ITV

Tag: Movies Now

  • Chrome Data: No gainers this week

    Chrome Data: No gainers this week

    MUMBAI: It was a ‘no gainer’ week in the opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media.

     

    In Week 17, Hindi Movie channels in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) and English Entertainment channels in the eight metros were the most affected ones with 3.3 per cent OTS. Max topped the category with 95.2 per cent OTS and Comedy Central with 49.3 per cent OTS.

     

    Next on the list were English movie channels in the eight metros with 3.0 per cent OTS. Movies Now led the category with 61.2 per cent OTS.

     

    On the other hand, Hindi News channels in the HSM markets observed 1.3 per cent OTS with ABP News being the most affected channel with 94.3 per cent OTS.

  • Boom time for HD channels in India

    Boom time for HD channels in India

    The High Definition (HD) TV channels landscape is rapidly expanding in India. Amongst the various genres available today, the English general entertainment and movie channels genre is still a fragmented space and networks in their quest to stand apart from the nearest ranking rival, rely excessively upon content, marketing and a host of options among others.

     

    While not much is achieved in the process, the game of throne continues as networks try to outdo one another. A potent yet common weapon that networks are now heavily relying on is by launching HD channels.

     

    What is augmenting well for these networks is the demand by consumers for content that is best experienced in high definition. Since almost all the content in the English category is produced internationally, it makes sense in delivering it to consumers in HD only so that production values receive their due credit and viewers experience it at its best. This hunger for HD has very well transcended into networks now launching or sensing business opportunities by launching new HD channels. In some cases, an HD feed has been introduced to complement the existing Standard Definition (SD) feed. Digitisation will only ensure that the consumption of high definition shoots up further.

     

    Networks and their HD channels

     

    Star India will soon be launching two new HD English general entertainment channels (GECs). Its soon to be launched channel, Star Movies HD Select for a span of one year (365 days) has a content library of 365 movies – one for each day. About 50 per cent of the content comprises award winning Oscars and Golden Globes titles. To name a few, the channel has The Fault In Our Stars, Birdman and The Theory of Everything in its kitty.

     

    Star will also launch another new channel Star FX HD to compliment the SD feed of FX. The content of FX currently comprises Madmen, Seinfeld and the animated series Family Guy. Other HD channels from the network include Star World Premiere HD, Star World HD and Star Movies HD in addition to eight other HD channels in various genres like sports and Hindi movie and GEC.

     

    Multi Screen Media (MSM) is not far behind. With channels such as Pix, Pix HD and AXN, it is a strong player in the English movie and GEC space. On 6 April this year, the network sensed an opportunity by launching AXN HD to go along with the SD feed. For the man behind the launch, Pix and AXN EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik the onset of digitisation and a strong audience base spending more time on special interest channels, made sense for the launch of the new feed. “While the shows will be same on the two channels, we will be tweaking some of the content for the HD feed. We could also have certain exclusive content for the HD feed in the future,” Yagnik had earlier told Indiantelevision.com. MSM also has two HD channels in the Hindi GEC and sports category.

     

    On the other hand, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Zeel) is also looking at strengthening its HD portfolio. The network will soon launch a new HD channel in the English GEC space called Zee Cafe HD to compliment its SD feed. Besides this, Zeel has five other HD channels in its channel portfolio. The content on Zee Café currently comprises shows such as Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives and Secrets and Lies amongst others.

     

    Times Network, which operates channels like Movies Now and Romedy Now is another mighty contender. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com earlier, Times Network senior vice president and English entertainment cluster head Vivek Srivastava had said that its new channel, Movies Now+ was the HD version of the SD feed but it did have some differentiating content from the SD feed. It simulcast movies on both feeds such as The Wolf Of Wall Street, which is going to be showcased on 26 April 2015.

     

    The increasing growth of premium ad free channels such as HBO Hits and HBO Defined too have resulted in aiding subscription revenues for the English entertainment genre. Strong and popular content such as Game of Thrones today is synonymous with the HBO network.

     

    Growth of HD Channels in India

     

    From the meagre three HD pay TV channels in 2010, the number has shot up to 34 in 2014, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) 2013-2014 annual report. The number jumped to 22, 31 and 33 for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. With impending launches of English movie and GEC channels this year, this number is only going to be on the rise going forward.

     

    The DTH factor

     

    Value Added Services (VAS) and HD channel penetration are strong revenue generators for Direct to Home (DTH) operators. Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera was quoted in the FICCI-KPMG report for 2015 as saying, “The boom in the panel TV industry has been a key growth in HD channel viewership. The viewers are ready to pay a premium price for HD channels. With the right pricing and packaging for these channels, HD channels can achieve faster penetration.” 

     

    As per the report, there are four million HD subscribers, which account for 10 per cent of all DTH subscribers, whereas 15 to 20 per cent of incremental subscribers in 2014 were HD subscribers. “HD adoption continues to drive ARPU growth for DTH players with the average ARPU of HD subscriber at 1.5 to 2X the ARPU of a non HD subscriber,” states the report.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Premium HD channels recorded a ten-fold top line growth with DTH accounting for over 95 per cent of the premium channel subscriber base according to the 2015 FICCI KPMG report. The success of HD viewing thus, is not just a mighty boon in for broadcasters alone, (where the Ad Ex share for the space in 2014 was at 4.6 per cent) but also for DTH operators. 

     

    As panel TV sales figures were expected to touch approximately eight million units in 2014, of which 55 per cent was expected to have been HD panel TVs, the rise is only going to be vertical in the coming years. With the share of HD and 4K TV sales expected to contribute to over 80 per cent by 2019, broadcasters’ key agenda will definitely be upping their HD channels offering. Moreover, the fact that DTH operators are more than happy to increase their HD bouquet, the growth story for HD viewing and consumption in India has only just begun.

  • MK Anand upbeat about Times Network’s revamp

    MK Anand upbeat about Times Network’s revamp

    GOA: Times Television Network has revamped itself as Times Network with a new tagline – ‘Now or Nothing’ and a new logo. The new logo will sport a pyramid with a red dot on the top.

     

    It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com was the first to report about Times Network’s re-branding plans.  

     

    The network has five different channels under it, which were launched in different period of times. Of the five channels, apart from ZoOm all the other channels end with Now – Times Now, Romedy Now, Movies Now, and ET Now. “That’s where the ‘Now or Nothing’ tagline comes from,” informs Times Networks CEO and managing director M K Anand.

     

    “We have strong branches but the trunk needs to be strengthened and the revamp is to ensure that. Moreover, we don’t want to restrict ourselves as a television network only. Hence we decided to break a few boundaries and expand. Our new logo is a pyramid, which signifies the population of the country and the red tip on the top is our target audience. This will ensure that everyone in the network will have the same corporate identity. All the brands should complement and respect each other in the network. ‘Now or Nothing’ is a credo that we have been following since inception. It’s just that we made it a network motto,” Anand says.

     

    Every revamp comes after detailed research and analysis and has the ability to impact and change consumer behaviour and consumption patterns. When queried about this, Anand tells Indiantelevision.com, “Firstly, the change of the network’s logo won’t leave an impact on the channel’s creatives. Here the consumers are trade, advertisers, DTH companies and MSOs and not the viewers. The most important consumer of this revamp are our 1000+ employees, who now know that they are no longer an employee of a particular channel, team or floor but a member of the entire network.”

     

    Anand goes on to say that Times Network would soon be launching the Times Now app, which will have both broadcast content and fresh content. “This is a serious attempt from our side to establish ourselves on the digital platform. In three months’ time, we are planning to launch the app with an aim to be a leader in that fraternity too,” adds Anand.

     

    A presence on the digital platform with apps has almost become mandatory for most networks. However, the revenue model for these avenues remains a challenge. “How much ever we might want to adopt a subscription model for our digital platforms, it is currently not possible due to technical deficiencies and consumer behaviour. Hence we will follow the advertising revenue model,” asserts Anand.

     

    Times of India already has an app, which offers news updates. Now with the launch of the Times Now app, will the two compete with each other? To this, Anand says, “Yes we will and there is no problem in that. Our app will have more videos but yes we will also provide news and if that means competing with the Times of India app, we will.”

     

    Speaking about BARC’s roll-out of television ratings data by the end of April, which also means the end of TAM’s tenure, Anand says, “The statistics won’t have much of an impact, nor will it turn out to be a game changer. Instead of one, now the other will conduct the survey. Having said that, I was initially concerned about structural changes and new figures that would be rolled out by BARC. However, it has now been cleared that the structure will be the same but the sample size has definitely increased. I don’t think we will see a ‘ratings dark’ period. Not receiving ratings for a week or two is not likely to leave too much of an impact.”

     

  • Chrome Data: Religious channel genre see growth in OTS

    Chrome Data: Religious channel genre see growth in OTS

    MUMBAI: Week 14 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, saw a spike in the religious channel genre in the Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM). With 1.3 per cent growth, the genre was led by Aastha channel with 96.7 per cent OTS.

     

    This was followed by Hindi News genre, which grew by 0.7 per cent in HSM. ABP News topped the category with 94.9 per cent OTS.

     

    Music in HSM too saw a hike with 0.3 per cent with MTV leading the chart with 90.2 per cent OTS.

     

    Last but not the least, the Hindi Movies genre too garnered growth with 0.2 per cent. Max led the chart with 94.5 per cent OTS.

     

    Talking about the losers this week, English Entertainment channels in the eight metros dropped by 9.1 per cent with AXN affecting the most with 52.3 per cent OTS. English Movie channels witnessed a drop of 8.8 per cent with Movies Now topping the space with 63.3 per cent OTS.

     

    Next in the list was English News channels that saw a dip of 7.2 per cent in the eight metros. Times Now led the space with 72.9 per cent OTS.

     

    Lastly, Business News channels observed a dip of 5.8 per cent with CNBC Awaaz topping the chart with 77.5 per cent OTS.

  • Movies Now to premiere ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’

    Movies Now to premiere ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’

    MUMBAI: English movie channel Movies Now is all set to premiere The Wolf of Wall Street on 26 April at 1 pm and 9 pm. 

     

    Movies Now will also go that extra mile to give its viewers a real feel of what it would be like to enter the world of The Wolf of Wall Street. The channel is carrying out an extensive outdoor campaign across Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow and Kanpur creating life-like scenes and moments from the movie. The 360 degrees marketing campaign will also be visible across television, print, social media and mobile.

     

    Movies Now, with the Wolf of Wall Street, continues its streak of premiering back to back super hits on Indian television. The channel is known for previously bringing mega-hits like Rush and Olympus Has Fallen amongst many other titles.

     

    The Wolf of Wall Street is based on the life of Jordan Belfort, a young stock broker, who makes a fortune with his intellect, guile and street-smartness. Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, takes the shortcut up the corporate ladder and lives his life like a dream. Including joys like sex, drugs, thrills and loads of fun, the movie is one of the raciest gripping tales of recent times – a riveting tale with the suspense of the FBI chasing down Belfort to take down his empire of excess.

     

    Directed by Martin Scorsese, this movie earned stellar reviews all across the globe. The movie was nominated at the Academy Awards 2014 for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor. It was also nominated for four BAFTAs, and two Golden Globe Awards, Leonardo DiCaprio won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

  • Chrome Data: English entertainment channel genre sees growth in OTS

    Chrome Data: English entertainment channel genre sees growth in OTS

    MUMBAI: Week 12 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, saw a spike in the English Entertainment channels genre in the eight metros. With a 11.3 per cent growth, the genre was led by Comedy Central with 54.7 per cent OTS. 

     

    This was followed by the English movie space, which grew by 4.9 per cent in the eight metros. Movies Now topped the category with 67.1 per cent OTS.

     

    English News channels in the eight metros too saw a hike and noted 2.6 per cent with Times Now leading the chart with 76.7 per cent OTS.

     

    Last but not the least; Infotainment channels saw a growth of two per cent in all India with Discovery topping the chart with 82.8 per cent OTS.

     

    Talking about the losers this week, Business News channels in the eight metros and Hindi News channels in the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) saw a dip in their OTS. While Business News channels dropped by one per cent OTS, the Hindi news channels dropped by 0.4 per cent OTS.

     

    In the Business News channel space, Zee Business topped the chart with 81.3 per cent OTS, while ABP News topped in the Hindi news channels with 95.9 per cent OTS.

     

  • Movies Now, Romedy Now on growth trajectory; ups ad rates

    Movies Now, Romedy Now on growth trajectory; ups ad rates

    MUMBAI: The English movie and general entertainment channels’ genre is a fragmented space, where ranks keep changing every now and then. In order to maintain their position well above competition, channels adopt various strategies. Two such channels from the Times Television Network (TTN) are Movies Now and Romedy Now. While last year, the channels dipped to the number four position in the genre, the two have recently tasted some success.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Times Television Network senior vice president and English Entertainment cluster head Vivek Srivastava says that both the channels have been at the number one position during the last 18 to 20 weeks. “Smart acquisitions, smart scheduling and smart segmenting has been our success mantra,” claims Srivastava.

     

    When queried on how the channel increased its market share, Srivastava says that they first identified the weakness, which were poor distribution and lack of exclusive content. 

     

    “Firstly, the channels had not been distributed optimally. We plugged the leak by going city to city and getting the channels distributed on platforms targeting one cable operator after another. Secondly, on the content front, Movies Now lacked premieres. To cope with this, we signed strong output deals with studios like NBC and Sony,” informs Srivastava.

     

    The Bones series, Harry Potter series and the Battleship are some franchises that has worked well for Movies Now. The channel now aims to have one big movie premiere in a month. While Movies Now currently has 20 per cent market share, Romedy Now stands at 28 per cent, informs Srivastava.

     

    Romedy Now showcases English shows as well as movies. “It’s been one and a half years since Romedy Now was launched and the channel has been number one in the genre. We realised there is space for segmentation and the channel is a segmentation success,” opines Srivastava.

     

    The channel has seen tremendous repeat value from the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and the movie P.S. – I Love You. “Instead of simply deciding to put up a show on the channel, we follow mood segmentation where content that fits the happy and romance sphere is aired. The channel sees a good response during the 7.30 – 9 pm slot during weekdays,” says Srivastava.

     

    However, while on the one hand, the network has decided to discontinue the Romedy Now HD channel as it did not perform as per expectations, on the other it has pinned high hopes on its new baby Movies Now+, which is the HD version of the channel. Srivastava informs that the channel is available on all HD platforms and has certain content lineup that is different from the SD feed. TTN will simulcast The Wolf Of Wall Street on Movies Now and Movies Now+ soon.

     

    To cope with viewership fluctuations during the upcoming Indian Premiere League (IPL), the network will premiere a big ticket movie right in the middle of the IPL timetable. It will be simulcast on the two movie channels. Apparently the channels see a viewers dip by 15 to 20 per cent during IPL.

     

    Realising that the channels have regained their lost market share, TTN has also decided to hike its advertising rates.

     

    The network will be leveraging the muscle provided by its mother company – The Times Group – that has newspapers, radio, OOH, broadcast network and Internet companies under its umbrella, to help build its marketing campaign this year.

     

    The English movie viewership for the channels mainly comes from the eight metros and is also seeing a strong viewership pattern from one million plus towns. Moreover, the 1 pm afternoon slot is the second most important slot for the channel after the primetime. It is 15 to 24 year olds who mainly contribute towards the 1 pm slot.

     

    Outlining the challenges ahead for the channel, Srivastava lists three major factors. “First is the completion of digitisation and how it shapes up. This would ensure that the channel gets its required reach. Secondly, packaging of the content is a major challenge and we will be addressing that issue in the coming months. Finally, measurability is a key challenge. In the existing scenario, we feel that we are not represented as we should have been. We are hoping BARC should give us the depth that is needed,” he says.

  • Movies Now to telecast ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’

    Movies Now to telecast ‘A Good Day to Die Hard’

    MUMBAI: Movies Now will be telecasting A Good Day to Die Hard as its Super Movie of the Month. The fifth part of Hollywood’s most anticipated action series, the Die Hard franchise has a huge fan following across the world for each of its movies. Movies Now, will telecast the movie on 21 March, 2015 at 9 pm.

     

    In A Good Day to Die Hard, Bruce Willis reprises his role as a New York City cop John McClane with Jai Courtney as his son Jack McClane. The movie is filmed in parts of Moscow, Russia and Chernobyl, Ukraine.

     

    In this latest series of the Die Hard franchise, John tracks down his estranged son Jack, who he thinks is a criminal. On finding Jack, he gets to know his true profession and gets entangled in his son’s secret mission to protect Komarov (Sebastian Koch), a Russian government whistle-blower. With their own lives on the line, the father – son duo must overcome their differences in order to get Komarov to safety and diffuse a potentially disastrous crime in the Chernobyl region.

  • Chrome Data: Hindi News channels gain maximum in week 11

    Chrome Data: Hindi News channels gain maximum in week 11

    MUMBAI: In week 11 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, Hindi News channels in the Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM) gained the maximum. With 0.9 per cent growth, the genre saw ABP News leading the chart with 95.5 per cent OTS.

     

    Second on the list was Hindi Movies channels, which observed a growth of 0.8 per cent in the HSM markets. Max topped the category with 95.0 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) in HSM markets too saw a hike and noted 0.5 per cent with Zee TV leading the chart with 96.6 per cent OTS.

     

    Last but not the least; Music channels noticed a growth of 0.4 per cent in the HSM markets with 9XM topping the chart with 90.9 per cent OTS.

     

    Talking about the losers this week, English Entertainment channels across eight metros dropped 12.3 per cent with Comedy Central topping the chart with 50.6 per cent OTS.

     

    Second on the losers list was English Movies channels across eight metros, which dropped by 6.6 per cent. Movies Now lost the maximum with 62.9 per cent OTS.

     

    Sports across all India dropped by 3.2 per cent and Kids too saw a fall across all India with 2.3 per cent. Cartoon Network lead the category with 79.3 per cent OTS.

  • Chrome data: English News channels the only losers

    Chrome data: English News channels the only losers

    MUMBAI: In week 10 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, English News channels in the eight metros was the only genre to witness a loss. It saw a drop of 0.5 per cent. Times Now topped the category with 77.1 OTS.

     

    As for the gainers, Business News channels across the eight metros gained the maximum. With 4.3 per cent growth, the genre saw CNBC Awaaz leading the chart with 81.4 OTS.

     

    On the other hand, English Movie channels across the eight metros gained 3.4 per cent with Movies Now topping the space with 67.8 OTS.

     

    Next in the line were English Entertainment channels across the eight metros, which gained 3.3 per cent. Comedy Central was the chart leader with 56.2 OTS.

     

    Lastly, Kids channels across all India too registered a two per cent gain. Cartoon Network noted maximum with 81.4 OTS