MxMIndia

Tag: Punit Goenka

  • Become the first Indians to receive this coveted award

    ZEEL’s Punit and Amit Goenka conferred the Medaille d’Honneur’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Punit Goenka and Amit Goenka, leaders of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) have received the highest television honor at MIPTV — the Médaille d’Honneur Award. The award recognizes executives who have made an exceptional contribution to the international television business and who, through their talent, leadership and passion, continually drive the global TV industry forward. This is the first time any Indian broadcast executive has received the prestigious award. The awards were presented in Cannes, France at the Carlton Hotel during a black-tie gala, held last week. Amit Goenka, CEO – International Broadcast Business, ZEEL accepted the award from Paul Zilk, Reed MIDEM’s Chief Executive on behalf of both.

     

    ‘’The MIPTV Médaille d’Honneur is presented to industry leaders who have had a real impact on the international television business. Punit and Amit have taken Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited worldwide, with ZEE channels now reaching a global audience of almost one billion viewers. Their vision for making ZEE one of the world’s leading global media conglomerates by 2020 is truly exciting and I hope MIPTV and MIPCOM help them achieve their goals,” said Paul Zilk, Reed MIDEM’s Chief Executive.

     

    Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited) said: “We thank Reed Midem for this honor. We wouldn’t have been able to achieve this level of success without the continuous support and commitment of all our stakeholders that comprise the ZEE family. The Indian Media & Entertainment industry is going through a period of enormous change, boosted by key technology advancements and a conducive environment. As the industry witnesses a wave of digital disruption, we at ZEE are ready to lead the next phase of growth. Being content focused, we have diversified into new areas of content such as movie production, music publishing and theatre production.”

     

    Amit Goenka, CEO-International Broadcast Business, ZEEL said: “ZEE is a major player on the global television landscape and we are honored to be recognized as the first Indian broadcaster to receive this prominent award. Today, we have gone beyond the South-Asian diaspora and are reaching out to local viewers globally. As a company our aim is to continually bring ZEE content to new audiences. Going ahead, we are focusing on Germany, APAC, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East as key markets for expansion.”

     

    This year’s fellow awardees are: Ms. Rola Bauer, Managing Director, STUDIOCANAL TV GmbH, Germany; Mr. Ben Pyne, President Global Distribution – Disney Media Networks, USA; and Mr. Marcel Vinay, President, Comarex, Mexico.

     

  • The government has no role in television audience measurement. If broadcasters and advertisers don’t have a problem, why should the government poke its nose?

    Government, leave BARC alone!

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    The all-important inauguration of FICCI-Frames 2016 on Wednesday was marred by a sweeping statement by telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. Minister Prasad is known to have strong views on measurement in the past too.

     

    Understandable. He has been I&B Minister in the past, and coincidentally his sister Anuradha Prasad runs BAG Films which runs the channels News TV and E24.

     

    Prasad said he wasn’t happy with the performance of TAM in the past and the alternative right now.  We really don’t know why he said that. It’s not that people have not had issues with BARC data. People have had, and the BARC team has cleared the air, and also corrected things if and when needed. One can be sure that BARC Chairman Punit Goenka must have faced some opposition within the Zee group when his channels didn’t fare too well in the first weeks of data releasing. But did he delay the release of the numbers? He didn’t.

     

    Evidently the telecom minister doesn’t agree with the I&B minister who is reported to be happy with the performance of BARC.

     

    We asked BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta for a comment on the minister’s statement. And this is what he said:

     

    “We believe the Hon’ble Minister expressed a view on improvements and changes in TV audience measurement in India with the launch of BARC India’s services.

     

    BARC India strictly follows government guidelines on the matter. We have expanded the coverage – with a doubling of sample homes to 20000 within the first year of launch, and inclusion of rural India for the first time ever. We have plans for expanding the panel as per government guidelines too.

     

    We are a Joint Industry Body and the number of meters are guided by Industry’s affordability and statistical needs. The number is as agreed by all stakeholders of the industry. Industry has welcomed and accepted BARC India data’s robustness and fidelity.”

     

    Frankly, we don’t think BARC must toe the government line. That it is following the guidelines is a bonus. The government has no role in television audience measurement.  Remember, the measurement is done for the benefit of a channel’s content and business teams to understand its viewers and more importantly by advertisers and media agencies who invest loads of advertising $$$s. If the broadcasters and advertisers don’t have a problem, why should the government poke its nose?

     

  • A 2-day festival for creativity & innovation in marketing and communications

    Kyoorius announces ZEE MELT 2016

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kyoorius announces ZEE MELT 2016, a unique festival that brings together advertising, digital, marketing, emerging technologies and the media & PR industry. MELT is a 2-day festival conceptualized in partnership with Zee Entertainment, Hindustan Times, GroupM, and D&AD.

     

    The festival is scheduled to be held on 11 and 12 March at Hotel Pullman Suites and Novotel, in Aerocity, New Delhi. Over the two days of MELT, Aerocity will transform into a buzzing zone of activity where 2000 people connecting creativity with marketing shall convene to discuss, inspire and learn through sharing and interaction.

     

    MELT 2016 will consist of a range of conferences, seminars, exhibitions, showcases, workshops and networking sessions for delegates from advertising, digital, media & PR, marketing and emerging technologies by industry experts, catering to all experience levels. To name a few, Ted Mellström (Art Director at Forsman&Bodenfors, Sweden); Mark van Iterson (Director Global at Heineken, Amsterdam); Mark Curtis (Founder & Chief Client Officer at Fjord Net, London); Tom Betts (Chief Data Officer at Financial Times, London); Gaurav Mishra (Digital Director at Conde Nast, Mumbai) for Media and PR and Darren David (CEO at Stimulant, San Francisco).

     

    The content for MELT 2016is divided across 4 key pillars:

    :: Learning – These events are based on imparting knowledge and provide inspiration in the form of vocational or skill workshops

     

    :: Showcase and Gallery – To excite visitors with newer experiences, with curated content from partners

     

    :: Networking – Encouraging new, meaningful and relevant interactions with people from the industry

     

    :: Celebration – No festival is complete without opportunities to have a good time with peers and friends

     

    Each of these pillars are being driven by content partners and participating brands at MELT 2016. Each of these will give delegates an opportunity to gain real insights into the creative communications industry from industry specialists.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) said: “As we pursue our vision 2020 of being ranked amongst the leading global media companies, there has been a conscious effort invested in creating and partnering brand IP’s. ZEE MELT will enable stakeholders from Media, Marketing and Communications to meet at a common platform and exchange experiences, knowledge and insights. This is the second edition of MELT and I firmly believe that it grow and be accepted as a premier Industry event in the years to come.”

     

    Rajan Bhalla

    Rajan Bhalla, Chief Marketing Officer, HT Media Ltd said: “HT is delighted to associate with MELT, which bring together doyens from the world of branding, advertising & media, creating an excellent opportunity to interact and engage with them through intellectually stimulating sessions. I am especially excited about ‘HT Osmosis’ at MELT, which will provide creativity new wings.”

     

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Renewing their association with MELT 2016, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia said: “We are delighted to continue our association with MELT. It is a platform where leaders from technology, content, data and digital interact with young talent to help shape the future of our industry. Like last year, GroupM agencies and specialist units will help curate content for the event in addition to holding workshops.”

     

     

    Rajesh Kejriwal

    Rajesh Kejriwal, CEO and founder of Kyoorius said: “We are delighted to announce the second edition of Zee MELT. This two day gathering of the best speakers and presenters from the industry with the addition of experience zones and workshops is definitely going to set us apart. It is heartening that our founder partners, Zee, Hindustan Times and GroupM, have increased their involvement, bringing more compelling content for delegates to enrich themselves.”

     

  • Siju will report to Mr Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, for the above role

    Siju Prabhakaran to head the Zee Tamil Business

    By A Correspondent

     

    Siju Prabhakaran , Business Head of Zee Kannada, will now take over as the Business Head – Zee Tamil. He replaces N S Easwaran who has decided to pursue his career outside ZEE. Siju has shown credible leadership in managing the Zee Kannada Business. He has been with ZEE for over 15 years now and has experience in sales as well. Siju will report to Mr Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, for the above role.

     

    Elaborating on his new role, Siju Prabhakaran said, “Tamil Nadu is a market with huge potential. This is one market where television viewing is a habit that is quite difficult to break. I’m looking forward to bringing the necessary changes to this habit that will benefit Zee Tamil and help us grow in leaps and bounds.”

     

  • By creating eco-wealth, ZEE is confident of building a stronger business and a more sustainable world in the process

    Zee is Green eco-friendly initiative takes off

    By A Correspondent

     

    ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has pledged to go Green with the launch of its ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative. As a pilot project, ZEE has successfully transformed the set of &TV’s ‘Gangaa’ as a ‘Green’ set.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Speaking on this initiative, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL said, “Every industry has environmental responsibilities and the Media & Entertainment Industry is no exception. Film making and content creation is like any manufacturing activity with high fuel and electricity consumption, raw material and manpower usage, and production of landfill waste. With ‘ZEE Is Green’ we aim to translate our environmental commitment into action by integrating sustainability across our organization, in front of the cameras as well as behind it.”

     

    Elaborating further, Goenka said, “Since the last three months, we have been working closely with all the stakeholders, from the production houses to the studio owners to our vendors. We have tried to study their problems, their needs, and their work processes. After doing an in-depth analysis, we have devised eco-friendly systems which do not disrupt their normal processes drastically but will still make a significant impact in the reduction of carbon emissions and production cost, over a period of time.”

     

    Discussing the initiative, Roland Landers, Chief Brand Officer, ZEEL commented, “In line with our corporate brand philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, ZEE has been embracing the world as One Family. As a caring corporate, we want to touch people’s lives, not just through our entertainment but by building a sustainable enterprise that fosters action towards a better world. Our ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative aims at developing the next generation of production practices that puts people and profits in sync with the planet.”

     

    The mission of ‘ZEE is Green’ is to raise awareness, build capacity and foster the widespread adoption of economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive processes. The pilot project under this initiative was the successful greening of the set of &TV’s popular show ‘Gangaa’. Green measures introduced on the set include the installation of colour-coded bins for waste segregation, an organic waste converter to transform wet waste into manure and a plastic shredder that prevents wrongful reuse of plastic bottles and also saves on the fuel associated with their transportation.

     

    Other measures adopted include the use of eco-fonts to print scripts which will reduce ink consumption by approximately 35%, the installation of water coolers with RO purifier to eliminate the use of 20 liter plastic water jugs, the use of rechargeable batteries in sound recording and the commissioning of solar street lights in the studio complex.

     

    In the next phase, these policies will be extended to other productions with the aim of cutting carbon emissions by 10 per cent in the coming year. Further, ZEE will also be launching Zeeisgreen.com, a portal which will host unique green guides, the green experiences on different sets and useful information which will be easily accessible to all stakeholders. The site will host a unique module which will list vendors who provide environment friendly goods to be used in production.

     

  • Living Entertainment brings to you an international food experience from 11th September 2015

    Living Foodz set for Sept 11 launch

    By A Correspondent

     

    Living Entertainment has announced the launch of an international food and lifestyle channel ‘Living Foodz’. This foodtainment channel specializes in exploring the evolving social status of food; moving out of the confines of the conventional kitchen into a world of entertainment and adventure with food. Having food at its core, Living Foodz will explore different perspectives towards food and the way it touches people – from lifestyle, travel, wellness to food infotainment and reality.

     

    The channel will be available across all DTH providers like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon and all other leading cable networks in dual feed Hindi and English from 11th September 2015.

     

    Living Entertainment in India will be an extension of the Living network belonging to Essel Group which already exists in the international markets. Living aims at bringing alive all things factual with an element of entertainment in order to appeal to the global audiences. Living in India will truthfully echo the ‘Living’ philosophy and encompass everything that will help one to discover, awaken and transform oneself.

     

    In sync with the corporate brand positioning of ZEEL – “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -The World is My Family”, Living Foodz will resonate the philosophy perfectly with the energetic programming mix. For the Indian market, Living Foodz will be the international food & lifestyle channel that will have a universal feel; which will appeal to the new age Indian. This foodtainment channel is targeted at both men and women across all age groups in urban digital households. The core audience set would comprise of well-travelled & connected people with high interest level of food.

     

    Within a year, Living Foodz will be available across countries worldwide producing global food content for global audiences. The audience will be taken on an exhilarating food expedition alongside eminent celebrity chefs and food personalities like Ranveer Brar, Gautam Mehrishi, Rocky & Mayur, Vicky Ratnani, Kunal Kapur, Rakhee Vaswani through their different shows. With a substantial increase of audience interest in various niche sectors, Living Foodz, has the right formula that is sure to enthrall one and all.

     

    Speaking on the new initiative, Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, ZEEL and Essel Group said, “We are very proud to present Living networks in India. This is yet another endeavor from our group to bring the world closer through entertainment. Living is all about global mindsets and experiences. This is also in line with our group philosophy of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family”. Our group has always believed in creating not just great content but building genres and brands that are milestones.”

     

    Also present for the launch, Punit Goenka, Managing Director & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited said, “With Living, we intend to make global content for global audiences. This will be for the first time ever that original content from India will be available to audiences across the globe. We are very proud to present this new form of entertainment to our audiences”

     

    Commenting on the occasion Piyush Sharma, CEO Zee Living- India APAC says, “Living is our endeavor to showcase audiences with great lifestyle content. Growth of digitization is leading to fragmentation of audiences, thereby creating an opportunity for differentiated and genre specific content. Moreover, increasing digital households are giving rise to increased audience expectations and demand for more diverse viewing opportunities. Under this scenario we are providing Living Foodz to people who love exploring and knowing more about food.”

     

  • BARC India and TAM India will form a meter management company to supply raw data to BARC India

    Flashed yesterday: BARC to turn sole TV aud measurement co with TAM meters in tow

     

    By A Correspondent

    BARC India, the joint industry body formed by broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies will acquire the Peoplemeter boxes of TAM India, the television audience measurement joint venture between Kantar Media and Nielsen Kantar. This was announced with the formation of a new meter management company which will run the meter operations and will supply raw data to BARC India. Thus the BARC data will be the sole audience measurement currency in India.

    It may be noted that MxMIndia was the first report that BARC was in discussions for the buying out of TAM. Well, the tie-up is not exactly the same, but we will wait to see what happens.

    Commenting on the development, Punit Goenka, Chairman of BARC India said, “This partnership is a big step forward and in this era of cooperation, we welcome this move forward as a joint industry body. The technology and methodological prowess of BARC, combined with the extra meters and the field force will definitely help the industry progress.”

    “This new venture represents our organization’s commitment to providing precise and stable data around the world, and draws strengths from both BARC India and TAM India,” commented Steve Hasker, Global President, Nielsen. “We look forward to the great coverage and representation this new partnership will deliver.”

    Eric Salama, CEO of Kantar said: “We are happy to cooperate with BARC India to be able to provide clarity and a large single sample for the industry and to keep India as a key market for us.”

    The meter company will have the meter assets and panel management operations of the present BARC Indiaand TAM India panels,which will be jointly owned by BARC India, Nielsen and Kantar with management control resting with BARC India.  To start with, the company will have 34,000 meterscovering all of India,and will supply raw data to BARC, which will use its own statistical processes and sampling design.The details of the formation and roll out of this new company will be shared in the coming weeks.

    TAM India will continue to provide its non-TV ratings services to the market, notably AdEx – Advertising Expenditure for TV, Print, Radio, RAM – Radio Audience Measurement, Eikona – PR Audit, TAM Sports Measurement and S-Group Consulting.

     

  • Announces the appointment of Rohit Gandhi as Editor-in-Chief

    Zee Media brings on board editorial head for its English news channel

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) has moved a step further ahead in its foray into the English news broadcasting space with the appointment of Rohit Gandhi as Editor-in-Chief – English News Broadcast and Related Content. Gandhi will be heading the operations of all initiatives in this space, working closely with the Business Head & Revenue Resources. He will report in to Punit Goenka.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Speaking on the initiative, Punit Goenka said, “Venturing into the English news space allows us to extend our presence in the overall news genre across geographies and even in the international arena. We want to launch a news network for global audiences with an Indian point of view. With Rohit onboard to spearhead this initiative, we are confident that we will be able to showcase a world-class product.”

    Gandhi brings with him over 23 years of rich experience across forty countries. In his previous assignment, he was t International Correspondent & Communication Strategist for South Asian International News, prior to which he worked with CBC, CNN, BCTV & Global TV, Canada, and NDTV. He has covered many war zones including Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

    Meanwhile, as has been rumoured, Zee Media Corporation Limited is likely ink an editorial arrangement with US newscaster CNN once the latter’s association with IBN ends in January 2016. There is no official word on this from ZMCL though.

     

    Rohit Gandhi

     

  • Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, Zee Entertainment on his association with Melt 2015 and his focus on curating the event with Kyoorius

    No gyaan, only learning

     

    This interview was conducted around Melt 2015 was announced in April this year, but the views Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited are still valid and relevant given Melt (or Zee Melt 2015, to be precise) starts today (May 21) and Zee Mindspace, the conference for CMOs, happens tomorrow. We asked Mr Goenka on why he associated himself with Kyoorius, will it impact his linkages with Goafest, on how speakers have been chosen for the event and finally with Rajesh Kejriwal, founder and CEO of Kyoorius.

     

    This is fourth edition of Zee Mindspace. What have been the learnings so far and what made you switch to a much larger scale?

    In this fast changing world, our own teams feel that the learning for the changing world is not happening at the pace that it needs to happen. We have got that feedback from our Mindspace series that we’ve been running so far. And when Rajesh [Kejriwal] approached me for Melt, I was of the opinion that we need to scale up Mindspace to a bigger level and why not put it as part of the industry initiative, which means it will be created for the industry by the industry. Normally, we do a half- day session, but this time we are extending it to the full day. Instead of just two speakers, we’re targeting many more to come in and speak up on different aspects of marketing and challenges and their learnings from other markets and bring it on the platform for the CMO world at large.

     

    There are quite a few events such as these which keep happening and apart from the likes of

    Goafest you have CII which does a marketing summit and there is AIMA etc. So how is it different from the others that you’re looking at?

    So, first and foremost the clear differentiation that attracted me to this was that I’m not just a sponsor here, I’m actually curating the content along with the Kyoorius team with learnings from my own professional space and what industry professionals are facing whether it be in the media or advertising or content world. So when people leave the venue, they should leave with the feeling that they have learnt something new which will help them in their day-to-day running of their professional life. And it should be clearly beneficial for to them, rather than it being a marketing conference where I talk about how great Zee is and what great thing Zee has done in the past. I want to actually make it a learning experience not just for my own team but for the industry at large.

     

    What made you choose on Kyoorius?

    I’m very happy to be partnered with Kyoorius because I have seen their benchmark in events that they have created and I don’t want to partner anything less than that. I want only improvement in that if at all, and I said yes to the partnership because I know Rajesh will deliver great standard of quality and best practices. And of course, why would I not want to associate my brand with something at that pinnacle of creation and implementation?

     

    You aren’t associated with the Awards though

    No, the Awards are not part of Melt. That’s an independent activity. It’s the culmination of Melt. So, by that definition we are not associated with the Awards as a partner or anything. But of course, I would love to be there and see who wins this year.

     

    With Goafest being an industry event and all creative and media agencies backing it, are you worried of a negative impact your association with Kyoorius can have on business?

    I’m not comparing Goafest with Melt. I know what Melt is all about and I know what it’s going to deliver for the industry, and that’s why I have chosen to partner here. I’ve been associated with Goafest in the past and will continue my association with them. Frankly the difference is that in the case of Melt, I’m working on creating the content for this festival. Whereas in Goafest, I’m not involved at. So I would not want to consider what’s good in Goafest and what’s not good in Goafest? Would those agencies look at Zee in a negative manner because I’ve associated with Melt, well, that’s their business, I can’t tell them what they should do and they should not do. We do so many events and that does not mean we make enemies with competing events.

     

    (Rajesh Kejriwal who was alo present while the interview was on steps in: Just to clarify this case, Melt has no sponsors. Melt has only partners. So, Zee is a principal partner, GroupM is a strategic partner, D&AD is a strategic partner, then there are other partners who are bringing in content in some way or the other. Everybody is a partner at Melt… there are no sponsors.)

     

    You’ve been associated with Kyoorius Designyatra for a while and I find it interesting that that you are actually not part of the event at all in the form of making a speech, presenting awards etc. We’ve also heard stories that Rajesh Kejriwal has told a sponsor that a certain logo doesn’t look very good in the creative, etc etc. Would you say he’s a tough guy to be associated with as an event curator?

     

    Yeah, he can be a pain, but nothing that can’t be fixed over a drink (laughs). There is no problem that you can’t fix over a drink, so let me just keep it at that.

     

    Zee has been associated with several industry events over the years. Is working with him different various others with whom you have dealt with in the past?

     

    As I said, normally people just put an event together and ask you for money and for a sponsorship logo on top of it. Beyond that, there is no value addition that one gets. Here, I’m being part of the team working on what should the event be all about. Rajesh came with certain ideas, my team then looked at the kind of speakers they should invite. What they should talk about. And we are actually considering all that before we take a speaker onboard, because I don’t want people to come and give us gyaan as to how good they are and how they have done great stuff, and what their great companies do. At the end, it has to be learning for the people who attend it, that here is the problem, and here are potential solutions, now debate.

     

     

     

  • Week 16 data from BARC India throws some surprises, including with the Hindi GECs!

    Colors gains much as BARC releases Week 16 data. Life OK ahead of Zee in HGECs

     

    By Our Research Editor

     

    If there was any fear that the new Broadcast Audience Research Council measurement system would be friendlier towards Star and Zee, among the two key backers of the need for a new ratings regime, the release of the data for Week 16 would’ve silenced critics.

     

    For one, Zee is a huge loser at first glance. And the gap between Star Plus and the next Hindi GEC (Colors) has narrowed even as Life OK has become a comfortable #3.

     

    Needless to say, the industry waited with much anticipation for BARC India to roll out its first set of data. For the expectation was to change how content consumption will be monitored and measured in the country. “Today, is indeed a day to celebrate for the shareholder apex bodies – IBF, AAAI and ISA, to launch in 2 years what Countries across the World would have taken at least 5-6 years,” a communiqué said.

     

    Initially, BARC India will be releasing data for 1 lakh+ cable and satellite (C&S) markets which corresponds to a sample size of 10,760 households. BARC India will actually monitor 12,000 sample households for this, using a stratified random sampling technique that is proven statistically. This will go up to 20,000 reporting homes, with addition of the less than 1 lac urban markets and rural areas to represent “What India Watches” in line with the Government of India, Jan 2014 notification.

     

    With over 300 channels being watermarked with this world’s leading technology for measurement. Meanwhile, SpotTrek, launched a month earlier, was started as a third-party certification service from BARC India to track commercial spots and movie trailers telecast on TV by next day of telecast through monitoring of over 360 channels.

     

    NCCS or the new SEC system will now be the new standard, to enable smarter decision making processes with the new socio-economic consumer classification. Both content planners and advertisers will find the new NCCS system to be more objective as it captures the affluence parameters of a household, the communiqué notes.

     

    Security and cigilance is another priority for BARC India. BARC India  uses as many as 28 partners across key processes within the larger framework of meter management, panel management, DQA, IT security, playout monitoring etc. Information integrity is ensured through ‘the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing’ principle.

     

    Said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India: “I am thrilled to share the first set of data and highlights. Solving this Puzzle has been an exciting experience and TEAM BARC India is proud to be creating history as the World’s Largest and Future Ready Television Audience Measurement Service. Thanks to IBF, AAAI, ISA and all our partners for coming together and making this happen.”

     

    Added Punit Goenka, Chairman, BARC India and MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment: ” With an aim to bring in utmost transparency within the ecosystem, BARC India will certainly be the best solution to report what the nation is actually watching.”

     

    Other broadcasters were equally effusive about the new regime. Said MK Anand, MD and CEO at Times Network: “We are happy that the new measurement system is finally in place. An extended viewer base will certainly help bring in more consumers into the analysed set and improve our services to them and thus generate more value.”

     

    Advertisers and media agencies are also excited about the new measurement system of BARC, though they caution that it’s still early days for the data. While it is impossible to contain them from making claims, it is advisable to wait for a few weeks, said Shashi Sinha, Chairman of IPG Mediabrands and Chairman of the BARC Technical Committee.

     

    Arnab Goswami, Editorial Director & Editor- In- Chief, Times Now said: “I am delighted with the BARC numbers. At 9 pm, we have 2/3rds of the audience with us, with the other one third shared between the smaller channels. In English news now, there is no No 2.”

     

    Meanwhile, here are highlights of Week 16 data:

    :: Star Plus is leading Hindi GEC channel of the country (HSM). Colors is a not-too-distant #2. Life OK is #3, not Zee.

    :: Colors leads Hindi GECs at primetime, followed by Star Plus and Zee. Yes, you read it right… Life OK is #3 HGEC thanks to non-primetime.

    :: Zee emerges strong in fegional channels like Telugu and Marathi

    :: Aaj Tak is the leader in Hindi news (HSM)
    :: Times Now leads in English news category (All India)

    :: CNBC-TV18 leads in English business

    :: IPL days put Sony Max in strong position
    :: Sun TV is a dominant leader in Tamil Nadu market
    :: ETV Kannada is the market leader in Kannada market
    :: Discovery is the leader in the infotainment category (All India)
    :: Nick is the market leader in kids category (All India)

    :: Zee TV HD has the highest Time Spent in the current week followed by Sony Six HD and Colors HD across HSM.

     

    Now, let’s look at the tables:

  • Zee, GroupM & D&AD to partner the two-day event which will culminate in Kyoorius Ad & Digital Awards which has Colors as presenting sponsor

    Kyoorius launches Melt, 2-day ad, media & marketing festival

    By A Correspondent

     

    Transmedia Fine Papers-promoted Kyoorius has launched Melt 2015, a festival of creativity for the advertising, media, digital and marketing industry in partnership with Zee Entertainment, media services conglomerate GroupM and London-based creativity body D&AD.

     

    The festival will take place on May 21 and 22 in Mumbai at the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) and neighbouring Nehru Centre, culminating in the Kyoorius Advertising and Digital Awards night on May 22 at the NSCI. “We expect over 5000 people over the two days which will be packed with seminars, exhibitions and workshops,” said Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder and CEO of Kyoorius who has curated the event, adding that the intent is to build the event around four pillars: Learning, Networking, Showcase and Celebration. “Our objective is to see everyone carry a key takeaway from each of these buckets,” said Kejriwal. The Kyoorius Awards will continue to have Colors as the presenting sponsor.

     

    Punit Goenka

    Said Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL): “Zee is proud to partner with Kyoorius at Melt 2015, which promises to be India’s largest celebration of creativity. Zee Melt offers us a platform to curate and present thoughts and lessons that all of us in the business need to know.“ Zee is also hosting the third edition of its Mindspace series at Melt with leading marketing heads from global and Indian corporations in attendance. “We are also looking at crowdsourcing content ideas, where we will give people the opportunity to put forth their ideas which Zee will then evaluate,” Goenka said.

     

    Added Tim Lindsay, CEO of D&AD in a statement: “Engaging the wider marketing communications industry in a conversation about excellence – in insight, creativity and execution – can only have positive economic, cultural and social outcomes. This is at the heart of what D&AD and Kyoorius are about.” Like last year, the judging process of the event will continue to be powered by D&AD.

     

    CVL Srinivas

    Talking of GroupM’s association with the event, CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia said that while there is a lot of talk about digital media, technology and data, “ultimately, ours is an ‘ideas’ business. We continue to support many initiatives that act as a rich learning ground for the industry. We will be partnering with Kyoorius and Zee to help curate the event and organise some interesting sessions around creativity in the digital era.” GroupM in partnership with HT Media Group and Kyoorius will conduct a print advertising contest, where entries will be invited from not only the creative community in advertising, but from young professionals who have a great print idea to share on the given brief.

     

    While attempts are made to not compare Melt with Goafest officially, the three-day festival held in April in Goa by the Advertising Agencies Association of India and the Advertising Club, industry persons are looking forward to both events. Srinivas believes it’s incorrect to compare the two and said GroupM is actively associated with both events as also with many such initiatives. Said Goenka: “We are confident of what Melt is going to deliver for the industry, and that’s why Zee has chosen to partner it.” And Goafest? “We’ve been associated with it in the past, and will continue our association with it,” Goenka clarified.

     

    Elaborating on the way he has built the festival, Kejriwal said Melt has no sponsors. “We only have partners. So, Zee is a principal partner, GroupM and D&AD are strategic partners, then there are other partners who are bringing in content in some way or the other.” The IP of each of the events at the fest will be owned by the partners, he added.

     

    Partners include Zee, GroupM, D&AD, Hindustan Times, Happy Finish, afaqs, Pepperfry, Future Laboratory, Hyper Island, The Partners, BrandMusiq, One Eyeland, Maxus, Youtube, Google, BARC and many more in the pipeline. Details on Melt can be accessed at readytomelt.com.

     

  • &TV plans to commission locally produced content

    Zee Europe celebrates 20 years with launch of &TV

    By A Correspondent

     

    ZEE Europe celebrated the completion of 20 years of Zee TV in Europe recently with a special gala, where it announced the launch of &TV, a brand new entertainment channel. The celebration was attended by Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and Rajesh Iyer, Business Head, &TV. Actor Shah Rukh Khan also attended the event.

     

    Derived from the conjunction ‘&’, the channel stands for binding people, ideologies and philosophies. The content of the channel is contemporary and contextual, depicting the progressiveness of the viewers. &TV will ‘celebrate the spirit of living’ through its content offering. Shah Rukh Khan hosts the channels’ flagship show India Poochega – Sabse Shaana Kaun. Like the host, the format of the game show challenges conventions, whereby the common man dons the role of the ‘Asker’, as well as that of the ‘Contestant’. While the Askers pose the questions, the Contestants demonstrate their street-smartness to win the coveted prize money.

     

    Commenting on the 20 years celebration, Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEEL, said, “We are proud to be a medium through which Indians living abroad have stayed connected to their roots back home all these years and we will continue to entertain and engage audiences with a unique blend of high-quality and innovative programming”. On the launch of the new channel &TV he said, “&TV will offer a more substantial viewing experience to an audience that is always seeking fresh and relevant content. We are certain that with the launch of &TV, we will capitalize on further such opportunities to build a robust entertainment bouquet and march ahead towards achieving the global ambitions set for the company.”

     

    Neeraj Dhingra, ZEE Europe CEO, said, “Zee TV has been a pioneer in bringing great Asian entertainment to the UK and fostering the cultural ties with India. We are certain that with the launch of the contemporary channel &TV, these ties will strengthen. The channel promises multi-dimensional content and a strong line-up of entertainment and reality shows, and we are beyond excited to have Shah Rukh Khan as the host of our flagship entertainment programme. We are certain that the audience will enjoy seeing a different side of their superstar!”