ITV

Category: Fiction

  • FremantleMedia and Sundance TV partner to take ‘Deutschland 83’ to US

    FremantleMedia and Sundance TV partner to take ‘Deutschland 83’ to US

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia International (FMI) and SundanceTV today announced a partnership that will see the network broadcast the major new eight-part drama, Deutschland 83 on its US channel. The UFA Fiction series will become the first ever German-language drama to be aired on a major US network.

     

    Created by Anna Winger and Joerg Winger, Deutschland 83 is executive produced by UFA Fiction’s Joerg Winger and Nico Hofmann and directed by Edward Berger and Samira Radsi. The series is a UFA Fiction production for RTL Television in Germany, in partnership with SundanceTV in the US and distributed by FremantleMedia International worldwide.

     

    The series is set to have its exclusive World Premiere during the inaugural Berlinale Special Series at the 65th Berlinale International Film Festival.

     

    Lisa Honig, SEVP, Television & Digital Distribution, North America, FremantleMedia International said, “We are thrilled to be working with SundanceTV on this high-tension, intense and yet wonderfully relatable drama. The Deutschland 83 story, popular soundtrack and unique filmic style all blend perfectly to create an outstanding piece of drama. Anna and Joerg did a tremendous job – I have never seen anything quite like this.”

     

     Sarah Barnett, SundanceTV President, stated, “Deutschland 83 is a fresh and heart pounding thriller set against the remarkable political backdrop of 1980s East and West Germany. It’s evocative and emotional and we are delighted to be collaborating on a show of such daring and originality. FremantleMedia International is a terrific partner and we are excited to bring this series to US viewers.”

     

    Deutschland 83 is a suspenseful coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch (Jonas Nay) as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy. Everything is new, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harboring secrets, both political and personal.

     

    Frank Hoffmann, Managing Director, RTL TELEVISION, said, “For RTL Television it is incredibly satisfying to launch a series like Deutschland 83 which, at this early stage has already received a lot of national and international attention. The involvement of FremantleMedia International and SundanceTV strengthens our resolve to continue developing programs that can attract such interest and attention.”

     

    Nico Hofmann, Producer and Chairman of the Board of UFA Fiction said, “Never has a German-language television series received so much attention before broadcast. SundanceTV’s reputation for exceptional series is yet further confirmation of Deutschland 83‘s high quality. This is a milestone for German television production.”

     

    Anna Winger and Joerg Winger, co-creators of Deutschland 83 said, “Deutschland 83 was born of a transatlantic relationship. Conceived at our German-American kitchen table in Berlin, written by an American with an international team, made in Germany with a diverse and remarkably talented cast and crew. We are thrilled to be the first German series on TV in the United States and honored to follow in the footsteps of the other great series on SundanceTV.”

  • Q3-2015: Balaji q-o-q income up 22% on higher programming, less loss

    Q3-2015: Balaji q-o-q income up 22% on higher programming, less loss

    BENGALURU:  Balaji Telefilms Limited (Balaji Telefilms) reported 21.6 per cent growth in consolidated Total Income from Operations (TIO) at Rs 71.54 crore in Q3-2015 (quarter ended 31 December, 2014, current quarter) from Rs 58.84 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and 69.1 per cent more than the Rs 42.30 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.  9M-2015 TIO was however 16.6 per cent lower at Rs 268.68 crore than the Rs 322.38 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

    All numbers are consolidated unless stated otherwise

     

    The company reported a lower consolidated loss of Rs 6.96 crore in the current quarter as compared to the Rs 7.58 crore in the previous quarter, but higher loss than the loss of Rs 5.75 crore in the year ago quarter. The company reported a loss of Rs 3.98 crore in 9M-2015 versus a profit after tax of Rs 10.18 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    On a standalone basis, Balaji’s EBIDTA at Rs 4.25 crore was more than double the EBIDTA of Rs 2.01 crore in Q3-2014. Standalone EBIDTA for Q2-2015 was negative Rs 2.98 crore, while for 9M-2015, it was Rs 5.07 crore against an EBIDTA of Rs 0.09 crore in 9M-2014.Standalone PAT at Rs 3.09 crore was 86 per cent more than the Rs 1.66 crore in Q3-2014. The company had reported a standalone loss of Rs 2.39 crore in Q2-2015. For 9M-2015, standalone profit was 73 per cent lower at Rs 2.66 crore as compared to the Rs 9.89 crore in 9M-2015.

     

    Higher revenue in the current quarter can be attributed to the fact that Balaji produced 60.1 per cent more hours of programming at 277 hour in the current quarter versus the 173 hours in Q3-2014 and 26.5 per cent more than the 219 hours in Q2-2015. However, the company reported lower revenue per hour of Rs 20.64 lakh in Q3-2015 as compared to the Rs 21.18 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter and a little higher than the Rs 20.45 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter. The revenue per hour and the hours of programming excludes regional segment, event business and incentives.

     

    Consequently, revenue from commissioned programmes went up 50.6 per cent in Q3-2015 to Rs 61.97 crore from Rs 41.16 crore in Q3-2014 and was 25.6 per cent more than the Rs 49.33 crore in Q2-2015. Commissioned programmes segment reported 41.4 per cent higher operating profit at Rs 7.56 crore in the current quarter from Rs 5.35 crore in Q3-2014 and was 29.2 per cent more than the Rs 5.85 crore in the previous quarter.

     

    Revenue from commissioned programmes increased 68 per cent to Rs 157.30 crore in 9M-2015 as compared to the Rs 98.89 crore in 9M-2015. Operating profit from this segment more than doubled to Rs 19.57 crore in 9M-2015 as compared to the Rs 9 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Soon, with Balaji’s content portfolio comprises more than 20 films that are expected to hit the silver screen in the near term, the company’s films segment should again start churning out larger numbers and consolidated profits.

  • Shashi Sumeet Productions launch marketing and creative agency

    Shashi Sumeet Productions launch marketing and creative agency

    MUMBAI: Shashi Sumeet Productions, the makers of Diya Aur Baati Hum, have launched Shashi Sumeet Innovations – a fully integrated marketing, activations and creative agency with a focus on creation of intellectual brands and breathing new life into old brands.

     

    The Shashi Sumeet Group will now provide innovative services for those corporates who desire differentiated brand launches, corporate events and experiential marketing creating close bond between the customer and their brand. 

     

    Shashi Sumeet Innovations co-founder Sumeet H Mittal said, “We are extremely proud to have diversified into Shashi Sumeet Innovations. Every brand has a story and we believe that through the combination of our vast experience and superior ability to narrate a story the way it deserves to be told we have the proficiency to deliver to the growing needs of brands and their customers.”

     

    With over 14 years of experience in strategy management, operations management, administration & sales management in the media sector, Pankaj Khanna has been appointed as the business head of Shashi Sumeet Innovations and will lead the team. Khanna has previously worked with industry big-wigs such as Indian Express, HT Media, RED FM, NDTV Media and Bloomberg TV to name a few. 

     

    Shashi Sumeet Innovations has already bagged mandates for corporates such as Kotak, Kissan, Closeup, Condé Nast, Moneygram, HP, Allana, Orra, Finlinea and Lava & Indear.

  • Bomanbridge Media kicks off the year with multiple deals

    Bomanbridge Media kicks off the year with multiple deals

    MUMBAI:  Singapore-based Bomanbridge Media, a content distribution and production agency, announced multiple program deals for Asia from their catalogue of over 4,000 hours.

     

    “Bomanbridge is off to a great start with several deals closed, we are growing at a rapid pace and we thank our broadcast partners who are helping to fuel this growth. This latest round of deals demonstrates our extensive territorial reach and mix of genres from our rich catalogue,” said Sonia Fleck, CEO of Bomanbridge Media.

     

    Gayatri Singh, Bomanbridge Sales Executive, brokered a majority of the recent deals. She said, “We are grateful to our clients for their continued support. They trust Bomanbridge to bring them high quality, ratings-producing programming.”

     

    Deals Announced:

    ·        Mediacorp’s Toggle service (Singapore) acquired Nutri Ventures Animation  

    ·        Nine Media Corporation (Philippines) acquired 50 hours of current affair & factual entertainment titles

    ·        Oman TV (Oman) acquired Animal Atlas Season 2 & 3 (produced by Bellum Entertainment)

    ·        I-Cable (Hong Kong) acquired the series Extraordinary Dogs 13 X 30 (produced by A Brand Apart for its Hong Kong & North America transmission on Dish TV in Cantonese)

    ·        EBS (South Korea) acquired several Factual titles, including Blood River and Turf War

  • Reliance MediaWorks and others acquire 54 per cent of Prime Focus

    Reliance MediaWorks and others acquire 54 per cent of Prime Focus

    BENGALURU: Reliance MediaWorks Limited (RMWL) along with Reliance Land Works Private Limited (RLWPL) and others had sought to acquire 26 per cent or 7,77,08,534 shares (about 77.7 million shares) of Prime Focus though a public offer from its shareholders.

    The acquirers offered a price of Rs 52 per equity share of face value of Re 1 each. The total value of the offer was Rs 404,08,43,768 (about Rs 4.04 billion). The planned acquisition would increase the shareholding of RMWL and others to 63.96 per cent, the other 37.96 per cent to be obtained by way of preferential allotment through agreements.
     
    The other parties include Namit Malhotra, Naresh Malhotra and Monsoon Studio Private Limited (MSPL). MSPL is a wholly owned company by Namit Malhotra and Naresh Malhotra who are its promoters.
     
    As per the public press advertisement issued by the acquirers, they have managed to obtain 16.1 per cent representing 4,81,24,618 shares (about 48.1 million shares) at a cost of Rs 250,24,80,136 (about Rs 2.5 billion) taking the total shareholding of RMWL and others to 54.06 per cent once the preferential allotment is complete.
     
    Prime Focus has announced an Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) on 29 January, 2015 to create, offer, issue and allot, from time to time and in one or more tranches, by way of a Preferential Issue, through offer letter and/or circular and/or information memorandum and/ or private placement memorandum and/or such other documents/writings, in such a manner and on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Board in its absolute discretion to the acquirers viz., (1) up to 23,076,923 equity shares to MSPL; (2) up to 23,076,923 equity shares to RMWL as first RML subscription shares (3) up to 67,307,692 equity shares to RMWL as second RML subscription shares.

     

    Click here to read the notice
     

    Click here to read the advertisement

     

  • Balaji Telefilms and Chhayabani announce strategic partnership

    Balaji Telefilms and Chhayabani announce strategic partnership

    MUMBAI: Television and film production company, Balaji Telefilms, has entered into an alliance with Kolkata-based company, Chhayabani, to create distinctive, contemporary, clutter breaking television content.

     

    Chhayabani Balaji Entertainment will be developed as a unique platform that will initially produce television content and gradually scale up to explore other creative opportunities, while also becoming a magnetic hub attracting talented people – technicians and artists, to work together in a collaborative manner.

     

    Chhayabani is highly acknowledged for its glorious heritage in the area of entertainment, in Kolkata. This collaboration brings together two media houses with distinctive strengths to explore new formats of television presentation, create exciting high-end scripted content, while also attracting high quality talent.

     

    Commenting on the development, Balaji Telefilms joint MD Ekta Kapoor said, “Balaji is at a very exciting phase of growth. Within the Indian entertainment space, over time we have created our own unique position across both – the films and the television businesses, which by nature are two completely different disciplines. Our aim is to explore how best we can leverage Balaji’s competitive strengths to create exciting entertainment across media that will propel our growth. We are delighted that Chhayabani emerged as the most preferred partner for Balaji given their cinematic excellence and their tremendous passion to produce quality entertainment products.”

     

    Added Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair, “We have always believed that growth is collaborative, which has also been our operating philosophy in a super-dynamic industry. We are very excited to partner with Chhayabani and as evident, the synergies are extremely strong. This collaboration helps us build a unique and robust platform that allows us to explore a very wide variety of avenues, given our respective creative strengths and the huge libraries of film and television content which we aim to leverage as we move forward.”

     

    Chhayabani director Saugata Nandi said, “It is gratifying to finally see a long cherished idea culminating into a strong association between Balaji and us — with a common vision of drawing the best creative talent available in the region to generate never-before-seen content for a very culturally driven and art-oriented Bengali audience. While Balaji holds the numero uno position in the television and film industry in India, Chhayabani has the distinction of being laced with an enviable reputation of being the torch bearer of the golden era in Bengali television and cinema. Through this platform we look forward to present very distinctive content that talks the universal language of emotions and instantly connects with the viewer.”

  • Reliance Media Works files revised dates draft letter for acquiring 26% of Prime Focus

    Reliance Media Works files revised dates draft letter for acquiring 26% of Prime Focus

     BENGALURU: Reliance Media Works Limited (RMW, acquirer) has filed a draft letter of offer (LOF) with revised dates on the bourses for acquisition of a 26 per cent voting stake in Prime Focus Limited (Prime Focus, target company). RMW is acting in concert with Reliance Land Private Limited, Namit Malhotra, Narseh Malhotra and Monsoon Studio Private Limited (Monsoon Studios).  

     

    RMW will make a cash offer at Rs 52 per Equity Share to acquire up to 7,77,08,534 Equity Shares of face value of Re 1 each representing 26 per cent of the emerging voting capital (EVC) of Prime Focus. The target company’s EVC  comprises the paid-up equity share capital of Rs 29,88,78,974 divided into 29,88,78,974 equity shares, being the paid-up equity share capital of the target company after the allotment of the preferential allotment – 11,34,61,538 Equity Shares to the acquirer and Monsoon Studios on a preferential allotment basis.

     

    The offer shall open on 19 December 2014 and will remain open until 2 January 2015. All owners (registered or unregistered) of Equity Shares, regardless of whether he/she/it held Equity Shares on the identified date 5 December 2014), are eligible to participate in the offer any time before the closure of the tendering period.

     

    Click here to read the offer letter

  • Bomanbridge Media announces several deals at ATF

    Bomanbridge Media announces several deals at ATF

    MUMBAI: Bomanbridge Media, a Singapore-based content distribution and production agency, announced multiple program deals for Asia at ATF.  These deals come on the heels of the company’s recently publicized expansion to 3 countries South Korea, Mongolia and India as well as the launch of their first production, international lifestyle and cooking show Haute & Saucy with Kelly Randall Sia. 

     

    “Bomanbridge has never been stronger. We come into ATF closing several major deals in the region for hundreds of hours of programming. Additionally, with our new offices in India and Korea and soon Mongolia, we expect to have a record breaking year for sales. Producers trust us to place their programs to the best broadcasters in the region,” said Sonia Fleck, CEO of Bomanbridge Media.

    Deals include:

     

    TV3 Mediaworks, New Zealand

    Titles sold: It Only Hurts When I Laugh (47 x 30), Life’s Funniest Moments (125 x 30); Hours sold: 86

     

    TV3 Bec Tero, Thailand

    Titles sold: Nutri Ventures (52 x 30) and other children’s programs; Hours sold: 39  

     

    Thai Public Broadcasting Service, Thailand

    Title sold: Animal Atlas;   Hours sold: 88

     

    True Visions (Thailand)  

    Titles sold include: Bump, Chimp Mommy, Gadget Girlz; Pound Pups to Dog Stars and Village Vets; among others  Hours sold: 63.5

     

    KBS –Korea

    Superbodies 2 x 1 hour

  • Sri Adhikari Bros reports 21.4%higher revenue, 19.9% higher PAT in Q2-2015

    Sri Adhikari Bros reports 21.4%higher revenue, 19.9% higher PAT in Q2-2015

     BENGALURU: Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited (SAB TV) reported 21.4 per cent y-o-y growth in Total Income from Operations (TIO) in Q2-2015 to Rs 22.01 crore from Rs 18.13 crore in Q2-2014 and a 11.1 per cent growth from Rs 19.81 crore in Q1-2015. Year to date, during HY-2015, the company reported growth of 20.7 per cent to Rs 41.83 crore from Rs 34.65 crore in HY-2014.

     PAT for the current quarter increased 19.9 per cent to Rs 2.73 crore (12.4 per cent of TIO) from Rs 2.28 crore (12.6 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding year ago quarter and was 3.9 per cent more than the Rs 2.63 crore (13.3 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. For HY-2015, SAB TV reported 31.4 per cent growth in PAT to Rs 5.4 crore from Rs 4.11 crore in HY-2014.

     SAB TV’s total expenditure (TE) in Q2-2015 at Rs 18.24 crore (82.9 per cent of TIO) was 18.3 per cent more than the Rs 15.42 crore (85 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. In HY-2015, TE at Rs 35.07 crore was 14.2 per cent more than the Rs 30.70 crore in HY-2015.

     The company’s production/direct (production) expense in Q2-2015 at Rs 14.07 crore (63.9 per cent of TIO) was 27.1 per cent more than the Rs 11.07 crore (61 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014 and 7.5 per cent more than the Rs 13.09 crore (66.1 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015. For HY-2015, SAB TV’s production expense was 24.9 per cent at Rs 27.16 crore (64.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2015 than the Rs 21.75 crore in HY-2014.

    SAB TV’s interest/finance cost (interest) Q2-2015 at Rs 1.06 crore (4.8 per cent of TIO) was more than double (2.4 times) than the Rs 0.44 crore (2.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014 and more than 2.8 times the Rs 0.38 crore (1.9 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015. Interest cost in HY-2015 at Rs 1.43 crore (3.4 per cent of TIO) was 65.2 per cent more than the Rs 0.87 crore (2.5 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Click here to read the unaudited financial statement

     

  • Q2-2015: Commissioned programmes cushion Balaji Telefilms’ loss

    Q2-2015: Commissioned programmes cushion Balaji Telefilms’ loss

    BENGALURU: Balaji Telefilms reported less than half the q-o-q total income from operations (TIO) (1/2.3 times) for Q2-2015 at Rs 58.89 crore versus the Rs 136.03 crore in Q1-2015 and less than a third (1/3.3 times) of the Rs 194.62 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, the company’s TIO at Rs 195.89 crore was 29.8 per cent lower than the Rs 279.07 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,00 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Commissioned programs cushioned the loss from the company’s film segment. Revenue from commissioned programs went up 7.2 per cent to Rs 49.33 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 46 crores in Q1-2015 and was 64 per cent more than the Rs 30.09 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, this segment had 81.7 per cent higher revenue at Rs 95.32 crore versus the Rs 52.46 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Commissioned programs reported an operating profit of Rs 5.85 crores in Q2-2015, which was 5 per cent lower than the Rs 6.16 crore in Q1-2015 and 60.8 per cent more than the Rs 3.64 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, operating profit from commissioned programs more than tripled (went up 3.1 times) at Rs 12.01 crore versus Rs 3.86 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Overall, Balaji has returned a loss of Rs 7.58 crore in Q2-2015 versus a profit of Rs 10.56 crore in Q1-2015 and a profit of Rs 12.32 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, Balaji Telefilms reported a profit of Rs 2.98 crore which was less than a fifth (19.7 per cent) of the Rs 15.94 crore in HY-2014.

     

    The company’s film segment, which contributes a major percentage to its TIO, reported poor results. Revenue of Rs 9.43 crore from this segment in Q2-2014 was less than one-ninth (1/9.5 times) the Rs 89.34 crore in Q1-2015 and less than one seventeenth (1/17.4) the Rs 164.05 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, Film segment revenue of Rs 98.77 crore in HY-2015 was less than half (1/2.3 times) the Rs 225.70 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Films segment reported a loss of Rs 7.46 crore versus operating profit of Rs 10.97 crore in Q1-2015 and an operating profit of Rs 11.81 crore in Q2-2014. Operating profit in HY-2015 at Rs 3.52 crore was less than half the Rs 8.24 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Click here for the financial statement