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  • Witness the heart-warming bond unfold in the epic-adventure movie Alpha premiering on &flix, &Privé HD and Zee Café

    Witness the heart-warming bond unfold in the epic-adventure movie Alpha premiering on &flix, &Privé HD and Zee Café

    Mumbai: Amidst the vast wilderness, the survival of the fittest truly determines life and death. But what happens when your fight for survival brings with it the dangers of the wild? Witness a young boy unleash his inner warrior and struggle as he travels through treacherous landscapes in the epic-adventure film Alpha. For the first time on television, &flix, the destination for the biggest Hollywood hits, is set to premiere the adventure-drama film Alpha, this Sunday, March 24, at 1PM and 9PM. The film will also be telecast as a part of Club Privè, a property of &PrivéHD on March 24, 3PM and on Zee Café at 2PM on the same day.

    Directed by the award-winning filmmaker Albert Hughes and supported by a powerful performance by Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee, the film gives you a chance to #LeapForth into a world where ‘life is earned and not given’. Join a young man’s unflinching determination to a journey back home.

    Set against the backdrop of prehistoric Europe, Alpha traces the life of young Keda who is separated from his tribe during his first hunt ever. Naïve yet fearless, Keda takes it upon himself to find his way back home and unite with his family. Barely surviving alone, the poor chap encounters a life-defying attack from a pack of wolves with him barely making it through. Injured and lonely, he chances upon an abandoned and ailing wolf and reluctantly tends to him. Enemy-turned-ally, Keda soon befriends the wolf and together they meander through the caves and trek through a harsh and unforgiving landscape to make it home before winter. Will they succeed in this mission?

  • 36% Netflix originals to be non-English

    36% Netflix originals to be non-English

    MUMBAI: Netflix has realised that if it wants to be a global leader, it can't do so by expecting just it's English content to fly high. According to the latest report from Ampere Analysis, the company is eying local content highly in Europe and Asia with a focus on non-English originals.

    The streaming platform has added eight and nine million subscribers respectively between 2017 and 2018 in these markets. Encouraged by the success of hits like Dark from Germany and Sacred Games from India, Netflix announced 24 new titles for Europe in Q4 2018.

    Investment in local language content not only helps subscriber growth but also throws competition to homegrown rival fight by captivating users with high-quality international productions. Elite, Narcos and Sacred Games – all these series have been adored in both native and English language audiences which shows how the international productions serve double purpose. The report says 36 per cent of Netflix’s upcoming originals will be non-English, and 46 per cent will originate from outside the US and Canada.

    The streaming giant is currently producing new content in 25 countries, with 133 titles originating outside of its home market North America. Netflix is heavily focused on specific markets, with the top two international producers of the UK and India accounting for 32 per cent of international productions, and the top five accounting for 56 per cent.

    Moreover, it is rapidly increasing production in key markets across Asia and Europe and the markets with past hits are getting more importance. The UK has added 10 titles so far in Q4 2018 followed by eight in India.

  • SKY invests in Synamedia to drive technological advantage

    SKY invests in Synamedia to drive technological advantage

    MUMBAI: Synamedia, the largest independent video software provider, today announced that Sky, Europe’s leading media and entertainment company, has taken a stake in the business, joining majority shareholder the Permira funds.

    Sky’s shareholding reinforces Synamedia’s position as a strategic long-term technology partner to a growing roster of market-leading pay-TV operators and media companies worldwide.

    Both Sky and its parent company Comcast are long-time Synamedia customers as well as strategic development partners.

    Andrew Griffith, Sky’s Group Chief Operating Officer, said: “We’ve long collaborated with the team at Synamedia to help bring great content, products and entertainment to millions of customers across Europe and this investment will help deepen our innovative partnership.” 

    Yves Padrines CEO of Synamedia, added: “At a time of accelerated evolution in the pay-TV industry, this investment is a fantastic endorsement of our product vision, R&D roadmap and service portfolio from Sky, Europe’s leading media and entertainment company.”

    As an independent firm backed by both the Permira funds and Sky, Synamedia’s mission is to help customers maximise the return on their existing infrastructure while laying the foundations for a blended broadcast/OTT multi-screen model that will deliver improved consumer choice and convenience while protecting income and opening up new revenue streams.

    Synamedia has over 200 pay-TV and media customers including: AT&T, Astro, beIN, Bharti Airtel, Charter, China DTH, Comcast, Cox, Disney, Foxtel, Get, Liberty Global, Oi, OSN, Rogers, Sky, Shaw, Tata Sky, Verizon, Viasat and Vodafone.

    The company boasts a workforce of thousands located primarily in the US, UK, Israel, India, Belgium, China and Canada.

  • BBC LAUNCHES HUGE NEW INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DISINFORMATION INITIATIVE

    BBC LAUNCHES HUGE NEW INTERNATIONAL ANTI-DISINFORMATION INITIATIVE

    mumbai: The BBC will be launching the Beyond Fake News project on 12th November with the release of findings from original BBC research into how and why disinformation is shared. Around the globe, disinformation has been seen to cause social and political harm, with people having less trust in the news, or in some cases being subjected to violence or death as a result. The BBC’s Beyond Fake News project aims to fight back with a major focus on global media literacy, panel debates in India and Kenya, hackathons exploring tech solutions and a special season of programming across the BBC’s networks in Africa, India, Asia Pacific, Europe, the USA and Central America. The research to be released publicly on 12th November comes after users gave the BBC unprecedented access to their encrypted messaging apps in India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

    The Beyond Fake News media literacy programme has already begun delivering workshops in India and Kenya. It draws on the BBC’s pioneering work to tackle disinformation in the UK, where digital literacy workshops have also been delivered to schools across the country.   

    Jamie Angus, Director of the BBC World Service Group, says: “In 2018 I pledged that the BBC World Service Group  would move beyond just talking about the global ‘fake news’ threat, and take concrete steps to address it. Poor standards of global media literacy, and the ease with which malicious content can spread unchecked on digital platforms mean there’s never been a greater need for trustworthy news providers to take proactive steps. We have put our money where our mouth is and invested in real action on the ground in India and in Africa. From funding in-depth research into sharing behaviours online, to rolling out media literacy workshops globally, and by pledging to bring BBC Reality Check to some of the world’s most important upcoming elections, this year we’re carving our path as a leading global voice for spotting the problems, and setting out ambitious solutions.”

    The Beyond Fake News Season

    Fake or real, truth or lie, transparent or deliberately misleading – how can you tell the difference? And what can you do about it to help build trust?  These are the problems the BBC explores in the Beyond Fake News season. This season will include Fake Me, a documentary revealing how far young people will go in pursuit of social media perfection, as well as the in-depth story of what happened when WhatsApp turned one Indian village into a lynch mob. There will also be reports on Russia’s disinformation campaign, how Facebook is being exploited in the Philippines to spread false information, and a debate with the world’s big four tech firms on what role they play in stemming the spread of ‘fake news’.  The season brings stories from across the world on TV, radio and online drawing on the expertise of the BBC’s international network of journalists.

    Programmes & Documentaries

    Global: From Delhi, 12th – 15th November

    Matthew Amroliwala takes BBC World News’ Global on the road through India, exploring what happens in a world where fake news goes viral, and trust is the victim. He’ll be talking to tech giants, politicians, school children and Bollywood actors.

    BBC World News

    Beyond Fake News – Tech Giants, 12th & 17th, 18th November

    The tech giants Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and Google are brought together to discuss the fake news crisis and the roles their platforms play in the problem, and the solution. Matthew Amroliwala hosts.

    BBC World News

    The She Word: Fake Me, 10th November 

    From Insta-face to jeeps and bling to full-on faking it, millennials in Africa are living on “likes” as the social media world expands, sometimes going to extreme lengths to clock up the clicks. Using the Instagram look, the content, the followers and the tech to transform her online profile, we challenge one Kenyan student, a 21 year old social media ‘virgin’, to go from private to public, and see if she can fake it – in just five days.

    BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News, BBC World Service TV, BBC.com

    BBC Click: Kosovo’s Fake News Factories, 10th November

    Eighteen months ago Kosovo's fake news factories were running at full steam – fuelled by the country's excellent connectivity and its young tech-savvy population with few other job opportunities. Since then, Facebook has been aggressively targeting such operations. We go back to see how successful this crackdown has been and how the fake news game has changed.

    BBC World News

    Features

    “Deepfake” video manipulation, 14th November 

    When you’re not always seeing what you think you are – Matthew Amroliwala picks up new languages the easy way, but not without a little help from “Deepfake” software programmes that turn fiction into reality, making ‘fake video’. This technology could present opportunity for but also dangers – BBC Click look into this for BBC World News.

    BBC World News – preview available on request

    Explainer: Why a Fake News story spreads, 12th November 

    How does fake news get onto your feed? Zoe Kleinman explores how fake news goes viral, the role of social network algorithms in its spread and how automated bots push false stories to millions. How easily are legitimate publishers tricked into repeating false news, and why are we the public so willing to share stories we see on social media?

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    Special Reports

    India/Asia Pacific

    An interactive data project mapping the violence fuelled by false rumours in India

    From the BBC India team in Delhi, we have scraped hundreds of newspapers to compile data on violence and lynchings driven by social media and messaging apps in India.

    BBC.com

    What happened when WhatsApp turned one Indian village into a lynch mob, 12th November  

    The story of Nilotpal and Abhishek. Mini-documentary on two men lynched after rumours on WhatsApp suggested they were child abductors.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    The people behind the spread of fake news in India, 12th November
    The BBC’s Vineet Khare meets some of the people behind the Facebook pages and websites accused of spreading fake news across India.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service TV

    Thailand’s victims of fake news “law”, 13th November

    Four years after the military coup, Thailand may return to democracy with an election next year. But political activity is still limited and critics are being increasingly threatened with cyber security laws that often use the "fake news" crutch and carry prison sentences. For the BBC's Beyond Fake News season, our South Asia correspondent Jonathan Head meets people who are facing legal threats for speaking out against the military government.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC.com

    Fake news and the Philippines, 12th November

    Howard Johnson travels to the remote archipelago of Batanes to understand how supporters of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos have been exploiting Facebook to spread fake news and help his family stage a political comeback.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    Africa

    Somalia: Media freedom under attack, 12th November 

    Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist and media outlets are being closed down for publishing information, or what their critics call ‘fake news.’ As part of our Beyond Fake News season, Fergal Keane reports on the fallout.

    BBC World Service Radio, BBC World News, BBC World Service TV, BBC.com, UK networks

    BBC Africa Eye – new investigation, 13th November

    BBC Africa Eye will broadcast its latest investigation.

    On BBC Africa TV, BBC.com

    Russia/Europe

    Debunking Russia’s ‘information noise’ operations, 12th November

    A lab in Tbilisi has been using untested lethal drugs to experiment on Georgian citizens, the Russian Defence Ministry announced last month. But the claims were false – aimed at distracting attention away from Moscow's involvement in the Skripal poisoning and embarrassing revelations about a failed Russian cyber-attack on the global chemical weapons watchdog (OPCW) in the Hague. Steve Rosenberg visits the lab for our Beyond Fake News season, and looks at how Russia uses fake news to spread disinformation.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC.com & domestic BBC outlets

    Middle East

    How a fake news law is being used to crack down on dissent in Egypt, 14th November

    Five months ago, Egyptian actress Amal Fathy logged on to Facebook and posted a video alleging that she had been assaulted by Cairo police officers. Two days later she was in jail, accused of “spreading false news”. Fathy, who was later sentenced to two years in prison, is the latest in a growing list of Egyptian dissidents prosecuted under the government’s new fake news laws. Sally Nabil looks at the effect of the crackdown and how US rhetoric around fake news is being abused as a powerful tool of repression abroad.

    BBC World News, BBC.com

    USA/Americas

    Mexico lynchings report, 12th November

    Two innocent men are pulled from a jail house by a mob and burned in the street after WhatsApp rumours warning of child abductors – a report on how fake news can grip a small town where violent crime goes unpunished.

    BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC Mundo, BBC.com

    Also showing as part of the season:

    “Operation Infektion”, 11th November

    Operation Infektion, by the New York Times, is an enthralling history of fake news, or what the KGB used to call, “active measures.” With testimony from former Russian spies and US officials, the film deconstructs some of the most successful “fake news” operations of recent times, from the 1980s lie that Aids was created by the CIA, to the so called pizzagate conspiracy during the last Presidential election. This is disinformation warfare laid bare.

    BBC World News

    From Our Own Correspondent, 12th November

    From Our Own Correspondent will be bringing its mix of stories, insight and analysis to Delhi for a special edition of the programme presented by Anu Anand. Reporters in the region will reflect on what’s real and what’s not.  

    BBC World Service Radio

    BBC World Questions: Delhi, 14th November

    BBC World Questions will host a debate in Delhi allowing the public audience the chance to put their questions directly to a panel of politicians and opinion formers. With support from the British Council, the programme visits a different city around the world each month, and provides a public forum for open debate and an opportunity to explore claim and counter claim in front of an audience.  

    BBC World Service Radio

    Why Factor:  The Fact Checkers, 12th November

    Sandra Kanthal will speak with fact checkers from Turkey, the Philippines and Brazil to find out what motivates them to combat fake news, especially in countries where speaking truth to power comes with considerable risk.   How do they do this difficult job, and why are they so determined to improve the skills all of us can use to call out false claims? 

    BBC World Service Radio

  • Amazon Prime Video UK adds US Open

    Amazon Prime Video UK adds US Open

    MUMBAI: With the gradual progress in the over-the-top (OTT) market, SVoD providers are increasingly inclining towards sports rights. Amazon Prime Video, one of the biggest players, has been granted the exclusive live telecast rights to the US Open tennis championships in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

    The five-year deal will allow Amazon to bring live and on-demand content to Prime Video members of both territories without any additional cost. Other than four grand slams, Amazon Prime Video is now home to all top men’s tennis tournaments. Back in 2017, it also won the UK rights to the ATP World Tour from Sky.

    Amazon Prime Video members will have access to live match play emanating from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open.

    “This new partnership allows the USTA to showcase our live and on-demand content to Amazon Prime Video members throughout the UK and Ireland,” USTA chief revenue officer Lew Sherr said. “We are excited to market the telecasts via Prime Video and provide fans more ways to watch tennis matches,” he added.

    “Prime Video is focused on bringing customers a great selection of high-quality entertainment across drama, comedy, documentaries, live sports and more,” Prime Video Europe vice president Jay Marine said.

    This partnership with UTSA will help sports portfolio of the platform to go one step further. “This prestigious event, along with the other exciting tennis coming this year and next, makes Prime Video a destination for tennis fans in the UK and Ireland,” Prime Video Europe channels and sports managing director Alex Green said.

    Also Read :

    India fastest-growing market in first year for Amazon: Jeff Bezos

    Amazon India to launch 10 originals in 2018

  • Scripps, Blue Ant & Game TV buy ‘paranormal’ prog series from GRB

    Scripps, Blue Ant & Game TV buy ‘paranormal’ prog series from GRB

    MUMBAI: GRB Entertainment has announced sales of several paranormal series to broadcast partners in North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

    Blue Ant Media in Canada and WP1 in Poland both acquired Occult Crimes which offers a look inside the devilish minds of some of the most unpredictable and dangerous killers in history. Taking their orders from the devil, real-life demons are determined to gain immortality by committing heinous murders.

    Game TV in Canada also picked up two seasons of Portal to the Unknown. The series introduces people who have had very real encounters with some of the most hauntingly unbelievable creatures and ghosts.

    For their EMEA feed, Scripps Networks International took When Ghosts Attack. Travel to the dark side of the paranormal world where the attackers are invisible, but the physical scars are real. Hear directly from the victims about what went through their mind as their other-realm experience escalated from threatening whispers and dark omens to bodily injuries.

    “GRB Entertainment holds an impressive catalogue of paranormal titles and we are excited for our partners around the world to share these programs with their viewers. Whether or not you believe that these supernatural events really occurred, you’ll be thrilled as we delve into the minds of criminals and other-worldly beings,” said GRB Entertainment SVP — international distribution Michael Lolato.

  • Hinduja Global appoints Foster as CEO for Europe

    MUMBAI: Hinduja Global, which provides a suite of business process management (BPM) services from traditional voice contact center services and transformational DigiCX services that are unifying customer engagement to platform-based, back-office services and digital marketing solutions, has announced the appointment of Adam Foster as the chief executive officer for its European operations.

    To be based out of London in the UK, Foster will work on enhancing the Hinduja Global Solutions Limited (HGS) brand and driving growth in the region. He will also be a key member of HGS’ Global Advisory Board and participate in corporate strategy.

    Foster joins the HGS team with a strong background in the global BPM industry. He was the CEO at Merchants, the Customer Management outsourcing company, before moving into a Group Executive role with Dimension Data, a part of the Japanese NTT Group that acquired Merchants in 1997.

    In his over 15-years stint at Dimension Data, Foster played a key role working as their Senior Board member, interacting with several joint venture outsourcers around the world.

    Commenting on the appointment, HGS CEO Partha DeSarkar said, “Adam Foster’s extensive experience in the outsourcing and offshoring business, especially at leadership level in a global environment, will be an asset to HGS as we look to drive growth in Europe.”

  • Netflix expands in Europe, brings in two originals, hires 400

    MUMBAI: Netflix, the world’s leading global internet TV service, has announced the creation of 400 jobs at its new European customer service hub which opened this week in Amsterdam. Supporting customers across 11 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the UK), the multilingual hub will employ initially a workforce of 170, growing to 345 by the end of 2017 and surpassing 400 by the end of 2018.*

    Amsterdam is the location also of Netflix’s recently expanded European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters, which has doubled its workforce since the beginning of 2016.** More than 120 employees from 18 countries work at the EMEA HQ in business development, marketing, PR, public policy and corporate functions such as finance, legal and recruiting.

    The ongoing expansion of Netflix’s workforce in Europe complements the company’s ever-growing investment in European productions (licensed, original and co-productions). Marking the global launch last month of Las Chicas del Cable, Netflix’s first original series from Spain, the company confirmed plans to announce at least six new European original projects before the end of 2017. The first of these, Dogs of Berlin, was announced on 28 April and will be written, produced and shot in Germany before launching in 2018. The second, a new French original called Osmosis, was announced today and is expected to begin production in France in 2018. Netflix has committed more than $1.75 billion to European productions since entering Europe in 2012, including to date more than 90 original productions in various stages of development.

    “We are delighted to announce the creation of jobs in Europe and the opening of our new customer service hub in Amsterdam, as well as two new European original series. Europe is a creative centre for great storytelling that resonates around the world and we continue to invest in European content,” said Reed Hastings, Netflix co-founder and CEO.

    “The decision by Netflix to add a customer support centre along with its EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam illustrates that our business climate is exactly what leading companies are seeking when investing in their future,” said Jeroen Nijland, Commissioner for Foreign Investment, Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA). “The Netherlands’ fast internet speeds, e-commerce strengths and multilingual talent pool make our country a great match for the Netflix expansion to support its rapidly growing European market.”

    *Netflix’s new European customer service hub in Amsterdam is the latest addition to the company’s growing portfolio of internal service centers, the others being located in the USA (Salt Lake City and Utah) and Yokohama, Japan.

    Netflix’s European original series are available to Netflix’s more than 100 million members around the world and include:

    Marseille, Netflix’s first original series from France, now in production for a second season;
    the Golden Globe-winning The Crown set in the UK, now in production for a second season;
    Las Chicas del Cable, Netflix’s first original series from Spain, launched 28 April and already in production for a second season;
    Dark, Netflix’s first original series from Germany, due to launch late 2017;
    Suburra, Netflix’s first original series from Italy, due to launch late 2017;
    Dogs of Berlin, Netflix’s second original series from Germany, due to launch in 2018; and
    Osmosis, Netflix’s second original series from France, due to begin production in 2018.

  • #WhatIReallyReallyWant — Silver?, granted

    MUMBAI: The global PR and viral campaign for the film #WhatIReallyReallyWant by Project Everyone, supported by Getty Images and SAWA and launched by the international communications agency Sterling Media, has been awarded the Silver prize for Video Project of the Year at the British Media Awards 2017.

    Taking place at The Hilton Park Lane, the British Media Awards recognise ‘excellence and innovation’ across the industry. Other shortlisted nominees included fellow winners Shotglass Media and New Scientist, as well as The Guardian and The Economist.

    On the 20th anniversary of the release of the Spice Girls’ Wannabe video, the campaign marked 20 years of Girl Power with the updated version “#WhatIReallyReallyWant”. The film reflects the voices of girls and women all over the world telling world leaders what Goals they ‘really really want’ to be achieved to help improve their lives. The campaign was supported by Getty Images and SAWA. The video received support from high profile personalities such as Spice Girls Victoria Beckham, Melanie C and Emma Bunton on Social Media, the public and international media to help it generate a spectacular 150 million views online in just a few days of its launch. The video was the 3rd highest trending topic in UK on Facebook in the first 24 hours after release.

    Sterling Media managed the global communications campaign for #WhatIReallyReallyWant, playing a vital role during its development alongside Project Everyone. Sterling Media was able to make an impact on the film through securing talent such as Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who opens the short film with a spirited performance. Sterling Media launched the film globally, securing coverage for #WhatIReallyReallyWant and the Global Goals in mass media across Europe, USA, India, the Far East, Australia and Africa.

    Natasha Mudhar, CEO and MD of Sterling Media said: “On behalf of everyone at Sterling Media, we are honoured to have received the Silver Prize for Video Project of the Year at the British Media Awards. We would like to thank the judges at the British Media Awards and the event organisers, as well as congratulate our fellow award winners. We are delighted that the film #WhatIReallyReallyWant, launched with our partners at Project Everyone, is receiving wider recognition. Sterling Media was launched with the mission of brining brands closer to their purpose and we hope the accolades and response that #WhatIReallyReallyWant film has received are indicative of the wider positive impact it has made.”

  • Telestream to acquire IneoQuest

    MUMBAI: Telestream has announced its agreement to acquire IneoQuest, the global leader in video quality monitoring and analytics solutions for content distribution across managed and unmanaged networks.

    Founded in 2001, IneoQuest is headquartered in Mansfield, Massachusetts, with sales operations in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. With this acquisition, Telestream will enable its customers to deliver the highest possible video quality to their viewers on any device. The terms of the deal were not disclosed as both companies are privately held.

    With video quality a critical part of the viewer experience, IneoQuest’s analytics solutions help hundreds of media companies and service providers around the world deliver the highest possible quality across any network, managed or unmanaged.

    Recognised as an industry leader and innovator by Deloitte, Red Herring, Inc., Frost & Sullivan, and others, IneoQuest’s patented solutions continue to set the standard for measuring video quality, quality of service, and viewer experience.