ITV

Tag: Microsoft

  • FHM India App is available on Windows Phone 8

    FHM India App is available on Windows Phone 8

    MUMBAI : Men‘s lifestyle magazine For Him Magazine India has recently launched its app on Windows phone 8 for free. According to FHM Windows phone was the natural choice for the company. The app has special features such as the lockscreen where the images continually change on a schedule pre-set by the user.

    It can be downloaded from the Windows Phone store where the content will be uploaded twice a week which it will include different sections like cover girl, the girl next door, an extended image gallery, jokes, witty one liners and the latest on bikes, cars and gadgets as well as contests.

    To access favorite sections of FHM users can pin the sections onto the start screen and directly access one‘s favorite sections. If one is more interested in gadgets than cars or in the Girl Next Door rather than the Cover Girl, one can increase and decrease the tile accordingly. Readers can choose their favorite pictures available on the FHM app and set them as a lockscreen (aka a wallpaper). Besides choosing their lockscreen wallpaper, readers can also access content exclusive to the app from FHM India.

    FHM India editor Kabeer Sharma said , “The ethos of the app is Sexy, Edgy, Useful content on the go. We‘ve taken the best parts of FHM and put them in an app for your Windows 8 Smartphone. But, for those who scandalise easily, we have put in gadgets, music, cars and trivia in there too. The app is your daily dose of content broken down bite sized just like your mother used to do.”

    Commenting on the same Microsoft Corporation India, director Vineet Durani said ,”Microsoft is very pleased to debut the FHM India app adding to the growing list of exclusive fun apps on the Windows Store. As the Windows Phone 8 offers consumers a great experience across different price points and app publishers a high level of security features, the Windows Phone Store is fast becoming the app store of choice for the best apps in India and the world. The FHM India app with its exciting mix of content is a great match for the features of the Windows Phone 8 device. It is as unique and cool as Windows Phone 8 itself”.

  • Microsoft to provide live streaming service for NBC Sports’ digital platforms

    Microsoft to provide live streaming service for NBC Sports’ digital platforms

    MUMBAI: NBC Sports Group has partnered Microsoft to use the latters Windows Azure Media Services across its digital platforms, including NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com and GolfChannel.com.

    Through the agreement, which rolls out this summer, Microsoft will provide both live-streaming and on-demand viewing services for more than 5,000 hours of games and events on devices, such as smartphones, tablets and PCs. These services will allow sports fans to be able to relive or catch up on their favorite events and highlights that aired on NBC Sports Group platforms.

    “NBC Sports Group is thrilled to be working with Microsoft. More and more of our audience is viewing our programming on Internet-enabled devices, so quality of service is important. Also, our programming reaches a national audience and needs to be available under challenging network conditions. We chose Microsoft because of its reputation for delivering an end-to-end experience that allows for seamless, high-quality video for both live and video-on-demand streaming,” NBC Sports Group SVP and GM of digital media Rick Cordella.

    NBC Sports Group‘s unique portfolio of properties includes the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games, “Sunday Night Football,” Notre Dame Football, Premier League soccer, Major League Soccer, Formula One and IndyCar racing, PGA Tour, US Open golf, French Open tennis, Triple Crown horse racing, and more.

    “Microsoft is constantly looking for innovative ways to utilize the power of the cloud, and we see Windows Azure Media Services as a high-demand offering,” said Microsoft corporate vice president Scott Guthrie.

    “As consumer demand for viewing media online on any available device grows, our partnership with NBC Sports Group gives us the opportunity to provide the best of cloud technology and bring world-class sporting events to audiences when and where they want them.”

    Microsoft has a broad partner ecosystem, which extends to the cloud. To bring the NBC Sports Group viewing experience to life, Microsoft is working with iStreamPlanet Co. and its live video workflow management product Aventus. Aventus will integrate with Windows Azure Media Services to provide a scalable, reliable, live video workflow solution to help bring NBC Sports Group programming to the cloud.

  • Ericsson to acquire Microsoft’s IPTV biz Mediaroom

    Ericsson to acquire Microsoft’s IPTV biz Mediaroom

    MUMBAI: Ericsson has reached an agreement with Microsoft to acquire its TV solution Mediaroom business. The acquisition, Ericsson believes, will make it one of the leading providers of IPTV and multi-screen solutions with a market share of over 25 per cent.

    Mediaroom is situated in Mountain View, California and employs more than 400 people worldwide. Ericsson expects to close the acquisition during the second half of 2013.

    Ericsson SVP and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions Per Borgklint said, “Ericsson‘s vision of the Networked Society foresees 50 billion devices to be connected via broadband, mobility and cloud. Future video distribution will have a similar impact on consumer behavior and consumption as mobile voice has had. This acquisition contributes to a leading position for Ericsson with more than 40 customers, serving over 11 million subscriber households. In addition, Ericsson will be powered with senior competence and some of the most talented people within the field of IPTV distribution.”

    The global IPTV market is estimated to reach 76 million subscribers in 2013 with revenues of $32 billion growing to 105 million subscribers and $45 billion in 2015.

    “Mediaroom is the leading platform for video distribution deployed with the world‘s largest IPTV operators. This strategic acquisition positions Ericsson as an industry leader thanks to the skills and experiences of the talented people of Mediaroom combined with Ericsson‘s end to end service capabilities,” Borgklint concluded.

    The total media solution portfolio of Ericsson in the TV and video space combined with a further increased focus on consumer needs will be the foundation for providing services to end users. The importance of video distribution capabilities for the customers and their consumers will be increasing as more and more LTE networks are deployed and filled with smartphone users.

    “We are proud of the number one IPTV market position that we have achieved with Mediaroom. Ericsson‘s complementary portfolio of TV and networking services will help drive the future growth and development of Mediaroom,” said Microsoft Corporation Corporate VP Tom Gibbons. “Ericsson is positioned to be a valuable strategic partner for operators and TV service providers around the world as the IPTV market evolves.”

    Microsoft Mediaroom is the TV technology behind many of the world‘s leading television service providers like AT&T U-verse, Entertain of Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, TELUS Optik TV(TM) and Swisscom. Mediaroom-powered TV services are offered on more than 22 million set top boxes deployed throughout the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

    Ericsson already sees that the ever-changing behaviors of TV consumers are evolving faster than ever. Speed of innovation and intelligent solutions drive consumer propositions in TV anywhere. This development will continue to fuel the industry as convergence becomes reality. The development requires content owners, broadcasters, TV service providers and operators to re-think their propositions.

  • Brands need to keep the customers at the centre: Ray Velez

    VARCA: At Goafest 2013, Razorfish chief technology officer Ray Velez explained how a company should organise a brand around the consumer by busting silos and applying the principles of agile development across one‘s business.

    “A brand should always keep his customer at the center. One‘s organisation must be structured around the customer that will in a way help in building relationship with him. A marketer should plan his strategy based on the data from the actual customer activity and also understand that customer will give a feedback whether you like it or not,” he said, while talking about the five principles one should embrace in order to evolve their business to deliver new customer experience.

    He also said a marketer should measure the data and see how to maintain the interactivity with the costumer. “Think of your brand as a service,” he emphasised.

    He added that a customer should be serviced well so that he comes back. One needs to fulfill consumer needs which will henceforth enhance customer relationship and deliver happiness. Loyal customers buy 75 per cent more than the others, Velez mentioned.
    Velez also added about how to thrive in our age of disruption. He highlighted on how the lines have blurred with technology, media, and creativity coming together, and how this shift is revolutionising marketing and business strategy.

    “Convergence of technology, media and creativity allow you to imagine, create, and enable customer experience like never before. Media allows a two way communication through a hash tag which is a way for a customer to talk back. Creativity can come from anywhere and everywhere. And these are the provisions that technology provides,” he said.

    Vezel believes that it‘s all about telling a brand story and providing an experience in a whole new way.

    “Simple plug in buttons such as Facebook‘s “Like” and “Share,” Google‘s “+1,” and Twitter‘s “Tweet” and “Follow” dramatically lower the barrier to users sharing content from one‘s site out to their entire social graph,” he added.

    Social cloud services provide digital experiences or web properties with the ability to connect up with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Microsoft and other social services.

    These services come in the form of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that a technologist can integrate. Whether a digital experience is a mobile application or a traditional desktop site, these APIs are available.

    According to Velez, one should create a 360 degree view of the consumer with analysing his media exposure, offline consumer data and the website behavior. ‘Data is something which tells you what your customer wants. Also, employ agile methodology and rapid prototype,” Velez said.

    Velez said that one needs to embrace the diversity of culture and other diversities in order to deliver new customer experience. He picked a statement from Frans Johansson‘s book The Medici Effect saying, “When you step into an intersection of field, disciplines of culture, you can combine existing concepts into a large no. of extraordinary new ideas”.

  • MSN appoints NowThis News as video content partner

    MSN appoints NowThis News as video content partner

    MUMBAI: MSN, Microsoft‘s information and entertainment network, has appointed NowThis News as the network‘s video contributor.

    NowThis News, the new video news network built for the digital generation, will provide MSN and its hundreds of millions of users with original, distinctive reports on topics ranging from breaking news to politics, entertainment, technology and viral videos.

    “NowThis News is thrilled to work with MSN, one of the world‘s most popular outlets,” said NowThis News GM Eason Jordan. “As consumption of on-demand news videos skyrockets, this partnership will introduce MSN‘s massive user base to NowThis News‘s unique take on the news, while significantly expanding the reach of NowThis News.”

    “Offering high-quality, informative, and entertaining video is core to the MSN promise of keeping our audience in the know,” said MSN GM and Executive Producer Rob Bennett. “NowThis News is a perfect addition to MSN Video and our MSN News line-up in the US.”

  • CNBC teams up with Lotus F1 team

    MUMBAI: CNBC, the world‘s leading business and financial news network, has teamed up with Lotus F1 Team as its Official Business Media Partner.

    Throughout the 2013 Formula 1 season, this new agreement will allow Lotus F1 Team‘s partners to benefit from CNBC‘s unmatched reach of affluent and influential business leaders with commercial advertising campaigns airing on its international network. This new relationship builds on the team‘s recent partnerships with brands such as Microsoft, Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company.

    The partnership will see CNBC branding on the nose of the team‘s 2013 car, as well as on driver and pit crew overalls, team uniform, branding around the paddock and on marketing materials.

    “CNBC‘s partnership with Lotus F1 Team is extremely exciting. It‘s an innovative marketing solution which provides branding and commercial opportunities for both parties. The Formula 1 audience is complementary to our own influential and affluent viewer base around the world. We look forward to working with Lotus F1 Team and wish them success in the 2013 season,” said CNBC VP Marketing & Communications Charlotte Westgate.

    Lotus F1 Team Team Principal Eric Boullier said, “CNBC is a fantastic partner which highlights the growing importance of Lotus F1 Team as a vehicle for the business world. We are working with household brands such as Microsoft, Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company;brands whose actions are watched closely in the business world. Our partnership with CNBC brings us greater exposure in this environment and allows our business-to-business platform to flourish.”

  • Contextual marketing with web content is the next big thing

    Contextual marketing with web content is the next big thing

    MUMBAI: The third WatSummit took place in Mumbai and it brought together executives from the digital industry to a single platform. The panellists not only shared industry insights but also gave a forecast of the biggest trends for this year.

    The summit began with a welcome note from WatMedia founder, CEO Rajiv Dingra.

    Keynote speaker Microsoft senior director for Emerging Markets, India, Malaysia, Thailand & Korea Advertising and Online Neville Taraporewalla shared his views on the growth of social media, the smartphone culture across the world. “Growth of smartphones and tablets are changing consumer experience are catalysts in building an identity in the digital space” he said. According to him the smart phone culture has given a huge impetus to gamification. “Games are everywhere. Everything is becoming a game. In Korea, games are ranked no. 2 activity, after talking on phone”he added.

    The first panel discussion of the summit – Social Media Marketing – Making sense of jibber-jabber by brands saw personalities like MTV India head digital Eklavya Bhattacharya, PaulWriter CEO Jessie Paul, KRDS business head Asia Preetham Venky and Komli Media VP and country head Ad Network Gulshan Verma discussing social media platforms and the opportunities it brings for the B2B and B2C brands.

    While Jessie Paul thought that B2B is a major challenge on social media, Eklavya deciphered the pros of contextual advertising catering to the B2C industry. It was commonly agreed that platforms like Facebook and Twitter drive engagement and help you converse with the B2C group and platforms like Linkedin are more influential for B2B. “B2B is a slow adopter of social media.” said Paul.

    The second panel discussion – Digital Media Marketing – ‘Can it build a brand on its own?’ saw panelists discussing conversions and the effectiveness of the digital medium to enable conversions. There is a lot of investment that goes into digital. Madison Media digital director Amit Duggal said, “Any medium that converts more than 100 million users is a huge medium in itself.”

    The effectiveness and importance of mobile marketing was discussed at length at the fourth panel discussion – Mobile Marketing – Promises of reach Vs. Actual Impact. The panelists were seen conferring the various aspects of mobile marketing. Mobile First is the way for marketers. The point was made that advertisers have realised the need of the mobile medium and its penetration. It was also stated by the panelists that there is a lot of impact-oriented strategies taking place on mobile. ‘App routes’ and ‘Web routes’ are the best ways to target consumers on mobile.

    Known for his expertise at start-up Games2Win co-founder, CEO Alok Kejriwal said, “If you are a start-up, you don’t spend money, you spend your brain.”

  • Yahoo’s deal with Microsoft not performing: Mayer

    Yahoo’s deal with Microsoft not performing: Mayer

    MUMBAI: At the 2013 Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said the search partnership that Yahoo did with Microsoft three years back was in order to challenge Google. But instead of growing share, the companies have simply traded share with each other.

    Microsoft had 16.3 percent share and Yahoo had 12.2 percent share in December, a reversal of two years earlier. Google‘s share has remained unchanged at over 60 per cent. Yahoo is also looking to grow impressions by reducing the number of mobile apps from 60 to 12. “We don‘t want to overload people by expecting them to download too many distinct, individual apps” she said. Impressions means the number of times an ad appears on a webpage. Clicks then generate revenue.
     
    Interestingly she also said that she thinks about who could be doing a better job on her management team. Since joining Yahoo she has already replaced the COO, CFO and CMO. “I think about who could be a better COO. I think about who could be a better CFO.”

    One good thing that has happened is that Yahoo stock price has risen by over 30 per cent since Mayer took charge last year.

  • Rana Barua joins Contract Advertising as COO

    MUMBAI: Rana Barua, the former Chief operating officer (COO) of Law and Kenneth, has joined Contract Advertising India in the same position.

    Barua succeeds Umesh Shrikhande, who recently left to pursue other opportunities. He will partner the senior leadership team at Contract to ensure the best value proposition for clients.

    JWT South Asia CEO Colvyn Harris said, “Rana has diverse management experience with a proven track record that makes him an ideal choice for Contract, one of India‘s leading independent integrated advertising agencies. I am confident that Rana with his experience across advertising and integrated brand solutions will ensure that Contract continues to be a very successful agency.”

    Barua said, “I am excited with the opportunity of being a part of the Contract story. It is a wonderful time for our industry as it continues to evolve so rapidly. Contract is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this and I am confident I will be able to facilitate this process by partnering with the senior management team.”

    In his 19 years of experience Barua has served varied roles like COO of RED FM and the head of marketing for Radio City where he successfully repositioned the radio station to make it amongst the top two stations in the country.

    He started his career in advertising having worked at HTA (JWT), Ogilvy, McCann and Y&R. His category experience includes working with brands like Renault, eBay, ING Life, Godrej, Reckitt Benckiser, J&J, Gillette Parker, Microsoft, HP, Tata Tea, Zydus Cadila, Levers, Tata AIG & AIA, Marico, Virgin Atlantic, and ITC.

  • Telefónica, Microsoft to deploy global video platform

    Telefónica, Microsoft to deploy global video platform

    MUMBAI: Telecom company Telefónica‘s subsidiary Telefonica Digital and Microsoft have announced a multi-year strategic agreement to create a new global video platform (GVP) for all video entertainment services across Telefónica‘s Operating Businesses.

    Based on key Microsoft technologies including the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, the GVP is unique in delivering TV services over both managed (IPTV) and non-managed (over the top) networks, at global scale, to a range of consumer devices.

    The first GVP deployments are taking place in Brazil, Chile and Spain, and Telefónica anticipates extending the deployment of TV services based on the GVP to a number of its other Operating Businesses over the next few years.

    Telefónica Digital director of digital services Vivek Dev said, "Video is a fast-growing market, and we already play a leading role in delivering Pay TV services to customers in Europe and Latin America. This new platform allows us to reflect the deep and rapid changes happening in this market. It offers the ease and convenience of a global, convergent platform while maintaining flexibility over content for our local businesses. Most important, it allows us to meet customer demands for access to video content on an ever-expanding range of devices".

    The GVP, and its use of Mediaroom, will enable Telefónica to deliver to consumers high-performance, differentiated and feature-rich TV services over both its managed high-speed broadband networks as well as "over-the-top" nonmanaged broadband networks. It provides a range of advanced features to TV subscribers, including time-shifting and multiscreen among others, enabling Telefónica to take advantage of its multidevice capabilities.

    Microsoft corporate VP, Operator TV Business Tom Gibbons said, "Telefónica is a close partner to Microsoft, and the Global Video Platform, based on the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, will enable them to grow their business and reach new audiences. This new agreement focused on Telefónica‘s GVP further extends our alliance in the world of TV and video entertainment to a range of screens throughout the home and on the go, and the benefits will be enjoyed by many millions of people globally. Through its use of IP-based broadband networks and the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, Telefónica‘s next-generation TV services are poised to delight and entertain millions of consumers across their markets in Europe and Latin America."

    These services can be enjoyed by consumers on a range of devices inside and outside the home, including set-top boxes, Xbox 360, tablets and smartphones. Because the Mediaroom platform includes key technologies such as Microsoft PlayReady, Internet Information Services Smooth Streaming and Microsoft Silverlight, the delivery of TV services across these various networks and to multiple screen types can all be done via one common technology infrastructure. This is expected to result in significant efficiencies for Telefónica in time to market, cost of delivery and overall scale.

    Earlier this month, Telefónica launched its premium Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service in Brazil, which follows a similar launch in Chile in October. Both services, Vivo TV Fibra in Brazil and Movistar IPTV in Chile, are the first IPTV deployments that take advantage of the new GVP platform and its capabilities, offering an exceptional user experience for their Fiber to the Home customers. In November 2011, Telefónica and Microsoft launched the first service enabled by the GVP: Movistar Imagenio on Xbox 360. It provides subscribers with 12 linear channels focused on sports, including the Spanish First Soccer League (Liga BBVA) under Canal+ Liga Channel.

    During the past 14 months, the Microsoft Mediaroom platform has continued to scale its deployments and services, surpassing 11 million consumer households and 22 million set-top boxes across the Americas, EMEA and APAC, further securing its position as the world‘s most deployed IPTV platform.*