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  • English entertainment & movie channels’ line-up this New Year

    English entertainment & movie channels’ line-up this New Year

    MUMBAI: Taking the Christmas cheer into the New Year, which will be sprinkled with splendid celebrations across every corner of the world, English entertainment and movie channels have also gone that extra mile to wind up 2015 for its viewers.

    What’s in store for viewers are power packed shows and movies as a New Year treat. As we bid farewell to 2015, those who are staying put at home in front of the television on New Year’s eve as well as the first day of 2016, here’s what lined up for that extra doze of enjoyment in terms of movies and shows across English channels.

    Read on:

    AXN

    The English entertainment channel will enthral viewers with its midnight marathon by airing the sixth season of Sex and the City on 1 and 2 January, 2016 as the New Year special programming from 12 am to 5 am.

    The channel will also telecast the first season of Limitless on 1 January from 11 am to 8 pm. The show portrays a man who gains the ability to use the full extent of his brain’s capabilities.

    Colors Infinity

    The recently launched English entertainment channel will air Mr. Robot on 31 December, 2015 starting from 2 pm all day long. Elliot Alderson is a young cyber-security engineer living in New York, who assumes the role of a vigilante hacker by night. Elliot meets a mysterious anarchist known as Mr. Robot who recruits Elliot to join his team of hackers, named ‘fsociety.’

    Comedy Central

    The year-end will showcase the best of comedy aired on Comedy Central throughout 2015. The channel will air season 1 of Mom, an award winning mother-daughter comedy on 31 December, 2015 from 6 pm to 8 pm. The show follows the story of single mom Christy played by Anna Faris and her battle against alcoholism and drug abuse.

    The channel will also air season 3 of Citizen Khan from 8 pm to 10 pm. The story revolves around a family after it arrives back from a trip to Pakistan, Mr Khan’s mother-in-law announces she wants to move into a home. When Sam, the head of a local care centre arrives, Mr Khan is over-the-moon. That is, until he discovers the mother-in-law may be worth some money. With the help of son-in-law-to-be Amjad, a ridiculous disguise and a spying mission, Mr Khan tries to stop naani moving out at all costs.

    FX

    FX, for the very first time in India will premiere a funny yet terrifying prank show, Scare Tactics on 1 January at 8 pm. Scare Tactics is a hidden camera prank show that puts victims into terrifying situations, usually involving movie-style special effects and makeup that recreates horror movie clichés. The victims, generally four per episode, are set up by friends and/or family in tandem with the producers.

    The channel will also premiere The X-Files – Essential Collection, starting from 1 – 28 January, 2016 every Monday to Friday at 11 pm. The series will consist of 20 selected episodes from previous seasons of The X Files personally chosen and curated by original series creator, Chris Carter along with some never-seen-before footage as a build-up to the all-new miniseries of the cult sci-fi show releasing in 2016!

    Movies Now

    Movies Now, as part of 100 Mania, will air Man of Steel at 9 pm on 31 December. The channel will also add an extra element of excitement for its viewers by giving out an iPhone 6S as a prize on the day.

    Additionally, MN+ will treat its viewers by premiering Kate Winslet’s Little Chaos at 9 pm on New Year’s Eve.

    The channel will also hold the mega-premiere of the Hollywood comedy, That Awkward Moment on 1 January at 11 pm. The movie stars Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller, and is written and directed by Tom Gormican.

    The movie revolves around three best friends and the turmoil’s of their relationships, which results in them deciding to stay single and enjoy life. Things however change when the boys Jason, Daniel and Mikey start juggling their single life with their romantic interest as things get really awkward for them to handle.

    Romedy Now

    The channel will add to the joy of New Year by airing the widely loved show How I Met Your Mother all day long from 9 am to 9 pm. The channel will also premiere She’s Funny That Way at 9 pm.

    Star Movies

    The channel is all geared up with an exciting line-up of best of Hollywood movies this New Year. The channel for its 31 December schedule will air Exodus: Gods and Kings at 1 pm followed by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes at 5 pm. Next in line is Real Steel, which will be aired at 7 pm followed by Titanic at 9 pm.

    On 1 January, the channel will premiere X-Men at 2 pm followed with Fantastic Four at 4 pm. X2: X-Men United will see its broadcast at 6 pm with X-Men: Days of Future Past scheduled next.

    Star Movies Select HD

    Star Movies Select HD will air a few blockbuster hits on 31 December starting with Tangled at 5 pm followed by Wall Street at 7 pm. The next in line is The Bourne Supremacy at 9 pm and Gone Girl at 11 pm.

    The channel, for its 1 January treat, will air movies like Mary Poppins at 11 am followed by The Grand Budapest Hotel at 1 pm. The heart-warming movie, Fault in our Stars will be telecast at 5 pm. Viewers will also be able to enjoy other movies like Remember the Titans at 7 pm, Snow White and the Huntsmen at 9 pm and Alan Partridge: The Movie at 11 pm.

    Star World Premiere HD

    The channel has lined up a row of special programming reflecting the spirit of celebration called, Mad Hatter’s Party. The party will begin on 31 December from 12 pm onwards with season 1 of Muppets. The show includes characters Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Waldorf, Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the bear and many more as the cast.

    The Muppets serves as a parody of other mockumentary-style series, such as Modern Family, Parks and Recreation andThe Office, by employing the same single-camera setup filming style with the implication of a documentary crew filming everyone.

    The channel will also air season 7 of Modern Family on 1 January at 12 pm. The show known for its crazy antics among the members of the Dunphy and Pritchett families follows their daily lives as they deal with ups and downs in hilarious ways just like modern-day families in real-life who encounter various situations every day.

    Star World

    Star World and Star World HD, following an online poll asking viewers to pick the show they’d like to watch, will air back-to-back episodes of Two Broke Girls on 31 December and 1 January from 12 pm onwards. The poll, #YouPickTheShow wherein the channel had asked the users to vote for their favourite show was conducted via Star World’s digital properties and the choices given to the viewers were: Two and a Half Men season 12, Two Broke Girlsseason 4 and Melissa & Joey season 4.

  • AXN lines up three seasons of ‘Sherlock’ back to back

    AXN lines up three seasons of ‘Sherlock’ back to back

    MUMBAI: AXN is gearing up to enthral the audience this festive season by airing all three seasons of Sherlock in a row. The initiative for the binge watchers titled as Sherlock Thrillathon will be from 25 – 27 December from 12 – 6 pm.

     

    Sherlock is the crime drama series starring the duo Sherlock and Dr. Watson played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman respectively. With Sherlock’s new special episode titled as The Abominable Bride around the corner, the channel is geared up to take fans on the nostalgic ride with back-to-back episodes of Sherlock seasons 1, 2 and 3.

     

    The channel will continue the trend into New Year, by airing back-to-back episodes of Sex and The City starting New Year midnight. The channel will also air back-to-back episodes of Bradley Cooper starrer Limitless the entire day on 1 January, 2016. 

  • Brands ride on Comic Con’s super powers

    Brands ride on Comic Con’s super powers

    MUMBAI: “Comic Con didn’t run profitably for us for the past four years, but with how things went this year, we are hoping to break even and touch profit very soon,” said Comic Con India founder Jatin Verma, as the curtains came down on the biggest comic  gala in Mumbai.

     

    With Mumbai Comic Con 2015 enjoying a footfall of over 30,000, Verma’s wish doesn’t seem far off, which is saying something in a country where the culture of Comic Conventions has a long way to catch up with its international counterparts. 

     

    This year even though approximately 5000 more people turned up at the event compared to last year, ticket sales isn’t  the only factor to the convention’s commercial success this year. Comic Con 2015 has been able to get several brands on board.

     

    “This is the first time we have actually brought in sponsors on board. For the last few years we didn’t really pitch ourselves to sponsors, because even internationally Comic Con is not presented and driven by any brand. That is because conventions in US market are not as rare. But knee jerk reaction to such an event in India is different. Therefore, we had to amend our business model and expand our sources of revenue by actively creating outright sponsorships. We created a special team within our advertising and sales department that actively sought out sponsors.”

     

    Bringing in Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 was the biggest turn round for this year’s Comic Con, says Verma. Maruti Suzuki as the main sponsor fit the bill as 60 per cent of the people attending fall under the automobile brand’s target consumer base.

     

    “There are quite a few brands on board with us this year but our biggest sponsor for this year is Maruti Suzuki. We have exhibitor tie up with Myntra. We have also tied up with Ola, where in return for our partnership, the cab providers offer free rides to anyone in Mumbai to attend Mumbai Comic Con 2015,” Verma adds.

     

    Additionally the event also saw attractive booths from AXN wherein the channel showcased its popular shows that enjoy cult following in an interactive way. The anticipation for the seventh installment in the epic franchise series, Star Wars: The Force Awakens could also be seen as several brands rode the Star Wars bandwagon throughout the event.

     

    What puts brands at an advantage with their association with the convention is the ability to reach out to their target consumers through Comic Con, is the niche crowd that comes to the events in great number. 

     

    By associating with Comic Con, brands get to make an impactful impression on consumers by presenting them an opportunity to connect with their favourite character, series or creator. Something that Comic Con calls, “Give your brand super power.”

     

    “We get close to 150,000 people coming to the conventions across the country in a year. The demography that visit Comic Con spend Rs 2000 – 3000 on an average whenever they attend. From the middle class to upper middle class and above, those who visit are mostly young college goers and professionals in their mid and late 20s. Moreover, on an average they spend 6 to 7 hours at the event. Therefore, in return for their association with Comic Con, they not only get over a lakh of eyeballs, they can bond with their consumers by riding on the fanfare the visitors have for their super hero,” says Verma, adding that what separates Comic Con from a general promotion at a mall is the consumer engagement.

     

    “Be it a start up or a well established brand, it is a great opportunity for them to connect with an audience that is focused and ready to engage. Especially going by return on investment (ROI) when you compare the cost of getting that engagement, Comic Con gives brands such eyeballs much cheaper,” he adds.

     

    While Verma doesn’t reveal exact figures of the convention’s sponsorship deals and other brand partnerships, he does give an estimate on the total revenue that is covered by sponsorship. 

     

    “The contribution of the sponsors towards the entire expenditure to setup Comic Con entirely depends on the brands on board. While in general it would be 15 per cent, but an associate sponsorship contributes around 30 per cent of the total cost,” he shares.

     

    The cost also includes marketing cost incurred by the organisers for the convention. In terms of promotions, Comic Con naturally went digital heavy, as the target group are active netizens. “We don’t have a huge budget for marketing, so we had to use the resources we had at our disposal. Luckily we have a good ecosystem in place that helps us get more visibility. We rely a lot on on-ground activations and word of mouth to reach out to our target group,” Verma says.

     

    However, having said that he shares that a considerable amount of the total budget was kept aside for marketing. “We keep about 20 to 30 per cent of our total spends on marketing, and sometimes even more depending on the city we are in,” he adds in parting.

  • MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM), which was earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, has now rebranded itself as Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India as the company marks its 20th year of operations in the country.

     

    The rebranding, which also signifies a complete alignment with its parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment, comes as a shot of adrenaline as the company has now trained its eyes on three key levers namely general entertainment, sports and digital.

     

    “With a comprehensive bouquet of varied channels and aggressive growth plans, including new genres and expansion of our distribution footprint, we are equipping ourselves to serve our viewers in urban areas, in rural areas and across global geographies. Overall, our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television & digital entertainment,” said Sony Pictures Networks India CEO NP Singh.

     

    The rebranding was announced earlier but as the company was awaiting due approvals, the network continued to operate as MSM. From today (14 December, 2015), the network will use its new identity.

     

    “After 20 years of successfully experimenting with many firsts including redefining how cinema and cricket are viewed on Indian television, Multi Screen Media has renamed itself as Sony Pictures Networks India. The new name reflects an integrated brand alignment as it allows us to leverage the strength of the Sony parentage. Naturally, we are guided by a new wave of optimism as we set forth on a journey of exploring new vistas of entertainment,” added Singh.

     

    Singh went on to say that the company will adopt a six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers with more channels, more genres, more content, more movies, more digital and more television.

     

    “This is our six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers whose hopes and expectations, we are aiming, to exceed. Our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television and digital entertainment in the country,” he said.

     

    It may be recalled that earlier this year, the company also clinched a joint venture deal with sportscaster ESPN, under which Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony ESPN. The two companies will also jointly launch other new channels as well as a co-branded localised multi-sport website and app in the coming months.

     

    Today, SPN’s bouquet includes a range of channels like Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Max, Max 2, Sab, Pix, AXN, Aath, Mix, Six and Kix as well as the digital entertainment channel Liv.

     

    “We are priming ourselves to become the first choice of entertainment in the country. So, there is a new surge wave of optimism that is guiding us. We’re now poised to leverage our experiential credibility to do more for our audiences,” Singh says.

  • AXN to launch ‘Ray Donovan’ on 7 December

    AXN to launch ‘Ray Donovan’ on 7 December

    MUMBAI: AXN is gearing up to launch the American television series Ray Donovan on 7 December. 

     

    The series will be aired from Monday to Friday at 11 pm.

     

    Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber as the lead. He is portrayed as a guy who makes the problems of the city’s celebrities, superstar athletes, and business moguls disappear.

     

    The show also stars Jon Voight, who portrays the role of Ray’s father named as Mickey Donovan. 

     

    The series narrates the story of Ray Donovan who is a professional fixer for the rich and famous of Los Angeles. The character is portrayed as a cool and sophisticated person but at the same time is shown quite ruthless. Ray continues to seek balance between the demands of his family, including his volatile relationship with Mickey and his adamant and attractive Hollywood clients.

     

    The channel has planned a 360 degree campaign including on-air, social media and on-ground to promote the show. The channel also aims to further strengthen its core consumer engagement beyond television.

  • AXN is official TV partner for Comic Con India 2015

    AXN is official TV partner for Comic Con India 2015

    MUMBAI: English entertainment channel AXN has collaborated with a comic based convention Comic Con India for its Delhi and Mumbai edition of 2015.

     

    The channel is the exclusive television partner for the Delhi Comic Con from 4 to 6 December 2015 whereas the Mumbai Film and Comic Con will be held from 19 to 20 December at Bombay Exhibition Centre.

     

    The channel has arranged a dedicated zone to uniquely engage with the fans and visitors of Comic Con India both in Delhi and Mumbai. It has also created an experiential photo booth called the AXN Wall of Hunks wherein viewers can click pictures with their favourite characters. Onlookers can participate in the customised character interaction opportunity and win exclusive AXN goodies. The event will also see the widely loved characters at the zone. 

     

    AXN will also host two special experiential activities at the AXN zone with Ray Donovan and Hannibal. The Donovan’s Fight Club will have fans punching their way through a challenge that will get them beat the power of Ray Donovan’s fists and be eligible to win exclusive Ray Donovan merchandise.

     

    The second innovative activation will have fans literally put their head on a platter at Hannibal’s very own dining table and get clicked.

     

    The channel will organise an exclusive AXN session on the main stage, wherein it will showcase the most iconic scenes of its key shows, followed by a quiz for the audience. AXN will also give a peek into the line-up of upcoming shows.

  • BARC week 46; AXN, Star Plus and Sun TV leads their genres

    BARC week 46; AXN, Star Plus and Sun TV leads their genres

    MUMBAI: Sun TV leads the ratings across genres (check). Star Plus dominates the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) while AXN emerged as the number one channel in week 46 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, all India (U + R) data. 

     

    Sun TV leads with 1042012 (000Sums) followed by Star Plus on second spot with 864288 (000Sums) and Colors in the third place with 751722 (000Sums). Zee Anmol, the free to air (FTA) channel of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), grabbed the fourth place 720000 (000Sums). Zee TV, Star Ustav and Sony Max bagged fifth, sixth and seventh berth with 708635 (000Sums), 520093 (000Sums) and 516832 (000Sums) respectively.  Sony Entertainment Television’s movie channel Sony Max, Life OK, ETV Telugu and ZEEL’s movie channel Zee Cinema  garnered seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth spot with 516832 (000Sums), 489691 (000Sums), 471478 (000Sums) and 437419(000Sums) respectively.  

     

    Hindi GECs

    Star Plus with a rise in ratings led the Hindi GEC genre with 795810 (000Sums) followed by Zee Anmol at the second position with 719433 (000Sums) and Colors on third spot with 708918 (000Sums). ZEEL’s entertainment channel Zee TV bagged the fourth position with 647845 (000Sums). Star India’s FTA channel Star Utsav grabbed the fifth berth with 518725 (000Sums). Life OK and Sony Entertainment Television garnered sixth and seventh berth with 477905 (000Sums) and 388715 (000Sums) respectively. Sony Pal , Sab TV and Rishtey bagged eighth, ninth and tenth slot with 359570 (000Sums), 357130 (000Sums)and 318657(000Sums) respectively.   

     

    English GECs

     

    AXN emerged as the number one channel and secured the leading position in the genre with 223 (000Sums) followed by Star World on second place with 174 (000Sums) and Zee Café on third spot with 128 (000Sums). Comedy Central and Colors Infinity SD grabbed the fourth and fifth slot with 86 (000Sums) and 69 (000Sums) respectively.

  • BARC Week 45: Sun TV remains the forerunner across genres, Star World and Star Plus dominate English and Hindi GEC

    BARC Week 45: Sun TV remains the forerunner across genres, Star World and Star Plus dominate English and Hindi GEC

    MUMBAI: Sun TV remained at the pole position across all genres. Star plus continued to lead the Hindi general entertainment channel (GECs) genre. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (Zeel) free to air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol bagged the second  place this week also. Color gained a place to the third spot whereas Zee TV  fell to fourth place in week 45 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India all India (U + R) data. In the English GEC genre Star World continued to lead.

     

    Hindi GECs:

     

    Star Plus led the Hindi GEC genre with 748197 (000Sums), while Zee Anmol bagged the second position with 717923 (000Sums).  Colors secured third spot with 656542 (000Sums), Zee TV fell to fourth position with 638475 (000Sums), followed by STAR Utsav gaining one spot and rising to fifth place  with 499228 (000Sums).

     

    Life Ok fell to sixth place with 441912 (000Sums). FTA channel Sony Sab stood at the sixth spot with 337535 (000Sums), whereas Sony Pal slipped to seventh position with 306217 (000Sums). Sony Entertainment Television climbed down to eighth spot with 301587 (000Sums), while Rishtey remained at the tenth slot as in previous week with 282623 (000Sums). 

     

    English GECs: 

     

    Star World bagged the first position with 174 (000Sums) followed by Comedy Central with 165 (000Sums). AXN  slipped to third position with 158 (000Sums). Zee Café  came down to fourth position with 146 (000Sums) whereas Colors Infinity SD stood at fifth position with 97 (000Sums) 

     

    Regional Channels:

     

    Zee Marathi lead in the Marathi channels genre  with 135219 (000Sums), while the second spot was bagged by Colors Marathi with 67544 (000Sums). The third spot was gained by Zee Talkies with 64649 (000Sums) followed by Star Pravah with 47330 (000Sums) at fourth position. The fifth place was bagged by Maiboli with 24298 (000Sums). 

     

    In the Tamil Regional channels genre, Sun TV retrained the first spot with 1108892 (000Sums).  KTV bagged the second spot with 360611 (000Sums) followed by Star Vijay  on third spot with 208399 (000Sums). Fourth and Fifth spots were bagged by Polimer with 110618 (000Sums) and Jaya TV with 103161 (000Sums).

  • AXN upgrades weekend entertainment with Limitless and season 4 of Elementary

    AXN upgrades weekend entertainment with Limitless and season 4 of Elementary

    MUMBAI: AXN, the English entertainment channel, is bringing two new shows for its ‘Fresh From The U.S.’ slot -Limitless and season 4 of Elementary. Limitless will premiere on 21 November 2015 and can be seen every Saturday at 11 pm and Elementary will air on 22 November at 10 pm.

     

    Talking about the two new shows, Sony PIX & AXN India executive vice-president and business head Saurabh Yagnik said, “In order to cater to the TG who seeks new and latest content that airs day-and-date with the U.S., we had created a specific slot – ‘Fresh From The U.S.’ – wherein we have been programming the freshest shows and their latest seasons over the weekends. This exclusive slot is a perfect getaway for viewers to experience new, fresh stories, never-seen-before on Indian television. With premieres of iconic shows like Limitless and Elementary (Season 4), we continue to live up to the brand promise of providing a thrilling entertainment experience.”

     

    Elementary stars Jonny Lee Miller as detective Sherlock Holmes and Lucy Liu as Dr. Joan Watson. Elementary is the modern-day drama about a crime-solving duo that cracks NYPD’s most impossible cases. In this season, Holmes and Watson must rely upon one another to rebuild their lives, notwithstanding the untimely return of Sherlock’s estranged but wealthy father, Morland Holmes. 

     

    Limitless a spinoff of the 2011 thriller of the same name, features Jake McDorman and Jennifer Carpenter as the leads and is produced by Bradley Cooper, the original main character from the film, plays U.S. Senator Eddie Morra. In the show, protagonist Brian Finch, played by Jake McDorman, is seen discovering the brain-boosting power of the mysterious drug NZT. He is then forced by the FBI into using his extraordinary cognitive abilities to solve complex cases for them. 

     

    Limitless debuted in the US on September 22, 2015. On October 23, 2015, CBS picked up Limitless for a full season of 22 episodes. It airs on CBS every Tuesday night. 

  • BARC week 43: AXN jumps to No. 1 slot; Comedy Central drops

    BARC week 43: AXN jumps to No. 1 slot; Comedy Central drops

    MUMBAI: AXN secured leadership position in the English general entertainment channel (GECs) genre, while last week’s chart topper Comedy Central went three steps down to settle at the fourth slot in the tally according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India data (U+R) in week 43.

     

    AXN led the English GEC genre with 196 (000Sums) followed by Star World in the second slot with 96 (000Sums) followed by Zee Cafe with 90 (000Sums).

     

    Comedy Central, which was on the top in the week 42, secured the fourth slot with 82 (000Sums), whereas Colors Infinity SD with 54 (000Sums) bagged the fifth berth in week 43.