MxMIndia

Tag: Sony Pictures Network

  • To lead the content division for Sony digital businesses

    SonyLIV appoints Saugata Mukherjee as Head of Content

    By Our Staff

     

    Sony Pictures Network (SPN) India has announced appointment of Saugata Mukherjee as Head – Content, SonyLIV. In his new role, Mukherjee will lead the content division for Sony digital businesses. He will report to Danish Khan, Business Head – Sony LIV, Sony Entertainment Television (SET) and Studio Next.

     

    Said Mukherjee: “I have witnessed the platform’s growth and proud to be part of its growth story once again.  SonyLIV has always pushed the boundaries of content by telling stories that have never been told, explored, or shown before, making my role, a challenging but exciting one.”

     

  • Introduces 4 new shows to gear up for summer vacations

    Sony Yay! expands content

    By Our Staff

    Sony Yay!, the kiddie channel from Sony Pictures Network, has announced four new shows ranging across a gamut of genres. With this programming line-up, the channel sets the tone ahead of an entertaining summer to keep young audiences hooked.

    Said Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, Sony Pictures Networks India, Kids’ Genre: “Our young patrons have always showered us with immense love and loyalty for all our offerings and content that we have introduced. Paying an ode to their trust in us, we have handpicked four special narratives as a pre-summer treat.  Each of these shows will present our young audience with four new fascinating worlds and be the perfect precursor to a spectacular summer vacation that we have planned for kids to go YAY! once again.”

     

     

  • To host previews and themed workshops for young audiences in the festive season

    Sony launches Yay Dekho

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Yay!, the kiddie channel from Sony Pictures Network, has launched Yay! Dekho, an effort  In line with its objective of serving their young audiences with immersive experiences, featuring exclusive movie previews of upcoming tele-movies followed by movie-themed workshops.

     

    Scheduled for tomorrow, October 9 at 4pm, the virtual event will give fans access to tele-movie premieres and interactive workshops hosted by the multi-talented Edwina Lobo, owner of The Springboard and Co-founder & Team Psychologist of The Oranje Academy. Yay Dekho will also host premieres of Honey Bunny in the Interview, Honey Bunny in the Treasure Hunt, Honey Bunny save the Panda, Honey Bunny in the Mystery of the Sylvian Castle and Honey Bunny in the Jungle Adventures. The first edition will start with the movie preview of Honey Bunny in Dino Park live followed by themed DIY art and craft workshop.

     

    Added a communique: “Yay Dekho will enable viewers to enhance their creative skills and give wings to their imagination as they recreate some of the exciting elements from the preview. Additionally, these workshops, based on the theme of the preview will offer kids the chance to win and take-home exclusive prizes. The channel aims to adorn the property with several associations, extensive social media outreach, pooling influencer communities and hence curating an immersive and memorable experience for kids that is everlasting.”

     

     

  • The Awards are a “tribute to television with the purpose of bringing international recognition for quality content”

    Rohit Gupta & Sapangeet Rajwant on jury for Venice TV Awards. Entries close on Aug 9

    By A Correspondent

     

    Rohit Gupta, President, Sony Pictures Network and Sapangeet Rajwant Senior Vice President, Viacom18 Media are on the jury of the Venice TV Awards 2019. The last date for receipt of entries from TV channels, production companies and entities affiliated with the television industry is August 9.

     

    The property is supported by egta, ACT (Association of Commercial TV), and, according to a communique, is seen by the city of Venice as a statement that the TV Industry remains active and successful in today’s social media based society.

     

    Categories include Documentary, News, Light Entertainment, Program Promotion, Branded Entertainment, Sport, Children/Youth, Comedy, Performing Arts, Reality TV, Best Of Technical High Quality, Cross-Platform Programming, Best Series, Best TV Movie. A Grand Prix is given for the best production.

     

    Other than Gupta and Rajwant, the Jury for the awards show is composed of leading international TV experts, including Malin Hager President EGTA Sweden, Nikola Caligiore of Rai Italy and European Broadcasting Union, Dr Markus Schafer of Allianz Nederlands,Sonia Rovai of Sky Italia André Takada, Fox Network Latin America, Igor Tavares, Producer TVGlobo Brazil; Michal Pacina of Prima TV, Elke Walthelm of Sky Germany and Lothaire Burg Creative Director, ARTE, Michael Hajek of ORF Austria.

     

     

  • The channel will go live at 8pm on Monday and will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu and in SD and HD

    Sony BBC Earth to launch on March 6

    By A Correspondent

     

    N P Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Network, India, Paul Dempsey President, Global Markets, BBC Worldwide, Saurabh Yagnik, EVP and Business Head, Sony English Cluster

    The Sony BBC Earth channel will go live on March 6, 2017 at 8pm.The premium factual entertainment channel is being launched by MSM Worldwide Factual Media, a joint venture between Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and BBC Worldwide.

     

    The channel will bring award-winning, premium factual content from the BBC and will feature acclaimed film-makers and storytellers like Sir David Attenborough, Steve Backshall, Ben Fogle and Gordon Buchanan.  It will be available in both SD and HD in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

     

    As a run-up to the launch, the channel has created a brand film with its ‘Feel Alive’ Ambassador Kareena Kapoor Khan Said NP Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Sony Pictures Networks India on the launch: “Sony Pictures Networks is known to create compelling and differentiated brands across all genres that it operates in. Nurtured as a JV partnership, Sony BBC Earth, combines the strengths of both partners; including fascinating content, estimable brand equity and superior sales and distribution prowess.This gives Sony BBC Earth a distinct positioning and watchability. I am confident that this channel will be amajor player in its category.”

     

    Added Paul Dempsey, President Global Markets, BBC Worldwide:“Our relationship with Sony has been a long one, built in the first instance on our production business, and one that has since grown across all key areas of BBC Worldwide’s operations.  We partner with them to bring top programmes like Sherlock, Orphan Black and Top Gear on AXN to our fans in India, and now, this joint venture which is a pioneering model for us. By working with a respected local partner of the caliber of Sony Pictures Networks, we look forward to bringing BBC Earth’s world class content to a new audience who we know has a huge appetite for premium factual programming.”

     

    Said Saurabh Yagnik, EVP and Business Head, English Cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India, while expressing his bullishness on the channel: “SPN’s philosophy is to create brands based on deep consumer understanding. We have worked extensively with viewers to sharpen our insights into what they want and have synergised this understanding with our compelling content and storytelling. Our brand positioning of ‘Feel Alive’ captures the emotion of subliminal happiness which viewers experience when they consume our content. This has been brought to life through a clutter-breaking film featuring our ‘Feel Alive’ ambassador, Kareena Kapoor Khan – whose persona embodies positivity, happiness and full of life demeanour that naturally blends with what our channel and its content stands for.”

     

  • Fights to be broadcast on SONY ESPN and SONY ESPN HD channels

    Sony Pictures acquires onair and digital broadcast rights of Super Fight League

    By A Correspondent

     

    India’s first mixed martial arts promotion, the Super Fight League –which is promoted by British business magnate and sports enthusiast Bill Dosanjh and British professional boxing sensation and two-time world champion Amir Khan announced Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) as the official broadcast partner for the first ever MMA league to be hosted in India January 20 to February 25, 2017.

     

    The franchisee based league that will feature eight teams, being organised in association with the All India Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA). SPN also has the broadcast rights for the league across Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Maldives.

     

    Said Bill Dosanjh, CEO and Principal Founder, Super Fight League: “Sony ESPN is the channel that is synonymous for bringing MMA to the television sets of the Indian audience. We at Super Fight League are really excited about Sony Pictures Networks India coming on board as the broadcast partners for the inaugural edition of the league. Having Sony as the broadcast partner will help us in our endeavor to reach the maximum variety of audience and make Super Fight League a household name for MMA in India.”

     

    Added Rajesh Kaul, President, Distribution and Sports Business, Sony Pictures Network: “Having been a forerunner in popularizing MMA, the sports cluster of Sony Pictures Networks India is the premier destination for viewing mixed martial arts. We are pleased to announce the expansion of our MMA portfolio with the addition of the Super Fight League which is India’s first mixed martial arts league on our network.”

     

  • The marketing plan also consists of a digital leg

    Sony Max unveils new brand message – ‘Naaz Hai Humein Apni Deewangi Pe’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Sony Max, the Hindi movie channel from the Sony Pictures Network has rolled out a new campaign recently. The campaign is based on the thought ‘Naaz Hai Humein Apni Deewangi Pe’ which encapsulates the country’s obsession with Hindi Cinema and its influence on the everyday moments of life. The channel will be unveiling multiple short films showcasing how fans inspired by movies have imbibed the deewanapan.

     

    The three 45-seconder TVCs string together people from different walks of life and depicts how extremely passionate movie buffs look at every situation from a 70mm lens. The campaign also attempts to capture the rich pallet of emotions behind various facets of Hindi cinema. The TVCs consist of seven distinct situations including the likes of a young couple eloping with the entire community running behind them and then with a sudden sharp turn they screech and look into the camera and say “Ishq karo toh aise karo ki zamana peeche lag jaye”. Another one is a college graduation ceremony sequence where an Anil Kapoor inspired student dances her way to the stage to receive her degree, leaving the audience and the professors spellbound – “Entry maro toh aise ki sab dekhte reh jaye”. A rickshaw driver inspired by Hindi movies pulls his collar wide when two pretty looking girls arrive for a ride. With a lot of cheek, he turns them down and says “Aur thukrao toh aise thukrao ki choor-choor ho jaye”. One more situation on friendship sees a young man taking a beating for his friend by some goons much larger than him. As he takes one to the chin he says, “Dosti nibhao toh aisi ki misaal bann jaye.” All TVCs end with a voiceover in the end “Deewana banate aaye hai, banate rahenge”.

     

    Said Vaishali Sharma, Senior VP – Marketing, Sony Max movie cluster:

    “The strategic reason to have a fresh campaign is to celebrate the uninterrupted leadership and success of the Sony MAX channel over the last 26 weeks. The campaign is a reflection of the influence and impact that Sony MAX has had on people’s lives with its movie offerings. The core thought ‘Naaz hai humein apni Deewangi pe’ not only showcases the madness that movies instills in every Indian but also takes the deewanapan a notch higher”. The TVCs are conceptualised by DDB Mudra and shot by Tubelight Films.

     

  • Close to 70% of the ad inventory has been sold with two months to go before the tournament for the first time in IPL history, said Sony Pictures Network president Rohit Gupta

    During IPL 9, adspend may race to Rs 1,200 crore

    By A Correspondent

     

    The controversies that have bedevilled the Indian Premier League don’t seem to have dented its value as an advertising property.

     

    Advertisers will likely spend a record Rs 1,200 crore during season nine of the T20 league that will be held in April and May, top media buyers said. That’s up a fifth from last year.

     

    Exclusive broadcast rights holder Sony Pictures Network, which will air the tournament on the Set Max, Sony Six and Sony ESPN channels, has increased the number of presenting sponsors to three from two for the first time. They are telecom services provider Vodafone, ecommerce platform Amazon and first-time advertiser Oppo.

     

    Chinese smartphone maker Oppo recently named actors Hrithik Roshan and Sonam Kapoor as brand ambassadors and is looking for big play during the league. With rival PepsiCo exiting, Coca-Cola is among the new names in the associate sponsorship list along with discount wallet FreeCharge, owned by ecommerce company Snapdeal.

     

    Close to 70% of the ad inventory has been sold with two months to go before the tournament for the first time in IPL history, said Sony Pictures Network president Rohit Gupta.

     

    “IPL is a risk-free investment for advertisers, as both ratings and reach have been consistently growing year on year,” he said. “We are expecting 20% growth in overall revenues. The unprecedented levels of interest are despite the T20 World Cup and a host of other cricket.”

     

    Advertiser interest in upcoming tournaments such as the World Cup and the Asia Cup hinges largely on India’s performance. “The controversies seem to have settled down, which is bringing in advertisers,” Gupta said.

     

    “The high-definition feed is also working out as an additional revenue stream for us. The IPL ad sales have come on the back of a 20%-plus viewership increase the tournament saw last year.” Besides Coca-Cola and FreeCharge, other associate sponsors include Ceat Tyres, Vimal Pan msMala and Tata Sky.

     

    Sony Pictures Network got Rs 1,000 crore from ad sales last year. According to two media buyers, sponsorship slots have risen to Rs 5.25 lakh from Rs 4.75 lakh last year. Spot rates are up to Rs 1.5 lakh for 10-second slots from Rs 1lakh in season eight. “This year is the year of sports,” said Nandini Dias, chief executive at media agency Lodestar UM.

     

    “With so much sports, including Olympics, one would think that this time budgets would be reallocated from IPL. But currently, the IPL has already closed eight sponsors. So, obviously the demand is high.”

     

    Spot buyers include Panasonic, LG, Microsoft and mobile phone makers Micromax and Intex. “Despite all the controversies around the IPL, I don’t think that from a consumer standpoint there is a problem of demand, so advertisers will be there,” said Vinit Karnik, business head at ESP Properties, a sports and entertainment consultancy of media management giant Group M.

     

    IPL suffered a setback in image and brand valuation with spot fixing and betting scandals that led to a Supreme Court-appointed panel banning two popular teams—Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Both teams were previous champions and CSK was led by India captain MS Dhoni. The IPL has added two new teams in their place—Pune and Rajkot, with Dhoni being acquired by the first.

     

    In October last year, PepsiCo ended its IPL title sponsorship two years ahead of its five-year term because of “concerns about ethics in the IPL tournament.” Chinese mobile phone maker Vivo has taken the title sponsorship for two years. FreeCharge plans to launch new forms of payment during IPL, COO Govind Rajan said.

     

    “The youth in the country are passionate about cricket and more so IPL and we see tremendous synergies for FreeCharge and IPL in this association,” he said. “The IPL is an opportunity to drive massive awareness.”

     

    Sky Li, president of Oppo India, said: “IPL is one of the most popular games for Indians. Oppo has also become the global official partner of ICC (International Cricket Council), which shows we are devoted to a lot of cricket.”

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2016, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • The new name reflects an integrated brand alignment as it allows us to leverage the strength of the Sony parentage, says CEO NP Singh

    It’s now official. The Sony network will be called Sony Pictures Network

    By A Correspondent

     

    Even before it started in 1994, as journalists we would call it Sony TV. But the flagship entertainment channel was called Sony Entertainment Television, and in those days when there was no Set Wet gel, it took us some time to get used to referring to the channel as SET. Nahiiiiiiiiin!

     

    And then somewhere along its 21-year journey, the company was called Multi Screen Media, and us in the mainstream media (MSM again) were are asked to call it MSM. Some would even refer to it as MSM Sony. When the IPL happened in the late 2000s, SET Max was referred to as Sony Max, as it will now be called we understand.

     

    Why it was called Multi Screen Media in the first place, one wonders. Well, whatever be the reason, from now, Sony is going to be called Sony.  And the Bravia will also be prefixed with that.

     

    Here’s what NP Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India has said in a statement:

    “After 20 years of successfully experimenting with many firsts including redefining how cinema and cricket are viewed on Indian television, Multi Screen Media (MSM) has renamed itself as Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN).  The new name reflects an integrated brand alignment as it allows us to leverage the strength of the Sony parentage. Naturally, we are guided by a new wave of optimism as we set forth on a journey of exploring new vistas of entertainment.  Sony Pictures Networks India will continue to serve its audiences across geographies. More channels, more genres, more content, more movies, more digital and more television. This is our 6-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers whose hopes and expectations, we are aiming, to exceed. Our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television and digital entertainment in the country.”

     

    Hmmm. This is the time to celebrate the new name getting official. Ay, Soniye, let’s bring out the bubbly.