ITV

Category: Event Coverage

  • Shemaroo to showcase 600 titles at Mipcom

    MUMBAI: Home video major Shemaroo will have a strong presence at the television trade event Mipcom.

    The firm is exhibiting at the event. Shemaroo Entertainment VP Hiren Gada says that it will showcase around 600 titles at the event. This will include the films Bal Ganesh and Ghatotkacha. “At Cannes there were inquiries about rights for these films for TV, home video. At Mipcom we hope to close out more deals.”

    Mipcom takes place from 8-12 October 2007 in Cannes, France.

    The firm is also looking to reach out to the mainstream audience abroad, besides just the NRIs. Gada says that in countries like the US interest in Indian films is growing beyond just the ethnic population.

    “Mipcom will allow us to deal with distributors in those countries. We are also showcasing newer titles like Apne and Dhamaal. We have made a lot of effort to package our content for the international market. Through packaging we adapt the look and feel to suit a certain market. It helps if a film has travelled across the festival circuit whether it is at Cannes or Toronto as that boosts its profile.”

    Shemaroo is also looking to acquire content. Gada says that the firm is looking to acquire European films and independent critically acclaimed English films for its home video division.

  • 4Kids Ent. to take ‘Dinosaur King’ to Mipcom

    MUMBAI: 4Kids Entertainment, Inc. will take its new fantasy adventure anime series Dinosaur King at Mipcom 2007. Forty-nine 30-minute episodes of the high definition production will be available for broadcast sale at this year‘s market.

    Dinosaur King premieres on Saturday mornings on 4Kids TV in the US later this month. According to 4Kids Entertainment executive vice president International Brian Lacey, international broadcast rollout for the series will begin in September 2008.

    “Dinosaur King combines the always fascinating appeal of dinosaurs with fantasy adventure stories that possess the right touch of comedy, making this a wonderfully fun series for kids,” said Lacey.

    “The boy and girl appeal of the stories and characters will provide broadcasters with great scheduling flexibility. We are confident that Dinosaur King will prove popular with kid audiences throughout the world,” he added.

    This series centers around Max, Rex and Zoe also known as the “D Team” who race around the world to uncover the secrets that bring dinosaurs back to life. The biggest challenge for the three young heroes in this unforgettable global race is to find all the dinosaur cards before the nefarious Alpha Gang. Set in the present time, Max, Rex and Zoe are able to transport anywhere in the world to hunt down the coveted cards that have been lost by the time-traveling Dr. Z and his bumbling team of bad guys. In this unique series, CGI combines with traditional animation for an unforgettable adventure where real dinosaurs are brought back to the present for heart-stopping battles.

  • Indian participation at Mipcom set to double

    MUMBAI: With India being the country of honour at next month‘s television trade event Mipcom in Cannes, France, interest among the Indian television fraternity, whether it be content producers, distributors or channels, has risen substantially compared to last year.

    The event, which takes place from 8-12 October, will have around 200 Indian delegates, twice the number that attended last year‘s market. There are eight exhibiting firms – Zee, Sony, Shemaroo, Sahara, Ficci (taken a pavillion), Venus, Star (part of the Fortune Star stand) and Suman Films.

    Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari, who is also Reed Midem‘s representative in India, says that there is no better and more relevant platform than Mipcom and MipTV to show the world what Indian television has to offer.

    “Currently, the global market is more aware of Indian cinema than it is about Indian television. Mipcom will increase awareness about Indian entertainment and television. People will find out what India has to offer and they will also get an idea of what they can expect from India in the future,” says Wanvari.

    “For Indian firms, the event offers opportunities to send their content abroad through licensing and syndication deals. There are also opportunities to find co-production partners,” he says.

    India Day
    The first day of the market, 8 October, is India Day. Zee Group CMD Subhash Chandra, one of the doyens of Indian media, will deliver a keynote on the topic The Indian Market Explosion: What Does the Future Hold?.

    UTV founder and CEO Ronnie Screwvala will deliver another keynote on Indian Media – A global Destination. Sony Entertainment Television India CEO Kunal Dasgupta will present a report containing details on the state of the Indian entertainment industry.

    Meanwhile, global firms looking for opportunities to enter the Indian media landscape will find a session on Indian Content on the Move useful. It is being organised in partnership with The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

    The session will gather players from the Indian and international media industries to discuss the various opportunities available to global businesses in the Indian film, TV, animation and gaming industries. The speakers are DQ Entertainment CMD and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti; Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal, Bag Films and Media MD Anurradha Prasad, Ernst and Young partner business advisory services Ashok Rajgopal, Ocher Studio MD Soundarya Rajinikanth, and Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj Roy.

    On 9 October, there will be a ‘Master Class‘ on The Format Business Inside Out. This will help Indian firms understand how they can export their content to different markets.

    As part of Reed Midem‘s initiative in highlighting the business opportunities in this area, it is inviting Indian delegates to a specially dedicated Entertainment Master Class Session in which key players from within the industry will share their own experiences, exploring the tricks of the trade and the ropes of the business. They will further discuss how to pitch, sell and protect a format.

  • Alfred Haber Distribution goes to Mipcom with diverse slate

    MUMBAI: Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc. (AHDI), heads to next month‘s television trade event Mipcom with a slate of programming from reality to sports to Hollywood gossip and special events.

    This includes Most Daring, Hollywood Uncensored; Most Shocking and International Fight League?s IFL Fight Night and IFL Battleground.

    Alfred Haber says, “We continue to present the most compelling catalogue of programming available. It is indeed a global market and it is our goal to satisfy the entertainment needs of that global audience. I am confident that these titles do just that.”

    The 13 episode Most Daring comes from Court TV. It showcases dramatic rescue attempts. This new breed of media heroes includes emergency rescue workers, firefighters, the Coast Guard, police officers and ordinary civilians whose bravery in the face of danger is second to none. These are the stories of heroes who risk their lives in the most dangerous of conditions to save the lives of others, usually without bothering to think about their own danger.

    Hollywood Uncensored lifts the curtain off Tinseltown to reveal the real and unscripted world of celebrities. Presented in a news magazine format and combining breaking celebrity news with an exclusive video vault of more than 3000 hours of archival footage, Hollywood Uncensored will be fed live via satellite each week to ensure that the latest Hollywood news is delivered immediately for up-to-the-minute broadcasts around the world.

    Most Shocking also comes from Court TV. This reality series from Bruce Nash is about the world of law enforcement featuring crime footage.

  • Debate on ‘Content is King’

    MUMBAI: Over two days of seminars on distribution platforms, consumer preferences and content in various media and the last session on Day 2 had both the panelists and audience divided on the question – ‘Who really is the King?‘ .

     

    Someone from the audience quipped ‘if content is the king, then who is the queen?‘ There were fewer answers and more questions that the session on ‘Content is King‘ elicited.

    MUMBAI: Over two days of seminars on distribution platforms, consumer preferences and content in various media and the last session on Day 2 had both the panelists and audience divided on the question – ‘Who really is the King?‘ .

     

    Someone from the audience quipped ‘if content is the king, then who is the queen?‘ There were fewer answers and more questions that the session on ‘Content is King‘ elicited.

  • Asia to emerge as next hub for media & entertainment

    MUMBAI: The second leg of Ficci Frames kicked off today with three stalwarts from the industry narrating the India entertainment story. Reliance Entertainment chairman and moderator for the session Amit Khanna was accompanied by producer and director Shekhar Kapur and filmmaker Farhan Akhtar to highlight the critical role of the Indian media and entertainment industry in reaching out to the world. Though our movies have travelled globally in the past, the large domestic market in India has largely restricted the industry to focus inward, which has resulted in a rather ghettoized expansion of India cinema to only reach out to the Indian diaspora, said Khanna in his opening statement.

     

    However, another deficiency that plagues Indian cinema is in the fact that it is not being scaled up in revenue, he added.

    “Concurrently we have also seen a very vibrant television market shaping up in India, that big global media giants like Disney, Newscorp and Sony have bet big on its expanding the potential.

    This prompted Kapur to add that Hollywood is gradually on the decline as the buoyant Asian market is flexing its muscle so much that he foresees a situation wherein Asia‘s consumption power would grow to about 75 per cent of absolute revenue in the media and entertainment sector, thus facilitating either Mumbai or Singapore to emerge as the next media hub. Stating that entertainment is technology driven, the need of the hour would lie in the creation of intellectual capital and this resurgence of ideas would help transform this sector from performing largely back office functions, as it often does especially with respect to animation.

    With respect of co-productions Kapur highlighted a word of caution against large media conglomerate funding, and what is often seen in as a Hollywood model, is standardization. Such associations although vital as they have the financial muscle and advertising power tend to take away the independence of a film maker. Therefore, he suggests that ‘particularization‘ as opposed to generalization is the way forward for the industry as he refers to these corporates as “marketing dragons that need to be fed.”

    Farhan shared the same sentiment, saying he now chooses to fund his productions on his own. His only co-production thus far has been with UTV for Laqshya. The large capital resources provided by behemoth corporate houses have a stretched managerial order at the organization that create decision making problems for the filmmaker and both Kapur and Akhtar agree that it strips the filmmaker of all freedom. To sum up, Kapur concluded, “The more we get separated from ownership, the less innovation occurs.”
     
     

  • Frames discusses ‘changing face’ of news channels

    MUMBAI:The Ficci Frames panel discussion on ‘The Changing Face of News in India‘ elicited both optimism and calculated caution from the panelists who included BBC World Wide (Hindi Service) Sanjeev Srivastava, TV Today executive director and CEO G Krishnan, Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla and Alessandro Ferino from DoC Italy. The session was moderated by Pankaj Pachauri who started the session with some very encouraging numbers for the news media.Pachauri started the session by bringing to the audience‘ notice the Times of India cartoon for the day by RK Laxman which features the common man flipping through the channels , watching static images and noting that this is by far more entertaining than the fare actually dished out on television. This attitude could be one of the biggest concerns for news broadcasters in India he noted.

    Although the numbers for news media are encouraging, the content and quality of news content came under sharp focus by the panelists. According to Pachouri all news room discussion revolves around the 4 Cs – Cricket, crime, cinema and crisis. The industry is now facing a question of how to better the quality of their product and move beyond the obvious issues that hog the headlines.
    G Krishanan, the first speaker at the discussion candidly shared that it wasn‘t easy to set up or build the TV Today network in the late 1990‘s when the banks were unwilling to help financially and there were critics galore who insisted that ‘we don‘t need a third news channel, we already have two‘. There was a general consensus then that advertisers won‘t pay a premium and news was a loss making proposition.
    Illustrating how he had been introduced to the new face of streaming mobile video at the Frames seminar Krishnan noted, “It is not the changing face of news but the changing face of India which has brought things into sharp focus. News of course is a micro part of the whole discussion. It is the changing technology and changing nature of demographics that has really helped chart the success story of media and news media in the country.”

    Speaking about the challenges faced by news channels Krishnan said, “Most television news channels are clones of each other. We don‘t need more crime news with scary anchors.” He emphasized the need to build a super brand through ‘differentiation‘ with factors like “art of story telling, look and feel of news and technological advancement playing a big role.”

    He concluded by saying, “there was a need to create multiple touch points for news- radio, mobile, OOH, in-flight entertainment and video streaming on mobile and internet. The idea is to create a brand instead of just a commodity.”

    BBC World Service‘ Srivastava chose to speak on the phenomenon of “infotainment” and question if there is a methodical research to check what viewers want. “There is an increasing feeling that there is more entertainment and less information while the idea of infotainment was to present information in an entertaining manner.”

    As a British public broadcaster who has also had an India presence for long and has actually seen “the changing face of news in India from an half hour telecast to the mushrooming of 24 hour news channels to the present scenario where there is a need to create differentiated, quality news programming,” Srivastav still believes that despite all the news coverage on television the common man is not getting his dues.

    “The man on the periphery loses out in this news game. He‘s not part of the middle class or the consumer class and therefore he has no stand. News ends up disappointing him.” Despite what he calls ‘his old fashioned misgivings‘, Srivastava insisted that news channels would have to wake up to their social responsibilities soon. The television networks have to be responsible to both the market and to the Indian consumer, he said.

    Alessandro presented the Italian news media view where he explained that the country had the bigger corporate giants like telecom and other industries launching news channels. The state of Vatican also had its own news channel. But the country was increasingly facing a situation of “one source news” which was perhaps balanced only by the excellent work done by independent documentary film makers.

    Times Now‘ Lulla had a very specific point to make stating that the business of television news was “highly undervalued”. “There is a big money involved in running a 24 hour news channel. The constant on air product, technology and infrastructure involve big costs.”

    Replying to the constant refrain of audiences and panelists on news leaning towards entertainment Lulla pointed out, “Films, corporates and brands – they turn to news channels to promote themselves because they still view us as a credible source of information.”

    The panelists were confident that the various news channels coming up in India would find ‘its place in the sun‘ and there was no need to hit the panic button on a cluttered market.However, all the panelists also believed that the reason the topic was chosen was to primarily point out that the “change” was still a continuous process and news channels were still evolving.

  • Importance of marketing and distribution of films discussed at Frames

    MUMBAI: Marketing and distribution of movies has always been an integral part of the business plan for film producers.








    The success of the film no longer depends on just the content, storyline and the star cast, but also on how well the film is marketed. The successes of Krissh, Don and Dhoom 2 in the Indian scenario are examples of this.


    One session at the Frames convention discussed the new methods employed to get to the target audience especially in international markets. The speakers included Kaleidoscope India MD Bobby Bedi, Eros Intl group CFO Andrew Hefferman, P9 Integrated CEO Navin Shah. It was pointed out that genre is a differentiator. Stars, topicality, controversies give a film unique strengths. Also market segmentation needs to be more precise in terms of how much one can get from theatres, DVDs, TV rights. One should not take just one business model into consideration.









    Film of course is the only medium where the price is uniform irrespective of the budget.



    The main of promotions Be4di points out is to get audiences into cinema halls on the opening weekend.

    How the film fares in the coming weeks depends on word of mouth.Marketing to the right TGB is key. If you market to the wrong TG then you might still get a string opening. However due to negative word of mouth there will be a sharp drop off in box office collections. Bedi notes that simply plastering the film’s tagline and the actor’s mug shot are not enough. The film’s name is key and must communicate what the film is about. Therefore choosing the4 name is a business decision.

    For the film’s poster the images need to fit the tagline. So if it is a thriller you cannot have clean faces. Then you have to find a star that will sell the film. A theme can be the star which was the case with Bandit Queen. You also need a peg on which to hang a film. It could be a major event or a controversy.The distribution strategy is key. It is not always necessary to go straight with a wide release. For instance Mira Nair’s The Namesake was initially released in eight cinema halls in the US. It is now playing in 70 cinema halls.

    Hefferman points out that the internet is growing in importance in terms of giving a film buzz. You also have cinema trailers being present on DVDs. Going to festivals like MipTV, Cannes is becoming more important for distributors as they can sell the TV rights to multiple territories. He suggests that Bollywood films push themselves towards an art house audience abroad. This of course is something that European films do in the US.

    Srinivasan dwelt on films being made exclusively for the mobile platform. With UGC content growing the gap between the filmmaker and viewer is narrowing.Sundance in the US has made six films for mobile. At the Macau conference later this year 175 made for mobile films will be on display. Roamware earlier this year partnered with Hungama Mobile to distribute Dus Kahaaniya which is a series of films made for the mobile by Sanjay Gupta.

    Shah says that producers should look at the possibility of creating entertainment brands around a film. He offered the example of Krrish which is now a brand. Eight brands did product placements inside the film. The film also did a co-promotion with Lifebuoys soap. Krish also tied with Singapore Tourism. That allowed the producers to cut production costs. Through merchandising the film has made Rs. 70 million so far.Now thwere is talk of the likes of Disney looking at using the character for an animation series.

     

  • Mipdoc to celebrate tenth anniversary

    Mipdoc to celebrate tenth anniversary

    MUMBAI: Mipdoc, the documentary screening marketplace and conference takes place from 14-15 April 2007 in Cannes prior to the start of MipTV.

    Mipdoc will celebrate its tenth birthday with a keynote from Al Jazeera’s DG Wadah Khanfar, a focus on Italy and eight “Trailblazers” from all across the world.

    Khanfar will deliver a keynote about the reasons behind Al Jazeera Network becoming the first Arab broadcaster to launch a documentary channel covering current affairs, social issues, culture, art and religion.

    He will reveal how his company is becoming one of the major actors in the industry, catching the attention of documentary producers worldwide.
    Mipdoc will focus for the first time on the thriving Italian production industry. During the Mipdoc Made in Italy event, Alessandro Signetto, President of the documentary association Doc IT, is to show trailers of five productions he selected from the latest and best documentaries, in the presence of their producers.

    This year’s conference programme will also offer the Mipdoc participants panel sessions on Online documentary distribution, Dramatising reality and two workshops to help maximise the ability to negotiate with potential partners and to deal with new developing territories : How To Pitch and Co-production with China.

    The third edition of the MIPDOC Co-Production Challenge, which is sponsored by NFB (National Film Board of Canada), will give directors and producers the opportunity to pitch their documentary project to a high-profile jury of savvy industry experts.

    Mipdoc 2006 saw a 13 per cent rise in participation with 432 companies from 57 countries, 385 acquisition executives attending. Production and sales companies sent 1,189 programmes to the digital screening library, of which 769 were appearing at a market for the first time.

  • Ficci gears up for Frames convention

    Ficci gears up for Frames convention

    MUMBAI: Frames, the convention for the business of Indian entertainment organised by Ficci, will take place from 26 – 28 March in Mumbai.

    Business delegation from over 20 countries is expected for the event which is in its eight year. This year Italy is a partner country.

    The television track kicks off with a plenary session – Regulatory Framework for Entertainment Industry on the opening day.

    There has been a regular debate among various stakeholders on regulation. How much of regulation should be there? Should the content regulation be consistent across all delivery mediums such as TV, radio, films and print? Should there be a price regulation? Or the industry should be left to market forces to evolve on its own?

    With the boom of news channels, there will be a session on Changing face of News. In order to survive, news channels along with newsworthiness should have something different. Along with managing editorial content, the gatekeepers are also acting as brand managers.

    Viewers wanting a global perspective of television can attend Fresh TV around the World. This special session, now a regular item at the television trade events in Cannes, France Mip TV and Mipcom, presents the world’s freshest and most popular TV shows of the season, specially edited for Frames participants.

    This includes clips from the world’s most successful, innovative and most talked about TV shows. Based on the monthly The Wit Fresh TV Report which spots new shows launched in more than 30 markets worldwide, the presentation also covers the most creative trends in different programming genres.

    With Cas and DTH already introduced, Frames will have a Plenary Session on The Last Mile: Battle of reaching consumers. The challenge of retaining existing consumers is going to be tough. Are existing distributors well equipped to take up this challenge?

    Another plenary session examines the importance of content. Innovative marketing and promotional campaigns can be of little hope unless it is fuelled with winning content. Irrespective of platform, the key to success is high quality content. Can anybody afford to disagree?

    There will also be a focus on the Asian TV Market in a session. Asia has common cultural values thereby having huge potential of sharing content with countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and Singapore. How the trade of content can be further strengthened among these countries?

    The Film Track kicks off with the crucial topic of marketing and distribution. This has always been an integral part of the business plan for film producers. The success of a film no longer depends on just the content, storyline and the starcast, but also on how well the film is marketed. The successes of Krissh, Don and Dhoom 2 in India scenario are prime example.

    The session will discuss the new methods employed to get to the target audience especially in international markets. Another session looks at digital cinema. From Celluloid to digital …Indian multiplexes and stand alone theatres are adopting the digital technology. Earlier business models were driving the technological applications. The scenario is just the opposite now, it’s the technology driving the business of Indian Cinema. The digital technology is changing the way the movies are being watched…. What lies in the future?

    Another session examines whether remakes and sequels revisits the past or is it the result of intellectual bankruptcy. Indian films now have a lot of sequels and remixes. Sequels of Munnabhai, Krissh, Hera Pheri, Dhoom and remakes like Don and Umrao Jaan and their success has added a new dimension to the Indian film industry. Some see it as a case of intellectual bankruptcy. In the era of commercialisation does storytelling hold a chance?

    What makes popular cinema tick? Is there a magic formula for success at box office? Increasingly the taste and sensibilities of the Indian audiences are changing. This is reflected in the different genres of movies making box office history this year. Films like Dhoom 2, Krishh, Rang De Basanti and Munnabhai have generated mass hysteria. There is a radical change in the scripts, treatment and presentation. The changing trends of Hindi films will be looked at in a session.