ITV

Tag: Disney

  • Robert ‘Iron Man’ Downey, Jr joins Twitter

    Robert ‘Iron Man’ Downey, Jr joins Twitter

    MUMBAI: The Iron Man himself has finally joined Twitter. With only six tweets as of now, he’s taken a dip into the social media universe. Within a couple of days, Downey has tallied 1.2 million followers. Wow, word travels fast.

    Iron Man is a billion dollar franchise for Marvel since it first introduced Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark in 2008. Worldwide the first film grossed $585 million, the second one, $623.9 million and the third, $1.2 billion. The next Marvel title for the actor is Avengers: Age of Ultron which will bow 1 May, 2015 from Disney.

    The actor has long been a strong presence on social media due to his many fans who call him #RDJ. His fans post video bits from the actor from media, on-stage award shows, red carpet appearances, and other media events showcasing the witty side.

    His opening Tweet read: Loving all the love, folks. It’s been a blast. Though can somebody please explain how anyone can keep their thoughts to 140 characters or le

    Below is the first pic that #RDJ shared with the twitterati, boy does he know how to start a party…
  • PwC report: content value, retransmission fees to boost E&M deals

    PwC report: content value, retransmission fees to boost E&M deals

    MUMBAI: If the new report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) comes true, the media and entertainment sector could witness increasingly lucrative retransmission fees and high value for content having key influences on deal activity in the sector.

     

    The value of deals in the US entertainment, media and communications sector in 2013 more than doubled, driven by several “megadeals,” according to PwC’s year-end update.

     

    The deal volume year-to-year was relatively stable, the company reveals in its US Entertainment, Media & Communications Deal Insights report, rising by just three per cent to 866, while deal value soared from $96.2 billion to $222.7 billion.

     

    In broadcasting, deal volume rose from 71 to 87, with deal value soaring from $5.8 billion to $26.3 billion, driven by Comcast’s acquisition of GE’s interest in NBCUniversal. Going forward, deal activity in broadcasting is likely to be influenced by the increasing importance of retransmission revenues, as companies look to broaden their geographic reach.

     

    “PwC is beginning to see increased activity from US government regulators around anti-trust, intra-market media ownership and foreign media ownership regulations, which will likely be another market factor influencing deal volume,” the report says in its broadcasting 2014 outlook.

     

    Cable deal volume was stable at 16, but the value of deals fell year-to-year from $9 billion to $5 billion.

     

    Last year also saw 46 deals in film/content, up from 40, with a value of $0.5 billion, down from $9 billion in 2012. The previous year included Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm.

     

    On the 2014 outlook for deals in film and content, PwC says, “The rising value of content has started an industry-wide race to acquire it. Buyers continue to look for ways to bridge the value gap and meet the premiums demanded by content providers through attractive deal structures, beneficial tax structuring and contingent consideration. Recent years have seen several major acquisitions of content assets, and despite the drop in deal value in 2013, the ongoing deal activity is likely to continue. Geographic location will hold no bar as U.S. participants look abroad and foreign players look to the United States for a means to acquire and monetize content.”

  • FremantleMedia’s ‘Ella the Eelephant’ now available across Disney Junior channel Latin America

    FremantleMedia’s ‘Ella the Eelephant’ now available across Disney Junior channel Latin America

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment today announced that the preschool show, Ella the Elephant, has been sold to Disney Junior Channel Latin America.  Having already sold to 23 children’s TV platforms in more than 50 territories,Disney Junior Channel Latin America is the latest network to fall for the adorable elephant with a charmingpersonality.

    Ella the Elephant is an animated preschool series about an adventurous elephant and her magic hat.  The series is based on the popular books by Carmela and Steve D’Amico and follows the adventures of Ella, the little elephant with a giant heart.  Ella loves to play and explore Elephant Islands with her friends Tiki, Frankie and Belinda, but sometimes their adventures create challenges along the way.  Luckily through a combination of imagination and “hat magic,” Ella is able to transform her hat into numerous objects that can come to her aid.  

    “With its upbeat tone and expression of positive values, Ella the Elephant is sure to be a great addition to children’s programming across Latin America,” said Sheila Aguirre, Senior Vice President, Sales and Development Latin America, Caribbean and Hispanic USA, FremantleMedia International.  “While we have had success with shows such as Merlin and My Babysitter’s A Vampire on Disney XD Latin America, we’re excited to have a show like Ella that’s filled with great messages for preschoolers find a home on Disney Junior Channel Latin America.”

    In addition to the upcoming premiere in Latin America, Ella the Elephant will launch on Disney Junior in the U.S. this spring.  The show also premiered on TVO, Knowledge Networkand Tele-Quebec in Canada and Tiji in Franceandis also currently airing in Poland where it performs well amongst girls aged 4-9, with an average share of 16.4%.  Additional territories expected to begin airing Ella the Elephant during the first half of 2014 include Finland (MTV3 Juniori), Norway (TV2), Australia (ABC), Spain (Clan) and Singapore (Okto), with additional territories to follow later in the year.  

    Ella the Elephant is an animated series produced in CGI against 2D backgrounds by DHX Media in association with TVO Kids and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment.  DHX Media has international distribution rights in Canada, USA, Middle East and India, with FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment handling the rest of the world.  DHX Media and FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment are also currently exploring multiple opportunities for consumer products programs including toys and apparel.

    Visit FremantleMedia at NATPE 2014 at Fontainebleau Resort in Miami, Tresor Tower, Suite 2-3003 from January 27 – 29.

     

  • Disney Channel to premiere the all new Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts this January

    Disney Channel to premiere the all new Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts this January

    MUMBAI: The endearing, adventurous and comedic antics of Mickey Mouse, Disney’s #1 star and the world’s leading character franchise, will be premiered on Disney Channel in a new short-form series of 2D comedy cartoons. Disney Channel India which had earlier introduced viewers to two episodes of the short form series of 2D comedy cartoons on the beloved character’s birthday, will air 4 new episodes of the Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts on January 27th at 5pm. With the slapstick feel of classic Mickey Mouse, the series of cartoon shorts presents Mickey in a broad range of humorous situations that showcase his pluck and rascality, along with his long-beloved charm and good heartedness.  

     

    The new episodes ‘Yodelberg’, ‘New York Weenie, ‘Tokyo Go’ and ‘Stayin’ Cool’ will follow Mickey to places like New York, The Alps and Tokyo facing silly situations, quick complications and an escalation of physical and visual gags.  The episodes include ‘Yodelberg’ where Mickey longs to visit Minnie atop her mountaintop chalet but quickly realizes that the threat of avalanche has made the trek up the mountain more challenging than usual and ‘New York Weenie’ where Mickey hilariously chases after a runway hot dog through Central Park. Another special episode ‘Tokyo Go’ follows Mickey’s adventures in Tokyo, where he accidentally boards the wrong bullet train while the episode ‘Stayin’ Cool’ follows Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they must find creative ways to keep cool on the hottest day of the year. These stories feature heartfelt and heroic moments as Mickey experiences life with his comical partners Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto.

     

    The premiere of the Mickey Short – ‘No Service’ on Disney Channel rated 1.5 TVR among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC). It ranked #1 in the kids genre with a 28% share of viewing and ranked #2 across all TV during its time slot while the premiere of the Mickey Short – ‘Croissant De Triomphe’  rated 1.0 TVR among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC). It ranked #1 in the kid’s genre with a 33% share of viewing and ranked #2 across all TV during its time slot. (Source: TAM; TG: CS 4-14 ABC; Period: 18th Nov 2013; Market: HSM).The premiere of both these Mickey Shorts reached out to 7 million kids across India.

     

    While the direction and pacing of the new “Mickey Mouse” cartoon shorts are fresh and contemporary, they are, at the same time homage to the art direction and storytelling of Walt and his animators in the 1920s and ’30s. Geared towards kids aged 6-14 and families, and produced in 2D animation, the design esthetic for the “Mickey Mouse” cartoon shorts reaches back almost 80 years and borrows reverentially from the bold style of his 1930s design with a few contemporary touches. A must watch for the true eagle-eyed Disney fans, as the production team has also included the occasional homage to other icons from the Disney heritage.

     

    Don’t miss the special episodes of the brand new Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts on January 27, 2014 at 5pm on Disney Channel

  • Disney UTV presents a movie slate with the biggest stars across multiple languages!

    Disney UTV presents a movie slate with the biggest stars across multiple languages!

    MUMBAI: After witnessing the most successful year for any studio ever in 2013, on the back of commercial blockbusters such as Chennai Express, YehJawaaniHaiDeewani and Race 2; and high concept films such as Kai Po Che, ABCD, Ship of Theseus, The Lunchbox and Shahid; Disney UTV will pack the very best in movie entertainment for audiences in 2014 and beyond, with an incredible line up of movies!  The Studio is all set to gun for an even bigger piece of the Box Office pie with a power packed slate of releases, featuring the biggest stars in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Hollywood.  At the same time, the studio is committed to continue to push the envelope, with concept driven films showcasing young new talent in front of the camera and behind it. With this slate, Disney UTV will have films that span a wide variety of genres from drama, action and horror to romance, comedy and thrillers. The slate also features the first slate of locally produced Disney branded  movies including Khoobsurat, P.K.. ABCD 2 and JaggaJasoos.

     

    “Disney UTV has produced some of the most trendsetting and cult movies of the past decade and we are confident that our upcoming releases will keep the same tradition alive. Our foremost effort is to ensure that we bring our audiences great stories that are original, innovative and delivered by the best talent in the business. We are delighted to associate with some of the most talented names in the industry – established names and debutants – to deliver a slate of movies that will entertain audiences of all ages and tastes.” added Amrita Pandey, VP and Head, Theatrical, Television & Digital Distribution – Studio, Disney UTV

  • Warner Bros. is the highest earning Hollywood studio of 2013

    Warner Bros. is the highest earning Hollywood studio of 2013

    MUMBAI: In a record-breaking year, Warner Bros. Pictures emerged as the top-grossing studio for 2013, ranking number one in domestic, international and worldwide market shares. Reportedly, the Studio was at the number one spot in global market share in 2013 with $5.04 billion in global ticket sales, followed by Disney and Universal.

     

    Warner Bros.’s domestic revenue was $1.9 billion, while its overseas haul was $3.14 billion for a total $5.04 billion, up from $4.25 in 2012. While Disney’s domestic revenue reached at $1.72 billion, up 11 percent over 2012 and international revenue was at $3.01 billion; Universal’s revenue clocked at $1.9 billion domestic and $3.14 billion internationally.

     

    Warner Bros. president of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman; president of International Distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg; president of Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Pictures and Sue Kroll made the announcement recently.

     

    Fellman said in a release, “We are extremely proud of all the remarkable benchmarks reached in 2013.  These terrific numbers speak to the diversity of our slate, which has enabled us to deliver great entertainment to a broad range of audiences throughout the year.”

     

    Warner Bros. in the year produced a varied variety of films reaching out to audiences all over the world. Two current hits, still in theatres, are among the Studio’s highest-grossing films for the year: The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in partnership with New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), at $659 million worldwide and counting; and Gravity at $663 million to date.

     

    The Summer blockbuster Man of Steel from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, was the Studio’s top-grossing release for the year at $668 million globally. The other movies that were the highlight at Box Office include Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim with $411 million; The Hangover Part III also in partnership with Legendary, at $362 million; The Great Gatsby in partnership with Village Roadshow Pictures, at $351 million; New Line Cinema’s The Conjuring with $318 million; and We’re the Millers also from New Line, at $270 million.

     

    Interestingly, for a Hollywood studio, it is just the second time to have achieved such a business. Earlier, in 2001 Paramount had made the same mark.

  • Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey joins Disney board of directors

    Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey joins Disney board of directors

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney has named twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey as its independent board member. Reports also suggest that the company CEO Bob Iger can see a cut in his pay by 15 per cent.   

    Walt Disney on 23 December, through a statement, also announced the retirement of a former Cisco Systems chief technology officer Judith Estrin, citing tenure policy as a reason, which limits board service to 15 years. Estrin’s term comes to an end on 18 March 2014.

    Dorsey will stand for the election which will be held at Disney’s 18 March annual meeting. Dorsey confirmed the announcement by tweeting a famous quote from Walt Disney and also the sketches of Mickey Mouse.  At 36, Dorsey also is the CEO of the payments startup Square and will be the youngest board member in Disney.

    Iger through a statement said, “Jack Dorsey is a talented entrepreneur who has helped create groundbreaking new businesses in the social media and commerce spaces. His experience and perspective should be extremely valuable to Disney.”

  • Disney and StarHub to launch mobile video streaming

    Disney and StarHub to launch mobile video streaming

    MUMBAI: Disney fans in Singapore can now watch all their favourite Disney programmes, including exclusive branded content, whenever and wherever they want.

     
    The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia together with StarHub on 7 December will launch a new mobile video streaming service via a suite of three new innovative entertainment apps – WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney XD, and WATCH Disney Junior.

    The WATCH Disney apps will provide authenticated StarHub TV customers with access to Disney’s existing live, television network streams, exclusive and first-hand content, as well as an extensive offering of premiere ‘on demand’ episodes.

    Disney fans can also view all popular television series such as Phineas and Ferb, Disney Junior’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Disney XD’s Avengers Assemble on the go and will also be able to access new episodes of selected shows on the WATCH apps first before it launches on the TV channel.

    At the launch, the channel’s original animation Wander over Yonder, created by award-winning animator Craig McCracken, will be available first on the WATCH Disney Channel app before its television premiere. New live-action series Mighty Med, a Disney XD original series will be available exclusively on the WATCH Disney XD app from February 2014.

    The free WATCH Disney apps feature a fun and engaging online environment, designed around Disney characters and custom animation on a simple, child-friendly user interface. Apart from streaming of live TV channels and on-demand content, there’s also the episodes catch-up function. The app provides language options to the viewers.

    “We’re excited to offer Disney fans of all ages more opportunities to watch, interact, personalise and enjoy our Disney shows when and where they want it,” said TWDC SEA general manager, branded media content Natasha Malhotra in a release.

    “The WATCH Disney Channels apps are kid-friendly, easy to use and provide kids and families  access to the live streaming channels along with a robust selection of content ‘On Demand’  at home or ‘On-The-Go’ for authenticated StarHub subscribers,” she added.

    StarHub TV customers can stream the channel live on the multiscreen service ‘StarHub TV Anywhere’ which includes the WATCH Disney apps on iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

    “We are excited to be the only pay TV operator in Singapore to bring Disney’s signature content to viewers on multiple screens via the WATCH apps as part of our ‘StarHub TV Anywhere’ service offering. We are constantly working with brands such as Disney to find innovative ways to delight our customers and the WATCH apps exemplify our efforts to provide a ubiquitous viewing experience for them,” said StarHub head of home solutions Lin Shu Fen in the release.

  • Bindass climbs the rating ladder with content that connects

    Bindass climbs the rating ladder with content that connects

    MUMBAI: It seems content and digitisation has helped Bindass in a big way. The channel climbed the TV ratings ladder in week 46 of TAM TV ratings with 20,533 GVTs, leaving its rivals MTV and Channel [V] far behind with 14,160 and 16,576 GVTs respectively.

     

    “Both our content as well as digitisation has helped our channel to a great extent. It has helped us reach out to our core TG which is the youth,” says Disney executive director content media networks Indrajit Ray.

     

    Digitisation, according to Ray, has led to democratisation of channels. “Earlier there was limited penetration of channels and thus only the popular channels with better resources could reach every household. Digitisation has helped us to increase our reach,” he says.

     

    According to the ratings provided by Bindass, the top five shows for the week in the youth space were: Yeh Hai Aashiqui (1,852 TVTs), Channel [V] Gumraah Season 3 (1,056 TVTs), Emotional Atyachaar on Bindass (882 TVTs), MTV Webbed (628 TVTs) and [V] Crazy Stupid Love (208 TVTs).

     

    The channel has been working towards improving its GVTs for a long time now. “It is not a week’s work, but a long process. The ratings are not a result of one single promotional activity,” remarks Ray, attributing the growth in ratings to Yeh Hai Aashiqui. He also informs that the channel’s team has formulated an aggressive plan to offer more. “Currently, we have two hours of original content, we plan to increase this,” he adds.

     

    The growing number of GVTs is an indication for the channel that brand Bindass is being accepted among newer audiences. “We believe this was largely on account of its popular mass narrative based on youth themes,” remarks Ray, who also thinks that the channel has been able to strike a chord with its audience because the content reflects the thought of today’s youth in the best way. “Our content is a reflection of what the youth feels today. Relationships, which are the most important part of any youngster’s life has been underserved,” adds Ray, emphasising that Bindaas is a platform for many youngsters to raise their concerns on issues that interests them.

     

    Talking about the reach, Ray says, “We have a fair equitable reach in the Hindi speaking market. We are strong in the north and now have also become popular in west and central India. Our core TG is between 15-24 years, but we do not restrict our programming to this age group. Our shows also cater to older people.”

     

    Bindass, for Ray, is a channel that brings to the fore issues that are brushed under the carpet. “We do not sensationalise but reflect the truth,” he says with hope that the channel will continue to be on the growth trajectory.

  • Lego, Marvel team up for online series ‘Maximum Overload’

    Lego, Marvel team up for online series ‘Maximum Overload’

    MUMBAI: Lego and Marvel are teaming up on the 10-episode online series Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload.

    Marvel is launching all 10 of the episodes today exclusively on Disney.com, Disney’s YouTube channel and across Disney’s Roku-and Xbox-connected TV apps.

    Featuring Lego Spider-Man and Marvel’s most popular superheroes and villains, Maximum Overload brings the Marvel universe to a Lego-designed backdrop.

    In the series, the mischievous Loki has found a way to put the “super” in super-villain and is amassing an army to conquer Earth and beyond. His antics are keeping Spider-Man and SHIELD’s finest busy as they tackle old foes who possess new powers.

    Lego and Marvel have been in business for some time, teaming up on a successful Lego toy line as well as video games.

    Lego has become an increasingly active player in Hollywood, with a pair of hit Cartoon Network series – Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu and Legends of Chima. Warner Bros will release The Lego Movie on 7 February 2014.