ITV

Tag: Digital

  • Screenwriters Association announces nominees for Web Series category of SWA Awards 2020

    Screenwriters Association announces nominees for Web Series category of SWA Awards 2020

    MUMBAI: Screenwriters Association (SWA), the Indian guild of screenwriters and lyricists has announced the 13 nominees for the original series category of SWA Awards 2020. These series were nominated over three sub-categories: best original series – original comedy, best original series – original drama and best original series – adaptation.

    Nominees for Best Series – Original Drama are:

    1.            Richie Mehta and Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh for Delhi Crime

    2.            Suman Kumar, Sumit Arora, Raj and DK for The Family Man

    3.            Abhishek Yadav, Saurabh Khanna and Sandeep Jain for Kota Factory

    4.            Abhishek Sengupta, Biswa Kalyan Rath and Hussain Haidry for Lakhon Mein Ek Season 2

    5.            Alankrita Shrivastav, Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti for Made in Heaven

    Nominees for Best Series – Original Comedy are:

    1.            Maitreyee Upadhyay, Nayana Shyam and Preksha Khanna for Adulting Season 2

    2.            Devika Bhagat and Ishita Moitra for Four More Shots Please!

    3.            Ashish Manchanda, Chirag Ratna Singh and Shreyasi Sharma for Girls’ Hostel

    4.            Akarsh Khurana and Sumeet Vyas for Tripling Season 2

    5.            Ajaydeep Singh and Manish Kumar for Virgin Bhasskar

    Nominees for Series – Adaptation are:

    1.            Asad Hussain (Dialogue), Deepa Mehta, Patrick Graham, Suhani Kanwar and Urmi Juvekar for Leila

    2.            Dhruv Narang, Nihit Bhave, Pooja Tolani, Varun Grover for Sacred Games Season 2

    3.            Marston Bloom, Sumit Arora, Tanuja Chaturvedi (Hindi dialogue) for Selection Day

     SWA general secretary Sunil Salgia said, “It’s a new world, a combination of TV and Film. It gives scope for the writer to explore the world around the characters a bit more, to explore the minds of the characters, to weave a web of new ideas, and this is where a writer can be innovative and experimental. The writers have shown promise in this genre and I foresee a tough competition amongst them on this platform.”

    The 13 nominees were selected from 43 entries received by the SWA Awards committee from Hindi language web series released in 2019. Three jury panels, each comprising three eminent screenwriters, assessed entries in their respective sub-category. The final winners will be announced in an online awards ceremony on 27 September 2020.

    Please read more coverage on SWA  

    SWA Web Awards spokesperson and screenwriter  Manisha Korde said, “Writing for web-series is complicated owing to its unique structure; which is like man-animal hybrids of Greek mythology. Web series need intensity of the cinemas, expanse of the TV shows and brisk span attention to ads. This youngest medium, barely a few years old, poses greater challenges than its seniors. It's a tough field out there. All the nominations are equally good and it will be interesting to see who wins the first SWA screenwriting award for web!”

    SWA is holding the first ever SWA Awards on the occasion of its diamond jubilee year in 2020. Since they are judged by knowledgeable screenwriters and lyricists, these awards promise to become the most coveted validation for writers in India, much like the awards of other prestigious international writers’ guilds and literary organisations.

    The nominees spoke to SWA, reacting to the announcement:

    Nominees for Best Series – Original Drama

    Sanyuktha Chawla Shaikh: This is my first every nomination and I can’t imagine it being more befitting than this. To be valued by the members of SWA is a prize in itself. I thank each one of you for finding my work worthy of being shortlisted in this category.

    Raj & DK: So excited to be nominated for the SWA awards! It's a great initiative by the association to introduce the awards this year. This is a shot in the arm for original content creators and lends authenticity to the writing awards. Really looking forward!

    Suman Kumar: Thank you SWA for nominating The Family Man in the first ever SWA Awards. It feels great that my writer colleagues recognise our work. Big thanks to all the fans of the Family Man.

    Sumit Arora: I am extremely happy to know that I have been nominated for the first ever SWA awards. There has been some excellent work in the web space off late and it’s a privilege to be nominated amongst all these brilliant minds who have created that work.

    Abhishek Yadav: Really glad that SWA has taken the initiative to organise awards entirely focused on the craft of screenwriting. It’s also special because Kota Factory has been shortlisted as one of the five nominees. Really thankful to the jury, SWA, team Kota Factory and the audience. Cheers!

    Sandeep Jain: When I received the email regarding nomination for SWA Awards 2020, I was working on something and suddenly for a moment everything stopped and I felt extremely grateful. I still remember the day when I got my SWA card to register my first short film script. And now I’m very happy to receive a nomination from the same body. I feel this is a great initiative because this is the most respected body for us writers and acknowledgement from them means a lot to us.

    Abhishek Sengupta: To be nominated by a jury comprised of stalwarts who have mastered the craft of writing, is an honour that can be rarely matched. I would like to thank SWA for this honour and commend them on the first screenwriting awards to recognise the importance of the art of writing.

    Biswa Kalyan Rath: Very excited about finally having an SWA awards. It has been long overdue and writers deserve much more. Hoping that this will have a great impact on the community as a whole.

    Hussain Haidry: I am glad to know that SWA has initiated these awards, and it is quite assuring that it will have as objective as possible an approach in appreciating people working for Indian cinema. I am honoured to know that I am nominated in the first ever SWA awards, that too as a screenwriter.

    Alankrita Shrivastav: I am honoured and incredibly thrilled that we have been nominated for the first ever SWA Awards for writing Made in Heaven. It is a very special show and working on it has been the most collaborative and fulfilling experience. And to now be recognised by one’s fellow writers feels wonderful. I hope that in the years to come, this culture of encouraging and appreciating our contemporaries continues.

    Nominees for Best Series – Original Comedy

    Maitreyee Upadhyay: Entering the Screenwriters Association is like Aladdin entering the cave of wonders. It is daunting. The walls of SWA are filled with names that make me shake in my tiny shoes. And instantly I feel like an impostor, a street-rat, like Aladdin. To think that our words have been nominated for an award by this building, well, it’s like the word goddess is asking me to keep meeting the blank page.

    Nayana Shyam: I’m so grateful and honoured to have been nominated for this award. It means so much more to me because of how special this show is to me and my fellow writers.

    Preksha Khanna: SWA Awards will help give due recognition to one of the most important, and often side-lined parts of the entertainment industry – the writers. I am deeply honoured to be nominated in the first edition of the SWA awards and hope that this tradition continues in the years to come.

    Devika Bhagat: These awards mean so much more as they are judged by our peers – fellow screenwriters. Peer recognition is something I strive for. Writing Four More Shots Please! was an amazing and creatively fulfilling experience. Getting this nomination and sharing it with my co-writer and friend, Ishita Moitra, is the icing on the cake. I hope to continue to do good writing in the future and live up to the expectations of my peers.

    Ishita Moitra: To be acknowledged for your work by your own peers is possibly the highest accolade of all. SWA has always been a beacon of hope and strength for us screenwriters. The Association stands for justice, impartiality, equality, free and fair liberal thought. So, when they choose to celebrate and honour excellence in screenwriting, it sure means something.

    Ashish Manchanda: Existence is painful, the world is going downhill and the society will blow up in its own face one day. Content is a better escape from all that than drugs and alcohol. Good content helps one feel belonged and relate with and find solace in other people's problems and at times forget about their problems. And to craft good content it takes dedicated creators who painstakingly go through endless loops of creation and destruction. Kudos to team SWA for recognising and rewarding such talent in the creative team. Thank you for including team Girls' Hostel.

    Chirag Ratna Singh: I am very grateful, flattered and honestly a little surprised to be nominated for the first ever SWA awards! Considering the competition, it is indeed a great honour to be recognised by people who genuinely understand and appreciate the craft of writing. Here's hoping this tradition continues. Thank you!

    Akarsh Khurana: Being nominated by your own peers and the fraternity you belong to is the best feeling ever. I’m so glad that SWA has taken this initiative. Particularly now that we are valuing content more, and writers are coming back to the fore. Also, being nominated for Tripling is just the icing on the cake. I loved writing both seasons of this with my friend and co-writer, Sumeet Vyas. It gave us a chance to be personal, and funny, and most importantly, free to create.

    Ajaydeep Singh: SWA Awards will not only uplift the morale of our writers but also, I am sure this award will be one of the most prestigious ones in the forthcoming years. We were in need of an honest and unbiased jury and SWA has stepped in at the right time. I am deeply honored and thankful to the jury for nominating my show Virgin Bhasskar.

    Manish Kumar: It's my immense pleasure to be nominated and that too for my first show. The power of words is often felt than seen. This award just reassures me that people truly appreciate the beauty of imagination. This is my first project, my first labour of love and to see it nominated, has filled my heart to its brim and my cup runneth over. I hope in future many more are inspired by this honour and we build a tribe that is creative, impactful and authentic.

    Nominees for Best  Series – Adaptation

    Asad Hussain: There are days when writing is like a river in full flow. And then there are days when it feels like a burden, a rock that refuses to budge. It is discipline and rigour as well as inspiration and intuition. All these shades of emotion are familiar to writers, which is why it feels truly special to be nominated for this honour by a group of fellow writers. Thank you for considering my work for this award, and for providing recognition for the role of writers in the industry.

    Patrick Graham: I've been a proud SWA member since 2011 and I'm really thrilled that such an awesome organisation has begun their own awards function. Writing is the foundation to any good series or film and it's important that writers receive the recognition, credit and fees that they deserve for their work – SWAs fight for these things tirelessly. I'm very grateful to receive this nomination and I'm excited to see how the quality of writing within our industry is getting stronger with every passing year.

    Suhani Kanwar: Never before has there been such an urgent hunt for stories and content in the industry. Never before have we screenwriters had so many formats or platforms to choose from. But with all this opportunity, there’s also a pressing need for us writers to really think about what we want to say, why we are saying it, whose stories we want to tell, and how to tell them well. An awards event like the first ever SWA Awards, focused purely on celebrating good writing, is welcome, perfectly timed, and something I’ll look forward to not just this year but every year from here on.

    Urmi Juvekar: I am absolutely delighted with this nomination. There is no better encouragement for a writer than being appreciated by one’s fellow writers.

    Dhruv Narang: SWA Awards are a great initiative, filling a big vacuum for authentic, craft-oriented honours. It is very humbling to be nominated by an organisation so sincerely committed to advancing the cause of screenwriting.

    Nihit Bhave: I’m honoured and excited about being nominated for the first ever SWA Awards. It’s just the kind of boost a writer needs, especially during lockdown when we’re all struggling to create. I would also like to applaud SWA for their initiative towards recognising writing talent and putting their members front and centre. The association has, for long, protected and nurtured us and this is another great way of putting their might behind writers.

    Pooja Tolani: The SWA Awards is great news and a long time coming. It will be a great boost and encouragement for screenwriters to have their craft acknowledged by peers and seniors who know first-hand, just how much goes into writing. Also, we as an industry do need to acknowledge more (and more often), the invisible craft of screenwriting and its fundamental relevance in the filmmaking process – and the awards are a big step in that direction. I’m thrilled to be nominated for the first edition.

    Varun Grover: I am thrilled to be nominated for the first ever SWA Awards in two categories. It's an award for the community by the peers and that makes it extra special. I had decided not to attend any regular film awards because of the way they treat writers and technicians – and it's a great step forward that SWA decided to start awards where writers are in the front and center.

    Marston Bloom: It is always humbling to be acknowledged by one’s peers and that feeling is more pronounced when it comes from a community of writers like the SWA with such a vivid tradition of storytelling excellence. Thanks to the reach of OTT platforms the whole world can now see the incredible quality and ambition of Indian screenwriting and I’m delighted that Selection Day played a small part in this moment.

    Tanuja Chaturvedi: What truly makes this honour so unique is your work is appreciated, evaluated and valued by your peers and betters. To get this nomination, the first time SWA is instituting these awards, is the cherry on my cake. My congratulations to my fellow nominees!

  • “We are expanding our genres & focussing on chiselled storytelling”: Juggernaut Productions’ Samar Khan

    “We are expanding our genres & focussing on chiselled storytelling”: Juggernaut Productions’ Samar Khan

    MUMBAI: Director and producer Samar Khan, who is known for his critically acclaimed war drama film Shaurya, is now weaving stories for digital platforms. Khan has now donned the hat of a creative producer for Avrodh on SonyLiv.

    Avrodh revolves around a surgical strike based on the 2016 Uri attack, depicting historical events as they occurred in real. The series was launched on 31 July. The former journalist has a keen interest in creating stories for armed forces. Most of his recent or past work like Regiment Diaries on Epic channel, The Test Case or the AltBalaji-ZEE5 series Code M is around the same subject.

    Juggernaut Productions chief operating officer OTT business Samar Khan says that for a show like Avrodh, it’s important to find likeminded people. According to him, the producer is not someone who just funds the project; he is also the creative producer who is involved in every step of story production. The job of the creative producer is to pick the right talent, cast, director, storytellers and look after the story development.

    Avrodh is based on a chapter in a book written by Shiv and Rahul. It is also inspired by the quotes of Major Mike Tango. The word is a pseudonym for the paramilitary officer who helmed the overall operation. The team at Juggernaut Productions also spoke to people who are aware of military procedures. As the show is on a very sensitive topic and to avoid any misrepresentations the makers, directly and indirectly, reached out to people who were involved in the event. It took eight months of research.

    Khan, who is ecstatic to work as a creative producer, gives a lot of credit to Applause Entertainment for bringing out this story. He also hints at creating similar stories soon. The idea behind collaborating with Applause Entertainment is to co-develop shows. Both the studios are currently developing and producing two shows. Khan is looking forward to creating original IPs and premium original content with Applause Entertainment.

    He says that audiences in today’s time are aware of what they are watching. He says, “Audiences don’t need to be served a buffet anymore. I think the popular commercial cinema always tried to serve a buffet where there was a little bit of humour, romance and drama.  But what OTT platforms have done is to focus on one. This chiselled storytelling is truer to what we really want to say and this is the true learning experience for me. For the past four to five shows and even going forward, we are trying to stay true to the promise of the show and not deviate.”

    He is also aware that the company has an image of creating only legal dramas but that’s going to change. “We want to be known as a company that does broad-based content development. We are looking at developing stories across genres,” he shares.  

    Due to the pandemic, there is a boost in the viewership on OTT platforms and with normalcy returning, Khan’s immediate focus is to start shooting. He says, “We utilised the past four months of lockdown to develop a slate of shows that we will be collaborating or pitching to platforms. We have a huge bank of stories that we have developed in this time period. The plan is to make and tell as many stories as possible.”

    Juggernaut Productions recently acquired the screen adaptation rights to Jay Alani and Neil D’Silva’s book “Haunted” but is stuck at the initial stage due to Covid2019. The company is open to any international collaboration too in difference genres, formats and stories that can be adapted to the needs of Indian audiences. For now, the focus is on Hindi content but Juggernaut is planning on acquiring regional content too.

  • “Looking at creating multinational co-funded and co-financed content”: Applause Entertainment’s Sameer Nair

    “Looking at creating multinational co-funded and co-financed content”: Applause Entertainment’s Sameer Nair

    Many believe this is the golden age for content creators. Applause Entertainment is one of those at the forefront of creating digital content today. However, the company’s ambition isn’t just restricted to India but rather a global audience. Some of the recent names that can be credited to the Sameer Nair-run company are Hostages, Criminal Justice, Rasbhari, Hasmukh, The Office, etc. Under development are an Israeli thriller adaptation for India – Fauda, as well as Luther.

    In the second part of this interview, Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair, in a virtual fireside chat with indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari spoke at length about content creation for global audience, co-production in different countries, short-form content, TikTok, the role of streamers in today’s digital world and much more.

    Read the first part here

    Edited Excerpts:

    The pandemic has been longer than what we have suspected, do you think it will change the way viewers live. Due to lack of fresh content at their disposal audiences are moving from GECs to OTT now.

    I think what the pandemic has done, in India especially, is that it has exposed a new giant audience to the OTT platform. It is a forced thing that has become a habit now. I think it’s a good thing; the distribution of content via the internet is a golden age of content consumption and content creation. Television, theatre and OTT are very important parts of our business. I don’t think any one part of the business can or should replace the others. From a content creator point of view what you want to have is multiple revenue channels. If it gets monopolised then it will create distortion in the market. 

    Do you think that Indian content has not travelled the world? Also the broadcast industry is heavily dependent on advertising and subscription is not coming to the level it was expected.

    I think from our scheme of things the world is an open playground. For now, we are an Indian studio but thankfully due to streamers content is travelling globally. The US market exists all over the world but in the next 15 or 20 years, the Indian market will have the same influence. Initially, Chinese had a lot of power with their technology and the Koreans have done that but as India seems to have a large market one can be happy because it is such a huge market. But now what global streamers have automatically created is a system where content can be viewed in any part of the world.

    Certain animation studios have set outposts in Hollywood and they are starting co-production and are hiring locals from there. So are you looking at penetrating American market with American style shows rather than doing Indian shows alone?

    It is definitely a possibility and different people in different ways have done that. The story of Hollywood is like when they run out of money they find a new investor. Originally, it was run by Jews then Germans and Russians came and the Indians went for some time. If you talk about co-production in America, I believe they are already more qualified than Asians. It is more about growing together, partnerships, collaborations because they are already doing great stuff and maybe we can contribute to it.

    Is there a chance to do a co-production between India, France and the UK?

    Yes, in fact, we have been approached by a documentary company to figure out if we can co-produce some documentaries which would be partly financed by the French and partly financed by Applause Entertainment. We were looking at monetising it in a way where France would take care of Europe and we could take care of the rest of the world and India. Actually streamers while arriving are shaking up the global content. Originally what used to happen in the  West is that anyone in the US or Europe is completely aware of how these whole syndication licencing models work, how multiple financing models work or how to create content in one market and sell in different countries. Streamers have put a planner in place and they are doing this very effectively.

    We are looking at these partners and seeing how to create a multinational content which is co-funded and co-financed. Finally, what has to work is the economy, the business of it, who pays and the ways to recover money.

    What is your opinion on 15-second 30-second and 90-second short-form story format? Are they lending good storytelling?

    I think the whole TikTok revolution and before that what YouTube did and a lot of short-form content has democratised storytelling. Before the internet and social media came along, only a few could create that content. Either you have to be a filmmaker or a media and TV producer. Then YouTube came and TikTok took it even further. I think storytelling is a form of expressing creativity. I don’t believe it is right to judge anybody. With millions of pieces of content on YouTube some things rise up some things catch our attention and that is how a YouTube star or TikTok star is created just like any other platform. Story of content and its quality remains fundamental. People should be allowed to express their story.

    What do you think about the TikTok ban, now a lot of indigenous brands that have come up or do you think Indians will create a better version then TikTok?

    TikTok is more than a brand and replacement; it is an ecosystem that has been built over so many years. It has been built on very clever insight and how audiences and market works. It is not something that is replaceable; it was also an economic model that needs financial backing. In the end, a lot of social media platforms have huge financial resources that look at building customer acquisition. Personally, I think the TikTok ban will be revoked and it will be sorted out

    Do you think it is important to entertain and impact society at the same time with content?

    I think in a way we are already doing this. What we are today is the outcome we have created for ourselves. Different creators, filmmakers are trying to influence society. One can influence society in a good or a bad way. There are many movies that make you sit and think and there are also some dumb comedies. I don’t think one size fits all or there is a right way. That goes into a dictatorial regime which is against creativity. If I want to laugh about something, then I should be allowed to do so. I don’t have to be meaningful all the time. Television has been the biggest influencer in India but to what extent it has influenced, that we don’t know.

    How do you choose a story or a subject of a story and what is the process of greenlighting the project? Also, which are the genres you are looking at developing further?

    One filter for our selection process is to do something which we are already not doing or have just done. If I have three to four thriller series in development then maybe I won’t do the fifth one right now. There are some broad genres we want to focus on: thriller, crime, homeland security, military biopic, inspirational stories, romance, family drama and historical.

    For us, the process is very simple. The idea of a story comes to us, sometimes it comes through a producer or a writer, then we get into development. We are always involved in the process. We are responsible for every product that comes out of Applause Entertainment. Sometimes the idea comes attached with the producer who then comes with his own director then actors come on board. This is the overall process but it starts with writing.

    Tell us more about your joint production with Gurinder Chadha and Sunder Aaron for Seeker?

    Locomotive Global’s Sunder Aaron was already in talks with Bend it Films & TV’s Gurinder Chadha. They have developed an idea after which they approached Applause Entertainment. I have met Sunder a couple of times where I explained to him about our work. It took some time to complete the paperwork and now we are creating a multi-country writers room. There is a writer in New York then there is a writer’s room in India  and all of us at Applause Entertainment are putting this together. I am very excited about this project.

  • Actimedia PR & Digital launches new vertical ~ActiMedia Earth

    Actimedia PR & Digital launches new vertical ~ActiMedia Earth

    Two-decade old PR and brand communications company Actimedia|PR & Digital, is launching a new vertical ‘ActiMedia Earth’ offering brand building, PR and digital expertise at highly competitive rates to environmental conscious corporates, NGOs and organisations dedicated to sustainability. 

    Green warriors who fight all odds to innovate and come up with pioneering ideas to save Planet earth, often find themselves going unsung. Actimedia Earth will help amplify the exemplary work of these warriors who tirelessly empower marginalized communities, create water-smart products, rethink plastic packaging and create ocean-safe detergents and other environment-friendly products and services. ActiMedia Earth will offer a 360-degree communication support to such eco/humanity warriors.

    “Sustainable fashion, human rights, propagating the #VocalForLocal mantra or clean drinking water for all are causes that need a passionate team that believes in them and is willing to go the extra mile to get these voices heard by a larger national and global audience. Our team has its heart in the right place. Through Actimedia Earth, we want to be the most trusted communications advisor protecting, preserving and promoting human rights, organic products and services or locally sourced and curated small businesses. Our vision is to support those fighting for Human Rights and Earth Rights. We invite requests from any such responsible brands, organizations or NGOs who are helping build a better planet,” said Amitabh Saksena, Director, ActiMedia PR & Digital. 

    Over the last 22 years, ActiMedia PR & Digital has closely associated with various causes be it for Avon Justice League against domestic violence; launching Puma’s first sustainable retail store; empowering the LGBTQIA+ community by publicizing South Asia’s largest Queer Film Festival – Kashish or the nation-wide campaign for better legislation in rape cases through the Dignity March. ActiMedia Earth is the ultimate brand solution division for products and services aimed towards safeguarding Planet Earth and its inhabitants.

    ActiMedia PR & Digital’s extensive experience spans Corporate & Lifestyle PR and managing communications for an array of national and International brands like Forevermark, Diamonds Switzerland Tourism, Endemol Shine, London & Partners, LimeRoad & Metro Brands amongst several others.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Retail sector requires new paradigm for consumer-brand interaction

    Retail sector requires new paradigm for consumer-brand interaction

    MUMBAI: Retailers around the globe recognise that the outbreak of COVID-19 will have a significant impact on their business.

    Sensing this need, FCB, India in collaboration with Networkbay, announced launched ‘Retail: Day 1,’ an initiative to work with brands and retailers to ‘manage, redefine and transform’ their retail experiences in the post-COVID era.

    Everyone is looking at the new normal that will arrive as soon as the lockdown gets lifted. After doing an extensive research on consumer behaviour, FCB India has found that the biggest change will be witnessed by the retail sector. The challenge before every brand is to create a new paradigm in which consumers would interact with brands in the retail space.

    FCB India and Networkbay will identify a measured careful contact approach and how consumers would react to this new reality.

    FCB India group chairman and CEO Rohit Ohri said: “The reason for the partnership is to understand the change as to how we can prepare our clients to adapt quickly to this new world. From the FCB point of view, we are bringing the understanding of consumer behaviour and big changes that we see going forward. At the same time, Networkbay will bring its sense, capability, understanding and technology related to the retail industry."

    Networkbay co-founder Hozefa Attari added: “There is no direct answer to what the retail sector is going to look like. Our idea is to create a retail environment that is safe and future-ready and at the same time answers to the very human need of shopping. We are doing this by combining the strengths of some of the best technology brands you see globally.”

    FCB has a strong foothold in the automotive space. Dealers were already struggling in the pre-COVID era and Hozefa believes that this industry has a large potential to change the overall consumer experience. They are coming up with automotive visualisation wherein one can create experiences right out of test driving on a roadway. Consumers can also use augmented reality to familiarise with the car.

    Another industry which will be hugely impacted is the cosmetic sector where samplers and freebies have always been part of a retail experience. But looking at the situation people will be hesitant to test products now. To enable the contactless makeup journey, Networkbay has come up with a solution where consumers can choose the product which is perfectly calibrated with their skin tones.

    A large number of departmental stores and apparel brands are now going to see that consumers are hesitant to pick up clothes and try them in the fitting room. The firm will provide a virtual tour of the store and help consumers choose the clothes of their interest.

    Even essential services are impacted, because even after the lockdown is lifted, consumers will look at safe ways to pick a product. So, Networkbay provides an option where instead of picking every product, consumers can have augmented reality product explainers.

    According to Hozefa, contactless is just an initial learning but what they really want to see after six months is transformable retail experiences which will connect the brands and connect the shoppers and is still a safe and strong experience.

    According to Ohri and Hozefa, clients are more than open for digital solutions because they no longer like to keep physical experience and add a certain level of technology. But they are looking at solutions that can generate a lot of ROI. Investment in digital gives tremendous immediate returns.

    “Today we are getting products that we never bought online. If you are doing this for a period of two months you are building a habit; you don’t have a choice. Very few people are stepping out to purchase anything and most products are delivered online. So we created a technology which is simple and accessible,” he said.

    According to Ohri, behavioural changes occur when a big event creates disruption. For instance, demonetisation changed the behaviour of transactions for consumers. A lot of people who never used ATM or online transfers or portals like Paytm started using it. So, once the cash flow was back, online transactions wouldn't have become zero. This change has been a transformation for India. It is pretty much like how COVID-19 has affected people.

  • Digital campaigns have highest chances of growing: BARC Nielsen report

    Digital campaigns have highest chances of growing: BARC Nielsen report

    MUMBAI: As per the third edition of the BARC-Nielsen report on digital advertising, there is no drop in the count of creatives even after the COVID-19 crisis. According to the report, 11 out of 19 categories have maintained their demand in the market. Cosmetics market is highest at 185 per cent followed by corporate brand image at 175 per cent with hair care being the lowest at 108 per cent.

    In the digital video category, sectors like retail, travel and auto have seen a major drop. Retail has faced the highest drop with 98 per cent followed by building,   industrial, land and equipments, as well as travel and auto.

    The report also highlights that digital campaigns have the highest chances of growing among most of the other sectors. There is scope for advertisers in most sectors   to increase their footprint across more digital publishers.

    The data is based on over 1500 digital campaigns measured using digital ad ratings over last six months. Entertainment sector has garnered 153 million impressions followed by automotive industry garnering 148 million impressions.

     

  • Prasar Bharati on a Covid-19 awareness drive

    Prasar Bharati on a Covid-19 awareness drive

    MUMBAI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is making all efforts to educate and inform its viewers regarding the Covid-19 pandemic by leveraging its vast network of broadcast, radio and digital services. The pubcaster operates the largest network of TV and radio with thousands of transmitters and hundreds of stations/channels/services spread across the country.

    DD News and DD India on TV, AIR on radio and Prasar Bharati News Service (PBNS) and NewsOnAir app on digital are playing lead roles in keeping the people informed.

    “Our first priority has been to ensure that authentic news and information is made available to the citizens. The pubcaster has put in tremendous energy and effort towards informing and educating the citizens regarding COVID-19,” says Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati.

    Both DD news and AIR news have created a special COVID-19 bulletin twice a day in English and Hindi with designated slots. These bulletins have been made available digitally through a dedicated YouTube playlist for the benefit of private media. A dedicated channel has also been designated on DD FreeDish to continuously stream COVID-19 informational videos and news. The same is also available digitally via YouTube, informs Vempati.

    He says: “As a contingency plan, the national news streams on both TV and Radio have been made accessible to all the regional services as a fall-back mechanism so that no channel or station goes blank during the lockdown. Even vacant slots on DD Free Dish are continuously streaming COVID-19 information during this period.”

    The pubcaster is airing informational videos at high frequency on all TV channels and equivalent jingles on all radio services. A dedicated bi-lingual national news service has also been started by AIR News which is available on all FM, MW, DTH and web.

    Vempati says, “The greatest impact of the pubcaster is in regional services and local languages. Both TV and radio are innovating and using digital tools to keep the news and information going despite lockdown. Several of these regional efforts have been reported upon by media across the country. All of this is being curated and shared on social media from our main twitter handles apart from being aggregated in the NewsOnAir App.”

    The pubcaster’s global digital platform, NewsOnAir App, aggregates all of TV and radio content digitally. It is available on both Android and iOS. The app has more than 200 radio streams from across India. It has several audio-on-demand content; this includes hourly news bulletins in all Indian and several foreign languages to entertainment content, including historic shows of Vividh Bharati. NewsOnAir is a one-stop App for experiencing all of public broadcasting content.

    Vempati believes that the suspension in the production of original content is the time for innovation. “The entire industry has been impacted with the production coming to a halt. But we see this as a period for content innovation for new and unique formats and genres of content to emerge. Our radio teams are working on the same, leveraging remote communication tools to generate new content; as an example we had an early morning show of bird songs crowdsourced from across India. Also, in the pipeline are radio plays and book reading.”

  • Sad that bigger brands not investing enough on digital: BC Web Wise’ Chaaya Baradhwaaj

    Sad that bigger brands not investing enough on digital: BC Web Wise’ Chaaya Baradhwaaj

    NEW DELHI: One of the leading independent advertising agencies, serving clients like TikTok ads, BC Web Wise recently completed two decades of its fabulous journey. On the occasion, Indiantelevision.com interacted with founder and MD Chaaya Baradhwaaj to know about the agency, its journey and her take on the current trends in digital marketing.

    About the glorious journey of the agency, Baradhwaaj said, “The best way to describe our market value is to look at our two-decade journey, a marquee client roster, an impeccable reputation. In 2017, we got a CRISIL two-star rating for MSMEs. This year we got ‘Best Places To Work Certified’. We have consistently therefore not only been doing noteworthy work as a digital marketing agency – winning awards, but also a very stable organisation with a great work-place culture.”

    Baradhwaaj is expecting that this growth will only pick up pace in the coming future, as the digital technologies and communications grow. She believes that the industry will become more dynamic, volatile, and fluid. She sees this as an opportunity for agencies like hers to double up their ability to nimble and adapt quickly.

    “It will be the biggest advertising media in about a decade or even lesser than that. It will totally change the way advertising is done today.  It will help to build and grow (as it already is) many more profitable businesses giving consumers better choices, better prices, more transparency through the marketing funnel,” she notes.

    However, she feels that traditional brands are still not spending enough on digital mediums. “Traditional brands especially the larger ones tend to spend not more than five per cent to a maximum of 15 per cent on digital, which is going to be unfortunate in my opinion for these businesses. Unfortunately few can see the writing on the wall.”

    On being asked if the ongoing stress due to Covid-19 will further hamper the value propositions of traditional media like TV, further aiding the digital growth, she explains, “I hope Covid-19 is only going to be a short term blip. But TV, I think, is already keeling under pressure with the existing fragmentation, costs, and the rapid proliferation of OTT, plus UGC on digital, freedom to create and access content in an almost free world of digital, and the rapid adoption of digital across demographics.”  

    She adds, “Digital is huge. Big brands are not able to adapt to it, unfortunately. They are possibly too thick into traditional ways of doing things and unable to adapt. But there is a huge breed of fresh new startups from across the nation that is becoming bigger by the day by sharply focusing on digital marketing. There are many Nykaas in the making today. Meesho, a social e-commerce app, for instance, clickt2care.com, 1mg.com. There are many players across segments and they are investing big on digital already.”

  • M&E industry grew by almost 9% to reach Rs 1.82 tn in 2019: FICCI – EY report

    M&E industry grew by almost 9% to reach Rs 1.82 tn in 2019: FICCI – EY report

    MUMBAI: The Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) sector reached RS 1.82 trillion (US$25.7 billion) in 2019, a growth of 9 per cent over 2018 states the FICCI EY report ‘The era of consumer A.R.T. – Acquisition Retention and Transaction,’ launched today. With its current trajectory, the M&E sector in India is expected to cross INR2.4 trillion (US$34 billion) by 2022, at a CAGR of 10 per cent*.

    While television and print retained their positions as the two largest segments, digital media overtook filmed entertainment in 2019 to become the third largest segment of the M&E sector. Digital subscription revenues more than doubled from 2018 levels and digital advertising revenues grew to command 24 per cent of total advertising spend.

    The sector continues to grow at a rate faster than the GDP, driven primarily by growth in subscription-based business models and India’s attractiveness as a content production and post production destination.

    The rapid proliferation of mobile access is enabling on-demand, anytime-anywhere content consumption nationwide. With a population of 1.3 billion, a tele-density approaching 89% of households, 688 million internet subscribers and nearly 400 million smartphone users, India’s telecom industry is poised to become the primary platform for content distribution and consumption. India ranks as one of the fastest-growing app markets globally, where entertainment apps are driving significant consumer engagement.

    Online gaming retained its position as the fastest growing segment on the back of transaction-based games mainly fantasy sports, increased in-app purchases and a 31 per cent growth in the number of online gamers to reach around 365 million.

    Uday Shankar, Senior Vice President FICCI, said, “Riding the wave of exponential progress made towards digital accessibility and adoption, the M&E industry has been a forerunner of a dynamic and aspirational India. New products and business models are being imagined to capitalize on the rise in media consumption. Global players are recognizing the need to build India-centric offerings. The coming years are likely to usher in greater innovation in content formats, means of dissemination, and business models.”

    Ashish Pherwani, Partner and Media & Entertainment Leader, EY India, stated, “The M&E sector witnessed a surge in content consumption as digital infrastructure, quantum of content produced and per-capita income increased in 2019.  Driven by the ability to create direct-to-customer relationships, the sector firmly pivoted towards a B2C operating model, changing the way it measured itself. As entertainment and information options grew and choice increased the era of consumer Acquisition, Retention and Transaction (ART) redefined the media value chain leading to the emergence of many new trends and strategies across content, distribution, consumption and monetization.”

    “The coronavirus outbreak will have a significant adverse impact on the sector, the situation is still evolving both in India and many parts of the world, the scale of the impact cannot be estimated immediately,” he added.

    Key findings

    Television:

    The TV industry grew from Rs 740 billion to INR 788 billion in 2019, a growth of 6.5 per cent. TV advertising grew 5 per cent to Rs 320 billion while subscription grew 7 per cent to Rs 468 billion. Regional channels benefited from the New Tariff Order as their consumption increased by over 20% in certain cases. General entertainment and movie channels led with 74 per cent of viewership. On the back of several key announcements by the central and state governments such as Article 370, the Citizenship Amendment Act, and a general election, the news genre witnessed a growth to almost 9 per cent of total viewership, up from 7.3 per cent in 2018. In sports cricket emerged as the big winner in 2019 as it accounted for over 80 per cent of the sports viewership, up from 70 per cent last year, due to the ICC World Cup.

    Key insights – Television will remain the largest earner of advertising revenues even in 2025, approaching Rs570 billion. Viewership of regional language channels will continue to grow and reach 55 per cent of total viewership in India as their content quality improves further. Content viewed on smart TV sets will begin to reflect that consumed on mobile phones, providing a window for user generated content companies and other non-broadcasters to serve content on the connected television screen.

    Print:

    Despite a 3 per cent revenue degrowth at Rs 296 billion, print continued to retain the second largest share of the Indian M&E sector. Circulation revenues increased by 2 per cent to Rs 90 billion as newspaper companies tactically increased prices in certain markets. Advertising revenues fell 5 per cent to INR 206 billion in 2019 as AdEX volumes fell by 8 per cent. Margins improved as newsprint cost measures were implemented and companies benefited from the reduction of newsprint prices.

    Key insights – 2019 witnessed a significant growth in digital news consumers over 2018 when 300 million Indians consumed news online. Most large print companies had a defined digital business, with two companies crossing Rs 1 billion in digital revenues. Digital subscription, though nascent, has increased as several publications have put digital products behind a paywall.

    ·Digital media:

    In 2019, digital media grew 31 per cent to reach INR 221 billion and is expected to grow at 23 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 414 billion by 2022. Digital advertising grew 24 per cent to Rs 192 billion driven by increased consumption of content on digital platforms and marketeers’ preference to measure performance. SME and long tail advertisers increased their spends on digital media as well.  Pay digital subscribers crossed 10 million for the first time as sports and other premium content were put behind a paywall.  Consequently, subscription revenue grew 106 per cent to Rs 29 billion. Digital consumption grew across platforms where video viewers increased by 16 pe cent, audio streamers by 33% and news consumers by 22 per cent.

    Key insights: By 2020, OTT subscription market will approximate 10 per cent of the total TV subscription market (without, however, considering data charges).  We estimate over 40 million connected TVs by 2025, which will provide a huge opportunity for content creators to reach family consumers.  Better bandwidth will drive large screen consumption. By 2025, 750 million smart phone screens will also increase the demand for regional, UGC and short content, creating a short video ecosystem that can create significant employment.  The battle for content discovery will intensity and move to the unified interface.

    ·Films:

    The Indian film segment grew 10 per cent in 2019 to reach INR 191 billion driven by the growth in domestic theatrical revenues and both rates and volume of digital/ OTT rights sold. Domestic film revenues crossed INR 115 billion with Gross Box Office collections for Hindi films at Rs 49.5 billion – the highest ever for Hindi theatricals. Overseas theatricals revenues fell 10 per cenr to Rs 27 billion despite more films being released abroad primarily as films with superstars didn’t perform as well in 2019. 108 Hollywood films were released in 2019 as compared to 98 in 2018. The gross box office collections of Hollywood films in India (inclusive of all their Indian language dubbed versions) grew 33 per cent to reach Rs 16 billion. As single screens continued to reduce, the total screen count decreased by 74 to 9,527.

    Key Insights: Digital rights continued to grow in 2019 with an increase in revenues from Rs 13.5 billion in 2018 to Rs 19 billion in 2019. Digital release windows shortened with some movies releasing on OTT platforms even before their release on television. In-cinema advertising grew marginally to Rs 7.7 billion in 2019 as multiplexes and advertising aggregators started signing long-term deals with brands. Seventeen hindi films entered the coveted Rs 100 crore club in 2019, which is the highest ever. Interestingly, six movies made it to the rs 200 crore club in 2019, as opposed to three in 2018. The future will be driven by immersive content (technology and VFX rich) experiences to drive theatrical footfalls and some genres of films could migrate to home viewership only.  We can expect to see creation of a segmented Hindi-mass product for the heartland at low ticket prices.

    Mergers and Acquisitions in M&E

    While the number of deals increased to 64 in 2019 from 41 in 2018, the overall deal value was

     much lower at Rs 101 billion as compared to Rs 192 billion in the previous year. This was largely due to the absence of big-ticket deals with only four deals crossing the US$100 million threshold. The highest amount of investment was made in television, followed by digital, radio and gaming. Deal activity was spearheaded by new media such as digital and gaming, which witnessed 54 of the 64 deals in 2019, however, in terms of deal value, the share of traditional media segments such as TV, radio and film exhibition was 63 per cent.

  • TV, digital and film shoots stop in Mumbai from today

    TV, digital and film shoots stop in Mumbai from today

    MUMBAI: Mumbai’s content producers were in for a shock. When they reached the gates of Film City this morning, they found them shut.  Until late last evening, Film City officials were adamant that they would keep the government-owned location open till 19 March, until they received official notice from the authorities. Which they apparently did late last night or early this morning in the wake of the Sars-CoV-2 virus scare.

    The producers’ body – the IFTPC – also got instructions from Maharashtra government officials that its members need to wind up their shoots as soon as possible – that is by tonight.

    However, in different shoot locations in Mumbai,  Bombay Municipal Corporation representatives went around  post lunch demanding that shootings be wound up immediately.  And they were given no option but to comply.

    It may be recalled that the various trade and craft unions had announced that they had agreed to cease all production by 19 March, and until the end of the month.

    Says a producer: “We were all working to shoot over time so that we could meet our deadlines with the broadcasters. Now we don’t know, what we will do. We will have to package  good episodes together using sharp edits.”

    How broadcasters will deal with this sudden turn of events with some episodes possibly being left incomplete, is to be seen. The good news for them is that since many Mumbai-kars are going to be home bound until the tide of the CoViD 2019 bad news recedes, a lot of television is going to be consumed.

    The government, on its part, is taking the extreme steps as it is hardpressed to halt the spread of CoVid-2019, which has attained pandemic status the world over.