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Tag: Viacom18

  • JioCinema to present first-ever India-Afghanistan three-match T20I series

    JioCinema to present first-ever India-Afghanistan three-match T20I series

    Mumbai: Viacom18 will present the three-match T20I series between Afghanistan and India live on JioCinema, Sports18-1 SD + HD, and Colors Cineplex from January 11-17, 2024. The tour, which will mark Team India’s first T20I series of 2024, will serve as a build-up to the T20 World Cup to be played later in the year.

    JioCinema will elevate the viewing experience by presenting the series in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Colors Cineplex will present live action in Hindi, while viewers can opt between English, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada on Sports18-1 SD + HD. Fans will also be able to catch incisive analysis from experts such as Suresh Raina, Zaheer Khan, Saba Karim, Parthiv Patel, Aakash Chopra, and Pragyan Chopra throughout the series.

    In a humourous promo released by Viacom18, the two nations are represented by their respective kits in a sports store engaging in friendly banter. With the tag line of ‘dekh lenge’, the campaign plays along the lines of ‘the giant killers vs the giants’. Both teams are depicted challenging each other for the series with enjoyable cultural references.

    “Afghanistan has arguably had the most exhilarating development in world cricket over the past few years, so the India tour promises a perfect mix of neighbourly camaraderie and high-octane T20 action,” said a Viacom18 Spokesperson. “While there won’t be any dearth of cricketing excitement inside the boundary line, our endeavour outside of it is to package accessibility and personalisation for every cricket fan watching the series, be it through handheld devices or connected TV. 2024 will see a meteoric rise in digital consumption of live sports and we are poised to fill that gap with our offerings.”

    After an impressive World Cup campaign in India, a raring Afghanistan side will take on the might of India and hope to register their first-ever victory against the Men in Blue in the first T20I on January 11, 2024. Coverage for the matches will begin at 6 PM on JioCinema, Sports18-1 SD + HD, and Colors Cineplex.

    Schedule:

  • Basketball beyond borders: NBA’s 2024 blueprint for India: Rajah Chaudhry

    Basketball beyond borders: NBA’s 2024 blueprint for India: Rajah Chaudhry

    Mumbai: The 2022-23 NBA season was the league’s most-watched ever in India.  A record 111M plus fans consumed some form of NBA, WNBA or G League content on our broadcast partners Viacom18 and Prasar Bharati. Our localized social media channels also continued to grow, generating +100 per cent impressions and +210 per cent engagement last season as compared to 2021-22.

    We concluded the 10th edition of the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program a few months ago, which saw participation from close to 7000 kids and 600+ schools.  Overall, our grassroots programs have now reached over 11 million kids in India and our youth development programs have produced 20 U.S. high school and college scholarships for male and female players/prospects from India, including 3 Division 1 school scholarships.  

    We produced a variety of original, localized content to engage fans including This is Basketball starring NBA Brand Ambassador for India Ranveer Singh, which showcases the diversity of the basketball community in India.  On the gaming front, through our association with Loco to stream NBA 2K League games in India, we’ve witnessed an encouraging year-over-year increase in viewership.  The total views for the last season reached 3.8M plus, registering a 3.7x growth in unique live viewers compared to the previous year.  Additionally, with India being one of the fastest growing markets in the world for fantasy gaming, bolstering our presence in this space has been a key focus for us over the last few years.  Our extended association with Dream11 for them to continue as an official fantasy gaming partner of the NBA and WNBA in the country is a step in this direction.

    We’re also witnessing a growing demand for NBA-branded products in India.  To expand our reach, presence, and distribution across the country this year, we recently announced a multiyear collaboration with Bhaane, for them to launch and operate NBAStore.in.  The online store offers the most comprehensive selection of official NBA merchandise ever available in the country.  We also expanded our existing merchandising partnership with Suditi that will see them create and distribute more officially licensed NBA fanwear in India, available through ShopTheArena.com and at select offline and online retail channels across the country.

    Overall, we know there’s a lot more to do, but we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far and excited about the future of basketball and the NBA in India.

    What can be expected from the League in the upcoming year

    The 2023-24 NBA season promises to be an exciting one for everyone.  We recently concluded our inaugural In-Season Tournament, a new annual competition that’s been introduced to provide all 30 teams with another opportunity to win, engage fans in a new way and drive additional interest in the early portion of the regular-season schedule.  And the response we’ve received has been truly encouraging.  

    From an Indian standpoint, all our endeavors, be it grassroots initiatives, expanding the availability of NBA games and programming, bolstering our presence in the lifestyle space or delivering authentic experiences, are centered on fostering basketball’s growth in the country, and adapting to what our fans need and want.  We will continue to prioritize this in 2024.

    We strongly believe it is important to get kids playing and learning from sport at a young age, and we are seeing more and more youth interested in playing basketball.  Hence, our youth basketball development programs have been and will continue to be critical to our long-term growth in India.  We will continue to bolster the structured pathway we’ve built for young boys and girls in India over the last decade to learn the game and maximize their potential.  Additionally, as with all our international basketball development programming, we are constantly evaluating how we can best support aspiring players and their needs in the regions where they play.  Therefore, we will be expanding our elite basketball development efforts in India from a single residential academy to a scalable model that focuses on providing NBA-trained coaching and development opportunities that will reach a wider group of players across the country.  We will share more information as those plans are finalized.

    We are also transforming the way fans experience the NBA, offering them multiple touchpoints to connect with the brand. Therefore, going beyond live games, we will continue producing a variety of original, localized content, expanding our presence in the esports and fantasy gaming space, and bolstering our merchandising efforts, to offer a multifaceted and immersive NBA experience.

    Lastly, we’re also looking to continue building a community of fans who connect and share their passion for the sport both on and off the court, and grow NBA Style, our lifestyle-focused Instagram platform which showcases the many ways that the league and its players influence and are influenced by music, fashion, art and entertainment.  

    It’s been a great start to the season, and we have an exciting calendar of initiatives that we’ll announce in the coming months. Our aim is to continue growing basketball in the country and pushing the boundaries of fans engagement through 2024 and beyond.

  • JioCinema and Jeevansathi join hands to unleash the power of love with ‘Saath By Chance’

    JioCinema and Jeevansathi join hands to unleash the power of love with ‘Saath By Chance’

    Mumbai: Viacom18 and entertainment destination, JioCinema, partners with Jeevansathi.com, a trailblazer in the matchmaking industry, to delight its viewers with ‘Saath By Chance’. Streaming now on JioCinema, the 3 episodic anthology series weaves the magic of love with inspiration drawn from real-life success stories of Jeevansathi couples.

    Celebrating Jeevansathi’s 25 years of matchmaking excellence, ‘Saath By Chance’ promises to be a heartwarming journey of real-life love stories that found their origin on the Jeevansathi.com platform. From chance encounters to enduring connections, the show spotlights the authenticity and beauty of love, commitment, and the remarkable journey of finding one’s soulmate. In addition to the captivating narratives, ‘Saath By Chance’ underscores the significance of quality conversations, understanding, and open dialogue, a core aspect of Jeevansathi.com’s ethos.

    Speaking on the association, a JioCinema spokesperson said, “At JioCinema, our commitment is to curate content that is not just entertaining but also innovative and compelling. ‘Saath By Chance’ is a testament to this dedication, as it unfolds a narrative that celebrates the magic of love in a truly unique way. In partnering with Jeevansathi.com, we aim to create a seamless blend of entertainment and connection, resonating with our audiences on a deeper level. Our collaboration further represents our ongoing pursuit to bring stories that directly touch the hearts of our viewers. We look forward to fostering more such partnerships and continuing to provide our audience with captivating content that transcends boundaries and brings people together in the spirit of love and storytelling.”

    Speaking on the association, Jeevansathi.com EVP & head of marketing Himani Bahuguna said, “Jeevansathi.com has always stood for creating meaningful connections, and ‘Saath By Chance’ is a testament to the incredible stories that have unfolded on our platform over the past 25 years. Each episode will bring to life the genuine, heartwarming narratives of couples who discovered love through Jeevansathi.com’s superior matching algorithms.”

    Streaming now on JioCinema, ‘Saath By Chance’ promises to be a binge-worthy experience, offering a blend of romance, emotion, and authenticity.

  • JioCinema’s Toontastic Winter Carnival: 24 new shows for kids & family

    JioCinema’s Toontastic Winter Carnival: 24 new shows for kids & family

    Mumbai: Following its recent foray into kids’ entertainment, JioCinema is further set to elevate the entertainment quotient for its young viewers and their families with its latest campaign ‘Toontastic Winter Carnival’ to welcome 2024. Promising to make this holiday season the biggest-ever carnival and unforgettable for everyone, the festival brings a blockbuster lineup of 24 new shows, providing more than 300 hours of engaging content.

    As a part of this, JioCinema will drop new titles every day, presenting a diverse mix of homegrown and international releases from the kids’ network content of Viacom18 Nickelodeon, as well as globally renowned studios such as Warner Bros. and Paramount. Encompassing various genres like action, comedy, and adventure for kids, teens, and parents alike, the extravaganza includes many first-time debuts on JioCinema and will feature popular homegrown IPs – Abhimanyu Ki Alien Family and The Twisted Timeline of Sammy & Raj, along with shows – Shimmer And Shine, Paw Patrol, Avatar : The Last Airbender, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda: Legends Of Awesomeness, The Penguins Of Madagascar, Top Wing, Dora The Explorer, The Legend Of Korra. That’s not all! The carnival will also premiere global hits like Tom & Jerry, Samurai Jack, Karadi Tales, Geronimo Stilton, Teen Titans Go, Ben 10, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, Zig & Sharko, Steven Universe, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Wacky Races, Chowder and Megas XLR.

     

    Elevating the interactive experience for digital natives, JioCinema is pulling out all the stops with a watch-and-win experience ‘Khelo, Dekho, aur Jeeto’ contest, adding an engaging touch to the campaign. Ushering in 2024, JioCinema continues to set the benchmark for unparalleled viewing experience with one of its biggest rollouts of new shows. With the recently added ‘Kids and Family Hub’ offering and the launch of ‘Toontastic Winter Carnival’, the platform aims to create a delightful experience for young audiences and their families.

    Create unforgettable family moments this holiday season with JioCinema! Dive into a world of enchanting shows and movies, making every moment a magical adventure for kids and families alike!

     

  • JioCinema reboots for another big digital innings with advertisers for IPL 2024

    JioCinema reboots for another big digital innings with advertisers for IPL 2024

    Mumbai: Rebooting for a new season of IPL, JioCinema hosted a roadshow event for advertisers and partners that brought the power and potential of live sports on digital back into focus, and showcased the expanse of the platform’s offerings in the coming season. The event witnessed participation from some of India’s advertisers who discussed India’s paradigm shift towards digital and its implications on advertising in live sports.

    JioCinema anchor Anant Tyagi helped unfold an engaging session with brands such as Blackberrys and Mobikwik who shared a first-hand account of the transformative impact that IPL on JioCinema had on their respective businesses last season. The event also opened up conversations on the sharp rise in the adoption of Connected TV over the past year and how brands are making the most of it. Participants at the roadshow discussed how cricket on streaming platforms transcends demographics and enables unprecedented scale, thus making it sharper and more effective than traditional genres.

    All conversations at the event threw the spotlight on the scope and scale of IPL 2024 and what makes digital the right medium for this spectacle.

    Viacom18 sports head of revenue Anup Govindan, “With the first edition of IPL on JioCinema, we revolutionised the market by streaming the league for free, and also set an industry trend where competition followed suit while streaming other marquee tournaments,”

    “We are set to witness another staggering season of IPL on digital and hit 600-650 million viewers. The explosive growth of CTV and handheld devices will make it an inevitable phenomenon. This truly democratizes the opportunity for brands across the board to connect with their audiences through sharper targeting and in turn grow their businesses exponentially.” He added.

    JioCinema offered the world T20 league last season in 12 languages and 17 feeds for free and received a record-smashing 449 million viewership throughout the tournament, including 70 minutes of average watch time per match. JioCinema is now set for an encore with IPL 2024.

  • Viacom18 welcomes Sushma Rajesh as cluster head for Kannada and Marathi

    Viacom18 welcomes Sushma Rajesh as cluster head for Kannada and Marathi

    Mumbai: Sushma Rajesh has recently been appointed as the cluster head for Kannada and Marathi at Viacom18 Media. With a career spanning various key roles, Sushma previously served as Sr VP and business head – Kannada at The Walt Disney Company for nearly two years and three months. She shared this career move on her LinkedIn profile.

    Beginning her journey in 2004 at Star India as a senior manager in research & strategic planning, Sushma has held significant positions, including vice president of marketing & channel Strategy at Life OK in 2014 and business head at Star Utsav. Prior to her tenure at Star India, she commenced her career at IMRB, a division of the Kantar Group.

  • IPL 2023 hit 449 million overall viewership on Viacom18 says CEO Anil Jayaraj

    IPL 2023 hit 449 million overall viewership on Viacom18 says CEO Anil Jayaraj

    Mumbai: As a testament to the resounding success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Viacom18 CEO Anil Jayaraj revealed that the tournament garnered a record-breaking 449 million viewers overall including 120 million connected TV consumers on its platform while speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India in Bengaluru last month.

    Advocating for an AI and digital driven future for sports broadcasting in India, Jayaraj stated, “There is nothing of the scale of IPL anywhere in the world. The paid TV universe in this country is expected to be about 100 million so for us to pick 120 million users on connected TV was quite remarkable in year one. Technology is going to make a major change as far as the digital landscape goes. Digital is where the innovation seems to be happening, especially in India with the number of mobile connections, 4G phones, data, and the pure behaviour around linear viewing interactively. The use of technologies like AI will dramatically change our production of content and automation.”

    RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India brought together influential leaders from various sectors of sports industry to discuss and explore the dynamics of leadership in the ever-evolving landscape of sports.

    With a significant emphasis on promoting women’s sports, Anil Jayaraj dived into the Women’s Premier League’s (WPL) phenomenal interest among viewers, advertisers, and investors. “What we have seen significantly is that the interest (of WPL), the crowd enthusiasm was phenomenal. The key thing for us was also the quality of production that BCCI put out. For advertisers, it gives them an opportunity to target a very different demographic and that makes a lot of difference from a financial sort of sense for somebody like us who is investing,” he said.

    Jayaraj also touched upon the growing prominence of consuming various sports other than cricket and he hopes that the upcoming Paris Olympics will change that narrative. “The Indian market is predominantly an advertising market. India is very much, on the track of consuming multiple sports but out of the top 100 broadcast or stream programs in the country, 92 happen to be cricket. Hopefully, if we start seeing a lot more Indian athletes win, things will certainly change. That is why we are extremely hopeful of the Olympics. We believe that this is possibly going to be our best-ever performance as a country and I am sure that will be quite a breakthrough.”

    Jayaraj pointed out that Indian sports viewing habits are almost entirely live as 99% of the viewership is online and just 1% happens to be around, highlights, non-live content, and documentaries. However, he was bullish about the growing market of sports documentaries and docu-series in India and predicted that it will become quite big over the next four or five years.

    RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India concluded on 30 November.

  • GroupM onboards Roshin Mascarenhas as talent acquisition head

    GroupM onboards Roshin Mascarenhas as talent acquisition head

    Mumbai: GroupM has onboarded Roshin Mascarenhas as the head of Talent Acquisition, South Asia, effective December 2023. She confirmed her appointment on LinkedIn and will be working onsite Mumbai.

    The post stated, “Delighted to start my new journey as Head of Talent Acquisition GroupM South Asia. An organisation so progressive, holds collaboration and innovation as its highest values. Through my hiring and onboarding process the one thing that touched my heart personally was the warmth in each interaction and process and the importance to relationships that each individual; I interacted with embodied. I am looking forward to this voyage.”  

    Prior to this, she has served at several organisations including Network18, Viacom18, Aditya Birla Group, The Walt Disney Company and ABC Consultants.

  • Network18 announces consolidation of India’s top news media powerhouses

    Network18 announces consolidation of India’s top news media powerhouses

    Mumbai: Network18 Media & Investments Ltd (Network18) (NSE: NETWORK18) and  TV18 Broadcast Ltd (TV18) (NSE: TV18BRDCST) has announced a scheme of arrangement in terms of which TV18 and e-Eighteen.com Ltd (“E18”, which owns and operates moneycontrol website and app) will merge with Network18.

    The proposed scheme will consolidate the TV and digital news businesses of the Network18 group in one company and will help create India’s largest platform-agnostic news media powerhouse with the widest footprint across languages, straddling both TV and Digital. It will enable Network18 to consolidate and further grow its business from a position of strength. This will present a unique opportunity to all shareholders to participate in the media business of the group through one listed entity.

    The merged entity will comprise of the TV portfolio of TV18 (20 news channels in 16 languages and CNBCTV18.com), Digital assets of Network18 (News18.com platform across 13 languages and Firstpost) as also moneycontrol website and app. Viacom18 with its portfolio of JioCinema and 40 TV channels will be a direct subsidiary of Network18. Network18 will continue to hold its investment in BookMyShow.

    As consumers and advertisers increasingly gravitate towards omnichannel experiences across different aspects of their lives, having a deep and integrated presence across both TV and digital media will enable the merged entity to serve them better. Further, as the Network18 group has been working towards convergence, an integrated entity for news gathering and dissemination is expected to result in cost and content synergies.

    The Board of Directors of the respective companies have approved the scheme of arrangement at their meetings held today.

    Brief details of the scheme of arrangement:

    Appointed date for merger: 1 April, 2023

    Share exchange ratio:

    100 shares of Network18 for every 172 shares of TV18

    19 shares of Network18 for every 1 share of E18

    A joint valuation report for the fair share exchange ratio has been provided by PwC Business Consulting Services LLP (PWC BCS) and Ernst & Young Merchant Banking Services LLP (EY).  PWC BCS was appointed by Network18 and EY was appointed by TV18 and E18. BofA Securities India Limited (for Network18), Citigroup Global Markets India Pvt Ltd (for TV18) and HSBC Securities and Capital Markets India Pvt Ltd (for E18) provided Fairness Opinion as financial advisors while Khaitan & Co. is the legal advisor for the Scheme.

    The scheme of arrangement is subject to all necessary approvals.

  • Chalkboard Entertainments announces a strategic partnership with media veteran Sandeep Bhargava

    Chalkboard Entertainments announces a strategic partnership with media veteran Sandeep Bhargava

    Mumbai: Chalkboard Entertainment, a content company dedicated to producing compelling narratives, has announced a strategic partnership with media veteran Sandeep Bhargava to strengthen their business and content strategy. As a part of his role as a partner, Bhargava will be responsible for taking the organisation to its next phase of growth.

    An industry veteran, with an exemplary career spanning over 33 years, Bhargava has an extensive track record of transforming companies into highly successful businesses. From collaborating with internationally acclaimed directors and producers to playing a pivotal role in establishing India’s largest film studios – UTV, Sahara One, Viacom18 (Studio18), and The Indian Film Company (One of the first media companies to be listed on the AIM Exchange in London), Sandeep has been a valuable partner to some of the industry’s biggest names for over three decades.

    On this collaboration, Bhargava said, “I am thrilled to be working with Chalkboard Entertainment at such a dynamic time in the Indian content landscape. Chalkboard has perfectly captured the pulse of evolving narratives and is creating stories in line with that. Our shared vision is to develop an innovative and successful ecosystem that amplifies the impact and extends the reach of their exceptional content. I look forward to building and innovating with the talented team at Chalkboard Entertainment.”

    Speaking about the new addition to the team, Chalkboard Entertainment said co-founder Vikesh Bhutani said, “We are thrilled to welcome Sandeep to the leadership team at Chalkboard as we now gear up for our next phase of growth collectively. The rapidly evolving content industry demands a forward-thinking approach centered on innovation and creation and we are confident that his commitment and experience will add immense value to our future endeavors”