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Tag: Sameer Nair

  • Balaji CEO Sameer Nair’s role changes from exec to advisory capacity

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms Group CEO Sameer Nair is stepping down from an executive capacity on the successful completion of his three-year term, He would relinquish his executive role w.e.f. 15 July, 2017, and return to an advisory capacity. Nair was formerly in an advisory role with the company.

    Said Sameer Nair: “It’s been an amazing experience working with Ekta, Shobhaji and all my other wonderful colleagues at Balaji. The company is in great shape – the TV business is doing well; we’ll soon add the DD shows to the mix in which the company retains IP. We now have in place a very measured approach to the movie business; and most recently we had a very successful launch of our global digital business with ALTBalaji. The management teams are in place and the company is well poised for its next phase of growth. On ALTBalaji, the shows have only just begun – the best of Ekta’s creative genius is yet to come. I remain a mentor and guide to the company and a close friend of the family.”

    Said Shobha Kapoor “Sameer is more like family to us; we have a relationship dating back to 2000 when we first worked together on Star Plus. In the past three years the company has made many significant strides most notably in the digital domain and the launch of ALTBalaji. The leadership ranks of Ketan Gupta (COO – TV), Sanjay Dwivedi (Group CFO) and Nachiket Pantvaidya (CEO – ALTBalaji) and their teams continue to do a great job of driving topline growth and bottomline profitability. We wish Sameer the very best in his future endeavours and are happy to have his continued support as an advisor and a friend.”

  • ALT Balaji & the Balaji Telefilms story, courtesy Sameer Nair

    MUMBAI: The ALT key on computer keyboards is quite a crucial one. As is recently launched OTT/SVOD service ALT Balaji for content producer Balaji Telefilms Ltd (BTL). CEO and broadcast veteran Sameer Nair is quite sanguine that the app is well on course to hit breakeven point as planned, but admits that  its TV content business will continue to be the “cash cow.”

    “Alt (Balaji) started with a plan of breaking even with a target of about four million subscribers who pay us between Rs 60-Rs90 per month by 2020,” Nair told CNBC TV18 yesterday after the company announced its financials for the period ending 31 March, 2017.

    Nair pointed out that card or rack rate for Alt Balaji OTT service is Rs 90 per month, but it was launched in April 2017 with an introductory first quarter offer of Rs 25.  However, the pricing for users internationally is at Rs 399.

    Mumbai-headquartered and Bombay Stock Exchange-listed BTL  is arguably Asia’s largest TV and film content production houses delivering Hindi and Indian language content across a variety of platforms. It is promoted by Hindi film actor Jeetendra Kapoor and his family comprising his wife Shobha Kapoor, daughter Ekta Kapoor and son Tusshar Kapoor.

    Nair is quite happy with the traction that ALT Balaji had got in the first five weeks since launch with downloads going past the three million mark from over 75 countries.

    “The reason we got subscribers so early in the game is because our strategy is different from the rest of the players where they (subscribers) have one month free (service), but we give five episodes free,” the seasoned media executive explained on the business news channel.

    Nair pointed out that that the company aimed at having two million paid ALT Balaji subscribers by end March 2018, with revenues  at Rs 700 million (Rs 70 crore).

    “Alt is investing Rs. Rs100-Rs125 crore (Rs.1,000 million-Rs. 1,250 million) a year and we have also got a lot of interest from strategic investors to come and partner with us,” he added.

    The company in its investor presentation said that the net realization per hour for its TV programmes increased 17 percent to Rs 2.89 million in FY-17 as compared to Rs 2.47 million in the previous fiscal.

    Nair is  confident about the the group’s television content business and expected it to remain a robust revenue stream. He pointed out that the business would grow in the range of 20-30 percent year-on-year helping the company to better its margins and added, “ARPUs are growing, which is a good thing for us. The TV business is going to remain a cash cow in the Balaji stable.”

    Nair disclosed that BTL had gone easy on film releases in FY 2017, but has begun pretty well in Q1FY18 with its offering `Half Girlfriend’, based on banker-turned-author Chetan Bhagat’s book of the same name, attracting viewers to the box office. “We had originally planned the film in a manner where we did a lot of re-sales on satellite, digital and theatrical rights. The film will make good money for distribution (people) and as well as for the company,” he explained.

    However, BTL is reviewing its exposure to movie production business, at the same time, as resources allocated to the business vertical may not be yielding the desired results.

    “We are taking a long hard look at it (the movie business) and, at the board meeting we decided …capital allocation will be towards television and Alt Balaji. The only reason why on a consolidated basis for a full year we are negative is because of the movie leak.”

    ALSO READ:

    Balaji Telefilms net realization for programs improves

  • ALTBalaji launched, to create 250+ hrs of original content this year

    MUMBAI: Undisputed leaders in the world of television and cinema Balaji Telefilms announced their arrival in the digital world through the launch of mobile platform ALTBalaji today. ALTBalaji has been launched with the vision to create original shows for India & Indians abroad, for consumption on their personal devices at location/time/show of their choice! 

    The platform will offer 250+ hours of original, exclusive content to its subscribers. This ad free, subscription-based platform will be commercially available with few of these original shows from 16 April. 

    After conquering the world of television, Balaji Telefilms and Ekta Kapoor are all set to claim her throne on digital entertainment space with the OTT platform ALTBalaji.

    The shows on video on demand platform are created by the best talent of Indian entertainment industry including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and many more. 

    Commenting on the launch, Balaji Telefilms joint managing director Ekta Kapoor said, “Indian entertainment audience is evolving and so are we at Balaji, with ALTBalaji we are officially identifying our audience as individuals and not groups/family. We are entering into their most personal space- mobile phones and this empowers them to really watch what they want, at the time & location of their choice and not what single TV family is habituated to. ALTBalaji’s shows will open new world of home grown differentiated entertainment to the viewers with the best stories and artists.”

    Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said, “We are proud to bring ALTBalaji to the Indian viewers, this is an alternate to their regular entertainment options- TV, Bollywood Films and foreign English content. We fit right between these options and with the plummeting digital divide across Indian cities we found a perfect space to showcase our content, digital platform. We tied up with multiple partners to ensure smooth navigation and subscription payment option, creating an unparalleled user experience on the app.”

    ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “The most endearing feature of ALTBalaji is its content, we are launching with the promise to bring fresh and never heard of stories to our viewers. While we are starting with 5 shows, it will be followed by a new show every 15 days for the binge watch lovers. On one hand we offer story of India’s first female in combative role- THE TEST CASE on the other we have most loved TV stars in KARRLE TU BHI MOHABBAT. It is intriguing and fresh story-telling.”

    Features of ALTBalaji app
    ALTBalaji is fully cloud based, to deliver incomparable performance and durability, ensuring high performance video delivery to all subscribers. ALTBalaji’s highlights include:
    ● A subscription based Video-on-Demand service with original and exclusive premium content at competitive prices to customers
    ● 5 episodes of every show free for viewing & less than Rs.1/day thereon
    ● Service across multiple connected devices with seamless cross device user experience
    ● Parental control allowing kids to watch kids content and giving them no access to other content

    Details of shows 

    · The Test Case- directed by national award winning director Nagesh Kukunoor, the show stars Nimrat Kaur as THE TEST CASE prepping to be the Indian Army’s first woman test case in a combat role. It is an inspirational story about her passion and struggle to prove her worth as a combative soldier. The impressive cast includes Juhi Chawla, Atul Kulkarni and Rahul Dev.

    · Boygiri- it is fun, pure, unadulterated, slaphappy comic story of boys next door. Boygiri is an authentic take on “men will be boys” and the overarching awkwardness of being boys.

    · Romil and Jugal- this is ALTBalaji’s fresh take on Shakespeare’s famous tale of Romeo and Juliet but with a twist. An emotional love story of two boys- Romil and Jugal who hails from different family and cultural backgrounds. 

    · Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat- Starring the famous duo Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor, this is a story of two opposite people who cross each other’s paths suddenly and how it has an everlasting impact on their lives.

    · Bewaffa Sii Wafaa- a matured, complicated love story of two married people, married to other people. This emotionally charged story opens multiple layers off a relations between married couples and explores what happens when one of them finds loves outside marriage. 

    · Dev DD- Imagine Devdas with a bottle of vodka, now replace Devdas with Devika Dharmendra Dwivedi! This is a twisted tale of Devika (Dev DD) who is not a ‘so called good girl’ and loves everything that is complicated in life.

    ALTBalaji’s 250+ hours of original and exclusive content offers a wide range of genres, the package has something for every viewer. Shows in regional language are also in pipeline for the platform, Maya Thirrai- a Tamil thriller drama will soon be available to viewers. ALTBalaji will offer extensive range of shows in various languages and genres to all age group and regions, both in India and abroad.

  • ALT Balaji to go live on 21 Feb, commercial launch on 15 April

    MUMBAI: For Ekta Kapoor, Sameer Nair, and the entire team at Balaji Telefilms D-Day has finally dawned. 21 Februrary 2017 is the day when its latest diversification ALT Balaji which has been talked about for so long will finally launch.

    Speaking to ET Now, CEO Sameer Nair said that the video on demand (VOD) platform will be rolled out to consumers as a free service to sample and snack in the first phase.

    “It’s going  tech live on 21 February,” he said. “We are testing the technology for the first month. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. We will be testing whether it plays out well. You put it off, you put it on. Does it work well? Are all the features performing as well as expected?”

    He added that post this testing phase, the commercial launch has currently been slated for 15 April .

    Pricing he revealed has been kept super disruptive. “Netflix has a tag of Rs 600 a month, ours will be at Rs 60,” he explained.

    Nair pointed out that ALT Balaji is aiming for the 25 million cable and satellite audiences (of the total of 165 million Indian C&S homes) which are lapsing from Naagin kind of content.

    “There is this giant world which between Narcos (on Netflix) and Naagin which is what we are going after,” he said. “The premium subscription homes. These 25 million folks are spending between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 a month for telephony, television and entertainment. They will be spending Rs 600 more a month more in the next five years. That’s a $3 billion market. “

    According to Nair, Bollywood has been pushing the envelope with its eye on this audience. “It produces a Sultan and a Dangal and it also makes  a Pink, Kapoor & Sons and also makes Neerja. Television has not done that, and  it remains currently in the giant mass base. And therein lies the opportunity.”

    At commercial launch, ALT will showcase about 60-80 hours of content; the target is to finally have 300 hours for users to binge on.  He revealed that Balaji Telefims  will be making 30 per cent of those shows for ALT Balaji  while the remainder have been farmed out to outside producers. Each series will be between 12-15 episodes, with each episode being between 12-15 -18 to 22 minutes long.

    “Users will get to watch the first two to five episodes free,” he highlighted. “And if you like what you have seen, you will have to pay us a little bit of money. That is Rs 60 a month.”

    Nair also revealed that the ALT  business model has three years of losses written in to build its audience base and turn in profits.

    “Our focus is on the digital platform because it is going to build a genuine B2C business for us. It will be a consistent business.  Our costs are consistent for content whether we have a million subscribers or 10 million on ALT. So it can be from Rs 400 crore to RS 4,000 crore depending on how we scale up.  Films show  a wobble. TV is our core business and it continues. However, it is getting commoditised and we will continue to produce TV shows whether for DD or private satellite channels. But digital has the potential to be a game changer. It is our big play.”

    Nair also took an indirect dig at the oodles of money that is being used to create content by those rushing into the video on demand segment. “There’s a lot of noise about the big players, the broadcasters. And all the money that is going to be spent,” he explained. “ But we all know that the amount of money spent is not equal to how good a story is. You can spend a billion dollars to make something; you can spend a billion dollars to make a turkey.  We at Balaji are really focused on the story telling.  And that’s where our advantage lies.”

    Also Read :

    Alt Balaji ropes in Manav Sethi as CMO

    Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch

    Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17

     

  • Alt Balaji ropes in Manav Sethi as CMO

    Alt Balaji ropes in Manav Sethi as CMO

    MUMBAI: As Balaji Telefilms’ Alt Digital gears up for its launch in 2017, it has roped in marketing veteran Manav Sethi as its chief marketing officer. Sethi will oversee the company’s entire communications strategy in India and will also look after its international expansion.

    Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said, “Manav is ideally suited to support the vision we’re working towards at ALT Balaji. We are looking forward to harnessing his experience and expertise as we launch, grow and expand our footing. Manav’s role will cover a wide array of activities including Marketing and Communications, and we look forward to his leadership in shaping our journey.”

    With over 15 years of experience nationally and globally in marketing, product, sales, strategic alliances in digital businesses, Sethi brings with him an innate understanding of the market. His expansive experience includes holding key positions at Getit Infoservices and Reliance Big Entertainment.

    “We are delighted to add such an experienced resource to the ALT Balaji family. Manav not only comes with a vast experience in the field but also will add a new layer and dynamism to the team, we think. I’m sure he will only complement to our venture of creating a solid and valuable brand”, added Alt Balaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya.

    In his last role at Getit he launched multiple businesses and brands in India and Malaysia across Yellowpages, Horizontal Marketplace and verticals like Grocery and Furniture, Mobile Wallet and Merchant Lending platform. At Reliance Big Entertainment, he launched India’s then largest local search business BigMaps and managed corporate strategy across the group that launched businesses across FM Radio, Music, Motion Pictures, Movie rental & download, online gaming and a JV with Dreamworks Animation SKG.

    Sethi asserted, “It’s an exciting time in the digital space and to be a part of a company since its launch always adds to the excitement. I’m looking forward to playing a part in this journey towards making Alt Balaji one of India’s leading brands”

  • Alt Balaji ropes in Manav Sethi as CMO

    Alt Balaji ropes in Manav Sethi as CMO

    MUMBAI: As Balaji Telefilms’ Alt Digital gears up for its launch in 2017, it has roped in marketing veteran Manav Sethi as its chief marketing officer. Sethi will oversee the company’s entire communications strategy in India and will also look after its international expansion.

    Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said, “Manav is ideally suited to support the vision we’re working towards at ALT Balaji. We are looking forward to harnessing his experience and expertise as we launch, grow and expand our footing. Manav’s role will cover a wide array of activities including Marketing and Communications, and we look forward to his leadership in shaping our journey.”

    With over 15 years of experience nationally and globally in marketing, product, sales, strategic alliances in digital businesses, Sethi brings with him an innate understanding of the market. His expansive experience includes holding key positions at Getit Infoservices and Reliance Big Entertainment.

    “We are delighted to add such an experienced resource to the ALT Balaji family. Manav not only comes with a vast experience in the field but also will add a new layer and dynamism to the team, we think. I’m sure he will only complement to our venture of creating a solid and valuable brand”, added Alt Balaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya.

    In his last role at Getit he launched multiple businesses and brands in India and Malaysia across Yellowpages, Horizontal Marketplace and verticals like Grocery and Furniture, Mobile Wallet and Merchant Lending platform. At Reliance Big Entertainment, he launched India’s then largest local search business BigMaps and managed corporate strategy across the group that launched businesses across FM Radio, Music, Motion Pictures, Movie rental & download, online gaming and a JV with Dreamworks Animation SKG.

    Sethi asserted, “It’s an exciting time in the digital space and to be a part of a company since its launch always adds to the excitement. I’m looking forward to playing a part in this journey towards making Alt Balaji one of India’s leading brands”

  • Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch

    Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch

    MUMBAI: Ekta Kapoor’s Alt Balaji, which is gearing up for launch in early 2017, has announced a strategic partnership with Lemon Advisors, a Singapore based technology consulting firm. With this tie-up, the tech company will assist and strengthen business development activities in key global markets with significant Indian diaspora and demand for Indian content.

    “We are delighted to have Lemon Advisors on board. Their impressive network spanning across 30 countries worldwide will certainly help us in reaching out to the global audience. Technology will play a huge role in shaping the growth trajectory of digital entertainment industry in India and globally, and as we make our foray into the domain with disruptive content, we are proud to have an established technology and business development partner,” said Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair.

    Lemon Advisors will help Alt Balaji forge alliances with distribution partners like telecom operators, internet service providers and OEMs. They will also assist in exploring brand alliance opportunities with major international brands along with planning& executing marketing and on ground activities. In addition to this, they will also be a representative entity for Alt Balaji at various trade shows & exhibitions.

    “Balaji is a name that every Indian content consumer worldwide is extremely familiar with. It’s a privilege for us to partner with Balaji as they embark on their digital journey in the form of Alt Balaji. We are happy that we will have a chance to contribute to the overall success of their endeavour”, added Lemon Advisors founder and chairman SubhashR. Ghosh.

  • Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch

    Ekta ties up with Lemon Advisors for Alt Balaji global launch

    MUMBAI: Ekta Kapoor’s Alt Balaji, which is gearing up for launch in early 2017, has announced a strategic partnership with Lemon Advisors, a Singapore based technology consulting firm. With this tie-up, the tech company will assist and strengthen business development activities in key global markets with significant Indian diaspora and demand for Indian content.

    “We are delighted to have Lemon Advisors on board. Their impressive network spanning across 30 countries worldwide will certainly help us in reaching out to the global audience. Technology will play a huge role in shaping the growth trajectory of digital entertainment industry in India and globally, and as we make our foray into the domain with disruptive content, we are proud to have an established technology and business development partner,” said Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair.

    Lemon Advisors will help Alt Balaji forge alliances with distribution partners like telecom operators, internet service providers and OEMs. They will also assist in exploring brand alliance opportunities with major international brands along with planning& executing marketing and on ground activities. In addition to this, they will also be a representative entity for Alt Balaji at various trade shows & exhibitions.

    “Balaji is a name that every Indian content consumer worldwide is extremely familiar with. It’s a privilege for us to partner with Balaji as they embark on their digital journey in the form of Alt Balaji. We are happy that we will have a chance to contribute to the overall success of their endeavour”, added Lemon Advisors founder and chairman SubhashR. Ghosh.

  • Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17

    Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telfilms’ new venture, ALT Digital, which was earlier planned to be launched in October, has been pushed to January 2017. At present, Balaji is not actively involved with programme production. In future, it plans to launch eight shows. January–March cycle is a good time for ALT launch, the management of Ekta Kapoor’s company feels.

    Balaji Telefilms raised Rs 150 crore through preferential allotment of equity shares at Rs 140 each to select global investors such as Atyant Capital India Fund – I, Vanderbilt University, GHI LTP Ltd, GHI HSP Ltd and GHI ERP Ltd. The amount has already been capitalised. So far, Balaji spent Rs 10 crore, but the real expense would start from January when it would deliver content, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said while speaking to CNBC-TV18.

    The total outlay for ALT would be about Rs 200 crore in which Balaji would invest Rs 65 crore, Nair said.

    Nair said it was looking to expanding in various regions in India. Balaji Telefilms will look to air new shows on Sony, Sun TV and Doordarshan. It had been doing shows across the channels, and it was the absolute leader in the TV business. It does not have a show on Sony, and that was an opportunity, Nair said. They were also producing shows for Colors. Balaji was also looking at the DD slot policy, he said, adding that they would be bidding for a few slots there. In main GEC business, Balaji was doing good, he said.

    After reporting a loss of Rs 28 crore as compared to profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.92 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter, Balaji is planning to launch 8-10 shows by FY17-end. Both, television and film segment released a weak set of numbers at Balaji this financial year. Nair said that the new shows have a much lower margin.

    Nair said that they look at TV and films numbers separately, and if one sees the TV business year on year, it actually grew on a half-yearly basis. There were new shows that would come on board, so as one could compare it with last year when they had six shows, and they were going to do 10 shows.

    Balaji released Great Grand Masti and collections were significantly affected due to piracy of the movie ahead of its theatrical release. When it came to film business, of course there had been a disappointment and, the current quarter saw the full impact of unfortunate incidents that happened with Balaji; Grand Masti ‘leaked’ 21 days before the theatrical release. Therefore, Grand Mastii and Flying Jat didn’t do well which reflected in the current quarter, Nair said.

    About the TV business, Nair said that television business worked on a revolving quarter. There was a reduced margin in the quarter when a show was launched. So, it was ideal to analysed the TV business on annual basis.

    Balaji’s plan was to get next releases of movies in the next fiscal year, he said, adding that its film business would likely book profit in FY18. On an annual basis, because Balaji was opening at 20-25 per cent, the gross margin would go up by 35 per cent, Nair said. On an annual basis, he said, Balaji could grow by about 20 per cent year on year. From the revenue point of view, that might be little lower because of other income which would be lower this year, he added.

  • Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17

    Balaji to invest Rs 200 cr in ALT, launch in Jan ’17

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telfilms’ new venture, ALT Digital, which was earlier planned to be launched in October, has been pushed to January 2017. At present, Balaji is not actively involved with programme production. In future, it plans to launch eight shows. January–March cycle is a good time for ALT launch, the management of Ekta Kapoor’s company feels.

    Balaji Telefilms raised Rs 150 crore through preferential allotment of equity shares at Rs 140 each to select global investors such as Atyant Capital India Fund – I, Vanderbilt University, GHI LTP Ltd, GHI HSP Ltd and GHI ERP Ltd. The amount has already been capitalised. So far, Balaji spent Rs 10 crore, but the real expense would start from January when it would deliver content, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair said while speaking to CNBC-TV18.

    The total outlay for ALT would be about Rs 200 crore in which Balaji would invest Rs 65 crore, Nair said.

    Nair said it was looking to expanding in various regions in India. Balaji Telefilms will look to air new shows on Sony, Sun TV and Doordarshan. It had been doing shows across the channels, and it was the absolute leader in the TV business. It does not have a show on Sony, and that was an opportunity, Nair said. They were also producing shows for Colors. Balaji was also looking at the DD slot policy, he said, adding that they would be bidding for a few slots there. In main GEC business, Balaji was doing good, he said.

    After reporting a loss of Rs 28 crore as compared to profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 3.92 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter, Balaji is planning to launch 8-10 shows by FY17-end. Both, television and film segment released a weak set of numbers at Balaji this financial year. Nair said that the new shows have a much lower margin.

    Nair said that they look at TV and films numbers separately, and if one sees the TV business year on year, it actually grew on a half-yearly basis. There were new shows that would come on board, so as one could compare it with last year when they had six shows, and they were going to do 10 shows.

    Balaji released Great Grand Masti and collections were significantly affected due to piracy of the movie ahead of its theatrical release. When it came to film business, of course there had been a disappointment and, the current quarter saw the full impact of unfortunate incidents that happened with Balaji; Grand Masti ‘leaked’ 21 days before the theatrical release. Therefore, Grand Mastii and Flying Jat didn’t do well which reflected in the current quarter, Nair said.

    About the TV business, Nair said that television business worked on a revolving quarter. There was a reduced margin in the quarter when a show was launched. So, it was ideal to analysed the TV business on annual basis.

    Balaji’s plan was to get next releases of movies in the next fiscal year, he said, adding that its film business would likely book profit in FY18. On an annual basis, because Balaji was opening at 20-25 per cent, the gross margin would go up by 35 per cent, Nair said. On an annual basis, he said, Balaji could grow by about 20 per cent year on year. From the revenue point of view, that might be little lower because of other income which would be lower this year, he added.