MxMIndia

Tag: 9XM

  • Will now guide and mentor the sales team at 9X Media

    Punit Pandey of 9X Media takes additional charge of revenue

    By Our Staff

     

    Network 9X Media’s Chief Business Officer Punit Pandey has taken additional charge of revenue for the network. Being part of 9X Media’s executive team, Pandey will work closely with the Board of Directors to drive the next phase of growth for the network.

     

    Punit Pandey
    Punit Pandey

    Commenting on his additional charge as revenue head, Pandey said: “I am extremely proud to be a part of 9X Media since the network’s inception in 2007. From a single music television channel, 9X Media has evolved into India’s largest music television network comprising of platforms both television and digital. I am excited to take charge of ad sales in these challenging times. I am also delighted to take our network’s large tribe of happy young music and entertainment consumers across screens, to the marketplace! My priority as revenue head is to steer the network towards the next phase of growth.”

     

  • INX Media may be better known for the alleged involvement of P Chidambaram and his son Karti, but the company has been controversy-ridden ever since it was set up in 2007

    The Rise & Fall of INX Media

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Former Home and Finance Minister P Chidambaram, one of the country’s top politicians, was arrested in a dramatic fashion on primetime television on Wednesday evening. The scaling of the entry wall and the camera crew chasing the CBI team to the back gate of the former minister’s home in New Delhi was riveting.

     

    Interestingly, it’s the affairs of a media company and the alleged involvement of Chidambaran and his son Karti that saw one of the most high profile and controversial arrests in recent years.

     

    Those from the media and entertainment trade would know that INX Media has seen several controversies even before it was set up.

     

    First the rise of Indrani Mukerjea. Her INX Services offered HR consulting to Star India when husband Peter was CEO. They married in 2002, and five years later set up INX Media and INX News. INX Media ran two channels – 9X, the general entertainment channel and 9XM, the music channel. News X was the news channel with senior journalist Vir Sanghvi as head.

     

    What led to the downfall of INX Media was the failure of the GEC 9X and the news channel being virtually a non-starter despite a state-of-the-art backend. As of to make matters worse for the duo, Viacom18 set up Colors and the GEC rose to the #1 position in less than a year. Rajesh Kamat, the CEO of the channel, worked with Peter Mukerjea at Star, more than a couple of levels junior.

     

    There was some indiscriminate spendings reported by the Mukerjeas, and finally, in 2009, on a day before Holi, the duo announced their exit. Soon, the news channel was sold, and the entertainment channel became part of the Zee network, and the music channel became an independent network managed by veteran mediaperson Pradeep Guha. The music network has been in discussions for a sale but with not much success. The Zee Network also pulled out of the stake buy.

     

    The controversy around Chidambaran and his son was around a case of money laundering with Indrani Mukerjea turning approver a few months back. The Mukerjeas are currently in jail… but that’s over a more personal matter.

     

    Those who know and have worked with Peter Mukerjea can’t believe that he could do any wrong and often blame wife Indrani for the misfortunes of INX Media.

     

    Misfortunes not just for the Mukerjeas, but also the Chidambarams.

     

     

  • The music video features 9XM's popular animated characters – Bade and Chote

    ‘Who is the idiot’, asks 9XM

    By a correspondent

     

    9XM has created a music video around the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections titled ‘Who is the idiot’. The music video features 9XM’s popular animated characters – Bade and Chote and has been created in collaboration with Artist Aloud, Rapper BlaaZe and Paul J.

     

    Speaking of the music video Soumini Sridhara Paul, Business & Product Head-Artist Aloud said “Artist Aloud is extremely proud to have been instrumental in bringing 9XM on board as a partner to create an Election Campaign offering for the masses. 9XM’s quick response and creativity to bring this song alive is a true example of how magic can happen when you have the right product.”

     

    Speaking of the video Sunder Venketraman, Programming Head 9XM said, “We at 9XM pride ourselves in presenting our viewers with content which is fresh, topical and entertaining. With elections being the most crucial event for our country, we present ‘Who is the Idiot’ as our latest Buzzworthy video. Our collaboration with Artistaloud.com, BlaaZe and Paul J for ‘Who is the Idiot’ music video will surely appeal to our viewers.”

     

    The video will be promoted extensively across digital platforms to reach out to the ever growing connected generation. 9X Media has created several short videos promoting the cause. They will be spread across popular digital hangouts like Facebook, Twitter (#whoistheidiot) Youtube, Google+, whatsapp, BBM, WeChat, Pinterest, Instagram and Vine. The song will also be available in the form of CRBT (SMS IDIOT to 54646) through popular telecom partners.

     

  • 9X Media will be principal sponsors of the third Olive Crown Awards to be held in March 2013

    9XM to sponsor 3rd Olive Crown Awards

    The third Olive Crown Awards would be presented in March 2013 in Mumbai with 9X Media as principal sponsor. Announcing this, recently elected President of the India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) Srinivasan Swamy said that the Awards, which were launched at the Goa Fest in 2011, had been scaled up and held in Mumbai in March 2012. “There has been widespread acceptance for these awards,” he said adding “corporates see the green message as a key differentiator in a competitive environment”.

     

    Mr Swamy further added, “I am pleased to confirm that 9X Media would be our principal sponsor once again. This is a measure of the success of this award and the commitment of the sponsor”.

     

    Mr Pradeep Guha, CEO, 9X Media said “the Olive Crown awards are not just a salute to creativity in the green space, they are a measure of the advertising industry’s seriousness to get the green message on top of the strategic agenda. We are happy with the way the awards were conducted last year, and our association with Olive Crown mirrors our own commitment to the social space.”

     

    The Olive Crown Awards are for creative excellence in communicating sustainability – communication that projected advertisers’ activities in any area that saved energy, contributed to a cleaner environment or positioned them as custodians of Brand Earth. Advertising appearing in the calendar year 2012 would be eligible to enter. The Call for Entries would go out on the January 1, 2013. There would be no entry fee.

     

     

  • The 9X Media Group has been on a high growth trajectory since 2011

    9XM elevates Pawan Jailkhani & Punit Pandey

    By A Correspondent

     

    9X Media has elevated Pawan Jailkhani to the position of Chief Revenue Officer and Punit Pandey to the position of Executive Vice President. The 9X Media Group has been on a high growth trajectory since 2011, adding 5 music channels to its network, besides the Group’s flagship music channel – 9XM.

     

    In his new role, Pawan Jailkhani will be responsible for all forms of revenue across the existing six music television channels operated by the 9X Media Group. He will also be in charge of revenue for all future launches by 9X Media.

     

    Punit Pandey, in his new role as Executive Vice President, will be responsible for the new business initiatives by the Network and would also continue to head the business aspect of the existing six music channels.

  • Based on the augmented reality technology, the 9XM Wall of Music will enable multiple songs downloads from the latest Bollywood movies

    9XM celebrates World Music Day with 9XM Wall of Music

    By A Correspondent

     

    9XM is celebrating the World Music Day on June 21 with a unique on-ground innovation. The channel is creatingIndia’s very first digital music wall called the ‘9XM Wall of Music’ offering free downloads of the latest Bollywood songs. The 9XM Wall of Music will be installed at the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai and DAME Shivaji Stadium inDelhi.

     

    Based on the augmented reality technology, the 9XM Wall of Music will enable multiple songs downloads from the latest Bollywood movies. People can download songs by scanning the Bollywood movie posters placed on this wall, with their smart phone devices. People who do not own a smart phone can also download songs from the 9XM Wall of Music by sending a SMS to 54646 to get the song link on their phones for further download.

     

    Speaking on this initiative, Amar Tidke, Sr. VP & Content Head, 9X Media Group said: “June 21 is celebrated as the World Music Day across the world. This designated day of free music will be celebrated by 9XM by providing unlimited free downloads of the latest Bollywood hit songs. We are confident that this unique offering will make the World Music Day extremely memorable for Bollywood music fans.”

     

    The World Music Day originated inFranceand is celebrated annually on June 21. It is a day when the world celebrates the magical gift of music. Anyone can make music on World Music Day, in some cases in any location, provided one rule is followed: The music must be free.

     

    The 9XM Wall of Music will be promoted with a 360 degree plan across on air, print and digital platforms.

  • The9X Music Network Live app is targeted at the ever-growing segment of connected users who consume content on-the-move

    9X Music Network now on iPad

    By A Correspondent

     

    9X Music Television Network’s four channels - 9XM (Bollywood music channel),  9X Jalwa (Bollywood Hits music channel), 9X Tashan (Punjabi Super Hits) and 9X Jhakaas (Marathi music channel) are now available on iPad through 9X Music Network Live Application.

     

    Commenting on the app, Vibha Gosher VP-Digital 9X Media Group, said: “We are living in a world of convergence where music, movies, gaming, social networking and other forms of entertainment all come together on your personal devices. Tablets have changed the way entertainment is consumed globally. With iPad sales skyrocketing and their ever-increasing popularity, it’s probably one of the best platforms to extend the 9X experience of unadulterated music. The 9X Music Network Live app is targeted at the ever-growing segment of connected users who consume content on-the-move.”

     

  • Bollywood music channel 9XM has crossed the 1 million fans milestone on the channel's Facebook community.

    A million Likes on 9XM Facebook page

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bollywood music channel 9XM has crossed the 1 million fans milestone on the channel’s Facebook community – www.facebook.com/9xm.in. The winning combination of super-hit Bollywood music, humour, animation, e-commerce and innovative content has catapulted 9XM to the 1 million fans club on Facebook.

     

    The colossal fan base on 9XM’s Facebook Community was achieved in just over a year’s time, by making it the one-stop destination for Bollywood news, humor and gossip presented in the true 9XM style. From the latest movie reviews to hot gossips on film stars and their parties to Bollywood fashion – it’s all there on the 9XM Facebook Community. The fans regularly voice their opinions, likes and dislikes on all the happenings in Bollywood, making the page the most preferred Bollywood hangout.

     

    Commenting on the achievement, Ms. Vibha Gosher VP-Digital 9X Media Group said “We are extremely thrilled to get over a million thumps ups from Bollywood Music Fans on 9XM’s Community on Facebook. Besides the 1 Million Fans that we have on the page, 9XM is showing unprecedented buzz amongst users. While all the Indian music channels on Facebook see 2-3% average level of buzz, 9XM sees more than 9%. When we talk about the engagement and user’s interest in the brand, 9XM towers above the others in the genre. The content on the 9XM community is 16% ‘Share-able’, whereas the top performing brands on this space have merely 10-13% viability. It produces minimum 1 mention every 22 minutes about the brand on the internet ecosystem. This is extremely motivating and reaffirms our commitment to connect and engage with our viewers and fans across all possible platforms.”

     

    9XM, the flagship channel of 9X Media Pvt. Ltd has a robust digital presence in India and has introduced many innovative concepts on the internet. 9XM is India’s first Music Channel to stream its content live on its website – www.9xm.in – and is available across various mobile TV platforms.

     

    In the recent past, 9XM in partnership with Hungama.com, has launched an online Bollywood Music Store – ‘9XM.Hungama.com’ and 9XM Radio – the on-the-move radio for Bollywood Songs, Celebrity interviews, Bade& Chote’s Bakwaas, etc. These services are available on web, WAP and IVR platforms.

     

    9XM also offers Caller Tunes, giving the viewers an instant opportunity to set caller tunes of the latest Bollywood songs aired on the channel. 9XM has launched ‘Mezza 9X’ the Ecommerce portal by the network selling quirky merchandise.

     

    9XM has also launched many games and applications for the iPad and iPhone users. Fans of 9XM’s animated characters can select and download their favourite games like the Angry 9XM Heroes, Silly Chicken and Talking Silly Chicken (India’s first talking application) from the IOS App store.

     

  • In Media Mullings, Peter Mukerjea on why James Murdoch must move to India

    Peter Mukerjea: Rupert & Son

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So, it’s finally happened that James, or JRM as he is known within the company, has stepped down. I’d said that he should (see Firstpost.com article) and for whatever it’s worth, I’m glad that he has.

     

    Enough has been written and no doubt more will be written about the rights and wrongs of the people involved in the entire phone hacking case and we will never know who will finally go to jail for the crimes that are alleged to have been committed.

     

    But that would be looking back and surely it’s much more fun looking forward and trying to gauge what’s about to happen next. If Rupert is true to his word, JRM will now be spending more time on international operations and on the TV business at large . Now that leads me to suggest that he should for Newscorp’s sake spend at least 75% of his time in India looking at new business opportunities that exist in the country. STAR experienced it’s highest ever growth in it’s business under JRM’s watch when he was the CEO in Asia. That’s not a coincidence, I can assure you. Conversely, STAR experienced it’s lowest growth when JRM left the Asia region and handed it over to pixies in Hong Kong who had no clue about India. For example, the lady who was given the baton by JRM had never visited India ever in her life. Strange decision, it has to be said.

     

    JRM, on the other hand, was a respected executive and was seen as a path-breaking scion of his father. And the fact that not everyone loved him was simply par for the course and to be expected. He was effective in reshaping STAR’s fortunes and turning a loss making company into a profitable one.

     

    Incidentally I continue to believe that none of the new channels that popped up in 2007/8 would have happened if Rupert had not taken his eye off Asia but he moved JRM to London to run SKY and with that opened up the gates for newcomers. Some channels failed to make the grade – 9X & Imagine for example, and others did well – Colors & 9XM for instance, but none of these should ever have been allowed to get started given the complete dominance that STAR had on the market. And all the people that went to run these channels, including myself , were almost all from STAR.

     

    Since then STAR has held up well, although after a wobbly start. Credit for which should be given wholly to JRM for giving autonomy to the current leadership in managing their business and most importantly cutting them loose from the Hong Kong intermediary, which was rightly cut to size.

     

    JRM’s big opportunity is now to push ahead with developing a range of new TV and other media products for the India market and enable it to grow speedily to create a very clear leadership position with plenty of blue sky space between the No1 and the rest. And only he can make that happen by physically being there and making the big decisions which would otherwise be lost in power point presentations between numerous layers of management.

     

    This would in turn spur ZEE and Sony and MTV and the rest to do the same and compete with each other and with the pace that STAR would have set for them. This will then collectively turbo-charge and accelerate the industry as a whole and taking full advantage of the economic growth that the country is experiencing. The next 10 years for the media business in India will be huge and despite the slowdown in the global economy the pace of growth will be better than almost anywhere else in the world.

     

    JRM once said “let’s make the best use of a crisis” or words to that effect and I think this is a crisis that has presented itself for just that opportunity. He has moved to New York from London but may be he should have a home in Mumbai too and really shake up the market. There’s tons to do with a very exciting future for a 40-year-old – like JRM, which regular or even above average executives will simply not be able to take full advantage of. They can at best take limited risk, if at all – but JRM can and he should.

     

    Will he or won’t he? Or will he slip in and out of the country quietly, once very few months and leave the big opportunity to the pixies once again? If he ends up doing that he will have missed a great opportunity to grow the business and also to get himself back up and be recognised as being one of the best TV executives in the world. After all, he is the son of Rupert.

     

    Although it started as a fortnightly column, Peter Mukerjea’s Media Mullings will now appear regularly on MxMIndia, but with no definite frequency.

     

  • On February 25, India's music TV segment will see one more channel launch -9x Jalwa – 9x Media's second Bollywood music channel after 9xm.

    9XM to start Jalwa for older audiences

    By Rishi Vora

     

    On February 25, India’s music TV segment will see one more channel launch – 9x Jalwa – 9x Media’s second Bollywood music channel after 9xm.

     

    The differentiation, however, lies in the fact that the channel will cater to 25 + audiences and offer timeless Bollywood music from an era starting 1965 to 2000. The market which has few other players like Mastii, Channel V, MTV, Zoom, Bindass and Mix – most of these channels cater to relatively younger audiences.  Mastii is the genre leader with a relative market share of 12.4 per cent (Source: HSM, CS 15+, TAM Media Research), while 9xm is at 11.1 per cent share.

     

    While MTV and Channel V are skewed more towards being Youth Entertainment Channels, Mastii, 9xm and Sony Mix are pure play Bollywood music channels. And in that sense, 9x Jalwa comes as channel with a clear differentiation as far as its TG and content is concerned.

     

    For starters, the channel will be available across cable operators – analog and digital. As for DTH, the company will look to sign deals in phase 2 – once the channel gains some momentum.

     

    Punit Pandey

    Content-wise, 9x Jalwa will have a rich library of over 2000 songs that will be played on the channel, besides short format shows, humour and trivia led interstitials. As against half-hour or one hour shows that is seen on other music channels, 9x Jalwa will air back-to-back music, giving viewers a non-stop music experience.

     

    Sharing the thought process of launching a second Bollywood music channel after 9xm, Sr VP and Head – New Business Mr Punit Pandey said: “9xm caters to audiences in the age group of 15-24. It is primarily a youth channel, but with 9x Jalwa, we’re looking at covering all age groups. Also, we will be the first channel to cater to the 25 + audience.”

     

    He further added, “The market for 9x Jalwa is fairly big, and we think there is a lot of potential.”  From a group perspective, it is advantage 9x Media; for it is the only group in the domain to have two Bollywood channels catering to two different age-groups. As Pandey states, it will help them add value on two most important fronts: viewers and advertisers.

     

    Amar Tidke

    On the programming front, Mr Amar Tidke, Head – Programming and Sr VP, 9x Media said; “With 9x Jalwa, viewers will get the best of Bollywood music, maximum nostalgia and humour.” Some of the shows on 9X Jalwa will include HalkatSawal, Kassette Kahaniyan and Bolly Brands. The company has signed on Brand Harvest as its creative agency. The packing aspect of the channel has been done by Point Break Media.

     

    The on-going marketing campaign comprises of on-air spots on group channels and a digital plan which includes social media initiatives.

     

    9x Jalwa is the group’s fourth offering after 9xm, Punjabi music channel 9xm Tashan and Marathi music channel 9x Jhakaas. It will be interesting to watch how the channel progresses and how the market responds.