ITV

Tag: Times Television Network

  • Movies Now, Romedy Now on growth trajectory; ups ad rates

    Movies Now, Romedy Now on growth trajectory; ups ad rates

    MUMBAI: The English movie and general entertainment channels’ genre is a fragmented space, where ranks keep changing every now and then. In order to maintain their position well above competition, channels adopt various strategies. Two such channels from the Times Television Network (TTN) are Movies Now and Romedy Now. While last year, the channels dipped to the number four position in the genre, the two have recently tasted some success.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Times Television Network senior vice president and English Entertainment cluster head Vivek Srivastava says that both the channels have been at the number one position during the last 18 to 20 weeks. “Smart acquisitions, smart scheduling and smart segmenting has been our success mantra,” claims Srivastava.

     

    When queried on how the channel increased its market share, Srivastava says that they first identified the weakness, which were poor distribution and lack of exclusive content. 

     

    “Firstly, the channels had not been distributed optimally. We plugged the leak by going city to city and getting the channels distributed on platforms targeting one cable operator after another. Secondly, on the content front, Movies Now lacked premieres. To cope with this, we signed strong output deals with studios like NBC and Sony,” informs Srivastava.

     

    The Bones series, Harry Potter series and the Battleship are some franchises that has worked well for Movies Now. The channel now aims to have one big movie premiere in a month. While Movies Now currently has 20 per cent market share, Romedy Now stands at 28 per cent, informs Srivastava.

     

    Romedy Now showcases English shows as well as movies. “It’s been one and a half years since Romedy Now was launched and the channel has been number one in the genre. We realised there is space for segmentation and the channel is a segmentation success,” opines Srivastava.

     

    The channel has seen tremendous repeat value from the popular series F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and the movie P.S. – I Love You. “Instead of simply deciding to put up a show on the channel, we follow mood segmentation where content that fits the happy and romance sphere is aired. The channel sees a good response during the 7.30 – 9 pm slot during weekdays,” says Srivastava.

     

    However, while on the one hand, the network has decided to discontinue the Romedy Now HD channel as it did not perform as per expectations, on the other it has pinned high hopes on its new baby Movies Now+, which is the HD version of the channel. Srivastava informs that the channel is available on all HD platforms and has certain content lineup that is different from the SD feed. TTN will simulcast The Wolf Of Wall Street on Movies Now and Movies Now+ soon.

     

    To cope with viewership fluctuations during the upcoming Indian Premiere League (IPL), the network will premiere a big ticket movie right in the middle of the IPL timetable. It will be simulcast on the two movie channels. Apparently the channels see a viewers dip by 15 to 20 per cent during IPL.

     

    Realising that the channels have regained their lost market share, TTN has also decided to hike its advertising rates.

     

    The network will be leveraging the muscle provided by its mother company – The Times Group – that has newspapers, radio, OOH, broadcast network and Internet companies under its umbrella, to help build its marketing campaign this year.

     

    The English movie viewership for the channels mainly comes from the eight metros and is also seeing a strong viewership pattern from one million plus towns. Moreover, the 1 pm afternoon slot is the second most important slot for the channel after the primetime. It is 15 to 24 year olds who mainly contribute towards the 1 pm slot.

     

    Outlining the challenges ahead for the channel, Srivastava lists three major factors. “First is the completion of digitisation and how it shapes up. This would ensure that the channel gets its required reach. Secondly, packaging of the content is a major challenge and we will be addressing that issue in the coming months. Finally, measurability is a key challenge. In the existing scenario, we feel that we are not represented as we should have been. We are hoping BARC should give us the depth that is needed,” he says.

  • Digital India will bridge gaps between haves & have-nots: Ravi Shankar Prasad

    Digital India will bridge gaps between haves & have-nots: Ravi Shankar Prasad

    NEW DELHI: Digital India is a tool to bridge the divide between the haves and have-nots, according to Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

     

    In his address at the Times Networks Digital India meet, Prasad said that a floodgate of opportunities are going to open in India. “I welcome concrete suggestions from all for making Digital India a grand success – we have to work together. Wherever it is possible digging will be done, cables will be laid, if we can supplement by satellite or balloon or drones, we will consider that,” he said. 

     

    Prasad added that a ‘skilled India’ is one of the three priority areas for the government that would complement the ongoing ambitious Digital India and Make in India programmes. “The three pillars of digital India that our government will focus on is digital infrastructure, digital service delivery and digital empowerment,” Prasad said. 

     

    According to him, Digital India is an enabling platform for change and will not be fulfilled without the Make in India initiative.

     

    Times Television Network, part of the Times of India Group, hosted the ‘Digital India Summit 2015’ on the theme – ‘Digital India: Bits & Bytes of a Billion Dreams’. The summit brought key policy makers, digital leaders and influential thinkers face-to-face to deliberate suggestions to prepare India to face technological challenges and devise solutions to contribute towards realizing the implementation objectives of Digital India.

     

    The two-day conclave saw discussions on vital subjects including Broadband Highways, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity, Public Internet Access Programme; E-governance: Reforming the Government through Technology; Net Neutrality; Digital Wallet, E-Kranti: Electronic Delivery of Services; Information for all; Electronic manufacturing; IT for jobs and Early Harvest Programme.

  • Times Now comes with creative campaign to question crisis

    Times Now comes with creative campaign to question crisis

    MUMBAI: News channel Times Now has launched a campaign with the conviction to shape a better tomorrow. It was since the New Year that the channel had started to strengthen the core philosophy of the brand through sharp-focused positioning with ‘Times Now: Action Begins Here.’ The channel also launched a series of hard-hitting, issue-based films to raise social issues that bothers the society on a daily basis.

     

    Times Television Network CEO & managing director MK Anand said, “’Action Begins Here’ truly articulates what Times Now stands for, it explains what we are really doing. As India’s leading news brand, we are well aware of the power our voice has in society. And we constructively use that power to give voice to issues that affect our nation and raise the right questions that lead to Action. Action that leads to concrete solutions, to change for a better India. The re-positioning will be reflected in the overall brand communication coupled with intense and engaging content.”

     

    Times Now editor in cheif Arnab Goswami added, “Times Now has been the popular choice for more than seven years as the number one channel. We have changed news delivery from deadpan to passionate; from uninvolved to journalism that steps forward to fight for the citizen. ‘Action Begins Here’ is a campaign that reflects this new age journalism, and showcases our fundamental strength of direct reporting to viewers across the globe.”

     

    The 360 degree marketing plan includes extensive print, OOH, cinema, digital and cross-channel promotions.

     

  • Times Television Network to host ‘Digital India Summit 2015’

    Times Television Network to host ‘Digital India Summit 2015’

    MUMBAI: Times Television Network, part of the Times of India Group, will be hosting the ‘Digital India Summit 2015’ on the 3 & 4 February 2015, in New Delhi. The summit based on the theme:  Digital India: Bits & Bytes of a Billion Dreams, will be inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Communication who will also deliver the keynote address. The two-day summit will bring together the most important stakeholders of the digital revolution from across industry, government, academia and civil society.

     

    Digital India Summit 2015 is envisioned to realize the dream of Digital India – a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy, offering world class services at the click of a mouse. Digital technology can play a vital role in transforming the fortunes of 1.2 billion Indians. Everything from economic productivity to social services–including education and healthcare—to governance at central, state and municipal levels can be improved through deployment of robust information technology.

     

    MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Television Network said, “Digital India Summit 2015 will provide a public platform to hold discussions that will prepare India to face technological challenges and devise solutions that will aim to contribute towards realizing the implementation objectives of Digital India. The entire campaign will be substantive as the suggestions, ideas, insights, research and conclusions of the discussions will all be curated by our research team along with a leading global consulting firm to produce an action plan ‘white paper’.

     

    “Times Television Network brings India’s first and most comprehensive Information Communication Technology (ICT) forum – Digital India Summit 2015”, added MK Anand. 

     

    The forum will invite transformative ideas from all significant stakeholders that aim to realize IT (Indian Talent) + IT (Information Technology) = IT (India Tomorrow). Conceived with the aim of lasting a full 5 year term, the summit promises to bring to the forum the best ideas every year and follow up on its progress the next year.

     

    The initiative is being supported by leading organizations like MAIT (Manufacturers Association for Information Technology), EY (Ernst & Young) and the Nasscom Foundation.

     

    Tune in to catch the ‘Digital India Summit’ series, starting shortly, exclusively on TIMES NOW & ET NOW.

  • Ajay Trigunayat turns entrepreneur, to launch VOD platform in October

    Ajay Trigunayat turns entrepreneur, to launch VOD platform in October

    MUMBAI:  After quitting the Times Television Network (TTN)  English Entertainment channels as CEO in April last year, Ajay Trigunayat has moved on to an alternate path, as he will now don the hat of an entrepreneur. Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, he says, “I have begun working on a new venture which is a VOD platform called Action Quality Time (AQT).”

     

    The platform will see a launch towards October or November 2015.

     

    “I had conceptualised the idea around five to six years ago but then I was occupied working at TTN,” he adds.  The platform will have a combination of Indian as well as foreign content for audiences. In terms of language, it will not be restricted to just English as major Indian languages too would be available for audiences.

     

    Trigunayat says that currently talks and strategic plans are on to build a robust platform.

     

  • Times Television Network appoints Sandeep Bharadwaj as head distribution

    Times Television Network appoints Sandeep Bharadwaj as head distribution

    MUMBAI: Times Television Network (TTN) has announced the appointment of Sandeep Bharadwaj as head –distribution, all platforms. Based out of Gurgaon, Bharadwaj will lead and drive domestic subscription revenue and carriage for the various channels under the TTN portfolio – Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now, Romedy Now, Movies Now+ and ZoOm.  He will report directly to TTN CFO Jagdish Mulchandani.

    Mulchandani said, “With his extensive experience in subscription revenue and carriage, Sandeep is a welcome addition to the dynamic, motivated team at Times Television Network. We believe that with his skill-set, he will drive commendable growth for the network.”

    Bharadwaj joins Times Television Network after a successful stint at Star India as senior vice president where he was instrumental in increasing penetration of the channels whilst meeting annual revenue and collection objectives.  Prior to Star India, Bharadwaj was associated with renowned companies like Adinos India (ONIDA), Media Pro, Star Den and IndusInd Media.

     Commenting on his new position Bharadwaj said, “I am extremely happy to join a media conglomerate of such repute. As the network begins a new phase of growth, I look forward to working with the highly motivated individuals at TTN to build a greater network in the industry.”

     Bharadwaj holds an MBA in marketing from Pune University. With over two decades in broadcast distribution, subscription revenue and carriage, Bharadwaj will add great value to the growth of the Times Television Network.

     

  • Cuddle up with Romedy Now this December

    Cuddle up with Romedy Now this December

    MUMBAI: This Christmas season, Romedy Now brings viewers stockings full of surprises with the adorable Love Santa, who as temperatures drop across the country, invites people to cuddle up with Romedy Now – the exclusive Indian destination for Love and Laughter on television.

     

    Through various promotions across on air and digital, Love Santa will be seen inviting viewers to stay warm and toasty this winter with their favorite destination for Love and Laugher in India. The campaign includes on air promos, graphics and activities on social media where viewers will be invited to share the best way to feel warmth this winter by using the hashtag #LoveSantaSays. In addition, as a special winter treat, Love Santa will also be sharing tips on the channel’s social media pages on how to stay cozy this season and spread the love through Love Santa Photobombs and adorable quotes.

     

    Speaking on the December activities, Anup Vishwanathan, Head Marketing – English Entertainment Cluster, TTN said “Winter is the season of huddle and cuddle and Romedy NOW with its fine choice of movies is a great destination for viewers to cuddle up this December.”

     

    Gather your loved ones close this season and enjoy incredible must-watch movies like Mamma Mia, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Garfield, Rumor Has It, All About Steve, The Lake House and The Holiday premiering for the first time on the channel in Romedy at First Sight. Catch the sweetest family movies every weeknight at 9pm with Romedy at 9.  

     

    And the Christmas cheer doesn’t end there. Start the holidays on a high note and cuddle up with Romedy NOW as they showcase two heart-warming loves stories in the Romedy of the Month – The Holiday. Catch Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law in an endearing Christmas movie about finding oneself when you move away on Saturday 27th December at 9pm.

     

    There’s no better way to celebrate this festive season than at home with your loved ones. Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with Romedy Bells – a splendid Christmas Day line-up featuring some of the best family movies like The Family Stone, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, What Happens in Vegas, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and many more.

     

    Make merry with the best of the old and welcoming the new with characteristic movies like New Year’s Eve, Mamma Mia!, Before Sunrise, Nights In Rodanthe, The Romantics and much more in a special New Year’s marathon – Joysome New Year – from 31 December 2014 at 9PM until 9PM on 1 January 2015.

     

    Don’t miss the shimmering Christmas celebrations, a sparkling New Year and a whole lot more only on Romedy NOW. From a heartwarming Christmas special to wonderful must-watch premieres, Romedy fans have every reason to smile this December.

     

    Let Love Santa set the mood for romance all through December with the happiest series & movies

     

  • “Want to be the ‘Influencer Network’ in 2015”: Sunil Lulla

    “Want to be the ‘Influencer Network’ in 2015”: Sunil Lulla

    With over 30 years of experience, Sunil Lulla brings skills in media, marketing, communication and management.

     

    From spending an early part of his career, which spanned over a period of nine years, in advertising with JWT to rolling out indya.com, in the first wave of the internet; from bringing zing and youthfulness to MTV to help build the television business for The Times Group, Lulla has been a prominent member on many industry boards and forums where he shaped policies and set industry standards and best practices.

     

    His decision to move on from the Times Television Network managing director and CEO to Grey Group India chairman and managing director did come as a shock to many. Nonetheless, the man who engages in a new passion every few years is back to his first passion.

     

    In a freewheel interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Meghna Sharma, Lulla talks about his plans for Grey and much more.

     

    Excerpts…

     

    Back to advertising. So far, so good?

    Very good. The communications business is the best place to stay eternally young (smiles).

     

    If you had to compare, how different has been advertising’s evolution from that of broadcasting industry?

    Both bring new challenges and new ideas each day, blended with a frenetic pace and an youthful environment. TV broadcast is focused around the consumer via which it builds relationships with the customer. Advertising is built around the customer via which it creates story telling for the consumer. They are different spectrums. The TV industry faces significantly more regulatory challenges than the communication industry. There is a zameen aasman ka difference in scale and profitability. Advertising brings the edge of ideas unlimited.

     

    It’s been four months, any changes that you have brought in the company? Why?

    Grey group is a stable, growing business, producing famous and effective work. I’ve used the time to get to understand the business better. Meeting clients and understanding their challenges and in helping gear Grey group offer integrated solutions and ideas, across advertising, communication, the vast spectrum of digital and social; activation and advocacy. These are via our own Grey group services and those with partners / affiliates, such as RC&M, Penn Schoen Berland and Talent House. Importantly, working closely with the team, which is energetic, talented, innovative and always bubbling with ideas and energy. I believe in the short period of four months, gearing to grow and being able to work across services seamlessly, has been my focus.

     

    Many of our clients are now accessing more than one service from Grey group. For our affiliate partners, we have been able to provide Grey thinking, muscle and experience. What’s visible is perhaps the new campaigns of Swacha Bharat, the Border Security Force and the announcement of Quickr and Reach Mobile as new businesses.

     

    Importantly, in the next few weeks there are many campaigns of Grey group, which continue to define culturally sensitive communication, aimed at changing social behaviour, which is one of the biggest challenges any communication company can deliver on. We believe our clients should be satisfied with our services and offerings but continuously challenge us to deliver outstanding performance. Which is exactly what Grey clients do.

     

    How has the year 2014 been for Grey India?

    There has been top line and bottom line growth as per expectations. The new account wins are all based on differentiated communicate on briefs and the focus on adding alliances is preparing Grey group for a strong 2015. Talent has been stable and the awards have been coming in. All in all – a good year for Grey. We are not very boastful about our achievements; our clients hopefully do the talking for us.

     

    One mandate, which you are really proud of, and why?

    I cherish my new role at Grey group, via which we are building a differentiated service business to build strong brands for our clients. Each of our clients are precious to us and the work we do, we believe, plays a big role, in making their brands famous and effective.  I do believe the new ‘Swacha Bharat’ campaign enables us to work with the Prime Minister’s vision of changing behaviour which is always a tough task. The communication is simple, mass oriented and evokes the right emotive and attitudinal cord.

     

    How much of the business that you generate out of India is globally aligned?

    Some of our global alignments are P&G, GSK, Volvo, amongst others. 65 per cent of our business is India alone business.

     

    Competition is growing multifold, so how would you differentiate Grey from the others?

    We believe Grey group’s thinking and capability is being rapidly geared to offer integrated solutions around advertising, social, mobile, web, activation, advocacy, rural and crowdsourcing. With many more to be included. Powered by our vision to create Famous and Effective solutions, work and brands, Grey group is becoming a highly differentiated ‘Influencer Network’. We say Grey groups role to influence consumer choice and thinking and via its array of skills it is designed to be ‘an influencer network of choice, creating famous and effective work’. Each way of approaching the consumer needs to be true to the host medium but interconnected to the behaviour we need to change. Grey enjoys a very strong reputation because of its Planning, Creative, Digital and Communication Skills and this is poised to grow with strength.

     

    According to you, has Grey really been ‘Famously Effective’?

    Absolutely – the wins at Cannes and Effies are a great testimony. The growth of each of our clients business is evidence of the work – working!

     

    What are the plans lined up for the digital side of your business?

    Growth is the obvious agenda. Growing and strengthening resources in the Delhi and Bangalore NCR are on the agenda for 2015. Focusing on having more of our clients across our range of services avail of our Award winning Digital solutions. Continuing to create cutting edge and new solutions is the everyday task. Focusing on learning and training for our talent is the key.

     

    How do you see an increase in media fragmentation impacting creative agencies?

    Agencies should stop worrying about definitions. We do not see ourselves as a creative-alone agency. Grey’s role is to influence consumers and we believe that requires each of us to continuously grow skills and expertise, which is our focus. Agencies can easily learn, adapt and innovate to tell stories be it on a one to one basis or one to many basis. If there is no structured integration, then one must bring it in any way into the service, as businesses will not grow in a linear fashion.

     

    With an increase in penetration of smartphones and tablets, the biggest challenge will be on how to most optimally use the mobile phone for building a brand. What advise will you give the brands and digital agencies?

    We reserve recommendations like these, exclusively for our clients (Smiles)

     

    Do you think Indian advertising has been able to shift paradigms with changing times?

    The glass is always half full, which makes it encouraging for the industry to keep pouring skills, ideas, talent and investment in creating culturally cutting edge work. The new Swach Bharat campaign defines that. On an overview, the Indian industry has successfully paved the way for new paradigms.

     

    What is at top of your wish list for Grey India for 2015?

    Be the Influencer Network which successfully enables Famous and Effective Brands and Communications.

  • Times TV Network to launch another entertainment channel?

    Times TV Network to launch another entertainment channel?

    MUMBAI: Thanks to the new government, the Times Television Network has reasons to rejoice.

    The network had applied for a number of channel licences to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry which included for both entertainment and news channels.

    “Thanks to the quickness of the current government, we have got the three news licences, which were old applications,” says the network managing director and CEO MK Anand while adding that a number of licences are still pending.

    The three news channel licences are for Times Now 2, Times Now 3 and ET Now 3.

    The network currently has Times Now, ET Now, Zoom TV, Movies Now and Romedy Now channels in its kitty.

    Anand goes on to say that though the new licences have been awarded, the current plan will go on as it is. “These licences don’t impact our current strategy or my plans for the network.”

    After the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its deaggregation paper, a number of networks have applied for new licences while some have even launched a new set of channels.

    The year also saw the launch of three new Hindi entertainment channels – Zindagi, Sony Pal and Epic. TTN is the only network which doesn’t have a Hindi general entertainment channel to its list.  And with a few entertainment licenses applied by TTN pending with the MIB, one can see possibilities of a new GEC entrant in the market.