ITV

Category: Viewership

  • ZeeZest.com features Ali Fazal on the digital cover

    ZeeZest.com features Ali Fazal on the digital cover

    Mumbai: India’s favourite multiformat lifestyle portal, ZeeZest.com unveils its June Digital Cover featuring global artiste Ali Fazal, one of the most sought-after Indian actors in international cinema, as its cover star.  As one of India’s most dashing exports to Hollywood, Fazal’s poetic looks and noteworthy acting chops make him the next big crossover star to make India proud.

    As the June Cover Star, shot by ZeeZest.com’s exclusive photographer Atul Kasbekar, the multifaceted actor opens up about his commercial Hollywood projects such as Death On The Nile and Kandahar co-starring Gerard Butler, sharing screen space with international icons such as Dame Judi Dench, Gal Gadot, and Kenneth Branagh.

    He also shares his thoughts on the ‘Guddu Bhaiya’ fever in India, and his relationship with his partner in life and business – Richa Chadha.

    ZeeZest.com’s digital cover shoots, shot exclusively by celebrated photographer and lifestyle influencer Atul Kasbekar, are an endeavour to interact and engage with lifestyle audiences on digital mediums of their choice. Featuring diverse celebrities, the glamourous photoshoots capture snapshots of the many moods, passions, and aspirations of celebrities and the movers and shakers of influence today. As a digital pioneer launched in 2021, ZeeZest.com is a millennial-friendly platform featuring some of the biggest celebrities such as Kate Winslet, Emma Corrin, Farhan Akhtar, Manoj Bajpayee, Prateek Kuhad, Vir Das and bringing their fans up, close, and personal to their icons.

    Speaking about being the digital cover for ZeeZest.com’s Ali Fazal said, “I am excited to be on the June digital cover of ZeeZest.com. Given that the website is all about food, travel, wellness, etc. it is great to reach out to my fans across the world and speak about what I love the most in these aspects. The cover story is full of zest and some interesting trivia about my life. I had a good time being a part of it and I hope that the readers enjoy it too.”

    Zee Zest’s Business Head Amit Nair said, “ZeeZest.com has always believed in creating impactful and engaging content. The response to our digital covers in the past six months has been stupendous, engaging readers at a phenomenal scale. Ali, with his perseverance and gradual rise to eminence, matches our brand philosophy effortlessly with his personality and performance compelling the global audience to notice his calibre. His fervour and influence make him ideal for ZeeZest.com’s June 2022 digital cover.”

  • Weekend Unwind with: QYOU Media’s chief executive officer Simran Hoon

    Weekend Unwind with: QYOU Media’s chief executive officer Simran Hoon

    Mumbai: In this week’s edition of ‘weekend unwind series’, we have QYOU Media chief executive officer Simran Hoon opening up her heart and mind to us, by sharing her nuggets on life and mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws.

    Hoon leads one of the fastest-growing general entertainment networks and leverages her experience & insights to provide strategic direction to create new opportunities for the company as well as drive organisational growth. During her career, she has been associated with well-known media companies including Viacom18, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Star India, Sony Entertainment Television & Times of India group. Hoon has two and a half decades experience in the media industry and is one of the youngest women in a senior C-level leadership role in India.

    The lesser-known facets of her life include being a proud pet mom and member of pet & animal shelter forums. She is also a keen traveller and sportsperson with an interest in marathon-running & horse-riding. 

    Let us hear it from her: 

    -Your mantra for life
    Be grateful for all that you have.

    -A book you are currently reading/plan to read
    ’48 Laws of Power’ by Robert Greene.

    -Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
    Yoga and walks with my dog.

    -Your comfort food
    Rajma chawal.

    -When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going
    There is a God up there, watching over.

    -Your guilty pleasure
    Jalebi.

    -When was the last time you tried something new?
    Like most lockdown first-time chefs, I made my first dal ever and was pleasantly surprised!

    -A life lesson you learnt the hard way
    Never judge a book by its cover.

    -What gets you excited about life?
    The next travel plan.

    .-What’s on top of your bucket list?
    A trip to Japan.

    -If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
    Don’t be tough on yourself, life has its plans chalked out for you.

    -One thing you would most like to change about the world
    Fake people with big egos.

    -An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times
    Music and meditation.

    -What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
    A cup of chai with close ones.

    -Your go-to stress buster
    My dog!

  • ZEE Hindustan hosts ‘Ananya Samman’ to facilitate experts from various fields

    ZEE Hindustan hosts ‘Ananya Samman’ to facilitate experts from various fields

    Mumbai: The Hindi news channel Zee Hindustan recently conducted their flagship event ‘Ananya Samman’ awards ceremony to recognize the contribution of various people through different fields.

    This year, former Captain for the Indian Cricket – Sunil Gavaskar was awarded the Lifetime achiever award. The evening was also graced by various union ministers, Dr Jitendra Singh, Anupriya Singh Patel, Prahalad Singh Patel, and Dr Mahesh Sharma.

    The notable awardees were Padma Bhushan Awardee, Sajan Mishra for his contribution to the Indian Classical Music, Karnam Malleshwari and Deepa Malik for their outstanding achievements in the field of sports; Dr Kumar Vishwas for his exceptional accomplishment in the field of poetry and AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria, whose contribution to medicine has been pivotal for the health sector. Some of the other people who graced and facilitated the event were M.J. Kadri, Ramveer Tanvar, and Gaurav Rai.

    The award show had three categories – Ananya Vishesh, saluting the unsung heroes across the country who deserve due recognition for helping the community during such challenging times; Ananya Samman, to acknowledge & award eminent personalities consisting of celebrities and luminaries and Lifetime Achiever Award, felicitating an icon who has devoted his/her life to become a true maverick in their respective field.

    In his address during the Ananya Samman, Zee Hindustan CEO Purushottam Vaishnava said, “Zee media is proud to honour stalwarts from various industries who are working towards the betterment of society and abide to make a difference in many ways. With these awards, we aim to acknowledge the great work done by these dignitaries to inspire many more people to contribute to society.”

  • Dipika Kaura joins Network18 as editor, standards & practices

    Dipika Kaura joins Network18 as editor, standards & practices

    Mumbai: Dipika Kaura has joined Network18 Group as editor, standards and practices. She has worked with the network earlier as well in several different capacities.

    She was executive editor and head of the desk at CNN-News18 before she left the group in 2020. She was also the founder member of CNN-News18 in 2005 and its sister channel CNBCTV18 many years before that.

    Kaura will be closely working with both input and output teams at CNN-News18.

    “She will work towards raising the editorial standards of the news channel, which has occupied the leadership position in the English TV news genre for the past few weeks,” said the statement. “With her wide newsroom exposure and experience, Kaura will add to the editorial gravitas of the channel. All reporters’ enterprise stories will be vetted by her before they go on air.”

  • Prasar Bharati’s DG M K Agarwal gets additional charge as CEO

    Prasar Bharati’s DG M K Agarwal gets additional charge as CEO

    Mumbai: The minister of information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur has approved an additional charge as CEO to Prasar Bharati’s Director General (DG) Mayank Kumar Agarwal. 

    He was previously associated with Doordarshan and Doordarshan News at the public broadcaster.

    Shashi Shekhar Vempati has departed from the public broadcaster. Agarwal’s appointment is effective till the joining of a regular incumbent to the post of CEO or until further orders. 

  • Warner Bros. Discovery consolidates India’s business; appoints Arjun Nohwar as GM, India

    Warner Bros. Discovery consolidates India’s business; appoints Arjun Nohwar as GM, India

    Mumbai: Warner Bros. Discovery has announced its regional leadership team across India, Southeast Asia and Korea (INSEAK). Arjun Nohwar has been elevated to the role of general manager, India. Discovery managing director – South Asia Megha Tata will be leaving the company.

    In a staff email, Warner Bros. Discovery president and managing director – India, Southeast Asia and Korea Clement Schwebig stated, “Arjun Nohwar will be general manager India. Previously responsible for the launch of HBO Max in India, he brings a digital experience that will help prepare the company for our next phase of growth.”

    “I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Megha Tata who will be leaving the company,” he said. “She has done an incredible job over the years leading the success of Discovery’s portfolio and brands in India including the launch of the discovery+ streaming service.”

    The new media organisation in India is now significantly larger bringing together several lines of business. It combines all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s India-based TV networks with streaming, games, consumer products, film/content production, home entertainment and TV distribution (syndication) and theatrical movie distribution.

    The company announced Jeeyoung Lee as the general manager Korea. “In her tenure at Discovery, she helped build a strong production unit that will be a fundamental pillar of our strategy in Korea,” said Schwebig.

    Schwebig further announced the regional leadership in the Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong markets. Shonali Bedi will lead affiliate distribution and digital partnerships for Southeast Asia, while she continues to head business development and insights regionwide.

    Cindy Ma will lead the affiliate distribution and advertising sales for Taiwan.

    Yasmin Zahid, who has been with HBO/WarnerMedia affiliate distribution for the past three decades, will be leaving the company following a transition period. “It has been a true privilege to work with Yasmin and she deserves all the credit for our fantastic affiliate relationships.”

    On the content (programming, original productions and acquisitions) side, the Warner Bros. Discovery team will operate across three verticals. Magdalene Ew will continue to head Entertainment. Christopher Ho will head Kids. Lynn Ng will head factual and lifestyle whilst she continues her current role for content ops for the wider region.

    Leslie Lee will move on from WarnerMedia Kids APAC. “With our Kids portfolio being a leader in the region, Leslie leaves the company with a distinguished tenure that includes the recent launch of Cartoonito and numerous Asian originals including the International Emmy nominated ‘Lamput’,” highlighted Schwebig. 

    In the regional teams, Kurt Rieder will continue to lead theatrical distribution as well as being a part of the international theatrical operations headed by Andrew Cripps. Jae Chang will continue to lead TV distribution and home entertainment.

    Vikram Sharma will lead consumer products licensing, while he continues to oversee advertising sales for Southeast Asia.

    Jason Monteiro will lead an integrated marketing team across INSEAK in addition to his coordination role for our streaming services. He will manage marketing and creative services across all lines of business, while working closely with the D2C (direct-to-consumer) marketing team.

    Athreyan ‘Auto’ Sundararajan will be departing the company. “He has been outstanding in uniting and leading the marketing & creative teams of the legacy WarnerMedia businesses,” remarked Schewebig. 

  • Sony Entertainment Television brings back a classic comedy format to TV

    Sony Entertainment Television brings back a classic comedy format to TV

    Mumbai: It’s time to ROFL. Yes, roll on the floor laughing. Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is set to showcase fresh comedic talent on television with its new show called India’s Laughter Champion. Produced by Banijay Asia and Salman Khan TV, the show was conceived as the programming team at SET and producers at Banijay Asia contemplated about what to do after The Kapil Sharma Show went on break.

    India’s Laughter Champion brings back the classic format of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge that aired some 15 years ago.

    The new show will showcase a range of stand-up acts from comedians across the country who are anywhere between 22 to 80 years of age. The viewers will be exposed to a variety of comedy acts from the contestants whose ultimate aim is to win the coveted title of ‘India’s Laughter Champion.’

    Hosted by Rochelle Rao, the comedic acts will be judged by comedic experts Shekhar Suman and Archana Puran Singh. A sneak peak of the show was presented before the media on Tuesday and showcased the hilarious performances of Nitesh Shetty from Mumbai, Radheshyam Bharti from Pragyaraj, Himanshu Bavandar from Ujjain and Bollywood boys Gaurav and Ketan from Mumbai and received hearty applause.

    In the past, Banijay Asia founder & CEO Deepak Dhar has been responsible for producing The Great Indian Laughter Challenge during his stint as MD & CEO of EndemolShine India. He went on to produce another successful comedy show called Chhote Miyan – Jung Nanhe Hasgullon Ki that ran for three seasons.

    “We’ve had a great track record when it comes to comedy,” Dhar told Indiantelevision.com on the sets of the show located in Film City Goregaon. “It is only possible because of the team we’ve assembled. They know their craft.”

    India’s Laughter Champion will have anywhere up to 50-55 contestants who’ll compete in terms of their comedic ability on stage and be judged by Suman and Puran Singh and audiences.

    Dhar underplays the competitive element of the show saying that it is only a layer of the show to engage audiences. He said, “I don’t think the contestants on the show are coming to compete. They want to showcase themselves. Many years back we saw what happened to the careers of Raju Shrivastav, Naveen Prabhakar, Kapil Sharma and Bharti Singh when they appeared on The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. They all became household names. So, the contestants are really here to shine in the spotlight. The idea is to give these contestants a platform so that they can become posters of wit and humour,” elaborated Dhar.

    Apart from skyrocketing the careers of comic talents that Dhar mentioned, The Great Indian Laughter also spawned other show formats such The Kapil Sharma Show and the Comedy Circus.

    “The idea for us is to do something that brings back classic TV content,” noted Dhar. “We want to make the show as universally appealing as possible so everyone can sit and watch it. That’s why we’re adding as much diversity to it so it appeals to as many people as possible. To top it off, we’re bringing two judges who are well-known to understand wit and humour.”

    The judges and producers of India’s Laughter Champion emphasised on putting on a clean show and veering away from the trend of explicit and vulgar comedy content observed on OTT and digital platforms. “We believe in mass clean comedy humour,” stated Dhar. “A show that I can watch with my daughter and my mother when I’m at home. It is important for us to make this show universally appealing so that people can watch it and appreciate it,” said Dhar.

    While the urban stand-up comedy scene has shifted to conversations around millennial and Gen Z experiences, Dhar did not seem concerned that the format of India’s Laughter Champion appealed to a mass audience, including older audiences. He remarked “We’ll wait and watch how people receive it. I feel there’s always a hunger and thirst for clean comedy. That always stands out from the clutter. We saw it many years back and I think we’ll see it again.”

    India’s Laughter Champion will begin airing on 11 June starting at 9.30 pm. SET has roped in Rajdhani Poha as a sponsor for the show.  

  • NT Summit & Awards: Industry experts to discuss critical topics in the news television space

    NT Summit & Awards: Industry experts to discuss critical topics in the news television space

    Mumbai: The dynamic Indian news television space has gone through various transformations over the last couple of years. With the introduction of new concepts and shows, the news television segment has evolved and caught the audience’s attention. The pattern of consuming news content has changed among the audience lately.

    The industry has also demonstrated constant expansion and many new channels have penetrated the market & have become market leaders. Indiantelevision.com will discuss in the ‘NT Summit and Awards’ the challenges and opportunities in the news television segment. The event, which will be co-sponsored by Dalet, will be held at Holiday Inn, Delhi on 10 June 2022.

    Experts will deliberate their views on topics like the future of the newsroom, how newsrooms are adapting to remote technology, the impact of new technology on the news production process, and the need for professionals to reshape the future newsroom. The summit will bring together marketing & advertising veterans to discuss the marketing opportunities as well as the problems in the news television industry.

    Further, GTPL, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, JW Player, and Live U will be industry support partners at the NT Summit 2022, with The Ayurveda Company as a gifting partner. This year’s event will feature sessions with 10+ speakers, 50+ winners, and 20+ jury members.

    Speakers for the NT summit will include industry experts like Dentsu Creative India chief executive officer Amit Wadhwa, 24 Newsgroup COO Anil Ayroor, Zee Media Corporation Limited marketing head Anindya Khare, Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd. COO- media & communications Anita Nayyar, ABP Network chief revenue officer Mona Jain, Just Dial chief marketing officer Prasun Kumar and many more. 

    There will also be speakers on the panel like BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, Samajwadi Party national secretary and spokesperson Rajeev Rai, INC national spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed, Times Now editorial director and editor-in-chief Rahul Shivshankar, Zee Media Corporation chief content officer and Zee News editor Rajnish Ahuja, CNN-News18 managing editor Zakka Jacod as speakers and Star News former president and media professional Ravina Raj Kohli as moderator. 

    The NT Awards will honour work in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla, Gujarati, and Kannada, among other languages. Each language will have five categories including, ‘Programming Awards’, ‘Personality Awards’, ‘Promo, Design and Placing Awards’, ‘Sales and Marketing’, and ‘Special Awards’.

    The esteemed jury for the awards includes H+K Strategies India chief executive officer Abhishek Gulyani, Sri Adhikari Brothers chairman and managing director Adhikari Markand, OMD India CEO Anisha Iyer, Airtel VP-media Archana Aggarwal, Upstox senior director-marketing Kunal Bhardwaj and more. 

    The summit is a one-of-a-kind initiative that will bring together industry experts to allow you to meet and connect with them. The NT summit will also provide you with the opportunity to pick up insights and strategies from like-minded individuals. The interesting sessions will also help you learn from the experts by listening to their journeys and experiences.

  • Disney appoints Kavita Vazirani as head of research, insights and analytics for its M&E division

    Disney appoints Kavita Vazirani as head of research, insights and analytics for its M&E division

    Mumbai: The Walt Disney Company has appointed Kavita Vazirani as executive vice president and head of research, insights & analytics at Disney Media and Entertainment Division.

    With 28 years of experience, Vazirani is a marketing and advertising executive who specialises in end-to-end marketing & media strategies that align with consumer behaviour to drive business objectives around subscriber acquisition, retention and loyalty.

    She was previously associated with NBCUniversal Media as EVP insights, measurement & advertising sales with the charge of transforming its approach to measuring effectiveness of ad spend across the NBCU portfolio.

    She has spent two decades at Comcast Cable where she played a role in directing the portfolio strategy development and buying of paid/owned media in excess of $1.5 billion. She is based out of New York. 

  • IPL media rights likely to touch Rs 50, 000-60,000 crore: Elara Capital

    IPL media rights likely to touch Rs 50, 000-60,000 crore: Elara Capital

    Mumbai: The next cycle of the cash-rich T20 League Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights is expected to touch Rs 50,000-60,000 crore during the period 2023-2028, said Elara Capital in a note on June 7.

    In a statement, Elara Capital said, “Cricket may continue to enjoy such sheer dominance in India, medium-term, propped by large-lucrative properties such as the Indian Premier League (IPL). Thus, expect IPL renewal to underpin media rights growth in India, medium-term.”

    The value of digital rights is expected to double. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has kept the base price for digital rights at Rs 33 crore a game. The TV rights value is expected to rise by 40-50 per cent. The base price for television is Rs 49 crore a match.

    “Expect digital to see premiums of 100 per cent over the current base, while TV premiums of 40 per cent. Based on these premiums, the share of digital might rise to 50 per cent in IPL media rights. We anticipate 6 per cent and 35 per cent revenue CAGR in FY23E-28E for TV and digital, respectively,” noted the brokerage business.

    According to Elara, one-third of Star’s revenue is IPL-led (TV + digital). “If Star wins IPL rights, this revenue contribution will augment to 40 per cent as digital growth will accelerate. As per our estimates, 70 per cent of Star India’s advertising-based video on demand revenue is IPL-led, with subscription video on demand revenue largely following suit,” the brokerage firm added.

    The report also noted that TV viewership growth will be a challenge and growth will be in the single digits of 3-4 per cent. However, digital will fare much better.