ITV

Tag: Sherlock

  • AXN eyeing July premiere for Steven Spielberg’s Extant

    AXN eyeing July premiere for Steven Spielberg’s Extant

    MUMBAI: Launched in 1998 as the first 24×7 cable and satellite television channel in Asia dedicated to action and adventure programming, AXN continues to stand by its promise of delivering intelligent, edgy and high-energy content for an unparalleled entertainment experience

     

    With programming encompassing the latest in action blockbusters, international hit series, reality and lifestyle sports programs and AXN originals, the channel enjoys a high viewership not just in metros but also tier II and tier III cities across the country.

     

    AXN business head Sunil Punjabi spoke to Aashay Dalvi of indiantelevision.com about the channel’s programming line-up this year, its digital strategy and so on. Excerpts…

     

    Q: How has the audience response been ever since the CBS acquisition deal?

     

    At a macro level, the audience response has been very good. Take for instance, the two shows with which we launched the CBS catalogue i.e. Elementary and Beauty & the Beast. We have seen a fairly growing traction for Elementary while Beauty & the Beast has its own loyal audience. The first season of both the shows premiered sometime ago, with Indian audiences being exposed to Elementary for the first time. Initially, there were comparisons between BBC’s Sherlock and Elementary and people were vehemently opposed to having a female Dr Watson; something we expected.

     

    The difference between the two is that Elementary has more investigation while Sherlock has more drama. This has led to a lot of people slowly getting accustomed to Elementary. So after the initial backlash, we have now seen tremendous growth in audiences, which has been very encouraging for us. We have season 2 airing right now and season 3 will air in September, very close to the US telecast.

     

    The other good news is Hawaii Five-O will have a special episode featuring Mallika Sherawat, and you will soon see it in India. Blue Bloods, the fourth series that we’d taken up is also expected to do well since it is a very strong series. In the US, the show has done phenomenally well. We have also acquired Sex & the City, which we plan to air soon at 11pm. We’re giving it some rest now but once it begins, episodes will air back to back.

     

    Q: Currently, you are airing Beauty & the Beast and Elementary five days a week. Will you be moving to airing them weekly to be closer to the US telecast?

     

    We had two options, the first of which was to run the series close to the US telecast, but for viewers who are not familiar with the older season, that tactic wouldn’t have worked. So, we decided to go with option 2 entailing stripping the first two seasons and allowing viewers to binge-watch them one after the other. This would build enough anticipation by September when season three premieres.

     

    Q: There has been no official statement from either CBS or The CW on subsequent seasons of Elementary and Beauty & the Beast. Can your earlier statement regarding the airing of season three of both series be considered official?

     

    As far as we know, both Elementary and Beauty & the Beast have been renewed for sure. However, from the public’s perspective, you will have to wait and hear from CBS and The CW since I cannot speak for them.

     

    Q: Programming-wise, what are your plans for the new fiscal year?

     

    The acquired properties we would like to talk about are some of the big ones like 24: Live Another Day. On Thursday, Variety Magazine reported that the second most expensive ad in the US is benchmarked on 24, with half a million dollars for just a 30-second slot. The entire prospect of 24 has blown out of proportion and this season is set in the UK. Content wise, it is shaping up really well. We believe that it is going to be one very large tent-pole property for us.

     

    After 24, the second large tent-pole property for us is Top Gear, with the new season returning in the month of July, which is where we have seen some tremendous amount of traction. We just had season 21 premiere in January and presently, only the core Top Gear audience is watching it though we want to get a much larger audience. Anybody who currently owns a car should be watching Top Gear, which is a fairly large population of the country by itself.

     

    Also in July, we are trying to get another big property, Extant, produced by Steven Spielberg, which marks the TV debut of Halle Berry. We have the second season of The Hero and we plan to air all episodes of 24: Live Another Day at a stretch. While getting so much new content, the old content tends to get lost. So, while I want new content, the problem lies in scheduling and timing.

     

    Q: AXN programming was earlier known for its male skew but over the past few years, it has been increasingly targeting the female audience. Was that deliberate?

     

    There are two main changes that we’ve seen; one, there has been a systematic change in female consumption, and two, the female audience too wants the thrill factor while watching TV. Shows like Orphan Black, with a female protagonist, have helped us get more female viewership.

     

    But whether we have become a female-skewed channel, we will never be that; we will remain a predominantly male-skewed channel. But, we have seen a lot women come and consume our content. The male vs. female audience ratio earlier was 70:30, but is now 60:40.

     

    Q: Which programmes get more advertisers? Are there any emerging large spenders?

     

    Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and telecom services form a significant share of the advertising spends. One very large advertiser that we’ve constantly been adding is automobiles, having already increased its share because of Top Gear. We believe it will be much bigger, going forward and it won’t be just auto but also auto accessories.

     

    Q: What’s in it for these advertisers?

     

    As an advertiser, the two main things you look for are a premium audience and a large brand fix, and we offer both.

     

    Q: How do you plan to engage digital media to increase viewership of your channel?

     

    We’ve now reached a stable point in the digital media initiative that we started a year and a half back. We had a couple of things to consider; the first being a consumer survey of social media and the second, connect, which has almost become equivalent to word-of-mouth. There is pre-launch and post-launch chatter that takes place. That is where we have been pushing ourselves on the digital front; what are people saying before the show is launched, and what are they saying after seeing the show. Engagement at the pre- and post- level helps us get loyalty for the channel.

     

    Q: Which platforms is AXN making its presence felt in terms of social media? Do you plan to add more social platforms?

     

    Facebook and Twitter have been our primary digital platforms. We have received more traction on Twitter than on Facebook. We have got a good response to a lot of good shows on Twitter in the last four to five months. We have trended many a times on Twitter; not just on the days of our premieres but even regular days.

     

    As for the second part of your question, we don’t want to be jumping too many trains. We started with Facebook and Twitter a year and a half ago and we want that to mature before getting onto a new train. The amount of people engaging with us on these platforms is growing almost daily. We want to grow our hold on Facebook and Twitter for the next six to eight months, and we hope other things will follow.

     

    Q: Do you have specific digital marketing strategies to bring out that extra special something?

     

    We have MSE, which handles social media for us. Gone are the days where you used to pay for posts. Now, people are getting more agnostic towards such posts. So, last year, we had a Supernatural Thrillathon and a six city on-ground activation along with it. We did that again at the time of Sherlock to know what people thought of the content. We have seen the community of Supernatural grow nearly 50 per cent in the last year. We are not driving it; we have been only the facilitator in the process. So, the viewers are driving it themselves…

  • Blockbuster year for English entertainment

    Blockbuster year for English entertainment

    MUMBAI: Much like the first two seasons of Sherlock – BBC’s contemporary take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic – AXN’s ongoing season three too has taken viewers by storm. Be it the super sleuth’s resurrection on New Year’s Day or his friend Dr Watson getting married to Mary with him as ‘best man’, actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock has had audiences riveted with his histrionics.

     

    The three-episode season opened on AXN on 3 January, within 48 hours of its UK telecast and a fortnight before its US premiere. And the channel is expecting it to be an even bigger draw than its predecessors.

     

    Without divulging the “premium pricing” at which the “premium product” was bought by the channel, AXN programming head Arpit Mankar refers to the series as the ‘TV event of 2014’ and encourages us to refer to AXN as ‘The Sherlock Channel’. He is quick to point out how the channel changed its tagline to “Sherlock lives and AXN is reborn” as part of its repackaging exercise. In a bid to help the uninitiated play catch-up, AXN aired re-runs of seasons one and two of Sherlock through New Year’s Eve. As AXN business head Sunil Punjabi reveals, similar such re-runs have helped hike the ratings of season premieres in the past.

     

    Apart from Sherlock, sci-fi thriller Orphan Black, which debuted on AXN last month, has been the other big thing, with viewers lauding Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany’s turn as several identical women revealed to be clones and embroiled in a deeper controversy. Apparently, all apprehensions about the show melted away after watching the first few minutes where Maslany is witness to a clone kill herself in front of a running train. Not surprisingly, the series opened with ratings greater than those of the chat show, Koffee with Karan.

     

    AXN boasts some of the best English premium content but is going all out to acquire newer titles this year. Starting with the launch of Undercover and Justified this month, the channel will premiere the new season of Top Gear and Hannibal late February or early March as well as CSI’s latest season. Also lined-up is a Bulgarian TV series named Crossover, where AXN has got Bulgarian natives to dub in English to retain the show’s authenticity. Last but not the least audiences can look forward to 24: Live another Day, which AXN is betting big on, given that Indian viewers have already seen 24, both the original and the adaptation.

     

    On the reality shows’ front, Total Blackout will debut next month where contestants will perform tough tasks in pitch darkness, often evoking a very amusing response from the audience. Amazing Race and Ninja Warrior are the other new reality shows in queue.   

     

    AXN’s main objective is to give viewers an ‘adrenaline rush’ through its programming. The channel acquires content that it feels will garner a cult following. It also tries to balance between fiction and reality-based content.

     

    Informs Mankar: “Right now, we are only buying shows with content that excites us. We have deals with various networks for content. We are in the midst of getting some exciting new content from CBS, which includes shows like Beauty & the Beast, Elementary, Amazing Race, Blue Bloods, Hawaii 5.0 and Reckless.”

     

    With so much high-value content, the marketing budget has been upped from a mere 5-6 percent to nearly 12 percent of revenue, which too has seen significant increase; reveals Punjabi.  

     

    Elaborating on the marketing strategy, he says: “For old shows like Supernatural – which already has a huge fan base – word-of-mouth itself has helped us bring back our loyal audiences. However, it’s not the same with our new shows. For them, we have had multimedia campaigns, like what we did for Hannibal. And that has undoubtedly amplified the audience’s anticipation and eventual response.”

     

    While on the topic of programming in 2014, it would be interesting to see what’s lined up on AXN’s rival channels.

     

    Beginning with Star India, of its two English entertainment channels, Star World will debut the all new comedy drama Bunheads about a Las Vegas showgirl who ends up a ballerina in a sleepy seaside town plus latest seasons of old favourites like Melissa and Joey. The channel will also launch Suburgatory which follows the life of a single father and his attempts at giving his daughter a better life.

     

    On the network’s other English entertainment channel, Star World Premiere, viewers can catch the new crime thriller Intelligence starring Josh Holloway and the new comedy drama Rake featuring Greg Kinnear. Not to be missed is the latest season of American Horror Story: Coven which revolves round things like witches and voodoo.

     

    Meanwhile, Zee Café from the Zee stable will bring the latest seasons of popular reality shows – American Idol, America’s Got Talent and The X-Factor to Indian drawing rooms.

    Not to be left behind, Comedy Central promises a bigger laugh riot with new shows: House of Lies starring Don Cheadle, World’s Craziest Fools featuring people across the globe in ridiculously silly acts, Just for Laughs and the latest season of Arrested Development.

     

    Indeed, it’s going to be some serious competition for AXN. But for viewers, they’re in for a ball…

  • This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    This Christmas, treat yourself with a Sherlock video tape!

    MUMBAI: Sherlock certainly knows how to make a re-entry. The acclaimed series is set to return next month for its third season on AXN India and, to further stoke anticipation; the BBC has released an enigmatic new mini-episode online. It tracks the return of Benedict Cumberbatch’s brilliant, socially-challenged detective from a grave that, one could deduce, he never filled.

     

    “Many Happy Returns” follows up “The Reichenbach Fall,” the Season two finale of January 2012 in which Sherlock faked his suicide in London. The 7 minutes 12 seconds episode is written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat. Moffat had earlier said that the new villain of the show will send a chill down the spines of the viewers. Now, years later, we open on a mysterious blonde drug smuggler uncovered among a group of monks – a stunning discovery that could only be attributed to Holmes, or so insists Detective Anderson (Jonathan Aris) – never a big fan of Sherlock’s – who tries to convince Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves) that the detective isn’t dead after all.

     

    Anderson points to two other cases – including one murder involving ice cream “solved” by an inspector in New Delhi – that bear Holmes’ trademark reasoning and reluctance to accept any credit. Still, Lestrade remains unconvinced, even as Anderson traces a line of miraculously solved crimes that seem to indicate a return to London.

     

    After finishing his pint, Lestrade goes to see John Watson (Martin Freeman) and hands Holmes’ trusty sidekick an uncut version of a video message the detective once made for Watson’s birthday. In it, we finally see Sherlock, unsure how to tell Watson why he can’t attend his birthday party. (The real reason: because there will be people.) “So what do you want me to do at the end?” Holmes asks. “Shall I smile and wink? I do that sometimes; I’ve no idea why. People seem to like it. It humanizes me. Its fine, whatever.”

     

    After insulting his friend in the sweetest way possible, we see Sherlock’s message, in which he offers Watson many happy returns and promises, “Don’t worry, I’m going to be with you again very soon.” But just how the presumably deceased detective intends to rise from his apparent demise is hardly elementary. Then Watson is distracted by a ringing phone. So how does the clip end? With Holmes offering a wink and a smile, of course.

     

    Thanks to Sherlock, Cumberbatch has seen his Hollywood stock rise significantly in the past few years. He recently voiced the titular dragon in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, starred as the nefarious John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness, and made a turn as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. Over the summer, Pacific Rim director Guillermo Del Toro said he was hoping to cast the actor in his upcoming adaptation of Frankenstein.

     

    Season Three of Sherlock will air on Friday nights on AXN starting 3 January.

  • BBC Worldwide signs a deal with AXN India

    BBC Worldwide signs a deal with AXN India

    MUMBAI:  BBC Worldwide in India today announced a deal with AXN India providing the broadcaster with more than 60 hours of BBC’s factual entertainment and drama programmes. Titles comprise of four series of Top Gear, two series of Orphan Black and three series Sherlock. The deal includes the presale of Top Gear (series 21 & 22), Orphan Black (series two), and Sherlock (series three). All programmes will be seen exclusively on AXN India throughout India and its subcontinent.

     

    BBC Worldwide Asia, SVP and GM and content lead Myleeta Aga commented:  “This new acquisition by AXN is the largest we’ve had with the broadcaster to date.  I’m very excited that viewers in India will now have access to some of the most popular and high quality drama and factual entertainment programmes that have come from BBC in the past year or so. Top Gear is the world’s largest and most popular motoring programme and is the ‘most watched factual programme’ in the world, according to the Guinness World Records. Sherlock has won multiple awards and catapulted its stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock) and Martin Freeman (Watson) to international stardom. The first series of Orphan Black has received critical acclaim, won a number of accolades and has made a break-out star of Tatiana Maslany.”

     

    Talking about their association with BBC Worldwide, AXN India programming head Arpit Mankar, said: “We are very happy to extend our relationship with BBC. The first of our BBC acquired programmes, Sherlock (series one) will premiere on AXN India on 4 November on the Mon-Thu 9.30 pm time band.  We are confident that the series will be well received by our audiences; so much so that we’ve already ordered Sherlock series three even while it’s in production. Top Gear has innumerable fans in India and we are happy to now be the home of the latest series of Top Gear in India. Orphan Black has received such great reviews that we’ve acquired both series’ – even though series two is still being shot. The thriller is bound to take viewers by surprise!”

     

    Top Gear (series 20) started airing in mid October every Friday 9 pm while Sherlock (series one) will launch on November 4. Orphan Black is set to premiere first and exclusively on AXN this December.

  • AXN-Star World Premier HD: the coming battle

    AXN-Star World Premier HD: the coming battle

    MUMBAI: The other day, we reported about Star Network’s soon-to-be-launched channel, Star World Premier HD, which promises all the latest shows, close to their first US telecast.

    However, there’s at least one other English entertainment channel which claims to be already doing what Star is now planning to do.

    We’re talking about AXN, which maintains it has been thoroughly researching what Indian audiences want to watch for the past one year. It was last year when the channel lured a former Sony Entertainment Television professional Sunil Punjabi from Cinemax as business head to help build a stronger brand in the Indian context. Prior to that, AXN was run out of its regional Singapore office.

    And Punjabi has since been working on a blue print, studying Indian viewing habits with the intention of fine-tuning AXN’s Indian programming accordingly.

    Says a media observer: “With the spread of the broadband internet and availability of current US and international shows online freely and the fact that an increasing number of Indians are travelling internationally, Indian viewers have been spoilt for choice and want to be one with international TV programming and lifestyle trends.”

    AXN’s research also apparently reflected this. And thus was born its new premise.
    Elaborates Punjabi: “People want to watch shows which are airing currently closer to their airing in the US and in the last one year, we have been doing this consistently – adding shows closer to their telecast in the US.”
    Sunil Punjabi beleives that new shows will help the channel build loyal as well as ‘snacky’ fan base

    AXN, which has been around for over 15 years, is therefore adding a host of new shows to strengthen its three programming pillars: soaps, reality shows and films.
    So what about Star’s upcoming channel? “To be frank, we experimented with the same proposition long back that Star is now offering,” quips Punjabi, pointing out that it would be alluring to a much smaller bunch of viewers.

    As compared to Star World Premier HD which is priced at Rs 60 on Tata Sky, AXN is carrying a slimmer price tag of Rs 25. Additionally, the former, says Punjabi, is only available right now on a la carte basis whereas AXN is available in packages too. Besides, he believes AXN also has the first mover’s advantage.

    Among the new offerings, AXN has already launched the End of the World (EOW) series comprising six four-hour-long installments which is airing Monday to Thursday. Whereas, Voice 5 – a singing talent hunt – will be launched within three days of its US premiere on 28 September and Supernatural (Season 9) within two days of its US debut 11 October onwards.

    Meanwhile, Top Gear and The Hero will be telecast on 18 October and Sherlock and So you think you can dance? will premiere during Diwali. Orphan Black, a thriller about human cloning will also premiere around the same time.

    On the subject of Supernatural – one of AXN’s biggest franchises viewed by teens, especially girls and NCSI – which caters to a gender-neutral and more mature audience, Punjabi says: “We have a mix of content; hence, we don’t focus on any particular gender. There is something for everyone.”

    The channel has its loyal set of fans but also wants to create entertainment for its ‘snacky’ viewers. “With the new series including Hannibal and Supernatural that have seasons, we are building on the loyal fan base, while the new reality shows are for these viewers who snack more on such fare,” informs Punjabi.

    Currently, AXN airs currently running US shows on Fridays, while movies and reality shows are aired on weekends. With the English movie genre being bigger, the channel wants to concentrate on that as well.

    But has the AXN team been making a noise about these new shows? Apparently, it’s a 360 degree focus with print, television, outdoor and digital as key elements. Last year, AXN’s Facebook page had a few thousand likes; this year, it has swelled to nearly 1.3 million.

    “The digital front is important to us and we are aggressively strengthening the platform. Because it is one of the primary drivers of conversation related to the channel and shows. Also, we want to show newer content online,” says Punjabi.

    While AXN may claim it has been working at refreshing its programming long before Star announced plans of launching its niche new channel, it is now up to the audience to decide which of the two is really walking the talk.