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Tag: Sony BBC Earth

  • Sony BBC Earth gives you a sneak-peek into the Magical World of Blue Planet II

    Sony BBC Earth gives you a sneak-peek into the Magical World of Blue Planet II

    MUMBAI: The multiple Emmy and BAFTA award-winning series ‘The Blue Planet’ is all set to WOW the audience with a brand-new season. Blue Planet II is a breathtaking journey into one of the greatest, yet least known parts of our planet – the Oceans.

    Narrated by series presenter Sir David Attenborough, the 5-minute video features some of the most awe-inspiring highlights from Blue Planet II as well as exclusive scenes that will not feature in any of the seven episodes, which are set for a broadcast early next year for the Indian viewers only on Sony BBC Earth.

    What’s also to look forward to in the trailer is the beautiful track, titled ‘Ocean Bloom’ composed by Radiohead, one of the world’s most acclaimed rock bands and Hans Zimmer, one of the planet’s most successful movie and TV composers.

    The team behind Blue Planet II has spent four years mounting 125 expeditions, visited 39 countries, and filmed off every continent and across every ocean to provide a new perspective towards the little-known world of oceans and marine habitats.

    Catch the visual delight on www.facebook.com/SonyBBCEarth, 

  • Sony: Tushar Shah now heads English cluster, Saurabh Yagnik shifted to new role

    Sony: Tushar Shah now heads English cluster, Saurabh Yagnik shifted to new role

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN has announced the following changes in the leadership team portfolio.

    Saurabh Yagnik, will move into a newly created role of EVP – monetization strategy and consumer insights. In this role, Yagnik will lead the identification of organic and inorganic monetization opportunities in partnership with the revenue and channel heads, to increase SPN’s participation in the marketplace. He will also leverage consumer insights to identify and facilitate implementation of new business opportunities for the network. Yagnik moves into this new role from being SPN’s EVP and Business Head for the English cluster of channels, where he was heading AXN, Sony Pix, Sony Le Plex HD and Sony BBC Earth.

    Tushar Shah will take on the role of EVP – AXN, Sony PIX, Sony Le Plex HD, Sony BBC Earth and Sony Aath. Shah moves into this role from being SPN’s EVP & Business Head –Sony Aath.

    Both these roles will report into SPN CEO NP Singh.

    Yagnik has been with SPN for over four and a half years and Tushar has been with SPN for over eleven years. These moves are in line with SPN’s philosophy of providing exciting career opportunities to internal talent and the network’s focus on the future.

  • Google reveals BBC nature content for Earth relaunch

    MUMBAI: Google and BBC Worldwide has announced that they have teamed up to offer visitors to the new Google Earth a taste of world-renowned nature programming and storytelling, with a shared desire to inspire audiences to explore and foster a deeper connection with our planet.

    BBC Worldwide, the main commercial arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, build BBC’s brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation across the world.

    BBC’s natural treasures will take users on their own journey of discovery through over 30 locations across six of the world’s most incredible habitats – islands, deserts, grasslands, mountains, cities and jungles. Natural Treasures sits within the new Voyager feature of Google Earth which launches today. The BBC’s storytelling will enable users to explore through specially curated journeys each featuring a dynamic combination of filmed insights from the BBC’s wildlife producers, stunning imagery and clips from award-winning archive series’ including Life Story, Africa, Planet Earth II and more.

    Following their visit to Natural Treasures, users can discover more about the habitats and more awe-inspiring content about the natural world at bbcearth.com where the British broadcaster’s factual umbrella brand BBC Earth can be found.

    Sitting alongside Natural Treasuresin Voyager arefive video collections from theBBC’s BAFTA-nominated app The Story of Lifefeaturing Sir David Attenborough’s clips.For example,‘Beautiful Birds-of-Paradise’ and ‘The Big Five Beasts of Africa’. For more, audiences can download the free app whichfeatures the largest ever digital release of Sir David Attenborough’s renowned work.

    BBC Worldwide CMO Jackie Lee-Joe said “We’re delighted to be strengthening our decade-long partnership with Google by pursuinga common goal to bring audiences everywhere even closer to our incredible planet. Through this partnership, we’re leveraging BBC Worldwide’s iconic brand and content to deliver audiences a new way to experience the natural world. The BBC has been capturing and sharingthe natural worldfor over 60 years, and nowwe’re further innovating how we tell these stories – we can’t wait for audiences to explore further.”

    In India, BBC Earth nature content is available on Sony BBC Earth, a premium factual entertainment channel recently launched this year.

    Sony BBC Earth is a MSM Worldwide Factual Media is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and BBC Worldwide. The channel promises to make the viewers Feel Alive through its offering of mind blowing visuals, never-seen-before content, and positive insightful storytelling. The channel will bring award-winning, premium factual content from the BBC to over 500 million of SPN’s viewers across India, and will feature some of the world’s foremost factual film-makers and extraordinary storytellers, naturalists and science journalists. The channel will air the ratings-buster, Planet Earth II in June.

    Elsewhere in Asia, the BBC Earth channel is available in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It is also available on BBC Player in Singapore and Malaysia.

  • Four original, Indian, animated shows to start with: ‘Local’ to be Sony Yay! USP

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network India is getting bigger and better with time. In just four months, the network has reached up to nine new channels.

    Started with acquiring ZEEL’s Ten Sports bouquet, the network launched music channel Sony Rox HD, Sony BBC Earth, Sony BBC Earth HD, and now the kids channel — Sony Yay!

    With the launch of Sony Yay!, the network has added 29th channel to its growing family. The channel, which will go live on 18 April, will be available in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages across direct-to-home (DTH) and digital cable platforms.

    Promising to be the ‘Destination for Unlimited Happiness’ for kids, the channel has roped in the young cinestar, Tiger Shroff, who has become a phenomenon with kids across the country, as its brand ambassador.

    Targeted towards bringing more happiness to kids between 2 and 14 years of age, Sony Yay! will go live with four original, locally produced, animated shows, a first for any channel in this genre.

    Sony Pictures Networks (SPNI) CEO NP Singh said, “It goes without saying that the Indian television industry is at the interesting crossroads, with the kids genre being a frontrunner in demanding innovation and freshness. Our kids channel, Sony YAY! with its original programming will excite and engage the young audience and leave a lasting impact on their hearts and minds. With the launch of Sony Yay!, the network now offers tailor-made propositions for every member of the family.”

    Broadcasters have been on the continuous lookout to have more channels and programmes for kids in their portfolio. As per the FICCI KPMG report of 2017, there are 15 kids channel which are run by four major broadcasters, that is Disney (Disney, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Hungama), Viacom 18 ( Nickelodeon, Sonic, Teen Nick, Nick Jr), Turner ( Cartoon Network, Pogo, Toonami) and Sun TV (Chutti TV, Kochu TV, Chintu TV, Kushi TV).

    As per BARC data, Nick has been the leader of the genre followed by Pogo TV, Disney, Hungama and Cartoon Network. “Its a highly competitive genre, and, to begin with, being in top five will be the target of this year, and, by next year, the target will be: to be in the top three,” Singh said.

    Talking about the original content, Sony Yay business head Leena Lele Dutta informed, “We are launching the channel with the four original shows. We are looking at 80 per cent of slots to be filled with local shows.”

    The channel is promoting 7am to 10am time band. “Each show is of 22 minutes in which two stories will be shown of 11 mins each. We will have shows play out differently in the morning, a variety of stories at 1pm, and it will be different for the 4pm slot, as well. By the end of the year, we will have 52 episodes of 104 stories each. In October, we will have two more show launches.”

    Dutta further added, “We have done our research before launching the channel. We found that there is dearth of differentiated local content, and our aim is to reach out to the kids, and give them what is missing from their staple diet.”

    Cosmos Maya, Toonz Animation, Frisbee Animation and Softtools are the studios working on these shows.

    A first-of-its-kind musical comedy titled Guru Aur Bhole Mon – Fri at 10am, Sab Jholmaal Hai – A world full of pets that’s nothing short of mischief, mayhem, madness, Mon – Fri at 9am, a classic tale of venturesome friendship Prince Jai Aur Dumdaar Viru Mon – Fri at 11am and a unique laugh-out-loud Ghost Comedy Paap-O-Meter Sat – Sun at 12pm will form the key programming mix of the channel at the time of launch.

    The shows promise to bring unlimited laughter and uninterrupted volumes of fun into the lives of our young generation. Each show explores a different genre in comedy and guarantees uniqueness in terms of its characterisation and narrative, giving the little ones an experience they have not witnessed so far on their television screens.

  • Sony Pictures Network builds team for kids channel, appoints two execs

    MUMBAI: Celebration at Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) seems to be continuing. The network recently launched its factual entertainment channel Sony BBC Earth with BBC Earth. Now, the network is gearing up to launch another channel, Sony kids channel. The channel is slated for an April launch.

    This upcoming channel will be the second kids channel from the SPNI stable. At present, Sony runs Animax, which was launched on 5 July 2004. “The kids channel will be organic, local and everything will be produced in India,” SPNI CEO N P Singh said in an interview.

    The channel will be headed by Leena Lele Dutta, Singh confirmed to Indiantelevision.com. Dutta is already associated with Sony Pictures Television. She was hired to establish and set up content distribution & licensing division of Sony Pictures Television in India in 2007, and expand its footprint thereafter into the South Asian markets.

    Dutta’s career spans over 20 years in the M&E industry. From an advertising sales executive to her current role of executive director – distribution for Sony Pictures Entertainment content licensing & syndication arm SPT, Dutta’s forte is working in startup companies / functions.

    Apart from Dutta, the network has appointed Sujoy RoyBardhan as the AVP and marketing head for the channel. Prior to joining SPNI, RoyBardhan was working with Viacom18 as the director – marketing.

    The channel has been working to expand its portfolio by adding 10 channels this year. The channels include five sports channels, and the rest will be divided between kids, music, infotainment and others. SPNI already launched two channels in the beginning of the year, and announced sports channels as well.

    A new kids channel is on its way. Now, it will be interesting to see what more SPNI has in its magic box for India.

    Also Read:

    Sony BBC Earth to air 19 hrs of content every week, local programming on the cards

    Sony to add 10 channels in 2017

  • Sony BBC Earth to air 19 hrs of content every week, local programming on the cards

    MUMBAI: Feel alive with science, with technology, with nature, with stories, feel alive with Sony BBC Earth.

    A 75:25 joint venture (JV) between Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and BBC Worldwide, the channel is set to go live on 6 March at 8 pm with 19 hours of original programming every week.  The channel, in its initial phase, will target the urban mega cities constituting of 10 million towns. And is Available across all major DTH platforms and MSOs, in four languages- English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Promising to make the viewers ‘Feel Alive’ through its offering of quality  
    visuals, never-seen-before content, and positive insightful storytelling, the channel will introduce local programming in the country.

    As of yet, BBC Worldwide operates around 39 BBC Earth channels across the world, in India, for the first time, the channel is launching as a joint venture with SPN. Through the JV partnership, SPN will make the day-to-day decisions of the new channel.

    SPN CEO NP Singh said, “Sony Pictures Networks is known to create compelling and differentiated brands across all genres that it operates in. I am confident that this channel will be a major player in its category. A year down the line, I wish to see the channel in the top three list.”

    Singh refused to mention the two companies that he thought were in the race.

    The channel will bring award-winning, premium factual content from BBC to over 500 million of SPN’s viewers across India, and will feature some of the world’s famous factual film-makers and storytellers such as Sir David Attenborough – The Godfather of Natural History and other well-
    known BBC Earth personalities like Bafta-winning English naturalist, writer and television presenter Steve Backshall, author, broadcaster and writer, Ben Fogle, Dr Michael Mosley – a medical doctor and an award-winning science journalist as well as award-winning wildlife cameraman, presenter and film maker, Gordon Buchanan. As a key differentiator in its category, the channel will have defined programming slots – Why, How & What on Earth at 8 pm for fun and insightful science, Wild Wild Earth at 9 pm for nature and wildlife, and Earth Explorers at 10 pm for adventure and human interest stories.

    Weekends will showcase distinctive stories with a special slot; Earth Specials. Key launch shows include The Hunt, Where The Wild Men Are with Ben Fogle, Trust Me I’m A Doctor, Snow Chick and the iconic, greatly anticipated series, Planet Earth II amongst others.

    BBC Worldwide president – global markets Paul Dempsey asserted, “Our relationship with Sony has been a long one, built in the first instance on our production business, and one that has since grown across all key areas of BBC Worldwide’s operations. We partner with them to bring top programmes like Sherlock, Orphan Black and Top Gear on AXN to our fans in India, and now, this joint venture which is a pioneering model for us. By working with a respected local partner of the caliber of Sony Pictures Networks, we look forward to bringing BBC Earth’s world class content to a new audience who we know has a huge appetite for premium factual programming.”

    The channel has created a unique brand film with its Feel Alive ambassador Kareena Kapoor-Khan. The campaign will be launched on a massive scale across multiple mass media and social media platforms. Though, it has no advertisers on boards as of yet and are in the the process of locking few deals.

    SPN EVP and business head English Cluster Saurabh Yagnik added, “SPN’s philosophy is to create brands based on deep consumer understanding. We have worked extensively with viewers to sharpen our insights into what they want and have synergised this understanding with our compelling content and storytelling. Our brand positioning of ‘Feel Alive’ captures the emotion of subliminal happiness which viewers experience when they consume our content. We are getting a tremendously positive response from the advertisers and will be locking few of them in couple of weeks time.”

    The channel will primarily compete with powerful channels in the genre, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and History TV18, owned by a joint venture between A+E Networks and  TV18. The three channels are undergoing several programming changes by providing local, cutting edge content to the viewers.

    According to media pundits, the entire factual entertainment genre in India is valued at Rs 1500 crore (by revenue) and is continuously growing at the rate of 13-15 per cent annually. It’s entertainment viewership accounts for 1-1.2 per cent of the total television viewership market share.

    This partnership has definitely opened several doors for BBC making its way to the infotainment genre in India. Perhaps, the network may also consider launching its other channels – BBC Lifestyle, BBC Entertainment, BBC Kids, etc, in India. What next does the network plan to do in the Indian market, only time will tell…

    Also Read :

    Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

    BBC Worldwide’s factual entertainment successful in India

    Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    BBC Worldwide India: Women team makes fiction push

  • Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

    Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network’s much-awaited channel — Sony BBC Earth — is all set to launch in India. The network has received regulatory approvals for the launch of Sony BBC Earth. 

    “We have received regulatory approval for the launch of Sony BBC Earth, in both SD and HD. We are now gearing up for the launch of these channels and will announce a launch date soon,” said a spokesperson from the network.

    The new channel will showcase the work of the world’s foremost factual film-makers as it takes the audience on a journey of discovery. From the smallest creature under the microscope to the limitless expanses of space, the channel will bring viewers face to face with heart-pounding action, mind-blowing ideas and the wonders of being human.

    The Sony BBC Earth channels will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Also Read: Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

  • Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

    Sony BBC Earth gets regulatory approval, to launch in India soon

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network’s much-awaited channel — Sony BBC Earth — is all set to launch in India. The network has received regulatory approvals for the launch of Sony BBC Earth. 

    “We have received regulatory approval for the launch of Sony BBC Earth, in both SD and HD. We are now gearing up for the launch of these channels and will announce a launch date soon,” said a spokesperson from the network.

    The new channel will showcase the work of the world’s foremost factual film-makers as it takes the audience on a journey of discovery. From the smallest creature under the microscope to the limitless expanses of space, the channel will bring viewers face to face with heart-pounding action, mind-blowing ideas and the wonders of being human.

    The Sony BBC Earth channels will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Also Read: Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

  • Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network’s much anticipated factual entertainment channel Sony BBC Earth is soon to launch and is just an approval away. The channel will be launched in HD.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about the new launch, Sony Pictures Network (SPN) CEO N.P.Singh said, “We are ready with everything and just an approval away to launch Sony BBC Earth. It is a factual entertainment channel and BBC Earth will be the content provider. Later on, we might create original content but initially it will be BBC Earth. “

    “It will be an HD channel. 4K is gradually coming in but I think we are not yet ready. For now, we will be going with HD only,” he further added.

    In may be recalled that Multi Screen Media had joined hands with BBC Worldwide in 2015 to form the joint venture – Sony BBC Earth.

     The new channel will showcase the work of the world’s foremost factual film makers as it takes audiences on a journey of discovery. From the smallest creature under the microscope to the limitless expanses of space, the channel will bring viewers face to face with heart pounding action, mind blowing ideas and the wonders of being human.

  • Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    Sony BBC Earth is just an approval away: NP Singh

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network’s much anticipated factual entertainment channel Sony BBC Earth is soon to launch and is just an approval away. The channel will be launched in HD.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com about the new launch, Sony Pictures Network (SPN) CEO N.P.Singh said, “We are ready with everything and just an approval away to launch Sony BBC Earth. It is a factual entertainment channel and BBC Earth will be the content provider. Later on, we might create original content but initially it will be BBC Earth. “

    “It will be an HD channel. 4K is gradually coming in but I think we are not yet ready. For now, we will be going with HD only,” he further added.

    In may be recalled that Multi Screen Media had joined hands with BBC Worldwide in 2015 to form the joint venture – Sony BBC Earth.

     The new channel will showcase the work of the world’s foremost factual film makers as it takes audiences on a journey of discovery. From the smallest creature under the microscope to the limitless expanses of space, the channel will bring viewers face to face with heart pounding action, mind blowing ideas and the wonders of being human.