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Tag: Viacom18

  • Viacom18 takes a bold bet with Bigg Boss, to launch Season 15 first on Voot

    Viacom18 takes a bold bet with Bigg Boss, to launch Season 15 first on Voot

    KOLKATA: In an industry-first move, Viacom18 will launch its marquee entertainment property, Bigg Boss, first on Voot for six weeks. Titled Bigg Boss OTT, it will premiere in August 2021 with unprecedented access, engagement, and interactivity empowering viewers to immerse themselves in the journey of contestants in the Bigg Boss house. 

    In addition to the hour-long episode on Voot, viewers will get a chance to watch exclusive cuts, round-the-clock content drops, and a fully interactive 24*7 LIVE feed from the house. After the completion of the digital exclusive, the show will move seamlessly into Colors with the launch of Season 15 of Bigg Boss, said the channel on Friday.

    A high-priced entertainment property, Bigg Boss has stamped its pull even in the hyper-competitive digital entertainment space. With over 8.5 billion views, the show has dominated the digital space with a 92 percent share-of-voice. It has also garnered significant patronage of brands and advertisers who continue to engage with the property, season after season.

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures chief operating officer Gourav Rakshit said, “The launch of Bigg Boss OTT exclusively on Voot before TV is poised to be yet another game-changer in digital entertainment and a step forward in further cementing our position as the most loved consumer entertainment brand. This season is set to empower our audiences through unparalleled category-defining innovation through interactivity which we are sure will provide significance to our users, advertisers, and brands alike.”

    While the OTT exclusive starts in August, Bigg Boss will go live first on Voot, and after six weeks of exclusive streaming on digital, the show will launch in a fresh avatar in its 15th season on COLORS.

    Viacom18 Hindi Mass Entertainment chief content officer Manisha Sharma said, “The new digital exclusive format will take the show’s fandom to its next level through active engagement with viewers being able to play a part in the show’s progress. The beauty of this show lies in the versatility of format and the massive popularity it commands – both aspects helping us in customizing the show as two different content offerings for the two different platforms while maintaining its core ethos.”

  • Viacom18 partners with LaLiga, MTV India to exclusively air the Spanish league in India

    Viacom18 partners with LaLiga, MTV India to exclusively air the Spanish league in India

    New Delhi: Viacom18 Media’s flagship youth brand MTV has teamed up with LaLiga to bring the Spanish Football League exclusively to the Indian subcontinent for the next three years. The exclusive partnership will give the network linear and digital rights across the Indian subcontinent.

    Enabled and supported by Rise Worldwide, LaLiga will air exclusively on MTV in India, along with select national and regional network channels and live-streamed on Voot & Jio platforms, the network announced on Monday.

    Consumption and following of football in India have consistently increased over the past decade, especially amongst the youth. Currently in its 91st season, the iconic league is one of the most followed football leagues across the world and is home to Europe’s finest talent and football clubs including Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, amongst others.

    MTV is a popular destination for youth entertainment and content in India with a strong affinity with its young-at-heart viewers. Given the following that Football currently enjoys in India, Viacom18 and MTV are committed to building a wholesome entertainment-driven ecosystem centred around LaLiga, in a bid to further augment the fandom of the game, said the media conglomerate in a statement.

    Speaking about the association LaLiga, executive director, Oscar Mayo said, “We are excited to partner with Viacom18 (MTV India) and further bolster the LaLiga fandom to an ever-growing football fan base in India. Having set one of the highest standards of football globally and India gaining tremendous momentum, we are confident that we will reach and engage with the youthful audience that MTV as a destination appeals to.”

    Speaking about LaLiga on MTV, business head – Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Anshul Ailawadi said, “We at MTV have always known that football enjoys a groundswell of support amongst young-at-heart Indians. The LaLiga in particular, is a cultural phenomenon all over the World. When the folks from RISE Worldwide introduced us to the LaLiga team, we realized that this was a partnership waiting to happen – the vision was common, the vibes were good, and we quickly put pen to paper.”

    LaLiga will commence on 13 August and will see Viacom18 put the network’s might behind building reach and resonance for the league amongst Indian viewers. Viacom18 will connect with the football fans through a massive marketing and communications campaign, further building the fandom and outreach for LaLiga in India.

    “MTV’s extensive social media and digital clout will ensure that LaLiga engages fans through a multi-platform approach, potentially making football a part of dinner-table conversations across Indian homes and further widen MTV and Viacom18’s offering to its viewers,” said the channel.

  • NTO 2.0 verdict: Who wins what?

    KOLKATA: One of the major issues that has dominated the pay TV ecosystem in India is in constant conflict between stakeholders and the sector regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).  With the Bombay high court pronouncing its verdict on the amended new tariff order matter, one of the long-fought battles between the two may have come to an end. It upheld the constitutional validity of Trai’s NTO 2.0 but set aside the second clause of twin pricing conditions. The court’s decision is receiving mixed reviews from senior industry executives.

    On Wednesday, the division bench of Justices Amjad Sayyed and Anuja Prabhudessai passed judgement on several petitions filed by broadcasters and industry bodies like the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). The bench stated that the challenge to the constitutional validity of the 2020 rules and regulations of Trai does not hold any water. At the same time, it termed one of the twin conditions arbitrary according to which the maximum retail price of an a-la-carte channel could not be more than one third of the maximum rate of a channel in the bouquet.

    “We welcome this verdict of the honourable Bombay high court on amendment in tariff regulation. The full implementation of the amendment will bring more transparency in industry and give more choices and power to the customer. We are hopeful that this will get implemented soon. It is good for all stakeholders in the industry value chain,” GTPL Hathway cable TV head & chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said.

    Others in the business are not so sure because they believe it will definitely lead to a decline in subscription revenues. Considerably, major broadcasters have not already witnessed a fall in subscription revenue after partial implementation of NTO 2.0.  But they fear that after this verdict, there will be a faster movement towards a-la-carte from bouquets thus leading to lower ARPUs.

    One of the senior executives with a leading broadcaster said squashing the second twin condition can be looked at as a big win for broadcasters. This clause had the potential to effectively hamper broadcasters from packaging their channels as they had to bundle similarly priced offerings together as part of the bouquet. 

    However, the grounds that it has been struck down on are not very solid, another senior executive added. This battle was unnecessary and a fight for power, he noted, especially given the cost. Moreover, very few broadcasters were looking at pushing high pricing for channels anyway. Even these broadcasters also cannot go for high pricing now due to changed market dynamics in the last one year due to pandemic. As Trai still has substantive grounds to reclaim whatever has been lost, they might look at rechallenging it, the executive noted.

    “We believe there is a high likelihood of this being contested in the supreme court by Trai as the entire reasoning of getting the NTO 2.0 was to cap discount and move to selective viewing which the NTO 1.0 did not fulfil,” Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani said in a note.

    “We continue to believe that the negative impact of NTO 2.0 is highest for Star whose bouquet prices have a higher discount factor and lowest for Sun TV whose discounting of bouquet vs ala carte is already at very low levels, which will lead to continued outperformance for Sun TV on subs revenue front despite NTO 2.0. On the other hand, this order is low to moderately negative for Zee,” stated Taurani.

    Back in 2018, Madras high court had also set aside the capping of discounts to 15 per cent mentioned in the Tariff Order and Interconnection Regulations of 2017. However, the battle reached the supreme court where the regulator won the case. Within a year of implementation of the regulation, the authority brought changes which irked broadcasters starting the second battle. Now are we in for the third?

  • Voot bags streaming rights for Maratha Cricket League T20

    Mumbai: Viacom18 backed video-streaming platform, Voot is set to collaborate with India’s first cricket reality show, Maratha Cricket League T20 as its exclusive streaming partner. 

    The talent hunt reality show will consist of a total of 34 cricket matches scheduled to begin on 15 August, with the grand finale on 5 September. As a unique feature, the cricket league will also have a ‘public voting’ system.

    Maratha Cricket League T20, Squarecut Sports Pvt Ltd, CEO Vincent John said, “Maratha Cricket League – MCLT20 is India’s first Cricket Reality Show designed to discover less fortunate cricketers of India and to give them a platform to tell their stories and display their cricketing talent to the world. The league represents the iconic heritage and glorious history of the Great Maratha Empire and embodies its warrior spirit. Over ten thousand such cricketers were given an opportunity to display their talent out of which the best 200 will feature in season one of MCL-T20. Through the platform of Voot, they will be able to tell their stories. We look forward to the long-term successful association with Voot.”

    Former India International cricketer and Squarecut Sports Pvt. Ltd. VP and VC, Rudra Pratap Singh said, “What attracted me most about the MCL-T20 is its unique concept to give a platform to so many less fortunate cricketers to showcase their talent and live their dream through the MCL-T20. Getting Voot as our broadcasting partner magnifies this opportunity a thousand-fold for these undiscovered talented cricketers to tell their stories to the world both on and off the field.”

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures, head – AVOD (Voot), Chanpreet Arora said, “Voot is a platform that seeks to provide diverse content experiences and a differentiated and first-of-its-kind sports talent hunt reality show that seeks to encourage cricketing talent in the country is a great way for us to connect with our users. The partnership with the Maratha Cricket league as streaming partners presents MCL with the opportunity to tap into the large user base of Voot while it allows Voot to drive meaningful engagement with sporting enthusiasts in the country through the unique format. This is the first of more such content innovations to come from our end at Voot.”

  • No such transaction being undertaken, Zeel refutes reports of merger

    New Delhi: Putting speculation to rest, the entertainment giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) on Monday said, there are no merger talks underway with Viacom18, as reported by a leading English daily.

    “We herewith confirm that there is no such transaction being undertaken and the matter is speculative in nature. This is for your information and records,” Subhash Chandra’s Essel group owned media company posted on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday.

    The statement comes in the wake of a report published by Livemint, about a potential merger between Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) through a share swap deal.

    According to the report, the merger was proposed to be done through a share swap deal. “The talks started a few weeks ago, and the deal is unlikely to involve any cash transaction,” reported the publication.

    Founded by Essel Group’s Subhash Chandra, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd is majority-owned by foreign institutional investors – Investco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Ofi Global Fund China LLC. The company is run by Chandra’s son and CEO & managing director Punit Goenka.

    Earlier in the day, Zeel spokesperson had also refused to confirm or deny the speculative news item. Said a Zeel corporate official:“The company does not comment on speculation and rumours.” 

  • Viacom18 and Zeel eyeing a merger?

    New Delhi: It’s the season for mergers. Following in the footsteps of  big media mergers globally, two entertainment giants back home- Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) are now reportedly looking to join hands to create a large firm, according to an unconfirmed news item in Mint on Monday.

    If  the reports are to be believed, the owner of the GEC Colors, Viacom18, and Subhash Chandra’s Zeel have initiated talks of a potential merger. It is too early to say, but, if the deal fructifies, the combined entity will end up owning and managing the largest number of TV channels in India, and probably globally. The combined media firm’s interest will span across broadcast, OTT, live entertainment, and movie production.

    However, it is not the first time that such talks of coagulating companies in the television business have floated. The buzz has been proven to be unfounded in the past.

    Last year,  similar talks of a  merger  between Viacom18 and Sony Pictures Network fell apart, after the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd pushed for a majority stake in the combined entity as well. RIL owns a majority stake in Viacom18, which is a joint venture between TV18 Broadcast Ltd and US-based ViacomCBS Inc. While Network18 owns a 51 per cent stake in Viacom 18, Viacom holds the remaining 49 per cent.

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd was founded by Essel Group’s Subhash Chandra and is majority-owned by foreign institutional investors – Investco Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund and Ofi Global Fund China LLC. The company is run by Chandra’s son and CEO & managing director Punit Goenka.

    A Zeel spokesperson refused to confirm or deny the speculative news item. Said a Zeel corporate official:  “The company does not comment on speculation and rumours.” 

  • Nickelodeon celebrates International Yoga Day with #YogaSeHiHoga campaign

    KOLKATA: Nickelodeon continues to celebrate International Yoga Day year-on-year to engage its little fans and make Yoga a daily practice. This year, the kids’ entertainment channel is taking Yoga Day activities a notch higher with the latest edition of its fun and spirited #YogaSeHiHoga campaign. 

    As a part of the initiative, the brand has partnered with SARVA Yoga Studios, a wellness start-up, to bring Yoga closer to its little fans and educate them about the enormous benefits derived from Yoga. Nickelodeon and SARVA are bringing yoga to the audience in a fun manner through a unique interactive Yoga workshop with Nicktoons Shiva, Rudra, and Happy. The brand has also curated workshops with yoga experts from SARVA studios to instil a healthy lifestyle that is sure to de-stress kids in these difficult times.

    Viacom18 Kids TV Network, marketing head Sonali Bhattacharya said, “At a time when a large part of a child’s routine has changed with great restrictions on physical movement, we believe that with this unique campaign and with the power of our amazing Nicktoons, kids would get the stress buster they so deserve! By collaborating with like-minded partners, we are creating innovative and safe moments for kids to be healthy and happy in difficult times like this.”

    Ministry of AYUSH, joint secretary PN Ranjit Kumar said, the ministry is happy to support Nickelodeon’s initiative Yoga Se Hi Hoga second time after seeing the excellent response received from little yogis last year. “As the pandemic continues to challenge us, it is noteworthy to see kids brands like Nickelodeon coming forward to highlight the ability of Yoga to strengthen immunity. The campaign aligns with the theme of IDY 2021 ‘Yoga for wellness’, and we hope that people utilize this period as an opportunity to strengthen their health through Yoga practice,” he added.

    SARVA founder Sarvesh Shashi said, “SARVA has always aimed to break the myth that Yoga is boring. During the pandemic, the presence of a positive, friendly influence like the Nick toons only encourages children to keep practising and have fun while doing so. We are so glad to have tied up with Nickelodeon especially during this time where we have been urging the world saying #StartTohKaro!”

    The campaign will be promoted by a 360-degree marketing and communications plan which will include on-air promotions across the Nickelodeon franchise, digital promotions, and a robust program of mommy networks and influencers who will amplify the reach to audiences at large.

    In addition to this, a virtual workshop is designed for all Viacom18 employees and their kids. Furthermore, the initiative will be brought alive on social media through a #YogaSeHiHoga program and a Kid Yoga Series through an array of fun short-form videos encouraging kids to imbibe Yoga in their daily lifestyle. Kids can upload their picture/video of them doing their favourite yoga pose on nickindia.com and the best ones would get featured on the channel.

    To emphasize the tremendous advantages that Yoga offers, the brand has collaborated with child prodigies Ishwar Sharma and Harsha Nivetha to come forward and extend their support to the initiative. Through a host of quirky videos and actions on-air, and Yoga workshops by Nicktoons, the entire campaign will be supported by the Ministry of AYUSH.

    In 2019, Nickelodeon celebrated International Yoga Day wherein Nicktoons Motu-Patlu performed Yoga with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 40,000 people at Prabhat Tara Ground, Ranchi, and collaborated with Mumbai’s biggest Yoga event – ‘Yoga by the Bay’. Last year, owing to the pandemic, Nickelodeon celebrated Yoga Day virtually in partnership with AYUSH ministry to inculcate yoga habits and highlight the importance of building a healthier immune system. The digital partnership was extensively promoted through interactive posts, videos, followed by a nationwide contest that reached out to over 630,000 mothers & kids combined through digital mediums and 3000+ entries received under the Yoga contest hosted on the brand platform.

  • Voot Studio partners with German Broadcaster Deutsche Welle

    KOLKATA: Voot’s brand solutions arm, Voot Studio, has partnered with German international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, to stream the progressive series ‘HER- Women in Asia’. The series is based on the inspiring real-life transformational stories of women from the Asian sub-continent.

    The series will stream exclusively on VOOT from 11 June.

    With topics ranging from online dating to beauty, ‘HER- Women in Asia’ comprises six episodes, each 15-minutes long, highlighting the stories of women from different walks of life residing in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, and Taiwan. The series focuses on telling universal and existential stories with each episode showcasing three women who share their experiences about online dating, marriage, career, beauty, and more.

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures AVoD head Chanpreet Arora said VOOT Studio has been successful in driving a brand’s message and reach by providing the right platform and relevant audience engagement opportunity. “Our collaboration with Deutsche Welle’s ‘HER- Women in Asia’ is a step further in this direction to bring forth stories that are relevant and have a universal appeal. We are happy to partner with them to showcase an engaging and inspiring series that will strike the right chord with our viewers on Voot,” added Arora.

    DW, Asia, distribution manager, Daniel Schulz said, “Our goal is to promote versatility and ensure that real-life stories on important topics like women’s empowerment, cultural diversity, environment, technology, and sustainability are accessible to people across the globe. We are constantly working not only to meet the audience’s expectations of being a credible news destination but also to create motivating stories and educational programs for curious minds.”

    According to DW distribution representative for India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, Jaya Oberoi, said there is demand for high-quality ‘infotainment’ formats which give voice to serious messages. “India is a key market that offers tremendous opportunities. We aim to focus on co-production collaborations to provide digital content which is relevant and to steadily grow in the regional space,” said Oberoi.

  • Viacom18 ropes in Vivek Mohan Sharma to head branded content

    New Delhi: Viacom18 on Thursday announced the appointment of Vivek Mohan Sharma as head of Branded Content. He will be reporting to head- Network Sales, Mahesh Shetty.

    In his new role, Sharma will be responsible for leading branded content and solutions at the network level. Individually, he will be responsible for driving branded solutions for Viacom18’s Hindi Mass Entertainment, Regional Entertainment, and Kids TV clusters leveraging its broadcast and social reach. In addition to this, he will also work with existing teams at Youth, Music, and English Entertainment as well as the network’s digital play Voot to bring in synergies and dial-up advertiser-funded content-driven growth.

    Viacom18 Network sales head, Mahesh Shetty said: “We are living in a world full of too many choices which however have increasingly minimal differentiation amongst them. Branded content has the potential to bring forth this differentiation and connect with audiences in a more engaging and emotional capacity. With his versatile experience in leadership roles across industries, Vivek is best poised to bring collaborations across our brand offerings and create unique propositions for our clients that are relevant and result-oriented.”

    On his new role, Sharma said, “Brands today are looking at creating moments and mindshare that stays with the audience for long. Branded content acts as the bridge, bringing in solutions that truly connect the brand with its consumers engagingly and effectively. I look forward to driving value, innovation, and overall growth in my new role at Viacom18.”

    Sharma has close to two decades of experience in Business Management, Revenue, and Marketing across Media, Telecom and Banking sectors, and has held leadership roles at Mirchi, Idea Cellular, Deutsche Bank, and ICICI Bank in the past. Prior to joining Viacom18, he worked as head- Digital Business and worked towards transforming Mirchi into a dominant digital content and solutions brand.

  • Voot strengthens its original content lineup with Khwabon Ke Parindey

    Mumbai: Voot is all set to premiere its new original series, Khwabon Ke Parindey on 14 June.

    Presented by CoinDCX Go and powered by Airtel, the six-episode series stars Asha Negi, Mrinal Dutt, Manasi Moghe and Tushar Sharma in the lead roles. The series is set in the backdrop of Australia, and revolves around the lives of three friends, Bindiya, Dixit, and Megha. They meet Aakash, a rugged hitchhiker on an adventurous and life-altering road trip from Melbourne to Perth. 

    Speaking on the content strategy adopted by Voot, Viacom18 Digital Ventures business head AVOD Chanpreet Arora said, “We at Voot are committed to creating a robust entertainment ecosystem, catering to the diverse entertainment needs of our audiences. We will continue to invest in creating a wide repertoire of inclusive content and experiences that will engage and enthral our users. The series marks the beginning of our originals slate this year and we are sure that with its immersive content and enhanced engagement, Voot will garner significant audience patronage.” 

    CoinDCX chief marketing officer Ramalingam S said, “Crypto & Blockchain is a concept supported and promoted by dreamers. CoinDCX through its various products supports this dreamer within everyone. By partnering with Khwabon Ke Parindey, we felt that by supporting this unique show we’ll be able to give wings to these dreamers.”