ITV

Category: GECs

  • Zee Hindi movie cluster bags seven awards at The Asian Customer Engagement Forum (ACEF) awards

    Zee Hindi movie cluster bags seven awards at The Asian Customer Engagement Forum (ACEF) awards

    MUMBAI: The Asian Customer Engagement Forum (ACEF) awarded Zee Hindi Movies Cluster including Zee Cinema, &pictures and Zee Classic amongst others with seven awards recently in Mumbai. Zee Cinema bagged two gold awards, &pictures won one gold and two bronze awards, and Zee Classic is awarded with one gold and one bronze award. 

    Zee Hindi Movies Cluster Business Head Ruchir Tiwari commented, “We are extremely happy to have won seven awards at ACEF awards which is a global platform for recognition in the industry. It keeps us motivated to entertain our viewers in the best way we can.”

    Zee Cinema  won the prestigious gold award in the Innovation category for LUX Zee Cine Awards 2016. The mobile campaign reached out to a whopping 1.3 million users where people were creatively engaged in interactive activities. The channel won another gold award for efficient effectiveness of Digital Marketing for the promotion of World Television Premiere of Singh is Bliing. The campaign encompassed all social media platforms with the objective of reaching out to the maximum number of people.  

    &pictures won the gold award for Best Use of Celebrity Endorsement in the online media category for the World Television Premiere of Badlapur. A trade mailer idea was conceptualized in which the mail appears to be a letter written by Varun Dhawan, the lead actor of the movie. A bronze award was given for innovation in the Newspaper category for the promotion of Badlapur. The print advertorial conveyed the high points of the story of the movie Badlapur, in the form of news articles. Lastly, the channel also won a Bronze award for showcasing creativity in the Newspaper category for promoting the &pictures premiere of Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The print ad was made in the format of a wedding invitation card, inviting readers to attend the crazy wedding and figure out who finally gets married.

    Zee Classic won the esteemed gold ACEF award for innovation in the Publication category for its very successful movie festival – Classic Debut. To endorse the festival, channel along with IMPACT magazine contacted fourteen well known media personalities of current times and published a 4 page advertorial highlighting the debut of these personalities in the industry. The channel also won a bronze award for innovation in the Out of Home Media category for the Zee Classic Train Activity done for “The Golden Years with Javed Akhtar”. Local trains in Mumbai were selected and were exclusively branded as Zee Classic Radio trains along with playing classic melodies and untold stories narrated by the veteran lyricist and poet, Javed Akhtar. 

    ACEF Awards recognizes excellence in the field of customer engagement campaigns and activities across Asia. It provides a platform for recognition and learning in perhaps the most critical, emerging area of content creation

  • 17th IIFA to highlight 60 years of Indian-Spanish diplomatic ties

    17th IIFA to highlight 60 years of Indian-Spanish diplomatic ties

    New Delhi: The seventeenth edition of the International India Film Academy weekend is expected to be one of the biggest with the presence of over 150 film actors and an audience of around 150,000 over four days.

    IIFA founder Sabbas Joseph from Wizcraft said that the event will also be the highlight of the events to mark the sixtieth anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Spain.

    He said a prominent Spanish festival, Mulafest, had been timed to coincide with IIFA as people from Spain had become familiar with Indian cinema and the star craze after the reception the film ‘Zindagi na milegi dobara’ which was the first to be shot in that country received a grand reception.

    Joseph said further that the IIFA weekend which has now covered four continents will also have the tenth FICCI Global Business Forum meet where the Indian delegation is being led by FICCI’s Harshavardhan Neotia

    The IIFA Weekend is from 23 to 26 June and the awards night will be hosted by actors Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor. The awards evening will have performances among others by Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Deepika Padukone.

    Spanish Embassy Charge de’Affaires Magdelena Cruz said several events had been held in Spain to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. Coordinator general of the city of Madrid Luis Custo said cinema was a bridge of the road between the two countries and would bring the people of the two together.

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak said the event would be seen in 135 countries. Revealing a line-up of various programmes, he said that ’24 Part Two’ by Anil Kapoor would be aired this year, apart from the tenth edition of Bigg Boss.

    FICCI Joint Secretary General Ambika Sharma said that a number of chief executive officers of major firms would be attending the Business Forum being held in collaboration with the Spanish and the Madrid Chambers of Commerce. She also hoped there will be ministerial participation both from India and Spain.

    While Videocon d2h is the weekend title sponsor,  Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the title sponsor for the awards. The cause sponsors are Hero Cycles. The event will be telecast on Colors.

  • 17th IIFA to highlight 60 years of Indian-Spanish diplomatic ties

    17th IIFA to highlight 60 years of Indian-Spanish diplomatic ties

    New Delhi: The seventeenth edition of the International India Film Academy weekend is expected to be one of the biggest with the presence of over 150 film actors and an audience of around 150,000 over four days.

    IIFA founder Sabbas Joseph from Wizcraft said that the event will also be the highlight of the events to mark the sixtieth anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Spain.

    He said a prominent Spanish festival, Mulafest, had been timed to coincide with IIFA as people from Spain had become familiar with Indian cinema and the star craze after the reception the film ‘Zindagi na milegi dobara’ which was the first to be shot in that country received a grand reception.

    Joseph said further that the IIFA weekend which has now covered four continents will also have the tenth FICCI Global Business Forum meet where the Indian delegation is being led by FICCI’s Harshavardhan Neotia

    The IIFA Weekend is from 23 to 26 June and the awards night will be hosted by actors Farhan Akhtar and Shahid Kapoor. The awards evening will have performances among others by Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Deepika Padukone.

    Spanish Embassy Charge de’Affaires Magdelena Cruz said several events had been held in Spain to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. Coordinator general of the city of Madrid Luis Custo said cinema was a bridge of the road between the two countries and would bring the people of the two together.

    Colors CEO Raj Nayak said the event would be seen in 135 countries. Revealing a line-up of various programmes, he said that ’24 Part Two’ by Anil Kapoor would be aired this year, apart from the tenth edition of Bigg Boss.

    FICCI Joint Secretary General Ambika Sharma said that a number of chief executive officers of major firms would be attending the Business Forum being held in collaboration with the Spanish and the Madrid Chambers of Commerce. She also hoped there will be ministerial participation both from India and Spain.

    While Videocon d2h is the weekend title sponsor,  Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the title sponsor for the awards. The cause sponsors are Hero Cycles. The event will be telecast on Colors.

  • Q2-2016: Viacom segments report decline in numbers

    Q2-2016: Viacom segments report decline in numbers

    BENGALURU: Viacom Inc (Viacom) reported 2.5 percent year-on year (YoY) drop (reduced by $77 million) in revenue for the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q2-2016, current quarter) at $2,381 million as compared to $2,452 million in Q2-2015. Revenue for the company’s Media Networks segment declined 2.9 percent YoY in the current quarter to $2,381 million from $2,452 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Filmed Entertainment segment revenue declined 0.6 percent YoY to $655 million from $659 million in Q2-2015.

    Adjusted operating Income in the current quarter declined 29 per cent to $586 million from $822 million in Q2-2015. Media Networks adjusted operating income in Q2-2016 decreased 11 per cent to $805 million from $903 million in Q2-2015, reflecting revenue declines as well as an increase in programming expenses. Filmed Entertainment adjusted operating loss was $136 million, driven by the performance of certain films released in the quarter.
    Quarterly adjusted net earnings attributable to Viacom decreased to $303 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.76.

    A common trend across a number of media and entertainment verticals in the US for the quarter that ends 31 March is that revenues are at the lowest. In general as per this cycle, revenue can only go up from here for the other quarters if a business has a normal year. In the case of Viacom Inc., 31 March corresponds to the close of the second quarter of its fiscal, since the company’s financial year ends on 30 September.

    Viacom, executive chairman, president and chief executive cfficer Philippe Dauman, said, “Viacom’s brands are among the most popular and culturally connected in the world. Nickelodeon remains the number one network for kids and many of our other networks have shown sequential improvements in ratings and consumption across platforms. The continuing strength of our brands was validated by our recent renewals with Dish and Frontier on attractive terms. In the past year, we have successfully closed long-term carriage agreements with domestic distributors representing more than 44 million subscribers. Around the world we continue to expand the global reach of our networks, launching several new channels in the quarter. At Paramount, we are looking forward to upcoming blockbusters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Star Trek Beyond this summer.”

    “We are responding to industry consumption shifts with innovative, thoughtful, and long-term strategic solutions and are generating meaningful results in many important areas, including content creation, data-based audience measurement and distribution innovation. There is much more work to be done, but we see the path to growth ahead and are very optimistic about our future,” he added.

    Media Networks

    This segment’s revenue and results have been mentioned above. Viacom says that domestic advertising revenues decreased 5 per cent, as pricing increases were more than offset by softer ratings at some of its networks. International advertising revenues declined 1 per cent, driven by a 7 per cent adverse effect of foreign exchange. Absent the impact of foreign exchange, international advertising revenues increased 6 per cent, driven principally by growth in Europe. Domestic affiliate revenues decreased 2 per cent, reflecting a modest decline in subscribers and a previously disclosed rate adjustment with a major distributor partially offset by rate increases across the remaining subscriber base. International affiliate revenues increased 4 per cent, driven by new channel launches, increased subscribers, and rate increases. Absent a 7 per cent adverse impact of foreign exchange, international affiliates revenues increased 11 per cent.

    Filmed Entertainment

    Filmed Entertainment revenues mentioned above decreased as an increase in license fees and theatrical revenues was more than offset by declines in home entertainment and ancillary revenues. The company says that excluding foreign exchange, which had a 2 per cent unfavourable impact, worldwide revenues increased 1 per cent. Worldwide theatrical revenues increased 6 per cent to $217 million in the quarter, reflecting revenues from Daddy’s Homeand The Big Short, both released late in the first fiscal quarter. License fees increased 17 per cent to $240 million in the quarter, driven by the licensing of certain titles for subscription video-on-demand services. Worldwide home entertainment revenues decreased $41 million in the quarter, primarily reflecting lower revenues associated with catalogue and third-party distribution titles.

  • Q2-2016: Viacom segments report decline in numbers

    Q2-2016: Viacom segments report decline in numbers

    BENGALURU: Viacom Inc (Viacom) reported 2.5 percent year-on year (YoY) drop (reduced by $77 million) in revenue for the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q2-2016, current quarter) at $2,381 million as compared to $2,452 million in Q2-2015. Revenue for the company’s Media Networks segment declined 2.9 percent YoY in the current quarter to $2,381 million from $2,452 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Filmed Entertainment segment revenue declined 0.6 percent YoY to $655 million from $659 million in Q2-2015.

    Adjusted operating Income in the current quarter declined 29 per cent to $586 million from $822 million in Q2-2015. Media Networks adjusted operating income in Q2-2016 decreased 11 per cent to $805 million from $903 million in Q2-2015, reflecting revenue declines as well as an increase in programming expenses. Filmed Entertainment adjusted operating loss was $136 million, driven by the performance of certain films released in the quarter.
    Quarterly adjusted net earnings attributable to Viacom decreased to $303 million. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter were $0.76.

    A common trend across a number of media and entertainment verticals in the US for the quarter that ends 31 March is that revenues are at the lowest. In general as per this cycle, revenue can only go up from here for the other quarters if a business has a normal year. In the case of Viacom Inc., 31 March corresponds to the close of the second quarter of its fiscal, since the company’s financial year ends on 30 September.

    Viacom, executive chairman, president and chief executive cfficer Philippe Dauman, said, “Viacom’s brands are among the most popular and culturally connected in the world. Nickelodeon remains the number one network for kids and many of our other networks have shown sequential improvements in ratings and consumption across platforms. The continuing strength of our brands was validated by our recent renewals with Dish and Frontier on attractive terms. In the past year, we have successfully closed long-term carriage agreements with domestic distributors representing more than 44 million subscribers. Around the world we continue to expand the global reach of our networks, launching several new channels in the quarter. At Paramount, we are looking forward to upcoming blockbusters Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Star Trek Beyond this summer.”

    “We are responding to industry consumption shifts with innovative, thoughtful, and long-term strategic solutions and are generating meaningful results in many important areas, including content creation, data-based audience measurement and distribution innovation. There is much more work to be done, but we see the path to growth ahead and are very optimistic about our future,” he added.

    Media Networks

    This segment’s revenue and results have been mentioned above. Viacom says that domestic advertising revenues decreased 5 per cent, as pricing increases were more than offset by softer ratings at some of its networks. International advertising revenues declined 1 per cent, driven by a 7 per cent adverse effect of foreign exchange. Absent the impact of foreign exchange, international advertising revenues increased 6 per cent, driven principally by growth in Europe. Domestic affiliate revenues decreased 2 per cent, reflecting a modest decline in subscribers and a previously disclosed rate adjustment with a major distributor partially offset by rate increases across the remaining subscriber base. International affiliate revenues increased 4 per cent, driven by new channel launches, increased subscribers, and rate increases. Absent a 7 per cent adverse impact of foreign exchange, international affiliates revenues increased 11 per cent.

    Filmed Entertainment

    Filmed Entertainment revenues mentioned above decreased as an increase in license fees and theatrical revenues was more than offset by declines in home entertainment and ancillary revenues. The company says that excluding foreign exchange, which had a 2 per cent unfavourable impact, worldwide revenues increased 1 per cent. Worldwide theatrical revenues increased 6 per cent to $217 million in the quarter, reflecting revenues from Daddy’s Homeand The Big Short, both released late in the first fiscal quarter. License fees increased 17 per cent to $240 million in the quarter, driven by the licensing of certain titles for subscription video-on-demand services. Worldwide home entertainment revenues decreased $41 million in the quarter, primarily reflecting lower revenues associated with catalogue and third-party distribution titles.

  • APOS 2016: Netflix’s Hastings and Sarandos talk Asia and India

    APOS 2016: Netflix’s Hastings and Sarandos talk Asia and India

    BALI: How many subscribers has Netflix managed to get in India after its launch a 100 days ago? Netflix co-founder and CEO  Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos were unwilling to give out any numbers during the opening session at APOS in Bali yesterday. “It’s too early in the day,” they said. “But we have had a great start. Out of the new 6.7 million (67 lakh) members in the latest quarter, 4.51  million  (45.1 lakh) are from international. We have a long term strategy for the region.” 

    Estimates are that more than half a million (5 lakh) of that came from India during the free trial period and of that about 50,000 have gone ahead and subscribed to the service.

    Hastings and Sarandos were interviewed by Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto. 

    Hastings admitted the streaming service was just about beginning in its Asian and Indian journey. “Netflix has barely been optimized. It’s an ongoing process of delivery to Asia. We are far below the number of languages we need to support. We support 21 languages; YouTube is over 50. We’re building out partnerships, the network infrastructure and in particular the content. We are just continuing to learn as we go along.”

    He pointed out to how Netflix worked it out in Brazil. “We didn’t do very well in the beginning there. We spoke with our members, corrected the issues one by one. Now we are doing well in Brazil.”

    Sarandos highlighted that Netflix has learned its lessons and “we are doing originals faster in Asia than in earlier markets. We are doing a film in Korea called Okja under director Joon Ho Bong, a film in Cambodia by Angelina Jolie and original TV series in Japan.” The Bong film according to iMDB is slated to be completed by 2017 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton and Lilly Collins, apart from a Korean cast.

    Sarandos added that Netflix was making content for Asia, which would then travel around the world on its various country services. “Bollywood movies is also what we are looking to do, but they are a couple of years down the line,” said Sarandos. “ We will do movies the world watches. We will work with local producers. Imagine the traction it would get with our 81 million and expanding global members.”

    Hastings stressed the way forward for the company was to get global rights to all the originals that Netflix produced and also those it licensed from third party suppliers. “We did that with How to Get away with Murder. And we will do it with what ever we produce from now onwards. I regret not having the global rights to the House of Cards,”

    Great content and its easy delivery with a great user experience was what Netflix was consistently focused on,  both Sarandos and Hastings emphasised. Said Hastings: “We have 1,700 engineers who do nothing but ensure Netflix works. Our goal is that it becomes a must-have purchase just like the iPhone is, ” he explained. “Offer a great service at a consistent price.”

    Regulating or censoring Netflix content was something that both Sarandos and Hastings were not in favour of. “We offer greater freedom for story tellers,” said Sarandos. “The art is finding that balance with local authorities. For the most part the internet is not as highly regulated as broadcast. There’s no passive viewing on Netflix. Regulators have found that to be a differentiating factor between broadcast and Netflix. There are pins in place to ensure that adults are watching. Children are protected. For the most part, governments are okay otherwise they know that viewers will go for pirated content.”

    Hastings pointed that Netflix was going to persist with China where it does not yet have a presence. “Apple took six years to get in there. We are going to continue our attempts and discussions,” he added. “Great rewards can follow great patience.”

    He was pretty confident of Netflix’s continuous march forward, despite competition from Amazon and other local players in various countries it has launched. “Our focus is on streaming perfectly without any buffering, not competition,”  he said. “The loss of  pay TV is understated. Pay TV is steady at 100 million (10 crore) . We are in over half US households and growing. HBO  has grown. What is understated is that consumers are willing to pay for content.”

  • APOS 2016: Netflix’s Hastings and Sarandos talk Asia and India

    APOS 2016: Netflix’s Hastings and Sarandos talk Asia and India

    BALI: How many subscribers has Netflix managed to get in India after its launch a 100 days ago? Netflix co-founder and CEO  Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos were unwilling to give out any numbers during the opening session at APOS in Bali yesterday. “It’s too early in the day,” they said. “But we have had a great start. Out of the new 6.7 million (67 lakh) members in the latest quarter, 4.51  million  (45.1 lakh) are from international. We have a long term strategy for the region.” 

    Estimates are that more than half a million (5 lakh) of that came from India during the free trial period and of that about 50,000 have gone ahead and subscribed to the service.

    Hastings and Sarandos were interviewed by Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto. 

    Hastings admitted the streaming service was just about beginning in its Asian and Indian journey. “Netflix has barely been optimized. It’s an ongoing process of delivery to Asia. We are far below the number of languages we need to support. We support 21 languages; YouTube is over 50. We’re building out partnerships, the network infrastructure and in particular the content. We are just continuing to learn as we go along.”

    He pointed out to how Netflix worked it out in Brazil. “We didn’t do very well in the beginning there. We spoke with our members, corrected the issues one by one. Now we are doing well in Brazil.”

    Sarandos highlighted that Netflix has learned its lessons and “we are doing originals faster in Asia than in earlier markets. We are doing a film in Korea called Okja under director Joon Ho Bong, a film in Cambodia by Angelina Jolie and original TV series in Japan.” The Bong film according to iMDB is slated to be completed by 2017 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Tilda Swinton and Lilly Collins, apart from a Korean cast.

    Sarandos added that Netflix was making content for Asia, which would then travel around the world on its various country services. “Bollywood movies is also what we are looking to do, but they are a couple of years down the line,” said Sarandos. “ We will do movies the world watches. We will work with local producers. Imagine the traction it would get with our 81 million and expanding global members.”

    Hastings stressed the way forward for the company was to get global rights to all the originals that Netflix produced and also those it licensed from third party suppliers. “We did that with How to Get away with Murder. And we will do it with what ever we produce from now onwards. I regret not having the global rights to the House of Cards,”

    Great content and its easy delivery with a great user experience was what Netflix was consistently focused on,  both Sarandos and Hastings emphasised. Said Hastings: “We have 1,700 engineers who do nothing but ensure Netflix works. Our goal is that it becomes a must-have purchase just like the iPhone is, ” he explained. “Offer a great service at a consistent price.”

    Regulating or censoring Netflix content was something that both Sarandos and Hastings were not in favour of. “We offer greater freedom for story tellers,” said Sarandos. “The art is finding that balance with local authorities. For the most part the internet is not as highly regulated as broadcast. There’s no passive viewing on Netflix. Regulators have found that to be a differentiating factor between broadcast and Netflix. There are pins in place to ensure that adults are watching. Children are protected. For the most part, governments are okay otherwise they know that viewers will go for pirated content.”

    Hastings pointed that Netflix was going to persist with China where it does not yet have a presence. “Apple took six years to get in there. We are going to continue our attempts and discussions,” he added. “Great rewards can follow great patience.”

    He was pretty confident of Netflix’s continuous march forward, despite competition from Amazon and other local players in various countries it has launched. “Our focus is on streaming perfectly without any buffering, not competition,”  he said. “The loss of  pay TV is understated. Pay TV is steady at 100 million (10 crore) . We are in over half US households and growing. HBO  has grown. What is understated is that consumers are willing to pay for content.”

  • Zindagi presents new show ‘Vasl’

    Zindagi presents new show ‘Vasl’

    MUMBAI: Known for its gripping dramas with interesting and realistic stories, Zindagi brings to viewers Vasl, the journey of a mother who will stop at nothing to re-unite with her children.  Vasl will premiere on 2 May,  and will air every Monday – Saturday at 9 pm. 

    Directed by the renowned Mehreen Jabbar and written by Sameera Fazal, it has the very dynamic Adnan Siddiqui in the lead role as Hashim and Ayesha Khan in the extremely heart–wrenching role of Heena.

    ‘Vasl’ is the story of Heena, a girl from a middle-class family, who is married to a Pakistani settled in the United States of America. A dutiful wife, Henna tries her best to mould herself to the American way of life and to her husband’s sophisticated & westernized lifestyle.  He, however fails to accept her and constantly tells her to change. Hashim sends his wife Henna to Pakistan to meet her parents. Having not met her family in 12 years, Henna happily agrees and takes the children to Pakistan to visit her family. A few days into their visit, on the pretext of an urgent school project, Hashim calls the kids back to the U.S. Anxious to see her children; Heena prepares to return to the U.S., only to receive divorce papers from her husband.

     Thus starts Henna’s struggles to deal with this shocking turn of event and her fight to get her children back. Betrayal, fury, helplessness and loneliness lead a gentle natured and timid Henna to find strength in herself and deal with every challenge head-on to get her kids back and discovers herself in the process.

    Will Henna’s inner strength and courage, lead her to justice? Will she ever be reunited with her children?

  • Zindagi presents new show ‘Vasl’

    Zindagi presents new show ‘Vasl’

    MUMBAI: Known for its gripping dramas with interesting and realistic stories, Zindagi brings to viewers Vasl, the journey of a mother who will stop at nothing to re-unite with her children.  Vasl will premiere on 2 May,  and will air every Monday – Saturday at 9 pm. 

    Directed by the renowned Mehreen Jabbar and written by Sameera Fazal, it has the very dynamic Adnan Siddiqui in the lead role as Hashim and Ayesha Khan in the extremely heart–wrenching role of Heena.

    ‘Vasl’ is the story of Heena, a girl from a middle-class family, who is married to a Pakistani settled in the United States of America. A dutiful wife, Henna tries her best to mould herself to the American way of life and to her husband’s sophisticated & westernized lifestyle.  He, however fails to accept her and constantly tells her to change. Hashim sends his wife Henna to Pakistan to meet her parents. Having not met her family in 12 years, Henna happily agrees and takes the children to Pakistan to visit her family. A few days into their visit, on the pretext of an urgent school project, Hashim calls the kids back to the U.S. Anxious to see her children; Heena prepares to return to the U.S., only to receive divorce papers from her husband.

     Thus starts Henna’s struggles to deal with this shocking turn of event and her fight to get her children back. Betrayal, fury, helplessness and loneliness lead a gentle natured and timid Henna to find strength in herself and deal with every challenge head-on to get her kids back and discovers herself in the process.

    Will Henna’s inner strength and courage, lead her to justice? Will she ever be reunited with her children?

  • APOS 2016: Reliance Industries’ Adil Zainulbhai & the Jio launch

    APOS 2016: Reliance Industries’ Adil Zainulbhai & the Jio launch

    BALI: For all those who have been speculating about the commercial launch dates of Reliance Industries Jio services – whether wireless broadband and 4G or wired broadband – in India, here’s  the final word from the Network 18 Media & Investments chairman and Reliance Industries independent director Adil Zainulbhai.

    Speaking at APOS2016 in Bali, Zainulbhai admitted even he does not know it. “There is probably one person who knows when the launch date is: that is the chairman. And the chairman of the board will decide one day when it will launch and I don’t think even he knows today what that date is. He will let us know when that is to happen.”

    Zainulbhai stated that Jio was very close to being ready in terms of infrastructure for broadband wireless. He pointed out that the company was currently looking at what all was required from the marketing and processes perspectives.

    He revealed that close to 250,000 km fibre has been laid for wired broadband. These services will follow only after the launch of wireless broadband.

    “In the next 18-24 months, a large proportion of the high net worth homes in India will have the potential to have a fibre connection. And then they will have to choose when they want it or not,” he expounded. “Today an average data user on wireless broadband uses 0.18 GB a month. We have 500,000 users on our network testing it –they are using on an average 20GB. This is going to be a disruption. We don’t know how things will roll out when you give people an opportunity to consume as much as they want for a very reasonable price.”

    Zainulbhai stated the Reliance group has never looked at any project business case wise. “The thought has always been how can we disrupt the existing scenario, improve lives of people and  in the process make money,” he disclosed.  “Right from the founder Dhirubhai Ambani’s time. And this has worked well for it with every project paying off.”

    He directed the attendees attention to benefits like health and education which will be the other services the group will provide under Jio. “There’s a shortage of doctors and teachers in India. We want to help plug that gap through our broadband digital infrastructure. Entertainment services will pay for the laying of the fibre. The biggest change will happen in other fields.”