ITV

Category: Software

  • Splitsvilla 6 enagages its audience with new apps

    Splitsvilla 6 enagages its audience with new apps

    MUMBAI: Love just got difficult to get. With 16 youngsters fighting with each other to not only win a show, but to also (ostensibly) find love, Splitsvilla 6 has got all the right ingredients to make the perfect youth sizzler. The latest season promises to be ‘Hotter than Hell‘ with lots of scintillating moments and breathtaking participants which are definitely pleasing to the eyes. Not to miss, are the trademark back-stabbing, hating and fighting elements adding the required spice to the tale. Splitsvilla Seaason 6 promises to have higher doses of all these and much more to sustain and increase its cult following among the young and restless.

    The tagline very aptly says ‘Hotter than Hell‘ and to make the show as hot as hell, Viacom18 has launched an interesting campaign introducing newer elements, targeting both digital and Out of Home (OOH) media. The show has been created by an in-house creative team, headed by Bhavya Sharma.

    The network has roped in Fiama De Wills, Karbonn Mobiles, Zinga and Kama Sutra as sponsors for this season. Revealing further details, MTV business head Aditya Swamy says: “We have integrated our sponsors in the show. We are giving exclusive coverage to them by having exclusive Fiama and Karbonn tasks. We also have their logo presence during the show.”

    So what‘s new? The sexy siren Sherlyn Chopra will be the all new sizzling co-host. (We thought Nikhil Chinappa was sexy enough: editor chuckles). Also, the popular ‘Break up Diary‘ segment wherein the female contestants narrated their break-up stories to introduce themselves will now also feature the male contestants. Well, ofcourse, what is more interesting than a bunch of ‘hot‘, bare-chested men talk about how they faced and ‘survived‘ heartbreak, right?

    The channel tells us that extensive research has gone into this season to better understand the pulse of the young generation. The research team, headed by Sumeli Chatterjee tried to spot the current trend. “Changes in Splitsvilla 6 have been created based on the opinion from our research group, whom we refer to as trend spotters,” says Swamy.

    After research, it was time for the right kind of promotion and what better way than to target the buzzing college campuses. MTV reached out to around 200 college campuses across India, including Kolkata, Lucknow and Chandigarh, during its pre-launch. They also hired campus ambassadors for ‘word of mouth‘ marketing. “We have promoted the show in a big way, keeping 20-30 per cent of our total advertising budget only for social and digital platforms,” informs Bhattacharya.

    It‘s the digital front where Splitsvilla aims to create the maximum buzz. “MTV Splitsvilla is the ideal product to proliferate on digital media,” says a media observer. “It‘s for young people who zoom in like bees on outlets such as Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and it‘s about relationships. Hence, it‘s good its building up itself on digital media.”

    With a humongous 2.7 million likes and 1.5 million active fans on Facebook, more than 3500 avid Twitter followers, MTVSplitsvilla 6 has managed to carve a decent online following for itself.

    But, apart from the usually explored territories of Facebook and Twitter, Splitsvilla ventures into the space of mobile apps and also includes a fan mobilising concept.

    “We have learnt a lot from MTV Roadies and have applied those lessons to Splitsvilla 6,” says MTV digital head Eklavya Bhattacharya. “What we have done within the digital space has helped us gain a lot of recognition worldwide as one of the best initiatives.”

    What more?! Remember that sweet little angel of a daughter in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Yes, she is Sana Saeed who was recently seen in Karan Johar‘s college flick Student of the year as a co- lead (read hot bimbo), Splitvilla 6 gets you a web show featuring ‘Sexy Sana‘ who will be analysing (read: Bitching) about all that the contestants did in the televised episode each weekend.

    Swamy adds: “Sexy Sana is an exclusively new property this season, which gives Sana‘s takes and reviews on extended videos, unedited parts and behind the scene clippings of the show.”

    Entering in the app world, the channels has added ‘I Dubba‘, which allows its 50 million viewers to not only tweet to the show on air, but also chat with fellow fans. Another interesting app is ‘Tickr 2 fame‘, which helps viewers to tweet and chat on Facebook, these conversations are shown on the show.

    The additions have helped Splitsvilla connect with its audience. “We have seen a 100 per cent rise in the response from the audience with the addition of new apps. On each show we get 300- 400 people chatting on I Dubba and 1,000 to 2,000 people tweeting on Tickr to Fame,” informs Bhattacharya.

    With five episodes already aired, let‘s wait and watch how impressive these new additions prove to be for brands Splitsvilla.

    Recap of previous seasons of Splitsvilla…

    Splitsvilla Battleground – has been the highlight of all seasons. Being one of the medium to get selected for the show, by performing a task given ‘on the spot‘, this section of Splitsvilla still engages maximum audiences.

    Audiosodes – an application though which one can listen to entire show in the voice of popular video jockey, J. Man.

    Hottie of the Day – get likes and comments on facebook.

    Urban Cupid – text articles about love relationship and break ups on facebook pages.

    Splitsvilla Prediction App – It is a proper live prediction and live betting engine for making virtual money. This is available on Vas platforms and these have been distributed to mobile
    operators across the country.

  • Retailers get creative; engage with consumers through digital media

    Retailers get creative; engage with consumers through digital media

    MUMBAI: Changing consumer trends have got retailers on their toes. The fight for attracting consumers and keeping them hooked has just got fiercer. The short attention span of consumers and return on investment (ROI) are the two challenges that retailers are currently struggling with.

    What is interesting is that changing consumer purchasing trend have just made the retailers go more creative. Especially on the digital media front.

    Customers even today want to feel the fabric and try the clothes they purchase says Andrew Campbell – Reliance Industries chief brand and marketing officer

    “Tomorrow starts today. Are you ready for it?” asks Reliance Industries chief brand and marketing officer Andrew Campbell. The retailers are going big on their social media campaigning. “Consumers even today want to feel the fabric and try the clothes they are buying. This isn’t possible online. But, they do check out the online collection to compare prices and designs,” he informs. Though the channels, scale and technology for reaching out to customers has changed; trust, value, service and growth in retail still remains the same.
     

    “Consumers are energetic and want more out of life. They lead packed lives and are constantly looking for new experiences,” opines Madura Fashion and Lifestyle brand head-Allen Solly Sooraj Bhat Ullal. Allen Solly embraces digital in all its forms. “We recognise that the consumer lives in the offline and online world simultaneously and seamlessly. Hence, from seeing digital as a channel/medium that is peculiar and separate – we need to move to seeing it in an integrated manner with the online world,” he adds.

    The marketing strategy for both online and offline customers is same for Allen Solly says Sooraj Bhat Ullal – Madura Fashion and Lifestyle brand head

    Digital media has brought consumers worldwide on the same platform. Allen Solly has more than one million fans on its Facebook page. “We are actively evaluating our presence in other social media like Pinterest, Four Square and Instagram,” informs Ullal. The youngsters which Allen Solly targets are screenagers.

    “They are all on various social networking sites, making it easy for us to target them,” he says.

    Converting a facebook fan into a customer is a function of engagement and relevance. “Our ‘Hot Fridays’ social media initiative, launched in October last year, was a huge success. We had been successful in engaging with the customer,” informed Ullal.
     

    Shoppers Stop has gone way ahead in building relationships with its customers. ‘Perfect for me,‘ ‘First Citizen’, ‘Gift Box’ are the apps Shoppers Stop has launched to engage with its customers. “Our facebook page is interactive. We also keep a tab of what our consumers are doing through their facebook page. We customise our services based on the facebook activity of our fans,” says Shoppers Stop customer case associate and VP, marketing and loyalty Vinay Bhatia.

    Our digital strategy has helped us gain a huge fan following on facebook and twitter says Vinay Bhatia – Shoppers Stop customer case associate and VP, marketing and loyalty

    Shoppers Stop has also made around 100 YouTube videos which have been widely viewed and its channel has recorded 1.06+ million YouTube viewers. It has increased its fan base from 200,000 in 2011 to 4.6 million+ today. “We have the ‘most fashionable profile picture contest’ which also helps us engage with our customers,” he adds. “We have consumers who visit our website, facebook page and follow us on twitter. But, we are still looking at ways to convert these fans and followers into our loyal customers,” reiterates Bhatia.

    Retail brands have gone big in creating a buzz on digital media. How will they get their return on investment? Only time will tell.
  • Dish to redeem $2.6 bn debt sold in May as Sprint Bid fails

    Dish to redeem $2.6 bn debt sold in May as Sprint Bid fails

    MUMBAI: Dish Network Corp (DISH), the satellite-TV company that abandoned its bid for Sprint Nextel Corp, will redeem $2.6 billion of bonds it issued last month to help fund the planned acquisition.

    The company will redeem on 24 June its $1.25 billion of five per cent bonds due May 2017 at 100 cents on the dollar and its $1.35 billion of 6.25 per cent notes due May 2023 at 101 cents on the dollar, plus accrued and unpaid interest, the Englewood, Colorado-based company said today in a regulatory filing.

    The company was required to redeem the securities if it failed in its bid for Sprint, based on terms of the bond sale completed on 15 May. Investors negotiated during the marketing period to increase the redemption price on the 10-year bonds to 101 cents from par during the first six months.

    The 2017 bonds were quoted as high as 100.5 cents on the dollar to yield 4.87 percent on May 28 before falling to 100 cents, yielding 5 percent, yesterday, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

    The 2023 securities were quoted as a low as 99.2 cents to yield 6.36 percent on June 6 before rising to a high of 100.8 cents, yielding 6.14 per cent, on June 19, Bloomberg prices show. They were quoted at 100.5 cents to yield 6.18 per cent yesterday.

  • YouTube to help ad makers create ads

    YouTube to help ad makers create ads

    MUMBAI: YouTube‘s latest venture – ‘holding the hands of advertisers‘. Even though viewership for online video streaming sites is constantly on the rise, advertisers have remained a little hesitant about massively increasing their spending for online video ad time, largely because they‘re not entirely clear on whether they should just repurpose television advertising or create a variant in order to take maximum advantage of this still-new medium.

    Luckily for them, YouTube announced plans to help 100 major advertisers adapt to the possibilities and realities of online video advertising. During an appearance at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on Thursday, Google‘s vice president and global head of content at YouTube, Robert Kyncl, said that “the type of creative experiences and what works well (on YouTube) just can‘t be done on television.”

    He explained that YouTube can go beyond the 30-second spot, and that the advertisement can be an entire show. “On television, advertisements don‘t have the creative freedom, can‘t have the two-way conversation, and don‘t have the sharing or amplification effect content receives on YouTube,” he said.

    Brands taking part in the program include American Express, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, and PepsiCo. Kyncl said that, in the program, “Advertisers will receive the same white glove treatment as top content creators do.”

    The intent of the program is to demonstrate the value of YouTube as a setting for advertising, but as Kyncl told the Guardian, it isn‘t to suggest that YouTube is simply a replacement for television in that sense. He explained that advertisers working with creative agencies are generally used to doing fewer TV ads at a higher cost.”We‘re talking about creating an ongoing conversation with audiences … Not just TV ads four times a year,” he said. “Advertisers need to rethink their cost structure; it is practical to produce many more ads through YouTube.” Kyncl stressed that this plan is about working like a content creator and not just an advertiser.

    The program launched with a pilot this September, with four advertisers being invited to a week-long retreat and workshop in YouTube‘s headquarters in Los Angeles to discuss ways in which they could better take advantage of the Internet and YouTube.

    This isn‘t the first time that YouTube has reached out to customers like this. In 2007, the company launched a partner program for content creators similar to this new scheme that‘s grown into a massively successful undertaking with millions of partners taking advantage. If the advertiser program is as successful, then YouTube and its business partners will likely be very happy.

  • Introducing video on Instagram

    Introducing video on Instagram

    NEW DELHI: Over the past two and a half years, Instagram has become a community where one can capture and share the world’s moments simply and beautifully. Some moments, however, need more than a static image to come to life. Until now these stories have been missing from Instagram.

    Today, the application has announced that they are set to introduce video on Instagram and bring another way to share one‘s stories. When you go to take a photo on Instagram, you’ll now see a movie camera icon. Tap it to enter video mode, where you can take up to fifteen seconds of video through the Instagram camera.

    The user can also find there are additional thirteen filters built specifically for video so the user can keep sharing the desired content on Instagram. When you post a video, you’ll also be able to select your favorite scene from what you’ve recorded as your cover image so your videos are visually appealing even when they’re not playing.

    So what does this mean for your content? Nothing’s different from photos. Instagram will continue to be committed to making sure you have control over all of your content. Only the people who you let see your photos will be able to see your videos. And as with photos, you own your videos. You can learn more about Video on Instagram – including its new cinema feature – by visiting the Instagram Help Center.

  • TRAI warns Delhi cable TV customers to speed up on CAF

    TRAI warns Delhi cable TV customers to speed up on CAF

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) has raised concerns about the slow pace of collection of consumer application forms (CAF) by multi system operators (MSOs) in New Delhi. On 7 June, it had cautioned and warned consumers and cable TV operators/MSOs to get a move on the CAFs, giving 25 June as the deadline, after which the consumers would face the penalty of disconnection.

    TRAI says that despite that warning only 50 per cent of consumers in Delhi have submitted details and choice of channels to cable operators and MSOs until 21 June.

    It says the Digital Addressable Cable TV System Regulations 2012 mandate that CAFs have to be first collected before the activation of set top boxes and transmission of digital signals.

    Come 25 June the cable TV remotes may no longer function in Delhi if the customer forms are not submitted – warns TRAI

    It has therefore once again warned MSOs and cable TV operators that they would have to perforce switch off subscribers who do not send in their CAFs by 25 June 2013 or they “will be in breach of law.”

    Says the TRAI: “We have been issuing public notices on this from time to time to sensitise consumers that they have to submit their CAFs. Broadcasters and the cable TV service providers have also been running scrolls and video programmes on major news and entertainment TV channels for the last few months. The authority has reviewed the progress and observed that even though there has been an increase in the number of subscribers who have provided their details, still there is pendency in respect to the availability of complete consumer details with the cable operators/MSOs.”

  • Apple has a 75% share in digital music globally

    Apple has a 75% share in digital music globally

    MUMBAI: A lot of places cater to digital music, but all of them are minions to iTunes.

    Dediu, incorporating new numbers released from Apple yesterday, pegs iTunes music spending at $6.9 billion a year. Peoples, riffing off numbers provided by the music industry‘s international trade group, pegs total consumer spending on digital music at about $9.3 billion a year.

    Apple owns about 75 per cent of the digital music market; leaving the rest for a group that includes subscription services like Pandora, Deezer, Rhapsody and assorted retailers like Amazon.

    That domination shows you why the music labels are still very eager to see anyone and everyone compete with Apple, as long as they can pay up for advances/royalties.

    Conversely, the fact that Apple no longer has the digital music market entirely to itself, as it used to at the beginning of the iPad era, shows why Apple is watching the advance of competitors like Spotify with a wary eye.

    Apple doesn‘t worry about making money from digital music, but it does benefit from music‘s lock-in effects. Or at least it used to. The more that platform-agnostic rivals like Spotify grow, the weaker that lock gets is what experts view says.

  • India sets up nationwide inspection programmes

    India sets up nationwide inspection programmes

    MUMBAI: India has launched a wide-ranging surveillance programme that will give its security agencies and even income tax officials the ability to tap directly into e-mails and phone calls without oversight by courts or parliament, several sources said.

    The expanded surveillance in the world‘s most populous democracy, which the government says will help safeguard national security, has alarmed privacy advocates at a time when allegations of massive US digital snooping beyond American shores have set off a global rumpus.

    The Central Monitoring System (CMS) was announced in 2011 but there has been no public debate and the government has said little about how it will work or how it will ensure that the system is not abused.

    The government started to quietly roll the system out state by state in April this year, according to government officials. Eventually it will be able to target any of India‘s 900 million landline and mobile phone subscribers and 120 million Internet users.

    Officials said making details of the project public would limit its effectiveness as a stealthy intelligence-gathering tool.

    “Security of the country is very important. All countries have these surveillance programmes,” said a senior telecommunications ministry official, defending the need for a large-scale eavesdropping system like CMS.

    “You can see terrorists getting caught, you see crimes being stopped. You need surveillance. This is to protect you and your country,” said the official, who is directly involved in setting up the project.

    The new system will allow the government to listen to and tape phone conversations, read e-mails and text messages, monitor posts on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn and track searches on Google of selected targets, according to interviews with two other officials involved in setting up the new surveillance programme, human rights activists and cyber experts.

    Security agencies will no longer need to seek a court order for surveillance or depend, as they do now, on Internet or telephone service providers to give them the data, the government officials said.

  • Revolt TV finalises national carriage deal with TWC

    Revolt TV finalises national carriage deal with TWC

    MUMBAI: Revolt TV, the upcoming cable network led by Sean Combs, has finalized a national carriage agreement with Time Warner Cable (TWC), it was announced today. Together with previously announced distribution, this will make Revolt one of the largest launches in cable TV history when it goes live this fall.

    Revolt TV will be available to TWC customers when it launches in the fall. This broad reach is especially significant for Revolt TV in gaining early traction in major urban markets across the US. Envisioned as a maverick television channel with an emphasis on music programming, live content and a robust social media component, Revolt TV is scheduled to launch in Fall 2013.

    “This is a landmark distribution deal that demonstrates Time Warner Cable‘s commitment to bringing a platform for music artists and fans to their subscribers,” stated Revolt TV founder and chairman Sean Combs. “It positions Revolt to come out of the gate strong, and we look forward to igniting the passion of initial audiences across the US.”

  • Cisco providing pay TV to 150 million viewers in India

    Cisco providing pay TV to 150 million viewers in India

    NEW DELHI: Cisco today claimed it was now enabling a rich and advanced TV experience for over 150 million viewers in India, using the industry estimated average of five people per household.

    Thus, it said it had established itself as the leading provider of enhanced TV viewing experiences to more than 30 million Indian homes, a milestone that reinforces the company’s leadership in the digital pay-TV solution market in India.

    Cisco service and solution platforms are in the prime position to address the changing needs of pay-TV operators now and into the future, with more than 10,000 R&D experts in Bangalore. It claimed that the company currently enjoys a leading market share in conditional access and middleware. (Source: MPA Media Route, 26 February 2013).

    Cisco claimed it is a trusted pay-TV technology partner for more than 100 operators worldwide, with leading direct to home (DTH) and cable operator customers in India including ADN, Airtel Digital TV, Asianet, Atria, CCN, Darsh Digital, DEN Networks, Fastway, GTPL, Hathway, JAK Communications and Tata Sky, to name a few.

    Cisco is fully committed to supporting the cable TV industry to meet the government mandate to roll out digital addressable systems in a phased manner by 31 December 2014.

    India is the leading DTH satellite market in Asia Pacific with the most subscriber homes and is second only to the US DTH satellite market, which it is expected to overtake in the next few years.

    Cisco is committed to delivering a host of world-leading, affordable and innovative solutions and services to help its satellite and cable customers to differentiate their services in their markets in India, which has an estimated 135 million pay-TV homes.

    Cisco India and SAARC senior VP sales Jeff White: “The Indian pay-TV industry is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic in the world. India now accounts for nearly a third of Cisco‘s subscriber homes in the Asia Pacific region. We are excited about our leadership in the industry, deep commitment to our customers and sharp focus on innovation in India.”

    Cisco service provider video technology group senior VP & GM Jesper Andersen said: “Achieving the milestone of over 30 million digital homes in India is a testament to our commitment to India over the last 18 years and our partnerships with some of the most successful cable TV and DTH satellite platforms in the country. The Indian pay-TV industry is one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic in the world. We confidently expect tens of millions more households to benefit from Cisco’s enhanced TV-viewing experiences, as the demand for advanced services and applications surges.”