ITV

Tag: Hallmark

  • Hallmark upgrades OTT using Accedo One

    Hallmark upgrades OTT using Accedo One

    MUMBAI: When Hallmark was looking at relaunching its streaming service, it reached out to its partner Accedo and extended its partnership. Together, the two elevated the features – as part of Accedo One –  of its newly rebranded streaming service, Hallmark+ which officially launched on 10 September.  

    According to an Accedo release, Hallmark+, seamlessly integrates ad-free viewing with exclusive retail and product benefits, offering fans an unparalleled Hallmark lifestyle experience. 

    The features are: 
    Unauthenticated homepage: This feature allows potential users to explore and experience the richness of Hallmark+ without the need for immediate sign-up. With this feature, Hallmark+ aims to entice new users through a compelling initial interaction, fostering trust and interest even before they commit to a subscription.

    Conditional containers: Conditional containers display content tailored to individual user preferences, behaviours and login status. 

    Gifting options: In line with Hallmark’s tradition of celebrating relationships and special moments, the new gifting options provide users with the ability to purchase and send Hallmark+ subscriptions. This feature reinforces Hallmark’s position as a thoughtful and heartfelt brand, perfect for gifting during holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions.

    Design facelift: To align with modern user expectations, a complete redesign of the OTT service interface was undertaken. The new design is intuitive, user-friendly, and visually appealing, providing a fresh and seamless navigation experience.

    “The support we received from the Accedo team during this intense period was unwavering. Utilising Accedo One platform to further grow and expand our offering has accelerated our progress tremendously, allowing us to bring Hallmark+ to market fast and greatly optimize our internal resources,” says Hallmark Media. SVP technology Lusha Bodie.

    “We are highly impressed with the Hallmark team, its ambitious vision, and the new direction of Hallmark+. We believe this will greatly benefit its loyal customers. It is especially encouraging to see Hallmark leveraging several new key features of Accedo One in its re-launch,”  says Accedo SaaS Products SVP Fredrik Andersson.

  • Promaxbda India announces Time [V]achine – The Bootcamp

    Promaxbda India announces Time [V]achine – The Bootcamp

    MUMBAI: After announcing Memory Makers as this year’s theme, the PromaxBDA India show have begun registrations for their much sought-after BOOTCAMP, THE TIME [V]ACHINE to be held on 22nd May, Day 1 of the PromaxBDA India 2018 at the Indian School of Design and Innovation, Mumbai.

    THE TIME [V]ACHINE offers to be a unique drill where three hardcore creative geniuses come together and dive into the technicalities of creating promos that are versatile and relevant for all platforms.

    Rob Middleton has been the force behind shaping Asia’s promo gene pool-training, running and pushing promo teams everywhere to become world-class and evolving to a multi-platform audience base.

    Arnab Chaudhuri is the director of the 2012 Indian Disney animated feature ‘Arjun The Warrior Prince’. Having worked with multiple TV works, Arnab now runs his own production shop-Banabo.

    Pete Bishop has directed commercials for Coca-Cola, Duracell and other leading brands and has created idents and broadcast design for amongst others, MTV America, Hallmark, Nickelodeon, Disney, Star TV and Channel [V].

    All three had worked together and created ground-breaking stuff for Channel [V] and will now join forces again to teach the delegates useful tips and tricks to take on the digital world and thrive.

    Speaking about the Boot Camp, Conference Chair, Raj Nayak said, “The trend shows that our viewers love to consume long format content on television and go on digital for shorter formats. Hence there is room for both mediums to co-exist. It’s a healthy sign that content consumption overall is growing. With more content being created and more emerging platforms, discoverability of content is going to be of utmost importance and therefore the role of promos become even more substantial.”

    PromaxBDA represents more than 10000 companies and promotion and marketing professionals at almost every major media organization.

    The Tier 1 rates for the BOOTCAMP are applicable till April 29th, 2018 so hurry and register !

  • Bye Bye, Girish

    Bye Bye, Girish

    It is with deep sorrow I announce that our esteemed colleague Girish Nikam is no more with us. Today evening, after recording his show ‘Big Picture’, he suffered a cardiac attack. He was immediately rushed to a hospital from the studio but he decided to say the final bye to all of us.

    Girish was an integral part of RSTV, a voice of sobriety, rationale and compassion in the debates that he conducted, which became the hallmark of the channel.

    He was one of the first one to join RSTV. He had never anchored before. He didn’t fit the caricature of TV anchors that Indian television has created and promoted. But, he was requested to anchor because we wanted to establish that television debates can also be about content and not just style.

    Girish’s long experience in journalism qualified him for the experiment. And, how he proved it! Redefining not just the content and conduct of TV debates, but also developing a flair and style that has a huge fan following today.

    Girish is gone, but he decided to go in style, right from the studio to an eternal journey. He always wanted to live actively till his last breath and, like everything else in his life, achieved this too as per his wish and on his terms!

    Rajya Sabha Television will miss him. It will be difficult for anyone to emulate him in his show ‘The Big Picture’. But, he has left behind a template for serious television debates, which would certainly guide future anchors of RSTV.

    I express my grief and sense of loss, which everyone in my channel shares with me. Because, besides everything else, Girish was a great human being, full of compassion, camaraderie and warmth.

    Bye bye to a colleague, who was a ‘non-hypocrite’ to the extent of perfection.

  • Bye Bye, Girish

    Bye Bye, Girish

    It is with deep sorrow I announce that our esteemed colleague Girish Nikam is no more with us. Today evening, after recording his show ‘Big Picture’, he suffered a cardiac attack. He was immediately rushed to a hospital from the studio but he decided to say the final bye to all of us.

    Girish was an integral part of RSTV, a voice of sobriety, rationale and compassion in the debates that he conducted, which became the hallmark of the channel.

    He was one of the first one to join RSTV. He had never anchored before. He didn’t fit the caricature of TV anchors that Indian television has created and promoted. But, he was requested to anchor because we wanted to establish that television debates can also be about content and not just style.

    Girish’s long experience in journalism qualified him for the experiment. And, how he proved it! Redefining not just the content and conduct of TV debates, but also developing a flair and style that has a huge fan following today.

    Girish is gone, but he decided to go in style, right from the studio to an eternal journey. He always wanted to live actively till his last breath and, like everything else in his life, achieved this too as per his wish and on his terms!

    Rajya Sabha Television will miss him. It will be difficult for anyone to emulate him in his show ‘The Big Picture’. But, he has left behind a template for serious television debates, which would certainly guide future anchors of RSTV.

    I express my grief and sense of loss, which everyone in my channel shares with me. Because, besides everything else, Girish was a great human being, full of compassion, camaraderie and warmth.

    Bye bye to a colleague, who was a ‘non-hypocrite’ to the extent of perfection.

  • Hallmark comes up with a new look and feel

    Hallmark comes up with a new look and feel

    MUMBAI: It has been a period of transition for Hallmark. The international division was sold to a group of investors by Crown Media last year for $242 million.

    Now the channel has gone in for a new look and programming line-up. The new look signifies the broadcaster’s commitment to offering high quality movies, mini-series and drama series in an attractive and engaging channel environment that is relevant to Asian audiences.

    Sparrowhawk Media Group (which operates Hallmark) MD Asia Pacific Andrew Hanna said, “Hallmark Channel’s new look is designed to present our programming in the most contemporary and compelling way to our audiences. We will continue to provide our audiences with the same quality production values and premium entertainment shows they have come to know and love. Now, Hallmark Channel will do it better.”

    Hallmark’s Asia Pacific creative director Cameron Craig said, “So often we see that everyday events in life are a wellspring for dramatic storytelling. Hallmark Channel offers people great drama entertainment that draws upon the full range of human emotion. Creatively, we have set out to reflect that great stories often exist in the drama that surrounds us in each person’s life, everyday.

    The new on-air look features landscapes and captures scenes that aim to reflect the daily drama of people’s lives. These images were filmed in India, Malaysia and Thailand. Superimposed over these images are close-ups of what are typical Hallmark viewers reacting to the drama inherent in the scenes. The addition of the line ‘in every life, there is drama’ reflects, in a subtle but engaging way, the emotional connection audiences feel for the Hallmark Channel brand and its drama based programming.”

    As far as the programming template is concerned Hallmark will continue to offer mini-series based on world famous novels, classic tales of mythology, great people in history and inspiring true stories. In 2006, the mini-series that will air include an adaptation of Jules Verne novel Mysterious Island which deals with a group of prisoners who have escaped from a Confederate prisoner of war camp during the American Civil War by a hot air balloon, William Golding’s tale To the Ends of the Earth which is about a young man’s coming of age at sea, action adventure Supernova and the classic Greek tale of Hercules.

    On weekdays, Hallmark will air movies and drama series, including courtroom drama’s Judging Amy and Family Law, spy thriller Spooks, murder mystery’s Midsomer Murder’s and Wire in the Blood and contemporary drama’s Doc Martin and Hustle.

    Hanna adds, “Our new look and branding is part of our constant mission aimed to entertain the drama-watching and drama-loving audiences everywhere.”

  • Hallmark Intl acquires a twisted show from Southern Star

    Hallmark Intl acquires a twisted show from Southern Star

    MUMBAI: Hallmark International has acquired from Southern Star International a 14 episode half hour series Two Twisted.

    Two Twisted is a follow up to Twisted Tales and is financed by the Film Finance Corporation Australia for the Nine Network Australia.

    Co-produced by Bryan Brown and New Town Films in association with the Australian Film Commission and the New South Wales Film and Television Office, it comprises mysteries, dramas, and thrillers – all with a twist.

    Southern Star International CEO Catherine Payne, says, “We are very pleased to be continuing our close relationship with Hallmark International Channels.” In the past, Hallmark has acquired McLeod’s Daughters from Southern Star.

    Southern Star is an integrated film and television production and distribution group. The company is involved in film, television and video production; sales and distribution, licensing and merchandising. Southern Star is a division of Southern Cross Broadcasting (Australia).

  • Hallmark buys rights to 39 Warner Bros feature films

    Hallmark buys rights to 39 Warner Bros feature films

    MUMBAI: The Hallmark Channel has announced that it has acquired the US telecast rights to 39 feature films from the Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution, including the network TV premiere of March of the Penguins.

    With the network’s acquisition of the Academy Award winning documentary March of the Penguins, the Hallmark Channel executive VP programming David Kenin said, “Hallmark Channel is still bent on world domination and we are starting with Antarctica.”

    According to a release, the Hallmark channel is currently being distributed to a little more than 73 million households nationwide.

    In its attempts to bounce back, Kenin also added, “The deal will help to drive ratings, attract more sponsors and increase distribution for the network.”

    However, the terms of the deal were not disclosed, adds the release.

    The 39 Warner Bros. movie package acquired by Hallmark include, Troy, The In-Laws, The Bridges of Madison County, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and The Phantom of the Opera, among others.

  • Hallmark to build brand further in the US with magazine

    Hallmark to build brand further in the US with magazine

    MUMBAI: Hallmark magazine, a new women’s lifestyle publication, is scheduled to debut later this year in the US with a September/October charter issue and planned rate base of 400,000.

    Hallmark says that the magazine will hold a unique position in the women’s lifestyle category due to its distinctive editorial point of view around home, food, decorating, entertaining, relationships and self. While many women’s titles today provide readers with basic how-to information, Hallmark magazine goes a step further by reminding readers why these connections are so important.

    Hallmark president and CEO Don Hall says that Hallmark magazine provides a strategic opportunity to bring Hallmark’s brand to life in a new and meaningful way with an important consumer segment.

    “Over the years, people have come to trust Hallmark to help them express themselves, celebrate life’s seasons and connect with those that matter most. Through Hallmark magazine, women will begin to see a new face of

    Hallmark but one they can continue to trust for insight into relationships, emotional connections and expressions of caring.”

    Hallmark Cards tested its magazine concept with four issues in 2003. Consumers’ response to the publication’s voice and storytelling confirmed the time is right for an entirely new sort of women’s magazine. Hallmark executive VP responsible for new business ventures Anil Jagtiani says, “Hallmark magazine will offer inspiring and useful information as well as simple, creative ideas from the country’s best journalists and authors. The stories will help readers savor the goodness that comes their way, rejoice in who they are and enjoy the road they are traveling.”

    In testing, Hallmark magazine’s unique editorial voice proved compelling as measured by consumer feedback, subscription response rates and newsstand sales. External direct mailing lists, traditional newsstand outlets, Hallmark’s own extensive database and its network of Hallmark Gold Crown stores proved their value in driving awareness and circulation.

    “Hallmark magazine provides a new business growth opportunity for Hallmark and will be supported by circulation and advertising revenue. Readers can expect a high quality, compelling publication they will love to read and share with their friends,”adds Jagtiani.