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Tag: Romedy Now

  • Romedy Now to premiere ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ with its US telecast

    Romedy Now to premiere ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ with its US telecast

    MUMBAI: The 13th season of the Emmy Award winning ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ will air for the first time in India on the unique destination of love and laughter, Romedy Now!

     

    “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” will premiere in India today, along with its US telecast. The super successful series will air every Monday to Friday at 6 pm on Romedy Now. The series was licensed to Romedy Now by Warner Bros. International Television Distribution.

     

    With an engaging personality and unique take on everyday life, Ellen sets the tone for a relaxed and candid environment that puts her guests at ease and allows them to engage in entertaining and thoughtful discussions on topical subjects.

     

    Speaking about the show, Vivek Srivastava, Sr. Vice President & Head, English Entertainment Cluster, Times Network said, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show is one of the most popular shows featuring the world famous celebrities from different walks of life & we are extremely glad to launch it concurrent to its US telecast.”

     

    Ellen’s show has seen the most renowned celebrities in the past from U.S. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama to Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga, George Clooney, Madonna, Clint Eastwood, Reese Witherspoon, Justin Timberlake, Mariah Carey, Drew Barrymore, to name a few.

     

    Entering its 13th season, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ continues to be the destination for laughter and fun, highlighting Ellen’s one-of-a-kind observational humor, warmth and insight, and featuring the biggest stars from television, film, music and more. This year, ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ will feature personalities including Hillary Clinton, Caitlyn Jenner, Malala Yousafzai, Pink, Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Noah Ritter, Jimmy Fallon and many more.

     

    Embraced by audiences and critics alike, the global entertainer, Ellen has won 55 Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, including nine for Outstanding Talk Show and four for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

  • Romedy Now to air back to back seasons of ‘Gilmore Girls’

    Romedy Now to air back to back seasons of ‘Gilmore Girls’

    MUMBAI: Are you the apple of your mother’s eye? Are you her reflection in the truest sense? Do you think she’s above all in your life? If you share a unique bond with your mother, Romedy Now will showcase a story of a mother and her daughter that will hold you captive for not one but seven back to back seasons.

     

    The channel yet again promises love and laughter as it presents to you one of the most popular American comedy-drama shows, ‘Gilmore Girls’. The show centers around the relationship between a thirty something single mother Lorelai Gilmore (played by Lauren Graham) and her teenage daughter Rory Gilmore (played by Alexis Bledel) living in a fictional town Star Hollow, Connecticut. It is all about friendship, family and the ties that bind.

     

    Once the super-successful season of ‘Jane The Virgin’ culminates on September 3, Romedy Now will engage the television audiences with this new offering from the next day i.e. September 4. The show will continue to occupy the evening 7 pm slot from Monday to Friday.

     

    Talking about the show, Sonal Khanduja, Vice President – Programming, English Entertainment Cluster said, “Gilmore Girls is a free-spirited series and one of the most endearing, engaging shows of recent times. It is a humorous multigenerational series about friendship, family and the ties that bind. The premise of the show, a tight, friend like bond between a mother and daughter, is an important representation of a changing times. We are extremely excited to recreate the magic and capture the hearts of our viewers with all 7 seasons back to back on ROMEDY NOW starting 4th Sept 7 pm Monday-Friday.” –Gilmore Girls is known for its fast-paced dialogues with lot of pop-culture references.

     

    Revolving around Lorelai, the show is about the protective mother who doesn’t want her daughter Rory to follow her footsteps and make mistakes she herself made. That may be easier said than done, considering that the two share the same interests, the same intellect, the same coffee addiction!

     

    The show begins with sharing story of Lorelai, who was a teenager when she became pregnant and made the tough decision to raise the child alone. The defiant move caused a rift between her and her aristocratic parents Emily (Bishop) and Richard (Herrmann). However, the destiny had other plans. Lorelai, who later found herself in desperate need of money for her daughter Rory’s education, was forced to reconcile with her parents.

     

    Going forward, the comedy drama unfolds as audiences realize that the tendencies of the mother and daughter, especially in case of love, prove that Rory is her mother’s daughter. To know what happens next, tune in to Romedy Now on 4 September.

     

    Gilmore Girls was bestowed with the Viewers for Quality Television Award and was named ‘New Program of the Year’ by the Television Critics Association. Lauren Graham, the main star of the series, was nominated for ‘Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series’ and received two consecutive nominations for ‘Outstanding Performance’ by a Female Actor in a drama series from the Screen Actors Guild.

     

    Meanwhile, another star of the series Alexis Bledel has won a Young Artist Award and a Family Television Award for the show. 

  • Romedy Now to premiere ‘Jane The Virgin’ TV series

    Romedy Now to premiere ‘Jane The Virgin’ TV series

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s English general entertainment channel Romedy Now will be premiering the American romantic comedy-drama television series Jane the Virgin in India.

     

    Times Network senior vice president and head of English Entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava said, “I am happy that our endeavor to bring in the latest and best in English TV series is being successful for the viewing delight of our audiences. Romedy Now will be premiering this hit and award winning CBS show on 5 August, 2015. It is an ongoing series in the US. This will be an India TV premiere. Jane the Virgin is a 1 hour comedy-drama format.”

     

    Jane the Virgin debuted in the US on 13 October, 2014. The series is created by Jennie Snyder Urman and is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan telenovela series created by Perla Farias, originally known as Juana La Virgen. In this TV series, Gina Rodriguez stars in the title role of Jane Villanueva, a religious young working Latina virgin woman, who becomes pregnant after being artificially inseminated by mistake by her gynecologist, an event that sends shockwaves through the lives of Jane and everyone around her. 

     

    Set in the Alpha-World city of Miami, located on the Atlantic coast of beautiful Southeastern Florida, the series details the surprising and unforeseen events that take place in the life of Jane Villanueva, whose family tradition and a vow to save her virginity until her marriage to a detective are shattered when the doctor mistakenly inseminates her artificially during a checkup. To make matters worse, the biological donor is a married man, a former playboy and cancer survivor who is not only the new owner of the hotel where Jane works, but was also her former teenage crush.

     

    Jane the Virgin has received critical acclaim since its premiere. Rodriguez won the award for the Best Actress in a Television series – Musical or Comedy, at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards honoring the best in American film and television industry produced during 2014 on 11 January, 2015, while the show was nominated for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and was also nominated for the Critics’ Choice Award. The series has won the People’s Choice Award for the Favorite new TV comedy.

  • ‘Chef’ to premiere on Romedy Now

    ‘Chef’ to premiere on Romedy Now

    MUMBAI: One of the popular films of 2014, the multi-starrer feel-good comedy-drama Chef, will premiere on Romedy Now on 26 July.

     

    To involve and engage English movie loving audiences to the fullest, Romedy Now is organizing a multi-city contest, Romedy Trail, across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore, where teams consisting of three members each will set off for the most famous and iconic restaurants in their respective cities. 

     

    Participants can choose their own route for the trail. The winners stand a chance to win exciting prizes including an iPad. The Romedy Trail conversation can be followed on Twitter @Romedynow on 18 July.

     

    The channel will also be hosting Chef-viewing parties at the contest-hosting restaurants across the three metros where viewers can enjoy a special meal inspired from the movie while watching the film.

     

    Romedy Now also hosted a contest on Chef’s Week, where participants had to replace movie names with gourmet food (for e.g. Sarah Marshmallow). Three winners across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore won a meal for two at a 5-star restaurant.

     

    Times Network English Entertainment Cluster VP marketing Anup Vishwanathan said, “For Chef, which is a great family-fun film set around the love for food, we have created a very special Romedy Trail contest that takes Chef and Romedy Now’s awareness into iconic food hotspots in three cities. Romedy Now is promoting the premiere across multiple platforms to ensure greater amplification.”

     

    Romedy Now has also partnered with The Lalit Food truck in Delhi & Bangalore, Eggjactly in Gurgaon & Cafe Coffee Day outlets across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore for ‘Chef inspired meals’.

  • Romedy Now creates groovy jingle for ‘Despicable Me’

    Romedy Now creates groovy jingle for ‘Despicable Me’

    MUMBAI: In order to stand out in today’s cluttered television environment, more and more channels are going that extra mile to promote movies and premieres with various innovations.

     

    While recently Farhan Akhtar and Vishal Dadlani came together to produce a music video for the television premiere of X-Men: Days of the Future Past on Star Movies, this time round Times Network’s English entertainment channel Romedy Now has done something different for the telecast of Despicable Me.

     

    The channel has created a catchy promo titled Bo-Bo-Bomedy inspired by the original Banana song to promote Despicable Me, which is the Romedy of the Month. The funky song invites viewers to watch the ever-lovable minions.

     

    Despicable Me is the story of Gru – a super villain who adopts three girls from an orphanage and Vector, a rival who steals the Great Pyramid of Giza. When Gru learns of Vector’s heist, he plans an even greater heist to shrink and steal the Earth’s moon.

     

    The special 40-second promo, Bo-Bo-Bomedy features the minions in their true characteristics as seen dancing with three daughters.

  • Romedy Now set to add love and laughter with ‘Mike & Molly’

    Romedy Now set to add love and laughter with ‘Mike & Molly’

    MUMBAI: It is believed a day without laughter is a day wasted, Romedy Now – India’s exclusive destination for love and laughter presents the much-loved and highly acclaimed American situational comedy series Mike & Molly. Starting 28 April 2015, the series will air Monday – Friday at 8:30pm.

     

    Life is certainly even more fun if one has the ability to laugh at ourselves. Moving aside from the stereotypes, Mike & Molly offers to its viewers an unusual treat to the eyes with plus-sized Love and XL sized laughter.

     

    Mike & Molly, comes with some of the best comic actors on television in its regular ensemble, starring Melissa McCarthy, Swoosie Kurtz, and Billy Gardell.

     

    Mike (a Chicago police officer) happens to meet a fourth-grade teacher Molly, while he is speaking at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and they fall in love, thanks in part to their mutual love of pie and the desire to resist it. What follows is their quest to lose weight. Molly gets a challenge from her slender sister and mother and also Mike. But having found each other, they will support each other as they try to achieve their goals, be it weight loss or Molly’s decision to quit teaching and pursue her dream as a writer.

     

    The irresistible series is sure to be a stressbuster after a tiring and an eventful day at work. Get ready to end your day with laughter each evening from 28 April with Mike & Molly.

     

    Having attracted millions of viewers worldwide, Mike & Molly has also won many awards including People’s Choice and Primetime Emmy. 

  • Chrome Data: English Entertainment channel genre sees growth in OTS

    Chrome Data: English Entertainment channel genre sees growth in OTS

    MUMBAI: Week 15 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media, observed a spike in English Entertainment channels genre in the eight metros. With 1.1 per cent growth, the genre was topped by Comedy Central with 52.5 per cent OTS.

     

    This was followed by the Business News channels genre in the eight metros with 0.9 per cent growth and CNBC Awaaz led the category with 76.9 per cent OTS. Infotainment genre too witnessed a hike in all India with Discovery at number one spot with 82.1 per cent OTS.

     

    English News channels genre in the eight metros saw a growth of 0.4 per cent. Times Now topped the space with 73.7 per cent OTS.

     

    Talking about the losers this week, English Movies in the eight genre dropped by 1.4 per cent with Romedy Now being affected the most with 62.4 per cent OTS. 

     

    Hindi News in the Hindi Speaking Markets (HSM) observed a drop of 0.8 per cent. ABP News topped the category with 94.8 per cent OTS.

     

    Next in the list was Sports in all India, which saw a dip of 0.6 per cent. Last but not the least, Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) in the HSM markets dropped by 0.2 per cent. Star Plus was affected the most with 96.9 per cent OTS.

  • Boom time for HD channels in India

    Boom time for HD channels in India

    The High Definition (HD) TV channels landscape is rapidly expanding in India. Amongst the various genres available today, the English general entertainment and movie channels genre is still a fragmented space and networks in their quest to stand apart from the nearest ranking rival, rely excessively upon content, marketing and a host of options among others.

     

    While not much is achieved in the process, the game of throne continues as networks try to outdo one another. A potent yet common weapon that networks are now heavily relying on is by launching HD channels.

     

    What is augmenting well for these networks is the demand by consumers for content that is best experienced in high definition. Since almost all the content in the English category is produced internationally, it makes sense in delivering it to consumers in HD only so that production values receive their due credit and viewers experience it at its best. This hunger for HD has very well transcended into networks now launching or sensing business opportunities by launching new HD channels. In some cases, an HD feed has been introduced to complement the existing Standard Definition (SD) feed. Digitisation will only ensure that the consumption of high definition shoots up further.

     

    Networks and their HD channels

     

    Star India will soon be launching two new HD English general entertainment channels (GECs). Its soon to be launched channel, Star Movies HD Select for a span of one year (365 days) has a content library of 365 movies – one for each day. About 50 per cent of the content comprises award winning Oscars and Golden Globes titles. To name a few, the channel has The Fault In Our Stars, Birdman and The Theory of Everything in its kitty.

     

    Star will also launch another new channel Star FX HD to compliment the SD feed of FX. The content of FX currently comprises Madmen, Seinfeld and the animated series Family Guy. Other HD channels from the network include Star World Premiere HD, Star World HD and Star Movies HD in addition to eight other HD channels in various genres like sports and Hindi movie and GEC.

     

    Multi Screen Media (MSM) is not far behind. With channels such as Pix, Pix HD and AXN, it is a strong player in the English movie and GEC space. On 6 April this year, the network sensed an opportunity by launching AXN HD to go along with the SD feed. For the man behind the launch, Pix and AXN EVP and business head Saurabh Yagnik the onset of digitisation and a strong audience base spending more time on special interest channels, made sense for the launch of the new feed. “While the shows will be same on the two channels, we will be tweaking some of the content for the HD feed. We could also have certain exclusive content for the HD feed in the future,” Yagnik had earlier told Indiantelevision.com. MSM also has two HD channels in the Hindi GEC and sports category.

     

    On the other hand, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (Zeel) is also looking at strengthening its HD portfolio. The network will soon launch a new HD channel in the English GEC space called Zee Cafe HD to compliment its SD feed. Besides this, Zeel has five other HD channels in its channel portfolio. The content on Zee Café currently comprises shows such as Two and a Half Men, Desperate Housewives and Secrets and Lies amongst others.

     

    Times Network, which operates channels like Movies Now and Romedy Now is another mighty contender. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com earlier, Times Network senior vice president and English entertainment cluster head Vivek Srivastava had said that its new channel, Movies Now+ was the HD version of the SD feed but it did have some differentiating content from the SD feed. It simulcast movies on both feeds such as The Wolf Of Wall Street, which is going to be showcased on 26 April 2015.

     

    The increasing growth of premium ad free channels such as HBO Hits and HBO Defined too have resulted in aiding subscription revenues for the English entertainment genre. Strong and popular content such as Game of Thrones today is synonymous with the HBO network.

     

    Growth of HD Channels in India

     

    From the meagre three HD pay TV channels in 2010, the number has shot up to 34 in 2014, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) 2013-2014 annual report. The number jumped to 22, 31 and 33 for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. With impending launches of English movie and GEC channels this year, this number is only going to be on the rise going forward.

     

    The DTH factor

     

    Value Added Services (VAS) and HD channel penetration are strong revenue generators for Direct to Home (DTH) operators. Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera was quoted in the FICCI-KPMG report for 2015 as saying, “The boom in the panel TV industry has been a key growth in HD channel viewership. The viewers are ready to pay a premium price for HD channels. With the right pricing and packaging for these channels, HD channels can achieve faster penetration.” 

     

    As per the report, there are four million HD subscribers, which account for 10 per cent of all DTH subscribers, whereas 15 to 20 per cent of incremental subscribers in 2014 were HD subscribers. “HD adoption continues to drive ARPU growth for DTH players with the average ARPU of HD subscriber at 1.5 to 2X the ARPU of a non HD subscriber,” states the report.

     

    Conclusion

     

    Premium HD channels recorded a ten-fold top line growth with DTH accounting for over 95 per cent of the premium channel subscriber base according to the 2015 FICCI KPMG report. The success of HD viewing thus, is not just a mighty boon in for broadcasters alone, (where the Ad Ex share for the space in 2014 was at 4.6 per cent) but also for DTH operators. 

     

    As panel TV sales figures were expected to touch approximately eight million units in 2014, of which 55 per cent was expected to have been HD panel TVs, the rise is only going to be vertical in the coming years. With the share of HD and 4K TV sales expected to contribute to over 80 per cent by 2019, broadcasters’ key agenda will definitely be upping their HD channels offering. Moreover, the fact that DTH operators are more than happy to increase their HD bouquet, the growth story for HD viewing and consumption in India has only just begun.

  • MK Anand upbeat about Times Network’s revamp

    MK Anand upbeat about Times Network’s revamp

    GOA: Times Television Network has revamped itself as Times Network with a new tagline – ‘Now or Nothing’ and a new logo. The new logo will sport a pyramid with a red dot on the top.

     

    It may be recalled that Indiantelevision.com was the first to report about Times Network’s re-branding plans.  

     

    The network has five different channels under it, which were launched in different period of times. Of the five channels, apart from ZoOm all the other channels end with Now – Times Now, Romedy Now, Movies Now, and ET Now. “That’s where the ‘Now or Nothing’ tagline comes from,” informs Times Networks CEO and managing director M K Anand.

     

    “We have strong branches but the trunk needs to be strengthened and the revamp is to ensure that. Moreover, we don’t want to restrict ourselves as a television network only. Hence we decided to break a few boundaries and expand. Our new logo is a pyramid, which signifies the population of the country and the red tip on the top is our target audience. This will ensure that everyone in the network will have the same corporate identity. All the brands should complement and respect each other in the network. ‘Now or Nothing’ is a credo that we have been following since inception. It’s just that we made it a network motto,” Anand says.

     

    Every revamp comes after detailed research and analysis and has the ability to impact and change consumer behaviour and consumption patterns. When queried about this, Anand tells Indiantelevision.com, “Firstly, the change of the network’s logo won’t leave an impact on the channel’s creatives. Here the consumers are trade, advertisers, DTH companies and MSOs and not the viewers. The most important consumer of this revamp are our 1000+ employees, who now know that they are no longer an employee of a particular channel, team or floor but a member of the entire network.”

     

    Anand goes on to say that Times Network would soon be launching the Times Now app, which will have both broadcast content and fresh content. “This is a serious attempt from our side to establish ourselves on the digital platform. In three months’ time, we are planning to launch the app with an aim to be a leader in that fraternity too,” adds Anand.

     

    A presence on the digital platform with apps has almost become mandatory for most networks. However, the revenue model for these avenues remains a challenge. “How much ever we might want to adopt a subscription model for our digital platforms, it is currently not possible due to technical deficiencies and consumer behaviour. Hence we will follow the advertising revenue model,” asserts Anand.

     

    Times of India already has an app, which offers news updates. Now with the launch of the Times Now app, will the two compete with each other? To this, Anand says, “Yes we will and there is no problem in that. Our app will have more videos but yes we will also provide news and if that means competing with the Times of India app, we will.”

     

    Speaking about BARC’s roll-out of television ratings data by the end of April, which also means the end of TAM’s tenure, Anand says, “The statistics won’t have much of an impact, nor will it turn out to be a game changer. Instead of one, now the other will conduct the survey. Having said that, I was initially concerned about structural changes and new figures that would be rolled out by BARC. However, it has now been cleared that the structure will be the same but the sample size has definitely increased. I don’t think we will see a ‘ratings dark’ period. Not receiving ratings for a week or two is not likely to leave too much of an impact.”

     

  • Romedy Now launches new properties in April

    Romedy Now launches new properties in April

    MUMBAI: Romedy Now will be showcasing a host of new movies and series this April.

     

    In addition to an existing line-up of series such as F.R.I.E.N.D.S., Dharma and Greg and The Middle among others, the channel has now launched a new series called – Cristela. For the first time on television, the series will air from Monday to Friday at 7 pm on Romedy Now.

     

    ‘Romedy at First Sight’ this month includes a line-up of popular movies like Les Miserables, Rachel Getting Married, Julie & Julia and Blue Crush 2. To make the Saturdays special Everlasting Romedies this month will be featuring titles like The Lake House, City of Angels, and Notting Hill, scheduled at 7 pm.

     

     The Romedy of the month movie is Definitely, Maybe, which will air on 25 April, 2015 at 9 pm. This twisted narration of a love story is directed by Adam Brooks.

     

    The channel will also launch a special property for women – Sweet Nothings – to let them reflect and enjoy their time with hits like – Juno, Notting Hill, Leap Year, Heartbreaker, Ever After Cinderella Story and PS I Love You, scheduled Monday – Friday at 1 pm.

     

     To end the month, the channel will add another series to their line-up – Mike and Molly. A series where love and laughter comes in various shapes and sizes and doesn’t see any limitations to it. The series is scheduled to air on the channel from 27 April Monday – Friday at 8:30 pm.