Tag: Viacom18

Colors bets big with 24 premier on 4 Oct

MUMBAI: It’s raining shows on Colors. The channel has ambitions to retain its audiences and lure new ones with its slew of new show launches which it hopes will send its TVTs on an expansion mode. Just as Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa ended, in came Bigg Boss and, on 4 October, the international thriller 24 is set to premier on the Viacom18 general entertainment channel.

The weekend slot of Friday and Saturday at 10 pm is what it has been given. This means that Uttaran and Bani will now have just 4 episodes a week and Comedy Nights with Kapil will be cut down to just once a week, that is Sunday, which could be disappointing for comedy lovers who have made it a hit. But Colors’ management says they don’t have a choice. “We have a problem of plenty. So shows need to be dropped to accommodate them,” says Colors CEO Raj Nayak.

Safari Storme is said to have paid around Rs 16-18 crore to be the presenting sponsor. Next – part of the Videocon group – has been signed on as one of the associate sponsors. As per sources, the show has been created at 20 times the cost of a normal fiction show making it Colors’ biggest fiction property.

Nayak says that the channel has mastered the art of monetizing big properties. That the show may run into losses is also expected but hopes are that it may just click with the audience. They believe it should get TVTs equivalent to TRPs totting between 2.8 to 3.

The show has big plans on the digital front. Keeping the peg as ‘Race against time’ which is what 24 is all about, all activities undertaken revolve around it ranging from contests which play on the word ’24’. “The concepts will be time-bound,” says Colors digital head Vivek Srivastava.

On social media, special behind-the-scenes, exclusive pictures, chats and possibly a hangout with Anil Kapoor are all in the line up to build the buzz around the show. Special emphasis is being given to build characters on social media and digital platforms to get fans to continue to stay connected with them. “We don’t have the luxury of 100 episodes to establish a character here,” says Srivastava.

Although the views that a show gets through digital is much less compared to television, online activity helps generate conversations. The Colors Facebook page annually gets about 150 million views. However, it is very important since it helps them create brand bearers through normal people. An announcement on the application is expected soon, which Srivastava says is going to be very unusual. On the day of launch, a 15-minute preview is expected to be played before the actual telecast of the first episode.

Made like a movie and treated like one as well. That’s the channel’s mantra to market this big property. The first phase includes visits to HSM (Hindi Speaking Markets) where Kapoor will interact with lay viewers, media and opinion leaders. Visits to Jaipur, Delhi and Patna have already been wrapped up successfully while more are in the pipeline. Integrations on Bigg Boss and Kapil and a few other fiction shows such as Madhubala are also to be expected in the coming days.

Someone switching on the radio will soon hear something about 24 every 24 minutes on almost all FM channels including the big boys 98.3FM Mirchi and Red FM 93.5. Trailers have been planned to air on over 60 channels including news, regional and music. Print advertisements are planned to appear near the launch date in all leading editions of newspapers such as Times of India, Dainik Jagran.

Theatres have already started playing promos during Madras Cafe and Grand Masti and the soon-to-premier Besharam is next in line. “We have something innovative planned in the outdoor space,” says Colors marketing director Rajesh Iyer.

Speaking about the unusual timing for the show weekend programming (nonfiction) head Manisha Sharma says that it cuts out pressure from Comedy Nights with Kapil since comedy writing is not an easy task. 24 will take one episode’s place for three months after which Kapil will be back to two episodes per week. “The time slot is perfect because people who go to office can come home and watch it,” says Nayak.

Plans are already afoot for the second season, even though the first season is yet to go on air. Now that’s what we call advance booking!

September 20, 2013
Sun shines on kids

The Sun TV Network – with its repertoire of 33 channels across genres including entertainment, music, movies, comedy, news and kids – is arguably a very big name in television (media), both in India and Asia.

While the group debuted with its entertainment channel, Sun TV, back in 1993, children got their very own space on the network not before 2007. The Kids Cluster, as it came to be called, kick-started with Chutti TV (Tamil), followed soon by Kochu TV (Malayalam), Chintu TV (Kannada) and Kushi TV (Telugu).

Of the four kids channels, Chutti and Kochu are extremely popular with a nearly 80 per cent reach in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, respectively.

Kavitha Jaubin knows that maintaining a kids channel is difficult but for Sun Network it has proved to be a good market

The mainstay of the cluster, whose core target is kids in the age group of four to fourteen years, is cartoon acquisitions from numerous distributors and production houses like Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Viacom18 and Scholastic. 80 per cent of the content is similar on all four channels while the remaining 20 per cent varies based on cultural preferences of the state in question.

Says Sun TV Network Kids Cluster of Channels Head Kavitha Jaubin: “Till now, we’ve only been airing acquired content but we hope to own a few titles soon, considering how well we’ve understood our little audience’s interest patterns and what content they view the most.”

The acquired content has to be dubbed by a skilled team in each state, which develops a script in the respective language. “The USP of our channel content is the nature of dubbing. It is extremely witty and is thoroughly enjoyed by our audience,” says Jaubin, adding that nearly a week goes into scripting and dubbing an episode.

Yes, there is some amount of in-house content produced by the network’s 20-strong programming team, which includes game shows, chat shows, news segments, cookery shows and arts and crafts shows. For the purpose, they have studios in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.

While a major portion of the content is international, the network is looking to change this trend by including more local content. Some of the popular shows include Geronimo Stilton from Moonscoop, Penguins of Madagascar, Avatar from Viacom18, Jackie Chan Adventures from Sony Pictures and Little Prince from DQ Entertainment. Recently, the network acquired Little Krishna from Viacom 18 for Janmashtami, and is looking to acquire more such as Barney and Friends.

Since the cluster caters to kids, the channels take care to handpick the content and also censor it to suit the tiny tots.

“There are a few things that we particularly avoid – violence, content that hurts the sentiments of any section of the population or forces parents to scrutinise it,” says Jaubin.

The other thing the network does in terms of cartoons is placing them as per the time band and the age of the audience viewing them.

The morning audience mainly comprises kids between eight and 10 years of age, which changes to pre-schoolers by afternoon. Whereas, evenings are when kids in the age group of 9-14 years watch these channels, often accompanied by parents. At this hour, the channel claims to focus on edutainment type of cartoons more than action.

Speaking of cartoons, those among the Kids Cluster of Channels airing them seem to be doing well.

Mudra Max Media south head Anil Sathiraju says that a channel which talks regional does better than the one which does not. “Chutti TV is doing very well and for a kids’ TG, it delivers fantastically,” he says.

According to Sathiraju, the cartoon genre doesn’t face competition from regional channels, with only Chithiram TV from the Kalaignar Group doing fairly well in Tamil Nadu and none in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

It’s mainly national channels like Pogo, Cartoon Network and Disney that are capable of giving the cluster channels a run for their money. “The effect Pogo gives is pan-India while a Chutti TV or a Chintu TV is only restricted to the state,” says Sathiraju.

Advertising-wise, the ads aired on these channels are directed straight at the kids who’re watching. The prime time of 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm on weekdays and also weekends is when advertisers make the most out of their products. ITC, Surf Excel and Horlicks are some of the brands that advertise with these channels.

Sun TV sources revealed all four channels in the cluster would be generating advertising revenue in the region of Rs 80 crore with Chutti and Kochu contributing a lion’s share.

The channels are hardly visible on the digital front. The website has a game section which includes colouring and puzzles. A small section allows users to upload their childrens’ photos on their birthdays that will be displayed on the site. Show timings for the day can also be found out.

Children dressed up for an event organised by Chintu TV

Most of the marketing they do is for their shows through outdoor events. There are regular events and contests, the most recent one being on Janmashtami when kids were made to dress up as Lord Krishna and his consort Radha and click photographs.

Other events include Chutti Premiere League on the lines of IPL, where a cartoon character heads a team and children vote for their favourite team; theme-based carnivals and so on. “This has definitely helped us gain visibility and intensify the already existing popularity,” says Jaubin.

Is there room for more channels in the kids’ space? “It is a challenge to tailor programs that suit kids’ interests, and at the same time, sustain it,” says Jaubin.

As things stand, the Kids Cluster seems to have made a place for itself in kids’ hearts although it continues to face stiff competition not from regional but national children’s channels.

September 14, 2013
Viacom18 partners with Peanuts Worldwide in India

MUMBAI: Viacom18 has announced its partnership with Peanuts Worldwide to represent the rights to Charles Schulz’s popular Peanuts characters in India as master licensee.The deal marks Viacom18’s foray into representing brands outside the Viacom portfolio. Viacom18 plans to roll out products by early next year.

Peanuts has been one of the most popular and influential entertainment brands for over six decades, and the classic property is now set to launch in India in multiple categories that include plush toys, apparel and accessories inspired by Snoopy,Charlie Brown and the gang. Nick Jr., the popular kids’ channel by Viacom18, will also air the Peanuts series on television in the territory in the coming months.

Speaking about the partnership, Viacom 18 Media Sr VP – consumer products, Saugato Bhowmik said, “We are delighted to have acquired representation rights to some of the most widely popular entertainment brands across the world. The partnership with the iconic ‘Peanuts’ brand adds another milestone to our portfolio of products that we will take beyond television. We’re confident that the brand’s worldwide popularity will be replicated in India.”

Peanuts Worldwide and Iconix Entertainment MD Leigh Anne Brodsky said, “Peanuts has immense fan following across the globe. We are thrilled to enter the Indian market with new media and content on the horizon and with a promising partner like Viacom18 that boasts of the best entertainment channel across genres and an expansive range of consumer products.”

Viacom18 Media is a significant player in the ever growing consumer products space with its diverse portfolio. Through various associations, Viacom18 has cut beyond the conventional categories giving consumers a slice of its brands such as MTV, Vh1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and also non Viacom18 brands, spanning across 50 categories with over 60 licensees. Nickelodeon consumer products, has launched more than 5,000 SKU’s touching 10,000 plus retail points since its commencement in 2006. It boasts of a diverse range of products with some iconic properties like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ninja Hattori amongst others.

September 12, 2013
Nicks digital roadmap

The times they are a-changin – Bob Dylan’s popular song – couldn’t have rung more true than present-day. A decade into the current century and change feels like the only constant. Gone are the days of VHS video tapes, black and white television, analog channels and wires; these have been rendered redundant by Blu-Ray discs, LED HD TVs, digital channels, Wi-fi and other what have you in terms of electronics. Mobile phones, laptops and tablets have replaced children’s toys and why not, when e-textbooks are on their way to becoming the norm in schools. The younger ‘digital’ generation is conversing in a language unbeknownst to the older one.

In such a scenario, Nickelodeon (Nick) India, a part of Viacom18 Media, like its peers, is pulling out all stops to adapt to the changing times. Speaking at length to Viacom18 VP and business head – Digital Media Rajneel Kumar, indiantelevision.com tried to find out just how.

The idea is to build something for advertisers to address their audience in this period says Rajneel Kumar

“We went in for a complete revamp of the Nick India site, as we wanted to make it completely gaming-centric, along with showcasing our great library of video content,” explains Kumar.

For the uninitiated, Nick India has an array of online properties under its wing, addressing different age groups among youngsters. Nick Jr. caters to the needs of toddlers, but parents too are actively involved in their kids’ consumption patterns. The prime property, Nick, has both kids and parents consuming or engaging on the digital platform. And then there’s TeenNick, which is the only such platform, which addresses young girls and Sonic Gang which caters to young boys, who’re typically into high octane action, adventure and drama.

Of which, Sonic Gang has been a revelation of sorts, what with some exclusive content around popular IPs such as TMNT, Kung Fu Panda, Power Rangers and Avatar.

With 100 plus episodes of content and nearly 60 high-end (overall more than 80) games, the Nick India site has witnessed an increase in time spent by more than six minutes, which is deemed very healthy. Additionally, it has an exclusive digital magazine titled ‘SonicMag’ which covers gaming, cars, sports and gadgets. Currently, the magazine boasts of over 49 articles, with fresh articles being published from time to time.

Kumar says all these properties are an ideal platform for advertisers to reach out to their audience. “Looking at the overall digital economy and how we are addressing it, we are creating properties that help advertisers reach out to these particular segments, which are of keen interest to them. We are working really closely with advertisers across all categories to essentially run campaigns that are not really straight forward ones like banners and videos, but large campaigns around each of these markets that we are addressing,” he explains.

Citing an example, he says: “If the addressable community is Nick Jr. as a category and looking at parents, our focus would actually be on taking characters from within that entire franchise and making it into how parents are an active part of the entire campaign…”
For a one-of-its-kind platform like TeenNick, apart from fresh programming and a presence on social media, Nick also encourages associations with fashion and lifestyle brands. There are integrated campaigns running for Nick’s advertisers, which run from the online space to the apps and as per the need of advertisers.

Nick prides itself on having an all-round strategy. “We also look at on-ground activation. So, it’s a complete 360, and not just sending a piecemeal part of the digital experience to advertisers. It’s about integrating all our strengths and being able to address the audience’s perspective as far as possible,” exults Kumar.

As far as that online video streaming monster called YouTube is concerned, Nick is very clear on how it plans to use it. “We use YouTube to primarily do a lot of promotions around our content and for showcasing teasers as also some content pieces from our entire library,” says Kumar.

The idea is to grab the attention of the young net surfer and lead him/her to the Nick India website and the strategy has worked wonders for the revamped website, which has seen more than 50 per cent growth in traffic, a 150 per cent increase in the time spent and more than 650,000 game plays in the last 60 days. “Our strategy is solid as we’ve seen how the digital advertising industry is growing. So we are building something for advertisers to address their audience in this period,” says Kumar.

And how does Nick manage this gargantuan task? Apparently, they have a fairly robust digital team comprising a products team around the web and mobile (the latter also includes a small in-house gaming studio), a technology team which takes care of web and mobile, an editorial team which looks after social media and content creation and a very strong sales team.

With youngsters increasingly preoccupied with games on their mobile phones, Nick also has a strong, primarily two-fold mobile apps strategy. First, every consumer should be able to access the app which is outside of television and is addressable to that consumer. Second, consumers must be kept engaged and connected to the brand even when they are not really watching just video content. The latter is where gaming comes into play. “The most popular characters that we have around in the kids segment encourage us to really build some engaging games for kids, and we will continue to launch such games throughout the year,” says Kumar.

He explains that all social media platforms are rigorously used to generate traction amongst consumers. “We use all the mediums available at our disposal to generate traction and that’s an investment that we have been making and will continue making as it is clearly in line with us using these platforms as long-term consumer destinations. This will engage the consumers and help us use all platforms to market our products to reach our goal,” he says.

But how does Nick plan to make moolah out of these activities? “By primarily focusing on advertisers as they shift their attention to digital platforms. The main strategy is to be able to build our own properties, whether it’s online or mobile, which then becomes fertile ground for advertisers and marketers to partner with us on,” replies Kumar.

According to the KPMG FICCI 2013 report, the digital advertising market is pegged at Rs 21.7 billion and has grown at 40 per cent from 2011 to 2012. It is expected to be Rs 28.3 bn in 2013 and Rs 87 bn by 2017 growing at a CAGR of 31.1 per cent.

“All the indicators today show the time spent on the digital medium by the target audience that we are speaking about, so it only makes sense to not only monetise on the current scenario but also to build future-ready properties across each of these,” rounds off Kumar.

With the 2013 BCG report estimating that the number of children in the country expected to come online by 2017 is likely to more than triple to 134 million from about 40 million in 2012, Nick India certainly seems to be making all the right noises in the right direction…

September 10, 2013
Nickelodeon-Unilever-Amagi enter advertising geo-targeting deal

MUMBAI: Advertisers and their agencies always want a bigger bang for their buck. Especially if it is buying expensive air time on TV channels. And one player that has been working at getting them that extra zing is the Bengaluru-based Amagi Media with its geo-targeted advertising DART technology platform.

With almost 15 channels as clients and a reach of about 200 million viewers, the hot shot tech firm today announced that it has done a deal with arguably India’s biggest advertiser Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and the Viacom18 kid’s channel Nickelodeon.

As part of that deal, an HUL TV commercial will run simultaneously on Nick nationally in different versions , depending on geographical location using Amagi’s DART platform. .Lo and behold, HUL will be micro-targeting its communication, something which would surely delight the savvy marketing behemoth. .

Terming this pact as ‘creative-versioning’ Amagi claims that it addresses crucial needs of advertisers as well as broadcasters to make the most of the ROI from the television spot.

Says Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats: “We are pleased to partner with Amagi and Hindustan Unilever on this unique concept of micro-targeting. This initiative further builds on our strategic thrust of sharper segmentation.”

Amagi was rated as the second fastest growing technology company in India by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Amagi Media co-founder Srinivasan K.A explains: “This is the first time worldwide in television advertising that a single spot bought nationally has been used to communicate different brand messages in different regions. Such micro-targeting is going to be the future of television advertising.”

What Amagi does for its other broadcast partners is buy ad slots on their channels and then resells them to regional advertisers. A bar code is added to the ad which is used to identify the placement of ads in specific regions.

Broadcasters have been wary of this kind of advertising as it would mean giving up national inventory for lower-cost local advertising.

This is probably why Nick is letting HUL do its own micro-targeting rather than selling its ad space to Amagi to get regional advertisers on board. However it is a boon to local advertisers who only pay for advertising in a particular region of a national channel at a much lesser cost as well as those who want to mould their ad to suit geography-specific cultural demands.

About Rs 70 crore has been invested in Amagi and it aims to break even somewhere in 2014-2015. Its current yearly revenues are a little less than Rs 50 crore.

It already has a long list of broadcast partners such as TEN sports, Times Now, CNBC Awaaz, IBN7, CNN-IBN, UTV Movies, Maa TV, Zoom, Udaya TV as well as Tata Sky as its DTH partner. Zee News and Zee Business were recently added to its kitty. Its list of advertiser clients includes Chevrolet, Toyota, Fortuna, Skoda apart from local ones such as Kuberan Silks, YLG, Mysore tarpaulins etc.With Unilever being roped in will other top notch advertisers also follow?

That’s for later, but the news now is that soon a kid watching Nickelodeon in Kolkata will not see the same ad as a kid watching the channel in Kolhapur. Wonder whether he or she will notice the difference?

August 20, 2013
‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ crosses the Rs. 100 crores mark

New Delhi, August 6, 2013 – TV18 Broadcast Limited announced today that its film studio, Viacom18 Motion Pictures’ latest release ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ has crossed the Rs. 100 crores net collection mark at the Domestic Box Office. It is the first Indian ‘Biopic’ to enter this illustrious club. In addition, the movie has clocked Rs. 20 crores plus in the international markets. The ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ game on the app store has also been a runaway hit.

Viacom18 Motion Pictures is a division of Viacom18 – TV18’s entertainment Joint Venture with Viacom.

August 7, 2013
Viacom18 hires Utpal Das as Chief Commercial officer

MUMBAI: From Zee to V. V as in Viacom18. That’s the route that Utpal Das is taking. Viacom18 Media today announced that the long time Times group and Zee TV professional has joined the company as chief commercial officer effective 1 August.

Utpal will be reporting in to Viacom18 CEO Sudhanshu Vats and will be a part of the Viacom18 leadership team.

Announcing this appointment Vats said, “As a network we are growing exponentially. In our next phase we are committed to strengthening our central functions to build efficiencies and drive synergies. Utpal brings rich and diversified experience to the team and I am confident he will contribute to our growth story. I welcome him to the Viacom18 family and look forward to working with him.”

“I have always been in awe of the Viacom18 network for the strength of the channel portfolio and the way they have set benchmarks for television and film entertainment. Its indeed a privilege to be part of this wonderful team,” commented Das.

Utpal brings to the table more than two decades of experience across several companies in the very diverse business segments ranging from Larsen & Toubro in engineering to Zee Entertainment and BCCL in media. Das is a bachelor of engineering from Regional Engineering College-Silchar and executive masters in international business from IIFT Delhi.

August 7, 2013
Viacom18 & Tata Comm go cloud surfing

MUMBAI: In the earlier days when telephones, internet and aeroplanes did not exist, messages were sent manually across countries through messengers. Today we watch the telecast of live matches at the same time globally. But somehow, broadcasters were caught in a time warp when it came to delivering the content syndicated to TV or VOD or online clients worldwide. The norm was to either send a tape to the broadcast customer whichever part of the world it was located or send out the show‘s episodes on a hard disk or via web-based ftp transfers online.

No more. Telco services provider Tata Communications in partnership with Harmonics has developed what is being claimed as the world’s first cloud based broadcast quality video transcoding and delivery network. Viewers now have the choice to watch their favourite programs from other countries at the same time or a few minutes after the original playback without having to resort to piracy. What gets better for them is that they get broadcast quality videos, close enough to HD (high definition) quality rather than low resolution ones across a variety of platforms. This service is not restricted to just broadcasters but also production houses.

How does it happen?

Customers can upload their content to Tata Comm‘s portal while mentioning the device (iphones, tablets etc) for which they want it to be transcoded. The service picks it up and takes it to the cloud where the transcoding takes place after which it is either pushed back to the client or to wherever it has been asked to be sent to. A secure file acceleration method ensures safe delivery over the internet, says Tata Communications.

Where huge amounts of data have to be archived, Tata Communications, is open to doing the job for clients after receiving a detailed document, along with the hard disk containing the data. A client may only be able to do one transcode at a time but Tata Communications can have multiple transcoding devices for speedy delivery with its 1gbps port.

Tata Communications business
head Sameer Kanse
says that the transcoded video
is comparable to near HD quality

Tata Communications says its cloud service helps reduce piracy. Viewers resort to piracy as the content is not available at the time they want to consume it legally and because the content is transported manually.

With the Tata Communications service, shows can be simulcast or near simulcast because of quick delivery via the cloud and in the process this tends to reduce piracy, says Tata Communications business head Sameer Kanse. In this way the brand is protected, the copy is of good quality and the owners can get advertising as well as increased revenue.

“They (clients) can either spend a lot of time protecting their content. Or they can actually make their content available before the pirates,” adds Kanse.

On whether the system can be hacked , he says that it is much more difficult to pry open a secure network than steal a hard disk.

He maintains that the transcoded video needn‘t be of the exact same quality as it was shot but it is comparable to near HD quality. “The service can effectively convert from any video format to any other video format – including between all common SD (standard definition) and HD formats, although its unique strength lies in its ability to handle professional grade broadcast video standards,” he says.

What about time?

By opting for this service broadcasters don’t have to undergo the Herculean task of setting up the hardware, maintaining and upgrading it as well as appoint people to handle it. This can be outsourced thus reducing time losses.

IndiaCast, a joint venture between Viacom 18 and TV18 for distribution of its channels and content, has already started using the service for simulcast of its shows such as Bani, Sasural Simar ka and Na Bole Tum from Colors in Pakistan. IndiaCast COO Gaurav Gandhi says that this has cut down the time needed for this from three hours to an hour apart from that needed for file conversion to the requisite format, thanks to Tata Communications.

With the rapid evolution of the internet it has become necessary to make content ready in multiple formats in a quick span of time. This service will take off a big burden from broadcasters‘ shoulders. “We are saying you (broadcasters) focus on creativity and we will focus on our work,” reiterates Kanse.

IndiaCast COO Gaurav Gandhi is
looking at using cloud based services
for simultaneous broadcast in other
markets as well

Tata Communications also provides a ‘live’ service to its customers, if asked for, which would allow seamless transmission of live content across different countries and operators. Without naming the broadcaster Kanse says that one of the ‘key’ broadcasters that recently launched on its own is taking its live service from them.

Customers opting for the service normally ‘pay as they go’ wherein a higher commitment is priced higher and vice versa. Another aspect of pricing is the format of content in which it is received. Cost for converting tapes is higher than hard disks.

Curbing Piracy

Piracy of Colors by cable operators in other territories was one of the main reasons why Viacom18 chose to use this cloud based service. “We are looking to use the cloud based service actively for certain kind of programming of ours that has appeal/demand for simultaneous broadcast in other markets as well,” points out Gaurav Gandhi.

The transcoding is currently taking place in Tata Communications Mumbai and London centres and can be sent across the globe. As far as numbers are concerned, Kanse says that he couldn’t share numbers but the increase in revenue would be ‘significant’ as there isn’t any other company providing similar services which is the need of the hour.

Kanse was wary of revealing any client names apart from Viacom18, but apparently quite a few producers and broadcasters have taken a shine to the Tata Communications cloud based service.

Clearly, that should put him up in the clouds.

July 9, 2013
Hiremath resigns from IndiaCast Media Distribution

MUMBAI: Distribution veteran Sanjev Hiremath has announced his resignation from his position as IndiaCast Media Distribution executive vice president. Indiacast media distribution, a strategic joint venture created by TV18 and Viacom18 was formed in May, last year, to create India‘s first multi-platform content asset monetization entity.

Prior to Indiacast, Hiremath had started digital and new media business for Viacom18, TV18 and ETV channels. He also had a role to play in setting up one of the early cable TV initiatives.

The veteran has been closely associated with the cable & satellite industry. He joined MTV networks as head ofnetwork development for India & South Asia, when it was launched in India in 1996. He was also instrumental in successful launch and distribution of several channels like Nickelodeon and VH1. Post the joint venture between Viacom and Network18 he oversaw the launch of Colors, Comedy Central and Sonic.

Announcing Sanjev‘s departure, IndiaCast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi said, “Sanjev has admirably led our new media and digital business over last one year or so and has put us on a path of high growth trajectory. He is an old friend and colleague and we will miss his expertise and knowledge in the cable and satellite industry. As he now ventures out, I wish him all the success in all his future endeavors.”

Hiremath, who resigned from his position in April, has not decided his further career plan. “I have not decided to join anywhere as yet. This industry has taught me a lot and so I have decided to continue with this industry itself. I want to work in both traditional and new media space,” said Hiremath while speaking to indiantelevision.com.

His last day in office is 30 June. Where will he go next? Well, we will have to wait and watch.

June 25, 2013
Splitsvilla 6 enagages its audience with new apps

MUMBAI: Love just got difficult to get. With 16 youngsters fighting with each other to not only win a show, but to also (ostensibly) find love, Splitsvilla 6 has got all the right ingredients to make the perfect youth sizzler. The latest season promises to be ‘Hotter than Hell‘ with lots of scintillating moments and breathtaking participants which are definitely pleasing to the eyes. Not to miss, are the trademark back-stabbing, hating and fighting elements adding the required spice to the tale. Splitsvilla Seaason 6 promises to have higher doses of all these and much more to sustain and increase its cult following among the young and restless.

The tagline very aptly says ‘Hotter than Hell‘ and to make the show as hot as hell, Viacom18 has launched an interesting campaign introducing newer elements, targeting both digital and Out of Home (OOH) media. The show has been created by an in-house creative team, headed by Bhavya Sharma.

The network has roped in Fiama De Wills, Karbonn Mobiles, Zinga and Kama Sutra as sponsors for this season. Revealing further details, MTV business head Aditya Swamy says: “We have integrated our sponsors in the show. We are giving exclusive coverage to them by having exclusive Fiama and Karbonn tasks. We also have their logo presence during the show.”

So what‘s new? The sexy siren Sherlyn Chopra will be the all new sizzling co-host. (We thought Nikhil Chinappa was sexy enough: editor chuckles). Also, the popular ‘Break up Diary‘ segment wherein the female contestants narrated their break-up stories to introduce themselves will now also feature the male contestants. Well, ofcourse, what is more interesting than a bunch of ‘hot‘, bare-chested men talk about how they faced and ‘survived‘ heartbreak, right?

The channel tells us that extensive research has gone into this season to better understand the pulse of the young generation. The research team, headed by Sumeli Chatterjee tried to spot the current trend. “Changes in Splitsvilla 6 have been created based on the opinion from our research group, whom we refer to as trend spotters,” says Swamy.

After research, it was time for the right kind of promotion and what better way than to target the buzzing college campuses. MTV reached out to around 200 college campuses across India, including Kolkata, Lucknow and Chandigarh, during its pre-launch. They also hired campus ambassadors for ‘word of mouth‘ marketing. “We have promoted the show in a big way, keeping 20-30 per cent of our total advertising budget only for social and digital platforms,” informs Bhattacharya.

It‘s the digital front where Splitsvilla aims to create the maximum buzz. “MTV Splitsvilla is the ideal product to proliferate on digital media,” says a media observer. “It‘s for young people who zoom in like bees on outlets such as Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and it‘s about relationships. Hence, it‘s good its building up itself on digital media.”

With a humongous 2.7 million likes and 1.5 million active fans on Facebook, more than 3500 avid Twitter followers, MTVSplitsvilla 6 has managed to carve a decent online following for itself.

But, apart from the usually explored territories of Facebook and Twitter, Splitsvilla ventures into the space of mobile apps and also includes a fan mobilising concept.

“We have learnt a lot from MTV Roadies and have applied those lessons to Splitsvilla 6,” says MTV digital head Eklavya Bhattacharya. “What we have done within the digital space has helped us gain a lot of recognition worldwide as one of the best initiatives.”

What more?! Remember that sweet little angel of a daughter in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai? Yes, she is Sana Saeed who was recently seen in Karan Johar‘s college flick Student of the year as a co- lead (read hot bimbo), Splitvilla 6 gets you a web show featuring ‘Sexy Sana‘ who will be analysing (read: Bitching) about all that the contestants did in the televised episode each weekend.

Swamy adds: “Sexy Sana is an exclusively new property this season, which gives Sana‘s takes and reviews on extended videos, unedited parts and behind the scene clippings of the show.”

Entering in the app world, the channels has added ‘I Dubba‘, which allows its 50 million viewers to not only tweet to the show on air, but also chat with fellow fans. Another interesting app is ‘Tickr 2 fame‘, which helps viewers to tweet and chat on Facebook, these conversations are shown on the show.

The additions have helped Splitsvilla connect with its audience. “We have seen a 100 per cent rise in the response from the audience with the addition of new apps. On each show we get 300- 400 people chatting on I Dubba and 1,000 to 2,000 people tweeting on Tickr to Fame,” informs Bhattacharya.

With five episodes already aired, let‘s wait and watch how impressive these new additions prove to be for brands Splitsvilla.

Recap of previous seasons of Splitsvilla…

Splitsvilla Battleground – has been the highlight of all seasons. Being one of the medium to get selected for the show, by performing a task given ‘on the spot‘, this section of Splitsvilla still engages maximum audiences.

Audiosodes – an application though which one can listen to entire show in the voice of popular video jockey, J. Man.

Hottie of the Day – get likes and comments on facebook.

Urban Cupid – text articles about love relationship and break ups on facebook pages.

Splitsvilla Prediction App – It is a proper live prediction and live betting engine for making virtual money. This is available on Vas platforms and these have been distributed to mobile
operators across the country.

June 24, 2013