ITV

Tag: Television

  • ‘Post 2-min ad cap on TV, OOH medium will see double digit growth’

    ‘Post 2-min ad cap on TV, OOH medium will see double digit growth’

    Out of Home industry has always been categorised as a supporting medium for television; however, it has gained more popularity amongst advertisers after the two-minute ad cap on television. Interestingly, television medium has sufficient channels and different TV slots to cope up with ad cap restriction. But I really think that OOH medium will grow and see double digit growth in the next three to five years. The key reasons for OOH medium’s growth would be that people have figured out better ways to utilise this medium in terms of innovations, latest technology and result orientated campaigns  and another reason is that the young audiences is spending ample amount of time outside, therefore this medium becomes much more relevant.

     

    The FMCG category has never made a significant use of OOH medium. But this will change consistently and this medium has more potential for the FMCG category. But the OOH medium will see a lot of spends from the entertainment and movies categories. Also, the OOH medium will see huge impulse spends from e-commerce sites and therefore this area will grow. I also believe that it will be difficult for brands to pay such sharp increase in rates.

     

    I believe that outdoor advertisements are one of the most cost efficient ways to reach potential customers and clients. Additionally, we can target with OOH the consumers across culture, language, season, age, and in any format. In order to address GAPS in terms of marketing reach, OOH is the best customized solution for the organization.

     

    However, there is tussle between advertisement spend when it comes to Internet and OOH. In fact OOH media is used throughout the year for product launches, branding initiatives, sales activation because of its cost-effectiveness.

     

    But I am also sure that TV budget will never be kept nil as it is an important medium. But having said that, a brand needs to be always active in OOH medium, as it gives multiplier effect on ground level. The large format with its local communication, singular pictorial representation, minimal and bold message, strategic locations, cost efficiency and media effectiveness helps a brand deliver its key message to a large audience in an uncluttered environment.

     

    With new techniques, innovation and new formats, outdoors has earned its share in the market. Brands which are looking at exploring unique solutions, outdoor offer them great creativity in still media and random visibility with the help of transit media.

     

    Importantly, outdoor will have to compete with print, radio and most importantly social media. Innovations will play crucial role if more brands are diverting their interest on this medium. Ambient and transit media along with BTL activation will become important.  Monitoring system and assured ROI will enhance the preference for the medium.

     

    (The writer is the Managing Director, Global Advertising)

  • Man Jit Singh likely to continue as IBF president

    Man Jit Singh likely to continue as IBF president

    MUMBAI: It was in early January of this year, that a major announcement emerged from MultiScreen Media (MSM – Sony Entertainment) wherein NP Singh was announced as CEO of the network, replacing Man Jit Singh. 

     

    The industry hadn’t digested the news when another one broke which stated that  Man Jit Singh was being moved into a global position as president of  Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, replacing David Bishop who will depart in March when his contract expires.

     

    What this elevation means is that Man Jit Singh will now be located in Los Angeles (LA). 

     

    So what does it mean for Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) of which he is the president?

     

    Last year in September, the IBF re-elected Singh as its president at its 14th annual general meeting. But with him spending more time in LA, will IBF look for someone else to take his place? 

     

    No, comes the unanimous response from highly placed industry sources. An IBF representative states that:  “Man Jit Singh will continue to preside over the body as the president. For us, things are working smoothly and we don’t expect to see any changes.”

     

    Another source from the industry who is in agreement adds, “There is a board meeting to discuss the issue on 16 of this month but we see status quo being maintained.”

     

    When we called up Man Jit Singh to get his view on the same, he was unreachable. However, sources reveal he will be jetting to and fro between India and the US even now like he used to earlier. “He is used to the travel and has been doing it for ages now, so we don’t think distance is going to change anything.”

  • Highlights of the 3rd AACTA International Awards

    Highlights of the 3rd AACTA International Awards

    MUMBAI: The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) announced the winners of the 3rd AACTA International Awards on Friday 10 January 2014 at an intimate Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles hosted by multi-award winning actor and AACTA President Geoffrey Rush.

     

    The Awards recognise screen excellence regardless of geography across seven categories including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

     

    Blue Jasmine’s Australian leading lady, Cate Blanchett was called to the stage by AACTA President Geoffrey Rush to accept the AACTA International Award for Best Actress.

     

    Blanchett’s acclaimed performance as Jasmine in the Woody Allen film has been tipped to win a raft of awards in the 2014 International Awards season including a possible second Oscar which, if occurs, would make her the first Australian actress in history to be awarded twice by AMPAS.

     

    Gravity, the visual masterpiece directed by BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Alfonso Cuarón, received the AACTA International Award for Best Film and the AACTA International Award for Best Direction.

     

    The space odyssey, based on a story written by Alfonso Cuarón’s son Jonás, pushed the known boundaries of cinematography and technologies to illustrate a tense story of skill and survival set in zero gravity. A team of world renowned VFX artists worked with Cuarón to realise his extraordinary vision including visual effects supervisor Tim Webber and Australian VFX House Rising Sun Pictures.

     

    American Hustle, the most nominated film in this year’s AACTA International Awards also received two Awards. The AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay, (which went to Eric Warren Singer and the film’s Director David O. Russell) and to actress Jennifer Lawrence who received her second AACTA International Award in a David O. Russell film; this time for her portrayal of Rosalyn, the explosively alluring and manic housewife to Christian Bale’s Irving Rosenfeld.

     

    12 Years a slave saw wins in both actor categories with Chiwetel Ejiofor receiving the AACTA International Award for Best Actor and Michael Fassbender the AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor. Set in pre-Civil War America the film is based on the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York who was abducted and sold into slavery. 12 Years a slave is directed by UK director Steve McQueen.

     

    AACTA President, Geoffrey Rush, said: “The AACTA International Awards are Australia’s international stamp of screen success. They recognise our international counterparts, add an Australian voice to international Academy discussion, and celebrate our fellow Australians working internationally.

     

    “I congratulate all of this year’s AACTA International Award nominees and winners on their compelling and inspiring work and as always I look forward with anticipation to see if our international peers have concurred with the AACTA International Chapter in this year’s Awards season selection.’’ Rush said.

     

    The 3rd AACTA International Awards will be aired on Foxtel’s Arena in Australia on Sunday 12 January, 2014 at 7:30pm.

  • Colors bets bigger with India’s Got Talent 5

    Colors bets bigger with India’s Got Talent 5

    MUMBAI: It is said that emotions sell. It seems so right in the case of Viacom18 Hindi GEC Colors’ talent show India’s Got Talent (IGT) where the emotional stories clubbed with exceptional talent led it to win the Best Entertainment Programme at the Asian TV Awards 2013. 

     

    But while its fourth edition was high on pullling viewers’ heart strings, the fifth edition that begins on 11 January at 9:00 pm every Saturday and Sunday, promises to bring out not just the contestants’ emotional journeys but also oodles of undiscovered talent from the different corners of India.

     

    Based on the international format, Britian’s Got Talent owned by FremantleMedia, the channel says that the endeavour this year has been to find talent that would defy the dimensions of a stage through acrobatic, aquatic and circus acts besides many other scintillating performances.

     

    IGT’s auditions began much earlier in June and the number of cities and towns where the team scouted for new skilled contestants ballooned to 45, with their number of auditions also rising 45 per cent. Viewers will get to see familiar faces as judges: old-timer Kirron Kher is very much there for her fifth season; Karan Johar (in his second season) and and Malaika Arora Khan, who, in the last edition, had to leave midway to make way for Farah Khan (however, this time she assures she will definitely continue till the finale). 

     

    Also, there are two new hosts – stand-up comics and artiste Bharti Kher and Mantra who with different avatars every week will add a tinge of humour to the proceedings. What’s new this year is also the Golden Buzzer – which the judges can press to give a participant a direct route to the semi-finals. And since there’s a lot more being packed in this edition, it is no surprise that production budget has escalated. FremantleMedia India head of commercial & and operations Vidyuth Bhandary says it is up more than 25 per cent. 

     

    “Since we are exploring uncharted talent, the investment in everything has scaled up. The dimension of the show has changed with the inclusion of performances on water and circus besides other platforms. It required us to leave the studio and build separate sets so that the contestants could show their talent,” says Bhandary.

     

    A source from the industry informs that the last edition of the show was produced in a budget of around Rs 23-24 crore and thus an estimated Rs 30-32 crore is being sunk in this time around.

     

    “India’s Got Talent is our flagship property which has grown exponentially season-after-season thereby attracting larger participation individuals across the country” says  FremantleMedia India managing director Anupama Mandloi. “Our team has worked together endlessly in an endeavor to showcase the creativity and enthusiasm which further adds to the scale and grandeur of the show.” 

     

    On view will be perfromers from 3 to 80 years with stunts that include pole dancing, basketball, para-gliders, synchronised swimming, fire jumping and diffusive neon painting.

     

    According to Bhandary, it is one of the most difficult shows from the production point of view. “It is not controlled like other reality shows. The size of a talent group varies from two to more than hundred people and managing the logistics gets really difficult at times,” he says, also adding that the production team includes a specialised crew that can handle any critical situation should it arise. 

     

    “Since we have increased the variety of talent on the show, we have also scaled up the safety measures. Like during the water act, we had four divers ready to help in case of an emergency. There’s a fire marshal, ambulance, stunt team always in place. We make sure that the precautionary measures are always in place,” he adds.

     

    Promotional budgets too have been hiked.  So if the channel’s marketing team has drawn up a well-thought  digital campaign, the on-ground activities and campaigns on other mediums are no less.

     

    Colors digital head Vivek Srivastava says that the digital campaign is divided in two parts, the first starts with a unique Twitter Concert before the show’s launch. 

     

    “Starting tomorrow, we start our two-day crowdsourcing activity for which we are inviting our Twitter followers to compose lines around the show using the hashtag #IGTTwitterConcert. The final composition would then be taken forward and sung as a song by a band. The final song will be launched with the show on 11 January,” he says, adding that the idea is to engage the audience completely.

     

    The second phase begins after the show goes on air. “In that, through different mediums, we would promote the talent on the show with their stories,” says Vivek.

     

    Even on radio, two innovative campaigns have been designed. While an Acapella act will be presented by this season’s participant, Ki Umjer that will be aired across radio stations and cities to showcase the international caliber of talent that will feature on the show, another one in association with Red FM will bring together 30 RJs from across the country in Mumbai. 

     

    “The RJs will tell the stories of the talented individuals who reside in their cities,” says Colors marketing head Rajesh Iyer.

     

    Another on-ground activity is planned at Mumbai’s famed Churchgate station that will take place just before the on-air launch. 

     

    “It will  give the common public a chance to show the talent in them,” says Iyer, adding that the overall outreach programme involves 3500+ spots on television, ads in 50 plus edition of key print publications, over 8,000 radio spots, OOH covering 100 towns and DTH imprints. 

     

    “Since our target audience includes everyone from young to old, we have planned these extensive campaigns to pull in maximum number of viewers,” he says. IGT’s concept is very different from any other show currently on air on any other channel. Unlike other reality shows that focus on one particular talent like singing or dancing, this one gives a viewer a varied variety. But still competition is competition. And that seemed to have touched one of the judges Karan Johar too. Karan whose celebrity chat show, Koffee With Karan airs on Sunday at the same time slot on Star World. He jokingly asked the media during the press conference which show would they prefer to watch him on – IGT or KWK? Karan didn’t get a straight answer but Iyer on a lighter note quipped, “We don’t compete with Koffee With Karan.”

     

    However, he doesn’t dismiss competition with other GECs when they all are running reality shows at the same time slot – Zee TV has its most popular property – Dance India Dance 4, Star Plus has Nach Baliye 6 and Sony has Boogie Woogie. “But we can’t be threatened by that. What we have got to do, we have got to do,” he says.

     

    Colors’ weekend programming head Manisha Sharma seconds and adds, “Every show says that they are different. But we have done well and have grown year after year because of our differentiated content. It’s the diverse talent that we bring on our show that works.”

     

    IGT kick-starts its first episode with Bollywood’s favourite leading lady Madhuri Dixit-Nene who will join the judging panel while sharing inspirational stories and anecdotes with the participants. Subsequent episodes will also feature special guests including Remo D’souza, Manish Paul amongst many others.

     

    IGT’s advertisers include Maruti Suzuki for the presented by tag, it is powered by L’Oreal Paris Total Repair 5 and associate sponsors include Tata Ace and Amul Macho.

     

    And it isn’t just that the Colors and Fremantle team that’s oozing with confidence this season, even industry experts have given IGT the thumbs up.  Lodestar UM’s vice president Deepak Netram says it  has a huge appeal because of the kind of talent it brings. “The promo of a girl with an amputated leg has already sent shockwaves. It has raised the expectations and the curiosity both. The promos have build up the excitement around the show. There’s shock value along with emotional backing and it’s something really to look forward to,” he remarks. 

     

    Weekends for Colors’ fans obviously aren’t going to be the same.

  • The character of a channel

    The character of a channel

    Producing a television programme in India is strange business these days. A channel’s research and development team comes up with an idea/concept and asks a producer to develop it further into a show which can be put on air. The production house’s creative directors and writers then do a lot of brainstorming and pitch the developed idea to the channel’s creative and commissioning team. The latter then give inputs to the producer and his team, who then go on to further fine-tune it to what the channel wants. There’s a lot of give and take of creative ideas between the two teams before the show goes on air.

    It gets even more interesting after the show starts airing: more often than not, the channel’s creative folks start directing the producer’s team to make changes based on what is working with viewers based on TRPs. Frequently, the production house ends up being a glorified line producer with the title of producer. Normally, he or she surrenders all the rights and IPR inherent (read: copyright) in the programme to the channel for a fixed one time per episode production fee. This is unlike in other more mature television markets where creation or co-creation entitles you to some royalties of fees – often times in perpetuity. 

    With this background in mind, let us take a look at the recent case of involving Viacom18’s Colors. It issued a public notice in the newspapers earlier this week saying whosoever attempts to launch or be associated with its show, Comedy Nights with Kapil’s comic character ‘Gutthi’ will be taken to court.

    Sources say Sunil decided to part ways because of creative differences and his remuneration, because he thought he deserved more. And another channel was willing to give him what he wanted. Colors took this extreme step because there were rumours, nay even talks going on between Sunil Grover and another rival Hindi channel to develop a show with a similar character as the comedian portrayed in Comedy Nights with Kapil. Produced by Kapil’s K9 Productions along with the Fazilla Allan-Kamna Menezes run SOL Productions, the comedy with its fresh feel and look and gaff lines had taken the nation by storm. In fact, it had given Colors a powerful shot of TVTs, and made both Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover who plays Gutthi household names. 

    Not surprisingly, Colors’ fired a notice in the newspapers. It read: “A certain artiste and a stand-up comedian associated with the programme Comedy Nights with Kapil aired on Colors television channel is planning to launch or be associated with other shows, wherein the said artiste is likely to perform the character of ‘Gutthi’ or use the mannerisms and characteristic features of ‘Gutthi’ or any other character played by the artiste in the said programme.”

    Ever since, many in the industry have been drawing parallels with numerous instances wherein television channels, particularly entertainment, have been overtly possessive about their actors when moving from one channel to the other or quitting a show mid-way.For instance, when actor Giaa Manek, who rose to popularity with her portrayal of Gopi bahu in Star Plus’s Saath Nibhana Saathiya, decided to participate in a reality dance show on Colors, Star Plus revoked her contract and replaced her with another actor.

    Ditto with Ratan Rajput, who made it big as Laali in Zee TV’s Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo. She decided to be part of Imagine’s reality show Ratan Ka Rishtaa even before Agle Janamwrapped-up. While the producers of Agle Janam, Swastik Pictures, had extended the series for a few months, Rajput landed in trouble as she had already accepted the proposal for Ratan Ka Rishtaa. It snowballed into a fight with Zee TV threatening to slap a case against Rajput if she left Agle Janam before it ended as she had signed a contract with the channel.

    Most of the time, the law comes into play much later but channels and production houses prevent their popular characters/actors from venturing into any other show. Like Mohit Raina, who plays the titular character in Life OK’s Mahadev, is not allowed to act in any other series as ‘the audience would lose interest in his character’. Even Karan Singh Grover, who plays Asad Khan in Qubool Hai, is given an exclusivity fee by Zee TV to discourage him from bolting to any other channel. 

    TV channels also resort to prohibiting their actors from revealing their true identity in public. For example, Mona Singh, who played Jassi in Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi, for months made public appearances in braces and a pair of obsolete spectacles just to keep audience interest in ‘Jassi’ alive and ticking. In a similar vein, there were reports about actor Gurmeet Choudhary’s early ouster from a dance reality show in 2012 as he wasn’t performing too well and prolonged participation would have hampered his popularity on another fictional show.Then again, there have been instances in the past where popular characters have reprised their acts in other shows across channels without anyone taking exception. For example, Bharti Singh, who rose to fame with her Lalli act in Star One’s Laughter Challenge, has frequently revisited her character on other shows and no one’s made a noise about it.

    Ditto for child comic Saloni Daini, who has repeated her Gangubai act on various platforms. For that matter, even Kapil Sharma, who has reprised Shamsher Singh from Sony’s Comedy Circus on Colors’ Comedy Nights with Kapil. 

    As far as specialised events like awards airing on a rival channel go, at times the Hindi GECs have insisted that actors go dressed in the character garb that they wear on screen. On other occasions, they have simply refused to let any of their actors even be seen on the awards show, thinking they would increase the TVTs of a rival channel.

    Clearly, broadcasters and creators have sent out mixed signals: at times they have been firm about how much they are willing to yield; at others they have not done anything and watched mutedly as actors have gone about doing as they please. 

    Hence, the Colors vs Sunil ‘Gutthi’ Grover case could end being a landmark one. That is if Colors pursues what it believes in to the end.

  • HBO Defined and HBO Hits now on Tata Sky

    HBO Defined and HBO Hits now on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Turner International India has launched HBO Defined HD and HBO Hits HD on Tata Sky.

     

    With this the two advertising-free movie channels will be available across 11 DTH and digital cable platforms in India.

     

    Turner is committed to continue bringing compelling content inside homes of consumers in India and on any device they own. HBO Defined and HBO Hits signify a new era of television viewing for the Indian consumer. We have received a very enthusiastic response from all platforms and are happy to have, Tata Sky, one of India’s leading DTH platforms partner with us,” said Turner International India MD Siddharth Jain.

     

    HBO Defined and HBO Hits feeds will be on Tata Sky channel numbers 358 and 360 respectively at a price of Rs 99 per month.

     

    “Tata Sky is committed to offering the best picture quality, sound and digital viewing experience to its subscribers and HBO Defined & HBO Hits are great examples of this,” said Tata Sky chief content & business development officer Poalo Agostenelli . “We’re pleased to provide an experience of accessing a wide variety of world class movies with the prestigious HBO original series in pure High Definition which is delightfully ad-free for our subscribers. This is truly a movie and TV series fans’ dreams come true.”

     

    The channels are also available on Dish TV, Airtel Digital, Hathway, GTPL, Manthan Digital, ABS Star Digital, DDC, JPR Network, Den Satellite (Mumbai) and Seven Star Digital.

  • Suzuki launches new TVC: Chulbul Pandey rides Hayate to Deccan

    Suzuki launches new TVC: Chulbul Pandey rides Hayate to Deccan

    New Delhi, July 15, 2013: Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL), a subsidiary of one of the world’s leading two-wheeler manufacturers Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, has launched a new ad campaign for its bestselling mass segment motorcycle – Suzuki Hayate. An extension to the 2012 campaign, Suzuki’s new TVC features Salman in his characteristic Dabangg persona of Chulbul Pandey, this time in a full blown South India avatar.

    The ad features Salman manoeuvring his Hayate on meandering streets set in a Deccan town from South India while recapturing the much acclaimed tagline – “Suzuki Hayate, yun hi nahi chalate!” Challenging Chulbul’s heroism is ‘Gundappa’, a character played by veteran actor from Telugu and Tamil cinemas, Kota Srinivasa Rao, who is known for his customary flair of blending comedy with villainy.

    And the package doesn’t end just yet. Accomplished cinematographer, V Manikandan marks his directorial debut with the Hayate TVC. As a Director of Photography, Manikandan has been a part of mega productions like Ra.One, Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om and Raavan.

    The ad has been overtly stylised and executed as a typical South Indian masala film. It has been ideated and executed by RK Swamy BBDO.

    Ms. Anu Anamika, National Head – Marketing, SMIPL says, “The first TVC with Salman was a thundering success. Salman’s Dabangg persona in the TVC helped extend Suzuki Hayate’s appeal across segments. Since Suzuki is a pan India brand, this time we thought of giving the campaign a different treatment with a South-Indian twist. We hope we are able to replicate the previous campaign’s success and expand our reach to customers.”

    Superstar Salman Khan says, “It’s nice to know Suzuki bikes are going places and Chulbul is always happy to go along for the ride. From Uttar, the action has moved to Dakshin and I hope the people in Purab and Paschim enjoy it as well.”

    Mr. Sunil Kukreti, Senior Partner, R.K. Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd. says, “The entire campaign is conceptualized keeping in mind the target audience which resides in rural and semi-urban peripheries. We wanted to play along this well-embedded imagery and create a unique blend of North and South. This new TVC gets even bigger and more entertaining.”

    The campaign will spread across all mediums including Television, Cinema, Radio, and Print.

    STORYBOARD

    While in the previous Hayate Ad, we witnessed Chulbul Pandey successfully arresting the fugitive Billa, this time around we will see Salman in his patent Dabanng character chase down Gundappa Kota Srinivasa and his gang to bring an end to the black marketing of film tickets.

    The TVC revolves around its novel tagline “Suzuki Hayate, yun hi nahi chalate”. The scene breaks with Gundappa and his gang selling cinema tickets in black market. Enter Salman Khan in his iconic Chulbul Pandey character riding his trusted Hayate. A constable points at Gundappa and the group selling the movie tickets in black. The scene breaks into an action packed chase and run sequence between Gundappa, his gang and Salman who is seen effortlessly riding the Hayate. The Dabanng Khan with his discerning, unmistaken wits and his credible Hayate as his comrade, is ultimately able to arrest Gundappa and cease his black market racket. The TVC ends with Salman reciting the tagline and urging the viewers to buy Hayate.

  • TV’s leading ladies get into the CAF act

    TV’s leading ladies get into the CAF act

    MUMBAI: In an attempt to speed up the filling of consumer application forms (CAFs), the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), along with major broadcasters, has relaunched its on-air promo campaign urging cable TV subscribers to fill them at the earliest as mandated by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

     

    The campaign features television’s leading ladies like Sakshi Tanwar, Toral Rasputra, Rubina Dilaik and Nia Sharma. It urges consumers to fill their details and hand over the CAFs to their cable TV operators, failing which they will have their cable TV connection snipped off.  The deadline for the submission for the forms was 15 December which again wasn’t met and extended to 31 December.

     

    Says an IBF official, “From the time the campaign was launched first, we have been playing it across channels. And for a few weeks that it was taken off the screens, a scroll/ticker ran, reminding subscribers about the imperative to fill up CAFs.  We have started airing it again so that concerned parties take a note of it and help us achieve the goal.”

     

    However, he isn’t optimistic about the procedure winding up by the end of the year as well. “And if MSOc and LCOs don’t do it, they will get in trouble, this time,” he says firmly.

     

    The channels have been told to show the campaign as many times as possible throughout the day.

     

    In the earlier phase of the campaign in 2012, actresses (Shweta Tiwari, Pooja Gaur, Ragini Khanna) educated and sensitised DAS subscribers about the issue. As per the Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems Regulations, 2012, the MSOs can transmit digital signals and activate the set top boxes only after receiving the CAF from the consumer with his/her preference. If there is no form, the MSOs were obliged under law not to transmit the signals and deactivate the cable connection. However, no such switch off took place in the first phase of digitisation. On the contrary, the deadlines of various phases have been extended time and again.

     

    So what is the reason for this delay? The official feels that the delay in the process is either from the consumers’ side or the local cable operators who have not taken the form collection seriously.  “We still can’t figure out what is the reason for this blockage?,” he says.

     

    The agenda is that by end-2014, India’s 100 million-odd cable TV homes will phase out the analog version, and switch on digital TV.

     

  • IMG Worldwide acquired by WME-Silver Lake for $2.3 bn

    IMG Worldwide acquired by WME-Silver Lake for $2.3 bn

    MUMBAI: The curtains have finally fallen on an acquisition which was in the news for quite some time now. Private investment firm Forstmann Little & Co has agreed to sell global sports, fashion and media business IMG Worldwide to US-based William Morris Endeavour  Entertainment (WME) and its stakeholder Silver Lake Partners at a price tag of around $2.3 billion.

     

    The final bidders CVC Capital and Chernin Entertainment and a consortium of ICM Partners and the Carlyle Group, bid less than $1.8 billion, thus losing out to WME.

     

    WME is a leading US-based entertainment and media company with an unparalleled client list of artists and content creators across film, television, music, literature, theatre and digital media and is led by co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.

     

    It was formed by the 2009 merger of the William Morris Agency and Endeavor. The company has over 1,000 employees and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, with offices in New York, Nashville, London and Miami. Through its partner companies, including award-winning global creative agency Droga5, WME also provides clients with unique advertising, brand integration and marketing opportunities across traditional, social media, mobile and gaming platforms. Amongst the big names it represents figure: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Sandler, Christopher Nolan, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey and Seth MacFarlane.

     

    IMG on the other hand has 3,500 employees and tremendous strengths in the sports business – representation, marketing, production and distribution – apart from representing 500 athletes, models and entertainers as clients. Among the names figure: Gisele Bundchen, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake.

     

    IMG owns IMG College, the leader in collegiate marketing, licensing and media rights  (it handles marketing and ticketing for 200 collegiate sports properties). It is slated to generate revenue of about $375 million and operating income of $75 million.

     

    The group has joint ventures like IMG Reliance, IMX, IMG CCTV and IMG Dolu in the emerging markets of India, Brazil, China and Turkey. Additionally, IMG Media is the world’s largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming. Its IMG Reliance joint venture promotes the All-India Football Federation.

     

    IMG Events and Federations owns and manages some of the most sought after events and includes long standing associations with the world’s most important sports organisations, leagues, and federations. IMG Fashion owns and operates fashion events around the world and IMG Models represents the world’s top models and leading designers. IMG Art+Commerce represents the most influential photographers, art directors and stylists.

     

    Silver Lake, on the other hand, is a global leader in private investments in technology and technology-enabled industries. The firm has offices in New York, Menlo Park, San Mateo, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo and has approximately $20 billion in combined assets under management. The Silver Lake Partners portfolio includes or has included technology and technology-enabled industry leaders such as Alibaba, Allyes, Ameritrade, Avago, Business Objects, Dell, Flextronics, Gartner, Gerson Lehrman Group, Global Blue, Go Daddy, Instinet, Intelsat, Interactive Data Corporation, MCI, Mercury Payment Systems, MultiPlan, the NASDAQ OMX Group, NetScout, NXP, Sabre, Seagate Technology, Skype, Spreadtrum, SunGard Data Systems, UGS, Vantage Data Centers, Virtu and William Morris Endeavor.

     

    IMG was created by McCormack and golfer Arnold Palmer in 1960. Forstmann Little purchased it a year after McCormack died in 2003, and then Forstmann Little founder Theodore Forstmann died in 2011.

     

    With the acquisition of IMG Worlwide, WME has now leaped ahead of its once larger rival the Creative Artistes Agency.

  • Ethos eyeing television as a part of mass media communication mix

    Ethos eyeing television as a part of mass media communication mix

    BENGALURU: Indian chain of luxury watch studios Ethos Limited (Ethos) is looking at television commercials as a part of its mass media communications mix during the next fiscal. The company is considering business news channels such as NDTV Profit as well as some niche channels. Ethos is an authorised retailer of over 65 luxury watch brands.

    The company plans to up by around 50 per cent its media spends revealed Ethos associate director Manoj Gupta to www.indiantelevision.com. “We will start in a small way, and gradually up our presence on television,” revealed Gupta.

    Industry sources peg Ethos spends between Rs 7 to 10 crore per year, this includes contributions from the major brands that it sells. At present, Ethos uses print, outdoor and in-house quarterly publication Ethos Summit, besides the digital online medium, which has seen more than three lakh unique visitors per month to its portal claims Gupta.

    So far, its media planning has been done in-house. Ethos is having discussions with a couple of media buying agencies in Mumbai and will chalk out its media buying plans’ once it picks a suitable partner. While most of its creative work is done in conjunction with the brands, a lot of the work is done by a Delhi based creative agency Scribbles.

    “The average price of a fashion watch in India would be between Rs 15,000 to 20,000, a premium watch would cost about Rs 1 to Rs 1.25 lakhs, while a luxury watch would cost Rs.7 lakh upwards,” informed Gupta.

    Ethos estimates the size of the fashion, premium and luxury watches at Rs 1500 crore and expects it to grow to Rs 4,000 crore over the next three years. The company has 41 outlets in 12 cities of India, of which about eight sell fashion watches, about seven luxury watches. It also has single brand watch stores for brands such as Rolex, Omega and Swatches.

    Ethos generated a revenue of Rs 210 crore, last year and Gupta is confident of a 25 to 30 per cent growth in revenue this fiscal.

    Gupta was in Bengaluru for the launch of a range of core and professional Rolex watches, earlier launched at Baselworld 2013, one of which costs Rs 44.68 lakh.