MUMBAI: Star Plus continues to lead the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) genre and secured leadership position, while Comedy Central emerged as the number one channel in English GECs in week 47 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, all India (U+R) data.
Hindi GECs
Star Plus grabbed the pole position in the genre with a hike in ratings with 813084 (000Sums) in week 47 against 795810 (000Sums) in previous week. Zee’s Free to Air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol maintained its second position with 754786 (000Sums) followed by Colors in the third spot with 713600 (000Sums) and Zee TV in the fourth position with 632511 (000Sums).
With a rise in ratings, Star India’s FTA channel Star Utsav stood at the fifth spot with 544176 (000Sums) against 518725 (000Sums) in week 46. Life OK held the sixth position with 457560 (000Sums) followed by Sony Entertainment Television in the seventh position with 396968 (000Sums). Sab TV jumped one step ahead with 372333 (000Sums) and grabbed the eighth spot.
Sony Pal with 315559 (000Sums) and Rishtey with 284013 (000Sums) stood at ninth and tenth slot respectively.
English GECs
In week 47, Comedy Central led the English entertainment genre and garnered the pole position with 177 (000Sums) followed by AXN, which was the leader of English GECs in week 46 on second spot with 143 (000Sums). Zee Café with 117 (000Sums) grabbed the third spot in the genre.
Star World with 71 (000Sums) and Colors Infinity SD with 64 (000Sums) stood at the fourth and fifth position respectively.
MUMBAI: Star India has successfully completed the integration of the Maa Television Network’s broadcast business.
With this, Star India strengthens its offering in the Telugu speaking markets of South India.
Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “We are pleased to announce the completion of the integration of the broadcast business of Maa Television Network, a journey that we had embarked upon in February, earlier this year. We are very impressed by the solid creative core and quality and depth of the management team at Maa Television Network and are delighted to welcome them to the Star family.”
“The acquisition fills a critical gap in our portfolio and will allow our advertisers targeted access to the large Telugu speaking population. We plan to invest further in this important market to fundamentally change the content quality paradigm. I am confident that team Maa under the leadership of K. Madhavan will transform the content experience for Telugu viewers,” Shankar added.
The acquisition of Maa TV also opens up a significant opportunity for major content innovation in the Telugu television market, which is extremely important given that the Telugu TV market is the second largest regional market in India in terms of revenue potential.
Maa Television’s bouquet of four channels includes Maa, Maa Music, Maa Movies and Maa Gold.
With the completion of the necessary formalities, the broadcast business of Maa TV will now be integrated with the business of Star India.
With the expansion into the Telugu market, Star looks to continue its tradition of innovation in content, building on the strong track record established by the team at Maa Television Network.
MUMBAI: Star India and HBO have inked an exclusive programming agreement that will bring HBO original content to a wider audience via Star’s English channels as well as its digital platform Hotstar.
Star India will now air HBO original programming including Game of Thrones and True Detective.
Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “Star is delighted to partner with HBO to bring world class HBO original programming for Indian viewers. Star will become the exclusive destination for screening HBO content in India – once again resetting the benchmark for quality and depth of content offering for its viewers. Fans will be able to watch their favourite HBO Original programs on Hotstar on the same day as the telecast in the United States. Viewers will also be able to see the HBO Original programming on Star’s English channels.”
“Hotstar, is a leading destination for our growing family of content viewers.We have constantly aspired to offer high quality content across genres and languages, and HBO Originals with its outstanding program bouquet, I am sure will be yet another quantum leap in delighting and enthralling our viewers,” Shankar added.
HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “HBO is delighted to enter this new chapter in India with Star. Through the first release of our shows on Hotstar, Indian audiences will now have unprecedented flexibility in how they consume HBO’s much loved premium programming.”
Apart from Game of Thrones and True Detective, other forthcoming series of HBO Originals include Silicon Valley, Veep, and Leftovers as well as new HBO Original series in the forthcoming season, which will include the Scorsese series Vinyl scheduled to air on 14 February and West World. In addition, library favourites such as Entourage, Band of Brothers, The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm will also be available.
New Delhi: Durgapur-based multi-system operator Akash Tori Infocom Services Pvt Ltd has assured the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) that it will rectify the errors in its system pointed out by Star India.
Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava adjourned the matter to 11 December for further hearing after hearing counsel for both sides.
TDSAT had on 4 November directed the MSO to make it convenient for Star India to examine its headends in Durgapur. Accordingly, Star India had conducted a technical audit. Some shortcomings were found and this was conveyed to the MSO by Star India in a letter.
Akash Tori counsel Radhika Gupta admitted that shortcomings have been found in relation to set top boxes.
Star India counsel Arjun Natarajan said the audit had revealed that Akash Tori’s Subscriber Management System (SMS) is not integrated with CAS for activation/deactivation of STB, which are not possible from SMS. Furthermore, the basic addressable features in STB, like channel encryption, package activation/deactivation are not available. Natarajan also said fingerprinting and OSD or messaging is not happening in STBs.
Star India asked Akash Tori to rectify the shortcomings and after rectification, it said Akash Tori may either approach Star India for a re-audit, or go for an audit by Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd.
Ms Gupta said she would seek instructions from her client in this regard and take appropriate steps. The MSO had filed a petition seeking Star’s signals in digital mode on RIO terms.
In the earlier hearing on 4 November, TDSAT was informed by Akash Tori counsel Radhika Gupta that the MSO had not yet received some set top boxes it had ordered.
When the matter had first come up on 19 October, the Tribunal had noted that Akash Tori was a ‘fledgling multi-system operator’ and ‘Star India cannot have any objection to give its signals on RIO terms to it, permitting Star to examine the headend of the MSO.
MUMBAI: Star Plus’ Senior VP of Programming Ashish Golwalkar has decided to move on from Star India after a successful three year stint.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Golwalkar said, “I have decided to move on to take bigger challenges. I did a lot of good work here in Star, created a few brands from scratch. I will take a brief break now and then decide my way forward. I have a few offers which I am evaluating at this stage.”
Before Star he was associated with Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited for over 11 and half years. The last post that he had in Zee was as Head of Non-fiction Programming.
MUMBAI: Keeping up with its commitment of building and supporting heroes in Indian sports, Star Sports is giving it’s viewers a reason to ‘cheer’ India’s shuttling superstar Saina Nehwal. The leading sports broadcaster is recruiting 20 passionate Indian fans to join the ‘Saina Squad,’ an ensemble of Saina Nehwal supporters who will be flown to Dubai to cheer on the ace shuttler at the BWF World Superseries finals, 9 – 13 December 2015.
Currently ranked second in the world, Nehwal is one of India’s biggest sporting icons. She reflects the aspirations of millions of Indians and has a huge following of fans cutting across demographics. That same support, however, is missing when she plays abroad. But now, with Star Sports forming the #SainaSquad, she can count on an army of fans cheering her on in Dubai.
The ‘Saina Squad’ will play from the stands and support the Badminton prodigy during the tournament. The ubiquitous ensemble will drive, motivate and cheer the ace shuttler as she will take on the world’s best players in the Emirates state.
Star India COO Sanjay Gupta said, “Saina Nehwal, with her exceptional performances in the recent past, is the new sporting icon in the country. From reaching the summit of the sport to medals in Olympics and Superseries, Saina has done the country proud. As a broadcaster, we believe in bringing the fans closer to the game and their heroes. Keeping Saina’s growing fanbase in mind, we decided to form an ensemble of fans that will support her during her next international tour. We are confident ‘Saina Squad’ will not only create a platform for her fans but will also help increase the following of the sport.”
Saina Nehwal said, “The support I have at home in India is phenomenal and while I do have followers internationally, there’s still a certain buzz that’s missing when I’m playing abroad. I’m always striving to give my best on the court for the nation but having my own army of fans cheering for me in Dubai will definitely give me a massive boost. I would like to thank Star Sports for giving me my own army of fans through ‘Saina Squad’.”
‘Saina Squad’ will be shortlisted after a series of contests and activities on Social media. The first of those contests – featuring 20 cards celebrating Saina’s career achievements – kicked off on November 9. Fans can tweet using the hashtag #SainaFact to get a card. Those who collect all 20 cards will be eligible to be shortlisted. The activity will be followed by a quiz contest, an online treasure hunt, a puzzle featuring Saina’s top moments for fans to solve and a Saina chant competition. Finally, participants will have to answer why they think they are fit to join the ‘Saina Squad’.
The film has been planned and executed by the in-house team. The creative team had Mustafa Rangwala, Prathamesh Sakte, Ajeet Mistry. The production house who executed the production was O2 films and was directed by Ninad Chava. The marketing team consisted of, Shubhranshu Singh, Jarmaan Randhawa, Snigdha S
ActivityTimelines:
November 9-10 : Saina Factoids
November 13-14 : Video Quiz
November 16 : Timeline Treasure Hunt
November 17-18 : Top Saina Moments
November 20-21 : Saina Chant & Cheer
November 23-24 : Last stage – Why should you be in the Saina Squad?
MUMBAI: In a major shuffle of roles, Star India is all set to promote two of its senior employees with extended roles.
Star India business head – English cluster, Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies and Channel V Kevin Vaz is all set to take additional responsibility of the network’s Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs). With this, Vaz will now also head Star Plus and Life OK in addition to FX, Fox Crime, Star World, Star World HD, Star World Premiere HD, Star Movies, Star Movies Action, Star Jalsha, Jalsha Movies and Channel V. The total number of channels under him now tot up to 12. It may be recalled that Channel V fell into Vaz’s portfolio only earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Star India executive vice president – content strategy Gaurav Banerjee has been upped as the deputy chief creative officer – content studio.
Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com, a source said, “It’s just a reward to their respective contribution to the network.”
Vaz joined Star India in the mid 90s, while Banerjee was roped in by his mentor Star India CEO Uday Shankar in 2008 to kick-start the broadcaster’s regional news channel business.
At the time of filing this story, Vaz and Banerjee were unavailable for comment.
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) directed the multi-system operator (MSO) Akash Tori Infocom Services to allow Star India to examine its headends in Durgapur on 18 and 19 November.
TDSAT chairman Justice Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava listed the matter for 27 November.
The order was given after the Tribunal was informed by Akash Tori counsel Radhika Gupta that the MSO had not yet received some set top boxes (STBs) it had ordered.
When the matter had first come up on 19 October, the Tribunal had noted that Akash Tori was a ‘fledgling multi-system operator’ and ‘Star India cannot have any objection to give its signals on RIO terms to it,’ permitting Star to examine the headend of the MSO.
However, Star India counsel Arjun Natarajan told the Tribunal today that the MSO had not given a convenient date as instructed by the Tribunal and it was only when the broadcaster wrote to the MSO that it had referred to the STBs, which were yet to arrive.
Thereupon, Justice Alam queried as to why an MSO should file a petition for signals when it was not ready to receive them. The MSO had filed a petition seeking Star’s signals in digital mode on RIO terms.
MUMBAI: Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) Sun TV continues to maintain its number one position across genres in India according to week 43 all India (U+R) data from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
What’s more, there’s one new entrant in Top 10 channels list in Star India’s Telugu language channel Maa TV. On the other hand, DD National dropped off the radar from the Top 10 channels in week 43.
Sun TV witnessed the downfall in ratings but secured pole position in week 43 with 1087793 (000Sums) against 1151458 (000Sums) in the previous week, followed by Hindi GEC leader Star Plus in the second spot with 860191 (000Sums) and Zee Anmol in the third place with 723314 (000Sums).
Zee TV was in the fourth spot with 707981 (000Sums) while Colors, which was on third position last week, grabbed fifth the position with 687321 (000Sums). Sony Max ranked sixth with 640992 (000Sums).
Maa TV made its entry in the Top 10 list across genres at the seventh position with 561415 (000Sums) followed by Life OK on the eighth spot on the list with 523069 (000Sums).
Star India’s FTA channel Star Ustav bagged the ninth spot with 498007 (000Sums), while ETV Telugu made a comeback at the tenth spot this week.
MUMBAI: Star India has snapped up the broadcast rights of the much awaited venture of Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne namely The Cricket All-Stars T20 tournament, featuring cricket legends from across the globe.
Confirming the development to Indiantelevision.com a source close to the development said, “The rights are with Star and we all are looking forward to the tournament.”
While Master Card has been roped in as the title sponsor of the tournament, negotiations are on with a few more brand. The source adds, “We are in the last phase of proceedings and will soon reveal many more developments.”
The Cricket All-Stars T20 tournament is set to unfold on 7 November, 2015 in New York. The tourney will then move to Houston on 11 November and to Los Angeles on 14 November.
Virender Sehwag, who recently retired, has also joined the roster, which has former Indian greats like Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar. While Warne confirmed his participation in the tournament a few days back, the master blaster Tendulkar was also spotted sweating it out in the nets yet again. Some of the others former cricketers who are a part of the league are Kumar Sangakkara, Jonthy Rhodes, Wasim Akram, Glen Mcgrath and Ricky Ponting.
His recent tweets read :
Had fun at the nets today. #ComingToAmerica, see you in New York in 10 days.. #CricketAllStars2015 @T20AllStars
Senior cricket expert Hemant Kenkre said, “It’s a delightful opportunity for the average American cricket fans to see the legends playing in front of them. The initiative is nice. I remember something similar was done in Brabourne Stadium long back. From cricket’s perspective, it remains to be seen how fit the players are, it’s been long since many of them retired and no one knows how much cricket they have been playing. But overall Wasim Akram bowling to Lara or Sachin facing Warne again would be a worthy sight for cricket lovers.”
A sports media planning veteran added, “Sachin, Sourav, Sehwag, Warne in one pitch again can take viewership to a different level, recently we saw in Wankhede how the entire stadium was chanting Sachinnnnn! Sachinnnnnn! Having said that, the matches are to be played in America so the timing will be an issue for the Indian audience. Moreover, how competitive the matches are, will be another factor to look at. Overall the first three matches will be an experiment and the quality of those will determine the future.”
