ITV

Category: iWorld

  • BBC seeks out new digital ideas for collaboration in India

    MUMBAI: The BBC World Service is creating opportunities for Indian digital and tech companies as it expands services on mobile platforms in the region. Interested companies will then have a few weeks to work on their proposal and submit their idea.

    The BBC’s expansion this year will reach all across India with the launch of new TV and digital services in Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu, while current services in Tamil, Hindi and English will be enhanced. Further to this, the BBC’s base in New Delhi will become its biggest outside the UK.

    The BBC has been leading in digital innovation across new story formats and platforms in India – this has included a WhatsApp coverage feed during the 2014 Indian Elections and the use of LINE for BBC Hindi content. It is now looking to expand its digital experimentation and collaboration in an exciting new project powered by the BBC’s digital innovation team Connected Studio.

    There will be three events this month to kick off the search for experienced digital companies with great ideas, as follows:

    19 April, Gurgaon: http://bit.ly/2nCOE6x

    21 April, Hyderabad: http://bit.ly/2nquETG

    25 April, Bangalore: http://bit.ly/2nROHOa

    Details will be presented to attendees at the events and BBC experts will available.

    This initiative continues the BBC’s investment in digital innovation across Asia. Information on past Connected Studio briefs and the innovative ideas that were prototyped and built with small digital companies across Africa and Asia is available here.

    BBC Connected Studio is an open innovation programme that explores and develops new digital ideas for BBC Online. It works closely with the wider digital and creative industries, sharing tools, assets and expertise to meet specific digital briefs from teams across the BBC.

  • Paramount blockbusters on Amazon Prime in India, deal signed

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime will offer unlimited free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals and unlimited streaming of latest and exclusive movies, TV shows and Amazon Originals. Amazon has announced its association with Paramount to offer subscription streaming of Paramount’s new releases and fan-favorite films in India.

    Under the deal Amazon will have streaming rights to recent releases such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Beyond, and 10 Cloverfield Lane, amongst others. In addition, Prime Video subscribers will also have rotating access to popular movies and classics from Paramount’s renowned library including franchises like Transformers, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Madagascar, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda.

    Amazon Prime Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said, “Our goal is to provide our customers with the best movies – be it local or international. We are excited to work with Paramount to bring their future slate of films to our Prime Video customers along with some of the most popular movies in film history.”

    “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Amazon to bring our world-class films to fans across India,” said Paramount TV Licensing & Distribution SVP Regional Sales Asia Pac Jonathan Greenberg said, “Our goal is to deliver our content to viewers how and when they want it and Amazon Prime Video offers an exceptional platform for fans to enjoy new and favorite films on demand.”

    Amazon Prime Video recently launched in India with an aim to bring customers the best entertainment experience.

  • ALTBalaji to stream content to millions through Amazon Cloudfront

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms’ video streaming service ALTBalaji has partnered with Amazon Internet Services to use Amazon Cloudfront, a global content delivery network (CDN) service. ALTBalaji will have access to multi-petabytes of bandwidth in preparation of the launch of the ALTBalaji service in mid-April 2017.

    “We have built our platform to serve Indians globally and wanted a service provider who could support us efficiently across all geographies. We use Xstream Mediamaker as our backend OVP and video delivery is entirely hosted by and built on Amazon Web Services (AWS), which already serves numerous global OTT platforms with over hundreds of millions of streams. Thanks to AWS, our platform setup is capable of handling high volumes of traffic and media content per week, and at the same time stream content to millions of our customers every day through Amazon Cloudfront,” said ALT Digital Media Entertainment COO Sunil Nair.

    “Currently, all ALTBalaji distribution partnerships that use the content syndication system, payment partners and wallets available on ALTBalaji, including other middleware infrastructure, run on AWS. We use Amazon Redshift for our data warehouse, which allows for analysis of all the customer interactions to arrive at actionable inferences. We have found Amazon Web Services to be a very reliable and responsive service provider at a time when we prepare to take ALTBalaji global,” added ALT Digital Media Entertainment head of product Ashish Bhansali.

    ALTBalaji leverages a vast range of tools offered by AWS to empower its video streaming platform. The anticipated interest in the video streaming platform and the original, premium and exclusive shows has prompted Balaji Telefilms to invest significantly in the latest cutting edge technology and infrastructure to ensure it provides a world class service to its global customer base.

    “Increasingly, various businesses around the world are deploying their critical workloads on AWS and going all-in so they can refocus on serving their customers best,” added Amazon Internet Services Private Limited MD Bikram Bedi. “We’re truly excited for ALTBalaji’s adoption of AWS, which will allow them to quickly and easily scale, reduce costs, improve security, and increase agility for even their most critical workloads.”

    ALTBalaji app will be launched with six new shows and will be followed with new shows every month for its viewers to binge watch. The content is created by some of the best talent of the Indian entertainment industry, including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and more.

  • Do ‘set paths’ & sense of duty stop Asians from taking risks?

    GOA: The concluding day of the twelfth edition of Goafest presented a knowledge seminar that partially revolved around the East’s resurgence in its potential to (soon) surpass the West as the dominant game-changer in terms of ‘creativity’.

    Speaking widely on the topic, AKQA’s executive creative director Eric Cruz highlighted a few factors that could soon play a crucial role in ensuring so.

    The ‘ideas and innovation company’ executive cited how one of the superpowers, China, began its quest for excellence through creativity over 4000 years ago. Soon, the nation turned into the Innovation Valley of Asia. He argued that, over the past few decades, the East merely became a consumer or follower of trends, instead of impacting the world through its own creations. From search engines to social media platforms, most inventions have emerged from the West, and Asians have merely been the heavy consumers of these trends.

    Cruz emphasised on China’s role throughout its history on spearheading the creativity phenomenon and impacting the world as we see it. Through graphs and statistics, Cruz demonstrated the rapid growth in the need of technological presence in every necessity of life. With the metaphor that the future is much like a tsunami, Cruz identified the early obstacles in understanding this phenomenon. “We are living in a world where creative history is being made. And, the question of the hour is ‘Are we Asians creative enough to invent our own world?’” asked Cruz to the room filled with enthusiasts.

    The root problem as identified by him, was the way Asians have evolved. The academic structure, values and cultural environment leads to the loss of creativity, added Cruz, and more often than not,  the sense of duties and set paths thrust upon Asians prevent them from exploring the creative field entirely. “The perception globally is that Asia is posed to follow, and not innovate. We are known to be fast followers but not innovators,” stated Cruz.

    New world tools like Automation and AI are necessary steps towards evolution. Automation will help humans rid of menial processes and AI will enable  to enhance the creative process.

    Cruz ended the talk a hopeful note that since 50 per cent of students in the West are Asians, there is a new generation which is learning from the West to implement change and innovation in their respective countries. China, Korea and India will be the centers of innovation in the years to come.

    The following speaker was all of 11 years old, but came with an abundance of wisdom and quick-fixes. Youngest Indian TED Speaker Ishita Katyal addressed a pertinent topic of discussion — Encouraging creativity. She started off by asking valid questions, “Why are kids not encouraged to be creative or ask questions? Why are they forced into fixed streams of academics?”

    She went on to elaborate, with the help of her personal example, how creativity is ageless. When she wrote her first book at the age of eight, she faced tremendous prejudice from publishers and others, but her determination and support from her parents helped her pursue her dreams and the book was published to roaring success.

    One of the biggest obstacles one faces while trying to fulfill their dreams is fear, and this little girl mesmerised the house with a simple story of how you can beat your fear by simply moving closer to it. The more closely you encounter your fear, the smaller it becomes. She ended by saying, “We the children are the future, and if you want us to build a beautiful world, give us the answers to the questions we ask.”

    AlsO Read :

    Laura Ries, Phogat sisters, Amitabh Kant impart leadership lessons: Goafest ’17 concludes

    Goafest 2017: Carat chief strategist observes data’s great tool, but gut feeling critical

     

     

  • Facebook exec ponders: How to hold the brain’s attention?

    GOA: The final session of Goafest 2017 concluded with the stating of a few significant points by the head of Facebook creative shop India and global accounts APAC Juhi Kalia.

    Kalia stated, “We exist in an environment which is content-rich but the attention span is poor — a mere eight seconds. That is understandable as the amount of information an average person is fed is equivalent to 174 newspapers a day.

    “The flip side is that the human brain is adapting to this shift, and evolving. We now register information at a faster rate and process information in many (newer) ways. The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, it gets coded in long-term memory and, therefore, has more recall,” she explained.

    The way people consume content is also evolving. “Consumption is no longer linear. It is customised, frequent and fast. Even our bodies have adapted to this shift, wherein our postures reflect what kind of content we’re consuming.”

    Juhi elucidated on how the different platforms elicit different mindsets and perception. Instagram gives its users the perception of discovery, inspiration and transportation, while Facebook is known for connection and recognition. In the end though, it all boils down to: content.

    “A great creative is a great creative regardless of the platform. Her parting shot to the engrossed audience was, “What we need to understand is how to tell stories based on how people are interacting with the platform. We are at that point in time where we have to find new ways to tell stories.”

    The fast-paced and cutting-edge final session of Goafest 2017 certainly opened up a lot of minds to new technologies and usage of social media platforms. As the day came to an end and people headed to the sundowner at the lawns to unwind, one can’t help but admire the past three days of learning, and it is with a bittersweet smile that people get set for the closing party of Goafest 2017.

    AlsO Read :

    Laura Ries, Phogat sisters, Amitabh Kant impart leadership lessons: Goafest ’17 concludes

    Goafest 2017: Carat chief strategist observes data’s great tool, but gut feeling critical

  • OMA’s MobiSwipe to deploy 50k MasterCard-preferred & Visa-ready mPoS devices in ’17

    MUMBAI: In line with the government’s vision of Digital India and complemented with the RBI’s policies advocating non-cash transactions, MobiSwipe has announced that it will be deploying over 50,000 mPoS devices within the next three quarters of 2017.

    MobiSwipe is a part of the solutions offered by OMA Emirates and is currently being used by merchants across metros like Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Chennai as well as other cities like Coimbatore, Cuddapah, Sriviliputhur etc.

    The mPoS solution enables merchants to accept payments through Swipe and Chip debit and credit cards on the go via a smartphone or tablet loaded with the MobiSwipe app connected to the pocket sized card reader.

    While metros and Tier 1 cities have been steadily moving towards transacting minus cash, MobiSwipe is focused on Tier 2, Tier 3 and other smaller cities that are yet getting familiar with the concept. With nearly 1000 terminals already in operation, the company’s next target is the retail and e-commerce sector followed by financial institutions, banks, etc.

    OMA Emirates Group CEO Niranj Sangal said, “We see India as a huge opportunity for growth. We are strong advocators for digital payments. Demonetisation was a learning curve for all to understand how payments worked and urged consumers to look beyond cash payments.”

    “Avenues have opened for non-cash payments and today, there is more than just a handful of solutions available be it wallets, PoS, mPoS, internet banking, or Government initiatives like UPI and BHIM. We have already received a demand for around 20,000+ MobiSwipe mPoS devices over the last few months of commencing operations and are hopeful of supplying these within the following two months. Simultaneously, there is a demand for PoS devices as well, indicating that India is ready and has progressed to accept non-cash payments as a better alternative. We aim to set up at least 1,00,000 of our PoS terminals by year end,” said Sangal.

    He further added, “A section of merchants have already progressed to using mPoS devices from regular PoS due to convenience, cost and mobility. In smaller cities we understand that there is lack of knowledge about operations and costs. We are hoping to bring about a change in this outlook and are attempting to reduce the costs associated with such transactions while simplifying operations and processes making it a favourable choice for all. We attempt to create an eco-system where merchants can benefit and all parties are able to profit from the system.”

    The sign-up procedure for MobiSwipe is simple and requires a merchant to submit KYC and the merchant agreement form. After the necessary documentation, mPoS is handed over to the merchant. A merchant can link his existing current account with MobiSwipe and does not need to open a new account as a part of the on-boarding process. Real-time transactions are enabled and funds get transferred to the merchants account on a daily basis. MobiSwipe is available at a highly competitive price point with flexible payment options. It comes along with an Ingenico mPoS device which is PCI-DSS and PA-DSS Certified and is MasterCard preferred mPOS and Visa Ready Partner. MobiSwipe promotes paperless transactions, is a cost-effective solution as compared to PoS and is accessible via most Android smartphones. The custom web portal allows merchants to keep a record of the history, reports and other tools.

  • Javed Akhtar revamped IPRS’s new chairman

    MUMBAI: Fresh elections were held after more than a decade in the revamped IPRS, in which both the authors (music composers and lyricists) and publishers (music labels) participated. These elections have the backing of the author and publisher community in India. Renowned poet and writer, Javed Akhtar, was unanimously elected as the chairman of the new board.

    The revamped IPRS has adopted a new working constitution and is fully in sync with the Amended Copyright Act. The primary objective of this constitution is to ensure rightful royalty flow to all the rights owner, while simplifying licensing process for the end users.

    Akhtar said, “IPRS has turned over a new page and a new chapter has started, where there is no WE and THEM, only US. Writers, composers and publishers have risen above the past conflicts and have a taken a pledge to work together for the enhancement of Indian Music Industry’s reach and prosperity.”

    “This is a historic moment for the music industry, and will act as catalyst of growth for all stakeholders. We look forward to IPRS achieving new heights under the leadership of Javed saab,” said Saregama India managing director Vikram Mehra.

    The newly elected members on the board are Javed Akhtar, Shridhar Subramaniam, Aashish Rego, Kumar Taurani, Rajinder Singh Panesar, Devraj Sanyal, G.V. Prakash Kumar, Ganesh Jain, Anupam Roy, Mandar Thakur, Sahithi Cherukupalli and Vikram Mehra.

    The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) owns, administers and currently controls the Performing Right in Musical Works and Literary Works assigned to it by its owner members.

  • OTT: VEQTA is exclusive Major League Baseball partner for India

    MUMBAI: In what could be the best news for baseball fans in India, VEQTA, India’s only digital broadcast network (OTT) dedicated to sports, has announced its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB), the world’s top baseball league from USA. With this first of its kind multi-year partnership, VEQTA will give baseball fans in India access to an all-new never seen before content experience.

    This partnership between one of the world’s most iconic sports leagues and India’s next generation sports platform will help build a larger fan base for baseball in the region. VEQTA will be the official home of Major League Baseball in India with exclusive long term OTT rights. VEQTA will serve the widest offering of MLB games ever in India, with over 20 live games each week during the regular season (April through September); and full coverage of the league’s “Jewel Events” — All-Star Game (July), Wild Card Games, Division Series, League Championship Series, and the World Series (October/November).

    MLB and VEQTA will also launch a variety of initiatives together to build the sport further in the country including promotional activities, events, fan activation and engagement.

    VEQTA, with its key partnerships with global sports bodies, will additionally serve over 6000 hours of live sports content in 2017 across Tennis, Fight Sports, Motorsports, Football, Basketball, Rugby, Athletics, and of course Baseball.

    VEQTA co-founder & director Vikram Tanwar said, “Baseball has a niche audience here and we wish to grow it further. Through this partnership, Indian baseball fans will have access to exclusive baseball content not available in its entirety on any other platform. VEQTA is proud to bring this experience to India and assert our commitment to offer the best sports content from across the globe to Indian fans.”

    MLB is amongst the largest league systems by revenue across any sport. It is also the world’s biggest league by total attendance with over 73 million fans attending MLB games in 2016.

    Major League Baseball VP – international media sales and marketing partnerships Dominick Balsamo said, “MLB on VEQTA will serve Indian baseball fans with comprehensive coverage of the league from Opening Day through the World Series, and present the game on an exciting platform that promises to attract new baseball fans and players in India.”

  • Gartner digital rights report lists Seclore as ‘rep vendor’

    MUMBAI: Seclore, a leading provider of Enterprise Digital Rights Management (EDRM) solutions, was mentioned in the Gartner Market Guide for Information-Centric Endpoint and Mobile Protection1. Gartner identified Seclore as a representative vendor for Cloud and EDRM information protection methods profiled in this research.

    Gartner stated: “Information theft pays big benefits to thieves, and plagues businesses with long-term damage. It is the hack that keeps on giving, since the extent of breaches is not always known, and business information can have long-term exploit value, extending into years and lifetimes in the case of some medical and financial knowledge. Once thieves have obtained your business information, they can unplug from your systems and they will be difficult to trace.”

    The report goes on to conclude that – “disk encryption remains the oldest and best defense against extraction from a lost, stolen or mishandled endpoint device. EDRM promises to be the most flexible and pervasive future technique to protect files regardless of where they travel. In between these extremes, choices should be made that match current information security concerns.”

    A recent survey from ESG, Securing Information in the Age of External Collaboration, concludes that more than 1 in 4 companies believes it’s very likely that sensitive data has been stolen by third party vendors. 98 per cent of respondents cited the loss of sensitive data as a top or significant concern. Commonly stated reasons for data loss include emails sent to the wrong person (67 per cent), unauthorized access (64 per cent) and lost portable storage devices (61 per cent).

    Seclore is expanding its GCC presence and operations in response to increasing demand for its award-winning solutions, with a new regional office in Dubai and the appointment of a new distributor in Saudi Arabia.

    “Ensuring the effectiveness of one’s security and risk management strategy is a critical component to the organization’s success,” said Seclore CEO Vishal Gupta, speaking at the Dubai office opening.

    “Despite today’s sluggish global economy, data losses are at all-time high and information centric security is gaining momentum. Our recent tie-ups with SAP and SolidWorks have further enriched our product offerings, for vertical markets worldwide,” Gupta said.

    “Most EDRM solutions on the market today have fatal security flaws that cause data leakage regardless of airtight network and server cybersecurity solutions,” stated Seclore CTO Abhijit Tannu.

    Seclore recently won prestigious awards like ‘The Security Industry’s Coveted Global Excellence Awards’.

  • Half of video production may see greater RoI migrating to IP

    MUMBAI: Ooyala, a global provider of video monetization technology and services, and the Digital Production Partnership (DPP), the media industry’s business change network, launched the industry’s first report analyzing the benefits of adopting Internet Protocol (IP)-based processes and technologies in video production, “The Business Benefits of IP Production.” The findings show that by 2022, more than half of the video-production environments analyzed in the report will recognize greater business benefits, efficiencies and return-on-investment (ROI) by adopting IP.

    Surveying nearly 30 companies across the video supply chain, including ITV, Sky, BBC and Sony, the report shows where IP migrations will result in greater cost savings, cost avoidance, creative benefits and competitive advantages. Tracking against ten different production environments, five will see the greatest ROI by adopting IP, including:

    ● IP Distribution: Companies with internet-first distribution services, OTT

    ● Live Streaming: Companies distributing live content across devices and social
    platforms

    ● Single Camera Shooting: Companies accessing on-site footage via the cloud

    ● Media Management: Companies managing, moving and storing media

    ● Cloud Playout: Linear TV stations adopting cloud-based services

    The findings show media companies with online distribution at the heart of their business, particularly OTT services, will find the greatest value and ROI in adopting IP-based technologies. Other areas that IP disruption will impact are asset management, cloud playout and post-production, benefiting from technologies that reduce manual-labor costs such as automating metadata insertion.

    “The fact is, the move to IP has inherent benefits for many processes, but only specific environments will see the greatest benefits and highest returns today,” said DPP Managing Director, Mark Harrison.

    “Within a few years, IP infrastructure may be essential in doing business because of the impact it is having across media companies and distribution.” “As the first in the industry, the report brings to light the ROI opportunities for producers, broadcasters and media companies to adopt IP processes,” said Ooyala Co-founder and SVP of Products and Solutions, Belsasar Lepe. “Media logistics solutions like Ooyala Flex provide the ability to connect inherently disconnected and on-premise systems so companies can take
    advantage of IP benefits immediately or incrementally as needs change over time.”

    Ooyala and the DPP will host a special NAB morning event on Tuesday, 25 April at 8am PST in Ooyala’s booth, SV1000, to discuss the report and the future of IP production alongside BT Sport and PBS.

    Built with superior analytics capabilities for advanced business intelligence, Ooyala’s solutions help broadcasters, operators and media companies build more engaged and more profitable audiences, with personalized experiences across every screen.Vudu, Star India, Sky Sports (U.K.), ITV Studios (U.K.), RTL Group (Germany), M6 (France), TV4 (Sweden), Mediaset (Spain), America Television (Peru), and Media Prima (Malaysia).