MUMBAI: At Mahakumbh 2025, where millions gathered for spiritual enlightenment, Flipkart and SW Network orchestrated a marketing spectacle that blended tradition with technology. The ‘Flipkart Smartphone Baba’ campaign transformed the retailer’s smartphone presence into a viral sensation, reaching 40 crore attendees and turning budget phone shopping into a festival highlight.
Draped in saffron and armed with unbeatable deals, Smartphone Baba wandered through the Mahakumbh, preaching the gospel of budget smartphones from brands like Vivo, Poco, Realme, and Samsung, all priced between Rs 8,000 and Rs 15,000. The character’s quirky charm, coupled with custom towel giveaways, had devotees queuing up for hours, eager to take home not just a blessing but a pocket-friendly smartphone.
The campaign went beyond just selling phones, immersing itself fully in the Kumbh experience. Flipkart’s festival presence included interactive retail hubs, where trained representatives guided devotees through the purchase process. Additionally, the ‘SnapMySnaan’ initiative provided professional photography for those taking a dip in the holy Ganga, while influencer-led, real-time content creation amplified the campaign across digital platforms. To further engage the crowd, Flipkart also held free phone giveaways, ensuring their message of accessibility resonated widely and effectively.
“At SW Network, we believe in crafting campaigns that don’t just sell but connect with people in a meaningful way,” said SW Network co-founder Raghav Bagai. “Smartphone Baba was more than a mascot, it was a movement, making technology accessible and engaging.”
Flipkart hailed the initiative as a game-changer in festival marketing. “This campaign seamlessly blended affordability, engagement, and cultural immersion, making phone buying effortless and fun,” said a Flipkart leadership team member.
The campaign successfully bridged the gap between modern retail and the festival’s largely offline audience, addressing digital literacy barriers with personalised assistance and a culturally resonant approach.
BENGALURU: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) free to air (FTA) Hindi GEC Zee Anmol has reached the realm that has been normally occupied by the Sun TV Network’s flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV or by one of the Hindi channels that has been airing the Indian Premier League. What is remarkable is that Zee Anmol has reached alpha position in the closing and hence, the most interesting stage of the eleven edition of the BCCI’s cash cow league! Zee Anmol has upstaged Star India’s Hindi sports channel Star Sports 1 Hindi, pushing it to second place, and Sun TV to third rank in Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) weekly ratings for the top 10 channels across genre in week 20 of 2018 (Saturday, 12 May 2018 to Friday, 18 May 2018).
Five Hindi GECs, two Telugu GECs and one channel each from Hindi Movies, Tamil and sports genres made up BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres in week 20 of 2018. From the networks’ perspective, three channels each from Star India and Zeel, two channels from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and one channel each from the Sun TV Network and Viacom 18 comprised the top 10 channels across genres list in week 20 of 2018.
At first rank was Zee Anmol with a humongous 915.486 million weekly impressions in week 20 as compared to the 859.428 million weekly impressions in week 19 of 2018. Zee Anmol had been ranked third in BARC’s across genres weekly list in week 19 of 2018. Zee Anmol was also ranked first in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs in the Hindi speaking urban and rural markets – HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) in week 20 of 2018. The Balaji Telefilms-produced family soap Kumkum Bhagya and Mahek that were aired on Zee Anmol were in BARC’s weekly list of top five Hindi GEC programmes the most watched Hindi GEC programme based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in week 20 of 2018 in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R). Another programme, Ganga, that aired on Zee Anmol was also among the top five Hindi GEC programmes, the most watched Hindi GEC programme based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in HSM (R).
At second rank was Star Sports 1 Hindi which is one of the ten Star India channels that has been airing IPL 11. Star Sports 1 Hindi had ratings of 886.309 million weekly impressions in week 20 as compared to 898.849 million weekly impressions in week 17 of 2018. Star Sports 1 Hindi topped BARC’s list of top five Hindi sports channels, and the match between Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab on the channel was the most watched sports programme based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat).
At third rank in week 20 of 2018 was Sun TV with 872.540 million weekly impressions as compared to 889.593 million weekly impressions in week 19. As has been the norm, Sun TV topped BARC’s list of top five Tamil channels in the Puducherry and Tamil Nadu markets and all the top five Tamil programmes based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in these markets were aired on Sun TV.
Retaining its previous week’s fourth rank in week 20 of 2018 was Viacom18’s FTA Hindi GEC Rishtey with 685.441 million weekly impressions as compared to 664.616 million weekly impressions in week 19. Rishtey was also ranked second in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) during the week under review.
Also retaining its previous week’s rank (fifth) in week 20 of 2018 was SPN’s women focused Hindi GEC Sony Pal with 574.575 million weekly impressions as compared to 658.188 million weekly impressions in week 19. Sony Pal was also ranked third in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in the HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) markets. The long running sitcom Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah was the third most watched Hindi GEC programme based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in HSM (R).
At its previous week’s sixth rank was Star India’s FTA Hindi GEC Star Bharat with 559.506 million weekly impressions in week 20 as compared to 584.369 million weekly impressions in week 19 of 2018. Star Bharat was ranked fourth in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (U+R) and fifth in HSM (U) and HSM (R).
Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV held onto its seventh rank in week 20 with 542.782 million weekly impressions as compared to 546.466 million weekly impressions in week 19 of 2018. Zee TV was ranked fifth in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 Hindi GECs’ in HSM (U+R), ranked first in HSM (U) and ranked sixth in HSM (R). Kundali Bhagya, a spinoff of Kumkum Bhagya, Kumkum Bhagya and Ishq Subhan Allah that were aired on Zee TV were among BARC’s top five Hindi programmes based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in the week in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U). Kundali Bhagya on Zee TV was ranked fifth in BARC’s weekly list of top five Hindi GEC programmes based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in HSM (R).
Also holding onto its previous week’s eighth rank was SPN’s Hindi movies channel Sony Max with 524.681 million weekly impressions in week 20 as compared to 529.920 million weekly impressions in week 19 of 2018. Sony Max topped BARC’s weekly list of top five Hindi movies channels in HSM (U+R) and was among the top five Hindi movies channels in HSM (U) and HSM (R).
Re-entering the across genres list was Star India’s Telugu GEC Star Maa with 490.339 million weekly impressions in week 20 of 2018. Star Maa topped BARC’s weekly list of top five Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets. Four of the top five Telugu programmes based on average rating across all airings (original and repeat) in the week were aired on Star Maa.
Zeel’s Telugu GEC Zee Telugu retained its tenth rank in week 20 of 2018 with 466.915 million weekly impressions as compared to 471.310 million weekly impressions in week 19 of 2018. The channel was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of top five Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets.
BENGALURU: Two Viacom18 returned to Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) weekly list of top 10 television channels across genres in week 16 of 2018 (Saturday, 14 April 2018 to Friday, 20 April 2018). The channels were Viacom18’s flagship Hindi GEC Colors and free-to-air (FTA) Hindi GEC Rishtey. Colors and Rishtey pushed out two Hindi movies channels from the across genres weekly list. In the meantime, the Sun TV Network’s flagship Tamil GEC Sun TV increased its viewership by 10.3 per cent and continued to lead the across genres list in week 16 as compared to week 15 of 2018.
Seven Hindi GECs and one channel each from the sports, Tamil GEC and Telugu GEC made up BARC’s weekly list of top 10 television channels across genres during the week under review. From the networks’ perspective, four channels from the Star India Network, two channels each from Viacom18 and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) and one channel each from the Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and the Sun TV network comprised BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres. There was no Hindi movies channel in the list. The combined ratings of top 10 channels across genres increased 2.5 per cent in week 16 of 2018 to 6,667.922 million impressions from 6,506.140 million impressions.
As mentioned above Sun TV led BARC’s weekly top 10 channels across genres list in week 16 of 2018 with 1,032.408 million weekly impressions as compared to 935.993 million weekly impressions in the previous week. The channel also topped BARC’s list of top five Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu/Pudducherry markets and all the top five Tamil programmes during primetime in these markets were aired on Sun TV.
Holding onto its previous week’s second rank was Star India’s Hindi sports channel – Star Sports 1 Hindi, which saw a 1.4 per cent increase in ratings in week 16 of 2018 with 949.082 million weekly impressions as compared to 935.856 million weekly impressions. The channel also topped BARC’s weekly list of top sports channels and all the top five sports programmes during primetime in week 16 of 2018 were aired on Star Sports 1 Hindi.
Retaining its third rank of week 15 was Zeel’s FTA Hindi GEC Zee Anmol with a 5.7 per cent increase in ratings in week 16 of 2018. The channel scored 717.079 million weekly impressions in week 16 of 2018 as compared to 678.472 million weekly impressions in week 15. The channel also topped BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GEC channels in both urban and rural Hindi speaking markets combined (HSM-U+R) as well as HSM (R) and was ranked ninth in HSM (U). The Balaji Telefilms produced Hindi soap Kumkum Bhagya that was aired on Zee Anmol and was the most watched Hindi GEC programme during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U). Another Hindi soap Ganga that was aired on Zeel was the second most watched programme during primetime in HSM (R).
Also retaining its week 15 rank of fourth rank in week 16 of 2018 was Star India’s FTA Hindi GEC Star Bharat. However, the channel saw a 5.8 per cent decline in ratings to 637.080 million weekly impressions during the week under review as compared to 675.961 million weekly impressions in week 15 of 2018. Star Bharat was ranked second in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), third in HSM (U) and fifth in HSM (R).
Re-entering BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels across genres at rank five in week 16 of 2018 was Rishtey with 631.658 million weekly impressions. Rishtey was ranked third in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R); second in HSM (R) and eighth in HSM (U).
Dropping down a rank was SPN’s women focused Hindi GEC Sony Pal at sixth rank in week 16 of 2018. The channel saw a 7.5 per cent decline in ratings in week 16 of 2018 to 606.067 million weekly impressions as compared to 655.047 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Sony Pal was ranked fourth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), third in HSM (R) and seventh in HSM (U) in week 16 of 2018. Three programmes on Sony Pal – Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, CID and Balveer were ranked third, fourth and fifth respectively in BARC’s weekly list of top 5 Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (R).
Holding on to its seventh rank of week 15 in week 16 was Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV. The channel recorded a 1.8 per cent decline in ratings in week 16 of 2018 at 533.901 weekly impressions as compared to 543.830 million weekly impressions in week 15. Zee TV was ranked sixth in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R) and fourth in HSM (U). Three programmes that were aired on the channel – Kundali Bhagya (a spinoff of Kumkum Bhagya); Kumkum Bhagya; and Ishq Subhan Allah were the second, third and fourth most watched Hindi GEC programmes during primetime in week 16 of 2018 in HSM (U+R). These three programmes on the channel were also among the five most Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (U).
Dropping down two ranks to eighth place in week 16 of 2018 with a 7.9 per cent decline in ratings was another Star India FTA Hindi GEC Star Utsav. The channel garnered 532.947 million weekly impressions in week 16 as compared to 578.783 million weekly impressions in week 15 of 2018. Star Utsav was ranked fifth in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), fourth in HSM (R) and was ranked tenth in HSM (U).
Also re-entering the across genres list in week 16 of 2018 was Colors at ninth rank. The channel was ranked seventh in HSM (U+R); first in HSM(U); and fourth in HSM in BARC’s weekly list of top five Hindi programmes during primetime. Reality show Rising Star that aired on Colors was among BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi programmes during primetime in HSM (U).
Star India’s flagship Telugu GEC dropped two ranks in week 16 and its ratings declined 0.7 per cent to 511.650 million weekly impressions from week 515.466 million weekly impressions in week 15. Star Maa topped the list of top five Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets. The first three shows in BARC’s list of top five Telugu programmes during primetime featured in Star Maa.
BENGALURU: Four channels from the Star India Network made it to the Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) top 10 channels across genres list–all India: 2+ in week 14 of 2018: Saturday, 31 March 2018 to Friday, 6 April 2018. Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) had three channels, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) had two channels and Sun TV Network had one channel in the list of top 10 channels. Six of the channels were Hindi GECs, two were Hindi movie channels and there was one channel each from the Tamil GEC and the Telugu GEC genres.
The combined ratings of the top 10 channels across genres reduced by 2.3 per cent in week 14 to 6,476.274 million impressions from 6,629.826 million impressions. The first six ranks and order in week 14 were the same as in week 13 of 2018. One channel moved up the list while three channels re-entered the list during the week under review.
Sun Networks’ flagship Tamil GEC occupied its numero uno position as usual in week 14 with 990.432 million weekly impressions as compared to 985.490 million weekly impressions in week 13 of 2018. Also, as is usual, Sun TV topped BARC’s list of top 5 Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry markets. All the top 5 Tamil programmes during primetime in these markets were also aired on Sun TV.
Star Bharat continued to hold its second place overall and first among the Hindi GECs in the across genres list in week 14 of 2018 with 739.935 million weekly impressions as compared to 756.655 million weekly impressions in the previous week. The channel also held the top rank in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in the Hindi speaking urban and rural markets or HSM (U+R). Star Bharat was ranked second in HSM (U) and ranked fourth in HSM (R). The programme Kya Haal Mr Paanchal was among the top five Hindi GEC programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R).
Also holding on to its third place was Zeel’s free-to-air (FTA) Hindi GEC Zee Anmol with 712.667 million weekly impressions in week 14 as compared to 739.830 million weekly impressions in week 13 of 2018. Zee Anmol was ranked second in HSM (U+R), first in HSM (R) and ninth in HSM (U). The Balaji Telefilms-produced Kumkum Bhagya topped BARC’s list of top five Hindi GEC programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R). Another soap Ganga that was aired on Zee Anmol was the third most watched programme during primetime in week 14 of 2018 in HSM (R).
At fourth place was SPN’s women focused Hindi GEC Sony Pal with 679.1716 million weekly impressions in week 14 as compared to 712.094 million weekly impressions in week 13 of 2018. Sony Pal was ranked third in HSM (U+R) and second in HSM (R). CID aired on Sony Pal was in the list of top five Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R). Furthermore, the channel’s sitcom comedy Taarak Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah and Balveer were in the list of top five Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (R).
Continuing on at fifth rank was another Star India FTA Hindi GEC Star Utsav with 612.184 million weekly impressions in week 14 as compared to 641.729 million weekly impressions in week 13 of 2018. The channel was ranked fourth in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), third in HSM (R) and was eighth in HSM (U).
Also holding onto its sixth place was SPN’s Hindi movies channel Sony Max with 594.882 million weekly impressions in week 14 as compared to 587.930 million weekly impressions in week 13 of 2018. Sony Max also topped BARC’s list of top five Hindi movies channels in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and was ranked fifth in HSM (R). Hindi feature films (HFF) Tiger Zinda Hai and Sarrainudo were the five most watched Hindi movie programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U).
Catapulting from the previous week’s tenth rank in the list to the seventh place was Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV with 562.387 million weekly impressions in week 14 as compared to 539.770 million weekly impressions in week 13 0f 2018. Zee TV was ranked fifth in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and was ranked eighth in HSM (R). Kundali Bhagya, a spinoff of Kumkum Bhagya, aired on Zee TV was the second most watched programme during primetime in HSM (U+R) and the most watched Hindi GEC programme during primetime in HSM (U).
Entering BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genres was Star India’s flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus at eighth rank with 539.231 million weekly impressions in week 14. Star Plus was ranked eighth in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GECs in HSM (U+R), fourth in HSM (U) and was placed ninth in HSM (R).
Also, re-entering the list was Star India’s flagship Telugu GEC Star Maa with 528.125 million weekly impressions in week 14 of 2018. The channel topped BARC’s list of top five Telugu channels in the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana markets, while three of its programmes were amongst BARC’s list of top five programmes during primetime in the same markets.
Another SPN Hindi movies channel, Sony Wah, also re-entered BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genres in week 14 of 2018 with 516.716 million weekly impressions. Sony Wah was ranked second in BARC’s list of top five Hindi movies channels for the week in HSM (U+R), first in HSM (R) and fourth in HSM (U). HFF Rowdy Rathore was the second most watched Hindi movie during primetime in HSM (U+R) and the most watched Hindi movie during primetime in HSM (R).
BENGALURU: Numero uno is the position that Sun TV holds in Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) weekly television ratings for the top 10 channels across genre across in India for age 2+ almost throughout the year. The only exception so far has been during the IPL weeks that the highly cricket hungry Indians consume the dominant channel that airs that mega event. Last year it was Sony Max. Now back to Sun TV – besides the across genre weekly lists, the channel has headed BARC’s weekly ratings for top 5 Tamil channels in the Tamil Nadu/Puducherry markets. This was also the case in week 9 of 2018 (Saturday, 24 February 2018 to Friday, 2 March 2018) – as usual, the Sun TV Network’s flagship Tamil GEC channel topped BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genre, as well as BARC’s list of top 5 Tamil channels. And also, as has been a norm, all the five top Tamil programmes during primetime in week 9 of 2018 were aired on Sun TV. But at the same time, the channel’s ratings have been dropping and the gap in ratings between it and the second-ranked channel in the top 10 across genre channels has been narrowing.
Overall, the combined ratings of the top 10 channels across genre declined by about 2 per cent in week 9 as compared to week 8 of 2018. One Tamil channel, two Hindi movies channel and seven Hindi GEC channels made up BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genre. Week 9 of 2018 has seen a bit of a shakeup of sorts for BARC’s list of top 10 channels across genre. Three channels each from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Star India, two channels from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) and one channel each from the Sun TV Network and Network 18 made up the list of the top 10 channels across genre during the week under review.
As mentioned above, Sun TV topped the across genre list, though with lower ratings of 895.453 million weekly impressions in week 9 of 2018 as compared to the previous week’s 958.551 million weekly impressions. Sun TV was followed by SPN’s women-focused FTA Hindi GEC Sony Pal which climbed up two ranks with 757.432 million weekly impressions. The channel had scored 682.137 million weekly impressions in the previous week. Sony Pal was also ranked one in BARC’s list of top 10 Hindi GEC channels list for week 9 of 2018 in the all India urban (U) and rural (R) Hindi speaking markets (HSM). The long-running crime show CID on Sony Pal was among the top 5 Hindi programmes and Balveer and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah were also among the top 5 Hindi GEC programmes during primetime in HSM (R).
Trailing very close behind Sony Pal at third rank with a difference of just 4000 weekly impressions in week 9 of 2018 was Star India’s FTA Hindi GEC Star Bharat with 757.428 million weekly impressions. Star Bharat was ranked second in the top 10 Hindi GEC channels in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and was ranked third in HSM (R) in the week under review. Star Bharat was ranked second in the top 10 channels across genre in the previous week with 762.407 million weekly impressions.
At fourth rank in week 9 of 2018 was Zeel’s FTA Hindi GEC Zee Anmol with 686.766 million weekly impressions as compared to the previous week’s third rank and 715.586 million weekly impressions. The Balaji Telefilms produced family soap Kumkum Bhagya on Zee Anmol was among the top 5 Hindi GEC programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (R). Another soap Ganga that had been aired on the channel was among the top 5 Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (R).
SPN’s Hindi Movies channel Sony Max climbed up to fifth place in week 9 of 2018 with 562.587 million weekly impressions. The channel had been ranked tenth in the list with 507.975 million weekly impressions in week 8 of 2018. The channel also topped BARC’s lists of top 5 Hindi movies channels in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and was ranked fifth in HSM (R). The magnum opus Bahubali – The Beginning was among the top five Hindi movies programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) in week 9 of 2018. Other movies that were aired on Sony Max – Sultan and Kanchana 2 were among the top 5 Hindi movies programmes HSM (U) during the week under review.
Zeel’s Hindi GEC Zee TV was ranked 6 in week 9 of 2018 with 551.884 million weekly impressions as compared to the previous week’s rank 5 and viewership of 600.766 million weekly impressions. Kundali Bhagya, a spinoff of Kumkum Bhagya, which also aired on the channel, topped the list of top 5 Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U). Kundali Bhagya, which also aired in Zee TV, was among the top 5 Hindi GEC programmes in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U).
Another Star India FTA Hindi GEC channel Star Utsav climbed up a rank to seventh place in week 9 of 2018 with 536.603 million weekly impressions as compared to the previous week’s 543.582 million weekly impressions. Network 18’s flagship Hindi GEC Colors was ranked eighth with 508.570 million weekly impressions as compared to the previous week’s rank six and 574.408 million weekly impressions.
Another SPN Hindi movies channel Sony Wah, which entered the top 10 channels across genre list was ranked ninth in week 9 of 2018 with 592.512 million weekly impressions. Sony Wah was ranked first in HSM (R), ranked second in HSM (U+R) and ranked fifth in HSM (U) lists for top 5 Hindi movies channels in week 9 of 2018. Hindi feature film Yevadu 2 was among the top five Hindi movies programmes during primetime in HSM (U+R) and HSM (U) and HSM (R). Another HFF – Shivaji the Boss, which was aired on the channel, was also among the top 5 Hindi movies programmes during primetime in week 9 of 2018 in HSM (R).
Star India’s flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus was ranked tenth in week 9 of 2018 with 497.433 million weekly impressions as compared to the previous week’s rank 7 and 573.432 million weekly impressions. Another Balaji Telefilms produced soap – Yeh Hai Mohabbatein, which aired on Star Plus, was among the top 5 Hindi GEC’s in HSM (U) during the week. Star Plus was also ranked third in HSM (U) during the week.
MUMBAI: Its taking food and lifestyle to the next level. Since its launch in September 2015, lifestyle channel Living Foodz has spelled a whole new space of foodtainment on Indian television.
In keeping with its positioning of Where Food Is Fun, the channel has redefined the way people learn about food, travel and culture through innovative shows, like Ganga, The Soul of India, Food Tripping, Taste Down Under, Ranveer’s Café, etc. As it enters its second year of operations, the channel continues to maintain the brand promise and take food and fun to the next level.
Living Foodz will soon roll out a website which will be a premium destination in the lifestyle genre. It will also have video content. The channel’s HD feed will also be rolled out by early next year.
“We are in the process of rolling out our website which will be a major push from our end in the digital space. The website will be a premium destination for all things in the lifestyle space. It will allow audiences to view both video and flat content. We are also present on DittoTV, our SVOD native app and have seen a lot of traction on the platform,” asserted Living Foodz business head Amit Nair.
Putting the limelight on food lovers, the channel has now launched an integrated campaign which includes three television commercials, digital outreach, social media engagement, radio and a comprehensive public relations programme.
“As we move into our second year, we wanted to take our positioning ‘Where Food is Fun’ to the next level. We focused on the tangible elements of fun and entertainment associated with food, which are brought to life through our campaign ‘Obsessed with Food’, wherein fun is the core ingredient. We wanted to celebrate the one year milestone with our audiences through a relevant and relatable campaign. This was the brief shared with our agency,” added Nair.
The campaign has been conceptualized by Scarecrow Communications and is produced by Puppet Pictures. Naren Multani has directed the TVC. The catchy upbeat music catalyses the soul of the campaign to a next level and is provided by the duo Rohan-Vinayak.
“We wanted the TVC campaign to accentuate and take forward the brand’s promise of making food fun. Hence we consciously moved away from conventional kitchens and cooking and chose to focus on kindling emotions that food evokes, thereby bringing a smile on people’s faces,” said Scarecrow Communications founder director Arunava Sengupta.
With this campaign, the channel plans to reach out to food lovers of age 15+, sec. The three TVCs comprise of situations that one faces everyday and showcases scenarios that are extremely relevant and relatable. Each one of us might have a friend, relative or an acquaintance who forgets everything else when it comes to food and talks about it all the time.
The actors in the three TVCs include Anurita Jha, Errol Marks, Sudhendra Sharma, Ashish Bhatia, Anjali Barot and Chandan Anand.
“The campaign will reach out to our audiences via TV as the driver medium with surround of digital, radio and social media. We expect a great response from across markets as the films are humorous and have been executed very well and hope to strengthen the connect with our viewers,” added Nair.
The campaign has started off in the form of TVCs, radio, and is being promoted extensively on social/digital platforms. The campaign duration is approximately for 3 weeks.
Living Foodz has also invited food enthusiasts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share pictures that capture their obsession with food using #FoodObsessed. Additionally, participants can share creative and funny images of their family and friends which capture a food obsessed expression. Lucky winners will get the opportunity to have their pictures featured on the channel. The channel is using radio as as an additional surround medium in Mumbai and Delhi, where the contest will be amplified through strategic radio partnerships.
“The reality is that people spend a lot of time thinking of food. This campaign is a not a mere depiction but a dramatisation of this reality. Entertainment is a key ingredient of the Living Foodz programming recipe and therefore, the campaign uses light-hearted humor to tell stories based on obsession with food,” added Scarecrow Communications founder director Raghu Bhat.
Going forward, the channel has two major properties coming up this quarter and the next quarter. On 19 November, it will launch a new show titled Spices & Secrets with Zarine Khan, where Zarine Khan will be seen bonding with various celeb, as well as the celebrated Khan family over some great food. Guests on the show will include old family friends to the close family members like Riteish Deshmukh, Jackie Shroff, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Abhay Deol, etc. Nair was resistant to share details of the other show.
As far as Living Entertainment’s two other channels Living Zen and Living Travelz which were supposed to roll-out this year are concerned, are waiting for some regulatory approvals.
TVC Links:
TVC 1: The TVC features a detective who calls a wife with information on her unfaithful husband. On being told that her husband is at an Italian restaurant sharing a pizza with another woman, the wife starts quizzing the detective on specific details about the pizza, instead of being concerned about her husband!
TVC 2: This TVC features a patient who has cut his finger and visits the doctor. When he tells the doctor about how he cut the finger while cutting some vegetables, the doctor starts bombarding him with questions on what vegetable was he cutting and the dishes he can make with those!
TVC 3: This TVC features a wife who has accidentally dented her husband’s car while eating shawarma. The husband, instead of getting worried about the car, starts enquiring about the kind of shawarma and it’s toppings!
MUMBAI: Its taking food and lifestyle to the next level. Since its launch in September 2015, lifestyle channel Living Foodz has spelled a whole new space of foodtainment on Indian television.
In keeping with its positioning of Where Food Is Fun, the channel has redefined the way people learn about food, travel and culture through innovative shows, like Ganga, The Soul of India, Food Tripping, Taste Down Under, Ranveer’s Café, etc. As it enters its second year of operations, the channel continues to maintain the brand promise and take food and fun to the next level.
Living Foodz will soon roll out a website which will be a premium destination in the lifestyle genre. It will also have video content. The channel’s HD feed will also be rolled out by early next year.
“We are in the process of rolling out our website which will be a major push from our end in the digital space. The website will be a premium destination for all things in the lifestyle space. It will allow audiences to view both video and flat content. We are also present on DittoTV, our SVOD native app and have seen a lot of traction on the platform,” asserted Living Foodz business head Amit Nair.
Putting the limelight on food lovers, the channel has now launched an integrated campaign which includes three television commercials, digital outreach, social media engagement, radio and a comprehensive public relations programme.
“As we move into our second year, we wanted to take our positioning ‘Where Food is Fun’ to the next level. We focused on the tangible elements of fun and entertainment associated with food, which are brought to life through our campaign ‘Obsessed with Food’, wherein fun is the core ingredient. We wanted to celebrate the one year milestone with our audiences through a relevant and relatable campaign. This was the brief shared with our agency,” added Nair.
The campaign has been conceptualized by Scarecrow Communications and is produced by Puppet Pictures. Naren Multani has directed the TVC. The catchy upbeat music catalyses the soul of the campaign to a next level and is provided by the duo Rohan-Vinayak.
“We wanted the TVC campaign to accentuate and take forward the brand’s promise of making food fun. Hence we consciously moved away from conventional kitchens and cooking and chose to focus on kindling emotions that food evokes, thereby bringing a smile on people’s faces,” said Scarecrow Communications founder director Arunava Sengupta.
With this campaign, the channel plans to reach out to food lovers of age 15+, sec. The three TVCs comprise of situations that one faces everyday and showcases scenarios that are extremely relevant and relatable. Each one of us might have a friend, relative or an acquaintance who forgets everything else when it comes to food and talks about it all the time.
The actors in the three TVCs include Anurita Jha, Errol Marks, Sudhendra Sharma, Ashish Bhatia, Anjali Barot and Chandan Anand.
“The campaign will reach out to our audiences via TV as the driver medium with surround of digital, radio and social media. We expect a great response from across markets as the films are humorous and have been executed very well and hope to strengthen the connect with our viewers,” added Nair.
The campaign has started off in the form of TVCs, radio, and is being promoted extensively on social/digital platforms. The campaign duration is approximately for 3 weeks.
Living Foodz has also invited food enthusiasts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share pictures that capture their obsession with food using #FoodObsessed. Additionally, participants can share creative and funny images of their family and friends which capture a food obsessed expression. Lucky winners will get the opportunity to have their pictures featured on the channel. The channel is using radio as as an additional surround medium in Mumbai and Delhi, where the contest will be amplified through strategic radio partnerships.
“The reality is that people spend a lot of time thinking of food. This campaign is a not a mere depiction but a dramatisation of this reality. Entertainment is a key ingredient of the Living Foodz programming recipe and therefore, the campaign uses light-hearted humor to tell stories based on obsession with food,” added Scarecrow Communications founder director Raghu Bhat.
Going forward, the channel has two major properties coming up this quarter and the next quarter. On 19 November, it will launch a new show titled Spices & Secrets with Zarine Khan, where Zarine Khan will be seen bonding with various celeb, as well as the celebrated Khan family over some great food. Guests on the show will include old family friends to the close family members like Riteish Deshmukh, Jackie Shroff, Farah Khan, Sajid Khan, Abhay Deol, etc. Nair was resistant to share details of the other show.
As far as Living Entertainment’s two other channels Living Zen and Living Travelz which were supposed to roll-out this year are concerned, are waiting for some regulatory approvals.
TVC Links:
TVC 1: The TVC features a detective who calls a wife with information on her unfaithful husband. On being told that her husband is at an Italian restaurant sharing a pizza with another woman, the wife starts quizzing the detective on specific details about the pizza, instead of being concerned about her husband!
TVC 2: This TVC features a patient who has cut his finger and visits the doctor. When he tells the doctor about how he cut the finger while cutting some vegetables, the doctor starts bombarding him with questions on what vegetable was he cutting and the dishes he can make with those!
TVC 3: This TVC features a wife who has accidentally dented her husband’s car while eating shawarma. The husband, instead of getting worried about the car, starts enquiring about the kind of shawarma and it’s toppings!
MUMBAI: The Essel group’s venture in the lifestyle genre, Living Foodz is riding on the success of its celebrity travel show Ganga, featuring Dia Mirza as anchor. The channel claims that viewership has increased 36 per cent after the promotions of Ganga. The channel is all decked to launch a new royal culinary food show Food Tripping. The show will take viewers on a royal expedition to six places in western India with celebrity chefs Ranveer Brar and Gautam Mehrishi.
Food Tripping is based in royal places of Gujrat. It is a 13 episode series. The show will start airing from May 30 at 8.30 PM, every Monday and Tuesday. The journey will start with one the most expensive royal trains in the world- the Maharaja Express. The first episode will feature the train. Other destinations include the royal families of Balasinor, Gondal, Bhavnagar, Wadhvan, Chula and Sayla.
The makers of the show claim that the journey includes intricate experiences of royal delicacies, people and culture of these places. Apart from learning recipes from queens and royal chefs, the chefs have also spent time with the families, understanding the fascinating position they hold in contemporary India as guardians of a long and rich heritage. Originally the show was to feature the royal palace and family of Bhavnagar, which was later expanded to other destinations.
Medium Rare Productions with Living Foodz has shot the show. It took a crew of about 30 members to shoot 13 episodes in about 14 days. The cameras used to shoot Food Tripping were FS7 plus one Dji Osmo. The makers claim that the treatment of the show has been kept royal with the challenge of finding scenic outdoor locations to cook.
Tata Sampann Masala is the powered-by sponsor of travel food show. Major advertisers of channel include Audi, Pepsi Co (Quaker), Samsung, Usha, Airtel, 4G, Fortune, Parag Milk Foods. Sources have reveaed that the average cost of an episode of Food Tripping was Rs three lakh to Rs four lakh per episode.
The channel is very confident about the concept of the show. Living Foodz claims that it believes in innovation, not just about new locations and food, but also about personalities. Chefs Ranveer and Gautam never had a chance to interact with each other till this show for which they have travelled together.
“Food has been an integral part of royal celebrations and this show offers a glimpse of the rich culture and culinary heritage of India. What makes Food Tripping even more unique is the camaraderie between Chef Ranveer and Chef Gautam. Their banter and synergy truly brings their experiences to life as they co-host the show. “said Living Foodz business head Amir Nair. Food Tripping gave them the opportunity to do a Royal Road Trip together. Along the way, they discovered hidden facets, stories about each other that have created a new friendship, which also is obvious. The show also explores chef’s point of view.
“At Living Foodz, our endeavour has been to bring unusual and interesting content to urban Indian audiences, and this show is a prime example of this.” added Nair.
The royal kitchens of western India are heavily influenced by the rich multi-cultural influences of the owners. Ingredients and techniques have been borrowed from as far and wide as Persia, France, Britain, Mongolia and the Deccan, which makes the show a true feast for the eyes revealed channel sources in conclusion.
MUMBAI: The Essel group’s venture in the lifestyle genre, Living Foodz is riding on the success of its celebrity travel show Ganga, featuring Dia Mirza as anchor. The channel claims that viewership has increased 36 per cent after the promotions of Ganga. The channel is all decked to launch a new royal culinary food show Food Tripping. The show will take viewers on a royal expedition to six places in western India with celebrity chefs Ranveer Brar and Gautam Mehrishi.
Food Tripping is based in royal places of Gujrat. It is a 13 episode series. The show will start airing from May 30 at 8.30 PM, every Monday and Tuesday. The journey will start with one the most expensive royal trains in the world- the Maharaja Express. The first episode will feature the train. Other destinations include the royal families of Balasinor, Gondal, Bhavnagar, Wadhvan, Chula and Sayla.
The makers of the show claim that the journey includes intricate experiences of royal delicacies, people and culture of these places. Apart from learning recipes from queens and royal chefs, the chefs have also spent time with the families, understanding the fascinating position they hold in contemporary India as guardians of a long and rich heritage. Originally the show was to feature the royal palace and family of Bhavnagar, which was later expanded to other destinations.
Medium Rare Productions with Living Foodz has shot the show. It took a crew of about 30 members to shoot 13 episodes in about 14 days. The cameras used to shoot Food Tripping were FS7 plus one Dji Osmo. The makers claim that the treatment of the show has been kept royal with the challenge of finding scenic outdoor locations to cook.
Tata Sampann Masala is the powered-by sponsor of travel food show. Major advertisers of channel include Audi, Pepsi Co (Quaker), Samsung, Usha, Airtel, 4G, Fortune, Parag Milk Foods. Sources have reveaed that the average cost of an episode of Food Tripping was Rs three lakh to Rs four lakh per episode.
The channel is very confident about the concept of the show. Living Foodz claims that it believes in innovation, not just about new locations and food, but also about personalities. Chefs Ranveer and Gautam never had a chance to interact with each other till this show for which they have travelled together.
“Food has been an integral part of royal celebrations and this show offers a glimpse of the rich culture and culinary heritage of India. What makes Food Tripping even more unique is the camaraderie between Chef Ranveer and Chef Gautam. Their banter and synergy truly brings their experiences to life as they co-host the show. “said Living Foodz business head Amir Nair. Food Tripping gave them the opportunity to do a Royal Road Trip together. Along the way, they discovered hidden facets, stories about each other that have created a new friendship, which also is obvious. The show also explores chef’s point of view.
“At Living Foodz, our endeavour has been to bring unusual and interesting content to urban Indian audiences, and this show is a prime example of this.” added Nair.
The royal kitchens of western India are heavily influenced by the rich multi-cultural influences of the owners. Ingredients and techniques have been borrowed from as far and wide as Persia, France, Britain, Mongolia and the Deccan, which makes the show a true feast for the eyes revealed channel sources in conclusion.
MUMBAI: IBN7 brings to its viewers the most comprehensive programming on one of the biggest annual religious events for Hindus, the Magh (Kumbh) Mela.
In accordance with the traditional Hindu calendar, this holy fair is organised every year during the Hindu month of Magh. The Magh Mela is actually a smaller version of the Kumbh Mela, hence is also known as the mini Kumbh Mela. Magh Mela is held every year on the banks of Triveni Sangam (the confluence of the three great rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati) in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Every year, the Magh Mela commences on the day of Makkar Sankranti in January, with multitudes of pilgrims taking a holy dip at the Sangam. A huge number of devotees arrive here annually and stay in makeshift houses or tents at the Sangam, spending the entire month of Magh in prayers. This period is known as “Kalpavas”. IBN7 will bring out the historical facts about the famous Magh Mela along with its lesser known facets.
From Monday, 5th January 2015, IBN7 will air a half-hour show @9.30 am to portray the cultural spectrum and identify the spirit that defines this tradition. The series will feature the temporary city set up for this religious gathering, saints talking about the myths related to the Mela and Kalpavas, stories behind the food organized for Kalpavasi, the various rituals to be followed, the enchanting songs and bhajans that are sung and many more such interesting facts. An extensive line up of walk throughs, short stories and live telecast of the maha snans will be covered by IBN7’s team of reporters.
Don’t miss the exclusive daily show starting from 5th January 2015, every Monday to Saturday, 9.30 AM-10 AM, only on IBN7
