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Tag: France

  • French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    French groups TF1 and M6 propose merger

    MUMBAI: Fierce competition forces alliances upon nations, people, and companies. As it is doing in the media and entertainment globally today. Close on the heels of the announcement of the merger between AT&T’s Warner Media and Discovery, reports of another fusion between two media groups in France have emerged. The two in question are TF1 and M6 (pronounced Seez) groups.

    TF1 is owned by the Bouygues group, while M6’s ownership lies with European production and TV broadcaster RTL, which is part of media giant Bertlesmann. The two will be housed in a new French company in which Bouygues would hold 30 per cent and RTL 16 per cent. The former will acquire 11 per cent equity from the latter for Euros 641 million.

    The proposal has got the go-ahead from the RTL, Bouygues, TFI, and M6 boards, but has to get over the regulatory hurdles from French authorities and is proposed to close by the end-2022. The merged company would have a 2020 pro forma revenue of €3.4bn and a current operating profit of €461M. The synergies potential (EBITDA run-rate impact) is estimated at €250M to €350M per year within three years from the closing of the transaction.

    M6 CEO Nicolas de Tavernost has been proposed as chairman & CEO of the merged entity while chairman and CEO of TF1 Gilles Pélisson will be nominated as deputy CEO of Groupe Bouygues in charge of media and development.

    A new ad-supported service, combining catch-up and live streaming and based on existing services MyTF1 and 6play, would be developed, alongside an SVoD service and a production hub for local and international content.

    What’s forcing the two to merge? Well a press release issued by RTL gives some insights.

    It says the two groups are active in a growing total video market where increasingly rich, original, and exclusive content is driving long-term audience growth. Even as linear TV remains powerful, it is undergoing a structural transformation with a strong shift towards on-demand consumption which is being led by global platforms making deep pushes in the French advertising market.

    “The combination of these two players, of the know-how of their employees and their strong brands, would allow the new group to invest more and to step up innovation. The proposed merger is critical to ensure the long-term independence of French content creation and to continue to offer diversified and premium local content to the benefit of all viewers,” said the statement.

    “The merger between Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 is a great opportunity to create a French total video champion that will guarantee independence, quality of content, and pluralism – values that have long been shared by our two groups,” said Pélisson. “It will be an asset in promoting French culture. Groupe TF1 now approaches a new stage in its development, consistent with the strategic vision developed in the past five years.”

    “The consolidation of the French television and audio-visual markets is an absolute necessity if the French audience and the industry as a whole are to continue to play a predominant role in the face of exacerbated international competition, which is accelerating rapidly,” added de Tavernost. “The combination of the two groups’ know-how will allow for an ambitious French response. Furthermore, this proposed merger of Groupe M6 and Groupe TF1 is the only transaction offering value creation for all Groupe M6 shareholders.”

    “The audio-visual market benefits from long-term growth. In this context, Groupe Bouygues is pleased to contribute to the creation of a major French media group able to compete with the GAFANs,” highlighted Groupe Bouygues CEO Olivier Roussat. “We are pleased with this major development and partnership which confirms Groupe Bouygues’ commitment to the media since 1987. As shareholders with exclusive control over the new group, we will continue to provide it with our full support.”

    RTL CEO Thomas Rabe said the proposed merger of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 would be a major step in implementing the strategy to create national media champions across the European footprint. “It demonstrates how in-country consolidation creates significant value. As a strategic investor, we will be long-term industrial partners of Groupe Bouygues,” he added.

  • UGC Writers Campus by Series Mania invites applications for 2021 edition

    UGC Writers Campus by Series Mania invites applications for 2021 edition

    MUMBAI: Series Mania has invited applications for its UGC Writers Campus, an immersive week-long writing workshop for 20 emerging TV drama writers from around the world. This, the fourth edition of UGC Writers Campus by Series Mania, will run from 27 May to 3 June 2021 in Lille, France. Deadline for submissions is 1 February 2021. 

    Eligible candidates are writers who have had at least one professional experience on a broadcast TV/digital series, short or feature film broadcast. The link for submitting applications can be found at:

    https://seriesmania.com/forum/en/ugc-writers-campus-2021/ 

    Over the course of one week, UGC Writers Campus will function as an incubator where writers will be immersed in an environment dedicated to their work with access to tutors, mentors and industry decision-makers.

    From 27-31 May, participants will have the opportunity to take part in workshops and masterclasses in the presence of experienced professionals who will serve and support them as mentors in the development of their projects. From 1-3 June, these emerging writers will be able to pitch their projects in front of the international industry professionals who will be in Lille for the forum. 

    "Today, we see an increasing demand from the industry toward screenwriters. In this context, Series Mania, with the UGC Writers Campus, is honoured to support and strengthen an international network of young writers who are able to offer high quality projects, while at the same time working together for the future of our audio-visual industry. The stories to come will certainly be local, but thus more open to co-production opportunities,” said UGC director, deputy MD Herszberg.

  • Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    NEW DELHI: Twitter has announced that the micro-blogging site has started labelling accounts of government officials and state-affiliated media.

    The blog read that it will focus on labelling ‘Senior officials and entities who are the official voice of the state abroad.’

    For the time being, this will be applicable only to accounts from China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and the United States — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

    The blog further emphasised that this new feature is for transparency and practicality, Twitter is starting with a limited and clearly-defined group of countries before expanding to a wider range of countries in the future. “At this time, we're not labeling the personal accounts of heads of state, as these accounts enjoy widespread name recognition, media attention, and public awareness. Institutional accounts associated with their offices that changeover depending on election results will be labeled, however.”

    “We believe that people have the right to know when a media account is affiliated directly or indirectly with a state actor. As part of the development of this process, we consulted with a number of expert groups, including members of the Digital and Human Rights Advisory group in Twitter’s Trust & Safety Council,” the blog post said.

    Twitter will no longer amplify state-affiliated media accounts or their tweets through recommendation systems including on the home timeline, notifications, and search.

  • Cannes Lions postpones Festival of Creativity as coronavirus crisis deepens

    Cannes Lions postpones Festival of Creativity as coronavirus crisis deepens

    MUMBAI: Cannes Lions has postponed the International Festival of Creativity at the south of France to October. The festival was scheduled to be held in June. France the other day had asked citizens not to leave their homes in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 which has killed 148 peopld and infected more than 6,000 in the country.

    The decision to postpone the festival from June "comes following much deliberation with our partners and customers, as well as, consultation with public health officials, the mayoral office of Cannes and the French Authorities," said a statement from Cannes Lions. 

    The statement further states that the "health, safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees, sponsors and partners remains our first priority." 

    Ascential, the parent company of Cannes Lions, had directed its employees to work from home as the coronavirus outbreak worsened.

  • France woos Indian content creators; lays out interesting incentives

    France woos Indian content creators; lays out interesting incentives

    MUMBAI: The French government is laying out the red carpet for Indian film, digital originals and TV series makers.  French minister of culture Franck Riester flew into Mumbai and had a series of whistlestop meetings with members of the creative community at Mumbai’s Soho House. His pitch: come to France, film, do co-productions and we will give you all the permissions through one window, access to regional tax incentives, and credits. 

    Said the minister: “The French president wants to build closer relationships with India. One of the best ways to do it is through the medium of cinema. Both France and India have a long history of cinema. We are the premier film making country in Europe. India’s Bollywood has been making major strides. We have many stories which can be remade in India and likewise. And India and France have a coproduction agreement since 2010 and more than 10 films have been shot in France. ” 

    Centre National Du cinema et de l’mage animee (CNC) president Dominique Boutonnat said that French cinema does about $3 billion euros worth of productions while making about 300 films a year. “Even series which are travelling across the world thanks to global streaming platforms can come and film in France. We have beautiful locations which can be used.”

    The single-window clearance will be done through Film France. Stephan Bender who looks after technical facilities and communications for the organisation, says that procedures have been simplified and all clearances, permissions, finding a local partner, tax credit clearances will be done through his office. “Earlier we had to go through the ministry of commerce; and that would take time. But now that we have stepped in things are bound to speed up. All you need to do to take advantage of our incentives is send us your budget and production services agreement (PSA) with your local producer, your script  – to find out if you are eligible. Non-fiction and documentary makers are not eligible for the incentives though. It has to be scripted and fiction oriented.”

    Riester added that a committee and film commission is being set up to facilitate Indian productions in France, which will assess projects coming to it, and turnaround time is being improved by the day. "I think it''s human relationships which will help strengthen our relations in cinema and other creative industries. I hope we will be able to increase our cooperation, business and artistic exchanges," he acknowledged.

    Bender added that producers will  require to spend a minimum of Rs 2 crore in France to be eligible for the incentives which tots up to 30 per cent. If VFX is added to it, then the incentives will be higher at 40 per cent for expenditure up  to two million euros. The incentive and tax credit has a limit of 30 million euros for a project, but for that the expenditure in France will have to be in excess of 100 million euros. 

    Among the filmmakers who turned up for the interactions included Reliance Entertainment’s Shibashis Sarkar, Red Chillies Gaurav Verma, Dipti Jindal, a representative of  Sajid Nadiadwala, Vivek Singhania, actor turned producer R Madhavan, Sunil Khetrapal from Azure Entertainment, Narayan Srinivasan from In2tainment, TVC digital series and film maker Rajnish Lall, Brio Studios Amit Ranekar, India Spark’s Khalid Khan, among many others.

  • DocuBay- a new documentary streaming platform previews at Cannes, France

    DocuBay- a new documentary streaming platform previews at Cannes, France

    MUMBAI: IN10 Media showcased an exclusive first look of DocuBay – its new, global, subscription-based streaming service and VOD platform featuring premium international documentaries at MIPDOC to a select international community of documentary creators and distributors.

    Along with this early preview for MIPDOC (April 6-7) and MIPTV (April 8-11) attendees, DocuBay also partnered with MIPDOC to present The Pitch, a blitz kreig documentary pitching session that acknowledges the most promising documentaries in the making for the year. Amongst, if not the most anticipated documentary event in the documentary fraternity, the judges for the pitches included Chris Hoelzl from Smithsonian Channel, Axel Arno from SVT, Bernadette McDaid from National Geographic and Akul Tripathi, COO, DocuBay.

    Congratulating Fairouz El-Baz; winner of the pitch for the Science and Technology category, and Zed Films; winner of the pitch for the Current Affairs & Investigation category, Akul Tripathi (COO, DocuBay) stated, “We are thrilled to introduce DocuBay to the global content community attending MIP, and to share our great passion for documentary films with audiences around the world. Humankind, as a race, has always had the uncontrollable desire to tell their tale. To save it for posterity. Etched in stone, sketched on rock, sung through the ages, engraved, embossed, stitched, typed, recorded, photographed and now filmed – documentaries are just the latest in a long series of the preferred repository of human experience. These cumulative/many experiences unite us as One Tribe, which is at the core of DocuBay philosophy.”

    DocuBay will be available in India with a distinctive global catalogue for Indian audiences, and several titles exclusive to the country. The global consumer premiere is scheduled for the summer of 2019 and will include India in it’s first phase.

    Making discovery easy through affinity-based categories like Nature, Action, Travel, Culture, and Science, DocuBay intends to further refine its ‘bays’ by analyzing watch habits and consumer surveys of the early adopters to DocuBay.

    Reiterating DocuBay’s commitment to the importance of discovery in the future of the digital content marketplace, Aditya Pittie (Managing Director, IN10 Media) stated, “IN10 Media’s goal has always been to deliver excellent content across genres and platforms, and we are proud to add DocuBay to our stellar class of brands. With consumers worldwide having more content choices than ever, DocuBay’s constantly expanding library of international documentary films will create its own niche through its focus on discovery and distribution. We are delighted to share this first look at MIP.”

    DocuBay will continue it’s exclusive first look at MIP TV from April 8 – April 11.

  • Adapt My Web: making the web accessible to all

    Adapt My Web: making the web accessible to all

    MUMBAI: There are currently more than 600 million active websites in France.

    Digital transformation has become an integral part of our daily lives and will become more important in the years to come.

    However, in this digital age, more than 2.5 million people with visual or reading disabilities are excluded and therefore don’t have access to information. According to the European Parliament, in 2020, 120 million people in the European Union and more than 20% of the US population (115 million people) will suffer from a disability and will have difficulty accessing the internet.

    In  a  world  where  the  smallest administrative procedure,  source  of  information or  a  simple communication takes place on the Internet, these millions of people suffer and they’re disadvantaged when using digital tools.

    An immediate and instant solution exists. This resource can reduce the inequalities and promote inclusion during the digital evolution : Adapt My Web : The Accessibility Solution.

  • FIFA WC 2018 creates record of 250 mn Indian viewers

    FIFA WC 2018 creates record of 250 mn Indian viewers

    MUMBAI: The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has broken viewership barriers with over 250 million viewers tuning in to the tournament in India. Telecast on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN channels and live streamed on SonyLIV app and website, it garnered over 250 million viewers across 64 matches played until the end of the tournament.

    According to the broadcaster’s report, repeats, surround programming, highlights and wrap around shows of FIFA World Cup 2018 have reached out to 254 million viewers this year.

    The 64 live matches of the FIFA WC 2018 have been watched by 110.5 million viewers across India on the Sony Pictures Networks. The top markets for the live matches were West Bengal with 22.2 million viwers, Kerala with 17.8 million, Maharashtra and Goa with 12.8 million and lastly Assam/North East and Sikkim with 11.4 million.

    The 2018 FIFA World Cup final match was watched by 51.2 million viewers, one of the highest for any FIFA World Cup match till date. Coming to the local language feeds which include Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali,Tamil and Telugu, they have reached out to 70.7 million viewers which is nearly 66 per cent of the overall tournament reach.

    The regional commentary also received viewership of 9.7 million in Kerala while West Bengal reached out to 10.7 million. There were 40.7 million viewers across India for regional commentary.  

    The 2018 FIFA World Cup also received 47 per fent of viewership from females, the highest till date.

  • YouTube Red rebranded as YouTube Premium with expanded reach in 14 countries

    YouTube Red rebranded as YouTube Premium with expanded reach in 14 countries

    MUMBAI: YouTube Red, the ad-free subscription video on demand (VOD) service launched in October 2015, has been rebranded as YouTube Premium on 17 May 2018. The rebranded service, YouTube Premium, will be rolled out soon in existing YouTube Red markets like US, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and South Korea.

    It will have a higher price point for customers that are new to the premium-level offering which will fetch $11.99 per month, $2 more than the earlier price. Current YouTube Red subs that sign up for YouTube Red service before YouTube Premium is formally launched will get the lower price of $9.99 per month. With respect to updated pricing, one exception is South Korea, which will offer YouTube Premium at the current price of YouTube Red.  

    The new YouTube Premium includes the ad-free YouTube Music (a revamped music streaming service that will take on rival offerings such as Spotify and Apple Music), plus access to original series, including Cobra Kai, and movies (like upcoming sci-fi title Impulse) and other YouTube content without ads.  

    YouTube Premium is also getting a wider reach, as it’s to be rolled out in Canada and 13 European markets including Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.  

    Google hasn’t revealed YouTube Red sub numbers, but the service was reported to have about 1.5 million paying customers a year after launch.

    Also Read :

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    Three years down, YouTube Kids unable to make an impact

  • Agencies in India Have 18 Finalists in 45th Annual One Show, Including 10 for McCann Worldgroup India

    Agencies in India Have 18 Finalists in 45th Annual One Show, Including 10 for McCann Worldgroup India

    Agencies in India have 18 finalists’ entries for the 45th annual One Show, as announced by The One Club for Creativity, the world’s foremost non-profit organization celebrating creative excellence in advertising and design.

    McCann Worldgroup India, Mumbai leads the way with 10 finalists, including seven with McCann Health, Delhi for Ministry of Public Health, Afghanistan “The Immunity Charm”.  

    Hindustan Petroleum has five finalists for its own “Roads That Honk”.  

    Agencies in India with one finalist each are Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai for RNW Media “#NotMusicToMyEars”, FCB India, Mumbai for Times of India“Shindoor Khela – No Condition Apply” and Famous Innovations, Mumbia for CaratLane “The Personalised Ring Box That’ll Get You a Yes”.

    To view the complete list of The One Show 2018 finalists by discipline, please visit http://www.oneshow.org/finalists/2018/.

    This year’s One Show has 1,643 finalists representing 42 countries, selected from 19,800 total entries.  The US has the most finalists with 669, followed by the UK with 117, Japan with 94, Canada with 86, Germany with 78, Brazil with 70, France with 65 and Australia with 59.

    Globally, BBDO New York is the agency office with most One Show finalists with 68, including 10 for Downtown Records’ “Live Looper” featuring the band the Academic and eight for P&G “The Talk”. 

    Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago has 34 finalists, including 16 for SC Johnson “Kiwi Portraits Completed” campaign and individual ads, and Wieden+Kennedy, Portland has 33 finalists, including 11 for a variety of KFC work and eight each for Old Spice and Nike entries.  

    Other offices with the most One Show finalists entries are Dentsu Tokyo with 32, McCann New York with 29, Droga5 New York with 25, Jung von Matt in Hamburg and DDB Paris both with 21, and AlmapBBDO, São Paulo and DAVID Miami with 20 finalists each.

    The entry collecting the most finalists is SC Johnson “Kiwi Portraits Completed” campaign and individual ads by Ogilvy & Mather, Chicago with 16 spots.  

    Droga5 New York’s “The Truth is Hard to Find” campaign and ads for The New York Times picked up 14 finalists, while McCann New York’s “Fearless Girl” for State Street Global Advisors has 13 finalists spots.  Both Cossette Toronto’s “SickKids VS” work for SickKids Foundation and DAVID Miami’s “Google Home of the Whopper” for Burger King have 11 finalist spots.

    The One Club for Creativity awards shows each have their distinct focus.  The The One Show focuses on creativity of ideas and quality of execution, while theADC Annual Awards maintains its historical concentration on craft, design and innovation.

    This year’s winners will be announced on two nights of The One Show during The One Club for Creativity’s Creative Week, May 7-11, 2018 in New York (http://www.oneclub.org/creativeweek/).  

    The first night of The One Show, covering Branded Entertainment, Design, Direct Marketing, Health, Wellness & Pharma, Intellectual Property, Moving Image Craft, Public Relations, Responsive Environments, Green Pencil and Cultural Driver will be Wednesday, May 9, 2018, 6:00 pm-12:00 am at the Ziegfeld Ballroom, 141 West 54th St.

    The second night of The One Show, awarding work in Cross Platform, Film, Interactive, Mobile, Print & Outdoor, Radio, Social Influencer Marketing, Social Media, UX / UI, Penta Pencil, Best of Show and other special awards, takes place on Friday, May 11, 2018, 6:00 pm-2:00 am at Cipriani, 55 Wall St.  

    The preeminent festival showcasing the intersection of advertising, innovation and creative thinking, Creative Week also includes the ADC 97th Annual Awards, the dynamic Young Ones Education Festival, inspiring sessions with some of the biggest names in the industry at the Creative Summit, and the exclusive Executive Creative Summit, open to a limited number of top-level leaders (founders, CCOs and managing partners).

    The One Club for Creativity (http://www.oneclub.org), producer of the prestigious One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Creative Week and Portfolio Night, is the world’s foremost non-profit organization recognizing creative excellence in advertising and design.  The ADC Annual Awards honors the best work across all disciplines, including Advertising, Interactive, Design and Motion. Creative Week takes place in New York City every May and is the preeminent festival celebrating the intersection of advertising and the arts.