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  • Facebook says 48% of daily active users and 49% of ad revenue come from mobile

    Facebook says 48% of daily active users and 49% of ad revenue come from mobile

    NEW DELHI: Facebook has claimed that mobile ad revenues and usage will soon outperform desktop ad revenues and usage.

    In its third quarterly earnings press meet, Facebook co-founder and CEO Zuckerberg said 48 per cent of its daily active users only use mobile devices while 49 per cent of its total ad revenues come from mobile ads.

    Zuckerberg said Facebook ads raked in nearly $890 million in revenues during the third quarter through the company’s app install ads, mobile engagement ads, and so on.

    The announcement means the company is heading in the right direction to meet its Q2 prediction that mobile ad revenues will surpass desktop ad revenues by year-end.

    Facebook mobile MAUs gained 45 per cent more than last past year, from 604 million MAUs in Q2 2012 to 874 million MAUs in Q3 2013.

     

    Facebook mobile MAUs include Facebook users who only use mobile devices and mobile users who occasionally use desktop devices to access Facebook services.

     

    The 45 per cent statistic for mobile MAUs had more than twice as much growth as overall MAUs, up 18 per cent from $1.007 million in Q2 2013 to $1.189 million in Q3 2013.

     

    Facebook remarked that its statistical figures exclude usage from Instagram-only users, but Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg delivered figures on the length of time consumers spend on Facebook’s mobile platform if combined with the photo-based social network.

     

    Sandberg said Facebook and Instagram accounts for a combined 20 per cent of total time spent on mobile devices and 12.5 per cent of total time spent on desktop devices every month in the US.

     

    Sandberg noted that Facebook accounts for more mobile minutes in the US than the combined minutes of YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Pandora, Yahoo, Tumblr, and AOL, even though comScore research results suggest it may have included Instagram data.

     

    Facebook noted that MAUs only access the company’s services through mobile devices is at 254 million

     

    With a total of 1.19 billion Facebook MAUs, the company grew 2.3 per cent of MAUs that only use mobile devices to access it, from 19 per cent in Q2 2013 to 21.3 per cent in Q3 2013.

     

    According to the latest figures, Facebook mobile DAUs across the world are up by 38 million from Q2 2013, whereas MAUs are up by 55 million from the same period.

  • Prime Focus appoints Vikas Rathee as group COO

    Prime Focus appoints Vikas Rathee as group COO

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus today announced the appointment of Vikas Rathee, an investment banking and corporate finance professional as its group chief operating officer.

     

    Rathee brings with him more than a decade of experience working with leading companies in the TMT (telecom, media and technology) sector with proven relationships and in-depth understanding of industry dynamics across US, Europe and Asia.

     

    In his new role, Rathee, will work as part of Prime Focus’ corporate leadership to position Prime Focus among target customers as a key strategic partner as well as the investor and financial community as an incredible growth story that is moving rapidly towards realising its full potential in the global media and entertainment universe.

     

     Announcing the appointment, Prime Focus founder Namit Malhotra said, “Vikas is a seasoned professional with unique combination of industry knowledge, corporate finance and capital markets experience, and M&A expertise who joins us at a perfect time, when we are at the cusp of our next aggressive wave of growth.  His inter-cultural global work experience and eye for investment opportunities are in-sync with our planned growth strategy. I have huge confidence in Vikas’ ability to accelerate Prime Focus’ growth momentum in the coming years.”

     

     Prime Focus India CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan said, “Vikas coming on broad has strengthened our leadership team and will accelerate our next wave of growth. He comes with strong knowledge of both media and IT that is a key differentiator for PFT as well. As Prime Focus grows from strength to strength, Vikas’ addition will be important in helping the team manage the business with discipline, diligence and dynamism. His industry networks and relationships globally will act as catalyst to the growth of Prime Focus”  

     

     “I am delighted to be part of the world leader in media and entertainment industry services, Prime Focus. As an investment banking professional focused on the TMT space, I have closely watched the growth, consolidation and evolution of this dynamic sector on a global scale. Prime Focus, through the last decade and a half, has made a significant contribution to this evolution not only in India, but is now also having a profound impact on the international media and entertainment industry as well. Today as a unique service provider straddling creative and technology domains, and working with some of the biggest names in this seamless global industry, Prime Focus is all set to fuel growth to the next level. I look forward to working with Namit and Ramki in making this vision a reality.” said Rathee, on his appointment.

     

    Vikas is an MBA in Finance and CFA, and comes with over 16 years of experience covering stints at Suzlon, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and ABN AMRO.

  • Anand Mahindra is Forbes India Entrepreneur for the Year 2013

    Anand Mahindra is Forbes India Entrepreneur for the Year 2013

    MUMBAI: Forbes India has been a champion of entrepreneurial capitalism, in line with the Forbes DNA defined almost a century ago in the US.

     

    It shares the vision that over the next 10 years, India will have a never-before chance to create an entrepreneurial renaissance. It believes in the spirit of fair play. It believes that entrepreneurs need to follow the rules. And this is recognised through Forbes India Leadership Awards wherein outstanding leaders are appreciated every year.

     

    This year, the entrepreneur of the year went to Mahindra & Mahindra chairman and managing director Anand Mahindra, who was chosen for the high honour for growing his group more than 10-fold in 10 years in several continents.

     

    The long-list of nominees for each category was prepared by June and was judged by jury headed by ICICI Bank non-executive chairman KV Kamath. McKinsey & Co India chairman Adil Zainulbhai, Blackstone Advisors India chairman Akhil Gupta, Indian School of Business Dean Ajit Rangnekar, AZB Partners senior partner Zia Modi, and founder and group editor of Network18 Raghav Bahl brought in years of experience to the jury.

     

    KPMG was the knowledge partners for the event, which helped with the number crunching essential for the process.

     

    The following are the Forbes India winners for 2013:

     

    1)Start Up for the Year

     

    Phanindra Sama  – redBus

     

    2)Nextgen Entrepreneur for the Year

     

    Tarang Jain – Varroc Engineering

     

    3)Entrepreneur with Social Impact

     

    Ranjan Sharma – IKSL

     

    4)Conscious Capitalist Company for the year

     

    HUL

     

    5)Best CEO – Multinational Company

     

    Francisco D’souza – Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp

     

    6)Best CEO – Public Sector

     

    Rakesh Tandon – IRCTC

     

    7)Best CEO – Private Sector

     

    Chanda Kochhar – ICICI Bank

     

    8)Woman Leader for the Year

     

    Chitra Ramkrishna – NSE

     

    9) Lifetime Achievement Award for the Year

     

    Brijmohan Lall Munjal – Hero MotoCorp

     

    10)Entrepreneur for the Year

    Anand Mahindra  – Mahindra & Mahindra
     

  • India short of trained manpower to tackle cyber crime

    India short of trained manpower to tackle cyber crime

    NEW DELHI: Even as India ranks third in terms of the highest number of internet users in the world after US and China and the number is projected to grow six-fold between 2012 and 2017 with a compound annual growth rate of 44 per cent, it is among the top 10 spam-sending countries in the world alongside the United States.

    According to a whitepaper launched by ASSOCHAM-KPMG, highlighted that India has a huge shortage of cyber security specialists with the number of trained manpower only accounting for 556 compared to 1.25 lakh in China and 91,080 in the US. This is despite the fact that cyber crime cases in the country registered under the Information Technology Act last year rose by about 61 per cent to 2,876 with Maharashtra recording the most number of cases.

    To check cyber crime and hacking of systems, the government launched the National Cyber Security Policy of India (NCSP) followed by the release of guidelines by the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre of the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) in July this year.

    One of the key agendas of the National Cyber Security Policy of India is to create a taskforce of 500,000 cyber security professionals in the next five years. Public and private sector partnership (PPP) is also seen as a key step to counter cyber crime.

    The whitepaper asserts that there is need for enterprises, SMEs and the government bodies to not only adopt the various guidelines and advisories issued by the security agencies but also to regularly review the implementation of the same. There needs to be a timely review of the IT act to keep pace with the developments and sophistications in cyber crime.

    Apart from consulting private sectors and cyber security equipment manufacturers, international coordination is also something that India needs to consider in the days to come to counter cyber attacks more effectively and efficiently. The implementation of all these aspects together will be a challenge that needs to be dealt with precision to secure the critical infrastructure of the country. 

  • Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards now in India

    Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards now in India

    It’s time to pack the red carpet away and roll out the orange one instead, as the world’s biggest and most entertaining kid’s award show – the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards comes to India this November.

    Nickelodeon is known world-over as the # 1 global entertainment brand dedicated to kids. The brand is all about giving kids what they want. With an approach that puts kids first and celebrates them each and every day, Nickelodeon takes pride in encouraging kids to be themselves – funny, messy and free-spirited. Keeping this in mind, Nickelodeon through LIVE Viacom18 is bringing the biggest and most popular Kids award show – The Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award to India for the very first time. The only live awards show of the kids, by the kids and for the kids where kids get to vote across categories for their favorites who will get declared the winners!

    With over 25 successful years of enthralling kids, the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards has captured the hearts of kids worldwide. Since its inception, the awards show has been telecast in over 33 countries worldwide. Year on year the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards receives millions of votes from across the world!

    The 2013 KCAs reached more than 24.6 million unduplicated viewers in 23 countries including the US across the premiere and encore episodes (more than 10.6 million from the international audience) Further the awards generated a record breaking 148 million International votes, up +284% from last year’s total of 39m. The highest number of votes recorded ever!

    The show is known for its fun elements such as orange carpet, orange blimps, green slime mania (term coined by Nickelodeon, where celebrities as a mark of honour, get green slimed!), vivacious performances and kids having a blast. In the past, the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards has witnessed popular personalities such as Johnny Depp, Pitbull and Halle Berry to name a few, presenting awards, performing and winning awards as well! Furthermore, the show has also caught many celebrities off guard by sliming the likes of Justin Bieber, Will Smith and even Daniel Radcliff. This year, it will be interesting to watch our homegrown celebrities and stars have the honor of being slimed at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards India.

    Ms. Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Executive Vice President &Business Head, Kids’ Cluster, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd. says, “At Nickelodeon, we put kids at the core of all that we do. We believe in empowering kids and giving them the opportunity to make their own choices. With Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards now in India, we are giving them a platform where they can voice their choices. We will be their true mouthpiece in every sense of the word!”

    Commenting on the launch of the Kid’s Choice Award India, Mr. Jaideep Singh, Sr. Vice President and Business Head – INS, Viacom18 Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are very thrilled and privileged to be at the forefront of bringing an award show of this stature to Indian shores. There is an impressive line-up of celebrity performances and anchors for Nickelodeon’s first ever Kids’ Choice Awards. Part of our LIVE business is to constantly strive to provide fresh and innovative concepts that will not only pique interests of the Indian audience but give an opportunity to advertisers to connect with their audience.”

  • Preity Zinta back with Bhaiyyaji Superhit

    Preity Zinta back with Bhaiyyaji Superhit

    After doing a cameo with Saif Ali Khan in the US for a film titled Happy Ending, Preity Zinta is back in Mumbai.

     

    She has resumed shooting in India with Neeraj Pathak’s Bhaiyyaji Superhit where in her own words she has a “damned interesting role” opposite Sunny Deol. For the first time, Preity gets to play a bonafide rustic character. And she’s working hard to clean herself of the subtle American twang she has acquired during her frequent visits to the US where her brother lives.

     

    Last seen in her home-production Ishkq In Paris, the film’s failure left Preity disappointed but undeterred.

     

    Preity begins shooting for Bhaiyyaji Superhit in Udaipur this week. She plays a character from rural Uttar Pradesh. Sunny Deol plays her husband.

  • Duty Free import of flat screen TVs by air travellers banned

    Duty Free import of flat screen TVs by air travellers banned

    NEW DELHI: The government has banned duty-free import of flat screen television by air travelers in a bid to prop up the rupee, which has plummeted to an all time low (63.73) against the US dollar.

     

    The government, according to a notification, has decided to “disallow import of flat panel (LCD/LED/Plasma) television as part of free baggage allowance” with effect from 26 August.

     

    Air travelers currently can bring a flat screen television for personal use without paying any duty.

  • Netflix loads up on kids shows yet again with Scholastic deal

    Netflix loads up on kids shows yet again with Scholastic deal

    MUMBAI: Netflix has been positioning itself as an online babysitter of sorts with a slew of deals for children’s content, thus it has sanctioned even more episodes of the kids’ genre.

     

    The streaming-video service said it has expanded an agreement with Scholastic Media, an arm of publisher Scholastic, to offer more of its TV series and video content, such as the shows based on the tween babysitting series, The Magic School Bus and Goosebumps. Most of the new content is available to Netflix members in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Latin America.

     

    Both Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service have been buying content for children. The idea is twofold: Go after a type of programming that – after sports – can be the most decisive sway factor when a consumer is choosing what entertainment to pay for. Then get children cozy with the format and style of internet-delivered content to create a new generation of subscribers.

     

    Netflix’s Scholastic deal marks the first time many of the episodes have been available in the streaming format, and Netflix has an exclusive hold on select programs like The Magic School Bus. However, most of the content is years old.

     

    “When we first added ‘The Magic School Bus’ and ‘Goosebumps’ for our members in the US and Canada earlier this summer we knew they would perform well, but after seeing just how popular they were we decided to expand our relationship with Scholastic and bring these great shows to more of our markets,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a release.

     

    Three of the first five programs Amazon will produce as part of its original content push are children’s programs, and last month the company ordered up kids’ content solely for its next round of five pilots.

     

    Netflix is also working to fill a kids’ content void. The site declined high-demand Nickelodeon content earlier this year because parent Viacom wanted to bundle it together with less popular programs in a hulking deal. Amazon later snatched up the forsaken Viacom content.

     

    The latest deal with Scholastic however doesn’t include video content related to Scholastic’s most blockbuster brand, the Harry Potter series.

  • Amazon launches fine art marketplace

    Amazon launches fine art marketplace

    MUMBAI: The online retail giant that peddles everything from e-readers to UFO detectors is looking to change that and make fine art more accessible for everyone.

     

    Amazon on Tuesday announced the launch of Amazon Art, an online marketplace that features more than 40,000 worlds of fine art from more than 150 galleries and dealers. At launch, Amazon Art features artworks from more than 4,500 artists. Amazon said it is one of the largest online collections of original and limited edition artwork for purchase from galleries and dealers.

     

    “We are excited to bring one of the largest selections of fine art direct from galleries to our customers. Amazon Art gives galleries a way to bring their passion and expertise about the artists they represent to our millions of customers. We’re thrilled to bring the excitement and emotional connection of art to our customers,” Amazon Marketplace VP Peter Faricy said in a statement.

     

    Like other Amazon Web properties, the new fine art marketplace features discovery tools to help you find pieces you might like, and detailed information about the works of art. You can search by using filters such as subject, style, color, size, price, and gallery.

     

    The marketplace includes art from galleries of all sizes in the US, UK, the Netherlands, and Canada, including Paddle8 in New York, Holden Luntz in Miami, McLoughlin Gallery and Modernbook in San Francisco and Catherine Person Gallery in Seattle.

     

    The store offers a little something for everyone, with pieces ranging from folk art to impressionism to modern art. Prices vary, with photographs starting at under $200 alongside iconic works from artists like Norman Rockwell, including the American master’s “Willie Gillis: Package from Home” available for a cool $4.85 million. Other available pieces include Andy Warhol’s “Sachiko” for $45,000 and Claude Monet’s “L’Enfant a la tasse, portrait de Jean Monet” for $1.45 million.

  • WWE boosts L&M activity by entering construction toy category for the first time

    WWE boosts L&M activity by entering construction toy category for the first time

    MUMBAI: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has announced an exclusive, multi-year agreement with US toy manufacturer The Bridge Direct to develop and market construction toys based on WWE events and characters. The agreement marks the first time WWE will enter the construction toy category.

    Targetted to WWE fans between the ages of 4 and 14, the line includes figures, accessories, and construction bricks to “build your own” play sets, which bring WWE‘s action-packed events and Superstars to life.

    WWE executive VP consumer products Casey Collins said, “We are excited to partner with The Bridge Direct and bring WWE‘s new construction line to market for the first time. The new product line will provide the youngest members of the WWE Universe with an entirely new way to engage with our brand, further cementing their connection to WWE.”

    The Bridge Direct president CEO Jay Foreman said, “WWE is one of the greatest sports entertainment franchises in the market today. We are thrilled to partner with WWE on an exciting product line that offers a compelling and interactive way for young fans to engage with one of their favorite entertainment franchises.”

    The WWE construction toys are expected to begin rolling out at major mass retailers across the US next year.