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Tag: Bookmyshow

  • NBA to hold 2 pre-season games in India next year

    NBA to hold 2 pre-season games in India next year

    MUMBAI: USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that two pre-season games will be played in India in October 2019 which makes it the first North American sports league to make its foray into the country.

    The two pre-season games will be played by Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings on 4 and 5 October 2019 at the NSCI Dome in Worli, Mumbai.

    NBA India MD Yannick Colaco said, “Last season of NBA was watched by 120 million viewers. More than 350 live NBA games are available each season on Sony Pictures Network’s sports cluster, including 78 games with Hindi commentary. NBA merchandise in India is widely available like never before, there are 700 retail stores across the country. Our long standing partnership with Reliance Foundation continues to positively impact millions of boys and girls. We launched our first global NBA school in Mumbai in April 2017 and we now have 27 active NBA basketball schools in nine cities across India.”

    Sony is the official broadcaster of NBA in India till 2020 as the extended deal between both is of 5 years that got renewed in 2015.

    NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said, “Being the financial, media and entertainment capital of India we have decided to keep it in Mumbai. In order to fans consuming the product they need to start young and need to play the game of basketball.”

    “I think fans pay for great consumer experience, we see that in cricket. The growth in viewership has been exponentially well. Seven years ago we have 5 million viewers and last season we had 120 million viewers. For us, the time is right because we have invested in grassroot development and facilitating infrastructure,” Colaco added.

    The NBA India Games 2019 will be produced by BookMyShow and AEG and supported by a roster of marketing and merchandising partners.

    NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “Our inaugural NBA India games will help further tap the enormous basketball potential in a country with a thriving sports culture and a growing, young and engaged population. We thank the Kings and Pacers organisations for participating in this historic event.”

    The youth development initiatives in India, including the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program that has reached more than 10 million youth from 10,000 schools and trained more than 10,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.

    The ongoing 2018-19 season also includes five consecutive Sunday games from 10 March to 7 April that will air in primetime in India, marking the second straight year that five games will be televised in primetime.

  • BookMyShow introduces ‘Activities’ section

    BookMyShow introduces ‘Activities’ section

    MUMBAI: With the aim to enhance entertainment options for its users, BookMyShow recently added ‘Activities’ section across its platforms. The section allows the users to browse through options around food and drinks, nightlife, amusement parks, adventure, gaming, and unique tours.

    ‘Activities’ encompasses options ranging from Sunday brunches, food festivals, karaoke nights, ladies nights, and Bollywood nights to theme parks, water parks & resorts, snow parks, and gaming zones along with offering information and tickets for out of city options like camping, trekking, paragliding, scuba diving, helicopter rides, and hot air ballooning amongst others. The category also covers popular vacation spots like water sports activities in Goa, heritage tours, Kathakali dance shows in Kochi, and many more.

    The new option will be active across the country in cities like Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Indore, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Goa, Kochi, Vizag, Lucknow, and many more.

    BookMyShow COO-non-movies Albert Almeida said, “Activities is an addition to our already wide-range of out-of-home entertainment options available on BookMyShow. It will offer users a wide variety of experiential activities and events in their city to choose from.”

    He further added, “By giving our large community of users many more options to choose from, we aim to fill a need-gap that exists and provide the convenience of booking across a slew of activities. We are confident that the consumption for this category will see an upsurge and further re-enforce our proposition of being a go-to for all forms of out-of-home entertainment.”

  • NewsPoint launches a reward program ‘NewsPoint Tokens’ for its users

    NewsPoint launches a reward program ‘NewsPoint Tokens’ for its users

    New Delhi: Keeping in line with its promise of providing a delightful experience to its consumers, Times Internet's multilingual information & engagement platform, NewsPoint today announced the launch of an unique customer gratification programme. Newspoint Tokens is a virtual currency powered by TimesPoints, that users can redeem for exciting offers at several brand partners including Amazon Pay, BookMyShow, Paytm Travel, ixigo, Myntra, Dineout, Gaana and TimesPrime among others. The reward program will soon add more exciting offers and benefits to its fold.

    With a wide variety of services available for redemption, NewsPoint Tokens aims to build more consumer loyalty while adding additional engagement layers to the app.

    “We are delighted to announce the launch of NewsPoint Tokens. The program seamlessly  integrates with the core experience of the NewsPoint app.  Users earn tokens as they read stories and /or watch videos. Further, bonus tokens are awarded for our most loyal users who use the app daily for 7 days or more ” said Ruchir Khanna, Product Head, NewsPoint.

    This is in line with our aim to drive engagement and consumer loyalty. Over the last one year, Newspoint has witnessed already 5X growth in users and hopefully consumer gratification will allow us to not only keep the reader constantly engage but also provide a wow experience across the NewsPoint platforms” said Ruchir Khanna,Product Head,NewsPoint.

  • BookMyShow appeals to parents on Children’s Day

    BookMyShow appeals to parents on Children’s Day

    MUMBAI: This Children’s Day, BookMyShow has a special message for all parents

    Conceptualised and executed by BBH India, this children’s day film beautifully addresses the stigma that many Indian parents continue to face regarding the sexual orientation of their children. In consonance with the recent Section 377 verdict, it strikes an emotional chord and urges parents to love their children for who they are, regardless of who they love. 

    In the light of the historic Supreme Court judgement on section 377, BookMyShow and BBH chose to play out a story of love and acceptance against the backdrop of the magic of the movies. 

    BookMyShow SVP of marketing and business intelligence Marzdi Kalianiwala says, “Pursuant to the recent historic verdict of decriminalisation of Section 377, we wanted to put across our perspective and what better way to portray it than through the lens of entertainment. This film is our attempt in reaching out to all parents and asking them to accept their children for who they are.”

    BBH India CCO and managing partner Russell Barrett adds, “The world of entertainment is probably the most egalitarian. There are no walls and no divisions here. In fact entertainment brings people together, across geography, language, religion, sexual preference and class. We were keen to cast a real couple in the lead roles for so many reasons, the most important being, it was the right thing to do. We are so very proud to partner a brave, aware and modern brand like BookMyShow in this initiative and hope to do much more going forward.”

  • BookMyShow and BBH team up to celebrate the arrival of Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR in India with a new digital ad film

    BookMyShow and BBH team up to celebrate the arrival of Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR in India with a new digital ad film

    MUMBAI: BookMyShow and BBH India have teamed up to welcome BAZZAR, the newest original production of the live entertainment leader Cirque du Soleil, to India with a new digital ad film. The digital ad film brings to life the essence of this spectacle with hand drawn illustrations and slam poetry. The result is a ‘trippy’ film that will blow your mind.

    You can watch the film here

    Marzdi Kalianiwala, SVP- Marketing and Business Intelligence, BookMyShow said, “Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR is about infinite creativity that they bring alive through their unbelievable performances. This immersive theatrical experience is a brilliant mix of state-of-the-art costumes, captivating music and impressive staging which is something that has never been seen before in India. We wanted to bring alive this creativity through an innovative digital ad film while staying true to the nature of the show.” 

    Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner, BBH India added, “Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR, is a mind-blowing entertainment extravaganza and we needed to communicate that in an animation film. Nothing can equal the brilliance of actually catching a show, but we wanted to capture how people who watch the show would feel, or describe it. The slam voiceover helped in creating the mood and gives the film a unique Big Top announcement feel.”

    Credit List

    Agency: BBH India

    ·      Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner: Russell Barrett

    ·      CEO and Managing Partner: Subhash Kamath

    ·      Creative Directors: Sapna Ahluwalia, Yohan Daver

    ·      Art Director: Sapna Ahluwalia, Akshata Kale

    ·      Copywriter: Yohan Daver, Siddharth Shah

    ·      Illustrator: Shirin Kekre

    ·      Animator: Karl Gonsalves  

    ·      Business Director: Anish Kotian

    ·      Senior Business Partner: Khadija Attarwala

    ·      Business Partner: Rachit Koradia

    ·      Head of Production: Khvafar Vakharia

    ·      Agency Producer: Rahul Prakash, Rahul Kulkarni

    ·       Strategy Director: Yudhishthir Agrawal

    ·       Strategy Partner: Pranoy Kanojia

    Music Production House: Mothership Studios

    ·      Music Post Production – Mothership Studios

    ·      Executive Producer: Kashif Menon

    ·      Producer: Pulkit Sankhala

    ·      Sound Engineer: Amith Gupta

    ·      Voice Over: Roshmin Mehandru

    ·      Music Composer: Arjun Nair (AurMaango Productions)

  • DISNEY’S ALADDIN, BROADWAY-STYLE MUSICAL IS BACK!

    DISNEY’S ALADDIN, BROADWAY-STYLE MUSICAL IS BACK!

    MUMBAI: BookMyShow’s maiden Broadway-style theatrical production, Disney’s Aladdin made a phenomenal debut in Mumbai and Delhi, earlier this year. The spectacular musical completed over 50 fantastical shows and entertained over 50,000 people in both cities, leaving fans mesmerized. Given the huge demand from audiences, Disney’s Aladdin will return to Mumbai this December for families to celebrate and immerse in magical moments this holiday season. The second season of the musical will be performed at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) from December 21, 2018.

    Disney’s Aladdin, the classic fantasy production, has already enchanted audiences in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan and has set new standards of live entertainment in India. Produced by BookMyShow and sponsored by PayPal and Vodafone, this incredible spectacle has been reimagined and developed by the best of Indian talent to make it locally relevant, without losing the original essence of the Broadway show.

    The Indian production of the musical boasts of extravagant sets depicting 14 locations, 450 lavish costumes, a flying magic carpet, beautifully choreographed sequences, and mesmerizing special effects that will instantly transport the audiences into the magical world of Agrabah! While the show is in English, the audience will be in for a treat when they discover that the loving and humorous Genie can also speak Hindi! Over 50 performers, in just under 2.5 hours, will weave this enchanting story on stage, taking the viewers on the fun-filled adventures of Aladdin and making this musical a must-watch and an unforgettable experience.  

    Excited about the musical coming back to Mumbai, Albert Almeida, COO-Non Movies, BookMyShow said, “The first season of Disney’s Aladdin was very well received, and the demand and popularity of the show has encouraged us to bring back the Broadway-style musical to fans in Mumbai. We want to give more and more people the opportunity to be a part of this amazing experience. This production is a result of months of hard work and has successfully set new standards of live entertainment in the country. Disney’s Aladdin is an extravagant visual treat, filled with music, joy, and loads of theatrical magic and simply cannot be missed.”

    “Disney’s Aladdin has universal appeal and we are thrilled with the overwhelming response received for season one of Disney’s Aladdin in Mumbai and Delhi. The second season is back on popular demand from fans and an opportunity for more families and friends to come together, and experience a world-class Disney stage musical,” Vikranth Pawar, Head Live Entertainment & Local Content Studio, Disney India.

    At the helm of the Indian production are Shruti Sharma (Director), Shampa Gopikrishna and Bertwin D’Souza (Choreographers), Varsha Jain (Production Designer), Gaviin Miguel (Costume Designer), Dhruv Ghanekar (Music Director) and Suzane D’Mello (Vocal Coach).  

    The talented actors who will bring to life this iconic tale on stage include Siddharth Menon (Aladdin), Taaruk Raina (Aladdin), Kira Narayanan (Jasmine), Mantra (Genie), and Prashant Oliver (Jafar).

    Originally produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, the show premiered in Seattle in 2011 and features music by Tony Award and eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Sister Act, Little Shop of Horrors), lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid) and three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (Evita, Aida).    

  • MUMBAI GIVES AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S ARRIVAL

    MUMBAI GIVES AN OVERWHELMING RESPONSE TO CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S ARRIVAL

    With the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s 43rd original production BAZZAR still a couple of months away, BookMyShow today reciprocated to the overwhelming response to Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR by opening ticket sales for a new set of shows in Mumbai earlier than expected. Like the rest, these shows too will be held inside the iconic ‘Big Top’ until December 9th which will find its home at the conveniently located MMRDA Grounds. The unique ‘Big Top’ with its immersive panoramic stage provides the audience an immersive experience- making every seat a good seat!

    Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR, presented by Citibank, is cutting across all age groups and family audiences with its tickets getting sold at a lightning speed. The audience is traveling all the way from other cities including Pune, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to catch the world’s largest live entertainment company in action. In addition, many corporates are also viewing Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR as an opportunity to entertain their clients as well as reward their employees. For Mumbai alone, corporate sales have already contributed close to 50% ticket sales in terms of value.
    “The excitement for Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR is clearly palpable as we prepare for their debut in India. We have received a phenomenal response for their shows in Mumbai and anticipate the remaining seats to be sold out extremely quickly,” said Kunal Khambhati, Head- Live Events and IP, BookMyShow.
    Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR is an eclectic performance lab of in­finite creativity where a joyful troupe of acrobats, dancers, and musicians contrive an awe-inspiring spectacle. Through their shows, Cirque du Soleil takes its viewers into unparalleled worlds with never seen before acrobatics, impressive choreographies and immersive characters and stories, which are told entirely through breath-taking visuals, thereby transcending any language barriers and appealing to a large audience.
    After the shows in Mumbai, Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR will head to Delhi to entertain the audiences before moving on to other countries.
    Catch the glimpse of Cirque du Soleil BAZZAR here:

  • BookMyShow Opens Ticket Sales For The World Premiere of Cirque Du Soleil’s – BAZZAR Starting Today in India

    BookMyShow Opens Ticket Sales For The World Premiere of Cirque Du Soleil’s – BAZZAR Starting Today in India

    MUMBAI: Audiences in India will very soon experience the magnificence of the world’s biggest live-entertainment phenomena, Cirque du Soleil, brought to India by BookMyShow. Citibank has come on board as the presenting partner for the world premiere of Cirque du Soleil’s ‘BAZZAR’ in India. The shows will start November 2018 finding their way home in Mumbai from 15th November 2018 and Delhi from 25th December 2018 before moving to other markets. 

    BookMyShow’s long-term association with Cirque du Soleil is aimed at establishing India as a key market to open avenues for global entertainment. Cirque Du Soleil has brought wonder and delight to more than 190 million spectators in over 450 cities on six continents. The company sells over 12 million tickets per year and has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,400 performing artists from close to 60 different countries.

    Unlike any other entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil will not just visit Mumbai and Delhi but will infuse in the city’s culture with the set up of The Big Top, the main tent, where the performances will take place. The Big Top itself is a wonder that is set up over a period of six days and stands tall at 19 meters (62 feet) high and is 41 meters (135 feet) in diameter accommodating 1500 people at once.

    A cast and crew of 62 people will be travelling to India from over 13 different countries and close to 700 tonnes of equipment will be carried via 25 sea containers. The show will feature a range of acrobatic marvels ranging from teeterboard, portage, acrobatic bike, contortion, duo roller skate, duo trapeze, aerial rope, slackline and live music with one singer and two musicians on stage. With performances pairing imagination and impressive scenography, unique characters, remarkable aesthetics and acrobatic feats; ‘BAZZAR’ will feature key Cirque du Soleil elements. The tickets for the nearly two-hour spectacular will be available starting today exclusively on BookMyShow with prices starting just at INR 1,250 (different for both cities).

    Written and Directed by Susan Gaudreau, Cirque du Soleil – BAZZAR will perfectly capture the high-energy excitement, collision of sounds and colours, and showcase a meeting place of diverse characters recreating a traditional Indian ‘bazaar’.  Lead by their maestro in the show, the troupe comes together to invent a whimsical one-of-a-kind universe in a place where the unexpected is expected, the colourful group reimagines, rebuilds and reinvents vibrant scenes in an artistic, acrobatic game of order and disorder.

    “BookMyShow has been and will continue to play a huge part in the transformative journey of the live entertainment category in India. While it has personally been a lifelong dream to work with Cirque du Soleil, their entry into India with BAZZAR will re-imagine this category. We are excited to give our growing customer base in India the opportunity to get access to this global phenomenon,” said Ashish Hemrajani, Founder and CEO, BookMyShow.

    “Cirque du Soleil has been looking at India as a potential market for quite a while now. We wanted to do things right and introduce the brand appropriately to this new audience that was never exposed to Cirque du Soleil before,” said Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. “It is for this very reason that we put our trust in BookMyShow, who’s deep knowledge and understanding of the Indian market is essential for our successful presence in this country. With their help, our long-term objective is to establish a strong and lasting presence in India and to share our creativity with as many people as possible.”

    “Designing a show specifically to introduce Cirque du Soleil to a totally new audience was an exciting creative challenge,” explained Susan Gaudreau, Show Director. “It pushed the creators to find the essence of what we are and articulate it in a way that is universally understandable. With its story centered on the creative process and the energy found in the unexpected, BAZZAR shines a light on what is uniquely Cirque du Soleil. I am very honoured to be in India today to introduce BAZZAR to the Indian people and am very much looking forward to its premiere!”

    Shinjini Kumar, Consumer Business Manager, Global Consumer Banking, Citi India, said, “We are excited to partner with Bookmyshow for the world premiere of BAZZAR, a unique show crafted for India and the world by Cirque du Soleil. We are always looking for opportunities to bring world-class entertainment through our partners to our clients, who like to indulge in exclusive international experiences. Citi customers can look forward to making this an even more memorable event with our special offers and privileges. We cannot think of a better way to celebrate this festive season than to facilitate wholesome entertainment for our customers and their families.”   

    Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, has also expressed his support for Cirque du Soleil’s India visit as this would boost tourism in the state by exposing the audiences to new artistic and cultural experiences.

  • BookMyShow releases ad for I-day release ‘Gold’

    BookMyShow releases ad for I-day release ‘Gold’

    MUMBAI: BookMyShow has launched an ad celebrating Independence Day with Akshay Kumar starrer Gold which covers Balbir Singh’s triumphant journey that helped India to win the first ever gold medal for hockey at the Olympics. 

    BookMyShow marketing and business intelligence SVP Marzdi Kalianiwala said,“Consumers are usually flooded with offer advertisements during holidays and the festive season, and we thought to have a light-hearted take on the situation with our latest film. Even in the case of our past films, the objective was always to be highly relevant and get inspired directly from conversations that take place all around. We hope the audiences will love the subtle use of humour in this particular digital film.”  

    BBH chief creative officer and managing partner Russell Barrett added, ”Go to where the people are. It’s that simple. With our advertising for BookMyShow, we’ve been able to tap into conversations that people are interested in rather than force a completely new conversation on the audience. Gold is a brilliant film about India’s first gold medal as a free country at the Olympics.”

    “The movie releases close to Independence Day, when the airwaves and newspapers will be filled with ‘freedom sales’ and brands exhorting us to ‘stand’ for something. We just felt it was a great opportunity to capitalise on and we hope the audience enjoys the ad enough to go book a ticket on BookMyShow,” he added.

    BookMyShow has also released a humorous take on the plethora of discount and promotion led advertisements that usually release around Independence Day.

  • Albert Almeida appointed COO of BookMyShow non-movies

    Albert Almeida appointed COO of BookMyShow non-movies

    Mumbai: Albert Almeida has been appointed as COO non-movies of BookMyShow (BMS). The new role has been carved out at a time when BMS is taking the lead in building and nurturing an ecosystem for theatre, sports, music concerts and other live experiences and events thereby giving its existing loyal movie going customer base and newer audiences a lot more entertainment choices.

    In his new role, Almeida will report to Ashish Hemrajani, founder and CEO of BMS and will lead the next phase of growth and expansion for the company. Albert will drive efficiency and agility within BMS to ensure there’s a sharp focus on each of the non-movie verticals. He will also work with existing and new partners to give consumers access to some of the biggest and most unique entertainment experiences and will be responsible in identifying untapped growth opportunities in the market. 

    Hemrajani says, “We are excited to have Albert on board and welcome him to BookMyShow. I first worked with him from 1997-1999 and we have stayed friends. Now, as we set out to create, develop and bring to India entertainment experiences which are on par with the best in the world, I am very fortunate to have a talented and experienced colleague to work with alongside. We look forward to setting new standards in this space and are absolutely confident that Albert has the ability to lead this journey.” 

    Commenting on his new appointment Almeida said, “I am delighted to join the BookMyShow team and look forward to my new role. BookMyShow, over the years, has established itself as a loved brand with clear market leadership. As a loyal consumer of the service I have seen how BookMyShow has constantly redefined the space it operates in and has set a clear vision and roadmap for the entertainment lifecycle of its customers. We see a huge opportunity in the non-movie entertainment space and are committed to driving the next phase of growth from here. I am excited to be a part of this journey as we diversify into new avenues of entertainment.”

    Albert Almeida brings with him over 25 years of experience having worked with eminent broadcast, digital media and adverting giants before joining BookMyShow. In his last assignment as COO- Hungama Digital Media Pvt Ltd, he led Hungama Mobile’s domestic and international businesses. He also worked as executive vice president with Sony Entertainment Television for over half a decade during which he led the SET and MAX brands. Before this, he spent over a decade with J Walter Thompson in various roles, the last being as vice president and regional account director on the Unilever business.