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Tag: Crackle

  • Sony seeks partners for streaming service Crackle

    Sony seeks partners for streaming service Crackle

    MUMBAI: For getting stronger foothold in the over-the-top (OTT) market, Sony Pictures Television is looking to take a partner in Crackle, its ad supported streaming service. The aim is to make the platform more competitive in the congested market.

    “Crackle is a tremendously valuable asset for us, and with premium AVOD [advertising video-on-demand] getting more and more traction as advertisers seek high value online advertising opportunities, we feel there is room for greater growth for our OTT business,” Sony Pictures Television chairman Mike Hopkins wrote in an e-mail addressed to staffs.

    To identify potential partners, Sony has engaged investment bank Moelis & Co. Sony is looking for partners like another ad-supported VOD provider or another media and entertainment company with a large content library and TV networks for, or a telecom business with high-scale direct-to-consumer reach.

    Sony claims Crackle apps which are available in 20 countries have been downloaded more than 100 million times to date. The company acquired web-video startup called Grouper for $65 million six years back, which later became Crackle.

    “With the right partner – one that could bring additional content or users or leverage existing assets for advertising and promotion — we feel we can expand Crackle’s audience and significantly increase revenue,” Hopkins added.

  • Sony mulls alternate distribution options for ‘The Interview’

    Sony mulls alternate distribution options for ‘The Interview’

    NEW DELHI: Sony Pictures is still considering options for distributing controversial comedy The Interview following the decision to pull its theatrical release in the wake of a rumoured North Korean hacking attack.

     

    David Boies, speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, said Sony had “only delayed” any release. “Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed,” Boies claimed. “How it’s going to be distributed, I don’t think anybody knows quite yet, but it’s going to be distributed.”

     

    Midweek, following the theatres owners’ decision not to screen the movie, Sony Pictures said it had “no further release plans for the film,” and company representatives declined to elaborate on Boies’ remarks.

     

    Nevertheless, Sony did refute a New York Post report that it was seeking to release the film for free via ad-supported online video site Crackle, which it owns. “No decisions have been made. Sony is still exploring options for distribution,” said a spokesman.

     

    Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton told CNN on Friday 19 December that the studio had not “given in” to pressure from hackers and was still considering ways to distribute the movie.

     

  • Cadbury Dairy Milk repackages, again

    Cadbury Dairy Milk repackages, again

    MUMBAI: Reinvention is the new mantra for brands to survive in the competitive world. And some brands don’t hesitate in going under the knife over and over again to keep the buzz alive in the market.

     

    In November last year, Cadbury Dairy Milk introduced an all-new modern and playful packaging for its variants (Milk Chocolate, Fruit and Nut, Crackle and Roast Almond).  The shift to the new design has already been implemented across the globe and the new packaging has already been introduced in several countries including the UK and Australia.

     

    The new ‘say what you see’ packaging design has been developed by the global Cadbury Dairy Milk team in partnership with design agency Pearlfisher. The packing revamp is the 21st re-design for the brand’s 108 year history.

     

    Speaking on the new packaging and recipe change, Cadbury India chocolate category & media director Siddhartha Mukherjee says, “At Cadbury we are always exploring avenues to create and maintain consumer excitement. The last packaging change on Cadbury Dairy Milk happened almost five years ago, making it the right time to introduce the new global and joyful packaging in India. Additionally, our consumer research shows that inclusions like nuts and crispies are preference drivers in this category, thus making sense for us to enhance our recipes in line with consumer needs.”

     

    Brighter colours

     

    As per the brand, the move to the new packaging will further cement this positive association and build on the joy factor. As a part of the new design, product shots will be replaced by ‘imaginative, joyful expressions of each flavor’. Each of these designs have been selected in order to communicate more about the product and stay true to the ‘say what you see’ approach.

     

    The Cadbury Glass and a Half logo is retained and brighter colours have been introduced to improve on-shelf presence. The new look is more modern and joyful, while proudly keeping the identity of Cadbury Dairy Milk that has been a part of the brand’s heritage since 1905. This new packaging brings out the personality of the brand in a generous, optimistic and spontaneous design.

     

    Moulding the sweetness

     

    In addition to the packaging change, Cadbury Fruit and Nut, Crackle and Roast Almond will also be undergoing a recipe and mould change for the first time since they were introduced almost 10 years ago.

     

    To give consumers more of what they love, inclusions like nuts and crispies are going to be increased in the new recipe. Now there will be 50 per cent more almonds in the new Roast Almond. Similarly, more crispiness and nuts in Crackle and Fruit & Nut respectively will give consumers more of what they love with each bite with more almonds and increased inclusions.

     

    Additionally, the change in the mould means that the new variants will have curved or rounded edges, instead of the current square cubes, to improve the way the chocolate melts in the mouth, in an attempt to enhance the overall chocolate experience.

     

  • Sony’s Crackle inks exclusive content deal with NBCUniversal

    Sony’s Crackle inks exclusive content deal with NBCUniversal

    MUMBAI: Crackle – the free video streaming platform – backed by Sony Pictures Entertainment is strengthening its content library. It has now signed a deal with NBCUniversal for the exclusive rights to more than 140 movies over the next three years.

     

    The agreement will see movies such as Ray, Jarhead and the remake of King Kong that will be will be exclusively available on the service but won’t appear on other ad-supported distributors including television channels.

     

    This certainly cements the fact that Sony is much focused on improving its video streaming service, even after Crackle shut shop in UK beginning 1 April. This also shows its willingness to go against the grain of other streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu, which work primarily on subscription models.

     

    This move makes Crackle something of a hybrid, operating as a streaming service but making deals like a television channel. The acquisition of exclusive rights provides the service with what it hopes will be content that draws viewers.

     

    Since it is entirely supported by ads, Crackle’s strategy is to appear on as many platforms as possible. The streaming channel is currently on 27 different devices including gaming consoles, streaming set-top boxes and connected televisions.

     

    Crackle was formerly known as Grouper, which Sony bought in 2006 for $65 million. Its original iteration placed it in competition with YouTube more than streamers like Netflix. Sony decided to rebrand it as Crackle in 2007 as a streaming and movie TV library.

     

    Sony has struggled more broadly, spinning off its TV business and selling its computer division.

  • Sony’s video service Crackle leaves UK shores

    Sony’s video service Crackle leaves UK shores

    MUMBAI: The Sony run video service – Crackle – is no more crackling among UK users and the media conglomerate has had to take the tough call of shutting it down completely from 1 April.  

     

    The company posted a notice about the closure on Crackle’s UK homepage that read: “We’d like to thank all those who have supported and enjoyed Crackle UK. As of April 1, 2014 Crackle’s UK service will no longer be operating.”

     

    Crackle offers viewers free, ad-supported video content, including full-length movies and TV series. The service also operates in US as well as Canada, Australia and close to 20 countries across Latin America, and those operations will not be affected by this closure.

     

    One of the major reasons for the call to shut shop in UK seems to be the increasingly competitive market in the country. Netflix entered UK two years ago and reached out to an estimated 1.5 million subscribers and there is also Amazon, which has been fighting hard to stay relevant by closely aligning its Lovefilm service with its core brand.

     

    Both companies have also tried to outbid each other on content rights for British viewers, undeniably raising the costs for Crackle and any other third-party service to compete. And in the case of Crackle, Sony also had to monetise the service through ads, which may be even harder in a comparably small market like UK.