Tag: Viacom18

  • Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats new BARC India chairman

    Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats new BARC India chairman

    MUMBAI: BARC India board has elected Viacom 18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats as its new chairman. The move comes after Zee Entertainment MD & CEO Punit Goenka successfully completed his tenure as the chairman.

    BARC India, the Joint Industry Company (JIC) of broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies, launched TV measurement currency and expanded measurement of TV viewership to rural India. BARC India recently also launched monitoring of geo-targeted ads through its split beam monitoring service.

    Vats heads Viacom18 which is one of India’s fastest growing media organisations with a 40X growth in topline since inception. Under Vats’s, leadership the group has expanded its channel footprint from six to over 36 channels and has set up three new lines of business. A management graduate from the Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad, Vats is a Hindustan Unilever (Unilever India) veteran and invested around 20 years in the organisation in varied roles.

    Vats has been associated with BARC India since its inception and has been a part of all the developments as a member of the Board of Directors.

    “It is indeed an honour to be elected as the chairperson of BARC India. In a span of two years, BARC India has been able to build a strong TV viewership measurement system. I feel privileged because this comes at a time when our industry is about to enter its next growth orbit and a robust, comprehensive measurement system will only accelerate this transition. Finally, measurement and analytics is an area of personal interest and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to learn more about it,” said Vats.

    “Being the chairman of BARC India has been a great experience. We started off with certain ideologies of being transparent, robust and being able to measure “What India Watches”. We brought in a lot of changes in the TV viewership measurement system in order to make it comparable to global standards and, to a great extent, have been able to achieve that. I wish Sudhanshu (Vats) all the best for all the future endeavours,” said Goenka.

    “We welcome Sudhanshu as our new chairman. Being a veteran in the industry, Sudhanshu will bring in his larger perspective in the media and entertainment space. Punit, as the first chairman, has given the team the right thrust and the BARC team thanks him for his whole-hearted support,” added BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta.

    BARC India is a joint venture bringing together the three key stakeholders in Television Audience Measurement, Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising & Media Agencies. Their respective apex bodies, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), represent the three industries.

  • Viacom18’s Voot ranked among 2016’s best apps on Google Play

    Viacom18’s Voot ranked among 2016’s best apps on Google Play

    MUMBAI: In its year of launch, Viacom18’s video-on demand platform, Voot has made it to the prestigious -Best Apps of the year 2016 India list on Google Play. Some of the other top apps which made it to the list are Google Allo, Google Duo, Prisma, Dubsmash, Ted, etc.

    Every year Google releases a list of best performing applications, games, movies, TV shows, and books on Google Play across the globe. Voot has won under Top Trending Apps and Most Entertaining Apps in the country across categories. In fact, VOOT is the only video-on demand app to have made it to this coveted list and one of the only two apps to feature in two categories.

    “To be selected in the list of top trending and most entertaining apps for 2016 by Google Play is a huge honor.It cements our belief that compelling content packaged into a great user experience makes for a winning product, one that is appreciated by consumers and acknowledged by the industry. Having made it to this prestigious list in our maiden year now sets a high benchmark for us,” said Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.

    Voot was launched earlier this year and currently has over 30,000 hours of content and plans to add between over 12000 hours of content each year. The ad-supported VOD service, besides being the singular destination for the Viacom 18 network content, also has a big focus ondigital Originals, exclusive unseen content around the network’srealityshows as well as the largest repository for premium kids’ content in India.

    Within just six months from launch, Voot has already garnered more than 16 million downloads, over 15 million monthly active users with monthly watch time of over 1.3 billion minutes.

  • Viacom18’s Voot ranked among 2016’s best apps on Google Play

    Viacom18’s Voot ranked among 2016’s best apps on Google Play

    MUMBAI: In its year of launch, Viacom18’s video-on demand platform, Voot has made it to the prestigious -Best Apps of the year 2016 India list on Google Play. Some of the other top apps which made it to the list are Google Allo, Google Duo, Prisma, Dubsmash, Ted, etc.

    Every year Google releases a list of best performing applications, games, movies, TV shows, and books on Google Play across the globe. Voot has won under Top Trending Apps and Most Entertaining Apps in the country across categories. In fact, VOOT is the only video-on demand app to have made it to this coveted list and one of the only two apps to feature in two categories.

    “To be selected in the list of top trending and most entertaining apps for 2016 by Google Play is a huge honor.It cements our belief that compelling content packaged into a great user experience makes for a winning product, one that is appreciated by consumers and acknowledged by the industry. Having made it to this prestigious list in our maiden year now sets a high benchmark for us,” said Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi.

    Voot was launched earlier this year and currently has over 30,000 hours of content and plans to add between over 12000 hours of content each year. The ad-supported VOD service, besides being the singular destination for the Viacom 18 network content, also has a big focus ondigital Originals, exclusive unseen content around the network’srealityshows as well as the largest repository for premium kids’ content in India.

    Within just six months from launch, Voot has already garnered more than 16 million downloads, over 15 million monthly active users with monthly watch time of over 1.3 billion minutes.

  • Nick to double ad rates for Kids Choice Awards

    Nick to double ad rates for Kids Choice Awards

    MUMBAI: Kids Choice Awards is back to draw Indian kids in a ‘slime’ fest! Viacom18’s flagship property that debuted in India in 2013 is being brought back by Nickelodeon, to celebrate those who entertained the kids the most.

    Typically the awards in the media and entertainment world are tailor-made for adults, in terms of content as well as the personalities who adorn it. Being a leader in the genre, Nick decided to tailor-make an award show for kids that truly values their opinion.

    With a total of 13 categories to vote for, some of the key awards categories include Best Movie Actor (Male and Female), Best Bollywood Movie, Best Television Show and Best Indian Cartoon Character. After two weeks of online voting through the Nickelodeon website, kids have chosen their favourite, that will be revealed in the gala event  on 5 December 2016 at Reliance Studios, Film City, Mumbai.

    “Now that the voting has ended, we will count the votes and a special team of auditors will monitor it, following which we will make the final winner announcements at the ground event,” Viacom18 business head kids cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria shared as the countdown for the awards began.

    A televised version will also go on air — first on Nickelodeon around Christmas next month — followed by other sister channels under Viacom18 to expand its visibility. “We will air KCA on Colors, Rishtey, Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati, Colors Bangla and, of course, on VOOT as well. We envision Kids Choice Awards as an inclusive show for the whole family and, therefore, having it on GECs will optimise it as a larger property with a greater reach.”

    That definitely spells well with the channel’s advertisers, who, according to Jaipuria, find the property very promising. “When we started KCA in 2013, we weren’t in the leadership position. This year, we are in the lead, having topped the genre for the 57th week since BARC started releasing its data. Naturally, our advertisers and sponsors are also a lot more confident in the property,” Jaipuria shared.

    Dabur Red Paste has come on board as the presenting sponsor for the kids show, along with Lifebuoy and Choki Choki by Inbisco India, and Funskool (MRF Group) as the associate sponsor.

    “Further strengthening our resolve to improve oral health in the country and to reach out to

    more kids, Dabur Red Paste has joined hands with Nickelodeon and KCA to further spread the message about dental hygiene and educate children about best oral care practices through a focussed and specially crafted campaign,” said Dabur India marketing head – oral care Harkawal Singh, on the brand’s association with Kids Choice Awards.

    Given the excitement surrounding the second edition of KCA in India, Jaipuria is expecting the spot rates for KCA to be double than that of the channel’s normal rates. “KCA is an expensive property for us. We are doing ti because we strongly believe that we are the leaders in kids entertainment in the country. We are putting our money where  our mouth is, and we deserve to get it monetised,” Jaipuria said.

    Jaipuria observed that kids also enjoy a lot of content mostly aimed at adults, be it movies, or TV shows with fantasy in it. Does that fragment the viewership of kids genre and in turn impact advertising? “While fragmentation of viewers is there, as kids also watch GECs and movie channels, they ultimately are loyal to content tailor-made for them. They might be watching GECs but they are a passive audience there, and hence brands that are truly interested to communicate to kids must come to kids channels. The fact that our ad sales pie is growing at a 11–12 per cent and we are estimated to close the year at Rs 500 crore speaks volumes. Nick grown our top line ad rates by 30 per cent y-o-y since last October; and that of Sonic by about 50 per cent, ” she added.

    In order to build momentum up to the awards, the channel has been promoting the property heavily across its channels in the kids cluster.

    “Apart from tying to the festive mood of Christmas, airing the show sometime mid-December also gives us enough time to promote it. The initial phase of it was the announcement of the show and calling in the voters in October, and it will end with a bang in December,”Jaipuria said, adding that the network has aired around 3000-odd promos of KCA in the past few weeks.

    Apart from on-air promotions, the network plans to engage the kids on ground with several partnerships, including McDonalds. Van activation across 30 cities will target tier II and tier III audience, and print advertising is also part of the marketing mix.

    Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards INDIA : Categories & Nominations

    1

    Best Movie Actor (Male)

    2

    Best Movie Actor (Female)

    A

    Salman Khan

    Sultan

    A

    Alia Bhat

    Kapoor and Sons

    B

    Shah Rukh Khan

    FAN

    B

    Anushka Sharma

    Sultan

    C

    Akshay Kumar

    Airlift

    C

    DeepikaPadukone

    BajiraoMastani

    D

    Ranveer Singh

    BajiraoMastani

    D

    Priyanka Chopra

    BajiraoMastani

    3

    Best Bollywood Movie

    4

    Best Bollywood Movie Song

    A

    Sultan            

     

    A

    Baby ko base pasandhai

     

    Sultan

    B

    BajiraoMastani

     

    B

    Ladki beautiful kargayichull

    Kapoor and Sons

    C

    Dilwale

     

    C

    Gerua

    Dilwale

    D

    Housefull 3

     

    D

    Kala chashma

    BaarBaarDekho

    5

    Best Dancing Star 

    6

    Best TV Character (Male)

    A

    Tiger Shroff

    Baaghi/A Flying Jatt

    A

    Dilip Joshi as Jethalal

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    B

    Varun Dhawan

    Dilwale/Dishoom

    B

    ShaileshLodha as Taarak Mehta

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    C

    SidharthMalhotra

    Ladki beautiful kargayichull

    C

    Daya as Inspector Daya

    (CID)

    D

    Ranveer Singh

    Malhaari

    D

    Kapil Sharma

    Comedy Nights with Kapil

    7

    Best TV Actor (Female)

    8

    Best TV Show

    A

    DishaVakani as Daya

                   

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    A

    CID

     

    B

    DivyankaTripathi as Ishita

    Ye Hai Mohobbatein

    B

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

     

    C

    Mouni Roy

    Naagin

    C

    Naagin

     

    D

    Bharti Singh

    Comedy Nights Live

    D

    Comedy Nights Live

     

    9

    Best Child Entertainer (TV)

    10

    Best Entertainer (Films)

    A

    Bhavya Gandhi as Tappu

         

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    A

     

    Varun Dhawan

              

    Dilwale/Dishoom

    B

    Dev Joshi as Baalveer

    Baalveer

    B

    Ranveer Singh

    BajiraoMastani

    C

    Spandan as Chakor

    Udaan

    C

    Shah Rukh Khan

    Dilwale/Fan

    D

    RuhanikaDhawan as Ruhi

    Ye Hai Mohobbatein

    D

    Salman Khan

    Sultan

    11

    Best Show On Kids Channel 

    12

    Best Indian Cartoon Character

    A

    Doraemon

     

    A

    ChotaBheem

     

    B

    ChotaBheem

     

    B

    Motu Patlu

     

    C

    Ninja Hattori

     

    C

    Shiva

     

    D

    Motu Patlu

     

    D

    Kris

     

    E

    SHIVA

     

     

     

     

    13

    Best Mobile Game

    A

    Temple Run

     

    B

    Real Racing 3

     

    C

    Duolingo Learn Languages Free

     

    D

    Unblock Me

     

  • Nick to double ad rates for Kids Choice Awards

    Nick to double ad rates for Kids Choice Awards

    MUMBAI: Kids Choice Awards is back to draw Indian kids in a ‘slime’ fest! Viacom18’s flagship property that debuted in India in 2013 is being brought back by Nickelodeon, to celebrate those who entertained the kids the most.

    Typically the awards in the media and entertainment world are tailor-made for adults, in terms of content as well as the personalities who adorn it. Being a leader in the genre, Nick decided to tailor-make an award show for kids that truly values their opinion.

    With a total of 13 categories to vote for, some of the key awards categories include Best Movie Actor (Male and Female), Best Bollywood Movie, Best Television Show and Best Indian Cartoon Character. After two weeks of online voting through the Nickelodeon website, kids have chosen their favourite, that will be revealed in the gala event  on 5 December 2016 at Reliance Studios, Film City, Mumbai.

    “Now that the voting has ended, we will count the votes and a special team of auditors will monitor it, following which we will make the final winner announcements at the ground event,” Viacom18 business head kids cluster Nina Elavia Jaipuria shared as the countdown for the awards began.

    A televised version will also go on air — first on Nickelodeon around Christmas next month — followed by other sister channels under Viacom18 to expand its visibility. “We will air KCA on Colors, Rishtey, Colors Marathi, Colors Gujarati, Colors Bangla and, of course, on VOOT as well. We envision Kids Choice Awards as an inclusive show for the whole family and, therefore, having it on GECs will optimise it as a larger property with a greater reach.”

    That definitely spells well with the channel’s advertisers, who, according to Jaipuria, find the property very promising. “When we started KCA in 2013, we weren’t in the leadership position. This year, we are in the lead, having topped the genre for the 57th week since BARC started releasing its data. Naturally, our advertisers and sponsors are also a lot more confident in the property,” Jaipuria shared.

    Dabur Red Paste has come on board as the presenting sponsor for the kids show, along with Lifebuoy and Choki Choki by Inbisco India, and Funskool (MRF Group) as the associate sponsor.

    “Further strengthening our resolve to improve oral health in the country and to reach out to

    more kids, Dabur Red Paste has joined hands with Nickelodeon and KCA to further spread the message about dental hygiene and educate children about best oral care practices through a focussed and specially crafted campaign,” said Dabur India marketing head – oral care Harkawal Singh, on the brand’s association with Kids Choice Awards.

    Given the excitement surrounding the second edition of KCA in India, Jaipuria is expecting the spot rates for KCA to be double than that of the channel’s normal rates. “KCA is an expensive property for us. We are doing ti because we strongly believe that we are the leaders in kids entertainment in the country. We are putting our money where  our mouth is, and we deserve to get it monetised,” Jaipuria said.

    Jaipuria observed that kids also enjoy a lot of content mostly aimed at adults, be it movies, or TV shows with fantasy in it. Does that fragment the viewership of kids genre and in turn impact advertising? “While fragmentation of viewers is there, as kids also watch GECs and movie channels, they ultimately are loyal to content tailor-made for them. They might be watching GECs but they are a passive audience there, and hence brands that are truly interested to communicate to kids must come to kids channels. The fact that our ad sales pie is growing at a 11–12 per cent and we are estimated to close the year at Rs 500 crore speaks volumes. Nick grown our top line ad rates by 30 per cent y-o-y since last October; and that of Sonic by about 50 per cent, ” she added.

    In order to build momentum up to the awards, the channel has been promoting the property heavily across its channels in the kids cluster.

    “Apart from tying to the festive mood of Christmas, airing the show sometime mid-December also gives us enough time to promote it. The initial phase of it was the announcement of the show and calling in the voters in October, and it will end with a bang in December,”Jaipuria said, adding that the network has aired around 3000-odd promos of KCA in the past few weeks.

    Apart from on-air promotions, the network plans to engage the kids on ground with several partnerships, including McDonalds. Van activation across 30 cities will target tier II and tier III audience, and print advertising is also part of the marketing mix.

    Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards INDIA : Categories & Nominations

    1

    Best Movie Actor (Male)

    2

    Best Movie Actor (Female)

    A

    Salman Khan

    Sultan

    A

    Alia Bhat

    Kapoor and Sons

    B

    Shah Rukh Khan

    FAN

    B

    Anushka Sharma

    Sultan

    C

    Akshay Kumar

    Airlift

    C

    DeepikaPadukone

    BajiraoMastani

    D

    Ranveer Singh

    BajiraoMastani

    D

    Priyanka Chopra

    BajiraoMastani

    3

    Best Bollywood Movie

    4

    Best Bollywood Movie Song

    A

    Sultan            

     

    A

    Baby ko base pasandhai

     

    Sultan

    B

    BajiraoMastani

     

    B

    Ladki beautiful kargayichull

    Kapoor and Sons

    C

    Dilwale

     

    C

    Gerua

    Dilwale

    D

    Housefull 3

     

    D

    Kala chashma

    BaarBaarDekho

    5

    Best Dancing Star 

    6

    Best TV Character (Male)

    A

    Tiger Shroff

    Baaghi/A Flying Jatt

    A

    Dilip Joshi as Jethalal

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    B

    Varun Dhawan

    Dilwale/Dishoom

    B

    ShaileshLodha as Taarak Mehta

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    C

    SidharthMalhotra

    Ladki beautiful kargayichull

    C

    Daya as Inspector Daya

    (CID)

    D

    Ranveer Singh

    Malhaari

    D

    Kapil Sharma

    Comedy Nights with Kapil

    7

    Best TV Actor (Female)

    8

    Best TV Show

    A

    DishaVakani as Daya

                   

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    A

    CID

     

    B

    DivyankaTripathi as Ishita

    Ye Hai Mohobbatein

    B

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

     

    C

    Mouni Roy

    Naagin

    C

    Naagin

     

    D

    Bharti Singh

    Comedy Nights Live

    D

    Comedy Nights Live

     

    9

    Best Child Entertainer (TV)

    10

    Best Entertainer (Films)

    A

    Bhavya Gandhi as Tappu

         

    Taarak Mehta KaOoltahChashmah

    A

     

    Varun Dhawan

              

    Dilwale/Dishoom

    B

    Dev Joshi as Baalveer

    Baalveer

    B

    Ranveer Singh

    BajiraoMastani

    C

    Spandan as Chakor

    Udaan

    C

    Shah Rukh Khan

    Dilwale/Fan

    D

    RuhanikaDhawan as Ruhi

    Ye Hai Mohobbatein

    D

    Salman Khan

    Sultan

    11

    Best Show On Kids Channel 

    12

    Best Indian Cartoon Character

    A

    Doraemon

     

    A

    ChotaBheem

     

    B

    ChotaBheem

     

    B

    Motu Patlu

     

    C

    Ninja Hattori

     

    C

    Shiva

     

    D

    Motu Patlu

     

    D

    Kris

     

    E

    SHIVA

     

     

     

     

    13

    Best Mobile Game

    A

    Temple Run

     

    B

    Real Racing 3

     

    C

    Duolingo Learn Languages Free

     

    D

    Unblock Me

     

  • Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC

    Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has secured a John Doe interim order from Madras High Court restricting more than 1250 identified and all other unidentified websites from making the infringing copies of Viacom18’s latest release i.e ‘Force2’ available for public viewing over internet.

    In the said order, the Court has further directed 40 major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also other unidentified ISPs to block all such pirate websites which are illegally making the said film available over internet.

    Viacom18 group general counsel Sujeet Jain said, “I welcome this order from the Hon’ble Madras High Court. It is estimated that India loses $2.5 billion to online movie piracy every year. With increased penetration of technology and internet in India, piracy through online distribution is expected to continue to be a major source of revenue leakage for the movie industry. This order is a significant development for the film industry in its fight against online piracy. As immediate next steps, we’ve also launched an investigation into identifying the source of piracy at the threshold level and we will be soon taking strict action on that front. “

    Viacom18 had earlier successfully secured John Doe orders against infringement of its films Drishyam and ‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man’ as well. In the current scenario the High Court in certain states are directing injunction against URLs only which according to many filmmakers is ineffective as URLs are easily mirrored and new URLs pop up in no time. The John Doe Order for Force 2 blocking access to the entire pirate websites should therefore be a relief and aid to filmmakers across country in their war against piracy.

  • Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC

    Viacom18 blocks Force 2 across 1250 websites; gets interim order from Madras HC

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has secured a John Doe interim order from Madras High Court restricting more than 1250 identified and all other unidentified websites from making the infringing copies of Viacom18’s latest release i.e ‘Force2’ available for public viewing over internet.

    In the said order, the Court has further directed 40 major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and also other unidentified ISPs to block all such pirate websites which are illegally making the said film available over internet.

    Viacom18 group general counsel Sujeet Jain said, “I welcome this order from the Hon’ble Madras High Court. It is estimated that India loses $2.5 billion to online movie piracy every year. With increased penetration of technology and internet in India, piracy through online distribution is expected to continue to be a major source of revenue leakage for the movie industry. This order is a significant development for the film industry in its fight against online piracy. As immediate next steps, we’ve also launched an investigation into identifying the source of piracy at the threshold level and we will be soon taking strict action on that front. “

    Viacom18 had earlier successfully secured John Doe orders against infringement of its films Drishyam and ‘Manjhi – The Mountain Man’ as well. In the current scenario the High Court in certain states are directing injunction against URLs only which according to many filmmakers is ineffective as URLs are easily mirrored and new URLs pop up in no time. The John Doe Order for Force 2 blocking access to the entire pirate websites should therefore be a relief and aid to filmmakers across country in their war against piracy.

  • ‘Times Are a-Changin’, says Modi at Colors’ GCF via live stream; US$ 3.4bn commitment received

    ‘Times Are a-Changin’, says Modi at Colors’ GCF via live stream; US$ 3.4bn commitment received

    MUMBAI: The Global Citizen Festival India, presented by Colors Viacom18 and Venky’s, called upon governments, and leaders, who made commitments to achieving the sustainable development goals. At the GCF took place for the first time at the MMRDA Grounds, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, on 19 November.

    In all, 25 commitments and announcements were made by policymakers which will impact over 50 crore people with an investment of US$3.37 billion (INR 22,940 crore)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a live video stream, addressed the crowd before the English Music band Coldplay performed. Modi quoted lines from Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan’s iconic “The Times They Are a-Changin” to make a veiled reference to the political situation in the country in the backdrop of demonetisation. “I’m convinced we can and we will build a Swachh Bharat free of all forms of filth within one generation,” he said.

    HP committed to provide 48 mobile classrooms, investing US$3.6 million to result in 15 million people in rural areas of India getting access to quality education and technology over six years . Toilet Board Coalition committed US$ 15 million over three years to help 130 million people gain improved access to sanitation and hygiene. IDFC Bank committed to provide 200,000 micro finance loans for water and sanitation, worth INR 200 crore (US$29.4 million) to reach 450,000 people by the end of 2019.

    Other GCF partners included BookMyShow, Rishtey Cineplex, Voot and Radio Mirchi.

    In two months since the launch of the Global Citizen India movement, more than five lakh young Global Citizens in India took more than 20 lakh actions calling on political, faith and business leaders, along with celebrities, to be more accountable in their efforts to improve education, gender equality and water, sanitation and hygiene in India.

    Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said: “Tonight, we saw dozens of commitments that will impact the lives of 500m people.” Global Education and Leadership Foundation CEO Gowri Ishwaran said: “Today’s Global Citizen Festival India brought together 70,000 young people who made their voices heard by leaders from private industry, government, non-governmental, community and religious organisations on the issues that matter: Sanitation, Education and Gender Equality.”

    GENDER EQUALITY: Global Citizens took 518,000 actions in support of investing in girls and women to achieve gender equality. These efforts secured four commitments that are set to affect the lives of more than for two million women, including the International Finance Corporation Banking on Women Group committing USD$ 2 billion towards banking on women and promoting women entrepreneurship by end 2019. This includes a US$100 million investment in India.

    QUALITY EDUCATION: Global Citizens took 265,000 actions. In response, six commitments were secured, including HP committing to provide 48 mobile classrooms, investing US$3.6 million to result in 15 million people in rural areas of India getting access to quality education and technology over six years.

    WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE: Global Citizens took 651,000 actions, securing 11 commitments and announcements that are set to affect the lives of 486 million people

    GCF India, powered by UPL and NECC, was hosted by the Government of Maharashtra and produced by Wizcraft International. Other partners included: the United Nations, the Times of India Group, Google, Hindustan Unilever, Ola, Spykar, Make My Trip and Taj Group of Hotels.

  • ‘Times Are a-Changin’, says Modi at Colors’ GCF via live stream; US$ 3.4bn commitment received

    ‘Times Are a-Changin’, says Modi at Colors’ GCF via live stream; US$ 3.4bn commitment received

    MUMBAI: The Global Citizen Festival India, presented by Colors Viacom18 and Venky’s, called upon governments, and leaders, who made commitments to achieving the sustainable development goals. At the GCF took place for the first time at the MMRDA Grounds, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai, on 19 November.

    In all, 25 commitments and announcements were made by policymakers which will impact over 50 crore people with an investment of US$3.37 billion (INR 22,940 crore)

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a live video stream, addressed the crowd before the English Music band Coldplay performed. Modi quoted lines from Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan’s iconic “The Times They Are a-Changin” to make a veiled reference to the political situation in the country in the backdrop of demonetisation. “I’m convinced we can and we will build a Swachh Bharat free of all forms of filth within one generation,” he said.

    HP committed to provide 48 mobile classrooms, investing US$3.6 million to result in 15 million people in rural areas of India getting access to quality education and technology over six years . Toilet Board Coalition committed US$ 15 million over three years to help 130 million people gain improved access to sanitation and hygiene. IDFC Bank committed to provide 200,000 micro finance loans for water and sanitation, worth INR 200 crore (US$29.4 million) to reach 450,000 people by the end of 2019.

    Other GCF partners included BookMyShow, Rishtey Cineplex, Voot and Radio Mirchi.

    In two months since the launch of the Global Citizen India movement, more than five lakh young Global Citizens in India took more than 20 lakh actions calling on political, faith and business leaders, along with celebrities, to be more accountable in their efforts to improve education, gender equality and water, sanitation and hygiene in India.

    Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said: “Tonight, we saw dozens of commitments that will impact the lives of 500m people.” Global Education and Leadership Foundation CEO Gowri Ishwaran said: “Today’s Global Citizen Festival India brought together 70,000 young people who made their voices heard by leaders from private industry, government, non-governmental, community and religious organisations on the issues that matter: Sanitation, Education and Gender Equality.”

    GENDER EQUALITY: Global Citizens took 518,000 actions in support of investing in girls and women to achieve gender equality. These efforts secured four commitments that are set to affect the lives of more than for two million women, including the International Finance Corporation Banking on Women Group committing USD$ 2 billion towards banking on women and promoting women entrepreneurship by end 2019. This includes a US$100 million investment in India.

    QUALITY EDUCATION: Global Citizens took 265,000 actions. In response, six commitments were secured, including HP committing to provide 48 mobile classrooms, investing US$3.6 million to result in 15 million people in rural areas of India getting access to quality education and technology over six years.

    WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE: Global Citizens took 651,000 actions, securing 11 commitments and announcements that are set to affect the lives of 486 million people

    GCF India, powered by UPL and NECC, was hosted by the Government of Maharashtra and produced by Wizcraft International. Other partners included: the United Nations, the Times of India Group, Google, Hindustan Unilever, Ola, Spykar, Make My Trip and Taj Group of Hotels.

  • Global Citizen Festival enables us to drive behavioural change, says Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats

    Global Citizen Festival enables us to drive behavioural change, says Viacom18’s Sudhanshu Vats

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 has entered into a strategic tie-up with the Global Citizen Festival to amplify a hi-decibel public awareness campaign in India on the issues of quality education, gender equality and clean water and sanitation.

    As part of this partnership, the festival will be telecast live exclusively on Vh1, streamed exclusively on Voot, with the network’s flagship channel Colors airing it in December while Colors Infinity and MTV will showcase content around the festival.

    The Global Citizen Foundation India has been mobilising Indian youth in the run-up to the festival to take action on various challenging issues for India. These are in the areas of quality education, gender equality, and clean water & sanitation; causes that Viacom18 has been supporting, through both, its corporate and media brands, since inception.

    On the GCF partnership, Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “We saw this partnership as a natural extension of our own beliefs and perfectly in sync with the kind of work we have been doing since inception. It gives us the ideal springboard to channel a much larger force towards driving change in modern-day India. The Global Citizen Festival enables us to work with like-minded organisations as we use all our media assets to drive behavioral change when it comes to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) related matters.”

    The festival will see a galaxy of international musicians like Colday, Jay Z and Demi Lovato and Indian icons like A. R. Rahman, Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Farhan Akhtar, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arijit Singh, Arjun Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Dia Mirza, Freida Pinto, Malaika Arorha Khan, Monali Thakur, Parineeti Chopra, Sachin Tendulkar, Sakshi Malik, Shah Rukh Khan, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Shraddha Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Vidya Balan, Vijendar Singh and Vivek Oberoi come together in support of the GCF’s cause at MMRDA Grounds on 19 November 2016.

    Viacom18 will be multiplying the reach of the festival by broadcasting it live on the all new VH1, streaming it on the network’s OTT service VOOT with repeat telecasts on MTV and Colors Infinity, and telecast of Hindi content on Colors at a later date.