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  • Toonz Media Group to bring animation series to markets ahead of Mipcom

    Toonz Media Group to bring animation series to markets ahead of Mipcom

    Mumbai: Toonz Media Group’s Toonz Entertainment announced on Wednesday that it has closed strategic partnership deals with UK-based V&S Entertainment and Australia-based Pop Family Entertainment to bring their exciting animation series Everything’s Rosie and Bubble Bath Bay to the market ahead of Mipcom.

    In other exciting news, Toonz has also partnered with US-based GoldieBlox to distribute the live-action series Hack Along with GoldieBlox, The Goldie Squad Show, Toy Hackers, Curiosity Kitchen, Curiosity Camp, Camp GoldieBlox, Goldie Bots, Fast Forward Girls, and Draw Her Life.

    “We are thrilled to launch these amazing shows from some of the best in the industry, like Pop Family Entertainment, V&S Entertainment, and GoldieBlox for Mipcom this year. It is with great pleasure that we are announcing that we will be representing their shows for distribution in different markets,” said Toonz Media Group syndication & feature films division president of distribution Bruno Zarka.

    Toons will have exclusive distribution rights of 104 episodes of Everything’s Rosie (for Latam, Iberia, US, and Canada) and 52 episodes of Bubble Bath Bay (excluding Australia, New Zealand and Japan).

    Everything’s Rosie is a top-rated HD CGI animation for preschool children, promoting social, emotional, cognitive, and physical educational values that encourage learning through play. Aimed at girls and boys aged 3-6 years, the series follows the adventures of little girl Rosie and her friends Will, Holly, Big Bear, Oakley, the ancient Oak Tree and Raggles, the blue rabbit.

    Everything’s Rosie creator and V&S Entertainment CEO Vickie Corner commented, “We’re very proud to be collaborating with Toonz Media on Everything’s Rosie.  Kids love consuming large amounts of content, but parents look for quality, too; something that will interest and intrigue their little ones, inspiring them to be good role models and promoting kindness and friendship. Everything’s Rosie embodies these qualities, offering preschool children the chance to enjoy wholesome age-appropriate stories while learning important life skills. We’re excited for Toonz to bring Rosie to a wider multi-language audience, in addition to the 170 territories where the show already has a footprint.”

    Created by Gareth Eden-Styche, Bubble Bath Bay is produced in association with Shambles Entertainment. The brand-new 3D animated preschool series features best friends Sydney the Sailboat and Zip the Water Taxi. The preschool series shows how they learn to ride the waves alongside their fleet of friends in bustling Bubble Bath Bay.

    Pop Family Entertainment CEO & executive producer Carmel Travers said, “POP Family is thrilled to be working with Toonz Media on Bubble Bath Bay. Our production partners, Telegael Ireland and Lemon Sky Malaysia, have produced a beautiful series that celebrates early childhood friendship, learning and fun in the coastal world of Bubble Bath Bay, inspired by one of the most beautiful harbours in the world. We look forward to expanding on the brand as Toonz Media takes the series out to a global audience.”

    Toonz will run GoldieBlox live-action series for 3–11 minutes per episode and will be available in English and all languages of the territory worldwide.

  • Synamedia acquires Utelly to boost Synamedia Go’s content discovery capabilities

    Synamedia acquires Utelly to boost Synamedia Go’s content discovery capabilities

    Mumbai: World’s largest independent video software provider Synamedia has announced the acquisition of Utelly, a UK-based privately-owned content discovery platform provider.

    As a part of this deal, Synamedia has acquired the company with products targeted at the entertainment industry. Its offerings include metadata aggregation, search and recommendations, as well as content management and a content promotion engine.

    Utelly’s solution simplifies the complexity of users’ content discovery across TV channels, demand and multiple streaming services. Its SaaS-based technology is already pre-integrated with the Synamedia Go video platform and will now be embedded in the Go.

    Aggregate add-on pack to solve one of the major challenges that viewers face such as finding content across TV and apps on any screen. Utelly’s technology achieves this through metadata aggregation, intelligent asset linking, AI and machine learning.

    Utelly aggregates data in real-time from multiple metadata providers – pre-integrated with Gracenote, TiVo, IMDB, Netflix and fifty other platforms. By unifying data and using AI to enrich sparse data sets, Utelly provides customers with search and recommendations that enhance viewers’ content discovery experiences. The result is an increase in customers’ Net Promoter Score (NPS), subscriber retention, and ARPU.

    This acquisition strengthens the Synamedia Go offering and underlines a new phase of investment in Synamedia’s portfolio of SaaS streaming solutions which also includes Synamedia Clarissa, Synamedia Iris, VIVID Workflow as a Service, and Synamedia OTT ServiceGuard.

    Speaking of this development, Synamedia CEO Paul Segre said, “Every day we hear from customers that metadata aggregation is an obstacle that is negatively impacting viewer engagement. Utelly was ahead of the curve in recognizing this and developing a SaaS solution that enables end-users to find content across aggregated TV and video services. Its AI-powered solution eliminates the complexity of combining data from multiple metadata providers and is a great addition to our Synamedia Go streaming platform.”

    Utelly founder and CEO Romain Eude commented, “This acquisition is testament to the hard work and ingenuity of our tight-knit team of developers who have put Utelly on the map. We look forward to the next step in Utelly’s journey as we become part of the Synamedia family and embrace the new opportunities on a global scale.”

  • Sarika Shankarnarayan elevated as business head – Star UK, Europe & South Africa

    Sarika Shankarnarayan elevated as business head – Star UK, Europe & South Africa

    Mumbai: Sarika Shankarnarayan has been elevated as business head for Star TV Network UK, Europe, and South Africa. She is the first woman business head for Star TV Network UK.

    Shankarnarayan has been associated with Star TV Network for almost 14 years and was previously the vice president – marketing and sponsorship sales. She began her career at J Walter Thompson (Wunderman Thompson) and has been associated with Sony Pictures Networks India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises before joining Star TV India in October 2007.

    With two decades of experience under her belt, Shankarnarayan is a media professional with strong cross-cultural and multi-market experience in brand building and marketing. She is an alumnus of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi and completed her post-graduation in management from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad.

    The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of Star TV Network in 2019. The network broadcasts over 65 channels across 110 countries worldwide. In the UK, Star Plus the flagship channel was sampled by an average of 596,500 viewers every week across 2019, with a viewership of 10,797 individuals every minute of the year, garnering a staggering 0.8+ billion eyeballs (Source: Broadcasters Audience Research Board (BARB), Wk 1-32’2019). Star Network is a leading TV destination in the UK reaching 4+ million Asians and partnering with 2600 brands to leverage the purchasing power of UK’s Asian audiences.

  • Times Network expands its global footprint with DistroTV

    Times Network expands its global footprint with DistroTV

    Mumbai: Times Network has partnered with California-based media technology company, DistroScale to distribute its news channels globally. DistroTV is an independent, free, ad-supported streaming television service available across international markets.

    Through the partnership, the network channels Times Now, Times Now Navbharat, and Zoom will be available in the UK and Europe. Mirror Now will be available across the UK, US, and Europe. Times Network is now present in over 100 countries, said the broadcast network in a statement.

    The channels will be a part of DistroTV specialised Southeast Asian package ‘DistroTV Desi’.

    “Catering to the appetite of the rapidly growing global audience, DistroTV is a robust network that offers us the opportunity to strengthen our reach amongst oversees South-Asian viewers and I am confident that with our holistic offering we will continue to keep them informed and entertained,” said Times Network, chief operating officer and executive president, Jagdish Mulchandani.

    “Times Network is part of India’s largest media conglomerates and a great brand that provides news and entertainment channels to audiences in India and around the world,” said Distroscale, co-founder and chief executive officer, Navdeep Saini. “We are thrilled to welcome a multitude of their channels, including their news channel Times Now and Times Now Navbharat, to our diverse, and growing fast platform. The addition of these channels signifies our ongoing commitment to deliver thought-provoking and engaging content to a globally-minded audience.”

    “We are excited to launch four channels from the Times Network for our audiences from UK, Europe, and the US on our specialised SE Asian package ‘DistroTV Desi’. Our international audiences will consume their daily dose of news and infotainment on the Times Now, Mirror Now, and Times Now Navbharat channels and be entertained by the glitzy showbiz, music, and celebrity updates on Zoom,” added Distoscale, vice president of business development, Rajesh Nair.

  • Republic TV expands its footprint in UK with DistroTV

    Republic TV expands its footprint in UK with DistroTV

    Mumbai : English news channel Republic TV is pivoting to digital, OTT and smart TV distribution with the latest addition of DistroTV to cater to the diaspora in the United Kingdom market.

    The channel along with its Hindi news channel R Bharat has now set its sights on the international markets. With a view to address the news consumption pattern across all demographics, the channels are taking a market wise approach and targeting new age distribution platforms including the burgeoning OTT and connected TV sets ecosystem.  It’s also looking to syndicate its content library across various new age platforms.  

    After content partnerships with all major OTT platforms Like Hotstar, Yupp TV, it has now added DistroTV in the UK and APAC markets.

    Commenting on the strategy, Republic Media Network, group CEO, Vikas Khanchandani  said, “Republic TV is a news media technology company and has been the front runner to make its streaming services available across smart phones and connected TVs with its partnerships with OTT, OEMs and Telco platforms both within India and globally. The pandemic has accelerated streaming TV consumption driven by news & sports.  It’s an opportune moment for us to pivot our strategy in the UK market as streaming is outpacing pay TV in UK.” 

    COO – India distribution head and international markets, Priya Mukherjee, COO said, the channel has reached a peak of 421K and maintains an average reach of around 200K in the last quarter during the pandemic. “Many platforms have approached us given the leadership position and the loyal audiences we built in the UK, in such a short time.  Our distribution capabilities, give us an opportunity, to approach each market differently and we are looking at all possible models that are best suited to our expansion plans, including a more, Direct to Consumer approach,” she added.

  • Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    Twitter announces new labels for government, state-affiliated media accounts

    NEW DELHI: Twitter has announced that the micro-blogging site has started labelling accounts of government officials and state-affiliated media.

    The blog read that it will focus on labelling ‘Senior officials and entities who are the official voice of the state abroad.’

    For the time being, this will be applicable only to accounts from China, Russia, France, United Kingdom and the United States — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

    The blog further emphasised that this new feature is for transparency and practicality, Twitter is starting with a limited and clearly-defined group of countries before expanding to a wider range of countries in the future. “At this time, we're not labeling the personal accounts of heads of state, as these accounts enjoy widespread name recognition, media attention, and public awareness. Institutional accounts associated with their offices that changeover depending on election results will be labeled, however.”

    “We believe that people have the right to know when a media account is affiliated directly or indirectly with a state actor. As part of the development of this process, we consulted with a number of expert groups, including members of the Digital and Human Rights Advisory group in Twitter’s Trust & Safety Council,” the blog post said.

    Twitter will no longer amplify state-affiliated media accounts or their tweets through recommendation systems including on the home timeline, notifications, and search.

  • BBC News records 11% jump in worldwide audience in 2020

    BBC News records 11% jump in worldwide audience in 2020

    NEW DELHI: India topped the audience count for BBC News with 60.4 million people watching the UK-based public broadcaster in 2020, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. BBC witnessed a growth of 11 per cent in its worldwide audience as compared to 2019, reaching 486.2 million per week,  with India leading the jump in viewership followed by the US with 49.5 million and Nigeria with 37.2 million in the audience. 

    “BBC News was the strongest performer, making up 438.4 million of the total (an increase of 13 per cent), with digital platforms proving key. A total of 151 million users now access BBC News digitally, according to the annual Global Audience Measure, up 53 per cent on 2019,” BBC shared. 

    In late March 2020, at the initial stages of the novel coronavirus pandemic's global spread, BBC News recorded the highest reach of any international media organisation in the world with 310 million people accessing coverage across 42 languages.

    "We are without question one of Britain’s strongest and best-known brands, synonymous with quality and accuracy worldwide," said outgoing director-general Tony Hall. "Our international news services rank first for trust and reliability and the World Service remains a beacon of democratic values. Independent research shows that there is an exceptionally high correlation between places where people are aware of the BBC and places where people think positively about the UK. More than that, the BBC helps UK trade."

    He added, "This has perhaps never been more important. The UK will forge a new relationship with the world in the decade ahead, built on an ambitious vision of 'Global Britain'. Success will mean drawing on all our considerable international assets, and that means unleashing the full global potential of the BBC."

  • ISRO sees rise in third party satellite launches

    ISRO sees rise in third party satellite launches

    MUMBAI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is slowly but surely making its mark as far as its satellite launch services are concerned. Consider: in 2018-19 it pocketed Rs 324.19 crore courtesy its launch capabilities as against Rs 232.56 crore in the year before. That’s a decent 35 per cent plus growth in income from launches.

    This information was given out in a reply to a question raised in the Rajya Sabha to union minister for atomic energy and space Jitendra Singh late last week.

    Singh further disclosed that ISRO earned Rs 1,245.17 crore during the last five years by launching satellites from 26 countries. Additionally, it has signed contracts with 10 countries –  the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, Algeria, and France  over the same period under commercial arrangements.

    India has till date put into orbit 319 foreign satellites.

  • Striking a balance between motherhood and entrepreneurship

    Striking a balance between motherhood and entrepreneurship

    Motherhood is a beautiful journey, one that brings with it many reasons to rejoice and celebrate the most beautiful bond in the world. However, being a mother comes with its own set of challenges like striving to provide the best to your child at every step.

    In one such attempt of choosing what is best, I was introduced to the idea of toxin-free natural products during my first pregnancy which happened in the UK. When we returned to India and were looking for similar products, we had to depend on friends and family members living abroad to get us them, which was inconvenient and impractical. On speaking with other mothers, I realised there is a need for natural, safe products, but there weren’t many options.

    The Moms Co. was born out of a need to address this problem and to provide natural, non-toxic, effective products that mothers would love to use – right from the beginning of their beautiful journey to every step of the way.

    As a mom of two daughters and an entrepreneur, I am always short of time. It’s always like there is so much to do and so little time. What really helps is an incredible support system both at work and at home. Having a set routine for my daughters ensures that I am able to manage my time efficiently. On a typical day, I get my daughters Myraah and Syna ready in the morning and drop them to their stop. We have a board with details of classes they need to go for and a list of  ‘what to do if I am bored activities’, which keeps them productively occupied for the times when I am not around. It’s very easy to not find time for home when you are running a startup and there is always so much to do and having routines helps for those times. We always try and be back before they sleep. Reading bedtime stories is a daily routine they have grown up with and really enjoy, we ensure we are around at that time. We also have days allotted to our favourite activities such as dancing, playing board games, Movie time, etc to ensure we find time to spend with the girls. Since my daughters are early sleepers, it gives me time to finish pending tasks and make some calls before going to bed. I also find time to exercise daily, I think it helps me stay energised throughout the day.

    I have also learned to prioritise better. Having experienced colleagues and experts on board can help in delegating and taking things off your plate. I try and stick to doing things that need my attention the most and letting the team handle the rest. I also follow the same for home. Since I am mostly in control of my schedule, I ensure no meetings are lined up close to when I need to be at school or need to attend my daughters’ performances. On the other hand, I have also had an investor meeting 3 hours before my daughter’s birthday party! It helps that my daughters are proud of my work and this motivates me to work towards achieving my goals.

    At the end of the day, you need to be able to make sure that you’re able to focus on important tasks and developments, be it at work or home. In order to do that, make sure you’re able to use your time efficiently so that your work doesn’t eat into your family time and vice versa. It is important to give your best every day but even more important to feel good every day.

    (The author is founder & CEO, The Moms Co. The views expressed are her own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • Voot, EROS Now part of UK’s first ever on-demand Asian TV apps pack by Virgin TV

    Voot, EROS Now part of UK’s first ever on-demand Asian TV apps pack by Virgin TV

    MUMBAI: Virgin TV has become the UK’s first ever Pay TV provider to add an on-demand library of films and shows through two Asian entertainment apps.

    The Desi App Pack, which Virgin TV customers can add to their package from Thursday 28th February 2019, brings together two of India’s biggest entertainment apps – Eros Now and Voot – into an easy to access apps pack that allows TV viewers to watch a range of shows and movies at a click of a button.

    There are multiple hours of content for viewers to watch which is available in more than 10 languages.

    Voot is home to exclusive original productions including It’s Not That Simple, Feet Up with the Stars and hit shows Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka amongst others and over 400 movies.

    Eros Now has a blockbuster library of more than 12,000 films including original productions such as Operation Cobra and Enaaya.

    Those who currently have Asian Mela TV as part of their subscription can add the service for just £6 per month. It is £12 per month for all other customers.

    Customers can add the service though their TV set box or over the phone. To access the Desi App Pack, customers will need a V6 box and go to channel 800 and press the red button on their remote.

    Over the past year Virgin TV has invested and bolstered its Asian TV offering with new channels and upgraded many standard definition channels to HD.

    David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “We designed our V6 TV box to work seamlessly with on demand apps such as Netflix and to maximise the power of our fibre network for instantaneous access to the limitless programming available on demand. The addition of the Desi apps further strengthens our lead in the on demand viewing experience”

    Commenting on the integration deal, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO – Eros Digital said: “With increasing consumption of cross border content and popularity of Indian films, we are excited to announce our collaboration with Virgin Media. Eros Now is the largest South Asian Video Service with close to 16M paid subscriber’s world over and the United Kingdom is one of our primary international markets. We are happy to cater to this growing community with best of Indian content and remain focused on expanding our global presence by exploring opportunities to connect with local audiences.”

    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18 said: “The UK consists of a vibrant Asian diaspora and is indeed one of our stronger overseas markets. Virgin TV’s Desi Apps pack is a winning proposition for all involved – consumers can now view the best of entertainment, on demand on VOOT, and it opens up an entire range of audiences for our content as well.”