ITV

Tag: Hindi

  • WWE adds 25% ad revenue growth for Ten Sports

    WWE adds 25% ad revenue growth for Ten Sports

    MUMBAI: “In the last quarter, we saw 25 per cent growth in ad revenue from WWE,” says Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi while adding, “We are expecting this to jump higher by at least 50 per cent in the next calendar year with our fresh content and programming lineup.”

     

    The network in the last quarter has added four new advertisers from FMCG and e-commerce sector, who have previously not advertised with WWE.

     

    The optimistic note comes as Ten Sports gears itself to launch the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in a new avatar for Indian audiences, next year. Properties like RAW and specials will simulcast from USA on Ten Sports, beginning January 2015.

     

    Explaining the reason behind doing so even though the programme will be aired as early as 5:30-6:00 am, Sethi says, “We are trying to kill the time gap of 72 hours that exists today and move as close as possible towards live feed. Secondly, this will also help kill digital piracy which we want to curtail.”

     

    The network with this move wants to provide flexibility and opportunity for fans to watch WWE as close as possible.  To avoid being affected by ratings, the channel will have repeats of the show through the week. It will also air the repeat telecast of RAW with Hindi commentary. As it sees the Hindi feed as a value addition to the property. “WWE is a property that has deep penetration in the Indian hinterlands and is not confined to tier I and tier II cities. To further expand our base and coverage of WWE, we are going ahead with the Hindi feed for some programmes and after measuring the response, might get into other regional languages also,” he adds.

     

    The lineup of WWE has been changing from the  last three to four months as fictional aspects are being brought in, which is where female audience share been able to connect better to the property. “In addition, we have the young people who are our captive audiences.  DIVA, aired in the evening, has a huge segment attached to it. We are summing up together different segments rather than just the teenage segment,” Sethi informs.  According to Sethi audiences from the age group of seven to seventy can connect to the property. A customised special show with local connect will be seen on the network soon while to attract kids, animated snippets revolving around WWE will be aired.

    A live on-ground event too is being planned for the next year between October and November, which will have WWE superstars performing live in India.

    The channel head also plans to have VoD on its digital channel in the year ahead.

     

  • Tata Sky gets ID in its basic pack

    Tata Sky gets ID in its basic pack

    MUMBAI: Even though many niche channels fear that people don’t consume them as they don’t fall into the base pack offered by the platform operators, the newly-launched ID-Investigation Discovery from Discovery Network’s stable has now hopped onto the basic pack of direct to home (DTH) operator Tata Sky on channel number 135.

     

    The channel was launched about three months ago and currently reaches about 30 million houses. ID is also available on Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, Videocon d2h, Siti Cable, Hathway, Den Networks, GTPL, InDigital and Digi Cable.

     

    The channel provides shows on crime and investigation that are dubbed in Hindi. Speaking on this development, Discovery Networks APAC EVP and GM South Asia and South East Asia Rahul Johri said, “ID has been recognised for its distinct appeal, refreshing programming and unique positioning. We are delighted to have Tata Sky as our distribution partner and its viewers can enjoy the best investigative programmes in Hindi in the comfort of their homes.”

     

    Series that will air on ID include Disappeared, Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?, I was Murdered, Evil,I, I Married a Mobster, Blood Relatives etc.

  • Hindi films dominate the 61st National Film Awards

    Hindi films dominate the 61st National Film Awards

    NEW DELHI: The highly acclaimed film ‘Ship of Theseus’ in Hindi and English which has already won several awards overseas was declared the best film of 2013 in the 61st National Film Awards, while Hansal Mehta bagged the award for best director for his Hindi film ‘Shahid’.

     

     The best actor award was shared by Raj Kumar of ‘Shahid’ and Suraj Venjaramoodu for the Malayalam film ‘Perariyathavar’ by Dr Biju which also bagged the award for the best film on environment/conservation.

     

     The best actress award went to Geetanjali Thapa for her role in the Hindi film ‘Liar’s Dice’, while the supporting actor went to Saurabh Shukla for ‘Jolly LLB’ in Hindi. The supporting actress award was shared by Amruta Subhash in the Marathi film ‘Astu’ and Aida El-Kashief in ‘The Ship of Theseus’. The best children’s film was ‘Kaphal’ by Bahul Mukhtiar in Hindi while the best child artiste award was shared by Somnath Avghade of ‘Fandry’ in Marathi and Sadhana of the Tamil ‘Thanga Mangal’.

     

     Hindi films once again dominated the National Film Awards by getting as many as fifteen awards among feature films. Marathi came next with ten awards followed by Bengali with six and Tamil and Kannada with five each and Malayalam with four.

     

     However, the highest number of awards went to the Bengali film ‘Jaatishwar’ which won awards for best female playback for Rupankar and the film ‘e tumi kemon tumi’, best costume for Sabarni Das, best make-up for Vilram Gaikwad (for hero Prosenjit) and Kabir Suman for best musical score.

     

     ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra bagged the award for the most popular film providing wholesome entertainment. ‘Fandry’ got the Indira Gandhi Award for best directorial debut by Nagraj Manjule, the Nargis Dutt award for national integration for Balu Mahendra’s tamil film ‘Thalaimuraigal’ and the social issues award went to the Marathi ‘Tuhya Dharma Koncha’ by Satish Manwar.

     

     All the films will get awards ranging between Rajat Kamal and Swarna Kamal and Rs 50,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh.

     

     The best non-feature film is ‘Rangabhoomi’ in Hindi by Kamal Swaroop for Films Division and best debut director for shorts is Christo Tomy of SRFTII for the Malayalam ‘Kanyaka’, with Pranjal Dua getting the best direction award for ‘Chidhiya Udh’ without dialogues.

     

     The Telugu ‘Cinema Ga Cinema’ by Nandagopal got the best book on cinema award while English critic Alaka Sahani got the best critic award.

     

    The feature jury was headed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, the non-feature by Reena Mohan and the book jury by Sharad Dutt.

     

    The Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the National Film Awards are expected to be given on 3 May to coincide with the release of Phalke’s ‘Raja Harishchandra’ on that day in 1913.

     

    Please click for the detailed list of awards

  • Narendra Modi picks ETV network for first election interview

    Narendra Modi picks ETV network for first election interview

    MUMBAI: Ever since Congress vice president, Rahul Gandhi, gave his first ever television interview after making his political debut in 2004 to Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, everyone has been waiting with abated breathe which channel will BJP’s prime ministerial candidate opt for.

     

    Finally, the wait is over as Narendra Modi has decided to go the other way and give his first election interview to a regional channel, ETV Gujarati. While the channel’s senior anchor Hari Shankar Vyas was picked to grill Modi, the interview has been conducted in Hindi rather than Gujarati, a move to reach out to a larger audience.

     

    Shot on 27 March, the one and a half hour episode will be telecast across the ETV Network’s Gujarati news channel, Urdu channel and Hindi news channels (ETV UP/Uttarakhand, ETV MP/Chhattisgarh, ETV Bihar/Jharkhand, ETV Rajasthan) on 31 March at 8:30 pm. The network is currently exploring options to also simultaneously telecast it on the ETV GECs as well.

     

    Other regional ETV channels such as Kannada, Marathi, Bangla and Odiya will telecast it on a later date and time, that hasn’t been fixed as yet. These will have subtitles in their respective languages.

     

    ETV channels are now under Network18 in which Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is a shareholder. Network18’s other news channels such as CNN-IBN and IBN7 will also air the interview.

     

    The promos for the interview will start airing by 7:00 pm today.

  • Discovery Kids brings amusing and wise tales of ‘Akbar & Birbal’

    Discovery Kids brings amusing and wise tales of ‘Akbar & Birbal’

    NEW DELHI: The delightful stories of Akbar and Birbal will be aired in an animated series on Discovery Kids from next week.

     

    The tales of famous Emperor Akbar and his trusted adviser Birbal have been passed on from generation to generation, enthralling young and old listeners alike.

     

    The series will take its viewers to the era of Mughals where they will witness amusing exchanges between Akbar and Birbal. Discovery Kids will offer children an experience to cherish for a lifetime.

     

    AKBAR & BIRBAL will start on 10 March and will air everyday at 2.00 pm only on Discovery Kids.

     

    Senior VP and General Manager – South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Rahul Johri, said, “Discovery Kids would continue to bring engaging content that inspires children to believe in traditional wisdom and also inculcate moral values in them. Expanding our bouquet of indigenous titles, AKBAR & BIRBAL will entertain the viewers with its clever wit and exciting storytelling.”

     

    Birbal, who was a minister in the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar, was considered to be one of the best loved figures in the folklore of India. He will be seen outsmarting everyone even the Emperor sometimes by his exceptional wisdom, presence of mind and his excellent problem solving skills.

     

    Birbal’s real name was Mahesh Das. It is believed that he belonged to a poor Brahmin family of Tikawanpur on the bank of the River Yamuna but it was only by virtue of his sharp intellect that he rose to be a minister at the court of Akbar.

     

    Entertainingly narrated in three languages — English, Hindi and Tamil, the series encourages smooth language development in children and also makes the experience of listening to stories more enjoyable by offering popular stories in a familiar language.

     

    AKBAR & BIRBAL series consists of beautifully animated and captivatingly narrated stories which bring to life traditional wisdom.

  • Sonakshi and Imran lend their voice for Rio 2

    Sonakshi and Imran lend their voice for Rio 2

    MUMBAI: In a first, Hollywood and Bollywood will come together in Rio 2 – the sequel to 2011’s hit animation flick Rio – and see two of Bollywood’s leading stars feature as the main voices for the dubbed Hindi version.

    Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan will feature as the lovable and memorable macaws Jewel and Blu respectively, for Rio 2. The English version of the movie will see the voices of Anne Hathaway and Jesse Eisenberg again which will be dubbed in Hindi by Sonakshi Sinha and Imran Khan. 

    Though in the past B-town actors have lent their voices on a small scale, like Shahrukh Khan in The Incredibles, this is the first time such a huge Bollywood association has taken place for a Hollywood franchise. 

    Rio 2 which is one of the most anticipated Hollywood movie in India, is an adventure comedy set in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. The movie will feature the return of Blu, Jewel and their three kids who leave their domesticated life for a journey to Amazon rainforest. 

    Rio 2 (3D) releases on 11 April 2014 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

  • ‘Yaariyan’ fares well, ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ struggles at the box-office

    ‘Yaariyan’ fares well, ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ struggles at the box-office

    MUMBAI: Music has saved the day for Yaariyan as the film, despite mixed reactions, has had a very good opening weekend collections. The film has managed to collect Rs 16.5 crore.

     

    Dedh Ishqiya opened slow but improved gradually on Saturday and Sunday but further improvement in collections will be needed to make the film a worthwhile investment. The sequel to Ishqiya has collected about Rs 11.3 crore in its opening weekend. The festival of Lohri today may affect collections for a day. 

     

    Mr Joe B. Carvalho is a poor film that meets with poor fate; the film ends its week one with a meager Rs 3.15 crore.

     

    Sholay 3-D collections dipped further during the week to end its first week with a figure of Rs 8.3 crore.

     

    Dhoom 3 continues to be on a record setting spree having added Rs 19.73 crore in its third week in its Hindi version and collecting another Rs 2.76 crore for the fourth weekend thus taking its total for Hindi to Rs 267.74 crore for 24 days and with the addition of TnT versions, the film has collected Rs 280.49 crore.

  • Big RTL Thrill presents Driven to extremes

    Big RTL Thrill presents Driven to extremes

    MUMBAI: To set adrenaline rushing of its target audience, Big RTL Thrill, a male entertainment destination on television, this December will be premiering Driven to Extremes.

     

    The three-part programme, available in dual feeds of Hindi and English, will be aired on the 1, 8 and 15 of December and will see Hollywood celebrities like Tom Hardy, Henry Cavill and Adrien Brody along with a motor sport professional, pitting two specially-built vehicles against three of the most difficult roads on earth.

     

    The company said in a statement, “We are extremely pleased to bring Driven to Extremes to the Indian audiences. This show has been critically acclaimed the world over and also has a great fan following, owing the participating celebrities. With the adventurous premise, high drama and excitement quotient, Driven to Extremes comprises of all the aspects that male viewers look for in a great TV show and we are confident that it will resonate well with our audiences and advertisers alike.”

  • Big RTL Thrill to telecast I Am Bruce Lee

    Big RTL Thrill to telecast I Am Bruce Lee

    MUMBAI: Big RTL Thrill, is all set to pay tribute to Bruce Lee on his 73rd birth anniversary. The channel which caters mainly to the male audience will telecast I Am Bruce Lee exclusively for its Indian audiences. The documentary which chronicles the action-packed life of the martial arts hero will be aired on 27 November at 10:00 pm.

     

    The channel which is available in dual feeds of Hindi and English, through this offering, gives an opportunity to all the martial art enthusiasts to have an insight into the master’s life who has justified each role with perfection from being a martial art expert, and founder of Jeet Dune Do to a son, husband and legendary icon.

     

    Across the world, I Am Bruce Lee is a well applauded documentary–cum- biopic about the greatest phenomena of martial arts, Bruce Lee. The documentary not only showcases the master’s excellence but will also focus on his personal life through the lens of his family, friends etc. The biopic is an interesting mixture of the master’s personal and professional stories. It includes footage featuring Bruce Lee’s students from the past, co-actors and everybody closely involved with his life. 

  • MCOF seminar aims to educate LMOs

    MCOF seminar aims to educate LMOs

    MUMBAI: Constituted just over a year ago to protect cable operators and safeguard their business, the Maharashtra Cable Operators’ Federation (MCOF), today organised its first business and education seminar in Mumbai.

     

    Held in Hindi and English,around 400 Last Mile Operators (LMOs) travelled from neighbouring states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka for it.

     

    The first session was to educate LMOs about the importance of customer care and enhancing the quality of service. Vishwamangal Education CEO Suman Keluskar who deals in soft skills highlighted the need for LMOs to be well groomed as well as train their subordinates to be the same to make customers feel good.
    Suman Keluskar, Vynsley Fernandes and Tony D’Silva spoke about customer care, global trends in cable TV and the upcoming HITS technology respectively

     

    “The reason why customers welcome a Pizza Hut boy is because he is nice to them,” she said, stressing that customers today were ready to pay for good service but for that to happen, LMOs needed to know the opportunities available to them as well as what customers were demanding. “Innovate in your production. Use the internet to advance yourself,” she said.

     

    Session two discussed how while LMOs across the globe have learnt to monetise their business, back home, it continues to be a loss-making one. Addressing the session, Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes, started off by describing how developed countries such as the US, UK and Taiwan had faced the same issues that India is currently facing. But the cable ops dealt with them through innovation and have today grown to last mile digital system providers.

     

    “From the time the Gulf War happened and everybody wanted to watch TV, things are much different now. Multi-screen viewing is what is happening now,” he said.
    Citing the example of the US, where operators have increased their revenues despite a drop in the number of TV homes, and are expecting the ARPU to go up to $40 from $21 currently in the next five years, Fernandes reasoned this was because they had adapted to using TV along with the Internet and were offering viewers a multi-screen experience.

     

    He pointed out that concepts like Hybrid Broadband TV, second screen, catch up TV, time shift TV, TV on mobile etc. had already penetrated the US markets and helped cable operators exponentially.

     

    “Think long term as to whether you can monetise your product. Whenever you are investing in a technology, what is its future road map?” he urged, saying that the only challenge would come from OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu where movies and channels will go directly on the Internet without the need for an MSO or LMO. However, he was quick to add that this hasn’t met with much success in India, yet.

    While advertisers are approaching LMOs to target specific demographics on TV, the STBs taken up by LMOs are not so advanced, Fernandes said. Pointing out that in the US, LMOs provide a posse of services including entertainment, home monitoring, automation comfort, energy management and wellness assisted living, in India too, “an LMO should be the one-stop digital services’ stop for customers,” he concluded.

     

    Drawing upon his experience in broadcast and DTH to present his project on Headends in the Sky (HITS), former Sun TV CEO Tony D’Silva said this was a good prospect for LMOs to think about.

     

    D’Silva said that most consumers watch not more than 12 to 15 channels and so, it was necessary to create such packages and device-shifting technologies for the future.

     

    “You are at the threshold of a game change. Our main threat is the DTH players and we need to be above them and have a robust system,” he said, stressing that HITS was a much better option for LMOs than taking signals from MSOs. Under HITS, the agreements are directly with broadcasters, there are no carriage fees, and it would yield higher revenue (Rs 108) as compared to dealing with an MSO (Rs 59.5) or even independently (Rs 85).

     

    “The biggest cable company in the world today is Comcast. 17 million out of Comcast’s 22 million subscribers get supply services from HITS and Comcast gives its customers all the benefits that Fernandes spoke about,” said D’Silva, urging LMOs to adopt HITS through which they could choose and demand things as well as insert local channels, the revenue from which would be completely theirs.

     

    A local cable operator from Goregaon, Bernadette Dsouza, said: “I have come for the seminar to know about new opportunities as well as how to save my business from MSOs’ domination.”

    The good news is MCOF plans to hold such seminars in other states as well in the coming months.