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  • Colors Bangla to telecast Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2020

    Colors Bangla to telecast Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2020

    New Delhi: Colors Bangla is all set to telecast the fourth edition of the Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2020 on the channel at 6 pm on 9 May. The event will also be simulcasted live on Filmfare’s Facebook page.

    The star-studded awards ceremony was held at The Westin, Kolkata on 3 March, and was filled with glitz and panache as popular names from the Bengali film industry walked the red carpet. A host of celebrities including Anirban Bhattacharya, Aparajita Adhya, Kharaj Mukherjee, Madhumita Sarcar, and Ash King attended the event.

    “We are proud to have hosted an award ceremony that matches up to the sheer grandeur of the Bengali Film Industry that continues to make waves every passing year,” said Worldwide Media CEO Deepak Lamba, highlighting that Bengali movies have made their mark in the world of cinema through cults films and classics which have been recognised globally. “From Ray’s masterpieces to some amazing contemporary narratives by the current generation of filmmakers and artists, this film industry has proven its credibility year after year. And it’s a great feeling to bring back the coveted black lady to honour such brilliant performances and work produced by this talented bunch,” he added.

    Apart from several celebrity performances, the telecast will include exclusive video-on-demand engaging content including the red-carpet action and behind-the-stage fun performance rehearsals.

    Speaking on the long-term association with Filmfare, Colors Bangla business head Sagnik Ghosh said, “Colors Bangla enjoys the reputation of being home to the best of entertainment, visual extravaganza and as a channel, we continue to entertain our audiences through various programs. Filmfare Awards Bangla 2020 has the iconic pedigree of Filmfare and we are proud to be associated with it as the Broadcast partner of choice. This year has been hit badly by Covid and we are happy to bring in some fun and enjoyment for the audiences.”

    Joy Personal Care was the title sponsor of the fourth edition of Joy Filmfare Awards Bangla 2020. The event was powered by Shyam Steel TMT REBAR, in association with Berger Silk BreatheEasy and Vimal Elaichi. Facebook and Instagram were the global digital partners and Colors Bangla was the exclusive telecast partner.

  • Covid second wave pushes multiplexes’ recovery to next fiscal: CRISIL

    Covid second wave pushes multiplexes’ recovery to next fiscal: CRISIL

    New Delhi: Multiplexes across the country are set to log operating losses for the second straight fiscal as localised lockdowns, night curfews and other restrictions to contain the resurgence of Covid2019 infections will keep occupancies low for the next few months, according to CRISIL ratings.

    The film exhibition sector was one of the worst impacted by the lockdown in 2020, being the first to lower their shutters in March, and among the last to resume operations, in October.

    Occupancy had started improving post-resumption, and was expected to reach 18-22 per cent – the breakeven level in terms of operating profit – in the current quarter. Sequentially, occupancy doubled to 12-13 per cent last quarter, and was seen climbing anew to 22-25 per cent in south India.

    However, the sudden spike in Covid2019 cases in April will send that estimate askew and defer recovery to the second half of this fiscal, said CRISIL in its latest report.

    “Our base case assumes average occupancy of 10-12 per cent in the first half of this fiscal and 20-22 per cent in the second half, when restrictions on occupancy and fears of infection will hopefully recede. A full recovery is seen only in fiscal 2023,” said CRISIL Ratings director Nitesh Jain. 

    Temporary closures in many states, especially Maharashtra, will push back new film releases, at least the big-ticket ones, to the second quarter, noted Jain. 

    “Maharashtra is a crucial market for cinema, accounting for a fifth of the total screens in India. The resurgence of pandemic has created many uncertainties, and restrictions could continue for longer, leading to deferment of film releases on big screens and continuation of cash burn for multiplexes,” he elaborated.

    In the milieu, CRISIL-rated multiplex operators, which account for almost half of the industry’s revenue, are expected to log cash losses this fiscal, too. They had bled roughly Rs 900 crore in fiscal 2021, compared with a cash profit of around Rs 785 crore in fiscal 2020.

    Last fiscal, multiplex operators undertook steep cost controls, including deferring maintenance and major capex outlays. They also raised Rs 1,350 crore equity to fund losses and augment liquidity. The current liquidity could comfortably cover operating expenses and debt servicing of these players for the next four to six months.

    But with the sudden turnaround in the state of affairs, cost cutting measures, including deferring maintenance and major capex outlays, are likely to continue even this fiscal. Their ability to keep a leash on fixed cost will, however, be a monitorable, opined CRISIL Ratings associate director Rakshit Kachhal. 

    “Lease rentals is the largest fixed cost and they could save 70-75 per cent (~Rs 800 crore) from waiver of rentals in the last fiscal. Their ability to renegotiate rentals for the current fiscal will be crucial to contain the losses. Besides cost controls, the ability to raise funds in a timely manner will bear watching,” he added.

    The spread of infections, the success of the vaccination drive, and the return of moviegoers will be monitorables, too, as will be the players’ ability to raise funds in a timely manner. But this is only when one sets aside people’s fear of closed spaces.

    According to CRISIL, since multiplexes are among the few out-of-home entertainment options in India, occupancy should bounce back once the fear of infection recedes and the pace of vaccination picks up.

    Besides, big-budget movies, which are temporarily being deferred, are unlikely to be released on over-the-top (OTT) platforms, given that multiplexes contribute more than 50 per cent of the total box office collection. Thus, exhibition of big-budget movies leading to recovery in occupancy should script the recovery for multiplexes, currently seen in second-half of this fiscal.

  • Personal care brands dominate movies genre in 2020: TAM

    Personal care brands dominate movies genre in 2020: TAM

    NEW DELHI: Covid2019 impacted nearly every genre on television. People were forced to stay indoors and as a result they spent a lot of time watching news, movies, music and shows on TV, resulting in a massive viewership spike.

    The movie channels leveraged this period and showcased the best titles from their library to ensure that they are able to attract audiences. A BARC report stated that there was a 14 per cent increase in impressions and 10 per cent spike in daily average reach.  

    However, during several webinars, meetings and discussions, industry observers clearly mentioned that the surge in viewership did not translate into advertising.

    TAM recently released data that showed ad volumes on movie genre grew by 60 per cent in 2020, compared to ad volumes in 2016. Interestingly, the quarter ended 31 December saw the highest number of hours in ad volumes per day.

    If we look closely at the data, we will notice an obvious trend where the average ad volumes per day steeply fell in the initial stages of lockdown, and then started picking up early May-June onwards. The trend was obvious because marketing teams at brands were still unable to gauge the depth of the crisis and not ready to bet money on advertising in that quarter.

    Movies have consistently maintained a 20 per cent average in overall television advertising across the years. (since 2016). In 2020, it was at 23 per cent.

    The top five sub genres in 2019 were – Hindi, English, Telugu, Tamil, and Bengali, while in 2020 the top sub genres were Hindi, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Telugu, and Kannada.

    Personal care and food & beverages sectors were the leading advertisers on this genre, however, toilet soaps, shampoos and washing powders continued their dominance in terms of ad volumes in this category.

    HUL and Reckitt Benckiser India were the leading advertisers, while Dettol Toilet Soaps and Clinic Plus Shampoo were the leading brands in the genre.

    The report also highlighted that ad volumes had a split of 51:49 between national and regional. In 2019, this split was at 56:44.  

    During the Unlock phase, the movie genre saw nearly 280 hours of average ad volumes per day, which was 93 per cent more than the lockdown period.

    Ad volumes were maximum on primetime band and the 20-40 seconder ad format still ruled the segment.

  • Locally nuanced shows help to bring in relevance from an Indian context: ZEEL’s Kartik Mahadev

    Locally nuanced shows help to bring in relevance from an Indian context: ZEEL’s Kartik Mahadev

    MUMBAI: Hollywood has always enjoyed a passionate fanbase in India which only grows by leaps and bounds with each passing year. Today, Hollywood movies aren’t just for the English-speaking audiences living in metros as we see movie enthusiasts in Bharat and India with the same level of passion and connectedness as the global fan following. The &flix study, ‘Hollywood is for everyone,’ explores how Hollywood enjoys a universal appeal in India, and gives an insight into the lifestyles and mindsets of movie buffs. 

    ZEEL premium channels business head Kartik Mahadev said that the research has helped the channel to curate its offerings like &flix’s fastest to television premieres, which reduce the theatre-to-TV wait time by half, along with the multi-language block ‘Flix for all’.

    The study also disclosed that Hollywood’s entertainment quotient fares better than Bollywood / regional? Does this mean brands indulge more in premium content?

    Mahadev highlighted that Hollywood viewers are brand conscious and in-sync with the latest trends. They seek new experiences and crave adventure. Said he: “For these consumers seeking a badge-value with something aspirational, Hollywood forms the ultimate getaway. With its sophisticated visual effects, unique concepts and aspirational characters, today Hollywood’s fandom in India cuts across languages and cultures and is not just limited to the English-speaking consumers in the metros.”

    The &flix study also revealed that 80 per cent Hollywood enthusiasts admitted that brands placed in the movies / intermittent TV ads influence their purchases. Mahadev revealed that for its customers, English content on television provides youth-focused brands and premium brands the opportunity to associate with a premium subscriber base.

    “Recently, for the premiere of Jumanji: The Next Level on &flix and a simulcast in Hindi on Zee Cinema, we successfully reached a wider audience by providing access through language. Some of the most reputable brands came on board as partner for the property on &flix such as Kia Motors, Ariel, Amazon, Airtel 4G, Xiaomi, Protinex and ITC, along with Bingo Potato chips, Hyundai Creta, Behrouz Biryani, Bharat Matrimony and Cinthol onboard for the Hindi simulcast. The premiere garnered an overwhelming response, taking it to the next level with a whopping 34 million reach, making it one of the biggest premieres in the last 12 months,” he shared.

    Since its launch two years ago, &flix has challenged the English movie genre codes in addressing fan experience on television. According to Mahadev, ‘Ticket to Hollywood’ broadens access to Hollywood movies across the country, bringing movies closer to fans while creating value for brands who want to engage with the ardent audience across regions. The pan-network property will see Hollywood’s latest and top-rated movies dubbed in regional languages premiere across Zee channels like &PrivéHD, Zee Café, &Pictures, Zee Thirai, Zee Cinemalu, Zee Punjabi, Zee Biskope, Zee Talkies, Zee Picchar, Zee Sarthak and Zee Bangla Cinema. In addition, the channel’s flagship property ‘Flix superheroes’ featuring the latest superhero hits will begin airing in November.

    For the launch of ‘Ticket to Hollywood’ the channel has adopted a robust 360-degree campaign approach across platforms like DTH, digital, TV and trade. The network has leveraged social media to drive communication around the premiere of Bloodshot in the essence of the languages across markets. High-impact promo films across Zee movie channels further brought the biggest festive offering on television alive.

    Mahadev added, "We have Colgate onboard as the presenting sponsor for the premiere of Bloodshot across 11 of our ZEE channels. Moreover, with the premiere across Zee English cluster we are thrilled to deliver value to not just our discerning viewers but also our customers and are pleased to have brands like Venky’s Purotein, HUL (Lifeboy), KIA, TVS, Amazon, Sprite and Kelvinator onboard for the premiere.

    English GECs have always faced the ‘acquired’ versus ‘original local content’ dichotomy. It is believed that English GEC channels can earn higher ad revenue from their original programs. But the question arises why the channels have not yet experimented with local content.

    Mahadev opined that original programming with locally nuanced shows does help bring in relevance from an Indian context. While marquee international shows bring the best of the world to its viewers, locally produced content allows the broadcasters to add a new dimension from the Indian point of view. Said he: “Being the pioneers when it comes to original programming with India’s first-ever English fiction show Bombay Talking, Zee Café brought in relevance with content that is locally nuanced for the Indian viewer. What followed was the introduction of successful properties such as Look Who’s Talking with Niranjan, Not Just Supper Stars and Starry Nights that truly added a unique flavour to Zee Café’s wide repertoire of content.”

    He pointed to Zee Café's recently launched first-ever original production Dance With Me featuring celebrity dance experts Shakti Mohan and Mukti Mohan. The show adds to the merriment of the festive season coupled with a unique and interactive format via exciting weekly hook step challenges. The series is co-powered by Loreal Paris extraordinary oil serum & Jeevansaathi.com, cosmetic partner Dazzler Eterna with special partners Yamaha Fascino 125 Fi and Only Natural Diamonds.

  • IPL 13 grows and grabs television viewership

    IPL 13 grows and grabs television viewership

    BENGALURU: Live telecast of the Indian Premier League (IPL) must seem an abomination for competitors’ networks. Year in and year out, the period during which the cricketing bonanza is played, all genres and competing sports networks have seen viewership numbers dip as Indians tuned into the channels of the network that aired the event live – the network being Star India in this edition of IPL or IPL 2020 or IPL13 as it is known. The Covid2019 pandemic delayed IPL by around five to six months. In a normal year, IPL commences around the end of March or at the beginning of April every year and runs for about six weeks or so. The event this year clashes with flagship programmes such as the twelfth season of Hindi Kaun Banega Crorepati hosted by Bollywood doyen Amitabh Bachchan and with the initial weeks of the Salman Khan hosted fourteenth edition of the Hindi Bigg Boss. This paper comes with a caveat – the conclusions in it are based on BARC weekly data of the top 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 channels/programmes of various genres in different languages/platfroms in the public domain.

    Week 38 of 2020 (Saturday,19 September 2020 to Friday, 25 September 2020, week or period under review) saw television viewership climb 2.4 percent to 17.0 billion weekly impressions from 16.5 billion weekly impressions reported for the previous week according to Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data published in the public domain. Viewership in week 38 of 2020 was 15.1 percent higher than the pre-Covid2019 average of 14.77 billion weekly impressions. Ratings watchdogs BARC and Nielsen have standardized the average data for weeks 02 and 04 2020 as the pre-Covid2019 average. As is obvious from the figure below, television viewership had started declining from week 34 of 2020. IPL 13 week saw viewership growth. 

    BARC weekly list of the Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across genres saw Star Sports 1 Hindi catupult into it, and that too at rank 1.  Though the combined ratings of the Top 10 Channels in this list grew 5.8 percent to 8,322.475 billion weekly impressions in week 38 of 2020 from 7,863.577 billion weekly impressions in the previous week, seven of the channels in the list saw a decline in viewership. Two channels exited the list in week 38 of 2020. Star Sports 1 Hindi entered the list as mentioned above at rank 1 with 1,247.407 billion weekly impressions. It must be noted that Star India is airing IPL 13 on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD TV channels as well as live streaming on the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform.

    Read more news on IPL

    Analysis of BARC data in the public domain of the top 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 channels of various genres in different languages/platfroms for week 38 of 2020 reveals that the top channale of all major genres such as GECs’, news, movies and kids saw ratings dip. According to BARC-Nielsen reports these four genres garnered around 90 percent of television viewership. BARC data shows that combined impressions data for the Top 5 Sports channels grew 8.6 times to 1,734.956 billion weekly impressions in week 38 of 2020 from 201.549 billion weekly impressions in the previous week. It is quite obvious that the sports genre has helped television viewership grow, while at the same time has eaten into viewership of other genres/sub-genres across platforms – be they pay or free or combined free and pay.

    Top 10 Channels on All Platforms, Pay Platform and Free Platform Across Genres

    The Star India Network pulled viewership eyeballs with five channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Plaform Across Genres in week 38 of 2020. There were two channels from Sony Pictures Network (SPN) and one channel each from Enterr10 Television, Sun Tv Network and Zee Entertainment Enterrpises Limited (Zeel) besides those of Star India in the top 10 weekly list for the week under review.Two channels, Viacom18’s Hindi GEC Colors Rishtey and Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV exited the list and were replaced by Star Sports 1 Hindi and Star India’s flagship Tamil GEC Star Vijay. There were six Hindi GEC channels, two Tamil channels and one channel each from the sports and the Telugu genres in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres.

    BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres also was dominated by Star India channels – there were four of them. Besides, there were 3 channels from Zeel and one channel each from SPN, Sun Tv Network and Viacom18. While the combined weekly impressions of the Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres increased 10 percent to 7,285.986 billion weekly impressions in week 38 of 2020 from 6,624.357 billion weekly impressions in week 37 of 2020, five of the channels saw week-on-week (w-o-w) decline in weekly impressions. One channel – Star India’s flagship Bangla channel Star Jalsha exited the list in week 38 of 2020 and was replaced by Star Sports 1 Hindi. There were four Hindi GECs’, three Tamil channels, two Telugu channels and one Sports channel in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Pay channels Across Genres.

    BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in week 38 of 2020 had the same line up of channels in the same order as in the previous week. However, the combined weekly impressions of the 10 channels in week 38 of 2020 declined 1.5 per cent to 3,535.728 billion weekly impressions from 3,588.256 billion weekly impressions in week 37. Six of the channels in the list saw viewership decline, while four saw viewership increase. Six of the channels were Hindi GECs’ while four were Hindi Movies channels. There were three channels from Zeel, two channels from Viacom18, and one channel each from B4U Network, Enterr10 Television, Goldmine Telefilms, Star India and SPN in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in week 38 of 2020.

    Please refer to the chart below:

  • Non-Hindi channels continue to dominate top 10 pay channels across genres

    Non-Hindi channels continue to dominate top 10 pay channels across genres

    BENGALURU: As the progress in the Sushant Singh Rajput case seemingly tapered off, the news genre lost some of its sheen in terms of weekly impressions in Week 37 of 2020 (Saturday 12 Sep 2020 to Friday 18 Sep 2020, week or period under review). Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data for top five Hindi, English, Assamese, Bangla, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil and Telugu channels reveals that the top news channels lost viewership in Week 37 of 2020 as compared to the previous week (Week 36 of 2020). At the same time, overall television viewership in Week 37 of 2020 at 16.6 billion weekly impressions was just a fraction higher than the 16.5 billion weekly impressions in Week 36. BARC data for the top 10 Hindi GEC channels, top four Assamese channels and top five Bangla, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu channels for the week under review shows that viewership of most of these genre/sub-genres in respective platforms and markets increased to contribute to the small increase in overall viewership. The top five channels of English entertainment channels, infotainment, lifestyle, English & Hindi movies, music, sports and top four youth channels also saw viewership in terms of weekly impressions grow.

    Top 10 Channels on All Platforms, Pay Platform and Free Platform Across Genres

    BARC’s weekly list of top 10 channels on all platforms across genres saw the combined weekly impressions in Week 37 of 2020 increase as compared to the previous week. Nine of the channels in the All Platforms channels list were the same with a slight shuffling of ranks as in the previous week. One Telugu channel from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) stable exited the list in week 37 of 2020 to be replaced by its sister channel and Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV at rank 10. There were eight Hindi GECs and one channel each from the Tamil and the Telugu genres in the list. There were three channels from Star India, two channels from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Zeel and one channel each from Enterr10 Television, Sun Tv Network and Viacom18 in BARC’s Weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 37 of 2020.

    Read more news on BARC

    BARC’s Weekly list of top 10 pay channels across genres was dominated by two south Indian language channels – three from the Tamil genre, two channels from the Telugu genres and one from the Bangla genre along with four Hindi GECs. There were four channels from Star India, three channels from Zeel, one channel each from SPN, Sun Tv Network and Viacom18. One channel exited the list in Week 37 of 2020 – the Viacom18 associated ETV Telugu which was replaced by Star India’s flagship Banga GEC Star Jalsha at rank 10.

    All the 10 channels in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 free channels in Week 37 of 2020 were the same as in the previous in the same rank order. Six of the channels were Hindi GECs’ while four were Hindi Movies channels. There were three channels from Zeel, two channels from Viacom18, and one channel each from B4U Network, Enterr10 Television, Goldmine Telefilms, Star India and SPN. 

    Please refer to the table below:

  • Star Plus most watched pay TV channel across genres in Week 35

    Star Plus most watched pay TV channel across genres in Week 35

    BENGALURU: Star India’s Hindi GECs’ Star Plus and Star Utsav topped all the three across genres weekly lists published by Broadcast Audience Research Council of India in the public domain for Week 35 of 2020 (Saturday, 29 August 2020 to Friday, 4 September 2020, week or period under review). While Star Utsav topped BARC’s weekly lists of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres and Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres, flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus topped BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Pay Channels Across genre during the period under review. Further, Star Plus was ranked second in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres.

    Hindi GEC’s once again prop up Television Viewership

    BARC data reveals that viewership in Week 35 and Week 34 was the same at 16.9 billion weekly impressions. Analysis of BARC data for the Top 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 channels of genres/sub-genres/languages/ platforms in the public domain indicates that as in the case of Week 34, it was again Hindi GECs’ that propped up television viewership. The Top 5 Kids, Hindi and English Movies and News channels in 10 languages lost viewership in Week 35 of 2020 as compared to the previous week. Analysis of BARC data for the top 4, 5 or 10 GEC channels reveals that though GEC viewership climbed up slightly, GECs’ of most languages lost viewership, while the Hindi GEC genre, which is quite a large genre, gained viewership. To quite an extent, Hindi GECs’ helped maintain television viewership in terms of weekly impressions. It must be noted that Week 34 of 2020 had witnessed the largest drop on 0.7 billion weekly impressions from the 17.6 billion weekly impressions in Week 33 of 2020.

    Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres

    The Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres were all GECs’. Hindi GECs’ dominated the list in Week 35 of 2020. There were eight of them present in the Across Genres on All Platforms list in Week 35 of 2020. Besides the 8 Hindi GECs’, there was one channel each from the Tamil and Telugu genres. As mentioned above, Star India’s Hindi GEC Star Utsav continued heading BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020 for the fourth week in a row.  As a matter of fact, 8 of the 10 channels in BARC’s Weekly list for Week 35 of 2020 were the same as in the previous week. Two Telugu channels from the weekly list for Week 34 0f 2020 exited and were replaced by two Hindi GECs’ in Week 35 of 2020. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) flagship Kannada GEC and the Network18 (Viacom18) affiliated ETV Telugu exited and were replaced by Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV and Viacom18’s Hindi GEC Colors Rishtey.

    There were 3 Star India channels, two channels each from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Zeel and one channel each from Enterr 10 Television, Sun TV Network (Sun TV) and Network18/Viacom18 in the list for Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020.

    Please refer to the chart below:

    Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres

    Sun TV gave way to Star Plus which led BARC Weekly list of Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres during the period under review. Nine of the 10 channels in BARC’s weekly list for Week 35 of 2020 were the same as in the previous week, but with some shuffling of ranks. Zee Kannada, exited the list and was replaced by Star India’s flagship Tamil GEC Star Vijay. BARC’s weekly list of Across genres pay channels was dominated by two South Indian languages GECs’ – there were six of them – three each from the Tamil and Telugu genres and four Hindi GECs’ in the list for Week 35 of 2020.

    There were three channels each from Star India and Star India two channels from Network18/Viacom18 and one channel each from SPN and the Sun Tv Network in BARC’s weekly top pay channels list for Week 34 of 2020. Please refer to the chart below.

    Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres

    Star Utsav headed BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020. All of the 10 channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020 were the same as in Week 34 with only one shuffling  ranks – Zeel’s Big Magic moved up one rank to eighth place and Viacom18’s Hindi Movies channel Rishtey Cineplex dropped a rank to ninth in Week 35 of 2020 as compared to Week 34.

    There were three channels from Zeel, two channels from Viacom18 and one channel each from B4U Network, Enterr 10 Television, Goldmine Telefilms, SPN and Star India in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020. There six Hindi GECs’ and four Hindi Movies channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 35 of 2020. Please refer to the figure below:

  • Screenwriters Association announces nominees for lyrics category of SWA Awards 2020

    Screenwriters Association announces nominees for lyrics category of SWA Awards 2020

    MUMBAI: Screenwriters Association (SWA), the Indian guild of screenwriters and lyricists, announced today the 10 nominees for the Lyrics category of SWA Awards 2020. Winners of the best lyricist for feature film and best lyricist for tv serial/original series will be announced in an online awards ceremony on 27 September 2020.

    Nominees for Best Lyricist for Feature Film are:

    1.            Ankur Tewari and Divine for Apna Time Ayega in Gully Boy

    2.            Amitabh Bhattacharya for Kalank title track in Kalank

    3.            Divine and Naezy for Meri Gully Mein in Gully Boy

    4.            Varun Grover for Ruan Ruan in Sonchiriya

    5.            Manoj Muntashir for Teri Mitti in Kesari

    Nominees for Best Lyricist for TV Serial/Original series are:

    1.            Shekhar Astitva for Title track in Radhakrishn

    2.            Zama Habib for Ek tum chup, ek chup main in Isharo Isharo Mein

    3.            Shashank Kunwar for Pet bechara in Kulfi Kumar Bajewala

    4.            Majaal  for Rooh in Lakhon Mein Ek Season 2

    5.            Majaal  for Nishaniya in Laakhon Mein Ek Season 2

    Congratulating the nominees, SWA general secretary Sunil Salgia said, “Ask anyone abroad about Indian films, the response will be, ‘Oh, Bollywood! Great songs and dances!’ Songs give a unique identity to our movies and surely there are no songs without lyrics. Talent that can say a thousand words in a few, in spite of their struggle to write poetry beyond the hook phrase and which can be heard and remembered in the noisy world, deserves applause.”

    The 10 nominees were selected from 146 entries received by the SWA Awards committee from Hindi language films and TV serials/original series released in 2019. A jury comprising of eminent lyricists such as Amit Khanna, Ila Arun, Kausar Munir, Mayur Puri and Panchhi Jalonvi selected the nominees after a thorough individual and joint evaluation process.

    Lyricist and spokesperson for the SWA lyrics category Shellee said, “It is difficult to imagine films such as Awara, Mera Naam Joker, Guide, Pakeeza, Mughal-e-Azam, Teesri Kasam without their songs. Songs are the ornaments that adorn our cinema. Their fragrance lends beauty to our ordinary lives. I congratulate the nominees of SWA Awards 2020 and wish them the best of luck.”

    The Screenwriters Association (SWA),was formerly known as Film Writers' Association (FWA). It is a Trade Union of screenwriters and lyricists who work for Films, TV and digital media in India. Authors, novelists, playwrights, journalists who aspire for to diversify or join fulltime the mediums of films, TV or digital entertainment, are also members of the SWA. It has been working for the last 60 years to get the Indian film and TV industries to acknowledge the central role of writers through collective bargaining, legal assistance, mediation and settlement of disputes and education.

    SWA is holding the first ever SWA Awards on the occasion of its diamond jubilee year in 2020. The members aspire to continue this award function for many more years. Since they are judged by knowledgeable screenwriters and lyricists, these awards promise to become the most coveted validation for writers in India, much like the awards of other prestigious international writers’ guilds and literary organisations.

    The nominees spoke to SWA, reacting to the announcement:

    Nominees – Best Lyricist for Feature Film

    Song: Apna time ayega | Film: Gully Boy

    Ankur Tewari: It is an honour to be nominated in the Best Lyrics category and I am thrilled to be in such esteemed company with Divine and the other nominees. I would like to thank SWA for this opportunity.

    Song: Meri gully mein | Film: Gully Boy

    Divine: Of all the tracks I have written till date, Apna time aayega and Meri gully mein have arguably had the biggest impact not just for me or Gully Boy, but for the Hip-Hop movement as a whole in India. Meri gully mein is close to my heart as the original release truly put the sound of Mumbai on the map. We have never looked back since.

    Song: Meri gully mein | Film: Gully Boy

    Naezy: I am delighted to have been nominated for "Meri Gully mein" by SWA Awards 2020.  This song is very special to me and I feel honoured that it has been nominated in the Best Lyrics for Films category.  My best wishes to SWA for their first ever Awards and also to all the fellow nominees.

    Song: Kalank title track | Film: Kalank

    Amitabh Bhattacharya: I am honoured and humbled to receive nomination in the Best Lyricist category of the first SWA Awards, the only award of the writers, by the writers and for the writers. My gratitude and best wishes to Screenwriters Association. I am really excited and I look forward to the ceremony.

    Song: Ruan ruan | Film: Sonchiriya

    Varun Grover: It's an award for the community by the peers and that makes it extra special. I had decided not to attend any regular film awards because of the way they treat writers and technicians and it's a great step forward that SWA decided to start awards where writers are in the front and centre. Now the stage is ours. So are the microphone, chairs, victories and defeats and joys and sorrows.

    Nominees – Best Lyricist for TV Serial/Web Series

    Song: Ek tum chup, ek chup main | TV Serial: Isharo Isharo Mein

    Zama Habib: I am thrilled to know that my song has been nominated in the Best Lyrics category by SWA Awards. It feels great and special because the award is from the writing fraternity for the first time. Writers choosing the best of writing is always a great and satisfying idea.

    Song: Pet bechara | TV Serial: Kulfi Kumar Bajewala

    Shashank Kunwar: An artist’s biggest motivation is appreciation, and it is really special when it comes from the people who understand the finer nuances of the art form. I want to congratulate SWA for giving shape to this award. In the times of lockdown and pandemic, it is comforting to feel that one is not working in isolation. Thank you, SWA!

    Song: Title track | TV Serial: Radhakrishn

    Shekhar Astitwa: I am happy to hear that SWA will hold the first ever SWA Awards 2020. I congratulate SWA for organising these prestigious awards and extend my best wishes to my fellow nominees.

    Songs: Rooh and Nishaniya | original series: Lakhon Mein Ek Season 2

    Majaal: Writers are travellers and SWA is the wisdom tree which stands tall and steady. It bears fruit for the hungry and provides shelter when the weather is testing. And now a ‘never-seen-before’ flower has blossomed on this benevolent tree – SWA Awards – to bless the ones destined to travel further. I feel fortunate for being nominated for the first ever SWA Awards. It has inspired me to keep travelling on.

  • Hindi channels prop up Top TV channels viewership as Star Utsav dominance continues

    Hindi channels prop up Top TV channels viewership as Star Utsav dominance continues

    BENGALURU: Television viewership in terms of weekly impressions declined 3.98 percent in Week 34 of 2020 (Week 34: Saturday, 22 August 2020 to Friday, 28 August 2020, week or period under review) as compared to the immediate previous week 33. Per Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) weekly data in the public domain, overall TV+OOH viewership in Week 34 of 2020 was 16.9 billion weekly impressions as compared to 17.6 billion weekly impressions in Week 33. After a steady increase since Unlock 1.0 (Week 22 of 2020), the drop of 0.7 billion impressions was the steepest one since the country opened up after the Covid2019 Lockdown that had commenced on 25 March 2020 or midweek in Week 13 of 2020. At that time, home-tied Indians turned to the easiest and most accessible medium for live news. Indians wanted to know more and more about the new pandemic that had forced most of the world to suddenly stop. Television viewership shot up to 20.9 billion impressions in Week 14 of 2020, with the News genre recording the largest growth, while GEC viewership slid down. Four genres – GEC, Movies, News and Kids are normally responsible for more than 90 percent of television viewership. The breakup for the COVID2019 average between Weeks 2 to 4 of 2020 was: GEC at 52 percent, Movies at 23 percent, and News and Kids at 7 percent each, or a combined total of 89 percent. The breakup of the combined total of 94 percent for these four genres in Week 13 of 2020 was GEC 40 percent, Movies 29 percent, News 18 percent and Kids 7 percent. It must be noted that overall television viewership had climbed up 

    Despite the drop in Week 34 of 2020, TV viewership based on weekly impressions in Week 34 of 2020 was 1.4 percent more than the average of Weeks 2 to 4 of 2020 of 14.8 billion weekly impressions. The current ratings agency BARC along with the older one Nielsen commenced editions of “Crisis Consumption – Impact Of COVID -19 On TV And Smartphone Behaviour Across India”. At the time of writing of this paper, eleven editions have been released by BARC-Nielsen. The ratings duo has standardized the average data for Weeks 2 to 4 of 2020 as a measure for television consumption trends. The author has also used the same yardstick to analyze television consumption trends of the Top channels based on BARC weekly data published each week in the public domain of the top 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 10 Television channels of each genre, sub-genre, language and/or platform in all-India or the respective market, The analysis of this paper is limited to that extent. Where required, data from the 11 editions released by BARC-Nielsen has been used. Though the percentages of share of consumption may differ from the numbers in the BARC-Nielsen reports and those arrived at by the author based on limited BARC data available in the public domain, BARCs’ historical conclusions generally conform with them. Please refer to the figure below for TV+OOH viewership data as per BARC Weekly data.

    Viewership share of GECs’ has been growing post Week 22 of 2020 per the latest BARC-Nielsen report which included data for Week 33 of 2020. Week 22 of 2020 was when a number of genres started creating fresh content after UNLOCK 1.0 commenced. Viewership share of GECs’ was 52 percent of overall television in Week 33 of 2020 which is at par with the Pre-COVID2019 average (average of Weeks 2 to 4 of 2020). In Week 12 of 2020, it had plunged to an all-time low of 39 percent. The 11th edition of the BARC-Nielsen report that included data for Week 33 of 2020 revealed that the overall television viewership of 17.6 billion impressions was still 22 percent higher than the pre-COVID2019 viewership. The breakup of growth in viewership between the HSM and South in Week 33 of 2020 was 24 percent and 17 percent respectively.

    Analysis of BARC data of the top 3, 4, 5 or 10 channels of different genres of GECs’ reveals that despite viewership of the top 56 unique GEC channels from multiple genres declining 0.7 percent in Week 34 of 2020 as compared to 54  unique GEC channels from multiple genres in Week 34, the ratings of top 16 Hindi GECs’ was flat (increased 0.1 percent) as compared to the previous week. The drop in viewership was mainly in the regional languages including South Indian languages GECs’.

    Similarly, in the case of News channels, though ratings of 50 plus unique news channels in different language declined by more than 5 percent in Week 34 of 2020 as compared to Week 33, ratings of the Top 5 Hindi News channels during the same period increased by 4.2 percent as compared to 6 unique channels in Week 33 of 2020.  Hence, it is the Hindi channels that have reduced the impact of the fall in overall viewership ratings in Week 34 of 2020 from the ratings of Week 33 of 2020.

    The figure below shows viewership share of various genres. It must be noted that the number of unique channels in both weeks is not the same (184 in Week 33 and 183 in Week 34 of 2020), and hence the number of unique channels across genres/sub-genres/languages/platform in the chart below are not the same in some cases. The author has created a rough measure by using data for unique channels that figure in BARCs’ weekly lists of Top 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 channels for the two weeks.

    Top 10 Channels on All PlatformsAcross Genres

    Star India’s Hindi GEC Star Utsav continued heading BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 34 of 2020 for the third week in a row. As a matter of fact, 9 of the 10 channels in BARC’s Weekly list for Week 34 of 2020 were the same and had almost the same ranks as in the previous week. The only small reshuffling in ranks was the exchange of ranks between Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) Hindi GEC Zee Anmol and Star India’s flagship Hindi GEC Star Plus. The latter moved up one place while the formed dropped one place to rank4. The other change was that Zeel’s flagship Hindi GEC Zee TV at rank 10 in Week 33 of 2020 exited the list during the period under review and was replaced by the Network18 (Viacom18) associated Telugu channel ETV Telugu.

    Six Hindi GECs’, three Telugu channels and one Tamil channel made up BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 30 of 2020. There were 3 Star India channels, two channels each from Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) and Zeel and one channel each from Enterr 10 Television, Sun TV Network (Sun TV) and Network18/Viacom18 in the list for Top 10 Channels on All Platforms Across Genres in Week 34 of 2020.

    Please refer to the chart below:

    Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres

    Sun TV continued to lead BARC Weekly list of Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres during the period under review. Nine of the 10 channels in BARC’s weekly list for Week 34 of 2020 were the same as in the previous week, but with some shuffling of ranks. Gemini TV, The Sun TV Network’s flagship Telugu GEC, exited the list and was replaced by Zeel’s flagship Kannada GEC Zee Kannada.

    There were four channels from the Hindi GEC genre, three channels from the Telugu genre two channels from the Tamil genre and one channel Kannada genre in BARC weekly list of Top 10 Pay Channels Across Genres in Week 34 of 2020. There were three channels from Zeel, two channels each from Star India, Sun Tv Network and Network18/Viacom18 and one channel from SPN in BARC’s weekly top paychannels list for Week 34 of 2020. Please refer to the chart below.

    Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres

    Star Utsav headed BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 34 of 2020. All of the 10 channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 30 of 2020 were the same as in Week 29 with some shuffling of ranks

    There were three channels from Zeel, two channels from Viacom18 and one channel each from B4U Network, Enterr 10 Television, Goldmine Telefilms, SPN and Star India in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 30 of 2020. There six Hindi GECs’ and four Hindi Movies channels in BARC’s weekly list of Top 10 Free Channels Across Genres in Week 29 of 2020. Please refer to the figure below:


     

  • Where Mike Hopkins is taking Amazon Prime Video

    Where Mike Hopkins is taking Amazon Prime Video

    Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios SVP Mike Hopkins is a 30-year vet old in streaming veteran, having overseen the developed of products such as  BTN2GO and Fox Now as head of Fox distribution and later led Hulu on a rapid growth path as its CEO. He spent a short stint at Sony Pictures Television Networks as its chairman before being lured away by Jeff Bezos to lead Prime Video just before the pandemic hit the world.

    Hopkins is quite charged up about the opportunity that lies ahead with Prime Video. Speaking at APOS he said that Amazon has 150 million plus Prime members globally and Prime Video is a key driver of the service.

    Hopkins expressed that growth for Prime Video lies primarily in international territories. “Before I arrived the company had made some really smart investments in serving customers around the world,” he said. “And we intend to double down on that investment over the next couple of years. We will continue to invest in local and global content and that is very critical,”

    Most of the investments are going towards creating originals in 15 of the 200 markets Prime Video is available outside the US. “People in many countries have an affinity to US content,” Hopkins added. “But increasingly customers also want to see stories about them their culture and issues written and produced by people in their countries and played out by actors who look like and speak like them. Our teams have been building a home for talent and attracting the top creators all over the world.”

    The content acquisition teams, Hopkins revealed are also  making smart bets and doubling down on investments in acquiring SVOD content and TVOD catalogues. This apart, Hopkins, stated that Amazon’ sports team has also been inventing and reinventing spots, taking bets in properties and that is going to increase going forward.

    Hopkins went on to add that the second big opportunity for Amazon Prime Video lies in improving customer experience. “We have probably the most complicated business model of the SVoD players, so that makes the customer experience more important for us,” he expressed.

    He revealed that members can look forward to improvements in how they can navigate and use the service over the next year or two. “Customers can rent and buy movies and TV shows and they can also subscribe to  TV channels in many markets,” he highlighted. “Making it easier for them to understand what’s what and how they can get to the content is important and we will prioritise this along with content investments.”

    He explained that he sees Prime Video offering a variety of content to its users, right from the SVOD content to TVOD to channels. “We want to offer them a one-stop-shop for their entertainment needs and (adding) channels is going to be a major focus for us.”

    Hopkins stated the pandemic has not impacted its pipeline of content going forward. “We have about 40 shows in various stages of production,” he said. “We have a very deep library, we have licensed content. We have a lot of originals. We are going to launch the second season of The Voice and several other shows. But what we will see is a slowdown in terms of premieres in the first half of next year. The thinning of these shows will be more than made up by the TVOD content in movies and the channels members can subscribe to.”

    He pointed out that Amazon Prime Video had gone in early into India as an SVOD service  and the way forward is becoming be super aggressive in the market from an originals. “We will have more than a dozen originals in each of the markets we are investing in by next year or so” he revealed. “And India is one of our priority markets.”