ITV

Tag: HBO HD

  • Turner to launch HBO HD in April; unveils new look for HBO

    Turner to launch HBO HD in April; unveils new look for HBO

    MUMBAI: Turner International will be re-launching its channel HBO Hits as HBO HD in April this year.

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, late last year Turner decided to re-brand HBO Hits as HBO HD, which was subject to regulatory approvals. Additionally, Turner also discontinued its other channel HBO Defined. Both HBO Hits and HBO Defined were launched as a partnership between HBO Asia and Eros International in 2013.

    HBO HD will be available on direct-to-home (DTH) and cable platforms from April. The broadcaster is also looking to launch the HBO mobile app in March.

    What’s more, the company has also unveiled a fresh new-look for HBO on 14 February, which reflects a youthful and aspirational viewer demographic. HBO’s new packaging has been redesigned to present world-class content to a local, but worldly, audience.

    Turner International, South Asia senior vice president and managing director Siddharth Jain said, “Consumers are at the centre of everything we do and these changes directly reflect this. The all-new HBO captures its audience’s imagination – like never before – through the implementation of a new programming and content strategy; and new fan-engagement initiatives. Indian consumers are spoilt for choice when it comes to entertainment options, and HBO is ideally positioned not only to excite but also engage.”

    The big-budget Mad Max: Fury Road on 14 February led the launch of a new program and content strategy, complemented by a social media campaign. This will be followed by four back-to-back Sunday premieres namely American Sniper, Wild Card, San Andreas and A Walk Among the Tombstones.

    The HBO mobile app will gives viewers access to channel details and information – boasting full channel schedules, a reminder feature, TV promos, preview of upcoming premieres and a Hollywood quiz.

  • Turner denies erroneous report on shutting down HBO Hits in India

    Turner denies erroneous report on shutting down HBO Hits in India

    MUMBAI: The Indian television industry was rife with rumours that HBO’s premier channels HBO Hits and HBO Defined were being wound up in India. This followed the tepid response from cable TV and DTH viewers to the high sticker price at which they were being offered. What added grist to the rumours was the fact that TV industry veteran Monica Tata quit the company  earlier this year after looking after the two channels for a couple of years.

     

    In fact, a small website – like several other incorrect reports it continues to post – even erroneously reported that HBO was taking steps to shut them and that its initiative to run ad free channels had failed.

     

    Now Turner International has issued a release clarifying that no such thing is happening. The release states that in fact HBO Hits is being rebranded as HBO HD and is en route to being relaunched in  2016, subject to regulatory approvals. However, HBO Defined would be discontinued come 31 December 2015 for Indian audiences.

     

    According to Turner,  it had assumed full operational responsibility in January 2015 “including content acquisition, programming, distribution, advertising sales and marketing, for the HBO channel in India and other South Asia markets namely Maldives, Bangladesh and Pakistan.”

     
    With the expansion of its English entertainment portfolio that includes WB and now HBO, Turner says that it plans to keep the on-going commitment to invest in the HBO channels, and has recently completed a pan-India consumer research to better understand its audience and how it can best meet their expectations. The results of this initiative will be visible on-air soon, with a HBO brand refresh.

     

    According to the release: “This will make the high definition HBO movie experience, currently available only to premium audiences, accessible to a far wider audience base in India. “

     

    Says Turner International SVP and managing director Siddharth Jain said in the release“With the inclusion of the HBO channels, the Turner portfolio houses some of this region’s biggest and best-loved brands in English entertainment. We will lead the HBO channel operations in India capitalizing on the enormous synergies and experience we have in managing industry leading networks. We are excited to bring our first high definition offering, HBO HD to Indian viewers. Come Q1 2016, the viewers will get to see a more glitzy and invigorated HBO. Do stay tuned for more on that.”

     

    While Jain will continue to lead Turner and HBO from a managerial and business leadership perspective,  programming and marketing for the HBO channels will be managed by Rohit Bhandari; advertising sales and distribution will continue to be managed by Juhi Ravindranath and Kishan Cheranda respectively

     

  • PanAmSat solidifies HD dominance with National Geographic HD win

    PanAmSat solidifies HD dominance with National Geographic HD win

    MUMBAI: National Geographic HD has chosen to join PanAmSat’s high-definition neighborhood. PanAmSat’s Galaxy HD neighborhood reaches over 9,000 cable systems throughout the US and features many of America’s top HD offerings, including: HBO HD, Cinemax HD, National Geographic HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Encore HD, ESPN HD, Fox Sports Net HD, NBA HD, NFL Network HD, The Outdoor Channel, Showtime HD West, STARZ! HD, TNT HD, WB HD and Wealth TV.

    “National Geographic’s high-quality, award-winning programming lends itself perfectly to high-definition television delivery. By joining the A-list roster of customers on Galaxy 13, National Geographic HD will enjoy the industry’s best coast-to-coast coverage that this powerful spacecraft offers. And, bar none, the Galaxy HD neighborhood delivers what television networks want — to pass every potential HDTV cable home in the nation’s top ADIs,” said PanAmSat executive vice president global sales and marketing Mike Antonovich.

    National Geographic HD is distributed by Fox Entertainment Group. Fox had signed a long-term, multi-year, multi-satellite, multi-transponder deal with the Company, consolidating its entire suite of US programming onto PanAmSat’s global fleet as well as a significant portion of its international traffic. The contract was later expanded to include two additional transponders on Galaxy 13, the new home for National Geographic HD.

    High-definition television has made large strides in the US and is predicted to make even larger inroads in the next four years.

    According to industry analyst reports, by 2009, HDTV will be in 52 million households, up from the current four million households. Northern Sky Research estimates that 500 channels will be broadcast in HD by 2010. And, the Consumer Electronics Association reports that seven in 10 consumers are planning to purchase a digital cable-ready HDTV as their next television.

    Ultimately, the continued price reductions in the HDTV arena, coupled with the looming analog cut-off, will result in 55 percent of US households having at least one HD-capable TV by the end of 2010 explain analysts from Leichtman Research Group’s in a recent report entitled, “HDTV: Awareness, Interest and Intent to Purchase 2005.”