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Tag: Sony Max

  • Five Reasons Why Hotstar is Hot

    Five Reasons Why Hotstar is Hot

    With 10 million users in just 40 days, it set a benchmark in the digital space. In a record time span, Hotstar the new app from the Star India network, catapulted the audience’s attention and is showing continued signs of growth.

    While VOD platforms are being selective in drawing up their content map, Hotstar has opened its large library for users, that too in regional languages. With smartphones increasingly altering the consumption landscape in the country, Indiantelevision.com gives you five reasons why this is a must have app for your phones.

    A rich video experience

    Gone are the days when enthusiasm levels of experiencing a video would be marred by buffering issues. Through almost zero buffering, the app claims that it can change the pixel value of the content depending on the bandwidth so that users witness uninterrupted services. In layman’s terms, when the bandwidth decreases, the video will continue playing but there will be a decline in the HD pixilation value. Video is downward optimized to playback continuously in as little as 64 kbps.  

    Want IPL, download Hotstar!

    With the eighth season of India Kya Tyohar returning, the Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the biggest event on the sports calendar this year. Therefore, it is imperative that you download the app so that you don’t miss out on your favourite Kolkata Knight Riders or Chennai Super Kings scoring some brilliant wins on the palm of your hands. 

    Novi Digital Entertainment, a unit of Star India, which owns the digital rights of the Indian Premier League, will stream this glitzy event on the VOD platform in its first such endeavour. Plus, in this cricket event, India has no fears of losing in the semi finals. Everyone is a winner here including Stuart Binny!

    India’s content hub 

    Where will you find 20,000 hours of content, across languages including 12 plus full length TV shows, 500 plus movies and live screening of popular sports like cricket, football, tennis and kabaddi on a single platform? The answer is – Hotstar! 

    In a first for India, Indya Interactive Services (which runs Hotstar.com) earlier premiered the Star Guild Awards 2015 on the video on demand service on 17 January. The award function was aired on Star Plus a day later on 18 January.  It recently also premiered Bollywood movies like Baby and Roy first on the platform, much before the world TV premieres. Star India also recently acquired the weekly film and entertainment broadsheet Screen from the Express Group. Content from here will now move to digital as the print edition gets closed. Hotstar is definitely turning hotter! 

    Marketers, catch up with your digital audiences

    Marketers and brands dread when audiences click on the tiny yet powerful option Skip This Ad Now. Weeks of ideation and production of a costly advertisement that is invested on digital mediums, goes down the drain. But fret not, Hotstar does not allow this potent option as audiences have to witness the ads. Besides, consumers wouldn’t mind the same as fresh as well as nostalgic content like Sarabhai versus Sarabhai too is up for grabs. With the India-Pakistan match during the World Cup receiving 25 million views on digital, there is a large chunk of young audiences that can’t be missed by marketers and brands alike. 

    Personalization and availability across devices

    The app allows users to create their own playlists with content they curate for at leisure viewing. Individual episodes, movies, full collections of even movies can be curated. It has also managed to do the impossible as it unites a diverse range of mobile phone users. It doesn’t matter if you own a Samsung or an iPhone, it is compatible for Android, iOS and Nokia ASHA users too.

     

  • IPL 2015: 65 percent ad inventory of Sony already sold

    IPL 2015: 65 percent ad inventory of Sony already sold

    MUMBAI: Even as the cricket World Cup fever is on, Multi Screen Media (MSM) is gearing up for the next big cricket tourney – the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 and advertisers are flocking to it nineteen to the dozen.

     

    The tournament starts right after the World Cup. Speaking on advertisers reaction so far, Multi Screen Media president Rohit Gupta says, “We have got amazing responses so far and the way it’s shaping up, we may have to extend our ad inventory. We already have our two presenting sponsors in Vodafone and Amazon. It must be noted that Amazon has upgraded itself as a presenting sponsor and it’s an encouraging example. The seven associates are Hero Moto Corp, Cardekho.com, Intex, Vimal Pan Masala, Pay TM, Pepsi and we have one more advertiser who has confirmed its participation. Hero Moto Corp, Cardekho.com and Vimal Pan Masala are first timers and it proves the growing interest of the tournament.”

     

    Sony Max and Six have already launched India Ka Tyohaar campaign for IPL’s 2015 edition. The campaign, which has been orchestrated by DDB Mudra, speaks about unity and celebration, and portrays IPL as a festival that is followed by one and all irrespective of caste, communities and creed.

     

    Way before the campaign launch, Gupta had told Indiantelevision.com that ad rate for the 2015 edition will be hiked by 15 per cent and MSM has successfully managed to achieve the figures.

     

    “As decided, we have hiked our ad rate by 15 per cent and the hike was not on the basis of arrogance or overconfidence, it’s because we had a seven per cent increase in viewership. We have already sold 65 per cent of our ad inventory and we are in last stage talks with many companies. IPL is a tournament that consistently delivers in terms of meeting viewership expectations and advertisers are presented a platform for the entire tournament. IPL is not a tournament where fans have to wait for a week’s time to have a good match. Moreover all the IPL matches are played in prime time and each and every match has equal interest. The growth of viewership is constant in each and every match unlike World Cup where non India matches failed to garner viewers so far. Overall IPL is an insured platform for advertisers where whatever may happen viewership never declines.”

     

    Talking about the campaign, Sony Max senior EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas says, “IPL is beyond any barrier; it’s a huge event that connects everyone. A family that has members of different generations sit together to enjoy the cricketing extravaganza, which has nail biting finishes and entertainment to satisfy everyone’s need. We are our biggest competitor and the only challenge for us is to do better than what we have done in our previous editions. We did aisa mauka aur kahan milega in 2012, which we followed up with Jumping Japang and Come on bulava aaya hai in the following years. But this year we are going to be better than any other year.”

     

    MSM is known for aggressive marketing of IPL, which is their biggest asset and this year is no different. “We have spent 15 per cent more than previous year for the India ka tyohaar campaign,” informs Vyas.

     

    DDB Mudra chairman and chief creative officer Sonal Dabral is satisfied with the progress and the feedback received so far. “India ka tyohaar is something that everyone has been missing. Festivals in India are based on religion and region. IPL is one such festival where everyone participates in the celebration,” Dabral tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

     

    When queried about the other campaigns that are already buzzing, Dabral says, “There will always be a flurry of creative campaigns and it’s not about what others are doing. You have to understand the brand and then come up with a creative concept. Mauka is a good and creative campaign but India Ka Tyohaar is different and it will emerge as the testimony of all campaigns.”

     

    Sony will launch an interactive digital campaign to connect with youth on various social media platforms. The broadcaster is going to feature the 2015 edition of IPL in different languages and there will be a regional awareness initiative to promote the multilingual strategy.

     

    The anthem of the campaign has been composed by musical duo of Salim – Sulaiman, who hope to get everyone to dance to the anthem of Pepsi IPL 2015. “With Pepsi IPL that reflects the fervour of the nation and an idea as powerful as ‘India Ka Tyohaar’, we tried to create a song, which is very Indian in its spirit but yet has the sound of ‘The Now’. Once we had the lyrics we composed the tune and created a rhythm around it which is the beat of our folk music and festivals all across India. The song is infectious! We hope the audiences will celebrate the music and this festive spirit of the Pepsi IPL across the globe,” the duo said.

     

    When asked if composing music for a tournament of such high magnitude is different and difficult from feature films and music albums, Salim Merchant told Indiantelevision.com, “After composing Chak De nothing seems to be difficult anymore but it is indeed different. The tournament will be watched in each and every household and the audience is across age groups. While we ensured that the song pumps up, we also took care that the unifying factor, which is the USP of the campaign, is kept alive.”

     

    Stretching across a four-week period till the launch of the tournament, the Pepsi IPL 2015 campaign will have a complete 360 degree rollout across mass media. The communication will be seen by viewers across mediums like television, print, radio, digital, outdoor, on-ground, mobile and BTL.

  • Pepsi IPL 2015 goes with ‘Unity in Diversity’ theme

    Pepsi IPL 2015 goes with ‘Unity in Diversity’ theme

    MUMBAI: Sony Max and Six, the official broadcasters of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL), have given viewers a reason to cheer by launching the new campaign for this edition of IPL: ‘Ye Hai India Ka Tyohaar.’ 

     

    As the name suggests, the campaign aims to connect hearts and lives by creating a national euphoria and strengthening emotional affinity towards the sport. 

     

    ‘India Ka Tyohaar’ invites people to break their differences and join in the revelry, which is aptly communicated through a heart shaped mnemonic that excludes spirit of togetherness. 

     

    The campaign kicked off with a series of three prequels set in distinct situations of people’s life, ending with the common message of ‘India Ka Tyohaar.’ Sony Max and Six have roped in the musical duo Salim-Sulaiman to compose the anthem “Dooriyan chodkar… dil se dil jodkar.”

     

    Sony Max EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas said, “Pepsi IPL reaches out to people across age groups, gender and languages. This year’s initiative is a unique thought that stems from the insight of how Pepsi IPL over the years has grown to be a huge festival which people celebrate together. It is a perfect blend of cricket, entertainment and festivity packaged in one. The campaign will be promoted in each and every platforms. And with time we will launch an interactive campaign for the digital medium.”

     

    IPL starts right after ICC cricket World Cup and when queried about it, Vyas told Indiantelevision.com, “We have learnt from our experiences before and that’s why we have a different campaign this time. IPL has its charisma and the campaign will back it. The 2015 edition is going to be bigger and better and in all aspects and I am sure about it.”

     

    The multilingual concept will be witnessed during IPL too as the tournament will be showcased in five different languages viz English, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Telegu. While Sony Aath will feature the Bengali edition, MSM may launch two new channels for Tamil and Telegu. But the ad inventory will remain the same and regional players won’t get the opportunity to participate for a particular region.

     

    DDB Mudra CCO Sonal Dabral said, “If cricket is a religion in India, Pepsi IPL is the only true festival. Unlike any other sporting event in the world, it’s a microcosm of the passion and madness that envelops our country whenever cricket is played, uniting hearts and minds in its wake. And unlike any other festival in India, this is one festival that every Indian celebrates. It got the colors of Holi the festivity of Diwali the brotherhood of Eid and joy of Christmas. What else can you call it but one amazing India ka tyohaar? Its been a privilege and an honor to create this big idea for Pepsi IPL.”

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Dabral said that the name behind the campaign came because of all the religious diversities we are witnessing now a days, “The video shows Muslim man picking a Sikh kid on his shoulder and that’s the beauty of IPL and that’s why it’s ‘India ka Tyohaar,’” he concluded.

  • Sony goes full-throttle with new IPL campaign for 2015

    Sony goes full-throttle with new IPL campaign for 2015

    MUMBAI: Even as the country enjoys the ICC Cricket World Cup and its vibrant Mauka campaign, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) IPL right holder Sony Max has launched its campaign for the flagship tournament. It’s indeed a daring attempt to launch a cricket oriented campaign when every cricket fan in India is either speaking about World Cup or Mauka.

    India ka Tyohaar, which implies to festival of India, is Sony’s campaign for IPL 2015. The campaign reverberates around the concept of how IPL is a festival of unity. DDB Mudra orchestrated the campaign and a series of videos were released on both television and social media platforms. It must be noted that last year the campaign was conducted by Havas Media and was called Come on bulava aaya hai.

    Among the videos launched so far, Firework has garnered maximum views on YouTube. The humorous video starts with a look alike of Shah Rukh Khan asking price of a cracker and he sees Salman Khan’s look alike and goes and hugs him. Basically IPL is portrayed as festival of unity, which successfully merges many distances and dilutes animosity.

    In a span of six days the video managed 60,922 views, which is commendable compared to their last year's videos on YouTube.

    The video is likely to get more popularity as the tournament comes closer. The parody was trending on social media for a brief time after its release.

    The second video that the channel launched was titled Office. The video starts with an office boy choreographing dance moves to celebrate various glorious moments and the executives follow him. At the time of penning the article, the video has managed 26,448 views.

    The third video is called Auto, which shows how India prepares for a festival and people easily agree to compromise. The video is targeted to the crazy youth who unitedly plan for a match and watch it together. The video has garnered 36,209 views so far.

    Last year’s campaign Come on bulava aaya hai had four videos shared on the social media platforms of which the Ghost video garnered maximum views with 382,457 hits. The video starts with a priest trying his level best to free a conjured body but the spirit refuses to leave the victim. When the priest is about to give up the IPL siren blows and the spirit comes out to say mera bulava aagaya.

    In another video the creative agency targeted the Bengal audience where they show a Bengali wife running away from the wedding ceremony to catch IPL action. This video managed to garner one third of the previous one with only 119,577 in more than a year time.

    Humor was very much evident in last year’s campaign too. In one of the video they show a mother is about to expire and wants to share something very important with her son. The paranoid son waits eagerly for his mother’s disclosure and when she starts talking, the siren blows and the son runs away leaving his mother on death bed to catch IPL action. The video has got 93,475 views in more than a year's time.

    Considering the circumstances and timeline, the progress made by the campaign so far should be an encouragement to the organizing committee. 

    When queried about the campaign sources in MSM revealed that a few more teasers will be released in the coming days. “The released videos have done well so far and we will have a few more videos hitting public forum in the coming days,” said the source.

  • Max plays cupid this Valentine’s Day

    Max plays cupid this Valentine’s Day

    MUMBAI: This Valentine’s Day Sony Max brings to its viewers Ishq Wala Shanivaara a day-long movie festival of the best and much-loved Bollywood romantic movies. Airing on 14th February, the channel spreads the love with back to back romantic comedies and dramas promising a fun-filled joy ride for all die hard romantics.

    The movie marathon consists of handpicked fan favourites airing from 7am in the morning with ‘Shudd Desi Romance’, and culminating with Heropanti at 11pm. The romantic extravaganza consists of various love themed movies which showcase how love emerges victorious in spite of the odds.  ‘Ishq Wala Shanivaar’ will get television audiences acquainted with the different faces of love, from modern-day love (Shudd Desi Romance) to, tragic love (Aashiqui 2), love and friendship (Mujhse Dosti Karoge) to love across lifetimes (Magadheera) and love set against a violent landscape (Heropanti).

    Commenting on its Valentine’s Day Movie Festival, Neeraj Vyas, Sr. EVP & Business Head, MAX & MAX2 said, “The lineup of romantic movies that we have as part of our festival are extremely popular amongst our viewers and boast of popular star casts which  make the movie viewing experience an enjoyable one. Our movie festival enables viewers to experience Bollywood at its romantic best with movies that celebrate the spirit of Valentine’s Day.”

  • Crystal Ball gazing: The biggies give their view

    Crystal Ball gazing: The biggies give their view

    MUMBAI: With the digital ecosystem evolving since the last few years, the next three to five years are seen as the years of ‘quantum leap’. These were the views of a panel at the Crystal Ball session on the second day of Mix Radio Music Connects (MRMC).

    The panel comprised of Gaana.com VP and business head Pawan Agarwal, HMV Saregama India head music business Adarsh Gupta, Bharti Airtel chief product officer Anand Chandrasekaran, Sony MAX and Sony MIX senior executive VP and  business head Neeraj Vyas and Samsung South West Asia director and head, media and  cloud services Tarun Malik.

    With a rise in music streaming services, visual content streaming services and music channels and companies competing for content will give more traction to these services felt the experts.

    Commenting on the digital eco system, Gupta said, “It is going to take a quantum leap in the next three years; there has been immense mobile penetration and data digitisation in recent times and many digital services have been launched.”

    “Since most music channels are free to air and the revenue comes only through ads, music channels have 20-25 minutes of advertisement/ trailers per hour. We need to focus on bringing music back to the audience but the music channels are here to stay,” according to Vyas.

     “Music channels have a base of around 400 million people and that is the number covered by TAM. We need a lot of changes like digitization, it is the future.” he emphasized.

    Agarwal added, “There are two big things that are happening right now – availability of content and a lot more awareness of the industry going faster. The number of downloads are increasing and digital is the future.”

    Talking about the music industry, Chandrasekaran added, “This is the best time for the music industry.”

    Malik further explained, “Personalisation is the key and differentiation should go beyond just music. The services must be more centric and personalised in terms of what the users want to consume.”
    “What we need to focus on in the coming future is ‘convergence of devices’. The volume of consumption is increasing and they need to be accessible easily across all users’ devices,” he added.

    Chandrasekharan expressed his opinions on what is the need of the hour saying, “Only 1/5 of the overall smartphone using population has the data capability to use apps. We all need to cater to what users want. User problems need to be solved and there must be transparency. For example, when a user is using a music streaming app, they do not know how much data is going to be consumed. That is why we have introduced Freedom subscription in Wynk, which includes bundled data.”

    The biggest challenge that the music industry faces is piracy, especially in India, where users download illegal music for convenience. Agarwal said, “The entire industry is trying very hard to curb piracy by introducing many services. Apps should introduce subscriptions which allow the users to download music when they have Wi-Fi and later listen, without data usage.”

    The panellists agreed that the mid-term goal is to get at least a hundred million people to stream music, which will help reduce the piracy. With healthy smartphone consumption in the country, they believe, that hundred million is a reasonable number to expect in the next two years.

     

  • Max brings on board DDB Mudra as its new creative agency

    Max brings on board DDB Mudra as its new creative agency

    MUMBAI: Hindi movie channels Sony Max and Max2, have roped in DDB Mudra as their new creative agency.

     

    Commencing from 1 October, DDB Mudra will handle the creative duties for the brands Sony Max and Max2 which were previously handled by J Walter Thompson.

     

    Commenting on this change Sony Max and Max2 VP marketing and communications Vaishali Sharma said, “With the ever changing business environment, it is important to continuously reinvent and innovate as a market leader.  We are happy to have DDB Mudra as our new agency on board and look forward to working with them. We are confident that they will provide us with a fresh perspective for our campaigns and will enable us to scale new heights.”

     

    The decision was closed following a competitive pitch by a few selectively invited agencies, vying for the account.

     

    Talking about its new assignment, DDB Mudra Group executive director and president Rajiv Sabnis said, “If Bollywood and cricket are like religion in India, then Max is the temple at which Indian viewers pay obeisance. You can’t ask for better. The DDB Mudra mandate is to take this obsession with Bollywood and cricket to the next level.”

  • Chrome Data: English News gains most in week 40

    Chrome Data: English News gains most in week 40

    MUMBAI: English news in the eight metros gained the most opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics and Media for the week 40.

    The genre grew by 1.5 per cent wherein Times Now continued its reign with 85.0 per cent OTS. Hindi movies and Music in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) shared the second position with 0.3 per cent. In the Hindi movies genre, Max was at number one position with 97.1 per cent OTS, whereas in the Music genre, 9XM remained on top with 88.1 per cent OTS.

    English Entertainment in the eight metros witnessed a significant drop of 10.3 per cent. AXN with 67.8 per cent OTS gained in the most in the category. English movies in the eight metros came in second and saw a drop of 4.1 per cent. Pix lead the chart with 74.6 per cent OTS.

    Infotainment channels across India saw a fall of 2.7 per cent. Discovery topped in the category with 86.5 per cent OTS. 

  • Sony Max’s ‘No Talkies Returns’ a box-office hit with media agencies

    Sony Max’s ‘No Talkies Returns’ a box-office hit with media agencies

    MUMBAI: ‘No talkies Returns’- the national level dumb charades competition between media agencies organized by Sony Max, the premium Hindi movies channel concluded on an entertaining note on Friday, 19th September with Mumbai’s Red Fuse team taking away the trophy.

     

    With engaging regional rounds held across the cities of Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, the grand finale in Mumbai received a thumping response from media agencies and saw them battle it out to win the much coveted title of ‘No Talkies Returns’2014. Participants put their acting skills to the test as they competed against each other in a series of exciting rounds.  Teams that qualified for the finale round included MEC from Bangalore; Maxus and Lintas from Delhi; and OMD and Red Fuse from Mumbai.

     

    With a quest to find the ‘filmi deewana’ amongst media agencies, the channel carried out this interactive and entertaining initiative for the second year. With registrations having begun from 19th August onwards and lasting for 10 days, the channel received an overwhelming response from media agencies, with more than 150 teams registering this year as compared to a 100 teams in year one. Media agencies that signed up for the event included Maxus, MEC, Mindshare, Motivator, Madison, Zenith Optimedia & OMD to name a few.

     

    Commenting on the success of the event, Vaishali Sharma, VP Marketing, MAX commented, “We are immensely glad with the success of our initiative which had media agencies display their ‘filmy deewanapan’ side.  Seeing how well received this competition was, encourages us to bring it back year on year. We as a channel hope to keep the Bollywood spirit high by inspiring people through our unique endeavors.”

  • Max 2 celebrates evergreen Indian cinema

    Max 2 celebrates evergreen Indian cinema

    MUMBAI: Bringing alive the magic of great Indian cinema, MAX 2 is all set to get evergreen films to its viewers that are fresh and enjoyable to watch. With a differentiated brand positioning of ‘Jab dekho tab naya’, it will showcase iconic films that have an eternal appeal.

     

    With a rich selection of plots, dialogues, characters and music, the channel will handpick films for its viewers that will never cease to delight.  Moreover, MAX 2 seeks to establish an emotional connect with viewers through an appreciation and understanding of great Indian cinema.

     

    The objective of the channel is to not only cater to the needs of millions of Indian audiences who appreciate rich Indian cinema but also to inspire newer audiences to recognise and admire what went into creating such magnificent cinema.

     

    On the programming front, a fresh spin has been given to the movie wrap around programming called ‘Take 2’. Detailed research has been put into gathering authentic and never heard before movie trivia to make it relevant and appealing across generations.

     

    This short format programming will also draw a parallel between these iconic films and current consumer trends to make it appealing to the younger movie audience. ‘Sitaare’, another short format interstitial will be presented as mini biography. Featuring superstars of Indian cinema, these interstitial will take the viewers through an unseen, unknown and magical journey of their life. These will be presented in motion comic’s style making it contemporary, unique, visually appealing and relatable to the current generation of movie lovers.

     

    Sony Max EVP and business head Neeraj Vyas believes that no matter what day and age, great stories, legends and music has eternal appeal. “MAX 2 has been conceptualised as a contemporary place for great Indian cinema. It attempts to give that due pedestal to great Indian cinema.”