ITV

Tag: Discovery Communications

  • Baseline Ventures sends legal notice to Discovery Communications

    Baseline Ventures sends legal notice to Discovery Communications

    Mumbai: Baseline Ventures has filed a legal notice to Discovery Communications India for fulfilling a pending payment owed to it by the Volleyball Federation of India.

    Discovery Communications is set to enter a contract with the Volleyball Federation of India for the purpose of telecasting the recently announced Volleyball League on their Eurosports channels.

    According to a ruling dated 21 November 2020, an arbitral tribunal presided by retired justice K Kannan had directed the Volleyball Federation of India to pay a sum of Rs four crore with 12 per cent per annum in interest and a sum of Rs five lakh as costs to Baseline Ventures.

    In the legal notice, Baseline Ventures, IP owner of Prime Volleyball League, noted that the volleyball body failed to comply with the payment, resulting in the sports marketing and promotion company filing an execution petition before the Madras high court for a sum of Rs 4,53,86,509, along with future interest. The legal notice also mentioned that the revised payment has also not been paid.

    “Baseline is owed over Rs six crore by this body as decided by the courts. On hearing that Discovery Sport wants to broadcast this, we have made them a party to this sum as they are signing a contract with the same body. Discovery needs to be aware of the legal history of this agreement and the dues still owed to us,” said Prime Volleyball League CEO Joy Bhattacharjya.

    At the same time, the secretary-general of the Volleyball Federation of India Mohd Akram Khan also wrote to Discovery Communications India, noting that the inception of the Volleyball League set to be broadcasted on the channel by the name of EuroSports, was created by a small unrecognised faction of Volleyball Federation of India. The notice also added that the same faction had conducted a parallel election in the federation and was not approved by any constitutional authority and the status of the election is being decided by the Supreme Court.

    The ministry of youth affairs and sports have not renewed the recognition of the Volleyball Federation of India for the term 2020-24 and there are no office bearers of VFI in the records of the ministry, stated the legal notice. “The so-called ‘VFI’ is not recognized by the ministry of youth affairs and sport since 2020,” Bhattacharjya added.

    “We challenge this so-called VFI to provide evidence that FIVB, the world volleyball body, is actually supporting this event as claimed. If they cannot provide the same, they are cheating players and the public.” he further said.

  • IAA appoints Megha Tata as president

    IAA appoints Megha Tata as president

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has appointed Megha Tata as its new president. She is the MD of Discovery South Asia and was elected as vice president of the association last year.

    The association announced the appointment in a tweet congratulating Tata on her new role.

    She is an industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience. Tata joined Discovery Communications in 2019 and has been spearheading the operations there. Prior to joining Discovery, Tata was serving as the chief operating officer at Business Television India (BTVI).

    Tata has held senior positions at Star India, HBO India, and Turner International. She has received many industry accolades and has had an illustrious career.

  • Discovery Communications questions transparency, objectivity of recent TRAI consultation paper

    Discovery Communications questions transparency, objectivity of recent TRAI consultation paper

    MUMBAI: Discovery Communications India along with others filed a petition against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in the Delhi High Court for quashing the consultation paper floated on tariff-related issues for broadcasting and cable services.

    “The petitioner submits that the impugned consultation paper is marred by judicial impropriety in as much as the impugned consultation paper fails to conform to the fundamental tenets of transparency and objectivity, by proceeding with a pre-determined notion that channel broadcasters have distorted the broadcasting market and consumer choice through perverse pricing and deep discounting, and have therefore called for suggestions on the ways and means to remedy the situation,” it said.

    “Being aggrieved by the pre-conceived and pre-determined approach of the respondent that is writ large on the face of the impugned consultation paper, the petitioners are constrained to approach this Hon'ble Court under its extraordinary writ jurisdiction to challenge the validity and legality of the process initiated under the Impugned consultation paper by the respondent, which clearly lacks objectivity, transparency and fairness of approach,” it added.

    One of the basic grounds for the petition is that the process of consultation is flawed as well as lacks objectivity. It has also been said that the consultation paper on the new tariff order issued by the respondent demonstrates a pre-determined approach of TRAI with respect to the broadcasters, which defeats the very purpose of such consultation. The petitioner has also submitted that the consultation paper contains serious allegations against the broadcaster.

    It has also been claimed that the consultation paper lacks objectivity, transparency and fairness in approach while 'transparency' is the basis of any consultation process. Hence, the impugned consultation paper fails to conform to the fundamental tenets of transparency and objectivity by asking leading questions in a public consultation exercise.

    “It is submitted that the respondent has vitiated the process of consultation by issuing leading questions along with conclusive statements making allegations against the petitioner. The petitioner submits that the respondent has approached with a close-mind at the stage of consultation process itself,” the petitioners said in the petition.

    Moreover, it also states that the consultation paper has the effect of interfering with the right of the broadcasters with reference to the manner in which, they would want to offer their product in bouquets and to such extent it is a direct infringement with the content of the broadcaster.

  • DSPORT to broadcast live the round two draw for asian qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

    DSPORT to broadcast live the round two draw for asian qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

    MUMBAI: DSPORT, a premium sports channel by Discovery Communications India will broadcast the Round 2 draw for Asian qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 preliminary competition.

    The draw will be broadcast LIVE and Exclusive to the Indian audience on DSPORT from 2:30 PM IST on July 17th, 2019.

    Commenting on the deal on behalf of DSPORT, the official broadcaster, Mr. R.C. Venkateish, MD & CEO, LexSportel, shared his thoughts saying, “ This is a big opportunity for us. FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated tournament in the world. We as a broadcaster are overwhelmed to become a part of this epic journey. We hope we can further our association with the sporting extravaganza as we move closer to the event.”

    In the first round of the Preliminary Joint Qualification, teams ranked 35-46 in Asia were pitted against each other in two pools. After the matches of round 1, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Guam, Malaysia and Mongolia – advanced to Round 2 while the decision on the match between Macau and Sri Lanka is still pending.

    The draw which will be held at the AFC House, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia will feature top forty nations who will be drawn into five groups of eight teams. The seeding of the draw is based on the FIFA/Coca Cola Rankings as of June 14th, 2019.

    In the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran participated. Japan was the only team to make it to the round of 16 and finally went down to Belgium by a score line of 3-2 in one of the most thrilling encounters of the cup.

    The pots in the round 2 shape up in the following manner:

    Pot 1

    Pot 2

    Pot 3

    Pot 4

    Pot 5

    IR Iran

    Iraq

    Palestine

    Turkmenistan

    Indonesia

    Japan

    Uzbekistan

    India

    Myanmar

    Singapore

    Korea Republic

    Syria

    Bahrain

    Hong Kong

    Nepal

    Australia

    Oman

    Thailand

    Yemen

    Cambodia

    Qatar

    Lebanon

    Tajikistan

    Afghanistan

    Bangladesh

    UAE

    Kyrgyz Republic

    DPR Korea

    Maldives

    Mongolia

    Saudi Arabia

    Vietnam

    Chinese Taipei

    Kuwait

    Guam

    China PR

    Jordan

    Philippines

    Malaysia

    Macau/Sri Lanka
  • DSPORT to telecast marquee european tour events in india

    DSPORT to telecast marquee european tour events in india

    MUMBAI: DSPORT, a premium sports channel of Discovery Communications, will broadcast live , Marquee events from the European Tour 2019, Europe’s premiere and one of golf’s strongest professional tours featuring some of the world’s top professional golfers.

    The association tees-off with the live broadcast of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship scheduled between Jan 16-19, 2019.

    The first tournament as part of the Rolex Series, the Abu Dhabi event will feature top golfers of the world like world numbers two and three Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka in a strong field .

    Apart from Shubhankar Sharma, who became the first Indian to win the prestigious European Tour Rookie of the Year award last year, other top Indian golfers like Anirban Lahiri, Gaganjeet Bhullar and S.S.P. Chawrasia among others can now be seen in live competition action throughout the year.

    Hero MotoCorp, who already had golf legend Tiger Woods as their Ambassador  and also present the Hero World Challenge Golf as well as the Hero Golf Challenge Events  and the Hero Indian Open, will be the on air live telecast Partner on DSport.

    One of the richest golf tours in the world, the top 19 tournaments of the 2019 season present a total prize money of $35 mn with the DP World Tour Championship scheduled for November in Dubai, carrying a whopping $8 mn prize purse.

    Eight other tournaments will carry a purse of $5 mn or more in prize money.

    Among other top names of the golfing world who can be seen in live action besides those mentioned will be the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Ernie Els and Thongchai Jaidee among others. 

  • Tata Sky vs. TRAI: Case, argued partly by DTH operator, adjourned to 23 January

    Tata Sky vs. TRAI: Case, argued partly by DTH operator, adjourned to 23 January

    MUMBAI: DTH operator Tata Sky’s ongoing court battle with the TRAI and its new tariff regime, in which Bharti Telemedia-owned Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct are a part, has been adjourned by the Delhi High Court to January 23 with arguments being inconclusive.

    The matter was argued partly by senior lawyer Kapil Sibal on behalf of the direct-to-home operator on Tuesday who focussed on two points of 15 per cent discount cover (or the lack of it) and micromanagement attempt by TRAI of how business should be conducted.

    The hearing in the case started at around 2:45 pm and continued till almost 90 minutes during which Sibal argued that with the Madras HC setting aside the 15 per cent discount cap, the main aim of the tariff order had been frustrated and that attempt to micromanage a business, especially moves relating to pricing, etc., some of the provisions of the regulation were not in the interest of the DTH operator, which follows a different cost model compared to MSOs.

    The TRAI counsel’s interjection, according to industry sources, was minimal except seeking some technical clarifications relating to issues being argued by the Tata Sky lawyer and the actual content of the writ petition.

    Though this essentially means the regulator is unlikely to take any coercive action against the DTH operator and Discovery (that has already published new rates in compliance with the TRAI tariff order) until the next hearing, during the 10 January 2019 hearing of the case the court had verbally observed that Tata Sky could remain non-compliant at its own peril.

    At the earlier hearing Sibal had impressed upon the judges to ask TRAI to produce all documents on how it arrived at the decision to implement the new tariff regime. He had also stated that implementing the present order will have an adverse impact on business.

    The TRAI lawyer had countered saying while Tata Sky felt aggrieved, a big DTH operator like Dish TV and all other MSOs seemed satisfied and had complied with the new tariff framework.

    The court had then asked the regulator to file the documents and the data that was the basis for arriving at the new tariff regime.

    Tata Sky is unlikely to upload its RIO for now, unlike Discovery, which has already published the same on its website, under protest.

    In 2017, Bharti Telemedia, Tata Sky and Discovery Communication India had filed petitions against TRAI, challenging its tariff order and the interconnect regulations.

    Unlike the position adopted by Star India wherein it questioned the regulatory powers of TRAI, the matter in the Delhi HC questions the regulator’s power to wipe out deals that operators enter into to fix commissions and rates for customers.

    While the Delhi HC case outcome could have implications on Tata Sky, Sun Direct, other distribution platform operators (DPOs) continue to be bound by the tariff order and most of them have complied too.

  • TLC firmly establishes itself as a clear leader in lifestyle genre with 24% upswing in ratings

    TLC firmly establishes itself as a clear leader in lifestyle genre with 24% upswing in ratings

    MUMBAI: TLC, leading lifestyle channel from Discovery Communications India, soared to the top of Lifestyle genre with a 24% increase in ratings according to the latest BARC data*. TLC secured 8640 impressions ‘000 in week 11 as compared to 6972 impressions ‘000 in Week 10. The upsurge in ratings is supported by a 23% increase in average time spent delivering a TSV of 11:33 minutes (for week 11) as compared to 9:24 minutes (week 10) * .

    The lifestyle channel has recently ramped up its programing line-up in India introducing many food based TLC franchises including ‘Bakery Boss’, ‘Fabulous Cakes’, ‘Cake Boss’ & ‘Zumbos Just Desserts’ and Fashion series such as ‘Say Yes to Dress’ and ‘Bride By Design’. TLC has also launched Mini Me, a 10-part series travelogue chronicling an unconventional journey of TV host Mini Mathur and her daughter across 6 countries in Europe.

    Commenting on the development, Discovery Communications India, Vice President – Digital & Premium Networks, Zulfia Waris said, “Our strategy of offering the best of food and fashion led content suited for Indian audiences is delivering results. We will remain focused in our endeavor to further extend this lead over competition with a mix of best of international as well as ground-up India programming.”

  • Discovery Communications gets US govt nod for Scripps Networks merger

    Discovery Communications gets US govt nod for Scripps Networks merger

    MUMBAI: Discovery Communications (Discovery) can finally heave a sigh of relief as the United States Department of Justice has closed its investigation into the company’s proposed acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive (Scripps Networks). Back in 2017, the American mass media company agreed to purchase Scripps Networks in a deal valued at $14.6 billion.

    According to the deal between the companies last July, the collaboration is expected to extend Scripps Networks’ content to international audiences, increase opportunities for advertisers and digital distribution partners and unlock significant cost synergies.

    After the conclusion of the investigation, Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said, “We are pleased to have passed this significant regulatory milestone on our path to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive.” He termed the conclusion as “an integral step toward closing our enthusiast audiences around the world.”

    The closing of the proposed deal now depends on completion of a review in Ireland and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2018 ended 31 March. Till then, the companies will continue to operate as separate and independent entities.

    Also Read:

    Discovery Jeet signs content deal with Netflix

    Discovery Jeet postpones 2 show launches to late March

  • Jeet draws first blood in GEC showdown

    Jeet draws first blood in GEC showdown

    MUMBAI: After entertaining the Indian audience for more than 20 years with world-class documentaries on food, science, survival and more, Discovery Communications India (DCIN) is all set to entertain Indians with its general entertainment channel (GEC) Jeet. Slated to launch on 12 February 2018, the channel is already earning rave reviews for its content. The channel, which will launch with distribution to more than 100 million households in India, has already signed Netflix as the exclusive global OTT platform and has added another feather to its cap a week prior to its launch. The company has announced unprecedented consumer engagement for the entertainment domain with content trailers of Jeet achieving record high completion rate of 65 per cent on YouTube and 40 per cent on Facebook, more than double the industry benchmark of 30 per cent completion rate on YouTube and 20 per cent on Facebook.

    According to DCIN’s release, Jeet’s content-led trailers have cumulatively delivered more than 300 million impressions, more than 100 million views in just over of 2 weeks on YouTube and Facebook. The two trailers of 21 Sarfarosh and Swami Ramdev Ek Sangharsh have crossed 50 million views on YouTube and Facebook.

    This week, Discovery JEET will release another 100 plus pieces of digital content with an aim to further intensify its reach on digital and give consumers a glimpse of the range of content on offer.

    Jeet’s differentiated content philosophy has found many natural partners and helped achieve pre-launch inventory sales targets. The channel’s brand-led partnership approach has seen multiple brands from major conglomerates, including Reckitt Benckiser, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Marico, Mondelez International, Johnson and Johnson, Yellow Diamond and Quickheal come on board even before the launch.

    “We started speaking about entertaining and inspiring content in all our sales pitches a while ago, but the moment we started showcasing rushes of our shows to advertisers, the response started to change dramatically as they were able to experience Discovery Jeet’s line-up of dramatic, compelling stories of real, relatable characters presented in a cinematic, larger than life format,” said DCIN senior VP and GM (South Asia) Karan Bajaj.  “We are enthused with the response that Jeet has been able to garner from the consumers, the advertising community as well as the affiliate partners. We will be dialing up an aggressive marketing campaign even further as we get closer to the launch of the channel.”

    Jeet is aiming to break the clutter in the Hindi GEC arena riding on purpose-driven entertainment content. The channel will launch with five hours of programming band daily out of which three hours will be bespoke, ground-up original programming built on the thesis of the underdog winning.  Jeet will be available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Also Read:

    Discovery Jeet gears up for Feb 12 launch

    Discovery India ties-up with Reliance Animation to produce kids IP

  • Discovery bags nine sponsors for Battle Ops

    Discovery bags nine sponsors for Battle Ops

    MUMBAI: Battle Ops, Discovery Communications India’s (DCIN) integrated television and digital offering, has received a resounding response from the advertiser community. The show, which will premiere on Discovery Channel and Veer on 26th January, has already sold out with nine sponsors on board.

    Mahindra KUV and Thums Up have come on board as the co-presenting sponsors of Battle Ops while the series is co-powered by Swiggy, Suzuki Intruder, Parle G and Gillette. Idea, LIC of India and K P Foodshave come on board as the associate sponsors.

    Discovery Communications India SVP and GM- South Asia Karan Bajaj said, “In response to the exploding multi-screen viewership in India, we wanted to break the linear and digital silos that currently exist in the market and offer a seamless consumer experience, a first-of-a-kind approach adopted by a broadcaster in India. We are delighted that this unique offering has been able to draw unprecedented advertiser interest. We will only accelerate from here on.”

    He added, “Discovery is the undisputed leader in the infotainment category on television and our clutter-breaking digital-first content proposition on digital is designed to help us achieve our ambition of being the number 1 mobile content brand in the country.”

    The scale of advertiser interest stands testimony to DCIN’s new strategy of aggregating television and digital audiences with an aim to multiply advertiser value. The company spotted a big market opportunity with no major at-scale digital/mobile-first channels and announced its plans to launch four direct-to-consumer, social and mobile-first channels.  

    Discovery Communications India VP-head of advertising sales Vikram Tanna said, “The military genre has always been a favourite with advertisers. The aggregation of premium audiences with the unique television plus digital offering makes our product highly differentiated and robust.  In today’s multi-screen environment, reach multiplication across screens, with a strong and focused content ecosystem makes the combination of Discovery channel and Veer by Discovery, truly, a game changer.”