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  • Pay-TV in vital stage; service providers must innovate: Study

    Pay-TV in vital stage; service providers must innovate: Study

    SINGAPORE: Pay-TV has entered a period of significant change. Competition is set to increase dramatically, and, in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly.
    Nagra, a Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S) company and the world’s leading independent provider of content protection and multi-screen television solutions, in partnership with MTM, has published the global learnings from the Pay-TV Innovation Forum. Findings from the Asia Pacific leg of the programme were released last month.

    According to the global findings, industry participants strongly believe that pay-TV, while still growing worldwide, has entered a period of significant change, creating both challenges and opportunities. 83% of executives stated that competition is set to increase dramatically and 78% agreed that in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly over the next five years. However, the state of innovation varies by region. North American pay-TV service providers are notable for their innovation capabilities, offering the most advanced and diversified product and service portfolios. In comparison, pay-TV markets in Asia Pacific are much more fragmented, with market characteristics and service-providers’ innovation capabilities varying substantially by territory.

    Looking forward, executives cited strengthening their core pay-TV platform by going beyond traditional services as their main area of opportunity by focusing on multiscreen/TV everywhere services (76 per cent), new types of content (74 per cent), and new content pricing and packaging strategies (73 per cent). Just over half of executives also see opportunities in advance advertising and data (54 per cent), as well as standalone OTT services (53 per cent).

    Identifying opportunities for innovation globally, the research notes that many service providers have already started investing in new growth areas. North American providers, for example, see a significant commercial opportunity in new forms of content that appeal to Millennials and Generation Z such as digital-first short-form content, on-boarding of third-party OTT services, virtual reality, and gaming. Some European and Asia Pacific pay-TV service providers also see value in providing OTT or gaming services on their pay-TV platforms, particularly through partnerships. Only a smaller number of large scale operators currently address business adjacencies such as advanced advertising and Internet of Things (IoT).

    The research also identifies four major innovation success factors for the industry including strong customer and market insight, having the right platforms and processes, as well as strategic and collaborative partnerships with best-of-breed technology suppliers and content companies.

    “As broadband becomes more ubiquitous in several markets, competition from streaming media platforms intensifies and consumer TV and video journeys evolve, it is clear that the industry needs to innovate at a faster pace to satisfy its customers and remain relevant,” said Simon Trudelle, Senior Product Marketing Director for NAGRA. “Thanks to the work of the Pay-TV Innovation Forum, we now have a global view of the state of innovation around the world and a foundation of key learnings to ensure future success and growth for pay-TV service providers.”

    “The pay-TV industry is a global success story,” said Jon Watts, Managing Partner at MTM. “Despite some regional differences, the majority of executives expect to continue innovating around their core pay-TV services, improving user experience and developing new ways to price and package content, bringing new kinds of content onto their TV platforms, and continuing to invest in multiscreen offerings. The research programme also shows that successful service providers have focused strongly on developing their innovation capabilities, enabling them to adapt to new market conditions.”

  • Pay-TV in vital stage; service providers must innovate: Study

    Pay-TV in vital stage; service providers must innovate: Study

    SINGAPORE: Pay-TV has entered a period of significant change. Competition is set to increase dramatically, and, in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly.
    Nagra, a Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S) company and the world’s leading independent provider of content protection and multi-screen television solutions, in partnership with MTM, has published the global learnings from the Pay-TV Innovation Forum. Findings from the Asia Pacific leg of the programme were released last month.

    According to the global findings, industry participants strongly believe that pay-TV, while still growing worldwide, has entered a period of significant change, creating both challenges and opportunities. 83% of executives stated that competition is set to increase dramatically and 78% agreed that in order to grow, service providers will have to innovate strongly over the next five years. However, the state of innovation varies by region. North American pay-TV service providers are notable for their innovation capabilities, offering the most advanced and diversified product and service portfolios. In comparison, pay-TV markets in Asia Pacific are much more fragmented, with market characteristics and service-providers’ innovation capabilities varying substantially by territory.

    Looking forward, executives cited strengthening their core pay-TV platform by going beyond traditional services as their main area of opportunity by focusing on multiscreen/TV everywhere services (76 per cent), new types of content (74 per cent), and new content pricing and packaging strategies (73 per cent). Just over half of executives also see opportunities in advance advertising and data (54 per cent), as well as standalone OTT services (53 per cent).

    Identifying opportunities for innovation globally, the research notes that many service providers have already started investing in new growth areas. North American providers, for example, see a significant commercial opportunity in new forms of content that appeal to Millennials and Generation Z such as digital-first short-form content, on-boarding of third-party OTT services, virtual reality, and gaming. Some European and Asia Pacific pay-TV service providers also see value in providing OTT or gaming services on their pay-TV platforms, particularly through partnerships. Only a smaller number of large scale operators currently address business adjacencies such as advanced advertising and Internet of Things (IoT).

    The research also identifies four major innovation success factors for the industry including strong customer and market insight, having the right platforms and processes, as well as strategic and collaborative partnerships with best-of-breed technology suppliers and content companies.

    “As broadband becomes more ubiquitous in several markets, competition from streaming media platforms intensifies and consumer TV and video journeys evolve, it is clear that the industry needs to innovate at a faster pace to satisfy its customers and remain relevant,” said Simon Trudelle, Senior Product Marketing Director for NAGRA. “Thanks to the work of the Pay-TV Innovation Forum, we now have a global view of the state of innovation around the world and a foundation of key learnings to ensure future success and growth for pay-TV service providers.”

    “The pay-TV industry is a global success story,” said Jon Watts, Managing Partner at MTM. “Despite some regional differences, the majority of executives expect to continue innovating around their core pay-TV services, improving user experience and developing new ways to price and package content, bringing new kinds of content onto their TV platforms, and continuing to invest in multiscreen offerings. The research programme also shows that successful service providers have focused strongly on developing their innovation capabilities, enabling them to adapt to new market conditions.”

  • Toronto and FICCI to increase collaboration in films, VFX & animation

    Toronto and FICCI to increase collaboration in films, VFX & animation

    NEW DELHI: An agreement has been signed between Toronto and India to engage in mutual co-operation and advance their common interests in the creative screen industries to foster business partnerships, linkages and exchanges.

     

    The Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the City of Toronto will act as a catalyst for new investment and knowledge sharing opportunities.

     

    Both parties have also agreed to provide assistance or any facilities necessary for trade missions, summits, seminars, festivals and other similar activities.

     

    Toronto mayor John Tory, Consul General of India in Toronto Akhilesh Mishra, and FICCI-Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, & Comics Forum chairman Dr Ashish Kulkarni signed the document.

     

    “This agreement will help Toronto to access and collaborate with the Indian film industry, the largest producer of films in the world,” said Tory. “This agreement will stimulate economic trade and investment in both countries. Toronto’s film industry does better each and every year – this will help us continue that trend and keep us on top.”

     

    “I would like to applaud the visionary and dynamic leadership of Mayor John Tory, Councillor Thompson and Zaib Shaikh, the City’s Film Commissioner and Director of Entertainment Industries, for their efforts to initiate the MoU with FICCI for co-operation in the fields of film, television, visual effects and gaming,” said Mishra.

     

    “This is a significant development in the spirit of the India-Canada audio-visual co-production agreement signed in February 2014. I believe the MoU signed today will catalyze co-operation not only between our film industries, but also strengthen ties of culture, tourism and friendship between peoples of India and Canada,” added Dr. Kulkarni.

     

    The creative screen industries include location and studio production, post-production, visual effects, animation and interactive/digital media. Toronto is the first municipality in Canada to sign an agreement stemming from an audio-visual, co-production treaty established in 2014 between the governments of India and Canada.

     

    FICCI took a 20-member delegation from Film, Animation, and Visual Effects industry to Toronto from 8 – 13 September to promote audio-visual co-production activities between India and Canada post signing of co-production treaty between the two countries. This was the first such delegation from India after signing of the co-production agreement between the two countries.

  • FICCI FRAMES 2014’s theme is “Media and Entertainment: Transforming Lives”

    FICCI FRAMES 2014’s theme is “Media and Entertainment: Transforming Lives”

    MUMBAI: FICCI FRAMES 2014 (March 12 -14, 2014, Mumbai) will be a landmark event marking the 15th chapter of the convention which has always been an unparalleled platform for the exchange of ideas and knowledge between individuals, countries, conglomerates.

    As in previous years, the world’s media & entertainment industry will be in full attendance at FRAMES 2014 with nearly 2000 Indian and 600 foreign delegates, encompassing the entire sector. FRAMES 2014 will have plenary and parallel sessions on a broad spectrum of issues covering the entire gamut of media & entertainment like Films, Broadcast (TV & Radio), Digital Entertainment, Animation, Gaming, Visual Effects, etc. over a period of three days.

    The theme of FRAMES 2014 will be “Media and Entertainment: Transforming Lives” with the aim being highlighting the role of media and entertainment as a vehicle for social change.

    The convention will discuss reforms and regulatory endeavours along with working on ideas on socially meaningful and quality content. The inaugural keynote will be by FCC Commissioner, Mr Ajit Pai who will touch upon content in the regulatory landscape in the US. Mr Raghav Bahl, Controlling Shareholder and Managing Director of the TV 18 Group will make the theme keynote address on Media and Entertainment as  a Vehicle for Social and Economic Change. Mr. Aroon Purie , Chairman India Today Group,  to give a Keynote on The Print Industry: Surviving All Odds in the digital era . Justin Osofsky, VP – Media Partnerships, Facebook will talk on Establishing Social Networks as the Primary Online Forum for Public Conversations .

    Apart from the core theme, FRAMES 2014 will focus on the key avenues for monetising the sector such as Talking Numbers: Hard Facts about M &E’s Economic Contribution; TV 3.1: Content, Strategies and the Future of Broadcast; De-bottlenecking the Regulatory Hurdles, The Changing Dynamics of the Film Exhibition Landscape.

     Stakeholders and thought leaders such as Uday Shankar , CEO , Star India Pvt. Ltd & Chairman FICCI Entertainment committee , Mr. Karan Johar , Chairman , FICCI FRAMES , Mr. Punit Goenka , MD& CEO , Zee entertainment Enterprises Ltd. , Mr. Sudhanshu Vats , Group CEO Viacom 18 Pvt. Ltd. , Mathieu Bejot Executive Director , TV France International , Roger Fisk, Presidential PR Guru from President Obama’s electoral campaign; Jim Egan, CEO, BBC Global News, Andrew Lack, Chairman, the Bloomberg Group; Bill Livek , CEO Rentrak ,  Kim Dalton, Chairman, Asian Animation Summit; Hiromichi Masuda, Vice Chairman Business Committee, The Association of Japanese Animations,Todd Miller, the CEO of Celestial Tiger Entertainment (A Lionsgate joint venture) and former head of Sony Pictures Television, are slated to speak at FRAMES 2014.

    FRAMES  2014 has been planned with a some off-the-cuff sessions to broaden the conventional boundaries of the summit. Sessions such as “Internet & Democracy: Interloper or Catalyst? ” ., “The Film that Changed My Life”; The Indian Electronic News Media: On Fine Balance?” promise to be intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking.

    A discussion specific to attracting the influx of private equity for the sector has been planned and film funding is a subject which will be deliberated upon. A Producers’ Masterclass wherein acclaimed producers like Andy Paterson and Guneet Monga will discuss the overarching role of a producer in taking a film from start to finish. Masterclasses with acclaimed Hollywood VFX supervisors such as George Murphy , Oscar winner and Chief Creative Officer, Reliance Media works , Jon Cowley and Ben Murray  of Prime focus world are also in the offing. The cinema exhibition sector will be dealt with at a very interesting session Cinema Advertising & Alternative Models: The Changing Dynamics of the Film Exhibition Landscape. Creative sessions on “The Past Present and Future of Good Cinema: Film-making for a Cause” and “Cuts so Deep: Are we Sacrificing Creativity at the Altar of Morality” will focus on meaningful cinematic content.

    Australia to be the partner country and Karnataka is the “Partner State” at FICCI FRAMES 2014 . Mr. Srivatsa Krishna , Secretary Deptartment of IT , BT & S and T , Govt. Of Karnataka will touch upon how Karnataka has been doing much to promote growth and development of its M&E industry

    An innovative feature of FRAMES 2014 will be the FICCI-INK Salon, an exclusive by-invite only daily hour-long session with speakers from the Indian part of TED talks. The BAF award show and networking evenings will as usual be the hallmarks of the after-hours.

    Media and entertainment’s role in public consciousness as an umbrella which shapes and sustains opinion and juxtaposes fact with utopia is an objective which FRAMES 2014 intends to reinforce.

  • MyRealGames.com releases bumper free games update

    MyRealGames.com releases bumper free games update

    MUMBAI: MyRealGames.com – the free games website – has announced the completion of a bumper upload today.

     

    The treasure trove of new titles for the month includes the eagerly-awaited Dead Paradise 3 along with a series of puzzle and hidden object games. In total there are five brand new games to experience with more planned for a later release in the month.

     

    Dead Paradise 3 is expected to be one of the most popular PC downloadable games for the month of January. A car racing game with a twist, the action-packed adventure is the third installment in the series which has been quick to establish itself as a fan favorite. Set over 12 missions and three dead match missions, players must help survivors to safety while shooting and racing their way across town.

     

    Commenting about the bumper January haul of free games, MyRealGames.com’s Nikolai Veselov said, “Visitors to the site have every reason to be happy this month with our fantastic and fun collection of new games to download and enjoy, including Dead Paradise 3, which we expect to be one of the most in-demand titles of the year.”

     

    New to the ‘Hidden Object’ genre – which is consistently one of the most visited categories on MyRealGames.com – is Alexander the Great: Secrets of Power. Taking on the role of a descendant of the ancient emperor Alexander the Great, players must travel to lands far and wide to collect the emperor’s crown, dagger and ring. To collect the magic artifacts and save the world, gamers must scour 30 unique locations and successfully complete more than 45 enthralling mini games.

     

    And for those who love a brain teaser, there are no less than three brand new puzzle games introduced. Titles include Holiday Jigsaw Christmas, Christmas Griddlers and Royal Jigsaw.

     

    With more than six hours of game play and four unique boxes of puzzles, Holiday Jigsaw Christmas is a great way to recapture some seasonal cheer.

     

    Christmas Griddlers offers more than eight hours of game play set to a host of festive Christmas locations. There are 120 unique puzzles to solve in six exciting rounds for a chance to take home a beautiful Christmas trophy.

     

    In Royal Jigsaw, a range of high-quality and unique artworks provide a colorful backdrop to a huge range of jigsaw puzzle games. The player must reassemble the pictures by dragging and dropping pieces into the appropriate spot. With easy controls, Royal Jigsaw is suitable for both experienced gamers as well as newcomers of any age.

  • Exun 2013 at Delhi Public School, R.K Puram

    Exun 2013 at Delhi Public School, R.K Puram

    MUMBAI: Exun Clan, the Computer society of Delhi Public School, R.K Puram conducted its 18th interschool symposium on 30th November – 1st December 2013. EXUN, is one of the oldest and most prestigious computer clubs in Delhi. Short for “Experts Unlimited”, it was formed in 1992 by the Head of the Department, Computer Science, Mr.Mukesh Kumar and a small group of computer enthusiasts. This year over 50 schools from Delhi/NCR participated in 15 IT related events.
    The Guest of Honour at the opening ceremony was Dr. Alok Bharadwaj, Executive Vice President ,Canon India. Also present at the occasion were the Principal, Dr. D.R. Saini, The Vice Principal, Mrs.Shobha Mehta, the Head of the Computer Science Department, Mr. Mukesh Kumar and all the teachers of the Computer Science Department.

    The event commenced with the lighting of the lamp. The Principal, Dr. D.R Saini addressed the gathering. He extended a warm welcome to all those present and spoke about the significance of technology in our lives.

    The Guest of Honour , Dr. Alok Bharadwaj, expressed, “ Canon, being a digital imaging leader had always been passionate about promoting the spirit of photography amongst Indian youth. We have been actively organizing workshops and photography classes to foster the growing community of young photographers and help them nurture the art of photography. I congratulate Delhi Public School , R.K Puram for promoting this art through the Digex Photography Contest. We are always keen to support programmes that embrace the joy of photography. With this contest , Canon intends to aspire young photographers and encourage them to hone their skills and creativity in this colourful world of photography whilst narrating an interesting tale to the world.” He acknowledged the fact that computers are one of the most important enablers in the modern age and also stressed on the importance of values in our society. An enthralling video was presented highlighting the development of the club through the years and the various events that would be taking place in the next two days.

    The first day consisted of 11 events including Group Discussion, Swat the bug, Creative Event, Photo Editing, Gaming, Junior Quiz Prelims, Senior Quiz Prelims, Crossword Prelims, Photo Run, Hardware & Benchmarking Prelims and Product Photography.

    The club introduced Digex, the photography club, short for Digital Excellence, adding 5 new events which included Photo Run, Product Photography, Photo Editing, Ad Making and Story Board. The idea behind these events was to exhibit the perception of the world through photography.
    Sudocrypt v3.0, an online cryptic hunt was another innovation organised by Exun Clan on 25th November 2013 to 26th November 2013. It saw participation by over 1200 people from more than 12 nations. The top 25 on the leader board will be awarded certificates for being Sudo-Experts.
    It was a great experience for all the students.

  • Gaming on Reliance

    Gaming on Reliance

    MUMBAI: There’s a saying: a prophet is respected but in his own country. And that applies quite well to Reliance Games, the mobile gaming division of Reliance Entertainment (Digital). It has successfully been involved in developing games for a slew of Hollywood studios and has been struggling to get Indian film producers to invest in them.

     

    The company recently launched the official mobile game of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire that released in the US on Friday. It is one of the first multi-player games to be developed in India and Reliance is hoping that it will gain traction. Just like its 17 October 2013 release — “Real Steel: World Robot Boxing” – did with seven million downloads in about a month.
    Reliance Entertainment (Digital) CEO Manish Agarwal thinks the company’s gamble in the gaming business has worked well for them

     

    Reliance Entertainment (Digital) CEO Manish Agarwal says that he is amazed with the strong response to Real Steel. “We were expecting 10 million downloads in three to four months’ time but I guess that will happen within 40-50 days,” he says, adding that the expectations from the recent game too are high because it’s different in itself as it can’t be played solo.

     

    “Making just a multi-player game is a bold move for us,” explains Agarwal, who thinks that in India the game might not work well because of the rather low internet speeds, “But it has huge potential to work in countries like Korea, US, UK etc where MOGs are the norm.”

     

    The company signed a deal with Lionsgate, the studio that has produced the movie, to develop the game earlier this year. Agarwal says that getting the deal wasn’t really difficult for Reliance.

     

    “What has been an advantage for us is that we have become very close to many of the Hollywood studios with credible works like Snow White, Total Recall, Real Steel etc in our portfolio. The studios have a comfort level with us. And our game based on the movie After Earth (that was launched earlier this year) became a real advantage for us as the recent game is along the same lines and helped us close the deal with Lionsgate Films,” affirms Agarwal.

     

    The deal was inked on a revenue-sharing basis. Agarwal thinks that a set-up like this works best for both the parties. “Unlike Bollywood that works largely on minimum guarantees, Hollywood is much more mature and the studios there look at gaming as an integral part of the entire process. They don’t take it just as a pre-launch marketing gimmick but look at building it as a franchise, which makes working with them much more exciting,” emphasises Agarwal, who thinks that in India something similar would happen when the gaming market becomes big.

     

    “The Indian movie gaming industry is still very small. And we would only be able to ape Hollywood when the Indian movie guys truly believe that their movies will be played by millions and they see sizeable revenue coming out of it,” he explains.

     

    Currently, Agarwal thinks that since the gaming industry is small, the question of revenue-sharing between the game developers and studios in India is completely out of tune as every producer wants to earn his or her pound of flesh.

     

    “Once the movie guys see profit coming out of it, they will start spending. In Hollywood, they don’t hesitate in spending on games because there’s huge revenue coming out of it from markets like the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, Korea etc.”

     

    Though the company has had both success and failure in the gaming business with something as popular as World Robot Boxing to a complete flop like Dancing With The Stars, Agarwal says that overall it has been an enjoyable journey.

     

    “In a portfolio of business, we need to ensure that we maximise whichever is the hit and cover for the losses or failure and that’s what we are doing. Our gaming business will double this year, it has been really profitable giving us confidence to plan on a higher scale for next year,” says Agarwal.

     

    After producing successful games this year in India, another positive that he has come across is that the company’s Indian team is capable of delivering a world-class product. “That has given us even more confidence to bring many other international projects to India. Today in India we don’t have any competition. We are far ahead of anybody else because the Reliance group has supported us in terms of investments as each of the games is anywhere between half-a-million to a million dollar. It’s a gamble in which we have succeeded,” he concludes.

  • Xbox One becomes an instant hit

    Xbox One becomes an instant hit

    MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp that launched its new gaming console Xbox One on Friday was an instant hit with the gaming fans. One million consoles were picked up within 24 hours of its launch 13 countries.

     

    Xbox One that is available at $499, offers improved graphics for realistic effects, processors that allow faster game play and a slew of exclusive video games.

     

    Looking at the instant popularity that it has got, Microsoft has reportedly described it as the biggest launch in Xbox history, setting a new sales record at the company.

     

    The consoles were sold out at most retail shops, according to reports.

  • Nicks digital roadmap

    Nicks digital roadmap

    The times they are a-changin – Bob Dylan’s popular song – couldn’t have rung more true than present-day. A decade into the current century and change feels like the only constant. Gone are the days of VHS video tapes, black and white television, analog channels and wires; these have been rendered redundant by Blu-Ray discs, LED HD TVs, digital channels, Wi-fi and other what have you in terms of electronics. Mobile phones, laptops and tablets have replaced children’s toys and why not, when e-textbooks are on their way to becoming the norm in schools. The younger ‘digital’ generation is conversing in a language unbeknownst to the older one.

    In such a scenario, Nickelodeon (Nick) India, a part of Viacom18 Media, like its peers, is pulling out all stops to adapt to the changing times. Speaking at length to Viacom18 VP and business head – Digital Media Rajneel Kumar, indiantelevision.com tried to find out just how.

    The idea is to build something for advertisers to address their audience in this period says Rajneel Kumar

    “We went in for a complete revamp of the Nick India site, as we wanted to make it completely gaming-centric, along with showcasing our great library of video content,” explains Kumar.

    For the uninitiated, Nick India has an array of online properties under its wing, addressing different age groups among youngsters. Nick Jr. caters to the needs of toddlers, but parents too are actively involved in their kids’ consumption patterns. The prime property, Nick, has both kids and parents consuming or engaging on the digital platform. And then there’s TeenNick, which is the only such platform, which addresses young girls and Sonic Gang which caters to young boys, who’re typically into high octane action, adventure and drama.

     

    Of which, Sonic Gang has been a revelation of sorts, what with some exclusive content around popular IPs such as TMNT, Kung Fu Panda, Power Rangers and Avatar.

    With 100 plus episodes of content and nearly 60 high-end (overall more than 80) games, the Nick India site has witnessed an increase in time spent by more than six minutes, which is deemed very healthy. Additionally, it has an exclusive digital magazine titled ‘SonicMag’ which covers gaming, cars, sports and gadgets. Currently, the magazine boasts of over 49 articles, with fresh articles being published from time to time.

    Kumar says all these properties are an ideal platform for advertisers to reach out to their audience. “Looking at the overall digital economy and how we are addressing it, we are creating properties that help advertisers reach out to these particular segments, which are of keen interest to them. We are working really closely with advertisers across all categories to essentially run campaigns that are not really straight forward ones like banners and videos, but large campaigns around each of these markets that we are addressing,” he explains.

    Citing an example, he says: “If the addressable community is Nick Jr. as a category and looking at parents, our focus would actually be on taking characters from within that entire franchise and making it into how parents are an active part of the entire campaign…”
    For a one-of-its-kind platform like TeenNick, apart from fresh programming and a presence on social media, Nick also encourages associations with fashion and lifestyle brands. There are integrated campaigns running for Nick’s advertisers, which run from the online space to the apps and as per the need of advertisers.

    Nick prides itself on having an all-round strategy. “We also look at on-ground activation. So, it’s a complete 360, and not just sending a piecemeal part of the digital experience to advertisers. It’s about integrating all our strengths and being able to address the audience’s perspective as far as possible,” exults Kumar. 

    As far as that online video streaming monster called YouTube is concerned, Nick is very clear on how it plans to use it. “We use YouTube to primarily do a lot of promotions around our content and for showcasing teasers as also some content pieces from our entire library,” says Kumar.

     

    The idea is to grab the attention of the young net surfer and lead him/her to the Nick India website and the strategy has worked wonders for the revamped website, which has seen more than 50 per cent growth in traffic, a 150 per cent increase in the time spent and more than 650,000 game plays in the last 60 days. “Our strategy is solid as we’ve seen how the digital advertising industry is growing. So we are building something for advertisers to address their audience in this period,” says Kumar.

    And how does Nick manage this gargantuan task? Apparently, they have a fairly robust digital team comprising a products team around the web and mobile (the latter also includes a small in-house gaming studio), a technology team which takes care of web and mobile, an editorial team which looks after social media and content creation and a very strong sales team.

    With youngsters increasingly preoccupied with games on their mobile phones, Nick also has a strong, primarily two-fold mobile apps strategy. First, every consumer should be able to access the app which is outside of television and is addressable to that consumer. Second, consumers must be kept engaged and connected to the brand even when they are not really watching just video content. The latter is where gaming comes into play. “The most popular characters that we have around in the kids segment encourage us to really build some engaging games for kids, and we will continue to launch such games throughout the year,” says Kumar.

    He explains that all social media platforms are rigorously used to generate traction amongst consumers. “We use all the mediums available at our disposal to generate traction and that’s an investment that we have been making and will continue making as it is clearly in line with us using these platforms as long-term consumer destinations. This will engage the consumers and help us use all platforms to market our products to reach our goal,” he says.

    But how does Nick plan to make moolah out of these activities? “By primarily focusing on advertisers as they shift their attention to digital platforms. The main strategy is to be able to build our own properties, whether it’s online or mobile, which then becomes fertile ground for advertisers and marketers to partner with us on,” replies Kumar.

    According to the KPMG FICCI 2013 report, the digital advertising market is pegged at Rs 21.7 billion and has grown at 40 per cent from 2011 to 2012. It is expected to be Rs 28.3 bn in 2013 and Rs 87 bn by 2017 growing at a CAGR of 31.1 per cent.

    “All the indicators today show the time spent on the digital medium by the target audience that we are speaking about, so it only makes sense to not only monetise on the current scenario but also to build future-ready properties across each of these,” rounds off Kumar.

    With the 2013 BCG report estimating that the number of children in the country expected to come online by 2017 is likely to more than triple to 134 million from about 40 million in 2012, Nick India certainly seems to be making all the right noises in the right direction…

  • ABAI: KAVGC Summit kicks off in Bengaluru

    ABAI: KAVGC Summit kicks off in Bengaluru

    BENGALURU: The Karnataka Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (KAVGC) Summit organised by the Association of Bangalore Animation Industry (ABAI, in collaboration with the government of Karnataka kicked off in Bengaluru last evening. Indian as well as international stakeholders from the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) industry saw Karnataka’s minister for IT, BT and S&T S R Patil inaugurate the two day event at the Hotel Chancery Pavilion.

     

    Amongst those present during the inaugural ceremony was the Karnataka government’s principal secretary, IT, BT and S&T I S N Prasad.

     

    During his inaugural speech, Patil said that Karnataka state government’s thrust was on capacity building for the KAVGC industry and wanted to make Karnataka and Bangalore the preferred KAVGC destination.  He informed that this year, globally the estimated $153 billion KAVGC had a CAGR of 10 per cent, while in India it was growing much faster at about 22 per cent CAGR and was expected to reach five billion dollars this year. He said that a state funded post production and processing facility similar to the ones in Mumbai and Chennai would soon be inaugurated in Karnataka.

     

    He further said the state government was willing to work with bodies such as Ficci that had made some progress in setting up the curriculum for education courses.

     

    While echoing Patil, Prasad said that the state government was willing to listen to the KAVGC industry and act accordingly. “Karnataka will continue to lead the AVGC growth in India. We have partnered with a cross section of the digital content industries through ABAI,” said Prasad.

     

    Earlier, during his introductory remarks, ABAI president Biren Ghose set the tone for the summit when he said that the government and the ministry had been extremely strategic and extremely proactive in taking up a call from the industry.

     

    Speaking about the 2013 edition of KAVGC Summit, Ghose said, “The summit is meant to provide new direction to professionals and companies, highlighting growth and opportunity areas. It showcases our engagement with the academia, the government and industry and highlight the policy execution we have enabled as the roadmap for the next year.”

     

    The second ‘ABAI Leadership Excellence Award’ was conferred to Rajiv Chikalapudi, the creative and business force behind India’s animated phenomenon ‘Chhota Bheem’.

     

    Chikalapudi, during his keynote address detailed the long journey by his company Green Gold Animation to create and sustain a genuine IP success story including successes in merchandising and licensing. Chikalapudi said that a number of companies had great IP ready, but were afraid to pitching them. He exhorted these companies to go out and showcase their products, citing his own example – Chotta Bheem had been rejected twice before it was accepted by Pogo channel.

     

    The second keynote speaker Dreamwroks Country head Damian Froberville described the progress of the Indian Unit of Dreamworks and also gave some insights into the Asian scenario for global services. Froberville also said that the convergence between films and gaming was very much on the cards, but had not yet reached there. He said that this mattered to the players in the industry because of increased reliance on service providers with more content and shorter timelines of a product; and a lot more flexibility with VFX players doing a larger portion of game work.

     

    Among the other notable speakers and panelists included Greg Childs editorial director, The Children’s Media Conference; Jai Natarajan, Ceo, Xentrix Studios;  Owen Hurley, Creative head, Technicolor; Charles Gauthier Vice -consul and senior trade commissioner for India, Quebec office in Mumbai; Vsihal Dhupar, MD South Asia, NVDIA; Akhauri Sinha, MD, MPC, Bengaluru; Wil Braithwaite, Senior Applied Engineer-Digital Film, NVDIA; Ankur Bhasin; Ceo Bhasinsoft India Ltd; Vamsi Ayyagari, Management media professiona; AshishKulkarni, Ceo Reliance Animation.

     

    Notable additions to this year’s edition of KAVGC are the four Specialised Clinics – the IP Clinic; Technology Clinic; Co-production and Outsourcing Clinic; and the Pitching Clinic.

     

    The KAVGC Summit held annually for the last three years with the support of the government of Karnataka, continues to increase its focus on the business and industry of AVGC, aiming to provide a forum for knowledge sharing and improved connectivity among decision makers and stakeholders in the sector.