MxMIndia

Tag: Cyrus Broacha

  • REDTRO 106.Chaar ropes in popular TV anchor, satirist and comedian, Cyrus Broacha as RJ

    Funnyman Cyrus to add his twist for Redtro’s new show

    By A Correspondent

     

    Having debuted on Mumbai’s air-waves on last month, REDTRO has signed Cyrus Broacha as an RJ for ‘Cyrusnaama’ – a show that combines the spirit of 90s and the flavor of today. The station announced the coming on board of Cyrus and other RJs – RJ Saurabh, RJ Pritam, RJ Palak, RJ Sudarshan – along with an interesting programming line-up.

     

    Launched as the first radio station under the newly acquired Phase III licenses by the company, REDTRO is an ode to the golden days of the poster boys of 90s packed with today’s energy and modern irreverent attitude. With its tagline, Phir Bajao, REDTRO aims to bring back the loved tunes from the era of the 90s.

     

    Speaking on the sidelines of the launch party, Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM & REDTRO FM said, “We are very positive and confident about our new brand, REDTRO 106.Chaar, in Mumbai. Our extensive research has pointed out a definite need gap, which is the reason we have a very sharply defined product and a differentiated brand offering. In our mind, REDTRO 106.Chaar, is retro for the young adults. Not just the songs, but even the content is customized to what millennials want to listen, when it comes to retro. Our sound and range is aimed at and invoking a certain level of passion for our mature TG, aged between 30-45 years.”

     

    “After some aggressive listener research and co-creation workshops with radio consumers, it was the music at the turn of this century that won, hands down. However, not totally diverting from the spirit of RED, we intend to take our legacy of creativity, innovation and entertainment forward; yet at the same time, breaking the monotony of FM Radio. We are putting our words immediately into action by getting on board Cyrus Broacha, who will bring his quirky style on-air with us. More such initiatives should create top-of-mind associations with our listeners, over the next few years.”

     

    Also ushering in the 90’s for today’s contemporary listeners will be RJ Saurabh, RJ Pritam, RJ Palak, among others. The day opens up with RJ Saurabh whose rib-tickling humor and sarcasm will make every morning worth that cutting chai. Save the 11-2 PM slot for RJ Pritam’s infamous ‘Bhabhi ka show’ and learn how to woo in style with Pritam’s wicked charm. One is as old as one feels; drawing upon the same lines, the afternoon show is taken over by RJ Palak whose ‘Redtro Jawani’ will make you reminisce your youth as she tells you about the newest and the latest things that Gen X, Y and Z is trying!

     

    REDTRO 106.4 has designed a big-bang, 360 degree campaign to amplify the buzz around its latest launch to engage deeper with the listeners and establish what REDTRO has to offer.

     

  • Ranjona Banerji who comments on the fare on nightly news and the morning papers twice a week tells us why she loves Arnab Goswami so very, very much

    Ranjona Banerji: Why I criticise Times Now most

    Ranjona Banerji

    By Ranjona Banerji

     

    Is the cacophony of television news adding anything substantial to the dissemination of news, views and information? In fact I should make that “substantive” since this seems to be the new fashionable word. I repeatedly hear people saying it on TV and since there is no editing provision for live TV debates, mistakes are exaggerated and emphasised. A man who was introduced as a Supreme Court lawyer (I cannot remember his name but he also hates the BCCI, if that’s a clue) said this repeatedly and I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall if he had ever appeared before Markandey Katju. Sadly, the print media is also unable to see the difference between “substantial” and “substantive” even as it continues to mis-spell “minuscule” as “miniscule”, probably because it doesn’t register on spell check in Microsoft Word. The dictionary has not been spotted in newspaper offices for over a decade now and sits high on the endangered species list. And of course the difference (or as they say on TV “differential”) between “less” and “lesser” is a lost cause as far as the print media is concerned.

     

    This segue from irrelevant debates to bad spelling is now over. This week, Times Now spent half an hour discussing a proposal by Air India to give special favours to MPs. The problem was that no one except the anchor, editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, knew anything about the plan. So the discussion – if it can be called that – never went anywhere.

     

    There are events which are offensive and annoying. But not all of them have enough substance – substantial or substantive – to merit a debate. A little discretion is advised if you do not want to drive viewers away.

     

    **

     

    I have to admit that I watch more Times Now at primetime than any other English TV news channel . And that is why I criticise it the most. But even in all the seemingly manufactured outrage, it appeared that Times Now had a finger on the pulse of its viewers. Now I wonder – drama for the sake of drama gets boring after a while, even in a country which thinks that Rowdy Rathore is a good film.

     

    CNN-IBN is dull, NDTV I have ambivalent feelings towards and I stopped watching Barkha Dutt after her reaction to the Radia tapes, Headlines Today remains a channel for babies and NewsX appears to have not paid its carriage fees to over half the country’s operators. The best programmes on CNN-IBN are probably Cyrus Broacha’s The Week That Wasn’t and Karan Thapar’s Devil’s Advocate and Last Word.

     

    **

     

    The problem for TV of course is that issues like the economy, drought, government inaction, female foeticide – which newspapers have focused on today – have no visual or dramatic traction. Indian TV news does not seem to have as yet worked out how to develop a story. If everything has to be breaking news, then at best you have raw data which can move in any direction and at worst, you have nothing.

     

    The Indonesian connection to Madhu Koda is a case in point. For such a story to have maximum impact, it would have made better sense for Times Now to construct a story and then air it. By just running with what they had, they only confused and bored people.

     

    This lack of direction and journalistic skill is why they keep running to people for reactions, whether it is a tree that has fallen or a road accident. Or indeed, a proposal by Air India to treat MPs like kings.

     

    Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She is also Contributing Editor, MxMIndia. The views expressed here are her own.

     

     

  • There were a record 300 entries, a 50 per cent jump over last year. The number of participating agencies doubled to 33 agencies

    Jury meets to select winners of the 9th Mirchi KAAN Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    The ninth edition of the Mirchi Kaan Awards had an unprecedented response when the Ad gurus met to select the best radio ads of 2011. There were a record 300 entries, a 50 per cent jump over last year. The number of participating agencies doubled to 33 agencies. And the number of entries for the Best Use of Radio as a Medium saw a tripling of entries to a record 31. Entries were spread across 15 categories, ranging from food to cosmetics.

     

    The winners will be felicitated at a gala event hosted by Cyrus Broacha on April 17 at Comedy Store, Phoenix Mills. The Mirchi KAAN Awards was introduced in 2004 to celebrate creativity in the challenging and evolving field of radio advertising. Over the years it has recognised and honoured ground-breaking and original radio campaigns.

     

    Speaking about the ninth Mirchi KAAN Awards, GG Jayanta, National Marketing Head, Radio Mirchi, said: “Every year the stakes get higher. In our 9th edition, the entries and the number of participating agencies have doubled. This is a testament to the prestige that winning a KAAN award gives. I thank the jury for having taken the time out of their busy schedule and selecting the winning entries.”

     

    The eminent jury included stalwarts like Pratap Suthan, Priti Nair, Amit Akali, Malvika Mehra, Manohar Nayak, Josy Paul, Rekha Nigam, Deepa Krishnan, Ramanuj Shastry, Tista Sen, Sonal Dabral and Ravi Deshpande.

     

    Sharing his thoughts about the quality of entries received this year, Josy Paul, Chairman and National Creative Director- BBDO India, said:  “Radio is a very personal and one to one medium. Hence good execution is of utmost importance. There has been resurgence in lot of fresh ideas this year which has lead to more freshness in programming.”

     

    Sonal Dabral, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, DDB Mudra Group, said: “I am on the Mirchi KAAN Jury for the very first time this year and I am quite excited to be a part of this process. Radio as a medium has a lot of potential. Unlike earlier, a lot of brands have now started including and demanding for Radio advertisements to be included in the overall marketing campaign.”

     

    Ravi Deshpande, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising, said: “Advertising is always evolving, and especially radio advertising has seen tremendous amount of growth. Interesting trends of conversations are always happening and it’s nice to see them getting adapted to the medium of radio”.

     

    Ramanuj Shastry, Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, said: “It’s fun to be a part of the Mirchi KAAN Awards. New writers are coming in, innovative projects are being showcased. As a jury member it is a pleasant experience to watch this fantastic trend”.

     

    Amit Akali, National Creative Director, Grey Worldwide, said: “The Tony Hertz workshop for these aspirants as a run-up to the main KAAN Awards is a commendable initiative by Radio Mirchi. The workshop will help the listeners to learn the nuances of radio advertising and improve the quality”.

     

    This year the theme of the Mirchi KAAN Awards’ ‘Listen, Learn, Shine’ focuses solely on the quality of work in the developing industry of radio advertising. Celebrated and renowned ad guru, Tony Hertz, will conduct a seminar on the art and craft of radio advertising for the aspirants from various ad agencies on April 17 as a build up to the Awards night. ET Now is the television partner and Afaqs.com is the digital partner of the ninth Mirchi KAAN Awards.

     

  • The channels have an exciting line-up of Disney’s best loved, award-winning programs and interactive contests with more than 5000 prizes up for grabs

    Mega New Year celebrations on Disney channels

    By A Correspondent

     

    Disney Television Network, the number 1 entertainment destination for kids and their families, is set to celebrate the New Year with its varied programming. Disney channel will end 2011 with the award winning Disney classic movie UP on December 31 at 11 am.

     

    UP is a heart-warming comedy adventure about a 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds ofSouth America, along with an overly optimistic 8-year-old wilderness explorer named Russell. The movie won the Academy Awards for the Best Animated Feature and the Best Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film in 2010.

     

    In his very first voice acting role, renowned Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has voiced the lead character Carl in Hindi. Commenting on his role, Anupam Kher said: “What makes this movie exciting is that it’s a fantasy film with believable characters. Carl can be from any part of the world or country. He is an ordinary man who fulfills an extraordinary promise and that truly makes him special.”

     

    Families can “kick-off” 2012 with the uber-cool soccer star David Beckham in conversation with famous Disney duo, brothers Phineas and Ferb on “Take Two with Phineas and Ferb” on January 1. The show is a series of fun interviews where the brothers talk to celebs like David Beckham. They have many more exciting ones already in the pipeline for the New Year.

     

    Adding some interactive fun and learning for the young ones will be an exciting contest inspired by Disney Junior’s popular interactive show, “Jake and The Neverland Pirates”. The show features comic and host Cyrus Broacha as the voice of “Sharky” along with musician Sid Coutto as the voice of “Bones”. The talented duo is also seen on the show with an entertaining live-action routine which has been locally produced inIndia.

     

    Beginning January 1, young viewers can brush up their counting skills every Monday to Friday by tuning into “Disney Junior Jake Contest” from 11 am to 12.30 pm and win more than 1000 cool prizes including Jake’s special Doubloon memorabilia, tee shirts, bandanas and DVDs.

     

    Disney’s action, adventure and comedy destination for boys, Disney XD will be revving up the content pipeline in the New Year starting with Disney classic blockbuster ‘The Lion King’ on January 1, 2011 at 12. A brand new fun-filled show about a creative and quirky hero – “Scaredy Squirrel”, inspired by the popular book series by Melanie Watt will start on Disney XD on January 9, 2011.

     

    In the new year, the channel will create a strong destination for Marvel-branded characters and stories with the launch of Spider-man on weekdays. While the excitement on popular show “Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil” is already on the upswing with a spectacular contest where fans can win over 100 cool prizes every day, including skateboards, Playstations, camping sets, snorkeling sets and Ipods.

     

    Hungama TV will ring in the New Year with new episodes of popular show “Guzura”, which follows the chubby little dinosaur and his misadventures as he interacts with humans and other animals.

     

    The channel will also feature exiting contests with over 1000 goodies waiting to be bagged by Hungama fans.