Tag: Nilesh Thakkar

  • Paytm Insider launches ‘Join The Jalsa’ for nationwide Navratri celebration

    Paytm Insider launches ‘Join The Jalsa’ for nationwide Navratri celebration

    Mumbai: It’s that time of the year when the festive spirit is in the air and the country is waiting with bated breath to welcome Navratri. The festival is celebrated with much enthusiasm, complete with rhythmic dancing to dhols as well as delectable cuisine spanning nine nights. And to celebrate this essence of Navratri, India’s leading entertainment platform, Paytm Insider is bringing forth ‘Join The Jalsa’ – a curation of some of the biggest events for you to immerse in this festive season this October.

    After last year’s mega response, the platform has expanded its offerings across multiple venues and cities by bringing forth 2x more Navratri events this year as compared to 2022. It has curated a line-up of immersive live events and experiences in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad and Surat for its Navratri campaign. The festival revellers are expected to attend in large numbers, especially in Mumbai & Ahmedabad which are seeing the highest traction in terms of ticket sales.

    Mumbai gears up for an epic Navratri season with some of the biggest artists ‘Joining The Jalsa’. Parthiv Gohil at NESCO Center, Goregaon, and Aishwarya Majmudar in Borivali’s Rangtaali promise electrifying nights. The Great Indian Dandiya Festival at Jio World Garden boasts of Divya Kumar (of ‘Kamariya’ fame from the movie ‘Stree’), Shruti Pathak, and Ameya Dabli. You don’t want to miss out on Borivali’s Navrang Navratri with Nilesh Thakkar either!

    Ahmedabad is going to witness Colors Gujarati RangRatri, which will be the only on-air and on-ground Navratri event to happen at the Tathastu Party Plot, Sardar Patel Ring Road that spans across one lakh square feet. For an authentic experience of raas-leela, people can join Vrundavan Raas Leela at Iscon Palmsprings.

    Surat will be dancing to the tunes of Adityadan Gadhavi, Keerti Sagathia, Priyanka Vaidya, Maulik Baladhiya and Urvashi Patel when they take the stage at G9 Navratri. In Lucknow, Rang-E-Dandiya will be the go to place to celebrate Navratri. Rajasthan’s most awaited and biggest event Dandiya Maharaas & Dussehra Mohotsav 2023 will be happening in Jaipur at Janki Paradise Garden.

    Paytm Insider’s business head Varun Khare expressed, “Navratri goes way beyond dance and worship. It’s a showcase of India’s rich diversity, with unique traditions, music, and mouthwatering cuisine in every region. Most importantly, it’s about getting together and having a blast. We’re excited to double down our own offerings as compared to last year and bring you a lineup of the country’s biggest events through our campaign, Join The Jalsa.”

    Paytm Insider offers Navratri discounts on select celebrations happening across the country. Get your tickets on Paytm Insider now and ‘Join The Jalsa’, where India dances to Navratri’s rhythm!

    https://insider.in/go/navratri-2023

  • The Real Media People bags ad & sales duties of Spin TV

    The Real Media People bags ad & sales duties of Spin TV

    MUMBAI: It was only a year ago that media veteran Nilesh Thakkar turned an entrepreneur with his media venture – The Real Media People (TRMP). Now, TRMP has bagged the sales and marketing duties for the 24-hours real estate TV channel – Spin TV that is available in Maharashtra, Gujarat and the Middle East countries.

     

    TRMP was launched with an aim to focus on providing media solutions to the real estate sector which is heavy on print and out of home media. Thakkar says that the company’s primary goal was to become bulk buyer with top 10 builders (safe n AA++) of Mumbai and break the rate card along with minimum down payment, full white and no charge to investor with exit clause.

     

    “Due to our top connect with builders we were able to negotiate and break the rate card and got few prelaunch deals with our volume commitments,” says Thakkar, who in the coming year plans to cross Rs 150 crore buying in real estate with 50 additional investors and more than Rs 10 crore of sales for Spin TV.

  • Nilesh Thakkar moves on from GS TV to launch The Real Media People

    MUMBAI: Media veteran Nilesh Thakkar, whose latest stint was with Aas Paas TV (the television wing of Gujarati daily Gujarat Samachar), has turned entrepreneur with his media venture – The Real Media People (TRMP).

    The media agency will focus on providing media solutions to the real estate sector which is heavy on print and out of home media. It will also help players in the sector capitalise on the use of electronic media, which has not been used effectively by the builder community as yet.

    Thakkar, the founder CEO of TRMP, said, “At TRMP, we shall give 360 degree solutions to builders who are still heavy on print and will generate additional revenue for all regional and national news channels by way of spot/non FCT/advertiser paid feature. Real estate is huge sector for print and this sector requires a personalised touch. We shall not operate like an ad agency but will act as consultants in promoting the clients.”

    TRMP was inaugurated on the pious occasion of Vasant Panchami and will start full-fledged operations from 1 April. Thakkar will be joined by two more partners, whose identities will be revealed in due course of time. There are already some new channels that have tied up with TRMP.

    Thakkar further said, “I started working at a very early age, practically during my school days. I always thought I shall retire early and start something on my own by the time I enter the early forties.”

    Thakkar has 20 years of experience in the media business having spent seven in years in print with publications like Manorama, Abhiyaan and Chitralekha and 13 years with Zee, Star News, Star Ananda, Star Majha, Tv9 and Gujarat Samachar (GS Tv).

  • New launches in a tough Gujarati TV news market

    MUMBAI: Narendra Modi is not only shaping a new Gujarat but also breathing life into a dead TV news market. A slew of Gujarati news channels are getting readied for launch ahead of the assembly elections as Modi weighs his prospects of being named as the next prime ministerial candidate for BJP.

    TV9 and VTV are the only two pure Gujarati news channels and their business life has not been too easy so far. But unnerved by the thin ad revenue market pegged at Rs 200 million this year, two leading dailies, Sandesh and Gujarat Samachar, are planning launch of their Gujarati-language TV news ventures in November, a month ahead of the December assembly elections.

    “There has been no great improvement in the market potential of Gujarati news channels. But the new launches are extensions of print media businesses. The local print market is quite strong in Gujarat and it has been more or less politically aligned,” says ABCL vice president operations KVN Murthy.

    Murthy should know. TV9 Gujarati, the channel owned by Associated Broadcasting Company Ltd, runs the most successful TV news channel in Gujarat from a viewer‘s perspective and its footage has been used by national news networks. Gujarat News Broadcasters‘ VTV launched last year and is still struggling to find space in the nascent Gujarati TV news market while ETV Gujarati airs daily news bulletins in between its main general entertainment content.

    The Gujarati news channels also have to adjust to the reality that the national news networks are quite popular there. National news broadcasters have not yet forayed into Gujarat as they realise there is a high level of cannibalisation from their Hindi and English channels. Zee, which runs a clutch of regional entertainment and news channels across India, had an entertainment channel, Zee Gujarati, which it shut in 2009.

    “Hindi general news and business channels do well in that market. The Gujarati news market will take time to evolve,” says Murthy.

    Aas Pass TV, floated by Gujarat Samachar co-promoter Shreyans Shah, and Sandesh hope to change that feeble marketplace with the backing of their strong print lineage.

    Says Gujarat Samachar’s Aas Pass TV director-sales and marketing Nilesh Thakkar, “Compared to the markets in Bengal and Maharashtra, Gujarat is at a very nascent stage. But there is scope for growth here. Only the right strategy has to be employed and patience is required.”

    The right strategy will mean a heavy load of political and crime news. And some industry sources who did not want to be named said paid news will also play a part.

    TV9 content head Vikas Upadhyay believes that pure news lineup will not work in Gujarat. “People are not interested in only news. They want a mixed offering. Also, Gujarat is a quiet place. Barring the elections, nothing unusual happens to grab eyeballs. So mixing up content is a good option.”

    Which is why TV9 has a cookery show in its lineup. And Aas Pass TV will also have other content that will help in generating revenues.

    The ad market for Gujarati news channels is set to expand. Says Thakkar, “There will be a conversion from print to TV news channels in Gujarat. This is what has happened in other regional markets as well and here it will be more obvious as two print players are entering the TV business. We will also be launching AFP (advertiser funded programme) and see great potential in real estate and retail advertisers supporting the local news channels.”

    What will also help in Gujarat is that its four main cities – Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Vadodara – are turning into mini metros. The spending capacity in these cities is increasing steadily and advertisers will want to capture this market.

    The distribution cost will also ease as the main cities of Gujarat fall under digitisation in the second phase. “The carriage cost should fall after digitisation comes in in the next phase,” avers Murthy.

  • Gujarat Samachar to launch TV channel; Thakkar to head ad sales

    Gujarat Samachar to launch TV channel; Thakkar to head ad sales

    MUMBAI: Gujarat Samachar, the largest read Gujarati daily, is venturing into the television regional-language news business through one of its owners, ahead of the state assembly elections.

    Shreyans Shah, co-owner of the daily newspaper, is floating a new company, Aas Pass TV, to house the television project. The Gujarati-language channel will have a prime focus in news while entertainment programming will also form a part of the mix.

    Shah is planning to launch the channel in November. The name is yet to be decided.

    Shah has tapped TV9 senior vice-president Nilesh Thakkar to head ad sales and marketing. Designated as director-sales and marketing, Thakkar will be reporting to Shah.

    “We are aiming to launch the channel in the second week of November. The focus obviously will be on political news and our launch timing is favourable as Gujarat assembly elections are coming up,” Thakkar tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Thakkar comes in with over 19 years of experience in sales and marketing. Prior to joining TV9, he was with Mahua as senior VP. He had also worked with MCCS, which runs Star News, Star Majha and Star Anand, as regional manager from January 2005 till 2011. In 2007, he was promoted as all India sales head for Star Majha.

    The channel will also be airing advertiser-funded programmes (AFPs).

    In the Gujarati TV news space, TV9 Gujarati dominates the market.

    “Gujarat is a tough market,” admits Thakkar. “The viewership for Hindi general entertainment and news channels is very strong. But we have a business plan and Gujarat Samachar is a very well known newspaper.”

    Gujarat Samachar is the largest read Gujarati daily. It is published from seven cities in Gujarat and also from Mumbai, the US and the UK.