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  • Promax India 2023: Celebrating excellence in entertainment marketing & design!

    Promax India 2023: Celebrating excellence in entertainment marketing & design!

    Mumbai: Promax India, the leading community in the nation’s entertainment market, successfully hosted the 21 edition of the ‘Promax India Awards 2023,’ commemorating remarkable accomplishments in the realms of entertainment marketing and design. The Promax India Conference & Awards 2023 was held on 25 August at Mumbai’s Radisson Mumbai Goregaon, featuring informative sessions led by renowned global speakers. Ahead of the primary event, on 24 August, Promax India organised a creative boot camp – ‘The Anatomy of a Clip-Based Promo,’ along with a senior leadership luncheon.

    The grand event had industry media personality Amazon Prime Video head of India originals Aparna Purohit, as the awards chair along with Vidyanath Vaddi, head/on-air promotions, SPNI English Channels, English and Bangla Channels, Sony BBC Earth, Pix & Sony Aath; Shravanty Roy, Sr. vice president marketing, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd; and Rupesh Kashyap, partner & chief content officer, Hotcult Branded content as the advisory board members.

    Day one of the event featured industry experts who shared their insights on the latest industry trends, fostering stimulating conversations and the exchange of ideas among attendees. It started with an enlightening session on the topic ‘The Great Streaming Pivot’ by Lee Hunt who is a New York-based strategist and industry thought leader for media companies around the world. In his session, he shared details and stats about the changes that the world will see in the digital and entertainment landscape. Subsequently, a Senior Leadership Luncheon was hosted for the esteemed dignitaries which was followed by another discussion on the topic ‘Harsh Realities of the Future Workforce’ by David Shing (known as “Shingy”) who is an Australian futurist, speaker, creative director, strategic digital consultant, and entrepreneur. He engaged with the panel through a slew of activities to educate big brands about the unique opportunities afforded by emerging digital, social, and mobile technologies.

    Additionally, the creative boot camp, titled ‘The Anatomy of a Clip-Based Promo,’ took place at Atlas SkillTech University. Helmed by Vikki Stephenson, a senior creative consultant with 20 years of experience in creating award-winning campaigns for renowned brands, this boot camp was open to all professionals aiming to elevate their creative bar and produce world-class promos. The highly anticipated event witnessed prominent brands from all over the nation vying for the coveted awards.

    The second day’s conference began with Lee Hunt leading a session on ‘New Best Practices 2023,’ examining the competition between linear and streaming media, their new strategies, and how consumers continue to sample new entertainment services. Subsequently, Tamagna Ghosh, MD, APAC at Trailer Park Group, presented ‘World Gold,’ showcased some of this year’s incredible crop of Promax Gold winners in design and promotion. Another session by Sudipto Saha from PwC highlighted the use of analytics and AI to gain profound viewer insights. Additionally, ‘The Connected Human,’ a session by Shingy, a creative director, strategist, and futurist, delved extensively into the incredible process of connecting the brand with the world.

    Engaging in a fireside chat with Viacom18 head of brand and creative marketing Shagun Seda award-winning director Prasoon Pandey shared his thoughts on how he gets the ideas for his projects and commented, “When we get an idea, we keep dropping it because something is not surprising enough, I am looking always for ideas that keep surprising me first because if they do not surprise me they will not really surprise the audience and once you find it then you keep polishing it, keep looking at it from various sides and to keep polishing it. Once I feel this overall structure has been polished then I open and then I like layering my commercials because even if they want to be there just 10 times people should find something new, they should discover something new every”.

    ZEEL, chief channel officer, Bhojpuri bluster, Amarpreet Singh Saini said “Promax Workshop 2023 was invigorating for any creative spirit in the field of media. On the one hand, it gave an excellent landscaping of the evolving media world with directions to the future, it also blended in creative breakthrough sessions with amazing speakers like Shingy. It mixed knowledge with fun so well. Will look forward to more from their plate as it helps us get such fresh perspectives.”

    Some of the winners of the prestigious awards are best brand image campaign(In-house), won by Disney+ Hotstar for their Thoda Ruk Shah Rukh campaign; Best social media campaign for a channel or brand by Meta for Meta- creator day campaign; Best movies promo by Shemaroo Entertainment for Bahubali 1 & 2 stop motion; Best children’s promo by Zee Entertainment for Dance India Dance Li’L Masters, Best originated promo(out-of-house) by Sony Entertainment Television for Kaun Banega Crorepati S14; Best drama campaign by Sony Liv for Rocket Boys – The Mad Scientists; Best holiday/festival promo by Viacom 18(Nick-India) for Nickelodeon Dusshera Ident; Best entertainment promo by Sony Sports Network for WWE- Lootera Film Ft. John Abraham & Drew McInTyre; Best reality promo by Disney Star – Star Vijay for Big Boss 6 promo amongst others.

    The full winner’s list can be viewed at

     

  • SPN India TV ad revenue & subscriber numbers rise: Sony Corp

    SPN India TV ad revenue & subscriber numbers rise: Sony Corp

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India – led by CEO NP Singh – is doing well, if one goes by the numbers its Japanese parent Sony Corp announced last weekend.

    For one the Sony Corp presentation around its financial results for the quarter ending 30 June 2016 clearly states that it has been seeing “higher advertising revenues in Latin America and India” which has helped boost its media networks business in the period.

    Then SPN India’s subscriber numbers too are on the up, according to Sony Corp.

    It states in its notes to the financials that the India channel cluster (consisting of SET, MAX, SAB, Pix, Aatth, Mix, Six, AXN, PAL, MAX2, Sony ESPN, Wah and Animax India) has increased its subscriber number from 650.4 million on 30 June 2015 to 690.4 million on 30 June 2016 – a growth of about 6 per cent.

    The channels which are distributed over India, North America, Europe, the Pacific, South east Asia, Australia, west Asia and Africa reported an increase in international subscribers from 2 million to 2.3 million an increase of 15 per cent in the same period.

    Sony Pictures worldwide media network business – which covers all its TV channels – did a revenue of $588.418 million in the same period as compared to $576.04 million in Q1-2015. It clearly shows that business is on upswing.

    Sony Corp’s Pictures segment (including media networks revenue and theatrical box office income) reported a revenue of 183.3 million Japanese Yen ($1.8 billion) and an operating loss of 10.6 billion Japanese Yen ($103.84 million) in the quarter to 30 June 2016. In terms of the Japanese currency that tots up to a 6.9 per cent increase in revenues (Q1 2015 – 171.5 billion Japanese yen), and a 1 billion Japanese Yen reduction in its operating loss (11.7 billion Japanese yen in Q1 2015).

    Meanwhile, sales and operating revenue of the mother company Sony Corp decreased by 10.8 per cent compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year (year-on-year) to 1,613.2 billion yen ($15,662 million).

    This significant decrease was mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates, a decrease in Mobile Communications segment sales reflecting a significant decrease in smartphone unit sales, a decrease in revenues in the Financial Services segment due to the deterioration in investment performance in the separate account at Sony Life Insurance Co Ltd as well as decreases in sales in the Semiconductors and Imaging Products & Solutions segments due to the impact of the earthquakes in the Kumamoto region in 2016. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in Game & Network Services segment sales reflecting increases in PlayStation 4 software sales. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3 per cent year-on-year.

  • SPN India TV ad revenue & subscriber numbers rise: Sony Corp

    SPN India TV ad revenue & subscriber numbers rise: Sony Corp

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India – led by CEO NP Singh – is doing well, if one goes by the numbers its Japanese parent Sony Corp announced last weekend.

    For one the Sony Corp presentation around its financial results for the quarter ending 30 June 2016 clearly states that it has been seeing “higher advertising revenues in Latin America and India” which has helped boost its media networks business in the period.

    Then SPN India’s subscriber numbers too are on the up, according to Sony Corp.

    It states in its notes to the financials that the India channel cluster (consisting of SET, MAX, SAB, Pix, Aatth, Mix, Six, AXN, PAL, MAX2, Sony ESPN, Wah and Animax India) has increased its subscriber number from 650.4 million on 30 June 2015 to 690.4 million on 30 June 2016 – a growth of about 6 per cent.

    The channels which are distributed over India, North America, Europe, the Pacific, South east Asia, Australia, west Asia and Africa reported an increase in international subscribers from 2 million to 2.3 million an increase of 15 per cent in the same period.

    Sony Pictures worldwide media network business – which covers all its TV channels – did a revenue of $588.418 million in the same period as compared to $576.04 million in Q1-2015. It clearly shows that business is on upswing.

    Sony Corp’s Pictures segment (including media networks revenue and theatrical box office income) reported a revenue of 183.3 million Japanese Yen ($1.8 billion) and an operating loss of 10.6 billion Japanese Yen ($103.84 million) in the quarter to 30 June 2016. In terms of the Japanese currency that tots up to a 6.9 per cent increase in revenues (Q1 2015 – 171.5 billion Japanese yen), and a 1 billion Japanese Yen reduction in its operating loss (11.7 billion Japanese yen in Q1 2015).

    Meanwhile, sales and operating revenue of the mother company Sony Corp decreased by 10.8 per cent compared to the same quarter of the previous fiscal year (year-on-year) to 1,613.2 billion yen ($15,662 million).

    This significant decrease was mainly due to the impact of foreign exchange rates, a decrease in Mobile Communications segment sales reflecting a significant decrease in smartphone unit sales, a decrease in revenues in the Financial Services segment due to the deterioration in investment performance in the separate account at Sony Life Insurance Co Ltd as well as decreases in sales in the Semiconductors and Imaging Products & Solutions segments due to the impact of the earthquakes in the Kumamoto region in 2016. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in Game & Network Services segment sales reflecting increases in PlayStation 4 software sales. On a constant currency basis, sales decreased 3 per cent year-on-year.

  • MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MSM rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks; trains eyes on GECs, sports & digital

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM), which was earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, has now rebranded itself as Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India as the company marks its 20th year of operations in the country.

     

    The rebranding, which also signifies a complete alignment with its parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment, comes as a shot of adrenaline as the company has now trained its eyes on three key levers namely general entertainment, sports and digital.

     

    “With a comprehensive bouquet of varied channels and aggressive growth plans, including new genres and expansion of our distribution footprint, we are equipping ourselves to serve our viewers in urban areas, in rural areas and across global geographies. Overall, our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television & digital entertainment,” said Sony Pictures Networks India CEO NP Singh.

     

    The rebranding was announced earlier but as the company was awaiting due approvals, the network continued to operate as MSM. From today (14 December, 2015), the network will use its new identity.

     

    “After 20 years of successfully experimenting with many firsts including redefining how cinema and cricket are viewed on Indian television, Multi Screen Media has renamed itself as Sony Pictures Networks India. The new name reflects an integrated brand alignment as it allows us to leverage the strength of the Sony parentage. Naturally, we are guided by a new wave of optimism as we set forth on a journey of exploring new vistas of entertainment,” added Singh.

     

    Singh went on to say that the company will adopt a six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers with more channels, more genres, more content, more movies, more digital and more television.

     

    “This is our six-fold path to serve the multitude of viewers whose hopes and expectations, we are aiming, to exceed. Our focus will remain on becoming the first choice in television and digital entertainment in the country,” he said.

     

    It may be recalled that earlier this year, the company also clinched a joint venture deal with sportscaster ESPN, under which Sony Kix will be rebranded as Sony ESPN. The two companies will also jointly launch other new channels as well as a co-branded localised multi-sport website and app in the coming months.

     

    Today, SPN’s bouquet includes a range of channels like Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Max, Max 2, Sab, Pix, AXN, Aath, Mix, Six and Kix as well as the digital entertainment channel Liv.

     

    “We are priming ourselves to become the first choice of entertainment in the country. So, there is a new surge wave of optimism that is guiding us. We’re now poised to leverage our experiential credibility to do more for our audiences,” Singh says.

  • Multi Screen Media rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks

    Multi Screen Media rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media, which was earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India, has rebranded as Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) in India as the company marks its 20th year in the country. SPN will be a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

     

    It was back in December 2007 that SET India was renamed as Multi Screen Media (MSM). The then CEO of the company Kunal Dasgupta had said that the new name was reflective of the company’s evolution from a pure television broadcaster to a multimedia one. And that was exactly what the company did. Today, SPN’s bouquet of channels includes a range of channels like Sony Entertainment Television (SET), Max, Max 2, Sab, Pix, AXN, Aath, Mix, Six and Kix as well as the digital entertainment channel Liv.

     

    PlNow, as Sony completes its two decade run in the country, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) president of worldwide networks Andy Kaplan said of the re-branding, “Our channels in India represent an important part of Sony Pictures Television’s global portfolio and we are proud to be part of the fabric of the diverse Indian culture. As we celebrate bringing the best entertainment to viewers in India for 20 years, it’s only fitting that these networks be branded as part of our Sony family. Like the Sony brand, which stands for innovation, creativity and delight, SPN brings the same qualities to our viewers.”

     

    SPN CEO NP Singh added,  “As MSM, we’ve served television audiences worldwide for the last 20 years, during which time we pioneered new formats, new shows and actually set the trends for television entertainment. We changed the dynamics of how cricket and cinema were viewed on Indian television and contoured a variety of genres in TV entertainment. So while Kaun Banega Crorepati and Dus Ka Dum created new waves in television gaming, and Boogie Woogie and Indian Idol brought the commoner’s talent on the telly, we were also the first ones to embrace the cultural fabric of India by providing Sab – an out-and-out family humour channel.”

  • The One Alliance threatens to switch off channels to Reliance BIG TV

    The One Alliance threatens to switch off channels to Reliance BIG TV

    MUMBAI: The subscribers of direct-to-home TV services provider Reliance Big TV may stop receiving 26 channels that form part of the The One Alliance bouquet about three weeks from now.

     

    The One Alliance through a public notice has informed subscribers of Reliange Big TV that the channels it aggregates can go off in the next three weeks, if the DTH player doesn’t clear outstanding dues.

     

    “We have issued a public notice as per the guidelines. The outstanding is huge and we are hoping that the matter is resolved soon,” says The One Alliance EVP sales and strategy Makarand Palekar.

     

    The channels that come in The One Alliance bouquet are: Sony Entertainment Television, MAX, MIX, SAB, PIX,SIX,Aath, Animal Planet, AXN, Animax, Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel Tamil, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Times Now, Tez, Discovery Kids, ET Now, Zoom, Movies Now, Discovery HD World, SIX HD and SET HD.

     

    “Talks are on with Reliance Big TV,” informs Palekar.

     

    The One Alliance is getting tough against all distribution platforms. The aggregator had switched off channels given to IndusInd Media and Communications (IMCL) on 5 March, after issuing a 21 day notice to the multi system operator (MSO) for non-payment of huge outstanding.

     

    “We met the officials from IMCL and resolved the matter on Friday, 7 March. The channels from the bouquet (to IMCL) have been restored,” says Palekar.

  • Chrome week 7: English movie genre is the biggest gainer

    Chrome week 7: English movie genre is the biggest gainer

    MUMBAI: The opportunity to see (OTS) data collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media for week seven has been released with the highest gainer of the week being the English movie genre in the eight metros. The genre witnessed a 5.4 per cent rise with Pix on top as it gained 76.8 per cent OTS.

     

    English entertainment channels also saw a rise of five per cent in the eight metros with AXN topping the charts. The channel scored 70.9 per cent OTS.

     

    In the eight metros, the business news genre also grew as it witnessed a rise of 3.7 per cent. CNBC Awaaz was again on top with 76.7 per cent OTS.

     

    English news in the eight metros followed suit and witnessed a rise of 3.7 per cent. Times Now was the highest gainer with 87.5 per cent OTS.

     

    In the bottom four, Hindi speaking markets (HSM) witnessed a minor drop. Religious genre witnessed a 0.8 per cent drop with Aastha remaining at the top with 98.5 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi GECs lost 0.6 per cent in the HSM with Colors gaining the most. The GEC gained 96.4 per cent OTS.

     

    Hindi movie channels also saw a drop of 0.4 per cent in the HSM. Zee Cinema topped the charts with 95.7 per cent OTS.

     

    At the bottom of the chart is Kids genre across the country with 0.3 per cent drop. Cartoon Network was at the top in the genre with 85.2 per cent OTS.

  • One Alliance vs Hathway: Viewers are at loss

    One Alliance vs Hathway: Viewers are at loss

    MUMBAI: From the past couple of weeks, the One Alliance channels are not being aired on Hathway.

     

    The channels – Sony, Sab, Max, Six, Mix, AXN, Pix, TLC, Discovery Channel, Discovery Turbo, Animal Planet, Discovery kids, Sony Aath, Aaj Tak, Tez, Headlines Today, Max HD, Discovery HD world, Sony Six HD – are not being televised.

     

    The reason given as per the ticker scrolling on Sony channel which is playing on a higher LCN (Logical Channel Number) is non-payment of dues and failure of renewal of agreement.

     

    When indiantelevision.com approached the cable network as well as the aggregator, both seemed reluctant in solving the matter and discarding the issue by saying, “It happens every now and then. So, hence, is no big deal.”

     

    The two might not be affected by the conflict, but the viewers are of course the victims in this.

     

    A resident from Kandivali (West) says, “Every evening, once I am back from office, I like to watch the debate on Times Now. But now without any prior notice, the channel has been taken off. Why should we suffer when we pay our cable bills on time?”

     

    On the similar line, another Hathway customer angrily says, “Even after calling the local cable guy a hundred times, I did not get the answer why did it happen and when will the channels be back. I was just informed that one channel (Sony) has been shifted to another channel number.”

     

    A lot of viewers complained about such occurrences time and now and wondered if shifting to a DTH or another cable was better.

     

    All we can say is that in someone’s loss, would be someone else’s gain. Are the DTH operators listening?

  • Sony Entertainment Network & Times TV Network pull the plug on TAM; others to follow?

    Sony Entertainment Network & Times TV Network pull the plug on TAM; others to follow?

    MUMBAI: It‘s official. At the time of writing, two leading Indian TV networks, Multi Screen Media (which runs Sony Entertainment TV, Sab, Max, Pix and Six) and Times Television Network (which runs ET Now, Movies Now, Times Now and Zoom) had officially written to TAM Media Research informing its CEO LV Krishnan that they were stopping their subscription to the weekly TV ratings service from 6 June 2013. Hitherto, it had been reported that Sony was only mulling taking this step. TAM Media CEO confirmed that he had received the cessation notices from both the broadcast networks.

    MSM CEO Man Jit Singh: his network is the first to stop subscribing to TAM‘s weekly TV ratings service

    Apparently, more letters from the broadcast industry are likely to follow as many more members of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) have decided to stop their subscriptions to TAM‘s ratings, if sources are to be believed.

    Says IBF president & MSM CEO Man Jit Singh: “There is a great deal of concern over the credibility and reliability of TAM. Seeing the fluctuations, which are happening since IPL and before that, we have decided to stop subscribing to TAM. The GEC market has shrunk by 20 per cent, which again puts a question mark over the reliability of TAM. Why would I pay for this? The entire IBF has complained and expressed their frustration. They even asked for a suitable explanation but we did not get one.”

    Both Star India CEO Uday Shankar and Times Television Network CEO Sunil Lulla refused to comment when indiantelevision.com tried to get their viewpoint on the issue.

    TAM‘s LV Krishnan: The show will go on; we will continue measuring TV viewership

    But the fact is that TV ratings in India have always been a hotly debated subject. Now more

    fat is likely to be added to the fire with this development with the doomsayers saying “I told you so, TAM‘s ratings are suspect, they are rigged and it will get its comeuppance some day. And that day has come.”

    Krishnan, however, is taking the broadcasters‘ decision in his stride. Says he: “If anybody has any concerns we are always open for discussion. Our job is to provide quality and clean data and we will continue to do that irrespective of who subscribes or not. Our parent companies have funded us in the past whether there were subscribers or not. We will continue to measure viewership.”

  • Pix’s ‘Big Break’ initiative ahead of digitisation

    Pix’s ‘Big Break’ initiative ahead of digitisation

    MUMBAI: In a bid to further engage with its viewers and build brand affinity, English movie channel Pix has announced a new marketing initiative – ‘Big Break’.

    The initiative will give a winner the chance to be part of a promo for the channel which will air in March. The winner will also be used for other channels in the MSM stable like Sony and Sab.

    Interested parties can submit a one-minute video of themselves online enacting a scene from one of their favourite films. The last date for submission of entries is 18 February.

    Ten people will be chosen and flown down to Mumbai. One winner will be chosen and will get the Red Carpet treatment.

    “With digitisation going to happen, it is important to remind people that Pix is a ‘must have‘ channel. We want viewers to feel committed towards us and to engage with us,” said Pix business head Sunder Aaron.

    A few years back, Pix had launched a short film festival initiative. Inspired by the response to that, the channel has gone ahead with this initiative.

    Pix marketing head Himmat Bhutalia noted that channels in the English movie genre are not doing enough at building brands. “While titles are important, brand recall needs to be created. It will be important for viewers to know what a brand stands for as we move into a digital arena where viewers will choose to carry a channel or drop it. Pix has a larger variety in content. We are also more into engaging in a dialogue with viewers,” he said.

    In terms of marketing, digital will be a greater focus area for Pix this year. “We took our local initiative chicks On Flicks online. We are also looking at extending our Pix movie Club initiative to the web. Traditional media is a one-way dialogue. With digital you can change your communication faster based on feedback,” averred Bhutalia.

    To market ‘Big Break’ the channel is using print, radio and television spots on MTV and Bindass.

    Bhutalia expects most respondents to be in the 15-30 year age group. On the ground, the channel is using an event management company to go to select schools and colleges in Mumbai and Delhi. There fans can make a one-minute video.