Tag: Hungama

  • Hungama launches Season 2 of ‘Boys with Toys’ – its hit original youth comedy, on Hungama Play

    Hungama launches Season 2 of ‘Boys with Toys’ – its hit original youth comedy, on Hungama Play

    MUMBAI: Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company, today launched the second season of its hit original youth comedy, ‘Boys with Toys’. The first season of the show was appreciated by the viewers, receiving over 17 million episodic views since its launch. In its second season, the show will take forward the hilarious misadventures of Adi and Jiggy, its protagonists who find themselves at the helm of running a business that they know nothing about. The show is produced by Viniyard Films, directed by Rahul Aggarwal, and stars Rishab Chadha (Dhrishyam, Lupta), Umang Khanna, Anisa Butt (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Half Girlfriend) along with Abhishek Bajaj  (Student of the Year 2).

    Starting today, the show will be available to stream on Hungama Play, Hungama’s video on demand platform. Hungama will leverage its robust distribution network to deliver the show to an audience of over 110 million worldwide. Boys with Toys Season 2 will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel Xstream App, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, SHAREit and Android TVs. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the show via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Speaking about the latest original show, Neeraj Roy, Founder and CEO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Hungama Originals have helped us push the boundaries of content available on the digital medium. Locally relevant, yet guaranteed to entertain a global audience, our original shows narrate stories that are unavailable on the traditional medium. We are delighted to launch a new season of Boys with Toys, a show that was loved by a young demographic worldwide. We are certain that our content strategy and distribution network will help us increase our user base by 2X in FY2019.”

    Ashvini Yardi, Founder of Viniyard Films and the Producer of Boys with Toys 2 said, “The first season of Boys with Toys received an incredible response from the audience. Season 2 promises to pack in even higher doses of humour and fun. The show is riddled with moments that are sure to make it the perfect weekend watch for the audience. We are certain that the youth, across big and small cities, will enjoy the new season of the show as much as they loved the previous one.”  

    In the previous season, Adi and Jiggy, unexpectedly receive an unusual inheritance – multiple boxes of sex toys, from Jiggy’s late uncle. Bored at their dead-end jobs, the two boys give up their routine existence for a life of excitement and begin running a sex toy shop – a business that they don’t know anything about.

    The new season sees the two boys try and build their business even further. Each new order comes with unique and entertaining complications that they must overcome to make their venture a success, turning their lives into a comic frenzy. At the same time, they must also deal with hysterical situations that arise due to their clueless mothers and grandparents visiting them, potential love interests who don’t turn out to be what they seem and a landlord who just won’t stop being nosy.

  • Hungama’s latest Marathi original show, ‘Shree Kaamdev Prasanna’ crosses 43 lakh episodic views in 30 days

    Hungama’s latest Marathi original show, ‘Shree Kaamdev Prasanna’ crosses 43 lakh episodic views in 30 days

    MUMBAI: Shree Kaamdev Prasanna, the latest Marathi original show by Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company, has garnered more than 43 lakh episodic views in 30 days since its release on 8th August 2019. Released in Marathi and Hindi, the show stars Maharashtra’s King of Comedy, Bhau Kadam in the titular role of Lord Kaamdev, along with popular Marathi actors, Sagar Karande, Bhagyashree Mote, Vinay Yedekar and Asha Shelar. Produced by Hungama Digital Media and CafeMarathi, the show is directed by Sandeep Naware.

    Available on Hungama Play, Hungama’s video-on-demand platform, the show was distributed across multiple platforms, and was available for viewers to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel XStream, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, SHAREit and Android TVs. Hungama’s association with Xiaomi also enabled consumers to watch the show through Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Speaking about the show’s success, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “The success of Shree Kaamdev Prasanna solidifies the crucial role that unique storytelling and narratives play in drawing viewers. Going beyond the language barrier, audiences appreciated our second regional original for its universal appeal and homour. We intend to continue building our multi-lingual and multi-genre library, and expect it to help us increase our user base in non-metro markets by 2X.”

    Talking about the success of the show, Comedy King Bhau Kadam said, “Playing Lord Kaamdev has been one of the most interesting and unique experiences of my career. It is overwhelming to see the audience appreciate our efforts so much. I am glad that I had a chance to associate with Hungama and CafeMarathi for this show and look forward to working with them on more of such amazing projects.”

    Shree Kaamdev Prasanna revolves around the misadventures of Milind, a 35 year old introvert who is shy around girls. Through a divine intervention gone wrong, Lord Kaamdev, the God of Passion, is sent to Earth to help him, turning Milind’s life into a comic mess but becoming his friend in the process.

  • Hungama launches Shree Kaamdev Prasanna, a new Marathi original show, on Hungama Play

    Hungama launches Shree Kaamdev Prasanna, a new Marathi original show, on Hungama Play

    MUMBAI: Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company, today launched a new Marathi original show, Shree Kaamdev Prasanna. Releasing in Marathi and Hindi, the show stars Maharashtra’s King of Comedy, Bhau Kadam in the titular role of Lord Kaamdev, along with popular Marathi actors, Sagar Karande, Bhagyashree Mote, Vinay Yedekar and Asha Shelar.  The show revolves around the misadventures of Milind, a 35 year old introvert who is shy around girls. Through a divine intervention gone wrong, Lord Kaamdev, the God of Passion, is sent to Earth to help him, turning Milind’s life into a comic mess but becoming his friend in the process. Shree Kaamdev Prasanna is produced by Hungama Digital Media and CafeMarathi, and directed by Sandeep Naware.

    Starting today, the show will be available to stream on Hungama Play, Hungama’s video on demand platform. Leveraging its strong distribution network, Hungama will deliver the show to an audience of over 60 million in more than 190 countries. Shree Kaamdev Prasanna will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Airtel TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, SHAREit and Android TVs. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the show via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Speaking at the launch of Shree Kaamdev Prasanna, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Unique stories with interesting narratives and universal appeal are some of the important aspects that drive Hungama’s original programming. Shree Kaamdev Prasanna is our second original show in Marathi and narrates a story that will appeal to people around the world. Staying true to our commitment of building a multi-lingual and multi-genre library, the show will be available in both, Marathi and Hindi. We expect our regional library to drive growth for us and help us increase our user base in non-metro markets by 2X.”

    Nikhil Raibole, Co-Founder and CEO of CafeMarathi, said, “Our mission at CafeMarathi is to create content that is engaging and entertaining. Shree Kaamdev Prasanna is a comedy that will keep the viewers engrossed from the first scene itself. We are glad to work with Hungama once again and are certain that their robust distribution strategy will deliver the show to millions of viewers around the world.”

    In the show, Sagar Karande plays Milind, an introvert who simply cannot talk to girls. Concerned about the fact that her son might never meet a potential match, his mother (Asha Shelar) prays to Lord Krishna to help her son. In a hilariously twisted situation, her prayers are heard by Lord Chitragupta (Vinay Yedekar), Yama’s assistant, who decides to send Lord Kaamdev (Bhau Kadam) to Milind’s aid. Armed with a mantra taught to him by Kaamdev, Milind receives an incredible gift to be invisible and read the minds of girls around him. But there’s a catch! He becomes visible again, if he gets aroused! Kaamdev’s assistance, as much as a boon for Milind, gets him into comically bizarre situations. But as Kaamdev helps Milind win over the love of his life, Shivani (Bhagyashree Mote), the two also form a strong bond with each other and discover true friendship.

    Speaking about the show, Sandeep Naware, Director of Shree Kaamdev Prasanna said, “It was an honour to direct Bhau Kadam along with the entire cast of the show. It is a light-hearted comedy show that follows our amazing duo of Milind and Lord Kaamdev. I am excited and glad that I got an opportunity to associate with CafeMarathi and Hungama for my debut in the world of digital entertainment.”

    Playing the role of Shree Kaamdev, Bhau Kadam said, “It has been interesting and exciting to play Lord Kaamdev on-screen. The show doesn’t have single dull moment and its humour is sure to be appreciated by the audiences. I am glad to have worked with CafeMarathi and Hungama and hope that the audience enjoy watching the show as much as I have enjoyed filming for it.” 

    Speaking about his role, Sagar Karande said, “Acting alongside comic legend Bhau Kadam and the entire cast was a great experience. Shree Kaamdev Prasanna is a hilarious fictional take on what happens when Lord Kaamdev encounters a shy introvert on Earth. I am excited to see the audiences’ verdict and hopefully continue entertaining them across different medium.”

  • Star India launches Disney kids pack for its young viewers

    Star India launches Disney kids pack for its young viewers

    Mumbai: Star India has launched a new campaign to announce their Disney Kids Pack, following the success of the Star Value Pack. The kids pack includes four television channels – Disney Channel, Hungama, Marvel HQ and Disney Junior. These channels will be distributed by Star India. The campaign brings to light a very strong insight on the television viewing habits of families in India and highlights the need for kids to watch content that is tailor-made for them.

    The 35 seconder film starts off with a mother questioning her 6-year old daughter about her missing science book and the girl immediately reacts like a stereotype antagonist from a soap opera; indicating her television consumption is restricted to adult series.

    The film gives a sneak peek into the lives of millions of families in modern day India; where kids are consuming adult targeted content. Most parents are unaware of the implications of this and kids make do with the content that their parents choose for them. This TVC delivers a hard-hitting message that focuses on repercussions of having kids watch adult content; in a very light-hearted, funny and entertaining manner. It addresses the need for parents to be responsible and make the right entertainment choice for their kids. It also reflects on the importance of retaining their childhood and innocence by having them watch age-appropriate content that is specially curated for them by the Disney Kids Network.

    The Kids Network brings together a wide array of global and homegrown storytelling in a manner that is relevant to kids. Reaching out to an age-group of 2-14, the four channels cater to age-specific entertainment needs of kids across various languages.

    “With the success of the Star Value pack, we are delighted to offer a special Disney kids pack for our younger audiences. The kids’ network has consistently been offering stories and characters that the kids love and parents trust. With the growing need to address their entertainment requirements in an environment that is considered safe, we hope our audiences continue to choose us as their preferred partner and with this pack, bring the magic of Disney into the lives of their kids,” said a spokesperson from Star India.

    The campaign is conceptualized by the in-house creative team. The TVC was launched across the Disney India social media platforms and has been garnering a phenomenal response across audiences. The sentiments have been largely positive with audiences acknowledging the relevance of the message in their lives.

    Star India has priced the Disney Kids Pack at INR 10 and the channels are also available on à la carte basis.

  • Hungama appoints Tapan Sharma as the vice president for integrated media sales

    Hungama appoints Tapan Sharma as the vice president for integrated media sales

    MUMBAI: Hungama, India’s leading digital entertainment company, has appointed Tapan Sharma as the Vice President for Integrated Media Sales. With over 16 years of work experience in ad sales and content monetization, Tapan comes to Hungama from Gaana where he served as the National Head – Audio Sales and led monetization of the platform inventory and content.

    Commenting on Tapan’s appointment, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “Tapan brings with him a rich experience and a deep understanding of the country’s media sales landscape. We welcome him to the Hungama family and are certain his expertise will help us strengthen and optimize our monetization strategy further.”

    Speaking about his new role, Tapan Sharma said, “Hungama is amongst the leading internet companies in India and has been instrumental in transforming the digital entertainment habits of users. I am delighted to join a dynamic team and excited to lead strategic programs that drive sales and augment monetization.”

    Prior to Gaana, Tapan worked at Sony Pictures Networks as Assistant Vice President leading ad sales for their music channel cluster. He has also worked at Fever 104 FM, Omnicom Media Group, 94.3 MY FM, BIG 92.7 FM, Essar Telecom Retail Limited and Bharti Retail Limited in various capacities. 

  • Abhishek Kapadia joins iGKnights Digital Media Works as COO

    Abhishek Kapadia joins iGKnights Digital Media Works as COO

    MUMBAI: Ad network and value-added-services firm iGKnights Digital Media Works has brought on board Abhishek Kapadia as the chief operating officer. The new appointment is a strategic move with the aim of strengthening and expanding the India leadership team of iGKnights Digital Media Works. Based out of UAE and Delhi, he will look after the overall functioning of the company and allied businesses.

    Prior to his role at iGKnights Media Works, h was associated with digital media firm Globocom as a partner and led multiple projects and businesses of the firm. With over fourteen years in the sales, business development and marketing sectors, Kapadia has also been associated with industry companies like Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Indiatimes.com, Hungama, Symbiotic Infotech, and mobile performance advertising agency Mobusi.

    Speaking about his new role, Kapadia said, “The dynamic and fast expanding digital advertising industry has always enticed me into taking up greater initiatives and responsibilities. With this opportunity, I plan on leveraging my knowledge and expertise with a company whose beliefs resonate with mine. I am excited to join the team and ready to explore additional facets of the trade!”

  • Hungama expands footprint in digital content space

    Hungama expands footprint in digital content space

    MUMBAI: Hungama has expanded its footprint in the digital original space with the launch of its new Hindi show Bar Code. The new drama has been produced by Abhishek Pathak under the banner of Panaroma Studios. From 10 October, the show is available on its video on demand service Hungama Play.

    “Hungama originals have helped us present stories that are different from those offered by the conventional medium, this narratives have widespread appeal and are appreciated by digital audiences globally. With Bar Code, we explore universally identified themes like friendship, ego, love and rivalry. We are certain that a strong content line-up and a robust worldwide distribution strategy will help us increase our user base on Hungama Play significantly,” Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said.

    To reach the audience base, the company will leverage its distribution strengths. The new show will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies & TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and other Android TVs along with Mi Video and Mi TV.

    Though the company has dabbled with online music and short-form video content for a long time, it has jumped into the long-form video content bandwagon recently. In the first half of this year, the company announced four web series among which three have been released. Recently, the company also ventured into original in regional languages. It will soon roll out shows in several regional languages across genres.

  • Disney India reveals new TV channel prices

    Disney India reveals new TV channel prices

    MUMBAI:  One by one, broadcasters are announcing their new channel rates as per TRAI’s tariff requirements. The latest to join the bandwagon is Disney Broadcasting (India) Ltd. Its reference interconnect offer (RIO) will be effective from 29 December 2018. The deadline given by TRAI was 31 August for publication of RIO, declaration of MRP and nature of channels, in connection with its tariff order.

    All Disney India channels will be available on a-la-carte basis, as required by regulations. The a-la-carte of all eight channels including SD and HD channels are under Rs 15 per month. Given the different nature of Disney’s offering in Indian TV sector compared to other broadcasters, it has come up with only one bouquet called Universal Bouquet which has been priced at Rs 10. The bouquet excludes only Disney International HD which has the highest price of Rs 15 on the a-la-carte rate chart.

    While most of the broadcasters have published their RIOs, Supreme Court is yet to decide the final destiny of the digital television pricing. The Apex Court again deferred the hearing of Star India’s petition filed against TRAI’s tariff and interconnect order to 11 September 2018. The case was first contested in Madras High Court and the high court upheld the tariff order with certain riders.

    Meanwhile, major broadcasters have already come up with channel prices. TV18 Broadcast Ltd ( TV18), Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) have made several bouquets available targeting audiences of different nature. Three of the broadcasters have also focused highly on regional bouquets. ZEEL was the only broadcaster to publish its RIO before the given deadline. Star India, one of the petitioners against the TRAI tariff order has not filed its RIO yet.

    Disney India’s offerings for kids have more popularity in the country compared to its entertainment segment. According to week 35 BARC data, two kids channels from the umbrella, Disney Channel and Hungama were at second and third positions respectively in the kids genre. The first one had 105399 impressions ‘000 and the second one 100401 impressions ‘000.

  • BARC data shows upward trend for kids’ viewership

    BARC data shows upward trend for kids’ viewership

    MUMBAI: Once upon a time, the kids’ genre was the most sidelined of them all but now broadcasters have figured out how to make magic work – localised content. At the ATF Kids’ Summit 2018 in Hyderabad, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) COO Romil Ramgarhia threw light on Indian kids and their viewing habits.

    According to BARC, younger kids in the age group of two to eight years prefer watching Indian content. As far as mixed content is concerned, Indian and international, Cartoon Network garners 49 per cent of viewership from 2-8 years of age group, whereas 51 per cent from the 9-14 years of kids. Talking about the international content consumed by the viewers in the age group of 2-8 years, 45 per cent of the viewers watch Disney channel, 40 per cent and 43 per cent viewership watch Disney XD and Hungama channel respectively. Moreover, Nick channel raked in 58 per cent from the kids on Indian content, followed by 56 per cent, 54 per cent and 62 per cent viewership for Pogo TV, Discovery Kids and Sony Yay channels respectively. 

    Ramgarhia also said that the regional flavour is catching up in the kids’ segment too. Sun TV is already broadcasting in this space. Kochu TV (Malayalam) gets 56 per cent of viewership, whereas Kushi TV (Telugu) and Chutti TV (Tamil) secured 24 per cent and 21 per cent viewership respectively in the age group of 2-14 years kids.

    The duration of home-grown content on national kids’ channels has grown by 18 per cent. In 2016, kids’ channels aired 33 per cent of Indian content and now in 2018, it jumped to 39 per cent.

    Despite the fact that kids spend about 26 per cent of their time on Hindi GECs, the time spent on kids’ channels have also witnessed a hike in the last two years.

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    29 per cent kids like watching Hindi GECs, followed by 18 per cent for Hindi movies and only 11 per cent kids consume kids’ channels. Since 98 per cent of Indian homes still owns a single TV, co-viewing is high.

     

    From week 1 to 32 of 2018, as per the BARC data, the total TV viewership of boys and girls in the age group of 2-14 years was 52 per cent and 48 per cent respectively. 61 per cent boys and 39 per cent girls watch animated content more on TV. Segregating the genre’s viewership on TV to rural and urban areas, urban viewership is 61 per cent while rural is 39 per cent for kids channels. The same shows a different side when it comes to overall TV viewership by kids with 46 per cent urban and 54 per cent for rural.

    The BARC data further showed that animation films on kids channels delivered higher viewership as compared to animated shows and games/quiz programmes.

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    When it comes to sports, according to BARC data, kids dig kabaddi. Apart from this, cricket is the universal game that is liked by 69 per cent of the population.

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    Also, the data stated that on weekends, vacations, festivals and cricket, kids tend to watch more television, especially during events like T20 World Cup, Navratri, Diwali and Christmas.

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  • Artist Aloud partners with ATKT.in to promoteoriginal contentcreated by collegians

    Artist Aloud partners with ATKT.in to promoteoriginal contentcreated by collegians

    MUMBAI: Artist Aloud, a platform by Hungama that supports and promotes independent music, today announced its partnership with ATKT.in–adigital platform that seeks to promote original content created by college students. Through this strategic partnership, Artist Aloud will encourage young talent and enable them to reach a larger audience, further strengthening its position as the leading platform forindependent content. 

    As a part of the association, ATKT.in will provide Artist Aloud access to a curated list of original content across an assortment of categories like music, comedy, dance, performance poetry etc. Artist Aloud will, in turn, leverage its reach and help the content get discovered by a wider audience, providing collegian talent a platform that gets them noticed and appreciated. Artist Aloud will also work with ATKT.in to give an impetus to fresh talent at college festivals across campuses in India. 

    Talking about the new partnership with ATKT.in, SouminiSridhara Paul, Vice President, Artist Aloud, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. said, “As the leading platform for independent talent, we intend to offer artistes across categories an opportunity to reach a larger audience. The association will allow us to accumulate independent and original content at a collegian level and provide the content creators with opportunities and recognition they deserve. At the same time, we will also be able to offer our audience a wide variety of original content that they are unlikely to discover on any other platform.”

    Saurabh Kanwar, Co-founder, ATKT.in said, “ATKT is kicked to bring our legion of campus creators even more opportunities to grow and thrive through Hungama’s platforms. Artist Aloud’s plans to reach out to colleges through ATKT is a validation of the quality and extent of the campus community we have built, and its growing importance in building rich, entertaining original content. With the college festival season getting underway, we are gearing up to a whole new crop of budding artists to showcase to the world, and this partnership will definitely provide another great outlet for these singers, dancers, writers, poets and artists.”

    Content sourced from ATKT.in, will be available on all digital properties of Artist Aloud, including web, app, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and blog.