Tag: Viacom18

  • World Laughter Day: Comedy Central spreads cheers with ‘Giggle Trigger’ campaign

    World Laughter Day: Comedy Central spreads cheers with ‘Giggle Trigger’ campaign

    Mumbai: Everyone has a unique arsenal of comedy that they can pull out to make someone laugh. While for some, it is a trusted joke, for others it could be something slapstick. Recognising this potential for spreading laughter, Viacom18’s English entertainment channel Comedy Central, on the occasion of World Laughter Day, is giving its viewers a chance to make someone laugh with its unique campaign, ‘Giggle Trigger.’

    Crafting an insane laughter riot to spread cheer, Comedy Central gives its viewers an opportunity to create a video of making someone laugh by pulling a prank, cracking a joke or showing off mimicry skills. Viewers will have to post the video in a horizontal format on social media and use #GiggleTrigger in the caption. “Top 20 videos will be featured on the channel on 1 May,  along with giving the winners a chance to pick their favourite episodes from two of Comedy Central’s most loved shows “The Big Bang Theory” or “Friends,” which will be aired on the same day along with their videos,” said the statement.

    Speaking on the campaign, Viacom18 marketing head – youth, music and English Entertainment Utsav Chaudhuri said, “As our viewers evolve, Comedy Central continues to be their happy place beyond television, actively engaging them across social media. With our latest initiative Giggle Trigger, our viewers will not only get an opportunity to program their favourite channel with their kind of laughter, but also showcase their lighter side on our platforms. On this day celebrating laughter, we hope that ‘Giggle Trigger’ delivers the intended smiles and spreads joy amongst our viewers.”

  • Viacom18 announces the launch of Sports18 Khel on DD FreeDish

    Viacom18 announces the launch of Sports18 Khel on DD FreeDish

    Mumbai: Viacom18 on Monday announced the launch of Sports18 Khel – its free-to-air (FTA) Hindi channel, available on Prasar Bharati’s DTH service DD FreeDish. The announcement follows closely on the heels of the launch of its pay-TV channel Sports18.

    Sports18 Khel will allow fans to watch their favourite sports in Hindi, including the highlights of the 2021-22 NBA season, Abu Dhabi T10 League, Road Safety World Series, Santosh Trophy, glorious moments of Indian sports and other such offerings, said the statement.

    “Viacom18 secured a slot on DD FreeDish to make sports content easily accessible and expand the consumption of the genre across a wider audience,” says a Viacom18 Sports spokesperson. “Sports18 Khel will offer content relevant to the FTA subscribers across a range of sports in Hindi. This is also an opportunity to funnel a new audience to the pay-TV segment.”

    Effective 25 April, Sports18 Khel will be available on channel #25 on DD FreeDish. Meanwhile, Sports18 SD is available on channel #488 on Tata Play, channel #293 on Airtel Digital TV, on channel #262 on JioTV +, and Sports18 HD on channel #261 JioTV +. Viewers can continue to watch their preferred sports by downloading Viacom18’s premium video-on-demand platform Voot (iOS & Android) and JioTV (iOS & Android).

  • Viacom18 unveils its new sports channel ‘Sports18’

    Viacom18 unveils its new sports channel ‘Sports18’

    Mumbai: Viacom18 on Friday announced the launch of Sports18, the network’s dedicated sports broadcasting channel. The pay-TV channel, available in SD and HD, will offer fans the ‘best-in-class’ sports content in India, the network said.

    “Sports18 will be the new home to the world’s most premium sports properties, including the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022, NBA, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A, Abu Dhabi T10, and top ATP & BWF events. Apart from premier picks from the world of football, basketball, tennis, cricket and badminton, the channel will provide fans access to top programming covering international sports news, magazine and highlights shows,” said the media company in a statement.

    “We are pleased to launch a dedicated sports channel for an audience across demographics and geographies,” stated Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj. “Sports18 will strive to be India’s most-coveted broadcast network by providing fans easy access to a comprehensive bouquet of international and premier sports content.”

    As the LaLiga, Ligue1, Serie A, and the NBA come to the business end of their seasons, fans will be able to experience all the events on Sports18. “Viewers can continue to watch their preferred sports by downloading Viacom18’s premium video-on-demand platform Voot (iOS & Android) and JioTV (iOS & Android),” the statement added.

    Effective 6 p.m on 15 April, the channel will be available on leading DTH service providers across the country.

  • Viacom18 launches promo for music platform ‘KaanPhod’

    Viacom18 launches promo for music platform ‘KaanPhod’

    Mumbai: Viacom18’s youth, music and English entertainment cluster has launched a promo film for its recently announced artist label and music platform ‘KaanPhod.’  

    The new division will offer language-agnostic music-centric content across multiple digital as well as major audio streaming platforms including Hungama, Wynk, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Jio Saavn, Resso, and YouTube.

    ALSO READ | Viacom18’s YME cluster launches new business division ‘KaanPhod’

    “KaanPhod, aims to be the number one destination for artists and music discovery,” said the statement. “Music enthusiasts can dive into all things music – from original tracks of emerging artists, unscripted shows, to documentaries on renowned music personalities, international music trends, masterclasses and even live jam sessions with India’s favourite artists.”

  • Voot adds new titles to April content slate

    Voot adds new titles to April content slate

    Mumbai: Viacom18’s AVOD service Voot is expanding its content library with “Brochara S2” and “Baked: S3” exclusively streaming on the platform on 18 and 25 April, respectively.

    “With these new additions to its content slate, Voot aims to reach out to male audiences across metros, as well as the tier 2 and 3 cities,” said the statement.

    “Brochara S2” is a slice-of-life comedy exploring the nuances of male bonding and friendship in a long-distance relationship. “Baked S3” follows the reunion of three friends after seven years of an unfortunate incident.  

    “At Voot, we have recognised the changing entertainment needs of our viewers and have constantly innovated to deliver content that appeals to all,” said Viacom18 Digital Ventures head –AVOD Chanpreet Arora. “Keeping up the momentum and strengthening our libraries with a focus to appeal to the younger audience, with web series like ‘Brochara’ and ‘Baked,’ we continue to expand our content offerings to bring delightful and relatable content for our existing users, while also attracting new ones. ”

  • MTV Roadies Season 18 to premiere on 8 April

    MTV Roadies Season 18 to premiere on 8 April

    Mumbai: The Season 18 of Infinix Smartphones MTV Roadies is set to premiere on 8 April starting at 7 pm. The show will be on air thrice a week from Friday to Sunday on MTV. It will also stream on Voot.

    The show is shot in South Africa and will be hosted by actor Sonu Sood. CoinSwitch, Paree Sanitary Pads, Leverage Edu and Lakme Sun Expert have come on board as ‘co-powered by’ sponsors. The show has been produced by PipPip media private limited.

    “At MTV, we have always delivered unprecedented, clutter-breaking experiences to our young audiences leading with the pop-culture phenomenon that is Roadies,” said Viacom18 head of youth, music and English entertainment Anshul Ailawadi.

    “With the new season, fans will get to see the classic, enduring passion to become a Roadie, but with innovation in format, South African locales, with superstar host Sonu Sood. We will also be airing the show thrice a week for the first time, giving fans more entertainment and adventure. We are confident that MTV Roadies Journey in South Africa will break new ground in the realm of adventure reality shows.”

    “Infinix is a premium smartphone brand, and like MTV Roadies, embodies the spirit of ‘Ab Rukna Nahi’ with its contemporary and innovative tech,” said Infinix Mobiles CEO Anish Kapoor.

    “With both MTV and Infinix Smartphones catering to the young audience, through this partnership, we aim to reach out and connect with the youth of India. As a forward-looking company, we are sure this new season in a new format will be a thrilling journey offering unmatched adventure and excitement,” Kapoor added.

    The first episode of the season will be simulcast across 19 channels along with a content roadblock on 15 channels across the Viacom18 network.

  • IPL media rights: Major contenders come on board to buy ITT

    IPL media rights: Major contenders come on board to buy ITT

    Mumbai: Within a week of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) releasing the Invitation-To-Tender (ITT) to sell the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights for the 2023-27 broadcast seasons, major players such as Disney Star, Reliance Viacom18, Sony, Zee and Amazon, and an unnamed company have bought the document.

    As per a report by The Times of India, American tech giant Apple is expected to buy the ITT next week.

    BCCI invites bids for IPL media rights from 2023-27

    The total base price for the media rights has been set at Rs 32,890 crore calculated on the basis of 74 matches to be played this season. The board has divided the rights into four bundles including TV broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent set at a base price of Rs 18,130 crore (74 games), digital rights for the Indian subcontinent set at a base price of Rs 12,210 core (74 games), non-exclusive digital rights for Indian subcontinent (18 matches including the opening match, four playoffs and night games of the doubleheaders) set at a base price of Rs 1,440 crore and TV and digital rights for the rest of the world (74 games) set at a base price of Rs 1,110 crore.  

    The e-auction for the media rights will be held in the second week of June. The deadline to purchase the ITT will end on 10 May.

  • Viacom18 to premiere ‘Neer Dose’ on Colors Kannada and Voot Select

    Viacom18 to premiere ‘Neer Dose’ on Colors Kannada and Voot Select

    Mumbai: Viacom18 Network’s broadcast channel Colors Kannada and digital platform Voot Select will premiere the Kannada film “Neer Dose” on 31 March. 

    The comedy film will premiere digitally on Voot Select, followed by the world TV premiere on Colors Kannada.

    “Neer Dose” explores the challenge of narrating the life of a sex worker who forges unexpected but meaningful and selfless friendships with a crematorium van driver and a retired man. 

    The film features veteran talents such as HG Dattatreya, Jaggesh, Hariprriya and Suman Ranganathan in the lead roles.

    “I have seen sex workers closely and that has helped me in narrating the character of Hariprriya in this movie,” said director Vijaya Prasad. “I am so excited about the OTT release of the film as the demand of mass audiences for the film is finally being addressed by Voot Select. I can say that the same baby is born twice.”  

  • Poker Sports League S4 to be livestreamed on Voot

    Poker Sports League S4 to be livestreamed on Voot

    Mumbai: The fourth season of Poker Sports League (PSL) will be live streamed on Viacom18-owned streaming service, Voot. Fairplay News is associated with the tournament as the ‘powered by’ partner.

    PSL season four started on 29 March and will go on till 13 April with six to seven matches every week. This year’s league is in phygital format with Deltin Royale and Adda52 as venue partner and online partner, respectively.

    The season finale will be hosted live on-ground from 20-24 April for the first time since the pandemic.

    “We are thrilled to partner again this year with Voot for our upcoming season,” said Poker Sports League CEO and founder Pranav Bagai. “As our majority of the audience are tech savvy and shifting towards OTT platforms to consume various modes of entertainment, partnering with Voot for streaming was a prudent option. Through this association we endeavour to provide our users with the finest experience of poker possible.”

    The focus of this season are the upcoming qualifiers along with key pro- players, with high investment biddings and significant retainers. There are six teams representing six different Indian provinces, namely Delhi Czars, Deccan Aces, Goan Nuts, Gujarat Falcons, Mumbai Anchors, and Kolkata Kings. A total of 36 qualifiers, 12 pro-players are going to be a part of this season. In addition to these it has six spots for women and six for substitutes.

    “Given the substantial shift in content consumption to digital platforms in India, and the dynamicity of the Indian online poker industry, we decided to reach a wider audience and encourage them to play in every season,” Bagai further said, adding, “Our partnership with Voot will screen an exclusive behind-the-scenes reality show ‘Poker Mantra’ in addition to the live streaming of the league.”

    “At Voot, we strive to ink partnerships that add value to our platform, and we are thrilled to once again partner with Poker Sports League,” stated Viacom18 Digital Ventures head – AVOD (Voot) Chanpreet Arora. “Through this partnership, Voot’s appeal to the young audiences will create a strong fan base for Poker in India and will provide us with an opportunity to captivate poker enthusiasts and provide them with a rewarding experience.”

  • Viacom18 consolidates film portfolio under Colors Cineplex umbrella

    Viacom18 consolidates film portfolio under Colors Cineplex umbrella

    Mumbai: Viacom18 has consolidated all its movie channels under one brand umbrella – Colors Cineplex, and the new Hindi movie channel Colors Cineplex Superhits will go live on 1 April. The channel will be available on DTH and cable platforms including DD Free Dish.

    Colors Cineplex Superhits will air a mix of Hindi films and dubbed from other languages including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, and English. Its content library includes more than 500 film titles, said the statement.

    “Movies are the most preferred medium of entertainment for the viewers and Colors Cineplex has always been at the forefront of providing exceptional movie content,” said Viacom18 head Hindi movies cluster Rohan Lavsi. “The mother channel – ‘Colors Cineplex’ has seen impressive growth in the past few years and has made it to the top five channels in the Hindi movie space.  With the launch of Colors Cineplex Superhits, we are now consolidating all the movie channels under the “Colors Cineplex” brand name. With the strengthened portfolio of channels that now includes Colors Cineplex, Colors Cineplex Bollywood and Colors Cineplex Superhits, we are excited to bring some blockbuster premieres and a splendid line-up of superhits of yesteryears for our audience.”

    Colors Cineplex Superhits will soon premiere films namely “Vijay Raghavan,” “Dumdaar Khiladi 2,” “Roberrt,” and “Minnal Murali” all April, every Sunday starting from 3 April.