ITV

Tag: Hotstar

  • India-Sri Lanka T20 game on Star Sports sets 5-year viewership benchmark

    India-Sri Lanka T20 game on Star Sports sets 5-year viewership benchmark

    MUMBAI: The second game of the PayTM T20 India vs. Sri Lanka series, broadcast on the Star Sports network, has become the highest-rated T20 international in the past five years. The match, won comprehensively by India, rated 256 TVM, according to BARC Panel CS4+ Urban calculations, surpassing the 112 TVM mark set by the India vs. Pakistan first T20 game in 2012.

    Anticipation was high heading into the game as Sri Lanka had dealt India a crushing defeat in the opening tie. A close game appeared to be on the cards but India’s batting order, led by a charge from southpaw Shikhar Dhawan, systematically picked apart Sri Lanka’s fearsome bowling attack on a dusty Ranchi pitch. The hosts scored 196, a total that proved insurmountable for Sri Lanka, with the visitors falling 69 runs short of the target.

    Despite the promise of a hard-fought game going unfulfilled, India’s dominant performance kept fans entertained. The ratings the match garnered, which followed the crushing defeat India dealt Australia last month on their home turf, sets the stage for the next few months of explosive T20 action still to come with the Asia Cup, ICC World T20 and the IPL all set to further whet viewer appetite for the shorter version of the game.

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “This is a fantastic start to the T20 season of cricketainement that will be available on Star Sports up ahead. We have got the Asia Cup being played in the T20 format for the very first time, followed by India playing host to the ICC World T20, with the Vivo IPL closing the exciting T20 season. All the action from these tournaments will be broadcast live on Star Sports with the IPL available on hotstar. India fans can expect a thoroughly enriched and immersive viewing experience this T20 season with innovations that will light up screens across platforms.”

    Viewership garnered by the India-Sri Lanka match is reflective of a surge in interest in the shorter version of the game. T20 is fast becoming India’s most-loved format of play and data shows fans have been enthusiastically lapping up the action from recent T20 series including the India-South Africa and India-Australia contests. This trend is also evident on digital channels with Hotstar, recording a 1.5 times higher watch time per viewer on all the recent T20 series than last year’s edition of the IPL 2015.

  • Star India renews English Premier League telecast rights till 2019

    Star India renews English Premier League telecast rights till 2019

    MUMBAI: Star India has renewed its exclusive broadcast rights for the English Premier League for the next three seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

    With this renewal, Star India will continue to broadcast Premier League matches on a live or delayed basis across India on the Star Sports channels, as well as stream all matches on its digital platforms, Hotstar and starsports.com.

    Star India will broadcast more than 200 Premier League games live across its Star Sports TV network, and all the 380 games live on its digital platforms.

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Our partnership with the Premier League is in line with our strategy of promoting and building football as a priority sport in the country. England’s Premier League is the most successful and viewed football league in the world, with millions of fans in India. We have been broadcasting Premier League football for the last 15 years, and this renewal reaffirms our faith in the strength of the competition as the best international football property. With Premier League, Bundesliga and the Indian Super League, we continue to have a portfolio of the best of global and Indian football.”

    Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore added, “We are very pleased that Star India has again chosen to invest in our broadcasting rights. The popularity of Premier League football has increased significantly in India in recent seasons and the quality of Star’s production, and their promotion of our competition, is a major factor in that. We look forward to working with Star for at least the next three seasons to make all the best Premier League action available to our fans across the country.”

  • Star India renews English Premier League telecast rights till 2019

    Star India renews English Premier League telecast rights till 2019

    MUMBAI: Star India has renewed its exclusive broadcast rights for the English Premier League for the next three seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

    With this renewal, Star India will continue to broadcast Premier League matches on a live or delayed basis across India on the Star Sports channels, as well as stream all matches on its digital platforms, Hotstar and starsports.com.

    Star India will broadcast more than 200 Premier League games live across its Star Sports TV network, and all the 380 games live on its digital platforms.

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Our partnership with the Premier League is in line with our strategy of promoting and building football as a priority sport in the country. England’s Premier League is the most successful and viewed football league in the world, with millions of fans in India. We have been broadcasting Premier League football for the last 15 years, and this renewal reaffirms our faith in the strength of the competition as the best international football property. With Premier League, Bundesliga and the Indian Super League, we continue to have a portfolio of the best of global and Indian football.”

    Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore added, “We are very pleased that Star India has again chosen to invest in our broadcasting rights. The popularity of Premier League football has increased significantly in India in recent seasons and the quality of Star’s production, and their promotion of our competition, is a major factor in that. We look forward to working with Star for at least the next three seasons to make all the best Premier League action available to our fans across the country.”

  • Kyoorius launches New Blood Awards 2016

    Kyoorius launches New Blood Awards 2016

    MUMBAI: Kyoorius, in association with D&AD, has launched the 2016 New Blood Awards, which is an initiative to help build exposure, and honour creative minds under 26 years of age, including students.

     

    The Kyoorius New Blood Awards 2016 edition will feature a direct reflection of the real world with real briefs set by brands together to create ideas that work in real life; this will give the young professionals and students a chance to exercise their skills and critical thinking, to deliver winning solutions. Together with Kyoorius, agencies will initiate activations for their brands to connect and capture the imagination of young consumers, gain insights and identify current day trends.

     

    Kyoorius New Blood briefs for the year 2016 are set by Cafe Cuba, Deloitte Digital, Hotstar, iStock by Getty Images, ITSA Brand Innovations, L & K Saatchi & Saatchi, Lodha Group (in collaboration with Alok Nanda & Company), Madheke, Pidilite and Samsung.

     

    Kyoorius CEO and founder Rajesh Kejriwal said, “We are very pleased to announce the Kyoorius New Blood Awards. This year, these awards not only focus on students, but also aim to reach out to the entire gamut of young professionals across participating school, colleges, major design houses and agencies in India. This is a unique opportunity for agencies and brands to connect with the future talent on a real and engaging platform. This will indeed be an unforgettable, socially shareable and engaging experience for them.”

     

    The winners of the Kyoorius New Blood Awards will be awarded with Red Elephant trophies and will be held alongside the Kyoorius Creative Awards on 3 June, 2016 in Mumbai.

  • Kyoorius launches New Blood Awards 2016

    Kyoorius launches New Blood Awards 2016

    MUMBAI: Kyoorius, in association with D&AD, has launched the 2016 New Blood Awards, which is an initiative to help build exposure, and honour creative minds under 26 years of age, including students.

     

    The Kyoorius New Blood Awards 2016 edition will feature a direct reflection of the real world with real briefs set by brands together to create ideas that work in real life; this will give the young professionals and students a chance to exercise their skills and critical thinking, to deliver winning solutions. Together with Kyoorius, agencies will initiate activations for their brands to connect and capture the imagination of young consumers, gain insights and identify current day trends.

     

    Kyoorius New Blood briefs for the year 2016 are set by Cafe Cuba, Deloitte Digital, Hotstar, iStock by Getty Images, ITSA Brand Innovations, L & K Saatchi & Saatchi, Lodha Group (in collaboration with Alok Nanda & Company), Madheke, Pidilite and Samsung.

     

    Kyoorius CEO and founder Rajesh Kejriwal said, “We are very pleased to announce the Kyoorius New Blood Awards. This year, these awards not only focus on students, but also aim to reach out to the entire gamut of young professionals across participating school, colleges, major design houses and agencies in India. This is a unique opportunity for agencies and brands to connect with the future talent on a real and engaging platform. This will indeed be an unforgettable, socially shareable and engaging experience for them.”

     

    The winners of the Kyoorius New Blood Awards will be awarded with Red Elephant trophies and will be held alongside the Kyoorius Creative Awards on 3 June, 2016 in Mumbai.

  • Channel V to launch ‘Mastaangi’ & ‘Sadda Haq’ season 2 in January

    Channel V to launch ‘Mastaangi’ & ‘Sadda Haq’ season 2 in January

    MUMBAI: Channel V is all geared up to launch two new shows in January namely Mastaangi as well as the second season of Sadda Haq. The two new shows will see its launch on 18 and 19 January, 2016 respectively.

     

    The love story Mastaangi will be aired from Monday to Saturday at 6 pm. The show transcends two lifetimes and is set against the backdrop of a college. The lead protagonists are shown as soul mates in past life but their love story comes to a tragic end with both of them meeting an untimely death. They meet again in a new life only to uncover the mystery of their past life and rekindle their love once again.

     

    On the other hand, the new season of Sadda Haq will be aired from Monday to Saturday at 6:30 pm and is set in a space research centre. The female protagonist Sanyukta will play the role of a scientist working on Mission Mars 2020.

     

    The launches are backed with a 360 degree marketing campaign across key markets and platforms, targeting the core audience. The new and current shows are also available on Hotstar.

     

     Speaking about the new launches, Channel V business head Kevin Vaz said, “Channel V has always made interesting shows exclusively for the youth audience of the country. The shows focus on anxieties and relationships of the young, consciously staying away from adult themes like post marital situations, hence the shows are well differentiated from the staple shows done by other GECs.”

     

    The channel has a few more shows in the pipeline, which will see its launch in February and March 2016.

  • Netflix a damp squib; broadcasters long term gainers: Edelweiss

    Netflix a damp squib; broadcasters long term gainers: Edelweiss

    MUMBAI: While the world is going gaga over Netflix’s simultaneous launch in 130 countries across the globe including India, financial services company Edelweiss is not too impressed, at least in the medium term.

     

    So when all and sundry are trying to predict and second guess the impact Netflix’s launch will have on the over-the-top (OTT) scene as well as on the broadcast industry in India, according to Edelweiss, the impact of Netflix in India will be limited on direct to home (DTH) and cable TV players over the medium term.

     

    Citing the reasons for the same, Edelweiss lists:

     

    1) Netflix does not have local content

    2) Free content is easily available on Erosnow, Hotstar, YouTube

    3) Steep pricing at 2-3x prevailing cable TV/DTH rates

    4) Broadband speed beyond top cities will be a huge challenge

    5) Lack of India cricket matches

     

    The Indian pay TV market is on its way to embrace OTT platforms, especially for sports content, following increasing usage of internet. According to the company, this will be an additional source of revenue for broadcasters like Zee, Sun TV and TV18 over the longer term. “However, most broadcasters already have their OTT platforms and are yet to sign content deals with Netflix,” the company said in its report.

     

    A successful OTT in US:

     

    Netflix is a successful OTT in US as cable TV ARPU is $60 per month versus Netflix’s ARPU of $20-24. Secondly, the US has higher broadband penetration (~80 per cent) with good speed; and original content is dished out by Netflix. However, in India, Netflix currently lacks these advantages.

     

    “Hence, we do not expect Netflix to have any major impact on Indian DTH/cable TV players over medium term. Netflix has a long way to go before tasting success in India,” Edelweiss said.

     

    Pricing, slow broadband key challenges in India:

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, in India, Netflix’s subscription rates are Rs 500, Rs 650 and Rs 800 for basic, standard and premium packs respectively. “These are 2-3x the prevailing cable TV/DTH rates. Besides, broadband will entail additional costs,” the report added. 

     

    Internationally, Netflix has done well riding attractive pricing, which is almost half the cable TV/DTH rates, and original content. While the company currently does not enjoy these benefits in India, in a bid to attract subscribers, it is offering free services in its first month of operations. 

     

    According to Edelweiss, plans are also afoot to facilitate streaming via laptops, TV, smart phones and tablets. “However, we believe in India where subscribers pay ~Rs250-450 per month for cable TV (includes sports channels), Netflix’s rates are on the higher side. Broadband speed will also be a challenge. Netflix requires minimum speed of 512kbps and recommends 3mbps speed for SD content and 5mbps for HD videos, which further limits its expansion plans,” the report said.

     

    Sports missing, India savours diverse content:

     

    Netflix is currently beaming international TV shows in India along with English and Hindi movies. “The company is currently not offering local content. Sports content, the main driver of the OTT platform, is also not offered. With India being a country with diverse culture it consumes content in eight different languages. Currently, Netflix is beaming only English content which will attract only niche audience,” the report added.

     

    With Netflix’s subscription price being by far the steepest in India as compared to competition, some of whom even offer content for free on their platform, it remains to be seen whether other players up their price, match Netflix’s or continue to offer content at a lower price. That said, with growing competition in the space from the likes of Arré, ALT Digital, DittoTV, ErosNow, HOOQ, Hotstar, Netflix, nexGTV, Sony Liv, Spuul, Voot and YuppTV, Netflix’s content strategy in the near future will be the key differentiator, which will separate the best from the rest.

  • ICC partners Hotstar for exclusive digital clips in India till 2019

    ICC partners Hotstar for exclusive digital clips in India till 2019

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Star India’s Novi Digital Entertainment as the exclusive digital clips licensee in India for all ICC events from 2016-2019.

     

    Novi owns the online video streaming platforms Hotstar and Starsports.com, which in addition to exclusively live streaming ICC events, will also exploit the digital clips as a result of this arrangement.

     

    The four-year deal includes eight ICC Events namely the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2016, ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, ICC Champions Trophy 2017, ICC Women’s World Cup England 2017, ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Bangladesh 2018, ICC U19 Cricket World Cup New Zealand 2018, ICC Women’s World Twenty20 West Indies 2018 and ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

     

    ICC general manager – commercial Campbell Jamieson said, “The ICC is delighted to be entering into a four-year relationship with Novi, whose online video streaming platform, Hotstar, is extremely popular and has a proven record in entertainment and sports coverage in India.”

     

    Novi is also the current media rights holder for ICC events from 2016 to 2023.

  • ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’ culminates on Hotstar after 8 episodes

    ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’ culminates on Hotstar after 8 episodes

    MUMBAI: Star Plus’ popular show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, which was renamed as Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Ek Jashn on the network’s OTT platform Hotstar, is now reaching its climax after eight episodes. 

     

    The Hotstar original series, which was launched on 24 November,  ended on 15 December.

     

    It may be recalled that on Star Plus, the show went off air almost three years ago.

     

    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the show took the lead characters’ Arnav (Barun Sobti) and Khushi’s (Sanaya Irani) story forward, picking up from where the serial ended on the channel.

     

    Also read: After IPKKND, five other television shows OTT can bring back!

     

    Produced by Entertainment Mafia, the show was brought back on Hotstar with eight 10-minute episodes, showing a day in the life of the protagonists, set three years into their marriage.

     

    A source close to the channel informed this website, “The show has done phenomenally well for Hotstar. It became one of the biggest hit in terms of original content. It had also done well for the channel on social media. On Twitter, the show trended at least four to five times.”

     

    The source added, “The first season of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Ek Jashn is over but going forward, the network may come up with more such seasons. While nothing has been decided as yet, but looking at the response, there might be a second season in the offing soon.”

     

    Speaking about the per episode expenditure on digital, another sources says, “The per episode expenditure is almost similar to television for this show. On Hotstar, there were only eight episodes but on television, big shows see 200-300 episodes being made. However, on digital the cost remains more or less the same.”

     

    Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon was among the top rated show on Star Plus in 2011-12 before it went off air in November 2012. The show was also immensely popular among international viewers.

     

    According to the source, the show on also garnered an exceptional response from advertisers.

     

    It now remains to be seen if Star brings a second season of the show on its OTT platform.

  • Red Chillies taps into young audience for ‘Dilwale’ via Hotstar tie-up

    Red Chillies taps into young audience for ‘Dilwale’ via Hotstar tie-up

    MUMBAI: Red Chillies Entertainment’s Shah Rukh Khan – Kajol starrer Dilwale in association with Rohit Shetty Productions has drawn up a comprehensive plan to reach young digital audiences by inking a strategic marketing alliance with Star India’s over the top (OTT) platform Hotstar.

    Dilwale’s promotions on Hotstar kid-started almost five weeks before its scheduled release.

    The production house has employed a start-to-end approach, which is showcasing all the great video elements released – starting from the trailer to two song videos and entertaining behind-the-scenes videos. Additionally, a one-hour video with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol for Hotstar’s original show M Bole Toh has also been specially shot. The content momentum will be sustained right through the release weekend from Friday – Sunday.

    Dilwale content will also reach Hotstar’s film-lovers worldwide through Hotstar.com, with cross promotions across the Star network’s international TV channels. The TV cross-promotions of the Dilwale content on Hotstar will also roll out in India across Star Network channels.

    The Dilwale content will also be cross promoted across tentpole hotstar properties like On Air with AIB, Cricket, ISL and EPL amongst others.

    Dilwale marks the return of Khan and Kajol on screen. The movie, directed by Shetty, also stars Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon.

    Red Chillies Entertainment CEO Venky Mysore said, “Dilwale is the biggest film we have made and therefore we decided to promote it across all platforms, especially via Hotstar. Hotstar is a unique platform for a large, fast-growing and important young digitally active audience, which is an important segment for any film marketer today. We have taken a pure content-driven approach with several Dilwale video elements. We are delighted with the great response and the reception it is receiving through Hotstar – both in India and, through its website, across the world.”

    Hotstar head Ajit Mohan added, “We are delighted to partner with Dilwale to introduce an exciting movie to our audiences in India and across the world through hotstar. Hotstar is introducing a whole new way of promoting and marketing a movie premiere, and I must compliment Red Chillies Entertainment for their strategic, and brave new approach to reach a large and young digital audience in India and worldwide.”