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Tag: entertainment

  • It’s Official! LatestLY breaks into the Top-15 Online News Portals in India

    It’s Official! LatestLY breaks into the Top-15 Online News Portals in India

    Mumbai: Within just three quarters of its launch, India’s youngest digital news portal – LatestLY; has firmly established itself as a force to reckon with. A mere nine months from going live, it has vaulted over brands like Scroll, and Huffington Post India to be among the top 15 biggest news portal in the country; based on comScore India data – the industry standard in evaluating comparative performance of websites and portals.

    With over 10.5 million monthly visits and approaching 30 million unique users since launch, LatestLY’s meteoric rise as a credible, trusted, and preferred source of news and trending stories is both remarkable and unprecedented.

    “LatestLY, as an offering has been cultivated with a rare combination of fantastic technology and outstanding talent .” said Aditya Pittie, MD, LatestLY, as he espoused faith and confidence in the team that achieved this enviable milestone. “News consumption is fast becoming digital-first, and the day is not far when it becomes almost exclusively digital. LatestLY is perfectly poised to be the chosen port of call in such a world, and along with being available in multiple regional languages, we are preparing other unique offerings for news-seeking netizens.”, he added.

    LatestLY.com is the go-to destination for the latest trending stories in World News, Politics, Entertainment, Technology, Sports and more. Available in English, Hindi, and Marathi, other regional language offerings are in the pipeline. 

  • M&E to add 1 mn jobs in 5 years: Sudhanshu Vats

    M&E to add 1 mn jobs in 5 years: Sudhanshu Vats

    MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector is likely to be worth $1.7 billion in terms of service exports. The figure was estimated by Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats while speaking at a CII inauguration.

    India’s services exports were $163 billion which is likely to hit $320-330 billion in five years. The M&E sector is a $21 billion industry with eight per cent being exports. By 2022, the M&E sector will contribute $8.5 billion worth of export revenue. In the overall pie of service exports across industries, M&E makes up one per cent and is likely to hit three per cent by 2022.

    Vats went on to state what makes the M&E sector apt to become the next big thing after IT in the country. With job creation being a government priority, the M&E industry directly employs 1.1-1.2 million people and with indirect employment that will be 3.5-4 million jobs. India’s current total employment is about 480 million and 10-15 million being added every year. The M&E industry will easily add one million direct jobs in five years and though the number may be small, they will be quality jobs that will be future proof.

    For other sectors, added factors build onto export cost such as the cost of product development/customisation, packaging, logistics, maintaining overseas offices etc. But in M&E, this is negligible. The only costs will be QC, subtitling, bandwidth, etc. “ Overnight, I can’t start making a drama that will be loved by say the citizens of Papua New Guinea – but I can make good dramas for Indian audiences – that might resonate in Papua New Guinea as well! This has an important corollary – while it holds true for other industries as well, it holds even more true for our sector where every almost output is a tradeable item – any domestic public policy aimed at making us competitive in India, will make us competitive across the world,” he said.

    The sector has an ability of a multiplier effect on other industries such as tourism, travel, healthcare, etc., the effects of which cannot be ignored. “We have all that it takes to ensure that India takes her rightful place with the next industrial revolution – one that will make human capital, creativity and cognitive ability even more important. From one per cent of our services exports today to about three per cent by 2022 – and significant, disproportionate upside from the standpoint of India’s labour markets, social policy, economic growth and global standing – that is the promise we hold,” he concluded.

    Also Read :

    Sudhanshu Vats on Viacom18’s growth strategy and why data analytics is key

    We are becoming more platform and screen agnostic: Sudhanshu Vats

  • Shemaroo board approves incorporation of US subsidiary

    Shemaroo board approves incorporation of US subsidiary

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd’s (Shemaroo) board of directors, at its meeting today, gave the green light to invest in a company to be incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary in America’s New Jersey.

    According to Shemaroo’s release to the BSE, the new entity is likely to be called Shemaroo Media & Entertainment Inc. The company will work in the media and entertainment industry and have a paid-up share capital of USD 50,000. 

    Gearing itself for the next phase of growth, Shemaroo restructured its top leadership last month. The entertainment and content company elevated Hiren Gada as the chief executive officer (CEO) in addition to his existing role as chief financial officer (CFO). The company also promoted Kranti Gada to the role of chief operating officer (COO).

    Having spent time with various divisions within Shemaroo and leading the organisation to scale up and get listed, Gada took on the leadership role in addition to his role as the CFO.

    Also Read:

    Rahul Mishra Shemaroo’s new general manager marketing

    Shemaroo’s third quarter numbers improve, digital revenue increases

  • Shemaroo appoints Hiren Gada as CEO in leadership rejig

    Shemaroo appoints Hiren Gada as CEO in leadership rejig

    MUMBAI: Gearing itself for the next phase of growth, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd (Shemaroo) has restructured its top leadership making several timely appointments. 

    According to a release on the BSE website, the entertainment and content company has elevated Hiren Gada as the chief executive officer (CEO) in addition to his existing role as chief financial officer (CFO).

    Having spent time with various divisions within the company and leading the organisation to scale up and get listed, Gada will now take on the leadership role in addition to his original role as the CFO. In his new role as CEO and CFO, Gada will lead the company through its next phase of growth.

    Shemaroo has also promoted Kranti Gada to the role of chief operating officer (COO) of the company. Kranti Gada was involved in setting up the company’s mobile business and played a key role in the company’s early adoption of digital platforms. More recently she incubated the company’s expansion into the DTH segment. In her new role, Kranti will head the revenue function of the company to drive growth.

    Hiren Gada, who joined Shemaroo 15 years ago, has played a significant role in the transformation of the company from a family-run business to a professionally driven organisation in terms of systems, processes and best industry practices.

    Kranti Gada joined the family business at Shemaroo in 2006 after a successful stint in marketing at Pepsi Co. She helped set up Shemaroo’s mobile business and established the company as a leading mobile VAS player in the country.

    With a clear focus on strengthening the organisation for the next phase of development, Jai Maroo, director of the company, will now move from his current role of guiding the expansion of the digital media business to focus on organisational transformation and excellence.

    Raman Maroo and Atul Maru remain managing director and joint managing director of the company, respectively. The new leadership structure is effective immediately.

    Commenting on the restructuring, Shemaroo managing director Raman Maroo said, “Our endeavour has always been to build a future-ready organisation with distinct professional capabilities while retaining its entrepreneurial culture. We have done that with an emphasis on developing internal talent and marrying that by bringing in great talent from industry peers. We want to create a structure that will power us as we enter our next growth phase.”

  • Disney restructures business in the face of digital disruption

    Disney restructures business in the face of digital disruption

    MUMBAI: Walt Disney Co, on Wednesday, announced a sweeping restructuring aimed at accelerating its global expansion during a period of upheaval for Hollywood.
    The entertainment giant said it would combine its international media business and its content streaming operation into one unit and create another division to house its consumer products business along with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

    Its biggest restructuring in recent years, Disney’s move is the latest effort by a legacy entertainment and media company to adapt to rapid changes in consumer behaviour driven by digital technology.

    Disney had been expected to make structural changes as it prepared to launch two streaming services and buy film and TV assets owned by 21st Century Fox—a $52.4 billion deal that requires federal regulatory approval.

    Disney’s new direct-to-consumer and international unit will include the upcoming ESPN+ streaming service, which launches later this year, and a Disney-branded film and TV streaming offering scheduled to debut in 2019.

    The unit also will include video-on-demand service Hulu, in which Disney would own a controlling stake if the Fox deal is approved. Kevin Mayer, who has been Disney’s chief strategy officer since 2015, was named chairman of the new global business.

    The combining of Disney’s parks and resorts business and its consumer products group will help streamline operations for units that already had their share of overlap.
    Bob Chapek, who has headed Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015, was named chairman of the new unit. As its leader, Chapek will assume additional responsibility for all of Disney’s consumer products operations globally, including licensing and Disney stores.

    Disney chairman and chief executive Robert Iger said in a statement that the changes would position the company “for the future, creating a more effective, global framework to serve consumers worldwide, increase growth and maximise shareholder value.”
    In December, with the announcement of the prospective Fox deal, Iger, 67, extended his contract by three years; he is now expected to retire in 2021 when his new pact ends.

    The restructuring plan, which is effective immediately, elevates key lieutenants Mayer and Chapek, who now are poised to work more closely with Iger for the remainder of his tenure.

    Their promotions come amid much speculation about who will be chosen as Iger’s successor.
    Chapek was head of Disney Consumer Products before being tapped to lead the parks group. The 58-year-old executive also previously was president of distribution for Walt Disney Studios.

    The last time Disney restructured its business units was in 2015, when it merged its interactive and consumer products units, a move that was designed to better align once-distant businesses that new technology had brought closer together.

    Two Disney units – media networks and studio entertainment – are remaining the same, save for minor changes, such as the studio’s programme sales operation moving to the direct-to-consumer and international unit.

    Also read:

    Merger talks on the anvil once again for CBS, Viacom

    With Star India, Disney emerges as India’s largest M&E firm

    The year of sex scandals

  • ZEEL scraps 9X Media acquisition

    ZEEL scraps 9X Media acquisition

    MUMBAI: Owing to non-completion of certain material conditions, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has terminated its deal to acquire music broadcaster 9X Media.

    ZEEL, on 6 October 2017, had entered into an agreement to buy 9X Media and INX Music from New Silk Route (NSR) and other shareholders for an all-cash deal of Rs 160 crore.

    In a release to the BSE, ZEEL stated, “This is further to our communication dated October 6, 2017, providing relevant details of the proposed acquisition of 100% equity stake in 2 Media entities viz. 9X Media Private Limited and INX Music Private Limited (9X entities).”

    “In this regard, we wish to inform you that the said acquisition deal has been terminated/called-off by the Company inter alia due to non-completion of certain material Conditions Precedent.”

    9X Media, along with its subsidiaries, operates a bouquet of six music channels–9XM (Latest Bollywood), 9X Jalwa (Evergreen Hindi), 9X Jhakaas (Marathi), 9X Tashan (Punjabi), 9XO (English), 9X Bajao (Hindi Classics).

    ZEEL was to acquire 91.45 million shares of Rs 10 each of 9X Media for a total consideration of Rs 155.2 crore. Furthermore, the company had also agreed to acquire 29.15 per cent stake in INX Music for Rs 4.8 crore.

    Post the acquisition, INX Music would have become a subsidiary of the company since 9X Media holds 70.85 per cent stake in the company.

    The acquisition was expected to be completed in 60 days as no government approvals were required.

    The deal would have provided an exit to private equity firm NSR that owns close to 80 per cent stake in 9X Media.

    Also Read:

    9X media announces two appointments in programming

    9X Media elevates Clyde D’Souza 

  • APOS 2018: speakers & themes unveiled for annual summit of local, regional & global leaders In media, entertainment & telecoms

    APOS 2018: speakers & themes unveiled for annual summit of local, regional & global leaders In media, entertainment & telecoms

    HONG KONG/SINGAPORE: Some of the biggest brands across the local, regional and global media, entertainment and telecommunications industries will participate at this year’s APOS summit, hosted by Media Partners Asia in Bali, Indonesia from April 24-26. APOS 2018 brings together key players across the value chain with a particular focus on how broadband connectivity is combining with local economies and ecosystems to transform prospects for the production, distribution and monetization of content, games and IP across Asia Pacific.

    Speaking about the line-up and the event’s themes, MPA executive director Vivek Couto said: “APOS 2018 brings together key brands and leadership striving to create, distribute, monetize and invest at scale across media, entertainment, telecoms and related sectors, as they forge new paths to value and enter into partnerships to drive engagement and share of spend.”

    Key speakers and themes at this year’s APOS summit include:

    Race To Scale: Local Challenges For Global Leaders
    Media, telecoms, entertainment and technology ecosystems are colliding across Asia Pacific, as the quest for local, regional and global scale picks up pace. APOS 2018 highlights the paths to value and partnerships that matter for global brands as they seek to drive engagement and share of spend across the diverse region and beyond.

    Confirmed speakers

    Bob Bakish, President & CEO, Viacom
    Uday Shankar, President, 21st Century Fox Asia
    JB Perrette, President & CEO, Discovery Networks International
    Ricky Ow, President, Turner International Asia Pacific
    Mahesh Samat, SVP & MD, The Walt Disney Company, South Asia
    Gina Brogi, President of Global Distribution, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution
    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 Media 

    Broadband Economics: The Way Forward For Telcos
    Having opened up the broadband opportunity, Asia’s telcos now want a bigger piece of the pie. APOS 2018 weighs up the future for telcos in the region as they invest in content, partnerships, networks and services, seeking to ward off disruptors while chasing a bigger share of consumer spend.

    Confirmed speakers

    Somchai Lertsutiwong, CEO, AIS
    Ernest Cu, President & CEO, Globe
    William Yeung, CEO, HKBN
    Allen Lew, CEO, Optus
    Manuel Pangilinan, President & CEO, PLDT
    Ririek Adriansyah, President Director, Telkomsel 

    Streaming Dreams & Reality: Ambition, Growth, Competition 
    The next chapter is being written for premium online video in APAC. APOS will take a snapshot of the latest competitive dynamics and revenue opportunity in online video, as global, regional and local services size up prospects for growth, profitability and market leadership, as well as their appetite for risk.

    Confirmed speakers

    James Farrell, Head of Content, Amazon Prime Video Asia Pacific
    Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar
    Peter Bithos, CEO, Hooq
    Kazufumi Nagasawa, HJ Holdings (Hulu Japan)
    Mark Britt, CEO & Co-Founder, Iflix Group
    Roma De, Director, Platform Products, Netflix
    Tony Zameczkowski, VP, Business Development, Netflix Asia
    Janice Lee, MD, PCCW Media (Viu)
    Jong-Won Kim, SVP & Head of Oksusu, SK Telecom
    Esther Nguyen, Founder & CEO, Pops Worldwide
    Fred Cheong, Group CEO, WebTVAsia
    Gaurav Gandhi, CEO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures (Voot) 

    Opportunities In Southeast Asia: Growth In Uncertain Times
    Despite volatility and uncertainty across many markets in Southeast Asia, local ecosystems continue to evolve, promising to enrich companies that can adapt. APOS 2018 picks out some key opportunities and the companies attempting to capitalize on them, while evaluating the impact of these changes on local investment, competition and monetization.

    Confirmed speakers

    Rohana Rozhan, Group CEO, Astro
    Carlo Katigbak, President & CEO, ABS-CBN
    Hary Tanoesoedibjo, Founder & Chairman, MNC Group
    Tham Loke Kheng, CEO, Mediacorp
    SK Cheong, Executive Director & GM, TVB

    The Evolution of Entertainment: Making New Stories Pay
    Studios and storytellers and that can keep audiences tuned in are in demand, as competition for consumer time intensifies. APOS 2018 looks at the different strategies production houses, broadcasters and online video services are taking to capture audience segments and maximize returns from their content bets.

    Confirmed speakers

    Ma Zhongjun, Chairman & President, Ciwen Media 
    Suyoung Lee, Director, JTBC
    Mark Linsey, Director, BBC Studios
    Joko Anwar, Independent TV & Film Director
    Wicky Olindo, Founder, TV & Film Producer, Screenplay Productions
    Ritesh Sidhwani, Film Director & Co-Founder, Excel Entertainment
    Michael MacMillan, Co-Founder & CEO, Blue Ant Media
    Sunil Samtani, Producer, Rapi Films
    Hyun Park, Co-Head, TV Production and Acquisitions, Korea, Warner Bros
    Jay Ji, CEO, Huayi Brothers Korea
    Hosi Simon, CEO, Vice Asia Pacific 

    The Investor View: Risks and Returns In Media
    Strategic, private equity and financial investors are making deep bets across telecoms, media and technology, helping fuel the next cycle of competition in content and distribution. APOS 2018 will highlight the thinking behind these decisions, globally, regionally and locally, with a particular focus on online video, payment infrastructure, and traditional film and TV.

    Confirmed speakers

    Li Ruigang, Founding Chairman & CEO, CMC
    Paul Aiello, MD, Emerald Media
    Deborah Mei, Partner & Co-Founder, Raine
    Nick Swierzy, Strategic Advisor to Group CEO, Axiata Group
    David Goldstein, Senior Advisor, TPG Capital 

  • TIL launches BrainBaazi, a live gaming and entertainment show on mobile

    TIL launches BrainBaazi, a live gaming and entertainment show on mobile

    Times Internet, India’s largest digital products company, announced the launch of its interactive live gaming and entertainment show – ‘BrainBaazi’. The show follows on the heels of Times Internet’s digital strategy and reimagines live video entertainment. Audience participation is facilitated through a downloadable app, currently made available on the Play Store for android devices.

    “At Times Internet, we think digital-first, and we wanted to reimagine what mobile video entertainment could be. And, so we built BrainBaazi, a completely new format for video entertainment. It’s a live trivia show, with real participation from the people who watch it. It’s engaging, exciting, and the thrill isn’t just watching someone else, but actually being in the show, as someone with a chance to truly win.

    We’ve built BrainBaazi to scale, using the latest and strongest technologies. We have carefully put together a stack of codecs along with proprietary handling of cues and quiz payloads to ensure realtime delivery of video and questions to millions of users with high diversity in devices and bandwidth. 

    Today, we’re excited to bring this to a wider audience. Our hope is to see this become the first true primetime show for millenials, with a reach that is competitive with television, and the engagement of an immersive digital product.

    BrainBaazi is built for India with a deep understanding of the nuances of its consumers and the infrastructure. It’s a major technical challenge to be able to have a real-time, responsive, live show at that scale, everyday, and we’re excited to put our platforms to the test”- said Gautam Sinha, CEO, TIL.

  • Oddball Motion Pictures gets Rs 250 cr for film production

    Oddball Motion Pictures gets Rs 250 cr for film production

    MUMBAI: Oddball Motion Pictures, founded by filmmaker Nitin Upadhyaya, announced its association with Chanda Group where the latter will be funding a seed capital of up to Rs 250 crore for the feature films and original digital video content that will be exclusively developed and produced by Oddball.

    This deal will help the upcoming production house develop feature films, long form and short form content across genres, and over time, a platform of its own.

    Speaking on the association, Chanda group managing director Rahul Chanda said, “Indian film & media sector is one of the fastest growing markets and in a country which has an exceptional appetite for information and content, it is about time that this sector is explored as a serious business avenue. This association with Oddball Motion Pictures will help us to power forward in the Industry. They are passionate and developing some great content.”

    Upadhyaya said, “All a dream needs is a dreamer. What Chanda group has offered is an unparalleled opportunity to produce and deliver high quality films and world-class entertainment content at an uncompromising scale. Over the past few years a lot of new avenues have cropped up that have taken precedence as the profit centre in the media business than just the classic feature films, an encouraging example being the humongous growth of OTT platforms and content in India. While films will remain our key focus area, we now also plan to expand in the digital domain and venturing into South Indian film industry. We are very thankful for them putting so much trust in a relatively younger organisation like ours and we will forever strive to make them proud.”

    This unique collaboration will leverage Upadhyaya’s rich experience in film-making. Under his leadership, Oddball Motion Pictures produced Behen Hogi Teri starring Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Hasan in 2017 and has a great line up of films in 2018. This year it will be producing seven films including the much awaited Emraan Hashmi starrer Captain Nawab. Its slate contains three Hindi and two Marathi films to be released next year.

    Chanda group will be exclusively investing in Oddball Motion Pictures for five years, for its developments in the media and entertainment Industry. Its first release will be Gulshan Devaiah, Sagarika Ghatge and Kunal Roy Kapur starrer bilingual thriller Haadsa.

  • M&E industry to hit Rs8 trillion revenue by 2022: report

    M&E industry to hit Rs8 trillion revenue by 2022: report

    According to a report published by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s media and entertainment (M&E) industry is expected to reach revenue of Rs7.5-8 trillion by 2022 from an estimated Rs4.5 trillion in 2017. Over the next five years, the industry is poised to grow at an annual growth rate of 11-12 per cent.

    The report highlighted that the M&E industry has the potential to generate four million jobs (direct and indirect) over the next four-five years, on the back of technology adoption, big data and analytics.

    By 2022, total employment across the industry is expected to be 6-6.5 million from the estimated 3.5-4 million in 2017. The report said that the structural changes across the industry and major shifts around adoption of technology, big data and analytics will lead to several new job roles and a massive reskilling of the current workforce.

    “The Indian M&E sector has huge room for growth and can create four-five million jobs without much spending from public infrastructure. Digital platforms are proliferating and there are tremendous opportunities that never existed before, especially for creators, storytellers and technology providers,’’ CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in the report.

    The report highlighted that M&E organisations need to rebuild their strategies to fit in the shifting digitally oriented landscape. “It’s the need of the hour for the industry to identify the creative, technological and analytical skills that will be required over the next five-seven years to restructure its business model for the upskilling exercise,” said Kanchan Samtani, partner and director at BCG, in the report.

    The report said that the M&E industry will require 140,000-160,000 trained/employable individuals entering the workforce every year for the next five years.