ITV

Tag: Mukund Cairae

  • Toonz Media Group launches kids TV channel in Indonesia

    Toonz Media Group launches kids TV channel in Indonesia

    Mumbai: Toonz Media Group is launching a new kids TV channel in Indonesia. The 24X7 pay-TV channel Toonz kids will be available on Indonesia’s satellite TV network Transvision. The channel will go on air on 14 November.

    The bilingual channel will include shows in both Bahasa and English, and is targeted at four to 12-year-olds. This will be Toonz’s maiden television channel in Asia, said the statement.

    “Indonesia has a fast-growing kids entertainment industry and we felt it would be the best place to launch the expansion of our platform entertainment business,” said Toonz Media Group chief executive officer P Jayakumar. “We will be banking on Toonz’s 22 year old legacy in the industry and our strong multi-genre library with 1000+ hours of content. Toonz Kids will bring this world class content to kids and families in Indonesia, dubbed in native Bahasa.”

    Toonz had announced expansion of its platform entertainment business in October this year with the constitution of its new SBU Toonz Media Networks. The company has roped in former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to head the SBU. After Indonesia, Toonz plans to launch television channels in other emerging kids’ television markets such as Malaysia, Singapore and MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The company already operates kids channels in select key global territories.

    “Indonesia has the largest television market and the second largest pay TV market in South-East Asia. The country has around 67 million homes and a TV penetration of 64 per cent, which translates to around 42 million TV homes. This includes a pay TV penetration of 12 per cent. If you look at the average revenue per user for pay TV in Indonesia, it is a healthy $10 per home per month. Clearly, there is huge potential for growth of pay TV business here,” said Toonz Media Networks president Mukund Cairae.

    He added that Toonz Kids will focus on edutainment and entertainment shows while also looking to explore content partnerships through animation co-productions with local companies in Indonesia. “We will be actively pursuing content partnerships to co-create premium content, including e-Sports, to engage the tweens and teens besides the kids audience category,” Cairae said. 

    Cloud broadcasting and live TV streaming company Amagi is the playout and transmission partner for Toonz Kids. Toonz already has a formidable presence in the digital media space with a robust YouTube ecosystem comprising of 18 YouTube channels and 18 million plus subscribers. Earlier this year the company had launched its own OTT platform MyToonz. Besides this, Toonz also has content syndication partnerships with world’s top kids’ VoD platforms including Roku, Kidoodle, Amazon Prime, Pluto TV, and many more.

    “This is the first international kids’ channel fully dubbed in Bahasa Indonesia. In line with our tagline, ‘broadcasting at the edge of technology’ we always strive to provide entertaining, quality, and educational content for all of our viewers,” said Transvision sales and marketing director Brando Tengdom. “We sincerely hope this partnership will accommodate our customer needs, as well as become an attractive point for our customer to access Transvision services.”

  • Mukund Cairae to head media networks division at Toonz

    Mukund Cairae to head media networks division at Toonz

    Mumbai: Close on the heels of launching its OTT platform, global kids and family entertainment player Toonz Media Group has appointed former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to give strategic leadership to the new SBU, that seeks to expand to more territories in the next two years.

    Toonz Media Group is all set to venture deeper into the platform entertainment business and has constituted a new SBU – Toonz Media Networks – with the aim of widening the scope of the company’s platform business.

    Apart from its well-established YoutTube ecosystem as well as television channels in Russia and LATAM, Toonz Media Networks SBU will supervise the launch of the group’s new linear television channels in the fast-growing kids’ television markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore & MENA, said the company in a statement on Thursday.

    With 1000+ hours of content in multiple genres ranging from pre-school to tween as well as the family audience, Toonz will bank on its rich library to bring world-class shows and films to families across the world via the mini screen, it added.

    “I think this is the right time for Toonz to focus more on platform entertainment. The content industry is booming around the world and demand for kids’ content, especially, is unprecedented,” said Toonz Media Group, CEO, P Jayakumar. “We have consolidated our position as a leading kids and family entertainment company in the last 20+ years, with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from animation production to emerging technologies.”

    “The idea is to monetise Toonz’s content in various geographies across the globe, especially in the emerging markets, via our in-house content delivery platforms,” said Toonz Media Networks, president, Mukund Cairae. “Toonz will partner with telcos as well as digital platforms to launch channels in these geographies. This includes both linear and on-demand channels. For on-demand platform, we will start off with the Middle East market.”

    Cairae added that apart from the market potential, each of these geographies have been identified based on the scope for revenue capturing and effective content repurposing, in order to make it relevant and adaptable to the local markets. As part of this, Toonz’s home-grown content will be dubbed into a slew of global languages like Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Arabic, Urdu, Thai, French, and Swahili.

    Additionally, Toonz will also be actively pursuing content partnerships in these regions to co-create premium content, including e-Sports, to engage the tweens and teens besides the kids audience category.

  • Dish TV ropes in Mukund Cairae as biz head sports and exclusive content

    Dish TV ropes in Mukund Cairae as biz head sports and exclusive content

    MUMBAI: Dish TV, the largest DTH operator in India, has appointed Mukund Cairae as business head sports and exclusive content. The business leader with almost two decades of experience was associated with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) in various roles for over 14 years.

    Prior to his new position at Dish TV(http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/dish-tv-partners-with-shemaroo-to-bring-bhojpuri-regional-active-service-on-its-two-platforms-180726), he was ZEEL(http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/gecs/zee-launches-zee-world-in-south-africa-150128) CEO Middle East North Africa and Asia Pacific. During this tenure, he led 45 per cent revenue growth across ad sales, program sales and affiliate revenue. He also took an active part in launching ZEEL’s digital venture ZEE5 in Asia Pacific.

    He was also associated with Videocon and Kotak Life, Lara Agro, Amadeus India. He helped to build strong retail and distribution network from inception for Videocon Group.

    The media veteran has been consistently recognised by Forbes Middle East as one of the top fifty Indian leaders in the region from 2013 to 2018.

  • ZEEL Cignals deal for Filipino channel Zee Sine

    ZEEL Cignals deal for Filipino channel Zee Sine

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has signalled a deal with Cignal TV for Filipino channel Zee Sine.

    Earlier this year, ZEEL had announced its foray into the Philippines with its Tagalog and Taglish language Bollywood movie channel Zee Sine in partnership with the local cable TV distributor Cable Boss. Since then, it has been expanding its reach. An agreement with the cable TV MSO Cable Link followed which gave it access to subscribers in parts of Manila.

    Then, last week, it announced a carriage deal with local satellite platform and DTH operator Cignal TV.

    Cignal, launched in 2009, transmits 102 channels including free-to-air, SD and HD channels to household and commercial venues nationwide. It also offers a mix of 12 audio channels and on-demand service through pay-per-view channels. It is owned by MediaQuest Holdings, the media partner of PLDT Group.

    The entertainment major launched the Zee Sine on pay TV and DTH operator Cignal TV which boasts a subscriber base in excess of 1 million. After launching channels in Latin America, Germany, Indonesia, the US, Malaysia, Thailand (not necessarily in that order), it was now the turn of the south-east Asian nation to see another offering from the Punit Goenka-led company.

    Available on Channel 19 with Cignal Postpaid plan 290 and up and Cignal Prepaid Premium 300 and up, Zee Sine is backed by ZEEL’s Bollywood movie library, the world’s largest with over 3500 titles.

    The tag line of the channel is Bollywood Na Tayo! (Let’s Go Bollywood) and viewers have three Bollywood movies on offer daily with the 8pm movie band being themed as unli tawa Mondays (comedy), lab na lab on Tuesdays (romance), Bollywood divas on Wednesdays, Hari ng Aksyon Huwebes (action), star of the month on Fridays, blockbuster movies on Saturday and special monthly thematic films on Sundays.

    Cignal VP/Head of Channels Management, Sienna Olaso, said that the partnership with ZEEL was a strong affirmation of Cignal’s commitment to provide the best Pay TV service to their loyal subscribers by providing them with world class shows and channels that catered to their diverse tastes in TV viewing.

    Zee Entertainment CEO, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Mukund Cairae, said that Fillipinos had love in abundance for music and dance that Bollywood represents. Cairae added that he anticipated Fillipnos to connect with the Bollywood masala as the core values across Asia were similar. The strategy was to put Zee TV’s movies and shows on free to air channels while also running the 24×7 pay TV channel Zee Sine.

    Cairae said the company was seeking to to do Filipino productions in phase II of the launch.

  • ZEEL Cignals deal for Filipino channel Zee Sine

    ZEEL Cignals deal for Filipino channel Zee Sine

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has signalled a deal with Cignal TV for Filipino channel Zee Sine.

    Earlier this year, ZEEL had announced its foray into the Philippines with its Tagalog and Taglish language Bollywood movie channel Zee Sine in partnership with the local cable TV distributor Cable Boss. Since then, it has been expanding its reach. An agreement with the cable TV MSO Cable Link followed which gave it access to subscribers in parts of Manila.

    Then, last week, it announced a carriage deal with local satellite platform and DTH operator Cignal TV.

    Cignal, launched in 2009, transmits 102 channels including free-to-air, SD and HD channels to household and commercial venues nationwide. It also offers a mix of 12 audio channels and on-demand service through pay-per-view channels. It is owned by MediaQuest Holdings, the media partner of PLDT Group.

    The entertainment major launched the Zee Sine on pay TV and DTH operator Cignal TV which boasts a subscriber base in excess of 1 million. After launching channels in Latin America, Germany, Indonesia, the US, Malaysia, Thailand (not necessarily in that order), it was now the turn of the south-east Asian nation to see another offering from the Punit Goenka-led company.

    Available on Channel 19 with Cignal Postpaid plan 290 and up and Cignal Prepaid Premium 300 and up, Zee Sine is backed by ZEEL’s Bollywood movie library, the world’s largest with over 3500 titles.

    The tag line of the channel is Bollywood Na Tayo! (Let’s Go Bollywood) and viewers have three Bollywood movies on offer daily with the 8pm movie band being themed as unli tawa Mondays (comedy), lab na lab on Tuesdays (romance), Bollywood divas on Wednesdays, Hari ng Aksyon Huwebes (action), star of the month on Fridays, blockbuster movies on Saturday and special monthly thematic films on Sundays.

    Cignal VP/Head of Channels Management, Sienna Olaso, said that the partnership with ZEEL was a strong affirmation of Cignal’s commitment to provide the best Pay TV service to their loyal subscribers by providing them with world class shows and channels that catered to their diverse tastes in TV viewing.

    Zee Entertainment CEO, Middle East and Asia Pacific, Mukund Cairae, said that Fillipinos had love in abundance for music and dance that Bollywood represents. Cairae added that he anticipated Fillipnos to connect with the Bollywood masala as the core values across Asia were similar. The strategy was to put Zee TV’s movies and shows on free to air channels while also running the 24×7 pay TV channel Zee Sine.

    Cairae said the company was seeking to to do Filipino productions in phase II of the launch.

  • Zee Entertainment acquires TOIFA 2016 global telecast rights, except India

    Zee Entertainment acquires TOIFA 2016 global telecast rights, except India

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Group has bagged the exclusive telecast partners across the world, excluding India of The Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) 2016.

    The partnership is aimed at promoting TOIFA’s grandeur, to reach out to viewers across the globe, which will include some of these regions like Middle East, Pakistan, Asia Pacific, America, Africa and Europe.  

    TOIFA 2016 Dubai presented by Gulf Air and Splash will be held on 17 & 18 March at the Dubai International Stadium and also will see performances by Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, YoYo Honey Singh and others.

    Zee Entertainment Middle East CEO Mukund Cairae says, “It’s a privilege to associate with TOIFA as an exclusive broadcast partner, as Zee is also the global leader in providing entertaining content for global viewers at present. This partnership goes beyond the Middle East region, as we have acquired International telecast rights. With Zee’s global reach and viewership, we are sure to entertain the audience with Indian and Bollywood content.”

    TOIFA is going to be promoted across India, Bahrain, KSA, Qatar, Oman and UK. TOIFA has already partnered with Thomas Cook in India and Dadabhai Travels in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as its Travel Partners.

    Zee Entertainment Middle East chief content & creative officer Manoj Mathew added, “At Zee, our simple mantra is to continuously entertain and bring new content to our viewers. We continue to do this with our association with TOIFA and this year the awards have special significance since it is hosted in Dubai.” 

    He further added, “The event offers great entertainment with performances by some of the biggest Bollywood icons; we are thrilled to partner with the event, which will further delight our viewers not only on-ground but also broadcasting it on Zee Cinema and Zee Aflam for the region.”

    For the South Asians audience in Middle East TOIFA will be showcased exclusively on Zee Cinema and for the Arabic audience it will be showcased on Zee’s Arabic Bollywood channel Zee Aflam.

  • Zee Entertainment acquires TOIFA 2016 global telecast rights, except India

    Zee Entertainment acquires TOIFA 2016 global telecast rights, except India

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Group has bagged the exclusive telecast partners across the world, excluding India of The Times of India Film Awards (TOIFA) 2016.

    The partnership is aimed at promoting TOIFA’s grandeur, to reach out to viewers across the globe, which will include some of these regions like Middle East, Pakistan, Asia Pacific, America, Africa and Europe.  

    TOIFA 2016 Dubai presented by Gulf Air and Splash will be held on 17 & 18 March at the Dubai International Stadium and also will see performances by Shah Rukh Khan, Varun Dhawan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez, YoYo Honey Singh and others.

    Zee Entertainment Middle East CEO Mukund Cairae says, “It’s a privilege to associate with TOIFA as an exclusive broadcast partner, as Zee is also the global leader in providing entertaining content for global viewers at present. This partnership goes beyond the Middle East region, as we have acquired International telecast rights. With Zee’s global reach and viewership, we are sure to entertain the audience with Indian and Bollywood content.”

    TOIFA is going to be promoted across India, Bahrain, KSA, Qatar, Oman and UK. TOIFA has already partnered with Thomas Cook in India and Dadabhai Travels in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as its Travel Partners.

    Zee Entertainment Middle East chief content & creative officer Manoj Mathew added, “At Zee, our simple mantra is to continuously entertain and bring new content to our viewers. We continue to do this with our association with TOIFA and this year the awards have special significance since it is hosted in Dubai.” 

    He further added, “The event offers great entertainment with performances by some of the biggest Bollywood icons; we are thrilled to partner with the event, which will further delight our viewers not only on-ground but also broadcasting it on Zee Cinema and Zee Aflam for the region.”

    For the South Asians audience in Middle East TOIFA will be showcased exclusively on Zee Cinema and for the Arabic audience it will be showcased on Zee’s Arabic Bollywood channel Zee Aflam.

  • Zee MENAP’s ATL Media inks deal with GEO TV Network & Cartoon Network Arabic

    Zee MENAP’s ATL Media inks deal with GEO TV Network & Cartoon Network Arabic

    MUMBAI: Zee Enterprises Middle East has signed a new partnership of its media agency ATL Media FZ LLC with two broadcasting companies in the region namely Cartoon Network Arabic and GEO Television Network.

     

    Established in 2014, ATL Media FZ LLC has made its name in the regional media hub and has been earning profits for the Zee Networks’ bouquet of channels. ATL Media now holds exclusive ad sales rights to these channels viz. Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Aflam, Zee Alwan, Z Living, Ten Cricket and &TV.

     

    Following its vision to strategically expand its growth in the region, with this partnership the media agency now boasts the addition of Cartoon Network Arabic, www.cartoonnetworkarabic.com, GEO TV and GEO News to its array of existing channels.

     

    Zee MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan) CEO Mukund Cairae said, “We are proud of the opportunity to represent both these channel’s media selling in the MENA region. For the anticipated future, our goal is to continue growing the sales operations and to insure their ambitious targets are met. The popularity of all these channels will provide a boost to further expand our own business in the region.”

  • Zee launches Zee World in South Africa

    Zee launches Zee World in South Africa

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has launched a new general entertainment channel – Zee World – in South Africa. The channel was unveiled at an event in Johannesburg and is the first offering from ZEEL for mainstream viewers in Africa.

     

    Zee World is a customised channel for mainstream audiences in Africa and will be available from 3 February on DSTV Premium, Extra, Compact and Family pack in South Africa and the Access pack within the rest of Africa. It will also be available on the Multichoice Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) GO TV platform. 

     

    Essel Group and Zeel chairman Dr Subhash Chandra said, “The corporate positioning of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘The world is my family’ is the driving force that enables us to bring authentic and entertaining content to global audiences, with a vision to reach a billion viewers by 2020.”

     

    Zeel Middle East and Africa CEO Mukund Cairae said that the channel will launch with four series namely Saloni, Laali, Married Again, and The Promise. It will also introduce other genres such as world drama series and shows on kids, food, reality and health before the end of the year.

     

    The channel will showcase content that will connect with the masses – from television series to Bollywood movies, from reality shows to action packed content. All content that will be aired has undergone extensive research and customization including editing and dubbing with most of the channel’s content dubbed in South Africa using local talent.

  • Zee’s healthy gift to Middle East

    Zee’s healthy gift to Middle East

    MUMBAI: If one thought that Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zeel) is all about drama and movies, then it is high time one turned the pages of history.

     

    Almost seven years know, Zee Networks but with a lifestyle channel, christened Veria Living, with the aim to provide a one-stop solution for those who seek overall wellness and healthy living guidance right from their home.

     

    Launched first in USA, it later made its presence in other parts of the countries, more recently in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the month of May.

     

    In a statement issued by the group on the launch of Veria for the Middle-East region, Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra said: “After a successful launch in USA and Indonesia, we bring Veria to the people of the Middle East. The essence of this channel reflects every individual’s desire to enhance their outlook in life by augmenting the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual facets in their beings. Veria will serve as a one-stop solution for all those seeking overall wellness and healthy living guidance right from the comfort of their homes.”

     

    A free-to-air channel features a wide range of shows focusing on such areas as food and nutrition, travel, exercise, alternative medicine and holistic health to redefine common perceptions about wellness.

     

     “But the content will be slightly modified keeping the Arab audiences in mind”, says Zee Network CEO (MENAPT) Mukund Cairae: “For Arab audiences, we can’t showcase content the way we air it in USA. So we do edit things that we feel is not suitable for Arab audiences.”

     

    Veria is aired on Nilesat in English with Arabic subtitles across the Middle East and North Africa region.

     

    Cairae further reveals that, to get more viewers on-board, the channel is looking at creating fresh content. “We are in talks with Yoga companies to get the Arabic content on-board.”

     

    “”The core idea behind the creation of such a unique product is to help people realize that wellness is a celebration of life itself”. “At Zee, we constantly strive to provide our audiences with new, exclusive content and programs and we understand our audience’s growing interest in maintaining an active and balanced lifestyle,” concludes Cairae.