ITV

Tag: Reliance Broadcast Network

  • ‘Hawaizaada’ actor Ayushmann Khurrana to anchor Republic Day special on Big Magic

    ‘Hawaizaada’ actor Ayushmann Khurrana to anchor Republic Day special on Big Magic

    MUMBAI: Big Magic, the flagship national Hindi general entertainment channel from Reliance Broadcast Network is positioned as the one stop destination for humour. The channel is all geared up to celebrate Republic Day with the dashing young actor, Ayushmann Khurrana – a TV presenter turned actor as he engages the audience on Monday, 26th January, 7pm- 10pm only on Big Magic. Big Magic partners with Hawaizaada to celebrate the spirit of ‘Made in India’. Hawaizaada releases on Jan 30 2015.

     

    Pumped with fun, humor and patriotism all the shows on Big Magic will celebrate Republic Day with the special episodes wherein Ayushmann Khurrana will be the anchor link. Honoring this day with the entire country, Big Magic will add spark to this occasion with the presence of Ayushmann Khurrana who will also share anecdotes about his upcoming movie. He will be imparting a distinctive message of believing in oneself to the viewers of Big Magic. Ayushmann’s character in his upcoming movie Hawaizaada is based on a 19th century scientist and inventor who flew the 1st aircraft. He is believed to have invented the aeroplane before the Wright Brothers.

     

    Speaking on the three hour special on Big Magic, the dashing actor Ayushmann Khurrana said, “This Republic Day, I am happy to celebrate the essence of my upcoming movie – Hawaizaada which salutes the spirit of being Indian. I am happy to deliver this message to Big Magic viewers through its chatpata comedy content – If you dream, have the courage to accomplish it. My upcoming movie, Hawaizaada, celebrates the fulfilment of an unsung hero who brought forth the brilliance of an Indian talent and intelligence because he dared to dream and fulfil the same fearlessly.”

     

    Commenting on the same, Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “To salute Republic Day, a momentous occasion for Indians, the BIG MAGIC family will come together to entertain our audience with fun-filled episodes. We’re glad to be sharing this special day with Ayushmann Khurrana , lead actor of Hawaizaada, where the film salutes Indianness and will together impart an inspiring message to our viewers.”

     

    The Republic Day special will be marketed heavily across television, radio and digital, ensuring excellent promotions and reach.

     

    Big Magic is available across key DTH players ranging Airtel, Videocon, DD Free Dish, Dish TV, Reliance Digital TV along with Hathway, Incable, Digicable, DEN, 7 Star, ABS, Siticable, Star Broadband and GTPL amongst others.

  • Big Magic goes seasonal

    Big Magic goes seasonal

    MUMBAI: In a country where daily soaps rule, Big Magic, the flagship general entertainment channel of Reliance Broadcast Network, is all set to adopt a new seasonal format.

    Starting 29 December, the channel with its core positioning of being chatpata har pal, will introduce seasonal formats across its popular shows like Har Mushkil Ka Hal Akbar Birbal, Uff Yeh Nadaniyaan, Ajab Ghajab Ghar Jamai and MahiSagar. With this format, the channel aims to emphasise on freshness in characters, more comedy twists in plots, new themes in a four week long season format.

    New seasons for the shows kicks off as below:

    Uff Yeh Nadaniyan – 29 Dec

    Har Mushkil ka Hal Akbar Birbal – 15 Jan

    Ajab Ghajab Ghar Jamai – 12 Jan

    Mahisaagar – 19 Jan

    With the seasonal format kicking in, the channel will see transformation in existing characters, new character introductions new high points – with an unpredictable climax at the end. It will continue its episodic formats but will bring in more comedy, quirky and over the top elements to garner a higher space in the comedy genre. The season will be divided into – premieres, mid-season and season finale.

    Talking about the new season format, Reliance Broadcast Network creative director Uditanshu Mehta said, “At Big Magic, we regularly aim to bring in innovation and newness across our shows. Our regular innovation and programming spikes have ensured time spent on our channel has increased excellently over the past few months, and alongside has audience expectations. This move is part of our endeavor to ensure we deliver to our discerning viewers a truly chatpata experience through our programming.”

    The channel emphasises that the move will also allow marketers an effective window which can be perfectly timed to their campaigns, since they can now partner seasons, which are shorter and ensure high audience engagement.

    As a part of the larger programming strategy, Big Magic will be incorporating interesting storylines in their leading shows.

    The spikes will be marketed heavily across television, radio and digital, ensuring excellent promotions and reach with a 360 degree marketing plan.

  • The Content Hub: Segmented channels predict good future for themselves

    The Content Hub: Segmented channels predict good future for themselves

    MUMBAI: The Indian television industry is undergoing a sea change in terms of the content that is being created, both on television and online, long as well as short format. With an increasing need for dynamic creators and scriptwriters, Indiantelevision.com’s first edition of The Content Hub aims to bring together writers, creators, producers, artistes and broadcast executives to discuss with those involved in the content creation process.

     

    Opening the session was Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari, who spoke about how current Indian shows run for more than 1000 episodes while the audience and time spent on digital is shooting up. “We need to create engaging content by rethinking whether we need a time shift, seasonal shows, social programmes or younger producers,” said Wanvari.

     

    The first session dealt with the risk taking broadcasters of the industry in which Madison World chairman Sam Balsara spoke to Epic Television Networks CEO Mahesh Samat and Reliance Broadcast Network Tarun Katial.

     

    Balsara started off the session by asking the two about their attempts to disrupt content in the traditional general entertainment channel (GEC) space. Samat said that over the years, the GECs have seen a very few changes and it is only in the last two or three years, due to some impact of digitisation, there has been a little shift.  He compared the current television industry scenario to the film industry where earlier only one type of movies were produced due to single screens and now due to proliferation of multiplexes there is a variety.

     

    Balsara said that every GEC has the type of content that Epic is trying to segment into its channel. “I am told that people watch shows, not channels?” he questioned. To this Samat took up the example of the US where in the last 25 years all the channels that have come up are segmented. To this, Katial said that the top three GECs could afford to do general content while channels beyond that have to think differently. “Truly there are only three GECs in India- Star Plus, Zee TV and Colors while Sony is largely crime and similar to that is Life OK. Sab is segmented for comedy and so is Big Magic. A lot of our growth has come from geography segmentation,” said Katial.

     

    Balsara pointed out that the time where people in India will pay to watch good content is still very distant, so what will be a viable model? Katial said that he doesn’t feel there is space for niche segmented content because the investment needs to be if not more then as much as what a Hindi GEC can put with also a good amount of distribution cost. “Abroad, large GECs are terrestrial and free to air. Here to create content that needs to fill three hours daily can hamper the economics and to reach 50-60 GRPs you have to play the lowest common denominator game. When you segment and get to 15-20 GRPs, no Madison will pay you the ER,” he pointed out.

     

    Balsara with his years of experience said that ad revenue is limited due to limited viewership because while segmented channels ask for lakhs of rupees, GECs have a CPRP of about Rs 20000 to Rs 25000. “Why would a brand buy something at five times the cost if it is available at one fifth the price?” he questioned.

     

    The way forward according to Katial is actually the viewership but if original content needs to be created then high investment is needed. “Channels such as FoodFood and Discovery have content with limited cost and limited distribution (restricted to urban areas) but for original content the P&L gets to Rs 300 crore,” said Katial. Answering Balsara’s question of high a-la-carte rates of channels, Samat said that a certain amount of reach and GRPs are needed before the channel can be made affordable.

     

    “10 years ago people laughed at DTH and look at how things are now. So subscription isn’t far off. If you make the right content with limited episodes, syndication will get you money,” highlighted Samat. He added that current long format shows don’t allow syndication.

     

    Balsara highlighted the language difference between English and Hindi wherein English papers command high ad revenue while English channels are almost inconsequential. To this Katial said that English papers create influence while English channels sell products. “The English viewer is hooked to other screens but not set for standard TV viewing format,” he stated.

     

    With several growing mediums, Balsara asked if today content is created with only TV in mind to which Samat said, “We are developing content ‘forever’ that can make money even afterwards. More than screens, we should now look at longevity.”

     

    In response to Balsara’s question of adapting several international formats Katial said that there is no shame in legally doing so since it has a success track record. “When you put Rs 1 crore or Rs 2 crore behind such shows, every management wants to see it has worked before and so do advertisers,” he said. Samat said that the option of creating or adapting a format lies totally on the economics of the channel.

  • RBNL inducts new talent for growth of TV business

    RBNL inducts new talent for growth of TV business

     MUMBAI: Big Magic, the flagship entertainment channel from Reliance Broadcast Network has roped in Sahil Kangotra as its business head and Shalini Gupta as chief marketing officer for the television networks: Big Magic, Big Magic Ganga, Big Thrill and Big Magic International.

    In their respective functions, Kangotra and Gupta will report to RBNL COO Lavneesh Gupta and will be the torchbearers, leading the television team through its next level of growth. Having successfully created radio network 92.7 Big FM, Reliance Broadcast Network is poised to drive growth and profitability for its TV business.

     An IIM Lucknow alumnus, Kangotra joins RBNL from ICICI Lombard GIC where the last position held was in the capacity of corporate solutions group VP. With over 12 years of work experience Kangotr’s expertise lies in building growth through effective trouble shooting and leading through people management.

    Kangotra said, “I am excited about my foray into the broadcasting space and there could be no better Company than Reliance Broadcast Network, which is at the hub of the media evolution. I look forward to complementing the team’s strengths and adding value, to create optimal results for the business.”

    Gupta, an MBA in marketing, with her extensive experience of over 15 years, will be responsible for driving market share and viewership along with creating brand saliency and buzz for the television network. She has been associated with brands/organisations as Bharti Airtel, Loop (BPL) Mobile, Parle Agro and Grey Worldwide across various roles.

    Gupta stated, “I look forward to driving growth and higher market share for the television network and carve a distinct brand identity within the huge media clutter. Along with the leadership innovating team, I endeavour to create another success story for the television business.”

    The COO said, “Shalini and Sahil each bring on board extensive and diverse experience which will further augment our brand’s growth and performance. It is our immense pleasure to announce their association with our television business, and we are confident that their proficiency will enable us to lead us to our next level of growth.”

     

  • Big Magic announces its Karwa Chauth special

    Big Magic announces its Karwa Chauth special

    MUMBAI: India, a country whose unity lies in diversity is popular across the globe for celebrating colourful festivities with magnificence and pomp. With the onset of the festive celebrations, BIG MAGIC-India’s one stop destination for humour brings forth a very special programming special as part of its larger festive offering of the BIG Magic Mahotsav for Karwa Chauth, where the female actors of its shows Akbar Birbal, Ajab Gajab Ghar Jamai and Uff! Yeh Nadaniyaan, will be celebrating the special day in its true authentic style.

     

    This festival is widely followed by audience across HSMS, and as a part of the larger programming strategy, BIG MAGIC will be incorporating interesting storylines in their leading shows, highlighting the real essence of this widely followed ritual – Karwa Chauth. Peppered with fun, romance, humor and entertainment this episode will attempt to create a deeper connect with the women audiences across the HSM market. Increasing the glamour and fun quotient of the each episode, newer characters with popular faces like Roshini Chopra and Giaa Manek will be seen bringing hilarity and rib tickling comedy to the shows that will leave the audience in splits!

     

    Commenting on the special, Mr. Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Reliance Broadcast Network said, “Karwa Chauth as a festival is extremely relevant to our audiences in the HSM’s. Our festive spikes in the past whether for Eid, Teej or Janmashthami, backed by local insights have always resonated with audiences,  and we are confident of this one working well too. With the two celebrity faces, we up the glamour quotient on the show, which will be served to audiences with humor. We look forward to continuing to entertain our audiences with programming that appeals to them, while giving marketers excellent properties to partner with.”

     

    Backed by insights, a clear understanding of what audiences seek in television entertainment, and riding on the festive spirit of Karwa Chauth, BIG Magic offers this special programming layered in comedy and primed to deliver excellent results.

     

    Some examples of festive specials in the past:

     

    BIG Magic credits itself for authentic festive celebrations layered with comedy to ensure the content resonates excellently with its audiences, while marketers get optimal ROI for their investment. A special done for Eid and Teej on the show Akbar Birbal, saw a huge spurt in reach for the show across the HSM’s

     

    Festive special for Janmashthami, a very key celebration in the Hindi heartland, saw all shows amalgamating to offer audiences a splendid entertainment evening converging on the show Ajab Gajab Ghar Jamai. This again delivered a spurt in reach amplified by an excellent 360 degree marketing plan, with audiences flocking to catch the special.

     

    The festive property will see a multi-media marketing campaign come into play across television, radio and digital. Additionally, the network strength of the nation’s No.1 radio network 92.7 BIG FM and Bihar and Jharkhand’s No. 1 regional TV channel – BIG Magic Ganga, ensures partners on board the festive offerings on BIG Magic will get maximum value.

  • Big Life OK Now Awards 3 celebrates the flavor of Independence

    Big Life OK Now Awards 3 celebrates the flavor of Independence

    MUMBAI: The third edition of the Big Life OK Awards is back with a bang after the success of the last two editions. The show that will air on Independence day, celebrated patriotism and saluted the freedom fighters with spectacular performances by some of the biggest names in the television and bollywood industry.

     

    While bollywood and television stars like Kareena Kapoor, Sushant Singh Rajput, Shraddha Kapoor enthralled the audience with high energy performances, the anchors for the evening Sunil Grover and Varun Sharma, kept everyone in splits with their gags and comic timing.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial said, “After an excellent take off, we are excited to present the third edition of the Big Life OK Now Awards. It continues to remain our endeavour to offer our listeners the choicest entertainment across music and the entertainment industry”.

     

    The evening was filled with power packed performances dedicated to the spirit of patriotism and independence. As the leading bollywood heartthrob Kareena Kapoor set the stage on fire with her splendid performance, Sushant Singh Rajput paid tribute to the freedom fighters through his act instigating the feeling of patriotism in each and every person present in the event. While the central theme of Sushant’s act was independence, the gorgeous Esha Gupta and the bubbly Shradhha Kapoor highlighted various moods of women and issues faced by them respectively. The aerial act by Prateek and Sneha meaningfully depicted the colors of tri-color.

     

    Other celebrities present on the show were Surveen Chawla, Esha Gupta, Vani Kapoor, Jai Kalra, Kiara Advani, Daisy Shah, Mohit Marwah, Rhea Chakraborty, Shraddha Arya, Shaan along with Producer-Director Vipul Shah, RJ Madhurima and Talat Aziz. 

  • Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand brings back ‘Police Files’

    Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand brings back ‘Police Files’

    MUMBAI: Encouraged by the success of Police Files season 2, Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand is all set to launch the third season of the show.

     

    Highlighting real life stories of crime, retaliation, presence of mind and bravery from the Hindi heartland, the series promises to engage with audiences as they relate to each story.

     

    This new season revolves around the core thought ‘Soch Badlo Samaj Badlega’. This is to encourage people to be more socially responsible, be aware of happenings around them and to become guardians of society. The season will feature multiple hosts and will launch on 4 August, airing every Monday to Friday at 10pm only on Big Magic Bihar and Jharkhand.

     

    In this season, the programme strives to evoke ‘Preventive action’ within everyone with the campaign ‘Soch Badlo Samaj Badlega’, and urges people to stand up against crime and take corrective measures against them.

     

    This season will also witness various anchors from the region who will narrate the stories to viewers, various stories of impending crime, bravery and quick wittedness.

     

    Stories this time are equipped with real heroes, real footages, real crime scenes which will enthrall the viewers. Also on board, and adding credibility will be real testimonials, on camera investigations and other live action.

     

    The series will be shot at real locations of crime in UP, Bihar and Jharkhand. Real cops will share their investigative reports and incidents to highlight the case and provide proactive and preventive crime measures to the viewers.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network COO – television business Lavneesh Gupta said, “In continuing our endeavour to offer audiences in the Hindi heartland locally relevant and insightful programming, we are excited to launch the new season of Police Files ‘Soch Badlo Samaj Badlega’. The regions of eastern UP, Bihar and Jharkhand are going through a massive change, be it social, political or economical and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. We look forward to offering engaging content that audiences can enjoy and advertisers can ride on.”

     

    The new season will be promoted through an aggressive multi media campaign, featuring TV, radio, OOH, print, and digital across the Hindi heartland. The channel will also promote the show through various locally relevant on-ground campaigns and associations.

     

  • Reliance Broadcast Network appoints Gurudutt Jakhmola as national sales head government-TV and radio

    Reliance Broadcast Network appoints Gurudutt Jakhmola as national sales head government-TV and radio

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network has appointed Gurudutt Jakhmola as  national sales head – government for its television and radio verticals. 

    Bringing in his extensive experience, Jakhmola will work closely with the COO Lavneesh Gupta in streamlining and structuring the government business. He will also be responsible in planning and optimising the government business team for maximum efficacy, as he analyses national and state government campaigns to be able to deliver optimally.

     

    With varied industry expertise, Jakhmola has worked with telecommunications major – Hutchison Essar for five years before taking on the role of national government lead with American IT giant – Hewlett-Packard, where he led the function for over nine years. 

    Having completed a Bachelors of Science in Bio-Medical, he went on to pursue an MBA in Information Technology and Marketing from GGSIP Delhi University.

     

    RBN COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “With this appointment, we further strengthened our leadership team as part of our strategic growth objective. Gurudutt brings with him a multitude of skills which we believe will inculcate strong and robust mechanisms and processes for the team and also create synergy within teams to cross leverage the best practices. Above all, we are certain that he will help elevate customer experience with our brand for the government.”

     

    Speaking of his new role at Reliance Broadcast Network, Jakhmola said, “I’m extremely delighted to come on-board Reliance Broadcast Network. The vision that the team at RBN has for the company is what drew me closer to taking up this opportunity. I’m certain that with my experience I’ll be able to contribute to a greater success for the company and help take the businesses there to a newer level.”

     

  • RTL-Reliance Broadcast terminate Big RTL Thrill joint venture

    RTL-Reliance Broadcast terminate Big RTL Thrill joint venture

    MUMBAI: First CBS exited from its three channel joint venture with the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) late last year. Now the RTL Group and RBNL have decided not to continue with the joint venture that the two had set up to run the male-skewed action channel Big RTL Thrill.  RBNL has stepped in and bought out RTL’s holding as a consequence.

     
    RTL – owned by German media behemoth Bertelsmann –  had got into bed with RBNL in May 2011, with the Big RTL Thrill channel launching in November  2012. The content for the same had been acquired from international production majors such as FremantleMedia, Endemol, Red Bull, along with a library of international action films. Amongst the key shows which ran on the channel figured:  Fear Factor, Cobra 11, Criss Angel, Wipe Out and Baywatch.
     
    Just three years later, the two broke up with RBNL buying out the Luxembourg-based entertainment network’s holding. The transaction was completed in May.
     
    With the parting of ways, RBNL has dropped RTL from the channel’s name calling it simply Big Thrill. All the international content on Big Thrill will be dropped and replaced by locally produced programming as the licensing deals come to an end. Big Thrill will give company to the other RBNL  regional Big Magic channels which are targeted at Bihar, Jaharkand and Punjab.
     
    RTL sources acknowledged – in international media – the contribution of RBNL in understanding the Asian market. And they said that they would now be focusing on their Singapore-based partnership with CBS Studios International – RTL CBS Entertainment Network. The two got together in August 2013 to launch two thematic channels in English and local languages and distributed in up to 29 Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

     

    The first channel named RTL CBS Entertainment rolled out last year with general entertainment hits such as RTL Group’s The X Factor, America’s Got Talent and Celebrity Apprentice as well as CBS’s Elementary, Under the Dome, Late Show with David Letterman and Entertainment Tonight.

     

    The second branded RTL CBS Extreme launched in March 2014 with a menu consisting of action adventure, reality series and extreme sports. Programming included  Fear Factor, Red Bull, NCIS: Los Angeles and Hawaii Five-0.  The venture has access to first-run shows and library titles from RTL Group’s content arm, FremantleMedia, and from CBS, which owns America’s number one network, and a vast catalogue of more than 70,000 hours of programming.

  • Big Magic Bihar & Jharkhand now available on Airtel Digital TV

    Big Magic Bihar & Jharkhand now available on Airtel Digital TV

    MUMBAI: As part of its distribution-strengthening strategy, BIG MAGIC Bihar & Jharkhand the regional entertainment channel from the Reliance Broadcast Network stable, inks distribution deal with Airtel Digital TV becoming available on Channel No.628. Airtel Digital TV subscribers will now add to BIG MAGIC Bihar & Jharkhand’s massive reach as it spreads out to a larger diaspora across India.

     

    Backed with an aggressive distribution plan and an endeavor to reach its rich regionally rooted content, to discerning audiences across the country, the channel’s availability on the massive DTH platform – Airtel Digital TV is a step in this direction. With an eclectic content mix that encompasses a wide slate ranging fiction, crime, reality, music, devotion, movies and mythology, tailored to offer a wholesome family viewing experience, the Channel is primed to get a huge loyal audience base instantly. Viewers can now savour television shows coated with the regional flavor ranging Police Files, Hindustan ka BIG Star, Bhojpuri Films, BIG Memsaab, BIG Bahuria and upcoming reality show BIG Folk Star.

     

    Commenting on the development, Reliance Broadcast Television Business COO Lavneesh Gupta said, “We are a leading player in the regional market and have delivered excellent performance. We see a huge opportunity in catering to a larger diaspora by partnering with Airtel Digital TV and our endeavor is to reach our content mix to the discerning audiences spread across the length and breadth of India. We are proud to partner with them as yet another step in this direction.”

     

    BIG Magic Bihar and Jharkhand is currently available on Dish TV, Hathway, Incable, Manthan, Digicable, GTPL, Siti Cable, Maurya, DEN and other all independent operators.