Tag: TV

ZEE announces offer on Zee Family Packs, now at Rs. 39* per month

Mumbai: With the new tariff/pricing regime all set to come into effect from February 01, 2019 ZEE, the No. 1 television network of the country, announces attractive launch offers for its consumers. Zee family packs will be available for Rs. 39* only. This special launch offer has been devised for consumers across Hindi speaking states, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Odisha. Leading the change agenda for the new pricing paradigm, ZEE was the first network to roll out its multiple customer-centric packs and now with this attractive launch offer, it promises greater value and more affordability for consumers.

ZEE has three types of packs that come in very attractive prices ranging from the lowest at Zee Prime Pack Tamil-SD at Rs. 10* for 8 channels, Zee Family Pack – Hindi SD at Rs. 39* for 23 channels to the ZEE All-in One SD pack that brings the entire lot of 26 channels at just Rs. 59* only. The Zee Family Pack includes leading channels such as Zee TV, &TV, Zee Cinema, &Pictures, Zee Bollywood, Zee News, Zee Anmol, Big Ganga, Zing, LF and many others, cutting across multiple genres such as entertainment, movies, news, music and lifestyle thereby offering content that caters to every member of the family, every day. The a-la-carte rates for certain channels like Zee Cinema, &pictures, Zee Talkies, Zee Yuva & Zee Bangla Cinema have also been revised.

Mr. Atul Das, Chief Revenue Officer – Affiliate Sales, ZEE said, “Zee is the No. 1 television network in the country. We continue to innovate and bring new content offering across genres like entertainment, movies, music, news and lifestyle and in multiple languages including Hindi, Marathi, Bangla, Odia, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. As the new price regime gets implemented from 1st February 2019, we are excited that this would allow better choice to consumers and bring transparency across the television value chain. To provide greater value to our consumers during this transition, we have come up with an attractive launch offer on the Zee Family Packs across Hindi, Marathi, Bangla and Odia. All these packs are now available at a special price of Rs. 39* per month. We are delighted to offer the best of television series, drama, feature films, news, lifestyle content and incredible new experiences, all at a great value to our consumers across the country.”

With a total of 59 channels (43 SD & 16 HD) in 11 languages reaching a total of 148 million households every day, ZEEL has been offering audiences in India ‘superhit’ entertainment cutting across genres. Whether it’s Pragya, Preetha, Zara Siddique or Bhabhiji in the Hindi Belt to Radhika in Maharashtra, Rani Rashmoni in West Bengal and many more in every region, our characters share a deep bond with viewers wanting them as dinner-table companions every day! The No.1 TV network that fulfills all the demands is Zee with its family packs that bring together the right assortment of superhit channels across the top genres of entertainment, movies, news, music, and lifestyle, making it a must-have for every family!

SD/HD	SD
Language	Prime	Super	Family	All-in-One	Prime	Super	Family	All-in-One
Hindi			39	59			60	85
English Only	25				35
Marathi			39	59			80	105
Bangla			39	59			70	95
Odia			39	59			65	90
Tamil	10	20	37	66	25	35	65	95
Telugu	20	26	45	66	35	45	70	100
Kannada	17	24	45	66	25	35	70	100
Tamil – Telugu	25	35	55	76	40	50	80	110
Tamil – Kannada	25	35	55	76	40	50	80	110
Telugu – Kannada	28	35	55	76	40	50	80	110
All South	34	45	65	85	50	60	90	120
Odia-Telugu			59	79			80	110
Marathi-Kannada			59	79			90	120

January 17, 2019

Star India’s ambitious foray into content with Hotstar Specials

MUMBAI: Star India, the nation’s storyteller and its most innovative content company across TV, Films & Sports, is ready with its next big leap in content on the back of its OTT, Hotstar. The company today announced the launch of Hotstar Specials, a bold and ambitious content foray featuring shows from India’s most acclaimed storytellers.

“Star has always challenged conventions and been at the forefront of content reinvention in India" said Sanjay Gupta, MD, Star India. “With the mobile phone leading an explosion in the number of screens in the country, we feel that our content also needs to reinvent and boldly move forward. With Hotstar Specials we hope to create the biggest Indian stories delivered to a billion screens. To bring this vision alive, we are proud to partner with a stellar line up of talent who are headlining our first set of Hotstar Specials"

For its first set ofHotstar Specials, Star India has partnered with the best storytellers of India including Shekhar Kapur, Neeraj Pandey, Kabir Khan, NikkhilAdvani, Ram Madhvani, Venkat Prabhu, Sudhir Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia, NageshKukunoor, Mahesh Manjrekar, Vishal Furia, Rohan Sippy, Debbie Rao, Sharad Devarajan and Salman Khan!

Hotstar Specials will feature an extensive variety of Indian stories, mounted on a big scale, unconstrained by format. The company's ambition is not to make this a narrow or niche play but to explode into the consciousness of the country in an unprecedented way.

Hotstar Specials will enable makers to tell their most passionate stories and provide them unmatched reach. The stories will provide a burst of variety across genres and formats and will be available in seven languages for viewers to consume them in a language of their choice. They will leverage the unprecedented reach of Hotstar to reach the length and breadth of the country and also reach global audiences. With 350 million downloads and over 150mn monthly active users, Hotstar is the country’s biggest OTT, significantly bigger than its closest competitors. The launch of Hotstar Specials is yet another moment of disruption for Hotstar, which has been at the forefront of change in the space of digital content in India.

January 14, 2019
&TV presents an unusual love story Main Bhi Ardhangini

MUMBAI: It is often said that a man’s life can never be complete without a wife i.e. his ‘Ardhangini’ or his better half. Donning multiple roles, she is a friend, a confidant, and a person who constantly encourages her husband to be the best version of himself. She plays the protector and nurturer to not just him, but to his family as well, besides being the epitome of eternal selflessness and love. Bringing forth an exceptional story of such a loyal bond and the strength of love is &TV’s brand-new fiction offering, Main Bhi Ardhangini which will premiere 21st January 2019 every Monday to Friday at 9:30 pm. Produced by Essel Vision Productions, Main Bhi Ardhangini is a romantic drama of true love that lives beyond eternity and transcends even death. It showcases the power and strength that an Ardhangini has for her husband, and how she shields him from all evil even after her death. The show brings together an ensemble cast with popular television faces like Avinash Sachdev, Aditi Rawat, Anjali Priya and Deepshikha Nagpal amongst others. To promote the show the star cast were in Jaipur and urged their fans and the channel’s fierce loyalists to subscribe to &TV and the Zee bouquet as per the new government rule starting February 1, 2019 so they can continue to enjoy the show in the new year.

Main Bhi Ardhangini is the journey of Chitra and Vaidehi as they both are singularly dedicated to protecting Madhav – the man they love. The story delves into the life of Madhav (Avinash Sachdev) and his childhood friend Vaidehi (Aditi Rawat). Her main motive is to bring back cheer, happiness and love in Madhav’s life after his wife Chitra’s (Anjali Priya) tragic death. Furthermore, depicting an invaluable bond of friendship and love, Main Bhi Ardhangini will give a true glimpse of the selfless effort and unconditional love that Vaidehi (Aditi Rawat) showers on Madhav. The show will also bring out the eternal side of love and how the spirit of Madhav’s first wife, Chitra will do everything to keep them together and shield them against any source of evil even after death.

Speaking about the concept of the show, Vishnu Shankar, Head, &TV said, “We are excited to kickstart the year with the launch of Main Bhi Ardhangini, an adaptation of the very popular Zee Tamil show Yaaradi Nee Mohini which has been successfully retold in many other languages. This romantic drama at primetime weekday explores a different perspective of love, commitment and true bond that a wife as an Ardhangini has for her husband. The saga, a complete package of emotions, brings alive on screen a warm narrative and relatable characters each trying to deal with life, loss and love.”

Talking about the show and its concept Shariq Patel, CEO, Essel Vision Productions said, “Romance as a genre is an all-time favourite with viewers. With Main Bhi Ardhangini we wish to portray the emotion of love and bond of a husband and wife in a different way, encompassing virtues like selflessness, devotion, loyalty, protection and care. With our unique style of storytelling, we are sure the essence of the subject will come through effectively and the audience will be intrigued to watch how both Vaidehi and Chitra, shield Madhav from evil. The story brings forward a unique relationship that is interwoven in a thread of love which surpasses even death.”

Talking about his character Madhav, actor Avinash Sachdev said, “My character Madhav is an extremely righteous man who doesn’t carry any sort of malice in his heart. Shy and reserved, he is respectful of his elders, especially his mother Nilambari, even though she is his step mother. Madhav is torn between the memories of his dead wife Chitra and the unconditional love received from his childhood friend Vaidehi. Main Bhi Ardhangini is a beautifully written romantic tale and it gives me immense pleasure to be a part of this story.”

He further added, “I also want to take this opportunity to sincerely appeal to and urge all &TV loyalists, viewers and fans to subscribe to the Zee bouquet of channels starting February 1 as per the new subscription scheme. After all, Zee is the No. 1 network for family entertainment, like a one-stop-shop with programmes of interest to every member of the family. So, to continue enjoying our show on &TV, please buy the Zee Family Pack – Hindi SD/HD today by choosing the ZEE HSM Bouquet.”

Playing the role of Madhav’s childhood friend Vaidehi, Aditi Rawat said, “Vaidehi is a young and naïve girl; yet an extremely grounded soul who believes that every person is good at heart. She is full of life and is adored by everyone. Her selfless love for Madhav and her dedicated efforts as his friend to bring back joy in his life again is inspiring and rare. She will play a pivotal part in his life and I am excited to essay this role. I am also doubly excited to shoot this show as we will be in Jaipur throughout. The colourful backdrop and vibrant culture of the city lends itself beautifully to the show and it will be a visual treat for viewers. So, to keep watching &TV and its shows, do choose the attractively priced ZEE Family Pack and stay entertained!”

January 14, 2019
“Put Your Family First with ZEE Family Packs!”

MUMBAI: Up until date, the Broadcasting ecosystem operated as part of a packaged bouquet environment where consumers paid a fixed amount and received a pre-configured bouquet of channels. As per the TRAI mandate, a new tariff/pricing regime has come into effect from December 29th, 2018 and expected to be implemented across the value chain by February 1st. In the new scenario, the power of choice shifts to the viewers who will have the freedom to choose their favourite channels and packs and pay only for what they want to watch. ZEE, the No. 1 television network of the country, leading the change agenda for the new pricing paradigm, was the first to roll out its multiple customer-centric packs. In a display of network strength and breadth cutting across genres, some of ZEE’s most popular faces – Guddan (Zee TV), Angoori Bhabhi (&TV), Radhika of Mazhya Navryachi Baayko (Zee Marathi), anchor Hemali Mohite (Zee 24 Taas) and Chef Ajay Chopra (LF) came together to urge everyone to subscribe to the Zee bouquet of channels before February 1, 2019.

Speaking of the core insight that shaped the configuration of ZEE’s packs, Prathyusha Agarwal, CMO, ZEE said, “When it comes to consumption of television content, everybody in the family has different demands and the monthly purchase is made keeping everyone’s preferences in mind. Hence, our approach towards pack configuration has been ‘family first’ – offering the top genres such as Entertainment, Movies, News, Music and Lifestyle that are critical to the everyday entertainment needs of the entire family! The Zee Family Pack offers top channels across genres like Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Marathi, Zee News, Zee Café, LF making it the superhit entertainment choice for consumers.”

Mr. Atul Das, Chief Revenue Officer – Affiliate Sales, ZEE said, “The new pricing regime brings in a major shift in the way television has been consumed in India. On one hand, it brings in transparency to consumers about the price of channels, while on the other hand it offers the complete freedom of choice to pay for all those channels they want to watch. Consumers, who do not watch a particular set of channels, would be able to choose not to subscribe to those channels and manage their budget accordingly. Importantly, the new pricing regime brings in benefits to the entire value chain. DPOs will get separate fees for managing their networks, while broadcasters get freedom to price their channels, based on market dynamics. This will be beneficial to all stakeholders. Zee, on its part, has announced MRP of its channels on an a-la-carte basis. To offer greater value to its viewers, we have also created attractive packs – Zee Prime Packs & Zee Family Packs. The best of Zee content is bundled together at very attractive prices to make sure that the demands of the entire family is catered to.”

As content in the mother tongue is usually the primary destination for TV viewing across India, the ZEE family packs have been configured regional language-forward with attractive packs across 11 languages – Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and English. With a sound understanding of the viewer consumption basket of channels across regions and languages, ZEE has three types of packs to cater to different viewer needs. Prime packs based on core regional language consumption, Family Packs that offer the top genres for every household and All-in-One Packs that offer all genres at great value. The ‘Zee Family Pack’ targeted at the Hindi Speaking Market (HSM) has been priced at Rs. 45 per month for 24 channels. The Zee Family Pack includes leading channels such as Zee TV, &TV, Zee Cinema, &Pictures, Zee Bollywood, Zee News, Zee Anmol, Big Ganga, Zing, LF and many others, cutting across multiple genres such as entertainment, movies, news, music and lifestyle thereby offering content that caters to every member of the family, every day.

It’s going to be a blockbuster year for movies on Zee with the biggest World Television Premieres and the most awaited film awards night. From Salman Khan’s Race 3, Superstar Rajinikanth’s 2.0 to SRK’s Zero, Ranveer Singh’s Simmba, Akshay Kumar’s Kesari, Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The Surgical Strike, Kangana Ranaut’s Manikarnika, Kedarnath, Accidental Prime Minister and many more, the Zee Hindi Movies Cluster comprising Zee Cinema, &pictures, Zee Bollywood and Zee Anmol Cinema will be the one-stop destination for your daily dose of superhit movies. That’s not all! Get ready to be dazzled as Bollywood’s biggest stars descend on a single stage to celebrate cinematic brilliance only at Zee Cine Awards.

Actor Kanika Mann who plays the title role in Zee TV’s Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega said, “I sincerely urge all Zee TV loyalists and viewers at large to subscribe to the Zee Family Pack before 1st Feb. My journey of Guddan is on the brink of an exciting phase where she realizes that the family she has ended up marrying into is one that she does care about and is willing to give her marriage a sincere shot and make things work with Akshat. Please make sure you do not miss out on your daily appointment with me and your other favourite, much-loved Zee TV characters like Pragya, Preeta, Zara and Mohini. The year ahead for Zee TV holds the excitement of gripping twists and turns across popular shows such Kumkum Bhagya, Kundali Bhagya, Ishq Subhan Allah, Tujhse Hai Raabta, my own show – Guddan Tumse Na Ho Payega and introduction of new shows like Rajaa Betaa, the finale of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, an all-new season of the immensely popular Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Líl Champs and a host of exciting awards shows, weekend specials, mahasangams and more!”

Shubhangi Atre who essays the role of Angoori Bhabhi in &TV’s Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hai added, “All viewers of &TV are sure to be entertained in a khaas andaaz in 2019! Get ready for great shows in different genres throughout the year and follow the new adventures of your favorite character Angoori Bhabhi from Bhabhiji Ghar Par Hain. There is an offering for everyone in the family with shows like the horror-mystery Daayan, the epic fantasy Vikram Betaal Ki Rahasya Gaatha and the soon to be aired love story Main Bhi Ardhangini amongst others. To keep watching &TV and its shows, do choose the attractively priced ZEE Family Pack and stay entertained!”

Anita Date who plays Radhika of Zee Marathi’s Mazhya Navryachi Bayko added, “The new year will bring new twists on ‘Mazhya Navryachi Bayko’. Will my character Radhika outsmart the plots and schemes hatched by Guru and Shanaya? Tune in to find out and watch all the other exciting developments across your favorite shows of Zee Marathi – be it the grand wedding on Tula Paahte Re, the comeback of the popular musical show Nakshatraanche Dene or the season 2 of the hit show Raatricha Khel Chaale or the world television premieres of films like Pushpak Vimaan, Ye Re Ye Re Paisa and Naal but for that, make sure you opt for the Zee Family Pack – Marathi before 1st Feb.”

Hemali Mohite, popular anchor of Zee 24 Taas said, “Being the the first 24-hour Marathi news channel that ensured that Maharashtra gets a voice, Zee 24 Taas continues to be the ultimate destination for every Maharashtrian to stay abreast of everything from global developments to local connect. Our lead shows like Good Morning Maharashtra, the entertainment news ‘Spotlight’, the youth show Awaz Tarunanchi, RokThok – the best debate show in the Marathi news space, our evening slot leaders like Nivduk 24Taas & ZEE 24Taas Vishesh, and our analysis-based news ‘Laksyavedh’ are just some more reasons for you to opt for the Zee bouquet before 1st February”.

Chef Ajay Chopra, LF said, “Nothing can connect better with you than food, travel and culture because these dimensions of life celebrate YOU. You have loved my show 'Northern Flavors' for 2 seasons in a row and I am coming soon with the 3rd season this year. LF has been a part of your lives, taking you on a thousand journeys with every bite. With shows like Station Master's Tiffin, Curries of India, Ganga The Soul of India and many more you have lived the journeys and traveled with anchors like – Ranveer Brar, Kunal Kapur, Dia and me to explore India like never before. It's time to continue your journey with LF with newer season of Northern Flavors, new shows like Dakshin Diaries, 3 Course with Pankaj season 2 and many more. Don't forget to subscribe to the Zee Family Pack before 1st Feb to keep getting your daily dose of Foodtainment on LF. Continue to be the Loyal Fans of LF. Live Free, Live Fabulous and be Lifestyle Forward with LF! #ChooseZeeFamilyPack #ChooseLF”.

With a total of 59 channels (43 SD & 16 HD) in 11 languages reaching a total of 148 million households every day, ZEEL has been offering audiences in India ‘superhit’ entertainment cutting across genres. Whether it’s Pragya, Preetha, Zara Siddique or Bhabhiji in the Hindi Belt to Radhika in Mahasrashtra, Rani Rashmoni in West Bengal and many more in every region, our characters share a deep bond with viewers wanting them as dinner-table companions every day! The No.1 TV network that fulfils all the demands is Zee with its family packs that bring together the right assortment of superhit channels across the top genres of entertainment, movies, news, music and lifestyle, making it a must-have for every family!

January 9, 2019
&TV presents Ekta Kapoor’s new horror-mystery Daayan

Mumbai, 4th December 2018:Na zinda, namrit… woh raat ki raani hain, ek shaitani taakat hain. Apno ke beech chhupi, kaun hai woh? Transporting its viewers into an alternate world of mystery and horror, &TV and Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms’ present Daayan. The show is a gripping tale of a girl’squest in revealing the identity of the evil force hidden amongst her close ones and defeating its sinister plans.With popular television actors Tinaa Dattaa and Mohit Malhotra in the lead, the new weekend fiction property is slated to go on air from 15th December 2018 every Saturday and Sunday at 9.00 pm only on &TV.

Daayan is a mystifying narrative of a young Jhanvi Morya (Tinaa Dattaa), a well-educated and family-oriented girl hailing from Ujjain. It maps her race against time as she stumbles upon a dangerous ploy of the evil force, as many unusual and mysterious happenings repeatedly occur in her hometown. With a threat to her life, it’s her journey of unmasking the identity of the ‘Daayan’ who is one of her close ones. Accompanying her in this mission, will be Jhanvi’s childhood friend and love interest, the wealthy and chivalrous Akarsh Sharma (Mohit Malhotra). The show also brings together a powerful ensemble cast with names like Amit Thakur, Aakash Talwar, Rishita Nag, Kanika Shivpuri, Prabhat Bhattacharya, Priya Bhatija amongst others in various roles.

Commenting on the new offering, Vishnu Shankar, Head, &TV said, “At &TV we aim to cater to the evolving content palette of our viewers, which is why creating unexplored genres is an immensely exciting proposition for us. We were the first to combine supernatural and romance with Laal Ishq, which has created a niche of its own in the cluttered GEC category. This has encouraged us to now interweave horror and mystery in our new show Daayan. Placed at the primetime weekend slot of 9.00 pm, the audiences are in for thrilling weekends, starting 15th December. The show is a riveting narrative of a young girl Jhanvi Morya’s journey to unveil the identity of the evil Daayan. We are extremely delighted to join hands with Ekta Kapoor and Balaji Telefilms for this project and wholeheartedly welcome the team to the &TV family.”

Talking about her show, Producer Ekta Kapoor, Balaji Telefilms said, “The team and I are very kicked to present Daayan and have worked really hard designing the show over the past few months. We are happy to see it come to life so beautifully with &TV. Taking viewers through the protagonist, Jhanvi’s journey of unraveling the mystery of the Daayan, the show promises horror, drama, thrill, romance, mystery, an all-in-all great entertainer. With a fantastic team of artists on board, we are sure to create intrigue with the layered plot that will keep the viewers guessing. I have enjoyed creating content in the horror space and I’m glad that audiences have responded well to it. This time too, I’m positive that we have a winner on our hands. With the blessings of God, now the show belongs to the audiences.”

Having essayed varied roles in the past, talented actress Tinaa Dattaa said, “I’m grateful to have been chosen to play Jhanvi, working with Balaji Telefilms and Ekta again. Horror-mystery as a genre has seen great interest from viewers at large and I’m excited to make way in this space. Jhanvi’s character is unlike any that I have played before, she grows from being vulnerable to being courageous, battling her own demons at times. It’s a thrilling narrative of a simple girl’s repeated trysts with the supernatural and her journey to unveil the evil Daayan amongst her close ones.”

Playing the role of the male lead, popular actor Mohit Malhotra said, “This is my second show with &TV and Balaji Telefilms has always been like a second home to me, so I was more than happy to play the character of Akarsh Sharma as the male protagonist. Daayan is in the mystery-horror genre which I have been wanting to experiment with for a while now, so this was an opportunity that I just couldn’t miss. This being an interesting genre with mystery and horror intertwined, my character Akarsh is key to the narrative, who is not just Jhanvi's love interest but a constant companion throughout the story."

Driven by her fate upon the deepest and darkest alleys of witchcraft, Daayan aims to raise several mysterious questions in the mind of the audience. Will Jhanvi be able to ever unravel the truth behind the Daayan or will she crumble against the shadow of the evil? With a mystery to her identity and an unconventional form to her appearance, &TV brings forth a world where evil lurks arounds the corner and where everything seems real, yet nothing is.

December 5, 2018
Content is not a commodity you can win with price war: Sameer Nair

MUMBAI: He’s been in the television space during its golden age, worked with leading broadcaster Star India and production house Balaji Telefilms and witnessed the changing landscape in the Indian media and entertainment industry. Media veteran Sameer Nair is now looking at new age content for streaming platforms as Applause Entertainment CEO.

At the stage of Vidnet 2018, the Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla’s content studio CEO spoke on the state of the industry, Applause Entertainment’s plans in a fireside chat with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

187 million cable homes have made TV very powerful and matured, according to him. In addition to that, now the country has got around 500 million mobile phones leading to a flood of screens everywhere. As people are glued to these screens more than ever using in some way with a massive change in consumption habit, this creates an opportunity for everyone to be in the space.

“I come from a time where we used to have people watching 4-5 hours of television a day. It’s probably down to an hour. But in the meantime, people are finding more time on screens to consume all sorts of content. So, I think the number of hours spent, time spent, is bound to grow. If you are able to do different things, it’s a good time to be in this space,” he commented.

He saw the industry at a time when TRP was the benchmark to measure the success of a show. Now those days are gone when 10,000 boxes spread across India tried to tell what 600 million people were doing. The emergence of data gives much more accurate consumer feedback which Nair thinks is also “scarier”.

Though there is no foolproof formula for success in this business, Nair thinks one should start making content with a reasonable understanding of market and audience. Moreover, working with focus groups of few people who want to watch ‘X’ or ‘Y’ to create content would be tricky. However, after creating content, data and audience reactions play a bigger role.

Nair is vocal on the importance of finding a need gap by looking at things that are missing in the market. While drama series content on TV is dominated by daily soap opera, he thinks what India lacks is high-quality drama series. Though all the K-shows made huge money, according to him, in a diverse market like India, there should definitely be something more than just tele-novella.

“Now the opportunity is to do more stories. I mean it’s just not drama, there are short forms, animation, and there are kids, all sorts of things happening. We are currently focused on doing dramas. But when you look at the market, when you see the opportunities that are there, I think it’s a good time to be a creator, no matter what you create,” he added.

To grab more eyeballs in the burgeoning OTT space, there has been an upsurge of investment in content. Platforms with deep pockets are burning cash to make good content. Nair thinks it’s good for the industry to take up the value of content. According to him, it’s not only about monetisation but about the ability to build a business, a consumer habit. However, he also added that spending Rs 5 crore per episode cannot make that alone.

“Content is not a commodity you can win with a price war. You have to win that with a great story, you have to reach out to consumers, you have to connect with them and then you could spend Rs 300 crore making it or Rs 10 crore. In recent time you have seen the examples in Bollywood too where small budget films have done well. The focus is got to be on that,” he said.

Talking about Applause Entertainment’s near-term plan, he said it is working actively with the creative community, buying rights for international shows to adapt them into Indian context. It is also acquiring books to adapt them into series as well as original writing. They are also having conversations with platforms about who can carry these.

It bought rights of two BBC productions The Office andThe Night Of to adapt. For the former, it has already made 28 episodes. It also bought the right of Debashis Basu and Sucheta Dalal’s The Scam. It is also working with Goldy Bahel and Abhimanyu Singh.

“The way I see it is there are so many platforms, so many consumers, such a huge need gap for content, that I don’t regard myself a competitor. I am part of that mix. You are putting out ten shows, maybe you take one from me, you are putting out 100 shows, and maybe you take ten from me, that kind of thing. And we are essentially focused on helping build this industry,” he said.

He said as broadcasters have been doing the same kind of shows for last 18 long years, the whole format is sort of fixed as producers also know what they are doing. But for new age content, writing 10-12 episodes and creating season after season is new.

Nair thinks TV will be not dead in a hurry. While TV is making a lot of money, it’s not like that OTT does not have any room to grow. Moreover, even different models are emerging other than SVoD and AVoD in the OTT ecosystem. Hence, he reaffirms OTT and TV will exist together, at least in the next ten years.

November 27, 2018
VICE India unveils teaser of crime documentary ‘क Se Crime’

MUMBAI: VICE India has launched the teaser of its crime documentary क Se Crime. Touted to be a non-fictional documentary episodic series, क Se Crime covers a whole length of crime-related stories of Uttar Pradesh.

Present in India since April 2018, VICE India has launched 20+ original video content pieces and 100+ original editorial pieces aiming to be an all-inclusive voice of the youth showcasing the realities and diverse aspects of our country without conforming to the boundaries set by multiple languages or cultures.

VICE India is a full-scale media company with content at its centre and a multi-platform distribution plan – producing scripted, film, news and culture content from India for television, SVOD, OTT, and digital platforms.

November 24, 2018
Sony Entertainment Television appoints Sagnik Mukherjee as AVP marketing

MUMBAI: Sagnik Mukherjee is set to join Sony Entertainment Television as associate vice president marketing, a source close to the development confirmed to Indiantelevision.com.

Previously, Mukherjee was brand head (AVP) – brand management and marketing at &TV for five years. Before &TV, Mukherjee worked with The Walt Disney as manager, product planning and programming strategy for all movie channels of the network.

Equipped with more than 13 years of experience, Mukherjee had previously worked with companies like UTV, Lodha Group, Bennett Coleman and Co, Career Forum and Novar.

Mukherjee has a degree in BE, Instrumentation from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology. He is also an alumnus of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.

November 20, 2018
Bodhi Tree focusing on three verticals to scale up business

MUMBAI: Over the top (OTT) services have given a big boost to production houses in the country Bodhi Tree Multimedia, started by Mautik Tolia and Sukesh Motwani five years ago, only concentrated on general entertainment programs on TV initially. Following the change in the overall entertainment industry, they have also expanded their work arena. Currently standing with a team of around 50 people, the production house is aspiring to scale up its business by focusing on three verticals – GEC, regional and the freshly included web content.

The three verticals operate with completely separate teams. Show type dictates team structure because sensibility for each genre and vertical is different. Bodhitree Multimedia’s three shows with two leading broadcasters are currently on air including Aap ke Aa Jane se, Fearfiles and Hrudayaat Vaaje Something. After already having established its position in the TV production space, it has also entered the booming digital space. Its two web series Banned and 13 Mussourie are also streaming on Viu, while one with Voot is yet to be released.

In the content pipeline, it has five-six web properties for different OTT platforms while for GEC two-three shows with leading broadcasters are under development. The next content slate also include biopics and period pieces. Both the founders spoke to Indiantelevision.com and reaffirmed that they will pay equal attention to all the segments.

“We are very clear right now in terms of being able to find a way to give equal importance to each vertical. We still believe TV is big and it will grow and we need to have a very strong presence there. We also believe web is here to stay and gives us more experimentation for new content. We also feel regional content is going to be lot more relevant now both on TV and web. We are also focusing on synergies that can be worked on between OTT, television and regional content,” Bodhi Tree Multimedia director Tolia commented.

“We are very much focused on different business activities. Only thing we are doing is being clear about the slate we are developing and the product we are developing. So, there we are particular about what we do but not in terms of a single line of business,” he added.

Talking about digital content, Tolia said that since it’s an evolving medium right now, content creators are trying to figure out the type of viewers and their preference for content.

However, along with the rapid growth of OTT in the country, the question of regulation has also been raised. A certain section of the industry has feared if a regulatory framework comes in, it may curb the creative freedom of producers and the platforms.

“I feel that as long as there are some very basic standards and practices, it’s about how to have some ethics for content. Those ethics need not be very restricted. The whole idea is that content has to understand and mature. So, there will be certain discussions that will happen, certain kind of code that should come but how restricted that’s code going to be that’s the debate,” Bodhi Tree Multimedia director Motwani commented on the issue.

Over the five years going through changes, working with leading platforms, the road was definitely not all flowery. Motwani said they took up interesting challenges in terms of content they made which were slightly different. As the content they create is more complex, realistic with more layered characters, they end up spending a little more time than other producers. Due to the run-of-the-mill content, they don’t follow the usual economy of scale model. Hence it has led to the question if they can make the amount of money that another producer makes.

“We are passionate and that keeps our hunger growing. So that has been one fascinating challenge for us and also the idea that while we are taking on a different type, can it still deliver a hit. How do we mix popular elements with different ideas, how do we mix the grammar of telling a story which can reach to a mass viewer while the theme itself is slightly unconventional?” Motwani added.

In a stark contrast to many other production houses who concentrate on only one genre, Bodhi Tree Multimedia keeps working in different segments across TV and digital. In addition to that, as demand for OTT content increases, it is optimistic that new opportunities will open up. While it acknowledges the learning curve has to be very steep and high for developing expertise in all segments, there is confidence that they are strategically placed at the right position.

November 18, 2018
India’s first ever campaign to promote Banana | Keventer Banana

MUMBAI: Initiating a new beginning in the Indian marketing space, Keventer, the largest Banana brand in India, has launched the nation’s first ever marketing campaign to promote ethylene ripened Bananas.

Banana being a low-value product and easily available throughout the year across India, not many organizations have actively promoted the consumption of the fruit. Keventer Agro, one of the fastest growing Food & Beverage companies in Eastern India, has taken a leadership stance in endorsing Banana with India’s first TVC promoting this delicious food.

While everyone’s aware of the health benefits of Banana, one of the key objectives of the campaign is to position it as a desirable diet for children of all ages. The TVC takes the protagonist (a kid) to a fantasy land where the nature celebrates the wholesome goodness of banana with Banana Dolphin, Banana Bird, Banana Butterfly, etc. The stop motion video aims at evoking fantasy in every kid’s mind, encouraging them to consume banana every day.

The TVC will be backed by a month-long high decibel campaign along with an engaging on ground activity to spread awareness about the various benefits of Keventer Banana.

Commenting on India’s first campaign to promote Banana consumption, Mr. Mayank Jalan, CMD, Keventer Agro said “The launch of the first integrated campaign to market bananas in India is an important milestone for us. With an annual sales of 30,000 tonnes, we are the largest branded banana suppliers in the country but the opportunity in India is largely untapped. The launch of this campaign is another step towards achieving our objective of making banana a staple food in every kitchen across the country.”

“Keventer Agro is the largest seller of branded bananas in India, and has been working extensively with farmers in West Bengal. We provide agronomic advice and assured buyback of produce, and this has led to a sustained improvement in the livelihoods of over 15,000 farmers in the state. Bananas are a great source of nutrition, and we are doing everything in our power to bring this “superfood” to consumers. We are confident that this campaign will leave an impression in people’s minds resulting in a deeper connect with brand Keventer.”- Informed Mr. Sunil Kajaria, CEO- Banana, Keventer Agro Ltd.

Commenting on the creative aspects of the campaign, Ms. Suparna Mucadum, EVP -Genesis Advertising Pvt. Ltd. said “Bananas are perceived as a boring fruit. We wanted to make the product fun and enjoyable, especially for the kids ……Hence stop motion has been used as a device to capture and create a romance around the product. This has been beautifully presented with the 'Banana Wonder World' story."

November 14, 2018