Category: GECs

Zee TV launches the first ever Giphy account across Hindi GECs for India’s Best Dramebaaz, gets over 13.71 Mn Views in 3 weeks

MUMBAI: Zee TV’s acting talent hunt show for kids, India’s Best Dramebaaz, has been winning audiences over with impressive performances by its funky, nautanki bachche, their dramatic flair and their non-stop dramebaazi. Letting its loyal viewers experience the cute and adorable flavour of the show in their daily lives, Zee TV has become the first Hindi GEC in the country to launch an exclusive uber cool Giphy account where fans of the show can now use animated, funny and dramatic GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format) of their favourite contestants, celebrity mentors – Vivek Oberoi, Omung Kumar and Huma Qureshi and the hosts- Shantanu Maheshwari and Vignesh Pandey to express themselves creatively while chatting. These expressions range from happiness (Yayy) to gratitude (Thank You) to laughter (ROTFL) amongst other moods and frames of mind. With this innovation, Zee TV has yet again managed to set up a medium to engage with its audiences interestingly and drive interactivity and conversations around its properties in the digital space.

GIFs have become one of the most sought-after, popular ways of expressing oneself on social media platforms and mobile messaging. GIFs give people multiple ways of conveying a wide gamut of emotions as they are easy, funny and trendy. More expressive than an emoji, these looping images lets one share a specific thought or feeling with little effort at a much faster speed in a more fun manner. Zee TV leveraged this insight and decided to give their audiences an opportunity to personalise their communication and what better platform than India’s Best Dramebaaz to launch this endeavour with. India’s Best Dramebaaz, Zee TV’s acting show is all about expressing a range of emotions and bringing out the nautanki in you. The show’s talented contestants bring alive a range of expressions that one looks for in GIFs which will later be popularized on Zee TV’s social media platforms.

Taking about this first-of-its-kind social media marketing tool, Prathyusha Agarwal, ZEEL’s Chief Marketing Officer, commented, “GIFs are a very lively, creative way to express yourself on social media and in personal chats. I believe it’s a great opportunity for brands to let their TG experience the true essence of their personality. It gives a personal touch to your communication with your audience. We are the first HGEC to have our official account on Giphy. India’s Best Dramebaaz is the most apt platform to launch our GIFs as our kids are just brilliant at it. And the numbers speak for us. In a short span of just 3 weeks, our official Giphy account has crossed 13.71 MN views! And the numbers are increasing as we speak.

July 24, 2018
Sony Sab launches AIB-hosted activation ‘Finding Funny’

MUMBAI: Sony Sab is launching a new and unique program ‘Finding Funny’ which aims to spread happiness and to find hidden talent. Exclusively for media agencies, it will give the opportunity to media professionals to showcase their their talent to make people laugh. The format of the show is not limited to any particular talent allowing them to act, dance, sing, mimic or to do stand-up comedy.

Finding Funny will be hosted and judged by the popular entertainers of AIB Tanmay Bhatt, Rohan Joshi, Ashish Shakya and Gursimran Khamba, who will also perform stand-up comedy acts at the regional rounds and the grand finale in Mumbai.

SAB, PAL and Hindi movies head marketing Vaishali Sharma said “Finding Funny is an on-ground extension of Sony SAB’s brand promise of happiness. The aim is to reach out to our media partners and add an element of fun in their daily routines. We all have hidden capabilities, many yet unexplored. This activation, across cities will provide a platform to media professionals to not only present their talent but also be recognised and rewarded for it. Judged by the best in the business of being funny AIB this initiative can’t get any better.”

Contestants across media agencies in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore will need to send in their videos via WhatsApp to Sony SAB on 08657430410 with their introduction and a presentation of their talent. Those shortlisted will be invited to the regional finals in Mumbai (3 August), Delhi (10 August) and Bangalore (14 August). Winners of the regional rounds to win exciting prizes and the top three in each city will be competing in the grand finale to be held in Mumbai on 24 August.

AIB will play a pivotal role in shortlisting talent across different rounds.

The last date to register is 28 July. Ten contestants shortlisted from the regional rounds held in these three cities will compete in the grand finale where three winners will be declared with the coveted trophy of Finding Funny and win cash prizes.

July 23, 2018
‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’ season 2 to return on Star Plus

MUMBAI: One of the love sagas by Ekta Kapoor, Kasauti Zindagi Kay is all set to hit the small screen after 17 years. The third longest running show from the K-series is back again on Star Plus. Produced by Balaji telefilms, the show successfully ran for seven years with Shweta Tiwari as Prerna, Cezanne Khan as Anurag Basu and Ronit Roy as Mr Bajaj.

Recently, the first promo of Kasautii Zindagii Kay was released. The promo features Erica Fernandes as Prerna in the show, while the male lead will be played by Parth Samthaan.

On this, Ekta Kapoor used social media to convey that “Love never dies!!! When you think it’s over, it returns! Here it is Kasauti Zindagi Kay!”

Kasauti was one of the most successful shows, not just for Balaji Telefilms but also Star Plus. The channel, which is currently facing a hard time owing to low ratings, has been brainstorming on ideas to get its audience back. It may be difficult to imagine new faces in these roles. But as hinted by Ekta in the post, the rebooted version will also be an emotional drive and audience will love this season as well.

July 23, 2018
Make way for an epic love saga this monsoon on Zee Anmol

MUMBAI: Two people – diametrically different in their thoughts and ideas, following different paths in life! What will happen when these two come together? Will they complement each other in love? A love story of the opposites, two people from different worlds – Naren and Pooja. Zee Anmol presents Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu premiering at 7:00 PM on Monday, 23rd July 2018 every Monday to Sunday. The show features noted Marathi actor Akshay Mhatre as its male lead Naren while the lovely Sheen Das makes her debut as the leading lady Pooja with the show.

He is on a path of spirituality, with questions about life unanswered by the God he worships. A psychology student, more in the classroom of his mind and soul than an average college, Naren barely even reads the news. Unpredictable in his manner, he is looked upon as an isolated and anti-social person. Lost in his own world of thought, the poor little rich boy is a rebel, a maze his own parents are unable to solve.

She, on the other hand, is an absolute opposite of what Naren is. Pooja is a gorgeous second-year undergrad student – warm, confident and a complete people’s person. Her talents range from being a karate champ to someone who dances like water. She is the apple of her Mama’s eyes. It is in his care that she has been raised ever since her mother left the world.

Having managed to spot someone like Pooja, Naren’s parents are convinced that it would take a girl of her personality traits only to befriend their son. What happens when these two come together? Will love blossom or will Naren never fall in love with anyone?

July 23, 2018
A ‘Colors’ful decade

MUMBAI: It seems just like yesterday. How oft we have heard that phrase being spoken. So much so that it appears banal. However, in the case of Colors – the general entertainment channel from the now Reliance Industries majority-owned Viacom18 – it is so apt. 10 years have gone by since it started.

Twitterland has been buzzing with tweets from Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak, Colors itself, and nominated managing director Sudhanshu Vats celebrating the achievement of the landmark.

And why not? It seems not so long ago that Colors was flagged off under the baton of programming head Ashvini Yardi and the then CEO Rajesh Kamat. The former today is a successful producer and Bollywood icon Akshay Kumar’s production partner. The latter manages funds and is invested in the media space.

Colors disrupted the status quo – and how. At launch stage, expensive loss leaders like Khatron Ke Khiladi hosted by Akshay Kumar, accompanied by path breaking rural subject shows like Na Aana Is Des Laado, Balika Vadhu and Uttaran delivered a breath of fresh air to audiences, who stayed glued to the channel. This gave it unprecedented viewership ratings and made existing leaders Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony Entertainment raise their eyebrows in surprise, and later creased their brows with worry. It succeeded at a time when two other efforts, NDTV Imagine and Real Broadcasting, flopped and folded up. Both had big money backing them. And, no one expected Colors to be any different. The name itself was pretty oddball.

However, fully charged up distribution, sales and marketing teams – led by Kamat, then promoters Raghav Bahl, and then group CEO Haresh Chawla – worked day and night to make it a success. Ambition ran pretty deep. With failure not an option, there was only one path to beat, that of victory over India’s audiences.

Colors shot up the viewership charts dislodging leaders Star and Zee from their perches and carved out its place in the top 3 GEC sweepstakes. Of course, money had been burnt during startup as investment, and the cash burn continued. But the advertising and marketing community caught on quick and started ploughing media spends into the channel.

The Colors rosy tale continued until both Kamat and Ashvini departed, leaving a vacuum. And, like earlier, a surprise candidate was plonked in the drivers’ seat: Raj Nayak – a professional with experience of selling Star Sports and ESPN, then Star Plus in its early humungous success days, later NDTV and then with his own venture Aidem. Quizzical looks went around relating to the selection.

But Raj adapted quickly to the creative demands and brought in a former Sony programming head Manisha Sharma to help and fine-tune the selection of fictional and non –fiction shows. He continued to bet big on shows such as Bigg Boss, invested oodles of money on the Anil Kapoor-starrer 24, and went the mythological, fantasy and superstition way with shows such as Shani, Naagin, Chandrakanta, Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat and formats like Rising Star, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, India’s Got Talent, the superhit comedy show Comedy Nights with Kapil etc. . Most of Raj’s gambles worked. Shows like 24 and detective series Dev got him plaudits galore for investing in good and edgy content, while the others got the channel eyeballs.

And in Colors’ tenth year, it looks like there’s no stopping Raj and the colourful team. Firmly entrenched as a serious contender in the GEC leadership sweepstakes, Colors has spawned extensions in different languages, replicating the Hindi GEC’s success. A change of management twice – once when Raghav sold out to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance and recently when in joint venture Viacom18 American giant Viacom ceded majority to Reliance – has not dampened any spirits. It has only buoyed Raj, Sudhanshu and their merry men (and women).

More so when Ambani at a Viacom18 event in Mumbai late last year, told Sudhanshu — and over hundred guests present — that having invested time and money in the telecom venture Jio, it was time to devote some time to the TV venture, comprising GECs and news channels.

As the celebrations for a decade of existence continue, we at indiantelevision.com doff our hats to the Colors team and wish it success after success.

July 23, 2018
Star Bharat experiments with early morning slot

MUMBAI: Star Bharat is all set to experiment with weekend morning slot by launching a three-hour programming band from 5 August. The channel won’t air original programming but will broadcast its library content. The channel will telecast three mythological shows. The new time band will start at 7 am with Siya Ke Ram, followed by Mahabharat at 8 am and Devon Ke Dev Mahadev at 9 am.

Siya Ke Ram and Devon Ke Dev …Mahadev were produced by Nikhil Sinha under the banner of Triangle Film Company. The former presents the epic Ramayana from Sita’s perspective. It was originally aired in November 2015 and went off-air in November 2016. Mahadev originally premiered on 18 December 2011 and was one of the longest-running shows on Life OK (now Star Bharat). It was dubbed into several languages and ran until 14 December 2014 for a total of 820 episodes. The series revolves around the legend of Lord Shiva.

Swastik Productions’ Mahabharat originally aired from September 2013 till August 2014. The mythological television drama series was based on the Sanskrit epic with the same name.

Star Bharat replaced Life Ok from 28 August 2017 with the launch of five new shows besides Life OK’s Savdhaan India. During its launch, the channel had three hours of fictional programming on the weekday and an hour of weekend programming.

July 21, 2018
Dangal TV prepares to scale up ambition with new play

MUMBAI: When it comes to general entertainment channels (GECs), hitting the sweet spot isn’t all that easy. Creating unique yet mass content continues to remain a challenge for creators in the industry. While there are tried and tested formats of kitchen politics, dramas and reality shows, building products like Zee’s Kumkum Bhagya, Colors’ Naagin 3 and Dance Deewaneand Star Plus’s Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai requires a golden touch.

In a bid to compete with the big boys and capture the imagination of India’s rural populance, Enterr10’s free to air (FTA) channel Dangal TV is in the process of making an interesting play.

The channel is set to undergo a face lift along with the addition of new original shows to its bouquet of offerings.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Dangal TV MD Manish Singhal said, “We will not change the name of the channel, only the logo, tagline and the entire graphics of the channel, the kind of promos that we make, etc will be changed in a bid to make the classier version and which will define its personality of Dangal TV. We will not change the programming line-up, instead, we will launch the show one by one and will go with it slowly and gradually,” he said.

The channel will launch a show titled Pakistan ki Dulhania from the Jay Mehta production stable, to be aired by August end. Sagar Arts will produce Shani, which will take two more months to go on air, while Jaani Dushman, produced by Contiloe, will be aired mid September.

The channel also has plans to launch yet another show (name hasn’t decided yet) based on the story of Naagin, produced by Dinesh Bansal, to be aired on 30 July.

When it comes to promoting and marketing the channel's brand, Singhal stated that he believes in the power of word of mouth. He also confirmed that the rebranding process could take up to a month.

Dangal TV stood at sixth position from seventh position in the BARC week 28 in the GEC rural market as compared to the previous week with 244443 impressions (000s) sum.

Enterr10 intends to dive deeper into the regional space with the launch of its Bengali GEC and a movie channel, set to go on air within the next four months.

The company also operates Bhojpuri and Marathi movie channels Bhojpuri Cinema and Fakt Marathi respectively.

Editor's note: The spokesperson of Contiloe has denied being in talks with Dangal TV on any show

July 20, 2018
Zeel reports higher numbers on improved ad, subs revenues

BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra-led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) reported a 15 per cent year on year (y-o-y) growth in total revenue for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2019, period, or quarter under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (Q1 2018). The company’s advertisement revenue increased 18.6 per cent y-o-y in Q1 2019, while its subscription revenue increased 8.3 per cent y-o-y. Zeel’s total revenue in Q1 2019 was Rs 1,772 crore as compared to Rs 1,540.3 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Advertisement revenue during the quarter under review increased to Rs1,146 crore from Rs 966.5 crore in Q1 2018. Subscription revenue increased to Rs 518.6 crore in Q1 2019 from Rs 479.1 crore in Q1 2018. Other sales and services increased 13.4 per cent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 107.4 crore from Rs 94.7 crore in Q1 2018.

Operating profit (EBITDA) during the period increased 16.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 565.7 crore from Rs 484.4 crore in Q1 2018. Profit after tax (PAT) increased 31.4 per cent to Rs 326.4 crore in Q1 2019 rom Rs 248.4 crore in Q1 2018.

International Business

Zeel reported international business revenue in Q1 2019 of Rs 195.1 crore. International advertisement revenue grew 2.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 59 crore. International subscription revenue in Q1 2019 was 6.6 per cent lower at Rs 93.4 crore. The company reported other sales and services revenue of Rs 42.7 crore from its international business.

Company speak

Zeel chairman Chandra said, “The year has commenced on a positive note, for both the company as well as the economy. Government initiatives to aid the farming sector, coupled with the normal monsoon for the third successive year is encouraging for the rural economic growth. The growth in consumption, now being driven by rural as well, bodes well for advertising spends. In addition, increasing availability and adoption of digital medium, across different sectors, will have a positive effect on the country’s growth trajectory.”

Zeel managing director & CEO Punit Goenka said, “We are happy with the all-round performance of our portfolio during the first quarter of this fiscal. Our domestic advertising growth of 22 per cent was driven by higher ad spends across categories and increase in our network viewership share. Based on our discussions with the advertisers and the visibility on ad campaigns, we believe that the ad growth for the industry could be higher than the initial estimates for this financial year.”

“On the subscription front, TRAI has notified that the new tariff order will come into effect starting January 2019. We have started discussions with our distribution partners for seamless transition to the new regime. If implemented as envisaged, the regulation would be beneficial for all the stakeholders and could be a catalyst for ARPU growth. Even under the new regime we will be able to grow our subscription revenue at a healthy pace,” added Goenka.

“ZEE5, our digital OTT offering, is already amongst the top-5 digital entertainment platforms in India. We are confident that the pace of subscriber addition will further accelerate with the roll-out of original content and exclusive movie premieres. We are on track to be the largest producer of digital content in the country and are committed to make ZEE5 the #1 entertainment destination for digital consumers,” revealed Goenka.

“Our domestic broadcast portfolio further increased its market share and continues to be the leading television entertainment network in the country. The increase in viewership share is across the markets with strong traction particularly in our regional channels. We believe that there is still room for monetising the increase in market share, which will allow us to grow ahead of the market,” assured Goenka.

Let us look at the other numbers reported by Zeel

Total expenditure during the period under review increased 14.3 per cent to Rs 1,206.4 crore in Q1 2019 from Rs 1,206.4 crore from Rs 1,055.9 crore in Q1 2019. Employee benefit expense increased 2.7 per cent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 171.38 crore from Rs 166.89 crore in Q1 2018. Operational cost in the quarter under review increased 14 per cent y-o-y to Rs 668.32 crore from Rs 586.34 crore in Q1 2018.

Finance costs declined by 64 per cent y-o-y in Q1 2019 to Rs 5.29 crore from Rs 14.7 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year. Other expenses increased 26.9 per cent y-o-y in quarter under review to Rs 226.52 crore from Rs 178.57 crore in Q1 2018.

The company incurred 60 per cent lower fair value loss on financial instruments at fair value through profit and loss for Q1 2019 at Rs 21.29 crore as compared to Rs 53.21 crore in Q1 2018.

July 18, 2018
Viacom18 launches Colors Tamil HD in Singapore on Star Hub

MUMBAI: After entering the Tamil GEC market, Viacom18, one of India’s largest entertainment conglomerates, has launched Colors Tamil HD on Star Hub, (channel no. 132) in Singapore.

The channel went live on 3 July 2018, on Star Hub with five original fiction series. On 14 July, Tamil superstar Arya will visit Singapore to celebrate the channel launch and engage in a fan meet and greet whilst in the city.

“Regional content is growing exponentially and Singapore with nearly half a million Tamil speaking households is a significant regional entertainment broadcasting market. Colors Tamil HD is one of our path breaking channels that promise to deliver new and never seen before content to Singaporean Tamils. Thanks to our successful partnership with Star Hub, we are now happy to be part of the Tamil speaking homes in Singapore directly” said Viacom18 head, regional entertainment Ravish Kumar.

With this entry, IndiaCast Media Distribution Pvt. Ltd. – a TV18 and Viacom18 joint venture will further strengthen its network presence, after having successfully popularised COLORS and MTV in the region. The company’s mandate includes domestic distribution, placement services, international channel distribution, marketing and advertising sales, new media (digital) distribution and content syndication for all the group companies -TV18, Viacom18, ETV network and Turner International India.

Adding to this, IndiaCast group CEO Anuj Gandhi said “We are delighted to associate with Star Hub in yet another momentous launch occasion. After having successfully positioned Colors & Rishtey globally, it gives us immense pleasure to now take Colors Tamil HD to the Tamil diaspora across the globe starting with Singapore. We are confident that this will be a whole new experience for the Tamil speaking audience and offer them new, refreshing entertainment.”

Launched in the month of February, 2018, Colors Tamil HD is the youngest family entertainment channel from Viacom18 that thrives to entertain Tamil speaking viewers, around the globe, through distinctive and most powerful stories that empathise, inspire and celebrate a woman and her family.

Colors Tamil HD primarily focuses on storytelling and matches the heritage of the traditionally rich Tamil Nadu culture with qualitative and innovative programming. Some of their flagship programmes are Velunatchi, Perazhagi, Sivagami, Arya’s Enge Veetu Maapilai and Colors Super Kids.

July 14, 2018
Applause Entertainment, Contiloe Pictures team up to narrate Mughal Empire story

MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment has partnered with Contiloe Pictures to produce Taj – A Monument of Blood, a period drama series on the rise and fall of one of the most iconic dynasties of all time – the Mughal Empire.

The series will be told over five seasons of 12 episodes each. Using the birth and death of Shahjahan as bookends, the series delves deep into the Mongol origins, bloodlines mixing with Persian and Rajput royalty, the court and palace intrigues, the repeated and horrific purging of aspirants to the throne, the regional kings and satraps who paid tribute to Mughal suzerainty and amidst all this, the arrival of the British and Portuguese. It is an incredible tale, a vicarious mix of blood, betrayal, power, beauty, deceit and heartbreak.

Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said, “I am a big fan of revisionist narratives of history. Our history books have been written by victors and often paint very two-dimensional pictures about past empires. When Abhimanyu and I first discussed this idea, we immediately moved away from a typical historical to a darker and edgier version of the Mughal Empire, a version in which symbolically the Taj is more a monument of blood than a monument of love”.

The Mughal Empire (1521 – 1857) ruled India for just over three centuries and it was the greatest empire in the world at the time. The empire reached its zenith during the reign of its four greatest emperors – Akbar, Jehangir, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb – with geographic boundaries that extended from Bengal in the East to modern-day Afghanistan in the North-West and from Kashmir in the North to modern-day Andhra in the South. The story of the Mughals is fascinating. The pomp and pageantry, the extravagance and excess are all well documented; what remains is untold reality behind the glittering façade – the dark side of Camelot if you will – and it is this story that will be told.

Contiloe CEO Abhimanyu Singh said, “Sameer Nair’s industry experience and deep-seated understanding of the content space has always shown through in every endeavour he has undertaken. We are thrilled to have associated with Applause Entertainment for this show. It will take viewers on a historic journey showing them an unseen perspective of this illustrious dynasty which lead to their rise as the greatest empire in medieval times and the quest for power, within it, that finally lead to its downfall.”

Writing is currently underway and the first of five seasons will start filming soon.

July 12, 2018