ITV

Tag: Star network

  • 9X Media Network restructures national sales team

    MUMBAI: Music television network 9X Media Pvt Ltd has announced a national restructuring of its sales team which will come into effect from 26 April.

    Samir Kadam has been appointed national sales head at 9X Jalwa (the all time Bollywood Hits channel) and 9X Jhakaas (India‘s first Marathi music channel). He has earlier worked with Star Network, Zee TV and B4U. Before joining 9X Media, Kadam was handling the national sales for Star Jalsha Movies.

    The network has also elevated Anupama Gulati to handle the national sales responsibilities for the network‘s international music channel – 9XO. She will also head the brand solutions function for the network. Sachin Malhotra has been promoted to handle 9X Tashan sales across India. The sales responsibility for the group‘s flagship channel 9XM will be shared between Rajiv Sharma in North and Johnson Jain in West. All the sales heads will continue to report to 9X Media Group chief revenue officer Pawan Jailkhani. This structure will come into effect from the last week of April 2013.

    Jailkhani said, “The past 18 months have been very exciting for 9X Media Group. We have grown manifold times both in terms of ad revenues and our music channels offerings. Keeping in mind the current and future needs of our Network we have strengthened our sales team with internal and external appointments. This will enable more focused sales considering our diverse portfolio of music channels. I would also like to welcome Samir to 9X Media Group. I am confident that Samir will add tremendous value to the team.”

  • Hindi commentary simulcast delivers well for ESS

    MUMBAI: Sportscaster ESPN Star Sports‘ strategy of introducing Hindi commentary simulcast has found favour with cricket fans as it contributed 40 per cent of the overall ratings for the recently concluded India-Australia Test series.

    According to Tam data provided by ESS, the television broadcast of the recently concluded India-Australia Test series has delivered average rating of 2.05 TVR, which the broadcaster claims, is the highest average rating for a Test series played by India in the past four years. The test series delivered a reach of 92.8 million.

    The India-Australia series 2013 has delivered almost 50 per cent higher ratings as compared to the previous India-Australia series played in Australia in the year 2011/12 which averaged 1.37 TVR.

    The four test series also delivered 22 per cent higher ratings than the India-England test series played earlier this season which delivered an average of 1.68 TVR. The TV ratings peaked at 3.2 TVR on the eventful third day of the fourth test match when Cheteshwar Pujara made a quick fire 82 in India‘s pursuit for victory.

    ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput states, “We are extremely delighted with the results. Our approach to the presentation of Indian cricket has been a game changer in many ways. The introduction of Hindi commentary feed has done well and so has our strong web offering through starsports.com which allows consumers to get in the game online.

    He adds. Our aggressive marketing campaigns through the season which focussed on new and upcoming heroes of team India in transition culminating with the ‘Asli Test Baaki Hai‘ campaign for the India Australia series struck a chord with fans across the country.

    “Our aim is to take the viewership of this game to a completely new level – be it through our compelling campaigns, quality of talent, look and feel of the presentation, multi-platform delivery or through promoting it across the entire Star network.”

  • Ramraj Cotton plans media spends of Rs 200 mn, ropes in Arun Sarja as brand ambassador

    BENGALURU: Ramraj Cotton, South India based male innerwear, white shirts and dhoti major, plans to spend between Rs 170-200 million towards mass media communications in the year even as it nurtures ambitions of having a pan-India presence.

    The brand has roped in South Indian actor and film director Arju Sarja as brand ambassador. Sarja has acted in Tamil and Kannada films as well as in a few Malayalam and Telugu movies.

    Despitehaving a strong presence in Karnataka, Ramraj is eyeing a higher market share in the state. Sarja recently launched its first shop-in-shop in Bangalore.

    Ranraj’s mass media communication plans include television and its ads are beamed across all the major channels of the Sun Network, the Star Network’s channels as well as the channels of the ABCL group (TV9). Besides television, the brand uses outdoor and print media for mass media communications.

    Ramraj claims a 70 per cent market share in the four southern states in the dhoties (a male sarong worn on the lower part of the body) and white shirts segment. With one of its manufacturing facilities at Tiuppur, it also manufactures and exports garments to and for a number of international brands.

  • Star Network program clips on mobile through TELiBrahma’s ‘Buzz’

    Star Network program clips on mobile through TELiBrahma’s ‘Buzz’

    BENGALURU: Star Network is India’s first broadcaster to tie up with Buzz. Through Buzz, a mobile user could view 30 to 60 second clips of all the popular channels on the network including Star TV, Star World, Star Movies, Star Gold, Channel V etc.

    Says Star India marketing head Gayatri Yadav,”Through Buzz our viewers have access to their favourite Star Network promos. This is also a great way to be in direct touch with our consumers where they have the convenience to choose the information they wish to access.”

    TELiBrahma COO and founder Ravi says, “Brands are slowly able to understand the importance of location based service providers delivering rich media content and how effective they can be as a marketing tool.”

    TELiBrahma further claims that BUZZ as a platform delivers contextual content and a variety of exciting engagements like the movie listings, music video, deals, branded content etc., at zero cost to the users. Buzz hotspots are available at 1200 locations across India and include favourite hangout places like Café Coffee Day, Barista, malls, supermarkets and more. To connect to BUZZ, all one has to do is turn on their mobile’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to instantly receive exciting information, messages and offers for free.

  • Eight sponsors on board for Star’s Nach Baliye

    MUMBAI: Star Plus has roped in eight sponsors for its celebrity dance reality show ‘Nach Baliye‘ which is all set to launch on 29 December at 9 pm.

    The fifth season of the show will be presented by Vaseline while the powered by sponsor on board is LR Active Oil.

    The channel has signed six associate sponsors so far which are – Nivea, Vasan Eyecare, Flying Machine, Bingo, Ferrero and Fair & Lovely for Men.

    Star India president ad sales Kevin Vaz told Indiantelevision.com that the channel will sign on a total of nine associate sponsors for

    the show.

    “20-30 per cent of our inventories will be consumed by spot buys while all other will be utilised by the sponsors,” Vaz added.

    Star Plus has launched a nationwide campaign to promote the show which is returning after three years. However, Delhi, UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra (including Mumbai) will get special focus in marketing activities. There will be disruptions across all mediums including radio, outdoor, TV and digital, claims Star Plus VP marketing Nikhil Madhok.

    The channel is promoting the show aggressively across the Star Network and about 25 other channels outside its network. It is going gung-ho on the digital medium to promote Nach Baliye-5.

    According to Star Plus VP marketing Nikhil Madhok, this time one lucky couple will get a chance to actually participate on the show and compete with the celebrity ‘jodis‘. The only way to participate is digitally – to upload a short dancing clip of the couple onto Star Plus‘ site. “We will then invite our fans to vote for their favorite Jodi by ‘liking‘ their clip. Based on a combination of likes received and points awarded by our judges, one lucky couple will get to participate in Nach Baliye. It‘s a great way of driving viewer engagement with the show using digital,” Madhok explained.

    It will also launch a ‘Nach Baliye‘ mobile game through which people can chose their favorite jodis and earn points basis how the jodis perform on the show. People who accumulate the maximum points through the series will be given prizes. “We also have a really fun facebook app where you can get a friend of yours to dance with a Baliye of choice,” Madhok said.

    Meanwhile, all the jodis and judges of Nach Baliye will be present constantly on twitter and Facebook interacting with their fans, besides chatting live frequently.

    As a part of below-the-line activities, there will be mini Nach Baliye events on the ground, where people can participate and the channel will shoot their videos and upload them onto its site for a chance to participate on the show. “The idea is to not only engage with the audience but also facilitate their chance to participate on the show. This activity will happen across 10 cities in the country,” Madhok added.

    Also Read:

    Star Plus readies return of Nach Baliye after 3 years

  • Star Network expands UK channel offering on Sky

    Star Network expands UK channel offering on Sky

    MUMBAI: Star Network will now have an expanded range of its channels available for UK audience with a new multi-year carriage deal with Sky.

    According to the official communiqué, Star Network‘s portfolio of channels respond to the growing demand for high-quality Hindi and Bengali language programming.

    In addition to a channel carriage renewal for its existing channels, Star TV will also launch HD and on demand services as well as new channel Star Jalsha for the customers.

    The agreement sees Sky renew its distribution partnership for Star Network‘s range of Hindi-language entertainment and Bollywood film channels, including Star Plus, Star Life OK, and Star Gold. This follows the recent launch of Star Plus HD – the UK‘s first Asian TV channel in full high definition.

    The partnership between the broadcasters includes distribution rights that will see Sky offer access to Star Network‘s programmes through its catch-up platforms, including Sky‘s On Demand service.

    Star Networks SVP UK and Europe Yeshpal Sharma said, "It has been a fantastic journey with Sky so far and we are glad that with the multi-year deal Sky has recognised our commitment as the UK‘s No. 1 Asian television network offering top quality content to a growing Asian audience. We have built a firm foundation and are committed to taking it to new heights."

    Sky director of partner channels Adrian Pilkington said, "We‘re pleased to be extending our partnership with Star TV as viewing amongst the UK‘s Asian audience continues to grow strongly. At Sky, we‘re delighted to help Star‘s programming reach more than 10m homes, and to give viewers more choice, control and flexibility by making Star‘s content available in high-definition and on-demand."

  • Competitive pressures increase HUL’s ad spend

    MUMBAI: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd‘s (HUL) spend on advertising increased for the third consecutive quarter in the three months ended 30 September, on heightened competitive intensity which has taken the industry ad spend to a 15-quarter high.

    HUL spent Rs 7.69 billion on advertising and promotion in the second quarter, 18.13 per cent more than Rs 6.51 billion a year earlier. “A&P was stepped up and maintained at competitive levels,” the company said in its earnings release.

    It started increasing its advertising spends from the fourth quarter ended 31 March 2012. For the fourth quarter it spent Rs 6.77 billion, up 8.67 per cent from a year earlier. For the whole of 2011-12, HUL‘s advertising spend was lower from a year earlier.

    HUL said, “The operating context remained challenging during the quarter with a volatile cost environment and heightened competitive intensity. Overall industry media spend was up significantly to its highest levels in over 15 quarters.”

    As the company fought competition in the FMCG industry, it remained absent from the Star Network‘s bouquet of entertainment channels for about three months. Earlier this month, HUL returned to advertise on the Star Network.

    HUL‘s ad spends in the second quarter accounted for 14.26 per cent of its total expenses of Rs 53.92 billion, against 13.45 per cent of total expenses of Rs 6.89 billion a year earlier. Its spend on advertising and promotion accounted for 12.18 per cent of total revenues in the second quarter against 11.6 per cent a year earlier.

    The company‘s revenue for the second quarter ended 30 September was Rs 63.11 billion, 12.50 per cent more than Rs 56.1 billion a year earlier. Its net profit also saw a double digit spike of 17.13 per cent to Rs 8.07 billion from Rs 6.89 billion a year earlier.

    On a half-yearly basis, HUL‘s ad spends increased by 28.77 per cent (first quarter‘s YoY increase was 30 per cent) to Rs 15.89 billion from Rs 12.34 billion a year earlier. For the half year, the ad spends constituted 12.52 per cent of the total revenues and 14.63 per cent of the total expenses.

    The company‘s revenues for the first six months were at Rs 126.9 billion, up 13.31 per cent from Rs 111.99 billion a year earlier. Its net profit increased by 62.46 per cent to Rs 21.38 billion in the first half from Rs 13.16 billion a year earlier.

  • Life OK achieves its all-time high ratings

    MUMBAI: Life OK, the second Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Star Network stable, has recorded its highest rating of 167 GRPs. The channel, which had opened with 87 GRPs in December 2011, has come a long way and its popular mythological show ‘Mahadev‘ has contributed immensely in its journey.

    As per TAM data (HSM, C&S, 4+) provided by Hindi GECs, though there is no change in Life OK‘s position on GEC ladder (at No.5 in the hierarchy) but it added 26 GRPs to its last week‘s tally. The success can be attributed to the telecast of ‘Mahaepisode‘ of ‘Mahadev‘ on 9 September. The special episode of the show ran for an hour and garnered 8.2 TVR, highest recorded rating of any show in this year. The show averaged around 3.1 TVR as compared to 2.9 TVR in the previous week.

    Star Plus is back as the leader of the flock. The channel has maintained status quo with 250 GRPs in the week ended 15 September. Its fiction shows continue to garner good numbers as ‘Diya Aur Baati Hum‘ (5.3 TVR) continues to be the most watched show on Indian television.

    Despite the loss of 11 GRPs, taking the second leadership position is Zee TV. The fiction shows of the channel like Sapne Suhane Ladakpan Ke (2.1 TVR), Rab Se Sona Ishq (1.4 TVR), Mrs. Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein (2.2 TVR) have seen a marginal drop in their ratings. However, ‘Dance Ke Superkids‘ (4.6 TVR) continues to fetch increased eyeballs and is the highest rated show on the weekend prime-time.

    There is a tie at the No. 3 position of GEC ranking. Both Colors and Sony Entertainment Television (Set) have notched 230 GRPs each. Colors added a GRP while Set ended the week with a loss of 14 GRPs.

    Colors‘ ‘Balika Vadhu‘ has been holding onto its No.2 position in the ‘Top 10 shows‘ with 4.7 TVR (last week 5.1). It replaced ‘Saas Bina Sasural‘ on the channel; its last rating was recorded 1 TVR. The new season of the channel‘s laughter reality show Comedy Circus titled ‘Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe‘ opened with 3.3 TVR on 9 September.

    Set‘s new fiction property ‘Honge Juda na hum‘, which launched on 10 September, opened with a 1 TVR. It replaced ‘Saas Bina Sasural‘ on the channel, last rating of which was recorded 1 TVR. The new season of the channel‘s laughter reality show Comedy Circus titled ‘Comedy Circus Ke Ajoobe‘ opened with 3.3 TVR on 9 September.

    ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 6‘ saw a drop in its ratings in the following week. Though it opened with a 6.1 on 7 September (Friday), it clocked 3.9 TVR on 14 September (Friday). The Saturday (15 September) episode of the show rated 4.8 TVR while the Sunday episode (9 September) fetched 4.2 TVR.

    The next in the GEC ladder is Sab that added a GRP to close the week with 137 GRPs.

    Sahara-One with 34 GRPs (last week 36 GRPs) follows.

  • Asianet garners local sponsors for TV awards

    BANGALORE: Star Network‘s Malayalam general entertainment channel Asianet has roped in a number of sponsors, many of them local, for its ‘Asianet Television Awards 2012‘. The event will be aired tonight on Asianet from 6 pm onwards.

    For the title sponsorship, jewellery chain ‘Bhima Jewellery‘ has come on board, which has its stores in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. ATA is ‘powered‘ by Emmannuval Silks‘, a local Kerala based apparel brand that claims to have the largest collection of wedding silk for women.

    The co-sponsors include ITL Motors, Rasna, Keralamatrimonial.com and Gold winner. ITL Motors is a Kerala based automobile dealer, while ‘Gold Winner‘ is a brand of the FMCG group Kaleesuwari that has a presence in the four southern states and Goa. Rasna is the only national brand.

    The live ATA event held at Palakkad was witnessed by 15,000 strong crowd claims the channel. Several prominent persons from the film industry and socio-cultural spheres were present on the occasion.

  • News Corp forms Fox Television Studios India; Deepak Segal is head

    News Corp forms Fox Television Studios India; Deepak Segal is head

    MUMBAI: Star India looks to be aiming to move a significant part of its production activities, particularly relating to format shows and advertiser funded programming (AFP), in house.

    For that purpose, News Corp’s Fox Entertainment Group has set up a wholly owned subsidiary Fox Television Studios India Pvt Ltd (FTSI) and put Star India executive vice-president content and communication Deepak Segal in charge of leading it. Segal, who is currently “on deputation” to FTSI from Star, will officially move to the new company once it is fully operational. Segal summed up the broad logic of the move by News Corp as “backward integration”.

    FTSI is setting up relevant infrastructure for creating channel, pre-production, production and post-production facilities for content and storage of content.

    The format shows produced by FTSI will have a mix of product developed in India as well as those licensed from abroad and adapted for telecast in India, Segal reveals.

    According to Segal, while FTSI’s focus is on formats and AFPs, his team is working on a narrative show as well. Queried as to when any of these shows were expected to go on air, Segal said it would only be in the next fiscal. A point of note is that Star’s financial year is from 1 July to 30 June.

    As regards the executive structure within Star following Segal’s departure, it will more or less follow the changes incorporated in July 2005 when new portfolios were created for Shailja Kejriwal as senior creative director – Star network and Harsh Rohatgi as GM – Star network.

    While Kejriwal oversees programming and on-air promotions, Rohatgi is responsible for broadcast operations, network planning and presentation.

    About the only change in terms of functionality would be that Channel [V] head honcho Amar Deb, who used to report to Segal, now reports directly in to Star Entertainment India CEO Sameer Nair.