Tag: TV

&TV to launch new ‘Killer’ singing game show

MUMBAI: Today, many of us still recall the groups ‘Deewane’, ‘Parwane’ and ‘Mastane’ on Zee TV’s popular music show – Antakshari. There was a time when singing reality shows were considered as a sure shot success on Indian television.

Be it different versions of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee TV to Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment Television (SET), such shows have somehow always been closer to the hearts of the Indian television audience.

&TV, a channel from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) stable which is set to go live on 2 March has got one more non-fiction show to its kitty. Christened Killer, which is based on the British game show Sing If You Can. The show’s US version is titled Killer Karaoke.

The new series is being produced by SOL Production in partnership with The Ideas Box Entertainment.

Confirming the news to indiantelevision.com, SOL Productions founder Fazila Allana says: “Yes, we are making the show for Zee’s new channel – &TV.”

The new series is on a hunt for independent singers, bands or anyone and everyone who has a passion for singing and a good voice. It is a fun filled high energy singing game show.

The show provides an opportunity for those who are passionate about singing. The contestants sing in front of a live audience. It challenges contestants to try to sing popular songs and keep their concentration while experiencing unusual and outrageous physical challenges. Forgetting lyrics might be the least of contestants’ problems. Two teams of three contestants will be competing against each other to win the title. The winner will take away prize, which would be either in cash or kind.

The auditions for the same have already been canned. Contestants between age group of 18-40 years old are allowed.

The show is in pre-production stage.

February 10, 2015
Blue Star earmarks Rs 35 crore for summer ad campaign

KOLKATA: Air conditioning and commercial refrigeration company, Blue Star, aims to spend Rs 35 crore during this summer on advertising and brand communication. The company has earmarked an investment of around Rs 41 crore as marketing spend for the entire next fiscal (2015-16).

The company also intends to continue investing in its digital marketing efforts in social media as well as the internet, considering that most Blue Star buyers belong to the highest socio-economic category (SEC A), who are active on the internet.

“Blue Star achieves around 40 per cent of its sale during summer season, so for our summer campaign, we aim to spend around Rs 35 crore,” said Blue Star executive director and president – AC&R Products Business B Thiagarajan.

The company unveiled a new range of contemporary, stylish and energy-efficient room air conditioners on Wednesday in Kolkata.

“Our company has identified a new value proposition of ‘Nobody Cools Better’ and soon this will be used widely with a set of TV commercials supported by advertisements in mainline dailies, cinema and hoardings. Since we are now well entrenched in the residential segment, we plan to aggressively promote this new proposition in TV, print ad hoarding,” informed Thiagarajan.

It should be noted that last year for the summer campaign, the company had earmarked Rs 25 crore in marketing spends. This summer, the company is looking at vibrant TVCs like its previous campaign ‘Daddy Cool.’ The company’s ad agency Interface has already been roped in to assist Blue Star for the TVC.

The company also plans to enhance investments on new product development and research and design initiatives in order to develop modern and sophisticated products.

Talking about the business and growth, Thiagarajan said that Blue Star is eyeing to triple the share of inverter ACs in its room air conditioner sales by 2015 as the company is underpinning its hopes on increasing preference for energy efficiency products among the buyers and falling prices of inverter ACs.

Thiagarajan also said that the room AC business was a strong focus area for the company and it would be the primary growth driver of its revenues in the coming years. “We have been encouraged by the growth in market share in this business despite the strong presence of global brands. So we have decided to invest in R&D, manufacturing and marketing to boost room AC business,” he added.

Thiagarajan further said that countries like Japan and China are moving towards inverter ACs to help save power consumption. The company plans to sell 3.4 lakh units of ACs by 2015-16 of which seven per cent would be inverter.

Last year the room air-conditioners industry grew by 10 per cent in volume terms and in value terms it was 19 per cent.

Thiagarajan also said that the company is likely to finalize a manufacturing location by July or September next fiscal as it is looking to expand its manufacturing base. “We have a capacity to manufacture four lakh AC units at present,” he concluded.

February 4, 2015
&TV announces time slot for shows ‘Razia Sultan’ and ‘Begusarai’

MUMBAI: One of the newest entrant in the general entertainment channel (GEC) space from the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) stable, &TV has announced the time slot for two of its shows: Razia Sultan and Begusarai. The channel which goes on air starting 2 March, will see Razia Sultan being aired every Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm and Begusarai at 10 pm.

With two completely different genres and setups, a historical show Razia Sultan and a show based on a quirky small town Begusarai, the channel is looking at engaging its target audience.

Talking about the shows, &TV business head Rajesh Iyer said, “Both the shows have been strategically designed to appeal to the new age mindset of viewers. While historical shows in the past have re-told a story already known, we have consciously tried to present an untold progressive narrative of the 13^th century slave dynasty with Razia Sultan. On the other hand with Begusarai, we bring to television a fresh new dialect and flavour which is again a first on TV. We are certain that the audience will relate to the contemporary aspect of these shows.”

Razia Sultan is an enamoring tale of Princess Razia who was the first and the only woman emperor of the Delhi Sultanate and rose in ranks on her own merit. Produced by Swastik Production, the show will portray the progressiveness in the thought process and the grandeur of the era highlighting every nuance and intricacy involved. The set of this period drama has been designed and created by Omung Kumar.

Produced by Saregama Productions Begusarai, is a land beyond the law of the land. Prosperous in its own right, living within the boundaries of age-old traditions, this almost forgotten township of today’s India, has a powerful story to tell—of Thakurs, outlaws of the land. A larger than life canvas with characters full of quirks, Begusarai will bring out a whole lot of drama, refreshing dialect with a preview into the real and rustic India!

February 1, 2015
Double dose of action in ‘Khatron Ke Khiladi 6’

MUMBAI: It seems to have become an unwritten rule of the game. Now-a-days broadcasters have started to realise that reality shows can run by getting celebrity hosts to garner more eyeballs.

A big celebrity host is a prerequisite to launch a reality show in India. Celebrity participants, though important, are not mandatory; but the bigger the host, the better.

From Salman Khan and Farah Khan in Big Boss to Shah Rukh Khan for a game show – India Poochega – Sabse Shaana Kaun in the yet-to-be launched general entertainment channel (GEC) ‘&TV’ under the Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) stable. Likewise, there are many more names in the basket.

After having popular celebrity faces like Priyanka Chopra and Akshay Kumar as hosts for its adventure based reality show – Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi, last year the show got a new face on-board.

The director, who is known for reviving the action genre on the celluloid, Rohit Shetty who hosted the fifth edition of the series, will continue to host the sixth season as well.

According to Colors CEO Raj Nayak casting in this season is the best so far. “All faces are popular. Moreover, the number of stunts has increased and you will see a lot of variations. Last year, it was the best season ever and this time we hope it surpasses that.”

The show, which goes on air from 7 February every Saturday and Sunday at 9 pm, will see Ashish Choudhary, Hussain Kuwarjerwala, Harshad Arora, Iqbal Khan, Sana Khan. Sagrika Ghartge, Rashami Desai, Asha Negi, Ridhhi Dogra, Meiyang Chang, Rakesh Kumar, Siddharth Bharadwaj, Nathalia Kaur and Archana Vijaya battling it out.

The contestants will stay in a ‘Darr ka Ghar’ this time to keep the entertainment quotient up. Adding a twist to the take and urging the contestants to push their boundaries will be last year’s finalist Salman Yusuff Khan who will be seen as a challenger.

Endemol MD Deepak Dhar said, “Khatron … will be riveting for the viewers as it has been taxing for the contestants. We have doubled the dose of danger, action and entertainment this season while introducing new concepts and themes to make the show a truly engaging watch. Rohit Shetty’s contribution in making the show a complete blockbuster has been unparalleled and as the show prepares for launch, we are all set for the true action to begin.”

According to sources, the budget has also gone up by about 25 per cent as compared to the last season. While last season the production of the non-fiction show was pegged at Rs 50-55 crore, this season media planners estimate it to be around Rs 60-65 crore.

Media planners believe that the show will definitely continue to work wonders for the channel, thanks to the celebrity power status and power packed stunts that will keep viewers hooked onto the show.

January 29, 2015
&TV to hit airwaves on 2 March

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) new GEC under the ‘&’ bouquet, which is christened &TV, will launch on 2 March.

As was first reported by Indiantelevision.com last week, &TV has acquired the rights of an Iranian quiz show. The Indian version, which will be called India Poochega: Sabse Shaana Kaun?, will see Shah Rukh Khan as the host. The gameshow will be aired from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

Rajesh Iyer is the business head while Doris Dey is head of fiction, Sunanda Gupta Jenna is head of non-fiction and Rachin Khanijo is marketing head.

&TV, with the tagline – ‘Jashan Jeene Ka,’ will showcase a diverse mix of relatable fiction, high voltage non-fiction, marquee events and blockbuster movies.

The promos of the shows will hit the television screens tonight (24 January).

January 24, 2015
Shah Rukh Khan to host show on Zeel’s new GEC ‘&TV’

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) new GEC under the ‘&’ bouquet, which is christened – &TV, will see Shah Rukh Khan making a comeback on the small screen.

As was first reported by Indiantelevision.com last week, &TV has acquired the rights of an Iranian quiz show. The Indian version, which will be called India Poochega: Sabse Shaana Kaun?, will see Khan as the host.

&TV, with the tagline – ‘Jashan Jeene Ka,’ will showcase a diverse mix of relatable fiction, high voltage non-fiction, marquee events and blockbuster movies.

Commenting on his association with the new channel Khan said, “It is a unique show that gives merit to the street smart ones. You might not be a scholar or a master in any field but if you are smart then this game show is for you.”

Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka added, “&TV will offer a more substantial viewing experience to an audience that is always seeking fresh and relevant content. The channel extend our Hindi entertainment portfolio under the “&” bouquet and will add to the consolidation of our leading position in the entertainment industry.”

He further added that with this launch, the network would be able to capitalize further on opportunities to build a robust entertainment bouquet.

In order to engage further with the audiences, the channel will launch three brand films created by Infectious.

Content Mix

India Poochega: Sabse Shaana Kaun?, is adapted from an international format Who’s Asking? by Israel based Armoza. The show will have a common man donning the role of the ‘asker’ as well as that of the contestant. While the askers shall pose questions, the contestants will be seen demonstrating their street smartness to win the prized money. It is produced by Siddhartha Basu of Big Synergy.

The channel will hit the primetime slot with a host of fiction properties. As reported earlier by this website, Begusarai, a quintessential quirky land set in the hinterland of Bihar; not less than a Bollywood blockbuster, has been produced by Saregama Production and filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia has been roped in to design the first look of the new multi starrer film on TV.

Razia Sultan, an untold story of the 13 century, will be produced by Swastik Productions. The story has been written by Mihir Bhuta and the grandeur of that era has been brought to life by Omung Kumar.

Produced by Edit II Productions, Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai! will bring to life the lively lanes of Kanpur, and introduce two neighbouring couples. It will also launch a contemporary story that anyone can easily relate to titled – Badi Devrani. Produced by Shashi Sumeet Productions, this family drama brings out the essence of relationships.

&TV business head Rajesh Iyer believes that the ‘&’ symbol stood for revaluation and the channel has been conceptualized to depict change, stay contextual and contemporary.

“We intend to be a power house of entertainment, by tapping into and harnessing the powerful changes in the thinking, mindset and belief sweeping through this country of billions. As a new channel we will lead with innovation, try new things and new ways to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive environment,” Iyer said.

The network will be announcing the launch date of the channel on 24 January. According to Iyer, it will have 20-21 hours of original content.

January 21, 2015
Zeel’s new Hindi GEC &TV to launch in March

MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) is all set to add a new channel to its bouquet. Christened ‘&TV’, the new Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Zeel’s stable is set to launch in the second week of March.

The channel will launch shows starting from prime-time. With a robust line-up of fiction and non-fiction shows in the pipeline, the channel aims to target the changing consumption trends of youth and premium segment viewers. The channel will be competing with the incumbent players in the highly competitive Hindi GEC space.

&TV has roped in multiple top line production houses like Sphere Origins (Balika Vadhu), Swastik Productions (Mahabharat), Shashi-Sumeet Productions (Diya Aur Baati Hum), Endemol India and Freemantle India amongst others. It has also got on-board a few start-up production houses, one of them being Saregama Productions.

Sphere Origins’ show Ganga will be followed by other shows like Swastik Productions’ Razia Sultan, Saregama Productions’ Begu Sarai, Edit II Productions’ fiction comedy titled Bhabhiji Ghar Pe Hai? amongst others.

According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, shooting for all the shows has already begun.

The channel has also lined up an aggressive content strategy for non-fiction formats and has begin acquisitions in the space. It has acquired the format of an internationally acclaimed singing reality show called The Voice. This will be aired soon after the curtains come down for the quiz show. The popular reality series, which has travelled across 169 countries, will be produced by Endemol India for the Indian viewers.

The Voice, is an American reality television singing competition broadcast on NBC. Based on the original The Voice of Holland, the concept of the series is to find new singing talent (solo or duets) contested by aspiring singers, aged 15 or over, drawn from public auditions.

Additionally, the launch of the new channel will be supported by a marketing blitzkrieg. Sources close to the development inform that a budget of approximately Rs 120 crore has been set aside for marketing and promoting the channel. “The channel is going to go very strong and aggressive on the marketing front. It wants to build the ‘&’ franchise and make its mark along with other GECs in the space,” informs the source.

January 13, 2015
Amagi launches ad monetisation solution in international markets

MUMBAI: Amagi, a targeted TV advertising and cloud-based broadcast infrastructure, has launched its ad monetisation platforms that are uniquely designed for TV networks whose satellite feeds cover countries outside its origin.

“In the last few months, we have witnessed a surge in demand from TV Networks to monetise their pan-regional feeds. Owing to their unique regional structure and demographics, Europe and the Middle East region are emerging as the priority markets for local ad insertion. As a pioneer in targeted TV advertising, we are best positioned to offer local ad insertion platform for these markets,” commented Amagi co-founder KA Srinivasan.

For TV networks reaching Europe and the Middle East, Amagi will now deploy its patented content watermark technology with flexible workflows to replace ad breaks on satellite feeds with local ads. Amagi can watermark any content provided by TV channels and replace such content at local headends based on a pre-determined playlist. The entire solution can operate on existing satellite infrastructure of broadcasters using STORM IRD and Amagi’s enhanced satellite receiver. “STORM IRD can store ads and replace watermarked ads locally while the entire workflow can be managed remotely through a cloud-based user interface. STORM IRD also supports traditional content triggers such as SCTE-35 and DTMF cue tones,” added Srinivasan.

Using Amagi’s proprietary remote ad insertion technology, TV Networks operating on pan-regional feeds can now monetise their ad inventory in Europe and the Middle East. This can result in new revenue streams from these two markets which until now was left un-monetised.

The company has successfully monetised ad inventory in Singapore and other countries in the Asia Pacific region for large TV networks. In India, Amagi runs TV ad network with over 1,000 installations and more than 2,000 advertisers, providing geo-specific ad inventory on some of India’s leading entertainment and news channels.

December 10, 2014
No MSO carrying more than 386 TV channels in first quarter of fiscal 2014-15: TRAI

NEW DELHI: The maximum number of TV channels being carried by any reporting multi-system operator in the first quarter ending June 2014 of the current fiscal is 386, according to a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

In conventional analogue form, the maximum number of channels being carried by any reporting MSO is 100.

There were a total of 186 pay channels as reported by broadcasters for which the wholesale channels rates have been taken on record.

During the quarter ending June 2014, the distribution of “Fox Sports News” channel was discontinued by the broadcaster.

Apart from All India Radio, there are 243 private FM Radio stations in operation at the quarter ending June, 2014, according to information supplied by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

TRAI said no new DTH license was issued during the quarter ending June 2014.

At present apart from the Freedish DTH service of Doordarshan, there are six private DTH Operators. All the six private DTH Operators are offering pay DTH services.

The total number of registered subscribers and active subscribers being served by these six private DTH operators, as reported to TRAI, are 67.57 million and 38.24 million respectively as on 30 June 2014.

The total number of Internet subscribers has increased from 251.59 million at the end of Mar-14 to 259.14 million at the end of Jun-14 there has been a quarterly growth of 3.00 per cent. Out of which wired internet subscribers are 18.55 million and wireless internet subscribers are 240.60 million.

Number of broadband internet subscribers increased from 60.87 million at the end of March to 68.83 million at the end of June with quarter growth of 13.07 per cent.

The number of narrowband internet subscribers has slightly declined from 190.72 million at the end of March to 190.31 million at the end of June with quarterly growth of -0.21 per cent.

The license fee increased from Rs 3286 crore for the QE March to Rs 3503 crore for the QE June. The quarterly and the year-on-year (Y-O-Y) growth rates of license fee are 6.62% and 13.30 per cent, respectively in this quarter.

Access services contributed 78.48 per cent of the total Adjusted Gross Revenue of telecom services. In access services, gross revenue, adjusted gross revenue (AGR), license fee and spectrum usage charges increased by 4.64 per cent, 7.81 per cent, 7.62 per cent and 8.61 per cent, respectively, whereas Pass Through Charges decreased by 2.96 per cent in QE June.

The Monthly Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for Access Services based on AGR increased from Rs 115.28 in QE March to Rs122.39 in QE June.

Monthly Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for GSM service increased by 4.84%, from Rs113 in QE March to Rs 119 in QE June, whereas Y-O-Y increase of 6.72%.

Prepaid ARPU for GSM service per month increased from Rs 99 in QE March to Rs 104 in QE June, and Postpaid ARPU per month increased from Rs 453 in QE March to Rs 469 in QE June.

On an all India average, the overall MOU per subscriber per month for GSM service increased by 0.42% from 389 in QE March to Rs 390 in QE June.

Prepaid MOU per subscriber for GSM service increased from 365 in QE March to 366 in QE June and postpaid MOUs increased from Rs 957 in QE March to Rs 961 in QE June.

The Monthly ARPU for CDMA full mobility service increased by 6.22%, from Rs 105 in QE March to Rs 112 in QE June. ARPU for CDMA has increased by 13.4% on Y-O-Y basis in this

November 8, 2014
Chrome Data: Week 44 sees fall in HSM

MUMBAI: The week 44 of opportunity to see (OTS) collated by Chrome Data Analytics & Media saw Religious channels in the Hindi speaking market (HSM) gaining the most.

The genre grew by 1.1 per cent with Aastha channel continuing its run at the top with 96.8 per cent OTS.

It was closely followed by Kids genres across India which saw a jump of 0.9 per cent. Cartoon Network with 79.2 per cent OTS once again remained on top.

Hindi Movies in the HSM and Infotainment channels across India witnessed a high of 0.7 per cent. Star Gold with 96.7 per cent OTS and Discovery with 87.3 per cent OTS topped their respective genres.

The downward trend was witnessed by the eight metros with English Entertainment channels losing the most with a fall of 2.2 per cent.

However, AXN with 68.8 per cent OTS continued with its winning trend in the genre.

English News and Business News too dropped by 1.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively. Times Now with 84.9 per cent OTS and CNBC Awaaz 78.7 per cent OTS topped in their respective categories.

English Movies too saw a drop of 1.2 per cent with Pix topping the chart with 72.8 per cent OTS.

November 4, 2014