ITV

Tag: ITV

  • BSB gets IPL broadcast rights for UK from 2015-2017

    BSB gets IPL broadcast rights for UK from 2015-2017

    MUMBAI: The audience in the United Kingdom will watch the Indian Premiere League on the British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) network as it has beaten the four-time broadcaster ITV to bag the rights of the series in the years 2015, 2016, 2017.

     

    The decision was taken when the IPL Governing Council met in Bengaluru recently and BSkyB was awarded the telecast, internet and mobile rights of the Pepsi Indian Premier League, for the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, and the European territories for the three years.

     

    In the UK, ITV4 was the sole broadcaster of the IPL for the past four seasons.

     

    This would also be the first time that IPL will be shown on a subscription channel.

     

    Sky Sports MD Barney Francis said: “It’s the cricket competition that everyone is talking about and from next year, only on Sky Sports can viewers follow the IPL live.  Sky Sports’ cricket coverage has never been stronger, offering something for everyone including the major Test playing nations, the best players and now the world’s richest competition.  We can’t wait.”

  • Broadchurch named Best TV Program of 2013

    Broadchurch named Best TV Program of 2013

    MUMBAI: British crime drama Broadchurch has been named the best TV show of 2013 by RadioTimes critics. 
    Starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman as the lead actors of an ensemble cast, the drama follows the story of a police investigation into the murder of a schoolboy in a small Dorset coastal town. 

    Broadchurch aired on ITV early this year, the series creator Chris Chibnall described the show to the channel as “a labor of love”. The beautifully crafted whodunit captured the imagination of the nation as almost every character became a suspect across eight rollercoaster weeks.

    Both a critical and popular hit, the show attracted around nine million viewers an episode on ITV and is now being remade for the US audience by FOX under the title Gracepoint.  

    RadioTimes editor Tim Glanfield said, “Broadchurch drew the nation into a collective hysteria every Monday night for eight weeks, as who killed Danny Latimer became the talking point in the press, pubs, front rooms and factories up and down the country. A brilliant piece of homegrown drama with an exquisite cast of actors, Broadchurch is a fantastic example of British TV at its very best.”

    Last year the critics’ choice was won by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman crime drama Sherlock, which returns to Indian television on 3 January on AXN. 

    A second series of Broadchurch is expected to air on ITV sometime in 2014.

  • Alfred Haber to exclusively distribute ITVs 90 minute special BRITs Icon: Elton John

    Alfred Haber to exclusively distribute ITVs 90 minute special BRITs Icon: Elton John

    MUMBAI: The concert was aired in September in the UK on ITV, but Alfred Haber Television has been appointed as the exclusive distributor with worldwide rights for the recently taped ITV special BRITs Icon: Elton John.

     

    The 90-minute gala concert celebrates the extraordinary life and career of music’s one and only Sir Elton John as he is awarded the first ever BRITs Icon Award for the most influential figures in music, who have had a “lasting impact” on UK culture. Created by BPI, the body that represents the UK recorded music industry, the honour was designed as an extension of the annual BRIT Awards ceremony, the UK’s largest music award show. (BRITs refers to British Record Industry Trust – the record industry’s charitable organisation).

     

    Taped live at London’s Palladium and hosted by Dermot O’Leary, the musical includes Elton’s performances of some of his greatest hits, including Your Song, Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Bennie and the Jets, Philadelphia Freedom, I’m Still Standing, and Sad Songs (Say So Much), performed with his close friend, superstar Rod Stewart, who presented Elton with his award. A career retrospective that salutes the rock legend’s incredible library of work, the special also features video tributes by Ringo Starr, Yoko Ono, Annie Lennox, Mumford & Sons, Bernie Taupin, Bono, Charlie Watts, Ed Sheeran, Billie Jean King and former President Bill Clinton.

     

    “Sir Elton John has won every entertainment award possible. With six Grammys, four BRITs, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, a Tony, and now the addition of a BRITs Icon Award, Elton John continues to receive the accolades he so richly deserves,” commented Haber.  “He has sold more than 250 million records globally – including the biggest selling single of all time, Candle In The Wind – and we at AHTI are honored to be a part of bringing this legendary entertainer’s work to audiences around the world.”

  • Sky’s the limit for ITV

    Sky’s the limit for ITV

    MUMBAI: It was in July last year that ITV Media acquired News X, giving it a toehold in the English news space. Apart from News X, the ITV Network comprises one Hindi news channel – India News, and five regional channels.

    For a while now, ITV has been busy strengthening the popularity and reach of News X and India News in a bid to get to the top of the news channels’ pile.

    As far as News X goes, it was only post the acquisition that its distribution improved. Today, all six metros and over one million markets can view the channel on both cable and DTH platforms. This apart, News X can also be availed on mobile TV platforms such as ZengaTV and NexGtv.

    Programming-wise, the channel is witnessing significant changes with the focus increasingly shifting from debates and entertainment to hard news. To top it, the network is expanding its presence through both B2B and B2C platforms.

    Both News X and India News have been on a hiring spree since earlier this year, roping in renowned journalists from competing channels to lead them.

    News X recently consolidated its team by getting on board the likes of Rahul Shivshankar, Diptosh Majumdar and Raktim Das in key positions.

    Whereas, Deepak Chaurasia, known for his election-based shows such as Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri and Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri on ABP News (formerly Star News) and Aaj Tak, was brought in as editor of India News earlier this year.

    The idea behind hiring such journalists with years of experience behind them is that they come with dedicated viewers, who would watch a channel just to see their favourite anchor on the screen. Elaborates ITV Network CEO RK Arora: “In Hindi news channels, no journalist has such a high viewership as Deepak Chaurasia. This would lead to ardent followers coming and viewing our channel.”

    According to TAM data provided by the network, News X shows highs and lows in terms of viewership patterns between week 18 and week 36 while India News seems to have considerably gained mileage with week 36 docking in 29570 GVTs as compared to 9902 GVTs in week 31.

    All said, both news channels have a long way to go before they can surpass benchmark creators like CNN-IBN, NDTV 24 x 7, Aaj Tak and ABP News among others.

    Historically speaking, INX News (News X) was started by Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani, who subsequently sold it to IndiMedia following an unsuccessful attempt at running it. After which, it once again exchanged hands with ITV Media, owner of India News. The company is promoted by Kartikeya Sharma.

    History or no history, the network seems bullish about sprucing up its two news channels. Just as well they may succeed some day…

  • Sky adds Channel 4’s 4oD to a catch-up TV service

    Sky adds Channel 4’s 4oD to a catch-up TV service

    MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider Sky customers will be able to access that the company says is a complete catch-up TV service following the addition of 4 on demand (4oD) to its On Demand service.

    The upgrade comes at no charge for Sky customers who have connected their Sky+HD box to broadband and can download catch-up content at a push of a button. New figures show that the surge in connections has continued in the early part of 2013, with the total number of connected Sky+HD boxes now surpassing two million and continuing to grow rapidly.

    With the launch of 4oD, catch-up content from Channel 4‘s portfolio of channels – including Channel 4, E4 and More 4 – will be available alongside hundreds of hours of great content from Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, the History Channel, National Geographic and others. Taken together, it means that Sky+ offers the most complete catch-up TV service in the UK, so customers never need to miss out on shows.

    At the same time, older shows and series from the Channel 4 archives will also become available to download from the library section of Sky‘s On Demand service, where box-sets of classic shows and series are available. Channel 4 series available on Sky will include ‘The Inbetweeners‘, ‘Shameless‘, ‘Spaced‘ and ‘The IT Crowd‘.

    In addition to joining the On Demand service on Sky+, Channel 4 is also the first terrestrial network to offer its channels and programmes on Sky Go, Sky‘s award-winning internet and mobile TV service. Sky Go users can now enjoy Channel 4 and More4 live on their laptop, smartphone, or tablet, with E4 and Film4 to follow shortly.

    In addition, a range of classic Channel 4 shows will be available within the On Demand section of Sky Go. And for Sky customers who upgrade to Sky Go Extra, those Channel 4 shows can be downloaded to watch offline, so they can enjoy TV on the move even when they‘re not connected to the internet.

    And finally, More4 HD joins Sky‘s line-up of HD channels, giving Sky‘s 4.5 million HD customers an even greater choice of their favourite TV in HD. Film4 HD will also join the Sky platform in September, further extending Sky‘s market-leading line-up of HD channels.

    Sky director of TV products Luke Bradley-Jones said, “The way people enjoy TV is changing as customers embrace technology to take control over their viewing. We know customers have busier lives than ever, which is why we‘ve created the most comprehensive catch-up service in the UK.

    “Over 2 million Sky customers have already connected their Sky+ box to the Internet so they can enjoy our full catch-up and On Demand service. But we are working hard to get even more Sky homes connected as we know our customers love the control and flexibility it gives them – it‘s a perfect complement to Sky+.

    “Offering great TV from Channel 4 on demand on Sky+ and on Sky Go at no extra charge is all part of our continued commitment to offer our customers the best combination of content and innovation.”

    Channel 4 director of commercial, business development Sarah Rose said, “The launch of our successful VOD service, 4oD, on the Sky on demand and Sky Go platforms this month will extend the reach of our content to enable even more viewers to enjoy our wide range of programmes. And through the recent arrival of More4 HD and much anticipated launch of Film4 HD in September, we‘re delighted to complete the roll out of our HD portfolio”.

  • Star Plus to focus on digital, on-ground to promote MasterChef

    MUMBAI: As it gears up to launch the latest season of Masterchef India, the leading Hindi GEC Star Plus has rolled out an innovative marketing campaign to promote the show.

    The core audience of ‘MasterChef Kitchen Ke Superstar‘ being the younger females across the Hindi-speaking markets, Star Plus is looking to reach out to these consumers through the critical touchpoints of retail outlets.

    With a focus on on-ground activations and digital, the channel has associated with 60 Big Bazaar stores across the critical markets of Mumbai, Delhi, UP and Gujarat wherein along with the cash counter branding, some of the staff will be seen wearing branded Chef Hats and Aprons saluting the spirit of all the women consumers who are the Superstars of their own kitchens and reinforcing the tune-in messaging of launch- 11th March, Monday to Friday at 8 PM.

    Star Plus has also tied up with the Mumbai Dabbawala association. On the day of the on-air launch of ‘MasterChef Kitchen Ke Superstar‘, every individual dabba will carry a tag announcing that this delicious meal has been prepared for you by your own MasterChef. The channel has also branded all the dabba-delivery crates to reinforce the connect and gain greater visibility.

    The channel is promoting the show across the network and also on around 30 channels outside Star‘s own network. Star Plus VP-marketing Nikhil Madhok told Indiantelevision.com that this will be the deepest and longest ever plan on television. “We are also doing lots of things on the digital medium. There are applications that have been launched plus there is an opportunity where the fans can interact with the contestants and chat with them while the show is on,” he said.

    Madhok said that spend on digital is around 20 per cent of the overall marketing spend on the show.

    On ground, the channel is visiting around 10 cities where it will be organising few cooking contests and will be crowning one winner from each city as a Masterchef. For example the winner from Lucknow will be titled as ‘Lucknow ka Masterchef‘. These winners will also get an opportunity to showcase their talent on a special episode of the show where their dishes will be tasted by the chefs and judges on the show.

    However, the channel will be using radio just as a reminder medium.
    On the occasion of International Women‘s Day on 8 March, Star Plus through MasterChef has associated with Best buses in Mumbai by acknowledging the contribution of the woman to her home with a customised messaging on the reserved seats for women.

  • SES launches Astra 2F Satellite

    SES launches Astra 2F Satellite

    MUMBAI: Leading satellite operator SES has said its new Astra 2F satellite has been successfully launched on 28 September, on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. This is SES’ 36th successful launch on Ariane.

     

    Astra 2F was built by Astrium in Toulouse using a Eurostar E3000 platform and carries Ku- and Ka-band payloads for the delivery of high-performance Direct-to-Home (DTH) and next generation broadband services. It is the first of a three satellite investment programme (Astra 2E, 2F and 2G), that provides replacement and growth capacity for the UK and Ireland at the 28.2/28.5 degrees East neighbourhood.

    The new satellites in this neighbourhood will, as of October 2013, also use additional frequency spectrum for which the right of use was granted to SES by Media Broadcast pursuant to an agreement entered into in 2005. The new Astra 2F spacecraft also provides Ku-band capacity for pan-European services and for Sub-Saharan Africa. Its Ka-band payload will allow SES Broadband Services to support download speeds of up to 20 Mps.

     

    “The successful launch of Astra 2F is part of our fleet replacement and expansion programme,” said SES CEO Romain Bausch. “Astra 2F will provide seamless replacement capacity for our UK customers like BSkyB, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and will allow us to operate additional capacity at 28.2/28.5 degrees East on SES satellites. This orbital neighbourhood today serves close to 13 million DTH homes in the UK and Ireland. We would like to thank our long-standing partners Astrium and Arianespace for this mission success.”

    Astra 2F had a launch mass of 6 tons, generates 13 kW of power, and has a design life of 15 years. It is the fifth Eurostar satellite in the SES fleet. The new spacecraft will be brought into commercial service in the next few weeks following the completion of the extensive in-orbit testing programme.

  • Euro 2012: Spain vs Portugal match delivers 2.04 TVR for Neo

    MUMBAI: The semi-final match between Spain and Portugal was the most watched match of Uefa Euro 2012 garnering 2.04 TVR in the six metros (Sec ABC 15+ CS male target group), broadcaster Neo Prime said quoting TAM data.

    The second semi-final match between Germany and Italy got only 1.37 TVR. The two semi-finals had average ratings of 1.70 TVR.
    The viewership data for the final between Spain and Italy is expected next week.

    Comparably, the semi-final matches in the previous edition of tournament had average ratings of 1.12 TVR with the first semi-final match between Germany and Turkey getting a TVR of 1.91 and the second semi-final between Russia and Spain attracting 0.91 TVR.

    The 2008 Uefa Euro was aired on ESPN in India.

    The event‘s reach also improved significantly with 19.28 million viewers tuning in for matches till the semi-final stage. The previous edition had a reach of 14.96 million.

    The four quarter final matches for the tournament was 1.09 TVR with the last two matches getting viewership of above 1 TVR. The 2008 edition had average ratings of 0.88 for the quarter final stage.

    On the whole, the average event viewership notched 0.73 TVR which is just a tad better than the 0.67 TV in the previous edition. Eleven out of 30 matches till the semi-final stage rated more than 1 TVR compared to seven matches in the 2008 Uefa championship.

    In US, the Uefa Euro 2012 final on ESPN set a record as the most-watched European Football Championship game in the United States. The match was seen by an average audience of 4.068 million viewers in 2.699 million average television households.

    Throughout the 31 matches of the three-week tournament, ESPN‘s live English-language TV presentation delivered an average of 993,000 households and 1,300,000 viewers, up 51 per cent in households and viewers respectively, versus 31 matches in 2008 (657,000 households and 859,000 viewers).

    In the U.K., the Spain-Italy final on pubcaster BBC and ITV averaged 12.3 million viewers during the game, compared with two million on ITV.

  • BBC, ITV to launch a free-to-view satellite proposition

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has been given approval by the BBC Trust to launch a free-to-view satellite proposition as a joint venture with ITV in the UK.

    Freesat, as it is currently known, will provide a Standard and High Definition (SD and HD) enabled digital satellite proposition with launch anticipated for Spring 2008.

    Consumers will be offered up to 200 channels plus full digital satellite interactivity and high definition capability, without the need to pay a subscription.

    Consumers will also have a choice of equipment (including both SD and HD receivers, an HD personal video recorder and an integrated digital television), together with a range of installation options.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson said, “The BBC’s objective in launching Freesat is to support Digital Switchover by providing another way for licence payers to receive digital television channels and radio services, subscription free from the BBC and ITV. Its primary purpose is to drive digital take-up in analogue homes, particularly in those areas which are out of digital terrestrial coverage.

    “Freesat also offers a trusted free-to-view digital upgrade path that gives licence payers all the benefits of digital television (notably high definition capability) guaranteed free of subscription.”

    ITV executive chairman Michael Grade said, “Freesat will build on the success of Freeview by offering viewers a simple and cost effective way of upgrading to digital TV. By filling in the current gaps in Freeview coverage, Freesat will ensure that a free-to-air, no strings attached option for accessing digital TV is available to the whole of the UK ahead of digital switchover. By offering HD capability we will future proof Freesat if, as expected, high definition television continues to capture the imagination of UK viewers.”

    The BBC and ITV have been working with selected manufacturers, retailers and installers to develop an innovative consumer proposition.

    The proposal for a nationally available free satellite platform offered by the BBC working with other public service broadcasters was supported in the Government’s White Paper on the BBC Charter.

    It said: “The Government is keen to ensure that consumers have as wide a choice as possible of how they get digital TV. We welcome the plans being developed by the BBC and ITV for a free-to-view satellite service alongside Sky’s offering and we hope that the other public service broadcasters will join them in this endeavour. This promises to enhance further both consumer choice and competition in the television market.”

  • Parents place high value on originality of kids shows in the UK: study

    Parents place high value on originality of kids shows in the UK: study

    MUMBAI: According to the results of a YouGov poll, parents in Great Britain place a high value on originally produced, children’s programming and like to watch their favourite children’s programmes with their own children.

    The poll, commissioned by Pact – the trade association for independent producers – was conducted amongst a sample of 2551 adults across the UK.

    Other key findings of the survey include the following:

    • 66 per cent of parents believe original children’s programming provides families with shared cultural experiences

    • 70 per cent believe that original UK children’s programmes contribute to the UK’s cultural identity

    • 73 per cent agree that original UK produced children’s programmes encourage children to read and play imaginatively

    • 73 per cent agreed that original UK children’s programming is even more important in the age of multi-channel television

    • Just 21 per cent agree that programmes from countries like Japan and the US are just as high quality and family friendly as children’s programmes produced in the UK.

    These findings come at a critical time for the UK children’s programming industry. Over recent years there has been a steady decline in the level of new UK children’s programming shown on commercially funded public service broadcasters (ITV, Channel 4 and Five).

    ITV stopped commissioning new UK children’s programmes 12 months ago. It has continued with this policy despite Ofcom’s ruling that it is not allowed to cut the amount of children’s hours it broadcasts each week. Furthermore, it has also recently cut the total number of children’s hours to just two per week, despite Ofcom’s ruling.

    Pact also understands that Five’s commissioning of new UK programmes for older kids (outside the so-called pre-school genre) is under severe pressure.

    Historically the UK’s broadcasters have been renowned the world over for funding and broadcasting imaginative, high-quality and family-friendly programming.

    Successful contemporary shows made by the commercial broadcasters include:

    * My Life As A Popat: nominated for a Commission for Racial Equality award (ITV)
    * My Parents Are Aliens: deals with contemporary family values (ITV)
    * Fifi And The Flowertots: promotes the environment and health (Channel Five)
    * Peppa Pig: celebrates the warmth and humour of family life (Nick Jr)
    * A Different Life: teaches about children with unusual lives – from having rare disabilities to living in the South African bush (Five)
    * Art Attack: encourages kids to experiment (ITV)
    * Michaela’s Wild Challenge: explores nature and the environment (Five)
    * Brainiac: promotes science as fun (Sky1)