ITV

Tag: ETV Gujarati

  • Viacom completes process of 50% acquisition in ETV channels from Reliance

    Viacom completes process of 50% acquisition in ETV channels from Reliance

    MUMBAI: Viacom Inc, which received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to acquire 50 per cent equity stake in Prism TV for Rs 9.4 billion (approximately $153 million) earlier this month, has completed the transaction.

     

    The transaction was completed today (31 July) between Nickelodeon Asia Holdings Pte Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., and Shinano Retail Private Limited, a company effectively 100 per cent owned by Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

     

    Prism runs five regional language general entertainment channels namely ETV Marathi, ETV Gujarati, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla and ETV Odia, all of which were recently rebranded under the Colors umbrella.

     

    With this acquisition, Viacom Inc. will hold 50 per cent of Prism TV and the remaining 50 per cent interest will continue to be owned by the Network18 Group, Viacom’s partner in the Viacom18 joint venture.

     

    Viacom18 operates 10 channels including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Colors.  The deal gives Viacom a significant presence in the fast growing regional TV sector in India, where almost 60 per cent of the population of more than 1.2 billion people speak regional dialects as their first language. Collectively, regional TV stations account for the second largest share of viewing in the Indian market, behind only Hindi general entertainment channels.

     

    Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said, “We’re thrilled to be broadening our presence in one of the largest and fastest growing TV markets in the world, and deepening our already strong partnership with Network18.  This acquisition is an important step in building on our leadership position in India, a key market in Viacom’s international growth strategy.”

     

    Network18 CEO AP Parigi added, “This acquisition by Viacom International Media Networks further strengthens the partnership with Network18 both in terms of depth and breadth. I am confident India will emerge as a global entertainment powerhouse in the year ahead.”

     

    Viacom International Media Networks president and CEO Bob Bakish said, “Regional TV networks – and regional ad markets – are the next wave of growth in India. Having a strong national and broad regional presence gives us a powerful platform to launch additional brands, and introduce successful franchises and formats across India.”

     

    Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “This acquisition is a big milestone for Viacom & Network 18 and it showcases their combined conviction to build a powerful broadcast offering for the Indian market.  We are delighted by the transaction and the next growth phase for the companies.”

  • Viacom18 completes ETV Kannada re-branding under Colors umbrella

    Viacom18 completes ETV Kannada re-branding under Colors umbrella

    MUMBAI: The Colors family of channels is growing rapidly. After re-branding ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati and ETV Odiya recently, Viacom 18 has now re-branded ETV Kannada as Colors Kannada. With this, Viacom 18 completes the re-branding of Prism TV’s five ETV regional general entertainmentchannels under the Colors brand name.

     

    The 14-year-old ETV Kannada will be re-branded as Colors Kannada on 26 April, 2015 and will reflect the distinctive culture and traditions of Karnataka through its differentiated content.

     

    The channel takes its legacy forward with the new brand philosophy – ‘OndeSambandha, Ade Anubandha.’ The channel is set to offer high octane entertainment through the week, which will culminate into a celebratory gala on 26 April marking the metamorphosis of this journey.

     

    Viacom18 EVP and project head – Colors Kannada, Colors Bangla and Colors Odiya Ravish Kumar said, “These are exciting times for Kannada television – as we enter this new phase of growth, consumer delight shall continue to be the key driver for Colors Kannada. We hope to up the ante and continue the surprise viewers in the future too.”

     

    Colors Kannada business head Parameshwar Gundkal added, “We have excelled in providing innovative and engaging content that has delighted viewers and set new standards for both the market and for us to surpass. We further hope to make Colors Kannada the one stop for Kannada entertainment.”

     

    As part of the pre-launch campaign, all the artists associated with the channel will come together to unveil the Colors Kannada logo. Mega episodes of the following shows will be aired through the week before launch day:

     

    22 April – Lakshmi Baramma, 7:30-8:30 pm 

    23 April – Agnisakshi, 8 – 9 pm

    24 April- Akka, 8:30-9:30 pm

    25 April- A special slot Dancing Talkies, Maja Talkies, 8 – 9 pm

    25 April- Dancing Star, 9-10:30 pm

    26 April- Ugramm– movie premiere, 2 pm

    26 April- rebranding event, 6 pm

     

  • Viacom18 rebrands ETV franchise to Colors

    Viacom18 rebrands ETV franchise to Colors

    MUMBAI: In a cutthroat competitive world of regional television viewing, what is essential for those in the business is to constantly keep rebranding in order to keep in touch with its existing viewers, while adding new ones. 

     

    In an attempt to do the same, Viacom18 has decided to licence its existing brand name Colors to Prism TV, which runs the five regional general entertainment channels namely: ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Oriya, ETV Kannada and ETV Gujarati. As part of this, the channels will not only shed the ETV name, thus donning the Colors identity, but will also see induction of new programming. 

     

    The rebranding of the regional GECs will augment the Colors franchise while facilitating higher resonance for the regional channels vis-a-vis competition.
     

    “The strategic pillar of the success for the network has been sharper segmentation,” said Viacom18 Media group CEO Sudhanshu Vats.

     

    According to Vats, one of the logical pieces in segmentation is looking at geographical, regional and linguistic segmentation, which is what the network plans to do with the rebranding exercise.

     

    Putting forth some statistics, Vats said that 59 per cent of India speaks in regional language and 41 per cent speaks in Hindi. “It is important that we develop our footprints in the regional space as well. As we go forward, I feel that the viewership in regional will only grow upwards,” he said. 

     

    The Hindi entertainment viewership is currently at 44 per cent, comprising about 29 per cent of Hindi general entertainment and 14-15 per cent of Hindi movies, whereas the regional viewership is at about 30 per cent. The third is kids channels with 8-9 per cent. So between them, it constitutes about 85 per cent of viewership in India. “This underlines the importance of regional, which is also growing faster than any other segment,” he informed.  

     

    Vats also feels that as India develops, the pride in regional language will only get strengthened. “The viewership will grow, and when this grows, the ad dollars will follow,” he added.  

     

    Rebranding exercise

     

    The teaser for the rebranding was launched on 3 March. The network plans to undertake the transition of the ETV franchise to Colors in a phase-wise manner. The first to rebrand is ETV Marathi, which will turn to Colors Marathi on 22 March. For the same, the communication will begin from 6 March, after which for almost two weeks, viewers can see the flip happening from ETV to Colors Marathi and then, on 22 March, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the final logo of Colors Marathi will be launched.

     

    The transition for all the five ETV channels will take place over a period of two months. “We are staggering the transition across two months because we want to bring alive the new identity with the agrarian new year of each of the regions we are present in. All the channel logos will be unveiled in an unique way, keeping the culture of the region in mind and taking roots from the place they come from,” informed Vats. 

     

    Apart from the logo, a few channels have also undergone a change in its tagline. The new tagline for Colors Marathi is ‘Saaz Nava, Rang Nava.’ The new programmes launched on the channel include: Marathi International Cinema and Theatre Awards on 22 March, Majhiya Mahera on 23 March and Sakhi on 23 March.

     

    Colors Bangla, with its new tagline ‘Tomar Sapner Rong’ will launch on 12 April. The new show Great Music Gurukul will air on 13 April.  Colors Gujarati with its new tagline ‘Dil Thi Gujarati’ will launch between 13 – 18 April. As for the new programmes, the channel will air Kumkum na Pagla Padya and Preet, Piyu ane Pannaben. Colors Kannada will launch with two new shows on 26 April and Colors Oriya will rebrand on 14 April. 

     

    The logos have been created in-house by Prism TV, which currently runs the five regional channels. 

     

    Talking about the new shows, Vats said, “As this rebranding happens, we will look at a lot of synergies. This will include new shows, both fiction and non-fiction, events and combination of both. This is necessary for people to understand and recognise the journey we are undertaking.”

     

    The network has a big history. “Each of the channels run by Prism TV command a certain level of trust and loyalty from their viewers.  The rebranding exercise of Colors will bring  a new wave of freshness to the channel. In an ideal way, we want to have the best of both worlds: so while we continue to have the heritage, with rebranding and new shows, we look at injecting modernity to the channel,” opined Vats.  

     

    The network through the exercise is looking at getting in new viewers and retaining the old ones. “Rebranding will increase the viewership footprint of Colors, which is important, thus extending our brand in the regional space was the most logical way forward. Also from the viewer’s perspective, ETV has a heritage, loyalty and trust. However the channel started 15 years back and the viewers of ETV have aged with the channel. It is therefore important that we get a reappraisal of the channel and get the youngsters in,” said Vats.

     

    When queried on whether the rebranding of regional channels would see any change in the programming of Colors, Vats said, “With time, it would be a two way process. While we our flagship GEC could share best practices and insights with the regional counterparts, the regional brands will also help the brand experiment with new content ideas.”

     

    He further added, “Subject to regulatory approvals, the regional channels could become a part of Viacom18, and once that happens there could be certain experiments that go well in the regional space, which could be brought to Colors as well. Therefore there is scope for learning to both sides.”

     

    The network undertook two to three rounds of research over a period of six to nine months before finalizing the new logo. The research highlighted that:

     

    * Colors has a strong positive imagery around high production values, bold themes, innovative non-fiction and programming that drives change/social programming.

     

     * Colors is the only channel that has achieved superlative success and ratings across both fiction and non-fiction shows. It is regarded by viewers as an “all rounder” and an “activist”. In summary a rebel with a cause.

     

    * Colors does not shy away from taking risks and placing big bets e.g. 24   

     

    * Merging the strong legacy and rich cultural roots of ETV channels with the positive imagery and entrepreneurial DNA of Colors shall result in:

    – Potentially the best of both worlds. Continually delighting viewers and exceeding their expectations

    – A quantum leap for regional content which is contemporary and progressive yet rooted firmly in a bedrock of rich values and tradition

    – Development of the ecosystem spurring the creation of jobs and emergence of writers, producers, directors, actors etc

    – Cost effective and targeted solutions for advertisers 

     

    Revenue Jump 

     

    The purpose of rebranding to Colors, according to Vats, is for the Prism team to be able to exploit the opportunity in its entirety and that would mean increase in viewership and ad revenue. 

     

    “Viacom18 has been growing in strong double digits. We have been growing at about 17 odd per cent, so I will expect the regional space to grow faster than that,” he informed.  
              
     

    Marketing buzz
      

    The channel rebranding is scheduled to coincide with regional festivals that mark new beginnings. 360 degree marketing and communication campaigns encompassing TV, cinema, cable, on-ground, radio, outdoor as well as digital platforms, customised to individual regional markets, will amplify the change.

     

    “We will bring alive the rebranding of the regional general entertainment channel cluster through enhanced packaging and an integrated marketing approach,” informed Vats.

     

    Campaigns for each regional brand will leverage the distinct fervour of the corresponding state or region through region specific events and / or on-ground activations involving popular local influencers.
     

    Each campaign will run for approximately four-five weeks, beginning with Colors Marathi on 22 March 2015. Coinciding with the Maharashtrian New Year – Gudi Padva, a high decibel event will unveil the new face of Colors Marathi.

     
    Similar extravaganzas will also celebrate the unveiling of the new brand identities of Colors Oriya, Colors Bangla, Colors Gujarati and Colors Kannada.

  • ETV aims to create a market with Gujaratis’ desire for comedy content

    ETV aims to create a market with Gujaratis’ desire for comedy content

    MUMBAI: Comedy is intrinsic to a Gujarati household. What they have till now been eating from the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) will now be served to them with a new revamped ETV Gujarati with six new shows, starting 3 November.

     

    With the tagline ‘Dilthi Gujarati’, the regional channel is now rising from the ashes. Tapping into the Gujarati euphoria that is surrounding the new Gujarati Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the family focused, female driven channel is gearing up to be Gujarati’s ‘real entertainment channel’ in a market which doesn’t have another entertainment channel.

    Viacom18 EVP and business head- ETV Gujarati and ETV Marathi Anuj Poddar says that the channel had been weakly positioned till now. “Our research showed us that the people there are not interested in high drama but about fun and comedy.” The channel has put in nearly six months of hard work to come up with the brand slate of programmes.

    The new shows include Pati thayo Pati Gayo (We Workshop Entertainment), 1760 Sasumaa (Meena Gheewala Telefilms), Aa Family Comedy Che (Sango Telefilms), Kanho Banyo Common Man (Entity Productions), Hirjini Marji (Click Digital Studios India and Vrajesh Hirjee) and Daily Bonus (a game show by Interscope Communications) from 7 pm to 10 pm. Popular names such as Ketaki Dave, Vrajesh Hirjee, Krishna Gokani and Sanjay Goradia will be seen on ETV Gujarati.

    Talking about this fresh line-up, ETV Gujarati programming head Sanjay Upadhyay says, “We have partnered with industry heavyweights to showcase a lineup that is contemporary, fresh and appeal to all who are ‘dilthi Gujarati’.”

    The fiction team in Mumbai and non- fiction team in Ahmedabad has conceptualised the new look. The two cookery shows have been retained, one in the afternoon and one early primetime due to their popularity. Although Poddar is sure that the high production quality of the shows will bring in audiences. He is aware that it isn’t easy to break their attachment to Hindi GECs anytime soon. “People will sample it at various times. It isn’t about us being one more player in the market but about creating the market itself,” he says.

    From an advertiser perspective, he says that the channel can be positioned relatively well because of its 8-10 per cent contribution to the Hindi speaking market (HSM). Currently the market size of Gujarati television is about Rs 40 crore to Rs 50 crore with 1 per cent viewership of the regional market which itself is about 16 per cent of entire TV market in the country. But Poddar puts the entire advertising market across platforms in Gujarat at over Rs 1000 crore, which he is eying.

    “In terms of opportunity size, the market is big; though a lot of it goes to Hindi GECs. Today advertising there happens mainly through print, radio and national TV but now they will have a platform to talk to the audience. Once we get the channel running, we will approach advertisers to reallocate to our channel,” he says confidently. Currently, the channel has Aimil Amyron as its strategic sponsor for several months.

    The channel has also hiked up ad rates by 100 per cent and is now selling primetime slot at Rs 3500. Advertisers currently prefer a Hindi GEC over a Gujarati channel, but he expects that to change in time. The national to regional advertiser skew is about 80:20.

    A huge marketing plan began since Navarati with sources pegging the expenditure at about Rs 3 crore, which for a Gujarati market is heavy. An in-house team along with agency The CO, has come up with the creative. The first leg of the campaign began in Navrati when the channel launched its anthem by getting the stars at various on ground events in Rajkot, Surat and Baroda. This was followed by the outdoor campaign executed by Milestone Brandcom consisting of hoardings and rickshaws followed by movie theaters along with the launch of Happy New Year and branding partnership with fast food joints across the state. The launch day will see full page newspaper ads in Gujarat Samachar, Sandesh and Divya Bhaskar and will be followed by radio activity on station My FM.

    A canter activity will commence from next week as well and is being executed by Marketmen Activations. Show promos are being shown on Gujarati channels TV9, VTV, GSTV, Sandesh News and its own ETV News Gujarati and CNBC Bajar along with UTV Movies and UTV Stars, the national channels. Digital advertising will include YouTube pre rolls and Facebook targeted spots for all Gujarati content. The entire campaign will go on for three weeks post launch.

    Media planning has been executed by both the in-house ad sales team as well as Vizeum. A special promo has been created just for the channel with big personalities endorsing the channel such as Yusuf Pathan, Irrfan Pathan, Murari Bapu etc. The channel promo packaging has been done by Supra Films by Rajul Mishra.

    A 30 member office is situated in Ahmedabad while the heads are in Mumbai. Poddar says that the production cost of the shows are close to what is spent in Marathi shows. However, the channel hasn’t launched any big ticket show for now to keep the costs low without compromising on quality. “We want to create a space that is different and unique from advertiser value proposition with targeted environment. So we aren’t taking a high burn strategy,” he says adding that he looks for a breakeven to happen by two years.

    While the shows will run from Monday to Saturday, Sunday will see Gujarati movies as well as Hindi movies from the Viacom18 library. “Though Hindi movies will spike up our ratings, but the aim is to strengthen the Gujarati primetime band,” states Poddar.

    Currently the channel is present on all DTH and digital platforms in the state while its analogue penetration is about 90-92 per cent. GTPL, Den, InCable, Dewshree,Tata  Sky, Airtel, Dish TV, Videocon d2h, Reliance Digital, Sun Direct are its list of distribution platforms. “The legacy that we have inherited from the old owner is its excellent distribution,” informs Poddar .

     

  • TV 18 completes ETV channel acquisition

    TV 18 completes ETV channel acquisition

    MUMBAI: A year ago, one of India’s leading media companies announced that it was acquiring the regional broadcast network; yesterday it informed the stock exchange that it had completed the transaction. We are referring to  TV18 Broadcast, a subsidiary of Network 18, which sent a note out to the Bombay stock exchange that it had successfully completed the acquisition of the Ramoji Rao promoted  ETV network with effect from 22 January 2014.

     

    The channels  were acquired at a price of Rs 2,053 crore according to the Share Purchase Agreement which is well within the budget of Rs 2,100 crore that was approved by its board last year. The deal resulted in it acquiring 100 per cent of regional Hindi news channels ETV Uttar Pradesh, ETV Madhya  Pradesh,  ETV Rajasthan, ETV Bihar and ETV Urdu and 50 per cent in ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati and ETV Oriya. The Telugu news and GEC channels ETV Telugu and ETV Telugu News will, however, see TV18 owning only 24.50 per cent equity. 

     

    Excepting for the two Telugu channels, TV18 will have complete board and management control over all the other channels. Additionally, it will be holding the 50 per cent stake in the five regional GECs as an asset held for sale. The interest in these channels, its filing with the BSE states, will transferred to an associate company. Sources indicate that the channels are most likely  going to  be added to its Viacom18 joint venture or another company in the group. This will help it keep separate identities for TV18 Broadcast as a news channel enterprise, and GECs under Viacom18, if  the transfer does happen under it.

     

    The deal cements TV 18 and Viacom 18’s presence in the regional space. When contacted, Network 18 group CEO B Sai Kumar, he said that the deal had been waiting to come through and more details would have to wait a while.

     

    With one more transaction out of the way, Network18 can now focus on expanding its portfolio further through a Gujarati business news channel in the next few months as announced by Sai Kumar barely a week ago, clearly signalling that things are turning around at the group which was once ailing, thanks to its heavy debt burden.

  • New launches in a tough Gujarati TV news market

    MUMBAI: Narendra Modi is not only shaping a new Gujarat but also breathing life into a dead TV news market. A slew of Gujarati news channels are getting readied for launch ahead of the assembly elections as Modi weighs his prospects of being named as the next prime ministerial candidate for BJP.

    TV9 and VTV are the only two pure Gujarati news channels and their business life has not been too easy so far. But unnerved by the thin ad revenue market pegged at Rs 200 million this year, two leading dailies, Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar, are planning launch of their Gujarati-language TV news ventures in November, a month ahead of the December assembly elections.

    “There has been no great improvement in the market potential of Gujarati news channels. But the new launches are extensions of print media businesses. The local print market is quite strong in Gujarat and it has been more or less politically aligned,” says ABCL vice president operations KVN Murthy.

    Murthy should know. TV9 Gujarati, the channel owned by Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd, runs the most successful TV news channel in Gujarat from a viewer‘s perspective and its footage has been used by national news networks. Gujarat News Broadcasters‘ VTV launched last year and is still struggling to find space in the nascent Gujarati TV news market while ETV Gujarati airs daily news bulletins in between its main general entertainment content.

    The Gujarati news channels also have to adjust to the reality that the national news networks are quite popular there. National news broadcasters have not yet forayed into Gujarat as they realise there is a high level of cannibalisation from their Hindi and English channels. Zee, which runs a clutch of regional entertainment and news channels across India, had an entertainment channel, Zee Gujarati, which it shut in 2009.

    “Hindi general news and business channels do well in that market. The Gujarati news market will take time to evolve,” says Murthy.

    Aas Pass TV, floated by Gujarat Samachar co-promoter Shreyans Shah, and Sandesh hope to change that feeble marketplace with the backing of their strong print lineage.

    Says Gujarat Samachar’s Aas Pass TV director-sales and marketing Nilesh Thakkar, “Compared to the markets in Bengal and Maharashtra, Gujarat is at a very nascent stage. But there is scope for growth here. Only the right strategy has to be employed and patience is required.”

    The right strategy will mean a heavy load of political and crime news. And some industry sources who did not want to be named said paid news will also play a part.

    TV9 content head Vikas Upadhyay believes that pure news lineup will not work in Gujarat. “People are not interested in only news. They want a mixed offering. Also, Gujarat is a quiet place. Barring the elections, nothing unusual happens to grab eyeballs. So mixing up content is a good option.”

    Which is why TV9 has a cookery show in its lineup. And Aas Pass TV will also have other content that will help in generating revenues.

    The ad market for Gujarati news channels is set to expand. Says Thakkar, “There will be a conversion from print to TV news channels in Gujarat. This is what has happened in other regional markets as well and here it will be more obvious as two print players are entering the TV business. We will also be launching AFP (advertiser funded programme) and see great potential in real estate and retail advertisers supporting the local news channels.”

    What will also help in Gujarat is that its four main cities – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara – are turning into mini metros. The spending capacity in these cities is increasing steadily and advertisers will want to capture this market.

    The distribution cost will also ease as the main cities of Gujarat fall under digitisation in the second phase. “The carriage cost should fall after digitisation comes in in the next phase,” avers Murthy.

  • NGC, ETV announce content partnership

    NGC, ETV announce content partnership

    MUMBAI: The National Geographic Channel (NGC) and regional network ETV have announced a content partnership.

    NGC will provide content to ETV, which will air five days a week (Monday-Friday) in a half hour evening slot. From today 13 November viewers of ETV Telugu, ETV Oriya, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati, ETV Marathi, ETV UP, ETV MP, ETV Rajasthan and ETV Bihar will be able to catch NGC’s programmes in their native language. The regional language versions of the programs will be provided by NGC to ETV Network.

    The new partnership with ETV is a step further in NGC’s strategy to reach out to a wider audience across the country. The programmes being aired on ETV will cover a wide range of topics. The alliance will be kick started with NGC’s series Most Amazing Moments” that will premier across the ETV network from today. This partnership also underlines ETV’s mission to provide its viewers with quality international programming to enhance the viewer experience.

    NGC India VP marketing Rajesh Sheshadri, “National Geographic Channel is synonym for smart, innovative and interesting programmes that invite viewers to Think again. Reaching a wider audience to expose them to our superior content has been a goal we have been constantly working towards.

    “Partnership with a leading channel like ETV that reaches to millions of viewers through their bouquet of regional channels is an excellent opportunity to further our reach. I am confident that viewers in these states will appreciate our unique programmes and will look forward to their daily dose of the best of National Geographic Channel programmes in their native language.”

    ETV Network VP – operations Bapineedu said, “Quality entertainment in the language of our viewer’s choice is one of the key contributors to our success. Our programs depict the culture with which our viewers are able to connect and it is this spirit of empathy with individual cultures/languages that has helped us to reach to millions of viewers. Through this partnership with National Geographic Channel we endeavor to further enhance our viewer’s experience by exposing them to never before seen international programmes in their native language.”