ITV

Tag: Sameer Ganapathy

  • Disney looks to exploit ‘Arjun’ across platforms; launches merchandise, mobile game

    Disney looks to exploit ‘Arjun’ across platforms; launches merchandise, mobile game

    MUMBAI: Eyeing a bigger share of the merchandising and gaming pie, Disney India has now expanded its product offering by launching a mobile game and merchandise for its television series Arjun: Prince of Bali.

    Launched about three weeks back, Disney’s first local animation property Arjun: The Prince of Bali, developed in association with Green Gold Animation has tasted success in its first series and is back again to engage kids through a new range of merchandise and a game inspired by the show.

    While in the first season of the show, one episode a week was aired, the second season will have two new episodes, which will air every Thursday and Friday at 3 pm.

    Speaking about the same, Disney India VP and head content and communication media networks Vijay Subramaniam said, “Disney Channel in India tells uniquely tailored stories through great characters. The first season of Arjun gained immense popularity amongst our young viewers and we saw the potential to give them more opportunities to enjoy the story while continuing to entertain with the second season on the channel. Arjun inspired merchandise and a game will provide kids with a stronger and deeper engagement with their favourite local stories.”

    Green Gold Animation founder and managing director Rajiv Chilaka added, “The audience has always got to see the princess in all Disney movies and series and probably for the first time the Indian audience will witness the Prince of Disney. It is a flamboyant character and we intend to showcase a lot of comedy, action and adventure with this show.”

    The show’s second series continues to narrate the story of Prince Arjun of Bali and will focus on his coming of age journey as he now matures into a valiant prince while continuing to master newer techniques and strategies of warfare. The new series also explores the relationships with his friends and family and brings to light the jovial and lively side to the warrior prince.

    The runner game around the show is set in the kingdom of Bali and is developed by Disney India’s Interactive division, Indiagames. The mobile game has features like weapon upgrades to make characters stronger as the levels progress.

    “With an interesting storyline, beautiful landscapes and popular local characters, the Arjun series makes for an interesting game play. By integrating elements from the show and building on the character traits in the game, we were looking at giving fans an opportunity to interact with Arjun and his friends beyond the show and create an all immersive gaming experience for them,” said Disney India VP and head interactive Sameer Ganapathy.

    The consumer products around the show will be extended across a range of products from toys, back to school merchandise, apparel to stationery. Toys also include figurines, bow and arrow set and more. In addition to this, plans are also afoot to develop school supplies such as school bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, note-books and home decor with bed sheet sets, cushions and mugs.

    With 26 episodes of 22 minutes each, the series will go on for 13 weeks. Post that, Disney Channel will either add more episodes or bring in the show’s next season.

    Speaking about the launch of merchandise, Disney India VP and head consumer products Abhishek Maheshwari said, “Kids today adore local animation and want to own a piece of their favourite character on their everyday products. The popularity of the Arjun series and the appeal of its characters amongst kids have inspired an entire range of interesting consumer products. Each character possesses a unique characteristic which can be leveraged very well across categories.”

    When queried about launching the merchandising at this stage of the local animation series, Ganapathy said, “The success of the first series made us come up with merchandising and a mobile app. Another reason is that we wanted to engage kids in as many ways as possible, so after the show they can get along with the game and engage with us.”

    “The IP holds a lot of potential and that is the reason why we got into merchandising and a mobile game at this stage of our local animation. Disney’s strategy has always been to cater to multiple platforms and that’s what we want to do with Arjun as well,” Maheshwari added.

    Currently, the app has a sizable number of downloads on the Google Play Store. The app will also be made available on the Windows and iOS platform soon.

  • Disney India launches official video game for ICC Cricket World Cup

    Disney India launches official video game for ICC Cricket World Cup

    MUMBAI: Disney India’s Interactive business has launched the official game of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 titled ‘ICC Pro Cricket 2015’ for PCs, with cut down versions for smartphones and DTH platforms, which will give users around the world a taste of the real world of Cricket. The highly immersive game was launched at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) with renowned names from the world of cricket – Brett Lee and Harsha Bhogle.

     

    Disney India managing director Siddharth Roy Kapur commented, “Globally, Disney is defined by innovation. We have always believed in leveraging technology to enhance the entertainment experience for consumers and we reflect this sentiment in all the products we develop in Disney India. The Interactive business of Disney India has produced an incredible game which sets the benchmark for cricket-based games globally. Cricket is amongst one of the most popular sports not just in India but across the world, and the ICC Cricket World Cup is the biggest possible celebration of the sport. We appreciate the support we have received from the ICC to be able to present this world-class game to Cricket fans on the occasion of the World Cup 2015!”

     

    “We are set out to build cricket as a franchise in the world of gaming. Our latest offering — ICC Pro Cricket 2015, a real cricket simulation game with high quality gameplay and superior visual experience to our global audiences is just the beginning of our journey. This will be the best in cricket games, bringing our consumers as close to a real on-ground cricket experience as possible, thus elevating the overall gameplay. We hope cricket lovers enjoy playing this game as much as they enjoy the ICC Cricket World Cup,” said Disney India vice president   Sameer Ganapathy.

     

    Cricketer Brett Lee opined, “It’s a great honour to launch this video game in conjunction with the ICC and Disney India. The graphics are incredible and I love the fact that this game can be played on not just your PC, but on your phone as well. I’m sure lots of people will be hitting their own sixes and taking the prized wicket of David Warner with this game.”

     

    Now with its latest offering – ICC Pro Cricket 2015, Indiagames has developed an “as close to real” simulation gaming experiences of its kind. It is a cricket fan’s delight – equipped with two gameplay cameras and over 25 in-game camera angles, the action never stops! The game is packed with a super immersive gameplay, stunning graphics and multiple play modes making the gameplay experience as close to the real game on-ground as possible, for PC, mobile and DTH users. In the game, users can earn, trade and collect players to create their own fantasy team and can put their best foot forward against the world’s best players. The gamers also have the opportunity to play with 14 official ICC World Cup 2015 teams from the tournament with real players like MS Dhoni, Michael Clarke, James Anderson and others.

     

    ICC Pro Cricket 2015 will be available on PCs and mobile phones (on iOS and Android) across India and other select international markets closer to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. PC users can download the game from www.procricket2015.com for a flat cost of $ 9.99, while DTH players can access this game through Dish TV and Airtel. For smartphones, it is a freemium game which will allow users to download the game for free.

  • Vodafone and Disney India collaborate for a gaming portal

    Vodafone and Disney India collaborate for a gaming portal

    MUMBAI: One of the leading telecom operators in India – Vodafone – is certainly looking to up its ante in terms of giving its subscribers the best in value added services.

     

    Vodafone India recently teamed up with Disney India’s Interactive business, to launch Vodafone Games & Apps. The announcement comes soon after the launch of Vodafone Music and Vodafone Sports by the company.

     

    “Vodafone believes that for data services to grow and get massive adoption, there needs to be a concerted effort to provide users a curated content experience for the popular categories like sports, gaming and  music among others,” explains Vodafone India chief commercial officer Vivek Mathur. “Vodafone is able to bring together the best content in the mobile entertainment space and provide an offering unlike anyone else. We believe this unique offering will drive data consumption and hence the focus on the mobile content space.”

    Vodafone Games & Apps powered by Disney India’s Interactive business is aimed at offering the customers premium games and apps on both feature and smartphones. Through this association, Disney India will furnish the complete content catalogue along with the portal for this offering.

     

    “Our endeavour has always been to provide engaging games to existing and new users in India through multiple digital access points and in turn cultivate an active gaming culture in the country. Our association with Vodafone is a step forward in our strategic relationship with them and creates an additional destination for exciting games and apps for their users,” says Disney India VP & head – Interactive Sameer Ganapathy.

    Via the Vodafone Games & Apps portal, subscribers will gain access to well-known Disney games such as Where’s My Water?, Where’s My Mickey?, Where’s My Perry?, Toy Story : Smash It!, Brave and Chennai Express among others. There will also be Disney Utility Apps including Mickey Planner, Donald Photo booth, Goofy Weather and more.

     

    This is not the first such effort by a telco to distribute games as a service with subscription fee in India. Just earlier last month, Gameloft had entered into a similar deal with Idea to offer Java and Android games through its mobile website as part of Gameloft Club subscription. 

     

    Disney India (then DisneyUTV) and Electronic Arts had tied-up with Aircel to launch a new retail recharge card called ‘Aircel Pocket Internet Games’ in 2012. It was offering unlimited 2G data to those who subscribed to the plan that included over 1,500 games.

     

    These non-HD games are smaller in size so that even people with 2G connections can download them fast and offer similar gameplay as the original app sold via Google and Apple stores.

     

    Customers can avail Vodafone Games & Apps by visiting live.vodafone.in/games or sending a simple text message to 111. The HTML5 portal will apparently showcase the best content as per handset compatibility.

    The companies say Vodafone Games & Apps has support for all major platforms, namely Android, Java, Symbian and Blackberry.

     

    Having already forayed into music and sports (Star Sports), what encouraged Vodafone India to partner with Disney Interactive for gaming apps, Mathur expounds: “The response on music and sports services has been encouraging and we have seen healthy consumption of these services amongst our subscriber base. The gaming business is one of the largest drivers of revenue in the direct to consumer space and we believe that it has tremendous potential on our store as well. The TG is quite fluid and varied. We see all ages and genders play and download games and apps.”

    Vodafone Games & Apps also offers user ratings and reviews, along with smart recommendation. The portal is also offering loyalty points, where customers receive points for every rupee spent, which can be redeemed on further apps and games.

    If subscribers choose not to use credit cards to purchase the paid apps, carrier billing is available through the subscriber’s Vodafone account. Vodafone Games & Apps also features a ‘Try and Buy’ system, that lets customers sample content for free in two tries.

    Subscribers can also avail of special price plans on the Vodafone Games & Apps portal. These include the ‘All you can eat value plan’, and ‘Premium content plan’. The former will grant access to six different game bundles, priced at Rs. 20, Rs. 25, Rs. 30, Rs. 49, Rs. 99 and Rs. 150. The ‘Premium content plan’ gives access to the ‘latest games’ at Rs. 50.

     

    “We want to offer our customers the best gaming experience at various price points. Hence, we have various offers – Try and Buy, Free Games, Subscriptions, Full downloads and Value Packs,” reveals Mathur. “The user can sample the games on the free & try and buy model, then graduate into a value pack and then get initiated into subscriptions and full downloads as his gaming consumption and interest grows.”

     

    A premium game will generally be made available on a discounted pack only after two weeks of its launch. The portal will have content from the leading games publishers and not be limited to the Disney library, the telco reveals.

     

  • UTV Stars and bindass big on digital

    UTV Stars and bindass big on digital

    MUMBAI: If one could say that digital and youngsters go hand-in-hand, then it won’t be wrong considering the amount of time youngsters spend online.

    A look around would be proof enough – almost everyone is busy with their mobiles, tablets or laptops. Therefore, for a youth channel to have an online presence is as important as breathing!

    Disney-UTVnetwork which has two channels – bindass and UTV Stars – under its banner caters largely to youngsters. And the channels are making/taking full efforts to take these brands where the youth are.

    “A strong online presence across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and web destinations is a significant step in that direction… Our strategy is to provide our web users with constant updates on our programming and also create a platform for the youth to get together and enjoy content on Bollywood and youth oriented themes,” says Disney UTV’s COO – Digital Sameer Ganapathy.

    The number game

    Both channels – binadss and UTVStars – have a strong presence on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter wherein they try to give their audience something different from the rest. For example, when the IPL was on, unlike others who just give the score or the wickets which were available on all portals the channel gave its target audience behind-the-scenes insights on cricketer’s wives and how they were egging on and cheeringfor their spouses as they battled for India on the cricket pitch.

    Disney UTVs COO – Digital Sameer

    Ganapathy feels constant updates

    on the digital platforms will create

    traction among the youth

    Apart from that, the network gives importance to humorous content in its posts across genres such as technology, automobiles, Bollywood, travel, sports etc.

    On Facebook, bindass has over three million fans which lets them boast of being the most engaged youth entertainment (channels) on the social networking site in the country. As for, other networking sites, on twitter it has more than 6,600 followers and on YouTube (for which bindass creates original content) it has more than 64 million views with close to 90,000 subscribers.

    UTVStars which was launched around two years ago (Aug 2011) has 900,000 fans on Facebook, 20,000+ followers on twitter and 88 million views on YouTube with 96,000 subscribers who have access to all the shows and behind the scene videos.

    The channel’s digital team knows that all three platforms differ, but each is important in its own way as the objective it serves varies. Facebook and Twitter let them interact and engage with their fans. YouTube channels serve two purposes – the first as a destination for viewers to catch up on TV shows that might have been missed out on TV, and the second as to lure new audiences on the back of original content.

    Connecting with content

    UTV group CEO and founder chairman Ronnie Screwvala is normally known to quip: “I’m original, so I want original.” And the entire group has made that it’s mandate: hence, the initiative to create fresh original content online too. “80 per cent of the audience on YouTube is male. 

    Hence, we created a new destination for young men looking for the edge in the mating game – AXE Chickipedia, an entertaining webisodic original content series around a young guy and the funny situations he faces in the mating game! We took engagement and participation to a whole new level by giving viewers a chance to share their own mating game experiences, and the funniest ones became a Chickipedia episode. Eventually, 40 per cent of our 26 episodes were made from stories shared by our viewers themselves.” brags Sameer.

    Chickipedia has 2.1 million video views, with 60 per cent audience retention.

    Chickipedia’s success encouraged the team to come up with a new show MENtals. Launched earlier this year, it focuses on situations reqular girls in romantic relationships face – albeit with a humorous undertone.

    Music is one of the main categories which the channels focuses on.

    “Music is an important aspect of the lives of youth and particularly at bindass we have always maintained a compelling and healthy mix of shows and music. Following that philosophy, another unique proposition that we recently launched is bindass Jukebox”, says Sameer.

    The application combines the experience of Facebook with that of television viewing making it interactive. Through bindass Jukebox users are able to rank music by voting for their favorite songs listed and interact with other users as well.

    It gives users a chance to select their favourite song, dedicate the song to their friends and loved ones and most importantly watch their dedication message along with their profile image live on the channel. The playlist is created on the basis of users’ Facebook votes and is then played out on television within three hours from the time voting starts. This works well as it provides almost instant gratification to young folks, as it allows them to get peer recognition, especially when their profiles are seen on TV.

    Similarly, UTV Stars has Tia’s Request show. Users vote for their fav songs on the UTV stars Facebook page and this gets aired on the TV channel along with their dedications.

    Money matters

    When asked to explain the sources of revenue on the online platform, Sameer says, “With YouTube, monetisation occurs through run of network inventory that YouTube runs, sponsorships through show integrations as well as now with subscriptions. We are exploring subscriptions for our premium content while building audiences and viewership through ad-support both via run of network inventory monetisation as well as sponsorship integration.”

    As for Facebook and Twitter, they are yet to come up with a native monetisation model for publishers. “However, through using our engaged audience base on these platforms, we are creating transmedia properties like bindass Jukebox on Facebook as well as platforms such as sponsored tweets to monetise audiences there. We plan to increase such media properties that can be monetised,” he adds.

    One thing is clear that since youth entertainment is a dynamic genre and hence, it is important to go beyond TV and create a strong presence where young people tend to spend their time whether it is Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. And gauging from their ongoing initiatives, Bindass and UTV Stars, seem to be taking the right steps.

  • Vishal Gondal quits Disney UTV Digital; Sameer Ganapathy to replace

    Vishal Gondal quits Disney UTV Digital; Sameer Ganapathy to replace

    MUMBAI: UTV Disney managing director – digital Vishal Gondal has decided it is time he should be gone from India‘s premier gaming company. Gondal took over as digital MD of the company in August 2012, almost a year after Indiagames.com a company he founded was acquired by Disney in 2011, following the buyout of media company UTV by Disney. He is serving his notice period and his last working day will be 30 June.

    The Digital team of Disney UTV combines all mobile, video, audio, broadband, ITV, games and virtual world‘s initiatives. All digital content across all brands namely Disney, Marvel, UTV, Indiagames, bindass including original content for web, mobile and games will be developed and managed by this team.

    The gaming pioneer set up Indiagames when he was just 13 in 1999 and ran it for years before a majority stake in it was acquired by Chinese gaming company Tom Online. Tom Online later sold its holdings in Indiagames to UTV. Gondal was appointed as MD of Disney UTV Digital in August 2012 after The Walt Disney Company India restructured its digital assets under a new division, Disney UTV Digital. He took over the role to drive better growth in games, video and audio services for mobile, online and interactive TV.

    Gondal is believed to be quitting the company to concentrate on his investments in startups and also to pursue entrepreneurship. He has been part of the Nokia Advisory Council for Games and actively advices Nokia on wireless and gaming technologies.

    Disney UTV executive director movie channels and channel distribution Sameer Ganapathy will now take on the business function for the digital arm of Disney UTV.

    Disney UTV MD Ronnie Screwvala said, “Vishal has been a great founder and CEO for Indiagames. As we consolidate the digital, mobile and web play for Disney UTV in India, we plan to build on our creative prowess and transform the digital business to be a direct to consumer, yet working closely with all our partners, telecom operators, OEM‘s and others. This is similar to our approach in our other verticals of movies, broadcasting and consumer products. Sameer Ganapathy brings an astute business sense and high resourcefulness to this position, which is key to meet the ever growing trajectory of the digital business in India.”

    “Indiagames had small beginnings but a big dream. I cannot help but look back with a tremendous sense of fulfillment and pride, upon the long, eventful and exciting journey. I am really proud of what the team has accomplished. Excellent support from our early investors Infinity, IL&FS, TOM Online, Adobe, Cisco and UTV and the subsequent acquisition by Walt Disney provided us the opportunity to work towards our vision of making gaming big in India. Over the last 18 months, we have spent time integrating the teams and set a platform for continued growth. Consequently, I‘ve decided to move on to pursue my dreams and passion of being an entrepreneur,” said Gondal.

  • Sahara One’s music channel named Hit; Ganapathy is ntwk distribution head

    Sahara One’s music channel named Hit; Ganapathy is ntwk distribution head

    MUMBAI: Sahara One Media & Entertainment Limited’s new music channel has been christened Hit. The company has also appointed Sameer Ganapathy as head of distribution for the Sahara One Television Network, which includes Sahara One, Filmy and also the proposed music channel – Hit.

    Ganapathy, who will report to Sahara One CEO Shantonu Aditya, steps into Rakesh Lamba’s shoes, who had quit the company late last year. He comes on board from SET Discovery where he was assistant vice president distribution for the western region. Prior to that he was with Discovery for four years as regional manager distribution (west).

    Aditya said, “I am delighted to welcome Sameer to our company. Sameer has over 10 years of experience in distribution and has an excellent track record. With his joining the company, Sahara One will now focus on distribution in a major way and am sure the results will be seen soon.”

    Ganapathy added, “I am very happy to join Sahara One and take on this responsibility. Sahara One is run professionally and has a great team. I look forward to taking up this challenge and working in an excellent environment.”