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Tag: Amrita TV

  • Amrita forays into OTT segment with Planetcast

    Amrita forays into OTT segment with Planetcast

    Mumbai: Malayalam GEC Amrita has launched its OTT platform Amrita Live on Planetcast’s multiscreen digital platform on Monday.

    Amrita Live will exclusively stream content related to spiritual leader Amritanandamayi Devi known to her devotees as Amma. As a part of the strategic partnership, Planetcast will host Amrita Live digital platform’s content from its library comprising over 5,000 hours and various live events, it said in a media statement.

    “By launching our own OTT platform, we will offer our target customers, the luxury of watching content as per their convenience. We are committed to adopting technological & digital solutions for improving the overall operations,” said Amrita TV COO Jayakesh Nair.

    Planetcast’s multiscreen digital platform is a SaaS platform, which offers an agile, advanced, easy to deploy, and easy to manage OTT ecosystem. “Amrita Live is actively strengthening its presence in the international market by launching its OTT service. Together, we will work for massive viewership with multilingual content through versatile apps available on popular platforms, devices, and appliances,” said Planetcast Media Services COO Sanjay Duda.

  • Amrita TV appoints Aidem Ventures as their exclusive “Ad – Sales Representative”

    Amrita TV appoints Aidem Ventures as their exclusive “Ad – Sales Representative”

    MUMBAI: Aidem Ventures, an independent media consulting and marketing company has been mandated to handle ad sales for Amrita TV, a Free to Air, Malayalam General Entertainment Channel. Formed in 2005, Amrita TV is one of the earliest players to launch and develop the Kerala General Entertainment market. The channel stands apart in terms of delivering family based and value driven quality programs. Apart from leading DTH services like Sun Direct, Tata Sky, Dish TV etc, the channel is also available on leading cable networks like COA Kerala, ACV, Siti, Den and many more. The channel also has its presence in the global market and is Free to Air across Australia, Singapore, Middle East, Europe, UK, USA, Canada and South Africa. 

    Amrita TV, COO, Jayakesh Nair states, “We have developed a new content strategy for Amrita TV. The channel is all set to present a variety of exquisite programs in 2018. Aidem’s knack of positioning channels in the advertiser market is remarkable. They establish a win – win scenario for both advertisers as well as the channel. I am sure this collaboration will help us exhibit Amrita TV’s potential as a valuable advertising platform.  

    Aidem Ventures, MD, Karan Gupta says, “At Aidem Ventures, we have always created success stories for the channels we have been assigned. It’s an honor to become the exclusive partner of Amrita TV. In the last couple of years, we have been extremely focused on building up our regional bouquet on a Pan-India basis. Equipped with a strong distribution and new content strategy for the coming year, we are confident of the channel’s success in the entertainment space.  

    Aidem Ventures, President, Alok Rakshit adds, “Amrita TV gives us an in-depth access to the Kerala market, further enhancing our overall sales bouquet for the benefit of advertisers and agencies. Besides, the association will also help Amrita TV to effectively leverage our domain knowledge, revenue management skills and industry relationship, thereby making it a mutually beneficial arrangement”.  

    Aidem has an in-depth experience of the southern market and has helped turnaround the revenues of Jaya TV Network, Flowers TV, Kasthuri TV Network and Mi Marathi to name a few. In addition to Amrita TV, Aidem currently represents around 15 different partners across the market with successful and popular brands like Bhojpuri Cinema, Dangal, Kolkata TV, Kolkata Live, Music Fatafati, APN News, NaapTol and Box Cricket League. 

    Aidem Ventures also represents eBus in India with an aim to offer a complete solution for digital distribution and management of television commercials to advertisers, agencies, media owners, content producers and broadcasters. 

  • Amrita TV launches its 10th Onam with a difference

    Amrita TV launches its 10th Onam with a difference

    MUMBAI: Amrita TV introduces Kerala’s most revered festival Onam, with a difference, as it observes its tenth year in 2015. Having emerged as winner of the highest number of State Awards by any Indian Broadcaster in just 10 years (62 Awards), Amrita TV has a differentiated entertainment fare and is celebrating an Onam extravaganza from Aug 19-30 covering Atham and Onam festival days. 

     

    Every year, Malayalam GECs telecast three to four movies per day during the main Onam season.  For Onam 2015, Amrita TV is making a departure from this convention, and instead packing the Onam season with a variety of endearing, enriching & entertaining content, with a few ‘Firsts’.

     

    Amrita TV ushers in Onam with a first-ever conversation with noted actor and numero uno comedian,Jagathy Sreekumar, who was involved in a near-fatal road accident three years ago wherein, he lost his faculty of speech and was confined to a wheel chair since that fateful day. In his first television get-together with friends & family, the Program “Changathikoottam”, will be telecast in two one-hour episodes on Aug 28 & 29 from 9.30 am-10.30 am(Thiruonam & Avittom festival days)

     

    Another first by Amrita TV this Onam is the re-emergence of famous Malayalam actress Annie on the small screen after 19 years. The bubbly Annie had made a spectacular impact in a span of  just 3 years in Malayalam cinema, before she retired for a married family life. She will be anchoring the show “Annie’s Kitchen” wherein she will be in cookery conversation with leading celebs of Malayalam cinema.  Starting Aug 24,”Annie’s Kitchen” will be aired every day at 7 pm .

     

    The third pioneering show “Vithum Kaikoottam” will feature  super stars like Mammootty, Srinivasan, besides Vijayraghavan & Krishnaprasad and  showcase their passion for farming, organic agriculture and their bonding with mother earth.  Here we take a trip to the farms of these actors and reveal the unpublicized personal aspects of their lives. “Vithum Kaikoottam” will be telecast from Aug 26-30 at 8.30 am.

     

    The Onam season is the time when well-known actors share the best memories of the festival. The Amrita TV lineup consists of all the sought-after celebs of Malayalam cinema: top-notch star Mohanlal shares his experiences on Aug 27 & 28 at 9.30 pm; Suresh Gopi on 28th (12 noon); Kavya Madhavan (28th, 4.30 pm),Jayaram (30th,7.30pm).

     

    A program shot at Kargil peaks,”Patalakkar”(27th,12 noon) is a conversation with jawans and  director Major Ravi . Newly married actors celebrate their first Onam with Amrita TV on the show”Kodiyonam”(27th-30th at 11.30 am) featuring Vinay Fort,Amla Paul,Jewel Mary & Jinus Kamal with their spouses.

     

    Popular actor Dileep is the anchor of the fun program ‘’Dileepum Kuttikalum( Aug 27&28, 10.30 pm) where Dileep is interacting with  kids talking about various subjects which excite children. Another show which is bound to evoke peals of laughter is “Chingathil Kalyanam” with comedian Suraj Venjaramood(Aug 28, 5 pm) . The hilarious mood is kept alive throughout Onam by way of a serial comedy show,” Money Matters “ with Shajon and Team(Aug 18-28th,8 pm). A political satire based on Onam is ‘,Maveli Nadakam(Aug 29,10.30 pm)

     

    For many Keralites across the world, this festival creates a sense of nostalgia and heritage. The show ”Kavya Pustakamallo Jeevitham”( Aug 19-28,7.30 pm) is a musical tribute featuring veteran playback maestro, P.Jayachandran, singing some of his best songs of his chequered career. Likewise, to revive the forgotten melodies of Onam, Amrita TV is airing a reality show of Onam songs, “Onam Melam (Aug 19-28,8.30 pm) with composer M.Jayachandran and singer Ranjini Jose as judges. Leading politicians with their families will be humming their favourite songs and recalling their Onam memories in the show,” Smriti Mudrakal((Aug 19-26,5.30 pm) . Meanwhile a series of episodes will dwell on the culture  and rituals associated with Onam( Aug 19-28,7.30 am)

     

    Leading playback singers and musicians of various hues will have a musical session with composer, M.Jayachandran in “Sangeetha Smritikal( Aug 27-29,10.30 am)

     

    Amrita TV will be airing only one superhit movie daily at 1.15 pm during the Onam season.

  • Amrita TV’s big ticket plans for Vishu festival

    Amrita TV’s big ticket plans for Vishu festival

    MUMBAI: Amrita TV is going to usher one of the most revered festivals of Kerela –Vishu in style with the world TV premier of Peruchazi.

     

    The movie featuring mega star Mohan Lal will be telecast on 15 April at 7 pm. The movie has been extensively shot in the US in the backdrop of the American Elections, co- stars Ragini, Mukesh, Baburaj, Aju Vargeesh and Vijay Thomas.

     

    The morning session of Vishu day will start with the heritage programme of Amrita TV namely Udayamritam at 6.30 am.

     

    Later at 11.30 am, the channel will telecast snippets from new Malayalam movies slated for release during the Vishu week.

     

    The other major Vishu highlights on Amrita TV is an exclusive chat show with reigning star, Kajal Agarwal, who has acted in Tamil superhits like Thuppaki , Jilla Bollywood blockbusters Singham, Special 26 and playing the female lead alongside Superstars Vijay, Mohanlal, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar.

     

    The chat with Agarwal will be telecast on 15 April at 12 noon. This programme will be followed by Vishu day cookery show special, Taste of Kerala.

     

    The post-lunch session which starts from 2 pm will have glimpses of the recently held successful music and dance festival called Beypore Fest. The event features playback singers Sayanora and Mridula and dances by Iniya and Team, including performances by major TV serial actors.

  • Amrita TV ‘Super Star’ returns to captivate audiences from 4 Aug

    Amrita TV ‘Super Star’ returns to captivate audiences from 4 Aug

    MUMBAI: The first ever music reality show in Malayalam television  which set the trend in 2006 is back in a new avatar from Aug 4 (Mon-Thu 8:30-9:30 pm) on Amrita TV. The show re-enters the TV programme circuit after a gap and hence is eagerly awaited for its next season as it is identified as a top-class music competition for music wannabes.

     

    The twenty final contestants were selected after a rigorous set of auditions across four centres in Kerala followed by a gruelling final audition at Amrita TV studios in Trivandrum. The final selected contestants who are in the 16-25  age group comprise 13 girls and 7 boys including two techies working in Infosys, another a lecturer and the rest consist of students.

     

    The jury panel is embedded with a galaxy of talent which includes veteran music director Sharreth who has composed for scores of Malayalam, Tamil,Telugu movies and has won Filmfare’s Best Music Director Award (2009), State Awards for best music (2009,2011); music composer cum playback singer and guitarist, Alphons Joseph who has sung for A.R.Rahman and is also part of ARR’s world tour troupe He is the founder of Rex Band and has passed out from the Trinity School of Music. Accompanying them on the jury panel is  young playback singer Mahathi who has sung for Malayalam,Tamil,Telugu,Kannada and Punjabi movies and started her playback  with maestro Ilayaraja ,besides singing for ARR ,Harris Jayaraj, Karthik Raj, etc. She has sung over 700 songs and has won State Award in 2008.

     

    The captivating set that tunes in to just the right ambience for the musical contest in the foreground, also hosts professional dance troupes that provide visual accompaniment to the melody, dancing in harmonious mode to the lilts and tempos of the contestants.

     

  • Amrita TV to start airing family chat show ‘Malayali Durbar’ from 12 July

    Amrita TV to start airing family chat show ‘Malayali Durbar’ from 12 July

    BENGALURU: Malayalam channel Amrita TV will start airing a weekly family chat show Malayali Durbar (MD) every Saturday during the primetime slot of 8-9 pm starting 12 July. The show will focus on family and social issues. MD replaces the reality show Super Star Junior (SSJ).

     

     Amrita TV chief creative head Shyamaprasad said to www.indiantelevision.com, “Malayali Durbar must ideally be called a debate-show, instead of a typical talk-show, as this fun-filled programme uniquely stays clear of the usual expert jargons and the chaotic and numerous viewpoints presented on a typical talk-show. Here, an issue which has a relevance to every family, is debated with two sides clearly de-marked, eliciting laughter and plain speak.  The show presents a high energy, super-focused tussle between two opposing viewpoints, deftly steered by the inimitable comedian Maniyan Pilla Raju.”

     

    MD will be hosted by Mollywood actor and producer Maniyan Pillai Raju. Joining him on the show will be celebrity couples; along with real life parents, spouses, children, siblings who could be expressing their views on a wide range of subjects that plague Kerala society in particular, and Indian families in general.

     

    According to the channel, some of the topics that could be discussed include -How do mothers deal with the aspirations of their teenage daughters when they come into conflict with their own beliefs? Which are the areas and what are the degrees to which working spouses should agree with each other’s judgments on matters? Is the growing extravagance on weddings a necessary evil in today’s social fabric? A post mortem of a divorce, 10 years later—do things look different in retrospect for the parted spouses?

     

    The channel says that the format of the show envisages formation of opinion groups, where the male celebrity may team up with the husbands, while the female celebrity joins hands with the wives. Or a celebrity mother may join forces with the mothers in the show, whereas the daughter of the celebrity will become a votary for the youth in the show. The host will use his dexterity and experience in navigating the issue at hand to a judicious conclusion.

     

    MD is produced by Supa Sudhakaran, who has been with Amrita TV since its inception in 2005, and has produced and directed independently four shows ranging from a reality show on citizen journalism viz Amrita TV’s Best Citizen Journalist to the currently running social justice real-life show on prime time, Kathayalla Ithu Jeevitham.

     

    The channel is in talks with sponsors for the show and will be announcing the title sponsor soon revealed a source at Amrita TV.  Advertisers on SSJ included Chungath Jewellery, Britannia Nutrichoice, Lamiya, Santoor and Pooja Bumper Lottery. The channel is confident of bringing them along with other brands on board for MD.

  • Christmas Exclusives on Amrita TV

    Christmas Exclusives on Amrita TV

    MUMBAI: To celebrate Christmas with its viewers worldwide, Amrita TV has scheduled an exclusive fare of programmes which include a Christmas Concert, telecast of Christmas proceedings from a well-known church, a series of Hollywood-produced films on Biblical characters ,programmes related to the Christian fraternity and a new look-screen with Santa Claus and kids being featured as graphics in the channel throughout the Christmas festivities.

    Some of the notable programmes, are the telecast of “Gloria Deo International Concert” ,billed as the biggest Christmas Concert in South India with musicians from across the world like Beny Prasad,an internationally acclaimed musician who has developed a unique 51-string guitar and has performed at Olympics and FIFA, and toured over 100 countries; Cindy Wilcox,Professor Music ,Liberty University and musician from UK, and Emaurie Woods blue black singer from USA–alongwith Boney, musician ,Live Jam ,Trivandrum and the Super Star troupe of Stephen at the key board,Sangeeth and Job.

    The program is telecast on Sunday 24 December on Amrita TV .On Sunday itself there is an exclusive programme with well-known playback and classical singer Yesudas who talks to Amrita TV in the company of his family and friends in the program “Samagamam”.

    On Christmas Day,Amrita TV is serializing “Bible Stories ” in Malayalam on Jesus,Jacob and David which will be telecast on prime time for a fortnight (Mon-Fri .7.30 pm).A Hollywood production,it features an international cast .On 25th a Special Xmas episode of its latest reality show ,”Super Star Junior” will be telecast at 8 pm .

    This special episode will be for 90 minutes and, will for the first time, introduce the shortlisted junior contestants from the thousands who were auditioned for the show in the 10-15 age group.These children under the direction of music directors, Deepak Dev,George Peter,Alphonse will host a Christmas show.

    On the same day, “Music Cafe”will feature Christmas Carols with top musicians from South India; while “Sruthilayam”,a classical music programme will feature a Christian priest singing classical songs.

  • Amrita TV plans airing movies in half hour episodes aka soaps

    Amrita TV plans airing movies in half hour episodes aka soaps

    BENGALURU: In probably what could be the first for a south Indian TV channel, Kerala’s Amrita TV plans to start airing movies during the primetime slot of 9-9.30pm, Monday to Thursday starting 23 June. The programme is titled ‘Katha Thudarunnu’ (KT) which means ‘The Story Continues.’

     

    To start with, Amrita TV plans to air a couple of movies, with each movie running into 6-8 episodes, depending on the length of the film. The first season may continue till August. Since the channel airs a two-minute, half-hourly news bulletin round the clock (“Spot News”), the show/ad/news split will be 22/6/2 minutes.

     

    “As viewing habits and content-mix undergo periodic flux in the small screen landscape, Amrita TV has decided on probing consumer preferences through an innovative move in a serialized movie format by way of the show, ‘Katha Thudarunnu.’ The moot question is whether a viewer who is willing to remain glued to long-winding soaps for months on end, will show the same involvement for a serialized movie with film stars for a week or two, especially, with a built-in continuity element by way of an anchor-prelude to each episode,” says Amrita TV global head (M&C) A. Sushil Kumar.

     

    “Basically, Amrita TV is trying an experiment by pushing the envelope, and not banking on the low-hanging fruit alone. In fact, in Malayalam television, Amrita has taken calculated risks and pioneered many ‘firsts’, thereby winning 61 State Awards-the highest for any Indian private broadcaster in just eight years,” explains a source at the channel.

     

    Every episode will be prefaced with an update of what has transpired in the earlier episodes, for the benefit of those who may have missed an episode or two says the channel. Unlike the normal viewing of a movie where a viewer has to make available 2-3 hours at a stretch to see the movie, in this format the audience will have the flexibility to watch it across a few days without losing continuity.

     

     The first movie to be aired will be a new generation Malayalam hit ‘Bicycle Thieves,’ directed by Jis Joy, featuring hotshot stars such as Asif Ali and Aparna Gopinath.

     

     The new show will replace the serial ‘Suryakaladi’, which will culminate the 136 episodes run on 19 June. While the chief sponsor for ‘Suryakaladi’ was Kerala State Financial Enterprises, sources at Amrita TV say that confirmation for sponsorships for KT is expected by 20 June.

  • Amrita TV announces couples avatar of ‘Let’s Dance’ reality show

    Amrita TV announces couples avatar of ‘Let’s Dance’ reality show

    BENGALURU: Malayalam television channel, Amrita TV, has called for entries from couples for a new edition of its reality show ‘Let’s Dance’.

     

    Amrita TV creative head and Malayalam film director Shyamaprasad says, “The enthusiasm from the youth across the state, in hundreds, proves to us that this show has an engaged audience. Dancing in pairs, with musical support from the rich repertoire of South Indian films creates such emotional rapport with the audience and hence I believe there is this clamour for more, which lead us to launch Lets Dance new season.”

     

    The competition, which will include a wide range of different and international dance styles, will be a round-by-round elimination contest says the channel. A team can comprise of pairs in the 15-30 age group. The last date for receiving entries is June 15.

     

     The channel says that while the earlier trendsetting shows of Amrita TV ‘Super Dancer’ and ‘Super Dancer Junior’ nurtured individual dancing talent, the new show would focus on encouraging pairs to showcase their skills, with professional choreographers of contestants working with each team to infuse innovation and energy to the show.

     

    The channel has not yet announced sponsorship and advertiser details for the new show that will be aired Monday to Thursday between 7 and 8 pm starting 21 July with 100 episodes planned. For the earlier avatars of the show, Amrita TV had roped in Kerala based Prime Footwear as sponsor. The show replaces season two of ‘Let’s Dance’. The channel plans to continue with Malayalam actress Sija Rose as anchor.

     

    “We have received entries from over 500 pairs across Kerala and expect many more. Twenty couples will make it to the show and the final pair will emerge victorious over a span of about 100 one hour episodes,” reveals a source at Amrita TV.

     

     “’Let’s Dance’ will be mounted on spectacular sets with dazzling lights, LED Walls and stunning sound systems. The show’s format will throw open immense opportunities to competing  pairs and enable them to showcase a  variety of Indian, cultural and international dance styles ranging across a broad spectrum of classical, contemporary, Bollywood, hip-hop, jazz, Kalarippayattu, Salsa, Samba and musical theatre styles, amongst others, with many sub-genres within these categories represented,” adds the source.

  • Amrita TV announces ‘Let’s Dance’: reality show for pairs

    Amrita TV announces ‘Let’s Dance’: reality show for pairs

    MUMBAI: Amrita TV is inviting entries for its latest dance reality show for Pairs, ‘Let’s Dance’ .The unique feature of this talent hunt is that contestants can comprise pairs of male& female or husband & wife, or boys or girls in the 15-30 age group.

    While the earlier trendsetting shows of Amrita TV ‘Super Dancer’ and ‘Super Dancer Junior’ nurtured individual dancing talent, the new show would focus on encouraging pairs to showcase their skills, with professional choreographers of contestants working with each team to infuse innovation and energy to the show. The competition, which will include a wide range of different and international dance styles, will be a round-by-round elimination contest.

     

    ‘Let’s Dance’ is designed to be a dance lover’s dream show open to aspirants across India and the gulf who can meet the protocols of the show. The show would feature performances by various distinctive dancers and is expected to have a wide variety of participants. An expert panel consisting of renowned choreographers and celebrities would be the judges for the contest. 

     
    The show’s format will throw open immense opportunities to competing  pairs and enable them to showcase a  variety of Indian, cultural and international dance styles ranging across a broad spectrum of classical, contemporary, Bollywood, hip-hop, jazz, Kalarippayattu, Salsa, Samba and musical theatre styles, amongst others, with many sub-genres within these categories represented.

     
    ‘Let’s Dance’ will be mounted on spectacular sets with dazzling lights , LED Walls and stunning sound systems. The Last Date for receiving Entries is 15-06-14. More info at     www.amritatv.com/ld