ITV

Category: Regional

  • China bans K-Pop and K-Dramas?

    China bans K-Pop and K-Dramas?

    MUMBAI: It is one of the biggest markets for south Korean dramas and pop music known to all as K-Pop. China, according to some experts, accounts for more than a few dollar billion in revenues for the K-Pop and K-Drama industry.

    But now the market appears to be shutting down as the Chinese seem to be prone to restricting Korean entertainment’s access to the mainland following Seoul’s plan to deploy the US Terminal High-Altitude Areas Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system.

    Reports from Chinese media state that the media industry’s watchdog State Administration of Press, Publications, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT) has issued orders to at least two stations in the province of Gaungdong they should not come with new approvals for TV programs featuring South Korean pop stars as they would not be given the approval.

    According to China Film Insider, reports have appeared locally which state that Korean talent will not be allowed to appear in films, television dramas, musical concerts, variety shows, or advertisements in the immediate future. The restrictions will supposedly begin on 1 September.

    Shares of many listed South Korean entertainment companies, such as SM Entertainment (Girls Generation) and YG Entertainment (Psy) have been seen an erosion in their values following the ban murmurings which have been emanating from media outlets such as People’s Daily.

    An official announcement was yet to be made by the Chinese government but apparently verbal instructions had come from the regulator. How the ban will impact several China-South Korean co-productions was yet to be clarified at the time of writing, though observers expect the restrictions to apply to them too.

    “Could this be an opportunity for Indians to swoop in and push Indian content in China?” asks a media observer. “Let the Indian production and broadcasting community give it a closer look see.”

  • “Story telling and production quality are going to drive the Kannada TV market”- Ashok Namboodiri

    “Story telling and production quality are going to drive the Kannada TV market”- Ashok Namboodiri

    Three months back Ashok Namboodiri replaced Star India’s Kannada entertainment channel Suvarna’s business head Anup Chandrasekharan.

    Namboodiri hails from a very strong FMCG background with more than 20 years experience with heavyweight MNCs like HUL, Coca Cola, Tata Tea, and Britannia. Prior to joining the channel, Namboodiri was the business head of J K Helene Curtis where he was responsible for building the FMCG portfolio of brands like Park Avenue and Raymond.

    In a very short span, under his guidance, Star India revamped its nine-year old brand Suvarna as Star Suvarna and its movie channel Suvarna Plus as Star Suvarna Plus. This was a part of an initiative to lift the channel’s position to numero uno in the Kannada market.  

    Indiantelevision.com’s Sonam Saini had a tete a tete with Namboodiri who spoke about his journey in the media & entertainment space, challenges and his plans for Star Suvarna. Excerpts from the conversation:

    How different is the media and entertainment space as compared to the other industry categories you have worked in before? Where do you draw your motivation from?

    I think it’s a very exciting space. The ability to understand the style of the consumer and then to address that with stories which can have an impact which goes beyond entertainment but that impacts life itself in some way.. And I particularly think this aspect of the story is very important. Compared to what I was doing earlier then this is a very fascinating and exciting space to be in.

    Motivation comes from people interaction. In some form and manner your ability to reach out to people, get insights, keeping your eyes and ears to story ideas that can come from anywhere that  makes for a very enriching experience.

    What is it like to be the business head of the channel? If you were to describe three biggest challenges what would they be?

    When it comes to running a business, the principle remains the same. You need to establish the systems and processes, put down your metrics to review periodically and also you need people to rally around a larger vision that you set for the business.

    Where I am finding this extremely challenging and exciting is in the area where I have to really convert ideas to stories that attract and engages consumer eyeballs. Here the product is something that is intangible, yet touches so deeply at the same time.

    Picking up the right story is the challenge, with the evolution of technologies, consumers are so well connected to  global trends that keeping pace and raising the bar is very important. Also, making sure in execution,  quality is not sacrificed.

    How is regional broadcasting in India different now from say what it was three years back?

    From the standpoint  of the kind of stories that need to be told, the regional market is becoming extremely competitive than what it was three years back.

    It opens the environment and gives the viewer a much more enriching experience as you have new shows, stories, characters, new technology that has come in due to the increased competitive intensity.

    Each market is different and has a different style of telling stories. In Star Suvarna we have launched Har Har Mahadev on a much higher scale when it comes to production and quality, which has completely changed the standard. That is the other thing where regional television is actually going through a change.

    How has the profile of a regional channel viewer changed say in the past three years?

    There are two things, one is the matter of trends – globalization, access to what is happening around the world, and the fact that the world is becoming younger..these trends are applicable to all including regional viewers. Secondly, the social and cultural trends are changing.

    If you were to pitch a brand to come and associate with Suvarna what would your differentiator be that your competition cannot offer?

    Star Suvarna has been here for nine years in the business and whatever research we have done one thing is evident that Star Suvarna enjoys a very unique place in the life of the Kannada consumer. Our DNA is about exclusive content and being the exclusive in content attracts potential advertisers as well.

    HD in regional channels has been the talking point over the past few months. Do you think having an HD offering in the regional market is a profitable proposition?

    With the evolution of technology, consumers are accessing content through various formats and as well as through channels in the form of HD and SD. That really doesn’t matter, at the end of day, the thing that will drive the  future is better stories and those which are executed in a superior manner. The quality will become very crucial going forward.  

    Do you think there is enough marketing of content in the region you operate? What would  Suvarna’s marketing spend per year be  and what is the media mix in terms of TV, Print, Outdoor and Digital?

    Yes, we have rolled out a 360 degree marketing campaign for our launch along with Har Har Mahadev. We are doing unique things like running a campaign reaching out the people of Karnataka. We are covering all the media channels through this campaign. We don’t comment on particular numbers. We aim to be very competitive and establishing properties that drive the marketing spends. We go for everything basically the home channel is the big one. We pick and choose the media depending on what is the objective.  

    You have just revamped the nine year old brand Suvarna and Suvarna Plus. What is the idea behind it? What new will we see in the channel?

    When we did our research and we found out that we have the capability to raise the bars altogether to a new level. We have done a lot of work on the show Har Har Mahadev – visual effects, production quality that we have has never been seen in any other show in the Kannada market. Using this as the disruption in the market, we thought it’s the right time to relaunch the channel.  We all are excited about the new line up which is there in the pipeline and of course we will leverage the Star network for technological upgradation and the entire expertise that is there to leverage from the ecosystem.  

    How has the satellite acquisition rights space for Kannada films been? Has there been a rise in acquisition price? What kind of competition is there?

    I won’t be able to comment on the price but films are an integral part of the programming line up of any GEC channel so we are also looking at the same.

    What are the programming innovations that a regional movie channel can undertake?

    Innovations can be done in two ways, one in the execution and other in the way of storytelling and content.

    What do you think will be the key driver of growth in Kannada regional market?

    Execution is the big one, talent, getting the right kind of expertise, infrastructures and digitization are going to be the key drivers. The Kannada consumer is as demanding as any other consumer, therefore fulfilling their desires will also be the important driver of growth in Kannada market. 

  • “Story telling and production quality are going to drive the Kannada TV market”- Ashok Namboodiri

    “Story telling and production quality are going to drive the Kannada TV market”- Ashok Namboodiri

    Three months back Ashok Namboodiri replaced Star India’s Kannada entertainment channel Suvarna’s business head Anup Chandrasekharan.

    Namboodiri hails from a very strong FMCG background with more than 20 years experience with heavyweight MNCs like HUL, Coca Cola, Tata Tea, and Britannia. Prior to joining the channel, Namboodiri was the business head of J K Helene Curtis where he was responsible for building the FMCG portfolio of brands like Park Avenue and Raymond.

    In a very short span, under his guidance, Star India revamped its nine-year old brand Suvarna as Star Suvarna and its movie channel Suvarna Plus as Star Suvarna Plus. This was a part of an initiative to lift the channel’s position to numero uno in the Kannada market.  

    Indiantelevision.com’s Sonam Saini had a tete a tete with Namboodiri who spoke about his journey in the media & entertainment space, challenges and his plans for Star Suvarna. Excerpts from the conversation:

    How different is the media and entertainment space as compared to the other industry categories you have worked in before? Where do you draw your motivation from?

    I think it’s a very exciting space. The ability to understand the style of the consumer and then to address that with stories which can have an impact which goes beyond entertainment but that impacts life itself in some way.. And I particularly think this aspect of the story is very important. Compared to what I was doing earlier then this is a very fascinating and exciting space to be in.

    Motivation comes from people interaction. In some form and manner your ability to reach out to people, get insights, keeping your eyes and ears to story ideas that can come from anywhere that  makes for a very enriching experience.

    What is it like to be the business head of the channel? If you were to describe three biggest challenges what would they be?

    When it comes to running a business, the principle remains the same. You need to establish the systems and processes, put down your metrics to review periodically and also you need people to rally around a larger vision that you set for the business.

    Where I am finding this extremely challenging and exciting is in the area where I have to really convert ideas to stories that attract and engages consumer eyeballs. Here the product is something that is intangible, yet touches so deeply at the same time.

    Picking up the right story is the challenge, with the evolution of technologies, consumers are so well connected to  global trends that keeping pace and raising the bar is very important. Also, making sure in execution,  quality is not sacrificed.

    How is regional broadcasting in India different now from say what it was three years back?

    From the standpoint  of the kind of stories that need to be told, the regional market is becoming extremely competitive than what it was three years back.

    It opens the environment and gives the viewer a much more enriching experience as you have new shows, stories, characters, new technology that has come in due to the increased competitive intensity.

    Each market is different and has a different style of telling stories. In Star Suvarna we have launched Har Har Mahadev on a much higher scale when it comes to production and quality, which has completely changed the standard. That is the other thing where regional television is actually going through a change.

    How has the profile of a regional channel viewer changed say in the past three years?

    There are two things, one is the matter of trends – globalization, access to what is happening around the world, and the fact that the world is becoming younger..these trends are applicable to all including regional viewers. Secondly, the social and cultural trends are changing.

    If you were to pitch a brand to come and associate with Suvarna what would your differentiator be that your competition cannot offer?

    Star Suvarna has been here for nine years in the business and whatever research we have done one thing is evident that Star Suvarna enjoys a very unique place in the life of the Kannada consumer. Our DNA is about exclusive content and being the exclusive in content attracts potential advertisers as well.

    HD in regional channels has been the talking point over the past few months. Do you think having an HD offering in the regional market is a profitable proposition?

    With the evolution of technology, consumers are accessing content through various formats and as well as through channels in the form of HD and SD. That really doesn’t matter, at the end of day, the thing that will drive the  future is better stories and those which are executed in a superior manner. The quality will become very crucial going forward.  

    Do you think there is enough marketing of content in the region you operate? What would  Suvarna’s marketing spend per year be  and what is the media mix in terms of TV, Print, Outdoor and Digital?

    Yes, we have rolled out a 360 degree marketing campaign for our launch along with Har Har Mahadev. We are doing unique things like running a campaign reaching out the people of Karnataka. We are covering all the media channels through this campaign. We don’t comment on particular numbers. We aim to be very competitive and establishing properties that drive the marketing spends. We go for everything basically the home channel is the big one. We pick and choose the media depending on what is the objective.  

    You have just revamped the nine year old brand Suvarna and Suvarna Plus. What is the idea behind it? What new will we see in the channel?

    When we did our research and we found out that we have the capability to raise the bars altogether to a new level. We have done a lot of work on the show Har Har Mahadev – visual effects, production quality that we have has never been seen in any other show in the Kannada market. Using this as the disruption in the market, we thought it’s the right time to relaunch the channel.  We all are excited about the new line up which is there in the pipeline and of course we will leverage the Star network for technological upgradation and the entire expertise that is there to leverage from the ecosystem.  

    How has the satellite acquisition rights space for Kannada films been? Has there been a rise in acquisition price? What kind of competition is there?

    I won’t be able to comment on the price but films are an integral part of the programming line up of any GEC channel so we are also looking at the same.

    What are the programming innovations that a regional movie channel can undertake?

    Innovations can be done in two ways, one in the execution and other in the way of storytelling and content.

    What do you think will be the key driver of growth in Kannada regional market?

    Execution is the big one, talent, getting the right kind of expertise, infrastructures and digitization are going to be the key drivers. The Kannada consumer is as demanding as any other consumer, therefore fulfilling their desires will also be the important driver of growth in Kannada market. 

  • Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    MUMBAI: A few weeks back, Viacom18 launched another general entertainment channel Colors Super to expand its reach in Karnataka market. Soon after, one of the leading media conglomerates, Zee Enterprises Entertainment LTD (ZEEL) announced new channel launch in Marathi space with Zee Yuva. Zee Networks’ Zee Yuva will be the new entrant in the Marathi space to encash the network’s upper hand in being a pioneer in the region.

    The new channel will offer some light hearted refreshing content, which the channel claims is different from what the other players in the Marathi space currently offer. ZEEL’s regional language offerings within India are performing extremely well.

    “We are able to leverage content strengths across the network by replicating successful formats. Our understanding of audiences is reflected in our leadership and improving network performance,” reads ZEEL annual reports 2015-16.

    According the report, Zee Marathi maintains dominant leadership in Marathi general entertainment space with 50 per cent market share. The channel was once again the slot leader in all the nine prime time slots led by top rated fiction shows like Jai Malhar, Nanda Saukyabhare, Ratris Khel Chale and non-fiction shows such as Chala Hawa Yeun Dya and Home Minister.

    In Maharashtra, 54.8 per cent is rural population whereas 45 per cent is urban population, as per Maharashtra Economic Survey. Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva business head Bavesh Janavlekar says, “In Maharashtra, 17 per cent of population is Marathi viewing audience, which means there is big chunk of the audience is consuming Marathi content. Hence, we thought there is scope to further explore the space with Zee Yuva.”

    Zee Yuva will be the network’s fourth presentation in the Marathi genre. It already operates GEC Zee Marathi, movie channel Zee Talkies and news channel Zee 24 Taas.

    The channel will be a paid and is scheduled to go on air from 22 August. With no particular restriction to TG, the channel will cater to all the age groups of Maharashtra. “It is not a youth centric channel; it is more about youthfulness, more about the value of forever young at heart. Therefore we didn’t put an age to it.”

    While leading channels in the category like Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi and Star Pravah mostly target female audience in the state, off-late Marathi films aimed at the young people have also quite done well. ZEEL sees an opportunity in this. “We feel that there is huge opportunity to explore and grab the Marathi audiences, who are young at heart. We will target the heartland of Maharashtra,” claimed Janavlekar. He added, “Yuva is not about age. It’s about a mindset. So our content will be light with storylines revolving around friendship.”

    With the launch of Zee Yuva, ZEEL is not only focusing on the Maharashtra but also planning to tap in the global Marathi audience through its digital platform Ditto TV.

    Zee Yuva’s differentiated proposition is strengthened by its content that is distinctive and based on audience insights, which the international audience will relate to. “I feel that this new and innovative step will definitely win the hearts of the audience of Maharashtra. The audiences of Maharashtra have showered immense love on Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies and Zee Studios and I believe that the audiences will welcome the new channel Zee Yuva with the same love and warmth.”

    The channel will start off with five fiction shows of different genres like college and romance. It would have a weekend show as well. There will be music in the morning and movies in the afternoon band. “We will have shows around music in the future. The primetime here will be 7 pm to 9.30 pm. We will have movie premieres every day, informed Janavlekar. The channel will also premiere Hollywood movies dubbed in Marathi.

    Zee Yuva revealed the first look of its first show Love, Lagan and Locha. The channel has roped in production houses like Iris Production and I me Production for the content.

    When it comes to attracting advertisers, he informed that it doesn’t matter if the brand is based in Delhi, Bangalore or Bombay as long as Maharashtra is the priority market for them, as the channel is positive to gain the confidence of audiences residing in the interiors of Maharashtra.

    Fortunately there are many channels selling youthfulness to people. “We are focusing on maximizing the viewership on television and digitally and we know that brands will be on board therefore we are not too much worried about the brands. Primarily focus will be on building the viewership through differentiated content strategy.”

    The channel’s digital campaigns were received well and had a reach of 5 million in a day. It also trended on Twitter and recorded 28.6 million impressions in a day. Apart from this the channel has more than 50,000 likes on Facebook.

    Zee Yuva has also rolled out a music video composed by Jashraj Joshi, Hishikesh Datar, Saurabh Bhalerao, sung by Jashraj Joshi and Soniya Mundhe.

    “We will be rolling out network promotions and non-network promotions followed by print and outdoor campaigns,”Janavlekar added in parting.

  • Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    Zee puts up tough competition in Marathi space with ‘Yuva’

    MUMBAI: A few weeks back, Viacom18 launched another general entertainment channel Colors Super to expand its reach in Karnataka market. Soon after, one of the leading media conglomerates, Zee Enterprises Entertainment LTD (ZEEL) announced new channel launch in Marathi space with Zee Yuva. Zee Networks’ Zee Yuva will be the new entrant in the Marathi space to encash the network’s upper hand in being a pioneer in the region.

    The new channel will offer some light hearted refreshing content, which the channel claims is different from what the other players in the Marathi space currently offer. ZEEL’s regional language offerings within India are performing extremely well.

    “We are able to leverage content strengths across the network by replicating successful formats. Our understanding of audiences is reflected in our leadership and improving network performance,” reads ZEEL annual reports 2015-16.

    According the report, Zee Marathi maintains dominant leadership in Marathi general entertainment space with 50 per cent market share. The channel was once again the slot leader in all the nine prime time slots led by top rated fiction shows like Jai Malhar, Nanda Saukyabhare, Ratris Khel Chale and non-fiction shows such as Chala Hawa Yeun Dya and Home Minister.

    In Maharashtra, 54.8 per cent is rural population whereas 45 per cent is urban population, as per Maharashtra Economic Survey. Zee Talkies and Zee Yuva business head Bavesh Janavlekar says, “In Maharashtra, 17 per cent of population is Marathi viewing audience, which means there is big chunk of the audience is consuming Marathi content. Hence, we thought there is scope to further explore the space with Zee Yuva.”

    Zee Yuva will be the network’s fourth presentation in the Marathi genre. It already operates GEC Zee Marathi, movie channel Zee Talkies and news channel Zee 24 Taas.

    The channel will be a paid and is scheduled to go on air from 22 August. With no particular restriction to TG, the channel will cater to all the age groups of Maharashtra. “It is not a youth centric channel; it is more about youthfulness, more about the value of forever young at heart. Therefore we didn’t put an age to it.”

    While leading channels in the category like Zee Marathi, Colors Marathi and Star Pravah mostly target female audience in the state, off-late Marathi films aimed at the young people have also quite done well. ZEEL sees an opportunity in this. “We feel that there is huge opportunity to explore and grab the Marathi audiences, who are young at heart. We will target the heartland of Maharashtra,” claimed Janavlekar. He added, “Yuva is not about age. It’s about a mindset. So our content will be light with storylines revolving around friendship.”

    With the launch of Zee Yuva, ZEEL is not only focusing on the Maharashtra but also planning to tap in the global Marathi audience through its digital platform Ditto TV.

    Zee Yuva’s differentiated proposition is strengthened by its content that is distinctive and based on audience insights, which the international audience will relate to. “I feel that this new and innovative step will definitely win the hearts of the audience of Maharashtra. The audiences of Maharashtra have showered immense love on Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies and Zee Studios and I believe that the audiences will welcome the new channel Zee Yuva with the same love and warmth.”

    The channel will start off with five fiction shows of different genres like college and romance. It would have a weekend show as well. There will be music in the morning and movies in the afternoon band. “We will have shows around music in the future. The primetime here will be 7 pm to 9.30 pm. We will have movie premieres every day, informed Janavlekar. The channel will also premiere Hollywood movies dubbed in Marathi.

    Zee Yuva revealed the first look of its first show Love, Lagan and Locha. The channel has roped in production houses like Iris Production and I me Production for the content.

    When it comes to attracting advertisers, he informed that it doesn’t matter if the brand is based in Delhi, Bangalore or Bombay as long as Maharashtra is the priority market for them, as the channel is positive to gain the confidence of audiences residing in the interiors of Maharashtra.

    Fortunately there are many channels selling youthfulness to people. “We are focusing on maximizing the viewership on television and digitally and we know that brands will be on board therefore we are not too much worried about the brands. Primarily focus will be on building the viewership through differentiated content strategy.”

    The channel’s digital campaigns were received well and had a reach of 5 million in a day. It also trended on Twitter and recorded 28.6 million impressions in a day. Apart from this the channel has more than 50,000 likes on Facebook.

    Zee Yuva has also rolled out a music video composed by Jashraj Joshi, Hishikesh Datar, Saurabh Bhalerao, sung by Jashraj Joshi and Soniya Mundhe.

    “We will be rolling out network promotions and non-network promotions followed by print and outdoor campaigns,”Janavlekar added in parting.

  • Star India rebrands Suvarna channels, revamps programming lineup

    Star India rebrands Suvarna channels, revamps programming lineup

    MUMBAI: After launching the HD feeds of its regional channels, Star India is now bringing its Kannada channels under the Star brand. For starters, its Kannada general entertainment channel Suvarna is to be rechristened as Star Suvarna and its movie channel Suvarna Plus as Star Suvarna Plus.

    The nine-year-old Suvarna will be rebranded from 25 July and a company press release says it will reflect the distinctive culture and traditions of Karnataka through its differentiated content.

    Taking its brand legacy forward with a new brand philosophy – ‘Sambandagal Hosa Spandana’ (the new rhythm of relationships) the channel has decided to coincide the relaunch with the debut of Hindi TV producer Nikhil Sinha’s Hara Hara Mahadeva.

    The show is the story of Lord Shiva and will describe his miracles and has international graphics and production values, which have never been done on regional television. The show airs from 25 July at 7.30 pm from Monday to Friday.

    The content offering will further see a ramp up across genres including fiction and non fiction. The channel plans to launch an array of new programmes which includes two weekend non-fiction shows and a new fiction show which will be unveiled in the next few weeks.

    A new team of experts has been roped in to ensure the production values and making of the shows are of impeccable standards.

    Star Suvarna business head Ashok Namboodiri said: “Suvarna has always offered differentiated and innovative content to the Kannada viewers. With the new brand name and proposition, we plan to significantly scale up our offerings which will be on par with international standards. As we enter this new phase, we will continue to delight our consumers with new stories and new programs that will redefine general entertainment”

    Star Suvarna Plus will be a unique combination of movies and sports. The channel will continue to showcase national level sporting events like Star Sports Pro Kabbadi League in Kannada and offer the best of titles from the Kannada movie industry.

    A 360 degree marketing plan has been rolled out to establish the new brand logo and identity while also building up the launch of Hara Hara Mahadeva. Key mediums of communication are TV, print, radio, outdoor and digital.

  • Star India rebrands Suvarna channels, revamps programming lineup

    Star India rebrands Suvarna channels, revamps programming lineup

    MUMBAI: After launching the HD feeds of its regional channels, Star India is now bringing its Kannada channels under the Star brand. For starters, its Kannada general entertainment channel Suvarna is to be rechristened as Star Suvarna and its movie channel Suvarna Plus as Star Suvarna Plus.

    The nine-year-old Suvarna will be rebranded from 25 July and a company press release says it will reflect the distinctive culture and traditions of Karnataka through its differentiated content.

    Taking its brand legacy forward with a new brand philosophy – ‘Sambandagal Hosa Spandana’ (the new rhythm of relationships) the channel has decided to coincide the relaunch with the debut of Hindi TV producer Nikhil Sinha’s Hara Hara Mahadeva.

    The show is the story of Lord Shiva and will describe his miracles and has international graphics and production values, which have never been done on regional television. The show airs from 25 July at 7.30 pm from Monday to Friday.

    The content offering will further see a ramp up across genres including fiction and non fiction. The channel plans to launch an array of new programmes which includes two weekend non-fiction shows and a new fiction show which will be unveiled in the next few weeks.

    A new team of experts has been roped in to ensure the production values and making of the shows are of impeccable standards.

    Star Suvarna business head Ashok Namboodiri said: “Suvarna has always offered differentiated and innovative content to the Kannada viewers. With the new brand name and proposition, we plan to significantly scale up our offerings which will be on par with international standards. As we enter this new phase, we will continue to delight our consumers with new stories and new programs that will redefine general entertainment”

    Star Suvarna Plus will be a unique combination of movies and sports. The channel will continue to showcase national level sporting events like Star Sports Pro Kabbadi League in Kannada and offer the best of titles from the Kannada movie industry.

    A 360 degree marketing plan has been rolled out to establish the new brand logo and identity while also building up the launch of Hara Hara Mahadeva. Key mediums of communication are TV, print, radio, outdoor and digital.

  • Asianet to air European Malayalam Anand TV Film awards 17 July

    Asianet to air European Malayalam Anand TV Film awards 17 July

    BENGALURU: Star India’s Malayalam general entertainment channel Asianet is all set to air the first European Malayalam film award — Anand TV Film Awards on 17 July 2016 starting 630pm onwards. The awards were held at O2, Apollo, Manchester, UK, on 28 May 2016. Several prominent persons from the film industry and socio-cultural spheres were present on the occasion says an Asianet release.

    Asianet has roped in Goodknight as powered by sponsor and Yamaha, Chandrika Soap and Gold Winner as associate sponsors.

    Anand Media claims to be a pioneer of Malayalam TV channels in Europe, that brought the first Malayalam channel to Europe on 17 August 2002. It had started with only channel on satellite and has added two more to entertain the diaspora from ‘God’s own country’. It’s packages include a number of Malayalee channels across networks that are broadcast in India.

    Star India (South) MD K Madhavan was on hand to collect ‘Innovation in Broadcasting’ award for his outstating contributions to Indian Television Industry. Also Shifa Al Jazeera Medical group founder and chairman K T Rabeeullah and Thembalath Ramachandran (Bristol Laboratories) won Business awards ‘Pravasi Ratna’ and ‘Business Excellence’ respectively. Malayalam superstar Mammootty won the best actor award for his role in ‘Pathemari’ and Parvathy for the best female actress for the film ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’. ‘ Ennu Ninte Moideen’ won the award for the best film and Salim Ahammed won the award for the best director for the movie ‘Pathemari’.

    Performance from cine artistes such as Isha Talwar, Gayathri Suresh, Arya , Pashanam Shaji, Tini Tom, Dulquer Salman, Vijay Yesudas, Sithara, Gopi Sundar, Stephen Devassya, Manoj K. Jayan, Suraj Venjaramoodu , Manoj Guiness, Nobi, and British Dancers entertained the viewers at the venue.

  • Asianet to air European Malayalam Anand TV Film awards 17 July

    Asianet to air European Malayalam Anand TV Film awards 17 July

    BENGALURU: Star India’s Malayalam general entertainment channel Asianet is all set to air the first European Malayalam film award — Anand TV Film Awards on 17 July 2016 starting 630pm onwards. The awards were held at O2, Apollo, Manchester, UK, on 28 May 2016. Several prominent persons from the film industry and socio-cultural spheres were present on the occasion says an Asianet release.

    Asianet has roped in Goodknight as powered by sponsor and Yamaha, Chandrika Soap and Gold Winner as associate sponsors.

    Anand Media claims to be a pioneer of Malayalam TV channels in Europe, that brought the first Malayalam channel to Europe on 17 August 2002. It had started with only channel on satellite and has added two more to entertain the diaspora from ‘God’s own country’. It’s packages include a number of Malayalee channels across networks that are broadcast in India.

    Star India (South) MD K Madhavan was on hand to collect ‘Innovation in Broadcasting’ award for his outstating contributions to Indian Television Industry. Also Shifa Al Jazeera Medical group founder and chairman K T Rabeeullah and Thembalath Ramachandran (Bristol Laboratories) won Business awards ‘Pravasi Ratna’ and ‘Business Excellence’ respectively. Malayalam superstar Mammootty won the best actor award for his role in ‘Pathemari’ and Parvathy for the best female actress for the film ‘Ennu Ninte Moideen’. ‘ Ennu Ninte Moideen’ won the award for the best film and Salim Ahammed won the award for the best director for the movie ‘Pathemari’.

    Performance from cine artistes such as Isha Talwar, Gayathri Suresh, Arya , Pashanam Shaji, Tini Tom, Dulquer Salman, Vijay Yesudas, Sithara, Gopi Sundar, Stephen Devassya, Manoj K. Jayan, Suraj Venjaramoodu , Manoj Guiness, Nobi, and British Dancers entertained the viewers at the venue.

  • MDMK’s Vaiko to launch Madhimugam TV

    MDMK’s Vaiko to launch Madhimugam TV

    MUMBAI: Here’s another political party affiliated channel TV channel set to make its debut in the south of India. We are talking about Madhimugam, a Tamil satellite TV channel which has been launched by sympathisers and supporters of Vaiko’s Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK).

    The flag off is slated to take place on 14 July and Vaiko told local media that it is planned to be a news-cum-entertainment channel but it not a party channel nor is it its mouthpiece.. “The channel, however, will provide adequate space for my statements and functions without making a compromise on neutral views. The mainstream media does not give us adequate coverage,” he said.

    Madhimugam originates from the Tamil initials of the party’s name and it will be launching in a hyper competitive language market like Tamil Nadu where politicians and parties have strong affiliations with TV channels. Kalaignar TV (DMK), Jaya TV (AIADMK), Makkal TV (PMK), Captain TV (DMDK), Vasanth TV and Mega TV (Congress), Lotus TV (BJP) are some of the examples. The parent company operating the channel is RMT Network Pvt Ltd.

    Commercially successful players such as Sun TV, Raj TV, Star Vijay also hold a sway on audiences in terms of viewership because of their strong programming line ups. Cable TV and DTH networks are choc-a-bloc with different TV channels; hence, carriage is going to be a bit of a challenge for Madhimugam TV. It is quite likely it may get placed last on the SD channel list just before the HD channel pack as it has on networks such as VK Digital at channel No 148.

    Madhimugam TV has been sending out test signals for the past two months as a free to air service from Intelsat 17 at 66 degrees east. The advantage for the newbie is that a majority of the regional language services are beaming down using Intelsat 17.