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  • Mobile media company News Republic launches in India

    Mobile media company News Republic launches in India

    MUMBAI: News Republic, a global mobile media group and the winner of “The Best Mobile Media And Publishing App” at Mobile World Congress 2015, is set to enter the Indian market. This innovative, “born mobile” company has operations in America and Europe and it recently launched in both Russia and China.

     

    It will launch two free news apps: News Republic, which focuses on global news and Appy Geek, which will majorly bring technology news to the subscribers.

     

    Both apps deliver fully licensed articles, photos and videos from over 1100 leading news organizations from around the world like Reuters, BBC, AFP, Bloomberg, India Today, Guardian, HuffingtonPost and Mashable. The content can be fully personalized for a news flow uniquely customized for each reader in a beautiful and seamless mobile interface.

     

    “We are passionate about the news because it is connective tissue for humanity. Those who read better know better and do better. It is our mission to spark global conversations about issues that matter. And, no global conversation is complete without India,” said News Republic chief brand officer Shafi Saxena.

     

    India engages vibrantly with both news and mobile. It is the biggest newspaper market in the world with more than 70,000 newspapers. India’s unique visitors to online news and information sites grew 45 per cent, from 31 million in 2011 to 45 million in 2014 as per comScore data and mobile Internet users will number over 200 million by June. Mobile, with 24/7 access to content, will transform the media landscape.

     

    “We live in an age where connectivity risks connection. We’d like to change that. Too much information can overwhelm and result in what’s important going unseen, The News Republic team believes that Intelligently informed citizens become powerfully empowered citizens – this is what galvanizes us,” Saxena adds.

     

    “This is why News Republic hones its best in class semantic algorithms to deliver insightful, hyper-personalized news in a fast, contextual flow to our readers. You get the news that you care about without the noise that you don’t,” explains Saxena. 

     

    News Republic India country director Radhika Shukla will spearhead the company’s operations. Shukla will widen and deepen the company’s content and OEM partnerships to enrich user experience for Indian readers and to help bring Indian media perspectives to News Republic’s global audience. News Republic publishes 13 editions in six languages.

     

    In India, News Republic has partnered with Hindustan Times, India Today, Aaj Tak, Business Today, Sportskeeda.com, The Mobile Indian, trak.in, autoportal.com and Bollywood Hungama amongst others. Its apps also incorporate RSS feeds to cover specialized reader interests.

     

  • Home Ministry asks for updated directors list of downlinked TV channels to enable 10 year renewal

    Home Ministry asks for updated directors list of downlinked TV channels to enable 10 year renewal

    NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has asked all television channels and those managing teleports, whose downlinking permissions have expired after five years or is in the process of expiring by December this year, to furnish details afresh about their Board of Directors and key executives.

    As per a notice on the website of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the required information has to be filed by 10 May for the channels and teleports to apply for extension of their permissions.

    The website lists 60 TV channels whose downlinking permission is over and six channels whose permission is expiring this year.

    Channels whose permissions have expired include Sony Entertainment Television and its related channels, Zee Trends, B4U movies, BBC World, Bloomberg, DW TV, TV 5 Monde, various channels of the Discovery group, channels of Star Sports, channels of Nat Geo, AXN, NHK World, Ten Sports, Disney, CNN, Pogo, HBO, WB, Zee Café and Zee Studio.

    The six whose downlinking permissions are expiring include Al Jazeera, France 24, ESP News and Grenada TV.

    Asked why the period mentioned was five years and not ten as already stipulated, I&B secretary Bimal Julka told Indiantelevision.com that the period of licence was five years until 2011 but has since been increased to ten years. Thus, all these applicants will get renewals for ten years.

    He also said that the period had been ten years for those who uplinked and downlinked, and the aim of the 2011 change was to make the downlinking permission co-terminus with the licence period. Thus, all renewals will be for ten years.

    Julka also said that the Home Ministry had assured him that cases held up for security clearances as far as multi-system operators (MSOs) were concerned would be speeded up as the officials were until now tied up with the Nepal rescue work.

  • Bloomberg TV looks to launch 20 new shows in 2015

    Bloomberg TV looks to launch 20 new shows in 2015

    MUMBAI: English business news channel Bloomberg TV is looking at launching as many as 20 new shows in 2015.

     

    Speaking about the line-up for 2015, Bloomberg TV India executive vice president and business head Alok Nair said, “The mood is upbeat and going forward we plan to launch more than 20 new show this year. To strengthen our content delivery, we have launched a host of new shows and segments targeted at corporate India and market viewers like Street Smart has new segments – Trading Day and Dealing Room, which captures the essential insights and early morning market trends when trading begins. Lunch Money, a mid-day wrap highlights the big stories from the markets along with Deal Street – a segment that talks about the world of venture capitalists, private equity, funding, acquisitions and everything in the world of finance. Market Movers, gives the sharpest and insightful analysis on the biggest stock the market is talking about, whereas The World of Midcaps gives a detailed insight on all the mid-cap and small-cap stocks of the day. The advertising and marketing show From Logo to Impact’s inaugural episode features BARC India Technical Committee chairman & CEO and IPG India Mediabrands’ Shashi Sinha and BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta talking about BARC and how it is poised to redefine the ratings game.”

     

    Further elaborating on insight-mining for the channel, Nair added, “We would delve deeper into the consumer insights and government’s agenda and consistently bring content of value that our viewers and advertisers find engaging. The board has set its sight to become the business and market powerhouse across platforms.”

     

    Talking about the powerful online and social media presence of Bloomberg TV India Nair further added, “The Bloomberg TV India’s website BTVin.com has been re-designed to further improve ease of navigation, usability and end-user experience with more business news content. The channel’s website has dynamic fast-paced architecture providing access to the latest business news, latest market reports, live ticker. Viewers can also view Bloomberg TV India live on the website. In the last few months Bloomberg TV India has also managed to capitalize the social media space by connecting viewers across various platforms like Twitter with 45,600 plus followers, which is way ahead of CNBC TV18; Facebook with 85,900 plus likes, and YouTube with over 16,000 subscribers.”

  • Bloomberg & Hyundai Motor launch new global television program

    Bloomberg & Hyundai Motor launch new global television program

    MUMBAI: Bloomberg has inked a three-year partnership with Hyundai Motor Company to create a new global television series on the world’s most exciting art personalities. 

     

    Starting in May, Brilliant Ideas will air on Bloomberg Television and profile a living contemporary artist in each half hour episode, with 25 episodes each year over three years.

     

    “This is an extremely unique collaboration with Hyundai to create a new show that takes viewers deep into to the world of art, design and creativity and features some of the most fascinating artists in the world today. Bloomberg’s multi-platform experience and ability to develop compelling content for the world’s most influential people will ensure the program makes an impact around the world,” said Bloomberg Media Group CEO Justin B. Smith.

     

    Brilliant Ideas is designed to deliver groundbreaking ideas of living artists from all over the globe. It will be shot in multiple locations around the world to explore the true impact of their stories.

     

    Hyundai Motor Company executive vice president Wonhong Cho said, “Art may be an exclusive experience, but the road to it should be open to everyone. We believe that our partnership with Bloomberg and the launch of Brilliant Ideas will further extend the boundaries of creativity and connect the international audience with art.”

     

    Brilliant Ideas in its first year will feature a stellar line up of internationally acclaimed artists including English sculptor and ceramic artist Grayson Perry, American sculptor Michael Jo, New Zealand sculptor and installation artist Simon Denny, English sculptor and installation artist Cornelia Parker, Japanese visual and installation artist Mariko Mori, Indian painter NS Harsha and Swiss visual artist Pipilotti Rist.

     

    Content from Brilliant Ideas series will appear across Bloomberg Media, including Bloomberg Television and other digital platforms.

  • Goldmines Telefilms’ Manish Shah denies hanky-panky deals with Sony India

    Goldmines Telefilms’ Manish Shah denies hanky-panky deals with Sony India

    MUMBAI: It seemed to be a day no different than any other for Goldmines Telefilms director Manish Shah as he got ready to go to his office in a rather non-descript building in the suburb of Goregaon west in Mumbai. At around 9 am, the film syndication specialist got a call from someone he knew that he had been mentioned in a newspaper report about alleged business malpractices at Sony India’s MSM network. It intrigued him but not enough to pull him away from his daily schedule of placing calls to clients and to broadcasters about the films he had acquired and wanted to pitch to them.

     

    Then he got a call from us at Indiantelevision.com requesting to meet him. He agreed but wanted an hour and a half to himself before speaking to us. He ordered a few copies of the newspaper and spent time reading the Bloomberg report over and over again until we arrived. The Bloomberg report stated that Sony Corp was investigating possible irregularities in business dealings following an anonymous email to Sony Pictures Television world wide networks president Andy Kaplan. The letter, which reached Kaplan on 6 October, stated that “the head of MSM’s motion-pictures unit was colluding with an agent to raise the cost of movies that Sony bought to air on TV by as much as 35 per cent in return for kickbacks.”

     

    And that agent was Manish Shah, who was once a television producer of both Gujarati and Marathi shows for channels such as Alpha Marathi (part of the Zee group), ETV Gujarati and Hungama before finding his mettle in buying and selling film rights to broadcasters and building a business in excess of Rs 100 crore. He hit jackpot with the regional films he acquired and dubbed them in Hindi, paying attention to creative detail.

     

    Shah welcomed us in offered us a cup of coffee and then began speaking his mind, pooh-poohing the allegations made against him. Said he, “The allegations are absolute crap. There is no question about us being favoured or dealing in kickbacks. Rajani was an extremely tough negotiator; in fact she would hammer down my prices when I started doing business with Sony in 2004. So what are they talking about me being offered inflated prices in exchange for kickbacks? I meet Sneha only rarely; there was a time when I met her more often. But I meet the folks at Star India more for the film titles I own.”

     

    Shah pointed out that Sony Entertainment – though a good client – is not amongst his biggest. “Last year Sony bought Rs 10 crore worth movies from me, UTV bought Rs 14 crore movies, while Star bought Rs 16 crore of movies. So what are you talking about? Last year Sony bought just three movies from me.”

     

    He added, “I don’t know where this has all come from. Sony is investigating the matter, let them do that. I can only say that if any broadcaster has to look at the return on investment, my movies give the maximum ROI. Whether it is for Star, or UTV or Sony.”

     

    Shah furnished tables and charts, which showed that close to 50 per cent of the FPC on Max was occupied by Goldmines syndicated films for about five days each week. “But it is these movies that are working for the channel and the network, giving them a good return on their investment. I know what works and the regional language films, which have a lot of action, humour and entertainment work. And I have given a substantial number of films to Sony, but my prices have been hammered by the acquisition people,” he said.

     

    For Shah it is a clear business model. “I buy the movie, which gets the rating or is successful and then offer it to broadcasters for satellite rights whether it is Zee, Star, Colors or Sony. Whoever gives me the best deal, I offer the movie to them,” he proffered.

     

    His company has been working with Sony and Zee since 2004, with Doordarshan since 2005 and with Star since 2006. “Once I have the rights, I am the owner of the movie and so I decide who will get it based on price,” he said. “But this process does not involve kickbacks at all so how can I get kickbacks? Broadcasters today are smart and they know which movie will work for them and they want it at the best price. I totally deny any of allegations that have been made against me.”

  • IAA debate: Metro markets are losing their sheen to tier II & III towns?

    IAA debate: Metro markets are losing their sheen to tier II & III towns?

    MUMBAI: The first in a new season of IAA Debates, organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter and presented by the Dainik Bhaskar group, will be held on Friday, November 28, 2014 at Gallops, Mahalakshmi Race Course, Mumbai.

     

    Industry captains will speak for and against the motion on: Metro Markets are losing their sheen to Tier II & III Towns for Consumer Products/Services. The speakers are

     

    •             Sadashiv Nayak, CEO, Future Retail Ltd

    •             Ronita Mitra, Senior VP, Brand Communication & Insights, Vodafone India

    •             Amitabh Pande, Senior Director – Consumer Insights and Strategy, PepsiCo India Region

    •             Atul Phadnis, CEO, Whats-On and GM (APAC), Gracenote

    The debate will be moderated by Mini Menon, Executive Editor, Bloomberg TV India.

     

    Srinivasan K Swamy, President, IAA India Chapter & Vice President – Development, Asia Pacific, IAA and Chairman & Managing Director, R K SWAMY HANSA Group,  on the new season of IAA Debates said, “The IAA Debates has traditionally seen industry leaders deliberate on topics of vital importance to the stakeholders we serve. We have had debates on the relevance of print and TV in the digital age – whether social media is a good business, the role of creative becoming more critical with media fragmentation. I am happy that the new season of IAA Debates is kicking off with a topic of much relevance to the fraternity.”

     

    Pradeep Dwivedi, Chief – Marketing & Corporate Sales Officer, D B Corp Ltd. added,  “We are delighted to partner with IAA in  bringing the thought-provoking industry debates again to the entire advertising & marketing fraternity. The great French essayist, Jospeh Joubert, once famously said that ‘It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it.’ At Dainik Bhaskar, it is our constant endeavour to contribute to this spirit of discovery and hence be a harbinger of change and evolution. We look forward to the upcoming Dainik Bhaskar-IAA debates as an important step in that direction.”

     

    The IAA Debates hosted so far have been in Mumbai, Goa, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. The Debates have featured senior advertising, media and marketing professionals such as Prasoon Joshi, Vikram Sakhuja, Lloyd Mathias, Josy Paul, Pratap Bose, Deepika Warrier, Anupriya Acharya, Arun Anant, Arunabh Das Sharma, Partha Sinha, Monica Tata, Vikram Chandra, Punitha Arumugam, Mahesh Murthy, Virginia Sharma, Ashok Lalla and Zerin Rahman, speaking for and against the motion.

     

    Delegates (including media) wishing to attend the IAA Debates on November 28, need to pre-register at execseciaa@gmail. Or call: +91 22 2874566 (Extn 162). Please send in your name, designation and organisation represented. A limited number of seats are available and you will be intimated by the IAA India Chapter.

     

  • China blocks website of BBC, New York Times, Bloomberg as tensions grow

    China blocks website of BBC, New York Times, Bloomberg as tensions grow

    NEW DELHI: Chinese censors have blocked the website of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as tensions rise in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and police.
     
    BBC said in a statement that the move seemed to be ‘deliberate censorship’ but did not say what may have prompted the move by Beijing.
     
     “The BBC strongly condemns any attempts to restrict free access to news and information and we are protesting to the Chinese authorities. This appears to be deliberate censorship,” said BBC World Service Group director Peter Horrocks.
     
    China has also blocked the websites of the New York Times, newswire Bloomberg and the BBC’s Chinese-language website.
     

  • NBA to receive $ 24 billion over 9 years from Walt Disney, Time Warner

    NBA to receive $ 24 billion over 9 years from Walt Disney, Time Warner

    BENGALURU: The National Basketball Association, USA (NBA) is likely to receive $ 24 billion (about Rs 1,47,000 crore) from Time Warner’s TNT and Disney’s ESPN and APC Networks in a renewed contract over 9 years according to a Bloomberg report. The channels will carry NBA games through 2024-25, paying almost triple the amount for the contract that is set to expire in 2015-16. According to Bloomberg, the channels pay a combined USD 930 million (approximately Rs 5700 crore) a year to the NBA.

     

    According to an NBA press release, the agreements were announced on 6 October, by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver; Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, chairman of the NBA’s Media Committee; Turner Broadcasting System President David Levy; and ESPN President and Disney Media Networks Co-Chairman John Skipper. The NBA’s current eight-year deals with ABC/ESPN and TNT expire at the end of the 2015-16 season.

     

    “The Walt Disney Company and Turner Broadcasting share responsibility for the growing popularity and interest the NBA enjoys, and we are thrilled to extend our partnerships,” said Silver. “With these new agreements, our fans will continue to benefit from the outstanding NBA coverage and programming provided by ABC, ESPN, TNT, NBA TV and their digital platforms.”

     

    “These nine-year extensions with Disney and Turner recognise the extraordinary value of live premium sports,” said Leonsis. “On behalf of our Media Committee and the other team owners, we thank Disney and Turner for their commitment to the NBA and its fans.”

     

    “This is a significant deal for our company and we are pleased to continue our long-standing partnership with the NBA, its fans, owners and players,” said Levy. “The agreement locks in some of the most valuable, original, premium live sports programming that we’ll continue to monetise across TNT and all other platforms within our extensive portfolio and will help further grow our businesses into the next decade.”

     

    “The NBA has never been more popular globally and it continues to grow under Adam’s leadership,” said Skipper. “By acquiring significantly more NBA content on both existing and yet-to-be created platforms, we will establish a vibrant year-round relationship with the NBA and bolster what is already the sports industry’s most impressive and impactful collection of media rights.”

     

    Under the agreements, the partners will televise more national regular-season games (ABC/ESPN: 100; Turner: 64) and will continue to do so generally on Wednesdays (ESPN), Thursdays (TNT), Fridays (ESPN), and Sundays (ABC/ESPN). By the end of these new agreements, the NBA’s partnership will reach 41 years with Turner, while the league’s relationship with ABC/ESPN will extend to 23 years. Additionally, NBA TV’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Saturday game telecasts will continue to fill out the schedule, ensuring a full week of nationally televised games. The NBA’s 24-hour network will present over 100 regular-season games each year.

     

    The NBA release says further that the NBA and Turner will also continue their groundbreaking partnership to manage jointly the NBA’s digital assets including NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA Mobile, NBA LEAGUE PASS, and WNBA.com, which Turner operates out of its Atlanta production facility. TNT will also debut the first-ever NBA Awards Show, an annual event which will air at the end of the season, and will have expanded activation opportunities surrounding key NBA pillars such as Opening Night and NBA All-Star Week.

     

    Under the agreement, ESPN will be granted enhanced digital rights to provide NBA content for multiple ESPN platforms, including ESPN.com and WatchESPN.

     

    The parties have also established a framework for ESPN and the NBA to negotiate the launch of a new over-the-top offering in which the league would receive an equity interest. Details for the new offering will be announced at a future date.

     

    Under a new deal with the WNBA, games will continue to be televised on ABC and ESPN/ESPN2 through the 2025 season. ESPN also will have enhanced in-progress highlight rights for the WNBA on digital and linear platforms.

     

    Beginning with the 2016-17 season, for the first time, at least 20 NBA Development League games and NBA Summer League games will be seen on the ESPN television networks.

     

    Turner Sports will have enhanced content/digital rights to NBA content for multiple TNT platforms including Bleacher Report; interactive online elements such as selected camera angles, statistic feeds and video to complement TNT’s telecasts; and broadband and other content for digital platforms, including highlights and studio shows. This includes the opportunity to develop and distribute new NBA content and programming for Bleacher Report, as well as rights to highlights for incorporation into the brand’s popular team and topic-centric Team Stream Now video offerings.

  • Doordarshan to monetise content archive through digital platforms

    Doordarshan to monetise content archive through digital platforms

    KOLKATA: Public broadcaster Doordarshan has finally decided to make some money out of its huge treasure of content. It is currently involved in converting its entire archive into digital format which it is also keen to monetise. On the other hand, the broadcaster is also looking at creating its own web portal to disseminate content of national importance, free of cost.

     

    Two media agencies are being identified that will assist it in marketing this treasure trove. Recently, an expression of interest (EoI) was floated by Doordarshan and in the RFP (request for proposal) process, the names will be announced, said Doordarshan deputy general CK Jain while speaking exclusively to indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of IDOS 2014 in Goa .The tender process will take nearly six months, by the end of which, Jain hopes that it will have a longer list of digital content.

     

     “We have around two lakh hours of content yet to be converted. In fact we have converted 2,500 hours of content already which is being sold via physical media such as DVDs and CDs,” he said.  The programmes include Nirmala, Discovery of India and other classical programmes.

     

    The aim is to make the content available online and then monetise it by identifying its worth.  “We will convert the legacy tapes into digital formats,” Jain said adding that the pubcaster has content going back to pre-independence era.

     

    A national archive committee has been formed for identifying free and monetary content. Doordarshan is also exploring new revenue schemes for content syndication. Through this, it aims at getting a steady revenue stream.

     

    On the yet unnamed web portal, viewers will be treated to rare recordings of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru etc that will be available free of cost to digital audiences. It is further learnt that Doordarshan would make the matter available on platforms such as Bloomberg, Sa Re Ga Ma India, iTunes, Prasar Bharti and other telecom operators in the country.

  • HDFC Bank tops the BrandZ Top 50 most valuable Indian brands 2014

    HDFC Bank tops the BrandZ Top 50 most valuable Indian brands 2014

    MUMBAI: Before the FIFA World Cup commenced in Brazil, several concerns were raised about its execution and other related issues, however when it started, all those concerns were laid to rest as the world experienced a strong tournament both on and off the field.

    With this example, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell, while speaking at the launch of ‘Brandz Top 50 Indian brands’ emphasised on the importance of one. Highlighting the potential of the Indian market, Sorrell said that the worldwide advertising spend and revenue have remained constant and in mature markets it is not growing as rapidly as it is in fast-growing markets like India.

    With $500 million revenue from India, the conglomerate believes that the country has grown strongly for WPP and predicts a positive future as well, especially with the new government.

    After nine long years, the BrandZ valuations rankings, commissioned by WPP and carried out by Millward Brown, has finally entered the Indian market.

    In its debut year, the top 50 most valued bands report was unveiled in a glittering night in the presence of the media and corporate stalwarts by none other than Sorrell.  

    The list which includes the various sectors ranks HDFC Bank as the most valued brand in the banks category with the brand value of $9,425 million, followed by Airtel in telecom with $8,217 million. At the third position is once again a bank, State Bank of India, with $6,828 million brand value.

    The top 10 consisted of banks, automobiles, telecom industry with just one from the paint category, Asian Paints at number six with $2,812 million brand value.

    The research agency claims to be the only global rankings study that uses a unique brand valuation mechanism that combines officially released financial data and consumer-driven brand equity measurement to calculate brand value.

    “There is no other valuation which is statistically as rigorous as Millward Brown’s approach. Others lack the rigour and the credibility which BrandZ has,” said Sorrell while adding that the group has the global data and it was about time to tap the regional markets as well given the importance of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.

    The model of Brandz was thought of by Sorrell in 2006 with the vision of a common framework that will enable understanding of how brands work and help everyone in the WPP group.  It would also help the group understand the relationship brands have with consumers and help it service its clients.

    “The methodology is different and much more reliable, consistent and credible”, said Sorrell. Globally, the BrandZ study covers two million consumers and more than 10,000 different brands in over 30 countries, in India it was more than 25,000 consumers, 500 brands in 37 categories.

    The ranking combines rigorously analysed financial data from Bloomberg and Kantar Worldpanel with consumer opinions gathered from Indian consumers. “The core of the data comes from interviews with consumers and what relationship brands play with them,” added The Store CEO David Roth highlighting the big data collected by it.

    The brands valued in the report had to meet the eligibility criteria: of being owned by a company which is publicly traded in India, reported positive earnings and derived at least 25 per cent of revenue from retail business. The report that includes the MNCs trading in the country also spoke to rural consumers.

    Explaining the mathematics behind it, the Millward Brown MD south Asia Prasun Basu said that what makes the brand value is the financial value of a company along with the brand contribution for the consumers.

    The stronger the relationship a brand can build with consumers in its category and the more it can leverage that scale, the more profitable and sustainable it becomes, highlights the study while elaborating the key takeaways from it to help brands grow.

    One of the most important takeaways is that a brand needs to be meaningful to its consumers and be able to differentiate itself through its services. For example, the 70 year old brand, Colgate, has remained relevant and continues to differentiate itself from the competition.

    Also, one needs to have a perfect balance between brand equity and financial value to drive it.

    Examples like McDonalds tell how international brands have taken an understanding of Indian needs and tastes and adapted to it. “India has evolved into a powerhouse where premium as well mass brands survive and the story will only grow stronger,” said Basu.  

    With the middle class and disposable income growing, the conglomerate sees a massive growth potential in the country. “After a year or two, we might take the list to top 100!” concluded an optimistic Sorrell.