ITV

Tag: India

  • Twenty20: CSA may curtail plans, reduce licence fee as broadcast rights decline

    Twenty20: CSA may curtail plans, reduce licence fee as broadcast rights decline

    MUMBAI: Cricket South Africa (CSA) may be planning to reduce its franchise fees, as it girds up its loins for for GT20. CSA is in the process curtailing its Twenty20 Global League plans, and will reduce the fees for franchises as it faces declining broadcast rights.

    CSA had earlier demanded $5m to lease a Tier One franchise and $3m for the others, but the rates have been brought down since the owners’ income expectations have also reduced, Cricbuzz reported.

    A reduced figure is also apprehended from the Indian telecast rights, bringing down the owners’ expected earnings from their main income source. With player fee bills almost fixed, the 18-man team will cost owners over $1m per season – the only significant expense that can be reduced by franchises is the fee.

    While CSA had expected that the Global T20 would give it a dependable income outside of incoming tours from England, India, and Australia, its inability to secure a good rights deal has put the ambitions in a jeopardy.

    It is learnt that production costs – that may be around $ 100,000 each for the 57 matches – will be borne by CSA, further cutting into their margins.

  • Travelxp’s Prashant Chothani’s 4K HDR TV global mission

    Travelxp’s Prashant Chothani’s 4K HDR TV global mission

    MUMBAI: Prashant Chothani is probably India’s most underrated TV professional and entrepreneur.  The 49-year-old founder of the infotainment channel Travelxp looks more like a typical Kutchi baniya businessman probably involved in the commodities trade. But, Chothani is actually a wiz at all things tech, all things high definition and all things Ultra HD.

    He has been beating a pioneering 4K or UHD HDR (ultra high definition – High Dynamic Range) trail globally. In the process, he’s been getting oodles of accolades worldwide — at almost every 4K gathering  – apart from his home country, India, where almost everyone scoffs at what they call a technology which is years away. Especially considering the rickety cable TV infrastructure that distributes television channels to more than 100 million homes. Chothani is the only Indian who has been co-opted on the Global Ultra HD Forum, which is the organisation responsible for setting standards for the format.

    Since a prophet is respected but in his own home, Chothani has been pushing his Travelxp 4K HDR channel globally. And he’s got a big supporter in the world’s top two satellite operators – SES and Eutelsat – who have been goading him to spread his tentacles even further. Says he: “SES and Eutelsat have been going all out to promote the 4K ecosystem. We have partnered with them for our launches.”

    Earlier this year, he rolled out Travelxp 4K – the world’s first 4K HDR travel channel – in the US with the help of the satellite company SES. The greatest potential is, of course, in Uncle Sam, where operators serving close to 30 million TV homes are currently testing 4K delivery.

    “Operators are hungry for 4K HDR channels. There’s a lot of demand, but limited supply. And, they are awaiting 4K boxes,” says Chothani. “Subscribers are already signing on, as we have signed distribution deals with three small to medium-sized operators.”

    On 1 October, Travelxp 4K HDR  was officially launched in Europe off Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13E.

    Says Chothani: “The majority of operators are planning to launch 4K services in the next six months, and they were waiting for a HDR channel. That is where we come in. The operators will now start testing and sampling it.”

    Hotbird’s market-leading penetration in cable and IPTV networks across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, gives it a wide footprint to get Travelxp the widest coverage. There are plans to widen it even further by taking the channel to APAC and Latin America in the next few months.  To date, Chothani’s company Media WorldWide has a clutch of 10 channels under its belt. 

    At the time of writing Chothani was in Russia, exploring a distribution deal for Putin’s land, and he chatted with Indiantelevision.com over Whatsapp.

    Travelxp 4K has close to 50 hours of 4K HDR content –arguably the largest library globally. “It costs close to $500,000 to produce a good hour of 4K HDR content,” he says. “If you dig for gold, how much you spend to get it is your creativity. But, the market price is what you get when you sell the gold.”

    To get more value out of the content, Chothani has dubbed the Travelxp HD and 4K HDR content filmed all over the world with multicultural hosts in several languages. The programmes are currently available in English, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, Czech and Dutch, and more languages are slated to follow suit.

    The channel has selected HEVC encoding with 10 bits of colour depth (one billion colours), at 50 frames per second. It broadcasts in 10 bits REC 2020 colour space using the new HDR (high dynamic range) standard developed by the BBC and NHK that creates richer and more dynamic images by increasing the contrast ratio between the lightest and darkest areas of the screen and expanding the volume of colours displayed. This standard uses HLG (hybrid log-gamma) technology, enabling legacy standard dynamic (SDR) displays to decode the HDR standard.

    While Chothani has a long way to go with Travelxp 4K HDR, his HD channel has travelled a lot, and is available in around 50 million homes globally.

    “There are other launches planned for the HD service,” he says with a gleam in his eyes. “Very soon. Very soon.  We will be in about 100 million homes in SD and HD worldwide by end-2018.”

    He adds: “We were amongst the first to launch HD programming in India. Now, we are amongst the first in 4K HDR in the world when HD is on its way down worldwide. A year down the line when UHD HDR will have taken root globally, Travelxp 4K will be in every 4K basic packs of most operators by virtue of it being the first mover and because of the quality of HDR content.”

    Chothani would like to make an appeal to the regulator and the TV industry in India.

    “The first round of digitisation of cable TV saw some plain vanilla set-top boxes being brought in to meet deadlines,” he says. “Now, planning for 4K HDR needs to be borne in mind when set-top box standards are drawn up. It requires very little extra investment in hardware and software. This will prevent regrets in the future. I would like Indians to enjoy the experience of 4K HDR from an Indian TV channel provider. ”

    Clearly, this is a man for whom 4K HDR is not just a business,  it is a passion. And, that is the first ingredient needed to achieve success.

    Also Read :

    Travelxp becomes first travel channel to launch in 4K on SES-1 satellite

    Travelxp’s Prashant Chothani’s 4K HDR TV global mission

    Travelxp to launch new Tamil channel; 4K feed before Feb  

    Lifestyle genre: Travel XP HD enters & NDTV Good Times exits Top 5 list in Wk 29

    July: 2 Viacom & 3 south channels among 9 permitted, far short of MIB’s March target

  • India, US lead in VoD subs as global viewing increased 34 per cent

    India, US lead in VoD subs as global viewing increased 34 per cent

    MUMBAI: Millennial consumers worldwide lead the growth of online video consumption, according to a research report from Limelight Networks, a leader in digital content delivery.

    Taking a close look at consumers’ changing viewing habits, the annual report shows that the average global viewer watches online video five hours, 45 minutes each week and subscribes to one or more video on-demand (VoD) services.

    The report is based on a survey of 4,000 consumers ranging in age, gender, and education in France, Germany, India, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US.

    The increasing shift to online viewing video is a global trend with viewers in India, Singapore, and the US spending the most time watching online videos, averaging seven hours, seven minutes; six hours, 37 minutes; and six hours, 35 minutes per week, respectively. Germany had the lowest rate of online video viewership at four hours, 14 minutes, and nearly half of respondents watching only one to two hours per week.

    “With the proliferation of online video content, viewers are moving away from traditional broadcast television viewing and have increasing expectations for broadcast-quality experiences,” said Limelight Networks senior director Michael Milligan.

    “Our research over time has shown a clear increase in expectations and decreasing patience with poor quality experiences.”

    Additional insight from the report includes:

    Millennials watch the most online video: Younger people watch the most online video, with viewers 18-25 averaging seven hours, 18 minutes per week and people 26-35 watching six hours, 53 minutes per week. Viewers 60 and older only watch three hours, 46 minutes per week.

    Growth of eSports: Although traditional sports programming was the third most watched type of online video content by men, males 18-25 watch more eSports and online video gaming than traditional sports programming.

    Consumers won’t waste time on a poor experience: Rebuffering (when a video pauses during playback to load more content) is the top frustration when viewing videos online – surpassing poor video quality and limited device access. If a video rebuffers twice, more than 61 per cent of viewers will stop watching. Only 15 per cent will continue watching after rebuffering happens for a third time.

    Smartphones gain popularity for viewing: Although computers and laptops are the primary online video viewing device globally, smartphones are the preferred device in India and South Korea. Smartphones are also the preferred device for millennials.

    Cable subs keep the cord, go further over-the-top: Despite cord-cutting concerns, the report uncovered that people subscribing to cable have twice as many over-the-top subscription services than those without cable.

    US and India lead subscriptions to online video streaming services: Consumers globally are signing on to streaming with 30 per cent of viewers noting they subscribe to two or more services. Subscription rates are highest in the U.S. and India, where 50.8 per cent and 46.8 per cent, respectively, subscribe to two or more services. In comparison, only 16.7 per cent of respondents in France subscribe to two or more services.

    Movies and TV shows lead online viewing: Globally, viewers spend more time online watching movies than any other type of content. However, viewers in South Korea and the U.K. watch TV shows most often. When viewed by gender, men prefer movies, while women prefer TV shows.

  • News18 celebrates Hindi Diwas with special show

    News18 celebrates Hindi Diwas with special show

    MUMBAI: It’s getting poetic on the occasion of Hindi Diwas that is celebrated nationally on 14 September annually. Hindi news channel News18 is quite kicked up about presenting a special show Mujhe Chaand Chahiye at 6 pm on 9 and 10 September which commemorates the Hindi language propagation occasion.

    The format of the  programme is a Hasya Kavi Sammelan  and it will feature famous poet Gopaldas Neeraj along with some renowned Hindi journalists, Hindi literate and poets like  Kumar Vishwas, Navneet Hullad Moradabadi, Waheed Naqvi, Shambhu Shikhar, Anamika Amber Jain, Ramkripal Singh and Sheshnarayan Singh.

    Mujhe Chaand Chahiye  will be dedicated to Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee Gopaldas Neeraj, who has not only contributed to Hindi as a language but has also written several poems and songs, which have been used in famous Hindi movies.

    The bards will also recite satirical verses on the plight of Hindi language.

    Apart from this, to enlarge the celebration of Hindi Diwas, News18 India is launching an initiative to bring back the use of Chandra Bindu  in relevant Hindi words from 14 September. This practice has been abandoned these days.

  • Star Sports releases TVC of Kangaroo facing off a Tiger, from 17 Sept

    Star Sports releases TVC of Kangaroo facing off a Tiger, from 17 Sept

    MUMBAI: Star Sports has kicked off its campaign for Paytm India v Australia ODI series with a TVC to depict the two formidable opponents as a Kangaroo facing off a Tiger. The five-match ODI series which will be followed by three T20Is starts on 17 September, 2017. It is claimed that the TVC has been viewed over six million times since its release.

    The film, with its “wild” feel and distinctive music, captures the anticipation and excitement around the series, and the Indian fans will hope that the Tiger prevails over the Kangaroo yet again! Earlier this year, a hard fought Test series (Ind 2 – 1 Aus) saw new rivalries being born and friendships being fractured. Both sides are led by aggressive captains and will play to win.

    The upcoming ODI & T20 lineup promises to be the most anticipated series of the season. This series will also define the next chapter in the rivalry between these two cricketing powerhouses and possibly settle the Kohli Vs Smith debate as well.

    YouTube link –

    A Star India Spokesperson said, “This campaign is unique and different from any other sports campaign; and we are pleased with the response it has garnered. We look forward to some exciting cricket between the two powerhouses in the lead up to the festive season.”

    Former Australian cricketer Mike Hussey said, “Winning in India has always been a priority for any Australian side & this series is a great opportunity for the Australian team to upset India at home. I am excited & I look forward to witnessing this great cricketing battle between two top sides & also to the Kohli Vs Smith clash!”

    This year, Star Sports and Hotstar bring to cricket fans exciting action right from Diwali to Christmas starting with the India v Australia series, followed by New Zealand’s tour to India (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) and culminating with Sri Lanka’s tour to India (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is).

  • Sony sports channels to broadcast India’s cricket tour of Lanka

    MUMBAI: The Sony Pictures Sports Networks will broadcast India cricket team’s tour of Sri Lanka, which kicks off on 26 July 2017. The recent rebranding of sports channels has helped Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) to devote Sony SIX, Sony SIX HD, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3HD for cricket coverage in English and Hindi, respectively.

    Viewers on the go can also watch the series by live streaming it on the SonyLIV app and on its website, according to a statement from SPNI.
    The series promises to be a treat for cricket enthusiasts with three Tests, five ODIs and a standalone T20 to be played across four scenic venues in Sri Lanka.

    India’s tour of Sri Lanka will also see the Sony network’s celebrated live wrap-around analysis show ‘Extraaa Innings’ hosted by Harsha Bhogle. Cricket expert lined up for such pre, post and live match coverage and analysis include Sunil Gavaskar, Ajay Jadeja, Murali Kartik, Russel Arnold and Simon Doull.

    SPN India president, distribution and sports business Rajesh Kaul said, “With two channels dedicated to cricket, we are committed to offering Indian cricket fans with the finest of cricketing action in 2017.”   

    SonyLIV EVP and head-digital business Uday Sodhi said, “SonyLIV has established its foothold as India’s premium digital entertainment destination when it comes to entertainment and sports, and it further reinforces its position as the ultimate online destination for the sports fan with India’s tour of Sri Lanka.”

    public://schedule.jpg

    Also Read:

    India-Sri Lanka test series net  a bagful  of ground & instadia sponsors

    Sony ropes in Tendulkar as it rebrands sports portfolio, adds two HD channels

    ITW bags ad rights from Sony, India series sponsor & partners’ announcement shortly

  • India-Sri Lanka test series net a bagful of ground & instadia sponsors

    MUMBAI: The folks at India-based sports management firm ITW Consulting are sporting broad smiles on their faces. The reason: a clutch of brands has signed up as on-ground sponsors for the upcoming India vs Sri Lanka test series starting 26 July in the Emerald isle.

    Among the brands which have come on board include: Seagrams Royal Stag Cricket Gear and Servo Lubricants as the title and powered by on-ground partner. The other key partners are Hero MotoCorp (HERO), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Kent RO Systems (KENT), Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited, MDH Limited, Syska and Byju’s Learning App.

    “The response to this series from brands has been very positive given the unique mix of technology and innovation we are offering to elevate the brand association,“ says ITW Consulting Co-Founder Bhairav Shanth. “We will shortly announce the title partner for the ODI and T20 series.”

    Adds ITW Consulting director M.S. Muralidharan: “At ITW, we have ensured that we bring in some latest and most innovative in-stadia technologies in cricket and other sports to ensure fans are engaged throughout the match with a crowd facing interactive display system.”

    Cricket fans attending the matches during the tour will get to see the world’s largest high definition sight screen along with 100 per cent LED HD quality systems, and crowd facing LEDs allowing for fan engagement not experienced before.

    The highlight of the ODI series is that the player of the series wins an Eicher Polaris Multix MS – BS IV vehicle.

    Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India president distribution and sports business Rajesh Kaul highlights, “We have on-board some big brands as our advertisers. We aim to make the broadcast experience on the India Tour of Sri Lanka Test Series 2017 a memorable one.”

    The 45-day long cricket extravaganza will reach a wide Indian, Sri Lankan and global audience cheering for the powerhouses and superstars of the likes of Angelo Mathews, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga as well as their Indian counterparts like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Ravi Ashwin amongst others. The series will be telecast by the official live broadcasting partner, SPN India on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 channels and will be livestreamed on SonyLIV. Scheduled to reach prime time audiences in India and Sri Lanka, the match preview, pitch report and toss will commence 30 minutes prior, followed by the match at 10:00 am IST for Tests, 2:30 pm IST for ODI’s and 7:00 pm IST for the T20.

    ITW Consulting recently announced the acquisition of certain exclusive rights from SPN India the sole and exclusive media rights holder of the series. The deal with SPN involves title rights, on-ground and in-stadia advertising rights for all the cricket matches to be played during the series.

  • India’s GoQuest sends cooking reality format to Italy

    India’s GoQuest sends cooking reality format to Italy

    MUMBAI: GoQuest Format, the formats’ arm of GoQuest Media based out of India, has optioned its exciting cooking reality format, Kitchen 50-50 to YAM112003, part of Endemol Shine Group Italy. GoQuest has confirmed that this deal was a fruition of MIPTV meetings held in April 2017.

    Kitchen 50-50 is a cooking reality format where two home cooks or professional chefs fight it out in one kitchen to win a cash prize of US$ 10000 (Rs 6.5 lakh) in every episode. The specialty of this kitchen is that there is only one of each appliance and each contestant gets to use it on a first come, first serve basis.

    “Kitchen 50-50 represents an original take in the crowded world of food formats for television,” said YAM112003 GM – TV production department Alberto Rossini. “It’s lively, fresh and funny, and we are very pleased to bring such a format to the Italian market.”

    GoQuest Media MD Vivek Lath said: “This is one of our first formats to be distributed worldwide after years of readymade content distribution. We are confident of YAM112003 giving it the best treatment. The fun and drama in Kitchen 50-50 infuses tension of a reality and drama of a daily soap.”

    YAM112003, part of Endemol Shine Group, is a production company, creative agency and event agency with experience in terms of strategy, creativity, production, distribution and content management. GoQuest Formats, the formats arm of GoQuest Media from India, distributes, creates and co-creates non-fiction format for television channels and digital platforms around the world.

  • Mastiii retains lead, MTV Beats HD enters chart

    MUMBAI: In week 26 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), all India (U+R) did not see significant changes in the chart. Mastiii being the champ, witnessed increase in numbers from 158171 Impressions (‘000s) to 161622 Impressions (‘000s) and stayed in the lead.

    Last week’s second place holder 9XM maintained its position with increase in numbers from 110258 Impressions (‘000s) to 115710 Impressions (‘000s) in week 26.

    B4U Music got pushed back to the fourth position with 85383 Impressions (‘000s), whereas, Sony MIX climbed up the chart with 94798 Impressions (‘000s), positioned at the third position in week 26.

    For detailed report, read here:

    BARC Week 26: Mastiii continues to be at the top; MTV Beats HD enters chart

  • FIFA U-17 World Cup in India: Tencent bags media & digital rights for China (updated)

    MUMBAI: Tencent Sports has acquired the exclusive media rights in China for the 2017 Under-17 World Cup which will be held in India in October. The first FIFA tournamnet to be hosted by India from 6 – 28 October 2017 will be played with 24 teams in six cities.

    Tencent Sports has also signed an agreement with FIFA to become the exclusive digital media rights holder in China for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia. The deal will witness the online sports platform provide live streaming of the tournament as well as offering VoD (video-on-demand), highlights and original programmes “across digital channels,” the Sports Business Daily reported.

    The 24 teams are: Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Niger, India, Japan, Korea DPR, Iran, Iraq, England, France, Germany, Costa Rica, Spain, Turkey, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.

    Greek public broadcaster ERT and FIBA announced a pact for the ’17-21 cycle of FIBA events. ERT will also telecast all Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for men and women for the Tokyo 2020 Games (FIBA).

    Spain’s National Commission of Markets & Competition (CNMC) has meantime fined La Liga for ‘impeding Mediaset channels’ access to football stadiums. It is the CNMC’s first formal fine to La Liga after the competition started managing rights of every football club in the country. The fine, against which La Liga is entitled to appeal, is $280,000 (Rs 18 million) as reported by Rapid TV News. Spain’s broadcasters are finalizing their offers for the rights to the Champions League from the ’18-19 season through ’20-21.

    Also Read :

    Vivo becomes FIFA’s smartphone sponsor in a six-year, US$ 450m deal

    Sony Networks looking to change face of Indian football in ’17