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Tag: Videocon d2h

  • Videocon d2h expands its regional channel portfolio

    Videocon d2h expands its regional channel portfolio

    MUMBAI: The direct to home (DTH) operator, Videocon d2h has taken a step forward in strengthening its regional channel profile. The operator has now added a Tamil channel ‘Vendhar TV’ and a Punjabi channel ‘Chardikala Time TV’ on its platform.

     

    While ‘Vendhar TV’ is a Tamil general entertainment channel and will be available in the basic pack South Silver, ‘Chardikala Time TV’ is a Punjabi News channel, and will be available in the basic pack Super Gold.

     

    With this addition Videocon d2h will now offer 53 Tamil and 12 Punjabi channels and services.

     

    ‘Vendhar TV’ will be available on channel number:  817 and ‘Chardikala Time TV’ on channel number: 762.

  • DTH operators to challenge I&B Ministry’s notice on arrears

    DTH operators to challenge I&B Ministry’s notice on arrears

    NEW DELHI: Operators of private direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, who recently received a notice from the government with regard to licence fee dues amounting to Rs 2,066 crore, plan to challenge the notice on the ground that the matter is subjudice and is pending in the Supreme Court.

     

    However, the DTH Operators Association of India is yet to decide whether the challenge will be in the form of a reply to the Ministry or an application in Court.

     

    According to the notice sent earlier this week, the six private operators have been asked to pay the amount within fifteen days.

     

    However, most of the operators contacted by indiantelevision.com said they had cleared the dues of licence fee.

     

    The operators say the licence fee as demanded under the rules is on gross revenue (GR) whereas they have been asked to pay the fee on the basis of actual gross revenue (AGR). The operators have said the fee should be only on subscription revenue and not on allied earnings such as dividend and interest income.

     

    When the operators insisted that they had been paying the licence fee on the GR, the government went to the Supreme Court on the issue and the matter has been pending for the past four years and is now expected to come up early next month.

     

    However, Information and Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka told indiantelevision.com that the Ministry was justified in sending the notices since the apex court had not levied a stay order in the matter. Asked about possible action after 15 days, he said this would be done according to the provisions of the licensing rules.

     

    Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal said that the demand of Rs 2,066 crore is the differential between the GR and the AGR.

     

    He also said that I&B Ministry had itself asked the Finance Ministry to reduce the fee from 10 per cent to six per cent but the latter had not taken a decision on this so far.

     

    According to the notices sent to the operators, Dish TV has to pay Rs 625 crore while Tata Sky has been told to pay Rs 620 crore. Airtel Digital TV has to pay Rs 298 crore, while Sun Direct has to clear Rs 230 crore. The Videocon-owned d2h has to pay Rs 157 crore while Reliance Digital TV has to pay Rs 136 crore.

     

    While DTH companies provide for 10 per cent licence fee on overall revenue in their profit and loss account, they pay less (only on subscription revenue net of content cost) at about five per cent of overall revenue. The rest is booked as a provision in the balance sheet, along with applicable interest.

     

    As of 31 March 2013, Dish TV’s closing provision pertaining to regulatory dues (including interest) stood at Rs 653.66 crore.

     

    Some of the DTH operators were hopeful that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India would bring down the licence fee from 10 per cent to six per cent, as proposed by the I&B Ministry to the Finance Ministry. TRAI itself had recommended last year that the actual gross revenue should be brought down to eight per cent.

     

    Meanwhile, the Parliament was told in April last year that the six private DTH operators paid Rs 307.8 crore as licence fee to the government for the year 2011-12, compared to Rs 177.8 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 126.2 crore in 2009-10.

     

    The revenue in 2008-09 was Rs 89.3 crore from four operators, since both Airtel Digital TV (Bharti Telemedia) as well as Videocon d2h (Bharat Business Channel) had not commenced services.

     

    The other DTH players are Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, and Reliance Big TV.    

     

    Under the agreement with the government, the platforms pay a non-refundable entry fee of Rs 10 crore and an annual fee equivalent to 10 per cent of its gross revenue every financial year. Thus, the platforms have paid Rs 60 crore as one-time entry fee.

     

    According to figures furnished in the reply to the Parliament, Tata Sky paid licence fee of Rs 79.3 crore in 2011-12 as against Airtel Digital’s Rs 61.87 crore and Dish TV’s Rs 30 crore. Sun Direct paid Rs 36 crore, Reliance Big TV paid Rs 9.5 crore, and Videocon d2h paid Rs 5 crore.

     

    DTH services are governed by the DTH guidelines and terms and conditions issued by the I&B Ministry on 15 March 2001 and amended from time to time.    

     

    The seven DTH players in the country including Doordarshan’s free-to-air Freedish cover around 3.5 crore TV homes. Freedish currently has 59 slots including 22 of its own and which it hopes to increase to 97 by the end of this year and ultimately to 250 slots over the next two years.

  • Videocond2h adds Star Sports2

    Videocond2h adds Star Sports2

    MUMBAI: In a move to strengthen its bouquet of offerings, direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h has added Star Sports 2 on its platform.

     

    On an a la carte basis, Videocon d2h has priced Star Sports 2 at Rs 40 per month.

     

    “We believe in increasing our channel offerings in every genre. This new channel will help us in engaging with the passionate sports fans like never before. This channel will connect with sports loving audience for our quality channels and services offered. We hope that this channel addition will trigger more action, more excitement and more love for sports,” said Videocon group director Saurabh Dhoot.

     

    With this addition of Star Sports 2, Videocon d2h now offers 18 sports channels and services on its platform. Videocon d2h has a subscriber base of more than 10 million and is the fastest to achieve the same. It has grown tremendously in past four years, since it went pan India in February 2010.

     

    “In continuation with our philosophy of giving the customer what he asks for, we have added Star Sports 2 on our platform. Star Sports 2 is a sports channel dedicated to the diehard fans of all kinds of sporting actions. With this channel, our customers can now enjoy the entire offerings of Sports channels. This promise of giving the best of channels and services across genres has built trust for brand Videocon d2h,” added Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

     

    Videocon d2h currently offers 490 plus channels and services, 27 Asli “HD” channels and host of regional channels. Star Sports 2 will be available on the d2h platform on channel number: 417.

  • NDTV Prime to fully operate on sponsored programmes

    NDTV Prime to fully operate on sponsored programmes

    MUMBAI: New Delhi Television (NDTV) is carrying forward its de-risking strategy of reducing dependence on advertising revenues. Higher revenues from programme sponsorship had helped the news broadcaster report a small net profit of Rs 2 crore in 2012-13 despite weak advertising revenues, after two years of losses.

    NDTV has now brought on board a channel sponsor and a channel partner for its split channels NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime. NDTV has from tonight converted its business news channel NDTV Profit into a dual channel – NDTV Profit will be a business news channel from 9:00 am till 5:00 pm on weekdays and will thereafter convert into a lifestyle and entertainment channel NDTV Prime. Over the weekends, the channel will be entirely NDTV Prime.

    The 2-in-1 channel will provide NDTV with two primetime segments, one during the market hours and the second in the evening.

    Mobile phone maker Micromax will be NDTV Prime’s channel partner for a three-year period, under a deal, according to sources, that’s valued at a shade above Rs 30 crore. Micromax will gain huge mileage as its emblem ‘M’ will be replacing the character ‘m’ in NDTV Prime.

    NDTV has a channel partner for NDTV Profit in the country’s largest exchange the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The channel will carry a line ‘Partnered by NSE’ under the NDTV Profit logo.

     

    A promotional campaign featuring Shah Rukh Khan has already begun through print and TV with the tagline ‘Work Hard Play Hard’ embodying the dual nature of NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime.

    NSE MD and CEO Chitra Ramakrishnan said the goals of NSE and NDTV Profit were similar in terms of investor outreach.

    Says Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma, “NDTV Prime provides an ideal opportunity for Micromax to reach out to evolved viewers through new programming on lifestyle, reality, automobiles, sports, music, property, gadgets and gizmos and comedy. With digitisation and advancement of technology, we are seeing a trend for greater consumption of high quality
    content among the viewers.”

    In addition to the channel sponsor for NDTV Prime, the channel will also have sponsor or sponsors for every programme. This is expected to help NDTV Prime break-even within a year.

     

    As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com, NDTV Prime’s big-ticket show will be ‘Ticket to Bollywood’ sponsored by Videocon d2h along with VLCC and Fortis. Prime has been divided into various bands that are sponsored as well.

    Education band ‘Mindspace’ at 6:30 pm is sponsored by LIC, IMS, Vidyalankar and Rau’s IAS study circle, Property at 7:00pm is powered by Supertech and indiaproperty.com, Tech band at 8:00 pm is sponsored by Croma, Nokia and Toshiba, Auto band at 8:30 pm is with MRF, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Volvo, VistaTech, Mobil1 and Polaris as main sponsors.

    The Comedy band at 10:00 pm and Strip movies at 10:30 pm are currently the only ones without sponsors. “How often do you see a channel which even before launch is pre-sold? People know this channel will work and I was sure we won’t launch it without having the money in the bank,” says NDTV group CEO Vikram Chandra.

    Each band will have a different show each day of the week. Along with TV, NDTV Prime will also have exclusive shows on its website www.ndtvprime.com. One of the first is two technology pieces of five to seven minutes that will be exclusively on its website every day.

    Does the genre have enough of such content to put out on a daily basis? Tech anchor Rajiv Makhni says, “In technology, something or the other is happening every day. If a mobile is launched say on a Monday why would you wait till Saturday to see a feature on it? So on Prime you will see news, analysis as well as suggestions. Not only will we zoom in on a few best in every category but we will also tell you exactly which product should you buy.”

    He also goes on to explain that just because Micromax and Nokia are sponsors, there will be no bias in favour of these brands. “If a product has flaws then it has flaws. You will see it on our shows,” says Makhni.

    Men will drive the viewership for NDTV Prime. “A lot of our evening content is aimed for people with interests besides stock market. In fact, now our morning viewership will be a subset of our evening one and the evening will see 10 times more viewership,” says NDTV co-chairperson Prannoy Roy.

     

    With the facelift that NDTV has given to NDTV Profit with a split channel in NDTV Prime, it is also looking at beefing up its distribution with a lot of pull effect coming from people who want to watch Prime, especially Ticket to Bollywood.

    “Entertainment and comedy usually has a pull distribution effect. So in this case we don’t have to pay carriage fee as well,” admitted Roy.

    Roy, who was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of NDTV Prime, also spoke about the future prospects of NDTV. “Our future has got more to do with the digital platform ndtv.com,” says Roy.

     

    Chandra had earlier said a large part of NDTV’s losses were due to NDTV Profit and now with Prime in place, the company is confident that its profits will get a boost.

  • Videocon d2h adds Focus Odisha on its platform

    Videocon d2h adds Focus Odisha on its platform

    MUMBAI: The direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h, has expanded its channel portfolio. The operator has now added another regional news channel of Odisha “Focus Odisha” on its platform.

     

    Focus Odisha is a popular 24/7 news and current affairs channel catering to the state. With this channel addition, Videocon d2h now offers 10 Oriya channels and services.

     

    Videocon d2h offers 489 channels and services, 27 Asli “HD” channels and services and 10 Oriya channels and services. Focus Odisha will be available on channel number:  796.

     

    The addition of the news channel will keep the consumers of Videocon d2h updated about the latest happenings in the region, current affairs, news analysis and much more.

  • DTH operators wooing subscribers into HD

    DTH operators wooing subscribers into HD

    MUMBAI: A recent study in the US revealed that nearly 60 per cent of homes in the country have one or more high-definition (HD) TV sets; a significant rise from just 35 per cent five years ago.

     

    In India too, HD TV viewing is on the upswing – though not as big as in the US yet – with two DTH operators having recently added a slew of HD channels to their bouquet to take the total tally of HD channels to over 25. So much so, DTH operators are confident that the demand for HD TV will only grow from here onward.

     

    “More than 50 per cent of new customers are buying HD TVs and the other 50 per cent, who are buying SD boxes, will after a while come and say that they have upgraded to HD TV sets. Would you have thought of this scenario two years ago?” says Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal.

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera echoes similar thoughts. “Close to 8 per cent of our subscribers have taken HD packs. Interestingly, almost double of these have taken our HD boxes in anticipation of their future transition to HD services,” he says.

     

    Not so long ago, Videocon had declared it crossed 10 million subscribers.

     

    To leverage the growing interest in HD, DTH operators have come up with innovative techniques including advertisements, pricing and packaging of HD channels to make customers opt for their HD service packs

     

    For instance, Dish TV ensures it does not have floating subscribers, so only if a customer opts for an HD pack will he/she be provided with an HD set top box (STB). Customers are not allowed to jump between SD and HD packs.

     

    On the other hand, Tata Sky subscribers have to pay just Rs 125 above the pack price to avail both SD channels and the channels in the pack which have an HD version. From 1 November, 2013, Tata Sky has stopped ordering SD boxes and is offering HD boxes at the same price as SD boxes at Rs 2,000 per piece. Currently, it has about 2 million subscribers with an HD connection.

     

    Like Tata Sky, Videocon d2h too is offering SD and HD boxes at almost the same price. While an SD box costs Rs 1,990 with a one month free view, the HD box costs Rs 2,000 without a free view. “Subscribers are taking to HD viewing very well. They are increasingly opting for bigger screens at home and HD feeds for a better viewing experience. We expect that in the next few years, HD viewing will account for almost 20 per cent of the total viewership,” says Khera.

     

    For Airtel Digital TV, it is about striking a balance between the HD and SD consumers. 

     

    More importantly, HD subscribers imply more revenue. “Revenue from an HD subscriber today is almost 10 per cent. However, this has potential to grow up to 35 to 40 per cent of our revenue base in a few years’ time,” says Khera.

     

    According to Nagpal, as and when regional channels start broadcasting in HD, the subscriber base may go up. “HD packs increase as channels get added. Initially, only knowledge and sports channels were available in HD. The next level will be with regional channels. Sun Network has already taken the initiative,” he says.

     

    With Dish TV, currently, 7 per cent of its revenues come from HD subscribers. However, Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish feels that the price of an HD TV set, which is nearly three times that of an SD TV set, could be a deterrent.

     

    While it’s a long road ahead, DTH operators anticipate that the future will see HD TV viewing increase by a substantial amount, thus also increasing Average Revenue per User (ARPU). Khera feels it is possible that in a few years from now, Videocon (like Tata Sky) may stop selling SD boxes altogether.

  • MSLGROUP India wins mandates of six new clients

    MSLGROUP India wins mandates of six new clients

    MUMBAI: MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe’s flagship strategic communications and engagement company, has announced the partnerships with six new clients across a range of industries, which includes, Tata Motors, Changi Airport Group (CAG), Monster Energy Drink, Videocon D2H, Sobha Developers, and Kinetic Group, for strategic brand communications and integrated engagement campaigns.

     

     MSLGROUP India CEO Jaideep Shergill said: “The industry is evolving and clients are looking for strategic and integrated communications that will differentiate them in the marketplace. At MSLGROUP, we have the pulse of the communications space and are constantly evolving to cater to clients’ changing requirements. We are pleased to partner well-known and established players like these.”

     

     Tata Motors Ltd

     

    Tata Motors has entrusted MSLGROUP in India to create and implement an integrated social and digital media strategy with a comprehensive, creative and content-driven solution for the corporate mandate.

     

    Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd (CAG)

     

    Changi Airport, the world’s most awarded airport with more than 450 accolades to its credit since it opened in 1981, has chosen MSLGROUP as its partner for strategic advisory and engagement solutions in India. The programme objective is mainly strategic guidance in creating and building brand awareness in India.

     

     Monster Energy Drink

     

    MSLGROUP joins forces with the Narang Group to launch Monster Energy Drink (the second-largest maker of energy drinks in the world) in India. MSLGROUP has been tasked to provide targeted integrated communication strategies based on experiential, along with communications counsel.

     

     Videocon d2h

     

    MSLGROUP will provide strategic counsel for the brand across India as well as advise and execute communication around unique product innovations, creating several ‘firsts’ in the category.

     

     Sobha Developers

     

    MSLGROUP will provide strategic corporate communications advisory to Sobha Developers, a leading real estate player. MSLGROUP will develop a comprehensive communication strategy that will accentuate the brand value in the media and build on brand credentials. The communication plan will include thought leadership initiatives highlighting the firm’s backward integration model, while showcasing its key differentiators.

     

     Kinetic Group

     

    The group has entrusted MSLGROUP with strategic advisory for corporate reputation management as well as counsel around the introduction of business verticals in 2014.

     

     MSLGROUP will provide strategic communications consultancy programmes to help all these clients in the areas of brand building, corporate reputation management, corporate responsibility and crisis and issues management.

  • IIFA 2014: ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ wins 9 technical awards!

    IIFA 2014: ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ wins 9 technical awards!

    MUMBAI: The International Indian Film Academy today announced the winners of the technical categories of India’s most prestigious international awards, The Tata Motors IIFA Awards.
     

    The IIFA Magic of the Movies and Technical Awards are set to take place on the 25th of April in Tampa. This year’s Videocon d2h IIFA Weekend celebrations are slated for the last weekend of April, from the 23rd to the 26th in Tampa Bay. This will be IIFA’s debut in the United States.
     

    Running laps ahead of the pack, is the Milkha Singh biographical starrer ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ with 9 wins in the technical category, bagging Best Cinematography (Binod Pradhan), Best Screenplay (Prasoon Joshi), Best Dialogue (Prasoon Joshi), Best Editing (P. S.Bharti),Best Sound Design (Nakul Kamte ),Best Sound Mixing (Pranav Shukla),Best Background Score (Shankar-Ehsaan- Loy), Best Costume Designing (Dolly Ahluwalia), and Best Make-Up (Vikram Gaikwad).
     

    With 2 awards is India’s very own superhero flick ‘Krrish 3’. The action-movie won Best Action (Sham Kaushal & Tony Ching Siu Tung) and Best Special Effects – Visuals (Keitan Yadav & Haresh Hingorani – Red Chillies VFX). Rohit Shetty’s blockbuster hit Chennai Express wins Best Song Recording (Vinod Verma for Lungi Dance) and Best Sound Mixing (Anup Dev) along with Bhaag Milkha  Bhaag.
                                                     

    The Technical Award winners and the Popular Award nominations are derived from the IIFA Voting weekend that took place earlier this month. The IIFA Voting process is a stringent and methodical procedure that is closely monitored by KPMG, the official auditors of the event. The popular category nominations have gone live for the global audience to participate in the voting process. Fans across the world can vote online via iifa.com/globalvoting2014   
     

    Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd promotes the IIFA Celebrations globally each year and travel to a new beau locale taking the Film fraternity with it to amalgamate and celebrate the best of both cultures, thereby taking Indian Cinema to a wider audience.
     

    The Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend is presented by Videocon D2H and the Tata Motors IIFA Awards is presented by Tata Motors. The IIFA Weekend &Awards will be broadcast globally on Star Plus, for the 10th year running. Visit Tampa Bay is the Official Destination Partner for the IIFA Weekend and Awards 2014 and Visit Florida, a key partner. Freedom Health Insurance are co-presenting sponsors for the IIFA Celebrations and Tampa Electric Company (TECO), a sponsor.

     

  • Videocon d2h expands its business in the south

    Videocon d2h expands its business in the south

    MUMBAI: It may have entered the market when all its competitors had successfully established themselves in the segment, but the direct-to-home (DTH) player Videocon d2h within five years have made its own space. It recently crossed the 10 million subscribers mark and now it is entering the south India market.

     

    The company aims to consolidate its leadership position in the DTH market with this move. Thus, it has rejigged its south silver pack that comprises the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language channels at just Rs 176 per month. With more than 50 new channels, the pack now has 306 channels in total including Sun Life, Gemini Life, Reporter TV, Udaya News, Gemini News, Colors, Life OK, CNBC TV 18, ET Now, Zee Khana Khazana, Zee Q, Bloomberg TV, CNN, History and Animal Planet.

     

    Videocon group Director Saurabh Dhoot said “We always strive to provide the best to our consumers and in this endeavor we have been continuously adding new channels and services. With growing demand from consumers for their own language channels, we are definitely on the right track.”

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera further added, “The inclusion of more than 50 channels in our base pack, South Silver will definitely give us an edge over other DTH players in the highly competitive South market. Viewing preferences are very important for us and we ensure every effort to provide more content for customers suiting their needs. We believe that this new packaging strategy will definitely work for us.”

     

    The south market is currently dominated by the Sun group’s DTH service Sun Direct. Sun Direct offers its base pack with about 100 south channels for Rs 155.

     

    Videocon d2h now has 489 channels & services on its platform including 27 HD Channels and services with 4 Sun Network HD channels like Sun TV HD, KTV HD, Sun Music HD & Gemini TV HD.

  • America gears up for the 15th IIFA Weekend and Awards 2014 in Tampa Bay

    America gears up for the 15th IIFA Weekend and Awards 2014 in Tampa Bay

    MUMBAI: As we draw closer to the 15th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend & Awards in Tampa Bay, Florida, the Academy held a press conference on the lawns of the U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, today. Friends of IIFA, members from the film fraternity were present today along with U.S. Ambassador Peter Haas, and the Tampa Bay delegation to show their support for the upcoming celebrations in the United States of America. The 15th Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend and the Tata Motors IIFA Awards will be held from the 23rd – 26th of April.

     

    Actors Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Bipasha Basu and music director Pritam were on hand to announce the details of the Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend. Leading the delegation from Tampa were Mayor of Tampa Bay – Bob Buckhorn, Hillsborough County Commissioner – Al Higginbotham and Santiago Corrada, President and Chief Executive Officer of Visit Tampa Bay and the IIFA hosts from Tampa Bay, Dr. Kiran Patel and Dr. (Mrs.) Pallavi Patel.   

     

    Peter Haas, U.S. Consul General in Mumbai said, “I’m excited by IIFA’s decision to hold this year’s awards ceremony in Tampa, Florida.  Bollywood fans across the United States will be thrilled that India’s biggest film stars are coming.  We look forward to other Indian companies choosing the United States as their travel destination and stand ready to assist.”

     

    The 15th edition of the Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend in April 2014 is set to include multiple star-studded events including the IIFA Rocks (a fashion and music spectacular), the IIFA Magic of the Movies & Technical Awards, and the crown jewel Tata Motors IIFA Awards.

     

    The Tata Motors IIFA Awards will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Farhan Akhtar. The first set of star performers at the Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend include Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit Nene, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Bipasha Basu, Pritam and Vir Das among others. The performances would be choreographed by the internationally-renowned Shiamak Davar. More stars would be announced in the next few weeks.

     

    The sale of tickets for the Tata Motors IIFA Awards has been brisk with more than 15000 tickets being already sold without any announcement of performing stars. The response from the audience is phenomenal and the Indian contingent is looking forward to the first-ever IIFA Celebrations in America.

     

    Business events include the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum which focuses on business opportunities across the two geographies, the Global Leadership Honours and a Media and Entertainment Strategy Summit led by Ernst & Young and FICCI’s Entertainment division.

     

    The FICCI IIFA Global Business Forum will take place over two days (24th & 25th April) at the Tampa Convention Center. Hosted by the University of South Florida College of Business, the business forum will be addressed by several leading visionaries and business leaders including Indian IT visionary, founder and Executive Chairman of Infosys, Mr. Narayan Murthy and FICCI President Siddharth Birla. The business forum’s verticals will focus on renewable energy, pharma, healthcare & life sciences, tourism, IT and cyber security, infrastructure, education and higher education.

     

    For the first time this year, the IIFA EXPO comprising a B2C showcase of businesses from India and US would be on view. The focus areas are property, wellness and tranquility, jewelry, banking, tourism, bridal wear, clothing, handicrafts and artifacts.

     

    Additional unique events include an IIFA Masterclass with an international actor and IIFA Stomp which is a celebration by the Tampa Bay community to welcome IIFA on April 23rd – a unique celebration of Indian music, dance and cuisine in the Curtis Hixon Waterfont Park in Tampa. This open for general public event, will feature popular DJs led by Ravi Drums and Akbar Sami.

     

    Long time friend & supporter of IIFA, International Actor, Anil Kapoor said “There is nothing as unique as Bollywood, and Tampa is in for a treat this year! The IIFAs are a great platform for us to showcase our work to the world. This April, IIFA will bring the magic of Indian Cinema to America.”

     

    Speaking on her years in the US, Madhuri Dixit Nene said, “Very few know that I lived in Florida for a while. I have been to Tampa Bay and I can tell you honestly it is a beautiful city and the people there are warm and welcoming. Thank you for hosting us. We are gonna rock.”

     

    Saif Ali Khan commented saying, “It’s always amazing to give our Indian and international audience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness one of the finest celebrations of Indian culture and cinema. IIFA is really going to rock this year!”

     

    Mr. Ranjit Yadav, President, Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors said, “After an exciting debut last year, Tata Motors is again joining hands with IIFA to delight their global audiences. With our newly showcased, next-generation cars – the Zest and the Bolt, at the recent Auto Expo 2014, we also have some new emerging superstars to add to the excitement. Engineered for global markets, through global teams across India, UK and Korea, these cars will set new standards in their respective segments just like the IIFA Awards. These cars are a true representation of our Horizonext philosophy, with best-in-class offerings and will showcase the Next in Design, Performance and Infotainment. We will bring many more such exciting best-in-class offerings and we hope to receive your support in our journey, in the Future”.

     

    Kareena Kapoor Khan said, “There is a great pride when representing your country and the Indian film industry, and IIFA makes that possible for all us. I am excited to reach out to our fans and Indian Cinema aficionados in the USA and across the world. I’m sure IIFA 2014 is going to be a phenomenal success as it ventures into USA.”

     

    Mr. Sabbas Joseph, Director, Wizcraft International & IIFA said, “In our 15th year, IIFA continues to build bridges through cinema across communities throughout the world. We are determined to bring the magic and magnitude of Indian culture as Tampa Bay is set to witness the spectacle that is Indian cinema, when IIFA comes to the US, this April.”

     

    Bipasha Basu said, “Over the years, I have been privileged to have been a part of and performed at several IIFAs and have watched them grow from strength to strength. It is commendable that IIFA continues to be a magnificent celebration of Indian Cinema and IIFA’s efforts to promote Indian Cinema on a global scale are really praiseworthy. As an ambassador of Cinema, I whole-heartedly support this noble endeavor and will continue to do so. It would be fun to be in North America this year, because with a huge number of Bollywood fans in the country, it will only be a remarkable celebration.”

     

    At the onset of IIFA 2014, Videocon announced the launch of Videocon 4K 4 IIFA Facebook contest where the users can participate, play and win a chance to experience IIFA in Tampa Bay, US. Mr. Anirudh Dhoot – Director, Videocon Group stated, “In our 6th year of successful association, Videocon d2h along with IIFA, shares a similar outlook of promoting excellence in entertainment. The focus of both IIFA and Videocon d2h is adding variety and value in its entertainment quotient.  Videocon d2h which is now Asia’s Most Promising DTH brand strives to provide the best viewing experience in Asli HD through its DTH services and now reaches more than 10 million homes. We provide a very good platform for IIFA as well to reach out to this discerning audience.”

     

    Gaurav Banerjee, General Manager, Star Plus said, “We are proud to partner Wizcraft for over the last ten years in the biggest celebration of Indian Cinema with the IIFA weekend. This year with Tampa Bay as the host, a fantastic line up of talent and support from the industry, we promise to create a blockbuster evening reaching IIFA to millions of households worldwide through Star Plus.”

    Having travelled to some phenomenal destinations across the globe over the last 15 years, IIFA has graced the shores of the UK, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia, South Africa, Sri Lanka Amsterdam and Canada. Fans and enthusiasts of Indian Cinema from around the world can expect to see their favorite stars descend into Tampa, Florida during the weekend and witness Indian Cinema’s most glorious event unfold for the first time in America. With world-class infrastructure and facilities and having hosted a myriad of international concerts, events and the Super Bowl four times, Tampa Bay is the ideal choice for the 15th IIFA celebrations.

     

    The Videocon D2H IIFA Weekend is presented by Videocon D2H and the Tata Motors IIFA Awards is presented by Tata Motors. The IIFA Weekend &Awards will be broadcast globally on Star Plus, for the 10th year running.