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  • HBO’s ‘Hello Ladies’ debuts in India 8 October on HBO Defined

    HBO’s ‘Hello Ladies’ debuts in India 8 October on HBO Defined

    MUMBAI: In his first lead role in a comedy series, Golden Globe winner Stephen Merchant (executive producer, director, writer and actor of Life’s Too Short and executive producer of The Ricky Gervais Show) stars in a brand new HBO Original series Hello Ladies as a gawky, 6’7” tall web designer named Stuart, searching for excitement and romance in Los Angeles. This hilarious eight-episode season premieres in India on Tuesday, 8 October at 9.30 pm exclusively on HBO Defined.

    The storyline follows Stuart, a recent transplant from England, in search for the woman of his dreams amidst the dazzling nightlife of Los Angeles, but his romantic aspirations far outstretch his looks or appeal. Half as charming – and twice as desperate – as he believes he is. Stuart is obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people who won’t let him in.

    Other series regulars on Hello Ladies include Christine Woods (Go On, Perfect Couples) as Jessica, an unsuccessful actress unsure of both her place in the world and her on-again, off-again romance with her agent; Nate Torrence (Get Smart, She’s Out of My League) as Wade, reluctantly re-entering the dating world after being dumped by the wife he still loves; and Kevin Weisman (Alias) as Kives, who parlays disability to his advantage in picking up women. Guest stars on the show include Crista Flanagan, Jenny Slate, Sean Wing and Sarah Wright.

    Hello Ladies was created by Stephen Merchant, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg; executive producers, Stephen Merchant, Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg; co-executive producers, Danny Chun and Ron Weiner; producer, Dan Kaplow. Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg’s credits as a team include writing and executive producing Bad Teacher and writing and co-executive producing the American version of The Office, for which they were nominated for four Emmys.
    This half-hour HBO Original comedy series Hello Ladies about a bumbling English transplant who struggles to find love in the city of dreams premieres on Tuesday, 8 October at 9.30 pm on HBO Defined. Brand new episodes will air weekly at the same time.

  • Srinivasan Swamy re-elected as IAA president

    Srinivasan Swamy re-elected as IAA president

    MUMBAI: R K Swamy BBDO chairman and managing director Srinivasan Swamy has been re-elected as president of India chapter of International Advertising Association (IAA). The announcement was made at the annual general meeting held on 25 September in Mumbai.

    Apart from this, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment MD and CEO Neeraj Roy has been elected as vice president. Jaya Advertising chairman Jaideep Gandhi and HBO India MD Monica Tata have also been re-elected as treasurer and secretary respectively for the year 2013-14.

    “IAA India was on an over-drive in 2012-13 under the leadership of Srinivasan Swamy” said IAA VP & area director Asia Pacific Pradeep Guha.

    “I am happy I was at the helm at IAA when many new initiatives were planned and unfolded. I had a great team who executed much of these programmes with élan. As we move forward, our aim at IAA India is to be seen by IAA Global as the most vibrant of all IAA chapters worldwide. I am sure that recognition is not far,” said Swamy.

    Swamy was co-opted onto the global IAA board in May this year as VP- development, Asia Pacific, as an acknowledgement of the initiatives that were undertaken in the first six months of his presidentship in India.

    The other members of the new managing committee are: Pradeep Guha, Pheroza Bilimoria, Kaushik Roy, Sam Balsara, Raj Nayak, Ramesh Narayan, M G Parameswaran, M V Shreyams Kumar, Kunal Lalani, Avinash Pandey, Arunabh Dassharma, Neville Taraporewalla, Partho Das Gupta, Rajesh Kejriwal and Abhishek Karnani, Manish Advani, Janak Sarda, Vishakha Singh, C V L Srinivas and Atit Mehta.

  • DDB MudraMax OOH strategises for HBO Defined and HBO Hits

    DDB MudraMax OOH strategises for HBO Defined and HBO Hits

    MUMBAI: HBO Hits and HBO Defined were launched in India with the launch campaign (100 per cent ad free, Hollywood meets Bollywood). The foremost purpose of the second phase of the campaign was to make sure that viewers know that the two new channels are 100 per cent ad-free without any disturbance between movies and will give them a theatre-like movie watching experience. Communicating the new ad-free channel in a different way was the main challenge.

    And DDB MudraMax’s outdoor team was up for the challenge – to communicate the message in this cluttered market in order to provide maximum visibility.

    “Our proposition was to communicate a first class seamless movie experience for our viewers through HBO Defined and HBO Hits. The campaign beautifully encapsulated this through the jigsaw approach while still retaining the premium brand image that HBO is known for”, said HBO India executive director Shruti Bajpai.

    The DDB MudraMax OOH team chose the media and locations strategically, keeping in mind the objective of the campaign. Only high impact sites at prominent locations with high traffic movement were covered, such as: Mahim Causeway, Haji Ali, Juhu circle in Mumbai and Nehru Place, DLF Cyber City Gurgaon, South Ex. in Delhi. The team also executed the “Cut innovation” with the four jigsaw pieces jutting out of the billboard in two sites each in Delhi and Mumbai.   

    We are happy to have partnered with HBO in yet another successful communication of a stellar offering exclaimed Subhashish Sarkar

    Commenting on this innovation DDB MudraMax OOH Delhi Sr VP Subhashish Sirkar said, “HBO Hits and HBO Defined together make a very compelling case for movie-buffs who now have the choice to enjoy their favorite titles from the comfort of their own homes. Contemporary releases without the irritation of having to sit through commercials is a godsend. This needed to be underscored boldly and to the prime audience.  As before, the team at DDB Mudra Max profiled the consumer flawlessly and laid out an OOH communication that received positive feedback in no time at all. The campaign had barely been 48 hours out there before people began calling back wondering about the depth and spends of it, always a good sign correlating to visibility. We are happy to have partnered with HBO in yet another successful communication of a stellar offering.”

  • HBO Asia to air first original series

    HBO Asia to air first original series

    MUMBAI: Viewers of HBO Asia – a channel so far synonymous with Hollywood films and original US series – have reason to smile.

    Starting 22 September, the Asian arm of HBO will premiere its first original series – Serangoon Road – a detective noir set in Singapore of the swinging 60s, every Sunday, from 9:00 to 10:00 pm.

    According to HBO Asia head, programming and production Erika North, unlike earlier international series, Serangoon Road, which she describes as ‘the right mix of mystery, romance, action and politics’, sees Asians playing a significant role.

    “It portrays both international and Asian characters, who find themselves in mysterious situations which need to be solved,” says North, pointing out that the series brings together Asian and western characters that are equally strong.

    Serangoon Road promises mystery that reaches a climax in the last episode, with characters drawn from different sections of the society. “You will see gangsters, secret service agents, people working in China Town among others, who have their own unique and compelling stories to tell in the backdrop of 60s Singapore,” informs North.

    Rich in narrative as well as the visual department, shooting of the series began in August last year and was completed this February. “Prior to that, we were working on the script.” says North and adds: “The journey began nearly three years ago when Paul Barren, the original producer of the show, came to the HBO Asia office and pitched the concept.”

    The series is part of HBO Asia’s larger objective of creating an Asian dimension to an essentially US-based brand. “We are looking at making something which is far more premium and international than what is produced in Asia, and is still more authentic,” exults North.

    Serangoon Road breaks ground in more ways than one. “It’s wonderful to have a series that represents a lot of firsts. One, it is HBO Asia’s first original series. Second, it is the first ever co-production of HBO Asia with ABC TV Australia. Also, it is ABC TV Australia’s first prime-time drama, shot in Asia. Last, it is the first biggest co-production in both Singapore and Australia on TV,” elaborates North, adding “Also, with it, we hope to pave the way for more such originals for HBO Asia.”

    A co-production, the series’ lead partners are HBO Asia and ABC TV Australia, and it has received considerable support from both the governments. “In Singapore, the MDA and IFW, which is a local production house, have supported us with investments. And in Australia, while ABC is the national broadcaster, Screen West Australia is another partner. We have also tied up with Content Media Corporation as the international distribution partner,” says North.

    The world premiere of the series will be telecast on HBO Asia, HBO Defined and ABC TV Australia, the channel “thereafter, hopes to sell it internationally too,” she adds.

    About looking at India for producing more such HBO Asia originals, North says: “It all depends on finding the right stories and getting the business model right. There are wonderful stories coming out of India. Stories which I know we can tell well and package it well for our Indian viewer base.”

    Directed by Peter Andrikidis and Tony Tilse and written by Michaeley O’Brien and Tony Morphett, Serangoon Road is HBO Asia’s attempt to create a connect with its Asian viewers. We wish them every success.

  • Fast & Furious 7 adds more star power

    Fast & Furious 7 adds more star power

    MUMBAI: Nathalie Emmanuel has been cast in Fast & Furious 7, out from Universal next July. The studio is keeping character descriptions under wraps, but a source close to the James Wan-directed project has revealed Emmanuel will be part of the pedal to the metal team led by Dom Toretto, reprised by Vin Diesel.

    The British actress is currently seen on HBO’s Game Of Thrones in the recurring role of Missandei, personal aide to exiled princess Daenerys Targaryen. Emmanuel is represented by ICM Partners, A&J Artists in the UK, and Untitled Entertainment.

    There have been rumors afloat that Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has also been signed on to play a small pivotal role in the seventh installment to the high adrenaline, high octane franchise. The franchise is only going bigger and badder.

  • Jeff Daniels tweets ‘The Newsroom’ returning for season 3 on HBO

    Jeff Daniels tweets ‘The Newsroom’ returning for season 3 on HBO

    MUMBAI: The ACN News Night team will be back for another season. On Tuesday night, Jeff Daniels tweeted that The Newsroom has been picked up by HBO. “It’s official. #Newsroom coming back for a Season 3,” the actor, who plays anchor Will McAvoy, tweeted.

    The news comes a month after HBO programming president Michael Lombardo noted publicly that he’d be “shocked” if the series didn’t return. The hold-up has been creator Aaron Sorkin, who will need to pen the Steve Jobs film script before turning his attention back to Newsroom.

    The Sorkin creation, set behind the scenes at a cable news show, will have no shortage of news events to cover in a third season, including the Newtown School shooting (December 2012) and the Boston Marathon massacre (April 2013). The series’ second, which started airing from 14 July, will end with a two-parter taking place on election night on 15 September.

  • Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    MUMBAI: Indian audiences already have a good list of channels to choose from if they want to turn to English entertainment. Keep switching channels and you will whisk through Star Movies, Movies Now, Star World, Zee Studio, Zee Café, HBO, World Movies, Comedy Central, CBS Spark, CBS Love etc. and what have you. Does there seem to be a dearth that needs to be filled? Is there space for more? According to the Times Television Network (TTN) there is absolutely space for another fighter in the league. With that, it has added a companion Romedy Now to its existing movie channel Movies Now which is expected to be launched in the next 15 days.

     

    Feeling the need to make people happy, the genres Romance and Comedy will be seen on the new channel as both movies and series. A new format is also being experimented with that is being outsourced and is still under process. “We are in talks with foreign distributors to acquire content but we will edit them in a different style,” says Romedy Now business head Harsh Sheth. Going with the tagline ‘Live. Laugh. Love’ it aims to target the urban affluent masses in the major metropolitan cities at first and gradually extend to the one million+ towns, targeting SEC A and B in the age group 15-44.

     

    70 per cent content will be movies and the rest shows. The movies will be contemporary on the lines of Devil Wears Prada, 27 dresses, Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth etc. Its target is to get about 20 million viewers. Enough content is in stock to be utilised for eight months. These include offerings from big studios such as Warner Bros, Fox, Regency, MGM and Sony as well as another 40 small ones from the US and Europe. New shows will have first runs on Romedy Now.

     

    Romedy Now will be available in both HD and SD on cable TV, satellite, DTH and IPTV as a pay TV service. The SD channel will be available in eight metro cities on the launch day at a price of Rs 17.66 while the HD channel called Romedy Now Plus is priced at Rs 149. The content team is common for both the sister channels while the exclusive team consist of 45 people.

     

    Romedy Now will see 10 minutes of advertising while, just one or two minutes of air time has been kept aside for Romedy Now Plus.  The start time of shows and movies will be the same on both the channels while the gap time on the HD channel will be filled with fillers. As of now no advertisers have been approached but plans are to first go to the top 100 starting with those being managed by Group M, Madison etc. The affluent audience is willing to spend and enough advertisers will be willing to target them, is what the management believes.

     

    A grand marketing plan is being chalked out with the support of the whole Times of India Group. A comprehensive rollout will take place closer to launch including print, sister and other channels, radio, mobile, online and emerging markets. “Watch out for the TOI. You will see a new language of love and laughter,” says Sheth.

     

    So what do media planners have to say about the channel? Most of them seem to be optimistic about its success. “The trend of watching English channels online, which normally not seen here is gaining momentum and Romedy Now will make its mark among the urban audience,” says Mindshare Leader South Asia Ravi Rao.

     

    “Segmentation is always a good idea,” says Madison Media Group CEO Gautam Kiyawat giving a thumbs up to the new entrant.

     

    The whole English entertainment genre of advertising and subscription is valued at above Rs 1,200 crore out of which Times Group MD and CEO Sunil Lulla claims Movies Now has a 20 per cent share and he believes that Romedy Now will outpace it.

     

    “English entertainment is growing at a fast pace but it is highly under monetised and undervalued,” says Times Group English Entertainment Channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat.

     

    The economy is at its lowest currently and Lulla is aware of this. “There is a short term panic in the economy and a consumer slowdown so the effort we have put behind it is a little more than Movies Now,” he says. Although he did not mention an estimated time to break even he pointed out that in the current situation three years is the minimum for any channel. “Television business is not about a break even. It’s about an enduring economic progressive journey,” he adds.

     

    As far as the television industry is concerned Lulla is positive that it will keep growing because currently 140 million homes are served, which means another 80 million are left out. Calculating the money, a consumer just pays 50 paise per hour for it. “This is the cheapest social service industry in the world. The price better go northward or else this social service industry will shut down,” he says.

     

    The team’s research showed that there is definitely space for Romedy Now to fit into the existing gargantuan list but whether the viewers will take a liking to it will be seen only after its launch.

  • Netflix strikes movie deal with Weinstein

    Netflix strikes movie deal with Weinstein

    MUMBAI: In a drive to add subscribers, Netflix has expanded on a movie licensing deal with The Weinstein Co. that will add more films to its internet video service beginning in 2016.

     

    The multi-year agreement announced builds upon a partnership that Netflix forged with Weinstein last year. That deal gave it the streaming rights to the Oscar-winning film, The Artist, as well other foreign films and documentaries from the eight-year-old studio.

     

    The new deal gives Netflix the rights to show all movies released by Weinstein and its subsidiary, Dimension Films, before they appear on pay-TV channels. That makes it more competitive with channels like HBO and Showtime that have traditionally been the first place to see films after their theatrical runs.

     

    Netflix’s exclusive arrangement with Weinstein begins with films released in theaters during 2016. That’s around the same time Netflix will begin showing films for the first time outside a movie theater from The Walt Disney, part of an agreement announced last year.

     

    Financial terms of the latest Weinstein deal weren’t disclosed.

  • Idris Elba to star in Beasts of No Nation

    Idris Elba to star in Beasts of No Nation

    MUMBAI: The film financed by Red Crown Productions has roped in Elba, a prominent British actor who was recently seen in Pacific Rim as Stacker Pentecost. Cary Fukunaga will direct the adaptation of Uzodinma Iweala’s bestselling novel.

     

    Red Crown Productions’ Daniela Taplin Lundberg and Riva Marker, Parliament of Owls’ Fukunaga and Primary Productions’ principal Amy Kaufman are producers while Daniel Crown and Bill Benenson will be executive producers.

     

    The story is about a young boy called Agu who turns to mercenary fighters when his west African country is engulfed by a war. He has to face the death of his father and the disappearance of his mother as

     

    sister while fighting with a mute man he makes a friend. He will play the lead role of commander.

     

    Beasts of No Nation was packaged by WME. IM Global’s specialty label Acclaim will do international sales at Toronto Film Festival. Fukunaga has previously directed Jane Eyre and is currently on HBO’s series True Detective.

     

    Elba is to be seen as Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, releasing this November. Both Elba and Fukunaga are repped by WME and managed by Anonymous content.

  • Despite lower revenues, Eros International delivers blockbuster results for Q1-2014

    Despite lower revenues, Eros International delivers blockbuster results for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: Last year (FY-2013), the company entered the Rs 1000 crore club with revenue of Rs 1067.75 crore. In Q1-2014, three movies – Raanjhaana, Go Goa Gone (GGG) and Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani (YJHD) raked in the moolah at the box office for Eros International Media Limited (Eros).

     

    The company says that theatrical revenues during Q1-2014 have showcased the success of global releases of Raanjhaana, GGG and YJHD (Overseas). Raanjhaana achieved an impressive box office collection of Rs 100 crore worldwide; YJHD had an overseas collection of more than Rs 60 crore, while GGG had a worldwide collection of Rs 43 crore.

     

    Eros announced consolidated income for Q1-2014 at Rs 194.2 crore, 25.1 per cent lower than the Rs 259.3 crore during the corresponding period in 2013 (Q1-2013) and 9.2 per cent lower than the Rs 213.9 crore for Q4-2013 (q-o-q).

     

    During Q1-2014, Eros released 12 films – (seven Hindi and five Tamil and other regional languages), almost half of the 23 films – (five Hindi and 18 Tamil and other regional films) in Q1-2013 and almost a third less than the 17 films – (four Hindi and 13 Tamil and other regional films) in Q4-2013.

     

    Eros managing director Sunil Lulla said, “Eros has delivered an encouraging Q1-2014 result in context of the film mix that it released in the Q1-2013. Raanjhaana, YJHD and GGG all delivered at the box office and were subsequently monetised through other revenue streams as well. Relative to their budget, the mix of films performed extremely well and demonstrates our ability to scale and change our mix to take advantage of market trends.

     

    Let us look at some of Eros’ other figures for Q1-2014

     

    Expense for Q1-2014 at Rs 148.03 crore was 28.5 per cent lower than the Rs 207 crore for Q1-2013 and 14 per cent lower than the Rs 172.21 crore for Q4-2013.

    Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for Q1-2014 at Rs 46.1 crore was 11.9 per cent lower than the Rs 52.3 crore for Q1-2013 and 10.4 per cent more than the Rs 41.75 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    PAT (after minority) for Q4-2014 at Rs 29.3 crore was 6.7 per cent lower than the Rs 31.4 crore in Q1-2013 and 7.9 per cent lower than the Rs 31.8 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    Lulla said, “We are really excited about our collaboration with HBO and believe that the two premium channels will gain momentum with subscribers as we launch on further DTH and digital cable platform. The industry trends are testimony that premium content will be an important factor to drive demand and we are proud to be forerunners in that space.”

     

    “We continue to expand our film content through our diversified approach of acquiring a healthy mix of movies. Our current future slate remains well-funded and we have several high profile movies lined up like Kochadiyan, Ram Leela, Rambo Rajkumar, Happy Ending and a number of high concept movies that are slated to be released in FY-2014. Our business has a natural Q3 skew due to film releases around the festival season and this year is no different and we remain positive on the outlook for FY-2014,” added Lulla.

     

    Click here for EROS – Financial Report

     

    Click here for EROS – EROS – Earnings Release