ITV

Tag: Game of Thrones

  • Game of Thrones episode leak with Star TV watermark traced to Prime Focus Tech; 4 people arrested

    NEW DELHI: “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” Ygritte told her reluctant lover, delivering one of the most iconic lines in the drama series. But  the Maharashtra police do know who leaked  episode four from season seven of  the blockbuster HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ with the Star India watermark about 10 days back. And, the source of the crime is Prime Focus, a technology partner of Star. 

    Police investigations done in Mumbai and Bangalore have shown that present and former employees of Prime Focus, technology vendor for Star India, were responsible for the leak. GOT airs in India on Star channels and its digital platform Hotstar.

    “The information and material collected at the Bangalore office (of Prime Focus) and the Mumbai Police station were collated, studied and analysed by the police. On being satisfied, the investigating agency sufficiently established the role and involvement of various persons, both existing and former employees as well as outsiders,” Maharashtra special IGP (cyber) Brijesh Singh said in a statement yesterday, adding four persons were arrested on 14 August 2017.

    It transpires that the leak, which was one in the series of many leaks globally involving, GOT in recent times, happened in Prime Focus Technologies’ Bengaluru office.

    The police said interrogations revealed that more than one person was involved, included outside people, who had access to the raw data of the TV series. All the accused persons were produced in a court and later sent to police custody till 21 August 2017.

    During investigations, Prime Focus had come forward accepting the leak had happened at its end. It also lodged a police complaint against one of its serving employees alleging that he, along with another former employee and other persons, illegally gained access to the episode and leaked it online.

    Indiantelevision.com could not independently reach out to Prime Focus for the company’s reactions to the developments on online leak. 

    In a separate statement Star India said, “This was the first time that an incident of this nature has occurred. We are deeply grateful to the police for their swift and prompt action. We believe that valuable intellectual property is a critical part of the development of the creative industry and strict enforcement of the law is essential to protecting it.”

    On 4 August 2017, The Verge had reported an unaired episode of GOT appeared on the Internet early that morning. While HBO’s servers were breached earlier that week, this episode leak happened at GOT producer HBO’s distribution partner in India, Star India, and the company’s logo appeared watermarked throughout the leaked episode.

    According to The Verge, Smartprix spotted a direct link to the MP4 of the episode over at Star India’s own distribution site, allowing people to download GOT freely before sharing it with Google Drive links on Reddit.

     

    ALSO READ:

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/enews/content-piracy-making-b-casters-invest-in-good-tech-for-security-brian-morris-vp-tata-communications-161026

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/english-entertainment/star-world-to-host-first-live-got-debate-on-facebook-170421

    https://www.vox.com/2015/4/12/8394447/game-of-thrones-leak

  • Game of Thrones Season 7 starts on Hotstar, minutes after US showing

    NEW DELHI: The highly anticipated premiere of Game of Thrones Season 7 launched on video-on-demand platform Hotstar on 17 July, with the first episode of the new season available for the audience to view within minutes of its American telecast.

    The series was telecast under the Hotstar Premium service. In response to the burgeoning audience for international content in India, Hotstar has partnered with the world’s largest studios, like HBO, Disney and Showtime, to bring the most celebrated international movies and shows to India.

    Game of Thrones is the world’s most avidly watched and anticipated show, with immense excitement and conjecture preceding every season premiere. Unfortunately, it is also the most illegally downloaded show in the world, despite the content being legally distributed, globally, by its creators.

    (In India, the telecast was held back for some minutes, leading to angry comments by viewers in social media. Fans who subscribed tio Hotstar, got an error message on their screens saying, “Something went wrong – we’re working on it. Please try again in a bit”. Reacting to angry messages to the crash on Twitter and other social media, Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan said, “As a service, we are proud that we have built a platform that can handle big surges in viewership. This morning, however, we faced an unprecedented surge in interest around the opening of the new season of Game of Thrones which resulted in a service disruption of about eight minutes.”)

    Taking a humorous lens to this, Hotstar has launched a bold marketing campaign, intended to upend the behavior of illegal downloading. Titled ‘Torrents Morghulis’, a play on ‘Valar Morghulis’, as fans of the show will instantly recognize, the theme translates to ‘All Torrents Must Die’. The campaign lightheartedly highlights the trouble people put themselves through for finding and downloading illegal content, and how redundant these pains are in the current day and age where shows are readily available, at the user’s fingertips.

    Leading with the promise of ‘Minutes after America, hours before Russia’, the campaign takes Torrents head on with 4 TV commercials, an outdoor campaign in key cities, and high impact digital activation. The films features two characters, one, who still labours through the process of procuring his content illegally, and another, who’s got a Hotstar Premium subscription and is able to enjoy the Game of Thrones experience the way it is meant to be – available to watch with the world, ad-free, unbeeped and unblurred.

    Based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ series, Game of Thrones has run for six extremely acclaimed seasons and holds the record for the highest Emmy wins for any Primetime TV show.

  • Star World: Banatwalla, Shah, Hota & Prasad to battle it out in ‘Game of Thrones’ debate

    MUMBAI: With season 7 set to launch soon, Game of Thrones fever has gripped the world yet again with fans speculating to see who will win the Iron Throne and who will die trying. Adding to this electrifying atmosphere, the country’s leading English entertainment channel, Star World will be hosting India’s first live Game of Thrones debate on Facebook to answer the ultimate question “Who’s claim to the Throne is the strongest – Jon Snow, Cersei Lannister or Daenerys Targaryen?”.

    Star World and Star World HD will be airing seasons 1-6 starting 24 April, every Monday to Friday at 10pm.

    The nail-biting debate, which will be held on Star World’s official Facebook page on 24 April from 6PM onwards, promises to be a battle of wit and honour amongst diehard fans and India’s leading comedians Azeem Banatwalla, Sahil Shah, Rahul Hota and Mani Prasad. Moderated by Azeem, the debate will have Sahil, Rahul and Mani go head to head to support their favorite contenders claim to the Iron Throne – Jon, Daenerys and Cersei respectively. The trio will bust some theories, prove others and find new ones. Fans will get a chance to join in the action with their comments or reactions to support their favorite characters and some of the best arguments will also be read out live by Azeem. It’s time to revel in the complicated world of Westeros and take sides as the comedians turn the tables on each other in a battle field like no other.

    The debate is aimed at making fans #TakeACloser look into all that has transpired in the previous seasons of Game of Thrones before the new season launches in July. Star World and Star World HD will be airing seasons 1-6 starting 24 April, every Monday to Friday at 10pm.

    The battle lines have been drawn and the three claimants have a long walk ahead! Watch the debate on: https://www.facebook.com/StarWorldIndia/

  • ‘Barbarians Rising’, Roman & Barbarian battle on History TV18

    ‘Barbarians Rising’, Roman & Barbarian battle on History TV18

    MUMBAI: A tyrannical empire. 700 long years of battle. History TV18 is all set to take the viewers to a world altering struggle for freedom. The channel will air Barbarians Rising, a story told from the perspective of the tribes named as Barbarians by the Romans. The show is an epic saga of the fall of the Roman Empire and will air from 28 January at 10 pm.

    The cast of Barbarians Rising consists of some familiar faces viewers have come across in popular television series Game of Thrones and Vikings. Ian Beattie plays a character called Varus whereas Jefferson Hall will also play a vital role in the show. Kerry Ingram plays a character called Hilde.

    Though considered as one of the greatest empires of all time, the Roman Empire was rather ruthless and brutal. To achieve total domination, the Romans blanket the ancient world in blood and tyranny, giving rise to barbarian rebellions. The 700 years long struggle ultimately led to the downfall of the monumental Roman Empire.

    The eight-episode docu-drama chronicles the rebellion undertaken by the outraged and subdued tribals to overthrow the brutish empire. The battle for supremacy results in the defeat of Rome before it becomes unstoppable.

    Barbarians Rising does not glorify the Romans but talks about the heroic struggle launched by 9 fierce warriors including Hannibal, Spartacus, Arminius, Boudica and Attila alongside an eclectic group of experts and contributors. These iconic men and women believed in breaking the Roman shackles binding their communities and living as free folks or die trying.

  • ‘Barbarians Rising’, Roman & Barbarian battle on History TV18

    ‘Barbarians Rising’, Roman & Barbarian battle on History TV18

    MUMBAI: A tyrannical empire. 700 long years of battle. History TV18 is all set to take the viewers to a world altering struggle for freedom. The channel will air Barbarians Rising, a story told from the perspective of the tribes named as Barbarians by the Romans. The show is an epic saga of the fall of the Roman Empire and will air from 28 January at 10 pm.

    The cast of Barbarians Rising consists of some familiar faces viewers have come across in popular television series Game of Thrones and Vikings. Ian Beattie plays a character called Varus whereas Jefferson Hall will also play a vital role in the show. Kerry Ingram plays a character called Hilde.

    Though considered as one of the greatest empires of all time, the Roman Empire was rather ruthless and brutal. To achieve total domination, the Romans blanket the ancient world in blood and tyranny, giving rise to barbarian rebellions. The 700 years long struggle ultimately led to the downfall of the monumental Roman Empire.

    The eight-episode docu-drama chronicles the rebellion undertaken by the outraged and subdued tribals to overthrow the brutish empire. The battle for supremacy results in the defeat of Rome before it becomes unstoppable.

    Barbarians Rising does not glorify the Romans but talks about the heroic struggle launched by 9 fierce warriors including Hannibal, Spartacus, Arminius, Boudica and Attila alongside an eclectic group of experts and contributors. These iconic men and women believed in breaking the Roman shackles binding their communities and living as free folks or die trying.

  • Content a ‘Game of Thrones’; AT&T’s control over HBO, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros faces regulatory lens

    Content a ‘Game of Thrones’; AT&T’s control over HBO, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros faces regulatory lens

    MUMBAI: The global media landscape is resulting in a new juggernaut as an internet and cable behemoth yesterday purchased an entertainment conglomerate making the former unmatched in its size and reach to consumers through home broadband, smartphones, satellite television and a battery of movies and cable channels. This deal could lead to more cautionary flags than Comcast’s merger with NBCUniversal in 2009.

    The US$ 108.7-billion AT&T, Time Warner merger has been met with suspicion as analysts raised antitrust concerns that it would create unfair pricing and lead to further media consolidation. The
    cash-and-stock deal values Time Warner – with CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros Studios – at over $85 billion, and involves AT&T taking on its debt.

    AT&T, over a year ago, became the nation’s largest pay-TV operator when it acquired DirecTV. Now, Time Warner would give AT&T HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros., Hollywood’s biggest television and film studio. The massive deal has become a subject of discussion in the US presidential campaign. Donald J. Trump, condemning the deal, said he would block it if he were the president, “because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” Hillary Clinton has assured to be tough on consolidation and corporate megapowers.

    Although the latest merger is considered “vertical integration” as the two broadly do not compete against each other as compared to other “horizontal integration” of similar businesses, regulators could look at other ways AT&T might affect the media ecosystem if the deal were to consummate.

    AT&T may possibly make it more expensive for its competitors to gain access to HBO or Time Warner’s content or give preferential treatment to its own programming.

    A brief history of media/telecom deals

    1995
    Turner Broadcasting System and Time Warner announced a $7.5-billion merger, bringing together brands including Warner Brothers, CNN, Time magazine, and the Cartoon Network.

    2000
    AOL announced its plan to buy Time Warner for over $160 billion.

    2005
    SBC Corporation acquired AT&T for over $16 billion.

    2008
    Time Warner spins off its cable unit, which becomes Time Warner Cable (not a part of the current deal).

    2009
    Time Warner spins off AOL.

    2011
    Comcast receives regulatory nod for its $30-billion bid to buy a majority stake in NBCUniversal. Comcast took over NBCUniversalm completely in 2013, as GE divested its stake.

    2013
    Time Warner spins off its Time Inc magazine division.

    2014
    Verizon buys out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, gaining complete ownership. Time Warner turns down $ 80-billion bid from Twenty-First Century Fox.

    2015
    Comcast drops its $45-billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable after the regulator opposes the merger over concerns of creating an Internet provider and a cable operator with too much control. Verizon purchases for $4.4 billion. AT&T gets government nod to purchase the satellite TV company DirecTV creating one of the largest pay-TV servicen providers to compete with Comcast.

    2016

    Regulators approved US$ 88-billion merger of Charter Communications with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, creating the third-largest video provider and the second-largest broadband
    provider. (Comcast purchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion to compete against Disney.) Time Warner bought a 10 per cent stake in Hulu for $583 million.

    Yahoo and Verizon announced a $4.8-billion merger that would give the latter ownership of the former’s Internet assets. AT&T acquires Time Warner.

    Regulators could seek promises from AT&T and Time Warner to make content from HBO like “Game of Thrones” or cable networks like CNN available through apps or through streaming, not withholding them from competitors, which could be addressed in conditions attached to an approval.

  • Content a ‘Game of Thrones’; AT&T’s control over HBO, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros faces regulatory lens

    Content a ‘Game of Thrones’; AT&T’s control over HBO, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros faces regulatory lens

    MUMBAI: The global media landscape is resulting in a new juggernaut as an internet and cable behemoth yesterday purchased an entertainment conglomerate making the former unmatched in its size and reach to consumers through home broadband, smartphones, satellite television and a battery of movies and cable channels. This deal could lead to more cautionary flags than Comcast’s merger with NBCUniversal in 2009.

    The US$ 108.7-billion AT&T, Time Warner merger has been met with suspicion as analysts raised antitrust concerns that it would create unfair pricing and lead to further media consolidation. The
    cash-and-stock deal values Time Warner – with CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros Studios – at over $85 billion, and involves AT&T taking on its debt.

    AT&T, over a year ago, became the nation’s largest pay-TV operator when it acquired DirecTV. Now, Time Warner would give AT&T HBO, CNN, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros., Hollywood’s biggest television and film studio. The massive deal has become a subject of discussion in the US presidential campaign. Donald J. Trump, condemning the deal, said he would block it if he were the president, “because it’s too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” Hillary Clinton has assured to be tough on consolidation and corporate megapowers.

    Although the latest merger is considered “vertical integration” as the two broadly do not compete against each other as compared to other “horizontal integration” of similar businesses, regulators could look at other ways AT&T might affect the media ecosystem if the deal were to consummate.

    AT&T may possibly make it more expensive for its competitors to gain access to HBO or Time Warner’s content or give preferential treatment to its own programming.

    A brief history of media/telecom deals

    1995
    Turner Broadcasting System and Time Warner announced a $7.5-billion merger, bringing together brands including Warner Brothers, CNN, Time magazine, and the Cartoon Network.

    2000
    AOL announced its plan to buy Time Warner for over $160 billion.

    2005
    SBC Corporation acquired AT&T for over $16 billion.

    2008
    Time Warner spins off its cable unit, which becomes Time Warner Cable (not a part of the current deal).

    2009
    Time Warner spins off AOL.

    2011
    Comcast receives regulatory nod for its $30-billion bid to buy a majority stake in NBCUniversal. Comcast took over NBCUniversalm completely in 2013, as GE divested its stake.

    2013
    Time Warner spins off its Time Inc magazine division.

    2014
    Verizon buys out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, gaining complete ownership. Time Warner turns down $ 80-billion bid from Twenty-First Century Fox.

    2015
    Comcast drops its $45-billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable after the regulator opposes the merger over concerns of creating an Internet provider and a cable operator with too much control. Verizon purchases for $4.4 billion. AT&T gets government nod to purchase the satellite TV company DirecTV creating one of the largest pay-TV servicen providers to compete with Comcast.

    2016

    Regulators approved US$ 88-billion merger of Charter Communications with Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, creating the third-largest video provider and the second-largest broadband
    provider. (Comcast purchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion to compete against Disney.) Time Warner bought a 10 per cent stake in Hulu for $583 million.

    Yahoo and Verizon announced a $4.8-billion merger that would give the latter ownership of the former’s Internet assets. AT&T acquires Time Warner.

    Regulators could seek promises from AT&T and Time Warner to make content from HBO like “Game of Thrones” or cable networks like CNN available through apps or through streaming, not withholding them from competitors, which could be addressed in conditions attached to an approval.

  • ‘Baahubali’ forays into licensing with ‘Black White Orange’; targets Rs 25 cr in retail sales

    ‘Baahubali’ forays into licensing with ‘Black White Orange’; targets Rs 25 cr in retail sales

    MUMBAI: Licensing and merchandising solutions agency Black White Orange has been appointed as the global licensing agent by Arka Mediaworks Entertainment LLP for their national award-winning movie Baahubali. The much awaited part 2, Baahubali – The Conclusion hits screens worldwide in April 2017.

    With the aim to create a ‘Baahubali brand experience’, Black White Orange will work closely with Arka Mediaworks to conceptualize designs, represent the Baahubali franchise across a wide range of categories and also look at several licensing and retail partnerships, globally. Having already signed on a spate of leading international names like Paramount Pictures, Game of Thrones, Universal Pictures etc. till date, Black White Orange make their first Bollywood brand foray with Arka Mediaworks and their popular franchise – Baahubali .

    “The most challenging part is building the brand and in case of the Baahubali franchise, this job is already done with the global success of the first part of the movie. I know people will be expecting more from the second part. They will not be dissatisfied! We’re confident that Black White Orange’s expertise combined with the Baahubali franchise will translate into an exciting offering of consumer products.” said the film’s director SS Rajamouli.

    Arka Mediaworks CEO Shobu Yarlagadda said, “We are confident that Black White Orange’s unique and promising strategic approach will build the Baahubali brand in India and help us reach our fans.”

    Black White Orange founder and CEO Bhavik Vora added, “Indian cinema has the biggest fan following in the country and probably the most untapped potential on the consumer product platform that takes fans beyond the realm of the big screen. Arka Mediaworks’ Baahubali has raised the bar and created benchmarks in every aspect of movie making.”

    Fans across the globe will soon be able to buy authentic licensed merchandise which will be available at retail and online portals, making it possible for every fan to own their favorite Baahubali merchandise. India is a private consumption led economy with retail merchandising forming 45% of private consumption and the current licensing market is 185 million driven by kids and men.

  • ‘Baahubali’ forays into licensing with ‘Black White Orange’; targets Rs 25 cr in retail sales

    ‘Baahubali’ forays into licensing with ‘Black White Orange’; targets Rs 25 cr in retail sales

    MUMBAI: Licensing and merchandising solutions agency Black White Orange has been appointed as the global licensing agent by Arka Mediaworks Entertainment LLP for their national award-winning movie Baahubali. The much awaited part 2, Baahubali – The Conclusion hits screens worldwide in April 2017.

    With the aim to create a ‘Baahubali brand experience’, Black White Orange will work closely with Arka Mediaworks to conceptualize designs, represent the Baahubali franchise across a wide range of categories and also look at several licensing and retail partnerships, globally. Having already signed on a spate of leading international names like Paramount Pictures, Game of Thrones, Universal Pictures etc. till date, Black White Orange make their first Bollywood brand foray with Arka Mediaworks and their popular franchise – Baahubali .

    “The most challenging part is building the brand and in case of the Baahubali franchise, this job is already done with the global success of the first part of the movie. I know people will be expecting more from the second part. They will not be dissatisfied! We’re confident that Black White Orange’s expertise combined with the Baahubali franchise will translate into an exciting offering of consumer products.” said the film’s director SS Rajamouli.

    Arka Mediaworks CEO Shobu Yarlagadda said, “We are confident that Black White Orange’s unique and promising strategic approach will build the Baahubali brand in India and help us reach our fans.”

    Black White Orange founder and CEO Bhavik Vora added, “Indian cinema has the biggest fan following in the country and probably the most untapped potential on the consumer product platform that takes fans beyond the realm of the big screen. Arka Mediaworks’ Baahubali has raised the bar and created benchmarks in every aspect of movie making.”

    Fans across the globe will soon be able to buy authentic licensed merchandise which will be available at retail and online portals, making it possible for every fan to own their favorite Baahubali merchandise. India is a private consumption led economy with retail merchandising forming 45% of private consumption and the current licensing market is 185 million driven by kids and men.

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ breaks record, bags 38 Emmys

    ‘Game of Thrones’ breaks record, bags 38 Emmys

    MUMBAI: The HBO fantasy drama, Game of Thrones (GoT) has broken records by winning a total of 38 awards at the 68th annual Emmy Awards. The previous all-time record holder, Frasier, had pocketed 37 awards.

    GoT has picked up awards for best writing in a drama series, best directing in a drama series, and best drama on Sunday night. The series became the most-honored drama series after winning nine Emmys at the Creative Arts ceremony, surpassing longtime title holders Hill Street Blues and The West Wing.

    It has only been on six seasons, while Fraiser was on for 11 which makes it stand out.