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Tag: Sony SIX

  • Reliance Media Works helps amplify 2014 FIFA World Cup fever

    Reliance Media Works helps amplify 2014 FIFA World Cup fever

    MUMBAI: As the excitement in the air builds, fans all across the world gear up for the biggest football tournament.  From social networking sites, advertisement commercials to sports bars the 2014 FIFA World Cup fever is everywhere. And this year for the first time Reliance MediaWorks is proud to be associated with Sony SIX for this mega event. The company has partnered with the official broadcasters – Multi Screen Media who are using the state of the art sound stages at Film City to shoot Café Rio, a prime time football wrap around show that is being aired on Sony SIX.

     

    Café Rio is a prime time show where experts from the football field and some football legends come together to offer in-depth analysis of player forms, group standings, strategies and the matches being played. With a combination of sports and entertainment this show promises to captivate both the football purists and enthusiastic viewers. The line-up is promising including Peter Crouch, Robbie Fowler, Peter Shilton, Mikael Silvestre, Ellyse Perry, Sunil Chhetri and John Abraham.

     

    For this one month long program, keeping in mind the stringent requirements that involved several elements including live stadium action and studio programming on a daily basis, the entire consolidation was done at the Reliance MediaWorks studio facilities so that the seamlessly integrated programme is available to delight millions of football fans on a daily basis.

     

    Availability of the best in class infrastructure, onsite technical support, high standards of quality & security; all within the reach at a convenient location like Filmcity was the key reason that made this the preferred choice.

     

    Known for their Hollywood benchmarked infrastructure, Reliance MediaWorks currently offer four sound stages for all production requirements for broadcast, film, TVCs & events. The new set of four stages which also have the same technical specifications, will be operational by September 2014.

     

    MSM executive vice president and business head Prasana Krishnan said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is without a doubt the most anticipated event of the year. In order to deliver the very best to our viewers, we had to ensure that everything that goes into the creation of the content is of the very finest quality. Thereby, our preferred choice of high technology studio facility was Reliance MediaWorks.”

     

    Reliance MediaWorks chief executive officer Venkatesh Roddam, added, “After our repeated successful collaboration for Pepsi IPL Extraaa Innings, we are partnering with Multi-Screen Media yet again for Café Rio this time. They constantly offer path breaking programming concepts to the discerning viewers and we at Reliance MediaWorks are happy and proud to be associated in this first of its kind programming initiatives for football in India.”

  • This FIFA, news channels will even the score

    This FIFA, news channels will even the score

     MUMBAI: It’s raining goals this FIFA World Cup. Favourites are being kicked out while the underdogs are rising up the points table. And news channel are now vying to latch on to the football fever by focusing on dedicated FIFA shows and content.

     

    Official FIFA broadcaster, Sony Six, has associated with India’s premier news channel Times Now, to provide excerpts from their two shows: Café Rio and Football Extraaa, but not match content. Times Now utilises this exclusive content consisting of expert analysis for its sports slot between 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

     

     According to Sony Six assistant vice president marketing Murtuza Madraswala the association with the newscaster will benefit them both. He says, “We are happy to associate with Times Now as there is a synergy in our passion for the sport and we cater to a similar profile of target audience. FIFA World Cup is the greatest sporting extravaganza and this partnership only adds to the magic and the fervour of the greatest party in the world!”

     

     Other major news channels too have joined the FIFA bandwagon by bringing in dedicated shows with big names associated as anchors and guests. Some of these channels include ABP News, ABP Ananda, CNN-IBN, IBN7, Headlines Today, NewsX and Al Jazeera.

     

     Headlines Today has come up with Carniball2014: Brazil which is aired between 7 pm to 8 pm every night. It covers performances and off-field developments with pre and post analysis of the games.

     

     The guest line up for Carniball2014, anchored by Shivani Gupta, comprises of former India manager Eric Benny, sports historian and consulting editor from Kolkata Boria Majumdar, former India skipper and current ISL football team owner Sourav Ganguly, I- league winning coach of Bengaluru FC team Ashley Westwood, super model Gabriela Bertante, soccer expert Roy Hay and director of the national football museum in Manchester Kevin Moore.

     

    The ABP group’s main show Duniya Gol Hai is aired at 8:30 am and 10:30 pm. The morning version focuses on match results, golden boot contenders and light features whereas the evening show is primarily a preview based show looking at players to watch out for and the games to expect. The group’s impressive guest lineup has famous Indian midfielder Renedy Singh whose career graph extends 14 long years. Joining him is football commentator Ghaus Mohammad and the show is anchored by GS Vivek along with a news anchor and two correspondents who are covering FIFA from Brasil.

     

    The ABP group, through ABP Ananda, has also focused on the regional Bengali market where a large football fan base exists. MCCS marketing manager Vikas Singh says, “Through ABP Ananda we have a battery of experts and a round the clock coverage catering extensively to the high fan base market like Bengal. For us, FIFA World Cup is not a sports event but a news event.”

     

    Network18’s CNN-IBN and IBN7 are not far behind. A Beautiful Game airs on CNN-IBN while Mission Brazil airs on IBN7. The expert lineup includes renowned former Moroccan footballer and coach Karim Bencherifa, football analyst and commentator Novy Kapadia and former captain and coach of the Indian football team Shabbir Ali.

     

    Commenting on the network’s special programming, IBN18 Network editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “Football has a massive fan following in India and our extensive programming will be an absolute treat for the football enthusiasts of the nation. The programming will focus on providing extensive coverage of the tournament including unmatched analysis of the strategies adopted by various teams and a scrutiny of the players’ performances.”

     

    Tapping into the FIFA fever, Al Jazeera English has introduced Football Rebels, a show presented and narrated by former Manchester United star Eric Cantona. It is a five part documentary that sheds light on some unusual stories of football heroes.

     

     Meanwhile, News X has a special show-War of the World aired from Monday to Friday at 8:30 am and 6:30 pm and7:30 pm on Saturday and Sundays. Its morning show features guests like former EPL footballer with Liverpool Mark Seagraves, football journalist Anurag Jacob and News X consulting editor Ayaz Memon. War of the World is anchored by sports anchor Anil Senghera.

     

     India News has launched Dan Dana Dan which is broadcast daily at 7:30 am and 6:30 pm. Dan Dana Dan is anchored by  Rajeev Mishra along with a guest line up of ex FIFA referee Melvyn Da Souza, former Mohan Bagan coach Santosh Kayshap and former India players Mahesh Gawli and Shamsi Raza.

     

     To make the shows more engaging and interactive in nature, a few of the news channels have realised that it is extremely important to engage with netizens and make them active viewers rather than just passive audiences. Headlines Today has two contests – a Carniball Weekly Contest and Trivia of the Day. Participants stand a chance to win Adidas FIFA merchandise and a Maruti Suzuki Swift Car. On twitter the channel has been engaging with the twitterati by creating the hashtag #Carniball2014. These tweets are displayed on air during the show.

     

    For those who think that news channels only show political news seem to forget that FIFA is not just a sport; it’s a news maker and audience capturer all by itself!

  • Get, set, goal…

    Get, set, goal…

    MUMBAI: A mysterious calm surrounds the sets of Café Rio and Football Extraaa, the two shows on Sony Six especially created for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The atmosphere is calm and dark, but then as a few spot boys enter, the eeriness begins to drift.

     

    As lights are lit, the crimson yellow, flame orange and sky blue colors of Brasil bring the set to life.

     

    Café Rio, a live primetime show at 8 pm leading up to the match kick-offs, entails interesting facts about victorious teams, historical venues and stalwart players along with in-depth analysis and discussion about squads, player forms, group standings and strategies.

     

    The adjacent set belongs to the live breakfast show Football Extraa, which is aired between 8 am to 9 am, relives the excitement and fun of the previous day matches.

     

    The two sets are designed with hand painted cutouts and buntings along with touch screen graphic screens. The innovatively created Café Rio set could have been created anywhere between the price range of 8 to 10 lakhs while the small scale Football Extraa set would be within the range of 5 to 6 lakhs.

     

    As several hands begin to spruce up the set, in walks the dapper Indian football team captain and panelist Sunil Chhetri who finds the set as an invigorating mix of colour and energy which helps him identify with the action in Brasil. Soon follows the make-up man to give him the right touchup over his clean shaven face.

     

    When questioned about the most surprising moment for him this World Cup, he raises his brow and matter-of-factly states, “It was definitely Chile beating Spain. Netherlands as a team too have done their homework.”

     

    He adds, “Thanks to Sony Six I am having a gala time. It’s been a combination of work and pleasure for me. I do my research well in advance and try to bring my knowledge to the table.”

     

    The shows need a tremendous amount of research and insight. The research team comprises of two people who are the ‘Wikipedia’ of football and act as statisticians too. The blueprint of the show is prepared in the morning while the information is computed three and a half hours before the show begins.

     

    A total of 120 people complete the production and post-production teams led by three senior producers and a senior executive producer which also includes camera persons and spot boys.

     

    The production and research teams work on the graphics together on the analysis software provided by wTVision. A total of five high definition (HD) cameras and a jib capture the various set angles.

     

    The anchor and the studio guests, who arrive just two hours earlier, are briefed about the day’s happenings. Their inputs too are taken into consideration, especially the narration style.

     

    Amidst the chaos, noiselessly walks in British sports presenter, Joe Morrison, who gobbles down two to three bananas hiding from other’s eyes.

     

    As we settle down to interview him, the slender presenter goes down memory lane and says that though the 1982 WC holds close to his heart, he isn’t complaining about the current one as well.

     

    When quizzed about the football scene in India, he quickly replies: “It has been steady. Pessimists say there is no talent. I think this thought is Bu**Sh**! Over the last eight to nine years, the appetite for football has grown in India. There is no shortage of talent here. The fundamental problem is that no one is searching for the right talent.”

     

    When asked which is the team he is supporting ardently? A crafty grin says it all. “England and it will always be England. But I do have a soft spot for Brasil,” he confesses.

     

    The set goes hush as it’s time to shoot before the big game. As the two guests, Robbie Fowler and Sunil Chhetri along with host Joe Morrison take their seats; loud voices turn into whispers as the floor manager commands everyone to put their mobile phones on silent mode. Everyone obeys.

     

    The final countdown to the show, produced at Reliance MediaWorks located in the heart of Filmcity, begins.

     

    As the producers’ voice nears 3,2,1… Morrison’s crystal clear voice rings in the air… “Someone is going home, tonight!”

  • 400 private websites restrained from beaming FIFA

    400 private websites restrained from beaming FIFA

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court issued an injunction order restraining around 400 private websites from beaming the World Cup Football FIFA matches.

     

    The vacation bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao gave a directive to the Department of Information Technology and Telecom to ensure implementation of the order of the court. He directed that his directive would be forwarded to the concerned ministry.

     

     The judge, who listed the matter to come up in the last week of July, gave the directive after hearing Saikrishna Rajagopal who was arguing on behalf of Multi Screen Media Entertainment (Sony) which holds the exclusive rights for beaming the matches in India.

     

     The sports arm of MSM, Sony Six, is the official broadcaster of the football extravaganza, while its digital platform LIVSports.in has the exclusive rights to live stream the event.

     

    The network had moved the court after it found out that several unauthorized websites were streaming the World Cup matches.

  • Sony Six TAM (es) rating with FIFA World Cup

    Sony Six TAM (es) rating with FIFA World Cup

    MUMBAI: It has been 10 days since the FIFA World Cup started and the excitement is only rising for fans and official broadcaster, Sony Six.

     

    According to inputs provided by the channel, 14.8 million viewers have switched on to the channel to watch the games despite the fact that three of the five games take place post midnight.

     

    For the ninth week now, Sony Six has retained its position as the number one sports channel in India, it claims.

     

    Meanwhile, MSM group’s regional channel Sony Aaath providing live Bengali commentary during the matches in West Bengal has proved to be a brilliant business move for the channel. Five million viewers from Kolkata tuned in to watch the games being held in Brazil versus 4.6 million viewers that had tuned in during the 2010 World Cup. Similarly, 1.6 million viewers from the rest of Bengal watched versus 1.2 million viewers who tuned in last time.

     

    Beyond the metros, the ratings have been positive in towns with a population of more than 10 million, while towns within the population range one to 10 million homes have registered a growth of six per cent.

     

    With most games being showcased during the primetime at 9:30 pm, the response so far for the channel has been positive.

     

    Meanwhile, the FIFA World Cup seems to be breaking viewership records in several countries, FIFA has revealed.  34.1 million Japanese viewers tuned into watch their country get deafeated 2-1 by Ivory Coast on NHK at 10 am when the match was telecast. TV Globo reported that  42.9 million Brazillian viewers watched the host nation beat Croatia 3-1. The story in the US was no different with 11.1 million Americans watching Uncle Sam play with Ghana on ESPN.

     

    Audiences were also glued to their TV sets in both Italy and England as the former beat the latter 2-1. The viewership numbers for the BBC were 14.2 million for the match, while RAI1 in Italy notched up 12.8 million viewers – the highest TV viewership in 2014 for both the countries. In Germany, ARD channel lured 26.4 million  viewers as it beat Portugal 4-1.

  • MSM moves Delhi HC on infringement of FIFA rights

    MSM moves Delhi HC on infringement of FIFA rights

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has moved the Delhi High Court over illegal streaming of the 2014 FIFA World Cup by several websites. The sports arm of MSM, Sony Six is the official broadcaster of the football extravaganza, while its digital platform LIVSports.in has the exclusive rights to live stream the event.

     

    The network has moved the court after it found out that several unauthorised websites were streaming the World Cup matches.

     

    The case which is up for hearing on 23 June, will be heard by a bench comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul and Sunita Gupta.  Advocate Saikrishna Rajagopal will present the case on behalf of MSM.

     

    The counsel sought an early listing of the matter on the ground that these websites were interfering with the network’s rights.

  • MSM sub-licenses FIFA World Cup to Seven3Sports

    MSM sub-licenses FIFA World Cup to Seven3Sports

    NEW DELHI: Football fans across Indian subcontinent can now enjoy the biggest sporting event, 2014 FIFA World Cup, thanks to Seven3Sports bagging the sub-license rights from MSM India for telecasting the World Cup in the five countries across Indian subcontinent (excluding India). The media rights includes: TV broadcast through terrestrial transmission on an exclusive and Cable and Satellite on a non-exclusive basis besides mobile and broadband rights.

     

    Seven3Sports has put together an enviable partnership with several leading sports and state-owned government channels across territories, which includes Ten Sports and Pakistan TV in Pakistan; Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation in Sri Lanka; Gazi TV, Maasranga TV and Bangladesh TV in Bangladesh; Nepal TV and Kantipur TV in Nepal and Maldives Broadcasting Corporation and Island Broadcasting Company in Maldives.

     

    Seven3Sports founder and chief executive officer Jatin Ahluwalia said, “We are delighted to take this biggest sporting competition in the world to many more homes across Indian sub-continent countries (excluding India) and want to thank MSM for trusting our vision and for their faith in our abilities to deliver sub-license arrangements. This partnership has bolstered our strength and confidence in delivering to high standards. We are honoured to have been entrusted with this opportunity that has enabled us to notch up with our array of services as a sports media company.”

     

    Through this large scale arrangement, Seven3Sports is democratising viewing experience for the football-lovers through local partnerships, bringing the superior and outstanding soccer experience of 2014 FIFA World Cup  to nearly half a billion people across these states.

     

    Seven3Sports is a young company that has grown manifolds, making its presence felt in the sports & broadcast industry. The new, out-of-the-box approach to offer multi-platform / multi-region of super-premium sporting events makes it different from others.

     

    The company has set out a sustainable plan to build a sports media eco-system through its long term sports media arrangements – it already owns Pepsi IPL TV Broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent region across Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka from 2014 for five seasons, Digital rights for French Open in India for 2013 and 2014,  Digital rights of Bundesliga the leading soccer league of Germany from 2014-2016, besides delivering India’s tour of New Zealand and Zimbabwe in 2013 across digital platforms.

  • We will launch more channels in next one year: Rajesh Kaul

    We will launch more channels in next one year: Rajesh Kaul

    MUMBAI: It was in February that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its regulation on the role of content aggregators and since then, several changes have taken place in the structure of the existing aggregators. While MediaPro decided to split post the regulation, good news is that aggregators IndiaCast UTV Media Distribution and TheOneAlliance are still standing strong in their respective joint ventures.

     

    Announcing the strong allegiance is the MSM Discovery (MSMD) joint venture TheOneAlliance which will continue to be the authorised sole and exclusive distribution agent for Multi Screen Media, Discovery Communications India and TV Today Network to various distribution platforms – Cable (both analogue and digital), DTH, HITS, IPTV and hotels and commercials establishments.

     

    “As per the TRAI regulation, we will now be the exclusive agents for MSM, Discovery and TV Today,” informs TheOneAlliance president Rajesh Kaul.

     

    While the distributor earlier had 28 channels in the bouquet, with Times Television Network (Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now and Zoom) moving out from the bouquet, to set up its independent distribution team, TheOneAlliance will now have 24 premium channels to distribute.

     

    “It was a mutual decision to part ways. We have a strong bouquet and we would like to concentrate on that,” adds Kaul.

     

    Apart from the current 24 channels distributed by MSMD, the network will be making heavy investments in the form of new channels such as Max 2 – a contemporary Hindi movie channel showcasing Indian cinema, Pix HD, AXN HD and a new entertainment channel from the MSM stable.

     

    “We have one of the most stable and dynamic distribution partnerships in the industry. Given the current strength and the aggressive future investment plans of our partners, TheOneAlliance will continue to excel as the powerful leader in the industry,” he says.

     

    TheOneAlliance’s plate seems to be very tempting with MSM acquiring premium sporting properties for its sports and entertainment channel, Sony Six. The channel currently broadcasts sporting events like NBA, UFC, TNA Wrestling and Australian Open tennis along with the Indian Premier League and is home of international football for the next five years with exclusive rights to telecasting the world’s largest sporting spectacle FIFA World Cup 2014 – Brasil & FIFA World Cup 2018 – Russia along with UEFA EURO 2016.

     

    It is not just MSM that is launching new channels, but Discovery Communications India too is set to increase its channel offerings with: Investigation Discovery (ID), a suspense Hindi entertainment channel, TLC HD and Animal Planet HD. 

     

    Over the course of the next one year, both the networks are looking forward to launching new channels in both SD and HD across different genres. “We have huge plans of launching many more channels in different genres in the next one year. Our bouquet will only grow from strength to strength,” says Kaul.

     

    “We believe in nurturing and fostering positive and strong relationships with our partners which is mutually beneficial to both and we are happy to extend this partnership to the future also. We are very confident that TheOneAlliance is perfectly enabled to monetise the valuable and exclusive premium content that we produce and acquire,” MSM CEO N.P Singh said through a statement.

     

    Added Rahul Johri, EVP and general manager – south Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and southeast Asia, “Discovery has a very strong partnership with Sony and we are fully committed to TheOneAlliance. It is Discovery’s endeavour to provide the Indian viewers with the finest entertainment and TheOneAlliance will continue to distribute our eight current channels and our new launches across India.” 

     

    The 24 premium channels distributed by TheOneAlliance include: SET, Max, Max 2, Sab, Mix, Pix, Six, AXN, Animax, Aath, Discovery Channel, Discovery Channel Tamil, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo, Discovery Kids, Discovery HD World, Sony HD, Six HD, Pix HD, Headlines Today, Aaj Tak and Tez.

  • DD’s FIFA offering

    DD’s FIFA offering

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Reaching out to a wider audience so that the FIFA fever isn’t missed by all, India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has got into an agreement with official FIFA World Cup broadcaster Sony Six.

     

    The deal is mandatory under the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory sharing with Prasar Bharti) Act 2007 for telecasting a few games of the mammoth event.

     

    These games include the opening ceremony (which was telecasted yesterday), the maiden match (played out between Brazil and Croatia), two semi finals and the final match.

     

    However, DD will be showcasing different advertisements during the simulcast of select matches.

     

    Officials from Sony Six confirmed saying that since FIFA World Cup is a mandatory listed event under the mentioned Act, therefore it had to share its feed with the pubcaster.

     

    Surprising, the marketing department of DD quoted higher ad rates than those quoted by Sony Six for a 10 second slot. Therefore following the modalities that come under the Act, DD will retain 25 per cent of the ad revenues while 75 per cent will be handed over to Sony Six.

     

    Meanwhile, keeping at bay all apprehensions,  the World Cup opening ceremony finally got off to a colorful start with American singer Jennifer Lopez along with rapper Pitbull and Brazillian singer Claudia Leitteto belting out the  official World Cup song  “We are One” together on stage.

     

    Kids who were draped as football referees created formations around a giant LED flower in the center of the stadium that displayed Brazillian colours and many languages. The famous Brazilian dance, Samba, was showcased as men and women in fancy colours put their best foot forward. The opening match between the host country Brazil and Croatia ended with a 3-1 victory with Brazil winning it. The lone goal for Croatia was only because Brazilian defender Marcelo scored Brazils own goal in the 11th minute.

  • No takers for India-Bangladesh tri series, yet

    No takers for India-Bangladesh tri series, yet

    MUMBAI: With just two days to go for the India –Bangladesh one-day international (ODI) series, the Bangladesh’s official television rights holder, Gazi TV, is yet to get an Indian broadcaster on board according to a report in a daily today.

     

    The report further mentions that Gazi  TV has put a $ 1 million offer for the rights of the three-match ODI series which will be held on 15, 17 & 19 June. The offer was being customised for Star Sports but as of now it has not shown any interest and wants the price to be lowered.

     

    The report quotes Gazi TV CFO Salahuddin Chowdhury saying that it has not received any confirmation from Star. “We don’t want to deprive the Indian fans of live action of the series, unless, something dramatic happens over the next two days, I cannot assure you that the matches will be telecast in India.” 

     

    With FIFA being aired on Sony Six, it is unlikely that the channel from the Multi Screen Media (MSM) kitty would be interested in telecasting the tri-series.

     

    Also, Ten Sports and Neo Sports are currently occupied fighting the big bully Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in court.  It’s safe to assume that they will also not telecast the matches.

     

    However, there could be  some good news for Gazi. India’s state owned broadcaster Doordarshan is open to a revenue-sharing deal.
     

    The three matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium at Mirpur.