MxMIndia

Tag: Sony

  • Star Plus was at 606 (previous week 626), Colors at 449 (467), Zee at 441 (471), Life OK 375 (347), Sab 323 (318) and Sony was at 254 (258)

    Colors back at #2 as Life OK biggest gainer in Week 4

    By A Correspondent

     

    Week 4 of 2014 saw Colors revert to the #2 slot with Life OK numbers increasingly dramatically on the back of the Life OK Screen awards aired last Saturday.

     

    Star Plus was at 606 (previous week 626), Colors at 449 (467), Zee at 441 (471), Life OK 375 (347), Sab 323 (318) and Sony at 254 (258).

     

    As always, this info is based on what a TAM subscriber told us. Nothing official about it. But it’s reliable.

     

    We expect Sony’s ratings to leapfrog next week given the numbers of the Filmfare Awards.

     

  • Star Plus continues to Hindi GEC #1, followed by Colors and Zee. Sony is at #4.

    KBC takes Sony ahead of SAB in Week 36

    By A Correspondent

     

    With TVTs of 8950 and 8460 on the Saturday and Sunday of Week 36 of the TAM ratings, Sony Entertainment Television scored 346122 GVT versus that of SAB being 322392. Last week it was 291074 (Sony) and 319158 (SAB).

     

    Meanwhile, TAM has expaned its universe from 205396 to 205749.

     

    The rest of the GVT roster hasn’t changed very much for Week 36 of 2013. The figures in brackets indicate numbers for Week 35.

     

    Star Plus 494732 (495509)

    Colors 452851 (452921)

    Zee TV 410774 (395024)

    Sony   346122 (291074)

    SAB 322392(319158)

    Life OK 276290 (269927)

    Star Utsav 100093 (109333)

    Sahara One 28742(29645)

     

    We haven’t received the GVT score for Zee Anmol in this week.

     

    Important: It may be noted that TAM does not share GVT and TVT numbers with the media. What you see here is info shared by one of the subscribers. Though not authenticated by TAM, so we would urge our readers to base their decisions on authenticated data only.

     

  • In a shrinking world, the broadcast industry in India has to be on its toes to remain updated and geared for a promising tomorrow

    #Frames2013: It’s the best time to be in the content business: Andy Kaplan

    By A Correspondent

     

    There’s so much that has emerged in the recent past that it is mandatory for the broadcast industry in India to stay updated and geared for a promising tomorrow. Most of these developments have come from multinational brands which have made quite an impact on the way the M&E ecosystem functions in India.

     

    Presenting the experiences and practices adopted by his network, Andy Kaplan, President, Worldwide Networks, Sony Pictures Television had the stage to himself at a special session on ‘The future of television’ on the second day of FICCI Frames 2013.

     

    Sharing his outlook he said, “I think there has never been a better time to be in the content business. A few years there were barely any players that you wanted to sell your content to but today there are hundreds of players available that provide us many more opportunities. In the US market, there is a change that has been observed in the secondary revenue stream where if a show is there on a network long enough then there is syndication carried out with cable and TV stations but now there are a lot of new players in that world that are supplementing their revenue streams or are replacing them like Netflix, Amazon etc. So the way the content providers are looking at the world is completely different. It is providing them enough opportunities and is thus a good place to be in.”

     

    Highlighting his opinion on the issue of revenues facing the business, Mr Kaplan said, “Where revenues are concerned around content I do not think they are going down but are rather coming in from other places. But there are the challenges of infrastructure because one needs to be equipped with different areas of expertise from the distribution side that allows one to monetize these opportunities and have more sophistication and knowledge and transparency into all of these other businesses.”

     

    On the influence that localization has over global, Mr Kaplan said, “From an international network standpoint there is the localized model that we follow around content. So while we buy a lot of programming from our own we also buy from other studios as well. Our job is to pull in the best programmes that we can and deliver the best networks to our audience and maximise our ratings and eventually revenues as well. The good news is that there are a lot of people in the content business who want to sell their content and as we become more successful in these markets we want to become more important buyers. Also each of these markets throws up different nuances where content acquisition is concerned and where we are concerned we are always faced with a challenge of balancing the local with global. We resort to using research and focus groups and whatever local knowledge we get about our networks in each market to maximise our ratings. As an adjunct to the global programming we also have our own local programming because that is what will drive higher ratings and give us an opportunity to have a broader conversation with the advertisers.”

     

    On the ways that Sony has managed to stay relevant and close to its consumers, Mr Kaplan said that it is important for broadcasters to keep themselves available across platforms. Sharing his experiences from his offering, Crackle, Mr Kaplan said, “Crackle has been around for five years and is a non-linear network where one can watch movies, television programmes etc. It is streamed content and is advertiser-supported. While most players have a subscriptional or transactional role we are a purely advertiser-supported entertainment website. It’s all about being available on all platforms and being able to garner more eyeballs. That’s what the advertisers too look out for. The good thing is that the advertisers are dying to get into this world either because they think that they have the audience matrix they want to reach or either because it is the next big thing. But whatever it is, Crackle in the US caters to male 18-49 yrs and that’s where most advertisers are also comfortable being focused towards.”

     

    Mr Kaplan went on to highlight the role of India in fostering his growth in the region and the role that content will play in making broadcast a space to vie for.

     

  • Sony has roped in Katrina Kaif to join mobile ad battle

    Sony ropes in Katrina to join smartphone war

    By Writankar Mukherjee

     

    Sony has roped in actress Katrina Kaif to launch its first made-in-India advertisement campaign for mobile phones next month and join the smartphone marketing war triggered by Apple iPhone.

     

    The Japanese electronics major has more than tripled cellphone marketing budget to Rs 300 crore in 2013-14 besides signing Kaif for two years in a bid to aggressively push its Xperia range to take on the likes of Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, Nokia Lumia and BlackBerry in India’s booming smartphone market.

     

    “Next fiscal, we will spend much more on promoting smartphones in India than we would do for Bravia televisions. It will be one of the biggest campaign ever for Sony India,” Tadato Kimura, marketing head at Sony India, said. He said the company wants to drive the business at a scale similar to its flagship television business. “Smartphones has been identified as one of the core areas of growth.”

     

    The campaign, being executed by Hakuhodo Percept, will break next month along with the launch of new Xperia models.

     

    It was Apple that triggered a marketing war in the Indian smartphone market by launching an EMI scheme for iPhone backed by an aggressive advertising blitzkrieg, which helped it double its monthly sales. And, according to IDC data, Apple increased its value share in the Indian smartphone market rapidly to 15.6% in the quarter ended December from 3.9% in the preceding quarter. Its share in shipments too jumped to 4.7% from 1.3%.

     

    This prompted market leader Samsung to launch a mega advertisement campaign and reintroduce EMI scheme for its high-end Galaxy range of phones this week.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2013, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Multi Screen Media's Hollywood movie channel Pix has appointed Saurabh Yagnik as its Business Head

    Saurabh Yagnik exits Star to enter Sony as Biz Head, Pix

    By A Correspondent

     

    Saurabh Yagnik

    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.”

     

  • How they watch, when they watch, and with whom – the answers about children's TV-viewing practices may come as a surprise, says Tabassum Modi

    The Anchor: 5 things you didn’t know about kids’ TV viewing habits

    By Tabassum Modi

     

    # 1 There’s not much difference between what children from metro and non-metro cities are watching on TV: One would assume that kids living in metro cities are over-exposed to television and would have choices different from their non-metro counterparts. But our recent survey showed that irrespective of their location, kids prefer the same channels. This means that their choices in other areas of life are also converging to make Indian kids into a homogenous group.

     

    #2 Just 22% of kids watch TV after school: The EduMedia survey conducted revealed statistics that are shocking. Children spend at least 8 to 10 hours in school. Assuming most children and finish school by 3pm, they are left with about 7 hours approximately before going to sleep. Besides the amount of time that these children spend on travelling, they dedicate about 3 hours to coaching classes or completing a heap of homework, they actually have very little time left for leisure activities. This daily routine of children leaves them with little time for family, friends and entertainment – including spending time in front of TV.

     

    #3 Sony and Discovery channels are the topmost favourite channels with kids: In our survey of kids between 11 and 17, we found that instead of children’s and youth channels, it is Sony and Discovery channels which are ruling the roost when it comes to kids’ favourites. It is surprising that kids’ channels like Cartoon Network and youth channels like MTV and Channel V are not the top favourites. Does this mean then, that kids are not getting to watch what they want? Or are they growing older faster?

     

    #4 Kids actually don’t like watching TV alone; they prefer watching with their families: Contrary to popular assumptions that kids are tantrum-throwing monsters who will hog the TV viewing space, it was observed that they in fact like to sit down with their family while watching TV. This would lead them to step out of their ‘me’ zone and learn to accommodate other family members’ choices.

     

    #5 Watching too much TV can lead to children hitting puberty faster!A wide array of current scientific research in the field of child health tells us that TV is the cause why children are hitting puberty earlier today. Needless to say, children are growing up at a much higher pace than we can catch up with. This has a good as well as a bad side to it. They seem to understand the dynamics of the adult world and often deal with situations like adults. They become more aware and informed about the happenings around them. While we appreciate this, we might also want to take a look at the rising rate of pregnancies, drug abuse and anti-social activities among children.

     

    Tabassum Modi is Executive Director at EduMedia India

     

  • While viewers don't seem to mind popular actors appearing on primetime shows, does it help TV with ratings and filmwallahs with ticket sales?

    Do pre-release star appearances work?

     

    By Meghna Sharma

     

    What is common between Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu? The answer is: CID. Yes, both the actors were rescued by none other than our very own team of ACP Pradyuman and his agents.

     

    Today, seeing actors on television is not a surprise. Most of them can be seen on the small screen as hosts or judges on reality shows. However, in the recent past one has seen them play a character or themselves in fictional shows where the plot of an episode is scripted around them. And the two actors are the latest to join the bandwagon of various other actors who have made a “special appearance” on the small screen to promote their upcoming film.

     

    Dinesh Rathore

    According to Dinesh Rathore, COO, Madison Media Omega, the difference between the big screen and the small screen faded away in the last decade as superstars entered the medium. “Actors making an appearance on television is a win-win situation for both. Television has vast reach so actors get to promote their films, and a channel can save money if the actor appears on their shows to promote his/her film.”

     

    He’s not alone, even broadcasters which are competing with each other to get the stars to their channel before others do also feel the same. Vivek Bahl, Chief Creative Director, Sony Entertainment Television says, “Big fiction shows with a dedicated & measurable viewer base is a great platform for an actor to promote his / her upcoming film with the show. And, for the show itself, one can always create buzz and sampling with the

    Vivek Bahl

    anticipation of a star appearance.”

     

    On the same note, Ajay Bhalwankar, ZEEL’s Content Head (Hindi GECs) feels that fiction shows are the staple diet of any General Entertainment Channel and the presence of a Bollywood celebrity is woven into the existing storyline of the fiction show, hence increasing the chances of a better recall. “As a medium TV cannot be ignored by marketers.”

     

    Prashaant Bhatt

    “Be it with a Jhalak Dikhhala Jaa or Madhubala, the audience for each show is varied and this is what works in favour of the movie that is promoted on the show,” explains Prashaant Bhatt, Weekday Programming Head of Colors, who believes that the trend is only going to move forward. “It is vital for any promotional activity to be present on all the mediums that helps them connect with the viewer. So, in the future, the trend could possibly be digital with the introduction of various apps etc, anywhere the audience/moviegoer is.”

     

     

    Shailesh Kapoor

    However, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO of Ormax Media feels that film star presence on fiction shows helps the films more than the channels. But the channels can use the stars in the promos and create buzz around it. It can give a viewership spike only if the star does something really interesting in the show. “In a recent study conducted by us, television emerged as the driver of both reach and appeal for film campaigns, way ahead of print and outdoor. I believe that channels should start charging film producers for such integrations, the way they charge advertisers.”

     

     

    Priti Murthy

    If both stars and broadcasters are winners here, Priti Murthy, National Director – Insights at Maxus India adds that viewers too don’t have much to lose out on. “I think even viewers win here as they get to see new faces or a new plot in their regular shows. Also, stars appearing on shows is a global phenomenon; in the west, stars appear on shows like Saturday Night Live.”

     

    It appears no one has anything to lose here!

     

  • Week 36 of the TAM weekly ratings put Zee at #1 yet again with 251 points and Star Plus a close second. But the real star has been Sony at 244 on the back on KBC

    Zee is #1 again as KBC propels Sony to a close #3

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee is back to the No 1 slot among Hindi general entertainment channel in Week 36 of the weekly TAM ratings released today.

     

    While Zee scored 251, Star Plus was a very close #2 at 250. However, the star of the week was undoubtedly Sony. Mega quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati took the channel from a distant #4 to a close #3 at 244. Colors was #4 at 229 GRPs.

     

    Meanwhile, after the tie at 132 points last week, Life OK inched ahead with 141, while SAB was at 136.

     

    Last week’s numbers were as follows: Star Plus 264, Colors 245, Zee 227, Sony 210, Sab and Life OK 132

     

    Please note that the information has not been supplied and verified by TAM Media. However our source is reasonably reliable. The figures in brackets indicate ratings of the previous week.

     

  • After saying adios to Indian Idol, Sony is set to battle it out with competing GECs with its master show. Kaun Banega Crorepati will begin on September 7, and will air Friday to Sunday at 8.30 pm

    KBC to strengthen weekend reality programming for Sony

    By A Correspondent

     

    After saying adios to Indian Idol, Sony is set to battle it out with competing GECs with its master show. Kaun Banega Crorepati will begin on September 7, and will air Friday to Sunday at 8.30 pm. Produced by Big Synergy Media Ltd, the game show that has created history on Indian television with the iconic Amitabh Bachchan as its host is all set to delight its audiences with a brand new innings this season with ‘Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai’ as the central theme.

     

    Danish Khan, Senior Vice President and Head of Marketing at Sony Entertainment Television, said, “Weekend slot offers most fertile viewing. The appointment viewing is immense and we have been doing extremely well with our reality shows in this band. Hence, we decided to air the third season of KBC in this slot.” Previously, only the repeat shows of KBC were telecast in this time band.

     

    KBC has also signed Cadbury as presenting sponsor and Idea as telecom partner, besides signing Axis Bank, Ceat Bike Tyres, Just Dial, Sony Bravia, Aakash Educational Services, and Maruti Suzuki. However, Mr Khan said that in-programming sponsor has not been signed. The show will air on 21 weekends, with 58 episodes that will also comprise of special episodes with unique and distinct themes which will capture a little bit of India in every episode, lined up to ignite the minds and hearts of Indian audiences.

     

    On the occasion of announcing the show, NP Singh, COO, Multi Screen Media said, “It is a glorious moment for all of us at Sony to bring back another power-packed season of the magnificent game show Kaun Banega Crorepati on our network, This year’s theme ‘Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai’ celebrates knowledge as the greatest leveller in our society and a potent change agent.”

     

    Siddhartha Basu, CMD, Big Synergy Media Ltd. Said, “We’re back. This time we’ve gone further down the road into the heartlands and hinterlands of India, and come up with a fascinating line-up of ordinary Indians as contestants, extraordinary for their diversity and individuality, each one of them looking for an opportunity to transform their lives through this knowledge game. They’re more knowledgeable than before, better prepared, and hungry for success. They are the unseen faces of an emerging India, thirsting to prove themselves. It promises the viewer quality entertainment, which engages both the heart and the mind.”

     

    Sneha Rajani, Senior EVP and Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, said, “We are honoured to have the one and only Mr. Amitabh Bachchan hosting KBC once again. He brings a tremendous amount of charisma and his ability to connect with one and all with his sincerity and humility takes the show to another level. KBC is not just a popular game show, but a powerful platform where people from all across India, cutting across the demographic, geographic and social boundaries converge to celebrate common man’s triumph against all odds. It celebrates knowledge as a powerful tool which can help change his destiny.”

     

    Will the third season of KBC change the destiny of the channel? Time will tell – soon!

     

  • Airtel joins ICICI in Millward Brown's BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study Brown

    ICICI Bank ahead of Pepsi, Airtel beats Siemens, Sony in Top 100 Global Brands rankings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Bharti Airtel has joined an elite club of global brands by making it to this year’s BrandZTop 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list by WPP firm Millward Brown. ICICI is the only other Indian brand in this group.

     

    With an overall ranking of 63 (brand value: $ 12.7 billion) and 71 (brand value: $11.5 billion) respectively, ICICI and Airtel have been ranked ahead of top global brands such as Citi (82), Sony (86), MTN (88), China Telecom (90) and Volkswagen (96).  ICICI is in fact ahead of even Pepsi which ranks at #67.

     

    The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study is conducted annually by leading global research firm Millward Brown. It is the only brand valuation that takes into account what people think about the brands they buy along with rigorous analysis of financial data, market valuations, analyst reports and risk profiles. The ranking is arrived through a continuous in-depth quantitative research on a category-by-category and a country-by-country basis. The research covers some 2 million consumers and more than 50,000 brands in over 30 countries.

     

  • Imagine's fictional shows were completely me-too, and most of their reality stuff was a huge disaster. In such a scenario, Imagine's closure does not surprise me at all…

    Anil Thakraney: Lack of imagination

    By Anil Thakraney

     

    Even a kid will tell you that there are just toooo many TV channels inIndia. Both, entertainment and news. And even as talks of a shake-out have been doing the rounds for years, more channels are waiting to start operations! Like everything else inIndia, it’s a mad house out there.

     

    Quite obviously, there can be place for only so many brands. The advertising pie is limited, and it cannot be shared by so many hungry mouths. And in the Indian context, a vast majority of a channel’s revenues come from advertising and not through subscriptions. In such a scenario, Imagine’s closure does not surprise me at all… in fact, I wonder what took them so long.

     

    As for the many other struggling channels, they are fortunate to be run by very deep pocketed suits. But those deep pockets, like Turner’s, will dry up at some point. It’s a matter of time.

     

    Imagine came on to the scene in 2008, when the Hindi GECs market was already divided between Star, Zee and Sony. Each had already established itself, and all three channels enjoyed viewer loyalty. To break into this extremely capital intensive and crowded house, Imagine’s only chance was to unleash kickass, totally offbeat programming. ‘Shock and awe’ ought to have been the mantra. 2008 was also the time when the nation had begun showing early signs of tiring of Ekta’s traditional saas bahu sagas, and there was a huge opportunity for Imagine to be the game changer that the market wanted.

     

    Alas, it was not to be. Imagine’s fictional shows were completely me-too, and most of their reality stuff was a huge disaster. ‘Swayamwar’ was perhaps the only ‘hatke’ programme, but in the GECs biz model, reality shows and movies are, at best, jam servings, laid out to entice viewers to the bread and butter fiction shows. And if the latter is a thakela and done-to-death fare, the channel is sunk. Which is exactly what happened with Imagine.

     

    Make no mistake about this: Imagine’s problem wasn’t funds or staying power or distribution or even talent. It was very simply this: Lack of imagination.

     

    * * *

     

    PS: This is a memo Shri David Ogilvy sent out to his employees way back in 1982.

     

    On how to write. It’s fantastic. You will notice that his suggestions, in this day and age of micro blogging and short attention spans, are more valid than ever before.

     

    Link: http://www.listsofnote.com/2012/02/how-to-write.html

     

  • In Media Mullings, Peter Mukerjea on why James Murdoch must move to India

    Peter Mukerjea: Rupert & Son

    By Peter Mukerjea

     

    So, it’s finally happened that James, or JRM as he is known within the company, has stepped down. I’d said that he should (see Firstpost.com article) and for whatever it’s worth, I’m glad that he has.

     

    Enough has been written and no doubt more will be written about the rights and wrongs of the people involved in the entire phone hacking case and we will never know who will finally go to jail for the crimes that are alleged to have been committed.

     

    But that would be looking back and surely it’s much more fun looking forward and trying to gauge what’s about to happen next. If Rupert is true to his word, JRM will now be spending more time on international operations and on the TV business at large . Now that leads me to suggest that he should for Newscorp’s sake spend at least 75% of his time in India looking at new business opportunities that exist in the country. STAR experienced it’s highest ever growth in it’s business under JRM’s watch when he was the CEO in Asia. That’s not a coincidence, I can assure you. Conversely, STAR experienced it’s lowest growth when JRM left the Asia region and handed it over to pixies in Hong Kong who had no clue about India. For example, the lady who was given the baton by JRM had never visited India ever in her life. Strange decision, it has to be said.

     

    JRM, on the other hand, was a respected executive and was seen as a path-breaking scion of his father. And the fact that not everyone loved him was simply par for the course and to be expected. He was effective in reshaping STAR’s fortunes and turning a loss making company into a profitable one.

     

    Incidentally I continue to believe that none of the new channels that popped up in 2007/8 would have happened if Rupert had not taken his eye off Asia but he moved JRM to London to run SKY and with that opened up the gates for newcomers. Some channels failed to make the grade – 9X & Imagine for example, and others did well – Colors & 9XM for instance, but none of these should ever have been allowed to get started given the complete dominance that STAR had on the market. And all the people that went to run these channels, including myself , were almost all from STAR.

     

    Since then STAR has held up well, although after a wobbly start. Credit for which should be given wholly to JRM for giving autonomy to the current leadership in managing their business and most importantly cutting them loose from the Hong Kong intermediary, which was rightly cut to size.

     

    JRM’s big opportunity is now to push ahead with developing a range of new TV and other media products for the India market and enable it to grow speedily to create a very clear leadership position with plenty of blue sky space between the No1 and the rest. And only he can make that happen by physically being there and making the big decisions which would otherwise be lost in power point presentations between numerous layers of management.

     

    This would in turn spur ZEE and Sony and MTV and the rest to do the same and compete with each other and with the pace that STAR would have set for them. This will then collectively turbo-charge and accelerate the industry as a whole and taking full advantage of the economic growth that the country is experiencing. The next 10 years for the media business in India will be huge and despite the slowdown in the global economy the pace of growth will be better than almost anywhere else in the world.

     

    JRM once said “let’s make the best use of a crisis” or words to that effect and I think this is a crisis that has presented itself for just that opportunity. He has moved to New York from London but may be he should have a home in Mumbai too and really shake up the market. There’s tons to do with a very exciting future for a 40-year-old – like JRM, which regular or even above average executives will simply not be able to take full advantage of. They can at best take limited risk, if at all – but JRM can and he should.

     

    Will he or won’t he? Or will he slip in and out of the country quietly, once very few months and leave the big opportunity to the pixies once again? If he ends up doing that he will have missed a great opportunity to grow the business and also to get himself back up and be recognised as being one of the best TV executives in the world. After all, he is the son of Rupert.

     

    Although it started as a fortnightly column, Peter Mukerjea’s Media Mullings will now appear regularly on MxMIndia, but with no definite frequency.