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Category: News Headline

  • Disney targets five local productions; to kick off with ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’

    Disney targets five local productions; to kick off with ‘Vicky Aur Vetaal’

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney is stepping up its localisation drive in India. One major push in this: have five locally produced live-action Hindi shows tailored for Disney Channel in a year’s time.

    “Local live-action programming is the way to pump up Disney Channel. We plan to have five original shows within a year and are in talks with various production houses,” Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director, programming and production, Nachiket Pantvaidya tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Disney will have 130 hours of locally produced content over the next one-year period. “India is the first market in the TV business outside the US where Disney has gone in for original local production,” adds Pantvaidya.

    The plan is to increase local content on Disney Channel from 20 to 40 per cent in a year’s time. The move falls in line with Disney’s step-wise localisation strategy. This involved languaging the content, creating local environments through interstitials, acquiring local content like Karishma Ka Karishma and lastly, original local production.

    Disney Channel is all set to premiere its first original live action Indian production Vicky Aur Vetaal, a contemporary version of ancient Indian folklore, on 8 October.

    Disney is also actively considering the option of producing a local movie for TV aimed at the Indian audiences, Pantvaidya says.

    So is Disney also looking at producing animation content in India? “We have nothing planned at this stage. The problem with animation is that the costs do not justify a product just for local TV. It has to spread across markets,” says Pantvaidya.

    Disney has commissioned production house Cinevistaas Ltd. for making Vicky Aur Vetaal. Disney has joined hands with other prominent names in the industry like programming director Suraj Rao, music duo Shantanu Moitra and Swanand Kirkire (composer and lyricist) and singer Babul Supriyo.

    The series will air every Sunday at 10:30 am on the Disney Channel. Speaking on the developments of the new show, Cinevistaas vice chairman and managing director Sunil Mehta said, “We started production in August last year, with six episodes complete. We have signed on for 26 episodes which can be extended.”

    The story pans out with Vetaal trapped upside down from a banyan tree for three hundred years and is rescued by an eleven year old brat Vicky. Vetaal’s magical powers have also become rusty landing the pair into trouble, thus the chosen theme “Vetaal ka magic gadbad ghotala.” To undo the mess, Vetaal uses an eccentric ‘spell book’ which has a life and attitude of its own. Inspite of the havoc the pair bring to the show, it also promises to subtly bring out certain moral undertones of responsibility for ones actions.

    “Disney Channel’s commitment to localisation has been a well planned endeavor and we are extremely happy to be delivering on it. We believe in the strength of Indian stories. Our creative idiom with Vicky Aur Vetaal was to contemporize and keep it relevant to today’s generation. In the process of narration, we are able to involve kids in the storyline by addressing their day to day issues in a fun way,” says Pantvaidya.

    With its entry into India, Disney sought pioneer live action programming in a cartoon driven kids market and, according to Pantvaidya, within a span of two years the market has tripled its size.

    Says Walt Disney Television International (Asia Pacific) senior vice president and managing director Nicky Parkinson, “We seek to strengthen connections with kids and their families by developing creative, quality local content that reflects the lives of the local audiences. This major initiative is a strong step forward in establishing Disney Channel further as a committed local player in this country, and also a reflection of the Walt Disney Company’s commitment to seeking great creative from the global marketplace.”

    For the promotional activity around Vicky Aur Vetaal, Disney Channel has launched a theme-driven marketing campaign involving TV, Radio, Internet, and outdoor apart from an off-air promotion which includes touch-points at McDonalds and other outlets frequented by kids.

    In the week preceeding the launch, an on-ground teaser campaign was unveiled whereby ‘authentic duplicates’ of certificates were issued announcing a change of name of the person in question. This, along with marriage proposals from strangers and even inanimate objects like trees got people really curious about what was going on, creating the much desired buzz around the campaign. Besides, Disney has used out of home initiatives in malls across 22 odd markets in the country to create optical illusions. The revealer campaign will be unveiled in 2-3 days.

  • Intel, Omnicom team up for net delivered ads to the TV

    MUMBAI: Computer chip major Intel and Omnicom Media Group (OMG), which includes global media agencies OMD Worldwide and PHD Network have announced a collaboration.

    They will develop “10 foot” or large screen advertising templates for Internet-delivered advertising to TVs connected to Intel Viiv technology-based computers.
    The effort will connect content owners and advertisers to advance how interactive, broadband-delivered advertising is best tailored to specific programming and audiences, and best presented on large screen sizes in TV-like “10 foot” viewing environments.

    The enabling of ad-supported interactive viewing in the “10 foot” environment will help fuel more compelling and premium entertainment experiences. Intel Viiv technology delivers a variety of rich, entertainment content to the TV from the Internet and provides a foundation for interactive and highly targeted advertising in the living room.

    Creating such an environment will require the development and design of easily repeatable, “10 foot” user-interface advertising templates, which will help generate new business opportunities for advertisers and content creators alike.

    Through the Next Fund an emerging-media group supported by a large number of OMG clients, OMG and Intel will collaborate to develop criteria for advertising templates, including interactive options optimised for living room viewing. For the initial research environment, Intel and OMG selected AOL’s 10 foot AOL Video service for its online library of high-quality, branded content and innovative and compelling user interface. Zetools’ MediaModeler software, which recently merged with Tandberg Television, was used to help complete the test interface.

    Testing will be conducted by market research firms to define the easiest and most effective ways to reach consumers. The advertising models or templates will provide consumers with more flexibility to personalise the content they want to watch by linking it to relevant advertising.

    Omnicom Media Group. CEO Daryl Simm says, The ’10 foot’ interactive viewing environment is largely unexplored space, but it’s a huge opportunity in terms of advertising effectiveness and consumer engagement, which are top priorities for all our clients.

    “We couldn’t be happier about launching this effort with a company of Intel’s capabilities and reputation.”

    The foundation of this effort strategically builds on Intel’s work to drive technology to accelerate the 10 foot experience, as well as OMG’s expertise in developing innovative and creative advertising techniques. Intel and OMG are also exploring adding more participants in the effort to exchange information and foster industry collaboration around standards that everyone can openly use and share.

  • Harvard Business School, India Today Group to launch South Asian edition of HBR

    Harvard Business School, India Today Group to launch South Asian edition of HBR

    NEW DELHI: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation and The India Today Group today announced a partnership to publish Harvard Business Review South Asia, an English-language edition of the world’s most influential business management magazine.

    Harvard Business Review South Asia will run the same editorial content as the flagship U.S. edition and will include regional advertising. This will mark the 12th edition of the magazine. Collectively, Harvard Business Review’s English-language and translated editions reach nearly half a million readers worldwide.

    Thomas A. Stewart, editor and managing director of Harvard Business Review, was quoted in an official statement as saying, “India is the world’s second’s fastest growing economy and boasts one of the world’s most dynamic and innovative business communities.”

    He added that his company was “delighted by this partnership” as it is important for HBR to be on the ground in India as her contributions to “world business and management thinking increase.”

    Aroon Purie, editor-in-chief of the India Today Group, said: “India has an enormous appetite for the kind of authoritative business content that HBR uniquely delivers. To keep pace with the competitive demands of an increasingly complex global economy, South Asian business leaders are looking for cutting-edge insights and tools to take their companies and their careers to new levels of performance.”

    The premier issue of HBR South Asia will be launched at a special event in Mumbai on 16 October 2006, featuring a panel discussion with HBR editor Thomas Stewart and CEOs of India’s leading companies.

    Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) is a leading monthly magazine of management thought and practice.

    The magazine has a worldwide circulation of 242,000. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Business Review is a business unit of Harvard Business School Publishing, a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of Harvard University.

    In addition to HBR, HBSP’s offerings include books from Harvard Business School Press, newsletters like Harvard Management Update and the Balanced Scorecard Report, conferences, management development programs and services, and case studies from Harvard Business School and other leading academic institutions around the world.

    Raymond Carvey, executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer of Harvard Business School Publishing, said: “Reaching the business leaders of India and greater South Asia is an important objective for Harvard Business School Publishing as we strive to bring our content to new markets and audiences around the world.”

    He added that partnering with the India Today Group would help them in understand better and serve the needs and interests of those who are driving the rapid growth of this “vital (Indian) economy.”

    Since its founding in 1922, Harvard Business Review has bridged the worlds of academia and business by publishing groundbreaking ideas from experts at the forward edge of management and leadership practice, in a format that businesspeople can apply in their own careers and companies.

    The ideas published in HBR have wide-ranging impact, influencing strategy at leading corporations, setting the terms of management debate and discussion, and inspiring business leaders.

    The India Today Group is India’s leading, diversified media group with interests in magazine, newspaper, television, radio, Internet and book publishing. It is India’s largest magazine publisher with print titles in the current affairs, general interest, lifestyle and business segments.

    Speaking on this new partnership, Ashish Bagga, CEO of the India Today Group, said: “As the country’s largest magazine publisher, identifying niche segments and launching leading international media brands is an integral part of the growth strategy of the India Today Group.”

    The India Today Group has successful licensing partnerships to publish other leading global media brands such as Reader’s Digest, Cosmopolitan, Golf Digest, Men’s Health, Good Housekeeping and Scientific American in India. In addition, the Group also represents the leading magazines Time and Fortune.

    The November issue line up will include Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter on innovation, Wharton School professor Michael Useem on governance, and HBS professor Andrew McAfee on information technology.

  • Sony to launch ‘Kaajjal’ on 9 Oct; ‘Bigg Boss’ coming mid-November

    Sony to launch ‘Kaajjal’ on 9 Oct; ‘Bigg Boss’ coming mid-November

    MUMBAI: The channel may have dropped out of the ratings reckoning, but Sony Entertainment India is now making its best efforts to make a comeback.

    Sony will unleash its big ticket soap Kaajjal, produced by K Sera Sera’s Twenty Twenty TV, on 9 October, whereas the much-awaited Bigg Boss, the Indianised version of Big Brother, is targeting a mid-November launch.

    “We are planning to launch Kaajjal, a daily soap, on 9 October. The schedule and slot details for this soap are yet to be finalised,” Sony COO NP Singh tells indiantelevision.com, while not revealing his plans for Bigg Boss.

    However, market sources inform that Bigg Boss will hit the airwaves by mid-November – immediately after the Champions Trophy gets over. “Bigg Boss will be a prime time show, running Monday through Friday. The show will feature about 15 celebrities and the participants will include Bollywood stars, cricketers and politicians. Bigg Boss will get over by January 2007,” says a source.

    According to Singh, Sony will kick off the Bigg Boss promotions by the second week of October. “The on-air promotions are already on. Now we will be looking at outdoors and the other media platforms in a big way for the second phase of the campaign,” he says.

    The Indian version of Bigg Brother will be Sony’s fourth Endemol acquisition after Indian Idol, Fame Gurukul and Fear Factor India. Reportedly, Big Brother contributes to over 25 per cent of the format owner Endemol’s revenues internationally.

    The Big Brother (Bigg Boss) format requires 10 – 15 contestants living in a house rigged with cameras recording every moment of their lives. The contestants are deprived of contact with the outside world except those allowed by the editorial team. Every week there are tasks to perform, which test their community spirit and team-work. Throughout the series, the contestants are required to nominate two of their number to be voted out of the house.

    Bigg Boss acquires a crucial place in Sony’s gameplan for the coming days as nearest rivals Star and Zee have also unveiled big projects to sustain their performance. To boost is daily 8 pm slot, Star Plus has opted for a sci-fi series, Antariksh. Zee has launched its mega soap project Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann for the crucial 10 pm slot and has Antakshari and Cine Star Ki Khoj coming up next in the pipeline.

    Star One is gunning for huge jump in channel shares with Nach Baliye 2, the celebrity dance show that propelled the channel’s performance in 2005, and a brand new soap Betiyaan apni yaa…Paraaya Dhan. Countering the Star property on the reality front is Sony’s Jhalak Dikhla Ja, the Indian adaptation of the ABC reality show Dancing with the Stars.

    For the time being, Sony’s gameplan has a lot to do with these well acclaimed international formats. It remains to be seen, whether these international properties will be able to drive Sony to a position of strength in the coming days.

  • Hungamathon 2007 to kick off in January; Kolkata also to host

    Hungamathon 2007 to kick off in January; Kolkata also to host

    MUMBAI: Hungama TV is back with the second season of its unique property Hungamathon, which is slated to be held in January 2007. The mini marathon will be adding Kolkata to Mumbai and Delhi, where the event was held last year.

    “Over 20000 kids ran in the Mumbai and Delhi Hungamathon last year and our expectations have risen even higher for the hunt this year! We plan to make Hungamathon 2007 one of the most fun-filled events of the year – one that kids will look forward to,” says UTV Sr. Vice President – marketing and corporate communications Siddharth Roy Kapur.

    Hungamathon 2005 witnessed the participation of close to 20,000 kids across Mumbai and Delhi with eight brands that sponsored the event. This year the race is open to kids between 8-15 yrs. There are two categories, the ‘Masters’ for age group 8 – 12 years that would run 2.5 km and the ‘Blasters’ for the age group 13 – 15 years who would run 4 kms.

    In its second season, an intensive school contact program covering 100 schools will be rolled out in the month of November in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata to ensure maximum participation. Application forms will also be available online on www.hungamatv.com.

    Hungama TV has tied-up with sports association, Athletic Federation of India for Hungamathon 2007 to ensure appropriate adjudication for the entire event.

    In addition, the channel has another reason to cheer as it completes two years this week, as per the latest tam data (TAM Period: 10 – 16 September 2006), Hungama TV has emerged as the number 1 channel in the kids space by a GRP of 153 and highest TVR growth of 28 per cent amongst all its competitors in the kids’ space, informs an official release.

    “Innovative initiatives like ‘Hungamathon’, ‘Rasna Full Toss’, ‘Parle G Hungama Captains Hunt’, ‘Oral B John aur Kaun’ amongst others has helped us to successfully catapult Hungama TV to the number one spot amongst kids channels and hugely strengthen the channel’s brand equity in the last two years,” adds Kapur.

  • BBC Worldwide in content deal with Amazon.com

    BBC Worldwide in content deal with Amazon.com

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide and BBC World are partnering with online retail giant Amazon.com in the US to provide nearly 400 hours of content for Amazon Unbox- a new digital video download service.

    BBC programming spanning genres including comedy, drama, science fiction, documentaries and news will be available to download to rent, with numerous titles making their US digital premiere.

    Customers will be easily directed to BBC content through various routes. In addition to being able to seek BBC content using the Amazon Unbox search engine on the home page, various BBC links will also be featured on the home page to take customers directly to dedicated BBC pages.

    BBC Worldwide VP, programme management and digital media, Americas Beth Clearfield, says, “We are confident that Amazon customers will enjoy discovering new BBC programs as well as finding their favorites via this new technology, and will be enthralled by the breadth of BBC programming now accessible to them on Amazon Unbox.

    “We continue to explore different avenues to share our content with an expanding audience, and are delighted to participate with Amazon.com in the launch of this exciting new platform.”

    BBC Worldwide director digital media, Simon Danker says, “We are thrilled to be part of this service and the growth of BBC Worldwide’s Digital Media business is a key part of the company’s overall strategy. Following this deal, we’ll be working with partners globally to maximise our presence in this arena.”

    Key titles from BBC Worldwide making a digital premiere in the US include shows like Little Britain, Keeping Up Appearances, League of Gentlemen and Yes, Minister. There wil also be Jane Austen period dramas Emma, Mansfield Park and Jane Eyre as well as documentary series Blue Planet, Life of Birds and Walking with Dinosaurs. There will also be drama series such as House of Cards and Miss Marple.

    Other titles include Ripping Yarns and Shakespeare with Macbeth, A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Romeo & Juliet plus BBC titles from Independents such as Coupling (Hartswood Films), Ballykissangel (BallyKea/World Productions)and In The Footsteps of Alexander The Great (Maya Vision).

  • The festive season to leverage higher growth for home appliance market in India

    MUMBAI: With the festival season having been kicked off, home appliances companies are looking forward to a hectic quarter ahead. According to the Home Appliances Division of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) high end models of televisions i.e. the LCD and flat panel monitors and DVD players will top the chart this season followed by refrigerators.

    Home Appliances companies are expecting sales to grow by 20-25 per cent for these products. “This year, very clearly the focus will be on two key products, Flat Panel Displays, specially the Plasma and the LCD Monitors and the DVD Players,” says LG Electronics India Ltd assistant general manager Sandeep Tiwari.

    Godrej has launched its new range of refrigerators called EON to capture the demand in the festival season says Godrej vice president G Sundaraman.

    The companies are increasing their ad spend and launching new promotional campaigns. Godrej for example has already launched a series of promotional campaigns and dealer meets. According to Sundaraman, the company has plans for a number of festival schemes to maximize sales during the forthcoming months. Tiwari adds that LG plans to spend something in the range of Rs 100 crores on promotional and advertising activities.

    According to the CII Home Appliances Division the market for various Home Appliances will continue to grow right through to 2015, and not just this festival season. “Based on feedback from various CII members, we believe that that outlook for the Home Appliances markets is looking good for the next 10 years” says CII head manufacturing services Dr. Sarita Nagpal.

    ” The air conditioners market for example is set to grow at a steady 10 per cent upto 2015, while refrigerators market is expected to slow down from 7 per cent to 6 per cent after 2009-10″, adds Dr. Nagpal.

    Washing machines are also expected to log in a steady 9 per cent growth upto 2015, while microwaves are expected to grow the fastest at 15.30 per cent upto 2009-2010 and then slow down to 12.5 per cent upto 2015. Vacuum cleaners have not been a hot favourite amongst the Indian buyer and is expected to grow at 7.6 per cent.

    The white goods market in India is pegged at around Rs 80 billion (inclusive of the unorganized segment). The refrigerator market has the maximum share being valued at over Rs 37 billon, close on the heels is the air conditioners market at Rs 35 billion. Washing machines have a comparatively smaller share at Rs 7-8 billion. In volume terms the refrigerator market is estimated at 3.0 million, washing machines at 1.4 million and air conditioners at 0.96 million.

    According to the CII Home Appliances Division, the consumer durable industry registered a buoyant trend during the financial year, 2005-06. The division has identified air conditioners (15.2 per cent) and microwave ovens (26.7 per cent) as the sectors that recorded double-digit growth among white goods in terms of quantities produced. Some sectors that recorded single-digit growth were refrigerators (5.7 per cent) and washing machines (7.7 per cent). The rate of growth in production has been more in terms of quantity or in volume growth rather than the growth in value terms for a number of products because of a change in prices.

    According to Dr. Nagpal, “The home appliances consumer is spoilt for choice in every category of the home appliances products. With companies such as Godrej planning to launch at least one new innovation every quarter and the housewife stretching her budget to buy the best possible product, there is ample room for new models to enter the market.”

    The CII Home Appliances division has been tracking the geographical trends of the home appliances market. According to them a closer look at the geographical trends reveal that North India accounts for 36 to 46 per cent of the home appliances market depending on which product we are talking about. For example North India controls 36 per cent of the refrigerator market and 46 per cent of washing machines market. The North Indian consumer is the biggest buyer in every category followed by the West.

    With the consumer mindset changing towards the life of “consumer durables” and towards taking loans to buy these, the market for home appliances is expected to show an upward trend.

     

  • Bharti Airtel initiates management restructuring

    Bharti Airtel initiates management restructuring

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, mobile services provider has announced the appointment of Atul Bindal as joint president – Airtel Broadband and Telephone Services and has appointed Deepak Srivastava as chief operating officer, Airtel Broadband and Telephone Services, North region.

    Bindal will report to Bharti Airtel president Manoj Kohli and will be a member on the Airtel Management Board (AMB), and chair the Broadband and Telephone Services Management Board (BTMB). Srivastava will in turn report to Bindal.

    Bindal, in his new role will focus on taking Bharti Airtel’s Broadband and Telephone services division to new heights with increased town rollouts and introduction of new technologies. He will be supported by Rajiv Sharma (CEO-NCR), Deepak Srivastava (COO-North), Prem Pradeep (CEO-South Central), Deepak Khanna (CEO-West and MPCG), Randeep Narang (COO-MPCG), informs an official release.

    Prior to this, Bindal was the executive director – South for Mobile Services at Bharti Airtel. He has also had a stint as the Group chief marketing officer and director – Mobile Services at Bharti Airtel for over one and half years.

    Bharti Airtel president Manoj Kohli said, “I am delighted to
    announce the appointment of Atul as the Joint President of our Broadband and Telephone services. Atul, with his strategic business sense and people management skills will lead a set of highly talented and competent leaders to take Bharti Airtel’s Broadband and Telephone Services division to the next level of excellence in Broadband services in 92 towns.”
    Deepak Srivastava on the other hand, was the chief operating officer, Mobile Services, Bihar and Jharkhand. He joined Bharti Airtel in 2004.

    “Deepak Srivastava has successfully led the Bihar and Jharkhand market to leadership and I am confident that in his new assignment, he will continue to set new standards and scale new heights in North Airtel Broadband and Telephone Services,” added Kohli.

  • Trilogy launches Auto, telecom forecasts service in India

    BANGALORE: Business services provider Trilogy has announced the launch of its business services for the telecom and automobile sectors in India.

    A few years ago, Trilogy changed their business model from one of software sellers to that of delivering guaranteed business value for its clients. It has so far worked exclusively with Fortune 1000 companies in the US.

    Trilogy is looking to enter the Indian market with what they claim are services proven in the US with companies in the Auto sector such as Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, and Goodyear etc. Trilogy president & CEO Joe Liemandt says that using patented technologies, Trilogy can predict consumer desires three months before vehicle launch, enabling OEM’s to drastically improve retail inventory mix.

    This is done purely by profiling surfers to websites dedicated for this purpose. Traffic to these sites could be directed through search engines such as Yahoo! and Google.

    Trilogy claims to have the wherewithal to determine whether the surfer is a serious buyer, a child, a competitor, etc. Sanjay Nigam (Ex-Maruti Udyog) has been roped in as director to head this service.

    For the telecom sector, Trilogy India team has created what Liemandt claims is one of the best tools that his company has ever launched – Determine the best plan for a postpaid mobile user offered by his service provider just by feeding in the details of the last e-bill.

    This service has already been activated in Karnataka on 15 September, 2006 on www.Yourbillbuddy.com, Virendra Gupta, director-telecom services, said. A formal announcement with all the service providers for the Karnataka circle is expected shortly. This will greatly help bring down the churn and increase ARPU from existing customers. Trilogy claims that operators have shown significant interest in the service. An all India roll out can be expected in about six months.

     

  • UTV to launch second feature film division ‘UTVPost’ in October

    UTV to launch second feature film division ‘UTVPost’ in October

    MUMBAI: UTV, integrated media and entertainment company, will launch its second post production set-up UTVPost in October. UTVPost will be based in Mumbai and is primarily the feature film extension of UTV’s signature post-production studio, USL.

    UTV founder member and director Deven Khote will spearhead the 60-member team of UTVPost and USL. UTVPost is digitally linked to UTV Toons, one of the country’s animation hubs. It comprises of a team of more than 500 skilled artists, animators and compositors, with expertise in all forms of animation and computer graphics.

    The facility is geared, and professionally staffed, to handle the entire post-production chain – from Telecine (with KeyCode) through to Digital Film recording for feature films, informs an official release.

    At UTV’s new 6000 sq feet Andheri studio, the company has configured a comprehensive projection-based 2Kplus DI (Digital Intermediate), VFX (Visual Effects), and CGI pipeline. UTVPost claims to be equipped with state-of-the-art technology from Arri, AutoDesk, Avid, FilmLight, HP, JVC and Sony.