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Tag: Ramki Sankaranarayanan

  • BARC selects Prime Focus Technologies for play-out monitoring service

    BARC selects Prime Focus Technologies for play-out monitoring service

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology subsidiary of Prime Focus, has announced that the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has contracted it to offer play-out monitoring service to power the audience measurement programs.

     

    PFT’s globally proven CLEAR Media ERP platform bolstered with next generation content identification technology and digital services will help automatically generate play-out monitoring reports on a daily basis.

     

    “It is a great honor to be selected by BARC, and we consider it equally a great responsibility towards the industry,” said Prime Focus Technologies founder & CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan. “India has one of the largest TV ecosystems in the world and the audience measurement system ought to be highly credible. We look forward to working with BARC to help build India’s very own, trusted rating service.”

     

    “With PFT on board we are one step closer to our mission of indigenously building a television audience measurement system that is better than the best in the world,” said BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta. “PFT’s world class technology, deep understanding of Indian broadcast and advertising industry, and across the board relationships with broadcasters and advertisers as a neutral partner made them the perfect choice for this critical role.”

     

    Audience measurement data is the de facto currency for media industry, being widely used by all stakeholders for planning, pricing, selling and buying advertising inventory on the medium. PFT will offer a robust play-out monitoring service which will check the actual telecast of each channel, capture the content at every point in time, and help link it back to the rating piece of the audience measurement system.

     

    India has 154 million TV households making it the third largest TV market in the world, next only to China and the US. This will be the first fully digital play-out monitoring service employed directly by the Indian broadcast industry and is scheduled to commence operations in October 2014.

  • PFT raises Rs 45 crore through optionally convertible debentures

    PFT raises Rs 45 crore through optionally convertible debentures

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology subsidiary of Prime Focus is really upping the ante, as it raised Rs 45 crore through a private placement of optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) from a diverse base of High Net-worth Individuals.

     

    The investors will have an option to convert up to 25 per cent of the total principal amount or around Rs 11 crore into equity of PFT after two years. The firm said this puts a base equity valuation of PFT at Rs 1,100 crore. This means the unnamed investors may get around one per cent stake for part conversion of the OCDs.

     

    The company will use the fund raised to fuel its expansion plans of cloud technology product, namely CLEAR in the global markets and also to peel debt.

     

    “Through this attractively structured instrument, we have secured growth capital while broad-basing our investor base and at the same time creating a compelling opportunity for shareholder value creation at PFT as well as the ultimate shareholders at PFL level,” said PFT founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan in a statement.

     

    CLEAR Media ERP claims to be a pioneering solution and market leader with the world’s biggest broadcasters and distribution networks using it for managing their revenue and time critical content operations. PFT’s innovative hybrid cloud technology platform virtualises the content supply chain and helps media and entertainment organisations manage the business of content. CLEAR already hosts and manages over 350,000 hours of content and delivers more than 200 TV shows a day.

     

    PFT has grown at over 150 per cent on a year-on-year basis since inception six years ago and aims to replicate its initial success with broadcasters in the North American studio production segment, the statement said.

     

    Recently, PFT acquired US-based DAX LLC, a provider of cloud-based production workflow and media asset management applications, for Rs 56 crore in a performance-linked transaction.

     

    DAX is the creator of the Primetime Emmy Award winning Digital Dailies, which is the de facto industry standard in TV production.

     

    CLEAR, PFT’s award-winning Hybrid Cloud technology enabled Media ERP platform and digital content services help broadcasters, studios, advertisers, sports bodies, news agencies, the government and service providers drive creative enablement, enhance ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, reduce cost and realize new monetisation opportunities.

     

    PFT works with major content owners like Bloomberg, Disney, Warner Bros., News Corporation owned Star TV, Zee TV, Eros International, Sony Music, Viacom 18, MSM, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), IPL (Indian Premiere League), Hindustan Unilever Limited, The Associated Press, A & E TV Network and Schawk!

     

    Prime Focus’ worldwide network of studios and WorldSourcing model supported by a Global Digital Pipeline allows PFT to offer customers transformational solutions that help them virtualise business processes around content and manage the business of content better.

     

    PFT had announced a net profit of Rs 2.69 crore from revenues of Rs 52.44 crore for the quarter ended 31 December, 2013. This is a big jump from the Rs 51.07 crore loss posted in the same time the previous year from revenues of Rs 43.94 crore.

     

    The technology business and the visual effects business contribute to about 84 per cent of the company’s revenue. The technology division alone grew 112 per cent year-on-year in Q3-FY14 driven by an increasing adoption of CLEAR as well as addition of new services around it, the company said during its earnings call.

     

    Following the announcement yesterday, Prime Focus’ shares hit a high of Rs 31.15 and a low of Rs 29.70 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 43.05 on 9 April 2013. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 23.75 on 5 December 2013.

  • Prime Focus Technologies launches the worlds largest Digital Media Services Cloud

    Prime Focus Technologies launches the worlds largest Digital Media Services Cloud

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, announced the inauguration of the world’slargest digital media services cloud– True North. The 24x7x365 Global Content Operations Hub spread across 100,000 square feet, manages over 300,000 hours of content, over 100 TV Shows a day and is the Digital Backbone for Over 200 TV Channels.
     

    True North is built on a 17 Giga bit media networkand powers CLEAR, PFT’s Media ERP platform. True North is a Digital Media Services Cloud doing Unified Transcoding, Preparation, Packaging and Delivery.

    “True North is where our technology and talent comes together to create innovative solutions for our clients. As a global operations hub, True North will add to the already existing 300,000 hours of content under our management, which has led to a robust growth of 300% over the past three years for PFT. True North is a confluence of many things. It is a Digital Lab for Cinema. It is a Production Hub for TV. True North will enable the future today, said Ramki Sankaranarayanan, Founder, President & CEO, Prime Focus Technologies.

    Why True North: The compass always points to True North, the geographic North Pole. It stands for “Absolute”, “Unambiguous” and “Certainty” just like PFT’s solution, CLEAR.

  • Prime Focus enhances partnership with deltatre

    Prime Focus enhances partnership with deltatre

    MUMBAI: Global digital media and technology firm, deltatre, and, Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of media and entertainment industry services leader Prime Focus, have engaged in a partnership agreement after successfully delivering their first joint project in India, the launch of starsports.com.

    PFT‘s award winning Clear Hybrid Cloud technology platform and digital content services can now be integrated with deltatre‘s digital media technologies including their market leading CMS, Forge, and world renowned data integrated video application, Diva.

    PFT Founder, President and CEO Says Ramki Sankaranarayanan said, “Our customers have been urging us to develop a solution that effectively addresses their need for Over The Top (OTT) platforms and an enhanced consumer experience. We are thrilled to join hands with deltatre to offer our customers a solution that will allow direct consumer outreach and enhanced viewer experience. In this area we are targeting a business of Rs. 100 crore in the next three years.”

    PFT and deltatre have shared local human resources to ensure both teams understand the technologies and have the expertise across the relevant platforms, allowing the best possible coordinated solutions for clients.

    “This new partnership with PFT and our successful Starsports.com project marks our entry in to the Indian market. By working so closely together, our companies benefit from sharing international experiences and knowledge while providing local manpower and expertise to our clients,” says deltatre CCO Paul Bristow.

    The working relationship between the two media companies will provide clients with the most innovative digital solutions using an efficient global workflow at competitive local rates.

  • Prime Focus to showcase its Clear and digital content services technology at Nab show

    Prime Focus to showcase its Clear and digital content services technology at Nab show

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus said it will showcase some of its newest Cloud technologies, made in India for the world, at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show 2013.

    At the annual industry event, scheduled to be held in Las Vegas in April this year, Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, will highlight how the organisation is bringing the best of its Clear Hybrid Cloud technology platform and Digital Content Services to address a new enterprise digitisation opportunity – multi-platform content production (TV, feature film and digital media).

    Created at the company’s R&D centre in Bangalore, PFT’s new solution aims to bring the production process on to a single digital platform, transforming the very manner in which producers interact with their content, partners and vendors.

    “As the technology evolves and businesses transition to the ‘new normal’, PFT continues to invest heavily in its R&D to provide solutions to its customers that put them ahead of the technology evolution curve,” says Prime Focus Technologies Founder, President and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

    He further adds “Currently, Clear is managing more than 250,000 hours of content for the broadcast industry. Our 200+ R&D employees have now brought alive the latest innovation from the PFT stable –a fully integrated content, workflow and project management solution that addresses the customer’s production process, enabled by our Hybrid Cloud technology platform. It will allow content producers to leverage digital technologies, and gain control over the production process, thereby leading to a considerable reduction in cost, and greater efficiencies.”

    India is the hub for Prime Focus’ innovation and product development. Set up in 2008, the company’s R&D centre develops the Clear Hybrid Cloud enabled enterprise digitisation platform. PFT’s focus areas include multi-platform content operations, enterprise digitisation, mobility, contextual advertising, cloud editing and content analytics.

    PFT aspires to be the unified content hub for media firms leveraging its global technology infrastructure. Since its launch major functionalities and features like cloud editing, iPad access, HTML5 player, and B2B sales and fulfillment portal have been added to the current solution at the same time developing new solutions ground-up for clients. The current investment in R&D by Prime Focus is $6 mn, and is expected to increase year-on-year over the next few years as the business scales up further.

    For content producers, the content has become digital, but the supply chain is still offline, posing challenges to unlocking inherent efficiencies. Prime Focus Technologies’ platform Clear and digital content services help broadcasters, studios, advertisers, sports bodies, news agencies, government or service providers, drive creative enablement, and enhance ecosystem efficiency.

    Prime Focus Technologies works with major content owners such as News Corporation owned Star TV network, Eros International, Sony Music, Viacom 18, MSM, BCCI, Indian Premier League, Hindustan Unilever Limited, The Associated Press, A+E Networks, Netflix, Schawk!, and WPP.

  • Prime Focus Q3 net up 50% to Rs 262.9 mn

    Prime Focus Q3 net up 50% to Rs 262.9 mn

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Limited has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 262.9 million for tthe fiscal-third quarter ended December 2011, which is 50.4 per cent higher compared to the Rs 174.8 million the company posted in the same quarter in the previous fiscal.

    The company’s consolidated income also rose 67.6 per cent to Rs 2.13 billion for the third quarter compared to the Rs 1.27 billion that the company posted in financial year 2010 for the same quarter. Net income jumped to Rs 612.7 million for the current quarter as opposed to Rs 370.6 million in the previous fiscal for the same period.

    Prime Focus MD & CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan said, “I am pleased to report a good set of results based on the continued strong performance of our 2D-3D conversion business, which is growing rapidly on the back of superior technology platform, View-DTM and service delivery to Hollywood studios. Five of the 10 Oscar nominations in the visual effects category this year are projects we are proud to have contributed our services to, clearly reflecting our global penetration in this space.

    “Our subsidiary Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is in the forefront of cloud computing driven execution of digital processes in the media industry. As broadcasters and content owners embrace HD TV, file-based workflows and multi-platform delivery, new age standard operating procedures and engagement models are emerging in managing unified content operations. CLEARTM, our hybrid cloud platform, on the back of the successes in India with Star TV, Eros, Unilever, Balaji Telefilms and JWT, now have global wins as well reflecting its potential for the future."

    PFL is a global visual entertainment services group that provides creative and technical services to the film, broadcast, and advertising market.