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Tag: Times Network

  • Times Network makes a 180-degree and 3D 360-degree virtual reality move

    Times Network makes a 180-degree and 3D 360-degree virtual reality move

    MUMBAI: We all thought virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) are something in the future, right? Well, no, not really. It is here, right here, right now.

    Take a look at the way in which Indian news television channels are beginning to sprint towards the two innovative ways of delivering content and immersing viewers in news stories.

    The first mover was NDTV which quietly started putting out flat VR videos online. Republic TV made a big bang announcement a few months ago with its plans to launch a VR production studio and to produce some clips and shows. Zee Media’s English language channel WION has also been uploading and hosting some sourced world news VR clips online.

    And, even as other TV news channels have been pawing at the VR starting line, Times Network has already begun to take rapid strides in that direction. The news network is going the full Monty – 3D 360 degree video-based VR and Google’s new 180 degree VR formats.

    “It’s a natural attempt. Ultimately, video experiences are changing because of technology,” says Times Network CEO MK Anand. “So, we are creating a lab internally. Our camera and content people are currently being put through the paces and training to produce videos and pilots in 3D 360 degree video and 180 degree VR.”

    Dubai-based Real Vision founder and VR expert Clyde DeSouza has been roped in to train a handful of Times journos and cameramen to understand the nuances of VR/AR and also what kind of content and stories are suitable for VR and immersive journalism.

    Says Clyde: “Times Now’s use of the new VR180 format compatible with Google’s Daydream headsets will be a first for immersive journalism globally as it allows the videos to be viewed as regular flat clips on any device. But, these videos become immersive and 3D once they are inserted into a Google Cardboard or a DayDream headset. Google is working with a few select partners on this at the moment. The Times Network has made some initial investments in VR hardware and is now investing in gaining skillsets.”

    Clyde reveals the first VR step is to pick up the VR gear, good gear. “Most companies are going for Chinese cameras which are cheaper at around $3,500 to $33,000 but don’t have full capabilities as the cameras are not in sync with each other or they exhibit only 3D VR artifacts,” he explains.

    “Flat 360 video does not show scale of the various subjects being presented, and hence is not a true immersive experience. To get good quality videos with all the concomitant, full blown VR 180-degree or 3D 360-degree capabilities, the investments are much higher or there are cheaper solutions available like renting the Google Jump system which includes the camera and the cloud stitching.”

    He points out to the VR efforts being put in by the US-based broadsheet New York Times and the UK pubcaster, the BBC, as real standouts. “The Beeb’s videos on the refugee induction programme in the UK for instance have transcended video-based VR and are exploring hybrid VR storytelling and experiential news journalism.”

    Clyde is quite excited about the potential of VR in Indian TV news because of the plethora of news channels operating nationally and he sees himself as a bit of an evangelist for the new format. “I am excited about VR/AR news videos in the Indian ecosystem,” says he, with a gleam in his eye. “I am sure more and more editors and news CEOs will follow.”

  • Movies Now’ ‘Home to the Superheroes’ starts on 7 Aug

    MUMBAI: Movies Now’ of Times Network is set to awe its viewers with a spotlight on Superhero films all through the month of August, with the launch of their new festival “Super Squad Homecoming” from 7 August, Monday-Friday at 7pm and 11pm.

    The destination for Hollywood blockbusters, Movies Nowis the first channel to host both the Marvel and DC franchises, making it the real ‘Home to Superheroes’.

    Times Network EVP and head – entertainment cluster and Zoom Vivek Srivastava said, “Marvel and DC franchises have redefined how we view superheroes today and Movies Nowis the first Indian English Movie channel to have both the libraries at the same time. Our objective is to live up to our audience expectation of being the No.1 blockbuster destination in the country and with Movies Now being Home to the Superheroes we will offer our viewers a larger than life experience. Through Super Squad Homecoming, our aim is to further consolidate our position as the undisputed leader.”

    This month-long festival will air movies featuring all the biggest superheroes including Batman, Superman, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Blade and The Avengers. Super Squad Homecoming will showcase some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Batman, Batman Begins, Ant-Man, Blade, Blade 2, Blade: Trinity, Captain America: The First Avenger, Hulk, Man of Steel, Superman, Superman Returns and Thor making Movies Now the only channel to host all the superheroes under one roof!

    To promote this unique property, Movies Now has designed a campaign that will include TV, OOH, Radio, Cinema, Digital and on-ground activations across bars, college festivals and gyms. The multi-city campaign will be promoted through the month to support this exciting property which further strengthens Movies Now’s positioning as the Home to the Superheroes.

  • Times Now gives its POV on Republic TV IPR case

    MUMBAI: Now, it’s the turn of Bennet Coleman & Co to give its perspective on the civil case it has filed in the Delhi High Court against ARG Outlier Media, the company that runs Republic TV.

    Sources at Times Now state that Justice Manmohan was of the view that the employment agreement between the parties would have to be upheld and the defendants (read Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi) cannot be permitted to breach that. The lawyers for the defendants stated that the ex-employees have no intention of violating the same. The judge took this statement on record.

    This came as a huge relief for it, says the Times group, as it has been wary of misappropriation and violation of its IPR by Arnab and his company and that confidential information should not be disclosed.

    The court, while admitting the matter against Arnab and his company, granted them six weeks’ time to file their written statement in the matter.

  • Nikhil Gandhi joins Times Network as president – revenue

    MUMBAI: Times Network has announced the appointment of Nikhil Gandhi as president – revenue. He will report to Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand. His key responsibility will be growth of profitable monetisation of the entire bouquet of channels under the network.

    This is his second stint with the network. He was a part of the core team at Zoom during the launch of the channel in 20064. Gandhi replaces Ashit Kukian who was appointed in November 2015.

    Anand said, “It gives me great pleasure to welcome Nikhil into the Times Network family as president – revenue. His strong  leadership skills, people management abilities and operational expertise along with his extensive background in the M&E space will definitely add value to Times Network. Nikhil embodies the Action Orientation that Times Network is known for, and is a great business leader.”

    He further added that, “Ashit Kukian has decided to move on and pursue other opportunities and we would like to wish him all the best for his future endeavours.”

    Gandhi added, “Leading the revenue vertical of a network that is growing and leading the Media and Entertainment space is exciting. My efforts will be to propel Times Network to greater heights and achieve the business objectives.”  

    Gandhi comes with over 17 years of experience in media with revenue and business specialization and he last held the position at Disney India Media Networks vice president and head of revenue.

     

  • Times Network unveils second leg of Remonetise India campaign

    MUMBAI: Prime minister Narendra Modi would surely approve Ditto with the finance minister Arun Jaitley.

    The Times Network is getting into the second phase of its drive which seeks to give an impetus to the initiative by the two most powerful leaders in India to nudge Indians towards cashless transactions, digital money and paying taxes.

    Called – Remonetise India – Invest in the Nation (Help your Help), it follows the first leg Remonetise India – A Citizen’s Pledge. The second part of the campaign was flagged off with a TVC yesterday that will be promoted across the Times Network channels and additionally in 300+ multiplexes. It is being supported by a digital contest where viewers will be gratified with goodies to promote participation.

    The TVC will run almost 20-25 times each day on the Times Network’s channel bouquet. Ads will also appear in parent company Bennet Coleman & Co’s print publications and on sister firm ENIL’s Radio Mirchi stations nationally. These will continue across the Times media group until 31 March 2017, following which the pay taxes phase will commence.

    Says Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand: “At a time when the nation is attempting to leapfrog economically, we believe that regulation, infrastructure and technology are not enough to jumpstart socio-economic change. Behavioural and cultural transformation are as important, if not more. This is where a uniquely positioned media group like Times Network can help. Through the ‘Remonetise India’ campaign, we aim to focus on making changes in everyday behaviour of urban Indians so that the benefits of this disruptive reform (demonetisation) flow in the right manner. One of the pledges under Remonetise India is to help others around us to go digital and benefit from the new economy. The second phase of the campaign ‘Help your Help’ is a call to capable urban citizens to help and aid others in achieving financial inclusion.”

    The first phase included activities like Telethon, Go-Cashless Rally and Sahayata Camps. The telethon witnessed the participation of key influencers, policy makers and opinion leaders like Ministry of Commerce and Industry Minister for Commerce Nirmala Sitharaman, Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy who answered questions on the way forward for the remonetisation movement.

    Then B-town celebrities like Sonam and Anil Kapoor, R Madhavan, Shilpa Shetty, Sonu Sood and Manoj Bajpayee supported this initiative and came together to be the agents of change to help bring India’s economy back on track.

    Additionally, the network organized Sahayta Camps which were supported by actress Taapsee Pannu who encouraged people to get Pan Cards, Aadhaar Cards and open bank accounts (Jan Dhan Yojana Accounts) for the development of Digital India.

    Finally, the Go-Cashless rally took place to drive awareness about digital transactions and save cash for those who can’t do without cash.

    The Times Network will continue with these activities across India to take the movement forward in phase II and phase III as well.

    With a viewership base of around 4.5 crore English speaking Indians, it is likely to have an impact on those who are most likely to follow the new vision that Modi has set out for the nation.

    Publicis South Asia MD and CCO Bobby Pawar points out that the three-step campaign was conceived during a conversation that the agency and the Times Network team was having about the consequences of demonetization.

    “We saw that it was causing pain,” he says. “The media primarily focused on the immediate impact of demonetization. Because most of the transactions were in cash, businesses got affected, raises got affected, employment got affected and people started losing jobs. We kept saying that we have to be forward thinking about the change that is being attempted by the government. We started with seeding it on social and doing things on-ground and then taking it to mass media. One of the biggest challenges was apathy. To make people go beyond themselves was a tough task. Even if we move a few thousand people, it will be a big thing. This is a long term thing and will take a lot of efforts. Post us, other brands will also start talking about it.”

    Adds the TVC’s director Karthik Bhatt: “We have created a light hearted film in which we have highlighted that we want to make a small change which will benefit everyone in the long run, rather than the focusing on the big tidal change. We got the brief and I immediately went on a recce to the Sahatya camps to see what the situation really is. I saw people who did not have any PAN card or Aadhar card but were willing to have one. There were volunteers filling their forms. We have used references from what actually happened at the camp. 26 January was my first visit and we shot the film on 5 February. We had the film ready in 10 days times. We did not want to get to preachy; we just wanted to tell you to help them. If they want to be a part of the system, they need to understand the process and once that happens they will get regular.”

    Also Read :

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/unsponsored-remonetise-india-simulcast-on-all-times-channels-without-ads-170115

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/media-and-advertising/ad-campaigns/taapsee-endorses-cashless-economy-campaign-170206

  • Times Now: Navika Kumar elevated as managing editor – politics

    Times Now: Navika Kumar elevated as managing editor – politics

    MUMBAI: Times Network has elevated Navika Kumar as the managing editor – politics at Times Now.

    A post graduate in economics and known for her extensive interest in Indian politics, Kumar has been credited for investigating and breaking some of the most prolific stories which include “Office for Profit” story that led to the resignation of Sonia Gandhi, the CWG scam that led to the exit of Suresh Kalmadi, the Augusta chopper scam and Aircel Maxis deal to name a few.

    In her new role, Kumar will lead the political team and will guide the channel to scale greater heights by upholding the journalistic tradition of breaking exclusive stories that epitomize the channel’s position of ‘Action Begins Here.’ Based out of Delhi, she will directly report to Times Now chief editor Rahul Shivshankar.

    Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand said, “Navika is known for her level of dexterity in handling both political and economic news and is a leading political historian and commentator of the current decade.”

    Shivshankar asserted, “Navika is known for her extensive knowledge of Indian politics and business which reflects in the kind of stories she has broken so far.”

    Kumar added, “Politics is the life blood of a vibrant democracy like India. Along with my colleagues at Times Now, we will set new standards in objective political reporting for all our valued stakeholders.”

  • Taapsee endorses cashless economy campaign

    Taapsee endorses cashless economy campaign

    MUMBAI: While the entire nation was in a flux with the sudden announcement of demonetisation, Times Network, a part of India’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group, was the only broadcast network that realized the need of the hour and initiated a nationwide campaign ‘Remonetise India’ to bring the economy back on track.

    As part of the initiative, Sahayata camps were organized in Mumbai to encourage people to get Pan Cards, Aadhaar Cards and open bank accounts (Jan Dhan Yojana Accounts) for the development of Digital India. Bollywood Actress Taapsee Pannu was seen promoting the initiative and educating the citizens to learn e-banking, go digital and cashless for the coming future. The camp received tremendous support and response from the common man who were seen taking the pledge of remonetisation, going digital and making India a less-cash economy.

    Times Network MD & CEO M K Anand said, “I think there is a lot of work remaining to bridge the Remonetisation gap. Urban India has started using less cash, but they will get back to their old habit if the entire system is not geared for a less cash way of life. The true benefits of Remonetisation will come only when we drag every activity into the formal economy. For that every Indian citizen needs to be empowered. Financial inclusion can happen only when all have bank accounts. The Remonetise India Sahayata Camps are our effort in this direction.”

    Pannu said, “The sudden decision by the government totally shook the nation and when Times approached me to be a part of this initiative I readily agreed, because I myself am a software engineer and going digital is the need of the hour. Remonetise India is such a novel concept by Times as normally you come across people only condemning the current scenario, but nobody taking a step to help overcome this situation.”

    As part of the initiative, the network first organized a telethon that invited speakers, opinion leaders and policy makers across all network channels to understand the way forward after demonetisation. Further Go Cashless bike rallies were organized to spread awareness about the need to go digital and save cash for those in rural areas who are cash dependent and don’t have an access to digital facilities. The entire campaign has received tremendous support from famous Bollywood celebrities, CEOs, political leaders as well as the common man, making this nationwide initiative a great success.

  • Taapsee endorses cashless economy campaign

    Taapsee endorses cashless economy campaign

    MUMBAI: While the entire nation was in a flux with the sudden announcement of demonetisation, Times Network, a part of India’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Group, was the only broadcast network that realized the need of the hour and initiated a nationwide campaign ‘Remonetise India’ to bring the economy back on track.

    As part of the initiative, Sahayata camps were organized in Mumbai to encourage people to get Pan Cards, Aadhaar Cards and open bank accounts (Jan Dhan Yojana Accounts) for the development of Digital India. Bollywood Actress Taapsee Pannu was seen promoting the initiative and educating the citizens to learn e-banking, go digital and cashless for the coming future. The camp received tremendous support and response from the common man who were seen taking the pledge of remonetisation, going digital and making India a less-cash economy.

    Times Network MD & CEO M K Anand said, “I think there is a lot of work remaining to bridge the Remonetisation gap. Urban India has started using less cash, but they will get back to their old habit if the entire system is not geared for a less cash way of life. The true benefits of Remonetisation will come only when we drag every activity into the formal economy. For that every Indian citizen needs to be empowered. Financial inclusion can happen only when all have bank accounts. The Remonetise India Sahayata Camps are our effort in this direction.”

    Pannu said, “The sudden decision by the government totally shook the nation and when Times approached me to be a part of this initiative I readily agreed, because I myself am a software engineer and going digital is the need of the hour. Remonetise India is such a novel concept by Times as normally you come across people only condemning the current scenario, but nobody taking a step to help overcome this situation.”

    As part of the initiative, the network first organized a telethon that invited speakers, opinion leaders and policy makers across all network channels to understand the way forward after demonetisation. Further Go Cashless bike rallies were organized to spread awareness about the need to go digital and save cash for those in rural areas who are cash dependent and don’t have an access to digital facilities. The entire campaign has received tremendous support from famous Bollywood celebrities, CEOs, political leaders as well as the common man, making this nationwide initiative a great success.

  • Shantanu Gangane leaves Times for Vuclip; will report to Vishal Maheshwari

    Shantanu Gangane leaves Times for Vuclip; will report to Vishal Maheshwari

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s Shantanu Gangane has resigned as the head of marketing and joined Vuclip as the head of marketing, Viu India.. Gangane served his last day on 13 January in Times Network where he was heading the marketing of Times Now, ET Now and Zoom.

    A source close to the development confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com that Gangane has joined Vuclip from 16 January. He will report to Vuclip India country head Vishal Maheshwari.

    Gangane served as the head of marketing at Times Television Network for two and a half years from August 2014. He was the associate business head of Movies Now of the same group between April 2013 and June 2014 after being the head – marketing since September 2010.

    Prior to that, he was the senior manager – marketing – MTV at Viacom18 Media. Between September 2007 and August 2010, he was the senior brand manager at Radio City India before which he was the manager marketing at Nickelodeon for close to two years till August 2007.

    Starting his career with FCB Ulka as the client servicing manager in June 2003, Gangane had joined Viacom18 in March 2005 where he served for 10 months before making the next switch.

  • Shantanu Gangane leaves Times for Vuclip; will report to Vishal Maheshwari

    Shantanu Gangane leaves Times for Vuclip; will report to Vishal Maheshwari

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s Shantanu Gangane has resigned as the head of marketing and joined Vuclip as the head of marketing, Viu India.. Gangane served his last day on 13 January in Times Network where he was heading the marketing of Times Now, ET Now and Zoom.

    A source close to the development confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com that Gangane has joined Vuclip from 16 January. He will report to Vuclip India country head Vishal Maheshwari.

    Gangane served as the head of marketing at Times Television Network for two and a half years from August 2014. He was the associate business head of Movies Now of the same group between April 2013 and June 2014 after being the head – marketing since September 2010.

    Prior to that, he was the senior manager – marketing – MTV at Viacom18 Media. Between September 2007 and August 2010, he was the senior brand manager at Radio City India before which he was the manager marketing at Nickelodeon for close to two years till August 2007.

    Starting his career with FCB Ulka as the client servicing manager in June 2003, Gangane had joined Viacom18 in March 2005 where he served for 10 months before making the next switch.