ITV

Tag: Aparna Bhosle

  • ZEEL’s &Privé HD channel to target upscale non-conformists in six metros

    ZEEL’s &Privé HD channel to target upscale non-conformists in six metros

    MUMBAI: There’s a thin sliver amongst  the hundreds of millions of cinema lovers in India that gorge on international independent and award winning films. Leading indian TV network Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) is about to offer them something that is going to keep them glued to their TV sets  when  &Privé HD launches come 24 September 2017. 

    “The breeze of change is seen as everyone is focusing on connoisseur, hedonist and explorers, but we are targeting the non-conformist,” says ZEEL English cluster head Aparna Bhosle.

    &Privé HD’s tagline is ‘Feel the Other Side’ which distinguishes it from others in the English movie channel  genre.

    With films  from 28 independent Hollywood players and studios such as Paramount and PVR, &Privé HD library boasts of 350 exclusive titles.

    &Privé HD, designed and packaged by Zink, a Canadian digital agency, will telecast over 40 premieres in six months after the launch. Moonlight will be the first premier on the launch day, airing on two time-slots — 1 and 9pm. Other premieres and movies on &Privé HD include:  Lion, Pele, Jackie, Arrival and Free State of Jones.

    “The English movies TV channel  market (in India) is worth Rs 4.5–Rs 6 billion; English content viewership (on HD channels) is on the rise,” points out Bhosle.

    &Privé HD is targeting the six metros and will be available on Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, and Sun TV. Zeel was in talks with Videocon d2h for distribution at the time of writing.

    “In 2015, India had five million HD STBs, which saw a 160 per cent increase over the past three years. Today, we have around 10.8 million HD STBs,” Bhosle revealed.

    The marketing and promotional campaign of &Privé HD has been drawn up by FCB Ulka. Zeel’s team has conjured an innovative out-of-the-box promotional plans for the niche channel, apart from pushing the launch TVC on all  sister-HD channels. Digital, print and OOH media are slated to start rolling out the messaging for &Privé HD.

    “Our digital platform has a reach of 14 million which will help us to increase our viewership. Our outdoor campaign will hit Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru on 18 September and multiplex promotions will start two days before the launch,” Bhosle adds.

    Attempts have been made to crack the niche genres in the past with efforts by the likes of NDTV with NDTV Lumiere, which lasted a couple of years, but was pulled off, despite critical appreciation, on account of a lack of a profitable business model. And since then others have entered like HBO Hits, Sony Le Plex and Star Movies Select HD.

    A media professional states that times are different now and discerning viewers – around two million of them in India – are willing to pay to watch exclusive differentiated content in HD as evident from the traction Amazon Prime and Netflix have got in recent times.  “Hence, it’s quite likely that if Zee sticks by &Privé HD and gives it time, it could end up finding a profitable niche for itself in, let’s say, the next three years,” she says.

    That’s how Indian movie lovers are hoping &Privé’s script will play out.

    ALSO READ :

    HBO and Epic enter whereas Zee Studio, Nat Geo Wild exit Top 5 list: BARC week 35

    C. Central leads, Sony Pix slips two slots & Zee Studio enters Top 5

    English Ent.: MNX leads & Zee Cafe retains top slot with significant drop

  • Zee Cafe targets 20-40-yr-olds with BBC First drama

    MUMBAI: Zee’s English entertainment channel Zee Café has partnered with BBC Worldwide to bring award-winning premium British drama to its audience. Starting from 26 June, the channel will host BBC First content block with 11 new shows set to air every weeknight at 10pm time slot.

    The channel has an ongoing deal with BBC for two years. For the Indian audience, the channel will bring another set of 16 British shows shortly.

    The new line-up of shows on Zee Café, the main sponsor of which is Nexa , includes: War & Peace, Fleming: The Man who would be Bond, Class, SS-GB, Maigret, Doctor Foster, Top of the Lake, The Kettering Incident, New Blood, From Darkness and Thirteen.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) Premium and FTA GEC business cluster head Aparna Bhosle said, “I will go with my gut feeling. I have lived in this country and I have seen this kind of content and I believe it’s going to work. You will not know unless you try it out. So, it’s a gut call.” “At the launch, we are starting with 11 shows, and around October, we are planning to launch another 16 new shows.”

    Speaking about the target audience, she mentioned that Zee Cafe’s high viewership comes from mega metros. “The 7-9pm prime time is working for the channel,” she added.

    “For a brand, the starting point is: what do you want to stand for. We launched the channel with the tagline ‘All Eyes On New’. Viewers of this genre are seeking more content. If we look at English GEC, it is largely American content. It’s a great fit for the brand, and we think that consumer will love it,” ZEEL domestic broadcast business CEO Punit Misra said.

    Zee Cafe’s marketing campaign will be largely run on digital platforms and the network’s channels. “The campaign will be focussed on big towns as the main viewership comes from those markets, according to measurement system. As English content viewing in India is rising day by day, 20-40 age-group in large towns, we think, will consume this kind of content,” Misra added.

    “We are delighted that Zee Café is bringing BBC First to India, which will bring the best of British creativity to an appreciative audience. This is a curation of critically acclaimed and award-winning original British drama, that will challenge perceptions though surprising storylines and unforgettable characters,” commented BBC Worldwide director – global brands and content marketing Julia Kenyon. “BBC First has been successful in countries where it has already launched, across Australia, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. We look forward to connecting with the Indian audience who know and enjoy premium drama,” she added.

    From compelling narratives to awe-inspiring characters, viewers will get to explore a rich & diverse variety of content. Not just that, they will also get to see versatile actors such as Rowan Atkinson popularly known as Mr. Bean, Dominic Cooper, Sam Riley, Kate Bosworth, Lily James and many more in the BBC First block.

  • ZEEL shifts Zindagi to VoD

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) has announced its decision to move its premium Hindi entertainment channel Zindagi from the television broadcast platform to its video-on-demand platform OZEE from 1 July 2017.

    This move has been announced with the objective to expand digital engagement with the audience who thrive on time-shifted viewing. With this, Zee is focussed on owning the full extent of the consumer’s premium and personal video experience.

    Zindagi will be exclusive on OZEE and showcase the best content in different genres from across the world with narratives which highlight the universality of emotions. The shows that will be available exclusively on OZEE and will include the popular shows Snowdrop, Descendants of the Sun, A Love Story and Total Dreamer. The original productions of Zindagi will also be available on OZEE.

    ZEE’s premium and FTA GEC channels business cluster head Aparna Bhosle said, “Zindagi is a thought leader in premium entertainment and the shift to digital is yet another example of innovation from ZEE. Today, content for our audiences is not just on television but also includes gaming, short form video clips and user generated content, amongst other forms. There are rapid technological advances that are changing viewing habits and content for our audiences can no longer be managed by a remote control. There is an existing consumer demand for viewing premium world content on the digital platforms and we want to reach out to these viewers. We want to stay connected and be relevant to them by providing them with more personalised and specific experiences as they are a discerning audience that prefers choice and control. Making it available exclusively on OZEE will enable us to deliver more distinctive and quality content to audiences on the move.”

    Zindagi, which had launched with the promise of bringing the best stories from across the world to Indian television screens, charmed viewers right from inception.

  • ZeeQ announces Kahaani Express for children

    ZeeQ announces Kahaani Express for children

    MUMBAI: ZeeQ has announced India’s first ever inter-school storytelling event ‘The Kahaani Express’to provide children an exciting opportunity to use their imagination and bring out their creativity. The channel is reaching out to children from classes 2nd – 7thin over 200 schools across 10 cities. Keeping in mind that the children are highly observant and imaginative; ZeeQ is looking at giving them a platform to express themselves.

     
    The Kahaani Express aims to reach out to 90,000 students across 10 cities within a span of 3 months. This first of its kind school contact programme, will have specially designed sessions for primary as well as secondary school students. An expert story teller will conduct the storytelling session which will include specially designed picture panels, story development techniques with props along with workshops under the guidance of facilitators. That’s not all; every participating school gets a special memento on behalf of ZeeQ.

     
    Speaking on this occasion Aparna Bhosle, Deputy Business Head, Zee exclaimed, “Storytelling is a great way to connect. It’s a platform through which a child can emote and evoke thoughts besides being fun, it enthuses, both the teller and listener. ZeeQ’s objective has always been to provide Mindfull-Masti and Kahaani Express is another step forward in this endeavor. Through Kahaani Express, we aim at nurturing this amazing quality of storytelling in children at an age when their minds are highly impressionable.”

     
    ZeeQ is planning a Pan India 360 degree marketing campaign for this activity which touches upon various medium such as on-air, digital and on-ground. The channel is conducting a story writing contest on-air as well as online to give other kids an opportunity to showcase their creativity.

     

  • Hungama TV names board of directors for this year

    Hungama TV names board of directors for this year

    MUMBAI: The former UTV owned kids channel Hungama TV made its first official announcement today following its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company. Hungama TV announced their annual selection of their board of directors called the Captains Club which includes ten children from across key cities who act both as a network of local information systems as well as official spokespersons for the channel.

    Representing Hungama TV was VP programming and production Aparna Bhosle who has recently joined the Disney bandwagon and will report Walt Disney Company (India) managing director Rajat Jain. Hungama TV however, appears to be scouting for a head. Bhosle declined to divulge details of the same.

    After coming under the Disney banner, gradual changes are likely to be expected in the acquired channel. However, both parties say that the positioning of the channel will remain the same. On the programming front, the first fruits of these changes are visible as Toon Disney’s Power Rangers series has been added to Hungama’s portfolio of shows, as of 1 January.

    In addition, driver properties on Hungama TV like Doreamon and Shinchan are likely to be pushed further with the support of Disney’s Consumer Products Division with merchandising activities on the anvil.

    When queried by Indiantelevision.com about the occurrence of a conflict of interest as being a natural outcome following the buy out, Bhosle said Hungama TV compliments the offerings of the Disney pair and so far there have been no such demands to implement any such adjustments.

    Kicking off the New Year, Hungama TV has been swift in getting down to business by taking the opinions of the newly appointed board of directors to plan for the year ahead. This board will meet on a quarterly basis to discuss business, an area in which they will be trained by industry experts from each of their local centers. They will also spearhead all local activities of the channel in each of their cities.

    What appears to be a glaring demand among these kids is the need for more live action content. Primarily governed by ‘tweens’, this board will act as a critique for the channel and keep them abreast of the growing competition.

    On speaking to the Captains some of them freely spoke of the changes they would like to see implemented on the channel. Being given priority is the live action show Hero, which the kids see as unrealistic and far fetched.

    Instead, they have suggested a more practical approach based on science rather than imagination. In additions, they also proposed that more on-ground activities need to be executed to drive kids to the channel. They will be required to put into perspective “What children want to see on television across the nation.” This is a culmination of a three month long event titled Parle G Hungama TV Captains Hunt 2006- 2007.

    Bhosle of course said that considering their suggestions has helped the channel in the past and that changes in live action content such as Hero are likely to be seen, as the core focus for the channel is the belief in “kid’s empowerment.”