MxMIndia

Tag: Ajit Mohan

  • Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is based on the life of a hilarious Gujarati family living in Mumbai

    ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ makes a comeback on Hotstar

     

     

    Hotstar has announced the return of cult comedy show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai,for its viewers this May. A show that still enjoys active fandom several years after it went off air, and one that’s often been hailed as being well ahead of its time, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai will return exclusively on Hotstar as a part of the Hotstar Originals bouquet.

     

    The show will take a seven-year leap and will return with the entire original cast featuring Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Rupali Ganguly, Deven Bhojani and Rajesh Kumar as well some new characters. Produced by Hats Off Productions’ Jamnadas (JD)Majethia and Aatish Kapadia, the 10-part series will be part of Hotstar Originals.

     

    “From Maya’s haughty retorts to Rosesh’s epic poetry, every component that made Sarabhai vs Sarabhai timeless, will very much remain the hallmark of this series. That said, there’s much more hilarity and some brand new characters to look forward to. The wisecracky, intelligent soul of the show, will return exactly as our fans remember it, with more laughs and new stories”, said JD Majethia, founder of Hats Off Productions.

     

    “With Hotstar Originals, our intent is to bring to audiences, inspired content that goes on to define its specific genre, be it On Air with AIB, Tanhaiyaan or Cineplay,” added Ajit Mohan, CEO of Hotstar.

     

  • The campaign has been conceptualised by Creativeland Asia

    Hotstar ready for 2017 edition of IPL with latest campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hotstar, Star India’s video-on-demand platform, has launched its Vivo IPL 2017 commercial a 60-second film, to be followed by shorter films as the campaign progresses. The campaign has been conceptualised by independent agency Creativeland Asia.

     

    The film, set to a track composed by SnehaKhanwalkar and performed by rapper Naezy, opens with people from different walks of life in a typical Indian city, getting their game face on. What’s different, however, is that as opposed to the years where IPL meant life grinding to a halt, we see fans going about their lives, while effortlessly catching all the unpredictable and hot IPL cricket action.

     

    Commenting on the film, Ajit Mohan, CEO of Hotstar shared: “With Hotstar, the old narrative of cities turning into ghost towns during IPL is passé. The audience’s lives have gotten busier and thanks to IPL on mobile with Hotstar, there is no longer any need to make a trade-off between your passion for cricket and going on with daily life. The action on the field can heat up at any time and Hotstar is your ally for not missing a single hot moment, no matter where you are. Na life rukegi, na game rukega.”

     

    Added Sajan Raj Kurup, Founder and Creative Chairman, Creativeland Asia: “This has been an unbelievably action packed project from the word go. The insight was that Hotstar allows you to go about your life while still catching all the IPL action live. So, no matter what you’re doing – working, studying or travelling, with Hotstar you’re constantly in a state of readiness to catch every bit of every hot match. The fielding stance is a great metaphor for readiness. We used this metaphor to show people around the city being ready for every ball of the IPL.  From the script idea to the composition of the music/lyrics and shooting from road to road with a smallish feature-film crew, this is perhaps the most anecdotal project we have done in recent times.”

     

    Now one needs to see which anthem gets more popular: Sony’s 10 SaalAapkeNaam or the one created by Hotstar.

     

  • The two will collaborate to create audience segmentation and targeting that should boost Hotstar as an advertising medium

    Hotstar buys minority stake in Zapr. Will it kill independence of analytics firm?

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading OTT platform from the Star India stable Hotstar and Zapr Media Labs, a Bengaluru-based media tech company, have announced a strategic partnership to drive the next wave of mobile audience analytics in India. This includes a minority stake that Star India will pick up in Zapr, a digital analytics firm set up by three IIM passouts in 2012. IIM Ahmedabad, not a newbie outpost. The two companies will work together to create a deep understanding of mobile audiences that can be leveraged by brands to create personalised communication and offers, notes a communique. However, we feel that it’s a kind of a self-goal as by selling stake to a broadcast/digital major, it loses its independence. For instance, will you really trust the data that is put out by a player which is trying to attract revenues?

     

    Ajit Mohan

    Now let’s hear what the Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar said in a commmunique: “In the transition from the broadcast world to the digital world, advertisers got a data bonanza but in the process had to give up the ability to engage consumers who are actually paying attention to what they are saying. Hotstar has the opportunity to build the world’s first platform on digital where consumers are engaged and immersed while at the same time delivering deep audience understanding that allows brands to talk to individuals rather than segments. We believe that we have a shot at creating the world’s premier truly personalized advertising service, which benefits both brands and consumers.”

     

    Added Sandipan Mondal, Co-founder and CEO, Zapr Media Labs:“We are excited to partner with Hotstar and Star on our journey to build a world-class media-tech company out of India. Over the past few years, Zapr has grown into one of the world’s largest media consumption repositories and audience cross-targeting platforms and this partnership further reinforces the incredible response we have received from our partners across brands, agencies and broadcasters. We look forward to accelerating the pace of our research and development, growing our product portfolio and building a deeper and long lasting relationship with the larger media and advertising industry.”

     

  • Latest Disney, Disney.Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm movies to be available via SVOD on Hotstar in India

    Hotstar unveils exclusive content deal with Disney India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hotstar has announced a new studio partnership with Disney India to augment its Premium service. It has inked a multi-year SVOD deal with Disney India to showcase the studio’s biggest hits exclusively on Hotstar Premium in India which includes movies like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Disney’s The Jungle Book and Moana, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, Disney. Pixar’s Finding Dory amongst others.

     

    In addition, Hotstar premium subscribers will also have access to popular movies and classics from Disney’s library including Disney.Pixar’s Ratatouille, Brave, Toy Story 3; Disney’s The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest as well as popular American TV series from ABC Studios such as Castle and Desperate Housewives. Hotstar subscriberswill be able to access this content conveniently through Disney, Marvel and ABC Studios branded sections on the homepage of Hotstar.

     

    Said Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar: “Over the last six months, we have established Premium as an exciting new service for an Indian audience that is interested in international stories. The deal with Disney is in line with our strategy of bringing the best of new shows and movies from around theworld to our Premium subscribers. This partnership signals our continuing strategy: we will invest deeply and widely with the best story tellers in the world to ensure that Premium continues as the standout streaming service in the country.”

     

    “Our movies have met with much success in theatres this year. This deal is important for us asit enables us to offer our movies across Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar brands and our ABC Studios’ TV shows to our audience wherever they are. Hotstar Premium is an ideal home for our content and it gives subscribers across the country, the chance to revisit their loved stories,” said Amrita Pandey, Vice President, Studios, Disney India.

     

  • The network promises to take Rio Olympic viewing to a notch higher

    Star India’s 50-day countdown to Rio begins!

    By A Correspondent

     

    The countdown to the biggest multi-sport event, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has begun. Forty-nine days to go. August 5 is the date when all the action begins at Brazil and this time the world will witness the biggest ever Olympic contingent from India.

     

    To make the viewing experience of these games even better, Star India is expanding its coverage by dedicating eight channels on a 24×7 basis, broadcasted in two languages – English and Hindi. Star Sports and Hotstar, together, will broadcast 3000-plus hours of live content from the Olympics, facilitating fans to catch every medal live.

     

    Speaking at a press conference, Nitin Kukreja, CEO, Star Sports, said, “Star Sports has been at the forefront of establishing a multi-sport culture in India. While cricket continues to reach new heights, Indian sports fans have already shown their love for kabaddi and football. The Olympics are the pinnacle of a multi-sport event, and as India prepares to send its largest ever contingent, Star Sports is leaving no stone unturned to provide the most comprehensive access to Indian sports fans.”

     

    Since, ‘digital’ is the buzzword these, how can Hotstar, Star’s video sharing platform be behind! It will roll out the coverage of Olympics with 14 live feeds consistently and up to 36 concurrent feeds at peak on the Olympics video player, available to users on demand through the event. “While Hotstar is covering Olympics for the first time, we are excited that we are bringing an all-round coverage of the Olympics for the Indian digital user that will be the best in the word. Like in our coverage of other sporting events, our focus will be not just making every moment of the Olympics available to the fans but also provide them the ability to create personalised, interactive experiences that allow them to follow and watch what is of unique interest to them,” said Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar.

     

    Apart from live feeds, it will introduce an interactive, data rich Olympic player on the web where users will have the option to switch between the 14 live feeds, have access to day-wise listing of events and medals tally, and the ability to personalise the experience by following specific countries and sports disciplines.

     

    Star Sports, on the other hand, has set up an elite panel of international and Indian Olympians as well as sports experts who will share analyse and connect with viewers as live action unfolds. The eminent panel includes Ian Thorpe, Prakash Pafukone, Anjali Bhagwat, Viren Rasquinha and Rehan Poncha. Paula Malai Ali will be the presenter in English and Divya Jaitley will be the presenter in Hindi.

     

  • Country's leading online video streaming platform for premium content also holds the exclusive digital rights to LIVE broadcast of ICC World Twenty20 2016

    Hotstar partners T20 World Cup as Associate Sponsor

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hotstar has extended its partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016 through a sponsorship agreement with cricket’s international governing body, the ICC, for the 2016 edition of its mega event. The agreement makes Hotstar an associate sponsor of the tournament and ensures on-ground visibility for the platform at all venues for the entire duration of the month-long tournament.

     

    In addition to the sponsorship agreement, Hotstar also holds the exclusive digital rights for the live broadcast of the ICC World Twenty20 2016.

     

    Ajit Mohan, President & Head, Hotstar, said, “We are delighted to have deepened our association with the ICC World Twenty20 2016. With the sponsorship, we are reinforcing our commitment to our users and delivering on the promise that whenever there is cricket, Hotstar is the place to follow the game. Continuing on our efforts over the last one year, we are focused on creating a delightful proposition for cricket fans.’”

     

    ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson said, “We are delighted that Hotstar has decided to strengthen its support of cricket and relationship with the ICC as a global partner of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016.

     

    “Through the media rights partnership, Star India reaches out to a global television audience, which is further expanded via its digital platform, Hotstar. With the extension of the relationship to include sponsorship, Hotstar will now have the opportunity to engage and interact with the in-stadia cricket enthusiasts.”

     

    As the momentum builds ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2016, Hotstar will launch a series of campaigns to further drive up the anticipation among cricket lovers for this eagerly-awaited event.

     

  • We pinched ourselves. Did we read right? Is this the same Star India CEO who is always propah in his ways?

    What the fur! All India Bakchod gets Uday Shankar cheeky in his communiqué

    By A Correspondent

    Five years back, when our editor asked him to do a high five for Impact magazine, he was very hesitant on how it would impact his image. But those were early days still in his captaincy of Star India. Now, after having established itself as the #1 media professional in the country and as a gamechanger with the strides he has taken in sports broadcast, the former news journalist (and at heart still one), has been dramatically (and pleasantly) kewl in a press release we received on Tuesday.

    The communiqué was about how comedy entity All India Bakchod (referred to AIB to prevent the mouthing of an expletive in its name… chod, if you will still didn’t get it). And this is how Shankar’s quote read: “”I am told that based on extensive, exhaustive research, AIB are considered mildly entertaining and we should give them a show on our network. I have complete faith that we will regret this in the months to come.”

    We pinched ourselves. Did we read right? Is this the same Star India CEO who is always propah in his ways?

    The quote from Ajit Mohan, Head of Hotstar, was equally irreverent. “We are sort of excited to bring AIB’s brand of mature humor to our platform. This may be the start of a new era of quality content in India, I am told. Janta hamein maaf karein,” it said.

    Not surpisingly some copy-and-paste journos jointly simply Control-C-V-ed the release.

    We didn’t. We are MxMIndia.

    Okay, dudes, and if you notice we are trying to get effing hip and mother-effing happening without using Hindi gaalis like MCBC, but English expletives which make us sound very evolved.

    No, let’s leave all the smart talk to You Shanx and his boys and babes. Yo man!

  • Sharing premium TV content to engage with sports fans on Twitter's real-time information network

    ‘Twitter Amplify’ gets a like from starsports.com & Vodafone

    By A Correspondent

     

    Starsports.com, in association with Vodafone India, has announced its participation in the Twitter Amplify program In India. The Twitter Amplify program is developed to tap into the growing social conservations around TV programmes, especially live sports. starsports.com and Vodafone India aim to enrich the live sports experience through social media. Sports fans will be able to experience this product during the current Indian cricket team’s England tour.

     

    The Twitter Amplify program enables broadcasters to publish video to Twitter and then jointly monetize the premium content by creating sponsorship packages. Powered by Promoted Tweets, the program will “amplify” the reach of the video content distributed via the broadcasters’ and sponsors’ Twitter accounts.

     

    For advertisers, Twitter Amplify provides an opportunity to tap into the social conversations on Twitter, especially on mobile devices. It also provides a multi-screen audience engagement strategy essential to satisfying users’ needs to consume content whenever or wherever they want it.

     

    “2014 is a great year for Twitter becoming the social soundtrack for television as 95% of the public social conversation around TV is happening on Twitter today, especially for live sporting events. Broadcasters and brands know that Twitter is a natural TV companion that drives audience tune-in, engagement and affinity,” said Rishi Jaitly, India Market Director, Twitter. “We look forward to working with cutting-edge broadcasters and advertisers, like STAR Sports and Vodafone, who want to tap into a compelling second screen experience We are delighted that cricket fans can now enjoy TV highlights in real-time on Twitter.”

     

    Ajit Mohan, Head of digital business, Star India, said: “We have built starsports.com as the most compelling destination for fans in India to follow sports on a mobile screen and the best platform for advertisers to reach an attractive audience on digital. This program is a new innovation for us to understand the possibilities of being present when the conversations are happening on Twitter.”

     

    Vivek Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Vodafone India, said, “As a brand we are always looking at innovative ways of driving brand engagement and conversations on social media. Cricket (and sports in general) is one of our identified passion points and one with which Vodafone has a huge association. We are very excited to be the pioneers in launching a new social innovation in India centered around Twitter and cricket.”

     

  • The ICC World T20 final between India and Sri Lanka on starsports.com attracted a record 19.3 lakh unique individuals watching the video

    Starsports.com shatters online cricket viewing record

    By a correspondent

     

    The video streaming initiative of ICC World T20 2014 on starsports.com has garnered unprecedented traction on the digital domain. The ICC World T20 final between India and Sri Lanka on starsports.com attracted a record 19.3 lakh unique individuals watching video on the destination, delivering an unprecedented 37.6 lakh visits. While public figures are not available, the previous record for a single game is believed to have been achieved on IPL last year, with around 14.8 lakh visitors watching video on April 23last year, when Chris Gayle scored 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore. The final also beat the audience for the retirement Test match of Sachin Tendulkar, 10.3 lakh visitors, which marked the previous high point for starsports.com.

     

    Overall, starsports.com attracted more than 80.9 lakh users during the fortnight long tournament delivering more than 2.24 crore visits. The consumer engagement on starsports.com is continuing to grow dramatically. A total of 101 million live minutes of video were consumed by users during the last 4 matches played by India in the tournament, with an average of more than 30 mins per live view.

     

    Ajit Mohan, EVP and Head, New Media, Star India, said, “This is proof that the fans are ready to embrace a completely new destination conceptualized around video. We are emerging as the best way to follow cricket. The success of ICC World T20 really positions us well for Pepsi IPL 2014, which is debuting on starsports.com this year, and where we have the opportunity to really deliver a whole new experience for IPL fans. Our aspiration is to break the 20 lakh mark for a single game.”

     

    starsports.com offered live matches of ICC World Twenty20 as an ad-free subscription service on its advanced sports video player. In addition,starsports.com also offered a free, 5-minute delayed service.