ITV

Tag: North America

  • ChuChu TV appoints Cookbook Media to drive North America expansion

    ChuChu TV appoints Cookbook Media to drive North America expansion

    CHENNAI:  Chennai’s own ChuChu TV, the preschool YouTube sensation with a global following, has appointed New York-based Cookbook Media as its exclusive content and consumer-products representative for North America. The deal marks the Indian brand’s most aggressive international push yet, aimed at transforming its digital stardom into a broad entertainment and retail franchise.

    Under the mandate, Cookbook will broker distribution of ChuChu TV’s existing catalogue and forthcoming releases to broadcasters, streamers and AVOD platforms across the United States and Canada. The agency will also steer licensing deals spanning publishing, toys, apparel, live entertainment, gaming and digital products. Experiential activations and retail partnerships are on the slate, with Cookbook showcasing the brand at major markets including Mipcom in October.

    “From humble beginnings, ChuChu TV has grown into one of the most loved and watched preschool brands worldwide,” said founder Vinoth Chandar. “We see tremendous opportunity to connect with children and families in North America through new formats, consumer products and experiences, and we are excited to work with Claudia and Rob to bring these dreams to life.”

    Cookbook co-founder Claudia Scott-Hansen called ChuChu TV “a global success story that has captured the hearts of children and families everywhere”. Her partner Rob Bencal added: “We are in the golden age of fandom. Consumers have so many ways to show their love for favourite brands and characters. This is the perfect moment to expand ChuChu’s reach and make it a true lifestyle brand for preschoolers.”

    Launched in 2013, ChuChu TV began with animated nursery rhymes and simple songs. It now commands more than 180 million subscribers and over 100 billion views across multiple YouTube channels, with its flagship feed regularly ranking among the platform’s top ten worldwide. Its blend of bright animation and catchy tunes has won a loyal audience of children and parents from India to the Americas.

    By tapping Cookbook’s franchise-management expertise, ChuChu TV aims to convert that digital dominance into a 360-degree presence on screens, shelves and stages—turning a once-humble YouTube channel into a North American preschool powerhouse.

  • Nippon TV brews bold global play with Gyokuro Studio and LA hub

    Nippon TV brews bold global play with Gyokuro Studio and LA hub

    MUMBAI: Nippon TV is taking its global ambitions seriously—and stylishly. Japan’s leading multiplatform entertainment giant has just unveiled Gyokuro Studio, a premium content label for international audiences, and Nippon TV LA Business Office, a full-fledged U.S. outpost opening in July to chase co-productions and IP sales across North America and Latam.

    The Tokyo-based Gyokuro Studio—named after Japan’s most exquisite green tea—plans to roll out 10 unscripted titles a year, aiming for a full-bodied portfolio of 100 global-ready formats in the next decade. It promises the same handcrafted quality as its namesake tea, brewed through a blend of in-house talent and heavyweight co-creators. Think less sushi bar, more global showbiz kitchen.

    Kenichiro Akiyama, veteran chief producer of prime-time hits, will head the new studio. “We are restructuring our production framework from a domestic-focused model to one designed for global rollout, accelerating the development of a robust foundation for creating content that resonates with audiences worldwide,” said Akiyama. “We will actively engage in truly global ‘co-creation’ with our production partners both in Japan and abroad, and together we will strive to generate new needs and value in the global entertainment market. We will continue to take on new challenges every day, aiming to build a strong and sustainable presence.”

    Meanwhile, the Los Angeles office will be led by Tom Miyauchi, vice president of Nippon TV International and the man behind the Canadian adaptation of cult favourite Old Enough!. Miyauchi moves to LA in June and kicks off operations in July.

    “With the launch of our Los Angeles business hub at the forefront of the global entertainment market, we are here to tap into the pulse of local trends and connect with global audiences with precision and agility. By strengthening collaboration and co-creation with valued partners and creators, our aim is to lead every phase of the content journey – from content development and full-scale production to distribution and international rollout, and the establishment of local production frameworks. In collaboration with Gyokuro Studio, we aim to pioneer new frontiers for globally driven entertainment, proudly originating from Japan.”said Miyauchi.

    Nippon TV has been flexing its format muscles globally, with Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank spawning 52 versions across 186 countries and Mother crowned as Asia’s most exported scripted format. Add to that the viral Old Enough! and Netflix-fuelled anime success, and you’ve got a broadcaster not just chasing trends—but setting them.

    Now with Studio Ghibli in its corner, Nippon TV is stacking its global arsenal. The new studio and LA office mark a strategic two-punch play, positioning Japan’s content powerhouse to charm the west, one gyokuro-infused idea at a time.

  • Yu-Gi-Oh! trades cards for cans with fizzy new flavour twist

    Yu-Gi-Oh! trades cards for cans with fizzy new flavour twist

    MUMBAI: Yu-Gi-Oh!, the anime titan that launched a thousand trading cards (and schoolyard duels), is bubbling into a whole new game — sparkling water. In a move that’s both fizzy and fandom-fuelled, Taiwanese drinks maker YHB Biotech is teaming up with Konami Cross Media NY to release a line of anime-themed sparkling waters under its Ocean Bomb label.

    The character-clad cans — starring fan favourites from Yu-Gi-Oh!’s legendary universe — will hit shelves in Q2 of 2025, with distribution slated across north and south America, the EU and the UK. The drinks are caffeine-free, kid-friendly and bursting with fruity flavours designed to quench thirst and nostalgia in equal measure.

    “Just when Yu-Gi-Oh! fans think they’ve seen it all, we’re excited to open our phenomenal anime property to the specialty beverage product category for the first time,” quipped Konami Cross Media  NY  vice president of licensing and marketing Jennifer Coleman. “YHB’s Ocean Bomb canned sparkling flavored waters will be sold through specialty stores focused on the food and beverage category.”

    Ocean Bomb isn’t new to the anime aisle. With previous pop-culture pours starring Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Super, it’s a seasoned player in the kawaii drinks market.

     YHB Biotech executive En En added: “Yu-Gi-Oh!’s dominance in the global marketplace for over 25 years will be a tremendous boost in bolstering consumer awareness and introducing the Ocean Bomb product line to new markets throughout the Americas, Europe and the UK. It’s a wonderful partnership and growth opportunity for both Ocean Bomb and Yu-Gi-Oh! “
     
    Whether you’re duelling monsters or dodging deadlines, these cans promise to be the ultimate refreshment — no trap card required.

  • Hollywood averts massive strike by film and TV workers

    Hollywood averts massive strike by film and TV workers

    Mumbai: The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union which represents film and television crew members throughout North America, and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract averting a major strike less than a day before the walk-out deadline.

    “This is a Hollywood ending,” IATSE International President Matthew Loeb said in a statement. “Our members stood firm. They’re tough and united. We went toe to toe with some of the richest and most powerful entertainment and tech companies in the world and we have reached an agreement with the AMPTP that meets our members’ needs.”

    This strike would have been the first in the union’s 128-year history and the first major crew strike since World War II. The 11th-hour deal avoids a potentially crippling shutdown which would have impacted film and TV productions nationwide, with worldwide ripple effects, just as studios struggle to recover from heavy losses caused by production shutdowns and theatre closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The agreement, which still must be ratified by the union’s membership, includes improved wages and working conditions for streaming productions, a retroactive wage increase of three per cent annually, increased funding for health and pension plans, a minimum 10-hour turnaround time between shoots with a 54-hour break after a five-day week and also includes still unspecified diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

    The deal was met with a sigh of relief across Hollywood after talks stalled over the summer leading the IATSE to vote in early October on a strike authorisation with the overwhelming support of 98 per cent of union voters. The 60,000-member union represents a wide range of production crew members including cinematographers, camera operators, set designers, carpenters, hair and make-up artists, and many others.

    The strong support of the union membership gave leaders considerable leverage to press their demands. The IATSE has traditionally preferred to quietly negotiate earlier agreements avoiding confrontations with the studios. However, members’ frustrations have grown to a breaking point with working 14+ hour workdays with few breaks and no weekends off.

    In addition, as studio executives realised how devastating this strike could be, just as they were beginning to crawl out from beneath the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the IATSE felt further emboldened to take a tougher stand.

    The union’s focused goals were: livable wages for the lowest-paid workers; more turnaround time between workdays; genuine meal breaks; rescue of the union’s ailing pension and health plan; and a bigger cut of the revenue from streaming shows. Studio executives acknowledged that they could no longer defend previous deal points allowing for such incessant work hours, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

    The strike has been officially called off with this tentative agreement as union members will be heading to the ballot box in the next few days to give or refuse their stamp of approval, with both sides remaining hopeful.

  • upGrad appoints Karan Raturi as general manager for North America

    upGrad appoints Karan Raturi as general manager for North America

    New Delhi: Looking to upscale its international operations, leading edtech firm upGrad has announced the appointment of Karan Raturi as general manager for North America.

    A Wharton School alumnus, Raturi has held several leadership roles throughout his career. He joins upGrad from Wayfair, where he was head of business planning. Raturi has also worked as a consultant and advisor in corporate strategy, operations, private equity, venture capital, corporate development, and corporate finance with companies like IBM, Kurt Salmon, and Novartis Venture Funds, said the company in a statement, highlighting that it is looking to expand its presence and penetration in the US market with the right leadership at the helm.

    Welcoming Raturi to his new role, upGrad CEO Arjun Mohan said, “Excited to have Karan join us as general manager for North America. He will be leading the P&L and will be responsible for driving revenue, along with scaling the business operations in the region. With a doubling of learners in this area organically, we are confident about the region’s prospects and certain that Karan’s skills, intellect, and leadership will help us grow as a world-class team to achieve our vision,” he said.

    Commenting on his appointment, Raturi said, “I am thrilled to be part of such a robust and renowned team who have built a proven and trusted edtech brand in India. I look forward to deepening the brand’s presence in the region, and supporting learners across the US and Canada to build and accelerate their future careers.” 

  • 5G to have 400 mn connections worldwide by 2022: report

    5G to have 400 mn connections worldwide by 2022: report

    MUMBAI: A report by 5G Americas states that 5G is expected to accumulate connections starting in late 2018 and by 2022, it is forecast to have almost 400 million connections worldwide. 4G LTE is expected to reach over 5.6 billion connections globally in 2022 at which time LTE market share will stand at 60 per cent, according to a report by ET Telecom.
    5G America, in a statement citing Ovum data, said that the global LTE connections grew by more than one billion connections from June 2017 to June 2018 with a growth rate of 43 per cent. With all subscription data provided by Ovum, the LTE market share compared to all other mobile wireless technologies achieved 42.3 per cent at the end of the second quarter of 2018 with a global total of 3.6 billion LTE connections.
    Ovum senior analyst Kristin Paulin said, “Globally, total mobile connections grew by 6 per cent in the year to the second quarter of 2018, while LTE connections grew a stronger 43 per cent during this time. This substantial LTE foundation leads to the anticipation that soon we will start to see 5G make inroads.”
    Latin America and the Caribbean added 82 million new LTE subscriptions with 52 per cent growth year over year from June 2017. At the end of the second quarter, there were nearly 241 million LTE connections in the Latin America region on commercial LTE networks across all countries.
    5G Americas president Chris Pearson said, “These are exciting days for North America as the early commercial realisation of 5G technology is just around the corner. At the same time, the US and Canadian service providers are heavily invested in the innovation roadmap of LTE to deliver tremendous throughput speeds and coverage as the foundation for future 5G networks.”
    Compared to the population of 365 million in North America, LTE achieved a penetration rate over 103 per cent with 376 million connections. North America holds the largest market share for LTE at 77 per cent and 376 million LTE connections. This penetration rate compares to the next two highest regions, Oceania, Eastern and Southeastern Asia at 88 per cent and Western Europe at 66 per cent.

  • Eros Now’s OTT content hops on Roku TV & LG Smart TVs

    Eros Now’s OTT content hops on Roku TV & LG Smart TVs

    MUMBAI: Eros International has collaborated with TV Roku and webOS-enabled LG Smart TVs to make its OTT content from Eros Now available globally. Eros’ vast library of Bollywood and regional language films, TV shows, and originals will be shown.

    Commenting on the partnership with LG smart TVs, Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “We are excited to partner with one of the largest and formidable brands in consumer electronics. Smart TVs are increasingly becoming a must-have in every household today. This partnership offers a seamless viewing experience for Eros Now users which furthers our vision of being platform agnostic.”

    Users will also be able to enjoy a range of exciting features including full-length movies, thematic curated playlists, multi-language subtitles for movies, music video playlists, regional language filters, and access to a watch a list of titles.

    LG Electronics India director home entertainment Younchul Park said, “At LG, we constantly look at partnerships that can offer value proposition to consumers and our association with Eros Now is a step forward towards this endeavour. The market for smart TV is experiencing an upsurge in India. Availability of good content can certainly enhance the overall consumer experience of smart televisions. We are very confident that good content will further drive smart TV sales in India and create a conducive eco-system for us to cater to the ever-increasing demand.”

    Talking about the partnership with Roku, Singh said, “We are happy to collaborate with a leading streaming innovator like Roku and continue our global expansion to provide seamless user experience. Eros Now’s extensive premium content can now reach millions of homes across North America and the UK through the Roku platform.”

  • Pay-TV: India among four countries which contributed $16 bn rev between ’10 & ’16

    MUMBAI: In 138 countries, pay-TV revenues increased by $32 billion (Rs 2063 billion) between 2010 and 2016, to reach $202 billion. However, according to the Global Pay TV Revenue Databook from Digital TV Research, only $1.23 billion was added last year (in 2016).

    Almost 50 per cent of the $32 billion additional revenues came from four countries: the US provided $7 billion, Brazil $3 billion, China $4 billion, and India $2 billion, Advanced Television reported. Revenues, however, declined in nine countries, primarily owing to subscribers converting from standalone TV to bundles (which are less lucrative for TV). Between 2010 and 2016, revenues of pay-TV more than doubled in 59 countries.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said that, although no decline was recorded, European pay-TV revenue growth had slowed down considerably. Despite its pay-TV revenues being higher in 2016 than in 2010, North America had peaked in 2015, Murray added.

    The Asia Pacific region positively added $10.21 billion between 2010 and 2016 – increasing by 42 per cent to $34.38 billion. Latin America hiked by 78 per cent to $18.44 billion. Sub-Saharan Africa more than doubled its total revenues to $4.20 billion.

    In all 49.5 per cent global pay-TV revenues in 2016 came from the US; for the first time falling below the halfway median. The 2016 total — 54.5 per cent in 2010 — is down. The US is followed by far by China, the UK, Japan, and Canada. Two-thirds of global pay-TV revenues in 2016 was generated by these five nations.

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  • Travelxp becomes first travel channel to launch in 4K on SES-1 satellite

    Travelxp becomes first travel channel to launch in 4K on SES-1 satellite

    MUMBAI: SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) today announced that Travelxp 4K, an international travel channel, will make its Ultra HD debut next month on SES’s growing Ultra HD distribution platform serving cable operators and multichannel television platforms throughout North America.

    Offering audiences compelling stories from faraway places, the world’s first 4K travel channel, Travelxp 4K,is set to launch on the SES-1 satellite, one of a trio of SES satellites (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18) that are home to the region’s leading Ultra HD distribution platform. Travelxp4K, licensed to multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) by Vivicast Media, is the latest in a series of Ultra HD channels to join SES’s Ultra HD platform, home to nine linear Ultra HD channels as of January. SES has now signed distribution agreements with more than 30 Ultra HD channels globally, of which 21 are commercial.

    Travelxp 4K, a venture of Celebrities Management in India, features hundreds of hours of world class travel programs filmed all over the world. The 4K channel follows the success of Travelxp HD, which offers 100% originally-produced premium travel and lifestyle programmingdistributed to over 50 million homes globally. Travelxp 4K will showcase global travel content with breathtaking images in 10 bit REC2020 color space with HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) HDR (High Dynamic Range).

    “Travelxp4K is all about bringing the world to homes in stunning resolution. 10 bit REC2020 with HLG HDR will make the viewing experience more immersive and vivid. It’s not just about more pixels in 4K but better pixels,” explained Travelxp 4K CEO Prashant Chothani. “We are delighted to offer viewers a closer and more fascinating look at the world’s most beautiful travel destinations, cultures, and heritage like never before with our 100% original and exclusive 4K programming. By joining SES’s growing Ultra HD bouquet and content distribution platform, Travelxp 4K is well-positioned to reach significant audiences across North America.”

    “SES has created the best and largest bouquet of stunning 4K programming in a single location around the world,” said SES vice president of business development in North America Steve Corda. “People across the U.S. and North America are purchasing Ultra HD TVs at a record pace, with a surge expected this holiday season. Millions of television viewers are now expecting to watch 4K programming on their new screens, and cable operators and other television platform providers are on the verge of satisfying this growing demand with the historic home delivery of linear Ultra HD in the coming weeks and months.”

  • Travelxp becomes first travel channel to launch in 4K on SES-1 satellite

    Travelxp becomes first travel channel to launch in 4K on SES-1 satellite

    MUMBAI: SES S.A. (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) today announced that Travelxp 4K, an international travel channel, will make its Ultra HD debut next month on SES’s growing Ultra HD distribution platform serving cable operators and multichannel television platforms throughout North America.

    Offering audiences compelling stories from faraway places, the world’s first 4K travel channel, Travelxp 4K,is set to launch on the SES-1 satellite, one of a trio of SES satellites (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18) that are home to the region’s leading Ultra HD distribution platform. Travelxp4K, licensed to multichannel video program distributors (MVPDs) by Vivicast Media, is the latest in a series of Ultra HD channels to join SES’s Ultra HD platform, home to nine linear Ultra HD channels as of January. SES has now signed distribution agreements with more than 30 Ultra HD channels globally, of which 21 are commercial.

    Travelxp 4K, a venture of Celebrities Management in India, features hundreds of hours of world class travel programs filmed all over the world. The 4K channel follows the success of Travelxp HD, which offers 100% originally-produced premium travel and lifestyle programmingdistributed to over 50 million homes globally. Travelxp 4K will showcase global travel content with breathtaking images in 10 bit REC2020 color space with HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma) HDR (High Dynamic Range).

    “Travelxp4K is all about bringing the world to homes in stunning resolution. 10 bit REC2020 with HLG HDR will make the viewing experience more immersive and vivid. It’s not just about more pixels in 4K but better pixels,” explained Travelxp 4K CEO Prashant Chothani. “We are delighted to offer viewers a closer and more fascinating look at the world’s most beautiful travel destinations, cultures, and heritage like never before with our 100% original and exclusive 4K programming. By joining SES’s growing Ultra HD bouquet and content distribution platform, Travelxp 4K is well-positioned to reach significant audiences across North America.”

    “SES has created the best and largest bouquet of stunning 4K programming in a single location around the world,” said SES vice president of business development in North America Steve Corda. “People across the U.S. and North America are purchasing Ultra HD TVs at a record pace, with a surge expected this holiday season. Millions of television viewers are now expecting to watch 4K programming on their new screens, and cable operators and other television platform providers are on the verge of satisfying this growing demand with the historic home delivery of linear Ultra HD in the coming weeks and months.”