MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • ESL India Premiership will be aired for the first time on Indian TV

    DSport partners Nodwin to broadcast Indian eSports league

    By A Correspondent

     

    DSport, a sports channel launched by Discovery Communications India, has partnered with Nodwin Gaming to showcase the flagship esports tournament in the country – ESL India Premiership. As a part of the partnership, DSport will telecast 90 minutes of action everyday starting yesterday (July 19), and will continue until December 2017.

     

    “We are excited to showcase eSports for the first time on television in India. The 90-minutes of intense gaming broadcast daily on DSPORT, for over 6 months, will catapult the popularity of eSports further in the country,” said, Karan Bajaj, Senior Vice-President & General Manager, Discovery Communications India.

     

    Added Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, Nodwin Gaming: “eSports is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and this broadcast of the ESL India Premiership on DSportis sure to elevate their popularity to a new level. eSports has been already announced as a medal event for the 2022 Asian Games and will also hopefully make it to the 2024 Olympics, so we hope this initiative will act as a first step towards bringing glory to the country on global multi-sports platforms.”

     

  • The 360-degree campaign features Nayanthara for the Southern markets and Amitabh Bachchan across other markets in India

    Tata Sky unveils engaging ‘Dhamaka Rupee’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    With the critical fourth phase of digitisation underway, DTH major Tata Skyrolled out its latest ‘Dhamaka Rupee’ campaign. The 360-degree campaign features Nayanthara for the southern markets and Amitabh Bachchan across other markets in India. The campaign aims to encourage consumers to make the right switch from analogue cable to Tata Sky, with the Dhamaka Pack (for the rest of the country) and South Special Pack (for the five South states).

     

    The campaign, directed by award-winning director Shoojit Sircar, has superstar Amitabh Bachchan portraying a grumpy yet loveable shop owner – ‘Uncleji’ whose life has turned upside down because of the success of the Dhamaka 199 pack. The pack, selling like hot cakes, forces him to keep stocking one rupee coins as change to give back to the customer. Meanwhile, in a small village in southern India, the affable Meenakshi, essayed by Nayanthara, is grumpy too as she looks for the elusive one rupee coin, thanks to the success of Tata Sky’s South Special Pack.

     

    Said Malay Dikshit, Tata Sky’s Chief Communications Officer: “It’s second nature for us Indians to be exact about the value for what we buy. The simple and humorous communication in this campaign makes use of this peculiar behaviour and lands the price, the pack details and value for money messaging – all in a few seconds. Through this campaign we are looking at targeting 70 mn cable TV households across the country.”

     

    Added Sukesh Nayak, Ogilvy and Mather‘s Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy West: “To sell Tata Sky’s most popular and extremely competitive value pack, priced at just 199, we decided to play on the fun side of the struggle that a shopkeeper has to go through, when he has to return the change for such a popular pack.”

     

  • The NDTV decision to reorganise its resources to focus on mobile journalism throws up vital questions

    Will News TV lose its Mojo with MoJo

     

    By A Correspondent

    Mobile journalism  isn’t new. In fact mojo, as the craft is called, is said to have orginiated at the Fort Myers News-Press in the United States way back in 2005. There is no rocket science to the craft: journalists move around with handy electronic devices which help them gather, edit and disseminate news and miscellaneous content.

    As data speeds increase and connectivity stabilises in India, the usage is bound to increase given high- to medium-end smartphones and the presence of cheaper and efficient 4G connectivity via mobile phones and WiFi-enabling dongles, hotspots and devices.

    So why are discussing this today? Because leading news network NDTV has announced a restructuring of its newsroom resources to focus on mobile journalism. The question that’s being asked is: Can MoJos replace the cameraperson?

    And some more: Will picture quality suffer because of smartphone photography? Will reporters be distracted by all the camerawork and not do enough of what they are supposed to be doing? Will it hence be a loss for journalism as a whole, even though it may save precious monies.

    First, let’s read the NDTV statement on its website:

    Like other news broadcasters around the world, NDTV is reorganising its newsroom and resources to focus on mobile journalism. NDTV has always been an early adapter of new technology – and we are the first major network in India whose reporters are all trained in using mobile phones to shoot stories. This is not just about cost-cutting, though that is certainly, for us – like any other responsible business – an important factor in operations. Mobile journalism means reports are lightning-quick and much more efficiently produced – a priority for any news company. After NDTV’s switch to this new model, other news networks in India are now experimenting with similar training.

    It would be irresponsible to viewers and to shareholders – as well as archaic – to maintain decades-old templates of how to shoot and edit. NDTV has long been valued for its commitment to its employees – our record on attrition across more than 20 years is testament to this and spoken of across the industry. We have ensured fair compensation for those employees affected by our restructuring.

    As not just business models but broadcasting models change and evolve, we need to restructure. This also explains why we were far ahead of other networks in building our digital content and brand – and again, our success has become the playbook for our competitors. This shift in expansion, away from conventional broadcasting and towards digital, is again an international trend and we are showing standout growth in this area. How users consume content is changing – and we cannot ignore that.

    Further, in any commercial operation – and especially in one so shaped by the constant modernising of technology – it is essential to play to the strengths of what that technology offers.

    The court cases that are an attempt to punish NDTV for its award-winning objective journalism do not influence how we run and operate our newsroom. The emphasis on restructuring is rooted in the broader financial climate, our commitment to controlling costs (our financial statements are available on our site) and, most importantly, our move to consolidate on our core business – quality news content.

     

    We aren’t sure if we should take the NDTV statement with a pinch or sackful of salt, but the fact is that it has terminated the services of some staffers given the mojofication.

    The number, according to a report in Outlook magazine’s digital version is pegged at 70, but this could eventually be larger, we are told. This follows similar moves in other media companies in the recent and distant past.

    In fact, if the NDTV experiment with Mobile Journalism work, it may well be embraced by other news networks, at least those who haven’t done it already.

    On the question of how it will impact news journalism remains to be seen. Will MoJo diminish the mojo of news television remains to be seen. There may be some who may argue that news television has long lost it given that the course that content has taken over the last few years. There may be some who may say that news journalism, the way it is ruled today, happens more via in-studio discussions than on-ground reportage.

    Be that as it may, MoJo is here to stay and grow.

     

  • Famous Dropouts and Entrepreneurs Sandeep Aggarwal, AlokKejriwal, Anisha Singh, Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman roped in as masters on the show

    Dropouts get a headstart on MTV

    By A Correspondent

     

    MTV is all set to create an all-new format with MTV Dropout Pvt. Ltd. Created by Monozygotic and co-developed by MTV and Monozygotic, the show will premiere on July 29 at 7pm on MTV and the next day onwards on Voot.

     

    Dropout Pvt. Ltd. is a show that will take viewers through the process of identifying and transforming ‘dropouts’into the ideal start-up team and kickstarting their entrepreneurial journey. It will lead to the birth of a startup which will then be groomed and mentored by senior industry persons.

     

    Speaking about the first season of Dropout Pvt. Ltd., Ferzad Palia, Head, Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said: “India is brimming with young untapped energy keen on making ideas come to life and MTV aims at empowering these youngsters by providing them the biggest encouragement in the form of Dropout Pvt. Ltd. to kickstart their entrepreneurial dreams.”

     

  • Applications are open for The Film Preservation ​and ​Restoration Workshop India 2017 on www.filmheritagefoundation.co.in or www.fiafnet.org.​

    Viacom18 ​p​artners with Film Heritage Foundation to​ ​s​ave ​c​inematic ​h​eritage

    By A Correspondent​

     

    Film-maker Mani Ratnam, acto​r-​producer Kamal Hasaan, Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur​, ​Founder Director of Film Heritage Foundation, unveiling the poster for Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2017

    With ​an aim to preserve India’s cinematic heritage, Viacom18 ​ announced its support to the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) for the annual Film Preservation ​and ​Restoration Workshop India 2017. The workshop will be held from October 7 ​t​o 14 in Chennai. The partnership was flagged off for the third consecutive year at an event held ​in Chennai and was attended by Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, legendary actor ​and producer Kamal Haasan, film-maker Mani Ratnam and film-maker, archivist and Founder Director of Film Heritage Foundation, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.

    ​Said Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18​: “At the heart of it, civilis​ation is a chronicle of stories across generations. As India’s foremost storytellers we connect deeply with this ethos and our support to Film Heritage Foundation is a confluence of this shared belief. India’s culture and heritage is captured creatively and reflected through our films and these, therefore, become historical artefacts representative of the times they were created in. It is pertinent that this content is preserved for reference as well as archived for perusal by future generations​.”

    Applications are open for The Film Preservation ​and ​Restoration Workshop India 2017 on www.filmheritagefoundation.co.in or www.fiafnet.org. The workshop will take place from October 7 ​to 14 , 2017 in Chennai.

     

  • The full-day mega conclave will be held in New Delhi on August 13

    India TV announces Vande Mataram – a Conclave against terrorism

     

     

    Leading news channel India TV has announceda conclave titled ‘Vande Mataram’ to on how to counter terrorism, its impact on the state and discuss the possible means to counter this threat in the valley with the dramatis personae involved in combating terrorism from across the political, social, strategic and defence spectrum.

     

    Led by Chairman & Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma, the Conclave will star key decision-makers on the issue. It will be held in New Delhi on August 13. Amongst those expected to be present are Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, J&K CM, Mehbooba Mufti, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Army Chief Gen. B.C. Rawat, Gen. V.K. Singh, Farooq Abdulla, Babul Supriyo, Kumar Vishwas, Mallikarjun Kharge and Swami Ramdev etc.

     

    Announcing the Conclave, Ritu Dhawan, India TV Managing Director said: “The entire country is united in seeking a solution on how do we counter Terrorism that has been a global malaise. While the country’s leadership has been dealing the issue with a visible intent, is there more that can be done? As a leader in the news space, we intend to create a constructive platform for a larger consent on how to counter the issue.” “We believe that if we are able to bring in even a whisker of a positive difference, we have done justice to our responsibility as an influential media company.”

     

  • The contracted has been extended for a year, putting aside all rumours

    Sony extends Kapil Sharma contract by a year

    By A Correspondent

     

    Putting to rest all rumours, Sony Entertainment Television has extended its contract for The Kapil Sharma Show for a year. The show which helped resurrect the flagship Sony Pictures Network channel has been under a cloud with ratings going south and the exit of star actor Sunil Grover.

     

    Talking on the development Danish Khan, EVP and Head at Sony Entertainment Television said: “The Kapil Sharma Show bring smiles to millions of viewer every weekend nights across the globe. Kapil is an extraordinary talent and we are delighted to have further cemented our relationship with extension of this contract. We are confident that the show and its talented cast will continue to enthrall the audiences across the globe.”

     

  • The films will be aired during the festive season later this year

    Star Plus partners with Sujay Ghosh for short films

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sujay Ghosh

    Star Plus has signed on filmmaker Sujay Ghosh to make three short films exclusively for Star Plus. The telefilms will be full of unanticipated turns and twists, which is signature to Ghosh’s style of filmmaking, notes a communique, adding that the films will be aired during the festive season later this year.

     

    Said Narayan Sundararaman, General Manager, Star Plus: “We at Star Plus strive to make content that is compelling for our viewers. To make this festive season even more exciting, we are partnering with Sujoy Ghosh, one of Indias iconic filmmaker for three short films. Sujoy Ghosh, whose movies are known for its gripping content, will surely enthrall our viewers with his fresh and unique offering.”

     

  • Over the years, Vh1 Supersonic has brought some of the greatest musicians like Macklemore, Eric Prydz, Zedd and others to India for the first time

    Live Viacom18 announces fifth edition of Vh1 Supersonic

    By A Correspondent

     

    Live Viacom18 has announced the 2018 edition of Vh1 Supersonic will be held on February 9, 10 and 11 in Pune.

     

    Talking about the upcoming edition, Saugato Bhowmik, Head, Live Viacom18, said:, “It has been a brilliant four years of Vh1 Supersonic and the journey has been extremely enriching for all of us. We believe in creating experiences, technology and music that can make audiences transcend their everyday state and give them never before emotions that leave memories for a lifetime. Going by the overwhelming response from music lovers in our last edition, we have decided to come back to Pune to celebrate our fifth anniversary. We couldn’t be more excited about what we are putting together for our audiences this year!”

     

    Commenting on the upcoming festival, festival curator Nikhil Chinapa said: “For the fifth edition of our festival, we’re venturing down paths we’ve never travelled before, curating sounds that you’ve never heard before, at Vh1 Supersonic. It’s going to be one heck of a party in Pune, come February 2018. We’re turning five. and everyone’s invited!”

     

     

  • Viewers can expect an array of new programmes produced in the U.S. by Zee, which will air on the channel throughout 2017 and 2018, notes a communique

    Zee unveils first English-language reality show in the US

     

     

    Zee TV Americas has launched the first English language South Asian reality show, ‘Made In America.’ The show is entirely produced and filmed in the US and marks the first time that a channel of Indian origin is producing content at a global scale for international audiences.

     

    Said Sameer Targe, CEO of ZEE TV Americas: “We realised that there was a need in the marketplace to reach a younger South Asian audience who have an enormous desire to be in the glamour world. Zee TV, being the flagship television network for South Asians in the United States, we decided to launch ‘Made In America’ to fulfill their Hollywood dreams, and create a platform for them to be able to showcase their talents.”

     

    As each episode focuses on one specific challenge ranging from an array of categories, at the end of each episode a winner is chosen, leading to a final single winner in the season finale of the show, which will air on October 12, 2017.

     

  • DishTV warns against possible monopoly in cricket telecast if Star India wins IPL rights

    Zee and Star warring again?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Journalist and broadcasting industry professional Anjan Mitra captured it right. “Sense of deja vu for old timers & those hacks like me who covered media as a beat in mid90s to mid 2000:Zee vs Star,” he posted on his Facebook timeline.

     

    On Wednesday evening, when media offices received a mail from the Dish TV PR agency along with a letter from company bossman Jawahar Goel, it did remind many a journalist of the mid-1990s/2000s when the two networks were warring fiercely.

     

    A journalist who covered the beat then recalled how he had received anonymous dockets twice over against Star India founder and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Another journalist recalls how what was rivalry fought more to ward off Murdoch from the Indian broadcast scene reached a new high when Star India beat Zee with the launch of Kaun Banega Crorepati in 2000.

     

    It took Zee some years including re-engineering of its operations to bring back its old, glory days.

     

    However, there has been much public display of camaraderie between the two network in the recent past. It even led to the formation of a distribution arm called ‘Mediapro’ which was later disbanded.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar and Zee MD have also known to be friends, and have collaborated on many industry initiatives. In fact it’s their collective leadership that has led to many of the recent successes of the broadcast industry, including warding off any government intervention and the successful launch of the audience measurement system under the joint industry body BARC India.

     

    We don’t know whether this salvo has the backing of Zee group chairman and now Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subhash Chandra. Goel, Chandra’s brother, is also known to be independent, but observers say the current move couldn’t have been made without the blessings of Chairman Chandra.

     

    But more than the speculation whether the two networks are at war, the issues that the Jawahar Goel letter raises could majorly impact the process of awarding the rights for telecast of IPL.

     

    And even if Star eventually does win the rights for the cricketing league, the process for charging consumers (via cable distributors and DTH operators) could be be totally governed by pricing policies issued by telecom regulator TRAI which may well make the entire proposition unattractive.

     

    DishTV letter against possible monopoly in cricket telecast if Star India wins IPL rights is sure to be taken very seriously by all recipients especially the politicians who can’t afford to displease consumers.

     

    Please click here for the Jawahar Goel letter

     

  • Lowe Lintas will handle the Zee Corporate brand amongst others, Publicis has on its plate the flagship Zee TV in its kitty

    Zee exits FCB Ulka, appoints Lowe Lintas & Publicis India for creative. Appoints Genesis BM for PR

    By A Correspondent

     

    The winds of change are blowing at Zee Entertainment. The network has appointed two agencies – Publicis India and Lowe Lintas – to spearhead its creative duties.

     

    So while Lowe Lintas will handle the Zee Corporate brand amongst others, Publicis has on its plate the flagship Zee TV in its kitty along with a slew of others channels. Meanwhile, although the channel has not made any official announcements, the WPP-owned Genesis Burson-Marsteller will be handling its public relations mandate.

     

    Announcing the move on the creative agencies, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said: “As we embark on this journey, we would like to thank FCB Ulka for the long and fruitful association in building some of the most loved channels that have become a part of our viewers’ lives. To build our equity further on this solid foundation, we welcome Lowe Lintas and Publicis on-board as partners who will help establish the organisation’s presence across all the entertainment verticals. By consolidating the entire business with two strong agency partners, the organisation is committed to building significantly higher capability in brand building, consumer centricity and strategic marketing thinking. Both agencies bring with them a strong consumer centric DNA and a deep knowledge of brands and business, which is core to our philosophy of driving future growth for the organisation. We look forward to Publicis and Lowe partnering with us to grow & develop our strong and evolving portfolio of brands.”

     

    Speaking on the development, Punit Misra, CEO – Domestic Broadcast, ZEEL said, “We are excited to have Lowe Lintas and Publicis on-board as our creative partners. The appointment follows an extensive pitch process which was evaluated by the key leadership team involving an in-depth assessment of creative, planning & servicing capabilities of the agencies, to cater to a large & diverse bouquet of channels & business needs. The move is to ensure that the channels build stronger consumer preference and loyalty for each of the individual brands and businesses. Together, we aspire to create the best in class brand andmarketing ecosystem for every channel and the overall organisation.”

     

    Other than planning and executing a 360-degree creative mandate for the ‘Zee’ Corporate Brand, Lowe Lintas will also work on the bouquet of cinema channels- including Zee Cinema, Zee Classic and Zee Action, the ‘&’Brand – &TV and &Pictures, and Zee’s South Cluster regional channels.

     

    And for Publicis India, other than Zee TV, there’s Zee Anmol, Zee Café & Zee Studio, the youth andmusic channels- Zing and ZETC and the regional channels in Marathi, Bengali and Odia – Zee Marathi, Zee Yuva, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema and Sarthak.

     

    Interestingly, the Zee Entertainment communique on the announcement carries a statement from Nitin Karkare, CEO, FCB Ulka: “We are proud of our partnership with the Zee Group.  It’s been a wonderful relationship and we have together had many successes across channels and programmes. We wish them the best and many more successes in the years to come.” It may be noted that the &TV creative mandate was with Infectious, the boutique agency set up by Ramanuj Shastry and Nisha Singhania.

     

    Highlighting his agency’s mandate on the new business win, Raj Gupta, CEO-Lowe Lintas said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to partner ZEEL, who pioneered a series of revolutionary television watching experiences and much more for India in the last 25 years. At a time where content networks are competing to get attention with serials/shows, multi-crore blockbuster movies, digital content and millions of shares on digital - we’re excited about the possibilities of imagining and reimagining purpose-led strategic and creative ideas for all the ZEEL offerings, that will inspire Indians to dream more, do more and become more.”

     

    Elaborating further on the partnership, Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India said: “Zee is an iconic brand that has been in the minds and hearts of millions of Indians over almost 25 years. We are delighted that we were able to demonstrate our strong strategic approach through the use of proprietary tools that enable brands to grow at the speed of culture and creative capabilities across the different consumer segments that the brand appeals to, that enabled the ZEEL team to choose us for this very exciting challenge. We are truly excited and looking forward to this partnership to create iconic work that takes the brand and its offerings forward in the minds of the consumers.”

     

    On PR, Genesis B-M has been appointed for the corporate mandate, but there are rumours that this could extend to the various or at least some Zee brands.