ITV

Tag: Vijay Subramaniam

  • Bindass ties up with MICA for second edition of Dream Start

    Bindass ties up with MICA for second edition of Dream Start

    MUMBAI: Youth channel Bindass has launched the second edition of its show – Dream Start and this time round, it has roped in Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmdedabad (MICA) as its partner.

     

    Keeping in mind the hopes and aspirations of the youth in India, Bindass will engage with them through initiatives that are purposive and action-oriented. The Dream Start initiative is a gateway for young people of India to achieve their most cherished dreams such as working for the biggest names in the business or attending a course at prestigious universities around the world and other such opportunities.

     

    Registrations for the second edition of the initiative have already started and will go on till the end of January, 2015. As per information available with Indiantelevision.com, the channel had received 600 entries up until now.

     

    While last year, Bindass gave one individual an opportunity to intern at UTV Motion Pictures after a selection process, this time round the channel is aiming for a larger group of people along with MICA. Dream Start will give the 10 most deserving candidates an opportunity to be a part of a specially designed month long course in Crafting Creative Communications at MICA.

     

    Following the initial shortlists, the selected students will be interviewed by a panel of MICA professors. Based on the discussion, top 10 candidates will be picked to join the course. The course will take place from 15 June to 15 July, 2015. The winners will be announced in May, 2015.

     

    Queried about the partnership with MICA, Disney India VP – content and communications, media networks Vijay Subramaniam said, “We have always associated with partners who share the same values and beliefs as we do and MICA, along with a strong reputation and high credibility, matched our aspirations and supported us with our vision.”

     

    He further believes that this course will help young creative minds to make an investment in themselves within the realm of creative communications. “We intend to spruce up their learning with a well-drawn out syllabus and curriculum through a period of one month, which can help them shape their career.”

     

    Talking about how the initiative will help in building the channel’s brand equity, Subramaniam said that the channel seeks to play a meaningful role in the lives of young adults by being their friend. “Bindass’ content and initiatives reflect the dynamic lives and realities of the world that the youth lives in and converse with them through entertainment that enables the young minds to take purposive action,” he said.

     

    On the marketing front, the channel first kicked off promotions on its digital platforms in December, 2014 and has recently taken to mainstream promotions on television to create awareness about the show.

     

    “In addition to this, an initiative such as this one requires a deep level of commitment and engagement from the consumers and it is essential to reach out to the right mix of youngsters who can benefit from the opportunity,” asserts Subramanian.

     

    Additionally, the channel will also be visiting 400+ colleges across the country, reaching out to students who are at the cusp of evaluating and sharpening their focus on skill sets, which can drive their career. Bindass will also target popular youth hangouts to promote Dream Start.

     

  • Disney takes the family route with new offerings

    Disney takes the family route with new offerings

    MUMBAI: A new year brings with it a lot of new resolutions and expectations, and to fulfill the audiences ‘entertainment ‘ wishes are the 800 plus channels which every year create new properties to keep the EQ high.

     

    Disney channel, with an aim to up its ante in the genre, is launching five new properties in the end of January 2015 to not only reach out to its 4 to 14 year olds TG but the family as a whole.

     

    The new three-hour live-action weekend programming strategy, which has been worked upon for almost 12 months, is the foundation of the channel’s next 10 year plan. “We stared off as kids only channel 10 years back and after winning the loyalty of our TG, we think it is the right time to move on and carter to the whole family,” says Disney India Medianetworks content and communications VP Vijay Subramaniam while adding, “This has set the stage for 10 years of Disney in the country.”

     

    With shows like Maan Na Maan Mein Tera Mehman, Kabhi Aise Geet Gaya Karo, Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass, Laage Raho Chachu and Zindagi Khatti Mithi, the channel wants to make weekends a family time. “Shanivar aur Ravivar, Parivar Ke Saath is out motto and we will work towards it as Disney brings out the ethos of family,” says Subramaniam.

     

    The five shows with varied timings of 44 minutes, 22 minutes or even shorter, saw the channel getting an overwhelming response from the producers like Cinevistas, The Troublemakers and many others as they approached them. The channel also feels that the new propositions will get the advertisers excited. Says Disney India Medianetworks VP and revenue head Nikhil Gandhi, “For the Rs 350 crore business with seven channels in the genre, apart from a few regional ones, the growth has remained between 5 to 10 per cent. So, this is an opportunity for us to upscale our brand and these shows will help us compete with the GECs.”

     

    The programmes, focusing on the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) won’t be dubbed into regional languages unlike the others and aims to be at par with advertising rates charged for the shows of GECs. “Before we launch the series, advertisers should be on board as we have started talking to them. And we hope to see a 100 to 200 per cent hike in ad rates,” says Gandhi optimistically.

     

    As co-viewing has increased, there has been a significant increase in number of non-conventional advertisers like water purifiers, printers, cooking oils etc that have been reaching out to these audiences and want to continue doing so.

     

    The channel has already undergone a revamp, and if these programmes fulfill its Return on Investment (RoI) expectations then the number of such shows will be multiplied. The weekend programming FPC will also include Disney classics and animated movies. There are no immediate plans to change the weekday schedule. However, these shows will be repeated post 7 pm on weekdays.

     

    The three brand stories, conceptualised by Taproot, have already hit the small screen. The network will utilise all these avenues to strengthen the new positioning and programming strategy. “The brand stories are already running with ‘PK’, so we are going to use all our channels and other mediums for promotions,” says Gandhi.

     

    Stating the example of how the channel launched the video of Mickey on this birthday online before television, digital is an important platform for it. Without divulging more details the spokespersons from the channel agree on the fact that marketing will be engagement based. However, on-ground activities or collations with schools are not on the blueprint.

  • ‘Soch Mat, Seethi Maar’ with movie channel premieres on UTV Movies

    ‘Soch Mat, Seethi Maar’ with movie channel premieres on UTV Movies

    MUMBAI: Drawing on the universal passion and love for Bollywood in India, UTV Movies is all set to entertain it’s viewers with a formidable list of movie channel premieres starting this December. Adding to its existing slate of 1000+ entertaining titles, UTV Movies will now be premiering blockbuster movies acquired from the Viacom18 movie library.

     
    With this deal, the channel will continue to engage viewers with an instant dose of entertainment with 11 new films including Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, Mary Kom, R… Rajkumar, Hasee Toh Phasee, Gori Tere Pyaar Main, Madras Café among others. The deal also includes some soon-to-be released films and untitled movies that will be aired during the year.

     
    Commenting on this, Vijay Subramaniam – VP, Content and Communications, Media Networks, Disney India, said, “Over the years, UTV Movies has addressed the viewer’s need for entertainment through engaging content and with this deal, we will continue to engage our viewers and provide them with the content that appeals them ”

     

  • ‘Pokemon’ resonates with Hungama’s audiences: Vijay Subramaniam

    ‘Pokemon’ resonates with Hungama’s audiences: Vijay Subramaniam

    MUMBAI: Fun, adventure, friendship, sportsmanship, are all part and parcel of childhood. Bringing a smile on kids’ faces is none other than a series called Pokemon which follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum (known as Satoshi in Japan) a Pokemon master in training, as he and a small group of friends travel around the fictitious world of Pokemon along with their Pokemon partners.

     

    The anime has been running successfully since its debut on Hungama with Pokemon: Indigo League in May 2014 with a new Hindi dub cast. Since its premiere, targeted at the age group of 4-14 years old, it has been consistently ranked on top among kids’ preference.

     

    There are several reasons to it, according to Disney India media networks content and communications VP Vijay Subramaniam, who states that the premise of Hungama has always been to represent the spirit of kids in an unapologetic and unrelenting manner. “Hungama has always delivered on this promise and all our efforts were primarily to consolidate ourselves and deliver a certain style of narrative in the kids’ space.”

     

    The handpicked characters like Ninja Warrior, Doremon or now Pokemon have been a success on the channel because of the interesting narrative, states Subramaniam.

     

    In terms of popularity, the show in its launch week garnered 489 TVTs and ranked number one in total TV among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC) in Hindi speaking market (HSM) during its prime play time slot. Moreover, since launch till date, it has ranked number one in total TV among all kids (CS 4-14 ABC) in HSM and has reached out to 96.9 million individuals (CS4+) out of which 32.9 million are kids (CS 4-14) in all India.

     

    He further expresses that, from May to November, the anime 1.5 million kids tuning in for it, which has lead to an increase of 15 per cent in total viewership.

     

    So how it all began? It was in January 2014, where the channel was brainstorming on what other dimensions it can add to the current portfolio. “The first was to make the promise more active. Naturally, the next dimension we wanted to open up was with action-adventure. Pokemon was out first choice which is a mixture of action, comedy and fun,” says Subramaniam.

     

    The thought that revolved was that all young kids have a fantasy world filled with a lot of imagination. The channel recognised the fact that if Pokemon had captured the imagination of one whole generation about 10 years ago, it was time to bring another generation in contact with the series.

     

    When the network bought the television rights of Pokemon, it needed to get a couple of things right. Firstly, it looked at the complementary strengths of Pokemon and Hungama and how can one fuse them to create companion for the kids.

     

    So, for the first time, the channel launched a weekly series (Monday – Friday) at 1 pm. “It was a conscious decision. The story has a linear track and it is important to keep pace with the kids.”

     

    Apart from the original run at 1 pm, the channel also gives opportunity to kids to sample the content by airing repeats during the day.  He believes that the conversation around ‘Pokémon’ is a real currency for kids.

     

    According to him the complementary strengths of Hungama has been always to keep the conversations, dialogues colloquial and casual. And that’s the exact treatment that the channel has applied in dubbing the Pokemon series. The voices and dialogues are all in tune with how the kids interact today.

     

    Apart from this, the biggest shot in the arm for any successful series on Hungama has been the unique treatment given to the campaigns around it. With Pokemon, the entire campaign was done by using rap-battle. “Rap music has become quite popular with kids today and through rap-battle, the first campaign told the story of Pokemon and what it means to capture all the Pokemon and become the Pokemon master and when the title is given to you.” Once, it became popular, the channel decided that it is the time now to follow up with another rap-battle. This time around, the rap-battle was between two kids.

     

    To maintain and retain the number one position, the channel does consumer research four times in a year to meet different needs. “We are constantly feeding off the insights that we are drawing from consumers. It’s important to know what they like and dislike and not just liberate to getting our answers for programming. It’s the fact that we are engaging and conversing with them and not just researching them.”

     

    On the advertisers’ front, Hungama enjoys a strong run. “Even when we launched Pokemon, we had the support and confidence of the advertisers has only grown further considering the show is now performing a rock solid which is taking the overall Hungama performance up.”

     

    Brands like Heinz, Piramal, Dabur, ITC Foods have associated with the series in the past four months.

     

    According to Subramaniam, this property is not going to see curtains down anytime soon. He believes there are a lot of interesting stories yet to be told. “It is not even a year, and we have so many Pokemon worlds to display to our young audiences. We have got new dimensions and out of those, we will premier one in Early January 2015. Properties such as Pokemon, once when they endure themselves, they have the tendency to stay on for a very long time. This is the property which is going to continue to resonate Hungama’s audiences for a long time,” signs off Subramaniam.  

  • #fame & CAA Kwan partner to build digital video communities for celebs

    #fame & CAA Kwan partner to build digital video communities for celebs

    MUMBAI: #fame, India’s premier talent led digital entertainment network and CAA Kwan, the country’s leading celebrity management firm have announced a pioneering strategic partnership in the digital entertainment space.

    Through this alliance, #fame and CAA Kwan will help some of India’s top celebrity talent to engage strongly with their fan base by co-creating and promoting digital video content and communities around them. This will take the form of exclusive digital video channels and shows on the #fame network, which will give fans and audiences unique access and insight into the persona of some of the nation’s most loved celebrities including award-winning actors, music maestros, top models and sport stars.

    Speaking on this partnership, Vijay Subramaniam, PARTNER, CAA Kwan said, “Iconic entertainers and celebrities share a common trait, that of having an engaged and active fan community around their brand. In this social age, where digital is revolutionalising everything about entertainment, building a video community is key for our celebrity talent to connect deeply with fans. We’re very excited to partner with #fame and look forward to building a great offering together using our respective strengths.”

    Adding further, Puneet Johar, MD, TO THE NEW Ventures, commented, “As smartphones and web access becomes more mainstream, mobile video will increasingly be the currency of consumer Internet. CAA Kwan shares our vision on digital and complements our talent focus and this partnership will help celebrities benefit in such a fast evolving landscape.” TO THE NEW Ventures is the parent company of #fame.

    Commenting on this, Saket Saurabh, CEO, #fame said, “Entertainment is getting re-defined and disrupted by digital video. The kind of content and engagement that can be served to audiences on it is greatly unaddressed by other media. And this is where India’s top celebrities can create meaningful content and communities, which genuinely reflect their passion and personality as entertainers and icons. We are very excited to lead this shift.”

    #fame has emerged as one of the fastest growing digital entertainment networks in the country within a few months of launch. Catering to mobile millenials through an integrated ‘talent-first’ strategy, #fame is building a pan-Asian digital video network that will straddle over 5,000 channels and 50,000 content creators over the next 3 years. #fame strategically focuses on emerging and established talent to build digital properties, channels and communities around them. #fame recently announced its premium fashion property ‘School of Style’ – a showcase of top fashionistas with Karan Johar as judge. #fame has also brought on board renowned music composer Pritam to spearhead ‘Websinger’, its music initiative which will seek out promising young singing talent. Apart from several emerging talent, other celebrities that have signed up with #fame include TV star Maria Goretti, child comic star Saloni, top model, actress and fashion icon Anusha Dandekar, celebrity chef Ajay Chopra, singing sensation Shibani Kashyap. #fame also has channels with fitness icon and model Milind Soman and renowned sports commentator Harsha Bhogle.  #fame is available across several digital and social platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, WeChat, DailyMotion and others.

    CAA KWAN is India’s leading entertainment entity creating unique opportunities for clients in the areas of commercial endorsements, live appearances and performances, motion pictures and television (including packaging and sales), music, sports consulting, licensing and merchandising and business development, among others. Some of the key clients CAA KWAN represents include Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Farhan Akhtar, Shahid Kapoor, Sonakshi Sinha, Shraddha Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Yo Yo Honey Singh, Pritam, Terence Lewis, Boman Irani, Zoya Akhtar, Kabir Khan among others.

  • Bindass to ‘Play’ on youth demand

    Bindass to ‘Play’ on youth demand

    MUMBAI: “We want to build on our strengths,” is what Disney India MD Siddharth Roy Kapur believes in and is the reason for the soon-to-launch music channel, Bindass Play, from the network.

     

    Disney India will replace UTV Stars with the new channel which will go on air from 1 October as it wants to build on the youth-targetted brand. “Currently, Bindass is at a very good place and the viewers are aware of our values. Hence, we want to expand on it with the new music channel,” says Kapur.

     

    Early this early Bindass had launched a new brand film – ‘B for Change – to reflect the sentiments of today’s youth who want to explore but at the same time don’t hesitate in going forward to bring about a change.

     

    “Bindass has always spoken the language of youth and it is the only homegrown youth entertainment channel in the genre to have won the loyalty of youngsters in the country. Music is very close to this section of the audience,” says Media Networks content and communication VP and head Vijay Subramaniam.

     

    He adds, “Hence, the unique thing about the channel would be that it will be inspirational and will celebrate the journey of adulthood as a friend and empower the youth.”

     

    But does this mean, Bindass will now only focus on storytelling? ‘No’, comes the response from Subramaniam. The youth entertainment channel will continue to showcase music but only for five hours (7 am to 12 pm) and on relationship based programmes rather than the edgy content like Dadagiri it focused on, earlier.

     

    The latest entrant in the Rs 900 crore business caters to the age group of 14-34 with the tagline ‘Saath hai toh baat hai’. The 13 shows are mood mapped with high energy song in the morning to slow tempo in the night, and with many of them like Tia’s Request, Tweet Meri Beat, Ishq Messenger among others allowing the viewer to choose his/her playlist through social media.

     

    Digital medium plays an important role for the brand and hence, it has tried to capture the youth through it. “As and when newer opportunities come from the medium we will try to engage with them as well,” says Subramaniam.

     

    The network is already in talks with four major brands for the channel. “Advertisers are happy and will want to associate with the channel as it is extension of the brand Bindass,” says Media Networks revenue vice president and head Nikhil Gandhi and will sell the ad slots at “healthy” rates.

     

    However, media planners consider it as ‘just another channel in the genre’ as there are too many players in the genre. “Rs 500 for a 10 second ad should be the rate for the channel,” says a media planner.

     

    UTV Stars was launched in 2011 and showcased popular Bollywood content including music and feature-based programming and since it was not able to catch viewers’ attention, the network now is playing safe by launching a channel focusing on the music genre, point outs another media analyst.

     

    Nonetheless, the channel is very upbeat about its new offering and believes that it will be able to strengthen its position in the category.  An in house team worked on the look for the channel and Subramaniam believes that it will be the ‘sexiest looking channel’ on television.

  • Bindass talks about relationships with ‘Pyaar Ka The End’

    Bindass talks about relationships with ‘Pyaar Ka The End’

    MUMBAI: The young minds of today are constantly grappling with issues in love and romance. Love and relationships are topics that the youth closely associates itself with. If the relationships seem to be at a struggling phase, often pressured by their own insecurities, the couple ends up at a crossroad, forcing them to face tough realities and instigating them to take extreme action.

     

    Resonating with its target audiences, TV channel Bindass, that mirrors the lives and aspirations of young India is all set to present yet another concept in the relationship space with Pyaar Ka The End. Produced by Endemol, it will give fresh but relevant facets in love, giving a whole new perspective to romance and passion.

     

    The show features situations that exist in relationships today while offering a direction to manage complicated situations better, staying true to the channel’s philosophy of being an ‘enabler of purposive action’.

     

    It drives home the message that a choice taken at an extremely weak moment can have severe repercussions; impacting the entire nature of the relationship.

     

    Talking about the concept of the show, Disney India VP, content, media networks Vijay Subramaniam asserts: “We as a brand are very proud to be constantly in touch with our consumers. Understanding what makes good relationships, how to keep it stable and happy is what youngsters want to know.”

     

    Subramaniam believes that while the channel is entertaining them on one hand, it also gives its consumers, through the shows, an opportunity to learn about relationships that reflects everyday reality.

     

    The channel has witnessed success with shows like Yeh Hai Aashiqui, Emotional Atyachaar and Love by Chance which have addressed very distinctive traits in a relationship.

     

    Before setting up any show, the channel undertakes several surveys and researches which show that today young adults are constantly seeking opportunities to understand how to get better in life, whether it’s job, education or in social relationships. Based on those learnings, the channel narrates its story.

     

    For the first season, the channel plans to launch 26 episodes with the return of the second season depending on the performance of the first. Out of the 26, five episodes have already been canned. “We do believe that no matter how successful our storytelling is, being finite also helps. It enables us to provide a good quality of content to our consumers,” adds Subramaniam.

     

    He believes that the most important aspect is consumer engagement and the success of the shows that the channel has launched so far is evident not only in terms of ratings, but the format of storytelling too.

     

    On the marketing front, the channel has split the campaign into two parts. One is very specific reach and sampling based activation in the Hindi speaking markets. Other is leveraging the popularity of its digital sphere with heavy concentration here.

     

    Subramaniam refused to divulge any financial details of the show, but sources from the industry reveal that compared to dailies which cost anywhere between Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh per episode, finite shows cost around Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh per episode.

  • UTV Stars to don new look

    UTV Stars to don new look

    MUMBAI: UTV Stars is all set for a makeover. Come October and the music and feature based programming channel, will don a new look. Disney India, riding on the success of its youth entertainment channel-bindass, is all set to unveil a refreshed channel offering with a new brand proposition complemented with fresh packaging, new content and a new brand name, that will further fortify the bindass brand.

     

    The channel will continue in its present avatar till September 2014. The change is in keeping with Disney India’s long-term strategy of building a set of formidable brands in India.

     

     “Disney India is committed to serving audiences with differentiated multi-brand offerings in the television space. To that end, we are refreshing our product offerings in the youth genre, using brand bindass to create a new proposition for UTV Stars that is complementary to the bindass brand, and centered around themes and passions that drive Young India,” said Disney India vice president – content & communication, media networks Vijay Subramaniam.

     

    “In one of the most dynamic media industries in the world, it has been our constant endeavor to continually refresh our offerings to stay ahead of the curve and serve our audiences and stake holders with quality content that raises the bar on engagement and relevance,” added Disney India vice president – revenue, media networks Nikhil Gandhi.

     

    ‘bindass’ is one of the first homegrown youth entertainment channel in India that has gone from strength to strength in the past few years. The channel has delivered genre defining shows and campaigns that have mirrored the realities, dreams and aspirations of the Indian youth to garner a cult following. The channel’s most recent initiative, ‘b for change’ and new shows such as Yeh Hai Ashiqui, Halla Bol and Change Ayega, Hum Layenge as well as old favorites in their new avatars such as Emotional Atyachaar have successfully reiterated bindass’ philosophy of ‘Enabler of Purposive Action’ to its viewers.

  • Disney kicks-off Jet Set 2 campaign

    Disney kicks-off Jet Set 2 campaign

    MUMBAI: Disney Channel has kicked-off ‘Jet Set 2’ on-air contest in partnership with Jet Airways. The kids broadcaster has roped in Pepsodent as a powered by sponsor.

     

    The month long campaign will be driven primarily through Disney kid’s network comprising Disney Channel, Disney XD, Hungama and Disney Junior. The campaign will also be promoted on social media through Facebook.

     

    The contest kicked-off on 13 April and will run for a month till 12 May. It is open to children aged between 4-14 years. The contest will culminate with 30 families being awarded the grand prize of an all-expense paid trip to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.

     

    Disney UTV executive director and Disney kids network business head Vijay Subramaniam reckons that the ‘Jet Set 2’ campaign has helped brand Disney to convey its core message of “great storytelling”.

     

    “The ‘Jet Set 2’ campaign has all the elements that the brand Disney stands for. This year we have added new ingredients like referral bonus and loyalty bonus to add to the excitement,” says Subramaniam.

     

    In order to participate in the campaign, children will have to spot an animated Jet Airways aircraft with Mickey, Minnie and Pluto’s picture which appears on the Disney Channel throughout the campaign period.

     

    Children can then accumulate points each time they spot the aircraft by giving a missed call to a toll-free number flashing on the screen, absolutely free of cost. Children spotting the animated plane the maximum number of times will earn maximum points.

     

    The contest had last year generated a record-breaking six million entries. A special Jet Airways aircraft, branded with Disney’s favorite characters, flew the winners to Disneyland Hong Kong.

  • Jet Airways to fly on Disney’s icon brands

    MUMBAI: Disney Channel India and Jet Airways Monday unveiled a Disney-themed aircraft wrapped with images of Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto at Mumbai International Airport marking the culmination of the Jet Set Go on-air campaign.

    The Boeing 737-800 from the fleet of Jet Airways, India’s premiere international airline, will be in the air beginning 10 July.

    The Disney Channel’s ‘Jet Set Go’ campaign generated a six million entries that were submitted from all over India, with 37 families being awarded the prize of an all-expense paid trip to Hong Kong Disneyland Resort where they will be able to meet all of their favourite characters.

    “At the heart of Disney DNA is our passion for telling the world’s best stories and providing unique experiences for kids and families. Jet Set Go is one such initiative which has seen a phenomenal response from all corners of the country,” said Disney UTV Executive Director – Disney Kids Network Vijay Subramaniam.

    “We‘re delighted to welcome the 37 winning families to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and help make their dreams come true with magical Disney experiences. They‘ll be joining the growing number of Guests who visit from India. In the 2011 fiscal year, the Resort experienced an 8 per cent increase in Guests from India over the previous year, with over 70 per cent indicating the intention to revisit in the future,” said Hong Kong Disneyland Resort Director, Marketing Wendy Chu.

    “Jet Airways is delighted to collaborate with Disney through this unique opportunity to deliver a creative and memorable experience to kids and their families. Exterior aircraft branding creates a bold visual impact for all airport guests and personnel. We are happy to see the results and will look for more opportunities to create unique experiences for JetKids in the future,” said Jet Airway VP Marketing Manish Dureja.