ITV

Tag: Siddharth Jain

  • Cartoon Network named Best Licensor at Indian Retail Awards for ‘Ben 10’

    Cartoon Network named Best Licensor at Indian Retail Awards for ‘Ben 10’

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network’s Ben 10, one of the world’s biggest boys franchises, has earned yet another accolade. Cartoon Network Enterprises has won the ‘Best Licensor of the Year’ award in the entertainment category for the Ben 10 franchise at the fourth Indian Retail and e-Retail Awards 2015 organized by Franchise India.

     

    With over 5,000 SKUs, Ben 10 came out a clear winner among all the kids entertainment for having the largest assortment of products available across a single entertainment IP.

     

    In 2015, the franchise celebrates its 10th year. Ben 10 licensed products are sold across all product categories including apparel, back to school, home furnishings, FMCG and publishing among others. The brand recently launched themed tablets in partnership with Eddy – a first in the kids’ genre.

     

    Turner International India South Asia managing director Siddharth Jain said, “Cartoon Network Enterprises is a growing and important part of Turner’s business in India, successfully leveraging our on-air content to create household names. For a decade, the success of the Ben 10 franchise is a testament to the adoration and popularity it enjoys amongst children and our licensing partners. We are honoured to receive this award in recognition of our efforts.

  • Turner International India appoints Rohit Bhandari as English entertainment head

    Turner International India appoints Rohit Bhandari as English entertainment head

    MUMBAI: Turner International India has roped in Rohit Bhandari as senior director and network head for its English entertainment portfolio that includes HBO and WB in South Asia.

     

    Bhandari will report to Turner senior vice president and managing director for South Asia Siddharth Jain. 

     

    Jain said, “We’re really pleased to have Rohit on board in this key position as we continue to grow our leadership in the English entertainment genre. With his well-established expertise and industry experience, I am confident he will help us build upon our success in the India and South Asia region.”

     

    In this role, Bhandari will be responsible for the growth strategy, planning and execution of all network functions including content acquisition, communications, marketing and brand building. 

     

    Bhandari’s appointment is effective immediately and he will be based at Turner’s office in Mumbai. He has over two decades of experience in television and advertising including overseeing business operations for AXN and Animax in India, as well as advertising sales in both India and Singapore. He previously led the media and entertainment vertical at Sahara India Capsac Limited. 

  • Turner India expands kids portfolio with Toonami

    Turner India expands kids portfolio with Toonami

    MUMBAI: In order to provide an extra dose of entertainment, Turner International India is expanding its kid’s entertainment portfolio with the launch of a new action-adventure channel – Toonami. 

     

    The channel aims to bring high-octane animated action to kids, superhero fans and their families across the country.

     

    The new channel, which is based on the programming block of the same name on Cartoon Network in the US, is a 24-hour English action and anime destination designed for viewers seeking a full tilt, rollercoaster ride of adventure, quips, drama and a whole lot more. 

     

    The channel has a significant presence in Asia Pacific across 14 countries including Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Sri Lanka amongst others.

     

    In India, Toonami complements Turner’s kids’ entertainment portfolio of Cartoon Network and Pogo.

     

    Turner International India managing director, South Asia Siddharth Jain believes that it will meet the growing demand for premium quality action-adventure and superhero content. 

     

    “It is a real proud moment for Turner to bring in a channel like Toonami to our young Indian audiences – we now offer a robust entertainment experience for all ages and interests,” he said.

     

    The channel will feature superhero franchises such as Batman, Superman, Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Justice League, Inazuma Eleven Go, Dragon Ball Z and many more.

     

    Toonami is being distributed by Taj Television and is available on digital cable platforms like Siticable, Indusind Media (Incable), ICNCL, Home Cable and JPR Cable Network across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore.

  • Pogo and Graphic India presents ‘Sholay Adventures’

    Pogo and Graphic India presents ‘Sholay Adventures’

    MUMBAI: Pogo, Graphic India and Sholay Media and Entertainment have announced that they will bring “Sholay Adventures,” an animated reinvention of the beloved classic, to the small screen. The first movie in the series will premiere on POGO on Monday, January 26th at 12pm.

     

    Sholay Adventures will be the first of four television animation films that introduce Jai and Veeru in new and mischievous kid avatars. Parents will remember the enduring qualities of friendship and loyalty from the original film, while kids will experience heroes like Jai and Veeru for the very first time. Sholay Adventures will bring together two generations in a new fun adventure.

     

    Commenting on this partnership, Siddharth Jain, Managing Director, South Asia, Turner International said, “With Pogo, we have always strived to create local content that resonates with Indian kids. By partnering with Graphic India and Sholay Media Entertainment to reinvent an iconic movie like Sholay, we hope to engage and entertain not only kids but also parents.”

     

    “Sholay is beloved by millions of people across the country. We are thrilled to be working with Sholay Media and Entertainment and POGO to take these iconic characters into exciting new stories through animation for the first time,” commented Graphic’s Co-Founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan “The legendary friendship of Jai &Veeru has captivated generations. Now, with this fun and action-packed, kids animation, both fathers and sons will be able to experience Sholayin a whole new way together.”  

     

    Veeru and Jai are back! As 10 year olds working for Thakur Uncle’s secret SHOLAY police agency, they’re on a mission to stop Gabbar Singh and his villainous group of monsters and criminals known as the Fright Force! The fate of the world is in the hands of these two best friends! The animated films take the well beloved characters that populated the original Sholaymovie and reinvents them in a fun animated way for kids.

     

    Devarajan is an Executive Producer of the animated film with Sascha Sippy, Chairman of Sholay Media and Entertainment. The new animated look of the beloved movie characters were created by Graphic India’s SVP Creative, Jeevan J. Kang with the script for the animated series written by acclaimed writer, Alok Sharma, a lead writer on Cartoon Network’s originally produced hit series, Roll No. 21.

     

    Beyond animation, Graphic India and Sholay Media and Entertainment will also introduce books, merchandise and other products for kids based on the new Sholay Adventures.

  • ‘Chhota Bheem’ & Thane traffic police to raise awareness on road safety measures among kids

    ‘Chhota Bheem’ & Thane traffic police to raise awareness on road safety measures among kids

    MUMBAI: In a bid to promote safety on roads, Thane Traffic Police has partnered with leading kids’ channel Pogo and Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd. to launch a campaign fronted by India’s most popular character – Chhota Bheem that will educate children and families on basic road safety measures in an entertaining manner.

     
    The campaign called “Mission Road Safety 2015” will be conducted from 11–25 January 2015 in the areas of Kalyan, Bhiwandi, Dombiwali, Ambarnath, Badlapur and Thane City via various media initiatives and trailers across all theatres. Through the campaign, Chhota Bheem will encourage kids and their parents to follow simple methods to ensure road safety such as wearing seatbelts and helmets, using only pedestrian crossings and abiding by the speed limits. This initiative will also be showcased on POGO which will take this to a national level.
     

    Commenting on the initiative, Vijay Kamle, Commissioner of Police of Thane said, “Ensuring that the roads in our city are safe for families is our duty. By driving the message of road safety through Chhota Bheem, we hope to effectively capture the attention of children through whom we aim to reach their parents.”

    Dr.RashmiKarandikar, DCP Traffic Thane said, “Children are the future of our country and it is important to make them aware of road safety from an early age so that they grow up as responsible citizens. We look forward to successfully imbibe the Mission Road Safety 2015 campaign in the residents of Thane District with the help of Chhota Bheem.”

     
    Siddharth Jain, Managing Director, South Asia, Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. said, “As a responsible media conglomerate in the country that has iconic characters which children adore, we are proud to partner with the Traffic Police on this initiative that will aim to promote road safety amongst kids and secure their future.”

     
    Samir Jain, Executive Director & COO, Green Gold Animation Pvt. Ltd. said, “Chhota Bheem is a superhero to children across the country who aspire to be like him and follow his ideals. Spreading the message of road safety through Bheem will encourage and excite kids to abide by the same.”

     

  • Pogo and Kellogg’s Chocos to join hands to launch branded mini-series

    Pogo and Kellogg’s Chocos to join hands to launch branded mini-series

    MUMBAI: Pogo and Kellogg’s Chocos have collaborated to deliver the first of its kind branded mini-series. Featuring India’s favourite superhero Chhota Bheem and Chocos mascot Coco, the four- episode series titled Coco aur Chhota Bheem ka Dhamaal will air every Sunday in October at 9:30 am only on Pogo.

    In a highly competitive and cluttered TV advertising environment, this endeavor seamlessly integrates a brand into the storyline of the content. Within the kids’ genre, this is an unconventional route to engaging children with entertaining content that also subtly reinforces the brand’s attributes.   

    Kellogg’s marketing director, India and South Asia Harpreet Singh Tibb said: “At Kellogg’s we believe in providing wholesome nutrition and tasty breakfast options to nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. Kids in our view are fearless and there is no anxiety among them as they are growing up. We need to ensure that we provide kids the right environment so they can enjoy childhood and are prepared to take on the challenges thrown at them. Our brand Chocos believes in celebrating “uninhibited childhood” and we are always looking at creating experiences that enable the kids to have fun while growing up.”

    He further adds: “The brand has been creating unique experiences such as the chocos cereal factory at Kidzania and the online gaming platform Chocoland to engage and educate kids. We have now signed up a unique partnership between the brand Chocos and Chhota Bheem wherein Coco, the brands mascot gets an opportunity to become part of Chhota Bheem’s gang. This unique association brings together two brands loved by kids: Chocos and Chhota Bheem. Both coming together under one platform will surely delight kids. When Mindshare proposed the idea of associating with a show like Chhota Bheem we knew this would help grab innumerable eyeballs among the target group.”

    Mindshare has been the catalyst in conceptualising and executing this project. Mindshare west Anita Kotwani said: “This is the first of its kind initiative in the kid’s space. From a brand perspective what works is that it is not an innovation for the sake of innovation, but a strategic initiative intrinsic to what the brand stands for and that is what we did by partnering with POGO at the scripting stage itself instead of looking at tactical opportunities in the show. We are proud of the outcome and hope to be well received.”

     
    Turner International India South Asia managing director Siddharth Jain said: “This partnership brings together two very much loved brands in India and showcases the kind of creative and innovative solutions Turner can offer in engaging our viewers in an entertaining and compelling manner.”
     
    In the four episodes of Coco aur Chhota Bheem ka Dhamaal, Bheem and his friends will leave Dholakpur to explore the new world of Chocoland with Coco and undertake exciting adventures with their new friend. Coco aur Chhota Bheem ka Dhamaal will air on 05, 12, 19 and 26 October 2014 at 9:30 am on Pogo.

  • CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    MUMBAI: CASBAA’s annual India Forum will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at the Shangri-La New Delhi where an international and local roster of high-level speakers will explore the Indian cable and broadcasting markets in the context of the global economy and challenging regulatory regimes.

     

    “With over 146 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the country representing a 92 per cent reach of the population and multichannel TV accounting for nearly 90 per cent of TV advertising, India continues to be one of the most important markets in the Asia Pacific,” said Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA. “But to be truly successful nowadays, it takes more than doing well in your own back yard. This year’s forum will explore what it takes to be factor on the global stage.”

     

    Bringing their unparalleled knowledge and experience, thought-leaders representing the many facets of the broadcasting industry will participate in a variety of keynotes, panel discussions and conversations to explore the India market. Confirmed guests for 2014, up to now, include Dr. Rahul Khullar (Chairman, TRAI), Terry Bleakley (Regional VP, Asia Pacific Sales, Intelsat), Paul Brown-Kenyon (CEO, MEASAT), Thomas Choi (CEO, Asia Broadcast Satellite), Jawahar Goel (MD, Dish TV), Punit Goenka (MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment), Siddharth Jain (MD, South Asia, Turner International India), Bharat Ranga (Chief Content & Creative Officer, Zee Network), Narayan Rao (Exe. Vice-Chairperson, NDTV; President, NBA), Shailesh Shah (Secretary-General, IBF) and many others.

     

    Themed “Indian Content: Going Global?”, the forum programme will provide a platform to look inwards on issues such as the ongoing digitization of country’s cable networks and the state of the DTH industry as well as global matters including foreign direct investment and the ‘internationalisation’ of Indian content.

     

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 continues the Association’s mandate to inform, represent and connect its membership base with key market influencers in the multichannel TV sphere.

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 recognizes Supporting Sponsor SES and Sponsors AsiaSat, Eutelsat and MEASAT for their generous participation at this year’s event.

     

    For more information about the event, please visit http://www.casbaa.com/events/events-calendar/details/431-casbaa-india-forum-2014.

  • HBO Defined and HBO Hits now on Tata Sky

    HBO Defined and HBO Hits now on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Turner International India has launched HBO Defined HD and HBO Hits HD on Tata Sky.

     

    With this the two advertising-free movie channels will be available across 11 DTH and digital cable platforms in India.

     

    Turner is committed to continue bringing compelling content inside homes of consumers in India and on any device they own. HBO Defined and HBO Hits signify a new era of television viewing for the Indian consumer. We have received a very enthusiastic response from all platforms and are happy to have, Tata Sky, one of India’s leading DTH platforms partner with us,” said Turner International India MD Siddharth Jain.

     

    HBO Defined and HBO Hits feeds will be on Tata Sky channel numbers 358 and 360 respectively at a price of Rs 99 per month.

     

    “Tata Sky is committed to offering the best picture quality, sound and digital viewing experience to its subscribers and HBO Defined & HBO Hits are great examples of this,” said Tata Sky chief content & business development officer Poalo Agostenelli . “We’re pleased to provide an experience of accessing a wide variety of world class movies with the prestigious HBO original series in pure High Definition which is delightfully ad-free for our subscribers. This is truly a movie and TV series fans’ dreams come true.”

     

    The channels are also available on Dish TV, Airtel Digital, Hathway, GTPL, Manthan Digital, ABS Star Digital, DDC, JPR Network, Den Satellite (Mumbai) and Seven Star Digital.

  • Turner launches HBO Defined & HBO Hits on Hathway & GTPL

    Turner launches HBO Defined & HBO Hits on Hathway & GTPL

    MUMBAI: Turner International India has announced the launch of HBO Defined and HBO Hits on two of the country’s leading digital cable platforms, Hathway and GTPL. With this HBO’s two premium advertising-free movie channels will be available to digital cable subscribers for the first time.

    The channels are available for a free preview in the initial phase of the launch. Turner International, the distributor for HBO Defined and HBO Hits will soon have the channels available on other digital cable platforms as well.

    “With the successful on-going digitisation of the Indian television industry, Turner is committed to continue bringing compelling content inside homes of consumers in India and on any device they own. HBO Defined and HBO Hits signify a new era of television viewing for the Indian consumer. We have received a very enthusiastic response from all platforms and are happy to have, Hathway and GTPL, two of the leading cable platforms partner with us,” said Turner International India MD Siddharth Jain.

    “The launch of HBO Hits and HBO Defined on our digital platforms is a reinforcement of our belief in the power of compelling content which can drive customer value and realisations. Hathway and GTPL have a foot-print of more than seven million addressable customers. We are delighted to partner with Turner in our on-going endeavour of delivering premium services to our discerning customers” said Hathway Cable and Datacom CEO & MD Jagdish Kumar.

  • Cartoon Network inks deal with Tata Indicom for VoD service

    Cartoon Network inks deal with Tata Indicom for VoD service

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network, kid’s entertainment channel, has signed its first video on demand (VoD) deal in the country with VSNL. The agreement will enable Tata Indicom Broadband subscribers to watch Cartoon Network toons on their PC.

    In attempting to give viewers a 360 degree entertainment experience, Tata Indicom Broadband will offer subscribers 40 episodes of Cartoon Network’s most popular and iconic toon stars including Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls, Dexter’s Laboratory, Ed, Edd n Eddy, Courage -the Cowardly Dog, Camp Lazlo, Code Name Kids Next Door, Samurai Jack, etc.

    The content will be available both in Hindi and English across over 48 cities in India, including all metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
    output.

    Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. VP distribution and business operations (India and South Asia), Siddharth Jain said, “With technology evolving at a rapid pace, we are moving towards a digital world where entertainment will be consumed at the convenience of Generation M. As the Industry leader in the kids’ entertainment genre, it is imperative that we extend our compelling content to as many platforms available.

    “This deal to offer video on demand with VSNL is a step in that direction and is a pioneering initiative for Cartoon Network and the kids’ genre. All of these areas will become even more important going forward as ‘convergence’ becomes a reality, and our core audience of kids and young adults – as well as advertisers – come to expect our unique properties and characters to be available on all platforms and at all times. Cartoon Network is an immersive experience for our fans, and this deal adds yet another dimension to the number one kids’ channel of India – Cartoon Network.”

    VSNL vice president content and applications, broadband and retail business Mukul Sood said, “This first of its kind tie-up between Cartoon Network and VSNL will create an innovative entertainment experience to our broadband subscribers. This partnership represents the convergence of vision and strengths between VSNL, India’s leading telecommunication and Internet services company and Cartoon Network, India’s number one kids’ channel. Tata Indicom Broadband subscribers can now look forward to a roller coaster ride of exciting animation video content for their kids and themselves.”