ITV

Tag: OTT

  • IBC Innovation Awards Shortlist Announced: IP, 4K and OTT Amongst Industry Trends Tackled by Entrants

    IBC Innovation Awards Shortlist Announced: IP, 4K and OTT Amongst Industry Trends Tackled by Entrants

    London, United Kingdom

    The shortlist for the IBC2016 Innovation Awards has been announced. The nine finalists are from six countries, as far apart as China and the USA. Each reflects the way that technological advances are boosting the creativity and efficiency of the content industry.

    That is what lies at the heart of the IBC Innovation Awards: the application of the latest technology in the real-world. This year this translates to making content more engaging for viewers, offering new functionality in delivery and discovery, and helping creators work more efficiently.

    “The IBC Innovation Awards are unique because we judge on the benefits each entry delivers to the end user,” said Michael Lumley, Chair of the judging panel. “Ultimately, the award is handed over on stage not to a company developing the newest widgets but to the broadcaster or media company which benefits from a real collaborative process to develop the best possible solution.

    “That gets tougher to judge each year,” Lumley added. “This year’s finalists represent the state of the art in some of the hottest topics, like online delivery and Ultra HD content.”

    There are three categories in the IBC Innovation Awards programme, for the best applications of technology in content creation, content management and content delivery. This year three projects have been shortlisted for each category, but the winners will not be announced until the IBC Awards Ceremony, at 18:30 on Sunday 11 September.

    Content Creation

    Two of the three finalists in content creation increase viewer engagement in sports television, although in very different ways. BT Sport wanted to add even more impact when it won the rights to cover European Champions League football, and added very sophisticated augmented reality elements to its studio coverage, including a signature shot flying over a map of Europe to the stadiums hosting each game. Working in a huge and largely black studio was a challenge for camera tracking company Ncam, who worked with Moov, RT Software and Timeline TV to create a solution.

    Point of view cameras for sports are not new, but Pylon Camera, developed by ESPN, takes it to a new level. Replacing corner posts in the high impact sport of American football, Pylon Cam has to have crush impact zones to avoid injuring players, while still delivering multiple views from each pylon. The pictures are not only sensational, they have helped referees judge critical touchdowns in key games. Technology partners include BSI and Gilman.

    The third finalist is the remarkable live IP studio built by the EBU and housed at VRT Sandbox in Brussels. Using open standards, it demonstrates interconnectivity between equipment from multiple vendors. More to the point, it shows that a real, working, uncompromised production studio can be built around IP workflows for live television. The long list of technology partners includes Axon, D&MS, Dwesam, EVS, Genelec, Grass Valley, Lawo, LSB, Nevion, Tektronix and Trilogy.

    Content Management

    Just as critical as creating excellent content is managing it to create compelling viewing. MoovIT Production Services was faced with the challenge of shooting the Endemol Shine Germany reality show Wild Island on two secluded islands off the coast of Central America, but hosting the post production in Cologne, Germany, to get the show to air. Working with EditShare, a remote workflow allowed the content to be secured in a hostile environment with an unpredictable power supply, and edited in Germany, saving 50% on standard time and resources.

    Ketnet, the children’s channel from VRT in Belgium, has been transformed into an interactive, curated online experience. The first app was aimed at two to five year olds, and concentrated on stimulating educational experiences rather than simply offering programmes and clips. The solution was developed by local company Small Town Heroes, and proved an immediate success, with young viewers spending 50% of their time playing.

    The third finalist takes us back to reality television, this time in China for Tencent Video’s production ‘The 15 of Us’. The difference is that Tencent is a video portal rather than a conventional channel, and wanted to make all 120 HD cameras and two 360˚ cameras available at all times – 3,000 hours of content a day for a full year. They worked with technology partner Grass Valley to manage the content for editing, packaging and approval.

    Content Delivery

    BT Sport has a second spot on the shortlist, this time for a delivery solution. In 2015 it launched BT Sport Ultra HD, and since then have produced a large number of sporting events in 4K, including football, rugby, MotoGP, squash and NBA basketball. The company worked with its outside broadcast partner Timeline Television to build Europe’s first Ultra HD 4K truck, including cameras from Sony and a SAM switcher.

    Swisscom is looking forward to a future where much television may be viewed on demand rather than on a linear schedule, and considered how it could help consumers discover the content they like. Working with ThinkAnalytics, it developed a new user experience which allows users to browse through all the content shown on more than 250 television channels, with personalised recommendations, and all working seamlessly over Switzerland’s four languages.

    For the final nominee the judges returned to sports once more, this time to UEFA, the European football governing body. Recognising that football fans want much more than just simple coverage of the game, UEFA worked with technology partners deltatre, EVS and the EBU to develop its Next Generation Services Project, delivering a host of additional content from data feeds to multiple angles and linked second screen experiences, allowing rights-holding broadcasters to build viewer engagement for the Champions League.

    Ceremony

    The winners of the IBC2016 Innovation Awards are a closely guarded secret until the awards ceremony, which takes place during IBC2016 at 18:30 on Sunday 11 September, in the Auditorium of the Amsterdam RAI.

    This lively and fast-paced show includes some audience surprises and highly entertaining offerings as well as the presentation of all of IBC’s awards, including the Judges’ Prize – also in the gift of the same panel of international editors and consultant who selected the Innovation Awards – and the IBC International Honour for Excellence.

    The ceremony is free to all IBC visitors and always proves a popular event.
     
    Judging Panel

    The IBC Innovation Awards are judged by an international panel:

    Michael Lumley (Chair)

    Carolyn Giardina (USA)

    David Crawford (UK)

    Dick Hobbs (UK)

    Fergal Ringrose (Ireland)

    Phil Sandberg (Australia)

    Vijaya Cherian (UAE)

  • IBC Innovation Awards Shortlist Announced: IP, 4K and OTT Amongst Industry Trends Tackled by Entrants

    IBC Innovation Awards Shortlist Announced: IP, 4K and OTT Amongst Industry Trends Tackled by Entrants

    London, United Kingdom

    The shortlist for the IBC2016 Innovation Awards has been announced. The nine finalists are from six countries, as far apart as China and the USA. Each reflects the way that technological advances are boosting the creativity and efficiency of the content industry.

    That is what lies at the heart of the IBC Innovation Awards: the application of the latest technology in the real-world. This year this translates to making content more engaging for viewers, offering new functionality in delivery and discovery, and helping creators work more efficiently.

    “The IBC Innovation Awards are unique because we judge on the benefits each entry delivers to the end user,” said Michael Lumley, Chair of the judging panel. “Ultimately, the award is handed over on stage not to a company developing the newest widgets but to the broadcaster or media company which benefits from a real collaborative process to develop the best possible solution.

    “That gets tougher to judge each year,” Lumley added. “This year’s finalists represent the state of the art in some of the hottest topics, like online delivery and Ultra HD content.”

    There are three categories in the IBC Innovation Awards programme, for the best applications of technology in content creation, content management and content delivery. This year three projects have been shortlisted for each category, but the winners will not be announced until the IBC Awards Ceremony, at 18:30 on Sunday 11 September.

    Content Creation

    Two of the three finalists in content creation increase viewer engagement in sports television, although in very different ways. BT Sport wanted to add even more impact when it won the rights to cover European Champions League football, and added very sophisticated augmented reality elements to its studio coverage, including a signature shot flying over a map of Europe to the stadiums hosting each game. Working in a huge and largely black studio was a challenge for camera tracking company Ncam, who worked with Moov, RT Software and Timeline TV to create a solution.

    Point of view cameras for sports are not new, but Pylon Camera, developed by ESPN, takes it to a new level. Replacing corner posts in the high impact sport of American football, Pylon Cam has to have crush impact zones to avoid injuring players, while still delivering multiple views from each pylon. The pictures are not only sensational, they have helped referees judge critical touchdowns in key games. Technology partners include BSI and Gilman.

    The third finalist is the remarkable live IP studio built by the EBU and housed at VRT Sandbox in Brussels. Using open standards, it demonstrates interconnectivity between equipment from multiple vendors. More to the point, it shows that a real, working, uncompromised production studio can be built around IP workflows for live television. The long list of technology partners includes Axon, D&MS, Dwesam, EVS, Genelec, Grass Valley, Lawo, LSB, Nevion, Tektronix and Trilogy.

    Content Management

    Just as critical as creating excellent content is managing it to create compelling viewing. MoovIT Production Services was faced with the challenge of shooting the Endemol Shine Germany reality show Wild Island on two secluded islands off the coast of Central America, but hosting the post production in Cologne, Germany, to get the show to air. Working with EditShare, a remote workflow allowed the content to be secured in a hostile environment with an unpredictable power supply, and edited in Germany, saving 50% on standard time and resources.

    Ketnet, the children’s channel from VRT in Belgium, has been transformed into an interactive, curated online experience. The first app was aimed at two to five year olds, and concentrated on stimulating educational experiences rather than simply offering programmes and clips. The solution was developed by local company Small Town Heroes, and proved an immediate success, with young viewers spending 50% of their time playing.

    The third finalist takes us back to reality television, this time in China for Tencent Video’s production ‘The 15 of Us’. The difference is that Tencent is a video portal rather than a conventional channel, and wanted to make all 120 HD cameras and two 360˚ cameras available at all times – 3,000 hours of content a day for a full year. They worked with technology partner Grass Valley to manage the content for editing, packaging and approval.

    Content Delivery

    BT Sport has a second spot on the shortlist, this time for a delivery solution. In 2015 it launched BT Sport Ultra HD, and since then have produced a large number of sporting events in 4K, including football, rugby, MotoGP, squash and NBA basketball. The company worked with its outside broadcast partner Timeline Television to build Europe’s first Ultra HD 4K truck, including cameras from Sony and a SAM switcher.

    Swisscom is looking forward to a future where much television may be viewed on demand rather than on a linear schedule, and considered how it could help consumers discover the content they like. Working with ThinkAnalytics, it developed a new user experience which allows users to browse through all the content shown on more than 250 television channels, with personalised recommendations, and all working seamlessly over Switzerland’s four languages.

    For the final nominee the judges returned to sports once more, this time to UEFA, the European football governing body. Recognising that football fans want much more than just simple coverage of the game, UEFA worked with technology partners deltatre, EVS and the EBU to develop its Next Generation Services Project, delivering a host of additional content from data feeds to multiple angles and linked second screen experiences, allowing rights-holding broadcasters to build viewer engagement for the Champions League.

    Ceremony

    The winners of the IBC2016 Innovation Awards are a closely guarded secret until the awards ceremony, which takes place during IBC2016 at 18:30 on Sunday 11 September, in the Auditorium of the Amsterdam RAI.

    This lively and fast-paced show includes some audience surprises and highly entertaining offerings as well as the presentation of all of IBC’s awards, including the Judges’ Prize – also in the gift of the same panel of international editors and consultant who selected the Innovation Awards – and the IBC International Honour for Excellence.

    The ceremony is free to all IBC visitors and always proves a popular event.
     
    Judging Panel

    The IBC Innovation Awards are judged by an international panel:

    Michael Lumley (Chair)

    Carolyn Giardina (USA)

    David Crawford (UK)

    Dick Hobbs (UK)

    Fergal Ringrose (Ireland)

    Phil Sandberg (Australia)

    Vijaya Cherian (UAE)

  • Debashish Ghosh to join LeEco as COO

    Debashish Ghosh to join LeEco as COO

    MUMBAI: With the explosion in the OTT and VOD ecosystem, opportunities are coming a-plenty for professionals. The latest to move onto a new one is  Zee Digital Convergence CEO Debashish Ghosh who has put in his papers at the company. He has agreed to hop on board Chinese tech and consumer electronics major LeEco. Ghosh is set to  take over as the new COO at LeEco’s India outfit by June.

    Sources indicate that Ghosh will be reporting to LeEco APAC CEO Tin Mok. And he will operate in conjunction with Atul Jain who is currently COO and looking after the hardware and consumer elecronics business which comes under Smart Electronics. Ghosh is slated to announce his dream content team later this month.

    LeEco has shown signs of aggression and has has announced a slew of content initiatives and acquisitions in Asia over the past few months. 

    Ghosh started his career with the Times of India Group in 1989 and took over charge of all digital businesses of the Zee/Essel Group in India as Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO in 2013.

     

  • Debashish Ghosh to join LeEco as COO

    Debashish Ghosh to join LeEco as COO

    MUMBAI: With the explosion in the OTT and VOD ecosystem, opportunities are coming a-plenty for professionals. The latest to move onto a new one is  Zee Digital Convergence CEO Debashish Ghosh who has put in his papers at the company. He has agreed to hop on board Chinese tech and consumer electronics major LeEco. Ghosh is set to  take over as the new COO at LeEco’s India outfit by June.

    Sources indicate that Ghosh will be reporting to LeEco APAC CEO Tin Mok. And he will operate in conjunction with Atul Jain who is currently COO and looking after the hardware and consumer elecronics business which comes under Smart Electronics. Ghosh is slated to announce his dream content team later this month.

    LeEco has shown signs of aggression and has has announced a slew of content initiatives and acquisitions in Asia over the past few months. 

    Ghosh started his career with the Times of India Group in 1989 and took over charge of all digital businesses of the Zee/Essel Group in India as Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO in 2013.

     

  • nexGTV launches kids only app; plans to produce original content

    nexGTV launches kids only app; plans to produce original content

    MUMBAI: The OTT space has been growing denser with the mushrooming of more and more players. Players are vying for eyeballs and advertisers are looking to differentiate their content, and shifting focus to unexplored areas. nexGTV has launched its new OTT app that targets kids between 2 to 10 years of age with specially tailored content, with an aim to expand business reach and grow subscriber base.

    Explaining the demand for kids’ content in India, nexGTV COO Abhesh Verma says, “I have noticed that despite the fact that there is good kids’ content in the country, it is not easily accessible for them.   Moreover we realised that kids content can’t be piled up with everything else. There is a need for a kids’ friendly app that will give proper showcase to the content, and parents can let their kids on it without worrying about insensitive content.”

    nexGTV is also playing on the fact that parents and guardians of kids these days are concerned about the ‘freeness’ of the internet and worried about the objectionable content that their child may be exposed to. Therefore curating a library strictly for the little ones was of prime importance when strategizing for the kids’ only OTT app. “Our editorial team has been extremely careful while curating content for this app. Every single content is been screened by our team to keep it kids friendly with the age group in mind. Our content is a blend of learning and entertainment for kids. Whether its craft, art, nursery rhymes and moral science through fun content, parents can be rest assured that through fun and frolic their kids are learning something.”  Between Akbar Birbal, Stories of Panchtantra, Vikram & Betal, Ducktales, Malgudi Days and Champak World, the app already has a vibrant library of shows for the tiny tots to enjoy this summer.

    The app can downloaded from Google Play Store for Android devices or the Apple store for iPhones or other apple devices.  Others can shoot a missed call to 0120-4848222 to get nexGTv Kids app.

    As a matter of fact, going by international standards, there is only ‘E’ for ‘everyone’, and ‘G’ for ‘general audience’ rated programming in the content library for nexGTV Kids. “We haven’t kept shows that need parental guidance as we want the kids and parents to have a stress free streaming experience,” says Verma.

    Currently available in a ‘freemium’ model with no advertisements to interrupt seamless viewing, the content beyond the subscription wall is priced at Rs 125 a month, which coincides with what it costs to subscribe to nexGTV. “As part of the promotion for this launch we are currently allowing any nexGTV subscriber to access nexGTV Kids content and vice versa. Depending on the nature of consumption, content strategy etc., we will take a call to separate the two apps for subscribers or offer it to them in a bundle for a viable price that works for both – the consumers and us,” said Verma as he explains the pricing.

    As a business model, the revenue for the new app will depend highly on the subscription. Kids’ content also opens up a vista of monetising prospects for the OTT player.

    For starters, nexgTV has gone the VOOT way and acquired kids content from existing content partners  who are regular contributors to nexGTV’s library such as Shemaroo, Rajshri Productions etc. But the OTT player’s ambitious plans for their new kids app doesn’t stop there — from producing branded content for advertisers, to commissioning and featuring content from independent content creators, to licensing and merchandising rights sales — nexGTV is eyeing a big chunk of the kids content pie.

    “Currently we are getting content from partners who are working with us for the last four – five years. At the same time we are looking to create original content going forward that will be made by our production team for our app. We are also welcoming everyone who can creating content for kids. We want to showcase their content to our user base provided it goes past our editorial guidelines for the kids’ app. There are many who may not have a platform, but have the right talent, whom we plan to feature through our app as long as the content is within our guidelines,” Abhesh reveals.

    Keeping lts options open, nexgTV is ready to explore all kinds of partnerships, whether it allows it to own the content’s full IP or it is commissioning for production or co-owning the IP and sharing its IP rights with another content producer. Verma also hints that the OTT player is already in talks with some major production houses to produce exclusive kids’ content for nexgTV.

    With a few deals under discussions already under way, be they for content creation with other production houses or with brands, currently the player is weighing its options carefully for the right content strategy.

    “We want to make sure that we have the product out there first and some audience on it. And then based on the consumption pattern we want to invest in the programming. It will be like shooting in the dark if we produce a show which we don’t have an audience for,” Verma states frankly.

    Given the fact that the target audience of the content isn’t the device owners who can facilitate the consumption, a smart marketing strategy is needed to reach the guardians first, Verma shares.  While kids can be the key to reach the parents, the equation flows the other way round when it comes to marketing for kids.

    “We have three key aspects to our marketing initiative for this new app.  Firstly, on the digital front we are running targeted campaigns towards parents on Facebook to make the app more visible. Secondly, the current subscribers of nexGTV are getting the new app as part of their package. We have 14 million installs (1.4 crore) and within which we have close to a million (10 lakh) subscribers who will get this app with their regular nexGTV apps.”

    Apart from this, the OTT player will promote through radio and few other traditional modes of communication as well. With more on the marketing platter that nexGTV plans to surprise audience with in due time, Verma shared that so far the company hasn’t set an upper ceiling to its marketing spends for the new app.

    “Honestly this is our first big launch since the launch of our new app and we are heavily promoting it. We are not restricting it to 20 to 30 per cent of marketing spends but instead going by ‘returns on the hours’ basis. If a particular campaign is giving us the returns we want we are strengthening it,” Verma shares while refraining from commenting on the actual marketing spends on the new project.

     

  • nexGTV launches kids only app; plans to produce original content

    nexGTV launches kids only app; plans to produce original content

    MUMBAI: The OTT space has been growing denser with the mushrooming of more and more players. Players are vying for eyeballs and advertisers are looking to differentiate their content, and shifting focus to unexplored areas. nexGTV has launched its new OTT app that targets kids between 2 to 10 years of age with specially tailored content, with an aim to expand business reach and grow subscriber base.

    Explaining the demand for kids’ content in India, nexGTV COO Abhesh Verma says, “I have noticed that despite the fact that there is good kids’ content in the country, it is not easily accessible for them.   Moreover we realised that kids content can’t be piled up with everything else. There is a need for a kids’ friendly app that will give proper showcase to the content, and parents can let their kids on it without worrying about insensitive content.”

    nexGTV is also playing on the fact that parents and guardians of kids these days are concerned about the ‘freeness’ of the internet and worried about the objectionable content that their child may be exposed to. Therefore curating a library strictly for the little ones was of prime importance when strategizing for the kids’ only OTT app. “Our editorial team has been extremely careful while curating content for this app. Every single content is been screened by our team to keep it kids friendly with the age group in mind. Our content is a blend of learning and entertainment for kids. Whether its craft, art, nursery rhymes and moral science through fun content, parents can be rest assured that through fun and frolic their kids are learning something.”  Between Akbar Birbal, Stories of Panchtantra, Vikram & Betal, Ducktales, Malgudi Days and Champak World, the app already has a vibrant library of shows for the tiny tots to enjoy this summer.

    The app can downloaded from Google Play Store for Android devices or the Apple store for iPhones or other apple devices.  Others can shoot a missed call to 0120-4848222 to get nexGTv Kids app.

    As a matter of fact, going by international standards, there is only ‘E’ for ‘everyone’, and ‘G’ for ‘general audience’ rated programming in the content library for nexGTV Kids. “We haven’t kept shows that need parental guidance as we want the kids and parents to have a stress free streaming experience,” says Verma.

    Currently available in a ‘freemium’ model with no advertisements to interrupt seamless viewing, the content beyond the subscription wall is priced at Rs 125 a month, which coincides with what it costs to subscribe to nexGTV. “As part of the promotion for this launch we are currently allowing any nexGTV subscriber to access nexGTV Kids content and vice versa. Depending on the nature of consumption, content strategy etc., we will take a call to separate the two apps for subscribers or offer it to them in a bundle for a viable price that works for both – the consumers and us,” said Verma as he explains the pricing.

    As a business model, the revenue for the new app will depend highly on the subscription. Kids’ content also opens up a vista of monetising prospects for the OTT player.

    For starters, nexgTV has gone the VOOT way and acquired kids content from existing content partners  who are regular contributors to nexGTV’s library such as Shemaroo, Rajshri Productions etc. But the OTT player’s ambitious plans for their new kids app doesn’t stop there — from producing branded content for advertisers, to commissioning and featuring content from independent content creators, to licensing and merchandising rights sales — nexGTV is eyeing a big chunk of the kids content pie.

    “Currently we are getting content from partners who are working with us for the last four – five years. At the same time we are looking to create original content going forward that will be made by our production team for our app. We are also welcoming everyone who can creating content for kids. We want to showcase their content to our user base provided it goes past our editorial guidelines for the kids’ app. There are many who may not have a platform, but have the right talent, whom we plan to feature through our app as long as the content is within our guidelines,” Abhesh reveals.

    Keeping lts options open, nexgTV is ready to explore all kinds of partnerships, whether it allows it to own the content’s full IP or it is commissioning for production or co-owning the IP and sharing its IP rights with another content producer. Verma also hints that the OTT player is already in talks with some major production houses to produce exclusive kids’ content for nexgTV.

    With a few deals under discussions already under way, be they for content creation with other production houses or with brands, currently the player is weighing its options carefully for the right content strategy.

    “We want to make sure that we have the product out there first and some audience on it. And then based on the consumption pattern we want to invest in the programming. It will be like shooting in the dark if we produce a show which we don’t have an audience for,” Verma states frankly.

    Given the fact that the target audience of the content isn’t the device owners who can facilitate the consumption, a smart marketing strategy is needed to reach the guardians first, Verma shares.  While kids can be the key to reach the parents, the equation flows the other way round when it comes to marketing for kids.

    “We have three key aspects to our marketing initiative for this new app.  Firstly, on the digital front we are running targeted campaigns towards parents on Facebook to make the app more visible. Secondly, the current subscribers of nexGTV are getting the new app as part of their package. We have 14 million installs (1.4 crore) and within which we have close to a million (10 lakh) subscribers who will get this app with their regular nexGTV apps.”

    Apart from this, the OTT player will promote through radio and few other traditional modes of communication as well. With more on the marketing platter that nexGTV plans to surprise audience with in due time, Verma shared that so far the company hasn’t set an upper ceiling to its marketing spends for the new app.

    “Honestly this is our first big launch since the launch of our new app and we are heavily promoting it. We are not restricting it to 20 to 30 per cent of marketing spends but instead going by ‘returns on the hours’ basis. If a particular campaign is giving us the returns we want we are strengthening it,” Verma shares while refraining from commenting on the actual marketing spends on the new project.

     

  • SAB to extend its wings into digital; to produce an array of shows

    SAB to extend its wings into digital; to produce an array of shows

    MUMBAI: Known to be one of the pillars of Indian media, the Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB) group founded by Gautam and Markand Adhikari, has plans to enter the digital space with a new initiative. The group will create original comedy content in Hindi catering to the digital masses. The various shows will be launched under Happii-Fi and will roll-out by June.

    Through this initiative, the company plans to have strategic tie-ups with various OTT platforms, OEM’s and telecos. “Happii-fi will create comedy content in Hindi for the masses unlike the rest who create content to match with the English elite sensibilities. There are several hundred million online active users who have come up, but there is no platform that completely caters to them. We have already started the productions”, informs Sab Group chief executive officer Manav Dhanda.

    As there are different output commitments for various platforms, the group has not decided on the specific number of videos that it intends to produce. The branded content will derive its revenue from the many advertisers on board, although the IP rights will remain with SAB Group.

    The platform will only stress on Hindi language and is primarily focused on HSM markets which consume 40 per cent of all online content.

    “There are too many platforms which are not required. A person can only hold access to 3 or 4 platforms on a smart-phone. Creating one more would not solve anything. Hence, we decided on producing content which the audience can relate to”, adds Dhanda.

    The group has already produced a digital comedy show titled Gharbar which features Shakti Kapoor, Neelu Kohli, Rishab Chadda, Rakesh Shrivastav and Vaishali Thakkar. The show has been conceptualized by Dhanda and is directed by Sagar Bellary of the Bheja fry fame. It depicts a twisted take on the modern Indian family and their adventures when they decide to bring in a bar into their home. The series features Shakti Kapoor as Sharmaji the most seedha (staright forward) man ever.
    Promising a very unique doze of humor like never before, the series portrays BAR as a lead protagonist.

    Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd. (SABTNL) has been producing multi-lingual, multi-genre content and already has an established regional presence in various Indian languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada amongst others.

    The group not only has a fair amount of experience in the production of content, but also in the broadcasting sector by creating a light humour centric television brand, SAB TV. With many firsts in its hat, it will be interesting to see how far this initiative takes the SAB group.

     

  • SAB to extend its wings into digital; to produce an array of shows

    SAB to extend its wings into digital; to produce an array of shows

    MUMBAI: Known to be one of the pillars of Indian media, the Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB) group founded by Gautam and Markand Adhikari, has plans to enter the digital space with a new initiative. The group will create original comedy content in Hindi catering to the digital masses. The various shows will be launched under Happii-Fi and will roll-out by June.

    Through this initiative, the company plans to have strategic tie-ups with various OTT platforms, OEM’s and telecos. “Happii-fi will create comedy content in Hindi for the masses unlike the rest who create content to match with the English elite sensibilities. There are several hundred million online active users who have come up, but there is no platform that completely caters to them. We have already started the productions”, informs Sab Group chief executive officer Manav Dhanda.

    As there are different output commitments for various platforms, the group has not decided on the specific number of videos that it intends to produce. The branded content will derive its revenue from the many advertisers on board, although the IP rights will remain with SAB Group.

    The platform will only stress on Hindi language and is primarily focused on HSM markets which consume 40 per cent of all online content.

    “There are too many platforms which are not required. A person can only hold access to 3 or 4 platforms on a smart-phone. Creating one more would not solve anything. Hence, we decided on producing content which the audience can relate to”, adds Dhanda.

    The group has already produced a digital comedy show titled Gharbar which features Shakti Kapoor, Neelu Kohli, Rishab Chadda, Rakesh Shrivastav and Vaishali Thakkar. The show has been conceptualized by Dhanda and is directed by Sagar Bellary of the Bheja fry fame. It depicts a twisted take on the modern Indian family and their adventures when they decide to bring in a bar into their home. The series features Shakti Kapoor as Sharmaji the most seedha (staright forward) man ever.
    Promising a very unique doze of humor like never before, the series portrays BAR as a lead protagonist.

    Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd. (SABTNL) has been producing multi-lingual, multi-genre content and already has an established regional presence in various Indian languages including Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada amongst others.

    The group not only has a fair amount of experience in the production of content, but also in the broadcasting sector by creating a light humour centric television brand, SAB TV. With many firsts in its hat, it will be interesting to see how far this initiative takes the SAB group.

     

  • APOS 2016: Shane Smith, Viceland and ageing down networks

    APOS 2016: Shane Smith, Viceland and ageing down networks

    BALI: “Don’t hire traditional TV people.”  With those closing remarks during his keynote conversation at APOS 2016 with MPA executive director and  co-founder Vivek Couto , Vice Media co-founder and CEO Shane Smith set the tone for what his company stands for.

    Smith stated that the media today  is changing. “The Baby boomers have run media for the past 40 years. Gen Y – which is companies like us – will run it for the next many years,” he stated with absolute confidence.

    Like at a Mipcom a couple of years ago, Smith – dressed in shorts with a tattoo on his leg – reiterated that Vice hires interns and gives them money  to produce content for his network which includes news, food, music and lifestyle channels. “Yes, you give them $10 million. Sometimes you win, sometimes you get a law suit as the intern runs away to Mexico,” he said with a wry smile.

    Smith was clear that he will extend his brand to all screens and he will extend his networks to other territories with local partnerships. Earlier this year, his company launched Viceland in both Canada (with Rogers Cable) and US (in partnership with A+E Networks and Disney).  Something which got sniggers from traditional TV execs that Vice was going the traditional way. But Smith has his point of view on this.

    “Our extension to TV is helping ageing down the networks,” he stated. “We are bringing back the younger demographic to TV. We will produce anywhere there is a younger audience.”

    His belief is that the younger audiences had no programming for them, which is what has helped Vice.com succeed.  “Whether it is in China, India, Indonesia, we will move in there to serve our key demo,” he said.

    “OTT and mobile are very important for us,” he added. “But so is delivery across television but with content which is of a quality that appeals to our audience.”

    Viceland is a multinational television channel brand owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland’s programming consists primarily of lifestyle-oriented documentaries and reality series aimed towards millennials, directed in Vice’s trademark style of ‘character-driven documentaries’ 

  • APOS 2016: Shane Smith, Viceland and ageing down networks

    APOS 2016: Shane Smith, Viceland and ageing down networks

    BALI: “Don’t hire traditional TV people.”  With those closing remarks during his keynote conversation at APOS 2016 with MPA executive director and  co-founder Vivek Couto , Vice Media co-founder and CEO Shane Smith set the tone for what his company stands for.

    Smith stated that the media today  is changing. “The Baby boomers have run media for the past 40 years. Gen Y – which is companies like us – will run it for the next many years,” he stated with absolute confidence.

    Like at a Mipcom a couple of years ago, Smith – dressed in shorts with a tattoo on his leg – reiterated that Vice hires interns and gives them money  to produce content for his network which includes news, food, music and lifestyle channels. “Yes, you give them $10 million. Sometimes you win, sometimes you get a law suit as the intern runs away to Mexico,” he said with a wry smile.

    Smith was clear that he will extend his brand to all screens and he will extend his networks to other territories with local partnerships. Earlier this year, his company launched Viceland in both Canada (with Rogers Cable) and US (in partnership with A+E Networks and Disney).  Something which got sniggers from traditional TV execs that Vice was going the traditional way. But Smith has his point of view on this.

    “Our extension to TV is helping ageing down the networks,” he stated. “We are bringing back the younger demographic to TV. We will produce anywhere there is a younger audience.”

    His belief is that the younger audiences had no programming for them, which is what has helped Vice.com succeed.  “Whether it is in China, India, Indonesia, we will move in there to serve our key demo,” he said.

    “OTT and mobile are very important for us,” he added. “But so is delivery across television but with content which is of a quality that appeals to our audience.”

    Viceland is a multinational television channel brand owned and programmed by Vice Media. Viceland’s programming consists primarily of lifestyle-oriented documentaries and reality series aimed towards millennials, directed in Vice’s trademark style of ‘character-driven documentaries’