Viacom18 has announced the appointment of Mahesh Shetty as Head – Network Sales. Shetty, who will join the group in April 2019, will report to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18.
Speaking about his appointment, Vats said: “Amidst market shifts, we continue to make strides across platforms and geographies as we build brand solutions powered by analytics and insights. The way ahead is to work more closely with our partners and identify customised whitespaces with an eye on delivering consumer centric ad solutions across platforms. Mahesh’s multi-industry experience will be an asset to Viacom18 as we accelerate our journey to integrate and dial up revenue.â€
Mahesh Shetty, currently serving as COO of Entertainment Network India Ltd. (which runs the Radio Mirchi station amongst others), has over two decades of experience in marketing, sales and general management across geographical regions, in the media and FMCG sectors.
Star Sports has announced the launch of Star Sports1 Bangla, a dedicated sports channel for Bengalis. The channel launch is in line with Star Sports’ commitment to foster a multi-sports culture in the country while bringing fans closer to the sporting ecosystem. However, even though Star Sport has affirmed its commitment to sports in Bengali, a communique has an unnamed spokesperson while there are a few other sporting luminaries who have been named.
So here’s what the ‘spokesperson’ has said: “West Bengal is a unique market with high affinity to language content and very distinctive viewing habits. Nuances of the game and local flavour add to a fan’s viewing experience and builds a local affinity for sports in the region. With the VIVO IPL, followed by the ICC World Cup this year – it is indeed a ‘Summer of Cricket’ on Star Sports, and with Star Sports 1 Bangla, we have taken one more step towards treating fans to a customised and acquainted exposureâ€.
Hmmm. Another step would possibly be by naming names in communiques in the future.
Zee Media Corporation Limited has appointed Mullen Lintas as its creative agency. The win is an outcome of a multi-agency pitch involving industry heavyweights. The agency’s mandate is for Zee News along with other channels including Zee Business, Zee Hindustan, Zee 24 Ghanta, Zee 24 Taas, Zee 24 Kalak and Zee Digital.
Vikas Mehta
Commenting on the win, Vikas Mehta, CEO, Mullen Lintas, said: “With its tremendous reach and following, Zee Media is a powerhouse that informs India, in its several native languages. This quality mandates the brand to speak from a point of authenticity, which is way ahead of several media houses. We are delighted to be named their partners in shaping this brand, and starting this journey in a milestone year where India goes to vote. We aim to bring the best of our challenger thinking to help Zee Media, build a lasting bond with their audiences.â€
Sujeet Mishra
Added Sujeet Mishra, Marketing Head, Zee Media: “Zee media is the strongest news network in India with multiple channels offering news across the country including vernacular. News viewers have shown great content affinity for Zee. The task at hand is to take the brand story forward and allow zee media brands to lead a new thinking. The most striking elements about Mullen Lintas’ pitch was its ability to get the task articulated very clearly. In a multi-agency pitch process, the strategic and creative illustration of the challenge was very convincing. And we decided to partner with Mullen Lintas.â€
Syed Amjad Ali
Sharing his thoughts about the win, Syed Amjad Ali, President, Mullen Lintas, said: “It was an exciting brief to crack. We breathe news, breaking news, biased news, fake news, divisive news, etc. News talks to us from within, and has become part of our sub-conscious. And each one of us at Mullen are designed like that. We leveraged this collective thinking and put it to use for Zee Media. Quite natural for us to find a meaning for Zee which resonated with themâ€.
The business will be handled by the Delhi (NCR) offices of Mullen Lintas where a multi-disciplinary team has been devoted to develop the brand footprint.
Network18 has announced a change in its organisational structure. The group has been recast along three major clusters: English and Business Cluster, which includes CNN-News18, CNBC-TV18, Awaaz and Bajaar, CNBC HD Prime and News18 International; Hindi Cluster including News18 India & News18 Hindi regional channels (UP/UK, MP/CG, Rajasthan, Bihar/JK, Urdu & Himachal-Punjab-Haryana); and Languages Cluster including all News18 regional channels minus Hindi—TN, Kerala, Kannada, Odisha, Bengal, Assam/NE, Gujarat and News18-Lokmat.
Three key appointments have been made to bolster each cluster and drive it to the next level of operational excellence. Basant Dhawan joins as CEO of the English/Business cluster. An engineer and an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, Dhawan joins Network18 from Star India where he spent the last four years in a variety of roles. His last role was National Agency Business Head for Entertainment Sales in Star India. Basant will be based in Mumbai.
The CEO of the Hindi cluster is Mayank Jain, who will lead the fast-growing News18 India and the cluster of other news channels across various Hindi speaking states. Jain, who will be based in New Delhi has joined Network18 from Star India’s entertainment division.
Karan Abhishek Singh has joined as CEO for Languages cluster, also from Star India where he managed Integrated Sales for Television and Digital. Singh will be based in Bengaluru.
The above three will report to Avinash Kaul, Chief Operating Officer of Network18.
Discovery Channel has premiered a four-part original docu-series ‘Planet Healers’ featuring eight of India’s promising environment friendly startups, who are innovating ways to pave a path to a sustainable tomorrow. Hosted by actor Jim Sarbh, the series will deep dive into the journey of how these start-ups are working out innovative technology led solutions to environmental hazards faced by our country.
“Planet Healers is not just a TV show; it is an attempt by Discovery to create mass awareness about environmental hazards faced by our country which will have significant long-term impact,” said Zulfia Waris, Vice President, Premium & Digital networks, Discovery Communications India. “We have focused this series on individuals who have dedicated themselves to create innovative technology led solutions for the conservation and preservation of our planet. They are common people with uncommon ambitions and incredible self-belief who are making a difference.”
Discovery Inc and BBC Studios have jointly announced a global content partnership spanning a library of premium factual series to power a new global streaming service. Additionally, the two companies have concluded the future of UKTV’s channels business in the UK with a structured split that complements the strategic focus and commercial business of both organizations.
The new 10-year content partnership, effective in all territories outside the UK, Ireland and Greater China, will make Discovery the exclusive global home of BBC landmark natural history programmes in SVOD, including the Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Life collection of titles, the recently lauded Dynasties and others, as well as future BBC-commissioned landmark series from BBC Studios, following their linear transmission. Discovery also acquires SVOD rights to hundreds of hours of BBC programming across factual genres.
Said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery: “As the two market-leaders in landmark natural history and iconic factual programming, Tony and I look forward to working together again – our teams represent over 100 years of combined experience. Discovery will be taking that expertise and creating the definitive global streaming product for curious and passionate viewers of all generations who want the most trusted, family-friendly storytelling in the world.
Added Tony Hall, Director-General of the BBC: “The BBC makes outstanding natural history and science programmes. They are ground-breaking and demonstrate the quality and depth of our know-how. It is vital that we keep investing and growing them for the future. This is our largest ever content sales deal. It will mean BBC Studios and Discovery will work together to take our content right across the globe through a new world-beating streaming service. Global subscribers are in for a real treat: the best content on a great new platform. This is brilliant news for audiences here as it will enable the BBC to invest even more in factual programming for them. That’s also why BBC Studios taking control of the UKTV channels that best fit our programmes is good news. It means a secure future with long-term commercial returns. The UKTV team has done a fantastic job and I am delighted that will continue.”
Nickelodeon is back with its global pro-socio initiative ‘Together For Good’, which will raise awareness about the impact of stress on children. Leveraging the strength of the Nickelodeon franchise and using the power of the Nicktoons, the campaign is brought to life with light hearted, child-friendly yet impactful on-air promos, with the message #PressureKoBoloBye’.
Commenting on the initiative, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Head of Hindi and Kids Entertainment Network, said: “As a responsible broadcaster for kids, their wellbeing is at the centre of all our initiatives at Nickelodeon. We have therefore continuously curated marquee programmes like Together For Good that endeavour to drive behavioural change and enable a safe environment for kids, allowing them to be pressure free and inspired.”
Added Swati Popat, President of Early Childhood Association: “Having worked in the education industry over three decades, diminishing mental health in children is one of the major concerns of our society. Associating with Nickelodeon for this initiative gives me immense pleasure to churn the wheels of change through Together for Good initiative.”
ABP News Network has launched ABP Ganga, an all-new 24-hour Hindi news channel, catering to the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The tagline of the channel is ‘Khabar Aapki, Zubaan Aapki’. Speaking on the launch, Avinash Pandey, CEO, ABP News Network said: “It is a matter of great pride for us at ABP News Network as we unveil our latest offering – ABP Ganga for our esteemed viewers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Together, both states comprise 16.5% of India’s population, hold 15% of the total seats in Lok Sabha and contribute around 8.4% to India’s GDP – giving us an opportunity to serve viewers in these two states. With the onset of the elections, our aim is to keep our viewers informed and address local and social issues with our extensive programing lineup.”
Introspecting on the power of democracy. MTV has launched its election campaign urging the youth to vote, because they can.
Going beyond the portrayal of the stereotypical international youth in mainstream media, MTV decided to delve deep in the lives of young people from Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and North Korea, bringing home a message for the Indian youth – not everyone around the world is empowered to vote.
Commenting on the campaign created by Leo Burnett Orchard, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth, Music & English Entertainment, Viacom18, said: “India’s youth has an influential role to play in determining its future. Ahead of the General Elections 2019, MTV is proud to raise a strong voice, urging the young Indians to exercise their power to vote. Moving beyond the realm of the ordinary, this campaign evokes strong emotions and compels us to reflect on the privileges that accompany our democratic powers.”
Speaking about the campaign, Rajdeepak Das, MD India and Chief Creative Officer Leo Burnett South Asia added: “Democracy is a choice we have, and it comes to life when you see people from different parts of the world who don’t have the freedom of democracy. To bring home this point, in this campaign for MTV we have taken a macro-view of democracy and juxtaposed it with people coming from war torn countries who have fled from their homes under great duress for safety and security. With the help of our Leo Burnett global offices we have actually managed to shoot in the war conflicted areas and portrayed the real-life situations to bring this campaign to life! It’s a true Humankind campaign. Democracy is our privilege and Leo Burnett Orchard and MTV urges everyone to go out and vote. Because you can.”
On the occasion of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Comedy Central has launched a campaign that depicts different scenarios, unified by a single message which reminds citizens to cast their vote, lest somebody else makes a choice on their behalf.
This tongue-in-cheek campaign, #ChooserNotLoser has been created by Tilt Brand Solutions and produced by Tilt Studios.
Commenting on the campaign, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth, Music & English Entertainment, Viacom18, said: “India is a young country, with nearly 15 million voters newly eligible for the upcoming general elections. Being a responsible brand that appeals and resonates with the country’s youth as well as other age-groups, Comedy Central adopted an approach that’s synonymous with its spirit to evangelize the importance of each vote. Driving the message through cleverly curated videos with a comic narrative yet an underlining powerful call to action, we hope to influence every citizen to go out and exercise their right to vote.”
Added Shriram Iyer, Chief Creative & Content Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions: “The idea #ChooserNotLoser, coupled with three quirky scripts deserved an execution that’s both thought-provoking and humorous, given it’s after all a message from Comedy Central. The three sketches depict the significance of making one’s own choice by dramatizing the repercussions of not exercising it. A wakeup call to take a step towards the polling booths.”
Dish TV has launched a new TVC for its d2h brand targeted at rural audiences. The TVC highlights the discomfort caused due to withdrawal of channels from the free DTH platform and its impact on a regular family through the eyes of a mischievous kid.
Commenting on the d2h brand’s value proposition, Anil Dua, Executive Director & Group CEO, Dish TV India Limited said: “Many customers in Tier-3 and Tier-4 markets are currently missing out on entertainment and we are here to address their needs. To benefit these customers, we are delighted to announce attractive and innovative offerings on our d2h brand. Our new customer awareness TV campaign also underscores the continuous investment being made in the d2h brand.”
Speaking on the new offer and brand campaign, Sugato Banerji, Corporate Head – Marketing, d2h brand added: “Our new campaign is aimed at the rural Hindi speaking market. Entertainment consumption is growing in rural areas and watching television for entertainment has become an important part of their lives. The objective of this TV campaign is to create awareness amongst them, supported with extensive trade engagement and on-ground activation. The TV campaign also aims to attract existing inactive d2h customers to reactivate.”
Republic Media Network and Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami has entered into an agreement to buy back shares from investors like the Rajeev Chandrashekhar-owned Asianet News Media. Notes a communique: “On the two-year anniversary, the company transforms into the Republic Media Network. This anniversary also marks a major milestone for the company as its valuation has closed in on Rs 1,200 crore in just two years.”
Commenting on the buyback, Chandrashekhar, who is now part of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said: “I am pleased with the growth and success of Republic and Arnab. I am happy to have supported the vision of building a strong media-tech platform. In pure financial terms too, this has been a successful investment. Post Arnab’s buying back of some shares, Asianet News Media will continue to support Republic, however as a minority portfolio investor.” The exact quantum of the Asianet and Chandrashekhar holding is not known, though in earlier discussions with the media, Goswami had indicated that he had a significant majority in the venture.
Added Goswami: “We have built a strong media brand in partnership with Asianet News Media – and are poised for growth. We have expanded rapidly in the last two years. Partnering with Asianet News Media has been terrific. Their strong track record and competence as savvy media tech investors has helped us tremendously in our exponential growth. Going forward as Republic Media Network, I look forward to diversifying and growing Republic across all platforms.”
From being #1 from Week 1 to being on top of the heap even after a hundred weeks is creditable no doubt. Republic TV had launched on May 6, 2017 with much fanfare and it went on to launch a Hindi sibling, Republic Bharat, in February 2019.
