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Tag: Star India

  • Balaji Telefilms’ promoters up stake to 47.29% post Star India’s exit

    Balaji Telefilms’ promoters up stake to 47.29% post Star India’s exit

    MUMBAI: After Star’s stake sale of 25.99 per cent in Balaji Telefilms Limited (BTL), the company’s promoters Shobha and Ekta Kapoor have acquired 28,43,000 equity shares at Rs 63.60 per equity share. With this, the promoters have upped their stake in BTL from 42.93 per cent to 47.29 per cent.

     

    Prior to the acquisition, Shobha Kapoor held 14 per cent stake in BTL, which has now been upped to 15.31 per cent (99,82,462 equity shares) post the acquisition of shares from Star Middle East FZ-LLC.

     

    On the other hand, Ekta Kapoor’s shareholding in the company has increased to 23.87 per cent (1,55,62,704 equity shares) from the previous 20.81 per cent post the share acquisition.

     

    Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair also acquired 416,000 equity shares, which takes his current holding in the company to 1.06 per cent (692,729 equity shares).

     

    Balaji Telefilms Limited managing director Shobha Kapoor said, “Balaji Telefilms has in place a very strong growth platform in both the television and motion pictures segments. We are very optimistic about our growth outlook that is being driven by a highly capable leadership team. This transaction is reflective of our confidence in the company and its growth story.”

     

    Nair added, “We have already embarked upon several exciting strategic initiatives, which we believe will translate into improved operating and financial performance. We are also very well poised to capitalise on the several opportunities opening up in the media industry.”

  • Salman Khan Films & T-Series roll out ‘Main Hoon Hero Tera’ video on

    Salman Khan Films & T-Series roll out ‘Main Hoon Hero Tera’ video on

    MUMBAI: Harnessing the power of digital, Salman Khan Films (SKF) and T-Series have rolled out, exclusively on hotstar, the video premiere of the song Main Hoon Hero Tera, sung by Salman, for the film Hero starring Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty.

     

    Starting 6 pm on 6 August, the full song has been made available to the entire user base of hotstar, the video on demand platform from Star India.

     

    The exclusive-to-hotstar video features footage of Salman singing the song in a recording studio, intercut with high emotional drama and action points from the film Hero produced by SKF and Mukta Arts, set to release on 11 September.

     

    The video of Salman singing Main Hoon Hero Tera will remain exclusive to hotstar till midnight of Saturday.

  • IBF appoints Girish Srivastava as secretary general

    IBF appoints Girish Srivastava as secretary general

    MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has appointed Girish Srivastava as secretary general.

     

    He has worked in the area of policy, regulations, promotion of cross-border trade in services, research, strategic expansion of existing businesses and development of new markets.

     

    In a career spanning over 24 years, Srivastava has worked with NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies), Bechtel Corporation, Bechtel Management Consulting, Reliance Industries, Toyo Engineering India as well as on projects mainly funded by international donor agencies.

     

    “I, along with rest of the IBF members welcome Girish and wish him success for his new assignment,” said IBF president and Star India CEO Uday Shankar.

  • TDSAT permits Star India to verify Rajasthan MSO’s details despite BECIL report

    TDSAT permits Star India to verify Rajasthan MSO’s details despite BECIL report

    NEW DELHI: Star India has been permitted by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) to send its representative to the head-end of Rajasthan Infotech Media Services Pvt Ltd for further verification despite the report of the Broadcast Engineering Consultants (India) Ltd (BECIL).

     

    The report by BECIL showed that the MSO’s systems were technically compliant with the statutory norms.

     

    However, Star India wanted to verify the correctness of the commercial details.

     

    Star India was therefore permitted by TDSAT chairperson Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and BB Srivastava to obtain the commercial details, including SMS reports, from the MSO’s system for the past months.

     

    The matter has been listed for further hearing on 19 August.

  • Pro Kabaddi League season 2 garners 45% growth in viewership

    Pro Kabaddi League season 2 garners 45% growth in viewership

    MUMBAI: Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League season 2 witnessed a stunning opening with a 45 per cent viewership increase as compared to its inaugural season last year.

     

    The opening game on 18 July between defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers and last year’s finalists U Mumba, rated 7.2 TVM (BARC panel CS4+), which is 45 per cent higher than the opening game of last season (TAM Panel CS4+).

     

    This kick-start to the second season validates that viewers have moved beyond the initial curiosity of season one to a deeper level of affinity and engagement with this aspirational Indian sport.

     

    The appeal of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League has cut across demographics with the core, urban, youth audiences passionately following the game while women and children continued to contribute about 50 per cent of viewership showing the universal appeal of the sport. The metro contribution was 64 per cent to overall television viewership demonstrating that the urban, millennialist audiences have a strong affinity for the sport. The League scored big on the digital front too. Hotstar, the online broadcaster of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League, witnessed a massive interest from metros and large cities.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “We are overwhelmed and delighted to see the Indian fan’s rediscovery and passionate following of the uber-cool, Indian sport of Kabaddi. Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League has grown from strength to strength and while season 1 was about re-discovering the game, season 2 has seen a deepening of engagement and appreciation for the sport and its heroes. We would like to thank our partners International Kabaddi Federation (IKF), Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI), Mashal Sports and our sponsors for their tireless commitment towards realizing this great vision.”

     

    Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League has become one of the most talked-about events on social media. The opening day of the tournament saw #ProKabaddi trending across India, as fans from Jaipur and Mumbai resumed their rivalry in a replay of last year’s final. To date, the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League season 2 has seen over 230,000 conversations on social platforms driving five billion potential impressions. This is approximately three times greater than last year.

     

    Additionally, Hotstar launched a series of unique content with shows like Jabaddi where Bollywood veteran Jaaved Jaaferi narrates and reacts to the most entertaining moments of the game on a weekly basis and Ultimate Panga hosted by Rannvijay Singha, who puts Kabaddi’s superheroes through a series of tasks to test their skill and strength.

     

    Hotstar also associated with VJ Jose to create Tickle Bomb, which are short and funny clips that builds the ‘Kabaddi is fun’ quotient.

  • Pro Kabaddi League season 2 witnesses improved ratings: TAM

    Pro Kabaddi League season 2 witnesses improved ratings: TAM

    MUMBAI: The first 14 matches substantiate Mashal Sports and Star India’s aspiration to make Pro Kabaddi League season 2 bigger and better.

     

    And the ratings sing a happy tune too. As per TAM Sports in CS4+ target group in All India market, while the average TVR after 14 matches in 2014 was 0.75 per cent, in 2015 the number went up to 1.23 per cent TVR.

     

    The average reach also bettered. The average reach after 14 matches in 2015 stood at 4.53 per cent as compared to 4.09 per cent in 2014.

     

    The average time spent also registered a magnificent incline as it went up to 19.36 minutes in the 2015 edition as compared to 14.56 minutes in 2014.

     

    This year in the second season of Pro Kabaddi League, Star India involved regional feeds, which is one of the major factors behind securing enhanced ratings.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Madison Media Omega COO Dinesh Rathore says, “After cricket, at this stage when it comes to money making opportunities, Kabaddi is certainly making a mark. The sport looks like it’s here to stay though it’s little too early to predict the future.”

  • Broadcasters satisfied with inter-connect agreements negotiations with MSOs

    Broadcasters satisfied with inter-connect agreements negotiations with MSOs

    NEW DELHI: Broadcasters, who met officials in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have expressed satisfaction over negotiations with multi system operators (MSOs) for entering into inter-connect agreements with them.

     

    The meeting was in keeping with a commitment made by TRAI at the last meeting of the Task Force for implementation of Phase III of the Digital Addressable System (DAS).

     

    The broadcasters included Star India and TV18, who expressed satisfactory progress in their meetings with MSOs. 

     

    It is learnt that TRAI also met MSOs in this connection.

     

    This was the second meeting with broadcasters after the last Task Force meeting held on 23 June.

  • AIDCF asks b’casters to create level playing field for OTT & cable TV

    AIDCF asks b’casters to create level playing field for OTT & cable TV

    MUMBAI: The All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) is on a roll. The multi system operator (MSO) association, which first submitted its recommendations to the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry and then to the GST Committee, has now written to broadcasters with Over the Top (OTT) platforms.

     

    The Association has written a letter to Star India, Multi Screen Media and IndiaCast Media Distribution. In the letter, AIDCF has stressed on how the broadcaster is giving content free of cost to its OTT platforms, while charging MSOs for the same content.

     

    Giving an example of Star India’s OTT platform hotstar, a source close to the development tells Indiantelevision.com, “Star India, on one hand offers simulcast or immediate transmission of fresh popular content completely free of cost to its OTT subscribers on hotstar and on the flip-side, it charges the MSOs huge sum for the same set of content.”

     

    AIDCF’s letter to broadcasters, a copy of which is with this website, reads:

     

    1) The cable industry is contributing huge subscription revenue to 

    broadcasters for the same set of content and programme.

     

    2) It contributes to a large viewership for the channels the network has.

     

    3) Also helps the broadcaster in gaining higher TRPs, which in turn leads to a better ad rate for the portfolio of channels thus increasing the advertisement revenue.

     

    The letter points out that this scenario of offering simulcast/immediate transmission of fresh content completely free of cost to OTT subscribers is not favourable for the Cable TV industry and its relationship with broadcasters, considering the growth in the subscriber base for the broadcasters’ OTT application.

     

    According to AIDCF, this is a threat to the pay TV cable business model, which defeats the purpose of paying huge license fees to broadcasters. “Some of our subscribers have started complaining saying, ‘Why should we pay you for the content, which is available free of cost via say hotstar or Sony Liv,’” informs the source.

     

    Giving free of cost content to OTT platforms is affecting the average revenue per user (ARPU) of the cable TV industry, subsequently hampering the growth of business at large.

     

    AIDCF in its letter has asked broadcasters to create a level playing field amongst respective distribution platforms. “We have requested the broadcaster to make content available on their OTT platform a paid service with a subscription fees. Alternatively, the same content should also be made available free of cost to other distribution platform,” the source reaffirms.

  • BARC India floats initiatives to add new industry subscribers

    BARC India floats initiatives to add new industry subscribers

    MUMBAI: BARC India is looking at adding more broadcasters and agencies from the industry as subscribers by offering them various sops. 

    BARC India currently has more than 370 channels and agencies on board as subscribers, which comprise approximately 94 per cent of the total viewership of channels in India, whereas the agencies control about 95 per cent of the ad spends on television. 

     

    Now with its larger objective of inclusiveness, BARC India has decided to help all the other broadcasters and agencies to use its data and insights.

    The television ratings monitoring agency has launched special initiatives together with the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) to motivate broadcasters and agencies who are yet to invest and subscribe for BARC India’s commercial services.

     

    The highlights of the offerings for broadcasters are as follows:

    • ‘Special Limited Period Offer’ with lease, rental and buy-back option
    • Limited period offer, closes on 15 August, 2015
    • Installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance for entire contract period would be taken care by Cineom, the authorised resellers of watermarking equipment of Civolution. 
    • Post placing the order with Cineom, broadcasters can subscribe to BARC India’s commercial services

    Highlights of the offerings for agencies are as follows:

    • Special Prime and Supreme packages have been designed for small and medium sized ad agencies
    • A special discount is especially being offered for AAAI member agencies

      

    Star India CEO and IBF president Uday Shankar says, “As a joint industry body – BARC India has always kept the interest of industry stakeholders at the forefront. I look forward to newer broadcasters joining this special initiative designed to facilitate and ease the financial burden. This will help the broadcast ecosystem in India.”

     

    AAAI president M G Parameswaran adds, “I am happy that BARC India has extended a special offer to small and medium sized ad agency members of AAAI, our largest constituency. I am hopeful that many of them will avail of this special offer, join the movement and benefit from the state-of-art rating systems offered by BARC India.”

  • Star India’s English cluster to air 67th Emmy Awards live

    Star India’s English cluster to air 67th Emmy Awards live

    MUMBAI: Star India’s English general entertainment channels (GECs) will telecast the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards to Indian audiences on21 September, 2015. 

     

    Touted as the Oscars of the small screen, this glamorous gala will be simulcast LIVE on Star World, Star World HD, Star World Premiere HD and FX, and the primetime telecast on Star World, Star World HD and FX. The Network has a staggering 98 nominations across categories for this year’s Emmys. 

     

    The Star network aired more than 50 shows and 28 of those are vying for the trophy within all major contested categories this year. American Horror Story has bagged 19 nominations – coming second in line for most nominations in any category. Following closely are Mad Men with 11 and Downton Abbey with eight nominations. Other notable nominations include Emmys darling Modern Family and Louie with six nods each, while Homeland and The Simpsons received five nominations each.

     

    “Like every year, our shows find themselves as top contenders of the Emmys, which only reflects the quality and excellence of the content we curate on our channels. It gives us great pride to become broadcasting partners with the Primetime Emmy Awards once again,” said a Star India official spokesperson.

     

    Girl-power runs high at the Emmys this year with strong independent television characters portrayed by Claire Danes (Homeland), Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder), Taraji P. Henson (Empire) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category. 

     

    Not far behind, the gentlemen have blown away viewers with their funny performances, with Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Matt LeBlanc (Episodes), Louis CK (Louie) and Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth) nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category. 

     

    Star World’s soon-to-premiere Jimmy Kimmel Live has garnered a nomination for the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category as well.