ITV

Tag: Srinivas

  • Sidharth TV Network hands over sales mandate to Whitepixel and GapBox

    Sidharth TV Network hands over sales mandate to Whitepixel and GapBox

    Mumbai: Oriya entertainment Group Sidharth TV Network has mandated Whitepixel and GapBox to handle its sales operations. Founded by Namita Agrawalla and Sitaram Agrawalla, Sidharth TV has four channels, namely, Sidharth TV (GEC), Sidharth Bhakti (devotional) Sidharth Gold (film), Jay Jaganath (niche channel on Lord Jaganath).

    Sidharth TV has been around for nearly four decades, bringing a range of premium entertainment content to the viewers across formats and genres including reality shows, dramas, events, comedies, game shows, dance shows, and others. It was founded by Namita Agrawal, renowned playback singer and a household name across Odisha, and her husband Sitaram Agrawalla who has been a known name in the entertainment business across TV, FM, music and movies. The channel was subsequently sold to Zee TV Group after which it became Sarthak TV. After a buy back last year, Sidharth TV Network returned to the field with the Sidharth TV platform on digital and now on satellite.

    Odisha is a rapidly rising market in the entertainment, music, and devotional content arenas, with an estimated audience size of over 45 million. The state’s entertainment preferences are dominated by its rich musical and religious past. Devotional programs, talent hunt shows, and serials that depict the cultural aspect are among the most demanded genres.

    “We have been in the field of creating artistic and engaging content for the Odia audiences for nearly four decades now. We had earlier established Sarthak TV which became a household name and was later acquired by Zee TV,” says Sidharth TV Network head-operations Bibhuti Bhusan Mishra.

    “We have also built a strong presence in the the digital entertainment field with 23 YouTube channels across devotion, music, entertainment, and other popular verticals with combined followership of 22 million subscribers. With Sidharth TV, Sidharth Gold, and Sidharth Bhakti, we are aiming to bring the best in entertainment, cinema, and devotional content to Odia viewers. We have entrusted our sales duties to Whitepixel and GapBox and look forward to using their expertise,” he adds.

    Whitepixel co-founder Abdul Aziz points out, “Sidharth TV, Sidharth Gold, and Sidharth Bhakti are platforms that have created a humongous bank of premium Odia content across genres. They have some of the best entertainment shows, TV serials, music and devotion programming depicting the salient features of Odia culture and heritage. We are keen to leverage our media sales, marketing, and advertising outreach to take this content to every viewer across the state and beyond.”

    “Whether it is the highly popular serials such as ‘Mangula Kanya’, and ‘Aparajita’, or reality shows such as ‘Sampurna Laxmi’ (based on the high-rooted traditions of Orissa), talent hunt reality show ‘Tike dance tike acting’ judged by three cine stars, or upcoming singing reality show ‘Odisha nua Swara Junior,’ we as a channel leave no stone unturned in delighting the viewers. We understand the pulse of the market and consumer sentiments very well,” states Sidharth TV Network head –sales Rabindranath Padhy.

    Sidharth Gold has over 100+classic odia movies along with 300+ jatras (Odia street palys), and the Sidharth Bhakti channel has 20 new devotional shows providing a daily dose of spirituality and devotion to the masses.

    “As India’s leading branded content/infomercial (DRTV) agency, we have been successful in establishing links between brands and communities. We believe in building modern brands that foster a rich cultural heritage. This is where Sidharth TV comes across as a perfect partner,” shares GapBox founder Srinivas. “They have built a network that has Odisha’s rich cultural heritage, practices and devotional depth at its core. The network also caters to all popular entertainment genres in vogue among the audience today. It is a joy to work with such a valued brand and bring about a transformation in Odia language entertainment industry, and we look forward to a long-term association with them.”

  • WPP appoints CVL Srinivas as country manager

    WPP appoints CVL Srinivas as country manager

    MUMBAI: In a recent development at WPP, the British multinational advertising and public relation company has announced CVL Srinivas as the country manager for WPP in India. He will look after the India business and will be replacing Ranjan Kapur who will continue to serve as the chairman of WPP India.

    CVL Srinivas will carry on with his duties as the CEO at GroupM South Asia.

    In a statement issued by the company, WPP CEO Martin Sorrell informed, “Horizontality’ is our number one strategic objective and Srinivas’s additional role in India will be to ensure that we work together as effectively as possible to provide clients with effective and efficient solutions.”

  • GroupM appoints Rohit Suri as Chief Talent Officer

    GroupM appoints Rohit Suri as Chief Talent Officer

    MUMBAI: GroupM has appointed Rohit Suri as the chief talent officer for their South Asia operations effective from 1 February. He will be based in Mumbai and report to Group M South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas and GroupM APAC chief talent officer Angela Ryan. Suri takes over from Gaurav Hirey, who is now based in Singapore with Millward Brown, another WPP company.

    Speaking on Suri’s appointment Srinivas said “We are at an exciting stage in our journey to build a data centric digitally charged Agency network of the Future. We are delighted to welcome Rohit to our team. Given his vast experience across different markets and the several interesting initiatives he has championed in his career we are sure he will add a lot of value to our business and take our strong talent management practice to the next level”

     “I am very excited to take this step in my career and join the world’s largest media investment group,” Suri says. “GroupM has embarked on an exciting journey which places talent management at the core. I look forward to leveraging my experiences in total rewards and innovative talent management practices in India, APAC and Europe for the growth of GroupM’s business.”

    Partnering with the leadership teams, he will be responsible for building out talent initiatives regionally, to ensure all GroupM talent have exceptional career experiences and development, while maximizing their full potential. He will also be a part of the GroupM South Asia, and the GroupM APAC Talent Executive Committees.

  • GroupM appoints Rohit Suri as Chief Talent Officer

    GroupM appoints Rohit Suri as Chief Talent Officer

    MUMBAI: GroupM has appointed Rohit Suri as the chief talent officer for their South Asia operations effective from 1 February. He will be based in Mumbai and report to Group M South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas and GroupM APAC chief talent officer Angela Ryan. Suri takes over from Gaurav Hirey, who is now based in Singapore with Millward Brown, another WPP company.

    Speaking on Suri’s appointment Srinivas said “We are at an exciting stage in our journey to build a data centric digitally charged Agency network of the Future. We are delighted to welcome Rohit to our team. Given his vast experience across different markets and the several interesting initiatives he has championed in his career we are sure he will add a lot of value to our business and take our strong talent management practice to the next level”

     “I am very excited to take this step in my career and join the world’s largest media investment group,” Suri says. “GroupM has embarked on an exciting journey which places talent management at the core. I look forward to leveraging my experiences in total rewards and innovative talent management practices in India, APAC and Europe for the growth of GroupM’s business.”

    Partnering with the leadership teams, he will be responsible for building out talent initiatives regionally, to ensure all GroupM talent have exceptional career experiences and development, while maximizing their full potential. He will also be a part of the GroupM South Asia, and the GroupM APAC Talent Executive Committees.

  • Kartik Sharma to take over from Ajit Verghese in January 2014

    Kartik Sharma to take over from Ajit Verghese in January 2014

    MUMBAI: GroupM and Maxus has announced the new managing director for Maxus South Asia, Kartik Sharma. Sharma takes over the reins from current managing director Ajit Varghese wef January 2014, as Verghese moves into a new regional role as CEO Maxus Asia-Pacific.

    Kartik moves up from Managing Partner, Maxus and will report into GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas and Verghese. He will also now be a part of the GroupM South Asia EXCO.

    Commenting on Sharma’s Appointment, CVL Srinivas said, “Kartik has done a stellar job as managing partner, Maxus, working closely with Ajit in shaping the Maxus brand, creating client delight, winning several new businesses and helping Maxus dominate industry awards. I wish him the very best and also welcome him to the GroupM South Asia EXCO which will benefit immensely from his product knowledge and experience.”

    On handing over the charge, Verghese added, “Kartik is an excellent choice for Maxus going forward especially considering his product strengths and client focus. A long standing employee of GroupM, he has the in-depth knowledge and insight of what is needed to take Maxus to the next level. Kartik has been the key architect in growing the Maxus Mumbai office 3 fold in the last 6 years and building up a collaborative culture of working across offices and between various teams inside GroupM.”

    With over 18 years of experience under his belt, Sharma said on his appointment, “The last six years at Maxus has been very exciting. What I love most is the passion & collaborative culture where every team member works hard to deliver on our 10/10 vision of delighting clients. Our focus on constantly improving the product and the ability to develop a unique work culture has helped us deliver winning solutions for clients. I look forward to my new journey and am confident it will be equally exciting & fulfilling.”

  • The Indian Brand Summit discusses new ways to reach the consumer

    MUMBAI: The India Brand Summit 2006 culminated with a final session on ‘New Ways to Reach the Consumer’. Chairing the session was Reliance Retail chief executive consumer durables Rajeev Karwal along with Lintas’ Lynn De Souza, TAM Media Research LV Krishnan, Leo Burnett’s Arvind Sharma, Maxis CEO Asia Pacific CVL Srinivas and Jet Airways DGM brands Alok Saraogi on the panel for the evening.
    Lynn De Souza begun by stating that new media primarily consisted of digital (internet and IPTV), out of home, on the move media and the consumer himself, which she felt is by far the most powerful. However, she was of the opinion that that in India traditional media still has great potential to grow and predicted that it will continue to be important for at least the next 10 years, mainly by recreating itself through interaction with the consumer.

    Srinivas on the other hand brought certain key concepts to the discussion. He talked of ‘Media Meshing’ which is the simultaneous consumption of media, as he believes media consumption is changing rapidly and it is time for media owners to ride the tide in this direction. He also spoke of ‘Social Media’ where people are primarily the creators, influencers and observers, something that has been fueled by a concept like blogging. “If you combine the two, you get a multi dimensional black box that will force advertising agencies think more differently. This will give us an impetus to move away from big bang advertising to ‘micropersuation’. The world is changing and change is at our doorstep.”

    Sharma addressed the gathering with some eye catching visuals and highlighted the fact that ‘consumer disseminated content’ is what is leading the way. Communication between consumers via the internet and mobile phones has the capacity to spread like wildfire and thus helps to drive the brand. These could include jokes, cartoons, a 30 second spot however, a classic example was that of Gmail, which has absolutely no advertisements but is something that through invites has grown in leaps and bounds merely by consumers acting as agents to pass it on.

    Saraogi on the other hand explained how the ‘human quotient’ of media or rather the human needs that new media poses to serve. He added, “Today, while technology reduces boundaries people also desire to be able to communicate thus we need to leverage the power of technology and make it relevant to each consumer.”

    TAM’s LV Krishnan spoke specifically from a television perspective and eluded the point that TV has evolved from getting eyeballs to consumer engagement. Studies from his organisation supported suggested, for different categories different mechanisms are used to get more effective engagement. Like for example for house wives it is sound that forces her to rush out of the kitchen and catch the climax while for youth and kids both visuals and sound helped get kids involved in each program.

    Taking a shot at the media researchers Lynn added that media research was still not adequately developed and that with the emergence of these newer mediums like the internet and DTH and the interactivity that they incorporate can provide sufficient measurability thus, there would soon be no need for media research.

    All these industry experts all tread different paths in the various ways to deliver content, yet they all aim at the same goal of ultimately reaching the consumer!

  • CVL Srinivas quits Maxus

    MUMBAI: Maxus, India and APAC MD, CVL Srinivas has put in his papers. Although his resignation was reluctantly accepted as of last Friday, it was only late yesterday that the news was officially conveyed to his team at Maxus as well as through the GroupM system.

    Srinivas will be seeing out 90 days in the company during which time an India head for Maxus will be put in place.

    While GroupM will also looking for a replacement to head Asia Pacific operations, Srinivas will essentially be focussed on ensuring the India leadership transition is a seamless one.

    When contacted by Indiantelevision.com, Srinivas sought to make one thing clear: That he had no job offer in hand at the moment though there were many rumours floating as to his next port of call.

    As for the plan ahead for Maxus, Srinivas said that while the last two years were marked by high growth, in the next year the focus would be more on consolidation. The emphasis would be on addressing the needs and requirements of the client roster that had been built up over the last two years, Srinivas pointed out.

    As regards Maxus India, the search for someone to head operations here was one that would have happened in any case, Srinivas stressed. Even if he had continued in the GroupM fold, he would have been based out of Singapore since his brief was to ramp up Maxus’ presence in the region, he added.

    It was in May 2005 that Srinivas was given additional charge of Maxus’ APAC operations in addition to his India responsibility. When Srinivas relinquishes office, he will have served just under three years at the Maxus helm. He joined Maxus India in early 2004 from Madison Media, where he was the COO, North and South. He has also had stints at Fulcrum and Lintas.

  • Nikhil crowned as ‘Airtel Super Singer’ on Vijay TV

    Nikhil crowned as ‘Airtel Super Singer’ on Vijay TV

    MUMBAI: The wait is over and Nikhil Mathew from Chennai was crowned as the Airtel Super Singer by popular singer S.P. Balasubramaniam. He was prized with a Maruti Swift car, and a trophy apart from the grand opportunity of singing for music director Harris Jeyaraj.

    Vijay TV launched Airtel Super Singer in the month of April 2006 with the motive of finding the one unique voice out of 6.5 crore Tamilians. The grand prize for the winner is an opportunity to sing for Music Director Harris Jeyraj in his forthcoming film.

    Auditions were conducted across the entire state of Tamilnadu targeting three major zones, viz., Kovai, Madurai and Chennai. The mode of entry of participants for the audition was through CD’s and cassettes, Airtel registration, and also on spot registrations.

    The judges’ panel for the initial ground auditions was constituted by personalities in the music industry such as, singers Malaysia Vasudevan, S.P. Sailaja, Jensi, Dr. Seergazhi Siva Chidambaram and music director D.Imman, Singer Malathi and singer Mahathi. These judges short-listed the candidates in various zones to proceed to the next level of the competitions held in Chennai, informs an official release.

    The next levels of competition saw the participants going through a series of extensive rounds testing their skills in music. These levels were judged by a special panel of judges constituting playback singers Anuradha Sriram, Srinivas and Unnikrishnan, who follow the progress of the participants through their journey in Super Singer. Singer Chinmayi anchored the show, the release adds.

    Anitha was announced as the viewer’s choice, as she had got the maximum number of votes and awarded a trophy and a Laptop. The jury award was given to Somya Mahadevan who participated in the show and was given a trophy and an E-Go electric bike. Sowmya has had classical music training for the past 5 years. She is a student of Meenakshi College, Kodambakkam.