ITV

Tag: B Shankar

  • Raj TV plans major restructuring, B Shankar rejoins from Turner

    Raj TV plans major restructuring, B Shankar rejoins from Turner

    MUMBAI: Raj TV has undertaken major restructuring for its top mangement. The first step is the re-appointment of B Shankar, who joins as vice president sales and marketing from Turner International India where he was director sales western India.

    Shankar joined Turner in January last year, prior to which he was with Raj TV in the capacity of national sales head – Mumbai. Shankar’s last day at Turner was 10 January and he will be taking on his new responsibility at Raj TV from 24 January.

    Apart from this, Vissa TV head R Radhakrishnan has been made Raj TV vice president brand development and research. Radhakrishnan will also be taking on his new responsibility from 24 January.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Raj TV CEO Rajiv Nambiar says, “We are in the process of restructuring our organisation and were looking for an all India sales head. Since we had an old relationship with Shankar, we roped him in.”

    Nambiar informs that they will also be making more appointments in the programming, production, management and value added services’ areas. Citing the reason for this, he says, “The year 2004 saw competition hotting up in the South and hence for obvious reason we decided to take this move. We will be converging our team between 24 – 30 January and will be chalking out our growth strategy.”

    Both Shankar and Radhakrishnan will be reporting to Nambiar.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Shankar says, “I always wanted to be in the all India broadcast league and that was the reason why I put in my papers at Turner International, where I was only handling western India. With my new responsibility at Raj TV, apart from handling the all India sales and marketing for the channel, I will also be closely involved with new programming initiatives and creative execution. Hence, I will be playing a larger role.”

    Shankar will also be involved in building the channel’s international business and will be handling the Sri Lanka market. Speaking on his association with Turner, he says, “It has been a great experience to work with Turner’s team and I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay there.”

    Turner International India vice president all India advertising sales Monica Tata, on the other hand says, “Shankar worked closely with our team at Turner and we wish him the best of luck for the future. The details of his replacement are still under process and hence cannot be shared at the moment.”

  • Raj TV to celebrate Tamil Superstar Rajnikant’s Birthday

    Raj TV to celebrate Tamil Superstar Rajnikant’s Birthday

    MUMBAI: Its birthday time at Raj TV this December. The Tamil entertainment channel will celebrate Rajnikant’s birthday on 12 December with a non-stop Rajnikant bonanza.
    The channel has will air a Rajnikant blockbuster film at 1:30 pm on 12 December 2003.

    When asked Raj TV sales head B Shankar offered that the channel has arranged for a 20 minute special program consisting of sound bytes of Rajnikant’s favorite co-stars, directors and actors but he refused to reveal the block buster movie. He said that it was a ‘big surprise’.

    Raj TV will also be airing the vignette with a Rajnikant’s fans wishing the super star their experience on Rajnikant’s Films and lot of exciting clippings from super star’s super hit films

    The 53 year old actor started off his career as a film star with Aboorva Ragangal in 1973. With over 149 Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Telugu films to his credit, latest movie to hit the screens is 2002’s Baba.

    He was awarded the super star status in 1982. Amongst his blockbusters include Kaali, Johny, Nettrikann, Naan Sigapu Manidhan, Annamalai, Baasha, and Mannan. Winner of two Tamil Nadu state awards and Padmabhushan, the actor is known for his mannerisms, style and stunt.

  • Raj TV claims Friday blockbusters have made it No. 2 in Tamil Nadu

    Raj TV claims Friday blockbusters have made it No. 2 in Tamil Nadu

    MUMBAI: Movies – that magical formula to help viewers stay glued to the TV set – are swinging the pendulum in favour of Raj TV in the the southern state of Tamil Nadu. TN has Sun TV as the undisputed leader. But there is a scramble for the number two slot between the rest. And it is Raj TV which is edging ahead, claims the channel, citing TAM audience share and viewership data for its Friday night blockbuster movies.

    Raj Television Network head – national sales B Shankar says: “Raj TV is adding credence to its claim of being the most cost-effective medium in Tamil Nadu. The film Kalatpaadai aired on its “Friday Blockbuster” slot (named as Velli Minnalgal) on the night of 4 April 2003 (8:01 pm) has placed it as the No. 2 channel in Chennai and Tamil Nadu in the cable and satellite (C&S) homes. It got a TVR of 6.88 in the C&S 4 years plus in Chennai.”

    Raj TV officials also point out that in the C&S 15 + all – Chennai market; Raj and KTV share the same honours with the same TVR of 5.13 for that particular day and timeslot. They add that in Tamil Nadu, Raj TV (with a TVR of 3.20) is running close to KTV (with a TVR of 4).

    “In short, Raj TV is a better buy than any other channel if you consider the parameter of cost effectiveness,” adds Shankar.

    However, it is important to note that TAM India data reveals that Sun TV still towers over Raj TV and the others.

    Shankar also points out that the film Minnale (aired on 28 March between 8:01pm and 23.59 pm), made Raj TV a clear No.2 channel in Chennai in the females 15 years+ SEC ABC category in C&S homes. Both Raj TV and KTV had a reach of 92,000 (TVR of 4.03) female viewers in the above category and a share of 13.17 per cent.

    TAM India data reveals that Sun TV leads the pack with a total viewership of 287,000 viewers and a TVR of 40.84.

    In the males 25 years + SEC AB category, Raj TV emerged as the clear No. 2 with a TVR of 2.57 and a share of 11.47 per cent as compared to Sun TV’s share of 34.4 per cent. In the all adults 25 years + SEC ABC category, however, Raj TV lagged behind Sun TV (42.55 per cent) and KTV (11.78 per cent) with a share of 10.75 per cent.

    Meanwhile, Raj TV’s Telugu channel called Vissa TV will launch on 23 May, 2003.

    “Raj TV is also planning a mega-event with south Indian superstar Vijay in seven towns. This is scheduled to start around the second week of May and will continue till third week of June. The event will be sponsored by Coca Cola and the co-sponsors include VIP Frenchie amongst others,” elaborates Shankar.

  • Raj TV ‘Friday Blockbusters’ to start in April

    MUMBAI: After Zee’s Thursday Premieres, it is time for “Friday Blockbusters” down south as Raj Television Network is planning to launch Velliminnalgal superhit feature films from 7 April 2003. These films will be shown at 8:01 pm and the list includes the latest blockbuster releases featuring Tamil superstars Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth and Prashanth.
    During the next quarter, the network will launch a Telugu channel Vissa TV (expected in June) and also has plans for a news channel which will commence operations by end-2003.
    The Friday Blockbuster Velliminnalgal will also coincide with the Tamil New Year in April which will be celebrated by a film (Vallarasu) starring superstar Vijayakanth.
    Raj Television Network head – national sales B Shankar spoke to indiantelevision.com about the new initiative. “We have lined an impressive list of films such as Kamal Hassan’s Tenali, Vijayakanth’s Vallarasu, Prashant’s Parthenrasiten and 5-Star amongst others. Raj TV will create waves by showing these blockbusters as something like this has never been attempted on the Tamil cable and satellite TV industry,” Shankar said.
    The network will increase “noise levels” by backing the Friday Blockbusters with a multi-media campaign estimated to be in the region of Rs 7 million. “We have finalised 50 hoarding sites all across Tamil Nadu. We will also advertise in print – Daily Thanti, Dina Malar and The Hindu to some extent. For the first time, Raj TV will use radio FM for the promotional campaign,” says Shankar.
    Market buzz also indicates that Raj Television Network is on the verge of finalising its ad agency and Mudra seems to be a leading contender. In fact, Hindustan Lever has already signed up as the title sponsor for the Friday Blockbuster.
    Raj TV is also gearing up to introduce other new offerings in the post cricket World Cup phase. In fact, it was buoyed by the fairly decent ratings for films such as 12B (aired on 7 March) and Ninaikatha Nallillai (aired on 14 March) which coincided with the World Cup. Advertisers such as Reckitt Benkiser and Paras had supported the March films.
    Channel officials claim to have conducted a coup of sorts by roping in ace director K Balachander (Minbinbingal Productions) to direct a daily soap called Rekkai Kattiyamanasu. This will be aired every day between Monday and Thursday at 8:30 pm. Officials claim that Raj TV’s existing soap Gitanjali (8 pm to 8:30 pm), an AVM productions, is already scaling peaks of popularity and is one of the top programmes on the channel.
    “Balachander is returning to the small screen after a long gap. The family soap is the biggest daily in terms of scale, production values and has been extensively shot all over India,” says Shankar, who remains tight-lipped about the storyline.
    Raj TV has also tied up with Jayashree Pictures, said to be close to super-star Rajnikanth, to produce a first-of-its-kind family suspense serial called Ennsattaninda Neram. This daily will be aired at 9 pm between Monday and Thursday.
    There are also plans to refurbish the quality of the afternoon slot and also the morning slot. Channel officials confirm that they have tied up with a leading national production house to create a breakfast programme in the 6:30 am-9 am slot. The programme will showcase interesting aspects of cultural hotspots in Tamil Nadu; issues related to health and fitness; problems faced by the common man; and feature celebrities in the world of performing arts.
    By July-end or the first week of August, the network will conduct its annual event – Mudalvan Awards – wherein the top students of class X and XII will be felicitated. “This is into its fourth year in succession and we have gained tremendous mileage from the earlier ones. Eminent personalities such as MK Stalin and J Krishnamoorthy have attended the function as chief guests,” says Shankar.
    As regards Raj TV’s new Telugu channel, Vissa TV, it will be a free-to-air channel and will be beamed via Thaicom satellite.
    The channel has reportedly earmarked an initial investment of Rs 500 million for the new channel with around Rs 250 million to be pumped in the coming months.