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Tag: SPN

  • Amazon could bid for La Liga media rights

    Amazon could bid for La Liga media rights

    MUMBAI: Global tournament and league rights are no longer only within the reach of big broadcasters. Social networks and e-commerce portals too are now in the running to stake a claim in rights acquisition. One of the big names that come to the mind is Amazon. After acquiring a package of 20 football matches from the English Premier League, industry observers are now predicting that the Jeff Bezos-owned company will turn its attention to the Spanish market and seek to acquire minority lots of La Liga football TV rights over the next three seasons, Advanced Television reports.

    La Liga has four lots of football TV rights for sale after granting majority of the rights to Telefónica. The Spanish telecommunications company has outbid its main rival Mediapro for the bulk of broadcast rights to La Liga, the top-flight of Spanish soccer, in an auction that raised €3.4 billion (US$3.98 billion).

    Telefonica was awarded the two main packages, for nine matches each week in the recent auction. Mediapro got the right to one match each week, along with highlights and broadcasts in public spaces such as bars and restaurants. However, rights to Spain’s Copa del Rey were not included in the package offering.

    In India, Sony Pictures Network (SPN) owned the telecast rights until 20 May 2018.

    La Liga hopes to get €120 million for these rights, which will be added to €980 million paid by Telefónica and €160 million already paid by Mediapro.

    La Liga may still meet its target with the sale of the four packages that were withdrawn (only four out of eight have been awarded) to new companies like Amazon, Facebook or Netflix.

  • 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues to deliver with over 117 million viewers tuning in to the greatest show on earth on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN)

    2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues to deliver with over 117 million viewers tuning in to the greatest show on earth on Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN)

    MUMBAI: The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues to surpass expectations for football viewership in India in its second week. The tournament that was telecast live on SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 3 and SONY ESPN channels and live streamed on SonyLIV app & website, garnered over 117 million viewers across 26 matches played in the first nine days of the tournament.

    Key Viewership Highlights for the first nine days of the tournament:

    The total cumulative reach of the event on our network is 117.3 million viewers. (BARC, All India, CS2+, LIVE matches + wraparound shows + highlights + repeats + surround programming of FIFA World Cup, SPN Sports Network, SonlyLIV)
    99.3 million viewers watched the World Cup on TV and over 18 million viewers live streamed it on SonyLIV 
    Top markets in terms of reach for LIVE matches on TV
    West Bengal – 14.8 mn
    Kerala – 14.5 mn
    North East – 8.4 mn
    Maharashtra – 7.1 mn
    Female viewership has contributed to 46% of the reach of the tournament (BARC, All India, CS2+, LIVE matches, SPN Sports Network)
    Local language feeds (Hindi + Malayalam + Bengali + Tamil + Telugu) have contributed to 46% of the overall viewership (BARC, All India, CS2+, LIVE matches, SPN Sports Network)
    Regional commentary: 6.8 million viewers in Kerala sampling Malayalam commentary and 5.4 million viewers in West Bengal sampling Bengali commentary
    Interest runs high for the tournament in rural markets, with 41% of the total reach coming from rural India (BARC, All India, CS2+, LIVE matches, SPN Sports Network)
    The Germany vs Mexico match telecast on June 17 at 8.30 pm is the most watched match of the tournament so far with 7 million impressions (BARC, All India, CS2+, SPN Sports Network)
    Average viewership for prime-time games (8.30 pm and 9.30 pm) has been 4.8 million impressions
    TVS: Each viewer has spent an average of 145 mins on the tournament in the first nine days.

  • Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) announces its exceptional line-up of panellists for India tour of England featuring Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Ashish Nehra and more

    Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) announces its exceptional line-up of panellists for India tour of England featuring Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Ashish Nehra and more

    MUMBAI: The official broadcaster of the India tour of England, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), announces its all-star panel line-up and programming initiatives for the series, beginning from 3rd July 2018 till 11th September 2018. The series, spanning a little over two months, comprises three T20s, three ODIs and five Test matches which will be played across nine venues in the U.K.

    SPN’s celebrated live wraparound show, Extraaa Innings comes back for the high-octane bilateral cricket series, between two of the best cricket teams in the world, with a whole new look. Apart from the rethought set design, the show will now feature personality-driven segments for a healthy dose of entertainment and increased fan engagement to bring the Indian touch to the analyses.

    Showcasing pre, mid and post-match analyses of the tour, Extraaa Innings will feature expert insights from an impressive line-up of cricketing personalities like Sourav Ganguly, Ashish Nehra, Sanjay Manjrekar, Graeme Swann, Sunil Gavaskar, Harsha Bhogle, Gaurav Kapur, Deep Dasgupta, Vivek Razdan and Alan Wilkins. To ensure an unparalleled viewing experience for fans across India, the series will be broadcast with English and Hindi commentary on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 channels respectively.

    The Sports cluster of SPN also unveils its marketing campaign, ‘Kya Hoga Iss Baar’. The 40-second campaign film has been inspired by the uncertainty that comes when India tours England. Every time India has toured England, the results have bordered on extreme. From ecstatic and memorable victories to forgettable defeats (especially in Tests), Indians have witnessed it all. 

    ‘What would happen this time around?’ was the obvious question that was asked about the upcoming tour. This message has been conveyed in a tongue-in-cheek way while building enough intrigue for viewers to tune in. The film ends with a cheeky line with reference to the incident during India’s famous NatWest trophy win when Ganguly waved his shirt from the balcony at Lord’s.

  • Sony increases its stake in Sony Financial

    Sony increases its stake in Sony Financial

    MUMBAI: Sony Corporation has raised its stake in Sony Financial Holdings from 63 per cent. The latter is the holding company for Sony’s financial services business. However, the total per cent of stake that Sony will now hold in its financial department is still unknown. 

    The company bought 9 million shares on Tuesday for 2,144 yen each in an off-market transaction. Sony Corporation already holds 274,050,000 shares in the company.

    The ¥19.3 billion (around 170 Million) acquisition will boost net income for Sony’s shareholders with the goal of raising corporate value for both the Sony Group and Sony Financial.

    The company also said that it’s desirable for Sony Financial to maintain its listed status, and secure transparent management and independent financing

    The Financial division which was founded in 2004 is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and owns and oversees the operation of Sony Life Insurance, AEGON Sony Life Insurance (50 per cent joint venture with Aegon N.V.), SA Reinsurance Ltd. (50 per cent joint venture with Aegon; British Bermuda), Sony Life Singapore, Sony Assurance, Sony Bank, Sony Payment Services, SmartLink Network Hong Kong Limited, Sony Lifecare and Lifecare Design. 
     

  • Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) to telecast the India Tour of Ireland 2018 live and exclusive on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 channels

    Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) to telecast the India Tour of Ireland 2018 live and exclusive on SONY SIX and SONY TEN 3 channels

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has announced that it has acquired the exclusive media rights to telecast the 2018 India Tour of Ireland that comprises two T20Is to be played on June 27 and June 29, 2018, in Malahide, Ireland.

    The matches will be broadcasted at 8:30 PM IST with English commentary on SONY SIX channels and Hindi commentary on SONY TEN 3 channels. Live coverage of the matches will begin with the sports network’s flagship studio show, Extraaa Innings, with a pre-match (7:30 PM), mid-match (10:00 PM) and post-match (12:15 AM) segments on both match days. The panel for Ireland hosts an impressive line-up of experts that includes Sunil Gavaskar, Ajay Jadeja, Alan Wilkins, Niall O’Brien, Deep Dasgupta, Murali Kartik, John Kenny and Anjum Chopra.

    SPN’s cricket portfolio comprises seven major international cricket boards – Cricket Australia, England and Wales Cricket Board, Pakistan Cricket Board, Sri Lanka Cricket, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies and Zimbabwe Cricket Board.  

  • SPN’s digital play for the FIFA World Cup

    SPN’s digital play for the FIFA World Cup

    Mumbai: In a bid to offer consumers a world-class sporting experience, Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) has pulled out all stops for their coverage of the FIFA World Cup. After launching the ‘meri doosri country’ promotional campaign, the company has now planned a major digital push for the showpiece event.

    The strategy for the digital telecast on SonyLIV, SPN’s OTT platform, has been crafted around three key elements – language, data and consumer participation.

    “The football is an involved fan. We have designed our coverage keeping in mind dedicated football fans. So, stats and data are an important part of our offering.” SPN, EVP and head of digital business, Uday Sodhi tells Indiantelevision.com.

    The ‘Match Centre’ will offer viewers live scores, commentary, match information and stats alongside the live match telecast. This feature is aimed at engaging dedicated football fans. Four language options – English, Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam – will be available on SonyLIV, something that’s never been done before.

    SPN’s consumer participation will rely on a second screen experience. With guests in the studio, the plan is to marry  digital offerings with the TV coverage. This will enable fans to comment on the match and the experts’ opinions, make predictions and participate in polls and contests during and before the match.

    Ahead of the World Cup, SonyLIV launched a ‘Super Sports’ pack for Rs 199 for 6 months. Paid subscribers will have access to live matches behind a pay-wall, while free subscribers’ feed will be ad-supported with a five-minute delay.

    A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study deduced that India’s OTT video market will be among the world’s top ten by 2022. Star India’s OTT platform, Hotstar, breached the 10 million impressions mark during the Indian Premier League final. Given the high consumption of digital video and the formidable FIFA brand, all eyes will be on the numbers SonyLIV delivers.

    Sodhi expects between 4 to 5 crore consumers to use the platform during the quadrennial extravaganza.

    “Unlike 2014, this edition will be telecast at India prime time. In fact, I think it’s been eight years since the FIFA World Cup was telecast at timings that are convenient for Indian viewers,” he says.

    Sodhi has been instrumental in building the SonyLIV platform into a credible destination for sports fans. The experience of successfully working on big-ticket FIFA and UEFA events has helped prep the SPN team for the 2018 World Cup.

    Given the proliferation of digital video and scale of the event, does he have any concerns about robustness of the platform?

    “Football has steady viewership through the match unlike cricket, which peaks at crucial moments. We are not worried about the scale. We did big numbers during the India-South Africa cricket series. There is no problem on that front,” Sodhi says confidently.

    SonlyLIV’s digital coverage will also be available on its partner platforms like Apple TV, Android TV and Amazon Fire among others.

    In terms of size, scope and stage, the FIFA World Cup is the apex of global sporting competition. The 2018 edition could be seen as a test case for the potential of the OTT market in India. How the digital strategy of SPN plays out eventually and the response from the consumers will offer crucial insights and lessons to all the stakeholders going forward.

  • Sony Pictures Network promotes Aman Srivastava, Amogh Dusad

    Sony Pictures Network promotes Aman Srivastava, Amogh Dusad

    MUMBAI:  Sony Pictures Network (SPN) has witnessed a flurry activity at senior positions of late. The latest movers in the hierarchy include for Aman Srivastava and Amogh Dusad who were elevated by the company. Srivastava has been promoted to senior vice president, head of marketing at Sony Entertainment Television (SET), while Dusad was handed a new responsibility as head of  digital products at SET.  Earlier Srivastava and Dusad occupied the roles of vice president, marketing and senior vice president and head – programming and content acquisition respectively.

    After a three-year stint as senior marketing manager at Sony, Srivastava joined Viacom 18 as associate director- international marketing. In 2013, he moved on from Viacom 18 as director- international business and syndication to join The Walt Disney Company as head of marketing, youth and movie channels. After almost three years in that role, Srivastava returned to SPN as Vice President Marketing.

    Srivastava has more than 14 years of experience in marketing, communication and new product development -brand management, research, activation, new product launch and content syndication. He has also lead brand to success in terms of profitability, Market share & Share of Mind. He has successfully conducted channel and product launches across geographies.

    Before joining Sony, Dusad worked with NDTV Imagine as director in strategic planning and research. He started his career as an associate director at TAM Media Research, working there for four years.

    Over a career spanning 15 years, Dusad has a demonstrated a history of working in leadership positions covering different facets of the broadcast media industry including content acquisition, creating partnerships with content creators, leading cross functional teams to drive business planning, ad revenue maximisation, consumer insight generation, spearheading initiatives towards digital and second screen engagement.

    Also Read:

    SPNI elevates Abhishek Joshi at digital biz

    Shishir Gupta elevated as head content acquisition sports at SPNI 

  • Set your weekend theme to romance and drama with Sabse Badhkar Hum 3 on Sony MAX

    Set your weekend theme to romance and drama with Sabse Badhkar Hum 3 on Sony MAX

    MUMBAI: Sony MAX, the number 1 Hindi movie channel from Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) is all set to jump start your weekend with the World Television Premiere of Nithin Reddy and Mishti Chakraborthy’s South dubbed starrer Sabse Badhkar Hum 3 on Friday, 18th May at 9pm. Watch this accidental love story which shows us that love can happen anywhere. Directed by A. Karunakaran, Sabse Badhkar Hum 3 is dubbed from the 2014 hit Telugu film, Chinnadana Nee Kosam.

    The story revolves around Nithin (Nithin Reddy) a happy-go-lucky man with no aspirations, who while traveling in a train, saves Nandini, a fellow passenger from goons and falls head over heels in love with her. Nithin’s family is keen on fixing his marriage, but he believes there is someone special made for him. When he finally meets Nandini again, he is a transformed man with the intent to win her heart but she does not reciprocate. Later when Nithin learns that Nandini is leaving India with her grandfather, he follows his heart and makes way for Barcelona where Nandini is on a project mission.

  • OTT platforms boost appeal of English entertainment

    OTT platforms boost appeal of English entertainment

    MUMBAI: The over-the-top (OTT) space in India is exploding with broadcasters and new players taking the plunge to entertain the country. In such a scenario, even English entertainment content players aren’t far behind.

    With over a dozen channels in the genre and now even direct-to-home players contributing with value-added services (VAS), the market is likely to witness a significant jump in the number of consumers, hours of content consumed and revenue. Excluding VAS, the ad sales revenue for the English entertainment and movies market is Rs 600-700 crore.

    “Proliferation of OTT players has aided the appeal of English content in India, be it Hollywood or general entertainment. This is visible in the growth numbers for the English category, which has seen a growth in viewership in FY 18 as compared to FY 17,” says Sony Pictures Networks India EVP English channels Tushar Shah.

    Tata Sky has recently launched Tata Sky World Screen – a handpicked bouquet of international entertainment content. The VAS will not only feature Hollywood movies, but also prime content from across geographies and multiple languages like Arabic, Russian, Spanish, French and many more. The ad-free service will allow subscribers to view select series and movies from across the world round the clock. It is priced at Rs 75 a month and Tata Sky aims to drive up average revenue per user (ARPU) with international content.

    Tata Sky chief content officer Arun Unni says that the service targets a segment in which the genre is popular and is open to consume new content. “This kind of an offering doesn’t exist in the market. It is an alternative for those who are either already exposed or would not want to go on the purely digital option and even for those who do, they might find interesting and compelling content,” he adds.

    Critics claim that OTT is eating into traditional media. In an earlier interaction, Shah said, “There is always a churn between different platforms around the world. But this hasn’t led to viewership shrinking. Instead, it has grown by 54 per cent for the SPN English category between 2016 and 2017. The English movies genre overall has grown by 67 per cent in 2017.”

    Videocon d2h started a VAS named ‘Hollywood’ and ‘Hollywood HD’ long time back. The service was earlier priced at Rs 45 per month but now it has been reduced to Rs 38 per month excluding tax. The content is being sourced from seven top studios in Hollywood – Disney, Warner Bros, NBC Universal, Fox, Sony Pictures, Lionsgate and Paramount.

    According to FICCI Frames report, in 2017, English entertainment and other genres saw a reduction in their viewership because of rural panel weightage enhanced by the Broadcast Audience Research Council.

    OTT platforms in India have reached scale and now provide something for a vast array of audiences. Be it Eros Now with its huge library of Indian films, Zee5 with its wide regional offerings, Sony Liv and Hotstar with their TV content and premium sports while Hollywood rules the English entertainment offering.

     

  • SonyLIV aims to provide comprehensive CWG coverage

    SonyLIV aims to provide comprehensive CWG coverage

    MUMBAI: 2018, the year of major sports tournaments including the Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the FIFA World Cup, is expected to witness a rise in consumption of live sports events on over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The CWG action is currently taking place at Gold Coast, Australia and Sony Pictures Network (SPN) is the official broadcast rights holder for the country.

    The live coverage is being shown the network’s TV channels as well as its OTT platform SonyLiv concurrently without any time lag.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, SPN digital head Uday Sodhi said that SonyLiv would telecast the live action in nine feeds thus giving more focus to each event. For TV, Sony is broadcasting the event only on three channels. “We’re giving a far more comprehensive coverage for digital viewers with nine channels on digital versus three on TV,” said Sodhi.

    Viewers can watch the action without the barrier of a paywall while the network goes after advertisers for revenue. The only fly in the ointment is that the coverage is restricted to English and Hindi.

    SPN is well aware that the Indian Premier League (IPL), its former prized property child that is currently in the hands of Star India, is likely to eat into its viewership after its opening on 7 April. To keep viewers drawn, it launched a patriotic campaign called #RangDeTiranga, which taps into people’s love for the country and is a hint that the CWG is a tournament of national importance. Sodhi said that the campaign had been a hit both on TV and digital.

    “The #RangDeTiranga campaign is SPN’s rallying cry that taps into the emotions of Indian sports fans and asks them to show their support for the tricolour. It brings alive our ethos to go beyond and cultivate a multi-sport viewing culture in India. Our intent is to bind the sports fans in a one game-cry ‘Rang de Tiranga’ and give them the opportunity to watch their heroes bring glory to the nation,” SPSN senior VP marketing and OAP Kedar Teny said earlier.

    Right after the CWG, SPN will dive into the FIFA 2018 World Cup, which is to be held in Russia this year. With much of the action set to occur at Moscow and St Petersberg, which are 2.5 hours behind India, the digital feed will help people to tune into the action from the comfort of their beds. India also has a young population tuning into football, the same kind who don’t hesitate to pick OTT over TV. Sony hasn’t yet clarified whether the digital FIFA coverage will be AVOD, SVOD or both.

    Sony is carving a niche for itself on the OTT side as a sports player after it noticed that its users were glued to sporting events. “35-40 per cent of our traffic comes from hardcore sports followers. This shoots up during large sporting events and then the share gets bigger. Time spent varies from 25 to 40 minutes,” Sodhi said in an earlier interview to Indiantelevision.com. While cricket is the first choice, football is the second most popular sport of viewers on SonyLiv.

    Locking different sporting events this year, SonyLiv is aiming to get more viewership and will look to acquire more, especially since it lost two crucial bids to Star–the BCCI media rights for Team India’s home matches and the IPL, thus forfeiting a large chunk sports viewership online to Hotstar, the OTT arm of Star.

    In the last few years, India has witnessed a huge change in sports broadcasting. With increasing use of OTT platforms due to smartphones and data affordability, broadcasters are streaming live feeds of sports events, even challenging the business of international players such as Amazon and Netflix. For now, these international players haven’t jumped into India’s sports fray giving SonyLiv and Hotstar an opportunity to take the lead.

    Also Read:

    SonyLIV adds 7 new channels from SPI

    SonyLIV celebrates 5 glorious years