ITV

Category: iWorld

  • Twitter strikes 12 video partnerships

    MUMBAI: A day after striking a deal with Bloomberg to stream news 24/7, Twitter has disclosed video partnership arrangements with 11 more content providers in the arenas of sports, news and entertainment.

    Three entertainment channels involved are — IMG fashion, Live Nation and Propagate. Apart from Bloomberg, news partners will be — Buzzfeed, Cheddar and The Verge. Sports coverage will be provided by PGA Tour, MLBAM, The Players’ Tribune and Stadium.

    Starting later in May, for the first time, WNBA will live-stream a weekly regular-season game on Twitter (20 total per season) during the 2017, 2018 and 2019 seasons. Twitter will deliver live action of the best in women’s basketball and the best in fan conversation about each game — on a single screen.

    In addition, to weekly live MLB games, a new weekly MLB programme will live-stream only on Twitter. A new, original, fully programmed, 24/7 linear experience will stream live on Twitter soon. 

    The Players’ Tribune: #Verified, a modern forum for athletes to connect directly with fans, will be a live show, only on Twitter.  The series will debut in the coming months, and will feature regular interviews with some of the most popular players across sports, including A.J. Green, Karl-Anthony Towns and Richard Sherman.

    Circuit Breaker: The Verge’s Gadget Show is a weekly live programme that will review new gadgets everyone wants. MorningFeed, a brand new morning news and current events show broadcast live on Twitter by BuzzFeed, will reach an audience that wakes up hungry for the latest in “fire Tweets.” 

    Cheddar’s hour-long Opening Bell will stream live daily at 9am ET from the New York Stock Exchange. This expands on Cheddar’s successful Closing Bellshow at 3pm ET, which has aired on Twitter since last October.

    IMG Fashion will bring its premium designer and brand relationships to a live content programme consisting of exclusive runway shows and behind-the-scenes Fashion Week content for Twitter users, live, from New York, Milan, Paris, London and beyond in September 2017.

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    Amazon Prime subs can watch NFL live, 10-game deal signed

  • Baahubali 2 emerges as highest grossing film on Paytm Movies

    MUMBAI: Paytm has announced that the much-awaited Baahubali 2: The Conclusion has been on a record-breaking spree, experiencing strong demand from more than 3500 screens across 520 cities in India – more than any other movie on the platform. The company is expecting sustained demand in the second week, with gross collections likely to cross Rs. 100 crore on Paytm alone.

    Baahubali 2 has opened to a great run at the box office and the film is running to houseful shows across the country from day one. With early sales showing an upward trend, Paytm has experienced an eight times surge in overall traffic in the film’s opening week and accounted for more than 30% market share to the Hindi version’s opening weekend. It has also leveraged its massive supply chain of regional theatres, with tier II and tier III theaters accounting for more than 60% of the movie’s overall business.

    Paytm’s convenient QR-based offline ticketing systems available at leading theatres across India have also helped ease the rush outside ticket counters. This has enabled the widest range of multiplex and local theaters to offer a quick and easy offline ticketing experience to Baahubali fans across the country.

    Baahubali 2 hit the big screen on 28 April 2017. Available in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi, the movie is a sequel to the visual wonder Baahubali – The Beginning. The initial film launched on 10th July 2015 invited tremendous appreciation from the local and international audience.

  • Hulu to live-stream top TV channels with NBCUniversal tie-up

    MUMBAI: Hulu and NBCUniversal have reached a comprehensive, new distribution agreement that will bring NBC and Telemundo Owned Television Stations and portfolio of leading cable networks to Hulu’s upcoming new live TV streaming service when it launches this Spring. The deal will provide live and on-demand streaming access to networks including NBC, Telemundo, USA, Syfy, Bravo, E!, MSNBC, CNBC, NBCSN and more, bringing the total number of channels in Hulu’s live TV service to more than 50. The agreement also includes a framework for licensing the NBC and Telemundo broadcast affiliates for carriage on Hulu’s new service.

    “NBC Universal is home to many of today’s leading sports, news, entertainment and lifestyle networks – brands that not only draw large audiences but also drive pop culture,” said Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins. “With this agreement in place, Hulu will soon provide an affordable, complete live TV package that includes all four major broadcast networks, the top-rated cable news channels, a massive sports offering and our deep existing premium streaming library for under $40.”

    “We’re pleased to partner with Hulu to make NBCUniversal’s leading portfolio of entertainment, news and sports networks available on this new service,” stated NBCUniversal Content Distribution chairman Matt Bond. “Growing our audiences is an important priority and this partnership will help bring our networks to new customers.”

    As one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies, NBCUniversal’s suite of networks includes NBC, with broadcast hits such as This Is Us, Blindspot and The Voice, as well as late night series The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Seth Meyers; leading cable networks like USA— home of the critically acclaimed cable drama Mr. Robot — Syfy, Bravo and E!; top-rated news programming from NBC’s The Today Show and Dateline, to live, breaking coverage from MSNBC and CNBC news networks; leading American Spanish-language network Telemundo; kids programming from Sprout; and sports programming like Sunday Night Football and the Olympics and networks including NBCSN, Golf Channel and NBC Sports Regional Networks in Chicago, Philadelphia, New England, Mid-Atlantic, Bay Area, California and Northwest.

    NBCUniversal’s portfolio of networks adds to a growing list of more than 50 popular channels that will all be offered through Hulu’s new live TV service at launch. The deal follows Hulu’s recently announced agreement with A+E Networks, as well as its agreements with 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, Turner Networks and CBS Corporation.

    In addition to the company’s current ad-supported and ad-free subscription video on demand products, Hulu’s new service will offer viewers the most valuable pay-TV option on the market in a groundbreaking, new user experience for under $40 per month. With no set-up costs or installation, only Hulu will bring together live and on demand channels, original series and films, and premium library TV shows and movies, all in one place, across living room and mobile devices.

  • What are the rules for testing telecom networks

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, on Monday, started a consultation process to frame rules for the network testing before full-fledged commercial launch after witnessing the controversy related to Reliance Jio’s free trial run.

    “The DoT requested the Authority (TRAI) to provide its recommendations on testing of network before commercial launch of services including enrolment of customers for testing purposes before commercial launch, duration of testing period etc…,” TRAI consultation paper stated.

    Incumbent telecom operators had voiced concern that enrolment of subscribers and provision of service free of cost before commercial launch are leading to a non-level playing field. They also said the volume of voice traffic generated by such test users, due to free offers, is choking points of interconnect, and impairing the quality of service of other operators. The last date for seeking comments on the issue is May 29 and for counter comments 12 June.

    Telecom service providers (TSPs) are bound by roll-out obligations and other licence conditions, TRAI stated. The TSPs are required to install applicable systems for providing mobile services to the subscribers. It is important that these systems are tested before commencement of commercial services because a licensee has to ensure that its service meets the Quality of Service (QoS) standards prescribed by the Licensor or TRAI. As per the general practice, the Telecom Service Providers use test SIM Cards to check the quality of network, before the commercial launch of services.

    The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), through its letter dated 9 September 2016, communicated that at present, network testing is being carried out by licensees on the basis of erstwhile practices followed by DoT/BSNL and test SIM Cards are issued by such licensees to check the quality of network, before the commercial launch of services. However, the present licenses for various services issued by DoT do not mandate any time period for network testing before commercial launch of services by the licensees. Therefore, DoT requested TRAIto provide its recommendations
    on testing of network before commercial launch of services including enrolment of customers for testing purposes before commercial launch, duration of testing period etc. under the terms of clause 11(l)(a) of TRAI Act 1997 as amended.

    In view of the above, Consultation Paper on ‘Network testing before commercial launch of services’ has been released to discuss issues involved, possible solutions and framework to bring clarity on the matter. Written comments on the issues raised in the Consultation, Paper are invited from the stakeholders by 29th May 2017 and counter-comments by 12 June 2017.

    Comments and counter-comments may be sent, preferably in electronic form at advmn@trai.gov.in. For any clarification / information Sanjeev Banzal, Advisor (Networks, Spectrum & Licensing), TRAI, may be contacted at Telephone Number +91-11-23210481.

    Also Read :

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  • FB adds India-specific options, shows how to build communities

    MUMBAI: Facebook hosted an interactive product showcase for Facebook community to experience in Mumbai. Facebook: A place to connect, showcased brings to life Facebook’s mission, shared across our family of products and apps, which is to make the world more open and connected.

    The event centered around three subjects: Me, My Community and My World. The featured products included Facebook Live, Facebook Lite, Full Camera, 360 Photos, Groups, Events, Oculus, Instagram, WhatsApp as well as our suite of safety, and security tools including Safety Check, Community Help, Safety Center, Parents Portal, Bullying Prevention Hub and Suicide Prevention tools.

    The event served as an opportunity for the teams to listen and receive feedback from the community as they worked to ensure everyone’s Facebook experiences is great, regardless of where they connect. Facebook is building better experiences to work on all connections, devices, and communities.

    Products such as Facebook Lite, which makes it easier for people to access Facebook on older Android devices or slower connections, counts India as one of the top (client) countries. Now, conversations on FB Lite can be enhanced through reactions including “Love”, “Haha”, “Wow”, “Sad” and “Angry.”

    Since the global rollout of Facebook Reactions in 2016, there have been 300 billion reactions on Facebook posts. The most popular reaction is Love, making up more than half of all of reactions.

    Facebook also rolled out local camera effects designed for India. In addition to the frames and effects that come standard in the Facebook camera, they have designed several custom effects for India — so people can create and share photos and videos that showcase the expression of Namaste as well as capture geo-specific experiences in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, and other places.

    “India is a very important country to Facebook, and we’re proud to have more than 184 million monthly active people in India who use Facebook to connect with their friends and family, and to build supportive communities online and offline,” an FB executive said.

    Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently shared a letter to the community about giving people the power to build a global community. For the past decade, Facebook has focused on connecting friends and families. With that foundation, our next focus will be developing the social infrastructure for the community — for supporting us, for keeping us safe, for informing us, for civic engagement, and for inclusion of all that will bring us together as a global community so we can have the most positive impact in the world.

    Last month, Facebook rolled out its new camera feature. “We want to make it fast, fun and easy for people to share creative photos and videos with whomever they choose, for however long they choose — and the more we share with each other, the more open and connected our community can be,” the executive said.

  • Netflix & iQIYI sign licensing agreement

    MUMBAI: iQIYI and Netflix have signed a content licensing agreement for a subset of Netflix original series like Stranger Things and Black Mirror.

    “Though expectations of our deal are modest in scope, we are delighted that consumers will be able to enjoy these highly-popular series on iQIYI, the leading online video platform in China. Our cooperation will be subject to the relevant regulations on online streaming of imported drama and film content in China,” Netflix stated.

    Founded in Beijing in April 2010, iQIYI is the top online video platform in China to stream both, licensed and original movies, television series, variety shows, cartoons and other content. Netflix is a leading global Internet television network with over 100 million members in over 190 countries enjoying more than 125 million hours of TV shows and movies per day, including original series, documentaries and feature films.

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  • Restoring Net freedom: FCC seeks public participation

    MUMBAI: With the opening of a new proceeding on Restoring Internet Freedom, the Commission (FCC) anticipates significant public engagement and a high volume of filings. The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau provides this guidance to facilitate public participation and to make commenting easy:

    “Those who wish to file individual comments may submit them electronically via the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. However, we anticipate that some may wish to submit a large number of comments from multiple individuals, each with the same or similar content. We strongly encourage parties who seek to file a large number of comments or “group” comments to do so through the public API or the Commission’s electronic inbox established for this proceeding, called Restoring Internet Freedom Commentsat https://www.fcc.gov/restoring-internet-freedom-comments. We also ask parties who anticipate submitting group comments to contact us in advance so that we can assist with a smooth filing process. You can reach us at ECFSHelp@fcc.gov and (202) 418-0193.

    We expect that filing group comments through the inbox will be simpler than filing through ECFS. We ask commenters to be patient, as there may be some lag time between when filings are made and when they appear in ECFS. We assure all timely filers, though, that their submissions will be part of the record in this proceeding.

    By using the public API or inbox and contacting us in advance of large filings, parties can help us ensure that ECFS functions normally during periods of high volume submissions. Based on past experience, we anticipate that during some periods of the comment cycle, ECFS may experience much higher volumes of traffic, and that some of this traffic may be malicious in nature. Our commercial cloud service is limited in the amount of input it can receive at any one time. Thus, if group filers do not wish to use the inbox above for group filings, we recommend that they use the ECFS function for a single file to be uploaded with the ability to note the number of individuals represented by the filing. This will minimize the possibility that the system will be overwhelmed and unable to take other filings.

    We will continue to monitor ECFS and take steps to minimize any impacts on parties attempting to file and view comments. We appreciate the public’s help, as we want to ensure that all voices are heard in this proceeding.

    We remind the public that the Commission’s ex parte rules apply and that presentations (including comments, filings, and other submissions) are subject to “permit-but-disclose” ex parte rules. See, e.g., 47 CFR §§ 1.1206, 1.1200(a). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves and comply with the Commission’s ex parte rules, including the general prohibition on presentations (written and oral) on matters that are listed on the Commission’s Sunshine Agenda, which is typically released a week prior to a Commission meeting. See 47 CFR §§ 1.1200(a), 1.1203.

    ACCESSIBLE FORMATS: To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice) or 202-418-0432 (TTY).”

  • APOS ’17: India’s share of local original shows high, says Nitesh Kripalani

    BALI: Amazon Prime, a global OTT player targeting one of Asia’s biggest markets in terms of size and numbers, feels that, in India, localisation of the content and service would drive subscriber numbers and viewing time.

    Pointing out that Amazon launched the Fire TV stick in India recently with a “localised” experience for consumers, Amazon Prime India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said, “We localise it from having a voice mode, which can search content not only in English but also in Hindi. We localized it where you can monitor your data usage.”

    Kripalani, who was speaking at Media Partners Asia-organized APOS 2017 in Bali on `India: Placing Bets On New Pipes And Old’ said the strategy of localisation of content in local languages and local payment methods for subscription is being followed depending on consumer feedback. Continuing on localisation, including original content, Kripalani admitted that India was the only market where Amazon has “announced larger number of original shows” in local languages.

    “We have already announced 18 shows for India; first one is coming very soon. We want to change the way how creators create content. We want them to think unconstrained, we are asking them to go back and take a look at those projects they were wanting to make (but were not able to),” he explained, adding the content that his company was encouraging was essentially something with a feature film quality but made in an episodic format.

    Amazon Fire TV stick not only gives the `local’ feel and experience, but also enables subscribers to watch high quality 4K content from Prime Video library and other content providers too on the big screen.

    Because piracy, like in India, is a global phenomenon, Kripalani said Amazon’s goal is to “enable latest movies and TV shows” made available legally and the Indian entertainment market was big enough for such moves.

    Kripalani pointed out that Amazon Prime looked at some of the problems of customers in India on availability of content on multiple services and set about working out a strategy with the goal to bring about change in the way creators created content and created universal shows that customers cared for. Customers, he added, anywhere in the world had similar demands — they care about content selection, they care about reliability and convenient of access and the third was value.

    Dwelling on the journey till now in one of the most exciting but complex market in Asia, Kripalani said that in four months the response from consumers had been very encouraging. “I think success will be if we build our super small market…and the way premium content is consumed (and) that will be a measure of the success.

    “We are very excited with the growth of Fire TV stick and other products that we may bring in and, of course, we are looking at how the entire ecosystem is built in India, “Kripalani concluded, saying that the company is working across an array of India languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi, apart from English, for content development and the way service is available in India.

  • Hooq launches filmmakers guild, 5th original announced at APOS

    MUMBAI: Hooq, one of the the largest Video on Demand service in South-East Asia — announced their latest initiative –Hooq Filmmakers Guild, a South-East Asia wide project that helps turn the most imaginative TV series ideas of filmmakers into reality, thus celebrating Asia, the nation from which great TV arises.

    Hooq calls for film professionals, be it directors, producers or scriptwriters to send in scripts and treatments for a TV series idea they have. From these, the five best scripts, regionally, will be given a funding of USD$ 30,000 to be converted into a pilot episode that will debut on Hooq. Submissions can be from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. The best out of these five pilot episodes, decided by Hooq subscribers and a star-studded judging panel consisting of the top film talents around Asia as well as Hollywood (to be announced), will be converted into a full series produced and aired on Hooq.

    “There is incredible talent for TV series making in Asia, and we want to give opportunities to film professionals to turn these amazing ideas into reality. Hooq is built in Asia for Asia and we want to give Asian filmmakers the power to create quality entertainment that gives our customers that escape into worlds of romance, action, adventure and even heroism, all in the setting of their backyard. Hooq Filmmakers Guild does just that, making Asia the nation from which great TV arises!”, Hooq CEO Peter Bithos .

    This project commences from 1 June 2017 and will be open for entries till 1 August 2017. Applicants must be either in film school or working as professionals in the film industry with prior film production experience. They are to submit the script and treatment for a mini-series or a full series with a maximum of 13 episodes for a single season in order to qualify. There will be no restriction to genre, however submissions and productions must be in the language of the applicant’s country.

    This announcement comes one day after Hooq announces four new Hooq original productions – Critical Eleven and Sweet 20 to hit cinemas in May and June 2017 respectively and the other 3 to hit the platform (‘The T Party’) and Marlina and the Murderer in Four Acts) later this year.

  • Netflix to set shop in Mumbai, invest in local content

    MUMBAI: US California-based video streaming service provider Netflix has plans to establish an office in India aimed at stepping up its game in India, according to a National US-India Chamber of Commerce news release. The India office is expected to be based in Mumbai — the company’s fourth in Asia, after Tokyo, Singapore and Taiwan.

    Netflix recently announced that its service will now be available on the DTH platforms of Bharti Airtel and Videocon. It also entered into a carrier billing agreement with Vodafone India.

    Also, the streaming service is planning to invest in making new content for the Indian market, and also come up with new payment platforms, the release stated.

    The NUICC release, citing Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings, said the Mumbai office will be as big as Tokyo within a few years. Hastings added that India had seen the highest growth among all Asian markets for Netflix’s offering, and targets to be among the top five apps on a consumer’s phone.

    Netflix at present has around 94 million users, among which 44 million are outside the US market, according to the NUICC statement.

    The expansion move comes when the company is attempting to be the first to eliminate buffering while at the same time working on technology that enables content to stream at speeds of 100 kbps. Such a move could boost the company in markets like India, the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, where network speeds are among the slowest in the world, the NUICC said.

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