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Category: GECs

  • One Life Studios bags worldwide rights for media licensing of TPL

    One Life Studios bags worldwide rights for media licensing of TPL

    Mumbai: One Life Studios (OLS), synonymous with creating Indian content for the world, is set to make a mark in premium sports entertainment. OLS has won the worldwide rights for the media licensing of the brand new season of Tennis Premier League (TPL).

    Helmed by former tennis player Kunal Thakur and actor-entrepreneur Mrunal Jain of Skygoal Sports, TPL provides unparalleled global exposure to India’s young talent, shaping the future of tennis in India, said the statement.

    With two highly successful previous seasons, the third season will have eight teams and 80 players with the best of Indian and international players coming together in a lineup of matches over five days, it added.

    Some of the Indian players include current India’s top singles player Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Yuki Bhambri the first Indian to win the Junior Australian Open title, and the fourth Indian in history to capture a junior singles title at a grand slam championship.

    The international rankers who will be seen in this season’s TPL are Samantha Dawn Murray Sharan (UK), Diana Marcinkēviča (Latvia), Peangtarn Plipuech (Thailand), Valeriya Strakhova (Ukraine), Sabina Sharipova (Uzbekistan), Sofia Shapatava (Georgia).

    Joining them in the dugouts will be tennis legends like Leander Paes. A host of Bollywood and sports celebrities are also expected to be spotted cheering for their teams.

    Talking about winning the mandate, OLS frontman, ace content creator and tennis enthusiast Siddharth Kumar Tewary said, “As an avid lover of the sport, I have always felt that tennis is a growing sport which definitely needs more visibility & reach so that more and more sports enthusiasts adopt this game. Our objective in partnering with Skygoal TPL is to give the young talent global exposure and build TPL into a worldwide success. I am extremely excited about this unique, innovative and fast-paced format and confident that every tennis lover will be as thrilled to view it.”

  • “Sports to be a key focus area,” says Punit Goenka as talks move ahead on Zeel-Sony merger

    “Sports to be a key focus area,” says Punit Goenka as talks move ahead on Zeel-Sony merger

    Mumbai: Sports will be a key focus area for the Zeel-Sony merged entity, said Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) MD and CEO Punit Goenka, as the two media companies move forward in building one of the largest entertainment networks in the country. The mega merger announced in September is currently underway.

    “Certainly the merged entity will focus on sports. Zee on a standalone basis will not. We have just finished our non-compete with Sony on the sports side. While we will reconsider sports on a standalone basis, right now, my focus is to look at it from a joint consolidated basis with Sony,” said Goenka, elaborating on the merger. “A lot has changed since we exited the sports business and we sold it to Sony right. So, it is coming full circle. The opportunity is great because the digital landscape has opened up a new opportunity for monetisation which did not exist five years ago. The sector itself will see a lot more happening going forward.”

    The Zeel MD said the TV broadcasting industry has witnessed intense competition since Zee’s inception three decades ago and any consolidation will benefit the overall M&E industry. However, he highlighted that the decision on any kind of bidding will be taken by the board of the new merged company.

    Goenka was addressing the Apos India summit organised by Media Partners Asia, which began virtually on Tuesday. In a conversation with Media Partners Asia executive partner and co-founder Vivek Couto, Goenka also spoke about the role of technology in content creation, broadcasting and streaming, the scope of SVOD business and strategy for TV in a new regulatory environment.

    The Zeel MD said the vision is to create a media powerhouse, but reiterated that the content company thus formed, will remain ‘Indian’ and the focus will be on Indian content, language and culture. Speaking about the synergies with Sony, he said, “The reason I chose Sony is because the two businesses are complementary with minimal overlap. Across linear and digital platforms and genres, we will encompass an entertainment suite that the whole family can watch.”

    According to Goenka, Zeel’s strategy of being SVOD-first will give it the leverage to fight going forward. Even though India has more advertising video on demand users there are 45-50 million paid subscribers that will grow to 200 million in the coming years, he said. The company’s streaming platform Zee5 has also recently announced a content slate of 17-18 originals in H2 2021.

    “The audience watching content on streaming platforms in India are clearly a mobile-first audience looking at the sheer numbers from mobile platforms,” he said. “These audiences are spending 148 minutes watching on SVOD platforms whereas on AVOD it is less than 30 minutes on average.”

    He added, “Before the pandemic people didn’t think 40-50 million people would pay for content but that is the case today. They are not paying a great deal but they are paying. The Zee DNA is to nurture the best minds in the creative ecosystem, be language first, build national scale and we will replicate that on the digital platform,” he said.

    On entering new language markets like Odisha, Bhojpuri and Punjab with their TV channels, Goenka said, “Nobody thought these markets were relevant. We thought even though it is not a big market we can build it into one.”

    Goenka said that data will have a critical role in creation of content in the future. “We have upgraded a technology and innovation centre in Bengaluru which will transform the company’s content offering. At Zee, we are embracing technology. We are a bit late compared to global players but will catch up quickly,” he added.

  • Zee Media announces first edition of OTT awards for 2021

    Zee Media announces first edition of OTT awards for 2021

    Mumbai: Zee Media Corp Ltd (ZMCL) has announced the launch of its OTT awards for the year 2021. The awards will be simulcast over 30 TV and digital platforms. 

    The award ceremony will be attended by the crème-de-la-crème of the entertainment industry, with an astute jury in various fields of entertainment along with the Zee Media management, said the media company in a statement.

    “With the change in viewing habits and the increased consumption of content, we feel the Zee Media OTT awards will do justice to the content creators, actors, the teams behind building successful shows, to continue doing the same and bring out quality content for the viewers,” said ZMCL marketing head Anindya Khare. “The changing landscape around content asks for newer ways to showcase and gratify the efforts put into making the complete OTT ecosystem a success.”

    The channel said that the categories will not be restricted to film and web series only and the focus will also be on alternative digital media content. Apart from the awards and on-stage entertainment, there will be panel discussions that will be livestreamed on digital platforms, allowing the viewers to ask questions to the panellists, making the whole viewing experience more immersive, it added.

    “OTT is the next big thing for years to come as the entertainment industry witnesses a paradigm shift in the way content is consumed by the audience,” said Zee Media chief revenue officer Gaurav Verma. “To lead the way and become the pioneers in the award space, it gives us immense pleasure to bring these awards to the consumers, to gauge their level of interest and take the next steps from there. We are creating a new platform to showcase the best talent from the world of OTT.”

    India is currently the world’s fastest-growing OTT market and is all set to emerge as the world’s sixth-largest by 2024. There are currently about 40 providers of OTT media services in India, which distribute streaming media over the internet. Between March and November 2019, around 30 million internet users came online for the first time from rural areas, showing a steep growth in the consumer base for the OTT platforms, said the statement.

    “It is important that we notice and act on the changing consumption trends of the viewers, consumers and advertisers in order to be present in all relevant spaces at the given time,” said Zee Media chief revenue officer Manoj Jagyasi. “New initiatives are always more lucrative for advertisers as they arrest the attention of the viewers. Zee Media OTT award, similarly, is a new and exciting proposition for our viewers which will be well accepted by them due to our unbiased approach to the awards.”

  • Viacom18 launches marketing blitz to build fandom for Abu Dhabi T10

    Viacom18 launches marketing blitz to build fandom for Abu Dhabi T10

    Mumbai: Viacom18 will begin airing the Abu Dhabi T10 league on 19 November starting at 7 p.m. The network has started a marketing blitz to build a fandom for the league amongst cricketing fans in India. The Abu Dhabi T10 league is co-presented by Dream11 and has onboarded Fairplay as a digital sponsor on Voot.

    “The Abu Dhabi T10 tournament has emerged as one of the most entertaining spectacle events in the sporting calendar since its launch,” Viacom18 head of marketing and digital – Hindi mass entertainment Sapangeet Rajwant. “Our aim will be to enhance the overall experience of viewers and reach out to the mass, cricket-crazy audience in India to increase the fan base and popularise the event in the country.”

    Abu Dhabi T10 league will premiere from 7 p.m on 19 November, live on Colors Cineplex, Rishtey Cineplex, and Voot. The six teams that will be a part of this series represent 20 nations and include cricketing legends like Yusuf Pathan, Eoin Morgan, David Wiese, Faf Du Plessis, Chris Gayle, Babar Azam, Wahab Riaz, Imran Tahir and many more.

    Viacom18 has initiated a 360-degree mix of marketing initiatives starting from 15 November to build up the excitement for the tournament. The network is driving communications on TV for the league across 50 channels in the movies, music, regional GECs, and news genre along with a promotional plan for cable across Maharashtra and Gujarat markets as well as collaboration with several DTH providers. Along with OOH hoardings across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai markets, there is also a robust print ad plan underway.

    Moreover, the network is driving instream inventory and interstitial ads across social media, gaming apps, and short video platforms and placing GDN banners on cricket-focussed websites. While on radio, RJ mentions, spots, and score updates have been planned with leading stations across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Nashik, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat, Rajkot markets.

    Leveraging the digital outreach, carousel ads and push notifications will be driven across Jio platforms. On social media, push across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are targeted towards reaching out to cricket and sports fans, as well as engagement, which will be driven through hashtag challenges. Digital impact amplification will also be done through channels/platforms with Google products and a host of cricket websites.

  • Colors Cineplex announces robust content lineup until February 2022

    Colors Cineplex announces robust content lineup until February 2022

    Mumbai: Hindi movie channel Colors Cineplex has announced a slew of fresh and exciting content offerings until February. This includes the upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 series, several film premieres and Road Safety World Series in February 2022.

    The upcoming Abu Dhabi T10 league will start airing from 19 November onwards on Colors Cineplex, Rishtey Cineplex, Voot and Jio. On 19 December, the channel will telecast the world TV premiere of the biographical war film “Shershaah” starting at 7:30 p.m. Road Safety World Series will return in February 2022. The channel has announced a New Year programming lineup that includes Tamil blockbusters “Vijay Raghvan” starring Vijay Anthony, Rudhram starring Raghava Lawrence, and Malayalam blockbuster “Minnal Murali.”

    “The powerful combination of cricket and movies has helped Colors Cineplex grow and achieve new feats,” said Viacom18 business head – Hindi movies cluster Rohan Lavsi. “With the new and exciting lineup, our endeavor is to keep bringing an unmatched entertainment experience with a fresh yet varied content mix of movies and sports to our viewers.”

    The Abu Dhabi T10 features six teams consisting of legends like Faf Du Plessis, Chris Gayle and Yusuf Pathan, among others from 20 different nations, will play 35 matches in this series. Road Safety World Series is a tournament played by former cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Virendra Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh is organized to create awareness about the safety rules on the road. The inaugural edition took place this March which was won by the host – India Legends.

    “Our Indian audiences swear by two things- cricket and movies and Colors Cineplex has been successfully delivering exceptional content on both fronts. With another exciting cricket league Abu Dhabi T10, the premiere of Shershaah and Road Safety World Series ahead of us, it will create new opportunities for our viewers and sponsors alike thus contributing to the growth of the channel,” said Viacom18 head – Hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network Nina Elavia Jaipuria.

  • One Take Media rides high on the K-wave in India

    One Take Media rides high on the K-wave in India

    Mumbai: While India may have warmed up to K-dramas only recently, One Take Media already knew that Korean content is going to be the next big thing.

    Indians have always loved the dramatic long-running fiction serials on Indian

    Television until 2020. However, the pandemic locked the world into their homes, and since then, Indians have caught up within the whirl of ‘Hallyu’ – the South Korean wave. The viewership of Korean dramas in India shot up by 370 per cent.

    The Mumbai-based company, One Take Media Co (OTMC) – a leading hub that provides content and value-added services to DTH, Cable, OTT, and TV Channels in India and overseas has been a frontrunner in Korean content in India.

    Long before other players realised the magic of Korean content, the company had already acquired Korean shows and dubbed them in local Indian languages like Hindi. They have been providing their curated Korean content to mainstream platforms and has now become a go-to spot for broadcasters and platforms wishing to spruce up their library with primetime Korean series dubbed in Hindi.

    Some of the leading K-titles in One Take Media’s library are ‘Goblin’, ‘I am Not A robot’, ‘Flower of Evil’ and ‘SF8’ amongst others. The exciting storyline, great performances, good production sets, and relevant emotions are some of the elements that connected with the Indian audience.

    One Take Media has recognised that Indians are not a big fan of watching shows with subtitles and hence has been the leader in providing their 50+ K- dramas dubbed in Hindi, for the entertainment of the Indian audience.

  • Colors announces new primetime show ‘Sirf Tum’ premiering 15 Nov

    Colors announces new primetime show ‘Sirf Tum’ premiering 15 Nov

    Mumbai: Colors has announced a new fiction show “Sirf Tum,” which will premiere on 15 November and air on weekdays at 8 p.m.

    Produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, the show features Vivan Dsena alongside Eisha Singh in the lead. “From capturing the beautiful locales of Dehradun, bringing talents like Vivian Dsena and Eisha Singh onboard, to creating such a powerful narrative, the entire team has worked relentlessly on every minute detail to capture the essence of this love story and make it appealing for the viewers,” stated producer Rashmi Sharma.

    Set in the beautiful locales of Dehradun, against the backdrop of a medical college, “Sirf Tum” highlights the nuances of a complicated relationship between its two lead characters Ranveer and Suhani. “Ranveer is an extremely intriguing character as there are many different shades to him. He is a differentiated hero as his behaviour towards Suhani is anything but conventional – their chemistry reflects a very different side of love,” said actor Vivian Dsena on his role.

    “I was looking out for some uniqueness and that’s when I landed the role of Suhani. Suhani is an extremely mellow character with her simple girl next door aura and her meekish but strong personality,” said actor Eisha Singh. “She is graceful, demure and yet is rooted in strong ideologies stemming from family values. Her innocence makes her very striking and unassuming.”

    The show also has Sonyaa Ayodhya, Eva Shirali, Sanjay Batra and Nimai Bali in supporting roles. 

    “Love stories are widely appreciated and resonate strongly with the viewers, and ‘Sirf tum’ is one such story of two opposite personalities, values, and worlds,” Viacom18 head of Hindi mass entertainment and kids TV network Nina Elavia Jaipuria. “With this show, we further aim to strengthen our weekday prime time and reinforce our promise to keep the viewers engaged, entertained with new and unique stories.”

    “Today, we are enthralled to recreate the magic of love with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, who have helmed several strong and beautiful narratives for us in the past,” Viacom18’s chief content officer – Hindi mass entertainment Manisha Sharma. “‘Sirf Tum’ is a unique love story of two individuals – Ranveer and Suhani, whose personalities and lives are poles apart but fate brings them together. Viewers are going to enjoy watching love, romance, passion and drama in this vibrant new love story.”

  • Zee TV creates conversations around new show ‘Aggar Tum Na Hote’ on Instagram

    Zee TV creates conversations around new show ‘Aggar Tum Na Hote’ on Instagram

    Mumbai: Building on the launch of its new show “Aggar Tum Na Hote” on 9 November, Zee TV introduced a special social media campaign – the #AggarTumNaHote movement to give viewers a platform to acknowledge the contribution of that one special person who has been a Niyati in their life, standing by their side and egging them on through their toughest times.

    The campaign is inspired by the show’s storyline and lead characters. Airing every Monday to Friday at 10:30 p.m, “Aggar Tum Na Hote” is the story of a mentally unstable, rich, young man, Abhimanyu Pandey (played by Himanshu Soni) whose only ray of hope is his nurse Niyati Mishra (played by Simaran Kaur) who refuses to give up on him even after the senior-most doctors have thrown up their hands.

     

     

    The movement was well-received on social media as several actors of the television industry such as Anita Hassanandani, Karan Wahi, Deepika Singh, Ravi Dubey and Krystle D’Souza joined the conversation on Instagram to acknowledge the special Niyatis of their life. While some acknowledged their friends and family as their motivational force, others made use of the platform provided by the movement to thank their colleagues and doctors.

     

     

  • Sebi cautions Zeel for taking ‘considerable time’ to disclose Invesco notice

    Sebi cautions Zeel for taking ‘considerable time’ to disclose Invesco notice

    Mumbai: Post its board meeting on 11 November, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has notified the Bombay Stock Exchange of a caution letter issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 21 October. The regulator cautioned Zeel for taking “considerable time” to disclose the requisition notice sent by its shareholders Invesco Developing Markets Fund and OFI Global China Fund LLC.

    On 11 September, the two shareholders sent a notice to Zeel to call for an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders to pass a resolution reconstituting the board. Sebi’s letter indicates that Zeel took more than the stipulated 24 hours to disclose the notice and began the verification exercise after nearly 36 hours.

    “Considering the gravity of the contents of the letter, such verification mail could have been sent by the company at the start of the business day itself on 13 September while simultaneously initiating their independent process of verification of their records,” noted Sebi.

    “Since the disclosure had bearing on on-going e-voting; due to overlapping resolutions in the letter and the AGM; as a good governance practice the company should have disclosed the said letter within 24 hours of receipt of the letter,” it added.

    Sebi has cautioned the company to exercise due diligence in ensuring the timeliness of disclosures. The letter stated that “any such aberration in the future would be viewed seriously and appropriate action would be taken.”

    Zeel and its majority shareholder Invesco are embroiled in a boardroom battle after the investor sought to remove long-standing members of the board and its managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka. The matter is currently being heard by the Bombay high court and the next hearing is scheduled for 29 November.

  • Sony Entertainment Television announces new show ‘Kaamnaa’

    Sony Entertainment Television announces new show ‘Kaamnaa’

    Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has announced its new show titled “Kaamnaa – Hoga Khwaahishon Aur Usoolon Ka Aamna Saamna.” Starting 15 November, the show will air every Monday to Friday at 8:30 pm only on SET.  

    The slice of life drama tells the story of Akanksha and Manav, a middle-class couple with different ideologies. The lead roles are played by Chandni Sharma and Abhishek Rawat. Manav is a sincere government official and a loving family man who believes in living an honest life based on his principles. On the other hand, Akanksha is a devoted housewife and caring mother, but she has big dreams and desires to break away from the stereotypical middle-class environment and live a luxurious life. The conflict plays out as the story unfolds.

    “At Sony Entertainment Television, we always strive to engage the audience with stories that are not just relatable and entertaining but also thought-provoking. ‘Kaamnaa’ is one such show that mirrors the reality of every Indian household especially when it comes to making a choice between one’s middle-class values and aspirations,” said SET and digital business head of content Ashish Golwalkar.

    The show is produced by Cockcrow and Shaika Entertainment. “Sony Entertainment Television has been a pioneer in bringing forth simple, yet heartfelt concepts depicting the life and struggles of the common man. We are extremely delighted to present our passion project ‘Kaamnaa’ – that puts the spotlight on the middle-class society where one is constantly faced with conflicting ideologies,” stated Cockcrow and Shaika Entertainment head Rajesh Ram Singh.

    “Our characters Manav and Akanksha are two faces of the same coin, while one is a man of principles and believes in doing the right thing, the other has high aspirations of living a luxurious lifestyle. Through their journey viewers will get to witness how far one can go to fulfil their dreams,” added Singh.