ITV

Category: Regional

  • 24 Ghanta revamps structure, schedule of the channel

    24 Ghanta revamps structure, schedule of the channel

    KOLKATA: Sensing an urgent need to revamp its structure and the schedule of its Bengali news channel, Zee Entertainment Enterprises’ 24 Ghanta has launched new programmes apart from telecasting news.

     

    Channel representatives agree that while the channel used to rule the hearts of people but off late its viewership has decreased. In order to regain its old position, the channel is looking at introducing special shows on health, finance as well as shows for children. The channel aims to reach the doorsteps of people in the state apart from updating people from its studio by starting Apnar Paraye 24 Ghanta (24 Ghanta in your own locality). 

     

    The channel has started to air the one-hour show Offbeat 24 from the last two months from every Monday to Friday at 7pm. Ki Khobor Bangla, is another show aired at 10 to 10.30 pm giving all the news and views of the districts of West Bengal. The channel also telecasts Crime Branch, a crime related show in which the reporters of the channel unearth the facts and truths about crime cases registered in the state.

     

    “People of West Bengal are not only obsessed with politics. They are happy to see non news related prorgammes on children, health issues and finance among other topics,” said 24 Ghanta editor Anirban Choudhury.

     

    Apart from what 24 Ghanta is now, we would show the story of a common man. Bengal is not just about politics, the night life here is vibrant too. Going forward, we will put more focus on social life and people,” he added.

     

    For the show Apnar Paraye 24 Ghanta, the producers and anchors will go to different localities and by engaging into chit chat session, 24 Ghanta would air concerns of people related to women security, road and traffic problems among others. “By connecting with people, we will try to address their concerns,” Choudhury said.

     

    Also, for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation election – the next big event taking place in Kolkata – the channel would cover Kolkata in and out and cover people’s view from all different angles. 

     

    24 Ghanta, which was always been a pro-government channel when the Left Front was in power, had once again returned to its own editorial policy of supporting the government, but now it is three and half years old TMC rulers led by Mamata Banerjee. 

     

    24 Ghanta was launched in the year 2006 and it covers local, national as well as international news.

     

    “Considering the current dip in TRP, it would not be easy for 24 Ghanta to resurge to its earlier position. The other channels have taken advantage of this. The biggest problem was 24 Ghanta’s sudden swing in presenting political news: from being left inclined to TMC backers. Most viewers haven’t taken this well,” said Abhishek Sengupta, editor-in-chief-Demagogue Unzip Your Mind, a media and publishing company.

     

    However Sengupta said there’s a better side as well. “If the channel takes this dip seriously and works towards improving it, it will have to continuously provide the viewers with news that is not doctored. Ideally it should now stick to the basics. News is the priority. Not some other programs on varied topics,” he opined.

  • ‘Puthiya Thalaimurai’ digitises newspaper

    ‘Puthiya Thalaimurai’ digitises newspaper

    MUMBAI:  Chennai based New Gen Media Corporation having proved its mettle in publication, news and entertainment broadcasting is all set to climb the next rung of the ladder – on to the digital platform with the launch of its smartpaper titled ”Puthiya Thailaimurai Indru”. The smartpaper will launch on Monday, 9 February.

     

    At the click of the mouse “PT Indru” will reach the inbox of the subscribers who can access this smartpaper with a personalised special code to enjoy the pleasure of reading a virtual print newspaper.

     

    Speaking on the launch, New Gen Media Corporation CEO R.B.U Shyam Kumar said, ”Puthiya Thalaimurai Indru is a blue ocean initiative, where we are not competing with any other existing medium. This smartpaper is a convergence of print, radio, television and technology primarily aimed to cater to the Tamil diaspora across the world.”

     

    ”PT Indru” is designed like a typical print newspaper with additional features of watching, reading and listening to content. Unlike an e-paper, it will have news in video and audio formats besides another document format for reading.

     

     ”We are not using any news print that is made out of felling trees to print the news paper. We can proudly claim that this is a go-green initiative from our socially sensitive group. Yet another added advantage is that the readable news items can be downloaded in PDF format in any gadget for future reading purposes,” added Kumar.

     

    The annual subscription of ”PT Indru” is priced at Rs 99 which means 30 paise per day. Kumar justifies the subscription move stating, ”We don’t want to encourage anything free. According to us – anything that comes free always has a lesser attention from the consumers. So when they pay, their expectation and concentration on our content will be more and their valuable feedback will trigger us to perform better.”

     

    The editorial affairs of the smartpaper ”PT Indru” will be handled by an efficient team headed by Jeeva who has moved out of ‘Dinamalar’ publications to join Puthiya Thalaimurai. The technical part of the initiative is being sphere headed by Boopi. His team is in the process of developing applications for the smartphones which will be rolled out shortly after the launch.

     

    Regarding the editorial Kumar recounts, ”PT Indru will have curated content from our other mediums as a leveraging exercise with inputs from PT’s broadcasting, publications, stingers etc. We will also have special content designed exclusively for the consumers of our smartpaper such as cinema and lighter viewing or reading materials which are not part of our other mediums due to positioning issues.”

  • Sun TV posts sunnier y-o-y results for Q3-2014; board announces 135 per cent interim dividend

    Sun TV posts sunnier y-o-y results for Q3-2014; board announces 135 per cent interim dividend

    BENGALURU: Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) reported 9.9 per cent growth in revenue in Q3-2015 at Rs 575.03 crore as compared to the Rs 523.19 quarter in the corresponding quarter of last year and 13 per cent more than the Rs 509.02 crore in Q2-201 on the back of growth of advertising and DTH revenues. For 9M-2014, the company reported 7.5 per cent higher revenue at Rs 1695.05 crore as compared to the Rs 1576.6 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    The company’s PAT in the current quarter increase 15.25 per cent to Rs 214.13 crore from the Rs 185.79 crore in Q3-2014 and was a whopping 38.6 per cent more than the Rs 154.47 crore in Q2-2015. PAT in 9M-2015 at Rs 534.24 crore was 2.9 per cent more than the Rs 519.39 crore in Q3-2014.

     

    Sun TV reported 7 per cent y-o-y growth in advertising revenue in Q3-2015 to RS 291.57 crore and was 12 per cent more than the Rs 260.26 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

     Sun TV reported 18 per cent higher DTH revenue at Rs 132.88 crore in the current quarter as compared to the year ago quarter and 2.2 per cent more than the Rs 130.07 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The board of directors of the company have declared the third interim dividend this year of 135 per cent (Rs 6.75) per share of face value of Rs 5.

     

    Let us look at the other results reported by Sun TV for Q3-2015

     

    The company’s total expense (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 249.78 crore was 3.1 per cent more than the Rs 242.38 crore in Q3-2014 and 16.2 per cent less than the Rs 298.22 crore in Q2-2015. TE in 9M-2015 at Rs 952.85 crore was 11.5 per cent more than the Rs 854.26 crore in 9M-2014. The 9M expense figure for both years includes the one time annual SunRisers Hyderabad IPL franchise fee of Rs 85.05 crore paid by the company in Q1-2015 and Q1-2014 respectively.

     

    Sun TV’s depreciation and amortization charges (depreciation) in Q3-2015 was 18.2 per cent more at Rs 125.41 crore as compared to the Rs106.06 crore in Q3-2014 and was 32.2 per cent less than the Rs 185.01 crore in Q2-2015. Depreciation increased 31.8 per cent YTD in 9M-2015 to Rs 449.41 crore from Rs 341.01 crore.

     

    Employee benefit expense (EBE) in Q3-2015 was up 12.7 per cent more at Rs 55.69 crore than the Rs 49.42 crore in Q3-2014 and was 11.1 per cent more than the Rs 50.13 crore in Q2-2015. EBE increased 6.8 per cent to Rs 151.59 crore in 9M-2015 from Rs 141.9 crore in the corresponding nine month period of last year.

     

    The company has reported a 22.1 per cent drop in other expenditure to Rs 26.66 crore in Q3-2015 from Rs 34.22 crore in the year ago quarter and was 17.7 per cent higher than the Rs 22.65 crore in Q2-2015. Other expenditure in 9M-2015 fell 1.5 per cent to Rs 142.49 crore from Rs 144.67 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Click here to read the press release

    Click here to read the unaudited financial result

  • Zee Marathi clocks highest ratings for ‘Lai Bhaari’ world TV premiere

    Zee Marathi clocks highest ratings for ‘Lai Bhaari’ world TV premiere

    MUMBAI: The Marathi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (ZEEL) bouquet has clocked the highest ratings ever in the Marathi GEC space, all thanks to its world television premiere of ‘Lai Bhaari’ on 25 January.

     

    The channel, as per the recent TAM TV Ratings, clocked 5727 TVTs, for the world television premiere of the movie, which is the highest rated world TV premiere across Hindi and Marathi films in Maharashtra in the past seven years. 

     

    Riteish Deshmukh’s Lai Bhaari, which smashed the box office record in the Marathi industry, also smashed records on television.  The film was watched by over 11.5 million people, which implies nearly a quarter of the entire C&S population of Maharashtra watched Lai Bhaari.

     

    The movie was supported by a strong 360 degree marketing campaign with a robust outdoor and print campaign. The special innovation for the campaign was ‘fiber bricks’ which were sent out to media agencies to create buzz before the telecast of the movie. The on air campaign had been done in-house with multiple creatives being created and a special shoot with Riteish Deshmukh.

     

    With these numbers, Zee Marathi has broken its own records and now boasts of an even more impressive performance with regards to world television premieres. The channel has been home to premieres like Duniyadari, Time Pass, Fandry.

  • TAM TV ratings: Week 5 of regional channels

    TAM TV ratings: Week 5 of regional channels

    MUMBAI: In week 5 of TAM TV ratings, let’s take a look at how the regional channels have fared across the country.

     

    In the Bihar + Jharkhand region in the CS4+ market, Mahuaa Plus led the chart with 1296 GVTs followed by Big Magic Ganga with 1256 GVTs and Mahuaa at number three with 712 GVTs.

     

    In the Marathi general entertainment channel (GEC) space, Z Marathi topped the chart with 188980 GVTs. Star Pravah stood second with 54815 GVTs and ETV Marathi ranked number three with 48907 GVTs.

     

     In the West Bengal market, Star Jalsha continued to hold its number one position with 115321 GVTs followed by Z Bangla with 80213 GVTs and ETV Bangla at number three with 22223 GVTs.

     

     In the Tamil GEC space, Sun TV topped the chart with 230581 GVTs followed by Star Vijay with 75900 GVTs and Kalaignar TV ranked number three with 24783 GVTs.

     

     Talking about the Karnataka region, Udaya stood at number one spot in the Kannada GEC space with 83990 GVTs. ETV Kannada ranked second with 52342 GVTs and Suvarna at number three scored 44211 GVTs.

     

    In the Telugu GEC space, Maa TV observed the top spot 106835 GVTs followed by Z Telugu with 91733 GVTs and Gemini at number three with 91093 GVTs.

     

     Lastly, in the Kerala region; Asianet scored the highest in the Malayalam category with 61112 GVTs. Mazhavil Manorama stood at number two with 17037 GVTs and Surya TV ranked number three with 16566 GVTs.

  • Zee Bangla launches new fiction show – ‘Kojagori’

    Zee Bangla launches new fiction show – ‘Kojagori’

    MUMBAI: Zee Bangla has launched a new fiction show titled Kojagori. The show revolves around the love story of Saheb and Mohul, who are diametrically different from each other.

     

    Flamboyant Mohul’s character has been played by Aparajita Ghosh Das, whereas ideal guy Saheb’s character is played by Raja.

     

    Kojagori is produced by Magic Moments, which has produced shows like Keya Patar Nouko, Ishti Kutum and Jal Nupur to name a few. Written by Leena Gangopadhyay, the show will be telecast from Monday to Saturday at 8 pm.

     

    Mohul is a city-bred, pampered young girl who lives life on her own terms. Saheb is a well-read, upright yet grounded youth who believes in simple living with high ideals. Life takes a turn when the two end up getting married. How Mohul and Saheb get married and get along with each other becomes the trajectory of the show.

  • ‘Mathrubhumi’ surprises reader with jasmine scented newspaper

    ‘Mathrubhumi’ surprises reader with jasmine scented newspaper

    MUMBAI: This Republic Day, Mathrubhumi – the Kerala based daily had a surprise for its readers. The newspaper wished readers with a jasmine-scented broadsheet; an attempt like this took place for the first time in Kerala.

     

    The surprise caught many readers unaware but soon it gave way to a smile on every face. It was an apt Republic Day gift to the readers by a newspaper that rose to prominence during the nation’s freedom struggle. Even the master head of the newspaper announcing the innovation – a jasmine plant twining Mathrubhumi with the Republic Day message just below it was a novelty.

     

    For the day, it was the talking point among the newspaper reading lot, and even the rare ones who don’t. A technological leap for a newspaper that’s at the forefront of innovation, it was a pleasant surprise in every sense for the readers.

  • Kasthuri TV set for a revamp

    Kasthuri TV set for a revamp

    MUMBAI: Karnataka based general entertainment channel (GEC) Kasthuri TV is all set for a revamp. It was in November 2014, when Kasthuri TV roped in Whitehorse Network (WHN), an organisation floated by media industry veteran P Kailasam to take over the channel’s operations for five years.

     

    The core management team at Whitehorse comprises director and CEO P Kailasam, business head GV Krishnamurthy and chief content strategist Shivakumar.

     

    Together, the team has been spearheading the way forward for the channel with new shows, a revamped look and new positioning on their agenda. The channel has entrusted its ad sales duties to Aidem Ventures.

     

    As a part of its re-launch strategy, the channel will feature a refreshed line-up of programmes. “Kasthuri is poised to get back its glory. We are completely revamping the channel and our USP is to offer differentiated yet mass-based content to the viewers,” said Kailasam.

     

    “Kasthuri TV at present enjoys a good reach that is comparable to the bigger platforms within its genre. The new content will bring in fresh audiences and improve time spent and stickiness of the existing base,” added Aidem Ventures director Vikas Khanchandani while emphasising that it will be focusing on all brands but FMCG will be a priority.

     

    Based on the research done in order to understand the regional television viewing habits in Karnataka, the new content strategy involves strengthening the prime-time viewing slot with a mix of fiction and non-fiction programmes.

     

    Of the non-fiction programmes that are slated for launch, Mathandre Maathu, starring Murali is a talk show that brings two polarised sections of the society onto one platform to share their views on social and political issues.

     

    Another non-fiction programme that is to launch next week is Padhakondhu Saval. This is an interactive game show in which callers can participate in the on-going game or contest to win prizes. Yet another interactive game show that first went on air last Monday is Sakath Atte Super Sose hosted by Sushma K Rao. In this first-of-its-kind TV show, a mother-in-law – daughter-in-law duo participates together as a team and is pitted against other mother-in-law – daughter-in-law duos.

     

    The weekend programming line-up includes Aradirali Belaku, which is a talk show discussing social issues faced by the common man today. Malavika Avinash, a Kannada television celebrity, will host the show. Along with a panel of experts and the audience, she will debate over issues raised, help resolve them and suggest corrective measures to the victim and to the audience.

     

    Nan Life Nal One Dhina, is a celebrity talk show where the audience can take a sneak peek into the real life of popular big screen actors, politicians, sportsmen etc. as the host interviews them every Sunday from 7.30 to 8.30 pm. 

     

    Another weekend programme called Crime Alert brings to light the criminal minds behind innocent faces. This is an informative show for viewers in which each episode ends with an optimal solution for preventing crime. Guggunanmaklu is a comedy fiction show in which the lead character has short-term memory loss which leads him into awkward and embarrassing situations.

     

    Apart from the new list of appealing programmes, WHN has strengthened the channel’s movie library by acquiring 50 ‘A’ category titles this financial year. It will soon be donning a new look. Its refreshed packaging and new promotional strategy are also underway.

  • Q3-2015: Raj TV q-o-q PAT up 2.76 times

    Q3-2015: Raj TV q-o-q PAT up 2.76 times

    BENGALURU: South Indian television network Raj TV Limited (Raj TV) reported PAT of Rs 2.09 crore (10.3 per cent of Total Income from operations or TIO) in Q3-2015, which was a 2.76 times the Rs 0.755 crore (3. 8 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. Y-o-y PAT was 58.2 per cent less than the Rs 4.99 crore (20 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. Overall, FY-2015 has not been as profitable a year as FY-2014 was for Raj TV so far. During 9M-2015, the company reported PAT of Rs 5.51 crore (9.3 per cent of TIO) versus the Rs 13.11 crore (21.3 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Raj TV’s TIO at Rs 20.32 crore in Q3-2015 was 1.2 per cent more than the Rs 20.08 crore in the immediate trailing quarter, but 18.4 per cent less than the Rs 24.92 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. During 9M-2015, TIO at Rs 59.51 crore was 3.3 per cent lower than the Rs 61.56 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    Let us look at the other figures reported by Raj TV

     

    Raj TV’s Total Expenditure (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 18.34 crore (90.2 per cent of TIO) was 4.1 per cent higher than the Rs 17.61 crore (87.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 1.3 per cent lower than the Rs 18.58 crore (74.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. During 9M-2015, the company’s TE at Rs 50.75 crore (85.3 per cent of TIO) was 14 per cent more than the Rs 44.52 crore (72.3 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    The company’s operations cost (cost of revenue or COR) in Q3-2015 at Rs 4.46 crore (22 per cent of TIO) was 48.4 per cent less than the Rs 8.65 crore (43.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 41.4 per cent less than the Rs 7.62 crore (30.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. The company’s COR for 9M-2015 at Rs 19.34 crore (32.5 per cent of TIO) was 1.1 per cent lower than the Rs 19.55 crore (31.8 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Raj TV’s administrative and other expense (A&OE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 2.28 crore (11.2 per cent of TIO) was 19.4 per cent lower than the Rs 2.83 crore (14.1 per cent if TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 27.3 per cent less than the Rs 3.13 crore (12.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014. A&OE for 9M-2015 at Rs 7.65 crore (12.9 per cent of TIO) was 14 per cent lower than the Rs.8.89 crore (14.4 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 6.09 crore (30 per cent of TIO) was 10.3 per cent higher than the Rs 5.52 crore (27.5 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 11.5 per cent less than the Rs 6.88 crore (27.6 per cent of TIO) in the corresponding quarter of 2014. EBE for 9M-2015 at Rs 17.04 crore (28.6 per cent of TIO) was 32.5 per cent more than the Rs 12.86 crore (20.9 per cent) in 9M-2014.

     

    The company’s finance costs have gone up 48.3 per cent y-o-y. For Q3-2015, finance cost at Rs 1.6596 crore (8.2 per cent of TIO) was 15.2 per cent more as compared to the Rs 1.4406 crore (7.2 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. In Q3-2014, finance cost was Rs 1.3878 crore (5.6 per cent of TIO). Finance cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 4.5472 crore (7.6 percent of TIO) was 42.4 percent more than the Rs 3.1927 crore (5.2 percent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

  • Zee Marathi plans marketing push for Riteish Deshmukh’s ‘Lai Bhaari’ premiere

    Zee Marathi plans marketing push for Riteish Deshmukh’s ‘Lai Bhaari’ premiere

    MUMBAI: Actor Riteish Deshmukh’s top grossing blockbuster hit – Lai Bhaari will be premiered on Zee Marathi on 25 January, 2015 at 7 pm.

     

    The premiere of the movie will be supported by a campaign with focus on TV, print and outdoor media. Some of the key initiatives of the campaign were the innovations undertaken on the outdoor campaign with a cutout of Riteish at strategic locations. The outdoor campaign spanned across 17 cities with Mumbai and Pune being the focus markets. Transit medium was also extensively used for the outdoor campaign. 

     

    Another first in the campaign was a direct mailer in the form of a branded ‘fiber brick’ reminiscent of the bricks used by Riteish in the movie, were distributed amongst the trade fraternity. The social media campaign offers a contest with a chance to win goodies like silver coins, EsselWorld passes and autographed memorabilia from Riteish Deshmukh himself.

     

    Zee Marathi business head Deepak Rajadhyaksha said, “Lai Bhaari has enthralled audiences across Maharashtra smashing the previous box office records. It has been a remarkable year for the Marathi movie industry and this has coincided with a great year for Zee Marathi. The premiere of Lai Bhaari is another treat for our viewers and reaffirms the fact that Zee Marathi treats special properties like movie premieres differently, creating a unique experience for the viewers. The movie has been a cult and has already generated huge interest and buzz in the market. We hope to better our own performance with the premiere of Lai Bhaari.”

     

    Lai Bhaari marks Riteish Deshmukh’s debut in the Marathi movie industry. It has been directed by Nishikant Kamat and also stars Radhika Apte, Aditi Pohankar, Tanvi Azmi and Sharad Kelkar.