ITV

Category: GECs

  • COLORS acquires rights to air epic Mahabharat

    COLORS acquires rights to air epic Mahabharat

    Mumbai: Iconic mythological show Mahabharat is set to air on COLORS starting Monday, 4 May 2020, every day from 7-9 pm.

    Starring Nitish Bharadwaj, Mukesh Khanna, Rupa Ganguly, Gajendra Chauhan, and Puneet Issar, Mahabharat is directed by Ravi Chopra. Mahabharat was first aired between 1988-90. Back in time, watching the show used to be a morning ritual and the streets would go silent as the entire nation would tune in to watch the episodes with their families. Decades later, the show is still deemed cult for its rich storyline, grandeur, and fine performances and holds a memorable place in our lives.

    Manisha Sharma, chief content officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18, says: “Due to the nationwide lockdown, the television landscape is changing quite significantly. The popular classics and erstwhile shows have found a renewed interest amongst the audience as they provide relief and induce nostalgia. We, at COLORS, are constantly and very closely evaluating the viewership trends and designing our programming to give our audience the best content. In a similar move, we are elated to air Mahabharat on television to give our viewers another opportunity to relive the golden times.” 

  • COLORS Tamil brings celestial wedding of Madurai Meenakshi to homes

    COLORS Tamil brings celestial wedding of Madurai Meenakshi to homes

    MUMBAI: On the occasion of the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi Amman with Lord Sundareswara, COLORS Tamil will exclusively telecast the glorious ceremony held at Madurai, Tamil Nadu for its discerning viewers. COLORS Tamil will air the complete ceremony of Meenakshi Thirukalyanam on Monday, 4 May, 2020, 9 am onwards. 

    The celestial wedding is a part of the two-week-long Chithirai Festival in Madurai. The Chithirai Festival and more specifically the celestial wedding of the god and goddesst that takes place in a grand manner inside the temple is known to attract lakhs of devotees from across the world. Considering the ongoing lockdown with restrictions on devotees to visit the Madurai Meenakshi Temple, COLORS Tamil has made arrangements to telecast the ceremony and give devotees and viewers a ringside view of the complete celebration on their television screens.

    Anup Chandrasekharan, business head of COLORS Tamil, said: "COLORS Tamil has always been a symbol of optimism and celebrations.  Since the lockdown, we have been making constant efforts to ensure that our viewers stay entertained while staying connected with us. The auspicious ceremony of Meenakshi Thirukalyanam draws in lakh of devotees from around the globe who, unfortunately, will not be able to attend it this year. While we are committed to entertaining our discerning audience with innovative and differentiated content, we feel the onus rests upon us to ensure that our viewers are not missing out on this very important cultural event. The telecast of this auspicious ceremony further strengthens our commitment to our viewers. We are hopeful that this divine experience will add a spark of positivity for our viewers during this lockdown.”

    COLORS Tamil is available on all leading cable networks and all DTH platforms – Sun Direct (CH NO 128), Tata Sky (CHN NO 1555), Airtel (CHN NO 763), Dish TV (CHN NO 1808) and Videocon D2H (CHN NO 553).

  • Shemaroo MarathiBana celebrates Maharashtra Day with the world television premiere of Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli

    Shemaroo MarathiBana celebrates Maharashtra Day with the world television premiere of Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra enters another year of its rich legacy. Rejoicing with Maharashtra and its culture is Shemaroo MarathiBana, the Marathi movie channel from the house of Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, specially designed for the Maharashtrian audience, is all set to air the World Television Premiere of Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli – Part 1 & Part 2. The channel will premiere the film on May 1 at 12:00 PM and 7:00 PM respectively. This also becomes the first Marathi film to be released in two parts in the same year.

    With a wide array of Marathi content, Shemaroo MarathiBana strives to celebrate the deep-rooted sense of pride in Marathi ethos, making it a rare treat for Marathi audience. The channel has been consistent in showcasing the strength and heritage of the Maratha culture through its communication and movie line ups that not only entertain the audiences but also have been an instrumental partner in reliving and strengthening the bond between the audiences and the Maratha legacy.

    Biopic of India's first Marathi stand-up comedian P. L. Deshpande – Bhai: Vyakti Ki Valli is a perfect movie to watch and celebrate the day of Maratha pride. Deshpande was often referred to Maharashtra's beloved personality. Besides being a humourist, he was a legendary figure in Marathi literature, an actor, singer, musician and an orator as well. With Mahesh Manjrekar's direction, Sagar Deshpande as P.L Deshpande and rest of the cast – Irawati Harshe, Vijay Kenkra, Satish Alekar beautifully take you along the journey of Mr Deshapnde's life, making you feel a part of it.

    Keeping up with a promise of entertaining the Marathi audience, Shemaroo MarathiBana conveys the story of the multifaceted life of the Maharashtrian stalwart. Shemaroo MarathiBana, the name resonates with Marathi Pride. The channel is a perfect destination for authentic Marathi movies and plays and telecasts entertaining content that brings to life the richness and diversity of Maharashtrian culture. The channel has already played cult movies like Ani… Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, Lagna Mubarak, Chhatrapati Shasan, Poshter Girl, Judgement, Photocopy, Zapatlela 2 and has received an overwhelming response from the audience. Furthermore, the channel aims to provide a complete entertainment by bringing movies of favourite Marathi stars such as, Subodh Bhave, Swwapnil Joshi, Prarthana Behere, Sanskruti Balgude, Siddhartha Jadhav amongst others. 

  • OTT originals not faring well on TV: BARC-Nielsen

    OTT originals not faring well on TV: BARC-Nielsen

    MUMBAI: With productions halted, some Hindi GECs, such as Star Plus and Zee TV, aired some shows from OTT platforms in the evening slots but they haven’t found the expected audience, according to BARC-Nielsen report. OTT digital shows haven’t performed well for the HSM urban audiences. All the shows have seen a drop compared to pre-Covid2019 time as well as the earlier week 14.

    Hotstar show Hostages, which airs at 10.30 pm on Star Plus, got 255,000 impressions in the HSM urban in week 15-16 while the timeslot had 547,000 impressions in week 14 and 2,987,000 impressions in the pre-Covid time for the same time slot. The show on air before Covid2019 was Ye Hai Chahatein.

    Baarish on Zee TV at 9 pm saw 750,000 impressions in week 12-15 while the same time slot a week earlier got 3854,000 impressions in week 14. The timeslot had 3898,000 impressions in the pre-Covid time. This replaced its flagship Kumkum Bhagya.

    Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat on Zee TV at 8 pm got 837,000 impressions in week 12-16, while the timeslot had 7293,000 impressions in week 11 and 6650,000 impressions in pre-Covid time for the same time slot. The pre-covid time aired Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega.  

    Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain on Zee TV at 10.30 pm got 497,000 million in week 12-16, while in week 11, this timeslot had 2228,000 impressions and the slot had 1654,000 impressions in pre-COVID time.  Ishq Subhan Allah aired in this timeslot in the pre-covid time.

  • Shemaroo TV adjusts break even parameters to account for Covid2019 crisis

    Shemaroo TV adjusts break even parameters to account for Covid2019 crisis

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd's (Shemaroo) entry into the Hindi GEC space comes at a time when the TV industry is fraught with unprecedented challenges. Content consumption is up but GECs haven't seen fresh content in over a month even as advertising revenue has dipped due to the Covid2019 crisis. 

    The 57-year-old legacy brand’s new venture, Shemaroo TV, which will go live on 1 May, has entered the space with 6.5 hours of programming each day with shows like Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev, Dil Se Di Dua Saubhagyawati Bhava, Great Indian Laughter Challenge, etc. As the current crisis has halted all production, the channel will look at original content once this phase is over.

    A channel launch is generally accompanied by a 360-degree marketing plan, but in this peculiar situation, Shemaroo will optimise TV and digital media as much as possible to make consumers aware of its presence, explains Shemaroo Entertainment broadcast business COO Sandeep Gupta. 

    It is also looking at a number of partnerships with like-minded brands inside and outside the media industry to ensure the message reaches to the target audiences. Shemaroo Entertainment marketing and communication head Rahul Mishra added that a lot of its marketing campaigning will be scheduled along with original programming roll out.

    Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada also explained the rationale behind making the new channel FTA. According to him, post the new tariff order, there has been a great opportunity for FTA channels. Moreover, the Hindi GEC segment is not well served in the space. He also added that they chose a low-cost entry strategy to lower the risk while the market has seen a few GEC channels failing lately.

    While there are some logistical issues in terms of distribution, the company is confident to make its new channel available to 80 per cent of Indian diaspora and the HSM. It is eying to be present on all DTH platforms except Sun DTH and on all leading MSOs. 

    “Being a GEC content channel, you have to get eyeballs quickly. If you don’t board your bus soon, the audience will not want to see our content midway. We are aiming to be at par or slightly lower-than-top competition in FTA channels in the next 45 days in terms of viewership,” Gupta said.

    While brands are now tightening their purse strings amid the Covid2019 crisis, ad rates have also fallen down. Shemaroo has not on-boarded any advertisers yet. Gada is optimistic that by the time they will be out in the market pitching ad-rates, the industry may go back closer to normalcy with ad rates bouncing back from pressure.

    The company is aware of the fact that the revenue might be affected for one-two years but also confident that it will be normalised later since it is a long-term product. “ While the pandemic has changed many things including revenue outlook in the ultra short term, we have also adjusted our investment, cost structure for a faster break-even or a better ROI,” he added.

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  • Dangal’s mytho epic ‘Ramayana’ back on TV screens

    Dangal’s mytho epic ‘Ramayana’ back on TV screens

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel Dangal has brought back its mythological epic Ramayana starring Gurmeet Choudhary and Debina Bonnerjee in lead roles. This epic tale of promises and ideologies is being telecast daily at 7.30 pm followed by its repeat telecast at 9.30 am. The mythological series went on air from 26 April 2020.

    A Dangal spokesperson said, “At Dangal, we are committed to keeping our discerning viewers entertained especially during unprecedented times like these. Over the years, our viewers have supported us and it is now upon public demand that we have brought back one of India’s most followed epics and revered shows of all times, Ramayana. By showcasing a culturally rooted show like Ramayana with traditional ideologies and strongly entrenched lessons, we are sure that viewers will stay engaged while staying safe indoors. Moreover, while Ramayana will invoke nostalgia among the older generations, it will be a new and beautiful experience for the younger audience.”

    Ramayana is one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India. It is an Indian television mythological series depicting the story of lord Rama based on the classic Indian literature which narrates his exile of 14 years along with Sita and Lakshman.

    Dangal is available in all leading cable networks and DTH platforms – DD Free Dish (CHN NO 27), Tata Sky(CHN NO 177), Airtel (CHN NO 133), Dish TV (CHN NO 119) and Videocon D2H (CHN NO 106).

  • ‘Chhota Bheem’ back on Pogo in Kung Fu avatar

    ‘Chhota Bheem’ back on Pogo in Kung Fu avatar

    MUMBAI: Kids’ favourite character Chhota Bheem is back on television in a brand-new Kung Fu avatar. A new series of 10 episodes of Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka premiered on television on 25 April and will be aired every day at 12.30 pm.

    Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka movie was released last year and became the first 3D movie released by an Indian company. The movie received a great response from the audience and narrated the journey of the Dholapkur gang, consisting of Chhota Bheem and his friends and how they helped in saving the life of princess Kia in China as they defeated Zuzu. The new series of "Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka" will focus on the individual adventures of Chhota Bheem and his friends as the story continues further.

    Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd founder-CEO Rajiv Chilaka said: “Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka movie has been well accepted theatrically by kids all over India, Middle East as well as South Korea. The series carries on the adventures of Bheem and the team in China. With a completely new setting and all-new adventures, we hope the kids will love watching the series and be entertained.”

    Abhishek Dutta, South Asia Network Head for Cartoon Network and POGO, said: “We are excited to launch this new Chhota Bheem series on POGO this summer along with fun-filled, relatable content starring kids’ superhero Bheem that will keep our young viewers engaged and entertained.”

    Amidst the Covid2019 outbreak, with kids’ being the most challenging of the lot, the premiere could not have happened at a much better time. These are tough times for kids’ as they can no longer go out to play and are looking for something new always. The return of Chhota Bheem Kung Fu Dhamaka will surely help kids’ keep entertained and busy as they stay during this time.

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  • MY FM-ABP News join hands to fight Covid2019 stress

    MY FM-ABP News join hands to fight Covid2019 stress

    MUMBAI: MY FM, the radio arm of DainikBhaskar Group, recently joined hands with India’s leading news network, ABP News, with an aim to give a much-required cheerful start to everybody’s mornings. The move comes amid all the stress and negativity building due to the current global pandemic. TV and Radio are the only two mediums right now that bring live content daily. TV brings authentic news and information while Radio brings positivity and entertainment. The collaboration hopes to spread positivity and cheerfulness along with credible and timely information all around.

    As a part of the month-long venture, various MY FM RJs from different cities will daily feature on ABP News’ morning show, Namaste Bharat, to share their take on the respective city’s response in the current context. The show, hosted by ABP anchors VikasBhaudauria, Pratima Mishra and KumkumBinwal, has till now featured RJ Kartik, RJ Meenakshi, RJ Viny, RJ Navneet, RJ Archana, RJ Darshana, RJ Mohit, RJ Animesh and RJ Rajan as a part of the alliance. The RJs, all in their respective styles, shared how they are motivating listeners to follow lockdown and safety measures. Likewise, ABP news morning anchors  VikasBhaudauria, Pratima Mishra and KumkumBinwal appear in the morning show of MY FM across all the stations. 

  • Zee TV & Sun TV: the Elara Capital view

    Zee TV & Sun TV: the Elara Capital view

    NEW DELHI: Television has seen a tremendous rise in its viewership during the ongoing lockdown induced by Covid2019 but it is not doing much for the ad revenues. As per Mumbai-based investment bank Elara Capital findings, ad growth may remain weak for broadcasters as several brands look to cut discretionary spend and new product launches get delayed.

    The report put a negative stance on broadcasters due to structural risks, such as disruptions over TV channel monetisation due to Jio pushing it TV offerings free-of-cost to Jio subscribers, implementation of NTO 2.0, and the threat from digital offerings.

    However, Elara added that subscription revenue can get an upswing in the time, balancing their cash registers. It stated, “On the other hand, if NTO 2.0 gets delayed and is not implemented this year, we may see healthy growth in subscription revenue, given activation of the second TV and viewers flocking to TV, which is a win-win situation as subscribers revenue contributes 35-40 per cent of revenue.”

    According to the findings, factors like expected longer-term consumer stickiness, a sharp increase in ad spends by e-commerce and hygiene brands, and subscription revenue growth due to the addition of new consumers and reactivation of the second TV will work in the favour of broadcasters in these times.

    However, there are certain impending threats too, including increased use of mobile phones, shooting not happening for premium properties like reality shows, cutting of ad spends by global advertisers in CY20, and money not being diverted to GEC and entertainment genres. Also, if the NTO2.0 is implemented this year, the expected increase in subscription revenue will be marred.

    The report also analysed the impact of the current situation on two big broadcasters Zee and Sun TV.

    “Zee and Sun TV together have a strong proposition in the movie segment, which has grown 66 per cent in terms of consumption as per recent BARC report, which too will support ad growth. Even after the lockdown ends, we expect TV consumption to rise sharply as consumers continue to adhere to social distancing norms and prefer to remain indoors.”

    It added, “Zee has corrected ~38 per cent since the lockdown and is trading at a historically low valuation of 8.2x FY22E P/E (vs a 10-year average low of 19.0x) after factoring in concerns over promoter holding. Sun TV has fallen nine per cent and is trading at 11.4x FY22E P/E (vs a 10-year average low of 16.5x).

    Elara also revised its rating to Buy from Accumulate on Zee with a lower TP of Rs 270 from Rs 350 based on 15x (from 17x) one-year forward P/E. It also upgraded its rating to Accumulate from Reduce on SUNTV with a lower target price of Rs 440 from Rs 510 based on 13.5x (unchanged) one-year forward P/E.

    The report added that these stocks can get to perform better in the near term until the lockdown is lifted if they are able to innovate by providing their own digital content on TV; doing an effective selection of old catalogue; and by enhancing their movie offerings.

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  • Star India rolls out national campaign for consumer safety

    Star India rolls out national campaign for consumer safety

    MUMBAI: Star India Network which reaches 700 million viewers a month has launched a special nationwide campaign with consumer safety as its theme: TV Entertainment Recharge Ka Safe Tareeka.

    The campaign promotes the urgent need for safety awareness, tokeep families entertained while staying safe at home. Through its uniquecreative, it urges families to keep problems out of their homes by not steppingout — not even for their TV bill. It advises viewers to use the online facilities so that they can continue to #StayHomeStaySafe.

    “Our campaign focuses on encouraging consumers to stay home and safe, remain entertained and pay TV entertainment bills online. We are leveraging the unparalleled reach of our popular GEC, Kids, Movies and Sports channels across multiple languages to spread the message, during these extremely difficult times,” Star India distribution and international business president and head Gurjeev Singh Kapoor said.

    “I would also like to take this opportunity, on behalf of Star India, to applaud the brave teams of Cable and DTH partners working on-ground, and to salute their efforts that have ensured continued services to viewers,” he added.

    Star India has added even more to the entertainment quotient across its network of channels by bringing back on popular demand, classic shows like Mahabharat, new comedy show Maharaj ki Jai Ho, and Hotstar Specials presents Hostages on Star Plus; Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar- Ek Maha-Manav ki Maha-Gatha on Star Bharat; Raja Shivchhatrapati and World TV premier of Baban on Star Pravah. Consumers can watch the original episodes of Super Singer shot exclusively on mobile phone and iconic show Bojhena Shey Bojhena on Star Jalsha; new show Odavum Mudiyathu Oliyavum Mudiyathu and sketch comedy show Lollu Sabha making a comeback on Vijay and Muddulakshmi and Aarathigobba Kirthigobba on Star Suvarna. Maa TV viewers can revisit favourite episodes of Karthika Deepam and Vadhinamma along with new and exciting movie premieres; Asianet viewers can also look forward to an exciting movie line-up.

    Star Gold has been entertaining its viewers with a series of latest movie premieres such as the biggest action-thriller, War, the biggest comedy Housefull 4, and many more including Bala, Darbar and Chhapaak.

    Star Movies will be airing premiers of kid-friendly movies such as Mary Poppins Returns, Dumbo and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms on Playdate – property
    with Star Movies, along with popular Marvel movies selection and the best of action blockbusters with ‘Action@9’ property. Viewers can also look forward to some fine English entertainment with latest season of American Idol and best of Koffee with Karan and Masterchef Australia.

    With 100 hours of fresh content added to the kids network, the summer bonanza across Disney Channel and Hungama TV includes local and home-grown series like Bapu, a pure and positive story of a wise old leader along with an all-animal story of a joyful circus troupe of friends in Guddu and a soft toy with innovative gadgets in Gadget Guru Ganesha. Kids can also enjoy The Hagemaru Show which narrates the tale of the mischievous Hagemaru in addition to new episodes of Selfie with Bajrangi, Doraemon, Chacha Chaudhary and Miraculous.

    Sports fans can enjoy Cricket Connected, where cricket legends engage with fans through video calls every week; Best of IPL, and nostalgic games from Vivo PKL on the Star Sports Network.

    Viewers can exercise their brains daily with interactive games and experiments on the show Brain Boosters on National Geographic. Also watch the journey that defined India’s fight against the deadly contagion in a new show Lockdown: India’s fight against Coronavirus, which was shot from home.

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