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Tag: Turner International

  • IBF ropes in Siddharth Jain as secretary general

    IBF ropes in Siddharth Jain as secretary general

    New Delhi : The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, on Thursday appointed Siddharth Jain as its secretary general.

    An industry veteran, Jain’s career spans over three decades. Until 30 April, he was working with Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. as SVP and managing director – South Asia.

    Commenting on the appointment, IBF president, K. Madhavan said, “Siddharth has demonstrated great competency in nurturing efficient, talented cross border teams of industry experts and is highly adept in driving innovation to turn adversities into opportunities. Given his remarkable expertise in leadership and advocacy, business strategy, corporate governance and compliance, we are confident in his ability to steer the IBF on a path that helps realize the sector’s value chain to the optimum. I, along with the rest of the IBF members, welcome Siddharth and wish him the very best for his new role.”

    Jain is an accomplished enterprise business leader known for expertise in business strategy, revenue/profitability/EBITA growth, financial management, sales & marketing, business development, international brand launches & development, account management, strategic alliances & partnership development, relationship management, and corporate governance and compliance stated IBF in a release.

    Meanwhile, IBF is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof. IBF is also in the process of setting up a separate subsidiary to facilitate the entry of OTT players.

    The subsidiary will be carrying out various activities for its member OTT players including handling the day-to-day activities of the industry-led Level-II appellate Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) called Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for non-news digital OTT platforms, similar to Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC).

  • Krishna Desai, Joy Bhattacharya and Amber Lall, come together to announce the launch of a creative content powerhouse

    Krishna Desai, Joy Bhattacharya and Amber Lall, come together to announce the launch of a creative content powerhouse

    Mumbai: Former Turner International executive director and head kids vertical for south asia Krishna Desai (KD),  former vice president Endemol Shine India  Joy Bhattacharya, and second unit director for Padmaavat Amber Lall ,recently announced the launch of their newventure, 369 Media & Entertainment is a content powerhouse designed to target the potential of unexplored and compelling storytelling in the burgeoning digital medium.Leveraging their diverse industry expertise, KD, Amber and Joy bring a deep consumer centric content creation ethos coupled with strategic business insights to the venture.

    Speaking about this new venture and its vision, KD said, “During my long stint at across kids and English entertainment brands in various roles, I was fascinated by the nature of massive adoption on-demand video consumption and realised the magnitude of the supply gap of relatable content for a growing number of discerning consumerswho have an ever-increasing choice of content. It all pointed to this time which is a great one to fully explore the potential of newer and better ways of storytelling. I spent the last several months exploring and researching the best way to address the potential that this gap represented and met with many people from the M&E industry. This journey found culmination in an exciting collaboration with Joy and Amber to launch 369 Media & Entertainment which I am confident will deliver unique, compelling and authentic content.’’

    Speaking about this collaboration Joy Bhattacharya said, “We are truly excited to introduce our new venture. It focuses on creating meaningful and relatable content for the fastest-growing consumer segment. We use analytical insights into our development process rather than just a gut feeling and this helps us offer differentiating content. We will also focus on nurturing a content partner ecosystem that would not only understand the gap but also drive the narrative. The creative art of storytelling that can connect and resonate with the viewers is the key ingredient and that is precisely what we aim to offer.’’

    Speaking about this new venture, Amber Lall, a seasoned film industry professional, said “Storytelling really is the exploration of the human mind. The digital revolution has just opened up many new shores to explore, allowing the storyteller an opportunity to think more candidly. 369 is an attempt to give the greatly under-served population honest, engaging and appealing content.’’

    Based on Nicola Tesla’s theory of the mysterious triangle of 3, 6 and 9, that hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe, the 369 Media and Entertainment aims to unlock the entertainment universe and leave its audiences mind blown! 369 Media and Engagement LLP is set to achieve its goals of unlocking powerful content that is enjoyable and relatable to audiences in India and overseas and will be in the delivered in the form of fiction and non-fiction shows, short films, documentaries, feature films, live events, etc.

    For more details, please log on to: www.369-media.com

  • Zee, Turner to work independently for subscription revenue

    Zee, Turner to work independently for subscription revenue

    MUMBAI: After nearly two decades of successful collaboration, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) and Turner International (Turner) have mutually decided to work independently in order to drive up subscription revenue. ZEE and Turner joined hands back in 2002 to manage distribution and trade marketing for a bouquet of channels in India.

    A release issued jointly stated: “As both parties continue to explore avenues for growth, we jointly take this opportunity to thank our value chain partners to have supported us through our journey.”

    ZEE has presence in over 173 countries and a reach of more than 1.4 billion people around the globe. The media conglomerate is among the largest global content companies across genres, languages and platforms. With its new brand ideology and purpose, ZEE aspires to provide a unified brand experience to consumers across the world by creating extraordinary entertainment and experiences.

    Turner Asia Pacific is the parent company of Turner International India, which operates 63 channels in 13 languages in 37 countries in the region.

  • Turner International creates digital advertising unit to connect brands with fans

    Turner International creates digital advertising unit to connect brands with fans

    MUMBAI: Turner International is for the first time providing advertisers with a single way to activate a full suite of global, regional and local campaigns that connect with fans across Turner’s digital properties spanning over 200 countries.

    The launch of Turner International Digital Advertising Sales – T1 – consolidates Turner’s international digital advertising capabilities into a single division, complementing existing local digital and linear advertising sales and CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) operations across Latin America, EMEA and APAC. T1’s focus is on connecting global advertisers based outside the US with audiences across Turner’s entertainment, kids, news and sports digital portfolio including Bleacher Report, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, CNN, ELEAGUE, TNT, TBS, Great Big Story, Esporte Interativo as well as COPA90, which Turner has a stake in.

    T1 offers brands a rich suite of creative and data-driven advertising solutions – from forging far-reaching strategic partnerships to creating bespoke campaigns that include branded content, native and product placement, as well as pre-roll and display inventory across the Turner International digital portfolio. The unit is designed to work with major brands on a wide range of campaigns that can scale multiple regions, be highly targeted to specific countries, or utilise particular Turner properties to reach defined audience demographics and clusters in brand-safe premium mobile, desktop and social environments.

    T1 is borne out of the successful digital strategy devised by CNNIC – the arm of Turner International that monetises all CNN properties outside of the US – to combine data and content solutions to grow partnerships between CNN and international advertisers. Using this blueprint, T1 is created and led by Rani Raad, President of CNNIC.

    The unit comprises a specialist team of sales, consultancy and operations experts working closely with Turner International’s leadership, technology, advertising, product and editorial teams to increase monetisation opportunities around digital properties. Overseeing T1 operations is Rob Bradley, Vice President of Digital Commercial Strategy and Digital Advertising Sales for both CNNIC and T1.

    Underpinning T1 is a unified advertising technology platform to enable creative campaigns that reach highly defined premium audiences at huge scale. The division also draws on existing Turner solutions such as Launchpad, the social media amplification tool which leverages data across the company’s 750M global social followers to deliver branded content to like-minded groups on social media. 

    “T1 is the embodiment of the ‘One Turner’ philosophy at the heart of our company as we create new ways to best serve our audiences and commercial partners,” said Rani Raad. “The creation of this division unlocks a vast premium digital portfolio in order to bring new, innovative solutions to the market. Drawing on the multi-platform strategy that has driven growth at CNNIC, we look forward to establishing ground-breaking partnerships with brands who want to be part of the new content frontiers that Turner brands are pushing right across the world.”   

  • Turner gets into digital ventures; announces key execs in leadership positions

    Turner gets into digital ventures; announces key execs in leadership positions

    MACAO:Turner International yesterday announced a new division to lead its digital innovation internationally and promoted with Aksel van der Wal, presently senior vice-president and chief financial officer, to the new role of executive vice-president, to lead the initiative effective 1 January, 2017.

    Under his leadership the new division will focus on driving profitable growth through international consumer-centric initiatives, including all of Turner’s international multiplatform suite of digital properties and its direct-to-consumer product strategy, Turner said in a statement during the on-going CASBAA Convention 2016 here yesterday.

    In close co-operation with the Turner International presidents, van der Wal has the responsibility for the existing portfolio of international products and services on the web, for smart phones, games, apps and OTT, and he will also be charged with developing new digital direct-to-consumer businesses leading a cross-platform business intelligence function that drives consumer insight and helping to implement the strategy of the non-linear ad sales business.

    Additionally, van der Wal will identify new opportunities for Turner and decide on how to engage in those new areas through technological product innovation and/or acquisitions.

    “As our industry undergoes huge evolution, the impact of digital disruption and changing consumer behaviour continues to put audience insight right at the heart of our business strategy,” Gerhard Zeiler, President, Turner International said in the statement about van der Wal’s new assignment and the company’s fresh outlook.

    “This new division will ensure that we assess new opportunities for innovation, development and acquisition through the lens of relevant, robust consumer data and through a realigned, agile organisational structure. Aksel’s experience in transformative management, his first-class understanding of both the linear and digital media landscapes and his detailed knowledge of Turner’s international operation all combine to make him a superb fit for this new role,” Zeiler said.

    In his role as chief financial officer for Turner International, van der Wal, who will report to the Turner president, will be succeeded by Trey Turner, presently Senior VP, Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions. Al the new changes will be effective 1 January, 2017.

    Based in Atlanta, Turner will report to Pascal Desroches, Executive VP and CFO of Turner, while working closely with Zeiler. He will be responsible for the company’s financial operations and will be an active partner and contributor in shaping the direction of the company’s international business and implementing its strategy.
    “Trey has the perfect experience to lead the business, capital and budgeting activities for our international businesses,” according to said Pascal Desroches, who added, “He has acquired a depth of knowledge about our company and brings great passion and significant experience to the role. We expect Trey to play a key role in helping us expand our global operations.”

    Aksel van der Wal joined Turner in 2014 as CFO, Turner EMEA and was promoted to S VP and CFO, Turner International, in June 2015. Before joining Turner, van der Wal worked for three years and served as CEO, Time Out, at its two main business sites, London and New York City. Prior to Time Out, he was CFO at online ticket exchange operation Seatwave and previously held senior financial and business development roles at Vodafone, including CFO of partner markets.

    Turner International operates versions of core Turner brands, including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM Turner Classic Movies as well as country and region-specific networks and businesses in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. It manages the business of pay- and free-TV channels as well as Internet-based services and oversees commercial partnerships with various third-party media ventures.

  • Turner gets into digital ventures; announces key execs in leadership positions

    Turner gets into digital ventures; announces key execs in leadership positions

    MACAO:Turner International yesterday announced a new division to lead its digital innovation internationally and promoted with Aksel van der Wal, presently senior vice-president and chief financial officer, to the new role of executive vice-president, to lead the initiative effective 1 January, 2017.

    Under his leadership the new division will focus on driving profitable growth through international consumer-centric initiatives, including all of Turner’s international multiplatform suite of digital properties and its direct-to-consumer product strategy, Turner said in a statement during the on-going CASBAA Convention 2016 here yesterday.

    In close co-operation with the Turner International presidents, van der Wal has the responsibility for the existing portfolio of international products and services on the web, for smart phones, games, apps and OTT, and he will also be charged with developing new digital direct-to-consumer businesses leading a cross-platform business intelligence function that drives consumer insight and helping to implement the strategy of the non-linear ad sales business.

    Additionally, van der Wal will identify new opportunities for Turner and decide on how to engage in those new areas through technological product innovation and/or acquisitions.

    “As our industry undergoes huge evolution, the impact of digital disruption and changing consumer behaviour continues to put audience insight right at the heart of our business strategy,” Gerhard Zeiler, President, Turner International said in the statement about van der Wal’s new assignment and the company’s fresh outlook.

    “This new division will ensure that we assess new opportunities for innovation, development and acquisition through the lens of relevant, robust consumer data and through a realigned, agile organisational structure. Aksel’s experience in transformative management, his first-class understanding of both the linear and digital media landscapes and his detailed knowledge of Turner’s international operation all combine to make him a superb fit for this new role,” Zeiler said.

    In his role as chief financial officer for Turner International, van der Wal, who will report to the Turner president, will be succeeded by Trey Turner, presently Senior VP, Corporate Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions. Al the new changes will be effective 1 January, 2017.

    Based in Atlanta, Turner will report to Pascal Desroches, Executive VP and CFO of Turner, while working closely with Zeiler. He will be responsible for the company’s financial operations and will be an active partner and contributor in shaping the direction of the company’s international business and implementing its strategy.
    “Trey has the perfect experience to lead the business, capital and budgeting activities for our international businesses,” according to said Pascal Desroches, who added, “He has acquired a depth of knowledge about our company and brings great passion and significant experience to the role. We expect Trey to play a key role in helping us expand our global operations.”

    Aksel van der Wal joined Turner in 2014 as CFO, Turner EMEA and was promoted to S VP and CFO, Turner International, in June 2015. Before joining Turner, van der Wal worked for three years and served as CEO, Time Out, at its two main business sites, London and New York City. Prior to Time Out, he was CFO at online ticket exchange operation Seatwave and previously held senior financial and business development roles at Vodafone, including CFO of partner markets.

    Turner International operates versions of core Turner brands, including CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM Turner Classic Movies as well as country and region-specific networks and businesses in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. It manages the business of pay- and free-TV channels as well as Internet-based services and oversees commercial partnerships with various third-party media ventures.

  • Turner Asia Pacific acquires Oggy and the Cockroaches seasons 6 and 7

    Turner Asia Pacific acquires Oggy and the Cockroaches seasons 6 and 7

    MUMBAI: Xilam, the award-winning animation production company, today announced that Turner Asia Pacific, one of its key broadcast partners, has acquired two additional seasons for its ratings-winner Oggy and the Cockroaches. The series in 4K will be delivered from 2017 onwards and available across Turner’s channels including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Pogo.

    Turner’s chief content officer of its kids’ networks in Asia Pacific Mark Eyers said: “We all know that cockroaches have some serious survival skills, and there’s just something about Oggy and his mischievous friends that continues to connect with kids. By extending the relationship with Xilam, Turner has kept hold of a proven hit to further boost its leadership position in the region.”

    Xilam Animation CEO and founder Marc du Pontavice added, “Oggy’s worldwide success continues to hit new highs, and we are thrilled to pursue the partnership with Turner and Cartoon Network that helped build and expand Oggy as a phenomenon throughout Asia.”

    In Season 5 (78 x 7’), the battle goes on between Oggy and the roaches as they travel back in time through the ages and meet icons such as Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and the Cyclops, as well as rocketing forward into the year 3000. Seasons 6 and 7 (156 x 7’) will comprise a mix of brand new episodes along with full remakes of classic stories from seasons 1 and 2 all produced in 4K. After almost 20 years of success, this spectacular addition of 234 new episodes, all in 4K, will project the brand in the next 15 years, as it will keep entertaining the kids and their parents with them.

  • Turner Asia Pacific acquires Oggy and the Cockroaches seasons 6 and 7

    Turner Asia Pacific acquires Oggy and the Cockroaches seasons 6 and 7

    MUMBAI: Xilam, the award-winning animation production company, today announced that Turner Asia Pacific, one of its key broadcast partners, has acquired two additional seasons for its ratings-winner Oggy and the Cockroaches. The series in 4K will be delivered from 2017 onwards and available across Turner’s channels including Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Pogo.

    Turner’s chief content officer of its kids’ networks in Asia Pacific Mark Eyers said: “We all know that cockroaches have some serious survival skills, and there’s just something about Oggy and his mischievous friends that continues to connect with kids. By extending the relationship with Xilam, Turner has kept hold of a proven hit to further boost its leadership position in the region.”

    Xilam Animation CEO and founder Marc du Pontavice added, “Oggy’s worldwide success continues to hit new highs, and we are thrilled to pursue the partnership with Turner and Cartoon Network that helped build and expand Oggy as a phenomenon throughout Asia.”

    In Season 5 (78 x 7’), the battle goes on between Oggy and the roaches as they travel back in time through the ages and meet icons such as Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci and the Cyclops, as well as rocketing forward into the year 3000. Seasons 6 and 7 (156 x 7’) will comprise a mix of brand new episodes along with full remakes of classic stories from seasons 1 and 2 all produced in 4K. After almost 20 years of success, this spectacular addition of 234 new episodes, all in 4K, will project the brand in the next 15 years, as it will keep entertaining the kids and their parents with them.

  • Chakra movies to air on Toonami; Astra Force coming soon

    Chakra movies to air on Toonami; Astra Force coming soon

    MUMBAI: After its successful debut on Cartoon Network in 2013, Graphic India and Stan Lee’s “Chakra The Invincible” is back with three new installments of “Made for TV” movies for Turner International. Chakra is the brainchild Graphic India’s Sharad Devarajan, and POW Entertainment founder Stan Lee, who is credited with creating billion-dollar character intellectual properties such as the Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor and the X-Men.

    Sixty to 70 mins long, the first of the three installments, Chakra Rise of the Infinitus, was aired on Turner’s Toonami last Sunday, while the second and third animated movies are scheduled for December-end and first half of 2017.

    “The movie will subsequently be aired on other Turner channels such as Cartoon Network,” said Devarajan. “I have had a great long-standing partnership with Krishna Desai who heads Turner’s kids content division. He is a true fan of comics books; Stan Lee and I saw the true potential for this kind of unique content,” Devarajan added on choosing Turner as the broadcast partner.

    To make the content travel to regional markets as well, the movies have been produced in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu feeds. Apart from its TV broadcasts in India, Graphic India is largely looking into syndicating the TV movies to other international markets. “Our partnership is only for the Indian market, but Graphic India is aggressively expanding to other markets with foreign broadcasting partners as well. We have already partnered with Angry Birds creators, Rovio Entertainment, and its digital platform ToonsTV, making Chakra as the first third-party character to have launched on the platform.”

    The character received a warm welcome from the fan boys in the United States. “Kids from the mid-west America have been found dressing up as an Indian superhero in cosplay conventions and birthday parties — that is how popular it is in the western markets,” Devarajan shared, adding that 100,000 copies of the comic book have been distributed in the North American market.

    Devarajan also has big plans to market the character in India, starting in the next two to three months which will tied to the promotion of the live action Bollywood film inspired by Chakra, announced by Phantom Films (in 2017).

    “We will be pushing the distribution of the comic book, organise live events, and ensure that Chakra has a visibility in games, merchandise and promotions deals with brands in India.”

    Devarajan shied away from discussing the actual budget of the latest series of TV movies, but he reassured that they have scaled up the production.

    “Now that we are getting international market attention about distribution, the more we move to multi-market, the scope of expanding both, scale and budget, increases. Working only in the Indian market gives us limited options, but when foreign players are willing to invest, we naturally consider a higher budget,” he added.

    Apart from Chakra The Invincible, Graphic India will also see its long-announced animated series “Astra Force” (featuring an animated Amitabh Bachchan) see the light of the day this year-end with Disney India being the broadcast partner.

  • Chakra movies to air on Toonami; Astra Force coming soon

    Chakra movies to air on Toonami; Astra Force coming soon

    MUMBAI: After its successful debut on Cartoon Network in 2013, Graphic India and Stan Lee’s “Chakra The Invincible” is back with three new installments of “Made for TV” movies for Turner International. Chakra is the brainchild Graphic India’s Sharad Devarajan, and POW Entertainment founder Stan Lee, who is credited with creating billion-dollar character intellectual properties such as the Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor and the X-Men.

    Sixty to 70 mins long, the first of the three installments, Chakra Rise of the Infinitus, was aired on Turner’s Toonami last Sunday, while the second and third animated movies are scheduled for December-end and first half of 2017.

    “The movie will subsequently be aired on other Turner channels such as Cartoon Network,” said Devarajan. “I have had a great long-standing partnership with Krishna Desai who heads Turner’s kids content division. He is a true fan of comics books; Stan Lee and I saw the true potential for this kind of unique content,” Devarajan added on choosing Turner as the broadcast partner.

    To make the content travel to regional markets as well, the movies have been produced in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu feeds. Apart from its TV broadcasts in India, Graphic India is largely looking into syndicating the TV movies to other international markets. “Our partnership is only for the Indian market, but Graphic India is aggressively expanding to other markets with foreign broadcasting partners as well. We have already partnered with Angry Birds creators, Rovio Entertainment, and its digital platform ToonsTV, making Chakra as the first third-party character to have launched on the platform.”

    The character received a warm welcome from the fan boys in the United States. “Kids from the mid-west America have been found dressing up as an Indian superhero in cosplay conventions and birthday parties — that is how popular it is in the western markets,” Devarajan shared, adding that 100,000 copies of the comic book have been distributed in the North American market.

    Devarajan also has big plans to market the character in India, starting in the next two to three months which will tied to the promotion of the live action Bollywood film inspired by Chakra, announced by Phantom Films (in 2017).

    “We will be pushing the distribution of the comic book, organise live events, and ensure that Chakra has a visibility in games, merchandise and promotions deals with brands in India.”

    Devarajan shied away from discussing the actual budget of the latest series of TV movies, but he reassured that they have scaled up the production.

    “Now that we are getting international market attention about distribution, the more we move to multi-market, the scope of expanding both, scale and budget, increases. Working only in the Indian market gives us limited options, but when foreign players are willing to invest, we naturally consider a higher budget,” he added.

    Apart from Chakra The Invincible, Graphic India will also see its long-announced animated series “Astra Force” (featuring an animated Amitabh Bachchan) see the light of the day this year-end with Disney India being the broadcast partner.