ITV

Tag: TV

  • &TV brings slice-of-life story ‘Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai?’

    &TV brings slice-of-life story ‘Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai?’

    MUMBAI: Small talk or conversation starters, as we call it, is a customary way to connect with people or to know about the happenings in their lives. One such conversation starter used every day by most Indians when they meet a friend, neighbour, family, or acquaintance is Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai. Echoing this culture in a light-hearted narrative is the slice-of-life story of the two families – the Mishras and the Mirzas – in & TV's brand-new show, Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai? 

    Produced by Amjad Hussain Sheikh of Shade Productions, the show will feature local talents in the lead, with Akansha Sharma as Sakina Mirza, Farhana Parveen as Shanti Mishra, Pawan Singh as Zafar Ali Mirza, and Amrish Bobby as Ramesh Prasad Mishra. Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha? Hai will premiere on 30 March 2021, at 9:30 pm on &TV, airing every Monday to Friday.

    The new property will bring to the fore Lucknowi culture, with &TV setting a new benchmark in television entertainment with homegrown content, local talent, and production capabilities. Set against the backdrop of the city of nawabs, the show will give a glimpse of situational comedy that ensues when two culturally opposite families are forced to share a roof, manoeuvre day-to-day concerns of small-town-living and highly competitive wives. The show captures the long-standing Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of Lucknow through the two families – the Mishras and the Mirzas, cohabiting in an old nawabi haveli. Each wishing to own the haveli and not share it with the other leads to constant bickering and amusing scuffles around everyday issues and incidents.

    Portraying the harmless jealousy between the neighbouring wives, Shanti and Sakina, and their henpecked husbands – Ram Chandra Mishra and Zafar Ali Mirza, the show will take the viewers through an entertaining and engaging story revolving around these two families who are 'Acche Waqt Ke Sabse Bade Dushman Aur Bure Waqt Ke Sabse Acche Dost.' In all this, will be a neighbourhood WhatsApp group titled Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai run by the local political leader's domestic help, keeping the Mishra-Mirza housewives up-to-date with all the latest and juicy happenings and gossips in their mohalla and using every piece of information to outdo each other.

    &TV business head Vishnu Shankar said, “&TV has always been successful in presenting culturally rich, relatable, and enjoyable content to its viewers. Whether it is Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai or Happu Ki Ultan Paltan, the audience has showered their love in appreciation for these shows. So far, we have been showcasing various stories which are based in MP and UP but are shot in Mumbai. Today we are proud to present to you a completely Lucknow based show, Aur Bhai Kya Chal Raha Hai?, which is shot entirely in Lucknow with local talent and production unit. We hope to receive the same love and support from our audience for our latest content offering.”

    Shade Productions producer Amjad Hussain Sheikh shared, "There have been several stories on television and movies depicting Indian culture. However, for the first time, we have a locally sourced story, written and produced with complete local talents, including the entire team of production and actors, shot in Lucknow city's local locations, capturing its culture's true essence and way of life. We are confident that the story will resonate with the audience on various levels – be its relatable characters of neighbouring couples, their constant squabbles, the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb, the everyday commoner's issues, so on and so forth. It is an ambitious project with an equally ambitious dream team. We are quite excited about it and looking forward to the audience's appreciation and acceptance."

  • BBC World News’ Liz Gibbons on the importance of a free and impartial media

    BBC World News’ Liz Gibbons on the importance of a free and impartial media

    NEW DELHI: Audiences the world over count on BBC News to provide an accurate account of global events. Its illustrious legacy has been bolstered by a multitude of journalists reporting from almost every nook and corner of the world. On 11 March 1991, it launched its global English news channel- BBC World News with a half-hour news bulletin. Within months, it expanded operations in Asia and became a 24 hour news channel. Every day, for the last 30 years, the channel has attempted to bring compelling stories from different countries – stories that got the world talking. During the pandemic, the BBC saw an overall higher growth in APAC than the global average with a 48 per cent increase in unique visitors in 2020. Its Indian audience rose to 60 million people per week, according to the Global Audience Measure 2020.

    On its 30th anniversary, Indiantelevision.com spoke to BBC World News, head of news, Liz Gibbons about the transformation that the English news channel has undergone over three decades, the challenges it faced during the pandemic, and how it is adapting to the digital demands of the 21st century.

    Edited excerpts:

    On the transformation that its newsroom underwent since it started operations in 1991.

    The way we gathered global news 30 years ago was completely different. We were reliant on satellite technology, but the news gathering has completely revolutionised now. The cameras that we use are much lighter and easier to mount. There is mobile phone technology and Wi-Fi to enable us to file a story from almost anywhere in the world. We use AR/VR technologies to explain some of the complicated stories. It was something we could not do before. We are much nimbler than we ever were. We are using the content generated by our audience much more. When a big story breaks, it is not the BBC journalist who is first on the ground. The first material that we play out on TV is now of somebody who has witnessed the story and broke the story to us. Of course, we first verify and ensure that it is correct. So, it is a completely different landscape. Except for the values and the way we approach journalism, I think everything else has pretty much changed.

    On digital news and the stiff competition with emerging digital news platforms.

    BBC News is adapting extremely well. We have got the BBC.com news website which has got 151 million users a week globally, 53 per cent up on last year. BBC News is reaching over 400 million people a week globally, which is also higher than last year. Our digital offering is at the front and center of what we do, both in the UK and globally. Our audience has also been stable and increased in the past year. The big events such as the pandemic which affected us all in different ways have brought those audiences to us in record numbers.

    On how the channel pivoted during the pandemic.

    The big change for us was the way we get our guests on air. People have adapted to the idea, that they can just do interviews from wherever they are and that means we can get a huge and broader range of guests than we could before. We also sent fewer journalists from the UK and other parts of the world to cover the US elections, which was one of the biggest stories last year. We had to find different ways to cover it. We also had to restructure the workflows and get a lot of people out of the building very quickly. Many did not have the technology to contribute from home. Lot of people had to self-isolate. The world news channels were brought together more closely than before. We had presenters presenting the programmes from their homes. It was extraordinary.

    On combating the demon of fake news.

    Fake news is one of our biggest challenges. It only goes on to illustrate how important it is to have a news service that is impartial and free from political or commercial influence. We have got a reality check team, whose job is to look at the claims which are being made by politicians or within the social media space and to challenge them with facts. We have also got a programme that we run every day at BBC World News called Outside Source, which plays a similar role. It looks at the way stories have been reported around the world, their social media impacts, and draws conclusions based on facts.

    On the demands of search engines, and issue of clickbait headlines, and meta tags.

    It is very important to understand your audience in the digital world. You can instantaneously see how many people have clicked on a story and you can get a sense of where they are in the world. This is something helpful only to a degree. You have to guard yourself against the idea of framing a story in a certain way that may be misleading, just so that more people will read it. These are the kinds of challenges we face all the time. We need to make a balance between the two.

    On the government criticism faced by public broadcasters for coverage of sensitive issues in countries and the latest ban in China.

    The role of a free and impartial news channel that reports news without fear or favour has never been more important. It is a fundamental part of what we do and what we stand for as journalists and as an organisation. There are multiple examples all over the world on why we need to do this. We have had instances of our journalists being intimidated in various parts of the world and that is absolutely unacceptable. But, we continue to report news in a free and fair manner. It is at the heart of our mission.

    On the impact of budget cuts and any change in the universal funding model.

    At the moment, BBC World News is commercially funded by distribution and advertising. But, we are always looking at different ways to innovate and open to all kinds of potential options. The director-general has made it clear that maximising our commercial funding is incredibly important. There is also a debate going on in the UK around the future of license fees (which every household with a TV set must pay). It funds the public service arm of what we do, including a lot of our international services. That debate is likely to continue. But, I feel confident about the future, even though there are pressures on streams of funding for almost all major media organisations.

    On which way the world will go – text news vs video news online.

    Perhaps, there was an assumption that we were going in a specific direction. In the future, we have to consider the digital output of most of the material we generate. But it is interesting, that linear TV channels are alive and kicking and that people are buying big-screen TVs all around the world. That is a trend and people are obviously watching the time shift. But they are also watching global news channels. It will be a mixed economy for some time to come.

    On the Indian audience and any changes in programming planned for 2021.

    Our audience in India is stable and going up. We are seen as the number one international media brand in India which is fantastic. We do have a lot of programmes that are made for Indian audiences that will continue. We had the Indian sportswomen of the year outcome. I think it will continue to be an important part of what we do and how we serve our Indian audiences. Thank you to people in India and we hope they remain our audience for the next 30 years too.

  • #Throwback2020: Programming across OTT & television

    #Throwback2020: Programming across OTT & television

    MUMBAI/KOLKATA: Life coach and motivational speaker Tony Robbins once remarked that “we aren’t in an information age, we are in an entertainment age.” The past year has shown that Robbins' observation wasn’t far off the mark. As people were bombarded with information from all sides, most of it unpleasant (what with a global pandemic, wildfires, erupting city blocks and violent racial protests, just to name a few), and with cinemas shuttered and live sports cancelled, they retreated to the only safe space left – their television and mobile screens. In fact, 2020 was also remarkable for another fact; TV and OTT saw unprecedented rise in viewership and time spent on the platforms compared to preceding years.

    One of the biggest trends that we saw on OTT and television in 2020 was the re-emergence of the golden era of family viewing. A classic example of this was the reruns of Mahabharat and Ramayan on Doordarshan during the lockdown. IndiaToday touted Mahabharat as the “baap of all masala entertainers” and no wonder, everyone in the family – from grandparents to kids – tuned in to the decades-old show. And as streamers were – for a large part of the year –   were the only ones where fresh content was in supply, audiences signed up for the services in big numbers.

    Programming on television

    With people confined to their homes, TV took them to places where they could find some respite, whether in the form of a supernatural show, a murder mystery, Mills & boons romance thriller, an endearing fish-out-of-water comedy, or a very old daily soap. Some shows nailed tricky tones; others offered unforgettable concepts.

    The pandemic forced general entertainment channels to go for reruns initially as there was no fresh content production for nearly three months. DD emerged the frontrunner, as, besides Mahabharat and Ramayan, it brought many other iconic shows such as Dekh Bhai Dekh and Shriman Shrimati, thereby raking in massive viewership. Private broadcasters took the same route to entertain audiences. Programmes that had been relegated to sister FTA channels, such as Saath Nibhana Saathiya, Kumkum Bhagya and Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, made a comeback on the pay platform and attracted a lot of eyeballs.

    Daily soaps dominate

    A lot of shows focused on family bonding, women taking charge of the household, and the parent-child relationship. Most of these serials tend to have family drama as the core thread with a love story running through it.

    Naagin, Chotti Sardaarni, Barrister Babu and the recently launched Shubharambh delivered – and continue to –  the bounty for Colors. Zee TV’s Kundali Bhagya and Kumkum Bhagya (both produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms) and Guddan Tumse Na Ho Paayega garnered significant eyeballs. Sony TV’s Mere Dad Ki Dulhan, which recently went off air, was centered on the theme of a second chance at love for middle-aged parents.

    Audiences across markets opted for a slice of life and family dramas. The overall Hindi GEC (U+R) and the Hindi GEC (U) audiences preferred to watch recently launched shows like Anupama, Imlie, Ghum Hai Kisi ke Pyaar Mein on Star Plus, and Zee TV’s most popular long-running shows Kundali Bhagya and Kumkum Bhagya.

    Several experimental shows such as 9 Months Wali Love Story, Kaatelal & Sons also found takers, but there wasn’t much in the way of breakthrough content outside of Anupama. The latter is a regular family drama showcasing the taboo subject of extramarital affairs on Indian television.

    Ormax Media partner Keerat Grewal said, "I think the challenge with the category is that experiments with new story ideas are there, but we have not seen any paradigm shift, something that we saw with KBC and Balika Vadhu. Over the last few years non-fiction has had an uptake on HGECs due to the fiction cynicism that’s set in gradually as audiences have been seeing 'more of the same'. This year however non-fiction has struggled as well, with both KBC and Bigg Boss not being able to deliver. Bigg Boss is generally shows an upward trend after a few weeks, once contestant familiarity sets-in."

    With production budgets slashed across channels by almost 20-25%, extending this year's Bigg Boss season even with lower than expected ratings, could be a matter commercial feasibility for the channel, she said

    Star Plus also managed to get its regional shows successfully remade into Hindi with Anupama and Ghum Hai Kisi Ke Pyaar Mein. This urge to adapt and remake has been picked up by other channels as well.

    Non-fiction shows struggled to top the charts

    Kaun Banega Crorepati, Bigg Boss, and The Kapil Sharma Show were produced under strict Covid2019 precautions. The drastically smaller production teams innovated on the sets to adhere to protocol and ensure safety of the participants. For instance, there is a restaurant, a shopping mall, a theatre, and a spa inside the Bigg Boss house. In KBC 12, besides the crew, even those who accompany the contestants on the show have socially distanced seating. There was no live audience and the audience poll lifeline was replaced by video-a-friend. The Kapil Sharma Show introduced recorded audience applause, and cut-outs in the background to make the set look lively. The IPL also did the same.

    Unlike other years, Bigg Boss – while generating a lot of buzz – has had a relatively subdued season and has not picked up in ratings. The non-fiction show has always been known to pick up from the mid-season where it brings older participants to pump up nostalgia and drama. This year, Colors has decided to extend Bigg Boss 14 till February 2021, with the grand finale scheduled around Valentine's Day. Traditionally, non-fiction shows have always given fiction shows a run for their money.

    And while the IPL was a huge production and advertising success, buoying industry sentiment,  the same cannot be said for other marquee non-fiction properties, which compete with it.

     “I think the challenge is that they keep experimenting with new story ideas but we have not seen any paradigm shift, something that we saw with KBC,” noted Grewal.

    The year of OTT

    2020 was the year of OTT, as people sampled and adopted them in droves. Likewise, the investment in content has also increased manifold. As more people turned to premium online content, the platforms also experimented with the formats of their new shows.

    A new genre on the streaming horizon is musical. Amazon Prime Video’s Bandish Bandits gathered buzz with its music-themed plot depicting the clash between two different worlds of music. Although some viewers found the format cliched, the catchy tunes by composers Shankar-Ehsan-Loy made it extremely appealing. MX Player’s music reality show Times of Music was loved for its unique format – it's a crossover between reality and chat show. Bringing the best composers in the Indian film industry together on one stage, the series included recreations of many celebrated songs. Times of Music charmed Indian music lovers at a time when live musical events had come to a halt.

    Experimentation and innovation

    More than simply offering a library of content, OTT platforms in India are trying to establish a stronger connection with consumers through interactive content. The trend has not picked up for premium originals yet but broadcaster-led streaming platforms are experimenting with the format for their catch-up content. Zee5 launched Zee5 Super Family League where participants could  create their own family by selecting their favourite characters from the network’s popular primetime shows. Voot and SonyLIV also created avenues for immersive experience around tentpole content like Bigg Boss and KBC.

    2020 was a series of unusual, new experiments to face the challenges posed by the pandemic. OTTs led the field when it came to producing new shows while sitting at home. Voot devised an innovative content format with locked room murder mystery The Gone Game, shot in cast members' residences. Eros Now also premiered a show made in lockdown – A Viral Wedding. Amazon Prime Video unveiled CU Soon, a film shot entirely during quarantine.

    Sequels spell success

    For many people, the saving grace of 2020 was their favourite shows returning with new seasons. The hugely popular Mirzapur series generated tons of excitement. Among other much-awaited shows, MX Player’s Aashram, Disney+Hotstar’s Hostages, Amazon Prime Video’s Breathe: Into the Shadows wooed the audience with returning seasons. Other than Indian originals, viewers enjoyed new seasons of international series like Money Heist, Dark and The Mandalorian.

    The rise of K-love

    Indian audience’s watch list is no longer defined by local content or few American dramas anymore. All things ‘K’ (as in South Korean, not Ekta Kapoor’s defining alphabet) had a major breakthrough in India amid the pandemic. Netflix India witnessed a whopping 370 per cent growth in the viewership of Korean dramas, with The King: Eternal Monarch, Kingdom (S2), It’s Okay to Not Be Okay and Crash Landing on You dominating the trending list for weeks. MX Player also reported considerable growth of Korean drama in its international segment. Interestingly, the K-drama fad is not limited to millennials and gen Z anymore. Other than romances, older audiences also watched other complex genres like Korean historical dramas and thrillers.

    OTTs have moved on from male, metro, millennial demographic to an increasing number of female content consumers. As a result, platforms focused on women-centric content representing strong female characters. The shows ranged from comedy to thrillers, romance, and social drama. Pushpavali, Four More Shots Please, Arya, Bulbbul, Masaba Masaba, Churails, Code M were some programmes that appealed to and were loved by women viewers.

  • Guest column: Roll camera, action – the show must go on

    Guest column: Roll camera, action – the show must go on

    MUMBAI: ZeeL music cluster deputy business head Pankaj Balhara shares his learnings from 2020:

    1. TV is king

    We always had the conviction within the network about the power of TV, and all those questions were put to rest with the trends and data seen during the lockdown – that OTT and TV can co-exist. Specifically, with our TG (the youth), their consumption also increased during the lockdown but overall, it has remained consistent since the past four to five years.

    2. Resilience and innovation of our industry  

    If Covid2019 has taught the entertainment industry anything, it’s that we can’t continue to go on as we have. After a gap of 100 days due to the national lockdown, it was ‘roll camera, action’ again for the entertainment industry, but even in this phase the industry has shown the resilience to innovate and adapt successfully. During the lockdown, the television industry introduced content which was shot from home. TV merged into the virtual space and everyone in the entertainment industry managed to run their operations innovatively. Adapting to the new norms, TV constructed stories and scenes to keep everybody reasonably distanced. With the ongoing pandemic in mind, makers created new shows that both reflect the socially distanced moment and use its tools. What's exciting overall is that Covid has pushed the industry to work in so many creative ways.

    3. TV and food are two true loves for Indians

    The Covid2019 pandemic has pushed television viewership to record levels as it has seen unprecedented growth. Television consumption at this scale hasn't been witnessed or even imagined before. TV continues to attract maximum new eyeballs as the coronavirus outbreak keeps other options of outdoor entertainment limited. With social distancing and work-from-home being the new normal, families have found themselves with a lot more together time, be it having meals to watching their favourite movies or shows together. Same goes for food – as the pandemic made us housebound, we began buying, cooking, and eating very differently. Today both television and food has taken a centre stage at homes for family bonding and entertainment.    

    4.  And above all, life and entertainment must go on!

    There is no historic parallel to the crisis and uncertainty brought about by Covid2019. But the pandemic has taught us that we don't need too much to be happy. There can be a pause, but life doesn’t get stagnant. The show must go on.

    (The author is deputy business head of ZeeL music cluster. Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to his views.)

  • #Throwback2020: Linear TV ad volumes on the mend, revenues sluggish

    #Throwback2020: Linear TV ad volumes on the mend, revenues sluggish

    NEW DELHI: For linear television, 2020 was like a ride to hell and back, owing to the Covid2019-induced lockdown. It was the first time that shoots were canned wholesale, there were no new shows running, and advertising volumes hit abysmal lows. All was not doom and gloom – the industry saw meteoric rise in viewership, initially banking on reruns of old classics like Ramayan and Mahabharat, followed by marquee properties like the IPL, KBC, and Bigg Boss making their way to our screens. While this may have resulted in an uptick in subscription revenues, advertising prospects remained stunted through the year. Here’s a quick overview of how advertising fared on linear television in 2020. 

    The maths of it 

    The first quarter of FY21 saw the industry incurring huge losses as advertisers pulled out advertising monies as production and supply chains across industries took a big hit.

    Average ad volumes per day dipped to 752 hours in April-June ‘20 quarter, as compared to 1,032 hours in January-March ’20, according to TAM data. The ad revenues for broadcasters witnessed a year-on-year decline of 59 per cent in Q1 of FY21, as shared by ICRA. Depending on genres, advertisement revenues were impacted by 25-60 per cent (vis-a-vis pre-Covid average monthly revenues) in Q1 FY21. While news and movie genres were on the lower end of the spectrum, with an average decline of 25-30 per cent in advertisement revenues, GECs and sports channels witnessed a sharp 50-60 per cent reduction in advertisement revenues. 

    This was despite a meteoric rise in TV viewership in those months. BARC data reports a nine per cent increase in TV viewership during January-June ‘20 as compared to the corresponding period last year; the growth was led by the news, kids, and movie channels. Understandably, the viewership declined by three per cent for GECs, given the lack of fresh programming. 

    The industry started getting back on its feet steadily as lockdown restrictions eased and businesses started moving forward, the IPL and festive season gave it further momentum. The ad volumes in the second half of the year showed outstanding growth. Average ad volumes per day rose by 39 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to average ad volumes of the previous three quarters, TAM data showed. 

    Caption– Source: TAM

    According to BARC estimates, advertising volumes grew by 10-11 per cent over 2019 during Dussehra and Diwali 2020. Ad volume for Ganesh Chaturthi was up seven per cent over last year. Another study, by TAM, revealed that there were 655 new advertisers who made an appearance on GECs in September-November 2020, as compared to the past two years. This new league of advertisers included names like Facebook, Airtel Payments Bank and WhiteHat Education Technology.

    As per ICRA, TV broadcasters saw a strong sequential recovery of 86 per cent in advertising revenue in Q2 FY21. However, it still remained 20 per cent lesser on a year-on-year basis. GECs too regained their popularity. 

    As expected, the biggest share of this improving pie landed in the IPL’s kitty. Despite the sponsorship rate for the league going down by 25 per cent, the industry is positive that the league would have made 10-15 per cent more in revenues (https://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/media-and-advertising/sponsorship/eventually-ipl-2020-scored-big-with-advertisers-sponsors-201111) as compared to 2019, clocking around Rs 2,000 crore on TV alone.  Comprehensively, TV broadcasters in ICRA’s sample set reported a 21 per cent year-on-year decline in revenues in H1 FY21. 

    On an overall level, the industry has indicated mixed projections for the state of ad revenues for broadcasters in 2020. While Edelweiss has pegged it to grow by 6.5 per cent, KPMG and GroupM are indicating a contraction. 

    Talking to Indiantelevision.com in April this year, the industry indicated a negative growth for 2020 (https://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/marketing/mam/covid-19-might-push-traditional-advertising-towards-negative-growth-200428). 

    Madison Media and OOH group CEO Vikram Sakhuja said the advertising growth, which was pinned by his firm at around 10 per cent at the beginning of the year, will take a big hit in this calendar year. “We were expecting around a six per cent growth for traditional and around 28-30 per cent for digital media. However, looking at the current scenario, traditional media might observe a negative growth, while digital will also shrink considerably. We will be lucky if we can see a one-two per cent growth this year.”

    The rise of new categories

    Top ranks of advertisers on television underwent some shuffling as industries dealt with the crisis. As per TAM data, personal care/personal hygiene sector had a 20 per cent share of ad volumes, followed by F&B with 18 per cent share. Education became the only new entrant in the top 10 list of sectors advertising on TV. It was possibly because of the new home education module that people were forced to live with. Ed-tech companies like Byju’s, WhiteHat Jr, and Vedantu advertised heavily on television. 

    Source: TAM 

    Additionally, Ecom-media/entertainment/social media moved up five positions to achieve the second spot in leading categories advertising on television.

    Source: TAM 

    Hand sanitisers also registered robust growth and it was reflected in the television ad volumes too. Most of the leading exclusive brands in the year belonged to the category, along with social media, ed-tech, and OTT services. 

    Source: TAM 

    On the contrary, the FMCG sector that jumped the fence to go digital in 2020 might have taken out some from the TV pie. For instance, India’s largest advertiser Hindustan Unilever spent Rs 1,936 crores in the July-September quarter, 17 per cent less than the corresponding quarter in 2019. While the ad volumes from FMCG brands clung back to pre-Covid levels, it is yet to be seen if the revenues will turn back or not. 

    The year saw the television industry in a massive flux, struggling to keep up with the rapidly changing state of affairs. While categories like news remained on a positive incline through the year, GECs suffered losses for the most part of it. In terms of ad revenues, it might be clocking much less than what was forecast at the beginning of 2020, but industry projects fair tidings from the second quarter of 2021. It will be interesting to see how the industry fares in the coming year. 
     

  • &TV looks back at its greatest hits of 2020

    &TV looks back at its greatest hits of 2020

    MUMBAI: As 2020 comes to an end, &TV reflects on its year in review. The channel commenced the year with big bang launches of Bhakt Aur Bhagwan Se Judi Do Kahaniyian – Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram and Santoshi Maa Sunaye Vrat Kathayein in January. In the third quarter, as the shoots resumed, &TV kickstarted its creative campaign of #TayyariHumariZabardastHai, offering high-octane entertainment with Usse Bhi Zabardast Kirdars Aur Kahaniyans. Wrapping up the year on a high note, &TV recently launched the untold story of Yeshu for the first time on Hindi GEC. Produced by Arvind Babbal Productions, the show premiered on 22 December 2020.

    As the channel gears up to embrace the new year of 2021 filled with renewed energy, new hope with brand-new characters and stories, let us look back at the year gone by in detail.

    A fusion of Indian heartland culture

    Celebrating every facet, flavour, character, and stories that authentically bring alive the essence of our Indian culture, &TV presented wide-ranging stories and characters during the year.

    Santoshi Maa Sunaye Vrat Kathayein for the devout at heart, the age-old tradition of vrat kathas to attain peace and contentment in life. Conveying the message of the ultimate triumph of the sincerely devoted in a storytelling format, the socio-mythological show produced by Rashmi Sharma Telefilms, marked the comeback of popular Bollywood actress Gracy Singh as Santoshi Maa. It also featured Tanvi Dogra portraying the role of Swati, an ardent devotee and how she makes her way through various problems under the guidance of Santoshi Maa and Ashish Kadian, essaying the role of Swati's husband, Indresh.

    For every God, there is a devotee. Still, it is Lord Hanuman's unyielding devotion and selfless dedication to Lord Ram that truly sets him apart and makes him the epitome of bhakti. A captivating story of devotion in its truest form, Kahat Hanuman Jai Shri Ram depicted the many unexplored sides of Lord Hanuman, including the purpose of his life. Giving viewers a glimpse of the unheard tale of Lord Shiva and the invincible evil Ravana, viewers witnessed the fascinating mythological journey of how Bal Hanuman eventually emerged as the greatest devotee of Lord Ram and managed to bring a successful end to Ravana's reign of terror. The show featured Ekagra Dwivedi essaying the young lead character of Hanuman along with Nirbhay Wadhwa as Bali, Sneha Wagh as Anjani (Hanuman's mother) and Jiten Lalwani as Kesari (Hanuman's father), amongst others.

    The iconic story of Yeshu

    In challenging times like today when despair is high, virtues like compassion, kindness, hope, love and forgiveness are the cornerstones of humanity that will help us sail through crisis. One iconic story where good overcomes evil and compassion trumps condemnation is that of Yeshu. &TV is proud to present, for the first time on a Hindi GEC, the untold, unheard tale of Yeshu.

    Yeshu is about an exceptionally benevolent child who only wants to do good and spread happiness all around him. His love and compassion for all is a stark contrast to the dark, evil forces prevalent during his lifetime. Witnessing the various atrocities on his family and in society has a deep impact on him. His attempt to help others and ease their pain often leads to situations where he inevitably ends up being hurt and condemned, by not just the oppressors, but also people at large. But even that does not stop Yeshu from continuing on his path. The show has a stellar cast comprising Vivaan Shah portraying the role of young Yeshu, Sonali Nikam as Mary, Aarya Dharmchand as Joseph, Darpan Srivastava as King Herod and Rudra Soni as Herod Antipas, amongst others.

  • 2020 and the debate of TV vs digital video

    2020 and the debate of TV vs digital video

    MUMBAI: It’s been two decades since I have been listening, participating and speaking about the great inflection point in digital in India. Every five years with some growth in consumer usage of the internet, adoption of platforms and growing online shopping, the claim used to only add fuel. Further to tons of VC money going into start-ups, every third person used to say “Digital Inflection Point” has truly arrived in India.

    So, I am kind of tired of this whole story, but wait… 2020 has been that year when the digital inflection point truly arrived. I say it with total conviction, data points and authority as a media agency head, based on what I am seeing on the ground and how clients have responded to the turning landscape and massive consumer behavior changes happening around us.

    VCs invest in ideas for the future and 90 per cent of them fail but the ones that stick, address the growing need when the inflection point arrives, solving a problem and making the business viable because the business has a purpose. Purpose of disseminating information or spreading joy through entertainment or enabling healthcare in remote places or bringing education to people’s homes or even making financial transactions simpler.

    This would not be possible without the technology that could back the high-speed internet required for addressing any of the purposes I have mentioned above. India as a country still has affordability issues. So,  when the high-speed internet became affordable, consumer intent naturally swayed towards cheaper options, making viewability of content agnostic in nature.

    That is the only true reason why I believe that the inflection point has arrived and it’s here to not just stay but grow exponentially. Now how does that translate to comparing digital video to TV?

    TV is known as the idiot box and it will continue to be one. Mobile will be known as an idiot brick, but these idiotic products are the only mediums that enable communication with the latter being a two-way mechanism of communication at the highest levels.

    Indians have consumed AV since the early fifties  through movies, which was later followed by terrestrial TV, then the VCR wave settled in with cable TV from early nineties. Indians are emotional and therefore anything that brings in emotional highs has always worked, which is why entertainment as an industry is so large in India. Naturally, the progression would be towards affordable consumption, and high-speed internet did just that. It enabled consumption of the ever-growing content from emotional to comedy to dramatic to romantic to edgy to sexual to the next level. Add to that social media, where you could be a star with millions of followers generating income for the content you create, made the medium even more adoptable for creators and stickier for the consumers.

    We haven’t even spoken about cricket here!

    Add to that the pandemic in 2020, every aspect of consumption soared, and India’s favorite pastime now made its entry into the idiot bricks or what we call mobile phones. Everything changed and I am going to quickly explain how the growth of mobile internet actually grew the market and did not take away the share from TV.

    I recently met an MD of a very large financial institution with my team and we started talking about how OTT is taking away the share from TV in terms of reach and I begged to differ with him because the data that I am narrating shows that not only has TV grown in size and consumption, but digital video has also in fact created newer audiences, thereby breaking the myth of OTT taking over TV in the future.

    India is the second largest television market in the world with 195 Million households of which 80 per cent are paid C&S channels, which makes it a subscription market for TV at around 156 million as per Statista. As per BARC, TV viewership grew by 10 per cent  in 2020 over 2019 (consolidated – urban + rural, Jan – Nov). India is looking at a projected revenue generation of $3 billion  from TV as an industry through advertising in FY 21.

    Despite the growth in C&S, digital advertising is going to overtake TV advertising in FY 21 with a projected revenue of $3.5 billion. As per KPMG, the 20 per cent drop from projections is largely the dismal economic situation due to the Covid 19 pandemic but what that did was to enable the massive adoption of OTT and grew the whole base of paid subscribers which will cross 40 million in FY 21 fueling the growth of digital advertising northwards.

    There are standing examples of these claims with the release of movies on OTT and its subsequent adoption, IPL on Hotstar which saw unprecedented growth reaching over 300 million handheld devices and the ever-growing connected TV story, for which Samsung is gearing up to provide solutions on advertising in the near future.

    With an average of $10 in subscriptions, we are estimating  paid subscription revenue on OTT to be around $400M which clearly indicates that consumers are willing to pay to consume more and more video content. Players to watch out for in 2021 will be YouTube, Hotstar, Instagram Reels, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, SonyLiv, MX Player, Ullu, Hoichoi and SunNext.

    If TikTok makes a comeback then it will see tremendous adoption but there are players like Josh who are taking that space up quickly, so while OTT consumption will continue to grow, social video sharing apps are also now part of the same mix when it comes to content consumption if it has to be classified as digital video.

    So, my humble submission therefore is, “inflection point” has truly arrived in 2020 and was accelerated by the pandemic, which is why in FY 21, digital advertising will overtake television advertising and while TV is seeing growth in viewership, it is declining in revenues due to the drop of 20 per cent  in advertising spends again due to the pandemic that impacted our economy on the whole. TV and OTT are parts of the same coin as heads and tails are. Hence, while we see OTT adoption is growing at a rapid pace, it will necessarily not replace TV anytime soon. OTT behavior is in silos except when on connected TVs  and television viewing is typically family driven, again a big difference in consumer behavior thus making a niche for both these mediums which is why I continue to believe that OTT as disruption has increased the overall size of audience and not taken away share from TV. Therefore, both these mediums will co-exist in India for some time to come, period!

    (The author is managing partner at DDB Mudra Group and is responsible for the media business. )

  • What Santa could gift us this Christmas

    What Santa could gift us this Christmas

    MUMBAI: As children, Santa Claus was very real for us. Even if he sat under a fake Christmas tree in an Akbarally’s department store in Mumbai, with padding under his suit to give him that potbelly, and rouge on his cheeks, and a false snow white beard, which jiggled every time he said ‘Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas.’ For us, it was exciting to see other children big-eyed, nervous, eager smiles on their faces, as they waited their turn to get to Santa. Father Christmas, as he’s known in English folklore, embodies the very spirit of the season: that of love and giving.

    The world overall – and our media and entertainment industry –needs a lot of loving and giving this year. Bruised and battered by the Covid2019 induced lockdowns in various states, and countries, it is celebrating Christmas with severe restrictions in place. A new mutant strain of the SARS CoV2 virus that has popped up in the UK has made governments in almost every nation jittery. Curfews, various levels of lockdowns, and border closures have been re-imposed, once again choking the breath out of any economic revival that could have happened.  

    Fear is very much prevalent all around.  The season to be jolly appears to be pretty un-jolly. Christmas is going to be cold – really cold, without the warm emotions the season brings.

    The good news is that various vaccines are going to be available on a massive scale. But we don’t know clearly how long they will be effective; and how much time it will be before every one of us gets a jab.

    The good news is that jolly old Santa is still around. And if he is listening – which we are sure he is – we’d like him to shower the world with oodles of good gifts and tidings this Christmas 2020. Here’s a wish list from us at Indiantelevision.com for the world and the media and entertainment industry:

    ·    Miraculously, as if by sleight of hand or an act of God, the SARS CoV2 virus loses its potency, and does no harm to any human being. Yes, we cannot bring back the ones we have lost. But we can definitely do with knowing that we will lose no more and that we are free to go where we want to without terror coursing through our veins.

    ·    Now if that is not possible, ensure that the vaccines miraculously provide a permanent defence against the dratted bug and that with one fell stroke, every human being on this planet gets an injection. For that, the pharma companies and governments will have to be sensible, honest and get their acts together super quick.

    ·    The world we live in is a beautiful place. The lockdowns enabled us to see it for its beauty without the horrors and synthetic creations of mankind damaging it. Governments the world over and earth’s denizens need to remember this for eternity. Natural rather than artificial needs to be the mantra, if we want our future generations to enjoy it.

    ·    The economic engine needs to start chugging and gain momentum. Money, the magical fuel, needs to flow smoothly to enable this to take place.

    ·     Consumer sentiment needs to turn around from being cautious and hoarding to one which is open to spending and living life to its fullest.

    ·     For the media and entertainment industries, this means that brands will be willing to spend to get king and queen consumer to buy them.

    ·    Result: the print, television, OTT, cinema industries will serve as a good medium to induce consumers to make purchases through persuasive communications in the form of advertising and TVCs.

    ·    Net outcome: the red ink on the balance sheets of many a company will steadily turn to black.

    ·   The content that is pumped out on TV, cinemas, and OTT platforms is innovative and attracts sticky eyeballs, stickier than ever before.

    ·   Let new talent in every sphere of entertainment get a chance to flower, to showcase his or her skills.

    ·   Let inclusiveness be real, and be put into practice in day to day work: alternate sexualities, genders, differently-abled and folks from every caste and creed truly be given equal opportunity.

    This is our bucket list of what we would like Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer and his boss to bring us this year. It’s by no means comprehensive; it may not even be apt, but it is the message we are sending out to the universe; hopefully it will reciprocate in full measure.

    We would love you to share your wish list for Santa too. Do it. It can be fun. Please post in the comments below.

  • &TV presents the story of ‘Yeshu’, a first for a Hindi GEC

    &TV presents the story of ‘Yeshu’, a first for a Hindi GEC

    MUMBAI: To highlight the virtues of compassion, kindness, hope, love and forgiveness in these times of crisis, &TV will present the inspiring tale of Yeshu. &TV has bagged Priya Gold Lite Biscuits as sponsor.

    The show features a stellar cast — Vivaan Shah portrays the role of young Yeshu, Sonali Nikam is Mary, Aarya Dharmchand plays Joseph, Darpan Srivastava is King Herod and Rudra Soni as Herod Antipas, along with others. Produced by Arvind Babbal Productions, the serial will premiere on 22 December at 8 pm on &TV and will air every Monday to Friday. 

    Yeshu is the story of an exceptionally benevolent child who only wants to do good and spread happiness all around him. His love and compassion for all is a stark contrast to the dark, evil forces prevalent during his lifetime. Witnessing the various atrocities on his family and in society has a deep impact on him. His attempt to help others and ease their pain often leads to situations where he inevitably ends up being hurt and condemned, by not just the oppressors, but also people at large. But even that does not stop Yeshu from continuing on his path. 

    Born in a cowshed, Yeshu, in his growing up years, has profound knowledge and understanding of spirituality and religion, which shapes his core beliefs of love, compassion, forgiveness and peace. While he is blessed with miraculous powers, he is unaware of them. Through his childhood, Yeshu is nurtured and guided towards his life purpose by his mother. 

    &TV business head Vishnu Shankar said, “We have always been successful in presenting interesting and unique characters like Bhabiji, Daroga Happu Singh, Gudiya and most recently, the father of the Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. Today we are ready to launch yet another remarkable show titled Yeshu. While it is one of the most iconic stories, it is untold and unheard in the Hindi GEC space. This story is relevant for audiences across geographies and age groups and we are confident that Yeshu will resonate positively with all our viewers.” 

    Producer and series director Arvind Babbal said, "The ongoing pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives, leaving them distressed and helpless. Through Yeshu, our attempt is to spread compassion, happiness, and positivity in the minds of our viewers. It gives out a message of hope, selflessness, empathy, love, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, and kindness. These are all important human virtues. I am confident that viewers will be receptive to the show and I carry immense pride to present a show like Yeshu along with &TV in front of a very eager audience.”

  • TikTok debuts on TV with Samsung

    TikTok debuts on TV with Samsung

    New Delhi: Samsung Electronics and TikTok have announced a new app partnership that brings TikTok’s trending content into the home. TikTok will be exclusively available on Samsung Smart TVs in Europe, launching first for UK customers.

     

    The new app has been specifically created for a home-viewing experience, allowing people to view the ‘For You’ and ‘Following’ feeds, as well as the majority of the most liked and viewed content on TikTok. This content has been organised into 12 categories covering everything from gaming and comedy, to food and animals. The entertainment doesn’t stop there though, as people can also view #LearnOnTikTok videos so they can get the latest cooking hacks, fitness tips, and fun facts that TikTok has to offer.

     

    TikTok can be accessed on all Samsung Smart TV models from 2018-2020 onwards] which include Samsung’s 4K and 8K TVs as well as its smart monitor, The Premiere, The Frame and The Serif. TikTok can be easily downloadable via the Samsung Smart TV App Store and will now be pre-installed onto all new Samsung TVs purchased. What’s more, content will be available for anybody to enjoy – whether you have a TikTok account or not.

     

    Users will be able to view, like and comment on trending videos, giving households the opportunity to experience and enjoy TikTok’s top content. Users will also be able to block or mark content they are not interested in, with TikTok automatically operating in Restricted Mode a feature that filters out content that may not be appropriate for all audiences.

     

    “We are exceptionally proud and excited to be able to launch the TikTok app on our Smart TVs. At Samsung, we strive to give our customers an unrivalled content offering to guarantee endless entertainment and the latest addition of TikTok to our app line-up unlocks a new entertainment experience. With our QLED technology, customers will be able to watch the TikTok content creations on a big screen with lifelike picture resolution to maximise their viewing experience” said Samsung Electronics (UK) director TV/AV Dan Hastings,

     

    TikTok UK GM Rich Waterworth said: “The past year has dramatically changed the way we live, work and play. More of us are spending more time at home, watching TV with loved ones and enjoying content that entertains and educates through our smartphones.

     

    This has led us to think about how we can bring the creativity and joy of TikTok to even more people across the UK. Our new TikTok app will do just that, giving the millions of Samsung TV owners access to our trending recipe hacks, comedy skits, challenges and more – straight into living rooms across the country.”