Tag: SAB

  • Reliance Big DTH to take FTA route under new management?

    Reliance Big DTH to take FTA route under new management?

    MUMBAI:  Is another free-to-air (FTA) DTH operator pawing to take off in India? If the statements made by the Pantel Technologies (the company that took over the ailing Reliance Big DTH) management in media releases are to be believed, then the answer is in the affirmative.

    Yesterday, Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network and Pantel Technologies announced through a release on the Bombay Stock Exchange that the companies had arrived at an understanding to jointly create a bouquet of over 20 FTA channels comprising diverse genres, such as entertainment, kids, infotainment, mythological, and movies.

    The release further stated that “the varied product offering will strengthen the business of Reliance Big TV (RBTV) and will give a leg up to the largest FTA network in India. FTA channels have shown an upsurge with all the leading broadcasters showing a keen interest in the FTA product offering.”

    Pantel Technologies CMD Vijendra Singh was quoted in the release as saying: “Our main aim is to develop the entertainment appetite of the rural market and create an alternative India. With our coalition with Sab Group, we will bring together our technological proficiency and their content expertise thereby enabling us to provide good content for rural India, which is what we are committed to for their upliftment.”

    Pantel had acquired the entire shareholding of RBTV with the business on an “as-is, where-is” basis. The transaction ensured that all 1.2 million customers of Big TV would continue to enjoy uninterrupted services, the company said in a statement. The deal also ensured continuity of employment for about 500 employees of RBTV.

    Attempts to connect with SAB group managing director Markand Adhikari and Singh were not successful.

    However, if Indiantelevision.com’s interpretation of the announcement today is correct, then it should prove encouraging for private broadcasters. The  Prasar Bharti-owned FTA service FreeDish has been an unmitigated success but its future looks in doubt with conflicting reports appearing about whether the powers that be want to continue providing the slots to private players. According to sources in the public sector Prasar Bharti, minister of information and broadcasting Smriti Irani has put a full stop to the e-auction process as the government wants to populate the FreeDish platform with its own channels.

    Also Read:  Veecon Media acquires Reliance Big TV

    Sab Group, Pantel Tech join hands to launch over 20 FTA channels

    Reliance launches JioTV for web

  • SAB realigns Dhanda’s position as TV Vision CEO

    SAB realigns Dhanda’s position as TV Vision CEO

    MUMBAI: Sri Adhikari Brothers (SAB group) has realigned the position of Manav Dhanda as the CEO of company’s broadcasting business arm — TV Vision Ltd. 

    The development came after the recent board meeting of SAB group held on the 22 August, 2017 where it was noted, realignment of office of Dhanda as the CEO w.e.f from 31 August 2017, from Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Limited (SABTN) to its core business arm TV Vision Ltd.

    Dhanda, since his appointment, has managed to create and grow an umbrella brand SAB group and has actively been overseeing its subsidiaries and its businesses in the capacity as the company’s CEO. 

    In the larger interest of its stakeholders, he has now been entrusted with a greater responsibility to build and strengthen the core business — TV Vision.

    In addition to the above development, the board also appointed him as the additional non-executive director of SAB events and Governance Now Media Ltd, under the umbrella brand of SAB group.

    Simultaneously, Rakesh G. Jain has been appointed as the additional (Independent) director of SABTN.

    SAB group vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari stated, “Manav has helped create a brand SAB group and contributed enormously to its growth. With our vision to expand and strengthen our broadcasting arm, we would want him to lead the broadcast business of the group i.e. TV Vision. This move has been attributed to formalise processes.”

    Also Read:

    Large Networks lead regional channels, programme ratings in weeks 1 to 8 of 2017

    SAB’s Happii-Fi to target multiple genres, gets 3m views online

  • Zee tops TRA Research’s most attractive 2016  TV media brands list

    Zee tops TRA Research’s most attractive 2016 TV media brands list

    MUMBAI: Which are the most attractive TV media brands? Zee TV tops, while MTV is at No 2, and Star Plus, surprisingly is at third spot. Aaj Tak, NDTV, Colors, SAB, Zee News, ABP News, India TV are the rest in the Top in that specific order.

    At least that’s the finding of brand intelligence and data insights company, TRA Research, a part of the Comniscient Group, Most Attractive Brands 2016 report.

    For Punit Goenka and team Zee there’s many reasons to celebrate. Brand Zee TV has risen 116 places to 93 in the overall list of India’s most attractive brands (as compared to the 2015 ranking), while it ranks number 1 in the Hindi GEC category. Star Plus too has improved drastically by 163 places to rank at 110. But it is placed at No 2 in the Hindi GEC category. Colors which dropped 37 places to rank at 349 overall, is at the third spot in the GEC category.

    What’s surprising is that the mired in controversy NDTV has ranked No1 in the most attractive channel cluster category with the Zee Network coming in at No 2 and TV9 at No 3.

    Aaj Tak is numero uno in Hindi news, while Zee News ranks second and ABP News is a third spot.

    BBC has proved to be the most attractive international news TV brand for 2016, followed by CNN and NBC.

    Amongst kids channels, Disney Channel has taken pole position.

    This year, LG has unseated Samsung from the top spot and the smartphone maker has slipped to the third rank. LG is followed by Sony in the top 20.

    “The survey was conducted in 16 cities across India,” said TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli.

    Patanjali has emerged right on top in the fast moving consumer coods (FMCG) – diversified sub-category. In the FMCG sector, Baba Ramdev’s brand stands at 12, whereas in the overall rankings, it has taken the lead in the chart by 284 ranks to 87th as compared to last year’s 371.

    Amazon’s aggressive growth over the past year or so has seen it go past popular search engine Google to claim the top spot. In the overall attractive brands chart, Amazon has entered the top 100 club at 96th rank, while Google trails it at 102nd rank. Indian e-commerce portal Flipkart is far behind at 125th, but up from previous year’s 346.

  • Zee tops TRA Research’s most attractive 2016  TV media brands list

    Zee tops TRA Research’s most attractive 2016 TV media brands list

    MUMBAI: Which are the most attractive TV media brands? Zee TV tops, while MTV is at No 2, and Star Plus, surprisingly is at third spot. Aaj Tak, NDTV, Colors, SAB, Zee News, ABP News, India TV are the rest in the Top in that specific order.

    At least that’s the finding of brand intelligence and data insights company, TRA Research, a part of the Comniscient Group, Most Attractive Brands 2016 report.

    For Punit Goenka and team Zee there’s many reasons to celebrate. Brand Zee TV has risen 116 places to 93 in the overall list of India’s most attractive brands (as compared to the 2015 ranking), while it ranks number 1 in the Hindi GEC category. Star Plus too has improved drastically by 163 places to rank at 110. But it is placed at No 2 in the Hindi GEC category. Colors which dropped 37 places to rank at 349 overall, is at the third spot in the GEC category.

    What’s surprising is that the mired in controversy NDTV has ranked No1 in the most attractive channel cluster category with the Zee Network coming in at No 2 and TV9 at No 3.

    Aaj Tak is numero uno in Hindi news, while Zee News ranks second and ABP News is a third spot.

    BBC has proved to be the most attractive international news TV brand for 2016, followed by CNN and NBC.

    Amongst kids channels, Disney Channel has taken pole position.

    This year, LG has unseated Samsung from the top spot and the smartphone maker has slipped to the third rank. LG is followed by Sony in the top 20.

    “The survey was conducted in 16 cities across India,” said TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli.

    Patanjali has emerged right on top in the fast moving consumer coods (FMCG) – diversified sub-category. In the FMCG sector, Baba Ramdev’s brand stands at 12, whereas in the overall rankings, it has taken the lead in the chart by 284 ranks to 87th as compared to last year’s 371.

    Amazon’s aggressive growth over the past year or so has seen it go past popular search engine Google to claim the top spot. In the overall attractive brands chart, Amazon has entered the top 100 club at 96th rank, while Google trails it at 102nd rank. Indian e-commerce portal Flipkart is far behind at 125th, but up from previous year’s 346.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • How to get your story on screen?

    How to get your story on screen?

    MUMBAI: The key to survival in the cut-throat world of television programming is creativity and conviction. At a time when writers and good ones at that, are available nineteen to a dozen, television channels are picky-choosy about the scripts and scriptwriting talent that they hire. In such a scenario, many a scriptwriters with fire in their belly and the desire to be successful are left with no choice but to taken the route of becoming a producer by roping in investors.

    With a focus on how new age writers also have to don the hat of a producer not out of choice but out of compulsion, The Content Hub 2016’s session ‘The Age of Creative Producers’ set the ball rolling by focussing on issues of show-runners, C driving creativity as well as writers and directors turning producers.

    The session was attended by writers, producers, directors and broadcasters alike from the television industry. The session was chaired by Bodhi Tree Multimedia co-owner Sukesh Motwani and the panellists included Neela Telefilms owner Asit Modi, The House of Originals director Nivedita Basu, Sony SAB programming head Saeed Akhtar and Swastik Pictures founder Siddharth Tewary.

    Shedding light on the issue of writers and directors becoming producers, Tewary said, “Writers have no other option than to become producers because many a times, production houses don’t agree to produce their stories. So writers are left with no choice but to manage their funds and produce it on their own.”

    Basu opined, “The concept of writers and directors collaborating with production houses is nothing new. It already existed in the industry. Moreover, the collaboration between writer and production house as well as between the production house and channel has become a key factor.”

    For the smooth shooting for any television show, a ‘show-runner’ is a must. The show-runner is responsible for the show’s creative and financial aspects and also looks after the overall creative authority and management responsibility for television programs. Emphasising the importance of having an able ‘show-runner’ to helm the television show, Basu added, “Nowadays having a good concept is nothing. It’s all about how you build the characters. It is good to have a very experienced person as a show-runner by a channel.”

    Elaborating on the concept of show-runner, Modi opined, “It is important to have somebody who has knowledge about all aspects of creation rather than writing. Thus it is important to have a show-runner who has a better idea, vision and understanding about what the audience wants.”

    Broadcasters play a pivotal role in getting the content out on television and highlighting the criteria that broadcasters look for while choosing a show, Sony SAB programming head Saeed Akhtar opined, “An individual should have a vision on what they are creating. Today, a lot of shows on television are infinite, and thus it is very important to have a vision about the show as for broadcasters, the show is a product, which they need to sell to advertisers as well as the viewers. One should choose the right person internally to drive a particular kind of brand and maintain brand hygiene. If the channel identifies a person who has the capability to drive a particular idea into a good show and everyone’s conviction is on that show, then broadcasters helps in creating an ecosystem so that the essence of the core idea always stays.”

  • How to get your story on screen?

    How to get your story on screen?

    MUMBAI: The key to survival in the cut-throat world of television programming is creativity and conviction. At a time when writers and good ones at that, are available nineteen to a dozen, television channels are picky-choosy about the scripts and scriptwriting talent that they hire. In such a scenario, many a scriptwriters with fire in their belly and the desire to be successful are left with no choice but to taken the route of becoming a producer by roping in investors.

    With a focus on how new age writers also have to don the hat of a producer not out of choice but out of compulsion, The Content Hub 2016’s session ‘The Age of Creative Producers’ set the ball rolling by focussing on issues of show-runners, C driving creativity as well as writers and directors turning producers.

    The session was attended by writers, producers, directors and broadcasters alike from the television industry. The session was chaired by Bodhi Tree Multimedia co-owner Sukesh Motwani and the panellists included Neela Telefilms owner Asit Modi, The House of Originals director Nivedita Basu, Sony SAB programming head Saeed Akhtar and Swastik Pictures founder Siddharth Tewary.

    Shedding light on the issue of writers and directors becoming producers, Tewary said, “Writers have no other option than to become producers because many a times, production houses don’t agree to produce their stories. So writers are left with no choice but to manage their funds and produce it on their own.”

    Basu opined, “The concept of writers and directors collaborating with production houses is nothing new. It already existed in the industry. Moreover, the collaboration between writer and production house as well as between the production house and channel has become a key factor.”

    For the smooth shooting for any television show, a ‘show-runner’ is a must. The show-runner is responsible for the show’s creative and financial aspects and also looks after the overall creative authority and management responsibility for television programs. Emphasising the importance of having an able ‘show-runner’ to helm the television show, Basu added, “Nowadays having a good concept is nothing. It’s all about how you build the characters. It is good to have a very experienced person as a show-runner by a channel.”

    Elaborating on the concept of show-runner, Modi opined, “It is important to have somebody who has knowledge about all aspects of creation rather than writing. Thus it is important to have a show-runner who has a better idea, vision and understanding about what the audience wants.”

    Broadcasters play a pivotal role in getting the content out on television and highlighting the criteria that broadcasters look for while choosing a show, Sony SAB programming head Saeed Akhtar opined, “An individual should have a vision on what they are creating. Today, a lot of shows on television are infinite, and thus it is very important to have a vision about the show as for broadcasters, the show is a product, which they need to sell to advertisers as well as the viewers. One should choose the right person internally to drive a particular kind of brand and maintain brand hygiene. If the channel identifies a person who has the capability to drive a particular idea into a good show and everyone’s conviction is on that show, then broadcasters helps in creating an ecosystem so that the essence of the core idea always stays.”

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

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

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

     

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

  • Multi Screen Media rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks

    Multi Screen Media rebrands as Sony Pictures Networks

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

     

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

     

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

     

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