MxMIndia

Tag: Emmy

  • With the number of infotainment channels on the rise, it’s important to re-look at factual entertainment as an alternative experience to general entertainment

    The Anchor: Ritu Kapur on 5 ways factual entertainment channels can score over GECs

    By Ritu Kapur

     

    In a cluttered TV environment with increasing content sameness and fatigue, factual entertainment channels are a refreshing “window to the world”, with unpredictable, spectacular, high end productions.  But with the number of infotainment channels on the rise, it’s important, we feel, to re-look at factual entertainment as an alternative experience to general entertainment.

     

    Production Style

    Factual channels need to change the production style to make the content more entertaining, interactive and accessible. History TV 18 has broken the documentary “all-knowing voice of God” format with shows like Pawn Stars, Ice Road Truckers and a competition show like Top Shot. Where the content is not shying away from information, but presenting it in viewer friendly, character-driven reality format.

     

    Characters

    Television across the world is driven by iconic characters. For the longest time animals took centre-stage. There is already a move towards characters becoming the defining face of channels like Bear Grylls on Discovery. But it’s important for these characters to evolve further and break away from repetitive formats.

     

    Unlike other channels, factual channels need to create identifiable characters out of everyday people, doing extraordinary things.  And it’s not enough to just build these characters but to use them creatively to convey information to the viewers.

     

    Drama

    Why should drama only be the forte of a GEC? Factual entertainment channels should take the lead in creating high quality drama that is not there just for drama sake but to bring alive themes from history, science and survival. History TV18 is taking its first step towards that with an Emmy award winning drama series called The Kennedys. The series is very well-researched, hasHollywoodgreats like Katie Holmes and is a big budget production.

     

    A 360 degree view of India

    High end productions onIndiahave always had the western perspective. It’s important now for Indian channels to assert and present the realIndia, breaking all clichés. These should be done with global syndication in mind so that this perspective is accessible internationally.

     

    Making International Content Accessible

    Dubbing in regional languages has been the primary means of reaching out to larger viewership inIndia. It’s important now to review the kind of experience this dubbing provides for its viewers. Languaging that creates a context for the aspirational regional Indian viewer is important. It is also important to go beyond dubbing to also use short formats, promo styling and other creative TV devices to make international content relevant and “belong” to the Indian viewer.

     

    Ritu Kapur is the Programming head at A+E Network, TV18

     

  • Wins awards for Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones and Enlightened at the 69th Golden Globes.

    HBO wins 3 Golden Globes

    By A Correspondent

     

    HBO recorded three wins at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards for Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones and Enlightened. The award ceremony took place on January 15 in Los Angeles.

     

    Kate Winslet won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Mildred Pierce. Mildred Pierce is the story of a proud single mother struggling to earn her daughter’s love during the Great Depression in middle-classLos Angeles. The five-part miniseries, produced in association with MGM and directed by Oscar nominee Todd Haynes, was adapted from the story by James M Cain’s 1941 novel of the same name.

     

    Peter Dinklage won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Game of Thrones. This epic HBO Original fantasy series is based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ books. It traces the struggle for the Iron Throne where kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men… all will play the Game of Thrones.

     

    Both Mildred Pierce and Game of Thrones premiered in 2011 on HBO India.

    Laura Dern won Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series for her turn as Amy, a self-destructive health and beauty executive who has a very public workplace meltdown in Enlightened. The series is an offbeat HBO Original Series which follows Laura Dern’s Amy as she navigates an unconventional path between who she is, who she wants to be… and what everyone is willing to tolerate from her.

     

    HBO was launched in South Asia in September 2000, as a 24-hour English language movie channel.  HBO is the only English movie channel to feature cutting-edge award-winning original productions year on year. In 2011, HBO has won 19 Primetime Emmy awards already, which is maximum for any network.