ITV

Tag: United Kingdom

  • Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    Gemporia targets revenue of Rs 60-100 crore; to launch on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Digitisation of cable television in India has opened up the space for many a niche channels. And taking advantage of this are brands and companies operating in diverse fields. One such company is Gemporia – jewellers from the United Kingdom, which forayed into India with the launch of a television channel back in September 2015. The channel, which is already available on direct to home (DTH) platforms like Dish TV and Videocon d2h, is all set to launch on Tata Sky in the next fortnight.

    What’s more, the channel is eyeing revenue between Rs 60 – 100 crore by the end of 2016. With the ethos of ‘Janiye aur Kharide’ (Know and Buy), the channel has a marketing budget of over Rs 25 crore, which it will strategically dish out with time. “The end goal is to be the largest selling jeweller in terms units and to reach that goal we will need to have an interactive marketing campaign. We are moving ahead towards that, the medium will depend on the marketing strategy, but we will innovate across platforms,” said Gemporia India co-founder Manuj Goyal.

    With the proliferation of the e-commerce space, there are a number of online stores selling jewellery in India. However, the online retailing of original jewels is yet to pick pace. Keeping the scenario in mind, Gemporia has taken TV route and has over 14 hours of live programming.

    The channel’s distribution and operation cost is predicted to be over Rs 50 crore. Goyal informs that the channel’s initial target is to be available on DTH platforms and then gradually move having a presence on cable.

    Gemporia has over eight per cent market share when it comes jewellery in the UK. “Majority of the jewellery shopping happens online across the globe. And I believe the same can happen in India too,” says Goyal.

    The venture has a target set to reach 100 million television audiences. Set up in Jaipur, Gemporia has 160 employees, of which 30 are equipped with GIA certificate.

    “All our products are hallmarked and we don’t sell imitation jewellery. We are the first dedicated jewellery channel with live programming. We stand by the purity of our jewellery and hence give our consumers the option of returning the jewellery within 30 days with full refund. Since we cannot offer consumers the touch and feel of our products, we create 360 degree videos of the product that consumers will eventually invest in,” informs Goyal.

    In a bid to stay ahead of online jewellery marketplaces, Gemporia decided to take the TV route. “Next to touch and feel is video and that’s where we have an advantage. Additionally, in most online stores, the products displaced are not ready and hence the delivery time is way more than us. Ours is a dedicated jewellery company and the product displayed is available for consumers to buy. The moment they buy a piece of jewellery, we can ship it and hence the logistics are way faster than the existing online stores,” says Goyal.

    A home shopping channel media expert says on condition of anonymity, “The jewellery space can pick up as it has the potential. But the product pricing has to be lower than traditional physical stores. All across the globe, the products that sells on home shopping channels are unique and priced lower than those in brick and mortar stores. Putting common products up will go no where. Gemporia’s biggest challenge and competition will be from the channels selling imitation jewellery. The first year will be challenging and will define the fate.”   

    Besides TV, Gemporia also has an online presence. Through the website, an on-screen anchor addresses consumers’ questions. Additionally, Gemporia also has a mobile app to sort out size issues. The Gemporia Ring Sizer app enables consumers to asses the ring size by just putting it up on the mobile screen. “We send ring sizer with our every order to sort out the size issue,” informs Goyal.

    With innovation, novel offerings and customer service being the key factors for success for a venture, it now remains to be seen how this one of a kind television channel orchestrates its voyage in the cluttered and unpredictable Indian market.

  • MEASAT names Prashant Butani as senior sales director – S. Asia

    MEASAT names Prashant Butani as senior sales director – S. Asia

    MUMBAI: MEASAT Satellite Systems (MEASAT) has named Prashant Butani as senior sales director – South Asia.

     

    In his new role, Bhutani will be responsible for building and supporting MEASAT’s customer base and managing government agencies across the South Asian region.

     

    Prior to joining MEASAT, Bhutani was a senior analyst in a leading satellite industry research company and regional head for a multinational telecommunications services company.

     

    With an experience of 10 years in the satellite and telecommunications industry, Bhutani holds a Master of Sciences in Satellite Communications Engineering from the University of Surrey, United Kingdom and a Degree in Engineering from the University of Mumbai, India.

  • WPP Q3 revenue up 5.9% at ?2.927 billion

    WPP Q3 revenue up 5.9% at ?2.927 billion

    MUMBAI: UK-based advertising behemoth WPP reported a 5.9 per cent growth in revenues in Q3 2015 at ?2.927 billion.

     

    In US dollar basis, revenues fell 1.6 per cent to $4.533 billion, while it was up 17 per cent in euros to €4.075 billion. In Japanese yen, revenues were up 15.4 per cent to ?554 billion.

     

    The company’s third quarter constant currency revenue was up 7.9 per cent (like-for-like revenue up 4.6 per cent). Despitesoftening in the United Kingdom, WPP’s like-for-like revenue growth in the third quarter continued at similarly strong levels in the US.

     

    Net sales in Q3 stood at ?2.518 billion, which was up 4.2 per cent on a reported basis and 6.1 per cent in constant currency. Like-for-like net sales went up 3.3 per cent, compared to 2.3 per cent in the first half, partly the result of easier comparatives, with the gap compared to revenue growth less in the third quarter than the first half, as the scale of digital media purchases in media investment management and data investment management direct costs continued at a similar slightly lighter level to the second quarter.

     

    Nine months reported revenue was up 6.5 per cent at ?8.766 billion (approximately $13.4 billion).

     

    While the company’s nine months constant currency revenue was up 6.9 per cent, the nine months constant currency net sales were up 5.2 per cent.

     

    Operating margin for the nine months period were up 0.5 margin points in constant currency, 0.3 margin points in reported and targeted to be up 0.3 margin points in constant currency for full year in line with objective.

     

    WPP’s net new business in Q3 was at ?1.9 billion pounds, whereas for the first nine months it stood at ?3.312 billion, resulting in the number one position in all net new business tables. Results to date in the tsunami of largely United States based media investment management reviews have been highly satisfactory with major retentions and wins and limited losses, and with significant opportunities still to be decided, where we have relatively limited exposure.

     

    The company saw constant currency revenue growth in Q3 in all regions and business sectors, with particularly strong growth geographically in North America, the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific, Latin America, Africa & the Middle East and Central & Eastern Europe, and functionally in advertising and media investment management and sub-sectors direct, digital and interactive and specialist communications.

     

    WPP’s average net debt for the first nine months increased by ?403 million to ?3.436 billion compared to last year, at 2015 constant rates. This continued to reflect significant incremental net acquisition spend and share repurchases of ?374 million in the twelve months to 30 September, 2015, compared with the previous twelve months, more than offsetting the improvements in working capital over the same period.

  • ‘Indian Summers’ to commence telecast on PBS

    ‘Indian Summers’ to commence telecast on PBS

    NEW DELHI: PBS will soon commence telecast of the British drama Indian Summers, which had earlier been telecast by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom and won accolades.

     

    The 10-episode British drama set in India in 1932 has been made by Masterpiece and shows the first signs of the end of British rule in India.  

     

    According to the story, members of the British ruling class are making their annual holiday retreat to the Himalayan foothills in Shimla where a brash old-school maven Cynthia Coffin (Julie Walters), runs a successful whites-only social club and schemes to advance the career of a snooty diplomat Ralph Whelan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes), hoping to get him named as the next Viceroy.

     

    While this is the main story, there are many subplots including the arrival of Ralph’s mysteriously widowed sister, Alice (Jemima West), and her baby son.

     

    A young Indian clerk Aafrin (Nikesh Patel) not only takes an assassin’s bullet meant for Ralph in the first episode slated for 27 September but also comes across evidence that suggests the attempt was not the revolutionary act it was reported to be.

     

    Julie Walters, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Jemima West, Nikesh Patel, Roshan Seth and Lillete Dubey star in this saga.

     

    Set against the sweeping grandeur of the Himalayas and tea plantations of Northern India, the drama tells the rich and explosive story of the decline of the British Empire and the birth of modern India, from both sides of the experience. But at the heart of the story lie the implications and ramifications of the tangled web of passions, rivalries and clashes that define the lives of those brought together in this summer which will change everything. 

     

    Indian Summers is the first Channel 4 commission from New Pictures. It is a co-production with Masterpiece on PBS in the US. It is created and written by Paul Rutman, directed by Anand Tucker and produced by Dan McCulloch. Executive producers are Charlie Pattinson, Elaine Pyke and Simon Curtis, and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece on PBS.

     

    Indira Varma is co-executive producer for the series commissioned by Piers Wenger and Beth Willis for Channel 4. Indian Summers is being distributed internationally by All3M International.

  • TV viewers in Europe not averse to short ads if content is free: research

    TV viewers in Europe not averse to short ads if content is free: research

    NEW DELHI: This is something that could bring some cheer to the Indian television news channels fighting to remove any cap on advertising.

     

    A study by a British research firm in the United Kingdom, France and Germany has shown that over four in ten people say they expect advertising if the content is free.

     

    Another 12 per cent reported ‘there’s nothing wrong with ads’ and some respondents even said they enjoyed ads.

     

    Brightcove commissioned Vanson Bourne to interview around 4000 viewers last month on the same. 

     

    When asked for their opinion on the current state of advertising, 41 per cent of respondents cited advertising as a ‘nuisance’, but many were realistic about the necessity of ads. However, 39 per cent of viewers wanted the ads to be shorter, another 31 per cent wanted to be able to fast-forward through them and one in ten said they should be more targeted.

     

    Based on this research, to really ensure optimal ad engagement, broadcasters need to be mindful of the type of advertising they are serving to the type of audience who is viewing it, taking extra care to consider the length of the ad in relation to the content itself and the relevancy of that ad to the content being consumed.

     

    The study also showed that with new types of video services competing for viewers’ time, traditional players must respond to survive, according to Brightcove mobile business marketing director Tracy Williams.

     

    The study showed that viewers remain markedly loyal to traditional television and rank it very important to their lives; cross-platform services are a near requirement as four in ten viewers watch on multiple screens; online video content is being viewed throughout the day, including in the morning; and viewers are surprisingly realistic about the role of ads, particularly when in exchange for free content.

     

    Expectations are extremely high and broadcasters serve disparate audiences, grouped in this report into four notable segments. In fact, more than seven in ten (71 per cent) of European viewers surveyed said there is still a lot of room for improvement across content choices.

     

    More than half (51 per cent) of the viewers said that television is either important or really important to their life and over two-thirds (67 per cent) of respondents described themselves as loyal watchers of television programmes. Around 24 per cent said they are ‘hugely passionate’ about TV.

     

    Thus, while television is still important for European audiences, technical innovation is altering how they consume broadcast content. Moving from the choice of just a few channels in the 1950s and 60s, through to satellite and later digital TV, viewers can now pick from a huge range of live channels and on-demand content (both linear or online) and watch what they want, where they want and whenever they want.

     

    About 75 per cent viewers prefer PC or laptops, over a third are now using mobile (33 per cent) and around 34 per cent use tablets to view video content, highlighting the continued need for high-quality cross-platform services.

     

    Content owners who do not invest in delivering the complete service that viewers expect risk low adoption rates and loyalty to their services. Four in ten (41 per cent) European viewers use more than one screen when watching video content. This consumer behaviour adds both an opportunity and a risk for broadcasters – an opportunity to create interactions across both screens (through social channels, for example), and a risk through added competition for attention from the second screen.

     

    The study also indicated that online video content is now being consumed round the clock.. On average, the evening period is still peak time with over half (55 per cent) of all viewing taking place then. However, daytime (24 per cent), overnight (15 per cent) and morning (six per cent) viewing are catching up. 

  • Alfred Haber Television crisscrosses globe with numerous sales for its two series

    Alfred Haber Television crisscrosses globe with numerous sales for its two series

    MUMBAI: Having announced the acquisition of the two new series Dead Again (9 x 60’) and You Can’t Like Your Elbow (6 x 30’) earlier this year, Alfred Haber, President of Alfred Haber Television, Inc. (AHTI), today unveiled a number of key sales for both titles.  The sales cover every corner of the world from the UK to Africa, and from Latin America to Thailand.

     

    For Dead Again, the addictive, nine-episode series produced by Wolf Reality and Left/Right (Mob Wives) for A&E, sales include A&E (United Kingdom), NBC Universal (Germany), Planete Thalassa (France) and Foxtel (Australia). The series, which aired in primetime on A&E in the U.S., follows an elite team of detectives as they re-examine controversial and mysterious murder cases in which unresolved questions still linger…long after the verdict was reached

     

    You Can’t Lick Your Elbow, the remarkable, family-friendly series from producer Authentic Entertainment (Ace Of Cakes, Toddlers & Tiaras), has seen sales success with Discovery (CEEMEA), Rogers (Canada), Discovery (Latin America), NGC Network (India), and BEC World (Thailand). You Can’t Lick Your Elbow uses familiar, ordinary examples, brought to life with cutting-edge CGI and easy-to-understand explanations, to show viewers the amazing, uncnny and often extraordinary things of which the human body is capable. Segments reveal mind-boggling techniques and cool bodytricks people can employ to help them maneuver through their day-to-day lives. 

     

    “These are two very different, yet very successful shows as evidenced by our recent sales,” commented Haber. “Between the thrilling detective stories of Dead Again and the fascinating knowledge collected in You Can’t Lick Your Elbow, these programs are truly international in their appeal and our sales from around the globe certainly support that.”

  • ET NOW and Capgemini announce Season 3 of ‘Super Techies Show’

    ET NOW and Capgemini announce Season 3 of ‘Super Techies Show’

    MUMBAI: India’s no. 1 business news channel ET NOW and Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has announced the third season  of the Capgemini ‘Super Techies Show’- a global technology-based reality television show for Information Technology students and professionals. This year, participants from India, United Kingdom, United States of America, Netherlands, Sweden and France are being invited to battle it out and solve real business challenges faced by some of the largest enterprises across the globe.

     

    This year Capgemini Super Techies Show has broad-based its format to include university students with technology background from the 6 participating countries. The participants will get an opportunity to work on real life business challenges faced by some of the largest enterprises across the globe and interact with Capgemini experts and global technocrats across sectors. The winning team will be awarded with a cash prize of USD 25,000.

     

    “In today’s dynamic business environment, companies across the globe understand the need to identify the right talent that can leverage technology to support businesses on their digital transformation journey. The Capgemini Super Techies Show has always strived to be one such platform where young IT professionals have the opportunity to showcase their innovative skills in solving real-life business challenges put forth by global business leaders,” said Aruna Jayanthi, Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini India and member of Capgemini Group Executive Committee.

     

    “The tremendous response we received last year from Indian and North American IT professionals and the enthusiasm and pride that it generated within the Group, encouraged us to extend this platform to participants from other countries. The show had a social media reach of over seven million people. This year’s show will also be the first time where university students can participate and leverage the capabilities of digital tools to solve business challenges,” she added.

     

    Speaking about the announcement of the new season, Hemant Arora Business Head, Branded Content TIMES TELEVISION NETWORK said, “Capgemini ‘Super Techies Show’ has evolved over the period of last 2 years.  It is a one-of its-kind project in India in terms of scale, scalability, global production standards, and meticulous quality. It is the result of an integrated content and communication strategy that we have worked on with a collaborative spirit of partnership with Capgemini.  The previous seasons have met their objectives in terms of business impact as well as in offering a pool of distinct and differentiated content. We are eagerly looking forward to an equally exciting and engaging series this year, as the footprint increases to 6 countries and brings with it  the excitement and energy so far seen only in the entertainment genre of reality series.”

     

    Registrations for the show are open until 30th June ’14 and all eligible applicants can apply online at www.capgeminisupertechiesshow.com

     

    The show will be aired later this year on ET NOW and will also be broadcasted on Capgemini’s official YouTube channel for the global audience. This year, Abhimanyu Radhakrishnan, who has been anchoring the Capgemini Super Techies show from the very first season, will be joined by Ronette Chambers as a co-anchor.

  • British-American film ‘Locke’ shot in just a week

    British-American film ‘Locke’ shot in just a week

    NEW DELHI: ‘Locke’, a British-American drama thriller written and directed by Steven Knight and featuring the harrowing experience of a man locked in a car for one night, was shot in just one week.

     

    The film stars Tom Hardy as the main lead sitting in the car and talking on the mobile with other people. The voices are those of Tom Holland, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Ruth Wilson, Ben Daniels and Alice Lowe.

     

    Released recently in the United States and the United Kingdom, the film was shown out of competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. It has now been acquired for the Venice Film Festival.

     

    The film is the story of a single eventful night in the life of Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy, using a Welsh accent), a man on the verge of losing it all (his job, his wife, his sanity), It is entirely set within the confines of a souped up BMW driving on the M6 motorway in England. Locke is a construction foreman who leaves an important job in Birmingham and drives down to London. Along the way, he tries to settle stressful personal and professional problems on his mobile phone while having imaginary conversations with his long deceased father.

     

    Shot in just a mere week after one week of rehearsals, Knight had Hardy acted out the 90-page script in its entirety for every take with cameras stationed both inside and outside the vehicle that was being pulled along on the back of a low-loader, where Knight was stationed.

     

    Those who – as part of the script – called in to talk to Locke, including Olivia Coleman as Locke’s mistress and “Sherlock” star Andrew Scott as his work subordinate did so in real-time from a conference room nearby.

     

    Knight revealed in a media meet that the short shooting schedule was not a fun challenge they set for themselves — the crunch was out of necessity. The two had wanted to work with each other for four or so years before Knight pitched “Locke” to Hardy. But by the time the opportunity arose for the two friends to collaborate, Hardy’s schedule was jam-packed (the “Dark Knight Rises” star currently has three films in post-production phase, including George Miller’s eagerly anticipated “Mad Max: Fury Road”). Hardy could only spare two weeks.

     

    Despite the tight shooting schedule and challenging nature of the shoot, Knight called the film “charmed from the beginning.”

  • Endemol inks deal with Turner International for New Mr.Bean animated series

    Endemol inks deal with Turner International for New Mr.Bean animated series

    MUMBAI: Endemol, the world’s largest independent production and distribution company, today announced that Turner Broadcasting System International has acquired the all-new second series of MR BEAN ANIMATED SERIES for their services throughout Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and several European markets including the United Kingdom, Turkey, Spain and Italy.

     

    This deal comes off the back of the announcement that the series has been pre-sold to CITV in the UK and Super RTL in Germany.

     

    Mark Eyers, Chief Content Officer, Kids Networks, Turner International Asia Pacific, said: “This extraordinary universal comedy truly delivers on a premium and compelling content experience for both our audiences and affiliates. We’re proud to welcome Mr Bean into the Turner fold and to partner with Endemol, Tiger Aspect and the exceptionally talented Rowan Atkinson. This unique non-dialogue brand of funny, will delight viewers around the world.”

     

    Cathy Payne, CEO of Endemol Worldwide Distribution commented: “We are excited that Turner has come on board to join our other partners CITV and Super RTL Germany. To have such support at this early stage is incredible and proves the popularity of the wonderful Mr Bean”.

     

    Cecilia Persson, Turner’s Vice President of Acquisitions and Co-productions for EMEA and International, added: “It’s great to announce this deal across our international business. Our kids channels provide the best in animated comedy entertainment for young audiences and Mr Bean is truly an iconic comedy character which kids across the globe will love! Mr Bean has performed excellently across our EMEA region where our second flagship channel Boomerang brings contemporary iterations of timeless and classic properties to a family audience.”

     

    The 52 x 11 minute series follows on the success of the first series which has been licensed in over 70 territories and continues to be a ratings winner for a host of international broadcasters.

     

     

     

    Mr Bean will be produced in house by Tiger Aspect Productions using Celaction2D. Production commenced in October 2013 and delivery is scheduled for 2014/2015.

     

    Rowan Atkinson is across all aspects of the creative and will continue to voice the series which has a huge global audience.

  • Ex-BBC exec and Sony to launch U.K. Production Company

    Ex-BBC exec and Sony to launch U.K. Production Company

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) are launching a new U.K. production company called Electric Ray with the former British Broadcasting Company (BBC) entertainment commissioner Karl Warner. The name of the production company has been taken from Warner’s father’s nick name, who was an electrician.

     

    The development team at Electric Ray will be run by Thomas O’Brien who helped create E4?s Party House and ITV2?s The Magaluf Weekender in his previous roles at Room 414 and Two Four, while Warner will run the new venture as the managing director. Based in London, Electric Ray’s plan is to produce content for UK broadcasters and international export across the factual entertainment and entertainment genres. Electric Ray will also collaborate with SPT’s U.S. and international production companies on development, while its U.K. shows and formats will be exported by SPT’s distribution arm.

     

    Reportedly, Warner thinks that it’s an exciting time to launch an entertainment start-up as there is an appetite for shows that break new ground.