Tag: Ajay Trigunayat

Ajay Trigunayat turns entrepreneur, to launch VOD platform in October

MUMBAI: After quitting the Times Television Network (TTN) English Entertainment channels as CEO in April last year, Ajay Trigunayat has moved on to an alternate path, as he will now don the hat of an entrepreneur. Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, he says, “I have begun working on a new venture which is a VOD platform called Action Quality Time (AQT).”

The platform will see a launch towards October or November 2015.

“I had conceptualised the idea around five to six years ago but then I was occupied working at TTN,” he adds. The platform will have a combination of Indian as well as foreign content for audiences. In terms of language, it will not be restricted to just English as major Indian languages too would be available for audiences.

Trigunayat says that currently talks and strategic plans are on to build a robust platform.

January 9, 2015
The movers and shakers of 2014

To achieve something, one needs to let go of something, 2014 saw many stalwarts of the media and entertainment sector taking that leap.

From being bitten by the entrepreneur bug to grabbing on to better opportunities, the industry saw a number of movements. Some of these created a stir while others went down as “regular” developments. Nonetheless, Indiantelevision.com lists down some of the major movers and shakers of the years…

Ajay Bhalwankar: He is a man who can be credited to providing valuable programming inputs across content on various channels. The year 2014 was like a shuffling battle for Bhalwankar. After spending almost 19 years with Zee Entertainment Group, with his last stint as programming head at Zee TV for six years, he joined Sony Entertainment Television (SET) on 7 April, 2014 as chief creative officer. Now in SET, he provides creative leadership and direction for the channel, and leads the programming and OAP (on-air-promotions) teams. Spanning various roles of creating, writing, programming, producing and directing entertainment content, he is an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience.

Ajay Trigunayat: TTN English entertainment channels, Romedy Now and Movies Now CEO Ajay Trigunayat quit the network this year. With M K Anand taking over as TTN CEO and business functions being centralised, Trigunayat moved out. Before joining TTN, he was in the Middle East in an entrepreneurial capacity, and had been the business head of the Zee English Channels bouquet, and put in stints at Lintas, Contract and Rediffusion and at Pepsi in a sales role.

Ajit Thakur: In a shocking development, the man credited for Life OK’s success story, Ajit Thakur decided to call it quits from the network. It was in July this year that he was given an additional charge of managing the network’s youth entertainment channel, Channel V. Currently he is serving his notice period and his last day in the organisation will be February, 2015.

Abhijit Avasthi: An engineer by education, Abhijit Avasthi was the right-hand man of India’s ad guru Piyush Pandey. After spending more than 10 years at Ogilvy, he finally decided to hang his boots to pursue what he loves the most.

However, according to reports, Avasthi is likely to set up his own creative agency, a move that he has been contemplating for a while.

Alok Agarwal: Zee Media CEO Alok Agarwal ended his one and a half years stint at the network to take charge as Network18 group COO.

Bharat Ranga: Since 1998, he had been an invaluable member of the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) family. After a 16-year stint with the network, he bid adieu in the month of October to explore new avenues. While at Zeel, he moved across functions and domains seamlessly, from sales to business head to being the international business head and then, the chief content and creative head for the organisation, he has been instrumental in making Zee’s content an unforgettable one for the audiences. His last project – Zindagi is getting critical acclaim from the masses.

Dilip Venkatraman and Savvy Venkatraman: ITV Network, which owns and operates news channels NewsX and India News, appointed former CNN IBN and IBN7 CEO Dilip Venkatraman as group COO of strategy and business development. Meanwhile, Savvy joined the network as group chief marketing officer.

KV Sridhar: After 17 long years Leo Burnett India chief creative officer, Pops, moved on to join SapientNitro, an interactive marketing, creative design and technology services agency. The movement did create a stir in the industry with many questions being raised on who can fill his shoes. Rajdeepak Das joined the agency as chief creative officer, soon afterwards.

MK Anand: The former Disney UTV Media Networks MD MK Anand took over as the new MD and CEO of Times Television Network (TTN), stepping into Sunil Lulla’s shoes. Anand had previously worked at The Times of India group for nearly 19 years, beginning first with the print business for 14 years and later on with the television business at Zoom from 2004 to 2009. He was the managing director for Disney UTV Media Networks till December 2013. The move saw functions like HR, finance, distribution being centralised and direct reportage to Anand.

N P Singh: The industry was treated with a good surprise at the beginning of 2014, when in a major development Multi Screen Media (MSM) promoted its COO N P Singh as the new CEO. He replaced Man Jit Singh who was designated as non-executive chairman and moved to Los Angeles (LA).

Namit Sharma: From a creative background to a broadcast space, it was a challenge for former Wizcraft head for television business Namit Sharma. It was in early February when the news of former programming head Ajay Bhalwankar quitting and Sharma stepping into his shoes came to light. From directing fiction shows at Cinevistaas to film production and script writing at Yash Raj and handling events and non-fiction properties at Wizcraft International Entertainment, Sharma has done it all. As the programming head of the channel, he has brought some best creative ideas to the table.

Nagesh Chhabria: IndusInd Media Communications Limited (IMCL) CEO Nagesh Chhabria too was seen hanging his boot this year. Chhabria later bought 50 per cent stake in Mumbai-based Bhawani Rajesh Cable & Digitech Services through his company Bhima Riddhi Digital Services (BRDS). He also signed an agreement with Atlas Consolidated LLC – a joint venture between Greenwich Equity Partners and Jagran Infra-Projects led by Sanjiv Mohan Gupta – to create a national MSO with about $200 million being pumped into it.

Prem Kamath: The industry was shaken after former Channel V head and Star Pravah general manager decided to quit from Star for better opportunities at A+E Networks as deputy managing director, Asia Pacific. Associated with Star Network since 2007, Kamath had been heading Channel V for more than four years. Seeing his capability, he was given an additional responsibility at Star Network to head Star Pravah in 2013.

Pradeep Hejmadi: With more than 18 years of well-rounded experience in the Indian media industry spanning media sales, media planning and buying, consumer research, business planning and product development, he is the man with multi-dimensional understanding of the media business. Former TAM Media Research senior vice-president Pradeep Hejmadi quit the organisation to join Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) as business head in the month of June. At TAM, he was responsible for revenue generation, client management, new business development and new product development and changed the working dynamics of the TV industry.

Pratap Bose: Omnicom-owned DDB Mudra witnessed a sudden churn at the top, early this year when DDB Mudra Group COO Pratap Bose resigned from the agency after a six-year stint.

The exit, who was looking to take over the top job, came after group chief executive officer and managing director Madhukar Kamath was given a four-year extension.

Raghav Bahl: Network18 founder and chairman Raghav Bahl, sold his baby to RIL chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani for a whopping Rs 4000 crore. What followed this was an upheaval of sorts, as one by one, the main pillars of the company began to fall. As soon as the meeting concluded between Bahl and the management of Network18, departures began which included group CEO B Sai Kumar, COO Ajay Chacko, CNN-IBN deputy editor Sagarika Ghose, IBN Network editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Network18 Media CEO Sanjay Dua, Network18 digital CEO Durga Raghunath, Network 18 CFO RDS Binni Bawa and deputy foreign affairs editor Suhasini Haidar.

Rajdeep Sardesai: It was in July this year that after nine long years, the face of IBN18 and editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai decided to move on from the network. He later on joined the India Today group as consulting editor. Further, penning his expertise of writing, in November he launched his book – ‘2014: The Election That Changed India’. The book tracks the story of the 16th Lok Sabha elections with a media insider’s view. It was in the same month when deputy editor at CNN-IBN Sagarika Ghose too bid adieu to the Network18 group and joined Times of India as consulting editor.

Rajesh Iyer: Associated with the channel since its inception, Colors marketing head Rajesh Iyer has been one of the many behind the success of popular shows like Khatron Ke Khiladi, India’s Got Talent, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and Bigg Boss. Iyer quit Colors in March to join Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) as its business head, new initiatives, Hindi broadcast. With more than 13 years of experience in marketing and business segment, he aims to create some thrilling benchmarks in the industry.

Ravi Mansukhani: The year 2014 saw the ending of the seven year innings from IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd. (IMCL) managing director Ravi Mansukhani, who decided to step down from his position. It was said that Mansukhani had expressed the desire to relinquish his services, which was accepted by the board of directors in the board meeting held on 31 January. His next move is yet unknown.

Sameer Nair: He has donned numerous hats. From selling space in Yellow pages to being a member of a political party, Sameer Nair has had a volatile career. It was in July this year when the former Star India CEO joined Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms as Group CEO.

S N Sharma: In what can be described as the biggest setback was the resignation of DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma, who was one of the founding members of the multi system operator. Sharma’s vision of growth through consolidation and digitisation had laid the foundation for the company. He has also spearheaded DEN’s rapid growth with his visionary leadership and unparalleled execution abilities. He has also been the driving force behind taking the company into the digital era.

Suhasni Haider: In a major development, CNN-IBN deputy foreign affairs editor and prime time anchor Suhasini Haidar bid adieu to the organisation in May this year. To focus on long-format journalism, she joined The Hindu as its diplomatic editor.

Sunil Lulla: A 30-year media and communication veteran, Sunil Lulla made headlines in July when he decided to move on from Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. After almost 10 years with BCCL, Lulla, joined WPP-owned Grey Group as chairman and MD for Grey Group India.
His joining the advertising industry was homecoming as he had started his career in one.
However, his appointment led to Grey Group India president and CEO Jishnu Sen moving on from the network.

Tony D’silva: With Ravi Mansukhani stepping down, IMCL saw a new MD and CEO in Tony D’silva, who was earlier the president of Hinduja Ventures Limited (HVL) and was overlooking its upcoming Headend InThe Sky (HITS) project. D’silva was given additional responsibilities as Group CEO-Media of HVL, and MD and CEO of IMCL.

TS Panesar: Star India EVP for distribution TS Panesar, who was entrusted with the responsibility of handling distribution for national DTH and digital addressable systems (DAS) earlier in 2014 when the JV between Star and Zee- MediaPro was broken, quit. He later joined MSO Hathway Cable & Datacom as head-video business.

Vikram Mehra: After spending close to 10 long years at one of the leading DTH companies in India, Vikram Mehra, the chief commercial officer of Tata Sky moved on to Saregama, this year. While at Tata Sky, he was responsible for subscription revenue management, churn management, brand marketing, new product development, consumer analytics, interactive service operations, consumer research and PR, he is handling the digital platform for Saregama.

Vikram Sakhuja: It was in October that GroupM announced the appointment of Lindsay Pattison as global CEO of Maxus, the post held by Vikram Sakhuja. Till date his next move in the group hasn’t been decided, but he is expected to take up a global role at parent firm GroupM.

Vivek Srivastava: It came as a surprise when the news of former Colors commercial and digital head Vivek Srivastava quitting, shot the mailers. His extensive background in research, awareness of new media and over a decade in the broadcast industry contributed to maintaining the robust presence of all Colors brands in the digital space and managing the overall costs for the brand. He headed to Times Television Network (TTN) in the month of October as senior vice-president and head of the English Entertainment Cluster, which includes premium channels like Movies Now and Romedy Now.

(The names are in alphabetical order)

December 30, 2014
TTN ropes in Vivek Srivastava to head English Entertainment cluster

MUMBAI: Times Television Network (TTN) has got on-board Colors commercial and digital head Vivek Srivastava to fill in the place left vacant since April this year when Ajay Trigunayat moved on from the network.

In his new role, Srivastava will be senior VP and heading the English Entertainment Cluster (Movies Now and Romedy Now). He will take charge from today (1 October 2014) and report to TTN MD and CEO MK Anand.

Srivastava had put down his papers two months back at Colors, confirms sources close to the development.

Speaking on the announcement, Anand said: “Vivek’s experience in the broadcast sector combined with our aggressive approach to drive growth for the network will add great value to our business. The experience and calibre he brings to the table, we believe, will set new benchmarks for our channels.”

Commenting on his new role, Srivastava said: “I look forward to being a part of such a dynamic and motivated environment at the TTN. I’ll be working closely with the team at TTN to drive high viewership performance across the English Entertainment Cluster. I look forward to an enriching experience.”

He had been with Colors since its inception in January 2008. He started as a research head for the channel and was later part of its international team before taking up the mantle of digital strategy.

Moreover, last year, he was given additional responsibility of Colors’ commercial business. Prior to that, he was with TAM Media Research, where he last served as director of the S Group. He has also worked with IMRB International.

October 1, 2014
“We will be enriching our movie catalogue over the next six months”: Mansi Shrivastav

Mansi Shrivastav comes across as a calm, joyful young lady. With reason: the content head of two English entertainment TV channels – Movies Now and Romedy Now which entered the genre late- has managed to create offerings that have given the older established players some sleepless nights. A large part of the credit goes to her: among the first employees to have been, she has battled in the doorways of MipCom and MipTV and other content markets, along with her former boss Ajay Trigunayat, to acquire the best of Hollywood movies and show – and succeeded.

The catalogue she acquired has helped carve out a space for the two channels in the minds of the victims of several TV viewers.

Born in Jamnagar, she is a Stephanian who did her English literature graduate degree and then decided to pursue a Masters in Spanish. Midway she knocked on the doors of NDTV in 2001 and was hired to work for Star Plus’ Ji Mantriji – a Hindi adaptation of the BBC show Yes Prime Minister.

It has been a whirlwind journey for her since and Mansi declares that if it were to be captured on celluloid, the film would be aptly titled ‘Rush’.

Indiantelevision.com’s Herman Gomes caught up with to get insights into what has gone into making the two channels the successes they are today. Excerpts:

Take us through your journey so far.

It has been a roller coaster ride because it has been about news, reality shows, fiction as well as nonfiction shows. I joined Times almost a year before Zoom went on air. This was followed by the launch of Movies Now and Romedy Now and it has been a good 13-14 years.

What were the initial problems Movies Now had to face at the time of launch?

We had entered a very competitive market where established players were already present. Some of them have been there for more than a decade or even two in some cases. When we came in, we had to break a lot of perceptions. People were apprehensive about the kind of content we were going to launch.

Other channels had already established long running deals in the market with the parent company. The initial challenge, therefore, was to reach out to every market and explain to the world who we were, buy the content and give them strong reasons to engage with us rather than the established players in the market.

The other major challenge was breaking myths per se, because everyone felt the content was blocked by other players.

Many months prior to the launch, we had to undertake a lot of research; 89 per cent is the number we all have ingrained in our minds. This is because 89 per cent of the viewership is generated is from library titles. So we remained focused on this number and purchased content and titles which had high levels of repeat potential like Baby’s Day Out, Titanic, Terminator and Die Hard. What started off as a challenge turned out to be the recipe for success.

Which are the different studios that you have signed output deals with?

Our very first partner was Fox Studios followed by our second deal with Warner. They together continue to remain as our base deals. We also have had deals with Sony and MGM. While we engage with many independent studios worldwide, we have worked with several studios in the US and Europe for smaller deals.

At the time of our launch we showcased Rocky titles, which was a small deal with MGM, but Rocky was precious and with a fantastic marketing campaign it came to the viewers like never before because we scheduled it and programmed it in a certain way. In fact, the very first promo that went on air on Movies Now at 6 in the morning was Rocky.

How large is the library of your two channels?

It’s large but I won’t be able to quote a number but it is almost 1000.

How different is the lineup of Movies Now from that of your other channel Romedy Now?

They are totally two different brands. Movies Now has content that is very adrenaline pumping, action, science-fiction, martial arts, thrillers and even slapstick comedies like Baby’s Day Out and Dumber and Dumber type of content. Romedy Now is focused towards a psychographic segmentation that has been done on the basis of three emotions. They are as different as chalk and cheese but both complement each other since both are catering to two different kinds of personalities or maybe even two different facets of the same personality.

While Romedy Now cheers up your day and makes one feel upbeat, Movies Now on the other hand is literally about guns and fast paced adrenaline thrillers. The idea during the launch was that they would remain distinct.

Which are the titles that have done well on Movies Now and which have been your favourite among them?

That’s a tough question. I like Avatar. There are some titles, which can surprise you out of nowhere. A random title like Aliens in the Attic performed well for us. I think the challenge for the content team was not just to pick the obvious titles like Die Hard or Terminator. The interesting ones for us are titles that surprise us as well as add a little bit of extra viewership peaks in that week.

What is the research that the channel undertakes before launching a show?

The launch of a new show in India is very different from the US. So for us it is important to see the context of how it is going to be viewed here in India. There are some shows that are detached from the Indian context and will probably alienate the Indian viewer. A lot is based on gut, of course, but there are examples of shows and trends that are doing well in the market. But the final decision we make as a programmer is by watching a show and taking a call whether it will work for our particular target audience.

Is the research carried by an in-house team or sourced from an independent research agency?

We do both. But we have a strong research team, which is constantly looking at market trends and viewership patterns. TAM is also of help and there are agencies and focus groups that the marketing team engages with.

Can you tell us about the recent premieres on Movies Now?

We do not focus much on premieres but premiere-wise we have had Rush – both movie and the show. The movie Rush is adrenaline pumping and very iconic. Its characteristics are very much in sync with the philosophy of Movies Now. There is also Rush that is the form of a series whose format and content is engaging. Our next premier will be Olympus has Fallen while we have monthly properties for Independence Day, Dushera and Diwali

How successful is your micro property Moviethon?

Moviethon was a launch property. It’s been one of our successful ones because of the fact that it does not break up the day and has back-to-back blockbusters, which is what Movies Now always promised. Through it we bring to our viewers uninterrupted entertainment at any given point of the day. When we launched in 2010, we had made a conscious call not to break up the day into separate morning and afternoon properties. The whole endeavor was to provide non-stop back-to-back blockbusters. There was a time when Moviethon on the Sundays was performing better than several of the players put together in the market. Moviethon is an amalgamation of the best titles.

For example, we started off with Shaolin titles for the first time in 2011. It was so successful that we have repeated it several times but every time with a new bouquet of titles. When it was launched for the first time we pitched it against a very important property that was going out in the market on our competitive platform. Shaolin won hands down. What we had done is we had taken the entire gamut of Shaolin movies that was there and positioned it in a certain time slot and added a very different marketing spin to it saying that Shaolin was sexy and not boring. It’s been a very promising one and therefore we continue to show it here. It’s been on for four years now.

Are you looking at expanding with new titles?
We are constantly expanding and are looking to associate with newer studios. In the coming six months there is a very significant component that is going to be added to our library and it will add richness to both Movies Now and Romedy Now in terms of content.

What are the key challenges that you face as a programmer within the English entertainment genre?
I think today the key challenges would be to get content. Buyers and sellers are vying for the same product, which has made it a precious commodity. Therefore, we are constantly fighting for the best titles that are in the category across studios. Also, I think the challenge is to pick the best content and in that I would mean a combination of new and old titles.

Then, how important a role does marketing play for the new channels?

It is very important for all of us but for us more so because we focus on titles that have already come in the market. We are not just focusing on new titles but on titles that viewers want to see and some of those titles may not have been aired for two to three years.

When we had launched, there was a whole gamut of titles we had bought which had not even seen a primetime during that period. But for us marketing has been key factor because we have brought together titles that have been aired before but not in the same form.

Rocky and Shaolin are examples. Fans may have seen Bond titles on other platforms but on Movies Now it had a different take and all the credit goes to our marketing team who put Bond out there as one of our prime time viewership garners.

Another example was Chaplin, which had a very different marketing campaign. Expectations were low since it was a black and white film but internally we had a lot of conviction that we would do well. But in spite of all the apprehension Chaplin was one of the highest rated films in that week across English movie channels. It added an entire new look and feel to that property.

We have heard that the two channels will be revamped this festive season. Is it true?
We are looking at a re-ignition. We want to promote a lot of festivals and are thinking of adding new content. We had Terra Nova for the first time, followed by Crisis and now Rush. Overall, in the coming six months additional adrenaline blockbuster titles will be added but there will not be a change in strategy.

What is the line up for your 1 pm slot and how important is the slot?
The 1 pm slot today is the most important slot after the primetime as it garners the highest viewership after 9pm. When we launched, we focused a lot on our non- prime time slots like the 1 pm and 3 pm slots. Amongst all of them, we have been doing exceptionally well at 1 pm. Thus, Movies Now has been a leader for many of the weeks in the 1 pm slot. We sometimes play a very big blockbuster at 1 pm or a repeat telecast of a movie one may have missed the night before. But since it is a very critical spot we are careful how we schedule the movies.

Do you see a growth in consumption patterns of Indian audiences for English movies and shows?
I think it is happening as we speak and we are slowly catching the wave. We ourselves have moved from initially targeting just eight metros to now including 1 million plus towns. The country is already consuming different kinds of English content, whether it is a Spiderman movie in different languages or even in pirated forms. I think there are enough platforms that are catering to the various demands as well. Romedy Now is an example of a movie channel which does not have the usual adrenaline, action, sci-fi kind of movies but the appreciation that it is receiving and the viewership it is garnering is an example of how the country is moving towards larger and higher consumption patterns for English content.

Do you see an Indian production company coming up with an English show, soon?
That will be interesting but a lot will depend on quality. Quality is the key for us. As long as Indian production houses produce such quality works it could be possible of course. There was a show like 24 that was produced in India and it was of high quality standards. As long as the content is in sync with our brand we wouldn’t hesitate to engage with such houses especially for Romedy Now. There is every possibility that you may see content that is locally produced. The only filter would be that it would have to be within the gamut of ‘Love Laugh and Live’. You can’t have a Hollywood film and then suddenly switch to another piece of content which is not so well produced.

August 14, 2014
Mansi Shrivastav bids adieu to Times Television Network

MUMBAI: It was in April, this year, when Times Television Network English entertainment channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat called it a day. And, now, according to sources, the English entertainment channels content head Mansi Shrivastav too has put down her papers and is currently serving her notice period. Her responsbilities included looking after the programming of the two film channels Romedy Now and Movies Now.

Sources also suggest that though she had resigned last month, she is expected to take a long break till January next year.

Even after repeated attempts, Shrivastav remained unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, sources from the channel say that with MK Anand taking over as TTN MD and CEO, the network is busy putting in a new system, which facilitates direct reporting to him.

If sources are to be believed, a few appointments will be announced soon for the English entertainment cluster of the network.

August 5, 2014
Sunil Lulla quits BCCL

MUMBAI: The BCCL corporate development president Sunil Lulla has bid adieu to the company.

“Today is my last day,” he confirmed the development to indiantelevision.com. However, his future plans are still not clear.

The former MD and CEO of Times Television Network (TTN), Lulla, who took over the charge of BCCL a couple of months back when MK Anand was brought in to lead the charge, just got back from his holiday in Norway.

This follows a series of high-profile exits from the company. Times Now, ET Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul and TTN English Entertainment Channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat had moved on in April, this year.

What is notable is that these exits came after Anand took charge in January.

Lulla has spent close to nine years in TTN in various leadership roles. Prior to joining TTN, he was at Sony Entertainment Television as executive VP for three years.

In 2000, he had started indya.com, which was later acquired by News Corp/Star. He is also the man behind the launch of MTV and credited to bring it to number one position in India. Lulla was general manager and country head at MTV India from 1996 to 1999.

In his 25 plus years in the industry, Lulla has worked with media, entertainment, technology and television broadcast. His early years were spent in sales and soon thereafter with JWT in senior positions in India, China and Taiwan. He was member of the team which helped turn around Sa Re Ga Ma (HMV) in India.

Lulla is a member of many industry associations and helps drive policy and agenda setting themes for the advertising, media and entertainment industry.

June 30, 2014
Ajay Trigunayat bids adieu to Times Television Network

MUMBAI: Not too long ago we at indiantelevision.com were the first to report that the former Disney UTV Media Networks MD MK Anand will be taking over as the new MD and CEO of Times Television Network (TTN), stepping into Sunil Lulla’s shoes.

Well, now news is that TTN English entertainment channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat has called it a day. Sources close to the network have revealed that Trigunayat will be shortly moving on from the Times Group and is currently ensuring that the transition is smooth for his team.

The source reveals that there will be centralisation of functions now. While earlier all the functions like – HR, finance, distribution, legal, among other things, reported to Times Now, ET Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul, they will now be directly reporting to M K Anand.

Plans are also afoot for getting in a network sales head, currently for the English cluster (Movies Now and Romedy Now). The network has undergone some major reshuffling. While it has appointed Mandeep Singh as network sales head; Movies Now head of sales for north Arunabh Madhur, will now take charge of national sales for the channel. Not only this, Movies Now head of sales for west Siddharth Chopra has been elevated to Romedy Now national sales head.

“Both these individuals have been around since the inception of Movies Now, which was back in 2010, and have been given the responsibility keeping in mind their commitment and hard work for the network,” says the source.

“The idea is to completely centralise the work flow of the network and to get a chief sales/revenue officer and hold fort and report directly to M K Anand,” reveals the source.

On the marketing front Shantanu Gangane will head it for both Movies Now and Romedy Now; and the programming and content team will directly report to M K Anand.

Prior to joining TTN, Trigunayat was in the Middle East in an entrepreneurial capacity, and has also been the business head of the Zee English Channels bouquet, and put in stints at Lintas, Contract and Rediffusion and at Pepsi in a sales role.

But, that’s not all! In another blow to the network, the source also reveals that Romedy Now associate business head Harsh Sheth is on his way out from the network, but will be handling operations for at least another couple of months.

Sheth has been with the TTN for just over three years; first handling the channel and business strategy for Movies Now for a period of nearly two years and then being acknowledged and elevated as the associate business head for the seven month old English entertainment channel, Romedy Now.

Prior to joining the network, Sheth has had a stint with Star India, starting out by working and handling varied Star properties across genres i.e. Star Gold, Star Movies, Star World, Star Pravah and Channel [V]. His mandate was to use consumer insights for scheduling, on-air presentation, distribution, marketing and content. He also looked after content acquisition and development of fiction as well as non-fiction shows for Channel [V] later on. He started out as an assistant manager – key accounts with TAM Media Research and handled clients like Sony, Sahara, Disney, UTV, MTV.

Both Trigunayat and Sheth were unavailable for comment, even after repeated attempts. Both these individuals have been instrumental in running the English cluster for TTN and will certainly be a loss to the organisation.

April 2, 2014
“Romedy Now is content agnostic!”

MUMBAI: With niche, infotainment channels getting more adventurous in terms of content, it may no longer surprise viewers to catch ‘The Walking Dead’ on Fox Traveller or ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ on National Geographic Channel. Joining this group is Romedy Now, which at the time of its launch aired romantic comedies but will now be getting into all sorts of content; series, fiction or reality.

“Romedy Now is content agnostic and not necessarily film-centric,” Times Television Network CEO English Entertainment Channels, Ajay Trigunayat, told indiantelevision.com during a recent interview. “Romedy Now can play series, movies; fiction, non-fiction and short-formats. We are open to anything, and we have a programming slate that will unveil itself in the next few months. It is very radical from the way TV approaches business. We aim to make the consumer a part of our scheme. If something falls under one’s wants, needs and desires, one will consume it. In our consumer segmentation, we found that the consumer is still the same consumer.”

But weren’t ‘love and laughter’ the original peg of the channel? Trigunayat explained that since Romedy Now was the first of its kind, they decided to latch on to the two most basic human values to make the channel a unique destination. “The two basic values like love and laughter have become latent. They have become ignored aspects of life. When everyone is chasing a professional life, it is affecting their relationships with their friends and family and their own health. Love and laughter has a unique connection. If a girl was given a choice between a rich man and a witty man, she would probably choose the one with a great sense of humour but she will be tempted to choose wealth. It becomes endearing for a viewer to follow such chronicles and love the characters and laugh at them, and indirectly live their lives. ‘Love, Laugh, Live’ is not just the tagline of our channel, it is the basic mantra we abide by,” he said.

Trigunayat went on to clarify that even when they first decided to launch Romedy Now, the plan was to start airing series followed by films. “Airing of series and many other content formats was always the blueprint of the channel. Just that series including Witches of East End slated to premiere in the fall, got delayed to January and Friends with Better Lives (FWBL) scheduled to premiere in January got pushed to late March. That’s why the channel had to start with movies and later telecast the proposed series alongside the existing programmes as they went along,” informed Trigunayat.

Romedy Now plans to soon launch two new comedies – 1600 Penn, and Back in the Game – in addition to Kitchen Confidential, Ally McBeal, Witches of East End and FWBL and is in negotiations to acquire new content plus library content.

On the subject of marketing and distribution, Trigunayat said, “Right now, we have two major marketing properties that we are focusing on viz., ‘Sunny Sundays’ and ‘Thank God it’s Friday’ (TGIF). We plan to launch five more similar properties in the next quarter. We are in negotiations with some major television networks, and expect to close the deal by the end of next month.”

When asked about advertisers, Trigunayat said the channel had about 50 clients on board including telecom services like Airtel. “We are a highly premium channel and expect a good return. Across all five channels of the Times Group, we rely heavily on print advertising. When we first started our digital distribution, there were still a few analogues to be dealt with, but they are rapidly declining and digital is growing now. If there is no analogue, there shouldn’t be any carriage fees, ergo we are not paying a carriage fee,” he said.

The total advertising revenue across English movies and English GEC’s is Rs 500 crore with an additional Rs 400 crore coming in as subscription revenue. Going by GroupM and Madison forecasts, the category is expected to garner more than Rs 1,000 crore in FY 15 in advertising, subscription and miscellaneous revenues.

Romedy Now is available with multi system operators (MSOs) like Hathway, DEN, Incable, Manthan in the east and ICC in Pune. It is also available across major DTH operators except Tata Sky. Currently, Romedy Now is concentrating on eight metros and intends to expand in the next 12 to 14 months.

March 25, 2014
Blockbuster Overdose: MOVIES NOW unveils Explosive Marketing Campaign

MUMBAI: MOVIES NOW, India’s first High Definition channel brings you an explosive series of super-hit blockbusters, Hollywood’s biggest franchises and never seen before series all through March & April. Watch the complete series of Star Wars, Harry Potter, X Men, Matrix, Hangover, Ocean’s 11, 12 & 13, Lord of The Rings and a blockbuster Shaolin line up in stunning high definition. If you think this wasn’t enough, watch with the world, as MOVIES NOW brings to you the most anticipated series of 2014, the premier of CRISIS, a thirteen part series, simulcast with the US and also an exclusive showcase of Mr. Go for its viewers.

Ajay Trigunayat, CEO of English Channels, Times Television Network said. “In a span of only three years, MOVIES NOW has been successfully taken the category by storm! MOVIES NOW has repeatedly proved that it is The Destination for high adrenaline and heart pumping blockbusters. The upcoming line up in the month of March & April will never get repeated in the English Movie Channel category, given the amalgamation of all the excellent box-office franchises being showcased one after the other. With the launch of our new pan India integrated promotional campaign, MOVIES NOW will engage with its viewers through different mediums. This campaign will help us to amplify the overdose of blockbusters across media. OOH is going to spearhead the campaign and we have activated OOH media on a large scale across all the metros which will be supported by Print, On-Air activations, Social media and PR.”

To promote its mega line up, MOVIES NOW has unveiled a blistering 360 degrees marketing campaign across the 8 metros. Over 200+ high octane OOH units comprising of Billboards, Mall Media, Mobile Vans, Metro branding, Office branding and innovations are splashed across all 8 metros. The OOH is turbo charged with daily adverts in the Times Of India, City Times and Mirrors.

The channel has also taken consumer engagement to another level On – Air and on Social Media with mega contests. MOVIES NOW will fly 2 winners to the Harry Potter world in the USA and all they have to do is watch their favorite Harry Potter movies! If that is not enough, MOVIES NOW will give 6 winners a once in a lifetime opportunity to party with Jackie Chan on his 60th birthday!!

Blockbuster Overdose will keep viewers glued to MOVIES NOW throughout March, April & beyond.

March 14, 2014
I also planned on being a rockstar but destiny had other plans: Ajay Trigunayat

It isn’t often that you get to see a channel head donning a journalist’s hat and interviewing his competitor but we at indiantelevision.com, were treated to this one-of-a-kind interaction between Sony Pix EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik and Times Television Network CEO English entertainment channels Ajay Trigunayat. Excerpts…

Yagnik: If not the CEO of one of India’s leading television networks, what would you have been doing?

Trigunayat: As a kid, I was fascinated with sports and always dreamt of being a footballer or a basketball player. But my genes got the better of me as most basketball stars are well over six-and-a-half feet and I am just about five feet seven inches tall. Like most Indians, I too had the option of pursuing either engineering or medicine but started off as a copywriter with a take home of just Rs 500 before landing an opportunity to work for Pepsi in sales for a handsome Rs 5,500. So that’s when I slowly moved into marketing. After college, I was also keen on studying at the Oceanography Institute in Goa.

Yagnik: But you preferred to make bigger waves in the television broadcast space.

Trigunayat: (Chuckles) Yes, I also planned on becoming a rockstar but destiny had other plans.

Yagnik: We all would have preferred if you had become a rockstar (Both laugh)… I have been told that you are a complete workaholic and apart from work, spend your remaining hours at home with family. But, if and when you do get some free time, where would we find you engaging in some R&R?

Trigunayat: Yes, I certainly like to be very well organised and plan my weeks well in advance. But, I also do like to relax and take some time off with a couple of my close friends. I have two very close friends in Bandra; thus, out of the roughly four weekends in a month, I end up spending two with them. While I used to hang out at the bar in Marriot, it shut shop a few months ago. Still, I do like to try out new places and prefer scenic landscapes than being in a concrete jungle.

Yagnik: So, I guess the river is your water hole (laughs). We all know that you have single-handedly developed Movies Now into one of the leading English movie channels, but tell us something about your early days.

Trigunayat: I literally grew up on the Delhi University campus, as my father was a Professor of Physics at the institute. I did my schooling at St Xavier’s and since it was about 4.5 km from the university campus, I made it a point to cycle down, thus saving on transportation and getting that much extra money to splurge. The high point during school was when the seniors would ask us to rag the incoming senior batch, so it was fun to actually rag boys who were a few years older than us.

I got an Economics Honours from Kirori Mal College and was really active in sports like football and basketball. I was also very active in one-act theatre and really thought would get into the performing arts but destiny had other plans.

Yagnik: Where did you go to watch movies while growing up? Name a few of your yesteryear as well as current favourites.

Trigunayat: In the early days, we didn’t have much of Hollywood films coming to India, but I still managed to catch one or two movies every month at the Chanakya Theatre in Delhi. I grew up on Amitabh Bachchan and Shashi Kapoor movies that were regularly telecast on Doordarshan over weekends.

In recent times, I have enjoyed feel good flicks like 3 Idiots along with alternative cinema like Gangs of Wasseypur and Gulaal which really speak volumes about the kind of movies our filmmakers are capable of nowadays. I also enjoy old flicks like Deewar, Hum and Rang Birangi and some of Govinda’s masala movies like Deewana Mastana and Coolie No.1.

Yagnik: Speaking of movies, how can we miss out on the women from Bollywood? So, who among the current lot do you find attractive?

Trigunayat: (Chuckles) There was a joke going around in college when Qurbani released that in the song Kya Dekhte Ho… Surat Tumhari Feroz Khan lies to Zeenat Aman as she is attired in a swim-suit.

But from the current crop of actresses, I believe Katrina Kaif is the most gorgeous and she looked stunning in the song sequence Kamli from Dhoom 3. I would like to mention here that a couple of younger actresses like Parineeti Chopra and Alia Bhatt have been doing some brilliant work on the silver screen and I am just looking forward to seeing Highway.

Yagnik: What about Hollywood… Your favourite movies, directors, actors…

Trigunayat: I simply love the work of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron; they are magicians on celluloid and can capture the essence of their scripts very well on the big screen. I also love some of the work done by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Bay and Christopher Nolan. I like action movies and thrillers and movies with drama and this is reflected in my choice of favourite directors.

Among the actors, though Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are considered all-time greats, I strongly believe Christian Bale has raised the bar a few notches with the kind of roles he has done in the recent past. I mean his transformation from a person suffering from insomnia in The Machinist (2004) to the larger-than-life character of Batman to a retired boxer training his brother to become a professional in The Fighter (2010) to putting on weight for his Oscar-nominated role in American Hustle (2013). I also like Matthew McConaughey and he’s really improved a lot with movies like The Wolf of Wall Street and Dallas Buyers Club.

Yagnik: Let’s talk a little shop now; please share your thoughts on the breakaway success of Movies Now, which has become a case study of sorts for the industry.

Trigunayat: I will be honest; though we never imagined the channel to be so successful, we did a lot of planning to be accepted. We launched in 2010 and were confident that we would be the only channel in the space to leverage the high definition content that we had in our library. We couldn’t manage to raise funds when we were planning to launch the channel around 2008 because of the market crash in September and October and then again, due to the escalating oil prices in the Middle East.

We were looking for a Joint Venture and had the option of either doing it with the Times Group or 9X Media. We went ahead with the Times Group, taking into consideration its rock-solid reputation and large network. I had personal money going into the venture as well. On the content side, we struck deals with NBCUniversal, 20th Century Fox Film Corp, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures. The deal signed with NBC Universal allowed us to have the rights for all Spielberg movies post 1997 and then with the deal with DreamWorks, we got Spielberg movies prior to 1997 as well. We further consolidated our library by inking deals with MGM and signing content from foreign studios to get martial arts movies on Movies Now.

Yagnik: You’ve now become quite the lady’s man with the launch of Romedy Now. How’s the channel coming along?

Trigunayat: Well, brevity is the soul of wit, and with Romedy Now, we wanted to say that a woman likes two things in her partner – he should be humorous and romantic. The response to the channel has really been phenomenal, but the matrix could have changed had we also got better placement and push in distribution as currently, we are available in only 65 per cent of the market and are yet to bring on board some of our best content.

We have grown in our reach as well; from a 0.25 per cent reach in week 1, we have moved up to 3.6 per cent in the market, beating competition like Star World, AXN, Zee Café and Comedy Central.

Yagnik: Finally, which is your favourite holiday destination?

Trigunayat: There is no favourite destination as such, but I love to travel to new places and recently, I’ve been thinking of offbeat destinations like Iceland. More than anything else, let me tell you that I will be heading to Brazil in July as I have managed to get tickets for one quarter-final, one semi-final and the final of the FIFA World Cup 2014.

Yagnik: And before we end this conversation, please could you tell the readers what you told me in private that Sony Pix is your favourite English movie channel destination (both laugh)…

March 3, 2014