MxMIndia

Category: TV

  • For visual-based quiz show 'The Big Picture’

    Ranveer Singh to debut as quiz master on Colors

    By Our Staff

     

    General entertainment channel Colors has acquired the rights for quiz show ‘The Big Picture’. The channel has signed actor Ranveer Singh who is to make his television debut as the host. The quiz show for which Byju’s will be presenting sponsor will also be available on Voot and Jio TV. The channel will work in association with Banijay Asia and ITV Studios Global Entertainment B.V.

     

    Speaking about the show, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Head, Hindi Mass Entertainment and Kids TV Network, Viacom18, said, “At Colors, it has been our constant endeavour to tread beyond the conventional to provide premium variety content. With a view of bringing new and enhanced entertainment experience for our viewers, we have over the years pioneered diverse genres that include dance reality shows, talent-based shows, stunt-based shows and voyeuristic content. Breaking new boundaries of entertainment, we are extremely excited to announce one of the biggest and differentiated quiz show We look forward to presenting this extremely unique proposition to our viewers which will be helmed by superstar Ranveer Singh. He is a maverick youth icon, who has carved a niche through sheer hard work and excellence of his craft. His youth appeal makes him an instant fit for the show and we are certain that his exuberance and charm will captivate the people of India.”

     

    Added Deepak Dhar, Founder and CEO, Banijay Asia: “Banijay is known for bringing exceptional content, original or international adaptations/acquisitions to its audiences in the country. We are delighted to kick off our partnership with COLORS with the internationally acclaimed ‘The Big Picture’ and are confident that its unique format will garner as much attention in India as it did internationally. Working with a powerhouse like Ranveer Singh is an exciting feat in itself and we are looking forward to creating some quality content that stirs excitement and engagement at the same time.”

     

    Said Ayesha Surty, SVP licensing at Global Entertainment, ITV Studios: “We’re thrilled to have this exciting format in India following other ITV Studios formats like ‘The Voice’ and ‘I’m A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here’. ‘The Big Picture’ brings in viewers from home as active participants and sees the return of ‘feel good television’, enhancing family viewing. We couldn’t have asked for a better platform than Colors TV or a more captivating host than Ranveer Singh to bring alive this highly energetic and enthralling show.”

     

     

  • Kiren Rijiju, General Bipin Rawat and NP Singh join luminaries to rally support

    Sony Pictures Sports Network film on Olympics

    By Our Staff

     

    Sony Pictures Sports Network (SPSN), along with many luminaries from diverse fields, has undertaken a ‘Best Wishes Initiative’ to rally the support of the nation for the Indian contingent.
    SPSN put together a series of ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ films on air and on their social media platforms sending their best wishes to the Indian contingent for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ campaign has been conceptualized and created in-house by the SPSN team.

     

    Said N P Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Sony Pictures Networks India: “The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is one of the biggest sporting events across the globe and while every Indian knows about the stature of the tournament, few are aware about the athletes who represent our country. We are delighted that our campaign, ‘Hum Honge Kamyab’ has received such an overwhelming response. Our attempt is to convey our best wishes to the Indian contingent and are looking forward to a splendid performance at Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

     

  • The objective is to bolster the group’s coverage of business news in the post-pandemic economic order

    Sourav Majumdar joins Business Today as Editor, Siddharth Zarabi to lead TV wing

    By Our Staff

     

    Close on the heels of Udayan Mukherjee joining as its Global Business Editor, the India Today group has announced two more senior appointments as part of its plans to bolster its coverage of business news in the post-pandemic economic order.

     

    Sourav Majumdar
    Sourav Majumdar
    Siddharth Zarabi
    Siddharth Zarabi

    Sourav Majumdar is the new Editor of the Business Today Magazine, and Siddharth Zarabi will be Managing Editor of Business Today TV. Majumdar has led the Indian editions of Fortune and Forbes and earlier Entrepreneur magazine.

    Zarabi, who was Editor of BTVI (earlier Bloomberg TV India) until recently, has been with CNBC TV18 in the past as well as Business Standard and The Indian Express.

     

    Speaking on the appointments, Kalli Purie, Vice Chairperson of the India Today Group, said, “Every once in a while, the business arena goes through an irreversible change. In the midst of this disruptive flutter, the real journalists and real ideas reshape the world. We are happy to be on the leading edge of this transformational journey with the most credible journalists, an enviable legacy and a truly Omni platform multimedia Business Today Experience”

     

     

  • After the completion of the digital exclusive, the show will move seamlessly to Colors after six weeks as Bigg Boss Season 15

    Bigg Boss 15 to air first on Voot, 6 weeks ahead of Colors

    By Our Staff

     

    Bigg Boss, India’s biggest reality show, will first air on Voot, not the GEC where it’s grown into the phenomenon that it has been.

     

    Called Bigg Boss OTT, it will premiere next month (August 2021) with “unprecedented access, engagement, and interactivity empowering viewers to immerse themselves in the journey of contestants in the Bigg Boss house”. In addition to the hour-long episode on Voot, viewers will get a chance to watch exclusive cuts, round-the -clock content drops and an interactive 24×7 LIVE feed from the house. After the completion of the digital exclusive, the show will move seamlessly to Colors after six weeks as Bigg Boss Season 15.

     

    Gourav Rakshit

    Speaking about the launch of Bigg Boss first on Voot, Gourav Rakshit, Chief Operating Officer, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said: “Voot has grown to become home to entertainment in India through industry leading engagement and shareworthy content across originals, international, catchup and content-around-content segments. The launch of Bigg Boss OTT exclusively on Voot before TV is poised to be yet another game changer in digital entertainment and a step forward in further cementing our position as the most loved consumer entertainment brand. This season is set to empower our audiences through unparalleled category defining innovation through interactivity which we are sure will provide significant to our users, advertisers and brands alike.”

     

    Explaining the content strategy behind Bigg Boss OTT, Manisha Sharma, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18, said: “Bigg Boss, over the years, has grown to become a phenomenon that drives conversations across the country. With the launch of Bigg Boss OTT, our digital audiences are in for a treat. The new digital exclusive format will take the show’s fandom to its next level through active engagement with viewers being able to play a part in the show’s progress. The beauty of this show lies in the versatility of format and the massive popularity it commands – both aspects helping us in customizing the show as two different content offerings for the two different platforms while maintaining its core ethos.”

     

  • Will be responsible for their mainline and digital creatives

    Mixed Route Juice to campaign for German TV Blaupunkt

    By Our Staff

     

    Mixed Route Juice, the Delhi-based creative content agency, has bagged the creative and digital media mandate for Blaupunkt, German TV brand, in India. The agency bagged the account in a multi-agency pitch and will be responsible for their mainline and digital creative along with media duties for the brand.

     

    Commenting on this new association, Amrita Sharma, Co-Founder & Creative Head at MRJ said “The TV category in India is flooded with products offering innovations in their own way. Blaupunkt TV wanted to emerge as a distinctive niche category player. This portfolio addition to our kitty will help us experiment with the type of content we’ve been creating so far. Our campaign #HearNow will do justice to the product offering and help carve a niche.”

     

    Commenting on this association, Avneet Marwah, CEO SPPL, the licensee for Blaupunkt in India, said, “The team at Mixed Route Juice has done some amazing work in the past. We have a very long association with them. We are very excited about our new campaigns lined up for our upcoming brand Blaupunkt.”

     

  • Shailesh Kapoor highlights five of them that most of us encounter in A&M-land

    The Age of False Binaries

     

    By Shailesh Kapoor

     

    Shailesh KapoorSimplification is always tempting, and generally a good thing too. But increasingly, the world around us is showing a tendency to over-simplify narratives. With attention spans reducing, nuance is becoming an elusive idea too. And a direct offshoot of this socio-political trend is the emergence of false binaries: a debate that’s framed as either-or, with no room in the middle.

     

    If you carefully notice, false binaries are all around us. And the discourse around the Indian media industry has not been spared either. Here are five false binaries that you are likely to encounter at some time or the other if you are associated with this industry.

     

    Progressive v/s Regressive
    This is perhaps the oldest false binary in the industry, dated back to a time when the term ‘false binary’ was not even in vogue. It’s a peculiar way in which the Indian media, especially the English press, has framed the debate around our mainstream GEC content for more than two decades now. If a show is not proactively progressive, it must be termed “regressive”. The lens applied is very urban and elitist, which makes this binary particularly flawed. Here’s a column I wrote on this topic back in 2014.

     

    TV v/s OTT
    This false binary mushroomed about three-four years ago, with the rise of streaming platforms in India. Health warning: Discussing this topic can be a yawn-including exercise in pointlessness. Pitching two media as different as chalk and cheese, against each other, and suggesting that only one will eventually survive, reflects poor understanding of the video content market in India. TV has not only survived through these last few years, it has grown stronger. Neither have the number of TV households come down, nor has the time spent watching TV reduced, since the emergence of OTT platforms. The reason is simple: Television viewing is the only daily family habit in India today, and its existence is secure till the institution of family remains relevant in India. Which is at least another 25 years, if not more.

     

    Nationalistic v/s Anti-National
    This is a news nuance that we must learn to live with in the current times. If you question anything that’s even remotely ‘patriotic’ in its framing, you must be an anti-national. This false binary plays out every night on news channel debates, and is now acquiring bizarre proportions and mutating into variants too, like pro-Hindutva versus anti-Hindi. In a recent debate on the Ayodhya Ram Mandir land ‘scam’ on a Hindi news channel, a political spokesperson from the Opposition was chided by the anchor: “How much did you donate for the construction of the temple? And if you have not, what right do you have to talk about it?” To come up with something as twisted as that extempore on a live debate takes some special talent!

     

    Data v/s Gut
    As someone who uses data to aid informed decision-making for media companies over the last 13 years, one has learnt to live with this rather tempting-to-believe false binary. Gut (or instinct or experience) is a powerful thing. A good instinct can often be key to how well one can contextualise and use data to one’s advantage. Data, when combined with a good gut, is a potent tool. Data, with poor gut, can be dangerous. Give three people the same data points at the same time, and meet them one month later to discuss it. The three discussions won’t have much in common. And this is a true story.

     

    Theatrical v/s OTT
    This variant of the TV versus OTT binary is the latest irritant on my list. Every other journalist covering the media sector wants to headline a story on films releasing directly on OTT during the pandemic through the lens of this false binary. OTT platforms are not designed to replicate the outdoor experience offered by cinema. And hence, both will find a place under the sun. The framing of a false binary such as TV vs. OTT or theatrical versus OTT assumes that the consumer has a finite, fixed time to spend on entertainment, and hence, there must be a trade-off. This seemingly-reasonable assumption is not true, but that’s a complex topic for another day.

     

  • Starting Saturday, July 17, the mini-series entertains children across India in Tamil, Hindi and English

    Chhota Bheem goes to Singapore on Voot Kids lah

    By Our Staff

    Chhota Bheem, the popular animation series that airs on Pogo on linear television and on Voot Kids in the OTT space, has joined hands with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has joined hands with Voot Kids and Green Gold Animation, the makers of Chhota Bheem, to take Indian audiences on a virtual adventure in Singapore. Titled ‘Chhota Bheem – Adventures in Singapore’, the series brings the destination closer to audiences in an innovative format and engages families and children across India, who are on summer school vacation or studying from home, in a bid to keep safe indoors. Starting Saturday, July 17, the mini-series entertains children across India in Tamil, Hindi and English. In addition to the webisodes, there will be also ebooks and interactive games featuring the adventures of the character, all of which can be downloaded from the Voot Kids app. (If you thought the ‘lah’ in our headline was an error, it wasn’t. For those who are familiar with the way Singaporeans speak, Lah or Laa is a popular suffix in Singlish)

    Ashutosh Parekh
    Ashutosh Parekh

    Speaking on the collaboration, Ashutosh Parekh, Head of Content – Voot Kids said: “At Voot Kids, our mainstay is to provide meaningful screen time pivoting around fun – learn and entertainment which is age appropriate and 100 % safe. This is fueled by one of the largest content libraries in the genre that is truly multi format spanning across top kids’ franchises from all over the world, making it truly a house full of toons. Made locally and loved globally, Chhota Bheem is one of the most watched character since the day we launched Voot Kids. This mini-series is packed with specially created “app-i-sodes” to add diversity to our content slate. As market leaders we thrive on content curation and creation with the consumer at the centre of everything we do. This was the right time to bring delight our young subscribers and their families  who have enjoyed our app indoors, and now will magically be transported to Singapore with never seen before stories of Bheem, without leaving the safety of their home,  exclusively on Voot Kids.”

    Rajiv Chilaka
    Rajiv Chilaka

    Elaborating on the alliance, Rajiv Chilaka, Founder & CEO, Green Gold Animation added: “My biggest endeavour is to push the envelope with Chhota Bheem as an animated character that has millions of fans world over. New stories and new setting always add to Bheem adventurous streak and we are thrilled to partner with Singapore Tourism board to take it to the next level with Voot Kids as the exclusive home of the mini-series Chhota Bheem and friends – Adventures in Singapore. Voot Kids is a pathbreaking platform to emerge as best in the business and rewritten content rules for kids digital platform and we are hopeful that its subscribers will enjoy this fascinating mini-series that stars every kid’s favourite toon Bheem set in every kid’s favourite destination – Singapore.”

    GB Srithar

    Speaking about the  partnership, GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia (IMESA), Singapore Tourism Board, said: “For us, this project is all about putting  happy smiles on the faces of children and families across India, under these stressful times. Chhota Bheem and friends are well-loved characters who bring much cheer, hope, and optimism to Indian audiences. STB is pleased to present the seven episodes as our ;Gift of Smiles’ to Indian audiences. We hope the episodes will entertain families and allow them to experience a slice of Singapore virtually, as they keep safe at home. This creative partnership with Voot Kids and Green Gold is our first animation project and we are happy to offer this to the family audiences in India.”

  • Announces its first TV original 'Crime Aur Kanoon'

    Q goes on FreeDish, to launch originals

    By Our Staff

     

    For a Hindi general entertainment channel, the fact that it is launching originals should not make for news. Just as, say, a lassi shop selling chhaas. Or mail dairy selling paneer. A hardware store selling screws and nails. Well, whatever. But, yes, The Q, is now on FreeDish. And it has also announced its first TV original ‘Crime Aur Kanoon’.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the channels first original, Simran Hoon, Chief Executive Officer, The Q said: “At The Q, our endeavour is to keep our audience engaged with content across varied genres. With an entry into the crime fiction genre with our first TV original after The Q’s presence on DD FreeDish and other DTH and cable TV services, we aim to further strengthen our programming slate and consolidate our position. We look forward to creating thrill and excitement for our audiences with the launch of Crime Aur Kanoon.”

     

    Added Tanya Shukla, Programming Head, The Q further added, “With our new show Crime Aur Kanoon, our aim is to educate young India about the myriad of crimes being committed nowadays. More importantly, staying true with our brands promise to provide young Indian creators and talent a larger platform, Crime Aur Kanoon will open up an exciting new avenue for us at The Q to drive engagement with our viewers and the audience out there by giving them an opportunity to be a part of the show. We are extremely excited on our upcoming show and look forward to introducing more original content that appeals to our viewers.”

     

    Educate young India about the myriad of crimes being committed nowadays. That’s an original one we must say.

     

  • As it gears up to embrace SPN Vision 3.0

    Sony Pictures rejigs top deck

    By Our Staff

     

    Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has revamped its organisational structure, making several leadership changes.

     

    Rohit Gupta has transitioned from his role as Chief Revenue Officer – Ad Sales and International Business and taken on the responsibility of being SPN’s Advisor to the Management and the Board. Rajesh Kaul, in addition to his existing role as the Chief Revenue Officer – Distribution and Business Head – Sports, will take on charge of International Sales and will work in-collaboration with the Digital team to expand SPN’s brand presence and reach across the world. Neeraj Arora, currently heading International Sales will now be reporting directly to Rajesh Kaul.

     

    Sandeep Mehrotra has been appointed Head – Ad Sales, Network Channels. Danish Khan, Business Head – Sony Entertainment Television, Digital Business and StudioNext will take additional charge of Network Channels Licensing. Tushar Shah, Business Head, English, Factual Entertainment & Sony AATH, takes on an additional role of the newly created position of Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for SPN. Aditya Mehta, in addition to his current role of Corporate Strategy and Business Development, will spearhead the formation of Data Analytics CoE to strengthen SPN’s approach to being a data driven organisation. Nitin Nadkarni, Chief Finance Officer (CFO) will take additional charge of the Broadcast Operations and Network Engineering (BONE) department. Kingshuk Bhattacharya – Head, B.O.N.E. will now report to Nadkarni.

     

    Said N P Singh, MD & CEO, SPN: “SPN has embarked on Vision 3.0 to create a future-ready organization based on a culture powered by corporate values and a management structure backed by an operating model that accelerates growth. All leadership changes announced today are reflective of that evolutionary intent.”

     

    Added Manu Wadhwa, CHRO at SPN: “The organization remodeling is a result of our constant focus to strengthen our talent and leadership capabilities and will ensure that we stay ahead of the curve in a dynamic media and entertainment industry.”

     

  • In her new role, Kumar will lead the editorial mandate of the channel

    Navika Kumar named editor-in-chief of Times Now Navbharat

    By Our Staff

     

    Times Network anchor and editor Navika Kumar has been named Editor-in-Chief of its soon-to-be-launched Hindi news channel, Times Now Navbharat. In her new role, Kumar will lead the editorial mandate of the channel besides continuing in her role as Group Editor, Times Network and hosting ‘The Newshour’ @ 9 pm and the interview show ‘Frankly Speaking’ on Times Now. She will also closely work with the business and leadership teams of the network to drive the channel’s growth strategy and work towards building Times Now Navbharat to become the leader in the Hindi News category.

     

    Commenting on the development, M K Anand, MD & CEO Times Network said: “Navika has been one of our key assets since the inception of Times Now in 2005. In fact, the largest number of critical news breaks and stories that eventually went into taking Times Now to the top in the English category in spite of our then late entry into that segment has been her work. In the last four years, she has morphed into a compelling and high impact primetime presence and made her mark in that highly competitive space becoming one of the most recognised faces on Indian news primetime. Her impact led journalism helps Times Now to live up to its promise of Action Begins Here. We are thrilled at the new launch and look forward to serving Hindi audiences with our unique Action orientated journalism and believe Navika Kumar is the best suited to lead Times Now Navbharat to eventual category domination.”

     

    Navika Kumar
    Navika Kumar

    Commenting on her new role, Kumar added: “I am really excited to take on this new mantle, which marks the Network’s debut in Indian language. I look forward to working with our robust team of ace journalists, technicians and crew, to build and nurture a distinctive brand of Hindi news. With a powerful and impactful narrative, I am confident that Times Now Navbhart will bring the much-needed paradigm shift in the Hindi news category and will set the course for superior news coverage.”

     

  • Various other promotions are also announced

    Times Network elevates Vivek Srivastava, Rahul Shivshankar. Savvy Dilip joins to head digital growth

    By Our Staff

     

    Times Network has announced key appointments and elevations in its leadership team given its upcoming launches Times Now Navbharat and ET Now Swadesh in Hindi.

     

    M K Anand
    M K Anand

    Commenting on the development, MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network said: “2020 was a tumultuous year for the broadcasters and while we were severely tested by the pandemic, Times Network not just managed to harness every headwind in its path but continued to march ahead successfully by setting new industry benchmarks. The superior talent of our leadership team is one of key pillars that drove the network’s significant growth during these unprecedented times and accelerated our overall digital transformation efforts. These elevations are a recognition of their contribution to the growth of the company.”

     

    Rahul Shivshankar
    Vivek Srivastava

    On the editorial front, Rahul Shivshankar has been elevated to Editorial Director while continuing to lead the editorial mandate of Times Now as its Editor-in-Chief

     

    Given its digital plans, the network has elevated Vivek Srivastava to President Strategy & Operations – Broadcast and Digital. He will lead the digital operations of the network and

    Savvy Dilip
    Savvy Dilip

    oversee product strategy, audience development and operations planning for both digital and broadcast businesses. It has also appointed Savvy Dilip as Executive Vice President and Head- Digital Growth. Savvy will lead product development, content-led audience growth, technology based digital consumer experiences, social media amplification and online marketing for all the digital platforms of the Network. Savvy Dilip, who had turned entrepreneur for a bit, is a seasoned broadcast professional having worked with Network 18 and iTV in the past. She will report to Srivastava.

     

    Other senior management promotions include Manish Wadkar, Senior Vice President & Head – Legal, Pranav Bakshi, Senior Vice President – Digital, Hina Jafri, Vice President & Head – Corporate Communications, Poonam Bavdanker, Vice President – Human Resources, Saurabh Bhowal, Vice President & Head – Content and Programming, Zoom & The Zoom Studios and Mihir Bhatt, Vice President & Executive Editor, Times Influence.

     

    Continuing to play a pivotal role in aiding the Network’s growth, the leadership team comprising Jagdish Mulchandani – Chief Operating Officer and Executive President, Jignesh Kenia, Executive Vice President & Head – Corporate Strategy & Digital Transformation, Gaurav Dhawan, Executive Vice President – Revenue and S. Srivathsan as Executive Vice President and Head – Human Resources will drive their respective portfolios for the Network.

     

  • Strengthens leadership team

    Beginnen makes a beginning with Azaad. Top deck revealed

    By Our Staff

     

    Beginnen Media, an entertainment company spearheaded by former Zee honcho Bharat Kumar Ranga, has officially announced the launch of its first offering Azaad. It’s being billed as a premium Hindi entertainment platform that will feature content exclusively for the rural mindset.

     

    Ranga has meanwhile announced his five-member core leadership team. This includes Mohan Gopinath as Director – Project and Operations, Doris Dey as General Manager- Product, Rachin Khanijo as Chief Marketing Officer, Johnson Jain as Chief Revenue Officer and Dinesh Bhutra as Chief Financial Officer.

     

    Added Ranga: “We are working towards fostering a new culture of doing business in the media and entertainment industry and creating a ‘People-Centric’ model. Our aim is to cultivate an inclusive strategy considering audiences in rural India as a part of our growth plans. Since creativity has an expiry date, we are constantly searching for the next successful idea leading to tremendous wastage. While our new model of Consumer Specific Entertainment Channel is focused and is not dependent on any new creative formula. We believe that it’s time to transition from a creative-centric model to a consumer-centric one.”