ITV

Tag: Rishtey

  • TV channels line up special programming for 66th Republic Day

    TV channels line up special programming for 66th Republic Day

    MUMBAI: The broadcast industry is all set to awaken the masses with ample dose of patriotism coupled with entertainment. An array of special programs have been lined up across channels to celebrate the spirit of India’s 66th Republic Day.

     

    This time round, Hindi general entertainment channel Colors is gearing up to simulcast the historic event with nationalistic zeal and fervour. The channel will telecast live the much awaited parade and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message for Indian and international audiences.

     

    This is the first time Colors and Rishtey will simulcast the celebrations along with the national television channel Doordarshan. The telecast will also reach out to the international markets i.e. MENA, US (Aapka Colors) and UK. Colors CEO Raj Nayak believes that the iconic Republic Day parade and the PM’s message to the nation is the content that drives cohesive viewing in families.

     

    “Being able to bring to our audience the much awaited parade and message from our Prime Minister Narendra Modi LIVE is a privilege and a source of pride for the team at Colors and Rishtey. This is our way to celebrate our 66th Republic Day, by bringing it closer to our audiences, in India and the world. Telecasting this event in markets other than India – and to the US MENA and UK is also a milestone for the network as a whole,” Nayak said.

     

    On the other hand, Zee TV is taking a different route. The channel will be premiering the Shah Rukh Khan starrer – Happy New Year – from 1 pm onwards.

     

    Sony Entertainment Television’s (SET) longest running show – CID completed a milestone of 17 glorious years on 21 January, 2015 and celebrating the landmark this year, CID is all set to entertain its fans with a daylong CID special feature on 26 January.

     

    From 8 am to 10 pm, viewers will get to see the most exciting episodes of CID over the years. In fact, the first episode of the show will also be aired on 26 January. What’s more, the CID team will also spend the day with children and share their experience and memories. These interactions will be showcased in between episodes throughout the day.

     

    SET chief creative director Ajay Bhalwankar said, “Our flagship show CID has over the years responsibly entertained generations of young viewers to recognize and act upon the incidence of crime around them. This Republic Day we want to commemorate this memorable journey with our daylong celebration through a special programming initiative called Jashn-e-CID.”

     

    Big Magic, which is positioned as the one stop destination for humour,  is geared up to celebrate the day with actor Ayushmann Khurrana, as he engages the audience from 7 to 10 pm. The channel has partnered with his upcoming movie – Hawaizaada to celebrate the spirit of ‘Made in India’. The movie releases on 30 January, 2015.

     

    Pumped with fun, humor and patriotism, all the shows on Big Magic will celebrate Republic Day with the special episodes wherein Khurrana will be the anchor link. The actor will also share anecdotes about his movie and will be imparting a distinctive message of believing in oneself.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network COO Lavneesh Gupta 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.”

     

    History TV18 will host a line-up of shows from 12 to 7 pm. From 12 to 3 pm, the channel will air Gandhi, a series that charts Mahatma Gandhi’s establishment beginnings, his move into politics and his campaign to bring independence to India. Hosted by journalist Mishal Husain, this first definitive series on the life of Gandhi examines his relationship with his wife and his role on the path to Indian independence.

     

    From 3 to 5 pm, the channel will showcase a series called – India on Four Wheels. As the Indian economy booms, the latest must-have accessory is the car. With increasingly affordable models on the market, and growing demand for cars as a status symbol and sign of social development, people’s lives are becoming intertwined with car ownership. Justin Rowlett and Anita Rani join the chaos of India’s roads on a madcap road trip across the country, to find out the truth behind the dream. Whether it’s breaking down by the side of the road, facing suicidal peacocks or tasting luxury in a Maharaja’s vintage Rolls Royce, this is a surprising look at a country on the move.

     

    Last but not the least, from 5 to 7 pm, the channel will air The Birth of Empire: East India Co, a series that reveals how the behemoth that was the East India Company grew into an imperial power and became the hotbed of corruption and greed that led to its downfall.

     

    Comedy Central will commemorate Republic Day by showcasing a one hour special episode of the news spoof The Other Week That Wasn’t at 8 pm. Viewers will get a chance to enjoy more of Cyrus Broach’s tongue-in-cheek spoofs and mouthful of puns.

     

    Kids genre is also leaving no stone unturned to celebrate the spirit of nationality. A puppet show, relevant to the day’s theme and an explorative session with Dora the Explorer will be aired on the channel from 5.30 to 7 pm.

     

    Vh1 celebrates yet another moment of patriotism with a countdown to the top Indian videos that have emerged in recent times from 10 am to 5 pm. On the other hand, 9X Jalwa will play a special playlist of all patriotic songs between 7 to 10 am on the band Hits Forever. The repeat telecast be aired on the same day from 7 to 10 pm.

     

    #fame, a multi channel network, will dedicate the day to womanhood. Orville Richard Burrell CD, best known by his stage name Shaggy, once chanted, “So amazing how this world was made I wonder if GOD is a woman; the gift of life astounds me till this day; I give it up for the woman.” Taking cue from the song, singer Abhiruchi Singh has penned down and sung an awe inspiring song ‘Ud Chali’ to celebrate womanhood, which will be aired on #fame.

  • “This is the best time for Indian television”: Rajan Shahi

    “This is the best time for Indian television”: Rajan Shahi

    MUMBAI: Rajan Shahi made his directorial debut 15 years ago with the series, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi. What followed after that was a succession of hit shows including Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, Hamare Tumhare, Rishtey, Kareena Kareena, Reth, Mamtaa, Millee, Virasaat and Saathi Re. Shahi started his own production company in 2007. His first series as producer was Sapna Babul Ka Bidaai on Star Plus, followed by Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai which is presently running on television.

     

    As part of our Content Hub series, we spoke to the acclaimed director and producer on the existing content on Indian television today. Shahi tells us, “I think we are experiencing the best time for television today. There are so many different genres of programs that we see on TV. Every channel has a variety of comedy, romantic, horror, finite and reality series”.

     

    Shahi feels that there are good story tellers in the industry but the television rating numbers (earlier TV rating points) are also important. According to him, the typical Saas-Bahu dramas do very well as far as the ratings go. He points out that there have been several people who have tried to experiment with fresh content but have not achieved their desired ratings.  “So, what is the point of try something new if I know I will not achieve the same level of viewership?” he asserts.

     

    Speaking about the reach of Indian television content, Shahi elaborates, “We have a certain medium of our own. Our shows are hit abroad. People watch these typical shows as they like seeing Indian culture, traditions and customs.”

     

    When we asked whether broadcasters understand the creative freedom of directors and producers, Shahi explains, “I am seeing a very healthy trend these days. Every broadcaster is trying to get new technology and new story-telling methods. This is optimistic. Channels are willing to experiment and support new makers. They are trying to get the best of sets and costumes. Channels place a lot of time and emphasis on developing content.”

     

    Ending the conversation on a positive note, Shahi says, “The seasonal format is a really good idea if one wants to keep a brand name alive. There is a big scope for finite series and this is just the beginning.”

     

    Content Hub is a three day conference organised by Indiantelevision.com and is aimed at established professionals, newbies and anyone who is keen on taking the plunge into the fascinating world of writing, producing and creating for television and the digital space.

  • Viacom18’s digital plan is about ‘mobile first’

    Viacom18’s digital plan is about ‘mobile first’

    MUMBAI: As the world, including the television industry, moves to digital, ways are being found to capture and engage audiences on multiple screens. Viacom18, the JV between Viacom International and TV18, the subsidiary of Network18, is also thinking digital to get a hold of audiences when they skim online.

     

    Its nine channels – Colors, Rishtey, Nick Jr, Nick, Sonic, MTV, Vh1, Comedy Central and MTV Indies – form the network’s broadcast side.

     

    Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats sees digital as an accompaniment to television viewing. “In India digital is at a very nascent stage. In the US, over the years, TV viewership has remained the same or inched up a little. It is consumption in the digital space that has grown and the same trend will be seen in India,” he says. While India boasts of a 1.2 billion population seated in 250 million homes, the number of TV homes is just about 160 million. “This gap of 90 million means that there will always be room for classic TV content as well,” adds Vats.

     

    Much of this digital contribution currently comes from urban India but Vats says that data shows a reasonable amount of rural India also utilising the digital medium. As per him, traffic coming from PCs and laptops is an urban phenomenon while rural India is more hooked to the mobile.

     

    Its flagship channel, Colors, boasts of 414,000 followers on Twitter, thanks to its extensive thrust on the social media platform. It is way ahead of competition on both Twitter as well as Facebook. It also has commendable followers for its non-fiction properties such as Bigg Boss and Jhalak Dikhkhla Jaa.

     

    In terms of content exclusive to digital, Viacom18’s MTV has experimented a lot with webisodes of which a few have never appeared on television. Now the focus is on creating content that suits the smaller screens. “We need to revisit how best to customise content for the small screen from the way it is shot as well as the duration. What are these short stories? Do they invite to action or a combination of narrative and time span, etc. When you say mobile first, it is what you will do for this screen first that matters,” points out Vats.

     

    Vats agrees that the business model for monetisation of TV content is superior to digital, which is still in an evolution phase. So the need of the hour is to understand how to target multiple screens. “As transportation develops in India, ‘snacking’ will gain shape.  Digital will offer more snacking content and less long-form. The minute you have the option of watching stuff on a bigger screen you will, but on the other hand, you will snack. Also, the current online content stream is low on quality and high on price. We are exploring avenues in the mobile space to change that for the better,” he explains.

     

    However, Viacom18 is also focused on increasing traffic to its channel websites rather than to its Youtube page. Colors diverted traffic to its official website rather than its Youtube page for people who wanted to watch Comedy Nights With Kapil. “We had to focus on where people were viewing Comedy Nights With Kapil, and direct it to where we want them to view it. So we figured having a smaller section on YouTube and baiting them from there to the Colors website made more sense in this case,” explains  Vats.  

     

    He also says that digital is a lot about windowing. “What is running live on television, when is going to be linear in that sense on digital – simultaneous or windowed later – and what is the monetisation plan for each of them. If you want to watch it in the linear format, then it may be subscription based. If you want to watch it later, it might be a combination of subscription and advertising,” concludes Vats.

     

  • Viacom18 rings in the festive season with ‘Rishtey’ in US & Canada markets

    Viacom18 rings in the festive season with ‘Rishtey’ in US & Canada markets

    MUMBAI: After its successful launch in the UK and India, Viacom18 and IndiaCast announce the launch of the Hindi general entertainment channel ‘Rishtey’ in the US and Canada. Adding the festive fervor for viewers in the region, Rishtey is now available to the US audiences on Dish and Dishworld on channel 699 and to Canada viewers on Rogers Cable on channel 924. As Viacom18’s second general entertainment channel, Rishtey is geared to offer an engaging mix of exciting shows, movies and entertainment from a wide spectrum of genres.

     

    With seven channels already available in North America, IndiaCast currently has a comprehensive portfolio of brands in the region that covers a wide range of entertainment offerings. Rishtey is the eighth channel in the region and will be available on a paid subscription format. With the launch of the Rishtey on Dish and Dishworld, the channel will now be available to around 160K households in the US.

     

    Commenting on Rishtey’s foray into the US & Canada, Gaurav Gandhi – Group COO IndiaCast said, “US and Canada are the most important international markets for South Asian entertainment and we are delighted to launch our second Hindi entertainment channel, Rishtey, in this region.  Our flagship brand Aapka COLORS has seen unprecedented success in the region over the last 4 years. With the launch of Rishtey, we address the audience’s need for variety entertainment and Rishtey will be the classic ‘family channel’ with something for everyone in the South Asian household. Over the last two years, the Rishtey, in its different avatars, has developed a strong foothold in the UK and in India and we are extremely confident that the brand will be a huge success here as well”

     

    Rishtey, for the North America region, is a customized Pay TV service that promises to engage viewers with a plethora of content ranging from scripted dramas from the subcontinent (both India & Pakistan), Indian Kids content, Youth programming, Lifestyle as well as Bollywood content.  The channel is a true variety entertainment service with “something for everyone” in the family.

  • Rahul Mishra to join IndiaCast as associate director for marketing

    Rahul Mishra to join IndiaCast as associate director for marketing

    MUMBAI: IndiaCast that distributes TV18 and Viacom18’s channels in India and abroad has roped in Rahul Mishra as associate director for marketing.

     

    Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, Mishra said that his role will encompass handling trade marketing for domestic channels and consumers as well as trade marketing for its international channels such as Colors, Rishtey and News18. He will join IndiaCast from November and is currently serving his notice period at BBC.

     

    Mishra joins IndiaCast from BBC World News where he had a successful stint of nearly eight years as Asia Pacific marketing manager. Prior to that, he was with WorldSpace India as manager for north and has worked for the sales and marketing teams of Hyatt and Le Meridien Hotels and Resorts.

  • Star Plus continues to be the chart topper

    Star Plus continues to be the chart topper

    MUMBAI: In the week 15 of TAM TV ratings, Star Plus and Zee TV continued their strong hold on the charts.

     

    Star Plus recorded 748 million GVTs compared to last week’s 702 million GVT. The jump of 46 million GVTs helped the channel widen the gap between itself and the closet competitor, Zee TV.

     

    With a 38 million GVTs more, Zee TV garnered 464 million GVTs as compared to 426 GVTs of last week.

     

    All the other GECs saw a decline in their viewership. Sony Entertainment Television (SET), in the sixth place saw a drop in the ratings. It saw 308 million GVTs as compared to 312 million GVT last week.

     

    Colors that scored 451 million GVTs as compared to 454 million GVTs a week earlier, is at number three.

     

     Life OK slipped to 376 million GVTs as compared to 385 million GVTs last week and ranks four. Sahara One fell too with 24 million GVTs from last week’s 30 million GVTs.

     

    While Sab gained at fifth position with 314 million GVTs as compared to 299 million GVTs, last week.

  • IndiaCast to build ‘News 18 India’ brand internationally

    IndiaCast to build ‘News 18 India’ brand internationally

    MUMBAI:  Within a year of it first launching in the UK, IndiaCast is playing on the on-going general elections card and taking the news brand News 18 India to other parts of the world.

     

    The channel that first began broadcasting in the UK in July last year and had content from CNN –IBN with customisation to fit local taste, has now gone ahead and launched it in Singapore and the middle east as well. Deals have been inked with Mio TV by SingTel in Singapore and e-Vision by Etisalat in the Middle East.

     

    The channel will offer news from the country which includes current affairs, politics, local weather and business news. “We want to expand the news business globally but differently. We are creating a hybrid channel with a lot of business content as well. We have the expertise with CNBC and moneycontrol.com. So ‘News 18 India’ will feature market opening, market closing, daily market roundup, weekly market roundup etc. The programming will be made for our international feed by teams here but won’t be shown to the Indian channels,” says IndiaCast group COO Gaurav Gandhi speaking to indiantelevision.com.

     

    The world has shifted its focus to India due to the general elections, giving IndiaCast, a good enough reason to launch it now. Within the next two- three months, the channel will also be launched in the US, Canada and other global markets.

     

    The network feels that News 18 India in the UK was a huge success leading it to being build globally. Going forward it is also exploring options of inserting capsules of local news. “We want to make it an international service for looking into India. Outside India, people don’t want to carry four channels but they want to know the political news and business news. So we are providing them one wholesome channel. India is important to the world and now since elections are happening we have upped the game on News 18,” adds Gandhi.

     

    This apart, five of its ETV GECs have been launched on e-Vision’s platform eLife TV- ETV Marathi, ETV Bangla, ETV Telugu, ETV Gujarati and ETV Urdu.

     

    Additionally, Rishtey which recently set its foot on the Indian soil will also be traveling countries very soon. US and Australia are the next markets to launch Rishtey but with different, customised feed. “We launched Rishtey first in UK as an FTA channel.  Then we saw potential for it in India and so we got it as an FTA channel here too. When we launch it in other parts of the world, it won’t be FTA, but a pay TV service,” highlights Gandhi.

     

    Rishtey in the UK has content from both India as well as Pakistan and it aims to keep its differentiation in other markets too. As of now, Rishtey in India, which just finished distribution across various platforms, is now looking at getting advertisements. 

     

    The network also recently launched the Asia-Pacific feed for its flagship channel Colors.

  • Colors to extend four weekday shows to Saturday from 1 Feb

    Colors to extend four weekday shows to Saturday from 1 Feb

    MUMBAI: The TV production community was agog with the news that leading Hindi general entertainment channel Star Plus is stretching its weekday fiction prime time programming lineup to Saturday. But no official announcement was a-coming from it. However, the other leading GEC Colors has gone ahead and announced that it is extending four of its weekday fiction shows to Saturdays. And promotions are already underway.

     

    Colors’ CEO Raj Nayak even went ahead and personally posted a promo on social networking sites – Facebook and Twitter – highlighting what was being planned.

     

    Come Saturday, 1 February viewers will get to engage with Sanskaar, Sasural Simar Ka, Balika Vadhu and Madhubala between 7 pm and 9 pm.

     

    “We implemented six days a week last year; we took a break as we needed to give our production teams and artistes a breather. Having taken a short interval, we are coming back six days a week,” remarks Nayak,  adding that the experiment had worked well for the channel in 2013 and that is why it is being repeated.

     

    Two promos are hammering this message out to viewers across all the channels of the Network 18 group.

     

    The reason for choosing these particular shows is not their popularity but the time band they air in, says Nayak. Colors has two popular non-fiction properties – India’s Got Talent and Comedy Nights with Kapil – being telecast on the weekend at 9 pm and 10 pm respectively. However, the channel had nothing else to fill the slot prior to 9 pm. In the earlier weeks of January, it chose to telecast the summaries of two of its newly launched shows – Rangrasiya and Beintehaa, while last Saturday a special programme – Mirchi Top 20 – ran. 

     

    In fact, it is win-win situation for all parties associated. The production houses associated with these shows think that telecast of the shows on four extra days in a month gives the shows more visibility, also resulting in good GRPs. However, since the number of episodes per month are increasing, so is the pressure to deliver.

     

    “But we try to balance that out by introducing parallel tracks and planning episodes much in advance,” says Saurabh Tewari from Nautanki Films  that produces Madhubala, who also adds that the remuneration of almost everyone associated  has also increased for the extra work.

     

    Putting fiction shows on the weekend is also cheaper for Hindi GECs. New Hindi movies are becoming more and more expensive; big ticket non-fiction shows cost a bomb, thanks to the fat cheques dished out to film stars for becoming a part of them. Additionally, in the case of Colors, it is most likely going to put aside expensive properties on its second GEC Rishtey to build a connect with audiences. Hence, fiction shows, with a tab of Rs 7 lakh to 10 lakh and episode on an average are less of a drain on resources.

     

    Advertisers have welcomed the weekend fiction deluge, says Nayak, adding.  “they put their money where there is good content. All our advertisers who buy advertising on these shows will extend their buys to the weekend as well.”

     

    Lodestar UM vice-president Deepak Netram – while accepting that moolah will be made – however, is more circumspect and cautious from the viewer’s viewpoint. 
     

    He says: “I am not too sure if the regular weekday fare would work during the weekend. Since the number of male audiences are more, non-fiction or special programmes work better.”

     

    Netram opines that reason for Colors to extend its programming till Saturday could be because rival Star Plus is also walking the same path. He remarks: “The core audience of any GEC is the one which consumes fiction. Colors is probably wanting to retain its fiction show fans; and not lose them to a rival channel which is extending its fiction content to the weekend also,” he says.

     

    Colors has already announced the D-day for its new programming tack: 1 February. Star Plus has not; but the buzz is that the date might well be 8 February. The battle for eyeballs on the weekend has just begun.

  • Viacom18 uses Celebrity Cricket League to give leg up to Rishtey

    Viacom18 uses Celebrity Cricket League to give leg up to Rishtey

    MUMBAI: It’s already made its debut on Indian screens just 10 day befor X’mas this year through Prasar Bharati’s DTH platform FreeDish. Since then, the IndiaCast team – lead by its CEO Anuj Gandhi – has been signing carriage deals for Viacom18’s second GEC Rishtey with various cable and DTH platforms.

     

    Now the Viacom18 group is giving Rishtey a gentle nudge by using the platform of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), which commences on 25 January 2013. The CCL –  which has teams featuring and owned by film and other celebrities vying for the title – will have all its matches being telecast on the new GEC, with four of them being simulcast on the older channel from the network, Colors.

     

    Colors and Rishtey sources say that the hope is that Indian viewers will get to snack content on the new channel, in the process increasing its awareness. Most of the networks – including Zee, Star and Sony – have second flanking GECs, which has allowed them to soak up advertising that could not be accommodated on the mother channel because of air time constraints. Viacom18 has plugged this lacunae in its portfolio by bringing Rishtey – which was earlier tested in international markets amongst south Asian viewers –  into Indian homes.

     

    TAM ratings for the first two weeks of 2014 saw the newbie garner an average viewership of 46.5 million.

     

    Last week on Thursday, the front page of all leading national dailies ran full page ads, while promos are running across 40 channels announcing Rishtey’s first tent pole event. It is interesting to note that the logo of Rishtey is much bigger than Colors, therefore catching the eye first. Viacom18 has already been promoting Rishtey on CCL’s social media presence for the past fortnight.

     

    The broadcast partners for the event also include: Asianet, Suvarna, Star Vijay, Zee Talkies, Big Magic and Zee Bangla Cinema.

     

    As of now, the channel has already snared several DTH carriers such as Airtel DTH, Videocon d2h, Dish TV and Free Dish and cable TV platforms such as Den (pan India), GTPL (Gujarat, Maharashtra & Jharkhand), Fastway (Punjab), Digicable (pan India), WWIL & KCBPL (Kolkata), Manthan (Kolkata & Jharkhand), Darsha (Bihar), UCN, ICC and Next Gen (Maharashtra), Hathway (Maharashtra, MP, Punjab and Rajasthan), You Scod18  and Seven Star. 

     

    Will the CCL help Rishtey forge new relationships?

  • Network18 group gets back on expansion track

    Network18 group gets back on expansion track

    MUMBAI: Gujaratis are known to be good business men and hoping to add to their business acumen is one of India’s leading media companies – Network 18. It has decided to launch a Gujarati business news channel called CNBC Bazaar as well as an online business website called firstbiz.com.

     

    When contacted, Network 18 group CEO B Sai Kumar confirmed the news. While additional details on CNBC Bazaar were not available, firstbiz.com will be led by Firstpost editor R Jagannathan.

     

    2013 was a tough time for the entire news industry and even the network as it underwent rationalisation and consolidation with some employees being laid off.  Network 18 already runs several other news channels- CNN-IBN, IBN7, CNBC TV 18, CNBC Awaaz, IBN Lokmat. 

     

    On the other hand, Network 18 subsidiary Viacom 18 is all set to launch two new channels as well in the coming few weeks. One is its second Hindi GEC  Rishtey that has already got on board several platforms and the other is a new music channel in partnership with PepsiCo called MTV Indies.

     

    The flurry of launches this year indicates that the TV network has once again got into expansion mode and the days of overhanging debt are far behind it now.