beautiful, urban women, who fall prey to his easy charm, sense of humour and innate madness.

    Any characters in the book resembling people in advertising and journalism, we asked someone in the know. “Yes,” we were told. “Especially in the media.  He has not even tried to conceal the resemblance too much.”

    Aha! One book we are going to pre-book for sure. And since deliveries will happen a month from today, we’ve requested for the first chapter which is available for free.

     

    Can’t wait to play the guessing game!

     

  • An alumnus of IIM Lucknow, Dhruva has a B.E. (Hons.) in Electrical & Electronics from BITS Pilani

    Dhruva joins Shop CJ as Chief Sales Officer

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shop CJ Network Private Limited (“Shop CJ”) has appointed Dhruva Chandrie as its Chief Sales Officer. This appointment is key to further enhance company’s procurement and operations. Dhruva, previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) for HomeShop18, is likely to take charge within a week. He brings more than 22 years’ of experience to the role. He will be based in the Mumbai office.

     

    Commenting on his new appointment, he said, “With more players entering the television-commerce market, there is increase in the level of competition. It will be exciting times ahead.” TV Home-shopping is yet to be explored and optimized to its full potential inIndia. Considering an expected growth rate of 40% and more companies entering the market, the industry is estimated to reach Rs 50,000 crores in the next five years.

     

    Acclaimed by industry peers for quick turnarounds, Dhruva has driven many other companies’ growth on an average three times and multiplied profitability, turning loss making companies into investor worthy enterprises. He comes onboard after successful stints across sectors such as, media, retail, automobiles, and petroleum retail, working with companies including, Tata, Crompton, Videocon Groups, Reliance Industries, HomeShop18 and The Mobile Store, at leadership positions.

     

    Making the announcement, Kenny Shin, CEO of Shop CJ commented, “Dhruva brings a diverse set of leadership skills, extensive operations expertise and a successful track record that we will leverage across the company. His experience and expertise will not only strengthen our organization but will help us grow the company into the number one Home-shopping player inIndia.”

     

    An alumnus of IIM Lucknow, Dhruva has a B.E. (Hons.) in Electrical & Electronics from BITS Pilani. His hobbies include painting & solving crossword puzzles.

     

  • Zee gets set for Season 5 of India’s #1 dance show with a new format and challenges on screen

    High Fives for DID

    Megastar ​Mithun Chakravarty and Zee TV Business Head Pradeep Hejmadi (extreme right) at a DID unveiling event in Mumbai

     

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    The popular dance reality show on Zee TV, ‘Dance India Dance (DID)’is back after two long years with Season Five. The acclaimed show promises a brand new format featuring a fresh line-up of masters. “The new season will see new challenges and head to head combating between contestants. Besides, the masters are also of the younger generation who can choreograph, motivate and push talent into the industry,” Pradeep Hejmadi, Zee Business Head said.

     

    The panel of masters includes Mudassar Khan, the man behind the dance hits, HumkaPeeni Hai (Dabangg), Dhinka Chika (Ready) and Party All Night (Boss), Gaiti Siddiqui from the choreographer duo of Uma-Gaiti, known especially for the Sunny Leone hit Baby Doll, and Punit Pathak, who was first seen as a contestant on Season Two, then progressed to being a choreographer on the next season and now has returned as master on Season Five.

     

    The masters will mentor a group of contestants in this 15-week season of Dance India Dance, where they will run the contestants through rigorous training, workshops and choreography. Megastar Mithun Chakravarty will play Grandmaster and will act as a guide to the contestants. Jay Bhanushali returns on Season Five as host.

     

    The scout for talent began earlier this year across 17 cities in India, including Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Ranchi, Guwahati, Raipur, Siliguri, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur, Patna, Lucknow, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Vadodara. “Dance is like a form of prayer. And we like to give new talent a try always,” Chakravarty said.

     

    Akash Chawla, Business Head, Zee’s Creative and Production Studio, Essel Vision Productions Ltd said, “Season Five brings along with it a host of different dance styles and explores a new format, where contestants challenge each other on a battleground of dance.”

     

    While DID is an iconic show for not just Zee TV but Indian entertainment television as a whole, the question about what happens once it comes to an end looms high. “At Zee our consumers range from little toddlers to retired people. DID speaks to the demographic between 15 to 34 years of age. We also have DID Super Moms that reaches out to the older generation. There are other non-fiction formats which we have which connect with different segments. So we will create a new celebration of talent, a new texture of programming, and that’s how we will celebrate the brand,” Hejmadi says.

     

    From the marketing standpoint, Sorbojeet Chatterjee, Senior VP Marketing, Hindi GEC, ZEEL says, “DID gets a very high youth audience onto the channel, and we evolve as they evolve. So we focus on digital marketing a great deal. We have a 360-degree marketing strategy, but we have a lot of focus on digital. Our spends on digital are between 15 to 20 percent of the total marketing budget.”

     

    While a lot of other reality shows focus on the celeb star judges, DID is a show whose focus is on making a star. That’s the critical difference between DID and other shows, Chawla explains.

     

    The much-awaited Season Five of DID goes on air on Saturday, June 27 at 9pm on Zee TV.

     

  • Our attempt with the new identity is largely to be able to capture urban India and to make India laugh, says CEO Tarun Katial

    RBNL’s Big Magic goes for a new look and identity

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    Comedy in India is a serious business and as a genre is picking up at a fast pace. Keeping this in mind, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has rebranded its comedy entertainment channel Big Magic with a fresh new look and channel identity. Viewers can look forward a renewed focus original content, sitcoms, non-fiction shows, among others.

     

    Speaking at the unveiling of the new brand identity, Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said, “It’s going to be topical, it’s going to be contemporary, it’s going to be refreshing. We believe that comedy as a factor will predominantly factor in males and we believe that male entertainment is starved from anything but news and sports. Our attempt with the new identity is largely to be able to capture urban India and to make India laugh.”

     

    The logo unveiling earlier this week at the Canvas Laugh Factory witnessed the presence of popular Big Magic stars including Kiku Sharda who plays the role of Akbar in Akbar Birbal, Dalnaz Irani aka Rani from the same show and Saloni Daini, Ami Trivedi, Iqbal Azad, Dharmik Joisar and Sushant Mohindra of Tedi Medi Family as well as Upasana Singh and Gaurav Sharma from Total Nadaniyaan.

     

    “The plan is to make Big Magic the ultimate comedy destination of India. We’ve been getting a great response from viewers, and hence we’re moving to better sets etc, to improve our content. ‘Tedi Medi Family’ is an adaptation of the Warner Brother’s show ‘The Middle’, Akbar Birbal has also received a lot of praise, and we have many more shows planned for the future,” Paritosh Painter, Network Creative Director, RBNL expressed.

     

    Shalini Gupta, CMO, Big Magic TV Network, RBNL revealed the marketing mix behind the channel, “Comedy is a relatively new genre in India, at the same time it is extremely popular and is growing. Our marketing strategy targeted areas where people don’t laugh, because we wanted to make people laugh. Hence we do a lot of BTL activations. Digital marketing is increasingly becoming a very important part of our strategy. Earlier it was a meagre two to three percent, and it has now grown to about six to seven percent of the budget and will be improving a lot more.”

     

    The channel was a light entertainment channel a year ago, but the team at the front wanted to sharpen the position of the channel to a comedy network. “There is a definite vacuum in the comedy space in India aside from a few shows on Colors and &TV. We wanted to cater to the absolute comedy market, to the audience that loves comedy. So we’re making sure that all our shows even in the future have got a lot of LOL moments,” Painter explained.

     

    The content offered on Big Magic will be platform based agnostic with a large play in the digital and mobile medium. The channel is available across all DTH players including Tata Sky, Videocon, DD Free Dish, Dish TV, Reliance Digital TV and with all cable operators as well.

     

  • Campaign to focus on the message of overcoming seemingly impossible odds and invoking wilful action

    Star Sports unveils ‘Le Panga’ campaign to promote Pro-Kabaddi League

    By A Correspondent

     

    Star Sports has launched the marketing campaign for Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, titled Le Panga (#LePanga). The campaign created to inspire people to overcome personal limitations and barriers, endearingly portrays life situations where the protagonist(s) go through a transformational change on exposure to Kabaddi.

     

    Talking about the campaign a Star Sports Spokesperson said, “As a sport, Kabaddi is unique in the nature of the challenge undertaken by the players. A raider is alone and almost always faced with insurmountable odds with the defenders waiting to pounce on him and use their collective physical might to overpower the raider and stop him from accomplishing his objective. The campaign, #LePanga, cites real life situations as in the sport that people can relate to.”

     

    The first film of the series, marking the debut of well-known radio jockey Malishka as Inspector Laxmi Peter, went on air during the third ODI between India and Bangladesh.

     

    The ad-film, full of Bollywoodesque drama, revolves around an ambitious female police officer, Inspector Laxmi Peter who can only be described as ‘the unlucky one’. The idea centres on Laxmi Peter getting inspired to change while watching a Pro-Kabaddi League match, having resigned herself to her fate. Inspector Laxmi Peter, in the climax, manages to finally capture the group of criminals and her elusive target Rakka all her on own.

     

    The advertisement has been styled to include all major elements of a Bollywood film – the flashback to her childhood where she expresses her dream of becoming a police officer, the scenes where Rakka escapes her grasp after a chase and the climax where she ultimately overcomes her limitations to accomplish her goals, inspired by Kabaddi. The storyline highlights the many attractions of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League and builds towards the excitement of watching the sport.

     

  • The simple answer is YES. It can surely. Although it still hasn’t got a worthy replacement for Rajdeep Sardesai who left last year

    Can CNN-IBN survive (and thrive) minus CNN?

    By A Correspondent

     

    One still recalls the euphoria about the first Gulf War coverage on CNN in 1990-91. Or the coverage of the Babri Masjid demolition of 1992. Both channels had a headstart in independent television news journalism in India. A World This Week and news on Zee TV or Aaj Tak and Tonight hadn’t started by then. Doordarshan news had its star anchors, but it was a government mouthpiece.

     

    If both channels had got their act together, we wouldn’t have the half-dozen English news channels in existence today.

     

    While BBC still has some India-centric programming, CNN has hardly any of it. Even though it’s had a full-time bureau here and several desi names across the world.

     

    So when Rajdeep Sardesai quit NDTV to team with up Sameer Manchanda and later with Raghav Bahl, stitching up a licensing agreement with CNN made sense. Although NDTV was an independent operator and Bahl had earned his stripes with CNBC-TV18, a CNN prefix gave their new channel the push for it to speed ahead. The fact that it was CNN-IBN and not IBN-CNN indicated that there was a sentiment that the CNN connect will give the channel an upper hand.

     

    It did, but we soon realised that save on occasions when there was an American election or some other major developments, there wasn’t much of Made by CNN coverage on CNN-IBN. In recent times, we had some Farid Zakaria interviews – including one with Prime Minister Narendra Modi – but they made no impact.

     

    Clearly, IBN didn’t need CNN.

     

    For the channel, the exit of Rajdeep Sardesai last year was a bigger setback. The primetime bulletins aren’t bad, but the channel is no longer counted among those that matter.

     

    So TV18 and CNN have announced the concluding of their 10-year licensing arrangement in January 2016. The conclusion of the arrangement will enable each company thereafter to chart its own growth trajectory independently.

     

    Said A P Parigi, Group CEO, Network18 in a statement: “The last decade has seen a lot of momentum in the Indian media industry and has been particularly exciting for us. During this time we witnessed two media houses coming together to redefine the way news is presented to a demanding audience; we at TV18 have benefited from this relationship with CNN. At the launch of the channel, TV18 was a relatively small organization; that has changed now.  Network18 has grown from two news channels in 2005 to 17 news channels in 2015. Today, we have the largest footprint in the current affairs, regional and business news space in India.  The TV18 line-up of channels today are well established and highly regarded in this dynamic, complex and challenging environment.”

     

    Now, let’s interpret this. What Parigi obviously means is this:  “Ten years back, both media houses needed each other to present an offering to a demanding audience. We were a small organisation then, but that has changed.”  And of course this: “We don’t need CNN.”

     

    As for CNN, talks with the Zee group are reported to have reached an advanced stage and this could well result in an all-new English news channel from the Zee Media Corp stable.

     

  • The channel is a complete rebranding of Movies Now Plus, which will cease to exist post this launch

    Times Network launches MN+, an HD-only English movie channel

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    The Times Network, which includes channels like Times Now, Zoom, ET Now, Romedy Now and Movies Now, has announced the launch of MN+, a premium movie channel, available only in HD. The channel is a complete rebranding of Movies Now Plus, which will cease to exist post this launch, Vivek Srivastava, Senior VP and Head English Entertainment Cluster announced.

     

    The prominence of Hollywood movies in India has gone up, Srivastava pointed out, and MN+ will cater to the intelligent aspirants, the ones who believe their time is valuable, he said. “The channel has been hand-crafted not just for the informed, intelligent and discerning movie lovers, but for the cineastes as well. It is designed to give viewers a Gold Class Experience of Hollywood.”

     

    Vivek Srivastava

    MN+ and Movies Now will co-exist, showcasing two entirely different sets of movies. It is not a simulcast, Srivastava stressed. Movies that will be available on the newly launched channel include Argo, The Shawshank Redemption, The Hurt Locker, Sherlock Homes, The Bourne Supremacy and the like. Advertising duration on the channel is set to be at six minutes per hour while on Movies Now it is 12 minutes per hour.

     

    “The MN+ extension of Movies Now comes at a time when viewers across our markets have responded extremely positively to the Movies Now brand. The rapidly growing reach and ratings of Movies Now over the past year bears testimony to this,” Srivastava said, adding, “Movies Now leads the category in BARC ratings. The channel commands a 26 percent market share and has the highest reach in the category.”

     

    The network is focusing on both metros as well as Tier II and Tier III cities. “Consumers are ready to pay a premium for HD because of the quality and if you give them what they want and the content is easily accessible, then they are likely to avoid resorting to illegal downloads to catch their favourite movie,” Srivastava said. The network is confident that MN+ will add to viewer and advertiser numbers. The implementation of DAS in Phase 3 and 4 is eagerly awaited and will help in terms of subscription revenues and availability, Srivastava added.

     

    The MN+ library comprises must-watch movies across genres that are universally celebrated and are discussed extensively in social gatherings of people who have an opinion.  The channel will not only showcase great titles, but will also package them in interesting on-air properties like Center Stage, Great Adaptations, Opening Night and Hollywood Select, among others.

     

    Discussing the target audience of the channel, Srivastava said, “MN+ is for those premium audiences that have the temperament to be choosy about what life has to offer and have evolved to value only the best.”

     

    Speaking about advertiser endorsement, he said, “Not just viewer delight, we are also pleased and humbled by the strong and enthusiastic response from advertisers and marketers. Over the past year almost all the major brands have been present on Movies Now and we are increasing that count every day.”

     

  • Season 8 of the reality show will be back with hosts Sunny Leone and Rannvijay

    MTV’s Splitsvilla will uncover what women want

    By Dyanne Coelho

     

    MTVis back with its premier property MTV Splitsvilla 8 seeking to uncover ‘what women want’ with show hosts VJ Rannvijay and Sunny Leone. The creators of the show aimed to have more fun at the boys’ expense by changing the format of the show. To show the boys what women want, eight celebrity boys will be pitted against 8 regular boys to woo 14 girls.

     

    Speaking at the launch Aditya Swamy, EVP and Business Head, MTV said, “Both Sunny and Rannvijay are heartthrobs in their own space. For them to come together is something new on Season 8. This new combination has given the show a whole new flavor. We have a record number of brand partners as well and we are looking forward to the launch.”

     

    Sunny Leone returns on Splitsvilla 8 after a successful Season 7. “I’m thoroughly excited to be back on the show and I’m intrigued to find out what the boys will come up with to woo the women they like. I’ve had a lot of fun shooting and Rannvijay is just a big ball of energy,” she said.

     

    The show that has been shot on the beaches of Goa, will have the boys going to any and every extent to make the woman of their choice happy. From pampering, to cooking and cleaning and showering some love, the boys have to win over the girls by hook or by crook. The eight boys include Zaan Khan, Paras Chabra, Utkarsh Gupta, Prince Narula, Ishaan Chibber, Viren Singh Rathore, Amaad Mintoo and Yash Pandit.

     

    Season 7 of Splitsvilla saw a viewership of 100 million and the channel is looking at a higher number this season, Swamy said. “For the first time we’re doing Splitsvilla as a biweekly. So there’s more of everything. I think the audience wants more and we’re happy to give it to them,” he said.

     

    Digital is leading the way for promotions and marketing activities, Swamy reveals. “We’ve built exclusive digital content around the show that we’re distributing on our platforms. This was the first time we launched with a music video. You’ll notice that we’re not very active in print, as young people are moving to digital and so are we, we’re very active digitally. More than a third of our activities are on a digital platform,” he said.

     

    The question that runs through the minds of many is whether parts of the storyline are scripted. Shalini Sethi, Programming Head, MTV denied it saying that none of it is true and that the drama that occurs on the show is natural of tensions between boys and girls living under one roof, just like in a college hostel. “There is the drama, the jealously and it’s very natural. I think people have to realise it is reality. It’s just that people can’t believe that the shows can be done well, that’s why everyone says it’s scripted,” she said.

     

    Splitsvilla 8 is set to premier on July 4, 2015 at 7pm on MTV.

     

  • The channel will have a SD and HD offering

    Viacom18 to launch English GEC ‘Colors Infinity’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 has announced the launch of its English general entertainment channel – to be called Colors Infinity. The channel will have a standard definition and HD version. Although Viacom18 has not revealed the date, trade sources inform that it could well be launched later this month (July).

     

    The network has entered into major multi-year deals with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, MGM, BBC and Endemol Shine amongst others.

     

    The channel will be co-curated by film-maker Karan Johar and popular actor Alia Bhatt, both of who profess to be passionate viewers of international content.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Said Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18: Today, we are the world’s second largest English-speaking population and live in an environment where English is seen as a ladder to personal progress. English is an extremely important space for us and with this move, we will further strengthen our share in the category.”

     

    The channel will see scripted and unscripted content that will span genres such as Drama, Superheroes, Comedy, Fantasy, Crime and Thrillers. Additionally, there will be a special focus on reality television with some of the world’s biggest shows across dancing, singing, cooking, and other lifestyle interests. The channel will also play home large format live events and awards.

     

    Ferzad Palia

    Talking about the channel, Ferzad Palia, EVP, Viacom18 and Head, English Entertainment said: “With its sheer breadth of offering and carefully selected content from across global markets, Colors Infinity will be the definitive platform for the best in English language entertainment across genres. Our objective is to grow the category by broadening the appeal and reaching to a wider base.”