ITV

Tag: TV software

  • Essel’s E-City targets new export markets for TV software

    NEW DELHI: A Chinese family viewing a Bollywood movie; a household in Uganda awaiting a cookery programme; a Greek watching a mythological show…All this may seem strange, but E-City Entertainment India Private Limited is working on such possibilities with success.

     

    Part of the Subhash Chandra-promoted Essel Group, E-City Entertainment is emerging as a major outsourcing hub for international broadcasters and production houses. E-City has garnered Rs 24 million in revenues through marketing and exporting of television software and films in the last six months.

     

    E-City Entertainment is making steady progress into the `non-traditional markets’ in countries in North Asia, Europe, South America and Africa by exporting Indian content. The `non-traditional markets’ are considered to be markets other than the US, the UK, the Middle East, South Africa, Indonesia and Malaysia.

     

    “E-City Entertainment, which primarily targets the family entertainment sector through multiplexes, food courts and games, had set up a new strategic business unit for exporting and marketing of television software and movies six months ago. It has already touched US$0.5 million (Rs 24 million) in revenues through exporting of television software and movies,” said E-City Entertainment business head (films) Ajay Gupta.

     

    “E-City is currently positioned as a one stop shop for all network television channels and distributors in various countries,” Gupta adds.

     

    The company, which has over 10,000 hours of television content and 300 films across various genres, is making inroads to new markets by leveraging the strength of its library along with through study of the psyche of the local audience in the respective nations.

     

    “I have returned from Cannes and we have made decent headway in markets such as China, Japan and Korea in North Asia, Germany, France and Greece in Europe, Kenya, Jordan and Uganda in North Africa and even in Russia. We are also looking forward to Islamic countries as well,” says Gupta.

     

    E-City is expanding its operations through regular interaction at fairs in France such as MIPCOM (to be held from 10-14 October 2003), MIPCOM jr. (to be held from 8-9 October, 2003), MIPTV (89 countries participated, held from 24-28 March, 2003), and NATPE (held from 20 -23 January this year at New Orleans).

    Gupta says that E-City would enter into licensing agreements with the broadcasters and distributors for buying Indian content and for this, E-City is focusing on the prime television channels around the world. The programmes and movies are dubbed in the local languages.

     

    “In Japan, we are in touch with biggest local distributor of movies. In Korea, animation is preferred while in China, there is room for family movies, which don’t have much of violence. The most of the countries dub it in their local languages as they don’t prefer subtitles. It (dubbing) is good for us as piracy is rampant,” says Gupta.

     

    E-City is also consolidating its library through its tie-ups with production companies such as UTV, Numero Uno, BR Films and Pritish Nandy Communications and Zee Telefilms for television software and Mukta Arts, Venus, Tips and Zee Telefilms for movies.

  • Indo Pak cooperation to extend to films, TV software

    Indo Pak cooperation to extend to films, TV software

    MUMBAI: A first ever joint venture in the arena of film production is the first most likely outcome of the visit of the Pakistani delegation to Frames 2004.

    The delegation, however, is also keenly following up with production houses and broadcasters in India for joint productions in television software. “Thus far, Indian artistes have been crossing the border to act in Pakistani serials. It would be a better idea to tie up with production houses here to produce serials jointly,” says Evernew Entertainment executive director Mohammed Jerjees Seja, a member of the delegation. 

    The decision to go in for joint productions is not merely sentimental. Despite the fact that the Star channels are not available uniformly in Pakistan, Star Plus’ Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi tops the ratings charts in that country, although the predominant channel Geo TV rules the roost otherwise, he says. Seven private satellite channels arecurrently operational in the country, including Geo, ARY and Indus. 

    Three channels have started recently, including a regional Sindhi channel. Seja estimates that five new channels, including a business channel and a regional channel in the Pushto language would commence operations this year. The joint film project, due to be announced at Frames 2004, will take technology from India and talent from Pakistan, says Evernew Entertainment chief executive Sajjad Gul. 

    With the information and broadcasting minister R S Prasad offering a handshake with the neighbours in the arena of film production, the delegation from across the border should return with some tangible projects in its kitty. According to Seja, there is no official ban on Indian satellite channels and that 85 per cent of cable connected homes in Karachi receive Indian channels. The Pakistan government too has thrown open the DTH segment. Two private players, ARY and Geo are already in the fray while the government too intends to get into the arena, a la Prasar Bharati in this country.

     

  • Govt looks to cutting equipment import duties; pushing TV software exports

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government is looking at giving a major fillip to exports of TV software and films from India this year and also get some concessions to the media and entertainment industry by having the various duties on import of equipment rationalised or lowered.
    According to government sources, the information and broadcasting secretary Pawan Chopra is slated to meet the representatives of the hardware and software sector early next week to discuss the issues in this regard as a part of a pre-Budget meeting.
    The sources indicated that Chopra’s thrust would be to elicit response from the industry as to what all should and can be done to give a major fillip to exports of TV software and films, an area which the government feels has great potential as a revenue earner.
    Information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj recently had told indiantelevision.com that this financial year film exports especially had crossed Rs 9 billion.
    One of the concerns of the broadcasting industry has been a high duty regime and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation had also petitioned the I&B ministry to influence the finance ministry to rationalise duties on import of equipment.
    Broadcasting Council formation
    A senior official of the I&B ministry indicated that work has started on formulating a paper on the formation of a broadcasting council, ahead of the enactment into a law of the Convergence Communication Bill (CCB).
    The proposed Broadcasting council, to monitor content on TV channels, would be equivalent to the content bureau as envisaged in the CCB which has run into problems with a parliamentary committee, after collating feedback from various section, had observed that the time may not be ripe yet to have an all-encompassing convergence law.
    A bill has to be moved in the Indian Parliament if Swaraj wants to push ahead with the broadcasting council which, anyway, would not have any regulatory powers.

  • In House banks on soaps to bring in the dough

    In House banks on soaps to bring in the dough

    In House Productions is in a fever of activity these days.

    Flinging itself seriously into the TV software race, it has branched out into all kinds of programming, leaving no genre untouched in a bid to get the revenues rolling in.

    The staid five-year-old company floated by Sudesh ‘Mani’ Iyer is targeting hitting the number one position within the next two years, says Sameera Kohli, head of business development.

    Two celebrity-based shows – both of which aired on Sony Entertainment – got loads of media attention for divergent reasons. While the Sekhar Suman-hosted Movers and Shakers did well while it was on air, the gameshow Jeeto Chhappar Phad Ke – hosted by filmstar Govinda – fell on its face despite all efforts to push it.

    Now In House is moving into the safer territory of soaps. Jayate, a serial based on the life of cops, will go on air end-December on Sahara TV. A lot of research precedes the making of the serial that explores the human side of the police station and the personnel in uniform who man it. Irfan Khan and Irawati Harshe constitute the central protagonists.

    Also on the cards are a kids’ show anchored by Sunil Shetty, a reality show and a saas bahu soap of a ‘different kind’. In short, In House is pitching in with an effort in every genre and taking it to different channels to get what business it can bag. “The stress is on developing the content and doing it scientifically. We want to be radical, and want to make programmes that will take the genre forward,” says Kohli.


    In House’s hits-n-misses – Shekhar and Govinda

    The formula seems to be working. Mudivu Ungal Kaiyal, an interactive show made by In House on the lines of Aap jo bole haan to haan, aap jo bole na to na, now in its fifth week on Sun TV, is likely to be made into two more languages. Katha Kathi, a serial on rural stories by renowned Marathi authors, was number two for a long while on Alpha Marathi till it went off air. The production house is now making a celebrity interview show for the Durga Pooja season for Alpha Bengali, focusing on Bengalis who have shifted out of the native state.

    For the present, however, mega celebrity shows like Movers and Shakers and JCPK are out, thanks to the recession and the multiple hassles of personality management. “Today, prime time across all channels is full of soaps”, points out Kohli, justifying In House’s current love affair with the genre. “However”, she insists, “We are more in the quality game rather than the numbers game,” stressing that the focus would still remain on producing well made programmes rather than just TRP raking shows. The company has set its sights on the regional channels, as “that is where the market is developing right now.”


    A one-hour horror serial that aired on Zee    		 The frenetic pace that has been set in motion is the result of the efforts of the team, headed by Uday Sinhwala, who took over a few months ago. The results of the new programming strategy will start reaping dividends shortly, says Kohli. In House has maintained a 35 per cent growth since its inception in 1997, she says. Although revenues that hovered around Rs 250 million last year may not see
    an equivalent spurt at the end of this fiscal, the
    company is nevertheless maintaining a stable growth, she says.

    In House has already canned 1,200 hours of programming and plans to produce 300 more this year. With state-of-the-art infrastructure including an air-conditioned studio rented out to B4U, a chroma studio, linear and non-linear editing bays and dubbing and preview theatres, it is now a ‘complete production house’.

    All it needs now are soaring TRPs for the plethora of programs it plans to unleash on audiences.