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  • Mideast firm Spacetoon targets October launch of kids channel in India

    Mideast firm Spacetoon targets October launch of kids channel in India

    MUMBAI: Jeddah-based Spacetoon is eyeing the kids channel space in India. The company is contemplating launching a 24-hour animation kids channel around September – October this year.

    However, at present it is not clear whether the channel will be launched independently or in association with an Indian company.

    Spacetoon Media Group is headed by Fayez Weiss Al Sabbagh and is a mammoth kids’ entertainment brand for animation content in the Middle East.

    Spacetoon TV caters to kids in the age group of 2 – 12 years. Late last year, the company had inked a deal with Sahara One Television for a branded kids block called Sahara One – Spacetoon Hour. Talks are also on with a couple of players in the South for a branded Spacetoon block, which is likely to launch around May – June. The popular properties under its belt include Crush Gear and Me & My Brother, amongst others.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Spacetoon India CEO Rajiv Sangari said, “Through these branded blocks we are looking at testing our content in the Indian market. We have big plans for the company and are not just looking at the television business. Spacetoon is a vertically integrated company and we have a presence in merchandising, licensing, publishing, retail and the theme parks business. We are looking at launching all these divisions in India.”

    Spacetoon is also in the process of acquiring animation content from across the world. As far as local content is concerned, the company will be looking at acquiring content from Indian production houses and will also be producing the same for the Indian market. “We are acquiring a lot of content for the India region, so that when we launch, we launch with a bang,” he said.

    On Spacetoon TV, every hour has been symbolised with a planet. The planets are categorised into the following: Movies, Education, History, Science, Action, Adventure, Sport, Comedy, Girls and Bon Bon (for younger kids).

    Spacetoon has been active in the Middle East for the last 20 years but launched its channel Spacetoon TV in March 2000. The channel transmits to over 130 million viewers in more than 22 countries throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Indonesia and Korea.

    Spacetoon kids TV is in English and Arabic and plans are underway to launch a second kids’ channel in the Middle East called Space Power in July this year, which will cater to the tweens.

    The company is also planning to launch two to three theme parks in India and the Middle East in the next couple of years.

    Sangari said, “We are looking at replicating this model in India in a step by step process.”

    Through a sister concern, Spacetoon also has a presence in animation production in the Middle East. “We are also venturing into animation training colleges in India. Spacetoon has taken over an animation college in Toronto called DaVinci through which we will be having an affiliation in India. Here, we have partnered with a college, which has a presence Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. The plan is to set up animation training colleges for Indian students,” said Sangari.

    Sangari also informed that the merchandising division will be scaled up towards the end of April, which is when the Spacetoon block on Sahara One will be given a major push. “We launched the block in a very preliminary manner but will re-launch the toys and merchandising around our properties in a big way in April. We are also looking at organizing large scale events for Crush Gears across major metros,” he said.

    Spacetoon is the leader in kids publication and merchandising products in Middle East through its group company. It is also in the process of creating a “Space Toon Galaxy” in Dubai, which will form part of the Dubai Land Theme Park development.

    Plans on the retail front are also underway in the Middle East. “We are in the process of creating exclusive retail malls only for kids, which will have all major brands catering to kids under one roof. We will be looking at creating the same in India too once our television plans are underway,” Sangari said.

    Last year, Spacetoon Media Group entered into partnerships with Mondo TV, Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network for the supply of a wide range of children’s programs such as films, educational programs, history and science documentaries, as well as action, adventure, sports and comedy shows.

  • ‘Our primetime viewership has increased 78%, revenues by 400%’ : Purnendu Bose – Sahara One Television COO

    ‘Our primetime viewership has increased 78%, revenues by 400%’ : Purnendu Bose – Sahara One Television COO

    After joining Sahara One Television in April last year as COO, Purnendu Bose has been able to steer the channel through a period of growth and turnaround. Bose has been responsible for Sahara One Television’s new fresh look and content.

     

    Bose was also a part of the team that launched Radio City, Star News and Hungama TV.

     

    Under his leadership, Sahara One has seen an almost 400% jump in revenues and a 78 per cent rise in primetime viewership. In this interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Hetal Adesara, Bose speaks about cricket, the new shows lined up on the channel and more…

     

    Excerpts:

    Let’s start with the current hot topic of cricket. What do you expect cricket to do for the channel?

    With cricket we found a lot of synergy. First of all, rival channels do not carry our ads and the second thing is that housewives don’t read newspapers. And cricket is religion in our country. With cricket we hope to increase the sampling of the channel and it has all the ingredients — drama, excitement, highs and low — that we aim to offer viewers with our soaps.

     

    Apart from this, post cricket, our viewership in prime time has gone up by 78 per cent.

    How much has the switch of Sahara One signal to Filmy impacted the connectivity of the channel considering the fact Filmy has just launched?

    There is no loss of connectivity post the switching of signals. We have encrypted our channel and in fact we have almost 99 per cent connectivity in Tam towns. Earlier it was 94 per cent. We just had 48 hours to do the needful and the team did a fantastic job of ensuring availability of the channel across the country.

    Since you have encrypted your channel, are there any plans of going pay?

    Going pay is very much on our agenda but not immediately. Maybe in the next six – seven months, we will go pay.

    Your afternoon band has completely gone off with cricket coming in. Doesn’t that bother you since after cricket gets over, it will have to be brought back and viewers may not come back?

    Our afternoon band comprised repeats of our primetime shows – Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan and Kituu Sabb Jantii Hai. We did not have an afternoon band where we showed other new soaps. Now with cricket on, our loyal viewers are watching those shows on primetime. When cricket does get over in April, we are sure that they will come back to our channel in the afternoon.

    How is cricket being used to build other properties of the channel? One of the things one would expect would be to make a big noise around a new or existing property during this time?

    We already have our key leading ladies from our primetime shows in an ad campaign around cricket. That is being aired on our channels (Sahara One and Filmy) and we also have online ads on the same theme. Apart from that, we keep promoting these shows during the match ad breaks.

     

    As far as launching new shows is concerned, we do have a few in the pipeline, which will go on air in April – May. These are fiction shows and are tentatively titled Sati and Kya Socha. Sati is most likely to replace Buniyaad when it ends its run in May.

    How would you define 2005 for Sahara One in terms of the programming and marketing initiatives taken? How much has the channel grown in the last one year in terms of viewership and revenues?

    Last year has been good for us in terms of programming. We had success with our shows like Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan, Kituu Sabb Jantii Hai and Kohinoor. Buniyaad is also doing well on the channel. As I already mentioned, our primetime viewership has increased by 78 per cent. On the other hand, our revenues have increased by 400 per cent. We have more than 260 advertisers on board. Clients are also seeing value in our programming and hence are advertising more with us.

     

    Recently we have divided our programming into two blocks and moved away from classifying shows as fiction and non-fiction. The first time band we will focus on will be the 7 pm – 9 pm one and the second will be from 9 pm – 11 pm.

     

    These two time bands will be overseen by two programming heads. Naina Toor Singh will be looking after the 7 – 9 pm band and for the time being, I will be looking after the 9 – 11 pm band — until we find a replacement for Kumud (Chowdhary).

    What was the reason behind bringing about this change?

    It’s quite simple. Viewers don’t classify shows as fiction or nonfiction They focus more on the timings of the shows that they want to watch or are interested in. Our aim will be to look at programming from the viewers’ eyes.

     

    Hence we will be looking at strengthening programming in these time slots. That’s where our new shows will also come in a couple of months.

    Apart from ‘Sati’ and ‘Kya Socha’, another property will be the game show ‘Mission Ek Crore’ with Sanjay Dutt as host. When is it likely to launch and how is the production progressing?

    We will launch Mission Ek Crore some time around the end of April or beginning May. The initial plan was to launch it before the end of this fiscal year. But we have stalled it. One of the main reasons behind this is that we first want to build our programming lineup in the 9 to 11 pm time band.

     

    Currently we have Woh Rehne Waali Mehlon Ki, Kittu Sabb Jaanti Hai and re-runs of Virasaat and Kadam in this time band. We will be introducing new shows and once that is done, we will launch Mission Ek Crore.

    After the launch of Filmy, how much importance will the movie band on Sahara One hold? Will the premiers be on Filmy now? Would you take off movies from Sahara One and place shows in the weekend or will movies remain a part of the weekend lineup?

    Movies are an integral part of our weekend lineup and they will continue to remain so. We have introduced the concept of multiple premiers wherein the movie will be premiered on Sahara One at 12.30 pm and on Filmy at 3.30 pm and then again on Sahara One at 7.30 pm. So we will be airing the movie premier three times in a day. It’s on the model of a film airing in a theater at different time slots. The idea is that maximum number of people can watch it at whatever time is suitable for them.

    In the GEC space where would you rate Sahara One and why?

    Let the viewers say the same. Recently we did a survey with 2000 general entertainment TV viewers across five cities. And they personified Sahara One Television as the Abhishek Bachchan of Indian television – a star with the potential of becoming a super star. That’s how viewers rate us. And this is a strong endorsement and a matter of satisfaction for us.

    What has contributed to the growth at Sahara One in the last one year?

    It’s not one big thing that matters, but doing thousands of small things behind ever big decision, separates the winners from the others. It is a team effort that has resulted in the change we see on the channel.

     

    I’ll attribute this to the programming, on-air promos, off air marketing, sales and distribution of the channel. The program strategy of women are real on Sahara One, we have consciously stayed away from stereotypical programs and portrayed the real women that we see all around us.

     

    The on-air promos strategy has been cutting edge to the brief with simple and crisp messages communicating the channel differentiator. Marketing has burnt the mid night oil to evolve below the line strategies / activities to increase sampling and using mass media to reinstate the differentiator and driving traffic to the channel.

     

    Sales backed it up with exceptional revenue growth, through innovation thus creating value for money for advertisers leading to over 260 brands advertising with the channel resulting in a 425 per cent growth, in last six months over the first six months of this fiscal. Distribution ensured that we are available in over 96 per cent of 60 million cable viewing homes. All being a team effort.

    Despite the fact that individual shows are doing well on the channel, why does it not reflect in the ratings?

    We have seen an improvement in ratings over the last few months. But the reason why ratings of shows that are doing well are not reflected remains a mystery to us.

    Sahara One was due to launch in the UK before the end of this fiscal. Has that happened as yet?

    No, we have not yet launched in the UK. We want to ensure that we launch in this market with the best partner in order to ensure the maximum reach of the channel from the very beginning. We are in active talks with leading potential distributors which we would close shortly. We will be looking at launching Sahara One there in early 2007, not before that.

    How is the channel faring in the US?

    We have got a good response from our viewers in the US. We get letters from all over the States. In the first six months, we have close to 70,000 subscribers there.

  • MCC launches JVC’s digital camcorder GR-D350 in India

    MUMBAI: MCC Marketing Private Limited, a MCC Group company, has launched JVC’s digital camcorder GR-D350 in India. The product is priced at Rs. 19, 990.

    JVC GR-D350 will be available on zero interest installments at select MCC Group retail outlets (out of a national retail infra-structure of 30,000 outlets across the country) in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Ambala, Jaipur, Lucknow, Raipur, Patna, Guwahati, Pune & Pondichery, informs an official release.
    The GR-D350 offers special features like 32x Optical Zoom, the largest optical zoom on the market, with an additional 800x Digital Zoom. With the powerful 32x optic zoom an image is enlarged 32 times without jagged edges. Images can be further enlarged up to 800x when combined with the digital zoom. The wide mode feature allows the user to change the recording size from a standard (4:3) to the now popular wide screen (16:9) size with the touch of a single button typically found in today’s flat panel displays.

    The GR-D350 is easier to use than other models in the category thanks to a new Auto button – just press the button to switch between manual and automatic operation. It also features a new on-screen menu system that sorts menu layers by category, making operation easier, the release adds.

  • British Telecom’s The Phone Book to sponsor ‘Deal or No Deal’ in UK

    MUMBAI: The Phone Book from British Telecom (BT) will be sponsorsing Channel Four’s Deal or No Deal, which is presented by Noel Edmonds.

    The multi-million sponsorship of Deal or No Deal will further help promote and raise the awareness of The Phone Book from BT’s Classified Directory, a full colour directory which provides comprehensive local contact information, making businesses more accessible to their local target market.
    The sponsorship, which starts on 1 May, 2006, will run initially for one year, and will continue with the “Find it with The Phone Book from BT” theme, seen in the recent Phone Book TV advertising campaign. The sponsorship breaks will show how members of the family, seen in the ads, use The Phone Book to move their lives on, by finding solutions to everyday problems, quickly and easily.

    The breaks will illustrate the comprehensive nature of The Phone Book’s Classified Directory, which helps consumers find a wide variety of products and services from the everyday; plumbers, roofing services and repairs and household insurance, to the more specialist; pest and vermin control, and recycling services.

    Deal or No Deal has become one of the biggest TV hits of recent times, enjoying a growing audience and winning the Royal Television Society’s Daytime Programme award. Deal or No Deal has seen the popularity of Noel Edmonds soar following his return to television after a long absence from the UK’s screens.

    The Phone Book general manager marketing Mike Hopkins said, “The Phone Book’s sponsorship of Deal or No Deal is fantastic news for us, as it gives us the opportunity to communicate our message, in an entertaining and engaging way, in front of the 3.6 million people or more who tune in every day to watch and enjoy the excitement of this great new game show.”

    “Our significant investment in sponsorship of this kind also shows our real commitment to raising the awareness of The Phone Books Classified directory, which in turn will help generate more leads and business for our important advertiser customers,” he added.

    Channel 4 head of sponsorship David Charlesworth added, “We are delighted that BT has done its own “deal” with Channel 4 for Deal or No Deal and that we have the opportunity to work with a well known, household brand. The size and profile of the audience will make a significant contribution to the awareness of The Phone Book. And our audience will benefit from knowing exactly how to find the information they need, which will in turn help prevent them missing even a moment of Deal or No Deal.”

  • Alpha Gujarati launched

    Alpha Gujarati launched

    The Zee Network launched the fourth of its regional language channels – Alpha Gujarati on 21 March. The launch took place at a bash attended by the who’s who of Gujarati language theatre, film and folk art industry. The launch was done at the hands of the Hindi and Gujarati theatre and film star Paresh Raval.

    “It was the complaint of a woman when I was travelling in the UK a few years ago that Zee TV does not air programmes in Gujarati which got me interested in regional language programming,” says Zee Network chairman Subhash Chandra.

    The channel is targeted at the rich Gujarati community which has been served by state-owned Doordarshan and the RITV owned Gurjari TV, now and then. A programming formula similar to that used on Zee TV is being used with Alpha Gujarati: women’s oriented series, family dramas, sitcoms, music shows and participatory game shows.

    The Zee Network looks likely to have a potential leader of its Alpha series of channels in Alpha Gujarati. Reason: it has the inhouse distribution advantage thanks to its ownership of its MSO Siticable. Second Gujarat is a very strong cable and satellite market. And extremely rich. Consumers today are willing to spend on flashy goodies with little restraint.Also Gujarat has a gaggle of entreprenuers who will use the channel to reach consumers if they are made to believe and understand that they are getting a good deal.And with a targeted audience for the channel they will undoubtedly be interested in even taking up commercial air time.

    Meanwhile, Zee is looking ahead at launching channels in the four southern regional languages. Among these: a Telegu channel, a Tamil service, a Kannada service and a Malaylam channel.

  • Zee Studio to showcase ‘The Celestial Shaolin Nites’

    Zee Studio to showcase ‘The Celestial Shaolin Nites’

    MUMBAI: Zee Studio is all set to feature all-time favourite films with the The Celestial Shaolin Nites beginning 24 March.

    The festival kicks off with the classic trilogy The 36th Chamber of Shaolin on 24 March, Return to the 36th Chamber of Shaolin on 31 March and Disciples of the 36th Chamber on 7 April. The movies will air at 9 pm onwards every Friday.

    Speaking on this initiative Zee Studio business head Neil Chakravarti says, “We are quite excited to bring these all time favourites to the Indian audience. Kung fu is a highly popular genre and we are certain these films will prove to be quite entertaining for Zee Studio viewers across the country.”

    The trilogy is based on the true history of the origin, the basic learnings and the code of ethics that has permeated Shaolin for hundreds of years. Lau Kar-Leung , a ‘real master’ of kung fu film-making not only explores the depth and meaning of kung fu, but presents it on screen in a clear and entertaining way that any viewer can appreciate.

    The essence of the films however is not complete without mention of Gordon Liu who has the distinction of being one of the most popular martial arts stars.

  • Caracol, Funky Formats to showacse interactive telenovela at MIPTV

    Caracol, Funky Formats to showacse interactive telenovela at MIPTV

    MUMBAI: Colombian broadcaster Caracol Television and Funky Formats have come put with an interactive telenovela Second Sin.

    The format will air on Caracol later this year. The parties will offer the format to broadcasters at the television event MIPTV which takes place in Cannes next month.

    Caracol VP content and production Cristina Palacio, says, “In Latin America, this concept represents an evolution in our long history of telenovelas. But in the US and other markets, there’s an added advantage, since broadcasters can introduce a brand new telenovela script to a mainstream audience through a construct which is already well-established: reality TV. Everyone already understands how that works, so it’s the perfect introduction.”

    Funky Formats creative director Richard Martin says, “While there have been attempts at producing interactive dramas before, Second Sin is the first full-scale entertainment production of its kind. Without giving too much away, let’s say that the story line of Second Sin has something in common with Desperate Housewives, Lost and even Greek tragedy. It’s primetime entertainment—and in our view, American Idol meets Betty la fea.”

  • Ad revenues to sustain despite of hike in excise rates

    Ad revenues to sustain despite of hike in excise rates

    The ad industry seems to have no qualms about the recent budget. Industry professionals believe that the recent excise hike that the budget imposed on several categories of goods, among which figure FMCGs, automotive and consumer durables, is unlikely to prove a dampener to advertising fortunes in the coming year.

    In the past a rapid rampup of prices courtesy government levies has led to slow offtake of goods which in turn has led to a reduction in ad spend by advertisers. Ad agencies have in the process seen their billings dry up.

    Industry professionals however don’t think the scenario will be replicated this time around. Says Saatchi & Saatchi media head T.V. Shivkumar: “The hike in excise rates won’t in anyway have an effect on the ad spend of companies. There is no blanket increase in the price of commodities. The ad spend has got more to do with the bottomline of the company, whether it is able to keep its commitment with its shareholders.”

    Euro RSCG’s Gautam echoed the same sentiments: “The ad budget of a company depends more on the state of the economy as a whole. Price rise is a common feature. I don’t think there should be any change in the ad spends.”

    The excise rates, which have gone up to 16%, seem to have raised no alarms as far as the advertising and promotional expenditure of the companies is concerned. If at all, ad pros maintain that this may go up so as to cheer the slackening markets.

    What needs to be seen is whether consumers will react similarly to the situation. Will they cut back or postpone consumption like they did in the early nineties which led to reduced ad expenditures? If they do react negatively, the ad industry will be caught unawares like in the nineties when they overstaffed and overcommitted resources in the hope of good economic growth.

  • BBC to make new adaptation of the Bronte classic ‘Jane Eyre’

    BBC to make new adaptation of the Bronte classic ‘Jane Eyre’

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC will make a new mini series of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre. This will air on BBC One.

    The serial stars Francesca Annis as Lady Ingram, Christina Cole as Blanche Ingram, Lorraine Ashbourne as Mrs Fairfax, Pam Ferris as Grace Poole and Tara Fitzgerald as Mrs Reed.

    Georgie Henley, who recently starred in The Chronicles of Narnia plays young Jane while Aidan McArdle plays the visionary John Eshton.

    BBC drama commissioning controller Jane Tranter says, “Sandy Welch’s wonderful version of Jane Eyre for BBC One will add that special ingredient to the mix of dramas due for transmission this autumn.”

    The BBC adds that the sustainability and appeal of Jane Eyre lies in her universality and the audience’s appetite for a well-told romantic tale. Orphaned at a young age, Jane (Ruth Wilson) is placed with her wealthy aunt Mrs Reed (Tara Fitzgerald) who neglects Jane in favour of her own three spoiled children.

    Mrs Reed’s spitefulness leads her to withhold news that could change Jane’s life for the better. Instead she brands her a liar and sends Jane to Lowood School where she remains until the age of 19. When she finally leaves the dark memories of Lowood behind, she embarks on a career as a governess and her first position is at Thornfield Hall, the home of the alluring and unpredictable Edward Rochester. Jane’s journey into the world and as a woman begins.

    The mini series producer Diederick Santer adds, “In her brand new adaptation of Jane Eyre, Sandy Welch has mined Bronte’s novel for every ounce of passion, drama, colour, madness and horror available, bringing to life Jane’s inner world with beauty, humour and at times great sadness.

    “The locations we have chosen are stormy and majestic and I hope that Sandy’s original take on the story will be enjoyed as much by long-term fans of the book as by those who have never read it.”

    Filming is underway until June at the historical medieval castle Haddon Hall, owned by Lord Edward Manners, and other locations across Derbyshire.

  • CNN Intl’s new initiative looks at technological innovations of the future

    CNN Intl’s new initiative looks at technological innovations of the future

    MUMBAI: With a view to offering a broad picture on how technological changes of the future will affect people’s personal and professional lives, news broadcaster CNN International is launching CNN Future Summit. This is a forum that brings together prominent personalities in an interactive process to explore how innovation and technology will shape our lives in years to come.

    This is a two-year multi-media programme aims at stimulating global discussion on new developments in medicine and health, communications, the environment and new habitat, and the implications of these changes for the future of mankind.

    CNN International senior VP Rena Golden says, “CNN Future Summit demonstrates our commitment to preparing viewers for the events of the future by providing insights into the issues that affect our world today. In addition, this initiative is set to engage our viewers in global dialogue and will prove as significant in inspiring people’s vision for the future.”

    The centerpiece of the initiative will be four televised roundtable discussions to be held in Singapore, hosted by CNN anchor Michael Holmes. Each roundtable focusses on one area of technology that is shaping the future. A nominating committee of respected experts will select a panel of global leaders in a specific field to discuss the promises, challenges and controversies sparked by their innovations.

    The initiative also provides a dedicated website, featuring interviews with the visionaries, profiles of the nominating committee, and details of the issues discussed. Viewers are encouraged to participate in the discussions through the website, offering their thoughts and insights, suggesting potential panelists and issues to be debated.

    The first topic of this global dialogue is Of Man And Machine. With genetic engineering, stem cell research, robotics and cybernetics offering the promise of dramatically reshaping the human machine, this program will explore the impact of these developments on societies around the world.

    Through the dedicated website: http://cnn.com/futuresummit, viewers around the world will be able to explore the views of the remarkable list of leading scientists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, futurists, authors, and journalists. Among them: Dr. Alan Colman, one of the team that cloned Dolly the sheep; astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and Ray Kurzweil, futurist/inventor/author. (A complete list of the nominating committee and their profiles can be found on this website)

    Highlighting the focus of the CNN Future Summit, Professor Balasubramanian, currently the director of research at the Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation, in Hyderabad, India and also a member of the CNN Future Summit Committee, said, “The role of scientists as interpreters to society about advances in stem cell therapy, genetics and such is vital. Dialog between us and ethicists, religious leaders and sociologists must occur in periodic intervals. That is the only way.”

    A final list of panelists will be named in mid-May. They will gather in Singapore for the roundtable to be aired on CNN International on 15 June.