ITV

Tag: Sony

  • Sony, King World extend association with two new game shows

    Sony, King World extend association with two new game shows

    MUMBAI: King World Productions and Sony Pictures Television, the companies behind two of television’s most successful shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, have joined hands once again to create two game shows. The properties will be unveiled during the 2007 fall season.

    Today (17 April), both the companies are set to announce that they will offer two half-hour game shows as a one-hour block in syndication, as according to a Reuters report.

    Wheel of Fortune is in its 23rd season, while Jeopardy! has reached its 22nd season. Both the shows are produced by Sony and sold to stations by King World.

  • Hindi GECs in summer overdrive

    “We will have to speak to our competitors and see how they are placed before scheduling our press conference,” says a PR executive who works for one of the leading Hindi general entertainment channels.The interesting comment came when we told her about the big day ‘24 April‘ that would witness the launch of about five programmes across the channels.

    Yes, this summer is about to witness a programming bonanza in the general entertainment channel (GEC) space, with not less than eight prime time shows being lined up for launch during this April-May phase. Both the weekday and weekend prime time bands will witness a flurry of activity and the shows gearing up for launch include some big budget projects as well. Star Plus, Sony, Zee, Sahara One and Sab, all will be launching an array of soaps during this time.

    Star Plus will replace its daily soap Milee with the much-awaited Ravi Chopra production Viraasat. The show will run Monday to Thursday in the 9 pm slot, starting 24 April. The channel has also lined up two shows — Prithviraj Chauhan, Dharti Ka Ek Veer Yodha and Ek Chaabi Pados Mein — for launch in May.

    According to Star India senior creative director Shailja Kejriwal, Prithviraj Chauhan will run Friday to Sunday, while Ek Chaabi Pados Mein is yet to be scheduled. “Prithviraj Chauhan will run Friday through Sunday. Internal discussions are going on to decide the time slot for this show, as well as the exact schedule for Ek Chaabi Pados Mein,” says Kejriwal.

    The channel has been working on these three projects since a long time as it required strong properties to fill the void left by its weekend driver show KBC 2. With the launch of these three big projects — two in the weekend band and one in the weekday band — Star Plus‘ attempt will be to bring in some significant improvement as well as consistency to its performance in the prime time band across the week.

    Sony, on the other hand, is now eyeing weekdays and is introducing two new shows on 24 April, after strengthening its Friday band with its Shukra Hai Shukravaar Hai package. Aisa Des Hai Mera will be aired at 9 pm and Thodi Khushi Thode Gham at 9.30 pm from 24 April. The shows will run from Monday to Thursday.

    On Monday and Tuesday, these two new shows will replace the second season of Indian Idol, which is coming to its end. Whereas, on Wednesday and Thursday, the two shows will substitute Deal Ya No Deal, which is now being made into a weekly and will air only on Friday at 8 pm.

    The channel is unveiling its programming strategy gradually. While the first one was to strengthen the Friday line up, the second is to ramp up the 9 to10 pm band on weekdays.

    In the next couple of months, Sony will also be revamping the 10 to 11 pm band as well as the afternoon band, where the latter at present comprises re-runs of old shows and repeats of prime time shows. Also, Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, which airs from Monday to Thursday at 10 pm will end its run in May and new shows are likely to be introduced then.

    Says Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India chief operating officer NP Singh, “We will be rolling out our new programming strategy step by step in the coming months. The beginning was made with the Friday lineup. By July, the programming schedule of Sony will be completely transformed.”

    Sony‘s move to strengthen its weekday programming with fiction will also see the channel taking a deliberate retreat from the reality terrain. Once Indian Idol 2 bids adieu, the channel will have its reality dose further scaled down with only Fear Factor there to represent the genre.

    Sab TV will be also be launching a new show – Twinkle Beauty Parlour in May in the 9 pm slot. However Sab business head Vikas Bhal declined to comment whether it would be a weekday or weekend show.

    While Sony is making some calculated moves to regain lost glory in prime time, the Zee camp is not sitting on its laurels but banking on some big launches. After launching its biggest project of the year Business Baazigar on 31 March, Zee TV will flag off another key property on 24 April. The soap Jab Love Hua will replace Rubba Ishq Na Hove and Sarrkkar in the 8:30 pm slot to run Monday through Friday. Then viewers can also expect some fireworks from the latest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa version Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu. It is learnt that the channel has ensured a high doze of reality-oriented excitement in the forthcoming episodes of the talent hunt show.

    Ek Mein Aur Ek Tu along with Zee TV‘s soap brigade have their task cut out: block any resurgence by Sony and make the viewers thank Zee TV as well – be it a Monday or a Friday.

    On Monday, 10 April, Sahara One will be launching a new fiction show – Suno… Harr Dill Kuchh Kehtaa Hai in the 10 pm slot. This show will run from Monday to Friday and will replace the re-runs of Virasaat on the channel. Once Buniyaad gets over in May, Sahara One will be launching another show – Sati to replace it.

    Reshuffle in Prime time rankings; Sony & Star One push Zee to fourth spot

    Interestingly, since the re-launch of Shukra Hai Shukravaar Hai on 10 March, Sony‘s prime time performance has seen a radical jump. Last month, the channel strengthened its Friday lineup, which included Deal Ya No Deal (8 pm), Fear Factor (9 pm), CID (10 pm) and Kandy Floss (11 pm). While Fear Factor has been the top rated show on Sony for three consecutive weeks; the new format CID has also been rating well consistently for the channel.

    In the week beginning 26 February, Sony‘s prime time (8 pm to 11 pm) channel share was 12.9 per cent in the C&S 4+ Hindi speaking market according to Tam. Whereas, in the week beginning 5 March (when the new Friday lineup was introduced), the channel‘s prime time share jumped to 20.3 per cent. In the corresponding week (12 March), the share further increased to 22.1 per cent. However, in the week beginning 19 March, the prime time channel share fell to 17.2 per cent.

    The latest prime time picture is as follows:

    Star Plus‘ share in the prime time fell from 56.9 per cent in the week beginning 26 February to 46.8 per cent in the week beginning 5 March and further to 43.4 per cent in the week beginning 12 March, according to Tam. In the week beginning 19 March, Star Plus‘ prime time channel share rose to 49.1 per cent.

    Star One meanwhile has overtaken Zee TV in prime time to claim the third position with 14.8 per cent channel share as opposed to Zee‘s 11.6 per cent in the week beginning 19 March. The shows which have triggered the good performance for Star One include Saarabhai Vs Saarabhai, Remix, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge 2, Kya Hoga Nimmo Ka and Mano Ya Na Mano.

    On the other hand, Sahara One, which has claimed to be the number three channel in the week ending 25 March, is still way behind Sony as far as prime time channel share is concerned. Sahara One‘s prime time channel share in the week beginning 19 March was 5.3 per cent. Star One has overtaken Zee TV in prime time to claim the third position with 14.8 per cent channel share as opposed to Zee‘s was 11.6 per cent in the week beginning 19 March.

    As the prime time action heats up across the networks, expect to see an ongoing jostling for leadership positions over the next two months. Behind Star Plus of course.

     

  • Oz-SA batting blitz ODI gets ESPN high eyeballs

    Oz-SA batting blitz ODI gets ESPN high eyeballs

    NEW DELHI: The epic one day international between South Africa and Australia, which saw eight records tumble during the record run chase by the Proteas, registered a very impressive TVR of 3.1 in India on 12 March, 2006.

    Sports broadcaster ESPN garnered highest channel share of 16.5 pr cent during South Africa’s historic run chase against the world Champion. ESPN Star Sports is broadcasting Australia’s tour of South Africa covering the five one day internationals and three test series between the two cricketing giants.

    ESPN’s share was almost thrice than the next competing channel Star Plus during the time 1743 -2203 hrs on 12 March. Star Plus garnered 6.1 pr cent, Zee Cinema 4.9 per cent, Sony 3.2 per cent and DD National 2.7 per cent during the time period, an official statement from ESS said today, basing it on TAM figures (Males, 15+, SEC ABC all-India).
    The simulcast of India-England Test match on the same day garnered a rating of 3.1 (DD1) and 1.8 (Sahara One).

    And it’s not just once-in-a-lifetime matches like the one witnessed in Johanesburg that are getting in the viewer numbers, according to ESPN. Non-India cricket ratings have been on a rise, the channel claims. ESPN’s channel share surged ahead of all satellite channels during the victorious run chase of Bangladesh against Australia on 18 June, 2005, the statement avers.

    ESPN registered a channel share of 8.1 which was way ahead of other channels including Star Plus (6.9), Sony (5.7) and Zee TV (4.6).

  • BBC outlines online strategy

    BBC outlines online strategy

    MUMBAI: Speaking at the MIX06 conference in Las Vegas, the director of the BBC’s new media and technology division Ashley Highfield, outlined the public broadcaster’s online strategy.

    At the Microsoft-organized event for web developers, designers and business professionals, Highfield stressed that the BBC has to be technologically innovative, and key to that strategy is working with partners like Microsoft.

    Highfield said, “We have a duty of universality. So it’s vital that we innovate through a number of strategic partnerships with technology companies and distributors such as Microsoft, Apple, Sony, Homechoice, NTL and Telewest. Both the BBC and Microsoft are ultimately looking for ways to empower our audiences; to put them in control, and in this we have an alignment of strategic objectives.”

    He added, “The challenge is to create an end-to-end infrastructure for all our programming, to deliver content to all our audiences in the most cost-effective, simple and flexible way possible. The last ten yards of railway track-seamless delivery from the PC to the TV-is still to be built within the home.”

    Highfield also used the keynote to showcase BBC’s iMP (Integrated Media Player), which just completed a five-month trial. The technology allows users to download programs onto their PCs and is “aimed at putting our audience in the driving seat,” he said.

  • India, Pak cable ops form SAARC Electronic Media Association

    India, Pak cable ops form SAARC Electronic Media Association

    NEW DELHI: At a time when relationship between India and Pakistan are thawing a bit for the better, Indian and Pakistani cable operators have joined hands to push for a regional body that would take up industry issues in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region.

    The campaign for such a body has been jointly launched by India’s Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh and Pakistan Electronics Media Association (PEMA).

    According to Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh founder-president AK Rastogi, “The time has come when an organisation is launched that will work for the interest of cable operators and the cable and broadcast industry in the SAARC region, including interfacing with various governments.”

    SAARC region includes countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. “A meeting of the new organisation, attended by Pakistani and Indian representatives, has been held. Consent from those in other countries had been taken earlier,” Rastogi added.

    Such a body, according to Rastogi, would go a long way in creating awareness about the industry and its intricacies amongst the general populace of various South Asian countries.
    Concurring with Rastogi, PEMA’s founder chairperson Muhammad Ibrahim Rana told Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the ongoing 14th Convergence India 2006, that even the Pakistani government has realised the futility of banning Indian TV channels.

    “There is a growing feeling in Pakistan that Indian TV channels like Zee TV, Star Plus, NGC and Sony can be given landing rights with certain riders like inclusion of a certain percentage of Pakistani content on the channels’ Pakistan feed,” Rana said.

    However, these content-related riders are worrying some Indian and foreign broadcasters who have sought permission from the Pakistani authorities to beam there.

    For example, a senior executive of Zee Telefilms, India’s largest vertically integrated media company, said, “These conditions being flaunted by Pakistani authorities for giving a green signal to us will only increase cost and red tapism. Does the Indian government put such conditions on Pakistani channels, including PTV?”

    Pakistan may not see eye to eye with India over various issues, but when it comes to watching Indian cable television, most Pakistanis will tune in faster to Indian general entertainment channels than a runaway rickshaw.

    It is this factor, according to some critics, that has stopped the Pakistani cable industry and subscriber homes from growing as fast as their Indian counterparts.

    While India boasts of over 61 million C&S households, PEMA’s Rana said that the total number of cable TV homes in Pakistan would be approximately 2 million. Though Dubai-based ARY Digital has obtained a DTH licence, it is yet to start the service.

    “But if Indian TV channels agree to about 20 per cent of Pakistani programming on their Pakistan feeds, we don’t see any reason why the likes of Zee and Star cannot be seen in our country,” Rana said, admitting that before a ban was put in place Zee News, notably, had seized a fair market share.

    The SAARC Electronic Media Association can work towards removal of such governmental, political and social barriers, Rana asserted.

  • Endemol India upbeat as ‘Fear Factor’ opens well for Sony

    Endemol India upbeat as ‘Fear Factor’ opens well for Sony

    MUMBAI: Endemol India is upbeat as the opening numbers of Fear Factor India have come in. The show opened with TVRs of 4.6 in the C&S 4+ Hindi speaking markets (HSM), whereas it garnered TVRs of 3.2 in the C&S 4+ all India markets.

    Fear Factor, which airs on Sony Entertainment India’s flagship channel SET, has opened as the channel’s top rated show.

    And it’s not just Fear Factor India that the production company is buoyant about. At present Endemol has three shows on two channels in the 8 pm – 11 pm band. On Sony it has Deal Ya No Deal from 8 – 9 pm and Fear Factor from 9 – 10 pm. On Star One, Endemol has The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Dwitiya (TGILCD), which airs from 10 – 11 pm.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on Fear Factor India, an elated Endemol India managing director Rajesh Kamat said, “We are very happy with the opening numbers of Fear Factor and they have met our expectations. We are confident that the numbers from here on will only be on the rise as word of mouth is sure to bring in new viewers to the show.”
    Dwelling on the factor that worked for the show, Kamat said, “Fear Factor has a novelty aspect, which has a potential of clicking with the audience. Apart from that, the chance of seeing celebrities in real life situations that involve thrill and drama has also worked for the show.”

    Kamat is of the opinion that even without the celebrity factor, the show will continue to deliver numbers because of its freshness.

    Now moving on to TGILC Dwitiya on Star One, which opened at a TVR of 5.06 in the C&S 4+ HSM. This was the first major project Endemol started work on after setting shop in India. If one had to compare the opening ratings of the first season, TGILC has surely seen a considerable increase in ratings. The first season opened with TVRs of 2.3.

    Kamat said, “This is surely a good sign for us as the show has opened at 5 TVRs. One must keep in mind the fact that Star One is having connectivity problems in Mumbai and despite that the ratings is good. If we had had no problems in Mumbai, I’m sure the show would have opened at a TVRs of 7, because at the end of the day Mumbai is an important for any channel.”

    The format of Deal Ya No Deal underwent a revamp when the anchor R Madhavan called it quits. Post his departure, in came the suave Mandira Bedi who has kept the show going. However, on the numbers front, Deal Ya No Deal hasn’t managed to deliver much.

    But there’s more to come from Endemol India’s kitty. The high-tension game show Heartbeat will soon be launching on Star One. So one can expect a lot of activity from Endemol in terms of new programming and also good ratings.

  • AXN’s Calcutta switchoff: Sony’s viewpoint

    AXN’s Calcutta switchoff: Sony’s viewpoint

    Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has denied that Calcutta-based cable TV operator RPG Netcom has switched off AXN, a channel it distributes in India, a claim the MSO had made a couple of days ago. RPG had claimed that it had pulled the plug on AXN because SET was asking it to pay higher subscription fees to continue re-transmitting the service to its sub-operators. SET COO Rajesh Pant says this is untrue and that it was actually Sony, which had switched off the cable operator’s signal and not the other way around. Says Pant: “There isn’t even a price hike for AXN. What we are asking them to do is pay us for a higher subscriber base than they have been doing so up to now. We are asking for higher subscriber counts. We had given them some notice but they were not interested so we switched them off.”

    He however is quick to add. “We are not in a fighting situation with them as of now. I expect the entire situation to get resolved very amicably across the table. Give it time.”

    Pant says the channel is doing fine having achieved a penetration of 2.5 million subscribers. “The actual figure is actually 11-12 million because cable ops actually declare only 20-30 per cent of their subscriber base. We are reasonably happy with out collections from the cable TV trade. I am sure cable operators and consumers see value in the service, hence we are asking them to give us fees for a larger number of subscribers.”