ITV

Category: English Entertainment

  • Bollywood finds a new found fan in Kelly Rowland

    Bollywood finds a new found fan in Kelly Rowland

    MUMBAI: Indian music and Indian cinema has been receiving worldwide recognition lately with more and more Indian artists carving a niche for themselves on the international scene. Hence, it is no surprise that former Destiny’s Child and global singing sensation Kelly Rowland is all praises for Bollywood and Punjabi music in particular. The new judge of The X Factor USA, which currently airs on Big CBS Love, recently spoke about ‘Bhangra’ and ‘desi’ movies amongst other things.

     

    On the topic of Bollywood movies, the singer-turned-actress surprisingly revealed, “I watch Bollywood films, I mean I love Bollywood films! They are some of the best films. How detailed they are, how much fun they are, how much colour there is and how there’s so much going on, it’s just really entertaining.” On plans of being a part of the Indian film industry in the near future? To this the Commando singer excitedly replied, “That would be very cool!”

     

    Next up, she talked about her area of expertise – music – and revealed that Punjabi music has grown on her. Commenting on the Punjabi tracks she had recently heard she added, “Across the board it’s like jamming. If I hear this, I will start dancing, that’s fun! I don’t know what the lyrics say but whatever it is it has a nice little swing to it. I love the beats in between”, she said.

    By the looks of it Indian fans might just catch a Honey Singh style chart topper from the Grammy- Award winning artist.  Kelly will be the new judge on The X Factor USA season 3, every weekend exclusively on Big CBS Love premiering on 21 September every Saturday and Sunday at 10:00 pm.

  • Reliance Entertainment Digital has its eye on English entertainment content

    Reliance Entertainment Digital has its eye on English entertainment content

    Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal is pretty excited about his company’s date with MipCom this year.  Says he:  “We want to understand the market and its offering and how relevant it is for the digital business. We are always in search of some interesting and innovative content.” 

    For Agarwal, who is into content publishing, participation in Mipcom is likely to become an integral part of doing business, though his company is participating in it for the first time.
    “It gives us an opportunity to explore the large variety of content which we need for the various platforms like BigFlix, Zapak etc. We will obviously focus on networking with more content providers and aggregators across the globe,” says he.

     Reliance Entertainment Digital which launched its over the top (OTT) service BigFlix last year is sorted in terms of Indian programming and now wants add on international content in more genres and languages.

     “We want to expand our offerings to the consumer. Participating in Mipcom will help us explore more opportunities,” he says.

    We want to expand our offerings to the consume and participating in Mipcom will help us explore more opportunities believes Manish Agarwal

     Agarwal says that an increasing group of young Indian consumers is gorging on digitised content on hand held devices and on their PCs. “It is essential for Indian service providers to experiment with new type of content across genres and content-types. And it is just not that Indians will consume only trailers or paparazzi content, they will also look at different content and so we want to explore with a variety of content,” he highlights.

     The focus this year at Mipcom he emphasises will be on acquiring entertainment content – especially that which originates from English speaking nations or with English subtitles.
    “This will be entertainment for English speaking audiences, entertainment for masses and for kids. This is the reason we are going not only for Mipcom, but also for Mip Junior,” he informs.

    For those visiting Mipcom to sell gaming content, expect the Reliance Entertainment 

    representative at your stall. “We will also look at gaming content or gaming IPs on which games can be created. So we are aiming at kids entertainment both in gaming and VOD content which caters to everyone or in niche segments in the country,” says he. “In terms of gaming IPs, since we are present across the globe, we will go for any IP which is popular. So we will be hunting for any IP across different markets in order to get a license to create mobile games

     The OTT service which delivers its content online to connected devices – a la NetFlix in the US – is looking at stacking up its video-on-demand (VOD) menu. “This can subsume movies-on-demand, TV-serials-on-demand and animations-on-demand. And for gaming again we are looking at the mobile platforms.”

    And the company is shopping cheque book in hand. So sellers will indeed be kept busy by this emerging digital giant from India.

  • “We believe in tickling the viewer’s funny bone” : Viacom18 Media Sr VP & GM English entertainment Ferzad Palia

    “We believe in tickling the viewer’s funny bone” : Viacom18 Media Sr VP & GM English entertainment Ferzad Palia

    Between starting out with Vh1 in early 2005 and taking over its reins in 2010, he has played a large part in finding a place for it in a Bollywood dominated entertainment space. Most of its older cousins could not withstand the sledgehammer like onslaught of Bollywood. MTV and Channel [V] began as international music offerings then transformed into Bollywood music clones and finally morphed into youth oriented channels. But Vh1 has stood tall, boldly delivering International music and content, targeting the upscale youth, under Viacom18 Media Sr vice-president & general manager English entertainment Ferzad Palia’s stewardship.

    Palia loves the medium and has taken on another challenge: that of making Indian TV viewers tune into and laugh to Comedy Central which offers international comedy of every kind, whether stand up or the slapstick. Indian TV viewers have been relatively indifferent to jokes as they have only entertained a single comedy channel – that also in Hindi, Sab and part of the Sony stable. The task for Palia therefore is double hard, first to introduce them to laughter and then to make them to love it and guffaw to it too. But he is quite up to the task as he discloses to Indiantelevision.com’s Sidharth Iyer in this tete a tete.

    Excerpts:

    Despite stiff competition from the likes of Star World and Zee Café, you seem to be enjoying quite a presence in the English GEC space. Please tell us how?

    When we thought of launching the channel, we looked at the English general entertainment space and found there were mainly three peers who’ve been around for the last 12-15 years: Star World, Zee Café and Sony AXN. So it was quite a daunting task to even want to make an entry.

    It was really important at that point in time to have a clearly differentiated product unlike the rest, coupled with the insight that comedy is one of the best performing genres in the category and the fact that India needs some serious laughter. So Comedy Central was apt to compete in the English GEC space – a product the consumer knew is a one-stop shop for laughs.

    We did the right thing by identifying the gap and making the most of the opportunity by serving a differentiated product; creating a genre within a genre.

    The launch was crucial with the kind of buzz we created even before coming in. People came to know we were debuting in India; word-of-mouth did the trick for us clearly. Our test signal was a huge talking point among bloggers, and got social media in a tizzy.

    There has been no looking back since. We don’t see ourselves as just another TV channel but as one of Viacom 18’s brands, which the company is heavily invested in.
    We believe in striking the right chord with our audiences; tickling their funny bone so to say. We’ve done things differently, even marketing. For example, we did menu cards which had NOW on top and NEVER at the bottom. That won us accolades, and we were able to break the clutter very quickly, getting us the right kind of audience that has stuck with us since.

    Down the road, we’ve benefited considerably in getting on board over 150 advertisers across the spectrum. We’ve won loads of awards in India, Asia and more recently, at ProMax World, which is where the cr?me de la cr?me of the television industry converges every year. We’ve managed to bag 13 awards there. So everything’s fallen in place, and we couldn’t have asked for more in the 15-18 months of our existence. We continue to experiment with our local programming but are yet to find that one thing that we would be proud to put on the channel to be honest.

    We’re aware English comedy is very difficult. So, we’re still in the process of getting that right.

    About our on-ground activities, we do believe in the power of engaging directly with our audiences. So whatever you’ve seen in terms of such activities is really just the tip of the iceberg and there’s a lot more in store. So wait and watch…

    Over the past year, we’ve completely rebooted our digital presence, addressing each of our brands with consumer properties we’ve been building both online and in the form of applications.

    Similarly, the consumer property for Comedy Central has been under development for more than six months now and should be ready for launch by early October. It’s going to be very interesting with various elements to it we would be unveiling.

    It would be a good mix of the current bouquet of shows on air and since we’re more genre-driven than show-driven, we would have different strategies for different mediums. We would also be launching a Comedy Central app soon and so, these are interesting times…

    Are there any new age marketing gimmicks you’ve deployed?

    With each show we try to promote, we attempt to go that extra mile.

    For instance, the way we shot an Indian promo for our show Anger Management even though we had a big name in Charlie Sheen…

    We use different strategies for different shows: for some, we go with regular above-the-line media whereas for others, we go the full hog on digital to have a fairly digital kind of promotion.

    Going back to Anger Management, there was a lot of above-the-line media used, and you will soon get to see some more innovations on the show in the coming weeks.
    You will get to see some more path-breaking marketing once we start airing the third season of Suits.

    We have a newly incorporated digital team, which is dedicated to engaging our audiences on social media as we are extremely focused as a network.

    Our presence on digital is only swelling with 1.6 million likes on Facebook and just over 19,500 followers on our Twitter handle. We are making the right noises and reaping rewards on social media. 

    In sum, it’s dynamic stuff like creating special ice cream in collaboration with Baskin Robbins or tying up with small donuts chains. We believe when you’re catering to a select audience, you’ve got to give that something extra where marketing is concerned.

    We’re very savvy and adapt to changing trends and going forward, we plan to have newer innovations, like combining TV and digital to create further traction among our fan base.

    Speaking of licensing and merchandising tie-ups, we’ve come out with a line of South Park tee-shirts that are available for purchase online and have been hurriedly flying off the shelves. We’re already on this route and many such tie-ups are on the cards.

    What is your content strategy for Comedy Central? Do you plan on encouraging co-viewing?

    Like any other English entertainment channel, there are different shows that cater to the needs of different sets of audiences. For instance, a show like Mash, a yesteryear classic, will most likely be watched by the father of the household, possibly along with his wife and kid whereas Suits will be viewed by the youngsters above 25 years of age. There’s a bit of synergistic viewing there as well but we don’t define a strategy like we want the entire family to watch. Reason being we would become extremely limited in what we put out so we have different kinds of content for different sets of audiences across the country at different times of the day.

    But yes, we would like to believe that there’s a lot of family viewing happening for quite a few of our shows though the person influencing the family to watch together may be different in each case.


    Given the environment we are in, everyone wants a laugh and de-stress, so the idea is to not inculcate comedy as a habit but to look at it as a state of mind or as an escape route for some people. So basically you can’t create a habit such as comedy…

    What kind of advertisers do you have on board? Do you see any emerging spenders in this space?

    For a fairly young channel, we have advertisers from all major sectors including manufacturers (handsets, chewing gum and paint), banks, FMCGs and so on.

    So there is no one category driving our ad sales. The good part is we’re getting great traction among advertisers. I mean right from day one of our launch, we had Volkswagen on board, which not many channels can boast of on the first day.

    While we’re blessed with a varied set of advertisers from day one, we would still love to have many more spenders on board as it’s a tough market to operate in. Thankfully, things are looking up for us and being a differentiated product is an added bonus as people value us for it. We’re pleased to see the same treatment being meted out to VH1 which is again the only English music and entertainment channel in the country.

    How are you faring in terms of numbers?

    For English language channels, we feel the sample size is not adequate, so we don’t talk numbers. To check the affinity of the brand and to get an unbiased view on how the channel is faring – the buzz on social media should be taken into consideration, where everyone has a voice and everyone has an opinion. And you can see the results live in front of your eyes; you don’t have to wait for a period of one week or four weeks.

    We Indians don’t really know how to laugh. What are you doing to inculcate comedy as a habit with the Indian TV viewer? 

    Given the environment we are in, everyone wants a laugh and de-stress, so the idea is to not inculcate comedy as a habit but to look at it as a state of mind or as an escape route for some people. So basically you can’t create a habit such as comedy… We just expose them to things and they prefer to take a liking to it by creating a 24 hour platform to experience the best comedy from across the world.

    What are the offline activities that CC is currently carrying out? And what can we expect in the coming few months from CC?

    We are piloting a few things but it’s too early to talk about them but we won’t put out anything that isn’t the best quality as it will be residing in the same house as some of the best content in the world. So quality is the key and also the attempt is to create an ecosystem for indigenous English comedy which would be over the long term.

    We are also doing on-ground activities like Comedy Central Chuckle Fest – where we flew down some of the world’s best stand-up comedians. So we will engage with people and make them laugh at multiple touch points. And wait there’s more rather than just making them laugh we would like to put a smile on their faces.

    The new shows that are scheduled to air are Suits season 3 starting 7 October and we would be airing that as its going through a mid season break and telecast the first 10 episodes from October to December and the rest of the episodes running into January. We took this call as there is huge demand for it and people don’t want to wait for the season to end and 10 is a sizable number to play out at one go. And then we have Anger Management season 2 starring Charlie Sheen also airing in October. So the year will surely end well for us…

    What are your thoughts on the 10+2 ad cap? Does it encourage you to create more engaging content? Has digitisation helped?

    There are a few ways to look at this. One way being the likely impact of the 12 minute ruling on each individual business, but at the core of it is the fact that better channels will win. It’s that simple.

    And that is where I believe our strategy of being a differentiated player will pay off, while we are competing in the English entertainment space, we don’t see this having a great impact.

    In fact, we see it as a boon for our set of brands, because at the end of the day, we have invested in our brands for a reason and the time to reap the benefits of that will come in situations such as 10+2.

    From the consumer perspective, it’s a great thing, because they will be able to watch more content and less commercials. The good part is that we have always been cautious about this and maintained reasonable advertising stickiness in the one and a half years.

    Time will tell how it pans out for broadcasters, as some will benefit and some will be adversely affected. And I think it is also a great thing for the advertisers as their communication will get consumed in an uncluttered environment.
    So I think it’s a win-win situation for all.

    It’s been a good year for the broadcasting industry at large with digitisation coming into effect. As the consumer can experience a better quality of viewing and is not necessarily paying more, it may increase in the years to come, but currently, he/she is not paying more and getting a far better quality of service.

    The broadcaster too is benefitting financially if it wants to know its reach in terms of the households unlike in the analog era. You also have the option of watching only your favourite channels and getting them as a bunch together. Be it English entertainment, Hindi entertainment or News, unlike the analogue era where the more you paid, the higher frequency you were put onto.

  • Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    MUMBAI: Indian audiences already have a good list of channels to choose from if they want to turn to English entertainment. Keep switching channels and you will whisk through Star Movies, Movies Now, Star World, Zee Studio, Zee Café, HBO, World Movies, Comedy Central, CBS Spark, CBS Love etc. and what have you. Does there seem to be a dearth that needs to be filled? Is there space for more? According to the Times Television Network (TTN) there is absolutely space for another fighter in the league. With that, it has added a companion Romedy Now to its existing movie channel Movies Now which is expected to be launched in the next 15 days.

     

    Feeling the need to make people happy, the genres Romance and Comedy will be seen on the new channel as both movies and series. A new format is also being experimented with that is being outsourced and is still under process. “We are in talks with foreign distributors to acquire content but we will edit them in a different style,” says Romedy Now business head Harsh Sheth. Going with the tagline ‘Live. Laugh. Love’ it aims to target the urban affluent masses in the major metropolitan cities at first and gradually extend to the one million+ towns, targeting SEC A and B in the age group 15-44.

     

    70 per cent content will be movies and the rest shows. The movies will be contemporary on the lines of Devil Wears Prada, 27 dresses, Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth etc. Its target is to get about 20 million viewers. Enough content is in stock to be utilised for eight months. These include offerings from big studios such as Warner Bros, Fox, Regency, MGM and Sony as well as another 40 small ones from the US and Europe. New shows will have first runs on Romedy Now.

     

    Romedy Now will be available in both HD and SD on cable TV, satellite, DTH and IPTV as a pay TV service. The SD channel will be available in eight metro cities on the launch day at a price of Rs 17.66 while the HD channel called Romedy Now Plus is priced at Rs 149. The content team is common for both the sister channels while the exclusive team consist of 45 people.

     

    Romedy Now will see 10 minutes of advertising while, just one or two minutes of air time has been kept aside for Romedy Now Plus.  The start time of shows and movies will be the same on both the channels while the gap time on the HD channel will be filled with fillers. As of now no advertisers have been approached but plans are to first go to the top 100 starting with those being managed by Group M, Madison etc. The affluent audience is willing to spend and enough advertisers will be willing to target them, is what the management believes.

     

    A grand marketing plan is being chalked out with the support of the whole Times of India Group. A comprehensive rollout will take place closer to launch including print, sister and other channels, radio, mobile, online and emerging markets. “Watch out for the TOI. You will see a new language of love and laughter,” says Sheth.

     

    So what do media planners have to say about the channel? Most of them seem to be optimistic about its success. “The trend of watching English channels online, which normally not seen here is gaining momentum and Romedy Now will make its mark among the urban audience,” says Mindshare Leader South Asia Ravi Rao.

     

    “Segmentation is always a good idea,” says Madison Media Group CEO Gautam Kiyawat giving a thumbs up to the new entrant.

     

    The whole English entertainment genre of advertising and subscription is valued at above Rs 1,200 crore out of which Times Group MD and CEO Sunil Lulla claims Movies Now has a 20 per cent share and he believes that Romedy Now will outpace it.

     

    “English entertainment is growing at a fast pace but it is highly under monetised and undervalued,” says Times Group English Entertainment Channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat.

     

    The economy is at its lowest currently and Lulla is aware of this. “There is a short term panic in the economy and a consumer slowdown so the effort we have put behind it is a little more than Movies Now,” he says. Although he did not mention an estimated time to break even he pointed out that in the current situation three years is the minimum for any channel. “Television business is not about a break even. It’s about an enduring economic progressive journey,” he adds.

     

    As far as the television industry is concerned Lulla is positive that it will keep growing because currently 140 million homes are served, which means another 80 million are left out. Calculating the money, a consumer just pays 50 paise per hour for it. “This is the cheapest social service industry in the world. The price better go northward or else this social service industry will shut down,” he says.

     

    The team’s research showed that there is definitely space for Romedy Now to fit into the existing gargantuan list but whether the viewers will take a liking to it will be seen only after its launch.

  • Madonna tops Forbes 2013 list of the top-earning celebrities

    Madonna tops Forbes 2013 list of the top-earning celebrities

    MUMBAI: Madonna’s latest album, MDNA, was a flop. Her 12th studio album, Madonna sold fewer than a million copies of MDNA in the US and the singles, like “Give Me All Your Luvin,” failed to impress on the pop music scene.

    But the tour that the ‘Material Girl’ launched to go along with her new album was a spectacular success. Fans didn’t flock to the stadium and spend upwards of $100 per ticket to hear Madonna’s latest stuff. They went to hear hits like “Vogue,” “Like a Virgin” and “Lucky Star.” The tour grossed $305 million and earned her the Top Touring Award at the Billboard Music Awards. Add to that strong merchandise sales, a clothing line, fragrance and investments in companies like Vita Coco and Madonna tops the list of the highest earning celebrities. It is estimates that the pop star brought in $125 million between June 2012 and June 2013.

    That’s more money than Madonna has ever earned in the time Forbes has been doing the Celebrity 100 list. The closest she came to $125 million was in 2009 when she earned $110 million.

    Madonna’s success, at age 55, just goes to show the incredible power of a successful music career. Many have accused Lady Gaga of copying Madonna’s career. The young star is certainly emulating Madonna when it comes to raking in the moolah. Gaga ranks 10th on the list of highest-paid celebrities with $80 million in earnings. She would have brought in even more than that if her tour hadn’t been cut short by a hip injury. Her latest single, “Applause,” was overshadowed last week by Katy Perry‘s latest, “Roar.” But Gaga can comfort herself with the knowledge that last year at least, she earned a lot more money than Perry who brought in an estimate $39 million.

    To compilation of the list is based on, talks with agents, managers, producers and other in-the-know folks to come up with estimates for each celebrity’s entertainment-related earnings between June 2012 and June 2013, the time frame for Forbes’ Celebrity 100 list. There is no deduction for taxes, agent fees or the other expenses of being a celebrity.

    Ranking second on the list with $25 million less than Madonna is Steven Spielberg. The director earned an estimated $100 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Most of that money comes from his extensive library. Hit movies like E.T. and Jurassic Park are always playing on TV somewhere in the world. Last year’s Lincoln was a critical and financial hit earning $275 million on a budget of $65 million. Now Spielberg’s DreamWorks is starting to show some real strength on TV. The studio’s latest show, Under the Dome, is one of the few bright spots on broadcast television.

    Author E.L. James, Howard Stern and Simon Cowell all tie for third place on Forbes’ list with $95 million each. James took the publishing world by storm with 50 Shades of Grey. The trilogy has sold 70 million copies worldwide and a movie is now in the works at Universal Studios. Stern still earns big from his contract with Sirius/XM (despite lawsuits) and Cowell is raking it in from the The X Factor and Got Talent formats which air in dozens of different countries. Stern and Cowell overlap with Got Talent. Stern is earning an estimated $15 million per year as one of the judges on America’s Got Talent.

  • TV industry targets heavy VOD buyers, TV valuable customer for commercials

    TV industry targets heavy VOD buyers, TV valuable customer for commercials

    NEW DELHI: Highly addressable advertising has been a long-standing plan for the TV business, which wants to rival the ad targeting available online, and the biggest beneficiary of addressable commercials so far may be the TV industry itself even as marketers want to make their spending more efficient.

    Cable networks like Starz and HBO have begun trying DirecTV’s addressable advertising platform to find specific viewers who they believe would actually be interested in their shows. Cable and satellite operators, meanwhile, are taking advantage of the system to more efficiently target specific customers and get current subscribers to upgrade.

    Such advertising could be most effective for the actual TV operators, said Visible World executive VP- marketing and research Claudio Marcus. Visible world provides targeting technology to Cablevision.

    According to the National Association of Broadcasters of the United States, this is partly because paid TV services do not want to waste sign-up ads on people who already shell out for the product. Other kinds of marketers have a greater interest in marketing to current customers, so they’ll stick with the brand for their next box of crackers or new smartphone.

    It can also be laborious to match specific households with the cars or packaged goods they buy but pay-TV operators like DirecTV know exactly which premium channels each of its households pays for.

    “People are telling us they have enough TV,” said Media Storm co-founder and managing partner Craig Woerz. Media Storm’s clients including WeTV and NFL Network use DirecTV’s addressable advertising. “We need to make it more personalised and break through the clutter. We don’t want to break through with everyone, just the right people, who will be highly engaged.”

    “Clients using addressable advertising are seeing a 20-40 per cent higher tune in rate than those not doing it,” informed Woerz.

    Addressable commercials let you plan a TV campaign the way you would plan digital, said Starz exec VP-marketing Nancy McGee, which has run two campaigns using DirecTV’s addressable system. “Addressable makes sense in light of how people are consuming TV, cherry-picking programming and networks,” she said.

    The premium cable channel tested a small campaign in March, urging viewers to add Starz, and followed up in June with a promotion for the premiere of the second season of “Magic City.”

    In the initial test, which ran over five days, Starz showed ads to non-subscribers who frequently bought movies on demand or who subscribed to other premium channels, groups that the network believed had a higher propensity to be won over.

    The network saw a 49 per cent higher jump in sales among viewers who saw the ads than in a control group, McGee said, adding that the system provides information on how many people were exposed to the campaign, how many watched it live and in playback, on which network they saw it and during which part of the day.

    HBO, too, has used the DirecTV system for a campaign pegged to Game of Thrones, showing commercials to consumers who met criteria such as frequent VOD orders, on the same logic that Starz applied. It will run a similar effort later this year for the return of Boardwalk Empire.

    HBO is still learning, according to HBO director, domestic network distribution Gina DeSantis. But the network intends to increase its investment in addressable ads next year, she said.

    Scripps Networks is early in its exploration of addressable advertising, using it to send programming messages to viewers based on geographic location, said VP, national accounts, content and marketing group Brent Scott.

    “There are so many shows and competitive networks, if you can pinpoint a specific customer you have a better chance of tune in,” he said. “Why advertise to DirecTV’s entire customer base of 20 million if 19 million of those have no interest. I’d rather reach a couple of hundred thousand that are interested.”

    “In a lot of ways what we are doing here is no different than what Spotify is doing, what Amazon has been doing for years,” said DirecTV exec VP- chief revenue and marketing officer Paul Guyardo. “They see what you like to purchase, they see the songs you like to listen to, and they serve up songs they think you might be interested in. We are only putting the commercials in homes of people that want to know more about new cars or a premiere of a particular show because it is a show they like to watch.”

    Auto, insurance and financial marketers have also been using the addressable technology, according to Guyardo, but the limits of the pay-TV systems’ reach have held back widespread adoption.

    Some in the TV business also worry about the impact of easy, highly targeted TV commercials. “There’s a fear factor,” said Marcus. “The concern is if media buys become more efficient, does money come out of the marketplace because advertisers can do more with less?”

    But the biggest challenge is educating the marketplace, with many media buyers and planners still thinking in traditional gross rating points, according to Guyardo.

    DirecTV is trying to overcome that by pitching directly to CMOs, especially those who are data-driven. “If they value and appreciate data and analytics and they have a good understanding of exactly who they want to target, the beauty of this addressable product is it provides all of the reach that they want without the waste,” Guyardo said.

  • Disney’s planes takes off in India

    Disney’s planes takes off in India

    Mumbai, August 5, 2013: Disney Consumer Products (DCP) India brings all the characters from its high flying film Disney’s Planes to stores across India. The skies are the limit with this exclusive assortment of toys, fashion, home décor, lifestyle and publishing products, rounds out the collection for fans of this new comedy-adventure from above the world of Cars. The range will feature Disney’s Planes stars — Dusty, Ishani, Skipper, Ripslinger and El Chupacabra.

    Set to release in theaters on August 23, 2013, Disney’s Planes takes off with an international cast of the fastest air racers around, in a comedy packed with action and adventure starring Dusty (voice of Dane Cook), Ishani (voice of Priyanka Chopra), Skipper (voice of Stacy Keach) and El Chupacabra (voice of Carlos Alazraqui).

    “Disney Consumer Products’ Planes collection is a fun filled range that will bring hours of fun to kids,” said Roshini Bakshi, managing director, Licensing and Retail, Disney UTV. “Only Disney offers our audiences a fully integrated entertainment experience. Cars’ is one of the popular franchises amongst kids and families in India and with the addition of Planes to ‘The World of Cars’, we are confident of bringing home some more magic through the exciting new Planes range”, she added. 

    Available across all the leading stores in India, the planes merchandise is priced between INR 45 to INR 6999.

    Disney’s Planes Product Collection:
    Toys for little pilots:
    Disney’s Planes Character Diecast Singles Assortment by Mattel (MRP 599): Showcasing a wide variety of characters in authentic styling, these 1:55 scale diecast planes are perfect for re-creating scenes from the movies. The planes feature rolling wheels and spinning propellers as well as a universal connector that works with all play sets. 

    Planes Sky Track Challenge by Mattel (MRP 1,999): This giant track set has two, five feet air tracks, mountain tunnel and a winner’s circle. Clip diecast planes on to the track with their universal connectors and launch for side-by-side racing and barrel roll stunts. One plane is included in the pack.

    Planes Personality Assortment by Mattel (MRP 1,799): Dusty, Skipper and El Chupacabra from the Disney Toons Studios Planes video capture the personality of the characters that inspired them with sounds and action. Easy mechanisms activate the audio and simple movements, like a spinning propeller and firing projectiles. Characters repeat more than 15 phrases and sounds kids will recognize from the movie. Each sold separately, subject to availability. “Try me” packaging.

    Planes Runway Flyers Assortment by Mattel (MRP 1,499): All kids’ favorite characters from the Disney Toons Studios Planes video are flying in – and back out! These foam planes, featuring five favorite characters, snap into the runway launcher. When the trigger is pulled, the plane is released and soars into the air. Able to fly 20 feet, these vehicles really take flight! Each piece sold separately.

    U-Command Super Charged Dusty by Thinkway (MRP 6,999): Deluxe infrared remote control Super Charged Dusty comes to life with animation, voice and sound effects. Kids can control Dusty with joysticks or by pressing one of the 10 program buttons on the wireless remote to make him talk, move and turn in more than 1,000 action combinations.

    Dusty Bubbles Glider Real Flying by Thinkway (MRP 1,699): Dusty Bubble Plane comes with Bubble attachment on wings. Launch Dusty in the air and bubbles come out. Propeller spins as Dusty glides through the sky. The package includes Bubble Solution and Dipping Trays.

    Remote Controlled Driving Planes Assortment by Simba (MRP 4,499): R/C Driving Planes can be driven around by kids with a fully functional remote controlled and a 1:24 scaled plane. Comes in multiple characters including Dusty and El Chupacabra.

    Scooter by My Baby Excel (MRP 1399): Kids can also enjoy their play time with Disney’s Planes scooter specially designed for kids aged 3 yrs and above. The height of the scooter can be adjusted for better operations and it can take weight up to 20 kgs.

    Disney Plush by My Baby Excel (MRP 699): Kids can now cuddle up to their favourite Planes character with 10 inch Plush figures of Dusty and Skipper. Made of soft felt, they are perfect for introduction of younger kids to the world of Planes.
    Aviation Fashion & Lifestyle Gear:

    Fashion from Cherish Knits, Iris Knits and Dhananjai (MRP 199 onwards): The new fashionable apparel range for boys aged 4 to 14 years comprises of round neck short sleeves t-shirts and sweatshirts perfect for young Disney’s Planes fans that want to grow up to be aviators. 

    Disney’s Planes bedding line by D’decor (MRP 1495 onwards): This comforter features the one and only Dusty. The comforter will add aviation flair to any room. Disney sheet sets and blankets are sold separately.

    Flight School Reading:
    Story books and activity books by Parragon (MRP 45 onwards): Kids can now relive the magical story of Disney’s Planes through the extensive range of story books, CD’s, coloring books by Paragon and activity set boxes including puzzles and other board games by Euro.

    Aviation School gear:
    Back to school range by H.M. International (MRP 59 onwards): Kids and families can add loads of fun and frolic to the new school year with the fantastic range of Disney’s Planes lunch boxes, water bottles, stationery and much more. The trendy back to school Planes collection features an array of bright and stylish yet durable and essential merchandise for children aged 4 to 14 years.

    So fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the adventure!

  • Blinkbox offering free preview of US pilots

    Blinkbox offering free preview of US pilots

    MUMBAI: Blinkbox has reached agreements with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Warner Bros, HBO and BBC Worldwide to offer customers a free preview of pilot episodes of series before purchasing.

     

    From 24 July to 19 August, customers can preview such series as True Blood, Supernatural, The Americans, The Following and The Wire. Also included are The Big Bang Theory, The Newsroom, Entourage, American Horror Story, Arrow, Veep and The Vampire Diaries, among others. Customers can try as many shows as they’d like during the period.

     

    Blinkbox’s CEO Michael Comish commented: “Great TV continues to be one of our biggest obsessions and the fuel for many conversations. There’s more choice than ever before thanks to services like ours and our insights told us that customers relished the opportunity to try TV before committing to purchase. After all, life’s too short to watch something that you’re just not into.”

     

    “We think you should be able to enjoy great TV all year round, anytime and anywhere, not just when programs are scheduled. We’re confident that we have the best selection of great TV, so offering a teaser for free seems like a good way to introduce people to our service. We’re delighted to be able to say ‘try TV on us”, he adds.

  • ‘River Monsters’ returns to Animal Planet on 27 May

    ‘River Monsters’ returns to Animal Planet on 27 May

    MUMBAI: Animal Planet’s show ‘River Monsters’ featuring biologist and fishing detective Jeremy Wade returns for a new season on 27 May every night at 8.00 pm.

    He has spent 25 years exploring the planet’s remotest rivers and lakes, hunting for monster-sized fish. The show aims to go where no wildlife programme has gone before, revealing the creatures that lurk in the murky depths of inland waterways.

    Wade travels worldwide to solve freshwater fish tales and lures in watery culprits that allegedly attack mankind. This season, he finds himself in places he’s never explored as he travels to the far reaches of the globe – from serpentine underwater caves to remote rivers filled with freshwater crocodiles. Jeremy searches for the giant cousin of the piranha that – with its gnarly teeth and gnawing jaws – has turned from vegetarian to meat eater, with a particular interest in male genitalia.

    Viewers can follow him to Thailand where the adventurous angler goes in search of what is thought to be the largest freshwater fish – the giant freshwater stingray. Also known locally as the “wish-you-were-dead” fish, this UFO-shaped marine monstrosity is said to measure about 16-feet long and seven-feet across and is approximately 1,300 pounds; but what could really kill is its 18-inch barbed, bayonet-like tail that could whip extremely painful venom through an unfortunate passerby. But even that is not going to stop Jeremy from tracking down this mysterious monster. Jeremy’s adventures take him all over the world to solve freshwater fish mysteries in locations such as Congo, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Alaska, and Florida.

    Wade said, “This season, I get into even more unfamiliar territory. The destinations are diverse, the stories strange, and the fish every bit as fearsome but in unexpected ways. I encountered fish with invisible powers, others that live to a century, the largest true freshwater fish so far and the longest struggle I’ve had with a live fish to date.”

    Wade discovers a freshwater fish that can grow as long as a whale, a species of shark that lives in freshwater 100 miles from the sea, and a fish with teeth as big as a lion’s as well as other creatures and moments captured on film for the first time. Pushing his mental and physical limits to the maximum, join the extreme fisherman as he attempts to capture these amazing creatures and tell their tales.

  • ‘Effective digitisation to facilitate faster break even’ : Big CBS business head Anand Chakravarthy

    ‘Effective digitisation to facilitate faster break even’ : Big CBS business head Anand Chakravarthy

    Big CBS, the joint-venture between Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) and CBS Studios International, is betting big on cable television digitisation to grow its clutch of entertainment channels.

     

    Encouraged by the successful implementation of the first phase of digitisation, the network has just launched a Hindi feed of its male focused English general entertainment channel (GEC), Big CBS Prime. Apart from Big CBS Prime, the network also operates Big CBS Spark and Big CBS Love. Last year, Big CBS Spark switched from an English GEC to a music channel.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto, Big CBS business head Anand Chakravarthy said that effective digitisation would facilitate the network‘s faster break even plans. Big CBS is now pinning hopes on the second phase of digitisation to increase the reach of its channels and grow its revenues.

     

    Excerpts:

    Q. Is Big CBS on track to break even this year?

    It is hard to talk in terms of when break even is expected. Effective digitisation will facilitate faster break even. A lot will depend on tackling issues like audience measurement system and the second phase of digitisation getting implemented without delay. This will be a big opportunity to grow our revenues.

    Q. So what you are suggesting is that apart from digitisation, there is need for an alternative audience measurement system that would help Big CBS in capturing better revenues?

    The solution is to either have an alternative system or have another product within the current system. A strong elite panel could be created. The industry should support it.

    Q. And how would digitisation aid Big CBS as cable TV networks would still extract carriage fees?

    Carriage costs would reduce significantly. Facing competition from direct-to-home (DTH) service providers, the cable operators would protect their turf by offering a great channel package at the lowest possible cost. They need channels like ours because we pull in the high ARPU (average revenue per user) customers.

    Q. So has the English general entertainment genre made significant gains in the metros where digitisation has been implemented?

    DAS (Digital Addressable System) was one of the biggest things to have happened last year. About 70 per cent of this genre’s viewership comes from the three cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. As a result, there was a dramatic increase in our channel distribution. What has happened is that the genre penetration has grown by 100 per cent in the three biggest markets for English entertainment. Post DAS, we saw a 45 per cent growth for the genre.
    ‘Our belief is that segmentation by sex will take place ahead of age. That is because content preferences by men and women are different’

    Q. Has distribution been a challenge as you doing it yourself?

    No! When we launched, we were available across six metros. We took a decision in April to go to digital platforms, which was when we expected DAS to happen. But it got postponed and so we were not available in all homes.

     

    We have, however, not ruled out joining another platform. We have seven channels in our bouquet and all of them are distinctly positioned. We don’t know what future opportunities hold in terms of an alliance. The second phase of DAS would allow us to grow distribution beyond the major metros. This is important as advertisers too are looking to grow their reach across the country.

    Q. Why did Big CBS Prime launch a Hindi feed?

    It will help Big CBS Network play in the Hindi-speaking market (HSM), which has higher advertising potential. This will give consumers the chance to switch between Hindi and English.

    Q. Why Big CBS Spark shifted from a general entertainment to a music channel last year?

    If you look at youth as a genre, we are seeing two kinds of waves. One is that Hindi music channels are becoming youth GECs. When we launched Spark, we launched it as a channel targeting youth. We had youth focussed shows as well as music.

     

    Over a year we saw an opportunity to take on English music and also an emerging opportunity in indie music with indigenous bands playing English songs. You can see that there is an explosion of live concerts happening across the country. We decided to have Spark combine international and indie music.

    Q. How has the response been so far?

    With Spark, we have been a little slow in terms of pushing it on the distribution front. Our aim is to first establish Big CBS Prime and Love.

    Q. Besides Spark, the other two channels are TG focussed with one aimed at men and the other at women. How is this segmentation working in a genre that is very niche?

    We launched these channels recognising that in India this segmentation does not exist. At the end of the day, advertisers are increasingly looking at relevant ROI.

     

    This means that advertisers want to address a specific audience with minimal spillover. That pressure will only go on increasing. With Prime and Love as we build them into stronger platforms, advertisers will see the value of using them on the basis of their own TG and environment. Across the world what we have seen is more media and micro segmentation.

    Q. But is the genre large enough to allow for segmentation?

    I do not think that it is about the genre but the ad environment. Let us look at brands across categories. L’Oreal has moved into a range of male products. This was not their mainstay, but these products are increasingly becoming important for them.

     

    Marico was earlier Parachute and Sunflower. Now they have an entire range of male products through the Paras acquisition. The auto two wheeler and four wheeler segment has exploded. Then look at the e-commerce market, which targets male audience as they do a lot of their buying online. This advertising segment was not there four years ago. As the market evolves, the need for specific channels will only increase.

    Q. The challenge in this genre is to grow loyalty. What has the strategy been to achieve this for Big CBS Prime and Love in 2012?

    There were two things that we focussed on. One is to build sampling of the channels during the DAS period as we went into more homes. The second was to build stickiness. So ‘X-Factor’, ‘America’s Got Talent’ and ‘American Idol’ was simulcast across the three channels. The shows were playing from August-December when digitisation was happening. The aim was that when new viewers see any channel, they see something familiar and they watch.

     

    Now we are building our primetime band. On big CBS Love, we have ‘Melrose Place‘, ‘Excused‘ and ‘Sex And the City‘. And on weekends, there is ‘American Idol‘. What you see are shows that are more female skewed.

     

    On Big CBS Prime you have shows like ‘America’s Got Talent‘, ‘Rules of Engagement‘, ‘48 Hours‘ and ‘Chaos‘. This is content that is more male skewed. We are building destinations on the channel. There is a daily stripped strategy that we follow from Monday – Thursday with specials happening on the weekend.

    Q. But then you cannot have latest and fresh shows under a stripped strategy?

    What you will have is the latest season airing a few weeks after the US. ‘Rules of Engagement, for example, is the latest season that we are showing; and we build a bank of at least 12 episodes.
     

    Q. Is there segmentation happening in terms of TG as well where some channels attract the 15-34-year-olds while others chase the age group between 25-44? What TG does the Big CBS channels attract the most?

    Our core TG is 15-34-year-olds. Segmentation by age will happen, but our belief is that segmentation by sex will take place first. That is because content preferences by men and women are different. Content preferences by youth and older people are also different.

    Q. How do you tackle this?

    Our preference was to segment by sex. Within that, we have some shows that skew towards younger audiences in the age group between 15-24 years. So they are placed in time bands when that TG is watching. For example, ‘90210’ on Big CBS Love is placed in a time band when the younger audience is available.

     

    ‘Melrose Place’, on the other hand, is a drama. That is placed in a time band when the audience watching is 20+. You cannot ignore any age group.

    Q. What shows have emerged as the drivers for Big CBS Prime as compared to rival channels?

    We have shows across different genres. We have a comedy, ‘Rules Of Engagement’. AXN, on the other hand, has no comedy. Then we have exclusive shows like ‘America’s Got Talent’. We just launched ‘48 Hours‘, which is based on real life crimes around the world.

     

    On Prime, we have the advantage of not only being driven by action; it could also be crime, action, shockumentary. AXN is more action oriented. That gives us a distinct look and feel which is different from them. We also do not have clip shows; we have regular programmes to bring audiences back. The advantage we have is our access to CBS content.

    Q. How much of content comes from CBS and how much comes from outside?

    Around 80 per cent of our content comes from CBS. The rest is acquired.

    Q. Earlier you mentioned that you have done simulcasting of a show across channels. Doesn‘t this dilute their brand identity as the same thing is seen across the channels?

    The reason we did this was because of the DAS period. Now that DAS has happened, simulcast is something that we are no longer doing. We are now focussing on building Spark and Love’s distinct positioning.

    Q. Is more experimentation happening in primetime for the Big CBS channels and the genre?

    I would not call it experimentation. I would say that the good thing about DAS is that it forces broadcasters to focus more on content. Everybody is trying to bring in really good quality shows. As a result, the genre will gain. We have fortified our primetime. The challenge is that there are only so many good quality shows available to buy. This is where the advantage of our JV comes in.

    Q. Currently which are the genres that work well for English GECs?

    For male audiences, it is action, crime and comedy. Action reality also works – like ‘Survivor’. In the case of women, it is drama like ‘Melrose Place’ which are more soap oriented. Reality also works, but of different kind like dating and singing shows. To some extent crime also works.

    Q. What is the focus going to be this year for the two channels?

    We will build the big shows from the CBS portfolio. There are some big launches coming up, including new seasons of current shows. Local shows will be built upon – like ‘India’s Sexiest Bachelor’ and ‘India’s Glam Diva’. The third big area will be to create a large local marquee property like ‘India’s Next Top Model’. The aim is to have the latest content and add to that with local shows that give advertisers relevant opportunities.

    Q. What role do sports and movies play?

    Sports air on Prime. We have martial arts and wrestling. Movies are shown on the weekend in this channel. For Love, we are planning to bring television movies.

     

    Movies become a great destination for sampling the channels as they pull in a larger audience. They also offer good sponsorship opportunities. The aim of having sports properties is to broad base the channel as they bring in both younger and older audiences.

    Q. What are the synergies that exist between Big CBS and the other divisions of RBNL and how are these being leveraged?

    From a marketing perspective, Big FM plays a key role. This helps us market the channels in second tier towns.

     

    A lot of our shows are also made by Big Production. It allows for cost saving and more rationalisation of expenses.

    Q. By when do you see subscription revenues kicking in substantially for this genre?

    It is a matter of time, now that digitisation is happening. Certainly for smaller channels it is harder, but we have a decent bouquet. We have more leverage than someone selling a single channel.

    Q. How much did the genre make in terms of ad revenue last year and what growth is expected this year?

    The genre made Rs 1 billion last year. This year DAS has rolled out and the second phase is happening, but there is also a certain amount of slowdown in the economy. I expect a 10 – 12 per cent ad revenue growth. If you have distinct and relevant content, you will do well.

     

    We are only seeing the top of the iceberg in terms of international content being shown here. There is a world of content waiting to come in. We can grow the genre rather than fight with each other. Also, despite the slowdown there are new opportunities. E-commerce has come in. Luxury has also grown significantly as has organised retail advertising. You look at traditional advertisers and new ones which is how you grow ad sales in a slow market.

    Q. What share in the ad pie are you looking at?

    We have a 26-27 per cent market share in terms of audience. Given that, our ad share should also be similar. Product integration into shows is something that we work on. Samsung Galaxy, for example, was integrated into India’s Prime Icon.

    Q. But perception also plays a role in niche channels getting ad monies. How is Big CBS faring in this?

    Perception is something that we have to work on as we are fighting three other players who have been around for a long time. Changing perception will not happen overnight. But with DAS getting implemented, there is an opportunity for us to reach there quicker.