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Tag: SonyLiv

  • WinZO onboards as sponsor for India-Australia series on SonyLiv

    WinZO onboards as sponsor for India-Australia series on SonyLiv

    MUMBAI: Homegrown e-sports platform WinZO has come onboard as the official co-powered sponsor of the India tour of Australia on SonyLIV. This is the first time WinZO will be sponsoring a major sports event on a digital platform.

    India’s tour of Australia, starting on 27 November 2020, is the Men in Blue’s first international tour after nine months post the global Covid2019 pandemic lockdown; Team India last played New Zealand in February 2020. The tour is two months long, comprising a three-match ODI series, followed by a three-match T20 series, and a four-match Test series. 

    WinZo Games co-founder Saumya Singh Rathore said, “India is a market with over a billion cricket fans who have been hungry for cricketing action for the last nine months. Post IPL, it is great to see the resuming of international tournaments as well and it’s a proud moment for us to associate with the first India-Australia international series of the year. WinZO is always committed to bringing the best entertainment to Bharat.”

    SonyLIV head ad sales revenue – digital business Ranjana Mangla said, “We are really delighted to have WinZO as a co-powered sponsor for the India tour of Australia on SonyLIV. This is a big overseas tournament that’s sure to drive viewership on the platform and be of value to both brands.”

    WinZO was recently in the news for its $18 million series B funding led by global interactive entertainment fund, Makers Fund, New York-based Courtside Venture, and Steve Pagliuca, the co-chairman of Bain Capital and investor in Epic Games – developers of the massively popular Fortnite. All these players have made their maiden investments in the Indian market through WinZO.  

    WinZO aims to create a highly personalised and localised social gaming platform powered by micro transactions, where users can enjoy multiple engaging gaming formats and fantasy sports in 10+ regional languages with their friends or strangers online.

    Founded by Paavan Nanda and Rathore, WinZO has been successful in delivering strong positive unit economics in the Indian gaming ecosystem and has continued to support the gaming ecosystem by setting-up a game developers fund 2.0 of a $5 million corpus to fund projects in interactive entertainment space built by game developers.

  • SonyLIV ramps up content portfolio with live sports, dubbed regional show

    SonyLIV ramps up content portfolio with live sports, dubbed regional show

    KOLKATA: After months of waiting to see Team India in action, SonyLIV is here with a breather for all cricket lovers. The much-hyped India Tour of Australia will go live on the platform starting 27 November. In one of the most high-octane series in international cricket, Kohli’s Men in Blue will take on the Aussies for three ODI’s, three T20’s and four test matches on their home turf till 15 January 2021. With simultaneous feeds across four languages, the much-anticipated tour will be available for viewing to SonyLIV’s premium subscribers.

    Post a successful period of quarantine, the teams are now set to lock horns this Friday onwards across venues in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne. Team India will begin with a slight edge over the hosts in the ODI’s, with a 12-10 win-loss record against them in the recent past. However, Australia, who recently defeated world champions England on their home turf, will look to replicate the victory, led by Aaron Finch. Premium subscribers will get access to the live feed without any delay.

    There’s a lot to rejoice for soccer fans as well on SonyLIV with the popular UEFA Champions League 2020-21, the 66th season of Europe's premier club football tournament along with UEFA Europa League and Serie A matches going live on the platform. 2021 brings another sporting spectacle – Australian Open with Rafael Nadal headlining the event next year in Melbourne.

    And there’s more in store for SonyLIV’s patrons. Following its stupendous success amongst audience and critics, Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story will now be available for regional audiences with dubbed versions in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada; along with a host of other titles like Avrodh: The Siege Within, Your Honor, Undekhi, and more.

    In addition to this, the platform has recently launched titles like Uncommonsense by Saloni, Daan Sthapana hosted by author and speaker Devdutt Pattnaik and Mahabharat- Ant ya Aarambh, an 11-episode animation series.  Highly acclaimed English shows like The Good Doctor S4 and For Life S2 are also up for viewing for the Indian audience. So, whether you are a cricket lover or a football enthusiast, an ardent fan of stand-up comedy or a devout believer in mythology, SonyLIV is the place to be.

  • SonyLIV goes big to retain buzz around Scam 1992

    SonyLIV goes big to retain buzz around Scam 1992

    KOLKATA: Amongst the homegrown OTT players, SonyLIV was late to enter the original content space. After its recent rebranding, the OTT platform has made a splash, especially with the launch of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story. Following its success, the platform is leaving no stone unturned to retain the buzz around the show.

    On Saturday, SonyLIV published a four-page advertorial in The Times of India. The separate sheet of the feature contains interviews with actors, the production house, the director, and a review of the show along with the promotion of other original content on the platform. It further included original headlines from newspapers around the scam and photographs of Sucheta Dalal, Harshad Mehta and his lawyers.

    The content was exclusively created and served as a teaser for the audiences to watch the show on SonyLiv.

    While it is not the first time when an OTT player is promoting a new show, but it is one of the rare occasions, when any OTT player has taken the content route in the print media to promote a show.

    Use images of news papers attached 

    The 10-part series began streaming on SonyLIV, from 9 October. It is one of the highest-rated shows on IMDB in India (9.6) and has bagged a place among the top 50 television shows globally. With phenomenal ratings and record-breaking performance, the show has made it to the list of the top five OTT shows for the last week of October, according to a streaming tracker by Ormax Media. Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story was the second on the list with 6.6 million views.

    The show has received a remarkable response from audiences for gripping performances from Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary, stellar direction by Hansal Mehta, and an exceptional script written by Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal and Karan Vyas. 

  • Tata Sky Binge expands its content library, partners with SonyLIV

    Tata Sky Binge expands its content library, partners with SonyLIV

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky’s OTT aggregator service, Tata Sky Binge, is partnering with SonyLIV to delight customers this festive season. The partnership will add 1000+ hours of exciting content to Tata Sky Binge including TV shows, movies and SonyLIV Originals like Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta story, JL50, Avrodh – The Siege Within, Your Honor, Undekhi and movies like Kadakh, Ram Singh Charlie among others. It will also offer a wide selection of movies and TV shows from its bouquet of Sony Pictures Networks channels and live sports.

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “We have always believed in giving a wealth of choice to our subscribers in terms of new content offerings. Banking on shared synergies, we are confident that SonyLIV’s library of outstanding content will ensure that our subscribers continue to discover the most entertaining and engaging content on the Tata Sky Binge platform.”

    Sony Entertainment Television, digital business and StudioNEXT business head Danish Khan said, “From the time of relaunch, we have been witnessing huge surge in content consumption on the large screens and connected devices and our partnership with Tata Sky Binge will further bolster our leadership in the large screen households. We have a robust content library that has a lot to offer for Binge users to choose from. This collaboration will allow us to boost our engagement at a time when users are glued to their screens for captivating stories.”

    Tata Sky Binge is a streaming platform that aggregates the best of premium OTT and catch-up TV content under a single interface and single subscription. Accessed via the Amazon Fire TV Stick- Tata Sky Edition or the Tata Sky Binge+ Android powered Smart Set-top box, it offers a host of entertainment options from India’s nine premium OTT apps including Disney+ Hotstar Premium, ZEE5, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now, ShemarooMe, Voot Select, Voot Kids and now SonyLIV. It also offers three months of Amazon Prime Video at no extra cost.

    Tata Sky subscribers can access the library of premium OTT apps on Tata Sky Binge via the Amazon Fire TV Stick – Tata Sky Edition for just Rs 299 per month. New Tata Sky customers can avail a Tata Sky Binge+ connection at Rs 2,999 and existing users can upgrade or get a secondary connection at an offer price of Rs 2,499. This includes six months subscription to the Tata Sky Binge platform. Tata Sky Binge customers on the FireTV stick or the Binge+ Box also get access to the last seven days of missed shows (based on linear entitlement).

  • TV will grow, but digital is where the money’s at: SPNI’s NP Singh

    TV will grow, but digital is where the money’s at: SPNI’s NP Singh

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India MD and CEO NP Singh has always believed in looking on the bright side. After the network lost the IPL media rights to arch rival Star Sports, Singh claimed they were better off and more profitable without the league. When the Covid2019 pandemic struck, he was optimistic that the nationwide lockdown would boost viewership. By now, it's evident that both his projections were bang on the money. While Star reported a loss of Rs 1,216 crore in FY2018-19, Sony stayed in the green. And in the last few months, the broadcaster's digital and cable businesses have clocked a significant surge in engagement.

    Now, as Sony Entertainment celebrates 25 years in India, Singh talked about the organisation's journey, his vision going forward, and the challenges that lie ahead at the ‘visionary talks’ series hosted by Governance Now MD Kailashnath Adhikari.

    Currently, the thing that sparks the most joy for Singh is the success of Scam 1992, SonyLiv’s tentpole show that has proved to be a gamechanger for the streaming platform.
    On the back of Scam 1992, the platform has seen an uptick in the number of paid subscribers, said Singh. And because it was SPN’s own production house Studio NXT which produced the series, this success tastes all the more sweeter to him.

    Singh highlighted that apart from working on premium originals, the platform is working towards bringing in live sports content. SonyLiv currently streams the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. It also recently finalised the India tour of Australia, beginning 27 November. In addition to this, the OTT platform has a slew of global content line-up.

    When asked about SonyLiv’s revenue model, whether it will be a subscription-based or hybrid model (AVOD vs SVOD), Singh explained that the network’s primary focus is to deliver a subscription-driven platform that also offers AVOD content. Said he: “After the relaunch (in May 2020) we have introduced a premium plan of Rs 999 for one year. It is completely SVOD and has all the content that we can offer to subscribers. We have also brought out two new annual subscription plans – Liv special and Liv special+ which are priced at Rs 199 and Rs 399 respectively. The plan offers access to all shows at the same time as TV, downloading of episodes, and live sports preview up to 10 minutes. It is completely AVOD. So, yes we are sharply focusing on both SVOD and AVOD models.”

    During the conversation, Singh shed light on how the media and entertainment sector is coping with the disruption caused by the pandemic. With the unlock phase the sector is beginning to see early signs of economic revival. As far as the network is concerned, he stated that SPNI’s ad-revenues have reverted to the pre-Covid2019 levels.

    Further, Singh was confident that the festive season will provide additional impetus to the M&E sector, with many traditional and new categories like ed-tech and online gaming freely wielding their advertising budgets.
     
    However, the pandemic was not without its setbacks for the broadcast industry. Several niche TV channels have shut down. Monetisation has also been an issue. While it’s good to be an optimist, it’s equally important to take cognisance of the current environment, said Singh. “Sony had shut down channels even before the pandemic started, because I believe in observing strong fiscal discipline. We at SPN take very measured risks and we always keep an eye on ROI. So, we have invested where we have seen strong strategic and economic value, and at the same time we have exited from properties and channels which appeared unviable in the long run.”

    When it comes to the overall market, Singh mentioned that the television industry will continue to grow but not at the same pace as it used to. Content consumption is up and viewers are evolving rapidly. The sign of the times is the paradigm shift from TV to digital – with creators and broadcasters also moving to where the audience is.

    Given this scenario, there is a possibility that the content budget for TV will shrink or be diverted to creating content for streaming platforms. Singh, however, contended that ever since the network positioned itself as a content company three years ago, it aims to create high quality content across segments. “I believe that consumer needs will define the content strategy for each segment. It will help us to find the budget for that segment. I don’t think our budget for TV content will dwindle but we will be seeing huge investments in OTT.”

    Singh, who has frequently aired his concerns regarding the NTO, emphasised that a stable and consistent regulatory regime is necessary for the media and entertainment industry to recover. Further disruptive changes in regulations would be inimical to the sector as it tries to find its feet in the new normal. But even as the NTO case is up in the air, Singh is doing what he’s good at – hoping for the best while preparing for the worst.

  • Ranjana Mangla named ad sales revenue head for SPN’s digital business

    Ranjana Mangla named ad sales revenue head for SPN’s digital business

    Sony Picture Networks India (SPN) has appointed Ranjana Mangla as ad sales revenue head for digital business. She will be responsible for creating a robust advertising monetizing ecosystem for the network’s digital arm SonyLIV.

    Her role includes strategic planning for overall advertising revenue for SonyLIV and building a vast network of advertisers from across geographies and industries through programmatic solutions. Mangla will report to Set, SonyLIV, StudioNext business head Danish Khan.

    Read more news on SonyLiv

    Prior to this, she was associated with Disney+Hotstar where she was leading entertainment impact revenue for the platform. She has also had stints at top broadcasters in India including Viacom, Discovery, and NDTV.

  • Sony Pictures Networks India turns 25

    Sony Pictures Networks India turns 25

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has completed 25 years in the country, and to commemorate the silver jubilee, SPN MD and CEO NP Singh penned a special letter to thank SPN’s members for accompanying them on this journey.

    On 8 October 1995, when the Indian broadcast industry was still taking baby steps, Sony ventured into the Indian market with the launch of Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), Sony Entertainment Television.

    “From one channel, bit by bit, we became a 24-channel network with a digital OTT service SonyLlV, a film production arm, SPN Productions, and a content creation studio, Studio NEXT,” wrote Singh about the network’s growth trajectory.

    The company has steadily grown over the years to an employee count of around 1,200, with its services available across 167 countries and reaching over 700 million viewers. “Today, Sony Pictures Networks, is among the top entertainment and sports networks in the country, recognised as an employer of choice within and outside the media fraternity,” he wrote.

    Singh then touched upon the biggest gamble he took in his career: entering into uncharted territory with the Indian Premier League (IPL). This move came at a time when cricket leagues were unheard of. But his bet paid off in a big way. The network moulded IPL into one of the most valuable sports entertainment properties in the country.

    Challenging the status quo has always been in SPN’s DNA, he wrote further. “Creating category firsts over the years stands out when I look back. After the launch of SET in 1995, came the launch of Sony MAX in 1999. It was a one of its kind channel that offered to our viewers blockbuster Hindi movies, cricket and special events. This created a unique and unparalleled three-pronged channel identity which has not been replicated since. Some of India's most iconic entertainment properties that have stood the test of time have been from the SPN stable.”

    Singh went on to highlight how SPN has always observed fiscal discipline, writing: “We have invested where we expected a strong strategic and economic value and exited from properties which appeared unviable over the longer term.” This included launching SAB in 1995, Sony Max in 1999, and then acquiring TEN Sports, Sony Aath, and the launch of kids channel Sony YAY!. They also forayed into the regional space with Sony Marathi.

    In the early years, Singh realised that digital needed to be the cornerstone of the network’s strategy. In 2013, SPN became the first broadcaster in the country to launch an OTT platform – SonyLIV. “I am confident of its bright future,” affirmed Singh.

    He elaborated on the subject of SPN’s collaboration with international players and how it has set the network apart from its competition. “We have forged a strong partnership with BBC Worldwide to launch a very successful premium factual entertainment channel, Sony BBC Earth. Our long-standing partnerships with some of the biggest names in the world of sport including WWE, NBA, Cricket Australia, ECB and Sri Lanka Cricket, bring live content to our viewers in India.”

    When it comes to a fair and inclusive workplace, SPN has been recognised by the industry as one of India’s Great Places to Work, said Singh, adding: “We envision a company where in the next five years, 50 per cent of our workforce will be women, people with disabilities or from the LGBT+ community.”

    Though only time will tell what shape or form the company will take in future, Singh is determined to ensure that SPN only goes from strength to strength.

    He stated: ‘It’s been an eventful journey of 25 years and we have come a long way. We will continue to go all out and live up to our corporate ethos of ‘Go-Beyond’, not just in name but in action and spirit.”

  • From stock market to screen: SonyLIV’s Scam 1992 is a cautionary tale

    From stock market to screen: SonyLIV’s Scam 1992 is a cautionary tale

    KOLKATA: In April 1992, mayhem hit the Indian financial sector as the nation woke up to the biggest stock market scam. So huge was its impact on Dalal Street that it led to structural changes in the financial security system of India with new reforms in stock trades. However, what remains untold is the story of the mastermind behind it. Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story, SonyLIV’s latest tentpole show, is about the charismatic stockbroker who orchestrated a previously unheard-of Rs 5,000-crore securities scandal.

    Unravelling the man from the myth over the course of 10 nail-biting episodes, the show will drop on the OTT platform on 9 October. With it, SonyLIV is hoping to boost its subscriber base while fulfilling its promise to deliver more original content.

    Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Studio Next, this series is a financial crime thriller based on the bestseller book The Scam written by notable journalists Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal.

    Read more news on SonyLIV

    The series is a gripping tale of the meteoric rise and fall of the flamboyant big bull of the stock market – Harshad Mehta. Directed by national award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta, the series is led by Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary along with an ensemble cast of Satish Kaushik, Sharib Hashmi, Anant Mahadevan, Nikhil Dwivedi, KK Raina and Lalit Parimoo, among others. The creative team comprises dialogue writers Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal and Karan Vyas.

    Director Hansal Mehta said the story, or cautionary tale, is more relevant than ever in these troubled times where a new multi-billion dollar scam is uncovered every other day and the conmen responsible fly the coop with uncanny ease.

    “This show gives you an intimate peek into the middle-class aspirations of a common man who rose from rags to riches while managing to subvert and deceive the banking system. It talks about what the system, if not mended, might make people do. The system doesn’t seem to have mended. There is scam on scam,” Mehta averred.

    Having helmed films about complex socio-political issues, like Shahid starring Rajkummar Rao, and Manoj Bajpayee-led Aligarh, Mehta found the enormity of Scam 1992 to be a quite a unique challenge.

    "I've told many true stories but to put this kind of long-form writing on screen was a huge challenge. It was perhaps the biggest, single largest challenge that I've had after making almost 15 feature films," he said.

    Read more news on Applause Entertainment

    The makers spent over three years on the show to ensure absolute accuracy, from the script, to choice of actors, and the overall treatment. 

    “Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story reflects on a landmark event in the Indian stock market. The incident was integral in shaping India’s financial security systems and hence was a story waiting to be told,” Studio Next head Indranil Chakraborty said.

    Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said that with Scam 1992, the company hopes to raise the bar of premium series in India in terms of creativity and production while staying true to the original source material.

  • OTTs gear up for battle against content pirates

    OTTs gear up for battle against content pirates

    KOLKATA: With the tectonic shift in technology, piracy has found new ways to expand its reach and impact. And given the ongoing lean period in TV and movie releases, pirates are charting new waters for prey. Streaming platforms, which are investing heavily in premium content, offer easy pickings. While stringent regulation is the need of the hour, major over-the-top (OTT) platforms are devising comprehensive techniques to check this threat.

    One of the leading OTT services in India, SonyLIV, is now moving away from basic solutions to a 360 degree approach. SonyLIV technology head Manish Verma said in a webinar hosted by indiantelevision.com that the platform is now looking at advanced measures like watermarking, fingerprinting and code protection to safeguard its content. It is now in the process of evaluating how they can utilise some of these tools to reduce piracy.

    Read more news on SonyLIV

    Presently, DRM is the preferred mode of encryption for the platform. But Verma admits that DRM has certain loopholes as well, especially when it comes to screen mirroring. Hence, the platform is in talks with vendors and partners to find out other ways to counter piracy. As part of its enhanced security measures, SonyLIV recently started a two-way authentication with username and one time passwords, instead of the traditional login with password system.

    According to ZEE5 India technology head Tushar Vohra, creating a barrier is very important, as is instilling the fear of getting caught among pirates. To this end, tracing the source of a breach can be helpful. For example, ZEE5 will launch a forensic watermarking for its web player this month itself and later across all devices. This step will enable the platform to track the source of pirated content. Hence, Vohra is hopeful that there would be a decline in piracy rate within six months.

    Echoing Vohra’s bent of mind, Verma said: “We need to put deterrence in terms of making it difficult to pirate the content, degrading the experience for pirated content. When a consumer is not getting that experience of premium content on illegal sites, they will come back to our platform.”

    Both tech experts concurred that there is no particular trend of piracy in the Indian market. But Vohra mentioned an interesting fact: premium Indian content is being pirated more outside the country. Some contradictions do exist. While ZEE5 saw an increase in piracy during the lockdown, SonyLIV’s Verma said that the tendency to pay for premium content went up during the same period.

    Read more news on ZEE5

    “We have put in machine learning through which we can detect multiple users logging in or consumer consuming content for a longer duration of time. We can do a token revocation; we can go from the back end and revoke the token if we see some sort of abnormality in the behaviour. I think we are making it difficult to pirate the content,” Verma added.

    The panellists agreed that rationalising cost structure for security will lead to higher adoption of technology solutions. ZEE5, which is already investing five-seven per cent for data and application security, has now developed a full-fledged security team, due to join in December.

  • Reliance-Viacom18-Sony deal finally off?

    Reliance-Viacom18-Sony deal finally off?

    MUMBAI:  For a long time, media has been reporting that a deal between the Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Networks is just about to be struck. That it is definitely on. Then reports surfaced that it's off. Now, here's another one harping on the latter, saying the two are not getting into bed together.

    On earlier occasions, the reasoning was that media and entertainment is too small a business for Reliance to want to continue with it; thus the assets it acquired from Raghav Bahl a few years ago would be jettisoned. Then, on others, when it appeared to have been forgotten, came the news reports that Sony wanted out as the valuation being demanded by Reliance was too high to be even considered by Sony.

    Read more news about Sony

    And even as we totally forgot that the two were even talking to each other, came reports that an arrangement would be struck by the end September-2020. And how synergies would shine when the two wedded each other. We, at indiantelevision.com looked on, with sardonic smiles on our faces, ignoring all the reams of paper that were wasted. The end of September has come and gone, and there's been no deal, nada.

    Now comes the news, that Reliance has opted out because it has had a change of heart and wants management control of the digital operations of the two firms – Voot, Voot Select, and SonyLiv and has suddenly developed a love for its media and entertainment vertical. That is a no-no for Sony. 

    Read more news on Viacom18

    "Media and entertainment is an essential pillar of Jio's business strategy," says a source. "Reliance plans to invest aggressively to grow the digital media business. There is a lot of interest from content companies and production houses in partnering with Reliance and Jio and investors are keen to back such a partnership.”

    Hopefully, it stays that way. And we hope it is the last time that the media will pay attention to this two-year-old "developing" story.