ITV

Tag: joint venture

  • Sony Music and Sony Pictures launch joint venture – ‘Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India’

    Sony Music and Sony Pictures launch joint venture – ‘Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India’

    Mumbai: Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced the creation of their first joint venture – Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI) to focus on creating opportunities for media talent in India.

     The new entity will offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers & content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures, metaverse solutions, as well as brand partnerships and management.

    Shridhar Subramaniam, Sanford Panitch, and N.P. Singh (managing director and chief executive officer, Sony Pictures Networks India) comprise SETVI’s board of directors, and Vijay Singh will lead the new company as CEO.

    The joint venture for Sony Group looks to combine the expertise and global reach of the two companies, leveraging the vast pool of commercial talent and star-power in India to build investment opportunities, partnerships, metaverse solutions and more for talent. “India is on track to become the third largest consumer market by 2030 and sustains one of the largest local-language content creation ecosystems in the world,” said the statement.

    The talent represented by SETVI will also benefit from potential partnerships and global opportunities across the wider Sony Group such as PlayStation and Sony Electronics.

    “SETVI will leverage our expertise, deep local relationships and global reach to give talent the potential to scale, become household brands and fully realize their creative and commercial potential,” said Sony Music Entertainment president of corporate strategy and market development in Asia and Middle East Shridhar Subramaniam. “The digital revolution and India’s unique start-up culture bring huge opportunities and SETVI’s role will be to partner with talent to build and serve their fans in exciting new ways.”

    “Sony Group’s ecosystem in India offers far-reaching and unique opportunities for talent to build their brands in an authentic way,” said Sony Pictures Motions Picture Group president Sanford Panitch.

    Vijay Singh was previously the CEO at Fox Star Studios for over a decade from 2010 to 2020. Prior to this, Singh was managing director of developing markets at the Tetley Group in London, and also brings music industry experience to the role, having previously led Sony Music Entertainment India as managing director from 1996 to 2002.

    “Our ambition is to work as advisors to talent to build their wealth and legacy and unlock the best monetization opportunities for them in India and the world.” said Vijay Singh. “It’s exciting to be spearheading this new venture and I look forward to working with talent to fulfil their ambitions in the coming years.”

  • HCIPL, Airtel announce JV to provide satellite broadband in India

    HCIPL, Airtel announce JV to provide satellite broadband in India

    Mumbai: Hughes Communications India Pvt Ltd (HCIPL) and Bharti Airtel have announced the formation of a joint venture to provide satellite broadband services in India.

    The new entity operational as HCIPL combines the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) businesses of both companies to offer flexible and scalable enterprise network solutions using satellite connectivity for primary transport, back-up, and hybrid implementation. Now serving Airtel VSAT customers, HCIPL has a combined base of over 200,000 VSATs and is the largest satellite service operator in the country.

    The agreement, announced in May 2019, has received all statutory approvals, including those from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and Department of Telecom (Government of India) and the joint venture has been formed.

    “We are pleased to commence this joint venture, further delivering on our commitment to serving the growing demand for always on, always available network connectivity for enterprise and government customers,” said HCIPL president and managing director Partho Banerjee. “Combining the proven capabilities of both Hughes and Airtel, the partnership will bring synergies to the forefront – including multi-orbit solutions – for the benefit of customers across the length and breadth of India.”

    “We, at Airtel, are focused on supporting and accelerating the digital transformation journeys of our customers through an integrated solutions portfolio,” said Airtel Business director and chief executive officer Ajay Chitkara. “With the combined capabilities of Airtel and Hughes, customers will get access to next-generation satellite connectivity backed by proven enterprise-grade security and service support.”

  • Discovery hikes stake to majority in Oprah Winfrey JV

    Discovery hikes stake to majority in Oprah Winfrey JV

    MUMBAI: David Zaslaw-headed Discovery Communications has been on an aggressive acquisition spree as it seeks to increase its relevance in an increasingly fragmenting multiplatform video world. It first acquired Eurosport completely in 2015 and followed it by acquiring Scripps Networks earlier this year for a massive $14.6 billion. Now, it has gone ahead and signed an agreement with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Inc to acquire another 24.5 per cent stake in the 50:50 joint venture it has with her in the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

    This transaction represents Winfrey’s first payment from Harpo ownership stake in OWN in the 10 years since forming the joint venture with Discovery. Winfrey’s Harpo will retain a significant minority interest in OWN and Winfrey will continue in her role as CEO, with her exclusivity commitment to the network extended through 2025.

    “Ten years ago, Oprah and I began to imagine what a network, inspired by her vision and values, could mean to viewers across the US,” said Discovery president & CEO David Zaslav. “In an increasingly crowded landscape, OWN has emerged as the leading destination for African-American women and one of the strongest super-fan brands across all screens and services. This transaction allows Discovery and Oprah to unlock more value from our partnership; extends once more her commitment to the network; and lets us continue our strong work together to nourish OWN viewers with the content they love.”

    “Creating OWN and seeing it flourish, supported by Discovery and a rapidly growing group of the finest storytellers in film and television, is one of my proudest achievements,” said Winfrey. “I’m thrilled with the network’s success and excited about this next chapter in our partnership. Together, we’ll continue to inspire our viewers with real-life stories that are emotional and entertaining, connecting them to each other and to their greatest potential.”

    Launched in 2011, OWN has become the #1 network for African-American women with the top four original scripted series on ad-supported cable. The network is led by hit series including Queen Sugar andGreenleaf, the top two original series on all of television Wednesday nights for African-American viewers. OWN and Winfrey have created unparalleled social media engagement, delivering the most social shows on ad-supported cable with three shows in the Top 10. The network has recently expanded its relationships with premier storytellers and producers including Ava DuVernay, Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, Academy Award-winning “Moonlight” writer/producer Tarell Alvin McCraney and prolific filmmaker Will Packer.

  • MSM to hold majority stake in JV with BBC for Sony BBC Earth launch

    MSM to hold majority stake in JV with BBC for Sony BBC Earth launch

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has entered into a joint venture with BBC Worldwide to bring BBC Earth to India. MSM will be a majority stakeholder in the JV partnership. 

     

    Called, Sony BBC Earth, the premium factual channel for Indian audiences, will broadcast in HD and will be available in Hindi, English and Tamil across India.

     

    While BBC Worldwide will draw on its programming catalogue, MSM has years of experience in programming and in operating and distributing television content under the Sony brand name.

     

    It may be recalled that in April this year, the two companies has announced their intention to jointly launch BBC Earth in India.

     

    The JV between MSM and BBC Worldwide and the launch of Sony BBC Earth is subject to necessary regulatory approvals in India.

     

    In order to scale up the JV with BBC Worldwide, MSM will be putting together a new team, which will handle the programming, marketing, operations as well as sales and distribution of Sony BBC Earth.

     

    MSM chief executive officer NP Singh said, “Sony BBC Earth is a joint venture between MSM and BBC Worldwide; with MSM owning the majority stake. This partnership with BBC Worldwide gives us an unparalleled edge in distributing factual programming to viewers across MSM’s network in India and to sharing with them, some of the best television content ever.”

     

    “Sony BBC Earth will combine information and entertainment in real surroundings and audiences that crave the virgin thrill and adventure of exploring natural environments, demystifying science and rewriting history will find it difficult to meander away from this channel. We are confident that within a short span of time, this new channel will carve its own distinct positioning in the minds of the discerning Indian viewer,” he added.

     

    BBC Worldwide Global Markets president Paul Dempsey added, “This is a pioneering model for us. By working with a respected local partner of the calibre of MSM we can bring BBC Earth’s world class content to a new audience who we know have a huge appetite for premium factual programming.”

  • Sandeep Goyal’s Mogae & Zeotap ink JV for programmatic advertising on mobile

    Sandeep Goyal’s Mogae & Zeotap ink JV for programmatic advertising on mobile

    MUMBAI: Sandeep Goyal’s Mogae Media has signed an MoU for a joint venture (JV) with Germany’s Zeotap for programmatic advertising on smartphones.

     

    The JV will bring to India the world’s most trusted platform for enriched, profiled and targeted mobile advertising. The new company will see an equal participation by both Mogae and Zeotap. The final financial structures are currently being worked upon.

     

    “Programmatic buying involves a paradigm shift in the approach to digital advertising from the entire ecosystem – brands, agencies, publishers, not forgetting the availability and capability of technology platforms (demand side platform, supply side platform, data management platform) to execute the true potential of programmatic. Programmatic is an ideal technique to move marketing from a fragmented campaign-by-campaign paradigm to an always-on paradigm covering the entire customer lifecycle. With Zeotap, we wish to do just that,” said Mogae Media chairman Sandeep Goyal.

     

    “The new investment will be employed towards Zeotap’s international expansion as well as to substantially grow our global technology centre in Bangalore,” added Zeotap CEO Daniel Heer.

     

    Zeotap co-founder and chief product officer (CPO) Projjol Banerjea said, “Zeotap’s platform makes some of the most comprehensive ad targeting capabilities available to the mobile advertising market. We work with publishers and supply-side platforms to optimize yield as well as advertisers and demand-side players to make ad buying more efficient. The company operates in Europe and Asia.”

     

    The Mogae-Zeotap JV platform will be live by September. A larger rollout is planned over the next 6-19 months.

  • JWT & Group SJR launch content marketing unit – Colloquial

    JWT & Group SJR launch content marketing unit – Colloquial

    MUMBAI: J. Walter Thompson and Group SJR, a unit of Hill+Knowlton Strategies have joined hands to launch a content marketing unit called Colloquial.

     

    The joint venture brings together the creative talent and strategic rigor of J. Walter Thompson with the publishing and audience development experience of Group SJR.

     

    Colloquial will build publishing environments for brands, specializing in content that builds loyalty and audience over time – short articles, infographics and visual stories for brands that are quickly conceived, made and shared. It is a content marketing unit that shows brands how to act like publishers and benefit from an always-on digital narrative, helping them build passionate and monetizable communities.

     

    Colloquial will embody the intersection of advertising, publishing and public relations, with storytelling and creativity at its core. The new unit will share locations and draw on talent from J. Walter Thompson in key global markets including Australia, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.

     

    “The launch of Colloquial is another piece of our strategy to continue building on J. Walter Thompson Company’s many assets to create solutions that build enduring and winning brands, while driving business growth for our clients. Content is the new currency. Colloquial will deliver both authentic narratives and the creative visual storytelling that brands are demanding and consumers want,” said J. Walter Thompson Company global chairman and CEO Gustavo Martinez.

     

    Group SJR managing partner Alexander Jutkowitz will serve as Colloquial’s CEO.

    “Successful brands innovate. Not only is that what J. Walter Thompson and Group SJR are doing with the creation of Colloquial, but it’s what we’re going to do for our clients — ensuring they have the ability to continuously reach targeted, ‘always on’ audiences with an array of engaging, high quality content that moves them,” said Jutkowitz.

     

    In addition to Jutkowitz as CEO, Colloquial will be led by William (Billy) Sind as editorial lead; Jinal Shah as strategy lead; and Gillian Melrose as marketing lead.

     

    “With the creative and strategic rigor of J. Walter Thompson, the creation of our digital agency network Mirum and now the launch of Colloquial, the J. Walter Thompson Company offers the full spectrum of content marketing to clients. We’re fortunate to have such great talent from across the advertising, public relations and publishing spaces, and know they’ll make a formidable team,” said J. Walter Thompson Company head of digital worldwide Stefano Zunino.    

  • Star India to promote Tendulkar-Warne promoted T-20 series?

    Star India to promote Tendulkar-Warne promoted T-20 series?

    MUMBAI: The game of cricket is all set to get bigger and better. Cricketing demigods Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne have reportedly teamed up with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp to establish a new Twenty20 cricket league for former international players renowned for their contribution to the sport.

     

    As per media reports, the Tendulkar – Warne joint innovation called Cricket All Stars League is set to roll as early as September 2015 in the US and in all likelihood  will air on Star India’s sports venture Star Sports. India’s leading broadcast network also holds the broadcasting rights of Indian cricket and other ICC tournaments. 

     

    Cricket All Stars League will have veterans from across the globe and the tournament will be organised by keeping cricket regulatory boards like International Cricket Council (ICC), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and Wales Cricket Board (WCB) in the loop.

     

    The league envisages 15 matches being played over a period of four years. Tendulkar and Warne have reportedly made an offer of between $25,000 per match to retired players like Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff and Jacques Kallis.

     

    Unlike the Indian Premier League (IPL), where there are eight teams participating, Cricket All Stars League will have 28 players equally divided into two teams.

     

    A senior media planning and buying executive, who closely deals with sports tells Indiantelevision.com, “If Sachin and Warne come together and start a league involving legends like Ponting, Flintoff, Dravid, it is obvious that it will get viewership. Now if it is happening in New York as reports are suggesting then the timings can emerge as an issue. Overall, it is very early to predict a future but if Sachin himself plays and gets his close buddies like Sourav, Dravid, Laxman and Kumble in, Indian cricket lovers’ admiration for him will grow further as no one ever expected to see the legends playing again. If Indian legends get involved in it and Star airs it, I see a flurry of advertisers, who will be ready to pay anything.”

     

    A cricket expert was of the opinion that the innovation can popularize cricket in the United States and unless it forces a player to leave national commitments in order to participate in the league, it is a good move. 

     

    “The coming together of legends is always big. Two names Sachin and Warne successfully grabbed attention of so many people. Now add Ponting, Flintoff, Kumble, Lee and see the prodigy and magnitude. Shane Warne’s post earlier this year hinted that a joint venture from them was coming but the success will be determined by the participation. If a noble cause is associated with it, I see legends participating but I doubt that a two-time world champion captain Ricky Ponting will be a part of something only for money. So we should wait before drawing conclusions. Retired players’ participation for financial purposes can put a question mark on their legacy and hence it remains to be seen how many agree to participate. However, if Sachin himself decides to play, I don’t see any of these arguments coming in.”

     

    As reported by Cricket.com.au, Cricket Australia and the International Cricket Council denied any knowledge of the proposal for the Cricket All Stars League. However, a CA spokesman suggested it could be a positive way to promote and grow the game in new or emerging markets – as long as it didn’t poach contracted international players.

     

    Brett Lee’s manager Neil Maxwell confirmed that Tendulkar and Warne had approached his client and that Lee would be seeking clearance from Cricket Australia to play in the league. “I can’t see anything wrong with it, it’s a group of retired blokes playing a game of cricket,” Maxwell told Fox Sports.

     

    With sports broadcasting on the rise in India, a property such as this, if done right, has the potential to garner enormous attention and emerge as a prime broadcasting asset for broadcasters, advertisers and cricket fanatics alike.

  • FremantleMedia inks JV with Shanghai Media Group

    FremantleMedia inks JV with Shanghai Media Group

     

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia has inked an exclusive joint venture deal with Shanghai Media Group’s (SMG) BesTV and China Media Capital (CMC). Under the JV, the companies will create and develop entertainment formats for the China market, set to reach millions of viewers on Dragon TV and BesTV platforms, and take proprietary China content to the world market through FremantleMedia’s global distribution network.

     

    Based in Shanghai, the bespoke development team will include international experts and local producers and will draw on FremantleMedia’s creative strength to develop original entertainment IP. Outside of mainland China, FremantleMedia International will represent the newly-created IP through its worldwide distribution network. 

     

    FremantleMedia global CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz said, “The Chinese television market is rapidly becoming one of the most important in the world. This new relationship with BesTV, SMG and CMC allows FremantleMedia to build on its existing presence in China and strengthen our ties in this territory. It brings with it the opportunity for FremantleMedia to showcase its world-renowned creativity to millions of new viewers, with content that is made specifically for them.”

     

    CMC founding chairman Ruigang Li added, “China’s TV sector is undergoing the most exciting transformation, and the value of premium content is being created and manifested with unprecedented enthusiasm. CMC is delighted to team up with SMG and FremantleMedia, a global leader in entertainment content, to bring together the profound understanding of the market, the established creative capacity and the strength of a global network to further shape the China TV landscape and take more of China’s original content to the world market.”

     

    SMG president Madame Wang Jianjun said, “We envision BesTV to be a new media conglomerate after the restructuring and China’s foremost OTT service provider. It will build a new media eco-system in which BesTV straddles over content production, distribution channels, and products and services. As format and idea development is a key part in content production, the joint venture will undoubtedly bring the best resources from all the companies together and gives a strong boost to BesTV. The collaboration will give SMG the wonderful opportunity to learn how to create good ideas and how to grow these ideas into formats and productions. It will greatly enhance SMG’s production capacity and help SMG make phenomenal variety shows in the future.”

     

    FremantleMedia Asia Pacific CEO Ian Hogg added, “This is a ground breaking deal, not only for Best TV, SMG, CMC, and FremantleMedia, but for Chinese audiences. The opportunity to create and execute story telling that focuses on Chinese values and tastes blended with western structure and creativity is a very powerful combination.”

     

    FremantleMedia has already forged strong relationships with a number of China’s broadcasters and has licensed around 20 titles, including Got Talent, Idols, The X Factor, Don’t Stop Me Now, Take Me Out Hole in the Wall and Family Feud.

  • Snapdeal, now bringing shopping to the small screen

    Snapdeal, now bringing shopping to the small screen

    MUMBAI: Looking at the growth of e-commerce sector in India, shopping at a click of a button seems to be the favourite pastime of the millions in the country.

     

    To make the most of it, e-retailer Snapdeal has gone a step further and formed a 50:50 joint venture with Den Networks to extend its reach to television home shopping audiences.

     

    The entities are together setting up a TV channel, which will be used as a marketplace platform for facilitating the sale of branded and unbranded merchandise and services, including vouchers offered by third-party sellers on Snapdeal.

     

    A source from Snapdeal says, “Snapdeal is not only trying to provide for consumers in the metros but also for people in tier II tier III cities and beyond. The current retail environment doesn’t cater to the smaller cities.”

     

    “Digital marketing can really bring a lot of depth in our plans and communications when it comes to top few tier cities but when you really want to go deep down in community, to the next round of cities, television is a medium to choose. Digital is definitely going up and providing great reserves, but television still remains one of the primary mediums,” the source adds.

     

    Snapdeal, which currently has over 30,000 vendors on its platform, will get direct access to millions of households in one go through this collaboration.

     

    Based out of Delhi, Den Networks reaches an estimated 13 million households in over 200 cities across 13 states in the country.

     

    Speaking about the reason behind its association with Den Networks, the source states, “They are the best partners for us in terms of ideation, speed of moving ahead and also the kind of household that they had, so all of that fell in place perfectly for us.”

     

    A separate team is taking care of the channel, which will be headquartered in Delhi. The channel will have full-fledged distribution across the country in the coming six to seven months, adds the source.

     

    After raising $12 million in its first round of funding in January 2011, the company has so far raised $340 million from PE firms. Started in February 2010 by Kunal Bahl along with Rohit Bansal, the company witnessed phenomenal growth in 2013-14, growing 600 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing e-commerce companies in India.

     

    Snapdeal’s rival HomeShop18.com, part owned by media major Network18, has a combined reach of over 250 million consumers coming through its integrated television, internet and mobile device channels.

     

    HomeShop18 recently filed its prospectus to raise a total of $75 million through a listing on the New York Stock Exchange including an offer for sale by some shareholders such as its CEO and parent Network18.

  • DEN Networks to launch a TV channel

    DEN Networks to launch a TV channel

    MUMBAI: In one big development multi system operator (MSO) DEN Networks has announced its joint venture with Jasper Infotech, the entity that owns and operates the digital commerce platform, Snapdeal.com.

     

    As per this 50:50 joint venture, DEN Networks will set up a television channel to be used as a market place platform for facilitating the sale of branded and unbranded merchandise and services, including vouchers offered by third party sellers subject to necessary approvals.

     

    The MSO is currently busy setting up its internet broadband services in all leading metros. And according to a PTI report, it has already invested close to Rs 250 crore in the project, which will offer the broadband services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad in the first stage.

     

    Jasper Infotech currently offers a huge range of product categories, which include: mobiles and tablets; computers, laptops, and gaming; TVs, audio/video, and movies; cameras, lenses, and accessories; appliances; men and women clothing; footwear; sunglasses, bags, and accessories; watches; jewelry and gold coins; perfumes, beauty, and gifting; kitchen and home furnishing; sports, fitness, and health; kids toys, clothing, and baby care; learning, stationary, and hobbies; automotive; and furniture and fixtures through its online store.

     

    It also operates ‘Launchpad’, an e-window that allows Indian innovators and inventors to list, market, and sell their products on the site; and capital assist that provides sellers on its platform with access to funding. Based in New Delhi, the company was founded in 2007.