ITV

Tag: Lavneesh Gupta

  • Reliance Broadcast Network ups Ashwin Padmanabhan as COO

    Reliance Broadcast Network ups Ashwin Padmanabhan as COO

    MUMBAI: For the second time in a year, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) has promoted executive vice president Ashwin Padmanabhan.

     

    In his new role as COO, Padmanabhan has stepped into the shoes of former COO Lavneesh Gupta, who quit earlier this year. He will continue to report to Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial.

     

    In May 2015, Padmanabhan was promoted as EVP, while he continued to handle his existing role as Big FM business head.

     

    Padmanabhan will now not only look after the radio business of RBNL’s Big FM, but also oversee the company’s television channels Big Magic and Big Magic Ganga.

     

    It may be recalled that after Gupta quit in May, RBNL went through a re-shuffle wherein the company’s chief financial officer Asheesh Chatterjee was appointed as executive vice president and was given the additional responsibility of COO.

     

    Padmanabhan, who was Big FM’s national business head since 2013, has been with the company since its inception, starting his tenure as cluster director at Andhra Pradesh. Since then, he has held various designations in the company.

     

    He holds an Engineering degree along with Masters in Business Administration from BIM, Trichy. He has worked in diverse business sectors including petrochemical, media and other services. Prior to joining Big FM, he was with Visage Media Services as founder and director of content development.

  • Reliance Broadcast Network ups executive leadership; Lavneesh Gupta quits

    Reliance Broadcast Network ups executive leadership; Lavneesh Gupta quits

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) has made a series of promotions in its top-level management. The newly appointed executive leadership team will work seamlessly across RBNL’s radio (92.7 Big FM) and television (Big Magic and Big Magic Ganga) businesses.

     

    The leadership team with Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial at the helm, will comprise Asheesh Chatterjee as the executive vice president and chief financial officer, who will be looking at new opportunities and expansion plans in addition to the finance and regulatory portfolios.

     

    On the other hand, Ashwin Padmanabhan as executive vice president and business head will oversee the television channels, in addition to his existing role as business head for 92.7 Big FM.

     

    RBNL chief strategy officer Sunil Kumaran will across handle revenue and product as well as marketing for both the radio and television businesses. The network’s creative director Paritosh Painter will also work across both the mediums.

     

    Meanwhile, after a stint of almost two years with the organization, RBNL chief operating officer Lavneesh Gupta has decided to move on.

     

    Katial said, “In order to build a future ready organisation, we want to build a team of lateral leaders. Their focus will be on developing skills of the team in the areas of innovation, creativity, risk taking and adopting an entrepreneurial approach. I am certain that the team will deliver and continue to successfully drive the growth story for the Group.”

  • Big Magic to experiment with mythological comedy

    Big Magic to experiment with mythological comedy

    MUMBAI: ‘Narayan! Narayan!’ chanted Naarad muni – the wise and mischievous character from Indian mythology. Reliance Broadcast Network’s Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) Big Magic is now looking at piggyback-riding on the popular character’s wit and humour by launching a mytho comedy show on him.

     

    “It is very easy to make someone cry but very difficult to make one laugh and that is what Big Magic is all about – making people laugh,” Reliance Broadcast Network (RBN) COO Lavneesh Gupta tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    In keeping with the strategy followed since its re-launch in 2014, Big Magic’s show will be in line with the channel’s positioning as a humor destination.

     

    The show is expected to launch in the new financial year. Centred around the life of Naarad, the show will tell the story from his point of view, while highlighting the bitter sweet relationship between Vishnu and Naarad. The show will maintain the inherent light–heartedness of Naarad’s character, while giving him his due respect as Dev Rishi – a saint who has been given the status of a God. Vishnu also plays a very important role of a mentor or guru to Naarad. Ensuring a takeaway, the show will highlight a lesson at the end of each story, which will be imparted to Naarad by Vishnu.

     

    Speaking about the pre-release research for the show, Gupta says, “When we launch a show with a new concept, we take into consideration consumer insights. Moreover, our historical comedy Akbar Birbal, which contributes upto 45 per cent of our ratings, is the biggest example of that. Insights have been taken from the testimony of the HSM (Hindi speaking market) specially focusing on the towns of MP, UP and Rajasthan, which are major contributors of HSM. We received positive feedback and our market research indicates that the show will fare well going forward.”

     

    With this show Big Magic expects to enhance its positioning and invade into an unexplored territory. “Naarad would be the first mytho–comical show in India and we would like to reinstate the faith we created with Akbar Birbal. Mythological shows on television today are doing well. However, no one has ventured into the mytho-comedy genre as yet. With Naarad, we are looking at establishing this genre. A lot of research went into zeroing in on the perfect character for this genre and that’s where Naarad came in,” informs Gupta.

     

    The channel is planning a three-pronged marketing strategy to promote the show. Gupta says, “The marketing campaign of Naarad will be based on three pillars: idea, concept and show characters. Plans are to aggressively promote the show across different media with heavy priority on the digital platform. Zeno Group has been given the creative mandate for the show’s ad campaign. Since the digital medium has the power of popularising things in seconds with its viral nature, our focus will be more on digital.”

     

    The channel has also presented Naarad’s concept to potential advertisers and has received a positive response due to the freshness factor.

     

    “We have extended or distribution widely with expansion into LC1. Currently we are also available on DD Direct, which gives us a large and incremental reach beyond the top six GECs,” Gupta informs.

     

    Mythology, as a genre, enhances awareness and the younger generation is oft asked to follow the same. Gupta believes that this is one reason why this segment is working on television. 

     

    Sharing his views on the future of the channel, he adds, “Going forward, we will keep exploring and launching new shows till we reach the peak in our genre. However, we will never shift away from our USP – Chatpata Har Pal. By the end of this financial year, we aim to be the best destination for comedy in the media space.”

  • Big Magic set for a week-long Holi celebration

    Big Magic set for a week-long Holi celebration

    MUMBAI: Big Magic Ganga is all set to entertain viewers this Holi weekend. The channel has readied a week-long programming line-up starting from 6 March called Faguaa. This was announced by Ravi Kishan and Bhojpuri actress Shinjini Kulkarni of Panditji Batai Na Byah Kabh Hoi-2 in Mumbai on 4 March.

     

    The channel built on local insights with a deep cultural connect has shows pegged on festivities and devotion, offering entertainment which can be watched by the entire family. In keeping with the same, it will celebrate the festival of Holi with exciting content such as Bhakti Sagar (7.30 am), Holi Dangal (10.30 am), Jogira Sara Ra Ra (4.30 pm), Bhakti Samrat (9 pm), Holi ki Hurdang (10.30 pm) and throughout the day on 5 and 6 March the channel will air Holi Thitholi. 

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “Big Magic Ganga provides pure and clean culturally enriching content for the entire family and that is what has made us connect with the region or migrants across the country understanding their needs of entertainment and reflection of the region. We wish all our viewers and partners a very happy and colourful Holi and look forward to continuing to entertain with our un-matched and locally enriching programming mix.”

  • Big Magic Ganga’s aspirational connect helps spike viewership

    Big Magic Ganga’s aspirational connect helps spike viewership

    MUMBAI: Big Magic Ganga, the regional general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Reliance Broadcast Network stable, has carved out a niche for itself in the Bihar+Jharkhand region. The channel, which has been seeing a growth in television ratings week on week, reached a new high in week eight of TAM TV ratings.

     

    Big Magic Ganga, which garnered 1474 GVTs in week seven of TAM TV ratings saw a 51 per cent jump in its ratings in week eight, registering 2238 GVTs.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta said that the week on week growth could be attributed to sustained insight backed programming. The time spent per viewer (TSV) for the channel currently stands at 58 minutes. “This too has been on a rise,” says Gupta.

     

    The channel, apart from its regular programming, banks highly on festivities.

     

    “For week 8, programmes related to Mahashivratri, aired across our various time slots did really well,” informs Gupta.

     

    In order to catch viewers attention, Big Magic Ganga, named the week Shiv Sapta, which had elements revolving around Lord Shiva. This apart, it also organised an on-ground event ‘Jai Baba Baijyanath’ with devotional singers. The same was also telecast on the channel.

     

    It also created a morning devotional band Bhakti Sagar, which telecast the Shivratri special from 6:30 – 9 am. A day-long programme on the case study of religious places called, Vishwas se Upar Aastha and Ram Charan Sukhdai telecast between 4-5 pm also gave a fillip to the channel’s ratings. Big Magic Ganga’s show Mahadev aired between 8-9 pm with repeats from 9:30 – 10:30 am also rated well, according to Gupta.

     

    Gupta feels that considering the region is high on pride of association and celebration of festivals, and there are festivals each month, which the channel celebrates, there is a strong local connect between the channel and the audiences, both on-ground as well as on-air.

     

    Big Magic Ganga has been the leader in the market for its devotional content and reality shows such as Bhakti Samrat, Beg Memsaab and Police Files. “Our strongest slot would be the morning slot – from 7:30 am right up to 10:30 am. This is highly skewed on devotion and resonates excellently with our viewers. Again in prime time evening too we do well,” adds Gupta.

     

    With six hours of original programming, the channel has the maximum original content, as compared to its competition, which includes a mix of devotion, reality and socially relevant programmes. “We increase the amount of content at the time of festivals. But we are largely happy with the audience feedback and will continue to deliver engaging content to them,” Gupta says.

     

    The channel is working towards giving audience the opportunity to engage with the brand. “In times of festivals, we craft our programming around devotion, festive and culture of the region and thus bring in fresh age groups including the youth as the channel is known for its programmes crafted on local connect and local festivals,” informs Gupta.

     

    Big Magic Ganga believes that it is essential to keep communicating with its viewers. In order to facilitate that, the channel has built local teams in Ranchi and Patna, and it is through them, that the channel undertakes several audience engagement initiatives.

     

    “From auditions on ground in the region to scout for talent, to consumer home visits to research we do it all. We also undertake regular focused group discussions and marketing through heavy on ground activations,” he informs.

     

    Big Magic Ganga, which conducts extensive research before closing in on any concept, understands that programming pegged on devotion, festivals, reality, drama and musicals works for the region. “Quantitative research, followed by focused group discussions with the pilot is always done to ensure audience acceptability,” he says, adding that the channel is looking at launching a slew of new shows soon.

     

    The channel has been standing strong, even after stern competition from the national GECs. Shedding light on how it deals with this competition, Gupta says, “Viewers watch national GECs because of aspirational value and not due to local connect. This is unique and we aim to provide local content with an aspirational and pride angle with higher relevance.”

     

    The channel, as per Gupta, has connected with its audience by making Bhojpuri more aspirational and bringing in new elements, targeting even the youth.

  • Bloomberg TV India appoints Alok Nair as executive vice president

    Bloomberg TV India appoints Alok Nair as executive vice president

    MUMBAI: English business news channel Bloomberg TV India has appointed Alok Nair as its executive vice president. As part of his new portfolio, Nair will be responsible for P&L, business strategy, marketing, content, distribution and overall growth strategy of the channel. He will be working with the board of Business Broadcast News.

    During his tenure at Network 18, Nair’s last assignment was as the national revenue head – CNBC TV18 and CNBC Prime HD.

    Nair said, “I am really excited with this opportunity at Bloomberg TV India, the country’s most influential news organisation. The channel is poised to take giant leaps towards success. In the near future the market can expect some path breaking opportunities and impact. I am confident that I will be able to tackle the complex challenges. The rapidly changing business news environment and immense potential of the market will definitely contribute to the growth and success of the company. I look forward to the support and guidance of the board.”

    Commenting on Nair’s appointment, Bloomberg TV India COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “Alok brings a unique blend of talent, experience and deep understanding of the News Channel business and will surely add tremendous value to the group. I am confident that he will be a prodigious asset to the organization and will help us reach the next level through his keen understanding of the business. We endorse Alok’s belief that there is serious value unlocking to be done in the Business News space and Bloomberg TV India, a part of the world’s world’s most influential news network, can surely lead the way. The year 2015 will be exciting with many disruptive and differentiated media products that will be offered by the channel. It will definitely ensure a higher impact for advertisers as well as viewers.”

    Nair comes with a rich experience in print, general news and business news domain. Having worked and interacted with the finest minds in the industry, he has many firsts to his repertoire. At Network 18, he was a part of the initial team and has seen the network grow from one channel – CNBC TV 18 and one portal – www.moneycontrol.com to one of the biggest integrated news network. Nair closely built the Focus brand solutions business-first on news television and was instrumental in creating path breaking formats and properties across business and general news channels-CNBC TV18, CNBC AWAAZ,CNN IBN and IBN 7. He eventually went on to head the Focus business across the News Network.

     He possesses a post-graduate degree from Times School of Marketing, Delhi.

     

  • Big Magic strengthens distribution network with Tata Sky

    Big Magic strengthens distribution network with Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Reliance Broadcast Network, Big Magic, has strengthened its distribution with direct-to-home (DTH) player, Tata Sky.

     

    Starting 1 February, the channel will be available on Tata Sky channel number 138 to subscribers across the country.  This move helps Big Magic to gradually fortify its space in the comedy genre in India with original differentiated content.

     

    This announcement enables Tata Sky to offer its viewers a differentiated content around comedy with Big Magic’s programming mix targeted to a relevant and discerning audience base across relevant markets. Big Magic’s original programming mix is a comical line up of hilarious sitcoms, a side splitting historical comedy; laugh out loud weekend specials, festive specials and comedy blockbuster films.  Its shows include Har Mushkil Ka Hal Akbar Birbal, Uff Yeh Nadaniyan, Bal Gopal Kare Dhamaal and more catering to wholesome entertainment for each segment and age group. With new shows coming up centered around comedy, Big Magic is poised to engage, enrich and entertain its new audiences across the country.

     

    Tata Sky chief content and business development officer Paolo Agostinelli said, “For Tata Sky, catering to consumers across age groups with the growing preference towards comedy, Big Magic as a channel would be a rather unique offer suiting the needs of our customers across the country. We will finally showcase the range of offerings from Big Magic on our platform.”

     

    Added Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “We are happy to announce our availability on Tata Sky, which allows Big Magic to immediately grow its reach across the geography. We are confident of our product with differentiated comedy content and designed as per audience needs for the entire family. Strengthening our distribution spectrum is a strategic move towards focusing on growing the channel with additional new content that is expected soon.”

  • CCL 2015: Big Magic Ganga to live broadcast Bhojpuri Dabanggs’ matches

    CCL 2015: Big Magic Ganga to live broadcast Bhojpuri Dabanggs’ matches

    MUMBAI: Big Magic Ganga has entered into an exclusive broadcast partnership with Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) 2015 for team ‘Bhojpuri Dabanggs’. It allows the channel the right to telecast three matches of the team along with the semi finals and finals.

     

    The specials have already started live on the channel between 7 pm from 10 January onwards, opening a window to artists from the Bhojpuri industry in matches.

     

    Team ‘Bhojpuri Dabanggs’ is owned and captained by Bhojpuri actor and politician Manoj Tiwari, with actor Nirahua as the vice captain. The team consists of other celebrities from the Bhojpuri entertainment industry. As official and exclusive broadcast partners, Big Magic Ganga will feature entertainment capsules beyond the field, which will include practice sessions, candid moments, fitness tips, interests of the players and more.

     

    Through this partnership, Big Magic Ganga offers to its audience rich entertainment content and a peek into the lives of the stars. On the other hand, with this platform, CCL will deliver its content to a relevant audience base.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “This is the second year of our partnership with CCL. The content has in the past resonated excellently with our audiences, and we are happy to be offering them with yet another opportunity to engage with our channel through this content. This also presents an excellent window for marketers seeking relevant reach in this media dark market.”

     

    CCL founder and MD Vishnu Induri added, “India is a country of immense diversity and tastes. India’s fabric of unity is exemplified by the way its people watch cricket and movies. We have combined the two to give the public an extraordinary dose of entertainment while riding on the regions number one channel. Let’s hope CCL 2015 is a success amongst the viewers.”

     

    Speaking on the association, actor Manoj Tiwari said, “I am happy to know Big Magic Ganga is broadcast partner for Bhojpuri Dabangg team. Ganga brings out the essence of the region and has the right local connect as a leader in the region. Bhojpuri Dabangg team thanks the channel for their support.”

     

  • Bloomberg TV ‘Autocar India Awards 2015’ to be held on 9 January

    Bloomberg TV ‘Autocar India Awards 2015’ to be held on 9 January

    MUMBAI: Bloomberg TV India, the nation’s leading English business news channel and Autocar India the most definitive magazine of the auto industry will present   the Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2015. The 7th edition of the Awards – India’s biggest and most respected automotive Awards presented by Reliance General Insurance will be held in Mumbai on 9th January, 2015. The event will host distinguished corporate leaders and personalities, who will come together, to salute achievers from the automotive sector.

    Recognizing the evolving needs of the fast-paced Indian is the theme of this year’s awards. India is changing, so are the Indian Automotive consumers, who are now looking for vehicles that are more innovative, technology that is more intuitive and value that goes beyond just mileage. Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2015, recognizes these evolving needs and how the automotive companies are keeping pace with them, by innovating better, using technology more intelligently and creating designs that are customized for Indian roads.
     
    Bloomberg TV India COO Lavneesh Gupta, speaking about the Awards said, “Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards are regarded as the Oscars of the Automobile industry. The Awards have become the benchmark of performance for the industry and with each passing year the bar has been raised by the players. We proudly salute the achievements of the sector as well as individual players who have strived hard to keep pace with the evolving needs of the fast paced Indian.”
     
    Autocar India Magazine editor  Hormazd Sorabjee added, “These awards have unmatched credibility thanks to an exhaustive evaluation process and a jury that is the best in the business. Consumers can rely on these awards to make an informed car buying decision. We expect the 2015 awards to be a keenly fought battle across all categories and wish all nominees the very best.”
     
    Speaking on the occasion, Reliance General Insurance CEO Rakesh Jain said, “Indians today are moving towards a smarter world, well-equipped with the latest technology and innovation. This year’s Award’s theme ‘Recognizing the evolving needs of the fast-paced Indian’ is a contextual theme. The needs and desires of the fast-paced Indian has evolved keeping in pace with any of the global citizens. We are mindful of these trends and have always endeavoured to provide customized products and solutions. We are proud of our association with Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2015 and through this Award platform we wish to promote the cause of on-road customer safety & protection with our valued motor customers.”
     
    The Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2015 will be given across following categories to the best and the most deserving contributors to the auto industry. The categories are ~ Car Of The Year, Bike of The Year, Viewer’s Choice Car of The Year, Viewer’s Choice Bike of The Year, Best Design & Styling, Premium Bike of The Year, Import Bike of The Year, Car Dealer of The Year, Best Value For Money Car, Best Variant of The Year, Car Manufacturer of The Year, Best Driver’s Car, Performance Car of The Year, Compact Sedan of The Year, Sedan of the Year, Luxury Sedan of The Year, Compact Luxury Car of the Year, Hatchback of the Year, SUV of The Year, Engine of The Year, CSR Initiative towards road safety(Two Wheeler), CSR Initiative towards road safety(Four Wheeler), Innovation in Safety & Protection ( Two Wheeler), Innovation in Safety & Protection ( Four Wheeler).
     
    The jury panel comprised of experts like Hormazd Sorabjee (Editor – Autocar India); Renuka Kirpalani (Editor – Autocar India show); Shapur Kotwal (Deputy Editor – Autocar India); Narain Karthikeyan (India’s first Formula 1 Driver); Kartikeya Singhee (Consultant Editor – Autocar India Show); Manvendra Singh (India’s leading Automotive Historian & Restorer); Rishad Cooper (Two Wheeler Editor – Autocar India); C S Santosh (Motocross Rider). The entire methodology and process is validated by knowledge support partners PricewaterhouseCooper.
     
    The Bloomberg TV India Autocar India Awards 2015 presented by Reliance General Insurance, will be held on 9 January 2015 at the Seaside Lawns, Taj Lands End, Mumbai.

     

  • Big Magic launches devotional music talent hunt ‘Bhakti Samrat’

    Big Magic launches devotional music talent hunt ‘Bhakti Samrat’

    MUMBAI: Viewers in Bihar and Jharkhand are soon going to be treated with a pleasant surprise. Reason, Big Magic Ganga is all set to launch the first ever devotional music talent hunt show – ‘Bhakti Samrat’.

    The show will celebrate the region’s bright culture and music. Focused on providing a platform to the budding talent of the region, while giving a platform to the Bhojpuri singers, it will hit the television screens from 22 December and will air at 9 pm from Monday – Friday.

    Using music as a tool to connect the youth to God, the special offering promises to resonate excellently with audiences. The show is based on the devotional music talent hunt format for Bhojpuri singers of the region. It will see a host of artists from the Bhojpuri industry making an appearance on the show along with host Alok Pandey and the judges panel Singer Devi and Gopal Rai.

    Auditions are underway across Varanasi, Ranchi, Patna and Delhi and have seen people come forward in thousands to participate. With stringent elimination rounds, only the final 16 will be hand-picked to go ahead and fight for the title. Ensuring true local flavour, the selected contestants will be divided into four teams: Mithila ke Gaurav, Maghadh ke Yoddha, Purvanchal Ke Lal and Vananchal ke Veer each representing the region from which the contestant belongs. These four teams will fight and only one contestant will emerge as ‘Bhakti Samrat’.

    Speaking on the property, Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta said: “This is an excellent property for marketers seeking to reach a relevant audience base in the region. Given the resonance with the youth and appeal to the entire family, this property will deliver yet another engaging watch. For Big Magic Ganga it is part of our endeavour to offer clutter breaking entertainment which is tailored basis insights of religion and festivities that resonate with audiences of the region. We are proud of yet another exclusive offering and I congratulate the team on the same.”

    The show will be supported with a multi media marketing plan across outdoor, radio, television and newspaper inserts.