ITV

Category: Regional

  • Sun TV: Broadcasting vet Joshi hired on ‘temporary assignment’

    NEW DELHI: Broadcast Audience Research Council (India)’s former tech-com member and industry veteran Paritosh Joshi has joined the Chennai-based Sun TV Network to oversee and drive the revenue growth prospect of the Network Channels across four south Indian languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.

    Although Joshi denied having ‘joined’ Sun TV while talking to www.indiantelevision.com, Sun TV sources told this media portal that Joshi, who has helped the growth of several channels, has joined on a temporary assignment.

    His last assignment was with India TV as the CEO till August 2016. In this new assignment, he will be working towards increasing the revenue generation capabilities of the network channels.

    Sun TV has 34 channels including news and non-news channels. Paritosh is expected to function as a Strategic consultant who will be guiding both GEC and Non GEC network channel’s sales teams towards better realisation of revenues.

    Joshi has vast experience of more than three decades in Brand Portfolio, Advertising, Media & Broadcast sector in Indian and South Asia. He also specialised in Consumer Product and Service Sales and Marketing, Business Negotiation, Team leadership and motivation, Goal setting and budgeting, Vision articulation.

    He has been associated with Shop CJ, Star India, Business Standard, ITC Limited, Lintas India and P&G. He also plays mentoring and advisory role in MRUC and served for Indian Broadcasting Foundation.

    An alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad with graduation in Statistics and Mathematics, he was among those who helped the roll-out of BARC India and took part in several workshops all over the country to familiarize the media and the TV industry with its work.

  • Sun Network, Star India rule channels and programmes ratings in South India

    The Sun Network’s channels were the most watched channels across the four South Indian languages for the first eight weeks of 2017 (Saturday, 30 December 2016 to Friday 24 February 2017).

    This paper must be read with a caveat: It deals only with the players present in BARC’s top 5 lists of channels per week and programmes per week for each language. The sums/percentages of other genres/players’ ratings or Impressions (000s) Sums other than those indicated in BARC’s top 10 lists of channels and programmes have not been considered/mentioned in this paper during the period under consideration and those numbers could be more/higher. Further, Combined Total Impressions mentioned in this paper means the sum of all the Impressions (000s) Sums for all the weeks under consideration of a network, channel and/or programme/s.

    Statistical analysis of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data for Top 5 Channels for the four South Indian regional channels shows that 8 Networks/affiliates/channels represented by their respective channels across the four South Indian languages shared the top five positions per week for the first eight weeks of 2017. The four languages are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Channels such as ETV have been included in the Network 18 network by the author.

    BARC data that has been referred to inthis paper is for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017 is (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals for the following markets: Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu/ Puducherry; and AP/ Telangana

    If all the channels of a network were present in the top 5 channels list for each of the four languages, that network’s frequency of appearance in the list would be 160 for the first 8 weeks of 2017 period. In order of frequency of presence of their respective channels in the top 5 lists and the total weekly impressions across all the eight weeks of the four main networks were:

    (1)  The Sun Network (frequency 59, Combined Weekly Impressions 1,89,24,315 (000s) Sums). The Sun Network’s television channels in all the four Southern markets found a place in the top 5 lists for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

    (2)  Star India (frequency 37,Combined Weekly Impressions 94,10,831 (000s) Sums). Star India’s television channels in all the four Southern markets found a place in the top 5 lists for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

    (3)  Zeel(Frequency 24, Combined Weekly Impressions 70,47,165(000s) Sums). Zeel’s television channels in three of the four Southern markets found a place in the top 5 lists for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017. Its channels were absent from the lists for the Kerala market

    (4)  Network 18 (frequency 16, Combined Weekly Impressions 59,16,540 (000s) Sums). Network 18’s television channels in two of the four Southern markets found a place in the top 5 lists for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017. Its channels were absent from the lists for the Kerala market.

    The other networks whose channels found a place in the top 5 lists for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017 wereMalayalaManorama (Kerala market); Flowers TV (Kerala market); Polimer(TN/ Puducherry market); Jaya TV (TN/ Puducherry market).

    The Sun Network’s and Star India’s channels were present in all of the Top 5 channels list across the four languages for all the first 8 weeks of 2017.

    Top 5 programmes during Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs)

    Only the programmes by channels of the top four networks were The top 5 programmes list across all the four languages/markets. BARC data that has been referred to in this paper is for weeks 1 to 8 of 2017 (U+R) : NCCS All : Prime Time (1800 – 2330 hrs) : 2+ Individuals for the following markets: Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu/ Puducherry; and AP/ Telangana.

    While the frequency of presence in the top 5 lists of programmes was highest in the case of Star India channels (frequency 60, Combined Weekly Impressions 3,31,289 (000s) Sums), the Sun Network channels (frequency 43, Combined Weekly Impressions 5,21,763 (000s) Sums) programmes garnered much higher viewership.

    The Sun Network channels found a place in the top 5 programmes lists in three languages – Tamil (Frequency 40, Combined Weekly Impressions 502758 (000s) Sums Telugu (Frequency 2, Combined Weekly Impressions 14036 (000s) Sums and Kannada (Frequency 1, Combined Weekly Impressions 4969 (000s) Sums) during the period under consideration in this paper.

    Star India channels programmes also found a place in the top 5  programmes lists for three languages – Malayalam (Frequency 40, Combined Weekly Impressions 2,09,083 (000s) Sums); Telugu (Frequency 18, Combined Weekly Impressions 1,14,637 (000s) Sums and the Kannada market (frequency 2, Combined Weekly Impressions 7,569 (000s) Sums).

    Network 18 channels programmes found a place in the top 5 lists in 2 languages – Kannada (Frequency 28, Combined Weekly Impressions 1,43,113 (000s) Sums) and Telugu (Frequency 10, Combined Weekly Impressions 62,796 (000s) Sums).

    Zeel channels programmes also found a place in the top 5 lists in 2 languages Telugu(Frequency 10, Combined Weekly Impressions 63,147 (000s) Sums) and Kannada (Frequency 9, Combined Weekly Impressions 38135 (000s) Sums).

    Tamil Nadu/ Puducherry (Tamil) market top channels

    The Sun Network’s Sun TV is numerouno in this market, as well as across all television genres and markets in India, period!

    The Tamil market had four channels from three networks in the first four positions for all the first eight weeks of 2017. The Sun Network’s Sun TV and KTV, Zeel’s Zee Tamil and Star India’s Star Vijay.

    In the Tamil market, Sun TV found the first place eight times out of eight with Combined Weekly Impressions of 85,46,618 (000s) Sums. During the eight weeks under consideration in this paper, its KTV channel was number 2 most watched channel for 7 weeks with Combined Weekly Impressions of 20,47,381 (000s) Sums. In week 3, the number three Tamil player –Zee Tamil had second place.

    Zee Tamil was the third most watched channel in the Tamil space for seven of the eight weeks with Combined Weekly Impressions of 18,56,448 (000s)Sums, except as mentioned above – it was at number two position in week 3 of 2017.

    Star Vijay was the fourth most watched channel in the Tamil language TV space with Combined Weekly Impressions of 16,47,623 (000s)Sums during all the first 8 weeks of 2017.

    Polimer’sPolimer TV was the fifth most watched Tamil language TV space with a frequency of 4 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 3,25,149 (000s)Sums, while its Polimer News was the seventh most watched Tamil language TV space with a frequency of 2 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 1,92,213 (000s)Sums in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

    The sixth most watched Tamil channel during weeks 1 to 8 was Jaya TV with a frequency of 2 and Combined Total Impressions of 2,40,799 (000s) Sums.

    Tamil Nadu/ Puducherry (Tamil) market top programmes

    Eight of the Sun TV’s programmes and two film telecasts grabbed all the five top spots during all the first eight weeks of 2017. The eight top programs in the Tamil TV space that had a combined frequency of 37 out of a possible 40 have been listed below:

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    The other three slots were taken by three films broadcast by Sun TV on Sunday in weeks 1, 3 and 5 of 2017. DeivaMagal had the highest primetime viewership during all the first eight weeks of 2017.

    AP/ Telangana (Telugu)market top channels

    The Telugu market also was dominated by the Sun Network’s channels. The two channels of the network had a frequency of 8 in the top 5 channels list for the Telugu market and the Sun Network had Combined Weekly Impressions of 52,80,885 (000s) Sums. Its Gemini TV was the most watched channel during all the weeks under consideration in this paper.

    Gemini TV had a frequency of 8 in the top 5 channels list with Combined Weekly Impressions of 40,16,489 (000s) Sums. Zee Telugu was the second most watched channel during these first eight weeks of 2017 with a frequency of 8 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 3384804 (000s) Sums.

    Network 18’s ETV Telugu was the third most watched channel in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017, also with a frequency of 8 in the top 5 channels lists for the Telugu market and Combined Weekly Impressions of 33,65,528 (000s) Sums. Star India’s Maa TV/Star Maa was the fourth most watched channel in the AP/ Telangana market with a frequency of 8 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 32,75,864 (000s) Impressions.

    The fifth most watched Telugu channel during weeks 1 to 8 of 2017 was the Sun Network’s Gemini Movies with a frequency of 8 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 13,12,922 (000s) Sums.
    AP/ Telangana (Telugu)market top programmes

    KumkumaPuvvu, (means Saffron) the Telugu edition of the 785 episode Malayalam soap opera Kumkumapoovu on Star India’s Maa TV/ Star Maa was the most watched primetime programme during weeks 1 to 8 of 2017. The programme had a frequency of 8 in the top 5 programmes list during the period under consideration in the paper with Combined Weekly Impressions of 52,561 (000s) Sums. Though KumkumaPuvvuwas ranked first in terms of Weekly Impressions only during weeks 1, 2, 5 and 8 of 2017, the sum of its weekly impressions for weeks 1 to 8 was more than any other programme in this space.

    Of the possible 40 slots in five weeks, 37 were shared by Television Programmes, while the remaining three slots were shared by movies – one aired by the Star Network and two aired by Gemini TV.

    Please refer to the figure below for the top nine Telugu programs during weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

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    Zee Telugu’s story of two strong willed women – MuddaMandaram was the second most watched Telugu programme in the first eight weeks of 2017 with Combined Weekly Impressions of 51,560 (000s) Sums and a frequency of 8 in the top 5 Telugu programmes.

    Karnataka (Kannada) market top channels

    Five Kannada channels were in the top 5 Kannada channels list during the first 8 weeks of 2017. The channels ranks remained unchanged during all the first eight weeks of 2017. The frequency of each channel was 8. Network 18’s Colors Kannada was ranked number one with Combined Weekly Impressions of 25,51,012 (000s) Sums, followed by Zeel’s Zee Kannada with 18,05,913 (000s) Sums.

    Star India’s Star Suvarna with 15,30,643 (000s) Sums was the third most watched Kannada channel in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

    Two of the Sun Network’s channels – Udaya Movies and Udaya TV were ranked fourth and fifth with Combined Weekly Impressions of 12,05,222 (000s) Sums and 9,36,342 (000s) Sums respectively. If one were to combine the viewership of these two channels, then the Sun Network would be the second most watched Kannada television network during the first eight weeks of 2017 with Combined Weekly Impressions of 21, 41,564 (000s) Sums.
    Karnataka (Kannada) market top programmes

    Colors Kannada’s daily soap PuttaGowriMaduve that chronicles the journey of child bride from the brink of childhood to womanhood was the most watched Kannada programme during the first 8 weeks of 2017. The programme was ranked first during all the first eight weeks of 2017 with Combined Weekly Impressions of 53,098 (000s) Sums.
    Also from the Colors Kannada stable, Lakshmi Baaramma was the second most watch Kannada programme in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017 with Combined Weekly Impressions and a frequency of 8 in the top 5 Kannada programmes list.

    Please refer to the figure below for the top Kannada Programs in weeks 1 to 8.

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    Of the possible 40 top 5 program lists during weeks 1 to 8 of 2017, 38 were shared by television programmes, while two were shared by films.

    Kerala (Malayalam) market top channels

    Star India’s Asianet ruled the Malayalam television space during the first eight weeks of 2017. The channel was ranked first in terms of Weekly Impressions during all the eight weeks. It has Combined Weekly Impressions of 26,25,543 (000s) Sums. MalayalaManorama’s GEC MazhavilManorama also found itself in the top 5 channels list eight times with Combined Weekly Impressions of 6,81,232 (000s) Sums.

    The Sun Networks Malayalam channel Surya TV also had a frequency of 8 was the third most watched Malayalam channel with Combined Weekly Impressions of 6,60,045 (000s) Sums. Flowers TV came in fourth with frequency of 8 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 5,77,569 (000s) Sums.

    Star India’s Asianet Movies was fifth with a frequency of 5 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 3,31,158 (000s) Sums. The Sun Network’s second Malayalam channel – Kiran TV found itself in the top 5 channels list thrice during the first eight weeks of 2015 with Combined Weekly Impressions of 1,99,296 (000s) Sums.

    Kerala (Malayalam) market top programmes

    In the case of top 5 programmes for a week, it was Aisanet programmes that were amongst the top 5 ranks during all the first 8 weeks of2017. Parasparam, the daily family soap that completed 1070 episodes in end January 2017 was the most watched Malayalam programme during the first eight weeks of the year with a frequency of 8 and Combined Weekly Impressions of 50,100 (000s) Sums. Parasparamwas the most watched programme for three of the eight weeks of 2016 and the second most watched program for five of the eight weeks of the year.

    Chandanamazha, a series about the trials and tribulations of two sisters who marry into the same family was the second most watched Malayalam programme during the first eight weeks of 2017 with Combined Weekly Impressions of 49,972 (000s) Sums.

    Please refer to the figure below for the list of the Top Malayalam programs in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017.

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    Of the forty possible slots among the top five primetime programmes per week during the eight weeks under consideration in this paper, four were one off awards, while 36 spots were held by the channels regular programmes.

    Conclusion

    There is no denying the fact that the Sun Network’s Sun TV was the most watched channel across genres and languages in India, as is evident from BARC’s  list of top 10 channels Across Genre: All India (U+R): 2+ individuals as well as BARC data for the TN/ Puducherry market. It dominated the channel viewership in two of the largest media and entertainment (M&E) centres in the country with two channels each in the Tamil and the Telugu space through Sun TV, KTV and Gemini TV, Gemini Movies respectively. Two each of its channels were also among the lower top 5 in the smaller Kannada and Malayalam markets.

    On the programme front, the Sun Network’s programmes were the only ones that made it to the top 5 Tamil programmes list during all the first eight weeks of 2017. However, in the other three South Indian markets, ratings performance of its programmes was sketchy.

    Though the Star Network’s Combined Weekly Ratings in the four South Indianmarkets were a little more than half of the Sun Networks, the programmes of its respective channels dominated the Telugu and the Malayalam markets.

    Zeel’s South Indian channels were a mixed bag and surprisingly the gap between its Combined Weekly Insertions and those the Star India South Indian channels was not large, considering the fact that its channels operate in only three South Indian markets as compared to the four markets that Star India operates in.

    Network 18 has channels in only two of the four South Indian markets. Its channels and programmes have dominated the Kannada market, and its programmes Combined Weekly Impressions were not too far behind the second largest player in the Telugu market – Zee Telugu.

    The other networks/channels that were present in the top five channels list for each of the markets can be consideredas work in progress before they begin to challengethe four major networks and their respective channels.

  • Pixel Pictures to launch tele serial & talk show

    MUMBAI: Pixel Pictures, one of the leading TV production houses in south India, will be diversifying their production offerings into fiction and other domains, starting from March 2017.

    The production house launched a new crime-based show in February 2017, and will be entering the fiction domain with a new tele serial in March 2017. Pixel is also planning a new, unique talk show currently in pre-production stage.

    “Shantam Papam” is a show based on true-crime stories, went on air on 11 February 2017. The hour-long show will be aired thrice a week on Colors Super, and will feature stories primarily from Karnataka. Shantam Papam is currently the only one of its kind in the Kannada entertainment industry.

    Pixel, which first entered the TV Production Industry in 2013, has been best known for adapting international game-based reality shows to regional audiences thus far. The company has produced Dancing Star (adapted from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing) and Super Minute (from Shine International’s Minute To Win It) for Colors Kannada. Pixel also successfully produced the 1st season of Minute to Win It for Mazhavil Manorama in Malayalam in 2016, marking the production house’s lead entry in Kerala.

    Pixel also won the mandate to produce Super Minute for the third consecutive season. The show, which follows a new “team-oriented” format in 2017, began on 18th Feb and is hosted by Golden Star Ganesh. The first set of episodes will see 16 Television Celebrity teams playing in knock-out format. The winning team will be donating the prize money to 5-year old Piyush, who is fighting Leukemia.

    These new programs’ mark the company’s first steps towards delivering their creative offerings across various entertainment domains and regional markets.

    Pixel CEO Prashanti Malishetty said, “Pixel started with game-based reality shows back in 2013, when this was relatively unknown show format. The success of this has given us great confidence, and we are looking forward to spreading our creative wings into other domains. We are very excited about the line-up of shows in the upcoming months, and believe that the audiences are looking forward to such content.”

    The tele serial will also launch two faces to the Kannada audience. Pixel is currently holding special acting workshops for the crew & cast of the show before the show goes on air.

  • Tarun Katial’s big magic with Big Ganga

    MUMBAI: A takeover is in progress. Yet, that is not getting in the way of television veteran Tarun Katial. For him, it is business as usual.

    The CEO of Reliance Broadcast Networks Ltd, who cut his teeth as a media professional in the early part of his career, is pleased as punch. The reason: RBNL’s lead channel Big Ganga continues to flow on its charted course — that of being the leader in the Bihar, Jaharkand region. It has the highest share of 37 per cent of the viewership in the region  (source: BARC. Period: wk02’17-wk05’17, Market: Bihar & Jharkhand).

    And what’s more — in a short span of six months, the channel has notched up a whopping growth of 19 per cent in viewership (August 2016 – Jan 2017).

    “We have created a unique proposition in Ganga which is a regional channel among the Hindi-speaking market which actually taps in to a very large segment of population that did not have enough to connect with,” says Katial. “Big Ganga is very differentiated channel,” he added.

    For starters, its prime time is different from other channels; as is the scheduling, reveals Katial. “Our biggest prime time is early morning. The biggest peg that works in that market is faith,” he points out. “We have devotional bands which are rated very well. Then, we have very big prime time on weekends where we have reality shows that connect with the audience. If you see the rating contribution that’s not how it works. Devotional contributes probably the best, weekend contributes next, and then we have (the traditional) prime time. Where the eyes are, that is the prime time.”

    And that’s shored up by numbers too. Nine out of the top 10 shows in regional viewership are from the Big Ganga portfolio. Shows such as Birha Dangal, Big Memsaab, Rasoi Ki Rani and Bhakti Samrat are its major audience pullers and are homegrown assets.

    “We have about 50 per cent of market share. And, every quarter, we have a  big reality show that fuels the aspiration of that region,” explains Katial.

    He is quick to point out that the channel has also been one of the big beneficiaries of the growing clout and geographical spread  of the state-owned FreeDish.  “The rural market is very deeply penetrated by DD FreeDish and you cannot deny that. I think when urban market was being measured, we were doing very well there, and when the rural market started getting measured we realised that there big element of FreeDish, we got that into our plan and included that into our distribution line-up.”

    That has helped the RBNL team to monetise the channel effectively, especially from the ad revenue front.

    “Our pricing has gone up significantly over the past year as we do offer 30-40 per cent of additional coverage than any other Hindi GEC in that market,” expresses Katial. “Bihar is one of the highest GDP growth markets in the country. So, the advertisers look at us as the unique standalone regional option to invest. There are two kinds advertisers  looking for additional reach in Bihar out of the HSM or looking only at Bihar because that’s their priority market.  My pitch to the fence sitter advertiser is: TV is deeply penetrated now and there are numbers which are comparable with print and the CPT looks far better and more efficient with TV.”

    Also Read

    Big Ganga shows now available on ZEEL’s OZee

    RBNL all set to relaunch Big Magic

  • Sun TV to benefit greatly from DAS III & IV: Centrum Broking

    MUMBAI: Stockbroking firm Centrum Broking’s research team is relatively bullish on the Sun TV Network. In its latest report, Centrum has stated that Sun TV has said that recent developments bode well for the Kalanithi Maran promoted southern TV network.

    “We draw comfort from the court’s recent dismissal of all charges against the promoters, its high dividend payout, the Rs 18 billion cash in its books,” its says in the report.

    Centrum is hopeful that cable TV digitisation in Phase III and Phase IV will double Sun TV’s subscription revenues over the next three years. “We expect that it would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the digitization,” the report says.

    Evidence of that comes from the recent 30 per cent increase in subscription income YoY and the 10 per cent increase in DTH subscription income (it currently has 13.1 million paying subs) contribution in Q3 FY 2017 .

    “It has started to add income from content trading which represents revenue earned from mobile service providers,” says Centrum in the report.

    The broker points out that the Sun TV Network management has become cautious on its spends over the past year or so and has stopped handing out big wads of money to acquire expensive movies. This has helped improve its EBIDTA margins as its amortisation expenses have gone down. Centrum expects this trend to continue going forward.

    The investment banking firm points out that there is other good news coming in from Sun TV as it relooks at its content strategy for its channels in Telugu and Kannada.

    The launch of new shows in the Telugu market has helped it gain significant market share there and increase yield by 30 per cent in Q3 FY 2017. “We believe this yield increase would have a positive impact on the smaller channels in the Telugu market,” it says in the report.

    Sun TV is also looking at relaunching its Kannada language channel with commissioned content within the next two months which will gain traction over the next three quarters, Centrum points out.

    However, it says that overall Sun TV is struggling (like other media companies) – on the advertising revenues front — following the impact of demonetization — as these shrank (in its case 6.8 per cent) in the latest quarter.

    “The recovery would take another quarter as Sun TV is highly dependent on local ads and the FMCG sector’s ad spend.”

    In the latest Q3-2017 financials declared on 10 February, Sun TV reported a 2.8 per cent increase in YoY revenues to Rs 589.43 crore; PAT growth by 11 per cent to Rs 240.09 crore; and EBIDTA increase by 0.6 per cent to Rs 439.73 crore. The company also declared a 100 per cent dividend for its shareholders.

    Also Read :

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/regional/sun-tv-third-quarter-of-2017-numbers-up-170211

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/supreme-court/marans-discharged-sc-no-to-stay-hearing-on-wed-170203

  • Star Plus, Jalsha & Zee telecast challenged in B’Desh SC

    MUMBAI: An appeal has been filed in the Bangladesh Supreme Court challenging the country’s High Court verdict that approved continuing of telecast of three Indian TV channels.

    The Bangladesh High Court had paved the way for continuance of telecast of Star Plus, Zee Bangla and Star Jalsha. The court rejected a writ petition that sought ban on the broadcast of the three. The petitioner’s lawyer had said his client would appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

    Apex court lawyer Syeda Shahin Ara Laily on Sunday afternoon submitted the appeal to the Appellate Division seeking a stay on the high court decision. SC chamber judge might hold hearing on the appeal on Wednesday, Laily’s lawyer Aklas Uddin Bhuiyan told The Daily Star.

    On 7 August, 2014, Laily had filed the writ seeking to stop the operation of the three, arguing that those have been making an adverse impact on the social life of the country’s people. Students’ education and housewives’ normal chores were being affected due to watching the programmes, she had mentioned. On 19 October, the High Court asked the government to explain as to why it should not be directed to ask the cable operators to stop airing the three, the Financial Express reported.

    Influenced by drama serial “Bojhena Se Bojhena” on Star Jalsha, the petitioner argued, three Bangladeshi girls had reportedly committed suicide for not getting “Pakhi” dress used in the serial. Bangladeshi channels, on the other hand, were not allowed to be broadcast in India, she added.

    Also Read:

    B’Desh PIL rejected; Star Plus, Jalsha & Zee Bangla telecast to continue

    Indo-Bangladesh radio channel Akashvani Maitree launched by President Mukherjee

    AIR’s new radio station aimed at Bangladesh with Bangladesh content

  • Star Maa: ‘Refreshed’ channel to offer MEK, Desamudurlu & fiction shows

    MUMBAI: MAA TV, a Star India portfolio channel, announced its new Brand position and Refresh along with a dynamic new logo, brand tagline and channel pneumonic theme track at a media conference. Star Maa is poised for bigger and better – be it with shows, look & feel, audiences, reach and impact.

    Megastar Chiranjeevi unveiled the new logo and the brand tagline. Maa TV has now become Star Maa. The logo’s new identity is gorgeously red with the intrinsically bold Maa written under it. The color red symbolizes prosperity, optimism, celebration, desire, purity, passion, love and holiness. The logo reflects two very powerful brands and promises a strong collaboration.

    Another highlight was when Star Maa’s main leads came onstage dressed in their fiction show characters along with Megastar Chiranjeevi to jointly announce the new tagline of the Channel… “Ade Bandham … Sarikotta Uttejam” (Same bonding … New inspiration).

    Star Maa has aggressive and forward-looking plans of growth and expansion. It has plans to consolidate its position in the Telugu market and achieve dominant thought, content and image leadership.

    Leveraging the Big brand refresh, Star Maa is also launching MEK on Monday, 13 February at 9.30pm with megastar Chiranjeevi as the host. Another non-fiction comedy show, Desamudurlu, is being launched on Friday, 17 February at 9.30pm, These two shows will be a great addition to the recently launched four promising and popular prime time fiction shows — Koyilamma, Kumkuma Puvvu, Lakshmi Kalyanam and Malleswari. Kumkuma Puvvu is currently the No 1 Telugu show nationally and poised to stay at the top in the foreseeable future.

    Star India CEO – south region Kevin Vaz said, “Star India’s acquisition of Maa was a testimony to STAR wanting to build and grow in this market. With the brilliant synergy of the strengths of Maa and STAR, we believe, we have come a fair distance in the last few months but we are now poised to take a leap.”

    “Keeping tune with changing aspirations and expectations of audiences is the key to long-term success. Programming innovation, content variety, and modernizing the entire packaging and quality of the channel through Star Maa brand refresh is a sign of our commitment to the Telugu people, globally,” Vaz added.

    Chiranjeevi, addressing the audience, said: “I have been a part of Maa TV from its inception and this channel has been known to have vibrant, innovative, pleasant and interactive programming. The channel has been close to your hearts and you have respected and nurtured this emotional connection. With this refresh of the channel’s ID, logo and signature tune as well as a power-packed line up of new shows, I can only see Star Maa continuing to climb the charts of success.”

    Maa business head Alok Jain said: “Our aim is to make Star Maa more current and relevant to the viewers. We are crafting a philosophy that respects the spirit of the Telugu people across the globe. Our story-telling develops linkages with the dreams to create an entertainment brand that is consumed by the entire family. We educate, uplift and usher in new thinking. Every Telugu woman and man, who is optimistic and growth-oriented, yet rooted in home and state, is our key audience. Our aim is to be innovative, revolutionary and original in every aspect of our business and hopes to deliver best in this journey.”

    He added: “The Star Maa Refresh is about inspiring people. At every level, we aim to be inspired storytellers who will influence and persuade the Telugu viewer to improve and enhance his dreams and aspirations. The thought behind the words “Ade Bandham … Sarikotta Uttejam” reverberates through programming and through every visual element of the channel.”

  • Sun TV third quarter of 2017 numbers up

    BENGALURU: Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) reported improved numbers across all important parameters for the quarter ended 30 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (Q3-16). The board of directors have declared an interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share of Rs 5 each (100 percent) for the financial year 2016-17.

    Sun TV reported 2.8 percent higher year-over-year (y-o-y) revenue in the current quarter at Rs 589.43 crore as compared to Rs 573.24 crore in Q3-16.

    Revenue growth in Q3-17 was led by a 16.8 percent y-o-y increase in subscription revenue at Rs 241.94 crore from Rs 207.16 crore.

    The company’s Profit after tax or PAT in Q3-17 improved 11 percent y-o-y to Rs 240.09 crore (40.7 percent margin) as compared to Rs 216.33 crore (37.7 percent margin) in Q3-16.

    Sun TV EBIDTA in the current quarter was Rs 439.73 crore (74.6 percent EBIDTA margin), almost flat (0.6 percent higher) as compared to Rs 437.29 crore (76.3 percent EBIDTA margin) in Q3-16.

    Total Expenditure (TE) in the current quarter decreased 3.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 260.39 crore (44.2 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 270.70 crore (47.2 percent of TIO) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Employee Remuneration and Benefits Expense (EBE) in Q3-17 increased 1.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 59.86 crore (10.2 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 59.21 crore (10.3 percent of TIO) in Q3-16.

    Other expenses (OE) in the Q3-17 was 2.6 percent lower at Rs 36.06 crore (6.1 percent of TIO) as compared to Rs 37.04 crore (6.5 percent of TIO) in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    IPL Franchisee Sun Risers Hyderabad

    Sun TV has paid franchisee fees for its IPL team SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) of Rs 85.48 crore in Q1-17 as compared to Rs 85.05 crore in the first quarter of FY-16.

    The results of the nine month period ended 31 December 2016 (9M-17) include IPL revenue of Rs 143.90 crore as compared to Rs 96.96 crore in 9M-16 and costs of Rs 175.11 crore and Rs 153.21 crore for 9M-17 and 9M-16 respectively.

    Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

  • Zee Cinemalu added to US portfolio

    Zee Cinemalu added to US portfolio

    MUMBAI: Leading content conglomerate, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), has announced the launch of its Telugu movie channel, Zee Cinemalu. The channel is available on Dish and Sling TV in the US as a part of the popular Telugu pack. This launch brings the total tally of Zee channels in the US to 37, making Zee the biggest multi-cultural broadcaster in the United States.

    Zee Americas business head Sameer Targe said, “Movies are an integral part of the lives of the Telugu audience and the stars of Telugu cinema are worshipped as demigods. The Telugu community in the USA is close to half a million strong and is growing at more than 10pc every year. With the positioning of ‘Dil Pai Super Hit’, Zee Cinemalu offers a wide variety of movies from different genres with an aim to win the hearts of the Telugu audience.”

    To represent such a larger than life environment, megastar Chiranjeevi unveiled the Zee Cinemalu logo at an event in India last year in September, which was attended by the most prominent members of the Telugu film fraternity.

    The channel will entertain US audiences with its major blockbusters including Akhil, Brahmotsavam, Kumari21F, Supreme and A Aa. To further engage viewers, Zee Cinemalu will showcase first-of-its-kind properties like ‘7 days 7 premieres’, the simulcast of mega events, Just For Laugh gags, ‘Bangaru Bujji’ – a filler which connects cinema and the day-to-day life of an individual and DSP Live in USA, a musical show featuring Devi Sri Prasad.

  • Asianet ropes in 15 sponsors for Film Awards ’17

    Asianet ropes in 15 sponsors for Film Awards ’17

    BENGALURU: Star India’s Malayalam GEC offering’s 19th edition of its annual film awards function (Asianet Film Awards 2017) was held recently at Cochin. The event will be aired next weekend over two days– Saturday 11 February and Sunday 12 February at 630 PM. The broadcaster has roped in 15 on ground and on air sponsor for the event.

    These include Presenting sponsor -Vivo, Title sponsor- Nirapara, Powered by sponsors Asten Realtors and Josco Jewellers. Associate sponsors include Gateway Beaumonds, Popees, Gonexa Mattress, Yamaha, Bhima Jewellers, Chungathu Jewellery, Nerolac Excel Total. Costume Partner for the event is Swayamvara Silks.

    The channel says that ten thousand people attended the ground event. Several prominent persons from the film industry and socio-cultural spheres were present on the occasion. The event was also attended by cross section of stars from the south Indian film industry and there were colourful programmes performed by leading Malayalam artistes along with a mix of stars from Tollywood and Bollywood. Malayalam film superstar Mohanl Lal’s live action sequences based on his super hit movie Pulimurugan and Nivin Pauly’s magical performances were the main attractions of the ground event.