ITV

Category: Specialised and Niche

  • Living Foodz to launch new show ‘100% Veg’ on 17 February

    Living Foodz to launch new show ‘100% Veg’ on 17 February

    MUMBAI: Vegetarians in India will be served a gastronomic delight from 17 February, with the launch of a new show called 100% Veg, which will be hosted by Chef Gautam Mehrishi.

     

    The show will be aired every Wednesday at 2 pm.

     

    The new show will showcase vegetarian cuisine in a new light and brings to viewers the bold side of vegetarian cuisine, with all the oomph and visual appeal of world famous classic dishes.

     

    “We at Living Foodz understand the ever changing trends in the food space and palette of our audience. The idea behind 100% Veg was to cater to India’s increasingly savvy and demanding vegetarian audience by introducing them to vegetarian food like they have never seen before,” said Living Foodz business head Amit Nair.

     

    “Even though I grew up in a strictly vegetarian family, the chef in me has always enjoyed experimenting with international dishes, many of which are traditionally non-vegetarian. On 100% Veg, I have the opportunity to bring world classics to vegetarians and health conscious people, to demonstrate that vegetarian cuisine has truly come of age,” added Chef Mehrishi.

     

    On 100% Veg Chef Mehrishi will recreate some of the world’s most loved dishes such as yakhni, chowder, shepherd’s pie and brioche, drawing from Kashmiri, French, Scottish, English and Irish influences. It also features super foods such as amaranth, za’atar and kale.

  • Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Digitisation of cable television in India has opened up the space for many a niche channels. And taking advantage of this are brands and companies operating in diverse fields. One such company is Gemporia – jewellers from the United Kingdom, which forayed into India with the launch of a television channel back in September 2015. The channel, which is already available on direct to home (DTH) platforms like Dish TV and Videocon d2h, is all set to launch on Tata Sky in the next fortnight.

    What’s more, the channel is eyeing revenue between Rs 60 – 100 crore by the end of 2016. With the ethos of ‘Janiye aur Kharide’ (Know and Buy), the channel has a marketing budget of over Rs 25 crore, which it will strategically dish out with time. “The end goal is to be the largest selling jeweller in terms units and to reach that goal we will need to have an interactive marketing campaign. We are moving ahead towards that, the medium will depend on the marketing strategy, but we will innovate across platforms,” said Gemporia India co-founder Manuj Goyal.

    With the proliferation of the e-commerce space, there are a number of online stores selling jewellery in India. However, the online retailing of original jewels is yet to pick pace. Keeping the scenario in mind, Gemporia has taken TV route and has over 14 hours of live programming.

    The channel’s distribution and operation cost is predicted to be over Rs 50 crore. Goyal informs that the channel’s initial target is to be available on DTH platforms and then gradually move having a presence on cable.

    Gemporia has over eight per cent market share when it comes jewellery in the UK. “Majority of the jewellery shopping happens online across the globe. And I believe the same can happen in India too,” says Goyal.

    The venture has a target set to reach 100 million television audiences. Set up in Jaipur, Gemporia has 160 employees, of which 30 are equipped with GIA certificate.

    “All our products are hallmarked and we don’t sell imitation jewellery. We are the first dedicated jewellery channel with live programming. We stand by the purity of our jewellery and hence give our consumers the option of returning the jewellery within 30 days with full refund. Since we cannot offer consumers the touch and feel of our products, we create 360 degree videos of the product that consumers will eventually invest in,” informs Goyal.

    In a bid to stay ahead of online jewellery marketplaces, Gemporia decided to take the TV route. “Next to touch and feel is video and that’s where we have an advantage. Additionally, in most online stores, the products displaced are not ready and hence the delivery time is way more than us. Ours is a dedicated jewellery company and the product displayed is available for consumers to buy. The moment they buy a piece of jewellery, we can ship it and hence the logistics are way faster than the existing online stores,” says Goyal.

    A home shopping channel media expert says on condition of anonymity, “The jewellery space can pick up as it has the potential. But the product pricing has to be lower than traditional physical stores. All across the globe, the products that sells on home shopping channels are unique and priced lower than those in brick and mortar stores. Putting common products up will go no where. Gemporia’s biggest challenge and competition will be from the channels selling imitation jewellery. The first year will be challenging and will define the fate.”   

    Besides TV, Gemporia also has an online presence. Through the website, an on-screen anchor addresses consumers’ questions. Additionally, Gemporia also has a mobile app to sort out size issues. The Gemporia Ring Sizer app enables consumers to asses the ring size by just putting it up on the mobile screen. “We send ring sizer with our every order to sort out the size issue,” informs Goyal.

    With innovation, novel offerings and customer service being the key factors for success for a venture, it now remains to be seen how this one of a kind television channel orchestrates its voyage in the cluttered and unpredictable Indian market.

  • Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Digitisation of cable television in India has opened up the space for many a niche channels. And taking advantage of this are brands and companies operating in diverse fields. One such company is Gemporia – jewellers from the United Kingdom, which forayed into India with the launch of a television channel back in September 2015. The channel, which is already available on direct to home (DTH) platforms like Dish TV and Videocon d2h, is all set to launch on Tata Sky in the next fortnight.

    What’s more, the channel is eyeing revenue between Rs 60 – 100 crore by the end of 2016. With the ethos of ‘Janiye aur Kharide’ (Know and Buy), the channel has a marketing budget of over Rs 25 crore, which it will strategically dish out with time. “The end goal is to be the largest selling jeweller in terms units and to reach that goal we will need to have an interactive marketing campaign. We are moving ahead towards that, the medium will depend on the marketing strategy, but we will innovate across platforms,” said Gemporia India co-founder Manuj Goyal.

    With the proliferation of the e-commerce space, there are a number of online stores selling jewellery in India. However, the online retailing of original jewels is yet to pick pace. Keeping the scenario in mind, Gemporia has taken TV route and has over 14 hours of live programming.

    The channel’s distribution and operation cost is predicted to be over Rs 50 crore. Goyal informs that the channel’s initial target is to be available on DTH platforms and then gradually move having a presence on cable.

    Gemporia has over eight per cent market share when it comes jewellery in the UK. “Majority of the jewellery shopping happens online across the globe. And I believe the same can happen in India too,” says Goyal.

    The venture has a target set to reach 100 million television audiences. Set up in Jaipur, Gemporia has 160 employees, of which 30 are equipped with GIA certificate.

    “All our products are hallmarked and we don’t sell imitation jewellery. We are the first dedicated jewellery channel with live programming. We stand by the purity of our jewellery and hence give our consumers the option of returning the jewellery within 30 days with full refund. Since we cannot offer consumers the touch and feel of our products, we create 360 degree videos of the product that consumers will eventually invest in,” informs Goyal.

    In a bid to stay ahead of online jewellery marketplaces, Gemporia decided to take the TV route. “Next to touch and feel is video and that’s where we have an advantage. Additionally, in most online stores, the products displaced are not ready and hence the delivery time is way more than us. Ours is a dedicated jewellery company and the product displayed is available for consumers to buy. The moment they buy a piece of jewellery, we can ship it and hence the logistics are way faster than the existing online stores,” says Goyal.

    A home shopping channel media expert says on condition of anonymity, “The jewellery space can pick up as it has the potential. But the product pricing has to be lower than traditional physical stores. All across the globe, the products that sells on home shopping channels are unique and priced lower than those in brick and mortar stores. Putting common products up will go no where. Gemporia’s biggest challenge and competition will be from the channels selling imitation jewellery. The first year will be challenging and will define the fate.”   

    Besides TV, Gemporia also has an online presence. Through the website, an on-screen anchor addresses consumers’ questions. Additionally, Gemporia also has a mobile app to sort out size issues. The Gemporia Ring Sizer app enables consumers to asses the ring size by just putting it up on the mobile screen. “We send ring sizer with our every order to sort out the size issue,” informs Goyal.

    With innovation, novel offerings and customer service being the key factors for success for a venture, it now remains to be seen how this one of a kind television channel orchestrates its voyage in the cluttered and unpredictable Indian market.

  • Television market hots Up; HBN India targets 200 Cr By 2016

    Television market hots Up; HBN India targets 200 Cr By 2016

    Mumbai, 27 January 2016: Riding on the recent spurt in online shopping, TeleBrands India Pvt Ltd, India’s leading telemarketing and mail order organization, today announced that it will be re-branding its television brand as HBN India (Hot Brands India). The re-branding initiative is in line with the company’s aggressive growth strategy and near-term product roadmap. Reaching over 40 million household, enjoying a lion’s share in the market at 20%, HBN India is targeting a revenue of 200 Cr by opening 24 new retail stores for the new year 2016. “We plan to raise Rs 120 crore from PE players to expand retail outlets from 110 to 300 by FY18”, said Hitesh Israni, MD, HBN India.       

    At a time when online buying space is hotting up with new entries each day, TeleBrands India still retains a healthy repeat customer business of 35% by being owners and not aggregators, unlike the competitors. And powered by its own home grown 24 hours TV channel HBN, the company is all set to reach newer heights.        

    To further enhance the convenience and shopping experience for its customers, HBN India plans to launch a mobile app in 2016. Speaking on the occasion, HBN India Director, Manisha Israni reiterated, “For us, customer convenience is most important. With mobile apps fast-emerging as a preferred medium for shopping, we wanted to bring our extensive product line and unmatched offers in customers’ hands.”      

    Despite changing times, the logistical strength of HBN India, remains the in-house Indian Post Department which makes sure buyers from all across India — down to the semi-urban and-rural areas get their latest from the best in business. Elaborating on the growth plans, Hitesh Israni, Managing Director, HBN India said, “Television is the biggest contributor to our revenues. With a reach in 40 Million households, we have carved a niche in the television shopping segment. We are quite bullish on the home shopping business in India and are positive that our customer base will increase further as we increase our penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. We will also add new products to our portfolio in 2016 and continue announcing exciting offers for our customers. Our biggest strength is the quality of our products—we will continue to follow the stringent quality check to ensure the product quality.” 

    HBN India has been witnessing a huge response through television from across India for its various product categories, including fitness and exercise equipment, treadmills, sauna, massager, kitchen products, etc. Backed by overwhelming customer response, the company is all set to raise the bar higher by introducing new product segments and announcing exciting offers and deals.            

    Taking Prime Minister’s novel mission of “Make in India”, HBN India plans to take the model global. “With the aim to make the reach global and our esteemed buyers may get global goods at local prices,” adds Manisha Israni, Director, HBN India.

    HBN is available across the many widespread Cable and trusted DTH Networks such as Videocon d2h, Dish TV, KCCL and Asianet in Kerela, Arasu in Tamil Nadu, Fastway in Punjab Haryana, Hathway in North and West India, GTPL, J K cable in Jammu and Kashmir to name a few.                   
    Photo Caption

  • Television market hots Up; HBN India targets 200 Cr By 2016

    Television market hots Up; HBN India targets 200 Cr By 2016

    Mumbai, 27 January 2016: Riding on the recent spurt in online shopping, TeleBrands India Pvt Ltd, India’s leading telemarketing and mail order organization, today announced that it will be re-branding its television brand as HBN India (Hot Brands India). The re-branding initiative is in line with the company’s aggressive growth strategy and near-term product roadmap. Reaching over 40 million household, enjoying a lion’s share in the market at 20%, HBN India is targeting a revenue of 200 Cr by opening 24 new retail stores for the new year 2016. “We plan to raise Rs 120 crore from PE players to expand retail outlets from 110 to 300 by FY18”, said Hitesh Israni, MD, HBN India.       

    At a time when online buying space is hotting up with new entries each day, TeleBrands India still retains a healthy repeat customer business of 35% by being owners and not aggregators, unlike the competitors. And powered by its own home grown 24 hours TV channel HBN, the company is all set to reach newer heights.        

    To further enhance the convenience and shopping experience for its customers, HBN India plans to launch a mobile app in 2016. Speaking on the occasion, HBN India Director, Manisha Israni reiterated, “For us, customer convenience is most important. With mobile apps fast-emerging as a preferred medium for shopping, we wanted to bring our extensive product line and unmatched offers in customers’ hands.”      

    Despite changing times, the logistical strength of HBN India, remains the in-house Indian Post Department which makes sure buyers from all across India — down to the semi-urban and-rural areas get their latest from the best in business. Elaborating on the growth plans, Hitesh Israni, Managing Director, HBN India said, “Television is the biggest contributor to our revenues. With a reach in 40 Million households, we have carved a niche in the television shopping segment. We are quite bullish on the home shopping business in India and are positive that our customer base will increase further as we increase our penetration in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. We will also add new products to our portfolio in 2016 and continue announcing exciting offers for our customers. Our biggest strength is the quality of our products—we will continue to follow the stringent quality check to ensure the product quality.” 

    HBN India has been witnessing a huge response through television from across India for its various product categories, including fitness and exercise equipment, treadmills, sauna, massager, kitchen products, etc. Backed by overwhelming customer response, the company is all set to raise the bar higher by introducing new product segments and announcing exciting offers and deals.            

    Taking Prime Minister’s novel mission of “Make in India”, HBN India plans to take the model global. “With the aim to make the reach global and our esteemed buyers may get global goods at local prices,” adds Manisha Israni, Director, HBN India.

    HBN is available across the many widespread Cable and trusted DTH Networks such as Videocon d2h, Dish TV, KCCL and Asianet in Kerela, Arasu in Tamil Nadu, Fastway in Punjab Haryana, Hathway in North and West India, GTPL, J K cable in Jammu and Kashmir to name a few.                   
    Photo Caption

  • Indian advertising market to grow fastest at +10.7% in APAC: MPA

    Indian advertising market to grow fastest at +10.7% in APAC: MPA

    MUMBAI: The Indian advertising market is poised to grow fastest over the next five years in the Asia Pacific region at a rate of 10.7 per cent.

     

    According to report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), in spite of an overall slow rate of growth in advertising revenue in APAC at 5.3 per cent in 2015, India emerged as one of the fastest growing markets with a growth rate of 10.8 per cent. The report shows that India has taken over China, which stands at a growth of 8.5 per cent of advertising revenue, followed by Vietnam with 8.1 per cent.

     

    Over the next five years, after India, the fastest growing market in the APAC region will be China at 8.4 per cent followed by Indonesia at 8.2 per cent; the Philippines at 7.7 per cent, and Vietnam at 7.3 per cent.

     

    By 2020, China’s net advertising revenues will total more than $85 billion and Japan will remain the region’s second-largest ad market, followed by Australia, India, Korea and Indonesia.

     

    DIGITAL ADVERTISING TO OVERTAKE TV

     

    Staying in line with other industry predictions, MPA also foresees digital advertising taking over television advertising by 2017. Digital’s share of the advertising market in APAC is projected to overtake that of TV by 2017 and grow to 44.2 per cent by 2020 from 30.7 per cent in 2015. The biggest drivers will be Australia, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

     

    Although the rapidly growing markets of India and Indonesia will also contribute, TV will continue to be the biggest ad medium in key markets such as India, Japan and Korea by 2020.

     

    Furthermore in Southeast Asia, TV will incrementally grow its share of advertising from 54 per cent in 2015 to 54.9 per cent by 2020, driven by the launch of digital terrestrial TV (DTT) in the Philippines and Thailand and a rebound in free-to-air (FTA) TV demand across Indonesia. In Asia Pacific, on average, MPA projects that TV’s share of total advertising will decline from 36.5 per cent in 2015 to 30.7 per cent by 2020.

     

    MPA projects an increase to 5.8 per cent growth in 2016 and a CAGR of 5.5 per cent for 2015-20, reflecting stable but more moderate economic growth across both mature and emerging markets.

  • TLC HD WORLD presents ‘Hotel Hell’

    TLC HD WORLD presents ‘Hotel Hell’

    MUMBAI: Lifestyle channel TLC HD World is all geared up to present a new series Hotel Hell every Monday at 10 pm. The series features Gordon Ramsay travelling across America in search of horrid hotels and work towards turning them around.

     

    Viewers will see Ramsay sleep on stained mattresses, take cold showers in musty bathrooms and confront hotel ghosts. The series will see him fixing these horrible hotels, awful inns and bed and breakfasts and revamped into beautiful, clean and lively places to stay, to meet a traveller’s expectations.

     

    Ramsay in his own inimitable style will go head-to-head with the owners and staff, raising tension to the maximum capacity. He will take his hospitality reviews to a new benchmark and showcase unexpected results. Gordon will help the hotels to survive in the cut-throat hospitality industry, turning these struggling establishments upside down, from the bar staff to the bedrooms, the receptionists to the room service.

     

    Each episode of the series will showcase Ramsay addressing the problems of upkeep and services to ensure that each guest’s expectations are met. He will endure the hotels at their worst to provide the guests a wonderful experience. While some owners will happily work with Ramsay to improve their hotels, others will retaliate and face the consequences.

  • Living Foodz provides technical skills to foodies in ‘Kitchen Magic’

    Living Foodz provides technical skills to foodies in ‘Kitchen Magic’

    MUMBAI:  Living Foodz, the foodtainment channel, has launched a new showKitchen Magic on December 7, 2015. Kitchen Magic showcases how advanced cooking techniques can be easily replicated within the home.

     

    “We, at Living Foodz set out to be a pioneer in the food and lifestyle space on Indian television by adopting a 360 degree approach to food. Kitchen Magic achieves this in the most innovative manner. It will help to enrich the daily experience of cooking by empowering people with the technical skills to make food more nutritious and flavourful”, said Living Foodz Business Head Amit Nair.

     

    The show has chef Gautam Mehrishi demonstrating a variety of scientific cooking methods that enhance the cooking experience as well as the flavour of food, whilst preserving nutritive value. Some of the unusual techniques that will be featured are the use of the soda siphon, the novel sous vide method of cooking in vacuum, American Delta-T cooking and pit style steaming.

     

    “As someone who has experimented with food even as a young boy, I had a great time helping to put Kitchen Magic together. Through the show, I get a rare chance to demonstrate interesting cooking techniques. The show is a beautiful amalgamation of a highly complex science and art of cooking“, said Gautam.

     

    Kitchen Magic also has a strong informative element that will especially appeal to home cooks who aspire to enhance their knowledge about the science behind cooking secrets that have been passed down over generations, and those that have been lately invented. It will also help them understand newer culinary skills that are in vogue across the world for health benefits.

  • Living Foodz, for the premium and evolved

    Living Foodz, for the premium and evolved

    MUMBAI: Alpha Club, the recently launched monthly communique by BARC that offers analysis and insights into NCCS A1, A2, and A3 viewership of 6 Mega Cities has shared GTVTs of channels under the food and lifestyle genre. Living Foodz, the premium foodtainment channel has sweeped the GTVTs with 50% share as compared to the complete genre by achieving 1591 GTVTs in this exclusive audience pie.

    With the goal of building robustness into the analysis, Alpha Club presents cumulative data of preceding 4 weeks for Rat’000, Coverage’000, and ATS(Viewer). Channels for which data has been released for all 4 weeks are covered.

    With consistent innovation in programming, marketing and distribution to make Food Fun, Living Foodz has maintained its pole position and with new line up of shows the channel is sure to enthrall one and all. 

    Data: Market Share & Avg weekly GTVT, TG: 4+ Mega cities NCCS A1, Period: Wk 41 – WK 44. Source: BARC

  • Best Deal TV seeks out women entrepreneurs with #WeRespect campaign

    Best Deal TV seeks out women entrepreneurs with #WeRespect campaign

    MUMBAI: Known for its celebrity brand endorsements, Best Deal TV was recently lauded for going ‘people first’ with its notable campaign on women empowerment. Best Deal TV now seeks out women entrepreneurs with the #WeRespect campaign Devised to shout out its new policy that offers women consumers to exclusively become its Direct Channel Agents (DCA), the campaign has already garnered a positive response.
    A DCA’s role is simple. “Their job is to book orders for us from our mobile app or paper catalogue. For every successful order best deal pays a commission to the agent. We will also handle the advertising training for the fulfilment of the order,” informs Best Deal TV, CEO Raj Kundra.
    Elaborating on the concept, Kundra says, “The idea was to empower women who were keen to create an income working from home or as a second job for further financial stability.” Given that the channel’s 70 per cent target group are women, the campaign can also surge up the viewership, Kundra feels.

    When asked how being a DCA for the channel would empower women, Kundra explains that the system works on simple commission basis.  “We pay very good commissions on each successful order and a DCA can build her army of sales personnel under her wing, making a commission even on their sales. The idea is with minimum headache to give maximum benefits to the DCA agents to become financially independent selling our exclusive and innovative products,” he adds.
    Having his wife and company shareholder, actress turned entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra as the face of the campaign also benefits greatly, Kundra admits. “Home shopping as a business runs on trust and credibility so having Someone like Shilpa and Akshay as faces and co-owners in the company makes a huge difference. Cricket and Bollywood are two things that help sell everything in India, and if used properly can be a winning combination, which is the founding thought behind our channel,” says Kundra.
    So far, Best Deal TV has released a TVC starring Shilpa Shetty Kundra titled ‘Women Empowerment’ which has garnered many queries. “The ad was made in house and conceptualised by our channel’s head Manish Dubey and executed by Nazar Abbas.,” Kundra says.

    Further explaining the channel’s marketing strategy, Kundra shares, “We have also done some targeted SMS blasts to our TG and we are using celebrity social media handles to get the message out there. We have allocated a sizeable budget to advertise in the market and create this model.”
    Besides OOH advertising, the channel is also looking at ground activation. “We will look at on ground activation. We have recently ties up with sheroes.in, India’s first female placement agency and have received many leads from them. We do talks at colleges on female empowerment NGO’s,” Kundra elaborates.
    It is interesting to note that while the campaign addresses women, the DCA offer is not restricted to the fairer sex alone. “We are not restricted to just women agents and the idea is to create a battalion of over 10,000 DCA’s across the country. Even if each books one order a day that’s 10,000 orders. My dependency on carriage of my channel is reduced,” Says Kundra further shedding light on his marketing strategy with this new initiative.

    Founded by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and Raj Kundra, Best Deal TV is an Indian celebrity driven 24/7 Home shopping channel that specialises in the sale of consumer products via innovative and immersive on and off screen experiences. The home shopping channel has multiple platform presence via TV, mobile, online and retail.