ITV

Category: GECs

  • What keeps Life Ok ticking…?

    What keeps Life Ok ticking…?

    MUMBAI: In December 2011, when Star India launched its second Hindi GEC christened Life OK, the network made a promise to its viewers that through the channel they will see not only different but also out-of-the-box content.

     

    And keeping to it, the channel is launching a new show wherein the wife is the “other” woman. Gustakh dil portrays the life of a simpleton (Laajo) from a village whose husband (Nikhil) continues to be madly in love with his childhood sweetheart (Ishana).

     

    Commenting on how the show stands apart from the rest Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur asserts, “Disruption has always been a key thrust for us at Life OK and with Gustakh Dil we are aiming to bring out the other side of a love triangle. We are confident that people will accept this unique storyline and will appreciate our modest attempt at providing quality entertainment.”

     

    This is not for the first time that the channel has tried to do something different. In the past too, the channel has tried to grab eyeballs through it shows. It recently launched a reality crime-based show Police Dial 100 where the channel took a completely different track. Here, the team from Endemol follows policemen in Delhi, as they attempt to solve crimes and face different situations.

     

    “Police Dial 100 is Life OK’s effort to delve deeper into the functioning of law enforcing agencies and capturing on camera the highly stressful lives of our police forces lead”, Thakur had expressed earlier during the show’s launch in Delhi.

     

    Apart from it, another major property by the channel has been Savdhan India. However, one cannot deny that the crime based shows have done well for the genre.

     

    On the other hand, unlike the other channels which have failed to garner ratings and viewership through mythology, the channel struck gold with its mythological show – Mahadev – which is the most popular show on the channel.

     

    HavasMedia, MD, Mohit Joshi emphasis on it and adds, “Mahadev has set the grounding for the channel. And with good production quality and new shows every now & then, the channel has been able to grow significantly as well as make a mark for itself in the market. What even sets it apart from sister-concern Star Plus is the fact that it’s more contemporary.”

     

    What is interesting is that the channel not only brings out innovative shows but also has interesting FPCs. On 23 June, the channel showed non-stop 12 hours of fresh content comprising of crime, terror, mythology programming and Bollywood movies. Life OK plans to make it a regular initiative at least once a month as it feels that such kind of experimentation will make it a game changer. Before baara-se-baara, it had experimented with 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. and that too had worked well with the channel.

     

    Moreover, Life OK has acquired the format of the popular US reality dating game show The Bachelor and has commissioned the Zodiak owned SOL Productions to produce the Indian version – The Bachelorette India – Mere Khayalon ki Mallika which is expected to be on-air in September.

     

    “The series will strengthen Life OK’s programming and set another benchmark in quality entertainment”, states Thakur optimistically.

     

    However, Helios Media MD Divya Radhakrishnan resounds, “Though Life OK has been taking a lot of initiatives to make a name for itself among the leading Hindi GECs, it still has to do a lot more. Today the Hindi GEC cluster is leaving no stone unturned to come up with new shows, but are not moving any boulders. It’s just like any other GEC.”

  • Marjorie Cohn to lead DreamWorks’s TV efforts

    Marjorie Cohn to lead DreamWorks’s TV efforts

    MUMBAI: DreamWorks Animation has tapped Marjorie Cohn, a 26-year veteran of Nickelodeon, as its first-ever head of television.

     

    Cohn and her team will be responsible for the development and production of 1,200 new original episodes over the next five years. The production slate will feature series based on current DreamWorks’ franchises, future films and heritage properties from Classic Media. Cohn most recently held the role of president of content development at Nickelodeon.

     

    Joining Cohn is Mark Taylor as head of TV production. Taylor was most recently at the helm of Nickelodeon Animation Studio. He also previously served as senior VP and general manager at Nick and was responsible for all the network’s in-house animated productions.

     

    Rounding out the new leadership team is Peter Gal as head of TV development. He currently oversees creative on DreamWorks’ Dragons: Riders of Berk and Turbo F.A.S.T. He spent three years as the VP of production at Twentieth Century Fox and before that spent five years at Nickelodeon developing animated programming, including the DreamWorks’ inspired Penguins of Madagascar.

     

    “Having Margie join us to oversee our television efforts is an incredible coup for DreamWorks Animation. She is uniquely suited with the experience, skill and creativity to immediately dive in and oversee our aggressive expansion into this space,” said DreamWorks Animation’s chief operating officer Ann Daly. “Margie has tremendous instincts when it comes to kids’ programming, and we can’t wait to unleash her creative force on DreamWorks’ vast IP to bring exciting new content to families across the world.”

  • Zee’s new talk show ‘Wheel of Life’ will be aired on 5 of its channels

    Zee’s new talk show ‘Wheel of Life’ will be aired on 5 of its channels

    NEW DELHI: For the first time in its history, Zee TV has commenced telecast of a series which is being shown on five of its channels of which two are beamed overseas.

     

    The 26-episode ‘Wheel of Life’ talk show is based on the book of that name by senior Uttar Pradesh Indian Administrative Service officer R K Singh.

     

    The half-hour programme has been conceived by Sonorous Knowledge Trust and Shirdi Sai Baba Foundation headed by entrepreneur and TV personality Aushim Khetrapal.

     

    It is being beamed at 6.30 am on Sundays on Zee News, 8.30 am on Saturdays on Zee Business, 1.30 am on Saturdays on Zee UP, and on Zee American and Zee Dubai on their general entertainment channels at 8.00 am on Friday and Sunday mornings.

     

    With the theme song and music by Shankar Mahadevan, the series is anchored by Amrita Raichand.

     

    Cosmology, genetics and quantum physics, and knowledge of spirituality are the base of the show, which Singh said at a press meet, has been inspired by the Upanishads and also the religious texts of all religions. However, he stressed that it was not a programme about religion or spirituality and was based more on understanding the value of life.

     

    Answering a question, he said the Big Bang theory which was referred to in the series was not something that had come from the west, but had been talked of by Indian sages even up to the eleventh century.

     

    Khetrapal told indiantelevision.com that the series was presently sponsored by Natural Essence among others and had reached a TRP of 0.4 in the third episode on Zee Business.

     

    He said he had conceived the series around three years earlier when he had met Singh in UP, but the latter had to get permission from the state government for appearing on television.

     

    Singh said he had begun by scribbling some notings based on his reading of the Upanishads in 1996 and it was only in 1999 that he began writing the book, which was published in the United States in 2005.

     

    He had attempted to show in the series that humans were only seized with a contemporary attitude to life and were like automatons, whereas the purpose of human life was much deeper and it was necessary to understand this.

     

    Referring to marketing of the show, Khetrapal said it was clearly not the kind of show that would pick up through promos and therefore the social media and word of mouth publicity was the best way to spread the message. But he said that several thousand calls were received almost on a daily basis. Around 25,000 mails had been received by each of the five channels.

     

    Later, pamphlets and e-mailers would be sent and road shows held to popularise the show, he added.

     

  • Waman Kendre is new director of NSD

    Waman Kendre is new director of NSD

    NEW DELHI: Noted theatre personality Waman Kendre has been appointed director of National School of Drama (NSD).

     

    His appointment is for a period of five years w.e.f. the date of assumption of charge of the post or till superannuation on 62 years of age or until further orders, whichever is the earliest.

     

    The outgoing NSD Director Anuradha Kapur’s term ended in July 2012, and she was on extension pending the decision regarding her successor. Kapur finally stepped down on 30 April this year, after which the position had been lying vacant. Several theatre persons had met the culture minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch on 27 June, seeking early appointment of the head of premier arts institutions such as NSD.

     

    An NSD alumnus, Kendre hails from Maharashtra, known for its rich tradition of theatre, both folk and modern. He did his research in Kerala’s folklore, and played a leading role in the Dalit theatre movement in Maharashtra in the late 70s. Among his well-known plays are Mohandas, Ranangan, Janeman, Madhyam Vyayog, Zulva, Tempt Me Not and Dusara Samana. He currently heads the Academy of Theatre Arts, Mumbai University.

     

    Kendre’s name was among the three names short-listed by a selection committee comprising Shyam Benegal, Girish Karnad, Satish Alekar, Govind Deshpande and Amal Allana. The other two contenders were Arundhati Nag from Bangalore and Abdul Latif Khatana from Kashmir.

  • The science behind KBC’s theme

    The science behind KBC’s theme

    MUMBAI: Remember the “Unwanted” girl who goes on to win Kaun Banega Crorepati? The power of knowledge (Sirf Gyaan Hi Aapko Aapka Haq Dilata Hai) helped her reach the hot seat but imagine what would have happened if she had stopped there? Most of us tend do stop learning after we reach a certain position and certain stature. This year, viewers of Sony Entertainment have been watching the Big B Amitabh Bachchan coming on their TV screens, reminding them Seekhna Band…Toh Jeetna Band.

     

    Yes, that is the theme for this year’s KBC. Taking a step forward from last year’s theme, the show plans to motivate its viewers to continue learning through its campaign, which went on air a couple of weeks ago. Sony Entertainment Television senior VP and marketing head Gaurav Seth explains, “The theme ties in beautifully with the idea of KBC. In life and in KBC when you become complacent and arrogant that is when you understand that you have lost in both life and KBC.”

     

    From Koi Bhi Sawaal Chhota Nahi Hota to Seekhna Band…Toh Jeetna Band, the channel has come up with innovative messaging almost every year. And don’t be foolish to think that these just fall out of thin air. It takes four to five months of brainstorming, two-days of workshopping by all concerned entities (SET, Big Synergy, Leo Burnett) to weigh the pros and cons, before the theme is finalized.

     

    “Every year the mood of the nation changes, we need to be abreast with what is happening in the country and incorporate it in the brand message without losing out on the show’s uniqueness ,” says Leo Burnett’s executive creative director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari who has been associated with KBC’s creative since it was first aired on Sony.

     

    The obvious question that everyone has on their minds is why have a theme? Isn’t it just a game show? “It is not a game, it is a life changer,” comes the unanimous response from Seth and Tiwari. Both go on to elaborate that the show connects with people and themes only go on to humanise the concept. “The theme is resonant with Indian society,” says Seth.

     

    The current theme works around inculcating the spirit of learning at every stage of life. Citing Big B’s example they both say, “Even today a great man like him doesn’t shy away from an opportunity to learn. So, why should we?” The same message has been very satirically incorporated in the two promos, directed by Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures, which are on air right now.

     

    Tiwari elaborates, “Through the show’s brand campaign we are taking a righteous stand which will only go on to help our viewers who in some way or the other will pay heed to it because Big B is saying it.”

     

    Kicking in the buzz for KBC

     

    Almost a crore wannabe KBC-ers have registered themselves to get closer to the hot seat. And while the production house is busy finalizing the contestants, Sony Entertainment Television is working at devising ways to both attract and engage audiences.

     

    “KBC has transformed entertainment and we are working at creating the buzz,” says SET senior VP & marketing head Gaurav Seth. The channel is currently busy with designing online and on-ground activities to be relayed before and during the show launch. “A lot of play-along activities and apps are being designed. The apps will be launched by 15 August,” he informs.

     

    The channel is also working on its digital campaign for the launch of the show. “There will be huge engagement. We will ensure interaction through people writing back with their feedback. This time the audience will also get an opportunity to compete and challenge their peer groups. There will also be live play-along through twitter once the show launches. There are several ideas and these will be put across to the audiences in the weeks to come,” says Seth.

     

    KBC is initially being promoted through television promos. “We have shot four TV promos, two of which are already on-air. The rest will come in the next 10 days,” he informs. This will be followed by digital and radio promotions.

     

    “We will use the print medium on the day and a week post the show launch. The outdoor marketing will kick start a week prior to the launch,” he says.

     

    As far as below the line activation is concerned it is has quite a few promotions planned. Its marketing teams will host Aapke Sheher Hot Seat in 12 cities nationally. “Through this, we get viewers to sit in front of the computer and win prizes. Winners will be invited to a special event in that city which will have a proper sit down with a host. We will recreate the environment in the smaller cities, with Amitabh Bachchan asking the same questions on the television screen,” informs Seth.

     

    The OOH activity is still in the planning stage and will be handled by Madison Outdoor Media Services.

     

    Over the years, KBC has transformed the way people view television and understand entertainment in the country. Says Anita Kaul Basu (who can be labeled as the queen of the non-fiction format and the director of Big Synergy which is the production house for the show): “For a format which has been on television for over a decade, it has only strengthened itself. The viewers have changed and so have the viewing habits. In order to keep abreast with the changing times, the show which has a set format has always come back with an innovative theme to add to its freshness.”

     

    Last year, a new segment was added to KBC, wherein the background of the contestants (the backstory) who made it to the hot seat was shown. This was an effort to open a window to the aspirations of India and what India stands for. “Through this we tried to build a connect between the contestant and the viewers, who no matter what strata of the society they belonged to, aspire to be on the hot seat,” reiterates Kaul Basu.

     

    When asked about how does she and her team continue to engage people for over a decade, Kaul Basu says it’s not everybody’s cup of tea. “I have a special research team comprising 50 people (mainly in Delhi) who interact with experts like doctors, lawyers, academicians etc to come up with not only questions but also to know what people want to see.”

     

    As KBC enters its seventh season, we at indiantelevision.com foresee many more entertaining and informative seasons of the show. Basu, while hoping for this, laughs and says, “It is an incredible format and has its own life. It has worked in every language, across regions and hosts and will continue to do so, and know it will do so for many many more years. And we will continue to innovate in India to keep it engaging and fresh. And of course we cannot forget the trump card we have in Mr Bachchan. He deserves a bow. ”

     

    Indeed, come the first week of September (when the show is slated to air), many an Indian TV viewer is quite likely to give him one.

  • Star India in deal for Olympic Games coverage

    Star India in deal for Olympic Games coverage

    MUMBAI: Star India has scored the rights to carry the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi and the 2016 Summer Olympics from Rio across seven South Asian countries.

     

    The deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also covers the Summer Youth Olympic Games, taking place next year in Nanjing, China. Star India has the free to air, pay TV, Internet and mobile rights for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In 2012, the Olympics were broadcast in India on state broadcaster Doordarshan.

     

    “We welcome the opportunity to work with Star India for the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games,” said IOC president Jacques Rogge. “We are confident they will do a great job providing the best possible broadcast coverage of the Games, on a variety of platforms, to the largest possible audience in the seven different countries.”

     

    IOC chairman finance commission Richard Carrión, said, “The Star India deal marked a shift in the organisation’s handling of broadcast rights in Asia. Traditionally the IOC has negotiated broadcast rights on a pan-Asian basis; however, the media landscape is changing and we have adapted our approach recently by negotiating directly in certain markets. We are very pleased to have reached this agreement directly with Star India.”

     

    For the 2012 games, the IOC had a pan-Asian free-TV deal with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and a pay-TV deal with the now defunct ESPN Star Sports.

     

    Star India head of sport business Nitin Kukreja added, “The Olympic Games remain the pinnacle of sporting achievement where the world’s best in various disciplines face off for the title of Olympic champion. Indian athletes have also performed admirably over the last few editions, which is evident in the medal-winning performances that we have come to admire. We value our partnership with the IOC and feel that this spectacular extravaganza can be taken to even greater heights in India on both television as well as on digital platforms.”??

     

    Elsewhere in the region, deals for the 2014 and 2016 games were previously concluded with CCTV in China, SBS in Korea and a consortium of broadcasters in Japan.

  • Google asked to remove 100 million ‘piracy’ links in 2013

    Google asked to remove 100 million ‘piracy’ links in 2013

    MUMBAI: That is double the number it received for the whole of 2012 and a sign that publishers are stepping up their battle against internet piracy.

     

    Copyright holders send millions of “takedown” requests to Google every week in an attempt to make pirated material harder to access online.

     

    Many of the takedown requests made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other national copyright laws are generated by third parties, or reporting organisations, on behalf of copyright holders.

     

    Google began publishing all such requests in its Transparency Report in 2012 and since then the number has risen sharply, as rights holders have made greater use of the reporting system.

     

    In the past month alone Google received requests to take down nearly 14 million links from its search results, relating to 3,200 copyright owners.

     

    One digital content protection specialist, Degban, makes requests for about 300,000 link removals per week on behalf of clients and has asked for nearly 31 million web pages, or URLs, to be removed from Google’s results so far, reports the search firm.

     

    The website domains concerned are almost entirely person-to-person file-sharing services, such as Fenopy.eu, extratorrent.com, torrenthound.com, filestube.com and bittorrent.com.

     

    More than half of Degban’s URL requests were made on behalf of Froytal Services, a pornography producer, giving an indication of the kind of content people are sharing online.

     

    But other major copyright owners making the most takedown requests included the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) and its member companies, the Recording Industry Association of America, and various film studios, such as Warner Brothers.

     

    There are concerns that some of these takedown requests may not be accurate.

     

    For example, Microsoft recently asked by mistake for links to its own sites to be deleted.

     

    The embarrassing request was made on Microsoft’s behalf by LeakID, an anti-piracy specialist, according to Torrentfreak.com.

     

    A growing number of sites accused of aiding piracy are now blocked to UK web users, including the Pirate Bay, Kickass Torrents, H33T, Fenopy, Movie2K and Download4All.

  • Madison Square Garden plans $100 mn revamp of the Forum

    Madison Square Garden plans $100 mn revamp of the Forum

    MUMBAI: MSG says that the Forum, which it bought in 2012, will reopen 15 January, 2014 with a performance by The Eagles following the upgrade.

     

    “Since we first explored the opportunity to acquire the Forum and expand The Madison Square Garden Company’s presence on the West Coast, our vision has been clear: return the venue to its celebrated position as one of the most beloved and well-known venues in the country for the benefit of the community, fans and performers for generations to come,” says MSG executive chairman James Dolan.

     

    He thanked his pal Irving Azoff for bringing the Forum to his attention and says that the long time manager of groups including The Eagles and Steely Dan “will play an important role in helping us meet our ambitious goals.” Azoff called the Forum “an iconic Southern California landmark” that is “sure to become the world’s quintessential music-focused venue.”

     

    BBB Architects, which worked on the renovation of Madison Square Garden, will direct the work on the Forum. The company says it will be “inspired by the venue’s original 1967 design, and includes upgrades to the entire venue site.” It will be given flexible seating to accommodate up to 17,500. The exterior paint job will keep its 1960?s “California sunset red.” Chase bank was named the presenting partner. The City of Inglewood will lend $18 million for the renovation and has included “a number of forgiveness options,” says Stifel analyst Benjamin Mogil.

  • YouTube is worth up to $21.3 billion

    YouTube is worth up to $21.3 billion

    MUMBAI: The cover of Fortune Magazine’s latest issue shows a few dozen camera lenses arranged into the shape of a familiar “Play” icon below the words “How YouTube Changes Everything.”

     

    In the cover story, senior writer Miguel Helft takes a look at the world’s largest online video streaming site through a business lens, from its 2006 acquisition by Google, to the ascent (and acquisition) of YouTube multi-channel networks, to the $100 million YouTube originals initiative, to the recent outcries of some online video producers about how YouTube must alter components of its current business and advertising strategies or soon face a content creator diaspora that will give rise to alternative revenue sources and video platforms.

     

    Aside from a semi-in-depth take on YouTube’s business activities, one of the most interesting statistical takeaways from the article is a guess at YouTube’s current revenue numbers and valuation. Barclays estimates the company to have made $3.6 billion in revenue, and for that number to increase 20 per cent to $4.3 billion in 2014.

     

    The London-based multinational banking and financial services company also estimates YouTube’s operating margins to be around 30 per cent to 35 per cent, putting the total value of YouTube between $15.6 billion and $21.3 billion. As Helft writes, “At the low end, it would mark a nearly 10-fold increase from the price Google paid in 2006. At the high end, it would make YouTube a third as valuable as Facebook.”

     

    Not bad for a $1.65 billion acquisition in 2006 with no revenue.

  • ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    ZMCL reports 112 per cent PAT growth in Q1-2014 compared to Q1-2013

    BENGALURU: Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL), formerly Zee News Limited announced good growth figures for Q1-2014 as compared to Q1-2013, but middling to flat and lower results when compared to the previous quarter Q4-2013. The Company owns and operates seven news/current affairs and regional language channels, namely Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas, Zee 24 Gantalu, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh and Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal.

     

    Let us take a look at the Q1-2014 figures

     

    ZMCL reported more than doubling of PAT (112 per cent) to Rs 8.51 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to PAT of Rs 4.01 crore in Q1-2013 and a 6.1 per cent growth as compared to Q4-2013.

     

    Operating revenues grew 12.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 77.68 crore in Q1-2014 as compared to Rs 68.88 crore reported in Q1-2013. However, ZMCL’s operating revenues for Q1-2014 were 1.7 per cent lower than the Rs 79.04 crore reported for Q4-2013. Income from operations at Rs 70.2 crore in Q1-2014 grew 16.4 per cent from Rs 60.286 crore in Q1-2013.

     

    Advertising revenues which constituted 68.1 per cent of the total revenues for Q1-2014 grew 14.2 per cent (y-o-y) to Rs 52.9 crore as compared to Rs 46.32 crore (67.2 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) in Q1-2013 and were up 1.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 52.19 crore (66 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported in Q4-2013.

     

    Subscription revenues in Q1-2014 also grew, albeit at a higher rate of 19.3 per cent to Rs 21 crore (27 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) as compared to the Rs 17.6 crore (25.6 per cent of the total revenues for the quarter) reported for Q1-2013, but were 5.4 per cent lower than the Rs 22.2 crore (28.1 per cent of total revenues for the quarter) ZMCL reported for Q4-2013.

     

    Other sales and services saw a drop of 23.2 per cent to Rs 3.78 crore in Q1-2014 from Rs 4.96 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 19.2 per cent lower than the Rs 4.68 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    In Q1-2014, total expenses saw a small jump of 7.6 per cent to Rs 68.37 crore from the Rs 63.55 crore reported in Q1-2013 and were 8.1 per cent lower than the Rs 74.4 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    ZMCL director Punit Goenka said, “Our ambition to reach deeper into the lives of our viewers has led us to change our name from Zee News Limited to Zee Media Corporation Limited. We will continue to pursue growth in the untapped regions of our country and provide them with varied news, infotainment and entertainment content across delivery platforms. Apart from the latest launch of Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, we have also launched Zee Rajasthan recently. The channel has content for all facets of the viewer from Rajasthan, be it crisper local news bulletins, entertainment programmes reflecting the typical lifestyle or discussions on issues related to the common Rajasthani man.”

     

    ZMCL whole-time director Alok Agrawal said, “Even as we are aggressively expanding our regional channel bouquet, we have not left sight of our current deliverables. We have made efforts to squeeze even more efficiency out of our operations and have restricted increase of various costs. On the other hand, both Advertising and Subscription Revenues have shown an increase over the last year. We have taken special initiatives related to the content which are expected to yield results in the coming quarters.”