Category: Press Release

Star Sports sells title sponsorship of Asia Cup 2014 to Arise India

MUMBAI: STAR India, which runs India’s leading sports network, Star Sports, has sold the title right of Asia Cup 2014 to Arise India. The tournament will be known as Arise Asia cup 2014 powered by Cycle Pure Agarbathies. Star Sports has the broadcast and the ground sponsorship rights of Asia Cup 2014.

Arise Asia Cup 2014 powered by Cycle Pure Agarbathies starting February 25 will feature 11 One day internationals to be played between leading Asian countries – India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh along with Afghanistan. Every team will play each other once and the top 2 teams will qualify for the finals to be played on March 08.

Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Kukreja, Head of Sports Business, Star India, said, “We are delighted to have Arise India as the title sponsor of Asia Cup 2014. The tournament is getting interesting traction from the advertising fraternity. We are focusing on monetizing the on-air sales while we have partnered with Technology Frontiers to focus on Asia Cup 2014 Ground Sponsorship management.”

Mr. Avinash Jain, Managing Director of Arise India Ltd, said, “We all know the strong emotional connect that Cricket has with us Indians & the Asia Pacific. It is thus to support the greater thrust of the sport that we have decided to be the Title Sponsor of the upcoming Asia Cup. This tournament is known for witnessing the most competitive cricket in the sub-continent, and herein with our association with the event, we seek to create an even stronger audience connect for the brand.

Managing Director of Technology Frontiers and ITW, Muralidharan Srinivasan commented: “Technology Frontiers is pleased to partner with Star Sports for the upcoming Asia Cup 2014 Ground Sponsorship Management. At Techfront we have constantly endeavored to bring in innovation and technology into sports to elevate the brand experience. We look forward to an exciting tournament and partnership.”

February 5, 2014
Grundfos India and NDTV Launch Mission Energy

MUMBAI: Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd (Grundfos India) and NDTV announced the launch of ‘NDTV Grundfos Mission Energy’, a campaign to create awareness about the importance of saving energy and to provide ideas to conserve energy. The campaign aims to draw attention to the power of individuals in creating a cleaner and greener future. Mission Energy is supported by AEEE as Energy Efficiency Partner and CII as Knowledge Partner.

In order to meet India’s growing energy demand, it is important to not only increase electricity-generating capacity, preferably through renewable sources but also use energy efficiently. In the light of this, ‘NDTV Grundfos Mission Energy’ will actively engage with the country’s leading experts, policy makers, conservationists, leading industry voices and NGOs to highlight the growing requirement for energy efficiency in India. The campaign will also reach out to the general public to create awareness on how, at an individual level too, one can contribute towards energy conservation.

‘NDTV Grundfos Mission Energ will raise awareness about these issues that affect each one of us and help chart out a roadmap to a sustainable future. The campaign will also call attention to the need for stringent energy efficiency norms and encourage corporates to develop and promote energy efficient products.

Speaking about the campaign, Vikram Chandra, Group CEO, NDTV said, “Over the years NDTV’s programming has brought focus on a number of social issues through a multitude of campaigns. This is yet another attempt by us to create awareness around energy conservation. Through this campaign we aim to highlight viable solutions that can be adopted, both at an individual level as well as across the country, and inspire people to join us to work towards a cleaner, greener future. We are glad to partner with Grundfos in the ‘Mission Energy’ initiative to promote energy efficiency across the Nation.”

Partnering NDTV in the mission, Ranganath N. K., Managing Director, Grundfos India, “At Grundfos, sustainability is at the core of our value system. As a reflection of this mindset, we are involved in many energy conservation initiatives. Mission Energy is an attempt towards promoting energy efficiency at all levels in the country. We are happy to partner with NDTV for this cause.”

As part of this inclusive campaign, NDTV in association with CII will conduct the Mission Energy Challenge to demonstrate how an organization/individual through small but focused efforts can make a difference to the Planet Earth. A hundred participants across four user categories: manufacturing companies, commercial buildings, educational institutes and residential homes would be involved in this challenge. To register visit www.ndtv.com/MissionEnergy, applications close on 20th February.

Mr Jamshyd N Godrej, Chairman, CII-Godrej GBC said “We are confident this Mission will go a long way in ushering in a new chapter in Encon [sic energy conservation] movement in the country and enhance present level of awareness and encourage Millions of Indians go the Greener way.”

Dr. Koshy Cherial, President (Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy) said, “Energy efficiency is critical to India’s energy future. In an era of economic uncertainty the country has to prioritize sustainable consumption patterns. For this, it is essential to mainstream investments and operations aiming at integrating energy efficiency within all sectors of the economy. To achieve this goal, AEEE promotes energy efficiency policies & process and mobilizes stakeholders for a market transformation in India. We are happy to partner with NDTV in catalyzing India towards this goal through the Mission Energy programme.”

February 5, 2014
Marvel Superhero debuts on UTV Action with the premiere of Iron Man I and 2

MUMBAI: Gear up for an intense ride with Marvel’s highly anticipated epic superhero Iron Man in his armed suited glory with the premiere of ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Iron Man 2’ on UTV Action, India’s Home of the Warriors. Known to showcase the best of action flicks starring the world’s biggest heroes, UTV Action presents Marvel fans with their favourite legendary hero in action once more.

Produced by Marvel studios, Iron Man is a superhero film about the billionaire philanthropist and industrialist Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), who uses his intelligence and ingenuity to develop an invulnerable robotic suit to fight evil after a life-threatening incident. Stark discovers a deadly conspiracy that could destabilize the entire globe, and dons his powerful new suit on a mission to stop the villains and save the world.

In the high octane sequel Iron Man 2, the world is now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man and billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances – and confront powerful enemies who are on a quest to destroy Iron Man.

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, and Samuel L. Jackson this Oscar nominated super hero sequel and winner of the People’s Choice Award promises exhilarating action, smart comedy, fast-paced aerial stunts, dramatic energy and jaw dropping sequences.

Don’t miss the thrilling action and catch the premiere of ‘Iron Man’ on 6th February and ‘Iron Man 2’ on 7th February at 8.45pm on UTV Action.

February 5, 2014
FremantleMedia confirms Holland as second adaptation market for wentworth

MUMBAI: FremantleMedia has confirmed today that Holland will be the second territory to produce a local version of the global Australian hit prison drama Wentworth. Produced by FremantleMedia’s FourOne.Media, the Dutch-language remake, entitled Celblok-H, sees the faithful reproduction of all ten original scripts transported into a Dutch setting. SBS 6 has commissioned the show which will premiere in March 2014.

Based on the successful FremantleMedia Australia series, the compelling and emotional Celblok-H will follow the same gritty story of survival, rivalry, power struggles and unlikely allegiances within a female prison.

Willem Zijlstra, CEO of FourOne.Media commented: “The gripping scripts of Wentworth and the characters that inhabit the correctional institution make compelling stories no matter where they are in the world. It has been a joy to take the original scripts and to see them come to life in a completely new environment. I’ve no doubt that Dutch viewers will be as hooked with the show as audiences all over the world have been.”

The FremantleMedia Australia drama airs on Foxtel Australia and is currently in production for its second season in Melbourne. In January, FremantleMedia Australia and Foxtel announced that a third season of the show had been commissioned – even before season two had aired. The third season of Wentworth is scheduled to go into production in March 2014, shortly after filming on season two had wrapped. The Australian version has attracted international interest and has to date be sold to over twenty markets. At the end of 2013, FremantleMedia announced that Germany would be the first territory to make a local version of the show, with production planned for Berlin in March 2014.

Since launching in Australia in early 2013, this graphic, edgy reboot became the most watched non-sports programme in Australian subscription television history ever; while in the UK, the series became the number one primetime Australian drama in the UK since 2002. Celblok-H will premiere on Monday, March 3rd on SBS 6.

February 4, 2014
Yamaha Motor India to continue with John Abraham as its brand endorser

MUMBAI: Yamaha Motor India today announced an extension of its association with Bollywood’s heartthrob, versatile actor and biking enthusiast Mr. John Abraham. The company has again renewed its association with the popular youth icon by extending the contract for two more years.

While John will continue to endorse Yamaha’s flagship motorcycle brands, Deepika will simultaneously endorse the scooter section of Yamaha. Yamaha Motors India strongly believes that they will further strengthen the brand appeal of Yamaha’s strong product line-up.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Roy Kurian, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our association with John goes back a long way and he has done a commendable job for us. He has been the face of Yamaha since 2005 now. An avid biker himself, John personifies the true DNA of Yamaha which stands for power, speed, ruggedness and great style. Hence, our target audience relates to him and he remains to be the perfect face for Yamaha. We are upbeat about our association with John and are confident that it will catapult the concept of biking in India to an all new level.”

Talking about the association, John Abraham shared, ”I am excited about the association with Yamaha yet again. The company is doing a great job not only by introducing powerful and stylish products but also by its unique initiatives to promote biking/racing in India and spreading awareness on safety.”

John Abraham will also be marking his presence at the Auto Expo 2014 at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida.

February 4, 2014
MTS Launches #IndiaForShiva movement on social media

MUMBAI: Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd. (SSTL), that provides telecom services under the MTS brand has launched a movement on social media to bring all countrymen together to support Shiva Keshavan – Olympian from India who is set to compete in “Luge” at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games. MTS has been actively supporting Shiva Keshavan in his quest for Gold. Given that Shiva Keshavan would be competing at Sochi as a ‘Citizen Olympian’ under the Olympics flag in place of the Indian Tricolour; the IndiaForShiva campaign has been rolled out as a show of support for the champion luger.

According to Leonid Musatov, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer – MTS India, “MTS as a brand has always believed in providing a platform to talented youngsters, who bet on themselves, challenge reality and don’t let the present come in way of their future. We have been consistently supporting Shiva Keshavan for the last two years in his journey to the Sochi Olympics. We have always believed in Shiva and his dedication to the sport of Luge, despite the sport not being as popular as some of the other sports in the country. Now, when the chance to win the Olympic medal is so close, it is time that we all stand behind Shiva and cheer for him”.

The IndiaForShiva campaign by MTS India is an extensive social media movement to generate support and wishes for Shiva Keshavan. The campaign would encompass specially designed twitter feeds, engagement activities on Facebook and other social media channels.

MTS Brand Ambassador and Winter Olympian, Shiva Keshavan said “As an athlete, winning an Olympic Gold medal is my biggest dream. I am looking forward to the Winter Olympics in Sochi and hopefully this would be my chance to bring the medal home. I would like to thank MTS India and all my fans for supporting me through the IndiaForShiva campaign. It is heartening to see my countrymen getting aware about the sport of Luge and cheering for me as I get set to compete on 8th and 9th February 2014”.

February 4, 2014
Record numbers and new emphasis on content for ISE 2014

MUMBAI: As ISE 2014 prepared to open its doors today, over 950 exhibitors were putting the finishing touches to their stands, helping to ensure that the 11th Integrated Systems Europe will be not just the largest tradeshow for professional AV and systems integration ever held in Europe, but also the brightest and the busiest.

The 2014 total of 952 exhibiting companies represents an increase of more than 6% on last year’s figure, and over 200 of those companies are completely new to ISE, giving visitors a wealth of new business opportunities in every technology sector served by the event. The show will occupy more than 36,000 net square metres for the first time, while pre-registration also reached record levels.

Yet Mike Blackman, the event’s Managing Director, believes the real story of ISE 2014 lies behind these impressive numbers. “This week we’ve been drawing a parallel between ISE and the B2B magazines that support us as media partners,” Blackman comments. “If ISE were a magazine, the exhibitor stands on our show floor would be our advertising. Like a magazine, that’s where we derive the bulk of our revenue, but also like a magazine, we can only grow if we develop editorial content – and that’s been our big focus this year.”

By ‘editorial content’, Blackman is referring to the supporting conferences, education sessions, networking opportunities and other ‘event experience’ enhancements that increasingly define large trade-shows like Integrated Systems Europe. In the case of ISE 2014, there are more of these than ever – all the result of extensive industry consultation, and many supported by new partnerships.

The day before the show, Monday 3 February, saw hundreds of delegates attend the Smart Building Conference, Investor Showcase and Audio Forum pre-show events, followed by the Opening Keynote Address, ‘Kick-Starting the Market for Building Automation’, by Cisco’s Dr Dirk Schlesinger.

On the show days themselves, the content theme will be picked up in two new show-floor Theatres, showcasing Commercial and Residential Solutions respectively and between them hosting more than 40 free-to-attend, non-technical seminars from11:00 each day.

The Theatre sessions fall under ISE’s new ‘Professional Development’ education brand, to which the show’s co-owners, CEDIA and InfoComm International, also contribute significantly with their own training programmes. This year InfoComm is offering two free education session vouchers to every ISE attendee, while CEDIA is hosting many new courses as well as exclusive market-research presentations – the latter in the Residential Solutions Theatre.

Elsewhere there is a new Sport Facility Integration Summit on Wednesday 5 February; a new Entrance (F) to reduce congestion and ease access to Halls 7 and 8; a ‘Discovery Zone’ featuring young companies new to ISE, the launch of the show’s ‘M2D’ (‘Manufacturer to Distributor’) match-making portal; and new wayfinding systems and information points to guide attendees around an increasingly diverse and colourful show floor.

“With pre-registration levels indicating that our attendee growth will at least match that of our show floor, we are confident ISE 2014 will be yet another record-breaker,” concludes Blackman. “However, our real achievements are the ways in which we have enhanced our event to make it useful and relevant to new visitor groups, helping to ensure that those who are visiting the show for the first time have a genuine desire to return next year.”

February 4, 2014
MTV allows youth to connect with #RockTheVote on Twitter

MUMBAI: With the entire nation under the election fever, MTV has announced a strategic use of the Twitter platform as part of the Hero MTV Rock The Vote initiative to enhance the interactivity and reach of the campaign across youth. A first-of-its kind interactive experience to tap the digital universe, the leading youth brand MTV has launched “Follow the Hashtag” which will allow users of all kinds of devices to listen and engage with the #RockTheVote conversation on Twitter.

This will be the first time this kind of call-to-action innovation will be visible to the audiences globally. Through this feature, the mobile user does not need to be online while listening in to the conversations on #RockTheVote on Twitter. The user can dial 011-30494949 and follow the discussions on #RockTheVote, even while offline. Key tweets and interactions from @MTVIndia on #RockTheVote will be delivered on their phone via an SMS enabled by ZipDial, another strategic technology partner. This underscores MTV’s commitment to encourage every youngster to participate in the campaign and vote in the upcoming elections; and does not limit to their access to internet or expensive phones.

Speaking about the exciting innovation, Sumeli Chatterjee, Head – Marketing & Insights, MTV India said, “MTV Rock the Vote initiative is an interactive campaign that is designed to fuel conversations around elections. And Twitter is one of the leading real-time, interactive information networks in the world. The ‘Follow the Hashtag’ feature will ensure we reach out beyond just the smart phone users…thus allowing the large user base of regular (feature) phones to interact with the Rock The Vote campaign. Starting with crowd-sourced videos from colleges, web series on Funny FAQs on voting, selfies of youth ‘inked’ during election, live tweeting the college concerts, interactive television programming, comic strips and satires…the tongue in cheek messaging of Hero MTV Rock The Vote is naturally integrated with Twitter conversations. This feature phone service will ensure the conversation reaches far and wide across the online and offline youth universe, and hopefully mobilize the eligible new voters to step out and vote.”

Commenting on this innovation, Rishi Jaitly, India Market Director, Twitter said, “Twitter is the world’s leading mobile, real-time information network where users follow, share and experience content that is live, public and conversational. In India, Twitter has brought our users closer to the issues and moments that matter to them, while also enabling them to express their views and participate in real-time. We applaud MTV India for innovating on our platform on the occasion of Rock The Vote and for using Twitter’s unique mobile service to engage its viewers.”

MTV has launched ‘Hero MTV Rock The Vote’ as a non partisan initiative to drive awareness and education of the young generation to vote in upcoming general elections. The campaign objective is to drive conversations around voting and is built on the philosophy that ‘you cannot complain, if you do not vote’. Therefore, it has a huge skew towards the social media and mobile interactions. MTV is also planning to launch hashtag wars on youth issues / voting along with live debates with political spokespersons & election experts leveraging the Twitter platform. Giving this social campaign a humorous skew, the channel has also launched a series of witty videos to capture people’s funny reactions on voting. The web series, ‘Voting FAQs’, captures funny reactions of people to some fun questions asked around the elections. The questions are bold, tricky and most of the times, confusing, thus testing the opponents’ general knowledge while giving you a dose of laughter.

Discuss with MTV about power to vote using #RockTheVote on Twitter or dial 011-30494949 from your mobile to listen in. This election step out and vote!

February 4, 2014
Discovery Turbo’s new competition series – LAST CAR STANDING

MUMBAI: Clunkers, old buckets of bolts, and other wrecks on wheels are the unlikely “stars” of LAST CAR STANDING, a new high-stakes, high-impact automotive series that pits the proud owners of lousy cars against each other in a sequence of escalating driving challenges. Why? For the chance to restore their ride to its original glory!

Premiering on February 10th, Discovery Turbo’s new competition series LAST CAR STANDING puts five drivers through four high-impact elimination rounds until there is a sole car-vivor. The stakes? The driver of the last car standing gets a $10,000 upgrade. Or, they can pass on the ten grand for a chance to compete in a playoff episode for a complete $50,000 automotive resurrection!

Hosted by Christian Potenza, renowned Canadian actor (of SIDEKICK, TOTAL DRAMA fame), each episode of LAST CAR STANDING features five diverse and fun-loving drivers – each trapped in a love-hate relationship with an embarrassing clunker – who put it all on the line through four brutal rounds of competition until only one last car is standing.

LAST CAR STANDING will air Monday to Friday at 10 pm starting February 10th.

February 4, 2014
Kochadaiiyaan to release globally on 11 April

MUMBAI: Eros International Media Ltd (Eros International), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry will release the eagerly awaited futuristic fantasy event of the year ‘KOCHADAIIYAAN – The Legend, a Mediaone Global Entertainment Limited production, directed by Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin, worldwide in cinemas on April 11, 2014.

Kochadaiiyaan features the unique visual mastery of Photorealistic Performance Capture technology for the very first time in the history of an Indian film. This technology has been previously seen in Hollywood masterpieces as Avatar, Tin Tin and Beowulf.

Kochadaiiyaan is an epic dramatization of good versus evil starring South Indian megastar Rajinikanth in a double role in a larger than life depiction. Also starring in the grand production is leading lady Deepika Padukone together with South India’s leading stars R. Sharath kumar, Nazar, Aadi, Shobana and Rukmini.

Providing the musical score is Oscar-winning composer A R Rahman, whose list of credits includes a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and two Academy Awards for his outstanding musical contribution for the multi-Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Announcing the release of the film, Ms.Soundarya Rajnikanth Ashwin, the Director of the film said, “Following last year’s celebrations of India’s film making centenary we view the release of Kochadaiiyaan as part of the next steps of Indian cinema. For the first time a full length feature has been made using performance capture technology in India and I truly hope this creates a whole alternate film making avenue apart from live action films in our country”.

Mr. Sunil Lulla, Managing Director, Eros International Media Ltd added, “Eros is proud to present this magnum opus with Rajinikanth, which will take the Indian film industry to the next level. We are confident that this will be a landmark film in world cinema as a result of the ground breaking technology used. The film will be released in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Bengali and Punjabi in India and overseas in more than 6,000 screens. We will be releasing an English version internationally as well”.

In a major brand tie-up, Eros International and Mediaone have also tied up with Karbonn Mobile to launch 1 million Kochadaiiyaan branded mobile phones to celebrate the release of the film. The exclusive Karbonn ‘Kochadaiiyaan’ mobile phones will have screen savers and must-have images from the film along with the trailer and the signature tune of the film. These special Kochadaiiyaan mobile phones are intended to launch in February 2014, during the audio launch of the film.

Kochadaiiyaan was shot extensively at Pinewood Studios in the UK with a team of world-class technical experts including the London based Centroid Studios, a state of the art facility for Full Body Motion Capture, which has worked on various Hollywood productions including the recent Brad Pitt starrer World War Z as we// as Pirates of the Caribbean, lronman 2 and Harry Potter, and Counter Punch Studios from Los Angeles, who have been behind successes such as Beverly Hills Chihuahua. They worked in collaboration with Faceware Technologies, United Kingdom, who have worked on The Mummy 3 and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for the Facial Capturing technology. A team of technical experts from South India and China have worked on this technology, with the best production facilities in London, for the overall completion of the project.

February 4, 2014