ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Netflix to acquire virtual production studio Scanline VFX

    Netflix to acquire virtual production studio Scanline VFX

    Mumbai: Netflix has announced its plans to acquire virtual production studio Scanline VFX. The company is responsible for the visual effects in Netflix series like “Cowboy Bebop,” “Stranger Things,” and “Blood Red Sky.”

    The company expects to complete the acquisition by the end of first quarter 2022 subject to regulatory approvals. 

    Founded in 1989, Scanline is led by Stephan Trojansky, a VFX supervisor whose proprietary fluid rendering system ‘Flowline’ won an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 2008. The company has offices in Vancouver, Montreal, Los Angeles, London, Munich, Stuttgart, and Seoul.

    The company is working on VFX effects for upcoming Netflix content including “Don’t Look Up,” “The Gray Man,” “Slumberland,” “The Adam Project,” and “Stranger Things 4.”

    “Netflix will invest in Scanline’s pipeline, infrastructure and workforce and continue to support the pioneering work that Scanline’s Eyeline Studios is doing in virtual production to push the boundaries of what is visibly possible,” said Netflix vice president of studio operations Amy Reinhard.

    Apart from Netflix content, Scanline has done ground-breaking work on series like “Game of Thrones” to films like “Godzilla vs Kong” and “Zack Snyder’s Justice League.” “Going forward, the company will continue to operate as a standalone business and work with their variety of clients,” said Reinhard.

    Netflix will continue to rely on other VFX studios around the world “to ensure that our creators have access to the world’s most innovative tech,” said Reinhard.

  • IBC cancels Amsterdam event amid surge in Covid cases

    IBC cancels Amsterdam event amid surge in Covid cases

    Mumbai: International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) has cancelled the in-person IBC2021 which was scheduled to be held in Amsterdam this December.

    The move follows growing concerns about the Covid-19 situation in The Netherlands, which has deteriorated over the past week, and the decision was taken after feedback from the IBC exhibitor and visitor community, it added. According to the IBC Partnership Board, the decision was made in order to prevent exhibitors and visitors from travelling to The Netherlands.

    IBC20201 will now focus on bringing the content and technology community together via IBC Digital, it announced late on Tuesday.

    On 13 November, The Netherlands government re-imposed lockdown measures on its 17.5 million population for a month to slow a resurgence of the virus, as daily infections have remained at their highest levels since the start of the pandemic. The cases have been surging despite over 84 per cent of the Dutch population being fully vaccinated.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed the situation serious, and warned that Europe and Central Asia could face another seven lakh Covid-19 deaths by 1 March.

    The annual trade show which is also touted as one of the world’s most influential media, entertainment and technology shows was scheduled to be held from 2-6 December at The RAI in Amsterdam.  The global event brings together broadcasters, content creators, equipment manufacturers, professional and technical associations and other industry players on one platform.

    The 2020 edition was also cancelled due to the pandemic.

  • Bumble rolls out new OOH campaign in India

    Bumble rolls out new OOH campaign in India

    Mumbai: Women-first social networking app Bumble has launched its new out-of-home (OOH) campaign in India across Mumbai, Delhi, and Chennai. As India lifts restrictions, Bumble’s latest OOH campaign aims to support the community to navigate their dating journeys and encourage women to make the first move.

    The campaign takes a humorous and localised look at dating culture featuring taglines such as ‘Find someone who gives you the warm fuzzies even in Delhi winters’ and ‘Mumbaikars, find your local on Bumble.’

    “The concept of a first date post-pandemic looks very different to what it has been in the past. Our recent study showed that 39 per cent of single Indians surveyed have tried a video date as their first date in 2021,” Bumble India communications director Samarpita Samaddar said.

    “Our recent research illustrates single people in India are now excited and hopeful about dating, both virtually and in-person, looking ahead, as we get ready to start a new year. With our latest campaign, we aim to encourage our community to get ready to date and find their connections on Bumble,” she added further.

    In addition, recent research by the dating and networking app found that more than one in three (33 per cent) daters surveyed are feeling hopeful about dating in 2021 with a wider rollout of vaccinations among younger age groups in India. Looking ahead in 2022, four in five single Indians are excited and hopeful about dating.

    Founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, the app has made several updates to its platform, including introducing its “Night In” feature, where two people can participate in an interactive game during a video chat. The company also recently launched Snap’s AR Lenses within Bumble video calls, launched video notes that utilize Snapchat’s technology and Language Badges to help its community showcase which languages they speak on their profiles to make more meaningful connections.

  • Nielsen to launch new commercial metrics to track individual ads on TV

    Nielsen to launch new commercial metrics to track individual ads on TV

    Mumbai: Nielsen has announced that it will enhance its National television measurement by measuring viewing in a more precise manner, allowing for a future where audience estimates are based on individual ads rather than commercial minutes.

    The latest enhancement to Nielsen Individual Commercial Metrics will help pave the way for true comparability across the digital and linear platforms and comes following a series of tech, measurement and methodology advancements as Nielsen accelerates its efforts for delivery of Nielsen One, its cross-platform measurement solution, it said on Monday.

    With more precise commercial measurement, agencies, advertisers and brands will have the unprecedented ability to directly compare, plan and optimise ad campaign performance over both digital platforms and linear TV.

    The announcement comes three months after the company lost the industry approval for its national TV rating service after the board of the US-based Media Rating Council (MRC) suspended its accreditation. The suspension of the decades-old TV rating service followed a long standoff between Nielsen and the networks over the former’s services, including discrepancies in the data shared by the company during the pandemic.

    Nielsen said it has also expanded its relationship with Extreme Reach, the global leader in creative logistics, allowing for an efficient way of encoding the vast majority of all national linear TV commercials with Nielsen’s watermarks, which will launch in the first half of 2022.

    “We’re very pleased to collaborate with Nielsen on this important step in improving workflow efficiency for marketing teams, which has been at the core of our mission at Extreme Reach for over a decade. Nielsen’s ongoing efforts to embrace the morphing worlds of linear and digital TV now provide a means for marketers and their agencies to understand and value digital and linear TV commercials in a directly comparable way, which is a distinct improvement for the industry,” said  Extreme Reach COO Gaurav Agarwal.

    Nielsen’s new Individual Commercial Metrics reporting capability will enable the measurement of linear television at a “subminute” level and audience estimates at a level of granularity that is more comparable to digital. Providing comparability in this manner paves the way for Nielsen One to provide something long sought after as an industry imperative—true deduplication across platforms, it said.

    “Giving the industry true, trusted metrics that offer harmonisation across platforms is the bedrock to revolutionising the cross-media buying and selling process and a foundational step toward Nielsen ONE,” said Nielsen SVP Product Management Kim Gilberti. “By transforming our TV measurement and moving to Individual Commercial Metrics, both media buyers and sellers will be able to maximise the value of their inventory as well as capitalise and drive return on investment of their advertising spend across the rapidly converging traditional and digital landscapes.”

    As a first step in this plan, in early 2022 Nielsen will enhance its process for collecting and crediting watermarks, enabling the detection of watermarks more frequently within a given minute, allowing for credit of shorter duration events, such as individual ads. This change will give sellers the ability to utilise Nielsen’s reporting to properly value their commercial inventory—from pricing to placement.

    For the first time, Nielsen’s television measurement will also leverage Gracenote Content Signatures, which will allow for granular crediting for instances where there is no watermark present.

  • Advertisers are closing the gap between TV and mobile advertising: mediasmart’s Nikhil Kumar

    Advertisers are closing the gap between TV and mobile advertising: mediasmart’s Nikhil Kumar

    Mumbai: The growth of Connected TV adoption in India fuelled by affordable internet and smart TVs and availability of a range of streaming devices has opened the floodgates for newer technologies of content monetisation, digital/programmatic advertising and viewership measurement.

    In our continued effort to unravel the complexities of this space, this interview with Nikhil Kumar, who is currently heading the business of India and Southeast Asia for mediasmart – an Affle company, throws light on the Household Sync technology pioneered by the organisation and emerging digital advertising trends in the country.

    Kumar is a consumer marketing professional with over a decade of experience working in FMCG, retail, F&B and ad-tech set-ups with global brands like Puma, L’Oreal, Cafe Coffee Day and more recently Bytedance and InMobi. He was recognised as one of India’s Most innovative Mar-Tech leaders in 2019 by World Marketing Congress. With a career spanning over 14 years, he has worked across multiple functions with his domain expertise primarily being brand marketing (digital & offline), business strategy/ sales and go-to market plan/ execution across consumer goods, retail and start-up ecosystem.

    In his recent roles, Kumar has spearheaded business functions across India, SEA, and EU.

    Edited Excerpts

    On the adoption of CTV viewing in India viz-a-viz global CTV landscape

    Connected TV and CTV advertising are both fairly well-known and penetrated categories in the western markets, especially the United States. India has started well on consumer adoption of CTV and cheaper Smart TVs, Dongles and data plans together with compelling content propositions of leading OTT players are only going to accelerate this change going forward. As consumers have started to spend more time on this device or content format, ad dollars should also eventually move in this direction.

    The India market is expected to see growth for both subscriber-funded SVOD content and advertiser-funded AVOD content on CTV. We thus remain bullish on this opportunity and see India as a key market for the CTV business.

    On CTV opportunities for brands in India and the segments that will benefit the most

    The world is moving towards immersive watching experiences and CTV is an exciting space to be in. Industry observers are keenly following how India’s multi-screen viewing habits are shaping up. CTV has already made a significant impact on the digital advertising industry in the western part of the world and India is following suit. It is interesting to watch leading advertisers across verticals within the country adopt CTV advertising as a critical new addition to their media mix. It is here to stay. While CTV advertising is relevant for all categories active on TV and/or Digital, we expect the maximum impact of our interactive Household Sync augmented CTV advertising to be for categories looking for instant engagement like mobile apps led categories, consumer electronics, fashion etc. 

    On Household Sync Technology and how it can help brands with their digital ad campaigns

    Though programmatic CTV ads have been available in the industry, advertisers can drive interactivity with follow-up household synced mobile ads. This is where mediasmart’s advanced industry-first Household Sync technology helps in taking the advantage of CTV even further. It makes ads more engaging by syncing CTV ad campaigns with ads on other connected devices in the same household. CTV ads can thus be made significantly more relevant by personalising them for specific audiences within the household. This brings together the twin strengths of engaging storytelling associated with TV and CTV advertising and brands can launch CTV campaigns to a specific audience in the same household, measure results, and drive them to the nearest store. It uses fresh data for each campaign and is based on IP addresses, which undergo several layers of validation.

    On the reach and user base of CTV in India

    CTV, which was until recently seen as an alternative to linear TV, has emerged from the shadows and into the spotlight on how audiences consume content. The pandemic has further accelerated the shift in viewing habits as more and more people stayed indoors accepting the “new normal” and taking to CTV as a common entertainment source for families to enjoy together. Of course, the increasing internet speeds and better access to internet-enabled devices have also contributed in many ways to the recent growth of CTV.

    As per the India CTV Report 2021, CTV viewing in India is on a significant uptick and increased by 31 per cent. Globally, while CTV viewing increased by 81 per cent, India is still a young market with tremendous potential for CTV adoption by consumers. In April 2020, 21 per cent of CTV viewing households were cord-cutters (households who cut the cord within the past five years), whereas 22 per cent were cord-nevers (households with no cable/satellite subscription in the past five years).

    On emerging digital advertising trends in India

    Connected TV & OTT – CTV & OTT apps across devices, which were until recently seen as an alternative to linear TV, have emerged from the shadows and into the spotlight on how audiences consume content. The pandemic has further accelerated the shift in viewing habits and contributed to its recent growth due to an increase in internet speeds and better access to internet-enabled devices.

    Multi-screen audience targeting and attribution – Advertisers are closing the gap between TV and mobile advertising by targeting ads and taking advantage of multi-screen environments.

    Privacy and personalisation – There is an increasing demand for data privacy and for a more personalised ad experience, so brands have to play a balancing act to offer relevant experiences through data-driven advertising while also respecting privacy choices at the same time.

    Digital Out of Home (DOOH) – DOOH with its programmatic capabilities, which can automate OOH advertising, is expected to grow because COVID-induced confinements have accelerated the adoption of digital and programmatic methods in the OOH space.

    Mobile measurement – It has been defined this year by the changes in privacy settings announced by Apple with the launch of iOS 14. Incremental app marketing has been a buzzword in the industry for some time, but as advertisers lose access to attribution level data in a considerable percentage of their target audience, measuring the incremental impact of advertising actions should become a reality to more and more advertisers.

  • YuppTV Scope partners with ION broadband

    YuppTV Scope partners with ION broadband

    Mumbai: Single subscription video streaming platform YuppTV Scope has partnered with ION broadband to offer OTT services to its users.

    YuppTV Scope offers users a unified interface to all premium OTT apps such as SonyLIV, Zee5, Epic On, and YuppTV using a single subscription, while eliminating the task of accessing multiple apps. ION broadband has an audience base of four lakh customers and around 25,000 access points in more than 60 cities across the country and aims to provide a traditional TV-like experience for consumers in a seamless manner.

    “We are delighted to announce our partnership with ION broadband. This partnership further highlights the growing customer base for OTT platforms across genres,” said YuppTV founder and chief executive officer Uday Reddy. “Users will be able to enjoy YuppTV Scope’s unique and seamless video entertainment experience using a technologically advanced, all-encompassing platform and enjoy a traditional TV-like experience’’

    ION broadband provides cutting-edge internet solutions to suit its various segments like retail, hospitality, campus wi-fi, corporate, smart city, airports, and public wi-fi.

    “OTT consumption has been on the rise in India, owing to the pandemic. We are committed to keeping in touch with the changing trends and offering relevant services for our vast customer base and providing them with a traditional TV-like experience in a seamless manner,” said ION brand management business development Vielas Salunkke. “ION broadband is delighted to collaborate with YuppTV scope and believe that the platform will revolutionise the way content is consumed in the country.”

  • Clubhouse names ex-TikTok exec Parijat Kaushik as head of partnerships

    Clubhouse names ex-TikTok exec Parijat Kaushik as head of partnerships

    Mumbai: Social audio platform Clubhouse has announced its first-ever hire in India by appointing Parijat Kaushik as head of partnerships for the country. This is also the first country-specific appointment by the company outside the United States.

    In this role, Kaushik will be responsible for scaling Clubhouse’s operations in India.

    Prior to joining Clubhouse, Kaushik led marketing efforts for short video app TikTok and music streaming service Resso for the South Asia region.

    Kaushik is an integrated marketing generalist with experience in media, entertainment & technology domains.

    Previously, he also had stints at companies like Hungama, TinyOwl, and Sony Music Entertainment among others.

  • GUEST COLUMN: The future of Fantasy Sports Market in India

    GUEST COLUMN: The future of Fantasy Sports Market in India

    Mumbai: India has been a sports-loving nation. With Cricket, Football, and Kabaddi as the most sought-after sports, we’ve got thousands across the country who’d swear on their love for a good game. This has been one of the reasons for the emergence of fantasy sports in India. It gives the sports enthusiasts a chance to draft their teams with the best of players.

    Going to a sports match or sitting glued to the TV is something that every sports enthusiast in the country has done. Moreover, every fan has a set of opinions or expertise in the game. That’s where Fantasy Sports steps in. It gives the users the excitement of real-time action, a first-hand thrill of participating in future tournaments, and cash rewards if they win.

    With the increasing popularity of fantasy gaming leagues and frequent contests, fantasy sports enthusiasts are growing by the day. The number of fans capitalising on their sports knowledge has gone up 25X in the last ten years, and more potential players are waiting to join the trend.

    Along with a massive craze for sports, digitalisation is another factor that resulted in the emergence of fantasy sports platforms. More tech-savvy millennials in India are participating in fantasy sports tournaments. In fact, the past decade has witnessed a growth of around 700 per cent in the fantasy sports market.

    The online fantasy gaming platforms have allowed a massive chunk of sports aficionados to use their understanding of the game and play their role in online fantasy sports events. While the Cricket-frenzy in the Indian audience is well known, these platforms allow the users to explore other segments. With the introduction of new-age strategies in Fantasy Cricket, most platforms have seen a massive engagement of enthusiasts, with them becoming a part of the Indian T20 League and other tournaments. These platforms have started catering to a large audience, and are now expanding their offerings to league sports, even for Football, Kabaddi, and Basketball. Establishing a link between technology and the sports ecosystem, users can now be a part of multiple sporting events. The shift has been received well by sports enthusiasts increasing engagement in real-time sports that need attention.

    Currently, over 20 million people play fantasy games in India, and the number is estimated to reach 150 million by 2022. With so many people turning to fantasy sports, the market segment is expected to accelerate in the coming years. One of the reasons for the massive participation is the user-friendly fantasy gaming applications and increased internet penetration across the country. Besides gaining traction amongst the community keen on sports, the sector has seen large revenue growths too. In 2020, the industry generated a revenue of $3.4 million. In fact, the fantasy sports segment is estimated to reach $ 3.7 billion by the year 2024.

    With the potential of growth, fantasy sports platforms in India follow specific guidelines and principles as a part of the ‘game of skill’ category. It involves strategy, understanding, expertise, and knowledge by the participants. As a rapidly growing tech-driven industry, the market segment attracts a substantial number of investors. A report by NITI Aayog approximates that the fantasy sports industry has the potential to attract FDI of more than Rs 10,000 crore over the next few years.

    The sports ecosystem has seen a massive shift with the ongoing digitisation. The increase in the use of smartphones has enabled most sports enthusiasts to enjoy the thrill and excitement of sporting tournaments with fantasy sports. While increasing the knowledge of multiple sporting events, fantasy gaming platforms have witnessed a hiked participation in fantasy sports leagues and contests related to Cricket, Football, and Kabaddi, to name a few.

    Besides this, with a massive population of sports enthusiasts, surging demand in fantasy sports, and ever-evolving advancements in technology, India is set to grow rapidly in the online fantasy sports segment.

    (Amit Purohit is the founder of Fantasy Akhada. The views expressed in the column are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • India has potential to be largest OTT market in the world: Gaurav Gandhi

    India has potential to be largest OTT market in the world: Gaurav Gandhi

    Mumbai: The streaming boom has revolutionised the media and entertainment industry globally, and fuelled the creative economy of countries like India with its growing data usage. According to Amazon Prime Video India country head Gaurav Gandhi, this trend will only go upwards, and India has the potential to be the largest OTT market in the world.

    “This is because, the OTT segment in India has a huge base of consumers with an insatiable appetite for entertainment and disposable income to pursue the best experiences,” he elaborated. “Another reason is that it has a very rich pool of creators who have the power to create world-class entertainment experiences and thirdly, the deep penetration of connectivity via affordable broadband available ubiquitously across multiple devices.”

    Gandhi was speaking at the CII Big Picture Summit on Thursday, where he addressed a valedictory session titled ‘The Big Pitch: Is the Industry ready, What’s Next?’.

    Talking about the contribution of OTT Players in fuelling the growth of the media and entertainment industry, Gandhi said Prime Video is contributing to a prolific creative economy by addressing some of the most significant challenges that currently exist.

    “Amazon Prime is breaking the barrier of geographies, and addressing the challenge of reach or distribution. Today, it serves 99 per cent of pin codes of the nation and reaches 240 countries and territories across the world,” said Gandhi, adding that another barrier that it has addressed is the limitation of viewership imposed by language. “Good content travels across boundaries with subs and dubs. For example, movies in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil are being viewed by mainstream audiences, evident from the fact that 50 per cent of the viewing of different language movies in India comes from outside the home state.”

    Gandhi also highlighted how the high calibre content from India is viewed by international audiences, and OTT platforms like Prime are not just presenting India to the rest of the world, but also showcasing its rich heritage and diverse culture. “We are also bringing India closer to itself as consumers view regional content outside its home state and gain a deeper appreciation of the rich diversity of our nation,” he remarked.

    The 10th edition of the CII Big Picture Summit 2021 was held virtually on 18-19 November and brought together key stakeholders from the media and entertainment industry to discuss and deliberate on the year gone by and the upcoming opportunities and trends to foresee.

    Ministry of information and broadcasting secretary Apurva Chandra, Roy Kapur Films founder and managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur, Technicolor country head for India Biren Ghose, Zee Entertainment Enterprises president content and international business Punit Misra, Tata Sky managing director and CEO Harit Nagpal, Bennett Coleman & Co chairman – executive committee Sivakumar Sundaram, MX Player CEO Karan Bedi, and The Indian Music Industry (association) president Blaise Fernandes were among others who attended the key event.

  • FanCode to exclusively livestream Pakistan tour of Bangladesh in India

    FanCode to exclusively livestream Pakistan tour of Bangladesh in India

    Mumbai: Digital sports platform FanCode will exclusively livestream all matches of Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh commencing 19 November, with the first match of the T20I series at Sher-E-Bangla Stadium, Dhaka. The second and third fixtures will be played on 20 and 22 November, respectively.

    The digital exclusive rights will also include two test matches, first in Chattogram from 26 November, followed by a return to Dhaka for the second test starting 4 December. This will be Pakistan’s first tour to Bangladesh since 2015 and the two-match test series will be part of the ICC World Test Championship points table.

    The complete schedule of the tour to watch on FanCode.

    The tour will be livestreamed on the FanCode app and the official website. “For all cricket fans across India, FanCode will provide a comprehensive match experience through interactive live streaming with customisable data overlays, fastest interactive live match scores, multi-media live commentary, match highlights, and so on,” said the platform in a statement. “Through FC Stats, sports fans can access in-depth sports analytics, insights, and tips to hone their skill and knowledge on the matches, players, teams, and overall sport,” it added.