ITV

Tag: entertainment

  • Cartoon Network fans thank Indian police force in latest campaign

    Mumbai: Kids’ entertainment channel, Cartoon Network’s latest social media campaign- #ThankYouForBeingDabangg has received more than 500 messages of gratitude from across the country, for the Indian police force.

    The unique social media campaign aimed to honour the relentless work of India’s supercops during the ongoing challenge of COVID-19 and was launched alongside the channel’s latest Bollywood-inspired action-comedy ‘Dabangg – The Animated Series’ on 31 May.

    Watch the video montage of the kids’ messages here

    Supported by parenting platform, Momspresso, the initiative saw kids and parents share messages in the form of handwritten notes, drawings, and videos, on social media. Bollywood actor Salman Khan who plays Dabangg’s iconic ‘Chulbul Pandey’ and movie producer and actor Arbaaz Khan also encouraged kids to participate through their social media posts.

    Notable kids’ academy ABCD Dance Factory also shared their messages in their distinctive artistic style via Instagram Reels, set to the ‘Dabangg – The Animated Series’ title track while prompting its students to follow suit. YouTube Kids sensations Aayu and Pihu also participated via their eponymous show and encouraged their followers too, to join in the conversation.

    Speaking on the campaign, South Asia Network Head for Cartoon Network and POGO, Abhishek Dutta said, “#ThankYouForBeingDabangg was launched to collectively pause and appreciate the constant endeavour of the police force during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was heartening to see responses pouring in from every corner of the country, in various ways and multiple languages, like Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, and more. It brings us immense joy to have created this movement and saluting our fearless heroes.” 

    Speaking on the initiative DCP, Mumbai S.Chaitanya said, “We are truly grateful for the enormous amount of love we have received from kids across the country through the #ThankYouForBeingDabangg initiative. This was such a thoughtful initiative by Cartoon Network and the creative ways in which the kids thanked us was very touching. We promise to continue being Dabangg for all of you!”

    Co-presented by Chocoliebe Eclairs and Cue Learn along with associate sponsor BritanniaTiger Krunch, the animated version of Bollywood’s sensational supercop franchise airs every day at 12 pm, only on Cartoon Network.

  • Sony YAY! taps the power of music for kids

    New Delhi: The power of music can play an instrumental role in kids’ life by instilling hope and inspiring a positive outlook in them. With this objective in mind, the kids’ entertainment channel Sony YAY! has decided to bring children closer to the power of music on this World Music Day.

    The channel has joined hands with leading musicians of the country like Rekha Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Vishal Dadlani, Shaan, and Suneeta Rao who have donated their autographed musical instruments for kids who otherwise might not have the privilege of its access.

    Sony Pictures Networks India, Kids’ Genre, business head, Leena Lele Dutta said, “It’s been a tough year for kids. Music has always gone beyond the boundaries of entertainment to be relaxing and healing thus aiding and empowering kids to overcome any challenges. Our initiative for world music day recognises the need to reinforce the importance of celebrating music amongst kids. I thank each one of the musical heroes for participating and inspiring hope and positivity in the lives of kids.”

    Forces of the Indian music industry like Rekha Bhardwaj who gave us tunes like Sasural Genda Phool has donated her Digital Ragini for this initiative. The coolest sonic trio of the Hindi film industry Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy autographed a Ukulele, Clap Box, and Guitar respectively. Known for his epic romantic tunes and velvety voice, singer Shaan signed a Mandolin for the kids. Lastly, since the 90s fever is trending, the melody queen of the era, Suneeta Rao has also shown her support by signing a Bongo Drum.

    Singer Shaan emphasized the importance of music in his life. “It has taught me patience and hard work and this World Music Day, I hope that children across the world learn the importance of perseverance and adopt the value of hard work. Through this initiative by Sony YAY!, I hope we bring inspiration in the lives of these kids,” he said.

    Talking about the initiative, musician Shankar Mahadeva said, “It’s a difficult time for everyone as we all have been spending time at home in isolation. Having ample time at our disposal as we stay indoors, we must put some aside to celebrate a wonderful thing called music. For it is something that can be your friend, philosopher, guide, it can just be with you. So, on World Music Day, create, innovate, introspect and see what kind of talent you have and how much can you nurture it. I am extremely thankful to Sony YAY! and their entire team for helping us embark on this beautiful journey of music together.”

  • Cricketer Rishabh Pant signs up with Moj

    New Delhi: Cricket buffs can now look forward to connecting with cricketing sensation Rishabh Pant on short video app Moj. Ace wicket-keeper and batsman, Pant is the first Indian cricketer to join the app.

    “He will be sharing exclusive content from his cricket tours, thrilling action moments from the dressing room, and fun banter on Moj. The 120 million strong monthly active Moj community can now just Swipe-Up to get sneak-peeks into his practice sessions, daily routine, celebratory moments, and other behind-the-scenes videos,” said the company on Monday.

    Rishabh has announced his entry on Moj with an engrossing video. Click Here

    “As a fun-loving person, I love to connect with new people and keep up with the latest trends and pop culture. This brought me to Moj, as the platform gives me a much needed escape into a ‘world of fun’.  I am excited to create some exclusive content and give a glimpse of my personal life and all the work that goes into being a cricketer. My fans will get to see a unique, little known side of me on Moj with lots of never-told stories coming their way,” said Pant.

    Moj, director, content strategy and operations, Shashank Shekhar said, “Cricket fever is always on a high in our country and it’s quite thrilling to have the Gen Z sports sensation Rishabh Pant on Moj. We are confident that he will not only strengthen the sports content category but also carve out new trends with his unique style. The Moj community can now experience and celebrate their love for the game with the inspirational Pant.”

    The short-video app has been expanding its content tail with a focus on multiple niche content categories including travel and adventure, sports and wellness, nature, infotainment and food amongst others.

  • Viacom18 ropes in Vivek Mohan Sharma to head branded content

    New Delhi: Viacom18 on Thursday announced the appointment of Vivek Mohan Sharma as head of Branded Content. He will be reporting to head- Network Sales, Mahesh Shetty.

    In his new role, Sharma will be responsible for leading branded content and solutions at the network level. Individually, he will be responsible for driving branded solutions for Viacom18’s Hindi Mass Entertainment, Regional Entertainment, and Kids TV clusters leveraging its broadcast and social reach. In addition to this, he will also work with existing teams at Youth, Music, and English Entertainment as well as the network’s digital play Voot to bring in synergies and dial-up advertiser-funded content-driven growth.

    Viacom18 Network sales head, Mahesh Shetty said: “We are living in a world full of too many choices which however have increasingly minimal differentiation amongst them. Branded content has the potential to bring forth this differentiation and connect with audiences in a more engaging and emotional capacity. With his versatile experience in leadership roles across industries, Vivek is best poised to bring collaborations across our brand offerings and create unique propositions for our clients that are relevant and result-oriented.”

    On his new role, Sharma said, “Brands today are looking at creating moments and mindshare that stays with the audience for long. Branded content acts as the bridge, bringing in solutions that truly connect the brand with its consumers engagingly and effectively. I look forward to driving value, innovation, and overall growth in my new role at Viacom18.”

    Sharma has close to two decades of experience in Business Management, Revenue, and Marketing across Media, Telecom and Banking sectors, and has held leadership roles at Mirchi, Idea Cellular, Deutsche Bank, and ICICI Bank in the past. Prior to joining Viacom18, he worked as head- Digital Business and worked towards transforming Mirchi into a dominant digital content and solutions brand.

  • SPN’s Go-Beyond podcast endeavours to inspire and entertain

    New Delhi: After becoming one of the first major broadcast companies to enter the audio streaming business, Sony Pictures Networks India continues to bring insightful stories of experienced minds from across different walks of life through its podcast service.

    Launched in SPN’s 25th anniversary month, the ‘Go-Beyond’ podcast has featured eleven eminent guests from different walks of life so far. These guests included renowned names such as chef Amrita Raichand, actor and comedian Ash Chandler, former Australian Cricketer Jason Gillespie, environmentalist Bittu Sahgal, author Samit Basu, and historian Vikram Sampath, amongst others.

    The guest line-up ahead is just as exciting and varied, said the company on Thursday. The podcast features well-known personalities with remarkable journeys and stories across sports, literature, business, entertainment, history, and the culinary arts. According to the company, the Go-Beyond podcast is not just a value add to SPN’s diverse content bouquet, but also enables the brand to foray into a segment that is surging in India with more people opting for digital audio streaming.

    Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), managing director and chief executive officer, NP Singh said, “As the digital audio craze continues to explode, ‘The Go-Beyond Podcast’ creates deeper engagement with audiences by bringing to the fore real-life stories and insights of achievers who braved small or big limitations to resonate with success. SPN has a pioneering history of creating compelling content across formats and platforms, and the Go-Beyond Podcast is our endeavour to both inspire and entertain a global listener base.”

  • Melissa Lim to lead kids’ content acquisitions at WarnerMedia

    KOLKATA: WarnerMedia has appointed Melissa Lim as the new head of content acquisitions and co-productions for its kids’ networks in Asia Pacific, which include POGO, Cartoon Network and Boomerang. She will also advise on licensing content to fuel the growing slate of kids and family programming on the regional streaming service HBO GO in Southeast Asia.

    Lim is currently based in Singapore and reports to Leslie Lee, head of WarnerMedia Kids APAC. Working closely with counterparts in the original production and development team, as well as programming, her key areas of focus will be exploring co-production opportunities and acquiring kids content for the region. For the latter, she will work with colleagues from other WarnerMedia acquisitions teams in the US, EMEA and LatAm.

    “Pinpointing and securing the world’s best third-party animation that sit perfectly alongside our originals is no easy task. I know that Melissa’s experience and passion will ensure we provide our fans a complete on-brand entertainment experience,” said Lee. “Her role is particularly important at a time when our networks are evolving and expanding viewer demos.”

    Melissa’s previous roles include stints at MTV Asia and StarHub, where she spent 13 years gaining invaluable insight into the kids programming world. Most recently, she was managing co-production and acquisitions at Disney for its channels and regional streamer.

  • Ruchir Khanna joins Asianet News Media & Entertainment as COO

    New Delhi : Asianet News Media & Entertainment Pvt Ltd (AMEL) on Friday announced the appointment of Ruchir Khanna as chief operating officer of the company’s digital business.

    An accomplished digital media professional, Khanna was earlier working with Times Internet as the head of product and growth. During his stint at Times Internet, he led the digital growth of various properties of the group. He has over two decades of experience across product development, growth and marketing, content strategy and P&L management. He has also had leadership stints at Hike messenger, India Today Group and Yahoo! India, said the company.

    AMEL, executive chairman, Rajesh Kalra said, the team is building a media/ent-tech company of the future and building on the strong digital brands. 

    AMEL has multiple digital brands in it’s portfolio including asianetnews.com, indigomusic.com and serves consumers in multiple languages.

    “Our mission is to significantly expand audiences of each of these brands – with more innovation, content and services. Ruchir will provide significant leadership to this mission of ours. He brings with him the experience of building and growing some of the biggest and most successful digital products in India. I am really excited about the leadership team we’ve built. Ruchir joins us soon after Nachiket Pantvaidya took over as managing director. We are now fully geared-up in our mission to make AMEL India’s leading Media-Entertainment Tech enterprise,” said Kalra.

  • RIL’s M&E biz EBITDA margin rises to 17% in FY21

    RIL’s M&E biz EBITDA margin rises to 17% in FY21

    KOLKATA: Despite all odds, Reliance Industry Limited’s (RIL) media & entertainment business has recorded profitability during the pandemic-hit financial year. According to the company’s latest annual report, Network18’s consolidated operating margins expanded to 17 per cent in FY 21, up from 11.5 per cent in FY 20, RIL’s annual report said.

    Consolidated EBITDA of the business rose 29 per cent y-o-y to Rs 796 crore despite the pandemic impact dragging revenue down by 12 per cent y-o-y. The company’s overall profitability was attributed to cost controls and concerted efforts to increase annuity-style revenue streams, including subscription and syndication.

    The margins of the news business expanded all through the year, despite pandemic-linked logistics constraints and blackout of BARC ratings in the second half of the financial year, the report added. Overall news segment’s operating margins expanded to 13 per cent. The TV News operating margin expanded to 16 per cent, marking four years of continuous improvement. In addition to that, digital news broke even on a full-year basis, driven by accelerated revenue growth.

    Despite the Covid-19 impact, entertainment margins went up to 19 per cent thanks to operating leverages. TV Entertainment grew viewership share by two per cent to 10.9 per cent. One in two Indians watch Network18 television channels that reach more than 95 per cent of TV homes in India annually, as per the report.

    The entire M&E industry started on a weak note in FY21 due to the onset of the pandemic, but there was a turnaround during the second half of the year. For Network18, TV News advertising recovered by the second quarter itself growing across the year. Entertainment advertising revived fully by the third quarter, led by a full content roster. Strong viewership trends for Hindi GECs, both pay, and FTA, drove underlying ad growth into high-single digits by the fourth quarter.

    Digital media platforms witnessed an increase in content consumption. Digital advertising gained momentum from the platforms’ inherent advantages of being able to target audiences, drive personalisation, and lower costs.

    “Digital engagement continued to grow due to the volume of high-quality content and key events. Industry sources indicate a ten per cent y-o-y increase in OTT video consumption. Increased propensity to pay has been witnessed, amidst domestic OTTs increasing prices selectively, while global players create India-specific cheaper offerings. Digital subscription revenue continued to rise sharply, albeit off a low base, both from B2C (direct) and B2B (telco-driven) distribution of OTT platforms,” the company stated on Thursday. The company was also satisfied with domestic subscription revenue in the M&E segment which remained strong, despite the stress in international. Improved distribution tie-ups for TV and Digital have driven the subscription growth.

    The leading OTT platform under RIL’s M&E bouquet, Voot, garnered 12 billion minutes of watch time during FY21 and was the number two broadcaster-OTT, it said in its report. According to the company, Voot Select was the fastest to reach one million D2C subscribers, thanks to original content, digital-first TV content, and digital-only spin-offs.

  • Eros Now expands existing partnership with Xfinite’s Mzaalo

    Eros Now expands existing partnership with Xfinite’s Mzaalo

    Mumbai: South Asian OTT platform Eros Now owned by Eros STX Global Corporation announced details of its amended partnership with Mzaalo, a gamified video streaming service owned by Xfinite Global Plc (“Xfinite”).

    Aimed at bolstering Eros Now’s footprint in the emerging segment of advertising video-on-demand (AVOD), the partnership will allow Eros Now to continue building its core subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service. The agreement also provides ErosSTX with positive optionality on the potential growth in digital assets and blockchain technology, said the company on Wednesday.

    One of the company’s strategic imperatives is to fully monetize the Eros Now platform and expand into ad-supported streaming and this partnership with Mzaalo does just that, highlighted Eros Now, CEO Ali Hussein.

    “We have an opportunity to monetize more the 224 million Eros Now registered users who are fans of our content offering but are also price-conscious. Mzaalo joins our already-substantial ecosystem of Eros Now distribution partners, including Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Tata Sky, Apple, Amazon and Roku. The Mzaalo agreement is purposefully structured to provide ErosSTX with an appropriate mix of fixed and guaranteed cash payments and variable revenue participation as Mzaalo scales,” he elaborated.

    ErosSTX is licensing majority of the existing Eros Now content library to Xfinite on an exclusive basis for global AVOD monetization. However, this agreement does not preclude Eros Now from launching its planned English-language service, Eros Now Prime, or from licensing content to other SVOD services.

    The AVOD platform is also expected to play a key role in Eros Now’s future content strategy and facilitate innovative windowing options. The current plans are to offer premium original titles and movies in the first window to Eros Now paying subscribers.

    Under the amended and restated agreement with Mzaalo, ErosSTX is entitled to a minimum guaranteed cash payment of $42 million over the remaining four-year license term, ending December 2024. ErosSTX has already received $18 million in minimum guaranteed payments under the original contract that started in 2018. 

    Additionally, ErosSTX will receive a 50 per cent share of any Mzaalo revenue generated above the minimum guarantee. Lastly, ErosSTX will receive 400 million XET Digital Tokens in exchange for access to Eros Now’s database of registered users,which totalled 224.0 million as of 31 March, 2021.

    Mzaalo, Xfinite’s first entertainment application, provides consumers with free access to premium content including films, original series, short-form content from Eros Now, and other media platforms, as well as a range of interactive features.

  • Warner Media-Discovery merged outfit named Warner Bros.Discovery

    Warner Media-Discovery merged outfit named Warner Bros.Discovery

    MUMBAI: When two well-known media firms fuse, there’s always a big debate about what the new organisation should be called? But the folks at Discovery and AT&T have kept their life simple: they have decided to call the proposed global entertainment outfit being born out of the merger between Hollywood entertainment powerhouse Warner Bros and  the firm founded by John Hendricks as ‘Warner Bros.Discovery.’

    A press release issued by Discovery stated that “The Warner Bros. Discovery name will honor, celebrate and elevate the world’s most-storied creative studio in the world with the high quality, global nonfiction storytelling heritage of Discovery.”

    David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery and the future CEO of the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combined company, unveiled the new name to WarnerMedia employees from the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, CA, where he said:

    “Warner Bros. Discovery will aspire to be the most innovative, exciting and fun place to tell stories in the world – that is what the company will be about.  We love the new company’s name because it represents the combination of Warner Bros.’ fabled hundred year legacy of creative, authentic storytelling and taking bold risks to bring the most amazing stories to life, with Discovery’s global brand that has always stood brightly for integrity, innovation and inspiration. There are so many wonderful, creative and journalistic cultures that will make up the Warner Bros. Discovery family. We believe it will be the best and most exciting place in the world to tell big, important and impactful stories across any genre – and across any platform: film, television and streaming.”

    The initial wordmark for the proposed company includes the iconic line from the Maltese Falcon, “the stuff that dreams are made of,” an additional homage to the rich legacy of Warner Bros. and the focus of what the proposed company will be about.

    In May, AT&T and Discovery reached a definitive agreement to combine WarnerMedia’s premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery’s leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a single company.

    Warner Bros. Discovery will bring together leadership teams, content creators, and high-quality series and film libraries in the media business, while accelerating both companies’ plans for leading direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming services for global consumers. The new company will unite complementary and diverse content strengths with broad appeal — WarnerMedia’s robust studios and portfolio of iconic scripted entertainment, animation, news and sports with Discovery’s global leadership in unscripted and international entertainment and sports.

    The “pure play” content company will own one of the deepest libraries in the world with nearly 200,000 hours of iconic programming and will bring together over 100 of the most cherished, popular and trusted brands in the world under one global portfolio, including: HBO, Warner Bros., Discovery, DC, CNN, WB Games, Turner Sports, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Food Network, TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies, Wizarding World, Adult Swim, Eurosport, Magnolia, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and many more.
    Warner Bros. Discovery will be able to increase investment and capabilities in original content and programming; create more opportunity for under-represented storytellers and independent creators; serve customers with innovative video experiences and points of engagement; and propel more investment in high-quality, family-friendly nonfiction content, says the press release.