Star India CEO Uday Shankar will once again be President of the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF), the apex body of television broadcasters in India. At the 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) IBF held in New Delhi on Wednesday, and the Board of Directors meeting thereafter, Mr Shankar was elected President.
The IBF Board also elected Punit Goenka as Vice President – Measurement, N P Singh as Vice President – Distribution, Rajat Sharma as Vice President – Strategic Affairs and Rahul Johri as Treasurer.
Commenting on the development, Uday Shankar said: “I am privileged to be trusted by the members of IBF to lead the industry body at a critical juncture when the industry needs to leap to the next level by working collaboratively with the Government and other stake holders.”
The move is seen to be significant as the all-important television viewership measurement system of joint industry body BARC is scheduled to be functional in the next few quarters.
TheOneAlliance, MSM Discovery Private Limited(MSMD), the joint venture between Multi Screen Media Pvt Ltd and Discovery Communications India have announced that they continue to be the authorized sole and exclusive distribution agent for Multi-Screen Media Private Limited, Discovery Communications India and TV Today Network Limited to various distribution platforms – Cable (both analogue and digital), DTH, HITS, IPTV and Hotels and Commercials Establishments.
Apart from the current 24 premium channels distributed by MSMD, the networks will be making heavy investments in the form of new channels such as MAX 2 – a contemporary Hindi Movie channel showcasing great Indian cinema, PIX HD, AXN HD and, a new entertainment channel from the MSM stable. The network is also acquiring premium sporting properties for their sports and entertainment channel, Sony SIX, which is broadcasting a world of unparalleled sports entertainment with something to satiate every sports lover’s appetite with blockbuster events like NBA, UFC, TNA Wrestling and Australian Open tennis. Sony SIX has also been telecasting the recently concluded hugely popular cricketing tournament IPL, and is the home of international football for the next 5 years with exclusive rights to telecasting the world largest sporting spectacle FIFA World Cup 2014 – Brasil & FIFA World Cup 2018 – Russia along with UEFA EURO 2016.
Discovery communications India will be launching Investigation Discovery (ID), a suspense hindi entertainment channel, TLC HD and Animal Planet HD in the near future. Over the course of the next one year, both the networks are looking forward to launch new channels in both SD and HD across different genres
Speaking on the occasion N. P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Multi Screen Media said, “We believe in nurturing and fostering positive and strong relationships with our partners which is mutually beneficial to both and we are happy to extend this partnership to the future also. We are very confident that TheOneAlliance is perfectly enabled to monetize the valuable and exclusive premium content that we produce and acquire.”
“Discovery has a very strong partnership with Sony and we are fully committed to The One Alliance. It is Discovery’s endeavor to provide the Indian viewers with the finest entertainment and The One Alliance will continue to distribute our eight current channels and our new launches across India,” said Rahul Johri, EVP and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia.
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Adding to that Rajesh Kaul, President TheOneAlliance said,” TheOneAlliance is one of the most stable & dynamic distribution partnerships in the industry. Given the current strength & the aggressive future investment plans of our partners, TheOneAlliance will continue to excel as the powerful leader in the industry.”
Effective 1st, April 2014, TheOneAlliance ceased to distribute the television channels – Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now and Zoom.
In its bid to cater to the football lovers in West Bengal, Sony AATH will broadcast live the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Bengali commentary. The channel will telecast 56 FIFA matches in Bengali, and provide its audience with a unique viewing experience that has never been done before on satellite TV. As a strategic move, Sony AATH aims to expand its reach through this custom offering to the vast Bengali speaking audience of the country.
Speaking on this unique initiative, Tushar Shah, Senior Vice President Multi- Screen Media, who also manages the operations of Sony AATH, said, “The one factor that unifies Sony AATH with the people of Bengal is our love for football. It is this love that has inspired us to offer 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ to the people of Bengal in their very own language. Sony AATH’s endeavour is to captivate this passionate audience by creating a holistic football experience by providing high quality sports content in a language which, they love.”
NP Singh
Speaking on the occasion N.P. Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Multi- Screen Media, said, “At MSM, we attempt to draw the consumer with differentiated content. Providing the viewer with live Bengali feed is just another testimony of our commitment to understanding what the viewers’ wish to see and offer them. We hope every football loving Bengali enjoys 2014 FIFA World Cupâ„¢ on Sony AATH.”
The 2014 FIFA World Cup will kick off on 12th June 2014. The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from June 12 to June 26. The knockout stage will start from June 28 and conclude with the FIFA World Cup™ Final match on July 13.
Multi-Screen Media Private Limited (MSM) has announced that Saurabh Yagnik’s responsibilities have been enhanced and he will now also oversee AXN, thus taking charge of the English language channels in the network, effective immediately. Sunil Punjabi, the current Business Head of AXN, will continue to manage AXN and will report into Saurabh.
Saurabh Yagnik, who joined the MSM group just over two years ago, has over 17 years of varied consumer and television management experience, and has been instrumental in building and driving the English movie channel PIX to attain market leadership.
NP Singh
N. P. Singh, CEO, MSM, said, “With Saurabh’s deep rooted understanding of the English Entertainment Genre, I am certain that he will chart a new and exciting journey for the English Entertainment channels at MSM. We wish him all the best.”
It’s been in the work as per the grapevine. Multi-Screen Media Private Limited (MSM) has announced that Sneha Rajani, will assume the position of Deputy President and Head, MSM Motion Pictures. Nachiket Pantvaidya, who has recently joined the network, takes over as Senior. Executive VP & Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television (SET). Anooj Kapoor, will assume additional responsibilities as Senior Executive VP and Business Head, SAB, and also a new initiative in the Hindi entertainment space.
NP Singh
Said N P Singh, CEO, MSM on the announcement, “I am certain that Sneha, Nachiket and Anooj will revitalize and provide fresh perspective to their respective areas of responsibility. Each brings unique strengths to grow the business and we wish them the best in their new roles. I am confident that 2014 will be a year of innovation and growth for MSM.”
Ms Rajani, who has been Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, will have end-to-end responsibility for MSM Motion Pictures and will chart the success and future of that business as a key force in movie production. She has been associated with MSM for over 15 years and has previously been Business Head, Max, which she launched and led for 10 years before assuming responsibility of the flagship GEC.
Mr Pantvaidya who was the Business Head of Star Plus and also held several roles in the Star India network, including being the Head of Star Pravah and MD of FOX Television Studios will now head SET. An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, Nachiket has had stints with BBC and Disney in the past. He has also held several positions in MSM from 1996 to 2004.
Meanwhile, Mr Kapoor will With the success of SAB, Anooj has demonstrated capability for building differentiated audiences for the network. Anooj has been with MSM since 2007. Prior to joining MSM, Anooj worked with Colgate Palmolive as product manager, Lowe Lintas as Creative Director and also ran his own production advertising company. He has a Masters in English Literature and a MBA from SP Jain Institute of Management Studies.
Sony Six has acquired the broadcast rights to the New Zealand (NZ) vs India cricket series. The series will be held in NZ from January 19 to February 18, 2014. The 30-day tour starts with five ODIs followed by two Test Matches. Given the time difference, the coverage start timings are 6.30am for ODIs and 3.30am for Tests.
Commenting on this acquisition, N P Singh, CEO, MSM said, “We are delighted to partner New Zealand Cricket as the official broadcaster to this series. With this acquisition, we are staying true to our objective of delivering high octane sporting events.”
Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony Six, said‎, “Both New Zealand and India play exciting brand of cricket and we are thrilled to be the exclusive partner to this promising series.”
The ODIs are scheduled on Jan 19, 22, 25, 28 and 31 and the Test start dates are Feb 6 and 14. While the coverage for all the ODIs starts at 6.30am, each day of the two Tests starts at 3.30am.
Longstanding Chief Operating Officer of Multi-Screen Media, N P Singh, has been appointed CEO. He moves in to the position held by Man Jit Singh until now.
An official confirmation on the appointment has now come in. The news was first flashed on MxMIndia earlier today (Jan 3). An announcement to this effect has als0 been made to this effect in the MSM office.
So here’s the news: Multi-Screen Media Private Limited (MSM), formerly known as SET India Private Limited, has announced that Mr NP Singh, Chief Operating Officer, would take on the mantle of Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. Mr Man Jit Singh, the current Chief Executive Officer of MSM, would return to being the Non-executive Chairman of MSM but would relocate to Los Angeles to assume other responsibilities. In his new role, Mr NP Singh will report to Andy Kaplan, President Worldwide Networks, Sony Pictures Television.
It may be remembered that Mr Man Jit Singh held the position of non-executive chairman even before he took on the position of interim CEO first and later CEO after the exit of Kunal Dasgupta as CEO. In fact at that time – 2009 to be precise, there were strong rumours that Mr NP Singh would be made CEO given that operationally he had been running the network.
The flagship channel of the group – Sony Entertainment Television – has a tough run with ratings in the recent past. Â In fact from among the various Hindi general entertainment channels, it is ranked sixth. In the last week of 2013 (Week 52), as per unverified TAM ratings, its viewership was 272 million whereas that of Star Plus was 606 million viewers and that of of Colors was 527 million. The channel has had a problem on the distribution front too over a period of time. However, it must be said that Sab, also from the MSM bouquet, has had an excellent run over the years and in Week 52, it’s the #4 Hindi GEC, edging past Life OK.
Various other channels in the MSM network have also been doing better than before. Sony Pix has had a good run in the last few months and sports channel Sony Six has also been active on tie-ups.
A Cost Account and a Delhi School of Economics graduate, Mr NP Singh has been with MSM since 15 years and has earlier worked with Spice Telecom, Modicorp, Modi Xerox and Hindustan Copper.
Here are quotes from the Messrs Man Jit and NP Singh and Mr Kaplan:
Man Jit Singh said “NP and I have worked closely together as equal partners these last five years and the success of the company is largely due to his efforts. The time has come for him to lead the company to the next level and I fully expect the innovations he brings as CEO will ensure we have years of success ahead. As the Non-executive Chairman of MSM, I look forward to supporting NP and will continue to remain involved with the Indian television industry.”
Andy Kaplan also expressed strong support for the move. “We have full confidence in NP being able to lead MSM and continue the success of the last five years. NP has been involved in all the decisions that lead to the success of our business and this is a well-deserved recognition of his untiring efforts and of the faith we have in his decision making. I wish him all success in his new role as CEO of MSM. I would also like to thank Man Jit for the huge contribution he has made in growing our business in India and setting it on the path of sustainable future growth.”
NP Singh commented: “I am delighted by the confidence Man Jit, Andy and the Board have expressed in my abilities to lead MSM. It’s been a wonderful experience and a pleasure working with Man Jit last five years. While much work has been done there is clearly a long road to go before we can fully achieve our vision. I am certain that with our top quality Management Team and our dedicated employees we will achieve new heights of success in near future. I am excited in taking up the new role and look forward to making MSM the most profitable network in the business”
Meanwhile, it is learnt, that at least one or two more announcements are expected from the MSM stable next week.
If wrestling is what excites consumers after cricket and tennis and soccer and F1 and whatever else, here’s news: Sony Six has acquired exclusive broadcasting rights to Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling for the Indian sub-continent.
The channel will hence air TNA Wrestling programming every week including Impact Wrtestling, Xplosion, Greatest Matches and Unfinished Business, along with four episodic Pay Per View programmes and eight One Night Only specials throughout the year.
To those not in the know: TNA is home of ‘The Immortal’ Hulk Hogan, ‘The Icon’ Sting, ‘The Charismatic Enigma’ Jeff Hardy, Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Bully Ray, Magnus, AJ Styles, Gail Kim, TNA Knockouts Champion Mickie James and TNA World Heavyweight Champion Chris Sabin. Phew!
Man Jit Singh
NP Singh
On acquiring the rights, both Man Jit Singh CEO, MSM and N P Singh, COO, MSM were ecstatic. And TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter was quoted in a press release saying: “The Indian sub-continent is home to some of the most passionate and dedicated wrestling fans on the planet – and they now have more than 500 hours of the very best in professional wrestling to enjoy. We can’t wait to debut!”
Sony Six has added the UEFA Euro 2016 football tournament to its kitty, winning the exclusive broadcast rights for it across the Indian subcontinent. The channel will telecast live all 51 matches of the tournament.
Man Jit Singh
Expressing his joy at the acquisition, Man Jit Singh CEO, MSM, said, “Football has grown immensely in India over the past few years and has found great interest amongst the youth. With the successful acquisition of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament broadcasting rights, we look forward to attracting viewership to Sony Six by leveraging on the growing popularity of European football in the country.”
European football’s premier international competition will be Sony Six’s first entry into international football. Having broadcast the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, this will be the first successful acquisition of a major professional football competition by the channel.
NP Singh
N P Singh COO, MSM, said, “We are delighted to bring one of football’s elite tournaments to the Indian viewers exclusively on Sony Six. As a broadcaster we are always in pursuit of the best of International Sport and through our latest acquisition we will take the fans closer to the high impact action that the UEFA Euro 2016 promises to deliver.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA’s Marketing Director, said, “We are pleased to welcome Sony Six to the family of broadcasters for the UEFA Euro 2016. UEFA believes that the Sony Six channel and its commitment to high quality programming and sport is an excellent home for UEFA’s flagship national team competition.”
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship will be held in France with provisional dates of June 10 to July 10 2016.
English movie channel Sony Pix has partnered with Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) Studios, one of the leading studios of Hollywood. Under this arrangement, Sony Pix will premiere the studio’s new titles on television which includes Skyfall, The Hobbit and in future the remake of Robocop. In addition, the channel will also be home to all the Bond titles and popular movies from their stable such as the Rocky series, Terminator, Species, The Pink Panther and Conan the Destroyer to name a few.
NP Singh
Saurabh Yagnik
N. P. Singh, COO Multi Screen Media, said, “We are pleased to announce the deal with MGM and this is another step in providing world class entertainment to our viewers.” Saurabh Yagnik, Business Head, Sony PIX said, “Sony PIX is on a strong growth path and has been consistently operating in the No.1/2 slot in the category. It is aggressively strengthening its library through investment in content. This association with MGM will significantly help the channel to operate in the top 2 slots in the genre.”
The association is strategic and gives the channel access to some of the biggest premieres this year like Skyfall and The Hobbit. Sony Pix will also be airing the entire Bond series exclusively on the channel.
This year, the cricketing extravaganza that is the Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 (IPL) will be simulcast on both Max and premium entertainment sports channel Six, Multi Screen Media (MSM) has announced.
Viewers have the choice of watching the IPL on a Standard Definition (SD) feed on Max and a High Definition (HD) feed in English and a SD feed in Hindi on Six.
MSM COO N P Singh said, “With the simulcast of The Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 on Max and Six, we aim to reach out to millions of more viewers spanning the nation. Through this, we hope to take the popularity of the Pepsi IPL 2013 to the next level. We look forward to another exciting IPL season full of last ball finishes!”
PIX, the Hollywood movie channel from Multi Screen Media, has announced the appointment of Saurabh Yagnik as its new Business Head. He replaces Sunder Aaron who had resigned in August this year.
Mr Yagnik brings with him a cumulative experience of over 17 years in varied fields. In his previous stint, he was Business Head, English channels at Star India.
Mr Yagnik is a Chartered Accountant with qualifications in Cost Accounting and Company Secretaryship. He began his career as assistant manager at ITC in 1995. In 2000 he moved on to Hindustan Unilever as category finance manager. In 2007, Mr Yagnik joined Star India India as vice-president, Financial Planning & Treasury for the in India. He was appointed as SVP and business head, English channels cluster in 2010 and held the position for two years. He has also had long stints with brands like Hindustan Unilever Limited and ITC.
“I am very excited to be a part of MSM and Pix in the current juncture of its journey. Pix is a youthful brand with unparalleled fan following. Over the years, it has created a definitive mark for itself and has become a leading English movie channel. I am looking forward to working with the team here and take the Channel to being No 1,” said Mr Yagnik.
NP Singh
N P Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Multi Screen Media said, “We are thrilled to have Saurabh joining us and we welcome him to the MSM family. The industry is at an important cusp and the English movie genre is seeing a lot of transformation. We have great confidence in Saurabh’s abilities and are privileged to have recruited someone of his caliber into the business. He comes in with tremendous knowledge and the channel is going to benefit multi-fold with him as Business Head. We are equally confident that Saurabh will lead PIX to newer highs.”
