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Category: iWorld

  • SCTE launches awards for technical excellence & innovation in broadband

    SCTE launches awards for technical excellence & innovation in broadband

    MUMBAI: With an aim to raise the standard of broadband engineering in the telecommunications industry, SCTE India has launched awards to honour technical excellence and innovation in broadband for India. 

     

    This initiative is an effort towards promoting excellence in broadband as well as create a skilled pool of technicians to drive India’s broadband movement. 

     

    SCTE India national secretary Rahul Nehra and SCTE president Dr Roger Blakeway announced the awards at IBC 2015 in Amsterdam allowing entries for nominations as well. 

     

    Opening the floor for nominations, SCTE invited submissions from individuals, business leaders and companies that have launched new product, method of technical excellence and innovation and new ways of improving technology till 31 December 2015. The entries will be assessed by an international jury.

     

    “Those who have demonstrated outstanding performance with categories such as Technological Innovation (in several sub-categories), Best Headend Management Services and Network Management Services; Best Convergent Services Provider; Best DAS Compliance and Maximum Upskilling Activity Over the Year will be awarded,” said SCTE India national secretary Rahul Nehra.

     

    “The SCTE India awards will set in motion a new wave of thought leadership and reward innovation as well as fostering the adoption of best practice in the industry,” said SCTE India president Prem Behl.

     

    “The awards will recognise innovation in the cable and broadband domain having the potential for long-term with a significant impact in India at national and regional levels. The innovation may be technological or economic in nature and, preferably, should have created a broad or globally recognized benefit for the telecommunications industry,” he added.

     

    There will be a separate set of individual awards to recognise the individual SCTE India Technician of the Year, SCTE India Member of the Year, Best Customer Manager, Outstanding Services to Broadband Engineering, Honorary Fellowship of SCTE India and SCTE India Engineer of the Year. 

     

    The televised SCTE India awards ceremony will take place during the 24th Convergence India conference on 22 January, 2016 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

  • Spuul inks deal with UTV; to stream ‘PK’

    Spuul inks deal with UTV; to stream ‘PK’

    MUMBAI: Online streaming service for Indian cinema and television content, Spuul has added the highest grossing Hindi movie of all time PK in its catalogue. Along with PK, subscribers can also watch other UTV titles like Rang De Basanti, Jodhaa Akbar, Kai Po Che, Barfi, Dev D and Chennai Express amongst others.

     

    All movies will be available across platforms like web, mobile (iOS, Android), Smart TV (Samsung, Panasonic, LG) Airplay on iOS, and Chromecast on Android. Spuul will be offering these movies to subscribers in India, UK, Middle East and other major territories around the world.

     

    Spuul global CEO Subin Subaiah said, “As one of the leading providers of Bollywood content to viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US and Middle East, we are constantly investing in growing our library by adding new, popular and in many cases, offbeat titles to our list. PK’s addition to our rich UTV catalogue is yet another step in this direction.”

  • Sony LIV’s original web series #Love Bytes tots 1 million views

    Sony LIV’s original web series #Love Bytes tots 1 million views

    MUMBAI: Living up to its promise of taking the digital-first approach, Multi Screen Media’s VOD platform Sony LIV has garnered 1 million views for its first-of-kind web series called Love Bytes.

     

    The show centres around an urban Indian romance and is relatable for the digital destination’s millennial audience, unlike the regular soaps that air on TV. Tailored for Gen Z, it deals with the real life situations between a young couple.

     

    Speaking about this initiative, MSM executive vice president and digital entertainment head Uday Sodhi said, “With Love Bytes, we offer consumers a digital-first experience while setting a benchmark in the video entertainment space. Sony LIV plans to further invest in original content with new concepts and ideas.”

     

    Directed by Vishal Mull, Love Bytes stars Kushal Punjabi and Sukhmani Sadana.

  • BBC to launch US OTT service in 2016

    BBC to launch US OTT service in 2016

    MUMBAI: BBC is planning to launch a new over-the-top (OTT) video service in the US by next year. 

     

    BBC director general Tony Hall made the announcement during the Royal Television Society Convention in Cambridge.

     

    “Following on from our AMC partnership in the US, we have just signed a new joint venture with Sony Multi-Screen-Media to launch a BBC Earth channel to India. And we’ll begin to try out businesses that go direct to the public. Next year, we’re launching a new OTT video service in America offering BBC fans programmes they wouldn’t otherwise get – showcasing British actors, our programme-makers – and celebrating our culture,” Hall said.

     

    He also informed that the plans would increase commercial returns from BBC Worldwide to ?1.2 billion over the next five years, more than 15 per cent higher than the returns of the previous five years.

     

    While addressing the conference, Hall said that BBC would work with global partners to grow BBC Worldwide further, taking advantage of the demand for British programming and new digital opportunities with offering such as the new OTT service.

     

    Hall hit back at critics, pointing out that to deliver the quality content licence fee payers should expect, the BBC needed a commercial strategy where BBC Worldwide delivers as much as possible back into public service programmes. He said that in 2014 the commercial arm was an indivisible part of the BBC and had a turnover of ?1 billion that gave the BBC a record return of ?226 million.

  • News Corp snaps up social video ad platform Unruly for $176 million

    News Corp snaps up social video ad platform Unruly for $176 million

    MUMBAI: News Corp has agreed to acquire global ad platform Unruly Holdings for a sum of approximately $176 million.

     

    The expected purchase price for the acquisition consists of a cash payment at closing of approximately $90 million (or ?58 million), subject to certain adjustments, and up to $86 million (or ?56 million) in future consideration primarily related to payments contingent upon the achievement of certain performance objectives.

     

    “Unruly is a feisty and creative company with a start-up sensibility that fits perfectly with our own approach to developing businesses in the digital age. The acquisition will serve as a catalyst for our brands, helping to extend our expertise in the digital and mobile video area, whether through the fast-growing realtor.com in the US, Fox Sports in Australia, News America Marketing, HarperCollins Publishers, or our market-leading mastheads around the world. Unruly complements our traditional editorial and commercial expertise with contemporary insight into how people read, watch, buy and sell in the digital era,” said News Corp CEO Robert Thomson.

     

    “We have a track record of acquiring businesses with unique capabilities, allowing them the freedom to do what they do best, while providing a global platform to accelerate their growth and realize their potential,” he added.

     

    Led by Unruly’s three co-founders, it will operate as a separate business unit, reporting to News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks.

     

    Unruly will continue to work with its existing roster of global advertisers and publishers and collaborate with News Corp businesses around the world.

     

    “We have always been pioneers in our field, so combining the formidable reach and resonance of our titles with their cutting-edge technology and video expertise will help accelerate our growth in this digital age,” said Brooks. “We look forward to working with one of Europe’s most highly regarded tech teams to create new premium video inventory for our News UK mastheads and other businesses, and to provide advertisers with best-in-class brand solutions across all platforms.”

     

    Founded in 2006, Unruly is a video distribution platform and tracks video sharing and delivers verifiable video views via paid media across mobile, desktop and tablet devices. With its data set of two trillion video views and sophisticated targeting capabilities, the company uses historical sharing behavior to predict the potential for video ads to go viral across all digital touch points.

     

    Unruly’s suite of advertising products includes: ShareRank, In-Feed advertising, In-Page advertising and Skippable In-Stream Advertising.

     

    In the coming months, News Corp business units will begin to offer Unruly products to their advertising and agency partners. This will mean a significant increase in premium video and mobile inventory, a stronger content marketing offering and, ultimately, improved returns for News Corp’s advertisers. 

     

    Unruly’s platform has attracted top tier advertisers, including such brands as adidas, Dove, T-Mobile, Evian and Renault.

     

    “We are absolutely delighted to join the News Corp family, and connect our scaled distribution, social data, and content optimisation tools with the premium ad inventory of News Corp businesses, and their highly-engaged audiences. It’s a tremendous milestone and an exciting new chapter for the whole Unruly team,” said Unruly co-founder and co-CEO Scott Button.

     

    “We are incredibly grateful for the passion and dedication of the whole Unruly team that has today resulted in this phenomenal opportunity for the business. Unruly’s enthusiasm for transforming video advertising and our agile development culture will continue to drive our innovative approach towards digital marketing as we help advertisers reconnect with consumers and future-proof their video strategy,” added Unruly co-founder and co-CEO Sarah Wood.

     

    Unruly’s third co-founder is chief technology officer Matt Cooke.

     

    Unruly employs 200 people in 15 offices, and regional hubs in London, New York and Singapore. 

     

    The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

  • Sky & Whistle Sports launch social media channel for original football content

    Sky & Whistle Sports launch social media channel for original football content

    MUMBAI: Sky Sports and Whistle Sports have launched a new social media channel dedicated to creating original football content. Using Sky’s Soccer AM brand, it will go live today (18 September, 2015) and be available to watch on multiple platforms, with its own YouTube channel and a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and Vine. 

     

    The content produced will feature new faces such as England Women’s footballer, Alex Scott as well as bringing together existing Sky Sports on-screen talent Adam Smith from Soccer AM and Laura Woods. There will be original programming, entertaining videos and posts covering football topics, such as gaming, fantasy football, stats, and skills. 

     

    It is the first collaboration since Sky’s $7 million investment in Whistle Sports in October 2014. Since then the two companies have been working together on creating exciting new content, aimed at young millennials.  

     

    Sky Sports director of digital media Dave Gibbs said, “Whistle Sports has led the way in producing entertaining digital sports content in the US for some time now with hugely engaged audiences. The new Soccer AM channel on social media is going to do something very different to what football supporters are used to from Sky Sports. We will produce new types of content, with new presenters for new audiences. By combining our expertise and talent, we hope to produce something that will really excite young football fans.”

     

    Whistle Sports CEO John West added, “Young millennial sports fans increasingly use social media to drive their engagement with live sports. Our community of compelling creators have grown to serve that need and engage a growing generation of global sports fans,” pointing out that Whistle Sports recently broke an aggregate 100 million global fans and followers across social platforms.  

     

    “Sky makes a perfect partner for our international expansion due to their commitment to innovation. This new brand, new content and new approach around the world’s most popular sport is a great new offering,” he said.

     

    The Soccer AM channel on social media will feature a number of original content strands including event weeks, with quarterly programming focused on specific themes, as well as new regular shows. On a Monday morning, it will take a fun look at the quirky stories from the weekend’s football, and the Friday evening show will use data and stats to debate the key upcoming games. 

     

    The launch will see the first event week focused on the release of FIFA 16, bringing together some of the biggest names in vlogging to look at the characters that surround the game, its evolution and role in sports gaming. The partnership brings together Sky’s expertise in producing sports output including football, rugby and cricket with Whistle Sports’ proven capability in combining youth-orientated celebrities, innovative programming ideas and formats to make sport more accessible for younger audiences. 

     

    The partnership with Whistle Sports is part of Sky’s ongoing programme of investing in innovative startups that help Sky bring new ideas, insight and services into its business.

  • Snapdeal to invest $300 million in SCM, names Hardeep Singh as head infrastructure

    Snapdeal to invest $300 million in SCM, names Hardeep Singh as head infrastructure

    MUMBAI: Snapdeal is planning to invest $300 million this year to strengthen its Supply Chain Management (SCM), which is a key function of any e-commerce company. Additionally, the company has strengthened its SCM team with the appointment of Hardeep Singh as head – infrastructure.

     

    In his new role, he will help craft strategies for making Snapdeal’s Supply Chain systems future ready. This includes the entire gamut of network design, infrastructure and special projects.

     

    Singh comes with over 21 years of experience in various aspects of supply chain operations including – planning, warehouse management, driving process excellence, supply chain technology integration, end-to-end solutions design and implementation. Prior to his appointment at Snapdeal, he was at Bharti Retail as head – supply chain and infrastructure. During his stint at Bharti Retail and Bharti Walmart, Singh was responsible for driving the best-in-class strategies covering Supply Chain, IT and Real Estate.

     

    Previously, he was the CEO at Inlogistics, the first private container train operator to run on Indian Railways network. In his two decades long career, Singh has also worked with organisations like Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle.

     

    Snapdeal entered into a strategic partnership with Gojavas earlier this year. In order to further customer experience on the platform, the companies together launched innovative delivery services like four hour delivery, card-on-delivery and 90 minutes reverse pickups. Snapdeal’s flagship service, Snapdeal Plus has seen success since its launch a year ago. Currently, 60 per cent of the orders are Snapdeal Plus fulfilled up from seven per cent in January 2015. The SCM team at Snapdeal is 1000+ people strong and has grown five times since December 2014.

     

    Singh said, “Snapdeal has been consistently focused on delivering a superlative customer experience and the progress that the company has made in this regard is unprecedented. It is exciting to see a young company like Snapdeal launch innovative supply chain solutions and set new benchmarks in this space. I look forward to working with the dynamic team at Snapdeal.”

     

    Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal added, “Supply Chain Management and Logistics form the back bone of the ecommerce industry. Our aim is to create a delightful experience for our customers and as the customers evolve, we need to constantly innovate and develop newer solutions to service them better. Hardeep comes with many, many years of rich experience in diverse and complex aspects of SCM. He will help us lay out the road map for our future supply chain management systems.”

  • OnMobile wins HR Best Practice award at HR Showcase 2015

    OnMobile wins HR Best Practice award at HR Showcase 2015

    MUMBAI: OnMobile Global has won the HR Best Practice award for its “Developing capability from within – OnMobile Learning Academy” initiative, at the HR Showcase 2015 organized by National Human Resource Development Network, Bangalore.

     

    The HR team at OnMobile works on a mission “To make motivated talent available for the organization.” In order to fulfil this mission, the company launched a unique initiative called OnMobile Learning Academy (OLA), which addresses the need for organisational productivity as well as people’s professional development and employability.

     

    Adoption of this new approach has already started paying dividends for OnMobile. Over the last year employee productivity as defined by ratio of revenue to manpower cost, has gone up by 20 per cent, along with a 16 per cent increase in employee satisfaction scores.

     

    OnMobile CEO and MD Rajiv Pancholy said, “I am delighted that we have won the HR Best Practice Award for OnMobile Learning Academy. Our endeavour has been to lead the company through a journey of cultural transformation while focusing on capability building and productivity enhancement. This award bears testimony to the progress we have made in this direction. We will continue to invest in our employees and build their capabilities while we pursue plans to grow OnMobile.

  • #fame gets Lauren Gottlieb on ‘Ask me anything’ series

    #fame gets Lauren Gottlieb on ‘Ask me anything’ series

    MUMBAI: ‘Ask Me Anything’ is back on the #fame app and this time with Lauren Gottlieb, who shot to stardom with her stint in India’s first dance based 3D movie Any Body Can Dance.

     

    Gottlieb will answer all questions about her dancing career, her time in India, her like and dislikes and more. Right from her journey as a contestant in popular American dance show So You think You Can Dance to becoming a judge on the on-going Indian celebrity dance showJhalak Dikhlaja, Gottlieb has come a long way.

     

    She will also talk about her ramp debut at the recent Fashion event and her popular item numbers.

     

    Gottlieb will be live on 16 September at 8 pm on the #fame mobile app.

  • Star India ropes in AIB for news comedy series

    Star India ropes in AIB for news comedy series

    MUMBAI: Star India has roped in India’s premier comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB) for new news comedy series called On Air with AIB.

     

    The show will go on air in October and have 10 English and 10 Hindi episodes. It will first release on Star’s OTT platform Hotstar, followed by weekend airing on Star World and Star Plus.

     

    All four members of AIB – Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya synchronously said, “We have no idea why anyone in their right minds would ask us to inflict our views on unsuspecting audiences. Also, we live in such a perfect country where everything is amazing and where the maddening, infuriating and often silly state of affairs is not a comedic goldmine, so why would you have us do news comedy? But we’re doing this because we want to see what it’s like to be on a show that requires us to put on pants.”

     

    Taking a cue from insult comedy, which AIB is infamous for, Star India CEO Uday Shankar added, “I am told that based on extensive, exhaustive research, AIB are considered mildly entertaining and we should give them a show on our network. I have complete faith that we will regret this in the months to come.”       

     

    Star India digital head Ajit Mohan said, “We are sort of excited to bring AIB’s brand of mature humor to our platform. This may be the start of a new era of quality content in India, I am told. Janta hamein maaf karein.” 

     

    On Air with AIB will be a weekly series with English and Hindi episodes dropping simultaneously on Hotstar on Thursdays and on Star World and Star Plus on Sundays.