ITV

Category: GECs

  • Viacom18’s Supersonic makes debut in Candolim beach

    Viacom18’s Supersonic makes debut in Candolim beach

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has already established a foothold in the broadcast medium with its successful channels such as Colors, CNN-IBN etc. Going a step ahead, it has decided to imprint itself in the Electro Dance Music (EDM) segment of the country. Roping in DJ and VJ Nikhil Chinapa, the media company’s first EDM festival Supersonic has unleashed itself on the crowds thronging the tourist destination Goa.

    The five-day event, VH1 Supersonic, is being held at Candolim beach that has been till now known for India’s leading EDM festival Sunburn. Leading names such as Alvaro, Nikhil Chinapa, Benny Benassi, Above and Beyond, BT etc will be performing for the crowds that can also be live streamed on its YouTube site. Helming the whole project is former MTV VJ Nikhil Chinapa.

    Leading the sponsor list is Budweiser as the official sponsor along with Smirnoff, Van Heusen, Eveready, Inox, Vivanta, Gelato, Café Coffee Day etc. Ticket prices start at just Rs 1000 and go up to Rs 9500 for one person. The first day saw more than 5000 people attending the fest, according to the organisers.

    Supersonic and Sunburn were embroiled in a court issue regarding Candolim beach. “Candolim meets all the requirements to hold a festival of this scale, superb location on a white sand beach, great mix of luxury, boutique and budget hotels in a very safe environment. To top it all we were approached by the local partners who were keen to partner with us for the festival,” says INS sr VP and business head Jaideep Singh.

    As per sources it takes about Rs 3-5 crore to throw an EDM festival.

  • Zee TV and Sony witness a dip in Week 51

    Zee TV and Sony witness a dip in Week 51

    MUMBAI: We are almost nearing the year end and interestingly there hasn’t been much change in the TAM TV ratings through the year. However, the Week 51 has been a good week overall for the general entertainment channels (GECs) as almost all the channels have witnessed a growth in its viewership.

    As per the TVT data sourced from the channel for week 51, Star Plus remains at the first position with 599,179 GVTs (579,369). The new show on the channel Yeh Hai Mohabbatein maintains stable position with 2,836 TVTs (2,821). However, its celebrity dance reality show Nach Baliye 6 saw a drop with 3,766 TVTs (3,918). The epic series Mahabharat continues to grab eyeballs and reported 7,662 TVTs (7,412).

    Colors too maintained its second position with 488,005 GVTs (448,658). The channel has witnessed a hike in almost all its properties. While Bigg Boss seven reported 5,989 TVTs (5,706), 24 scored 3,493 TVTs (2,862) and Comedy Nights with Kapil garnered 8,818 TVTs (7,425).

    At the third position, Zee TV saw a fall in its viewership and marked 408,807 GVTs (439,271). The channel’s sitcom Bh se Bhade witnessed a drop in its viewership and reported 1,459 TVTs (2,021). Its popular dance reality show Dance India Dance 4 lost on its viewership on Saturday and scored 4,061 TVTs (6,304) and remained almost stable at 3,870 TVTs (3,821) on Sunday.

    Life OK stood at number four with 325,759 GVTs (312,956) followed by Sab with 308,658 GVTs (291,060). Sony witnessed a drop in the number of GVTs and scored 254,912 GVTs (266,525). Its non-fiction property, Boogie Woogie Kids Championship saw a drop in its second week and marked at 3,232 TVTs (3,612).

    Sahara One is still lagging behind and is at the bottom of the ratings list with 36,673 GVTs (36,001).

    In the movie channel genre, Zee Cinema reported 222,208 GVTs (208,530); Star Gold registered 163,219 GVTs (167,279) and Movies OK scored 125,734 GVTs (123,361). On the other hand, &pictures notched up and scored 79,261 GVTs (70,567), Zee Anmol marked 64,638 GVTs (65,618) and Max scored 214,123 GVTs (172,165).

  • Bigg Boss rides high on negative publicity

    Bigg Boss rides high on negative publicity

    MUMBAI: Not that Bigg Boss, or for that matter even the original format Big Brother, has ever been in news for good things, but the seventh season of the celebrity reality show seems to be riding high on negative publicity.  While in the earlier seasons, it was just the in-house fights, some of the most popular ones involving Dolly Bindra, Raja Chaudhary, Kamal R Khan, Pooja Misra etc, which made headlines, this time the happenings inside the house is also coming out and reaching the police station.

     

    The recent news is about a case against actor Ajaz Khan. Apparently, on 28 December, a case was filed against him for calling BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi a “chor”. The BJP political wing in North Mumbai lodged a police complaint against Ajaz and the show for apparent defamatory statement.

     

    The number of legal cases this season has just been on a rise. The first case was against Armaan Kohli filed by Sofia Hayat for sexual assault. The actor was taken to Lonavala police station from the Bigg Boss house but however he got and re-entered the house.

     

    If that wasn’t enough, another case was filed in Hyderabad against the host Salman Khan and the producers of the show for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments. According to the complainant, certain expressions used by the actor for describing elimination and promotion of participants were offensive.

     

    Surprisingly, there was not much use of abusive language in this season of the show. However, other factors like celebrity tantrums, physical proximity among contestants all have kept the show in the spotlight since the beginning. From Kushal Tandon jumping off the wall and contestants flouting the rules of the house to two contestants getting intimate in the house, everything has kept the show in the limelight.

     

    Recently, there was also a strong buzz that actor and producer Sachiin Joshi was also going to take strong legal action against Kushal Tandon. The actor was in the show to promote his film Jackpot and was called ‘dedh footiya’ by the TV actor.

     

    With only two days to go for the show’s finale, one can only hope that the season ends without anymore controversies.

  • Watch Screen Awards on Life OK

    Watch Screen Awards on Life OK

    MUMBAI: Barely days since it completed two years on 18 December, Life OK has acquired the telecast rights of one of film and television’s biggest properties – the Screen Awards – currently in its 20th year. 

    With this development, one of Bollywood’s most credible and prestigious awards have come a full circle. Aired on Star Plus for a good 11 years to begin with, they were later telecast by Colors for two years and now, will be seen on Star Plus’ sister channel Life OK.

    To be aired on 26 January, 2014 at 8pm, this year’s Screen Awards, themed ‘Commemorating heroes’, will celebrate excellence in over 30 categories across the entire sweep of filmmaking in the Hindi and Marathi film industry.

    Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur exults: “While it may have been aired on other platforms earlier, Star network has always had this unique proposition. On Life OK this year, the Screen Awards will have much more of a natural effect. But having said that, we will also scale up since it is the 20th year of the awards plus two years of the channel, and we want to add a lot more inspiration to it. We will create more categories for honouring good cinema. We’re also looking at honouring the heroes of our cinema. We will build it around that platform, adding more to the credibility and inspiration for viewers.”

    The Indian Express Group CEO George Varghese opines: “The Screen Awards are known for their credible and unbiased approach towards celebrating excellence in Indian cinema, and are the most respected in the entertainment fraternity. For the 20th edition of the Screen Awards, we are proud to be associated with Life OK, and are committed to making it bigger and better than before.”

    The idea behind acquiring the telecast rights of the Screen Awards was very simple for the channel. They want to create an impact on the masses with popular properties. “We completed two years and we were at a good run for the last 12 months. It was important for us to now go to the next level. And when we say next level, one of the things which we want to do is create an impact by acquiring some big properties,” explains Thakur. “We were very clear about acquiring this award show which we have never done before, keeping in mind our criteria in programming that is very clear. We wanted a show which stands out in terms of entertainment and some amount of credibility and inspiration also.”

    And so far, the channel has enjoyed working with Screen for the award ceremony. “It’s been wonderful. When we met the CEO of Indian Express George Varghese and the Editor of ScreenPriyanka Sinha Jha, initially, they had a lot of questions about Life OK since the awards used to air on the top two channels earlier and we are at number four. But we shared our plans with them and told them that how we were aiming to grow the channel. They loved our programming philosophy, our belief in social causes and our airing inspiring content. Because of these things, they were finally convinced about going ahead with the partnership,” says Thakur.

    The on-ground will be handled by Cineyug and though sponsors haven’t been confirmed yet, many new categories such as FMCG, automobiles and telecom are interested in coming on board.

    We will build it around that platform, adding more to the credibility and inspiration for viewers, says Ajit Thakur

    Marketing-wise, Thakur informs they are doing a nomination night one week before the awards’ night, which will be one of the biggest marketing campaigns for Life OK. In the pipeline are activities across 150 TV channels; a 10-day city outdoor starting first week of January that will cover buses, malls and cinema halls; cinema advertising; radio and mobile activations; and a road show that will take the Screen Awards trophy to different cities across the country.

    An industry source pegs the value of the Screen Awards property at around Rs 25 – Rs 30 crore but adds, “Because it is coming on Life OK, the value will come down a bit.”

    Probed further, the source says: “It would be about Rs 10 – 12 crore. The channel is trying to invest in programming to get and buy the viewer out. Possibly, they might have paid Rs 25 – 30 crore for it, knowing that though they will lose Rs 10 – 15 crore in the first year, in two or three years’ time, it will start making money and make their channel larger. Typically, you can’t make much money on the property in the very first year though it also depends on the scale and execution.”

  • The rise of the Zombies at Comic Con

    The rise of the Zombies at Comic Con

    MUMBAI: The recently concluded Mumbai Film and Comics Convention (MFCC) aka Comic Con proved to be a crowd-puller, much like its predecessor last year.  

    Held over two days 21 and 22 December at the Goregaon Exhibition Centre in Mumbai, Comic Con had Wonderbai, our very own ‘desi’ interpretation of popular comic Wonder Woman as its mascot.

     

    Inside, visitors were greeted by life-size statues of Marvel Comics’ superheroes Iron Man and The Hulk in their ‘signature’ poses.

     

    Apart from world-renowned names like Marvel Comics and DC Comics, the event was also marked by the presence of indigenous creative entities such as Graphicurry, Manta Ray and Wontolla.

     

    One of the highlights was the promotion of ‘Zombie Rising: Volume I’, graphic novel and prequel to India’s first original zombie film ‘Rise of the Zombie’ by actor, co-director and 9XO channel head Luke Kenny and writer and co-director Devika Singh.

     

    While also announcing that the sequel to ‘Rise of the Zombie’ is “in the works”, Kenny said: “The prequel comic, the film, and an upcoming video game aim to serve as a new vision to a western genre and Indianising it. It is the Comic Con audience that we are aiming at and not necessarily the Bollywood audience. Presenting it to the public at a time when ‘The Walking Dead’ (a hit US TV series about zombies) is at the peak of its popularity is an added advantage.”

     

    Singh on her part said: “With a limited audience for this genre, a majority of the audience has to be educated before they can acquire a taste for Zombie films that border between blood and gore. The entire genre of zombies is still a rarity in India, a niche on its own; we aim to expose as many Indians as we can to this genre; especially now that successful films like ‘Warm Bodies’ and TV shows like ‘The Returned’ are taking the world by storm.”

     

    Incidentally, ‘Rise of the Zombie’ is a film about a wildlife photographer who transforms into a zombie after being infected by one. Both Kenny’s performance and Singh’s writing have been lauded on the social media circuit.

     

    The other high point was Tere Bin Laden writer-director Abhishek Sharma’s announcement of an “unconventional spinoff” to his 2010 cult comedy titled ‘Tere Bin Laden 3’. Said Sharma, “The two films, even though extremely similar, exist in two different universes,” without giving away any more details.

     

    However, when a member of the audience asked the also present host-actor Manish Paul, who plays one of the leads in Sharma’s upcoming film, to name the character he plays, Sharma answered out of turn: “Since my name is so common in India that you will find apartment buildings sharing it, Manish has decided to give all his future characters my last name – Sharma.”

     

    The humor wasn’t lost on the crowd which burst out into peals of laughter even as another spectator asked Paul whether he would ever return to television after making a debut on the big screen. “I will continue hosting, and balance films alongside. I am currently working on a new TV show, but am not at liberty to say more,” replied Paul.

     

    Leaving aside the event itself, Comic Con has garnered 5 lakh likes on its official Facebook page.

  • Chrome Data: Infotainment genre sees a rise

    Chrome Data: Infotainment genre sees a rise

    MUMBAI: While we thought it’s the news stories that the masses are interested in, the fact seems to be something different. While the TV viewers want to munch on news, it seems they also want it to be packaged in a way that’s entertaining and insightful. That’s the reason we assume that the infotainment genre is becoming popular by the day. At least that is what the data in week 51 of Chrome opportunity to see (OTS) reveals.

    For the second consecutive week in a row, the infotainment channels have seen a rise. According to the data provided by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, the genre witnessed a 0.6 per cent rise with Discovery Channel garnering the highest OTS among the players in the segment with 88.2 per cent OTS on a national level.

    While last week we thought it was the demise of Nelson Mandela that pulled viewers to the infotainment channels that were airing special features on this magnificent leader, this time there seems to be no specific reason for the genre to be popular. However, the genre is on a roll even at a time when a lot of interesting things are unfolding in the news space. Possibly, the launch of new and interesting shows and new seasons of popular shows is the reason behind bringing audience’s attention to the genre.

    However, movies still seem to be an enticing genre with English movie channels being the second in the list. The genre witnessed a 0.5 per cent rise in the eight metros as Sony Pix continued to woo its target audience and once again remained on top by getting 89.3 per cent OTS.

    The performance of religious channels also bettered as from being in the bottom four, the genre rose up and came at the third position in the Hindi speaking market (HSM). It rose by 0.2 per cent. Spirituality, it seems, is the way to the viewers’ heart; Aastha with its diverse line-up on spiritual shows topped the chart with 98.1 per cent OTS.

    The charm of the holiday season on kids is also reflective in this week’s data as the kid’s genre has witnessed a 0.1 per cent gain on an all India basis. One of the oldest channels in the genre, Cartoon Network, got 87.7 per cent OTS on an all India basis.

    As for the bottom four, English entertainment genre saw a drop of 5.4 per cent in the eight metros. AXN registered 82.9 per cent OTS while others lagged behind.

    Music channels also saw a drop of 0.8 per cent with Sony Mix garnering 87.7 per cent in the HSM. 

    Both English news channels as well as Hindi movie channels witnessed a decline of 0.6 per cent in eight metros and HSM respectively. Times Now ruled among the news channels with 91.6 per cent OTS, while Star Gold got 96.8 per cent OTS. 

  • ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ back on Doordarshan

    ‘Galli Galli Sim Sim’ back on Doordarshan

    MUMBAI:  Sesame Workshop in India (SWI) has launched the sixth season of Galli Galli Sim Sim, the popular children’s programme, on Doordarshan with a brand new message, “Hasaye Zabardast, Seekhaye Mast’.

    The show aimed at children aged 0-8 years believes in harnessing the power of television to provide a strong early childhood educational foundation to preschoolers. Season six being aired on Doordarshan, which reaches out to 13 million children, focuses strongly on literacy and numeracy. Aprt from it, it will also focus on other areas of child development such as problem solving, caring and sharing, giving a head start to a significant number of children with little to no access to early childhood education.

    Doordarshan director general Tripurari Sharan said, “As a public service broadcaster, we have to always look out for a holistic programming mix as we have a vast and diverse viewership.  With Galli Galli Sim Sim we are able to reach out to children from all strata of society and we are extremely glad to continue its broadcast on our network.”

    The show was first aired in 2006. “As India’s first educational programme on TV, Galli Galli Sim Sim has played a pioneering role in imparting high quality early childhood learning and providing children with a head start in understanding and communicating in the world around them,” said Sesame Workshop India MD Sashwati Banerjee. “We believe we have a critical role to play in making early childhood education take center stage in India and by being on Doordarshan this takes us closer to our goal.”

    The show started airing from 14 December, 2013 at 9 am and will run every Saturday at the same time, a total of 52 episodes of 22 minutes each.

  • Bloomberg TV India Autocar India awards felicitate the automobile Industry

    Bloomberg TV India Autocar India awards felicitate the automobile Industry

    MUMBAI: Bloomberg TV India and Autocar India magazine presented the The Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2013 – 14 yesterday.

    The winners were felicitated at a glittering ceremony in Mumbai in the presence of minister of petroleum and natural gas Dr M Veerappa Moily, Planning Commission advisor to DCH (Infrastructure) Gajendra Haldea and others from the corporate world who came together, to salute achievers from the automotive sector.

    A total of 24 awards were given away across two and four wheeler segments. The award function was presented by Reliance General Insurance and powered by Mobile 1.

    At the awards, in the four wheeler segment, Ford EcoSport made a sensational debut by winning the ‘Car of the Year (Jury’s Choice), while Honda won the ‘Manufacturer of the Year’. In the two wheeler segment, KTM 390 Duke won the Bike of the Year (Jury’s Choice). The list of award winners across all categories is annexed.

    Speaking about the awards, Bloomberg TV India business head Amrit Rai said, “As the leading business news channel we give viewers a clear understanding of various industry sectors. Both Bloomberg TV India and Autocar India – a mighty combination come together to present the most credible automotive awards in India today. With a dedicated team tracking, analysing, de-mystifying the automotive sector for the Indian viewer and a commitment to present facts. These awards are indeed a result of the team’s year long efforts to present and celebrate excellence.”

    The jury panel that selected the winners from the top contenders in each category comprised of experts like Autocar India editor Hormazd Sorabjee; Autocar Show editor Renuka Kirpalani;Autocar India deputy editor and What Car? India editor Shapur Kotwal; Autocar Show consultant editor Kartikeya Singhee;; India’s leading automotive Historian and restorer Manvendra Singh;Two Wheeler Autocar India editor Rishad Cooper; motocross rider C S Santosh.

  • Zee’s new show celebrates love

    Zee’s new show celebrates love

    MUMBAI: Love means different things to different people; some find it magical, others plain volatile. But most agree it is one exhilarating ride that brings two people together.

     

    Celebrating this beautiful but complicated emotion is Zee TV’s new show Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya which comes to your drawing rooms starting 6 January – five days a week at 10pm.

    It centers on the thought that – you don_t find love, love finds you, says Ajay Bhalwankar

    The channel’s first new show of 2014, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, produced by Rajan Shahi of Director’s Kut Productions, will replace the ongoing Khelti Hai Zindagi Aankh Micholi.

     

    Says Hindi GECs content head Ajay Bhalwankar: “It is not about kitchen politics, it is not about any other melodramatic narratives. The story is absolutely simple and clean. It talks about the various aspects of exploring love. It centers on the thought that – you don’t find love, love finds you!”

     

    Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya traces the emotional journey of two young people with different notions about love, against the picture-perfect backdrop of the Pink City aka Jaipur.
    Bhalwankar believes the series will bust quite a few myths associated with love and marriage. “The first myth the show should break is that love stories don’t work on television. Second myth, love means running away, love means dying at the end of the film. This is a happy love story and a non-controversial love story. It is about discovering and falling in love,” he says.

     

    It is a simple and a clean love story, says Rajan Shahi

    With Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, Shahi, who has directed shows like Saat Phere and Maayka on Zee TV, turns first-time producer for the channel. Like Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai which served as a platform for debutants Hina Khan and Karan Mehra, Shahi will introduce newcomers Kaanchi Singh (Avni) and Mishkat Varma (Raj) as the lead pair in the new series.

     

    While Avni’s parents will be played by Reena Kapoor and Rajeev Singh, Waseem Mushtaqh, Ashita Dhawan, Rajeev Verma and newbie Nikita Agarwal form the rest of the cast.

     

    Isn’t getting fresh talent on board a risk? “Yes, definitely, there is some risk involved. But I enjoy it. After Ekta Kapoor, I can proudly say that DKP is the one which has given maximum newcomers a platform like this. I like to invest in newcomers and have worked with the maximum number of newcomers. You want to get fresh talent on board for fresh stories,” says Shahi.

     

    So far, eight episodes have been canned with four episodes shot fully and ready to go on air.

     

    Asked whether the 10pm slot will work, Shahi says: “I have never asked channels for particular slots. For me, it’s my work, whether you put me in the 2 pm or 6 pm slot, I have to work. Over the years, I am not so blinded by it, but TVTs do play an important role. I know that we are judged by TVTs, but I don’t let this affect my day-to-day living.”

    Speaking of promoting the new series, Zee TV has a well-rounded strategy on the cards which includes endorsements in print, TV, DTH and cable. An interesting audience engagement program targeting couples is also underway.

     

    Not only is Shahi confident of the new show, after being in the industry for so long and experimenting with different mediums, Shahi feels television has truly arrived. “TV is now evolving and changing at a much faster speed than ever before. The change is now happening every two to three months. In terms of revenue and employment, it is growing bigger than Bollywood.”

     

    “The kind of revenue television is generating is three times more than films. The kind of employment television is generating is again three times more than films. So, TV as a canvas has grown bigger. Very thankfully, people don’t look down on TV any more. They don’t consider it a step down. It is becoming exciting with lots of new content also coming in. Indian television quality is also brilliant given the conditions and budgets we’ve worked with earlier,” Shahi signs off.

  • Zee TV offers free mobile recharge to audience in return for DID votes

    Zee TV offers free mobile recharge to audience in return for DID votes

    MUMBAI: Not very long ago, the television audience were charged when they voted for their favourite contestants on a reality show, then it was made free in order to get more audience in to voting, now the audience are set to get returns too when they vote.

    In an interesting campaign for its reality show Dance India Dance season 4 that is about to enter an exciting leg with the Top 10 contestants battling it out for the much coveted ‘sunehri taqdeer ki topi’, Zee TV has gone one step further and joined hands with FreeCharge.com and would be ‘freecharging’ the phones of all those who give a missed call to vote for their favorite contestants. Last year, the channel to make votes cost free had come up with the idea of “missed calls for vote”, this time its target seems to be to lure more viewers to the show.

    The voting phase will begin on Sunday, 22 December and audiences will have as much power to vote for their favorite contestants as the judges on the show. 

    The mechanism for voting is simple – on placing a missed call to vote for their favorite contestant, the viewer will receive a promo code. The voter can then log on to www.freecharge.com and get free talk time worth Rs 10 on a minimum recharge of Rs 20 with the use of the promo code. The consumer will get only one promo code per week which means that they can vote only once per week for their favourite contestant. However, they can cast their vote for all contestants but receive only one promo code.

    Talking about the initiative, ZEEL marketing head national channels Akash Chawla said, “Voting is an integral part of any reality show. We made voting free last year by way of the ‘Missed-Call Voting’ mechanism. We received an overwhelming response in the form of record-breaking vote counts from our viewers. With this initiative of ‘Freecharging’ our voters’ phones, the idea was to take one step forward and gratify our viewers for sharing their valuable vote with us and helping us in our journey of identifying India’s biggest dancing star. The mechanism is effective as a consumer is allowed to vote only once for their favorite contestant each week through their registered number…thereby, not allowing any duplication of votes.  Freecharging will prove to be a fair mechanism to identify a winner based on public opinion as well as the judge’s scores.”