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Tag: HBO Hits

  • 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

     

  • November fest on HBO

    November fest on HBO

    MUMBAI: Opening its door to movies and entertainment, the English entertainment channel HBO will broadcast a series of popular television shows and hit Hollywood films exclusively in the month of November. HBO South Asia, which launched its two 24-hour commercial-free premium programming channels HBO Defined and HBO Hits in 2013, will now bring the best of Hollywood including prime-time television shows and movies in the coming month.

     

    Speaking about the listings in November, HBO South Asia managing director Monica Tata says, “We have a November fest coming up with movies such as Gravity, Prisoners etc. We also have Newsroom which is happening again in November on HBO Original. It is our season finale. We are also doing a lot of promotions this month on social media and digital media. That’s our focus for November. For December till year end, there will be a fantastic line up as well.”

     

    Here is the line-up of movies and television shows that will be aired in November 2014 for HBO Premium channels – HBO Hits and HBO Defined.

     

     1) Prisoners (HBO Hits)

     

    2)  Legendary (HBO Hits)

     

    3) Profugos – Season 2 (HBO Hits)

     

    4) Gravity (HBO Defined)

     

    5) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (HBO Defined)

     

    6) 12 Years A Slave (HBO Defined)

     

    7) The Newsroom – Season 3 (HBO Defined)

  • The great Indian Diwali on English GECs and movie channels

    The great Indian Diwali on English GECs and movie channels

    As families and friends come together to celebrate Diwali and spend personal time with loved ones at home, English movie and general entertainment channels (GEC) have put together some of the best line ups to reign in the festive period. While the genre stands fragmented, channels nonetheless are trying to woo audiences with either movie or show premieres or telecasting title’s that have repeat value.

     

    Zee Studio which underwent a refresh recently will telecast its special Diwali movie, How To Train Your Dragon at 12 pm and 9 pm. Its festival property ‘Studio Dynamite’ will include blockbusters such as Mission Impossible, Transformers, Avengers etc. Apart from this, movies like Lincoln, Shrek Forever After and Shutter Island will complete its programming lineup.

     

    Starting 23 October 9 am onwards, Movies Now viewers are in for a programming lineup which covers different genres. To tickle the funny bone are the hilarious trio of a sabertooth tiger, a sloth and a wooly mammoth from Ice Age. This will be followed by The Karate Kid, Kung Fu Panda, The Matrix, Olympus Has Fallen and X Men Origins: Wolverine. The finale will see good forces combine in an all out war with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.

     

    HBO and its two premium channels; HBO Hits and HBO Defined too are vying for a share of the viewership pie this festive season. HBO will telecast Pacific Rim on 23 October at 1:57 pm, Step Up on 24 October at 6:54 pm, Red2 on 27 October at 9 pm, followed by World War Z on 28 October at 9pm. While HBO Hits will serve Riddick, Ghost Team One and Season one of The Knick on its platter, HBO Defined will have season one of Grace, Silicon Valley and True Detective.

     

    Another major player Star Movies has also put in place a festive lineup. Robert Downey Jr fans can watch Tony Stark’s world being torn apart by the formidable terrorist called The Mandarin on 23 October at 9 pm. This will be followed by Men In Black at 11 pm.  The other movies include Unstoppable, Speed, Fast Five, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Men in Black 3, King Kong and Resident Evil: Retribution.

    Sony Pix from the MSM stable along with its English GEC AXN started their Diwali celebrations with the simulcast of the legendary crime fighting cyborg Robocop on 19 October at 1 pm and 9 pm. AXN has also brought in two new shows especially for the festive season. While NCIS runs from Monday to Thursday at 10 pm, Supernatural airs every Saturday at 10 pm.

    So what brings English movies and GECs come up with special programming for Diwali? Says Maxus managing partner north and east region Navin Khemka, “Currently as some of these channels are able to draw an average yield, they try building a lot of hype and aura around these shows through various campaigns to maximise the yield in an extremely fragmented space. The festive season thus is about increasing the average yield where survival is vital.”

    English GEC Romedy Now through the theme of celebrating the joy of family and togetherness has launched its property ‘Diwali Sparklers,’ starting 4 October, 8pm onwards. The lineup for the slot includes Family Stone, The Notebook, Guess Who, Madagascar, Monster-in-Law and 27 Dresses among others.

    Comedy Central too has announced the launch of four new shows that will be premiered from 27 October from Monday to Friday. These are Billy on The Street 9 (at 8 pm) Psych (seasons one to four at 9 pm), Penn and Teller: Fool Us (at 10 pm) and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon at 11 pm. These four will be premiered from 27 October 2014 from Monday to Friday.  

    Star World Premiere HD has New Girl season four, Community season five, Revenge season four, Modern Family season six, Bones season 10, Home Land season four among others. Star World will broadcast House season five, The Simpsons season 17, Masterchef Australia season six, Big Bang Theory season five etc. Meanwhile FX has lined up The X Files season nine, Californication season seven, Sons of Anarchy season six and Alias season one among others.

    According to Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan, since festive period sees a surge in advertising and these movie channels and GEC’s too are vying for a share of the pie, they come up with the special programming lineup. “The special programming for the festive season helps channels spike their advertising revenue on an average by 10-12 per cent,” he concludes.

  • IDOS 2014: HBO opening night party a grand success

    IDOS 2014: HBO opening night party a grand success

    GOA: Glitz, glamour and everything else. The most awaited opening night party of the India Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2014 at The Leela in Goa organised by HBO Hits and Defined premium channels has set the right tune for the next two days of the confab which will be attended by the leaders of pay TV, distribution,  cable TV and DTH industry. 

     

    Through the opening night party, the premium network has sent out a clear message: ‘It’s not TV, its HBO’.

     

    The party entertained those attending, with fabulous dances, stand-up comedy by Atul Khatri, some of the all time hits sung by the melodious Aditi Singh Sharma who has lent her voice for some of the hit songs including ‘Raabta’, ‘Dhoom Machale’, ‘Offo’ and great bollywood music, which forced everyone to shake their legs.

     

    The evening was well attended by the who’s who of the broadcast, cable TV and DTH industry.  

     

    Says HBO South Asia MD Monica Tata on the success of the party, “We are very excited to have partnered with IDOS 2014. This has helped us showcase our proposition to our consumers.”

     

    “The partnership has been fantastic. Through this, the HBO premium channels will connect with its key consumers, which are the platform owners. We expect them to push our channels further,” she adds.

    “More power to HBO channels and if you haven’t subscribed to it so far, do it now,” she concludes. 

     

  • ‘The Knick’ and ‘Jonah From Tonga’ to premiere in India on HBO

    ‘The Knick’ and ‘Jonah From Tonga’ to premiere in India on HBO

    MUMBAI: Two brand new series THE  KNICKSM  and JONAH FROM TONGA, are all set to premiere in India just within 24 hours of their US premiere – on Saturday, August 9 exclusively 100% Ad-Free on HBO Premium Channels, HBO Hits and HBO Defined.

     

    THE KNICK

     

    Season One premieres Saturday, August 9 at 7:00 pm on HBO Hits

     

    A brand new series THE KNICKSM is all set to kick-start on HBO Hits. Set in downtown New York in 1900, THE KNICKSM is centered around the Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff, who push the bounds of medicine in a time of astonishingly high mortality rates and zero antibiotics. It depicts how a newly appointed brilliant but arrogant renegade Dr. John Thackery’s addiction to cocaine and opium is trumped solely by his ambition for medical discovery. Also, present into this all-white staff and patient hospital is an equally gifted Dr. Algernon Edwards fighting for respect while trying to navigate radically charged city.

     

    Starring Clive Owen (“Children of Men,” HBO’s “Hemingway & Gellhorn”; Oscar® nominee for “Closer”) and directed by Steven Soderbergh (“Side Effects”; Oscar® winner for “Traffic”; Emmy® winner for HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra”), THE KNICKSM kicks off its ten-episode season on Saturday AUG. 9 at 7 pm, exclusively on HBO Hits, followed by other episodes debuting on subsequent Saturdays at 8.30 pm.

     

    THE KNICK: ©2014 HOME BOX OFFICE, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. CINEMAX® AND RELATED CHANNELS AND SERVICE MARKS ARE THE PROPERTY OF HOME BOX OFFICE, INC.

     

    JONAH FROM TONGA

     

    Season One premieres Saturday, August 9 at 8:00 pm on HBO Defined

     

    HBO Premium Channels present another treat for Indian viewers on Saturday, August 9 at 8 pm. Australia’s Chris Lilley, creator of “Summer Heights High” and “Ja’mie: Private School Girl,” is all set to bring back one of his ground-breaking characters, the rebellious 14-year-old Jonah, in a six-episode comedy series JONAH FROM TONGA.

     

    The plot revolves around the main protagonist Jonah Takalua, who, after being expelled from Summer Heights High, is banished by his father Rocky to the island of Tongapatu to spend time with his extended family and get his life back together. But four months later, fed up with Jonah’s antics, his uncle sends him back to Sydney to enroll in yet another school, the Holy Cross School. Once again, the always impressionable Jonah finds himself adapting to a new school and fending off new foes and other delinquents, all while trying to be a “good boy.”

     

    Lilley has not just created and written but also starred in the title role of the new show, which premieres on Saturday AUG. 9 at 8 pm, exclusively on HBO Defined, followed by other episodes debuting subsequent on Saturdays at 8.30 pm.

     

    The show is produced by Lilley and his producing partner, Laura Waters, who previously produced “Summer Heights High” (where the character of Jonah was introduced to HBO viewers) & co-produced by HBO and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with the BBC.

     

    Tune in to watch this incomparable line-up of critically acclaimed HBO original content on HBO Defined and HBO Hits, 100% ad-free and in true HD quality and Dolby surround sound, which will make it an unparalleled viewing experience for viewers.

     

    This follows the recent announcement that all HBO and CINEMAX scripted content on HBO Premium network will air within 24 hours of its U.S. premiere, starting with THE KNICKSM. The ten-episode drama premieres in India exclusively on HBO Hits on Saturday, August 9 at 7 pm. New episodes will air every Saturday at 8:30 pm. The series is also available free on HBO ON DEMAND on Tata Sky.

     

    For more information log on to http://www.hbodefined.in and http://www.hbohits.in

    Also find us on https://www.facebook.com/HBOPremium and https://twitter.com/HBOPremium

     

    HBO, Home Box Office, HBO Hits, HBO Defined are service marks of Home Box Office, Inc. Used with permission.

  • HBO gets quirky with its new brand campaign

    HBO gets quirky with its new brand campaign

    MUMBAI: HBO South Asia has come up with a new campaign to promote HBO’s belief ‘Nothing should come in the way of entertainment.’ 

    Executed by DDB Mudra, the campaign highlights the core strength of the HBO premium channels: HBO Defined and HBO Hits, wherein audiences have an uninterrupted ad-free viewing experience. The objective of the communication is to get people to visit the channel’s website and subscribe to HBO Premium channels or directly through DTH operator or digital cable operators. 

    “Both the HBO premium channels maximise the entertainment experience by airing HBO original content and blockbuster movies 100 per cent break-free. We have initiated a multimedia campaign developed by DDB Mudra to promote the visibility and popularity of this unique proposition of HBO Defined and HBO Hits across platforms including print, cinema, TV, digital and social media. Our aim is to spoil our viewers with the very best non-stop, high quality programming, thus providing an unparalleled viewing experience,” said HBO India managing director-South Asia Monica Tata.

    HBO premium has taken a new route in its quirky TVCs with HBO Premium Accessories like HBO Agriculture, HBO Super Clone and HBO Ultimate Couch. While HBO Super Clone is a clone that manages everything in life so that one is not interrupted while watching TV, HBO Agriculture is a set of plants that grows foods like popcorn, burgers, etc., so that hunger doesn’t interrupt one from watching TV. The HBO Ultimate Couch is a couch that has just about the whole house built into it – dumbbell holders so that one doesn’t have to get up to workout, a wash basin so that one doesn’t need to get up to go to the restroom, an in-built kitchen and phone charging station and much more. 

    Click here to watch the video

    “Through this campaign, we want to establish the HBO premium channels as your most preferred destination for break free entertainment. And to promote this belief and product of ours, we’ve come up with the idea of HBO Premium Accessories – that makes sure that life doesn’t come in the way of your entertainment either. Our creative approach for this campaign drives home this point, in a fun way. Positioned at the young adult segment, the campaign empowers the viewers to reap the benefits of a completely enhanced ad-free viewing experience,” added Tata.

    Click here to watch the video

    “Content promotion on a channel has a very formulaic approach. The usual strategy is to build intrigue through teaser like edits by using existing footage of the content that needs to be promoted. We wanted to break away from this traditional approach and leverage the USP of uninterrupted original HD quality content in a way that goes beyond just claims and announcements of the product offering. Thus came about our creative proposition of ‘addictive viewing experience’ dramatised through two TV spots showing the consumers going through the experience. We believe it is imperative for a content brand to build the ideology of viewing experience in addition to the promise of fresh content for the consumers to feel compelled to subscribe,” concluded DDB Mudra senior vice president Anurag Tandon.

  • We’re excited to make people’s lives more Jing-a-la-la with HBO: Vikram Mehra

    We’re excited to make people’s lives more Jing-a-la-la with HBO: Vikram Mehra

    Under her watch, the English movies channel has only grown from strength to strength. Before taking charge as MD, HBO India, Monica Tata worked with Turner International India, quitting as General Manager, Entertainment Networks, South Asia, in 2012. Tata has nearly two and a half decades’ experience in the media and entertainment industry, and spent most of her formative years at Star India before moving on to Turner.

     

    Indiantelevision.com was more than happy to have Tata over as Guest Editor for a day and play fly-on-the-wall even as she grilled Tata Sky chief commercial officer Vikram Mehra about the association with HBO and more…Excerpts of the conversation between the two:

     

    Monica: What is the business model for providing the ‘HBO On Demand’ service?

     

    Vikram: The way we are looking at it right now, which is also in sync with our philosophy at Tata Sky is that apart from offering television channels which customers are used to, providing those channels with great picture quality and better customer service is our lookout.

     

    We are also very keen to try out unconventional products and services, which customers haven’t tried out till now and give them a flavour of that. Whether it’s trying out varied services like Karaoke which nobody ever thought could be offered on a television-based platform, which is a global first for us. On our partnership with HBO, where customers are showing interest in watching premium content like HBO Defined and HBO Hits. Not only are they getting to watch 100 per cent ad-free content, but also older seasons that they would not have been exposed to otherwise.

     

    So, somebody who has never been exposed to say, a Game of Thrones, and is keen to watch season four, what with so much publicity around it, need not bother with downloading bad quality content from Torrentz or buying it from the pirated market. Our partnership with HBO is such that any customer subscribing to its premium offering would also get a free entitlement to watch back seasons of all leading shows on VOD.

     

    Monica: So will this be available to everybody or only to HBO premium subscribers?

     

    Vikram: This will be available only to HBO premium customers. This content is offered only as a free value-add to people who have decided to go out and subscribe to the HBO premium service. Conventionally, what used to happen; people would pay for a channel and just get that. But with HBO, for the first time in India, when you pay for the channel, you will not only get the channel but also the free VOD entitlements along with it.

     

    Monica: Please share your views on the genesis of this unique partnership. For the first time, ‘HBO On Demand’ has been brought into the country. Where did it begin and how was the experience?

     

    Vikram: Not only the ‘HBO On Demand’ part but also HBO channels are a complete breakthrough in this country. Nobody else has been able to come out with their high-profile channel which shows you great movies in great picture quality and ad-free. Nobody has that kind of service in the country today.

     

    For us, it is a very big experiment that we genuinely believe in. We have been getting fabulous response from customers about these two channels. And our constant endeavour is to keep thinking what more can we bring to customers.

     

    We have a very well established VOD service today with over 3,000 video titles that we typically sell on a transaction basis or a subscription basis. But you cannot get this content unless you go out and subscribe to the television channels of HBO premium.

     

    We are already getting a large number of calls at our call centres and people want to know more about it. If you check twitter, there are people tweeting about how Tata Sky has brought in a great initiative and we are extremely excited about it.

     

    Monica: What has the response been like and how excited is Tata Sky about the season 4 premiere of the HBO Original Series, Game of Thrones, on HBO Defined?

     

    Vikram: I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones and we are pretty excited about it. It will be an absolutely new audience that we can open up in this country for a Game of Thrones kind of high quality production. I am yet to see anything of this kind of production quality to be put on television. It’s mind-blowing and a new generation, a new kind of crowd is going to open up to this show.

     

    Hence, we are very clear that when we promote season four, it will not be limited to just larger towns but also mid-size and small-size ones. And our communication will say, “Don’t worry if you have missed the first three seasons, why don’t you download from VOD and check it out!”

     

    Monica: Do you think that the dual language proposition is an interesting one and is working well?

     

    Vikram: It is working quite well. Our endeavour is not only limited to people in Mumbai or Delhi. It’s a huge mental block for people in smaller towns who think they won’t be able to catch the accent. The moment they understand that there is a provision to shift to Hindi, it’s a huge comfort to them.

     

    So, ever since we have started promoting the dual-programming concept with HBO, we have seen absolutely fresh households opening up to the entire concept. We have seen a substantial increase in the subscription of the service.

     

    Monica: What do you expect further from this Tata Sky-HBO partnership?

     

    Vikram: Our endeavour is to keep on doing newer things. As a company, we take pride in the fact that we are not just a digital TV service provider. I think there has to be newer things brought to this market, which India has never seen and some of the things globally have never been out here. We believe that in HBO, we have a partner with whom we can go and try these things out. So, we are very excited about making the life of Tata Sky people more ‘Jinga Lala’ with HBO.

  • HBO on Demand gets on board Tata Sky

    HBO on Demand gets on board Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: The Home of Box Office (HBO) just got cosier with ‘HBO on Demand’. The new and innovative service offered for free exclusively to subscribers of the HBO Premium Channels – HBO Hits HD and HBO Defined HD – will be available on the direct to home (DTH) platform starting today.  

     

    The service provides flexibility, choice, and convenience to subscribers giving them complete control of what they watch, when they watch and how they watch.  HBO Hits and HBO Defined are distributed by Turner International in India.

     

    “HBO and Turner have always been ahead of the curve with innovations on content delivery that are designed to entertain consumers like never before. We have received a very enthusiastic response from the discerning subscribers of HBO Defined HD and HBO Hits HD and are very happy to now extend their premium advertising-free television viewing experience with the additional feature of ‘HBO on Demand’ on Tata Sky,” said Turner International India, network and content distribution, senior director Kishan Cheranda in a press statement.

     

    Based on the Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) model, the service will give HBO Premium subscribers access to a wide selection of HBO original content. At launch, subscribers can catch all seasons of HBO shows such as Game of Thrones (Season 1-3), True Detective (Season 1) and Banshee (Season 1-2). Thereafter, additional content including HBO original series and movies will be added on an ongoing monthly basis thus allowing subscribers to view them at a time of their choice completely advertising free.

     

    Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Paolo Agostinelli stated, “At Tata Sky, we work towards providing our premium subscribers with world class television experience with best content to offer. Apart from just bringing entertainment to their homes, now our subscribers can enjoy the programs showcased on HBO premium channels at any time that is convenient to them. Moving with time, we are aware of the changing consumption patterns of our viewers, hence we are pleased to launch the first ever ‘HBO On Demand’ model in India.”

  • HBO strengthens movie library with 2014 Oscar winners

    HBO strengthens movie library with 2014 Oscar winners

    MUMBAI: The Home of Box Office (HBO) is all set scorch television sets this summer with some of the best award winning movies of 2013.

     

    The channel has acquired Gravity, 12 Years a Slave, Dallas Buyers Club, The Great Gatsby and many other path-breaking 86th Academy Award winning movies and will be premiering them on its 100 per cent Ad-Free HBO premium channels HBO Defined and HBO Hits.

     

    The 86th Academy Award celebration was a spectacular affair, and saw many unexpected, unbelievable wins. Hence, the mesmerising event has now escalated the Oscar fever more than ever and has got everyone clamouring to watch the award-winning movies. HBO is giving its viewers the best movies that swept the most number of Academy Awards.