Tag: Viacom18

Indiacast rejigs top management to streamline expansion plans

MUMBAI: IndiaCast, the domestic distribution, international and digital business arm of Viacom18 and TV18, has restructured its international team with a sharper focus on bolstering business. The move aims at consolidating operational efficiency and bringing in synergies.

The restructuring exercise is aimed at making the organisation future-ready as it enters its next growth phase. With this move, IndiaCast has emphasised its focus on alternative revenue sources such as digital and live events in its international business.

The role of Govind Shahi has been expanded as the business head for Europe, Americas, APAC and Outbound Sales. The functional heads of the above-mentioned regions will now report to him directly.

Sachin Gokhale will now assume the role of heading the corporate strategy, operations for international business, and will continue to oversee the Middle East and Africa region.

Debkumar Dasgupta continues to head the syndication, new media / digital licensing businesses. In addition to the same, he will also oversee the south Asia linear business.

All the international business heads will report into IndiaCast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi.

Gandhi said, “We are at the cusp of a big change in our industry with alternate sources of growth emerging in terms of the technology and business models globally. Keeping in mind the ever-changing landscape, it is important for us to have a structure which is agile, empowers business heads to challenge the given and capitalise on opportunities.”

October 5, 2017
Viacom18 showcases strong women characters content: Ajit Andhare, buys Mithali biopic rights

MUMBAI: With a phenomenal record of being the highest run scorer in one-day internationals averaging above 51, the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, Mithali Raj, has had a remarkable journey on field. An inspiration to billions of young girls in the country, her life is now all set to be documented on the silver screen. The rights of the film have been acquired by Viacom18 Motion Pictures, the studio that backed content driven films like Queen, Manjhi, Drishyam, Mary Kom, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and the recent hit, Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Viacom18 Motion Pictures COO Ajit Andhare says, “Viacom18 Motion Pictures has always been the pioneer in showcasing content with portrayal of strong women characters right from Queen to Kahani to Mary Kom. We are proud to be collaborating with the young and inspirational Mithali Dorai Raj, a name single-handedly responsible in bringing about a shift in the way women’s cricket team was perceived in our country.” Raj is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and the only woman cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She is also the first player to score seven consecutive 50s in ODIs. Raj is the first Indian to have lead the national team to an ICC ODI World Cup final twice – 2005 and 2017. An Arjuna awardee, Mithali was also awarded the Padma Shri in 2015, India’s fourth highest civilian award for her contribution towards the sport of cricket. Raj says, “I am extremely happy on this association with Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Hoping that this movie inspires more people especially young girls to take up sports as a career.” The association between Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Mithali Raj has been facilitated by Medallin Sports director Varun Chopra, who says: “Mithali remains to be an inspiration for multitudes for many years now and her story on the silver screen will keep motivating generations.”

September 27, 2017
Viacom18’s social expt ‘Bigg Boss’ has ‘Super Bowl’-like fandom, says Raj Nayak, Salman to play ‘peacemaker’

MUMBAI: “We all have neighbors of every kind and every hue. Some of us have wonderful memories of them and some of us may have not so good ones,” Salman Khan exemplified Bigg Boss’ theme after returning as the host for the eighth season in a row.

The new season promises to give the audience a peek into human psychology in its newest avatar with Khan also as the neighbourhood peacemaker!

In our lifetime, we all come across a vivid breed of neighbours who we share a love-hate relationship with. The greedy ones, the nuisance creators, the gossip-mongers and sometimes the close confidants with whom we share our day-to-day ordeals with. Incorporating a never-seen-before twist, Colors ’ is all set to present yet another extraordinary season of its marquee show “Appy Fizz presents Bigg Boss powered by Oppo Camera Phones” which will roll out the red carpet for the Padosis this year. Viewers will find a host of new neighbours in the Bigg Boss House whose lives they’ll get to follow over a period of 90 days.

About the ad rate, official sources told Indiantelevision.com, it was Rs 3 lakh per 10-second — an increase of 15-20 per cent over last year. Apart from the two known and CP Plus as sponsors, Colors is expecting three-four more partners for Bigg Boss.

About the launch of the show, Viacom18 COO Raj Nayak said, “Arguably the most awaited show on Indian television and a social experiment at its best, Bigg Boss undoubtedly has a fandom like the Super Bowl of the West. After turning risk into a victory last season as the contrasting worlds of common man and celebrities created unparalleled content, the entertainment abode of Bigg Boss this season comes with an even bigger twist filled with indomitable ‘Gharwale’ and ‘Padosis’. We’ve done an impeccable casting and are certain that the universal theme of ‘neighbours’ will not only prove to be relatable but will also elicit the right kind of emotions amongst the viewers.”

Bigg Boss, the world of Gharwale and Padosis, will premiere on 1 October at 9pm, and the subsequent episodes will air Monday – Friday at 1030pm and on Saturday-Sunday at 9pm on Colors.

Nayak added, “This year has been wonderful for Colors as we could treat our audience to some exemplary content; be it by presenting unique propositions like India Banega Manch and Rising Star or by accounting another successful season of Khatron Ke Khiladi. Here’s hoping that Bigg Boss will continue the trend and become a matter of neighbourhood gossip in every locality.”

Talking about the association, Parle Agro’s joint MD and CMO Nadia Chauhan said, “Bigg Boss, as a property, only seems to be getting bigger and better with every season. Our association has not only helped us to cement a significant market position but also to create several innovative brand propositions. We are looking forward to reaching out to our target audience through compelling in-show integration.”

Khan added, “Bigg Boss is a show that the country awaits with bated breath along with my movies.”

Said Oppo India brand director Will Yang, “We have continued our association as the results have been tremendous and the recall amongst our target audience has been remarkable. We believe this year’s alliance will create more buzz and reach out to more audience which is young and fashionable as our brand.”

About the security of the Bigg Boss House, CP PLUS COO Yogesh B Dutta said: “CP PLUS is excited to be an integral part of the Bigg Boss house by intelligently securing the show this time.”

Colors programming head Manisha Sharma said, “There are quite a few exciting and innovative elements getting added to the House this season, like an ‘aakhara’ and a ‘kalkothri’. For the first time ever, Salman will also be staying alongside the contestants.”

As the common man and celebrities fight all odds and live together as neighbours for 100 plus days, their lives will be filled with unique challenges and situations that will prove to be an entertainment bonanza. Only the determined and resilient will emerge victorious in this ultimate battle of Gharwale and Padosis.

On the format, Endemol Shine India MD and CEO Deepak Dhar This season we will add another interesting spin to the drama with the introduction of a ‘Padosi’. The journey gets more fascinating this year when the contestants face unpredictable situations, which will add to the entertainment factor that the franchise is synonymous with.”

Colors has designed an integrated marketing campaign to promote Bigg Boss across various platforms including OOH, radio integrations including special tie-ups. In the digital medium, actor Gaurav Gera will don the hat of Pinky Padosan and give out inside gossip from the Bigg Boss house.

One and all would be curious to know how viewers would relate to the dramatic neighbourhood situations.

September 27, 2017
From Maya to a real super success, the Cosmos Maya turnaround story

MUMBAI: When it comes to producing animation series, very few can hold a candle to Cosmos Maya. Founded in 1996 as Maya, the animation studio has progressed over the years from creating a single intellectual property Motu Patlu in 2012 to a handful of them in India and overseas.

Operating out of Mumbai and Singapore, Cosmos Maya has grown leaps and bounds over the years, always being the trendsetter in the Indian animation industry and now it is en route to rubbing shoulders with some of the prominent studios internationally.

Following the resounding success of Indian animation productions like Motu Patlu (MP), ViR – The Robot Boy, Kisna, Shiva, Bure Kaam Ka Bura Natija, Kyun Bhai Chacha, Haan Bhatija (BKBNKBCHB) and Guru Aur Bhole (GAB), the studio also branched out into crossover Indian animation productions with Eena Meena Deeka (EMD) and the soon to launch Tik Tak Tail which are Indian shows for global audiences.

And it’s not just domestically where Cosmos Maya is leaving its footprint… It currently has three international co-productions Captain Cactus, Atchoo! and Help Me Ganesha, in different stages of production and development.

The journey started when Anish Mehta came in and took over as CEO of the company and he decided to get things moving at a blistering pace. In the five years since he has been at the helm, Cosmos Maya has produced 12 shows and 1000 plus episodes. In the world of animation that kind of a performance is unparalleled – possibly for any studio not just in India but globally. And continuing on it’s growth trajectory, the company has confirmed contracts and execution plans for around 400 odd episodes within this year.

What started off as a dream with a handful of team members, is now a fully evolved studio with equipped with systems and processes to handle continuous and simultaneous workflow on account of multiple projects; with a scalable model for growth, with 100% utilised production facilities, both in house as well through a multitude of vendors to whom production work is outsourced, within India and in several parts of Asia. Add to that a well-entrenched penetration in the global markets through its highly developed international distribution and marketing network, and Cosmos-Maya is all set on the growth path.

The long term vision of the company entails a plan to produce an independent world-class Hollywood feature film, something that BlueSky did with Ice Age. This is the next target that Anish intends to achieve five years from now.

“We have a great team out here. Be it creatives, production, operations, digital or marketing, each member in the super core team brings in the same passion that helps us create the difference. Then there is the core team which takes the vision to the next level from an execution perspective, while keeping the passion levels intact. And then there are over 600 odd people, each one again working with the same madness,” says a visibly proud youngish academic looking bespectacled Anish Mehta.

“At Cosmos Maya, the way we approach an IP is keeping in mind what is going on in the market and how do we bring in the next new trend,” explains Anish. “Balancing both of these things is what we focused and continue to focus on, a perfect combination of creative and business acumen.”

This includes selecting innovative subjects and concepts. The first IP that rolled out was a first of its kind for India as it featured two adult protagonists behaving like silly kids and was titled Motu Patlu. “It was India’s take on the evergreen franchise Laurel & Hardy,” says Anish.

Cosmos Maya invested in creating a pilot for Motu Patlu and then approached broadcasters – a process which the studio follows to this day. Viacom18’s kids channel Nick bought into it. And Anish’s baby has not looked back since. The Motu Patlu franchise has only grown. Cosmos Maya has 300 plus episodes of the series (600 stories altogether) in its catalogue, 13 TV films and one theatrical film, Motu Patlu – King of Kings.

And, why not?

Motu Patlu over the past five years has been a TRP topper for Cosmos Maya and the channel’s creative & programming head Anu Sikka is happy that they have a winner on their hands. So much so that she has signed a long term contract for both Motu Patlu and Shiva with the studio, ensuring that many more episodes and films of the franchises continue to regale audiences. And Anish has a deal with Viacom18 to develop another one.

Currently, work is on to spin off two series from the Motu Patlu franchise. Anish was willing to talk about one which is being driven by the studio and features characters who have gained popularity with Indian kids: the adorable police officer – Inspector Chingum & Guddu Ghalib – the timid circus lion who became the protector of the jungle in the feature film Motu Patlu – King of Kings. He did not disclose much about the other, cryptically saying that “the new shows will be with a major digital partner and will be digital first productions.”

He points out that the company has a three pronged strategy: keep domestic productions such as Motu Patlu, Shiva, GAB, and BKBNKBCHB which have an earthy Indian appeal going successfully. “Then there are shows like Eena Meena Deeka, Tik Tak Tail (which we will be launching soon) don’t necessarily look Indian because they have a wider appeal globally; and lastly there are the international co-productions” he further explains.

The India centric shows which can travel to about 20 odd countries on an average fetch revenues in the range of around Rs 3 million per episode; while category toppers and milestone makers like Motu Patlu of course fetch at least a 30 per cent higher revenue than this average. On the other hand, cross-over shows that can travel to over 50 countries have a revenue potential of Rs 5 million per episode. And then the third category of shows, the ambitious globally targeted ones like Captain Cactus and Help Me Ganesha hold a revenue potential of around Rs 10 million per episode.

Amongst the more ambitious international projects is the one featuring a cactus called Captain Cactus which is at pre-prod stage and is being developed under the creative supervision of Olivier Jean Marie the creator of Oggy & the Cockroaches. An announcement about a worldwide distribution partner should be made by end-August, and Asian partners are expected to sign on the dotted line by end-September.

Anish is hopeful that Captain Cactus will bring about a revolution in global co-productions since it has got the best of both worlds – that is a strong Asian studio, a European creator and European distribution partners. It is also in talks with a couple of broadcast or digital partners worldwide.

“From a show perspective we have Olivier Jean-Marie with us who is known for a certain style of story-telling and people jump at the chance of working with him,” he expresses. “So we are quite confident that Captain Cactus will deliver.”

Anish and team at Cosmos Maya are banking on a new IP inspired by Lord Ganesha which it is developing in a co-production with Gerhard Hahn of Hahn Films. The co-production with the German creator who is one of the more respected animators globally is tentatively called Help me Ganesha.

“We are very confident that we, with Gerhard Hahn as a partner, will take it on a never seen before global level,” says a sanguine Anish.

The company is doing well on the digital front too with its IPs on YouTube. Its channel WowKidz has been growing at a rapid clip despite being a late entrant. At last count over 1.5 million subscribers had clocked up around 1.6 billion views for the over 3000 videos that Cosmos Maya has on the channel. Amongst its foreign imports is a show called Hot Wheels Battle Force 5 which is being promoted with the help of Motu Patlu and is raking in good views.

“ViR – The Robot Boy has been one of the most important IPs on WowKidz, as per the data analytics from YouTube and we are creating spin-off content from this show for WowKidz,” says Anish. He mentions that because ViR, is a digital phenomenon, a further push for content creation will be given, and new episodes of it will be produced. With spin-off content and a digital first next season plan in place, ViR is going to be one of the key focus IPs in the days to come.

Its second channel WowKidz Rhymes has 130,000 plus subscribers and caters to the pre-school kids need for freshly narrated nursery rhymes – a slot that the Chennai-based ChuChuTV has very cleverly exploited. Currently, its popular characters Motu Patlu and VIR the Robot boy have been used to recite the nursery rhymes in an engaging manner. More content around Imli is in the pipeline. With innovation in mobile gaming industry, another focus is towards WowKidz mobile games, engaging kids more towards the popular IPs.

WowKidz will also introduce another division- WowKidz edutainment for kids for toddlers and pre-school kids to learn alphabets, numbers, shapes, values and general awareness in form of rhymes and shows.

With so much on its plate, the studio will need to scale up in terms of manpower and further strengthen its infrastructure. A dedicated new facility is coming up in Mumbai near its operational headquarters in Film City. Additional captive satellite units are also coming up in Hyderabad and Kolkata. The goal is to add around 300 professionals to its 550 strong artist pool.

Anish believes that the founders of Maya – Ketan Mehta and Deepa Sahi – wanted to do something; hence they set it up.

“Their dream went on to become an industry,” he says. “I am hopeful that AR and VR (a content area that the company has recently started investing) too will help us polevault to another level. Our animation business too is looking very good. With so many avenues for our content in place, it is indeed one of the best and the brightest phases for the animation industry.”

Amen to that!

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August 29, 2017
Viacom18’s Ranjit Pathak joins 93.5 Red FM

MUMBAI: Red FM has appointed Viacom18’s Ranjit Phatak as the national programming head.

Phatak, who was leading the creative and strategic vision of MTV programming at Viacom, will now lead the programming for Red FM network based out of Mumbai. Phatak comes with an experience of more than 16 years in the programming industry. He has been the programming lead for some of the top shows like MTV Love School, MTV Bakra, Roadies season 7, Emotional Atyachaar, Big Switch among others.

Commenting on this switch, Phatak said, “For me, this also acts as a platform of change, moving from a TV background to radio where I feel there is a huge potential for this media. As for contributing to Red FM’s programming, I plan to stick to the basics of Bajaate Raho and build from that.”

With the new hire in the leadership team, Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan says, “Ranjit has had an illustrious career in the television industry. Having worked on brands like MTV & Bindaas his vast knowledge and experience about the variety of audience specifically the youth will act as a major catalyst in amplifying our Bajaate Raho proposition through interesting, innovating & youthful content on air.”

August 28, 2017
MTV & HP provide ‘Fame-istan’ to budding filmmakers

MUMBAI: Freedom of expression is considered to be a basic necessity for human beings to live a full life. It is a reflection of a healthy and democratic nation. More often than not cinema is considered as a classic means of expression of thoughts and freedom. MTV, the voice of the youth, along with HP Inc.has taken the onus to give a democratic makeover to the craft of filmmaking their latest venture, HP India MTV Fame-istan.

The mass outreach of cinema is one of the major reasons that makes ‘Fame-istan’ the best platform for filmmakers to express themselves. Fame-istan will be enabling four aspiring filmmakers to live their dream of making a film and being mentored by top- guns in the Indian film industry. Each month a film mentor will introduce the director of the month. The director will then call out to actors and people who want to be a part of their short film.

Staying true to its name, Fame-istan will not only help young filmmakers live their dream but also offer a chance to the cast and crew of the movie to make it big by providing them a platform to showcase their talent. After the selection of the cast and crew of the movie, the filmmakers will be mentored by ace directors from the film industry. Each short film will have to be completed within a duration of 1.5 months. Once the movie is shot, the mentor will give their verdict on the film. The first mentor who will be guiding young filmmakers and helping them hone their skill is ace director, Mohit Suri.

On giving more power to young filmmakers, Viacom18 head – youth, music and English entertainment Ferzad Palia says: “At MTV we believe in inspiring and empowering youngsters. Fame- istan is a platform that will enable young movie makers kick-start their filmmaking career that too with the help of ace directors from the industry. Cinema is a powerful and inspiring platform and is by far the only democratic tool in the country that has a mass outreach. Indian cinema has grown in different directions of late and offers more diversity than ever and Fame- istan is a perfect platform for budding artists to showcase their talent through cinema.”

HP Inc, India, head of country marketing Ayesha Durante said, “We are delighted to be creating this platform along with MTV. HP is furthering its proposition of ‘ReinventMyStory’ by providing the youth a launchpad to showcase their own capabilities, stand out early on in their lives and make their mark in this space, thereby reinventing the story of their lives.”

The short films will be brought to life using HP Pavilion x360 and HP Spectre x360 and will be stitched together in an episode which will later be telecasted on MTV. The films will individually go live on MTV’s social platforms as well.

August 21, 2017
Shemaroo cautiously optimistic on Indian Rlys’ entertainment service bid

MUMBAI: Well, it may be one of the 24 media and tech companies that have evinced initial interest in providing wi-fi delivered entertainment on demand content to passengers of Indian Railways, but Shemaroo Entertainment is still evaluating the business proposal. Reason: it involves investment of billions of rupees in setting up the whole system, especially on moving trains that may pass through broadband dark areas, which is a technologically challenging work.

Shemaroo whole time director & CFO Hiren Gada told indiantelevision.com, “It is a technically complicated work. It involves latest technology access, hardware components and a big capex investment. The technology involves giving access to content via a wi-fi platform that will work within a rail coach when the train is moving.”

According to Gada, an in-house team is preparing a business plan to get a “better sense” of the potential costs and return on investments though, admittedly, the Indian Railways do offer captive eyeballs. “Once we have worked out the costs and equipments needed to put the mechanism in place, we’d make a final decision. If revenues don’t match up to our costs, then it may not be viable for us to bid,” he added.

The Indian Railways’ local wi-fi network will be available to everyone on board via a distribution box and passengers will be able to log in through their phones or other smart devises to access the entertainment content, according to some media reports.

Shemaroo, along with 23 other media companies like Viacom18, Zee and Hungama, has shown initial interest in the Indian Railways’ proposal to offer entertainment content on 3,000 trains. The bid will be valid for five years and extendable by another five years.

The proposal that seeks to raise approximately Rs. 5 billion in non-fare revenues is similar to entertainment services offered on all international and some domestic flights by airlines.

According to reports where government officials have been quoted, a distribution box will be installed in the coaches, which will be updated regularly for a seamless experience for passengers. However, it is not clear yet how the Indian Railways proposes to monetize such a service from the passengers.

“Based on the actual revenues that get generated, there could be some additional amount that Railways may share (with the service provider) if the revenue reaches a certain level,” Gada explained the revenue share model proposed by the Indian Railways.

The tender documents are slated to be opened in the afternoon of 24 August 2017 after bidders have made their final submissions. Only one service provider (successful bidder) will be permitted per designated sectors. The project is being tendered on a revenue sharing model.

The project shall be executed on a build operate and transfer model. Some of the pre-qualification demands made by the India Railways include the prospective bidders/consortium members having relevant experience in

India or abroad in providing i) content either as content IP owner/linear broadcaster/aggregator/ OTT player (ii) in providing technology solution in entertainment domain for transport/Railways sector and (iii) experience in monetisation of content through either advertisements or subscriptions.

Can this project help in making more enjoyable a journey on Indian Railways, apart from the scenic beauty of the country’s hinterland that is visible on long-haul trains? Only once the service starts, the question, probably, would get answered.

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August 21, 2017
Nickelodeon Toons & kids celebrate Surakshabandhan with BSF

MUMBAI: India’s elite Border Security Force(BSF) at the International Attari – Wagha Border received a pleasant surprise from kids and their favorite toons Dora and Shiva from India’s leading kid’s entertainment franchise, Nickelodeon. The force that spends the entire year away from their families protecting the nation’s over 7000 kilometers land border had the kids along with the toons pay them a visit to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Rakshabandhan in its true essence of “Surakshabandhan”.

Festivity, Respect and selflessness was at full display as children along with the toons tied the symbolic Rakhi to the soldiers as prelude to iconic retreat ceremony, thus saluting their bravery, selflessness and relentless commitment to the country.

Children along with the Nicktoons infused energy at the border with their lively presence as they celebrated Rakshabandhan by tying Rakhi’s on the fists of the soldiers. Adding to this, the children also joined Dora and Shiva to participate in the dance ceremony prior to the retreat.

BSF DIG – Amritsar JS Oberoi said “We are delighted with the thoughtful initiative of Nickelodeon. Our soldiers miss out on spending time with their friends and families on festivals, Rakshabandhan being one. Having children take time out and celebrate the festival of rakshabandhan with us has definitely been a heart-warming experience for all our soldier who have now been gifted some beautiful memories that they will cherish this rakshabandhan.”

Viacom18 business head – kids entertainment cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria said “Through this unique and poignant initiative with the Border Security Forces, we have endeavored to introduce children to real life superheroes who guard our borders, while also thanking them for the unwavering commitment and bravery towards the nation.”

August 4, 2017
Viacom18 & E&Y partner licensing expo, Fashion TV & Universal, etc. to participate

MUMBAI: India Licensing Expo (ILE), India’s first business-to-business brand licensing show, will kickstart in August at Sahara Star in Mumbai and see participation of over 100+ global and domestic brands for retail industry. The show sponsors are Viacom18, Orian Installations, Dream Theatre and Bradford License India.

Ernst & Young are process tabulation partners for India Licensing Awards, concurrent event of ILE 2017.

Viacom 18, Fashion TV, Marie Claire, Universal Music, Mondo TV, JCB, Polaroid, NBA, Sesame Street, Authentic Brands Group, Green Gold Animation, are a few amongst list of top brands participating at the first ever licensing show to be held in the country.

The show will be organised by exclusive licensing media company, License India, and is supported by global licensing body, Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association (LIMA), Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) and Sports Goods Foundation of India.

“We intend to position India Licensing Expo as a dedicated hub where the industry unifies to shop brands for business across all industries. We bring together brands of every kind – sports, character, corporate, music, art, entertainment, for retailers to embed in their business / products,” License India chairman Gaurav Marya said.

The exposition displays all kind of licensing opportunities for manufacturers & retailers across products, such as in characters, Chhota Bheem, Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, Dora, Popeye, Motu Patlu, Toki Doki, Jungle Book, Ben 10, Power Puff Girls, Mighty Raju, Sponge Bob, Jumanji movie, Emoji Movie, Sesame Street, and much more. In corporate brands, the galore offers brands like Juicy Couture, Aeropostale, Spyder, Misook, Airwalk, Lamborghini, Compaq, JCB, Fashion TV, University of Oxford, Marie Claire, Absorba, Shell, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Route 66, Polaroid, Femina Flaunt, Kuber, Mechanix, and much more. Music & Art brands would be Universal Music with wide pool of top artists, MTV, Billboard, Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Romero Britto and much more; and sports properties would be NBA, Delhi Daredevils, Extreme Sports, VOIT, Mancity FC, FC Barcelona, Roland & Garros, Cycle Polo Federation of India, Maui & Sons, Muhammad Ali, Shaq and much more.

Bradford license India director Chitra S. Johri said, “This would be a bigger movement in our domain of licensing, benefitting each product category in actual sense.”

ILE has also tied up with Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI). “We look forward to enabling multiple French licensors eyeing Indian market to capitalize and leverage this show,” said IFCCI secretary-general Payal. S. Kanwar.

The conference puts forth a strong panel with industry stalwart’s like Dan Frugtniet (VP-Licensing & Business Development, Nickelodeon, Viacom Consumer Products), Saugato Bhowmick (Head of Viacom18- Consumer Products), Yannick Colaco (MD-NBA), Siddharth Chury (Senior Director – NBA India), Manan Mehta (VP-Marketing & Merchandise, Yashraj Films), Sandeep Dahiya (Director – Brand Extensions, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd), Samir Jain (ED & COO, Green Gold Animation), Shivram Saran (AVP & Head Consumer Products, JCB), Roberto Bre (Director, Private Collection, Marie Claire), Rajan Madhu (President, FTV India), Maura Regan (Sr. Vice President, LIMA), Manish Mandhana (CEO, Mandhana Retail – Being Human), Jason Sutton (Director, Polaroid), Jiggy George (Head, LIMA India & CEO, Dream Theatre), Ishmeet Singh (Country Manager, Mattle Toys India), Anurag Sachdeva (Director, Rovio, Angry Birds), Afsar Zaidi (MD, Exceed Entertainment, HRX) and many more. Witness the veterans of licensing industry coming together to discuss the challenges, explore the kind of engagements and further work towards uplifting of the L&M industry as a whole in India.

ILE 2017 ‘exclusively’ also hosts India’s foremost licensing recognition platform, India Licensing Awards 2017 partnered with Marie Claire. Celebrating the best in Indian Licensing Industry, these awards would remain to be one of its kind recognition where the whole fraternity will come together to celebrate excellence, right from the brand owners, brand custodians to entrepreneurial retailers, latest licensees on the block, to raise a toast to outstanding achievements in the industry so far. Judged, curated and tabulated by panel of experts, the awards are supported by Ernst & Young as process partners. With 21 focused categories for licensing fraternity, the awards would acknowledge top brasses of the industry. To name a few categories – Licensor Of The Year (Entertainment, Celebrity, Sports, Corporate, Bollywood, Art, Character, Music), Licensee Of The Year (Apparel, Fashion Accessories, Toys & Games, Gifts & Novelties, Back To School, Electronics, Retail Innovation & Business Concept, Home Décor, FMCG, New Media & Publishing), along with Special Categories like IP Firm Of The Year and Licensing Agent Of The Year.

July 27, 2017
Viacom18 partners with FHF in its film restoration and archiving for third year

MUMBAI: Viacom18 announced its support to the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) for the annual Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India being held from 7 to 14 October 2017 in Chennai.

The partnership was flagged off for the third consecutive year at an event held today in the city and was attended by Viacom 18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats, legendary actor and producer Kamal Haasan, renowned film-maker Mani Ratnam and celebrated film-maker, archivist and founder director of Film Heritage Foundation Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.

The Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2017 aims to train an indigenous pool of film archivists and restorers as well as to create awareness about the urgent need to save India’s cinematic heritage. With previous editions being held in Mumbai and Pune, this year the workshop hopes to not create awareness among the South Indian film industry to this urgent issue but to build on the movement that has been created all over India as well as in neighboring countries.

“At the heart of it, civilization is a chronicle of stories across generations. As India’s foremost storytellers we connect deeply with this ethos and our support to Film Heritage Foundation is a confluence of this shared belief. India’s culture and heritage is captured creatively and reflected through our films and therefore, these become historical artefacts representative of the times they were created in. It is pertinent that this content is preserved for reference as well as archived for perusal by future generations”, Vats said.

Dungarpur added, “Film Heritage Foundation is committed to preserve the film heritage of India across various genres and languages. Bringing the workshop to Chennai this year, our aim is to create awareness about the urgent need to preserve India’s film heritage including the rich regional film heritage of the South Indian film industry. The programme this year is further strengthened with support of Viacom18 and enriched by partnering with the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF), the Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, L’Immagine Ritrovata, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Prasad Corp., La Cinémathèque Française, Imperial War Museums, Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, the Finnish Film Archive and the Czech National Film Archive and Criterion Collection.”

Open to applicants from India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the Film Preservation & Restoration Workshop India 2017 will extensively focus on repairing damaged and decayed celluloid film, restore and preserve film posters, lobby cards, song booklets and photographs, techniques of digital preservation and restoration etc.

There are several scholarships available for deserving candidates along with job opportunities at FHF on successful completion of the course.

Speaking about the workshop, Haasan said, “I am very happy and proud to know that the Film Heritage Foundation has decided to come to Chennai to run a workshop on film archiving. I have seen them do it once in Pune. There were about 50 students and I was really moved. The film industry should come forward to conserve, save and keep our film heritage intact. And this very important workshop is going to teach future archivists how to go about preserving film.It is a very important workshop for those interested in cinema itself, cinema not only of today but of yesterday.”

Eminent experts from across the globe such as FIAF’s Head of Training and Outreach David Walsh, Camille Blot-Wellens from FIAF, Tina Kelly from Imperial War Museum, Dawn Jaros from the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts & Sciences, Emilie Cauquy from La Cinémathèque française, and Marianna De Sanctis from L’Immagine Ritrovata, Bologna, amongst others will comprise the faculty of the workshop.

July 26, 2017