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  • SintecMedia buys Operative; creates largest SaaS TV, digital ad management offering

    SintecMedia buys Operative; creates largest SaaS TV, digital ad management offering

    MUMBAI: Operative, Inc. today announced its acquisition by SintecMedia and the transaction would create largest SaaS TV and digital advertising management offering for media companies globally.

    Since 2001, Operative Media, Inc. has developed software and services that help publishers, agencies, networks, and broadcasters simplify the business of advertising. Media companies rely on Operative to sell, traffic, and bill premium ad inventory, increasing revenue and decreasing overhead. Operative’s client base, which controls over 20 percent of the global ad market, features NBCUniversal, Wall Street Journal, Comcast, Clear Channel, BuzzFeed, and Schibsted

    Operative Media, Inc., the global leader in digital advertising business management solutions for major media companies, said the company will be acquired by SintecMedia, a portfolio company of Francisco Partners. The combined company brings together TV and digital ad management for media companies and publishers worldwide. Operative’s management team, including Lorne Brown, the company’s founder, are also investors in the combined business. Brown will take the role of president and remain part of the strategic leadership team within SintecMedia.

    “Operative’s fantastic customer base and digital advertising solutions are the perfect compliment to our own global client roster and television advertising products,” said SintecMedia CEO Amotz Yarden. “With Operative as a key part of our offering, SintecMedia brings TV and digital ad management together, allowing media companies to streamline advertising infrastructure, increase profitability and drive the long term strategic control of their business.”

    SintecMedia is the world’s leading television advertising management technology company. Their advanced TV advertising products maximize yield and streamline operations across direct and programmatic television advertising. SintecMedia systems are used by hundreds of the largest television media companies in the world.

    This year, according to eMarketer, US digital advertising spending will be US$ 72.09 billion, marking the first year that the digital advertising market matches television, with the global market following similar patterns in the near term. In addition to digital’s fast growth, television is rapidly embracing digital and data-driven elements, from smart TVs to audience-based media buying.

    Without the right partners, the rapidly changing TV and digital advertising markets can increase cost and complexity for media companies, from managing yield across direct and programmatic sales to operations and billing. The combined offering from SintecMedia and Operative empowers media companies to ensure a profitable advertising business across channels by seamlessly connecting the most important parts of their ad business while minimizing drag and waste.

    “SintecMedia’s acquisition of Operative is the best possible outcome for our clients and for all media companies working to maximize profitability as TV and digital channels start to intertwine,” said Operative’s incumbent CEO Brown. “We are thrilled to join the SintecMedia team and look forward to continuing to create solutions for media companies in the future.”

    GCA Advisors, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor and Dentons US LLP, the world’s largest law firm, acted as legal advisor to Operative. Morris Manning and Martin, LLP acted as legal advisor to Francisco Partners and SintecMedia. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions including customary regulatory review.

  • Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

    Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

    NEW DELHI: Discovery Communications, owners of TLC and Animal Planet, yesterday announced it’s investing $ 100 million in a digital media company as a minority shareholder. The new media company will comprise Group Nine Media’s Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Discovery’s digital network Seeker (along with its production studio SourceFed Studios).

    Axel Springer will maintain its investment as the second largest shareholder. Thrillist CEO Ben Lerer will become the CEO of Group Nine Media. The merging of these millennial-focused brands will immediately create in Group Nine Media one of the largest digital-first media companies, a statement issued by Discovery in New York stated yesterday.

    “Today marks the start of a strong new company with tremendous brands, reach and scale,” Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav was quoted in the statement as saying. “The merger of these assets will bring together best-in-class management, led by Ben and his team, expertise in data analytics technology and global reach to create one of the world’s largest digital-first content companies attracting young passionate enthusiasts that advertisers want to reach,” he added.

    Analysing the deal, a Bloomberg report said the partnership was another example of traditional and digital media joining forces as TV networks look online to reach younger consumers who may not subscribe to cable or satellite TV. At the same time, online publishers want to team up with TV networks, which can provide the needed funding and professional content to help them compete with Google and Facebook Inc., which are taking a large share of internet advertising.

    Last year, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal invested $200 million in both BuzzFeed and Vox Media, publisher of the Verge, Eater and Recode. This year, Time Warner Inc.’s Turner, which runs the TNT and TBS cable channels, led a $45 million investment in online publisher Refinery29 and led a $15 million funding round for the news website Mashable, Bloomberg said.

    “This is truly a ‘win-win’ scenario, allowing our brands the opportunity to remain independent and build our own future, while at the same time, having the support of one of the best media and entertainment companies in the world,” Group Nine Media CEO Ben said in a statement, adding, “Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof. We will be stronger brands working together – we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market.”

    The partnership between Discovery and Group Nine Media will include a commercial agreement that will enable advertisers to reach their desired audience via true 360 opportunities across multiple platforms including linear, digital, social and live events.

    On the closing of yesterday’s investment and partnership, Group Nine Media will expand Discovery’s push into the digital network space targeting millennials, which began with the 2012 acquisition of digital network Revision3 and the subsequent acquisition in 2013 of Internet video icon Philip DeFranco’s portfolio of online video channels and ventures, DeFranco Creative. Now called Seeker and SourceFed Studios, these entities will become part of Group Nine Media. Discovery also led rounds of funding in The Dodo in 2014 and 2015.

    In the future, Discovery will have an option to buy a controlling stake in Group Nine Media, the official Discovery statement highlighted.

    Capitalizing on the company’s strong foundation and capabilities across editorial, tech, data and monetization, Discovery’s investment will fund growth across all of these areas of the business – specifically, the expansion of the sales team and branded content studio, new vertical launches and expansive content development for all of its brands.

    “We are big believers in digital journalism and its very exciting business perspectives. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Lerer family through this transaction and to work with Discovery to support the growth of Group Nine Media,” Axel Springer USA and CEO Axel Springer Digital Ventures president Jens Müffelmann was quoted in the statement. Axel Springer will have a seat on the board of Group Nine Media.

    “We’re thrilled to work even more closely with Discovery. They’ve been The Dodo’s lead investor and an incredible partner to us, and this feels like an organic and very exciting next step,” said The Dodo founder Izzie Lerer, who will continue to be responsible for the brand. “I’m looking forward to working with my brother, too. His competence in business makes up for most of his annoying personality traits.”

    Under the Group Nine Media roof are properties like The Dodo, NowThis, Seeker and Thrillist, which are each unique, mission-driven brands and stand-outs in their respective categories. The Dodo has more than 700 million monthly social video views; NowThis is the No. 1 video news publisher on Facebook; Seeker has over 23 million YouTube subscribers across its channels; and Thrillist’s audience has doubled to nearly 20 million monthly uniques on O&O properties. With over 60 percent of its audience consisting of users ages 18-34, Group Nine Media’s brands are built for consumption on the social web where this audience spends the majority of its time.

    The brands will each remain editorially independent and will maintain their individual voice, mission and culture. At the corporate level there will be shared services.

    Thrillist’s sales team and content studio, The CoLab will combine with NowThis Studios, The Dodo and Seeker’s branded content team to create a core advertising solutions group across all Group Nine Media brands. The company will also combine technology capabilities (Thrillist’s Pinnacle and NowThis’ Switchboard) to create a dynamic publishing platform that will power all brands. A centralized long-form video department will be created that will be responsible for creating OTT/on-demand and linear TV programming across all properties. This group will leverage Seeker’s premium production capabilities and SourceFed Studio’s expertise in program development and talent incubation.

  • Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

    Discovery invests $ 100 mn in digital JV with Group Nine Media

    NEW DELHI: Discovery Communications, owners of TLC and Animal Planet, yesterday announced it’s investing $ 100 million in a digital media company as a minority shareholder. The new media company will comprise Group Nine Media’s Thrillist Media Group, NowThis Media, The Dodo and Discovery’s digital network Seeker (along with its production studio SourceFed Studios).

    Axel Springer will maintain its investment as the second largest shareholder. Thrillist CEO Ben Lerer will become the CEO of Group Nine Media. The merging of these millennial-focused brands will immediately create in Group Nine Media one of the largest digital-first media companies, a statement issued by Discovery in New York stated yesterday.

    “Today marks the start of a strong new company with tremendous brands, reach and scale,” Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav was quoted in the statement as saying. “The merger of these assets will bring together best-in-class management, led by Ben and his team, expertise in data analytics technology and global reach to create one of the world’s largest digital-first content companies attracting young passionate enthusiasts that advertisers want to reach,” he added.

    Analysing the deal, a Bloomberg report said the partnership was another example of traditional and digital media joining forces as TV networks look online to reach younger consumers who may not subscribe to cable or satellite TV. At the same time, online publishers want to team up with TV networks, which can provide the needed funding and professional content to help them compete with Google and Facebook Inc., which are taking a large share of internet advertising.

    Last year, Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal invested $200 million in both BuzzFeed and Vox Media, publisher of the Verge, Eater and Recode. This year, Time Warner Inc.’s Turner, which runs the TNT and TBS cable channels, led a $45 million investment in online publisher Refinery29 and led a $15 million funding round for the news website Mashable, Bloomberg said.

    “This is truly a ‘win-win’ scenario, allowing our brands the opportunity to remain independent and build our own future, while at the same time, having the support of one of the best media and entertainment companies in the world,” Group Nine Media CEO Ben said in a statement, adding, “Each of our brands has found great success independently, but with consolidation of digital content companies around the corner, there is extraordinary value in all existing under one multi-brand roof. We will be stronger brands working together – we will have more influence; we will have better data and insights; we will be better partners to our advertisers; and most importantly, we will be substantial enough to make a real difference and stay ahead of the market.”

    The partnership between Discovery and Group Nine Media will include a commercial agreement that will enable advertisers to reach their desired audience via true 360 opportunities across multiple platforms including linear, digital, social and live events.

    On the closing of yesterday’s investment and partnership, Group Nine Media will expand Discovery’s push into the digital network space targeting millennials, which began with the 2012 acquisition of digital network Revision3 and the subsequent acquisition in 2013 of Internet video icon Philip DeFranco’s portfolio of online video channels and ventures, DeFranco Creative. Now called Seeker and SourceFed Studios, these entities will become part of Group Nine Media. Discovery also led rounds of funding in The Dodo in 2014 and 2015.

    In the future, Discovery will have an option to buy a controlling stake in Group Nine Media, the official Discovery statement highlighted.

    Capitalizing on the company’s strong foundation and capabilities across editorial, tech, data and monetization, Discovery’s investment will fund growth across all of these areas of the business – specifically, the expansion of the sales team and branded content studio, new vertical launches and expansive content development for all of its brands.

    “We are big believers in digital journalism and its very exciting business perspectives. We look forward to continuing to strengthen our relationship with the Lerer family through this transaction and to work with Discovery to support the growth of Group Nine Media,” Axel Springer USA and CEO Axel Springer Digital Ventures president Jens Müffelmann was quoted in the statement. Axel Springer will have a seat on the board of Group Nine Media.

    “We’re thrilled to work even more closely with Discovery. They’ve been The Dodo’s lead investor and an incredible partner to us, and this feels like an organic and very exciting next step,” said The Dodo founder Izzie Lerer, who will continue to be responsible for the brand. “I’m looking forward to working with my brother, too. His competence in business makes up for most of his annoying personality traits.”

    Under the Group Nine Media roof are properties like The Dodo, NowThis, Seeker and Thrillist, which are each unique, mission-driven brands and stand-outs in their respective categories. The Dodo has more than 700 million monthly social video views; NowThis is the No. 1 video news publisher on Facebook; Seeker has over 23 million YouTube subscribers across its channels; and Thrillist’s audience has doubled to nearly 20 million monthly uniques on O&O properties. With over 60 percent of its audience consisting of users ages 18-34, Group Nine Media’s brands are built for consumption on the social web where this audience spends the majority of its time.

    The brands will each remain editorially independent and will maintain their individual voice, mission and culture. At the corporate level there will be shared services.

    Thrillist’s sales team and content studio, The CoLab will combine with NowThis Studios, The Dodo and Seeker’s branded content team to create a core advertising solutions group across all Group Nine Media brands. The company will also combine technology capabilities (Thrillist’s Pinnacle and NowThis’ Switchboard) to create a dynamic publishing platform that will power all brands. A centralized long-form video department will be created that will be responsible for creating OTT/on-demand and linear TV programming across all properties. This group will leverage Seeker’s premium production capabilities and SourceFed Studio’s expertise in program development and talent incubation.

  • Netflix hires Indian origin TV exec Bela Bajaria as content VP

    Netflix hires Indian origin TV exec Bela Bajaria as content VP

    MUMBAI: Even as Netflix has been strengthening its Asia team by hiring locals with Asian and international experience, it has also been bolstering the talent at its HQ.  Last week, the leading global video streaming site, announced that it had roped in former Universal Television (NBCUniversal’s TV unit) president Bela Bajaria as vice-president of content. She is slated to join Netflix from 1 November, replacing Sean Carey, who is leaving the company.

    The London-born-but-raised-in-east-Africa-and-settled-in-Los-Angeles Bajaria is of Indian origin, At Universal Television, Bajaria supervised creative programming for the studio and producing such hit series as Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Netflix; Brooklyn Nine-Nine for FOX; The Mindy Project for FOX and Hulu; Superstore for NBC and Bates Motel for A&E, among several others. She developed Gypsy, starring Naomi Watts, for Netflix which will premiere in 2017 as well as Pure Genius for CBS and The Good Place for NBC, which are on the network’s 2016 fall schedules.

    Bajaria has in the past been ranked amongst the top  TV executives in the US when she headed Universal Television.  She left the production outfit  when she had a run-in with executives at NBC Studios for not buying enough content from her company, even though Fox and CBS were.

    At Netflix, Bajaria has been mandated with leading the team focused on TV and film licensing from major U. studios, as well co-production relationships with major US networks. She will also oversee a new team developing original unscripted programs for Netflix.

    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos have said time and time again that the company wants to keep showcase the best in class engaging content for its subscribers and a budget of $5 billion has been kept aside for this year to acquire and create content.

    “Bela is a great creative television executive with broad experience and deep industry relationships,” said Sarandos. “Having worked closely with her on Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we know we have found the perfect executive to lead this new effort.”

    “I am looking forward to joining Netflix, an innovative company that supports creative vision and fosters risk-taking. Having worked closely with Ted, Cindy and the team, I know they are great creative partners and care deeply about the experience of talent, their partners and their members,” said Bela Bajaria. “They are a dynamic group and I’m looking forward to continue building new partnerships at Netflix with amazing talent and studio and network colleagues.”

  • Netflix hires Indian origin TV exec Bela Bajaria as content VP

    Netflix hires Indian origin TV exec Bela Bajaria as content VP

    MUMBAI: Even as Netflix has been strengthening its Asia team by hiring locals with Asian and international experience, it has also been bolstering the talent at its HQ.  Last week, the leading global video streaming site, announced that it had roped in former Universal Television (NBCUniversal’s TV unit) president Bela Bajaria as vice-president of content. She is slated to join Netflix from 1 November, replacing Sean Carey, who is leaving the company.

    The London-born-but-raised-in-east-Africa-and-settled-in-Los-Angeles Bajaria is of Indian origin, At Universal Television, Bajaria supervised creative programming for the studio and producing such hit series as Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Netflix; Brooklyn Nine-Nine for FOX; The Mindy Project for FOX and Hulu; Superstore for NBC and Bates Motel for A&E, among several others. She developed Gypsy, starring Naomi Watts, for Netflix which will premiere in 2017 as well as Pure Genius for CBS and The Good Place for NBC, which are on the network’s 2016 fall schedules.

    Bajaria has in the past been ranked amongst the top  TV executives in the US when she headed Universal Television.  She left the production outfit  when she had a run-in with executives at NBC Studios for not buying enough content from her company, even though Fox and CBS were.

    At Netflix, Bajaria has been mandated with leading the team focused on TV and film licensing from major U. studios, as well co-production relationships with major US networks. She will also oversee a new team developing original unscripted programs for Netflix.

    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos have said time and time again that the company wants to keep showcase the best in class engaging content for its subscribers and a budget of $5 billion has been kept aside for this year to acquire and create content.

    “Bela is a great creative television executive with broad experience and deep industry relationships,” said Sarandos. “Having worked closely with her on Master of None and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we know we have found the perfect executive to lead this new effort.”

    “I am looking forward to joining Netflix, an innovative company that supports creative vision and fosters risk-taking. Having worked closely with Ted, Cindy and the team, I know they are great creative partners and care deeply about the experience of talent, their partners and their members,” said Bela Bajaria. “They are a dynamic group and I’m looking forward to continue building new partnerships at Netflix with amazing talent and studio and network colleagues.”

  • NBC Broadcasting to restructure exec suites as chairman exits

    NBC Broadcasting to restructure exec suites as chairman exits

    MUMBAI: US-based NBC Broadcasting chief Ted Herbert is stepping down from his role as the chairman after 40 years in the industry. Herbert was key adviser to NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke. He saw a wide swath of territory including local advertising sales, the network’s owned television stations, affiliate relations and distribution of NBC-owned content.

    He was in the position since 2011 when Comcast Corp. completed its acquisition of NBCUniversal. Prior to that, he ran the E! cable network for Comcast.

    With this exit, Burke plans to restructure the executive suites at the network. NBC Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus will take on Harbert’s title to become chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports. He will oversee affiliate relations, advertising and the owned-TV stations. Harbert other duties will be spread to other execs

    The syndication business will be overseen jointly by senior entertainment executives George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy.

    NBCUniversal Global Distribution chairman Kevin MacLellan will add domestic and new media distribution of NBC content to his responsibilities. Maggie McLean Suniewick has been named president of digital enterprises, which is a unit focusing on strategy and development in the digital space.

  • NBC Broadcasting to restructure exec suites as chairman exits

    NBC Broadcasting to restructure exec suites as chairman exits

    MUMBAI: US-based NBC Broadcasting chief Ted Herbert is stepping down from his role as the chairman after 40 years in the industry. Herbert was key adviser to NBCUniversal chief Steve Burke. He saw a wide swath of territory including local advertising sales, the network’s owned television stations, affiliate relations and distribution of NBC-owned content.

    He was in the position since 2011 when Comcast Corp. completed its acquisition of NBCUniversal. Prior to that, he ran the E! cable network for Comcast.

    With this exit, Burke plans to restructure the executive suites at the network. NBC Sports Group chairman Mark Lazarus will take on Harbert’s title to become chairman of NBC Broadcasting and Sports. He will oversee affiliate relations, advertising and the owned-TV stations. Harbert other duties will be spread to other execs

    The syndication business will be overseen jointly by senior entertainment executives George Cheeks and Paul Telegdy.

    NBCUniversal Global Distribution chairman Kevin MacLellan will add domestic and new media distribution of NBC content to his responsibilities. Maggie McLean Suniewick has been named president of digital enterprises, which is a unit focusing on strategy and development in the digital space.

  • HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    MUMBAI: Time Warner’s television subsidiary HBO has assigned Black White Orange Brands as its official licensing and merchandising agent in India for Game of Thrones (GOT). This partnership brings new opportunities for the channel to build on the worldwide GOT fan base by developing officially licensed products for its followers in India.

    The brand licensing company will help to ensure that Indian fans are not far behind in building their own GOT memorabilia collections by paving the way for HBO to partner with companies to develop merchandising and retail opportunities for the show in a market that consumes the property on a level at par with international audiences.

    “This is a huge achievement for us at Black White Orange, and to say we are ecstatic would be underplaying the surge of emotions we’re feeling. Game of Thrones fans get transported into the world of Westeros when watching the show and are eager to extend that experience into their everyday lives. We’re honored & excited to work with HBO, who have instilled faith in a young team like ours, to make that possible for the show’s many fans across India,” said Black White Orange Brands founder and CEO Bhavik Vora.

    Internationally, HBO Global Licensing has created a robust catalog of GOT products, from conventional categories such as apparel, figures, collectibles and digital games to specialty categories such as special edition board games and a range of craft beers. Black White Orange will represent HBO in India to develop licensed products like apparel, wall décor, drinkware, stationery, and other collectibles.

    It has also signed on leading brands like NBCUniversal, Sesame Street, Brand YouWeCan, The Emoji Company and bCreative.

  • HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    HBO assigns Black White Orange as licencing agent for GOT

    MUMBAI: Time Warner’s television subsidiary HBO has assigned Black White Orange Brands as its official licensing and merchandising agent in India for Game of Thrones (GOT). This partnership brings new opportunities for the channel to build on the worldwide GOT fan base by developing officially licensed products for its followers in India.

    The brand licensing company will help to ensure that Indian fans are not far behind in building their own GOT memorabilia collections by paving the way for HBO to partner with companies to develop merchandising and retail opportunities for the show in a market that consumes the property on a level at par with international audiences.

    “This is a huge achievement for us at Black White Orange, and to say we are ecstatic would be underplaying the surge of emotions we’re feeling. Game of Thrones fans get transported into the world of Westeros when watching the show and are eager to extend that experience into their everyday lives. We’re honored & excited to work with HBO, who have instilled faith in a young team like ours, to make that possible for the show’s many fans across India,” said Black White Orange Brands founder and CEO Bhavik Vora.

    Internationally, HBO Global Licensing has created a robust catalog of GOT products, from conventional categories such as apparel, figures, collectibles and digital games to specialty categories such as special edition board games and a range of craft beers. Black White Orange will represent HBO in India to develop licensed products like apparel, wall décor, drinkware, stationery, and other collectibles.

    It has also signed on leading brands like NBCUniversal, Sesame Street, Brand YouWeCan, The Emoji Company and bCreative.

  • Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    MUMBAI: Home to blockbuster movie titles, happy sitcoms, popular romcoms, cult classics- the Times Network’s English Entertainment Cluster has managed to find its space in the Indian cable TV and DTH sun despite it being a late entrant. And it has been continuously ramping up its offering targeted at discerning English content guzzling audiences.

    Now it has added another channel to that bouquet by announcing the launch of a new age Hollywood channel for Young India titled Movies Now 2 (MN2)

    With a library of 300 plus titles, the channel is slated to launch on 24 June 2016 at 9 pm. While the HD feed will roll out by end-July 2016, MN2 has signed a long term first output deal for the satellite rights with MGM which includes six to seven premieres a year. Apart for this, it has also partnered with Warner, SPN, NBCUniversal, etc for various hit titles.

    Positioning itself as the cinema of tomorrow, MN2 will have stylised content, right from a new identity and on-air look to an interesting library. It is also being promoted as a destination for some of the most high profile and appropriate titles across genres that are universally celebrated by youth. The Times Network has labelled MN2 as Hollywood’s wild brainchild channel with a ‘rebellious’ personality.

    Times Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava says he is excited about the launch as the channel has been honed for this free-spirited, opinionated, rebellious and “engaged youth looking for adventure, edgy and new-age stylised cinema. It is an all new Hollywood English channel experience for young India which is Sexy, Stylish and Smart.”

    But why choose the name Movies Now2? “Movies Now is an iconic name and we think it deserves an extension. Lot of research has been put into place before deciding this name. We want to go mass and make this colloquial,” explains Srivastava.

    Banking extensively on bold content, the channel plans to air it in programming blocks or on-air properties with quirky titles like Moviegasm which has been given a slot of 9 pm Monday to Friday; the Swag Nights segment broadcasts every Monday to Friday at 11 pm; BAE Love starts from June 2 every Saturday at 7 pm, while the weekend spoof festival 2wisted will telecast at 9 pm. Thug Life will showcase movies like Hangover III, Kick Ass 2, Bangkok Dangerous, the Oceans series, R.I.P.D, 21, etc on weekends at 11 pm.

    So have these segments been drawn up to give advertisers a reason to latch on to them? Clearing the doubt, Srivastava points out that hey have been created only to drive mass viewership. “The festivals are created for viewership and not sponsorship. But if this gets us business, there is no harm in that,” he jests. “Crisp segmentation, visible positioning backed with quality content makes a channel successful and that’s what we have done with MN2.”

    The channel will also premier a bevy of movies like Sin City 2, Hot Pursuit, 3 Days to Kill and Poltergeist to name a few. With no repeated content from the other two channels of the network, MN2 will have a mix of old and new content which will be routinely updated.

    Beaming through Intelsat, the new channel is part of the group’s English bouquet and carriage have been struck across all major DTH and cable TV platforms.

    With an already overcrowded movie space and with two movie channels already in the group, how will this channel have an edge over the rest? Srivastava believes the youth positioning and edgy indie and mainline films will do the trick. He asserts: “On the one hand we have roughly 400 Hindi/regional channels, but on the other hand we have a mere 40 English Entertainment channels. I think there is enormous space for multiple channels to be launched than what we have today.”

    The Moves Now 2 logo has been designed by Famous Innovations while the channel IDs and the promos were created in-house.

    Focussing on the beyond metro cities too, MN2 will extensively be promoted through traditional out of home (OOH) advertising. The OOH campaigns will begin from 28 July while marketing on television and print will be initiated with the launch of the channel. “We have always been aggressive with marketing our properties and we will continue to do so with MN2. Apart from the diverse promotions across our network, we have a robust TV and print advertising plan ready for action. We will significantly focus on digital platforms as well, voiced Srivastava.

    With approximately Rs 250-300 crore business in the English entertainment space, the group is just a few licences away from launching another English news and an entertainment channel.

    So watch this space for further action from the Times Network.