ITV

Tag: Star World

  • All new shows on Star this year

    All new shows on Star this year

    MUMBAI: Star India is all set to flag off the new year with a host of new shows on its English entertainment channels, Star World and Star World Premiere.

     

    Starting this month, Star World Premiere, will air the all-new American cyber-themed action-adventure series, Intelligence, which stars Josh Holloway as Gabriel Vaughn, a hi-tech intelligence operative with a supercomputer microchip lodged in his brain.

     

    A new-age super soldier, Gabriel can hack into any data centre and access critical intelligence to protect the US from its enemies. Intelligence also stars Marg Helgenberger as head of the government cyber security agency supporting Gabriel and Meghan Ory as Secret Service Agent.

     

    Come February, the channel is expected to telecast a new comedy-drama titled Rake, which sees Greg Kinnear as criminal defence lawyer Keegan Deane whose personal problems threaten to turn his entire world upside down.

     

    Apart from the new shows, the latest season of American Horror Story: Coven will also air on Star World Premiere. Having debuted in October last year, the anthology series features different characters and locations, including a haunted house, a mental asylum and a witch coven. The upcoming season revolves round themes such as oppression, witchcraft and voodoo. With actors the likes of Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange, the series has won both critical and commercial acclaim.

     

    Not to be left behind, Star World will telecast a new comedy-drama Bunheads starring Sutton Foster as Michelle Simms, a Las Vegas showgirl who gets married on impulse, only to end up in small town California, where she teaches ballet alongside her mother-in-law, Fanny Flowers, reprised by Kelly Bishop.

     

    Also airing on the channel will be the first and second seasons of Suburgatory, a series that follows the life of George Altman (Jeremy Sisto), a single dad from New York who moves upstate to the suburbs in search of a better life for his daughter Tessa (Jane Levy). This apart, Star World will telecast new seasons of old favourites like Melissa & Joey starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence as the main protagonists.

     

    Exults Star India general manager English channels Kevin Vaz: “We’ve got some great shows scheduled to air in the New Year. We will be showing new seasons of a few old favorites as well as some brand new shows. 2014 is going to see some excellent television content from the Star Network.”

     

    While Star World has been around for long now, Star World Premiere, which was launched only in September last year, has already taken TV viewers by storm with its dynamic content.

     

    The channel is a pioneering initiative by the Star Network to present brand new content to Indian audiences with the latest episodes of their favorite shows broadcasting simultaneously in the US.  So, viewers can watch all the popular shows as they air in the west, without having to wait for the latest episodes.

  • Chrome Data: Religious channels lead the chart in week 52

    Chrome Data: Religious channels lead the chart in week 52

    MUMBAI: It’s ironical to note that in the week when everybody is up for some celebration – partying, enjoying and vacationing – the viewership of religious channels have increased. Is it that the elders at home have got an easy access to the channels they want to watch in the absence of the younger members of the family? Or, is it that people at large want to wash off their sins at the yearend by spending some time in spiritual viewing?

    Whatever the reasons may be, we are saying all this because in the week 52 of Chrome opportunity to see (OTS), the religious channels are leading the chart. The genre gained 1.5 per cent as per the data provided by Chrome Data Analytics & Media. Among all the religious channels, Aastha ruled with 98.3 per cent in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM).

    And not that the viewers just enjoyed the bhajans and spiritual lessons, they were in for some musical retreat as well. The music channels were at the second position in the week 52. The music genre in the HSM gained 0.5 per cent with Sony Mix ahead of other channels with 88.5 per cent OTS.

    The Kids genres across India and English news channels in the eight metros didn’t witness much change as compared to last week. However, the genres were in the top four. While Cartoon Network leads in the kids’ genre with 87.3 per cent, Times Now led in the news category with 90.4 per cent OTS.

    As for the bottom four, English entertainment channels saw a huge drop with 3.8 per cent in the eight metros. Star World overtook AXN to gain the first position with 81.1 per cent.

    The business channels couldn’t grab the viewers attention even after special line-ups featuring the high and low points of the year 2013. The genre in the eight metros saw 1.9 per cent drop with CNBC Awaaz leading the way with 83.8 per cent.

    English movie channels and Hindi news channels in the eight metros and HSM, respectively, saw a dip with former witnessing a drop by 0.6 per cent and latter by 0.4 per cent. Pix was at the top with 88.4 per cent, while Aaj Tak registered 94.6 per cent OTS.

  • Star World ushers in NY with a Modern Family marathon

    Star World ushers in NY with a Modern Family marathon

     MUMBAI: One of the oldest English entertainment channel, Star World, gave its viewers the ultimate Christmas present as it let them vote for their favorite show online.

     

    The channel’s ‘Freedom to Choose’ poll on Facebook gave fans the special privilege to choose exactly which show they would like to catch on New Year’s Eve and on New Year’s Day (31 December and 1 January) . Viewers had a choice to pick between popular shows like Melissa and Joey, Glee and Modern Family. The poll remained open to all fans till 25th December 2013.

     

    Of all the shows, Modern Family was the clear winner. Viewers will now get to watch the sitcom on the on the two days as the channel airs a marathon session of the hit show between 12pm-7pm. The American sitcom has won a host of awards and recently ‘cleaned up’ at the Emmy’s taking home best supporting actor and actress in a comedy, best comedy direction and best comedy for the third year in a row.

  • Star English Network continues to dominate with 48% Market Share

    Star English Network continues to dominate with 48% Market Share

    MUMBAI: Star World continues to dominate the English GEC category and the Star English Network (SW, FX and Fox Crime) has 48% market share in latest 4 weeks where the Star channels are blazing all guns on the ratings front. 9 out of the top 10 shows of the current week belong to Star Network. Masterchef Australia S5 continues to be the No 1 show followed by Fringe on FX , Koffee with Karan S4, X Files and Two and A Half Men.

    The popular talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ enters its 4th season, with first episode featured the evasive Salman Khan who is not a regular celebrity on any talk show. With 3 successful seasons already underway, the fourth season began with a bang as its launch week delivered 222 TVT’s and its original airing dominated with 78% share of English GEC on the Sunday 9PM slot. The show accumulated 6,19,000 viewers across its airings during the week of launch.

    With its dynamic content and exclusive guest line-up Koffee with Karan also delivered big impact on the digital space and garnered huge popularity with the print and electronic media. On You Tube alone the launch episode with Salman Khan has delivered over 1.7 million views in a span of 1 week. On twitter the show conversations were at another level. Over11M+ accounts were reached as a pre-show launch build up with over 75000 tweets received delivering 80 million impressions thereby driving high-engaging conversation around the show launch. The opening episode also saw Koffee with Karan trend on twitter for approx. 24 hours and trended in the no.1 position on Facebook.

    It does not stop here. The Electronic and Print media have also taken well to the show. KWK S4 has received over 150 stories amongst the mainstream papers and over 50 TV networks have covered stories of the show launch across the country ensuring that Koffee becomes the flavor of the season.

    Speaking on the staggering success of the fourth season Kevin Vaz, General Manager – English channels, Star India said, “Koffee with Karan has taken the silver screen by storm with an impressive rating and the faithful viewership it continues to receive. We have always looked at airing the best quality content and entertainment, allowing Star World to surge ahead in the English GEC universe. Having seen the success in the week of launch, the future looks bright for Koffee with Karan.”

    The show has already seen a number of high profile celebrities grace its sets this season including Salman Khan, Kapoor cousins Ranbir and Kareena. The coming Sunday’s episode marks a first again as it will showcase the ever-elusive Aamir Khan with wife, Kiran Rao taking the couch opposite celebrity-director and host, Karan Johar.

    So stay tuned to Star English network of channels and continue to enjoy the steamy cups of Koffee this winter only on Star World.

  • Star World Premiere launches Facebook app

    Star World Premiere launches Facebook app

    MUMBAI: Star World Premiere takes consumer engagement up to the next level with the introduction of its brand new Facebook app that gives their fans a chance to be on their favorite show.

    The hit show Person of Interest, starring Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel, revolves around the US government’s special mass surveillance computer system that predicts crimes before they happen. The system involves a close scrutiny of individuals with the use of what is known as ‘The Machine’. The Machine attempts to discern a potential victim through its analytical prowess classified as “Irrelevant” and the protagonists prevent the crime.

    Fans of the show that have seen the Machine relocate its operations at the end of the second season may soon discover that its whereabouts are much closer than they realise through the use of an integrated Facebook app. The successful surveillance drama will engage viewers by giving them a chance to be a Person of Interest.

    Viewers can go to Star World Premiere Facebook page and go to the ‘You May Be A Person Of Interest’ Tab and submit their own photo. After editing their photo through the app, it will be given to the “Machine” that will add the location and the ‘threat level’ to their image via colour-coded boxes: white for no threat or an irrelevant threat, red for perceived threats to the Machine and red-and-white for individuals predicted to be or currently violent. This entitles them to be featured on the show as a Person of Interest in the upcoming season after the producers pick the winning candidates.

    The Person of Interest app is certainly the next level in consumer engagement via a social-media platform creating a connection both on-screen as well as online for its fans.

  • ATA to be telecast on Star World and Channel V

    ATA to be telecast on Star World and Channel V

    MUMBAI: The eighteenth Asian Television Awards (ATA) that will be held on 5 December in Singapore will be telecast on Fox’s Asian channels Star World and Channel V. The awards ceremony will air across five feeds between the two channels and will reach audiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

     

    ATA this year has attracted nearly 1250 entries from 14 countries across Asia-Pacific. 189 channels from 98 broadcasters, as well as 65 independent production companies, will compete in 38 categories under the three groups of ‘programming’, performance’, and ‘technical & creative’. The top four categories are ‘terrestrial channel of the year’, ‘cable and satellite channel of the year’, ‘terrestrial broadcaster of the year’ and ‘cable and satellite channel of the year’.

     

    This year, 22 Indian programmes have been selected for it with a majority from the TV18 group and the NDTV group.

     

    This will be ATA’s first ever regional broadcast on Fox’s International Channels. It will also be telecast on Singapore’s terrestrial broadcaster MediaCorp TV.

  • One more feather in Star’s English GEC cap

    One more feather in Star’s English GEC cap

    MUMBAI: Not content with having a clutch of channels firmly ensconced in the English entertainment space, Star India is gearing up to add one more English GEC to its existing bouquet.

    Titled STAR World Premiere HD, the channel will debut on the Star network on 24 September. It will cater to a super premium audience aka global Indians by airing the biggest US shows from the biggest studios like FOX Studios, Warner, Disney and Sony in a cluster of 26 episodes.

    Speaking about its TG, STAR India business head Kevin Vaz said: “We thought there is a certain super premium kind of audience, which is very up-to-date with global trends. And I would like to call it more as global Indian.”
    We want to eliminate the concept of a release gap between US and India says confident Kevin Vaz

    “They know the space in terms of luxury goods, technology, entertainment needs etc. When it comes to television, many channels have a longer gap from the US release. So how do we satisfy this audience? We thought this would be a good opportunity to give them entertainment on a daily basis.”

    Spelling out who constitutes its TG, Vaz said: “It is the most premium audience in India, comprising the one per cent of top SEC, A+ and between the age group of 20 to 35.”

    With Star reaching out to 67 per cent of the total English audience, STAR World Premiere HD will air four hours of original content every day,Monday to Friday. Saturday and Sunday will see a lot of catch-ups with the channel planning to air drama and comedy-based shows, respectively.

    The newbie’s proposition reads: ‘Watch with the World’ for it will air shows on television that are playing in the US at the same time and will play in India within the same week. “We want to eliminate the concept of a release gap between US and India,” Vaz pointed out.

    So, shows including Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Blacklist, Betrayal, Dads, The Goldbergs, The Michael J. Fox Show, Mom and Sleepy Hollow will be telecast on television for the first time both in the US and in India. While audiences here will get to see the latest seasons of shows such as The Simpsons (S25), New Girl (S3), Revolution (S2) , Two & A Half Men (S11), White Collar (S5), Sons of Anarchy (S6), Revenge (S3), Person of Interest (S3), New Girl (S3), The Neighbors (S2), Last Man Standing (S3), Modern Family (S5), Homeland (S3), It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (S9), Castle (S6) and Criminal Minds (S9).

    The network will aggressively promote the new channel through digital and on-air. For starters, the Facebook page boasts 1,221 likes and is being kept up-to-speed with pictures, videos, polls and all the hot goss, even sharing links with official pages of the various shows aired on the channel. So also the official twitter handle of the channel @SWPremiere was abuzz with nearly 188 tweets from over 521 followers at the time of penning this article. It also has the hash tag #WatchWithTheWorld.

    Its main website http://premiere.starworld.in/ is also decked up with pictures of the biggest shows.

    But will the network tie-up with other network channels as well? “At the end of the day, through our star network channels, we will reach out to most of our audiences. I don’t think we need to go outside the kind of network that Star network has,” said a confident Vaz

    On the other hand, planners feel that the channel is not going to be a typical advertising model. Agreeing on this, Helios Media managing director Divya Radhakrishnan states: “In today’s time, people download all the latest shows on the internet and then watch it, because they are not able to watch seasons parallel happening in the US. So it is a good move by the network, which is trying to attribute this small bunch of audiences who are doing that.”

    Radhakrishnan feels that the advertising GRPs will be very small for the newbie. She says: “The network is trying to address those audiences and people who download from net and will be open to subscription model. They will go more for the subscription model revenue driven rather than advertising one. The way they are advertising is watch it along with the America. So whatever shows is getting premiered in America, you don’t have to wait for it to come to India and you don’t have to download it from the net and they will air it. So that is their USP.”

    This is the fourth English GEC from the STAR Network stable after STAR World, FOX Crime and FX.

  • Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    Times TV’s plans to romp ahead with Romedy

    MUMBAI: Indian audiences already have a good list of channels to choose from if they want to turn to English entertainment. Keep switching channels and you will whisk through Star Movies, Movies Now, Star World, Zee Studio, Zee Café, HBO, World Movies, Comedy Central, CBS Spark, CBS Love etc. and what have you. Does there seem to be a dearth that needs to be filled? Is there space for more? According to the Times Television Network (TTN) there is absolutely space for another fighter in the league. With that, it has added a companion Romedy Now to its existing movie channel Movies Now which is expected to be launched in the next 15 days.

     

    Feeling the need to make people happy, the genres Romance and Comedy will be seen on the new channel as both movies and series. A new format is also being experimented with that is being outsourced and is still under process. “We are in talks with foreign distributors to acquire content but we will edit them in a different style,” says Romedy Now business head Harsh Sheth. Going with the tagline ‘Live. Laugh. Love’ it aims to target the urban affluent masses in the major metropolitan cities at first and gradually extend to the one million+ towns, targeting SEC A and B in the age group 15-44.

     

    70 per cent content will be movies and the rest shows. The movies will be contemporary on the lines of Devil Wears Prada, 27 dresses, Bride Wars, The Ugly Truth etc. Its target is to get about 20 million viewers. Enough content is in stock to be utilised for eight months. These include offerings from big studios such as Warner Bros, Fox, Regency, MGM and Sony as well as another 40 small ones from the US and Europe. New shows will have first runs on Romedy Now.

     

    Romedy Now will be available in both HD and SD on cable TV, satellite, DTH and IPTV as a pay TV service. The SD channel will be available in eight metro cities on the launch day at a price of Rs 17.66 while the HD channel called Romedy Now Plus is priced at Rs 149. The content team is common for both the sister channels while the exclusive team consist of 45 people.

     

    Romedy Now will see 10 minutes of advertising while, just one or two minutes of air time has been kept aside for Romedy Now Plus.  The start time of shows and movies will be the same on both the channels while the gap time on the HD channel will be filled with fillers. As of now no advertisers have been approached but plans are to first go to the top 100 starting with those being managed by Group M, Madison etc. The affluent audience is willing to spend and enough advertisers will be willing to target them, is what the management believes.

     

    A grand marketing plan is being chalked out with the support of the whole Times of India Group. A comprehensive rollout will take place closer to launch including print, sister and other channels, radio, mobile, online and emerging markets. “Watch out for the TOI. You will see a new language of love and laughter,” says Sheth.

     

    So what do media planners have to say about the channel? Most of them seem to be optimistic about its success. “The trend of watching English channels online, which normally not seen here is gaining momentum and Romedy Now will make its mark among the urban audience,” says Mindshare Leader South Asia Ravi Rao.

     

    “Segmentation is always a good idea,” says Madison Media Group CEO Gautam Kiyawat giving a thumbs up to the new entrant.

     

    The whole English entertainment genre of advertising and subscription is valued at above Rs 1,200 crore out of which Times Group MD and CEO Sunil Lulla claims Movies Now has a 20 per cent share and he believes that Romedy Now will outpace it.

     

    “English entertainment is growing at a fast pace but it is highly under monetised and undervalued,” says Times Group English Entertainment Channels CEO Ajay Trigunayat.

     

    The economy is at its lowest currently and Lulla is aware of this. “There is a short term panic in the economy and a consumer slowdown so the effort we have put behind it is a little more than Movies Now,” he says. Although he did not mention an estimated time to break even he pointed out that in the current situation three years is the minimum for any channel. “Television business is not about a break even. It’s about an enduring economic progressive journey,” he adds.

     

    As far as the television industry is concerned Lulla is positive that it will keep growing because currently 140 million homes are served, which means another 80 million are left out. Calculating the money, a consumer just pays 50 paise per hour for it. “This is the cheapest social service industry in the world. The price better go northward or else this social service industry will shut down,” he says.

     

    The team’s research showed that there is definitely space for Romedy Now to fit into the existing gargantuan list but whether the viewers will take a liking to it will be seen only after its launch.

  • Indian tech success story takes the next step with wins in Africa

    Indian tech success story takes the next step with wins in Africa

    MUMBAI: Mumbai based Media Nucleus continued its impressive growth story with its first wins in the African continent.Media Nucleus has clients across India, South Asia, South East Asia, Middle East, I and now Africa.

    ANN7 based out of South Africa and TVC News in Nigeria have both chosen Media Nucleus’ flagship product, Broadcast Air Time Scheduler (BATS), to optimise revenues and deliver efficiencies in their broadcasting operations.

    The flexibility of the modular structure along with the intuitive features of the software that ensures reduction of human error that delivers accurate billing and programming were key to BATS winning.

    Value for money and the comprehensive, high quality yet cost effective were the main features that swayed the decision towards BATS in this case.

    These broadcasters join global brands such as Fox and CNBC, top Indian brands such as Star World, India News, Fox Movies, Dhammal, PTC, to name a few along with a growing number of other channels across India,Middle East and now Africa who use BATS to run their entire operational processes or parts of it. The ability of BATS to integrate with industry standard broadcast technology infrastructure as well as ERP products such as Oracle or SAP are some of the features Media Nucleus clients value.

    Media Nucleus Operations Director Santosh Nair believes this trend of gaining customers abroad would continue especially from the emerging markets that are undergoing through the digitisation revolution. Africa is the initial target but by no means the only one.

    “Africa is a big continent with varied levels of market maturity however technology is proving to be a great equaliser in many respects and “digitsation” would open new opportunities as well as challenges,” he said.

    “Our experience in supporting broadcasters and other content owners optimise revenues and deliver efficiencies in their operations and meet the challenges of digitisation in India and Middle East make us perfectly poised to do the same in Africa. “

    Although BATS is the flagship, he points out that CAMS (a subscriber management system for Cable and DTV Operators) has also established itself as one of the market leaders in its space. The product was launched timely to aid cable operators and others in the industry to comply with digitisation requirements

    The SaaS service model with little infrastructural costs and ease of use are some of the criteria that has made CAMS a success, but Nair believes, it is the comprehensive, high quality innovative nature of the product that defines it success especially as it also delivers quick RoI and results.

    Nair goes on to say: “Our commitment to delivering value for money with quality products and services supported by excellent customer services has helped us become a market leader in India and we are confident that we can replicate the same success in other emerging economies.”

    Aside from BATS, the company product portfolio also includes subscriber based management system (CAMS), a broadband billing system (BBS) and services that are aimed at optimising revenues and delivering efficiencies for all parts of the value chain in the media and entertainment industry.

    This Mumbai company with offices in London and Dubai has set its sight on making an impact in the global media industry by helping clients succeed in a complex and rapidly changing competitive landscape.

  • Star World launches ‘Crime At Ten’ band

    Star World launches ‘Crime At Ten’ band

    MUMBAI: English GEC Star World has created a block called ‘Crime At Ten‘ that will kick off on 5 March.

    With the crime related shows airing every weekday at 10 pm, the broadcaster has taken a step towards imbibing the American style of showcasing programmes in a checkered format.

    The property will showcase the latest seasons of crime shows. These include ‘Dexter‘, ‘Castle‘ and ‘Criminal Minds‘ that will air everyday weekday at 10 pm along with new shows ‘Person Of Interest‘ and ‘Unforgettable‘.

    Star India GM, senior VP, English Channels Saurabh Yagnik said, “Star World is constantly designing ways to engage viewers either by bringing the latest Hollywood shows to India or launching innovative properties like Crime At Ten. With this property, we are mirroring the American way of showcasing programmes in a checkered format. Our research shows that Indian viewers have a high tendency to consume crime content and we are hence launching five crime shows on our 10 pm slot.”

    Coming up first on‘Crime At Ten‘ is the sixth season of ‘Dexter‘. Michael C. Hall continues his role as Dexter the serial killer as he explores beyond his surroundings and enters new arenas. But unfortunately whenever a serial killer enters new arenas, they always find someone that‘s needs to be killed.

    On 6 March a new crime show, ‘Person Of Interest‘, kicks off. The series revolves around Mr. Flinch who creates a computer programme that can see the future, providing information about individuals that could be in danger. His first target is to save the life of Diane Hanson, an Assistant District Attorney currently working on a major prosecution with the help of his newly employed colleague John Reese.

    The show not just boasts of nuanced writing and characteriaation but also engages viewers with a post 9/11 sense of paranoia.

    Crime duo- Richard Castle and Kate Becket take centrestage on Wednesday with the fourth season of ‘Castle‘. Following ‘Castle‘ comes a new crime show ‘Unforgettable‘. The show follows the story of Former Syracuse, New York police detective Carrie Wells who has hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to visually remember everything. A series of events helps her to find out the one thing she has been unable to remember i.e. what happened the day her sister was murdered.

    On ‘Crime At Ten‘ is also the latest season of ‘Criminal Minds‘. The show revolves around the Behavioral Analysis Unit who analyses the country‘s most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. This season takes off from Season 6 where the BAU team is at crossroads when they are questioned by a Senate Committee for their retaliatory actions to get revenge on Doyle.