ITV

Tag: UFO

  • UFO to monetise United Media screens’ ad inventory

    MUMBAI: UFO Moviez India Limited (UFO) has announced a strategic tie-up with United Media Works Pvt. Limited (UMW), a digital cinema technology and service provider having more than 300 digitised cinema screens on its network in India.

    UFO Moviez, one of India’s largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platforms in terms of number of screens, operates India’s largest satellite-based, digital cinema distribution network using its UFO-M4 platform, as well as India’s largest D-Cinema network.

    Under the new tie-up, UFO has acquired long-term exclusive rights from UMW to monetise the advertising inventory on these screens. In addition, UFO will share movie content to these screens in UFO M-4 format. However, existing commercial and service arrangement between UMW and its Channel Partners / Exhibitors /Distributors shall remain unchanged.

    Commenting on the development, UFO Moviez CEO – Indian Operations Rajesh Mishra said – “This strategic move leverages the strengths of both the companies and will be mutually beneficial.”

    UMW joint managing directors Ashish Bhandari and Sachin Bhandari said that “We are very happy to be associated with UFO, the market leader in the digital cinema space, and are confident that this co-operation will be fruitful to both the organizations”.

  • Q2-2016: UFO Moviez revenue up 18%, EBIDTA up 12.3%

    Q2-2016: UFO Moviez revenue up 18%, EBIDTA up 12.3%

    BENGALURU: Indian digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, UFO Moviez Limited (UFO) reported a 18 per cent YoY growth in consolidated income from operations (TIO) for the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter) at Rs 148.25 crore as compared to Rs 125.59 crore and 13.8 per cent more than the Rs 130.32 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The company reported 12.3 per cent higher operating profit or EBIDTA for the current quarter at Rs 44.66 crore (30.1 per cent margin) as compared to the Rs 39.78 crore (31 per cent margin) and grew 10.7 per cent QoQ from Rs 40.34 crore (31 per cent margin).

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.

     

    The company’s PAT in Q2-2016 increased 26.5 per cent to Rs 16.46 crore (11.1 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 13.01 crore (10.4 per cent margin) and increased 24.2 per cent QoQ from Rs 13.25 crore (10.4 per cent margin).

     

    UFO founder and managing director Sanjay Gaikwad said, “I am very pleased with UFO’s operating and financial performance during the first half of fiscal year 2016. We delivered strong growth in revenues driven by E Cinema VPF, sale of products and increase in advertisement volumes. Advertisement revenue growth was aided by increased stability due to repeat business from some of the top corporate clients. The benefits of operating leverage are also evident, combined with higher margins in advertising and strong balance sheet position, which has enhanced the overall profitability of the company.”

     

    “We are confident in our ability to deliver the targets we have set for the full year,” added UFO joint managing director Kapil Agarwal. “A healthy pipeline of movies in the second half offers strong visibility for growth. The prospect of growth in the advertising business looks promising. The expansion of Caravan Talkies is also progressing as per plan and we expect this business to begin contributing meaningfully at an operating level soon. In summary, we have a very well-established platform to leverage on and a strong set of plans to deliver growth.”

     

    Let us look at the other expense reported by the company:

     

    Total Expenses in Q2-2016 at Rs 123.22 crore (83.1 per cent of TIO) increased 17.3 per cent YoY from Rs 105.09 crore (83.7 per cent of TIO) and was 13.8 per cent more QoQ than the Rs 109.16 crore (83.8 per cent of TIO).

     

    The company’s expense towards purchase of digital cinema equipment and lamps in the current year increased 49.1 per cent to Rs 24.55 crore (16.6 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 16.46 crore (13.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and was 53.8 per cent higher QoQ as compared to Rs 15.96 crore (12.2 per cent of TIO).

     

    The company paid 7.9 higher amount towards advertisement revenue share in Q2-2016 at Rs 11.29 crore (7.6 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 10.46 crore (8.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015 and 7.6 per cent more QoQ from Rs 11.47 crore (8.8 per cent of TIO).

     

    Further, the company paid 32.1 per cent YoY more towards VPF share at Rs 19.99 crore (13.5 per cent of TIO) from Rs 15.06 crore (12 per cent of TIO) and 13.5 per cent more QoQ from Rs 16.23 crore (12.5 per cent of TIO).

     

    Half year results

     

    In H1-2016 (half- year ended 30 September, 2015), total consolidated revenues rose 20.2 per cent to Rs 280.20 crore from Rs 233.1 crore in H1-2015. EBITDA grew 12.4 per cent to Rs 86.8 in the current half year from Rs 77.3 crore. PBT increased 33.5 per cent to Rs 42.1 crore in H1-2016 from Rs 31.6 crore in the corresponding period of last year.

     

    PAT in H1-2016 grew 41.4 per cent to 29.7 crore from Rs 21 crore in H1-2015. The average number of advertisement minutes sold per show per screen increased to 3.83 in H1-2016 (half- year ended 30 September, 2015) as compared to the 2.92 minutes in HY-2015 and Advertisement revenue grew 37.8 per cent to Rs 70.7 crore in the current half-year as compared to Rs 51.3 crore in H1-2015.

  • 9X Jhakaas to foray into reality space with ‘Heroine’

    9X Jhakaas to foray into reality space with ‘Heroine’

    MUMBAI: 9X Jhakaas, in collaboration with Video Palace, a leading production house that has created Marathi blockbusters like Duniyadari and Hee Porgi Konachi, is all set to premiere Lux Jhakaas Heroine, a grooming reality series that will mark the channel’s foray into the reality space.

     

    Lux Jhakaas Heroine, which has been in the making for the past two months, will see the winner getting an opportunity to play the lead in Mitwaa, an upcoming Marathi film starring Swapnil Joshi (Fu Bai Fu) and Sonalee Kulkarni (Natrang). The film is produced by Meenakshi Sagar Productions and Nanubhai Jaisinghani of Video Palace, and directed bySwapna Waghmare-Joshi (Damadamm).

     

    “We want to bring the youth back in the theatres! The Marathi entertainment industry has created a niche of its own, with a dedicated viewership and growing popularity. There is new talent coming in, and this is the new talent that the country needs,” says 9X Media Group EVP and content head Amar Tidke “We are a regional channel, and a regional channel will do what the region wants; widen the reach of our audience as much as we can. And since we are a music channel, music will play an extremely significant role in Lux Jhakaas Heroine. We will not deviate from music.”

     

    Registrations for Lux Jhakaas Heroine have begun and will be on till 26 March, 2014. Those interested can also register by auditioning on digital platforms. Of the entries received, 60 will be shortlisted and finally pared down to 30 contestants, who will undergo training and grooming before an eminent jury selects the Jhakaas Heroine from among them. Within ten days of announcing the winner, she will start shooting for Mitwaa.

     

    The channel is betting big on the upcoming show which is being promoted extensively across print, radio and digital platforms. Promos are being played in Big Cinemas and UFO screens across Maharashtra. 9X Jhakaas is also promoting the talent hunt across colleges, housing societies and CCD outlets in the state. A brand integration with Radio City is part of the marketing strategy.

     

    “If Heroine is as successful as we are confident it will be, we will consider venturing into similar formats in the near future,” concludes Tidke.

  • Discovery Channel investigates the most mysterious occurrences across the world in The Unexplained Files

    Discovery Channel investigates the most mysterious occurrences across the world in The Unexplained Files

    What is the truth behind some of the world’s strangest abductions, mutated species and alien occurrences? Do these unheard of phenomena’s go beyond the realm of nature and science? Discovery Channel’s new series THE UNEXPLAINED FILESunveilswhat lies beyond the shock and awe of truly bewildering experiences. Every Monday to Friday 10PM, Discovery Channel featuresunsolved disappearances and UFO encounters, the world’s most mysterious manuscripts and reported curses. It’s time to investigate actual, inexplicable happenings that have confounded scientists and inspired legends.

     

    THE UNEXPLAINED FILES airs Monday to Friday at 10 PM only on Discovery Channel.

     

    Each episode offers captivating explanations that will leave even the most skeptical viewers leaning forward wondering what is and is not possible. The series kicks off with an age-old enigma: ‘Have UFOs made contact with human beings?’ and investigates the story of Frederick Valentich, a pilot on a routine training flight, who reported the sighting of a strange unidentifiable aircraft hovering over him. This was only minutes before he disappeared. Since then, Valentich and his plane were never to be seen again.

     

    In Texas, THE UNEXPLAINED FILES describes a bizarre hairless, blue-skinned, blue-eyed and hunchbacked creature that preys on local livestock and farm animals. Heading to a remote village in Sicily, the series explores the random combustion of household objects. Viewers can find out what these strange animals could possibly be; and why televisions and wardrobes were bursting into flames at random. The series also takes a look at the world’s most puzzling tome, the Voynich Manuscript, which is hundreds of years old. It appears to be written in an unknown language and contains images of things we never knew existed.

     

    Join renowned scientists, credible experts and first-hand eyewitnesses as they present never-before-seen footage and share their mystifying experiences in THE UNEXPLAINED FILES every Monday to Friday 10 PM, only on Discovery Channel.

  • ‘River Monsters’ returns to Animal Planet on 27 May

    ‘River Monsters’ returns to Animal Planet on 27 May

    MUMBAI: Animal Planet’s show ‘River Monsters’ featuring biologist and fishing detective Jeremy Wade returns for a new season on 27 May every night at 8.00 pm.

    He has spent 25 years exploring the planet’s remotest rivers and lakes, hunting for monster-sized fish. The show aims to go where no wildlife programme has gone before, revealing the creatures that lurk in the murky depths of inland waterways.

    Wade travels worldwide to solve freshwater fish tales and lures in watery culprits that allegedly attack mankind. This season, he finds himself in places he’s never explored as he travels to the far reaches of the globe – from serpentine underwater caves to remote rivers filled with freshwater crocodiles. Jeremy searches for the giant cousin of the piranha that – with its gnarly teeth and gnawing jaws – has turned from vegetarian to meat eater, with a particular interest in male genitalia.

    Viewers can follow him to Thailand where the adventurous angler goes in search of what is thought to be the largest freshwater fish – the giant freshwater stingray. Also known locally as the “wish-you-were-dead” fish, this UFO-shaped marine monstrosity is said to measure about 16-feet long and seven-feet across and is approximately 1,300 pounds; but what could really kill is its 18-inch barbed, bayonet-like tail that could whip extremely painful venom through an unfortunate passerby. But even that is not going to stop Jeremy from tracking down this mysterious monster. Jeremy’s adventures take him all over the world to solve freshwater fish mysteries in locations such as Congo, South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, Alaska, and Florida.

    Wade said, “This season, I get into even more unfamiliar territory. The destinations are diverse, the stories strange, and the fish every bit as fearsome but in unexpected ways. I encountered fish with invisible powers, others that live to a century, the largest true freshwater fish so far and the longest struggle I’ve had with a live fish to date.”

    Wade discovers a freshwater fish that can grow as long as a whale, a species of shark that lives in freshwater 100 miles from the sea, and a fish with teeth as big as a lion’s as well as other creatures and moments captured on film for the first time. Pushing his mental and physical limits to the maximum, join the extreme fisherman as he attempts to capture these amazing creatures and tell their tales.

  • UFO to raise $25 million, taps VCs

    UFO to raise $25 million, taps VCs

    MUMBAI: United Film Organizers (UFO) Moviez, a subsidiary of Apollo International Ltd, is in the process of raising venture capital (VC) funding of $25 million (Rs 1.13 billion).

    The company plans to spread its digital cinema network to 2,000 screens by 2007-08, for which it is going to invest Rs 3 billion. UFO has already invested close to Rs 800 million and its digital system runs across 550 theatres.

    UFO has mandated Ernst & Young to arrange the VC funding. “We are in talks with a few VCs. We will be raising $25 million. We have already pumped in around Rs 800 million. The balance will come from debt and internal accruals,” UFO Moviez CEO Sanjay Gaikwad tells Indianteleviievision.com.

    Apollo International holds 60 per cent in the company while 25 per cent is with the founder-promoters (including Gaikwad) and initial investors. The balance 15 per cent is held by Singapore-based DG2L Technologies. “After receiving the VC funding, all of our shareholdings will get diluted proportionately. We will know the new shareholding structure only when we finalise our VC partner,” says Gaikwad.

    UFO installs the digital equipment at cinema theatres which cost Rs 1.7 million. Theatres using the UFO digital system do not have to pay for the equipment but are charged Rs 450 per show. The company uses Mpeg 4 digital cinema solutions.

    “We plan to increase the fee to Rs 525 per show. We also expect the usage of digital systems in the theatres whiere we have installed them to go up from 60 per cent to over 90 per cent as the business matures,” says Gaikwad.

    UFO has competitors like Adlabs and Essel Group’s E-City Digital Cinemas. “We expect our revenues to touch Rs 2 billion by 2008-09,” says Gaikwad.