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Category: eNews

  • COVID-19 impact: Smartphone usage spiked during the lockdown, says report

    COVID-19 impact: Smartphone usage spiked during the lockdown, says report

    KOLKATA: In the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 and lockdown across India, people relied more on their phones to beat boredom. InMobi’s Second Wave Lockdown Audience Insights Report says that, mobile phone usage went up as users searched for entertainment, gaming, music, and social networking while staying indoors.

    According to the report, 2021’s lockdown saw users relying on their smartphones specifically around weekends, compared to weekdays in 2020. Students, working professionals, and mothers were among the most engaged during the second wave lockdown. 

    However, the users’ app consumption behavior varied for each group. Students relied more on music, gaming, and OTT, compared to working professionals who consumed news, OTT, productivity, social, and shopping, while mothers invested their time on gaming, lifestyle, and education apps.

    “We have witnessed a drastic acceleration of the mobile-first consumer economy since the onset of the pandemic. With the second wave, we see that these “new normal” mobile-first consumer habits and preferences have become more mainstream,” said InMobi Asia Pacific managing director Vasuta Agarwal.

    With states reporting all-time high Covid cases, the report observed that 25-35 years old stayed indoors the highest during the lockdown, mostly due to the limited vaccination opportunities. Interestingly, people in the 35-44 age groups were seen stepping out the highest.

    As per the report, hospitals, clinics, and medical stores witnessed a spike of 597 per cent compared to 398 per cent last year. Supermarkets and essential stores saw an 89 per cent spike against 44 per cent last year, as consumers visited local stores to meet their daily needs. While a lot of consumers found cooking as a hobby last year, this year witnessed an increase in footfalls in restaurants from 7 per cent to 23 per cent.

    This was a result of relaxed lockdowns where takeaways and deliveries were allowed, helping consumers break the monotony of home-cooked meals by occasionally eating out. The footfall at each of the above places of interest during the lockdowns in 2020 & 2021 was indexed against overall footfalls observed across the above-mentioned places of interest and supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, and flea markets.

    Despite transport being open to the public in the second lockdown, travel and transport hubs saw an all-time low during the second wave from 9 per cent last year to 4 per cent now. While rail travel had started to pick up until June, the new cases reported in India again forced people to shelter at homes. While footfall at movie theaters was at a decline, visits to lodging reduced further by 15 per cent, mounting on the already low footfalls due to the fear of the pandemic.

    “Social distancing, work from home, and lock-down regulations have boosted consumer mobile consumption as people rely on mobile entertainment spanning games, social media, and video streaming. With the second wave hitting us, consumers have adopted to the online world already and are well versed with this,” Agarwal added.

  • Football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano joins hands with Sportskeeda

    New Delhi: Global sports and esports news website Sportskeeda has announced a collaboration with Italian football expert Fabrizio Romano, ahead of an action-packed season for football fans across the globe.

    Starting now, Sportskeeda’s readers will be treated to in-depth analysis and exclusive transfer news of some of the biggest names in the industry, said the website. Fans can also enjoy football breaking news, previews, features, and post-match analysis.

    Fabrizio Romano is currently one of the most trusted voices in the football community, with over six million followers across social media platforms. The Italian transfer pundit also had a special message for fans after confirming his collaboration with the news website.

    “So happy to announce that I will be collaborating with Sportskeeda to share some of my transfer news with you,” Fabrizio said. “Thank you for this opportunity!”

    This is Fabrizio’s first collaboration with an Indian sports platform, and Sportskeeda will now provide its readers with a steady stream of exclusive content in the 2021 transfer window, said the website in a statement.

    Sportskeeda Football, senior content manager, Ashwin Hanagudu said, “We are thrilled to work with Fabrizio. We wanted to give our readers, across the globe, a unique experience befitting a true fan.”

    Founded in 2009, Sportskeeda is the go-to platform for hardcore fans. It covers sports like Football, Wrestling, eSports and Gaming, MMA, NBA, NFL, Cricket, and more. The platform serves 200 million annual and 50 million monthly users, serving fans across India, US, Canada and the UK.

  • IN10 Media Network launches technology service solution Stream-Sense

    KOLKATA: Amidst the tremendous growth of OTT platforms and a boom in home entertainment, IN10 Media Network has launched a new technology service solution, Stream-Sense.

    The technology, client support, and security solution will help enterprises communicate through the power of video. Stream-Sense will enable broadcasters, distributors, content owners as well as sports-tech companies to stream live and on-demand video/audio content on multiple devices like the web, mobile, and SmartTV.

    Commenting on the new venture, IN10 Media Network MD Aditya Pittie said, “IN10 Media Network is committed to the development of the broadcast and digital ecosystem in the country. And with Stream-Sense, we aim to drive the growth of content platforms by providing them with swift technology to reach out to a large section of the audience via our streaming PAAS (Platform-As-A-Service).”

    Sourjya Mohanty, who currently heads the network’s OTT platform, Epic On, will also be in charge of the new vertical along with a specialized team. 

    “The solution aims to help clients make sense of their end-to-end streaming requirements across audio, video, gaming, and E-Books. We have developed 30+ key components indigenously to provide cutting–edge technology to our clients,” said Mohanty.

    He added, “With Stream-Sense, IN10 Media’s commitment takes a significant step ahead in the digital transformation of many creators, publishers, and existing platforms businesses as it will enable enhancement of their revenues by offering a better quality of streaming to their audience and monetization routes.”

    The service caters to existing as well as upcoming content platforms in the country.

  • French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    MUMBAI: Fierce competition forces alliances upon nations, people, and companies. As it is doing in the media and entertainment globally today. Close on the heels of the announcement of the merger between AT&T’s Warner Media and Discovery, reports of another fusion between two media groups in France have emerged. The two in question are TF1 and M6 (pronounced Seez) groups.

    TF1 is owned by the Bouygues group, while M6’s ownership lies with European production and TV broadcaster RTL, which is part of media giant Bertlesmann. The two will be housed in a new French company in which Bouygues would hold 30 per cent and RTL 16 per cent. The former will acquire 11 per cent equity from the latter for Euros 641 million.

    The proposal has got the go-ahead from the RTL, Bouygues, TFI, and M6 boards, but has to get over the regulatory hurdles from French authorities and is proposed to close by the end-2022. The merged company would have a 2020 pro forma revenue of €3.4bn and a current operating profit of €461M. The synergies potential (EBITDA run-rate impact) is estimated at €250M to €350M per year within three years from the closing of the transaction.

    M6 CEO Nicolas de Tavernost has been proposed as chairman & CEO of the merged entity while chairman and CEO of TF1 Gilles Pélisson will be nominated as deputy CEO of Groupe Bouygues in charge of media and development.

    A new ad-supported service, combining catch-up and live streaming and based on existing services MyTF1 and 6play, would be developed, alongside an SVoD service and a production hub for local and international content.

    What’s forcing the two to merge? Well a press release issued by RTL gives some insights.

    It says the two groups are active in a growing total video market where increasingly rich, original, and exclusive content is driving long-term audience growth. Even as linear TV remains powerful, it is undergoing a structural transformation with a strong shift towards on-demand consumption which is being led by global platforms making deep pushes in the French advertising market.

    “The combination of these two players, of the know-how of their employees and their strong brands, would allow the new group to invest more and to step up innovation. The proposed merger is critical to ensure the long-term independence of French content creation and to continue to offer diversified and premium local content to the benefit of all viewers,” said the statement.

    “The merger between Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 is a great opportunity to create a French total video champion that will guarantee independence, quality of content, and pluralism – values that have long been shared by our two groups,” said Pélisson. “It will be an asset in promoting French culture. Groupe TF1 now approaches a new stage in its development, consistent with the strategic vision developed in the past five years.”

    “The consolidation of the French television and audio-visual markets is an absolute necessity if the French audience and the industry as a whole are to continue to play a predominant role in the face of exacerbated international competition, which is accelerating rapidly,” added de Tavernost. “The combination of the two groups’ know-how will allow for an ambitious French response. Furthermore, this proposed merger of Groupe M6 and Groupe TF1 is the only transaction offering value creation for all Groupe M6 shareholders.”

    “The audio-visual market benefits from long-term growth. In this context, Groupe Bouygues is pleased to contribute to the creation of a major French media group able to compete with the GAFANs,” highlighted Groupe Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussat. “We are pleased with this major development and partnership which confirms Groupe Bouygues’ commitment to the media since 1987. As shareholders with exclusive control over the new group, we will continue to provide it with our full support.”

    RTL CEO Thomas Rabe said the proposed merger of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 would be a major step in implementing the strategy to create national media champions across the European footprint. “It demonstrates how in-country consolidation creates significant value. As a strategic investor, we will be long-term industrial partners of Groupe Bouygues,” he added.

  • Does the Discovery-AT&T Warner Media merger make sense?

    Does the Discovery-AT&T Warner Media merger make sense?

    MUMBAI: In one word. Yes. At least it gives them a chance in hell to play catch up with the well-muscled and well-entrenched rivals like Netflix, Disney, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV in the streaming race. While Netflix announced 208 million subscribers worldwide in its latest financial meet with investors, Disney declared that it had roped in 108 million subs in just a year and a half of its existence.

    As compared to that, Discovery recently disclosed that it had managed to lasso 15 million subscribers to its streaming business, and Warner Media’s HBO Max revealed its sign-ups at 9.7 million. Combining the two – if all subs stay put – gives a total of around 24.7 million. That’s still an ant-like figure compared to the jumbo numbers of Netflix, Disney, and hey even Amazon Prime. Both continued to concentrate on linear TV, and on cable, even as others were laying it out thick on OTT services. Their coming late to the streaming party means they have to work harder to ramp up subs. By teaming up it might be a little easier, but the hard work will need to be put in.

    Netflix – when it launched – did to HBO, what HBO did to other cable TV programmers two to three decades ago. The Reed Hastings-led OTT introduced cutting-edge, well-produced and edited, hard storytelling in its series and gave subscribers something to get glued onto almost every month. At an affordable price too as compared to cable TV’s high rates in the US.

    Can HBO do a Netflix to Netflix in terms of content in the current streaming world? 

    Many think that can be done, but it requires deep pockets as well as a global vision such as that is available aplenty with the Netflix top management. As well as a strong heart to tolerate negative cash flows, take on what some may consider strangulating debt while spending tens of billions of dollars on content, churning out fresh shows o

    Fusing Warner with Discovery will definitely give the two a lot more financial ammo as well content. Both are at the top of their game when it comes to their respective genres. Warner Media has dramas, series, movies in the case of HBO, TNT, TBS, and Warner Bros and kids programming in Cartoon Network; news in CNN, and sports in Turner Sports. Discovery has gold standard factual programming, along with its live sports lineup in Eurosport, real estate shows in HGTV and lifestyle programming in TLC, and food competitions in the Food Network.

    If the merger does see the light of day, the question about who will lead the operation will need to be answered. Warner Media’s Jason Kilar has shown he has the hunger; Discovery boss David Zaslav is no chicken; he’s a mean rooster and is extremely ambitious.  Observers believe that AT&T is likely to call the shots; so Kilar will get a shoo-in as head, while Zaslav will get a very rich golden handshake. Others however point out that the latter has the confidence of media baron John Malone who  controls about 30 per cent of Discovery’s equity and it’s quite likely that his word will carry weight.  This means Zaslav and Kilar might both be accommodated in the new organization.

    Of course, the merger will mean the joint entity  will boast of a neat bundle of offerings for viewers – covering everything from sports to drama to factual to kids to movies to reality. Scale is crucial in streaming service offerings, and that can be achieved by offering the Discovery Warner service at an extremely appealing price, in keeping with what rivals are charging. Discovery Plus has a price tag of $6.99 while HBO Max is available at $15. This is why the latter has remained as a niche offering attracting a thin sliver of viewers as compared to Netflix and Disney.

    In the Indian context, both Discovery and Warner Media, have kind of been left behind in the broadcast sweepstakes as compared to the mainline TV broadcasters and streamers. Both have kids channels, while HBO and WB channels have been wound up in the country. Discovery has its international slate of channels while it also has localised its factual programming. Hence, a merger within India would definitely bring in economies.

    Clearly, all that is in the future. Right now the two companies’ boards and management have to decide whether they are going ahead or not. You can’t forget that there was strong talk that Comcast and AT&T were conversing  for a deal between NBC Universal and Warner Media. But that kind of stalled and did not move ahead. Now, Discovery looks to have beaten NBC Universal to the punch. The days ahead will tell us if it results in a knockout or not.

  • James Murdoch & Uday Shankar go the SPAC way to fund new venture

    James Murdoch & Uday Shankar go the SPAC way to fund new venture

    KOLKATA: Former top Disney executive Uday Shankar and Lupa Systems founder and CEO James Murdoch are getting on the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) rush. Months after joining forces for a new media and tech venture, the dynamic duo is looking to raise $345 million for the same.

    New York-based Seven Islands Inc, backed by Lupa Systems, has floated a blank check to raise the fund in a prospectus published on Tuesday. The company led by co-chairman Murdoch will focus on south and south-east Asia. India will be of particular focus for potential mergers.

    “While our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not necessarily be limited to a particular industry, sector or region, we intend to capitalise on our expertise in the media, entertainment, consumer technology, healthcare, and education industries in southeast and south Asia, with a particular focus on India,” the prospectus read.

    It further added: “Our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, fundamentally enhance the value of a company in the public markets.”

    The one-time scion, Murdoch had exited his family’s media empire to found his own holding company Lupa Systems in 2019. Lupa entered India less than two years ago and has built a portfolio of technology investments. The company has offices in New York and Mumbai. He subsequently quit as a director of News Corp in July last year.

    Early this year, he announced his new venture along with former chairman & CEO of Star India and president of Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Uday Shankar, to explore technology and media opportunities in emerging markets.

    “As connectivity continues to accelerate and expand across South Asia and the whole region, new opportunities for innovation, across consumer sectors, will multiply…I have every confidence that we can harness technology, enterprise, and tremendous talent to create a great business that is also great for society,” Murdoch had said at the time of the announcement.

    The duo worked together building Star India into the region’s largest media company, prior to its sale as part of the merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company. Shankar is also credited with consolidating Star’s sports broadcasting operations through 21st Century Fox’s acquisition of its joint venture with ESPN.

  • Asianet News Media & Entertainment hires Nachiket Pantvaidya as MD

    Asianet News Media & Entertainment hires Nachiket Pantvaidya as MD

    KOLKATA: Asianet News Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd (AMEL) has roped in media veteran Nachiket Pantvaidya as managing director. AMEL has multiple digital brands in its portfolio including asianetnews.com, indigomusic.com etc and serves consumers in multiple languages

    Pantvaidya was the group chief operating officer of Balaji Telefilms and CEO of ALTBalaji. After joining the SVoD platform in December 2015, he scaled it to be amongst the leading players in the country. Under his leadership, the company grew to be recognised as one of India’s Top 100 most-admired brands of 2020 by White Page International.

    Pantvaidya oversaw the P&L department of the company and also its content, marketing, distribution and revenues.

    AMEL executive chairman Rajesh Kalra said: “I am delighted to welcome a leader like Nachiket to the AMEL family. With his background and significant achievements to boot, he adds significantly to the capability of this wonderful team that is poised to take a leadership position in all its areas of functioning.”

    During his career spanning 15+ years, Pantvaidya has been a part of some of the most renowned companies in the entertainment industry and has held prime leadership positions at Sony Entertainment Television, Star Plus, Star Pravahand Fox Television Studios. His career includes working with industry leaders like Disney and BBC as well.

  • Treat yourself every month with Trell’s #IMEMYWEEK campaign

    Treat yourself every month with Trell’s #IMEMYWEEK campaign

    KOLKATA: Homegrown social commerce platform Trell has come up with a week-long #IMEMYWEEK campaign featuring lucrative deals on notable brands on the app. The campaign, that will run in the first week of every month, commenced on 1 May and will be running till 7 May, so as to enable its customers to treat themselves during their pay week.

    #IMEMYWEEK refers to individuals in the first person to create a connection and drives the compelling notion that everyone should be open to splurging on themselves, guilt-free, from time to time. The campaign provides an opportunity to customers to finally fulfil their wishes by ticking items off their wishlist that they’ve been eyeing be it that new perfume, the lipstick in that trending shade, or the set of skincare products they’ve been contemplating to purchase for a while now.

    Eminent makeup, grooming, skincare, health and wellness, and fragrance brands including Lakmé, Mamaearth, Bombay Shaving Company, Plum Goodness, Khadi Natural, OGX, and LetsShave and premier brands such as Mercedes Benz, Bentley, Jaguar, and Mirabelle Korea, amongst others, would be offered at attractive prices throughout the week. The campaign is aimed at encouraging people to indulge in what they wish for, post receiving their salaries, as they have earned that purchase and deserve to spend on themselves.

    Trell co-founder & CEO Pulkit Agrawal said, “Trell’s #IMEMYWEEK is a way to convey to individuals that splurging on themselves is important in these tough times to keep themselves motivated and energised. Much to the contrary, it should be perceived as celebrating their professional achievements at the start of the month. With the concept of self-care gaining immense importance in recent times, Trell’s campaign is a way of encouraging people to indulge in some much awaited shopping for themselves, every month.”

    The offer would be running on Trell Shop, which has over 500+ brands across categories for customers pan India.

  • Covid relief: Now you can find hospital beds on Truecaller

    Covid relief: Now you can find hospital beds on Truecaller

    NEW DELHI: As India battles the deadly second wave of the Covid2019 pandemic, many brands have stepped up by contributing to the relief efforts. The latest company that joins this list of good samaritans is Truecaller, which has launched a Covid healthcare directory in the nation. 

    This new feature helps users to locate hospitals and can be accessed from either the menu or the dialer within the beta version of the Truecaller Android app.

    “In light of the recent rise in cases, it’s important that Truecaller helps in any way we can. We decided to make it as easy as possible for everyone in India to find medical care near them. It can be hard to find the right healthcare numbers when you need it most, so we’ve added it to the app,” said the caller ID app in a recent statement. 

    The healthcare directory contains telephone numbers and addresses of Covid designated hospitals from multiple states across the nation. Truecaller has made this directory by sourcing from official government databases. 

    Truecaller users can use the search button to locate Covid hospitals near their location. However, the directory will not provide any details regarding the availability of hospital beds. 

    The company also revealed that it will update the numbers and contact details of hospitals every day and will include hospital phone numbers from as many areas in India as available. 

  • Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    Google, Microsoft pledge aid to India in fight against Covid2019

    NEW DELHI: Google CEO Sundar Pichai and his Microsoft counterpart Satya Nadella have extended their support to India amid a record surge in Covid2019 cases.

    Pichai tweeted, “Devastated to see the worsening Covid crisis in India. Google & Googlers are providing Rs 135 crore in funding to @GiveIndia, @UNICEF for medical supplies, orgs supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information.”

    Taking to Twitter, Nadella said, “I am heartbroken by the current situation in India. I’m grateful the US government is mobilising to help. Microsoft will continue to use its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts, and support the purchase of critical oxygen concentration devices.”

    Amidst the devastating second wave of the Covid pandemic, India reported 3.52 lakh fresh coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike registered since the onset of the pandemic.

    Pichai’s tweet also had a link to a blog where Google detailed ways to help with their efforts to fight the worsening situation.

    On the blog, Google India country head and vice president Sanjay Gupta detailed how the 135 crore grant from the search giant would work. “This includes two grants from Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, totalling Rs 20 crore ($2.6 million). The first is to GiveIndia to provide cash assistance to families hit hardest by the crisis to help with their everyday expenses. The second will go to UNICEF to help get urgent medical supplies, including oxygen and testing equipment, to where it’s needed most in India. It also includes donations from our ongoing employee giving campaign — so far more than 900 Googlers have contributed Rs 3.7 crore ($500,000) for organisations supporting high-risk and marginalised communities.”

    Moreover, Gupta also informed about increased Ad Grant support for public health information campaigns.

    “Since last year, we’ve helped MyGov and the World Health Organization reach audiences with messages focused on how to stay safe and facts about vaccines. We’re increasing our support today with an additional Rs 112 crore ($15 million) in Ad Grants to local health authorities and non-profits for more language coverage options,” he said.

    Google is already helping India with its core information products like Search and Maps, YouTube and Ads. Covid features on Search are available in India, in English and eight Indian languages, that continue to improve localisation and highlight authoritative information.

    This includes information on where to get testing and vaccines. Maps and Search surface thousands of vaccine sites. Google is also collaborating closely with the ministry of health & family welfare, and with organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to support vaccine awareness initiatives, wrote Gupta.

    On YouTube, Google is supporting the Indian government in their vaccine communication strategy. It ran a workshop for 200+ health officials to learn how they can use YouTube to reach audiences across Indian languages with vaccine information.

    Indian conglomerates have also pitched in the efforts to increase production and supply of medical oxygen in the country for the treatment of Covid-positive people.

    The Tata Group announced that it would be importing 24 cryogenic containers to transport liquid oxygen to help overcome its shortage. Reliance Group has also committed to increase supply of oxygen to states where Covid cases are rising; its philanthropic arm Reliance Foundation has scaled up its operations to provide 875 hospital beds to Coronavirus patients in Mumbai, which is one of the worst-affected urban centres in the country.