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Tag: Vishal Gurnani

  • Dishum Broadcasting appoints Partha Dey as COO

    Dishum Broadcasting appoints Partha Dey as COO

    MUMBAI: Dishum Broadcasting has appointed Partha Dey as the chief operating officer (COO), reporting to the board of directors. His new portfolio would include overseeing and managing broadcasting operations including programming, OAP, consumer research and branded content. 

    Dishum broadcasting director Vishal Gurnani said, “Partha’s knowledge and vast experience in launching successful Bhojpuri media brands is unparalleled in the industry, and we look forward to Partha helping us achieve our vision of bringing in a new era of content and entertainment experiences to Bhojpuri audiences across the world.”

    Dey said, “With Bhojpuri becoming one of the fastest growing languages in India, my effort at Dishum will be to deliver an enthralling viewing experience to this humongous audience base through platform-agnostic original rooted programming through local insights. At Dishum Broadcasting, the programming will be directed towards creating big-ticket properties and branded storytelling shows rather than heavily relying on movies and music to make up the numbers.”

    Prior to the role, Dey had two years stint as an SVP with Reliance Broadcasting Network Limited (RBNL’s) Bhojpuri GEC- Big Ganga.

    A documentary filmmaker by profession, Dey has over 20 years of experience in broadcasting media as a producer, director and creative director. He has helped launch successful Bhojpuri brands including Mahuaa, Dangal, Bhojpuri Cinema, and Big Ganga. He has also produced and directed several documentaries, features and programming software for various companies such as the Indian Air force, ARC RAW, OHM- Holland and Doordarshan

  • Bhojpuri GEC Dishum launched, targets 65 mln C&S homes

    MUMBAI: It’s hoping to make a big impact on Indians love for everything Bhojpuri. Mumbai-based Dishum Broadcasting flagged off the free-to-air Bhojpuri TV GEC  Dishum just as India entered its seventy-first year of becoming independent.

    Branded Bhojpuri Dhamaka- Dishum, it is expected to have the majority of its audience in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Jharkand, apart from the millions of Biharis/Jharkandis spread all over India and the world.

    The company’s management is working on making Dishum available on major Indian DTH and cable TV platforms such  as Tata Sky, Airtel, Den UP, Siti Maurya, Dash Digital and other local MSOs.  The goal: to reach a cumulative  65 million C&S homes. The international rollout will follow later.

    The channel has a slate of programmes covering both, fiction and non-fiction at different  time slots covering devotional, bhakti, mythological, drama, movies and music.

    Dishum has launched in a cluttered Bhojpuri TV space crowded with the likes of BIG Magic (now owned by Zee), Dabangg, Dhamaal, and movie channels like Oscar Movies Bhojpuri,  Bhojpuri Cinema TV, apart from other DD channels and news services.

    However, the company’s director Vishal Gurnani is undaunted by the competition and is quite focused on pole-vaulting the new launch into the second position amongst Bhojpuri channels in the next six months.

    Says he: “We are here to bridge the void left behind by Mahuaa, and are looking forward to bringing world class content, packaging and production values to the large Bhojpuri audience spread across UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the migrant Bhojpuri audience across India and the world. We are working with the best production houses and the research agencies to understand the audience better.”

    Observers are of the view that Dishum will have its task cut out. Recently, the Bhojpuri cinema ecosystem saw investments being upped in production of movies.

    “However, the challenge has been in collection at the box office; the theatres simply refuse to pay up for a successful movie,” says a media observer. “While this does not directly affect Dishum, it shows the lack of transparency in that ecosystem. Dishum, being free to air, will have to depend on advertising. And, advertising spends from local brands; not just the national FMCG brands from the likes of Levers, P&G, Patanjali, Dabur etc. The latter will give it loose change in terms of ad spends. However, if it does manage to nurture and collect from local advertisers, it could have a good future.”

    ALSO READ :

    Dishum plans to break even in 3 yrs & a network soon, says Vishal Gurnani

    Dishum Awards hoist Bhojpuri flag in London, to be telecast on 27 Aug

  • Dishum plans to break even in 3 yrs & a network soon, says Vishal Gurnani

    MUMBAI: Vishal Gurnani-owned Dishum Broadcasting has announced the launch of its first Bhojpuri general entertainment channel Dishum. The channel will go live on 15 August.

    “To cater to 220 million population in India which understands and speaks Bhojpuri, there is only one GEC channel, that is Big Ganga. Other channels are not considered as GEC channels as they mostly air movies,” Gurnani said.

    “There is a clear need gap for great content to be delivered to this large audience base. Hence, there was an opportunity to have a GEC channel in that market,” said Dishum Broadcasting director Vishal Gurnani.

    Dishum will be a free-to-air channel. “We don’t believe that audience should pay for content,” said Gurnani.

    The channel will have a mix of fiction and non- fiction content which will have programmes across genres such as mythology, horror, drama, kids shows, etc. catering to all members of a family.  “We plan to have a 150 hours per month of original content. Focused primarily on reality and non-fiction shows, we will also telecast blockbuster Bhojpuri movies seven days a week,” informed Gurnani.

    The channel has acquired exclusive telecast rights of the Yashi Films property IBFA which is scheduled to take place in London on 30 July, 2017. The channel is also working with Keylight Production for shows although it is also looking to produce shows in-house.

    Although the channel’s prime time will be 6pm – 10pm, it will also be airing shows in the morning time band of 6.30am- 10am — which will include mythological shows.

    The channel will be available across platforms including DTH and major MSOs. “We will be targeting 65 million households from the first day,” Gurnani said.

    About the response from advertisers, he said, without disclosing names, “The response has been great.  All the major and marquee FMCG, healthcare brands, telecom and pan masala brands are keen to associate with us.”

    Industry estimates that Dishum Broadcasting would be investing around Rs 100 crore over the next two years towards programming and distribution costs. A 10-sec ad rate slot for prime time is be put at Rs 600-1000.

    “Generally, every channel takes three years to break even, and we too are looking at a similar plan. At present, our focus will be on the Bhojpuri channel, but, going forward, we are planning to have a network of channels across genres,” asserted Gurnani.

    Also Read :

    Bhojpuri Cinema now available on Tata Sky and Den Network

    Big Ganga shows now available on ZEEL’s OZee

    “Our aim is to get into the Top 5 this year”: Tarun Katial

  • Backed by three sponsors PWL can rake in over Rs 25 crore in debut year

    Backed by three sponsors PWL can rake in over Rs 25 crore in debut year

    MUMBAI: Kartikeya Sharma and Vishal Gurnani’s joint venture Pro-Sportify’s decision to foray into wrestling is off to a flying start. The league has roped in Dabur Chyawanprash as the title sponsor while cola giant Thums Up has joined in as powered by sponsor. Jaguar Lighting has also been roped in as co-sponsor. 

    Gurnani and Sharma are both buoyed by the preparation. “We are all set for Pro Wrestling League season 1, we kick off today at seven and its certain that the sport will emerge as a clear number two after cricket in India” said the duo.

    The telecast rights of the league is with Multi Screen Media (MSM) and the network is planning to dish out the tourney in three different channels. Sony Six will relay the English feed while Sony Pal and Sony Max will broadcast the Hindi commentary.

    The network in association with DDB Mudra has unveiled an intriguing campaign to garner high number of eyeballs. “We are extremely happy with the marketing campaign that they have done. Over 600,000 television minutes spread across numerous channel with separate creatives for man and woman. It cannot get any better” said the duo.  
        
          
    A senior media planner on condition of anonymity said, “Wrestling as a sport in popular in India, it’s just it has never been packaged properly. They are putting in some serious money and the network is also promoting it aggressively too. Moreover the league will be aired on Sony Pal which is an FTA available on Sony Pal so with BARC Rural data in now I won’t be surprised if they emerge as the number two after cricket. Overall in my opinion the first year will create the buzz, but the packaging and follow ups will decide the long term fate.”

    If sources are to be believed then the league has already raked in close to Rs 20 crore as sponsorship revenue and have a few deals are still at the last stage. “I think season one will generate close to Rs 25 crore. Which will be shared among Sony and Pro-Sportify. The broadcasting rights were given to MSM for a little more than 100 crore” said a source.          

    The league kick-starts today (10 December 2015) and will conclude on 27 December 2015. The matches are slotted at a prime time slot of 7 Pm. 

  • MSM acquires the Television broadcast rights for the Pro Wrestling League

    MSM acquires the Television broadcast rights for the Pro Wrestling League

    MUMBAI: ProSportify, the organizers & promoters of the first edition of the Pro Wrestling League in association with Wrestling Federation of India lines up the best global broadcasters in a bid to reach out to fans across the world. The company got into a deal with MSM Pvt Ltd. (Multi Screen Media) and announced them as the official broadcast partners for the league in over 60 countries.

     

    Pro Wrestling League will be played from December 10 to 27, 2015 across six cities. The prestigious competition with 18 matches will be available live throughout, across a bouquet of broadcast platforms. In the Indian subcontinent, Pro Wrestling League Season 1 will be broadcast on Sony Max, Sony Six and Sony Pal with promotional support from the entire Sony Network.

     

    Speaking about the association ProSportify CMD Kartikeya Sharma said, “MSM has an outstanding reputation as a sports broadcaster and has played an integral role in promoting and growing the sport events in the country. We look forward to this relationship and the widest possible reach ever for the Pro Wrestling League.”

     

    Commenting on the agreement, ProSportify director Vishal Gurnani said, “ProSportifyis delighted to have reached such a significant agreement with MSM and we are looking forward to working together to offer wrestling fans across India an extensive coverage of the tournament. MSM is an experienced partner in the broadcasting of major international sports events and their expertise will help this league gain the right platform in promoting the sport in India.”

     

    The partnership is valid for the next five years wherein MSM use its production, packaging and presentation expertise to hone and preserve viewer interest in the sport. For MSM, this is the first opportunity to live telecast a combat sport. Till now, MSM’s sports rights portfolio in India includes the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, top European football leagues and the NBA, the basketball league in the US.

  • iTV & TDML to produce global factual entertainment in 4K

    iTV & TDML to produce global factual entertainment in 4K

    MUMBAI: The factual entertainment space in India is witnessing waves of developments. Information Television (iTV) Network has joined hands with international feature entertainment content provider TERN TV and Trilogic Digital Media Limited to launch Insight TV in India.

     

    The strategic alliance between iTV and TDML will see iTV parking its non-news channels with Trilogic as well as the launch of a multi genre entertainment broadcasting network. The first channel to emerge from this merger is Insight, which is one of India’s first 4K channels, which aspires to revolutionize TV viewing in India.

     

    “We decided on launching a channel in the feature entertainment genre six months ago and worked on the content in two phases. The first phase is already underway. The second phase will have local content shot in 4K. We are launching now with only international content, eventually we will have a mix of both, ”  iTV Network chairman and MD Kartikeya Sharma tells Indiantelevision.com.

     

    Insight is a global factual entertainment channel, which will take viewers on an adventurous journey to explore and interact with stories like never before. It will feature entertainment in genres like drama, natural history, science, technology, adventure, sports, wildlife and survival. 

     

     

    The channel will be available on both 4K and HD. 4K in India was started during the ICC 2015 Australia World Cup, but somehow failed to propel and the major reason behind it was lack of content and bandwidth. Sharma though feels that bandwidth is not a constraint for good quality, he says, “The 4k content has to be shot fresh. One cannot upgrade HD content to 4K. We are not yet clear on what 4K is, the global interpretation is anything shot at 50 frames per second is 4K and I think we have the bandwidth to provide that.”

     

     

    In the initial stages the channel will concentrate on the top 10 urban cities of the country and later escalate to the rest of the areas. Insight will also have dubbed audio feeds to cater to vernacular markets. “The content that we have has the potential to travel pan India. So anyone who has a 4K TV and a set top box (STB) in any part of the country is our target audience,” says Sharma. 

     

    Emphasising on the importance of ratings and its relevance on ad sales, Sharma adds, “The English genre is facing a crisis when it comes to ratings. We are aggressively looking towards subscription revenue. Moreover, the advertising on Insight or the entire genre for that matter is more on the basis of perception not ratings.”

     

    The channel will aggressively focus on original programming, innovative documentaries, accessible reality series and cutting-edge factual infotainment. “Trillogic already runs successful channels and we wanted to start an international channel with content from India and the Indian sub-continent and that’s where Insight comes in,” said TDML managing director Vishal Gurnani.

     

    4K in India can also be a technology jargon where a new STB and special packages need to be installed. “The audience chases content and not technology. Indian audience is ready to pay for good content. They look forward to opening their pockets for a great audio visual experience. The multiplex revolution is a classic case. The cinema exhibition industry has managed to turn around to change the pricing patterns, then why can’t television do the same?” questions Gurnani.

     

    “We look forward to working closely with ITV and to jointly create India’s fastest growing entertainment broadcast network. We will be launching four channels over the next 12 months, which include Phulwaa – India’s first Bhojpuri GEC, a soon to be announced interactive travel channel and many other varied entertainment channels,” adds Gurnani.

     

    The new channel will also see localised content on a different tangent in the next financial year.

  • Trilogic Digital Media to infuse fresh capital; to expand channel bouquet

    Trilogic Digital Media to infuse fresh capital; to expand channel bouquet

    BENGALURU: Trilogic Digital Media Limited (TDM) informed the stock exchanges that its board had passed various resolutions to raise more money. The company has an authorised share capital of Rs 20 crore. Trilogic Digital Media Ltd has informed the BSE that its board of directors had fixed 12 February, 2015 as the record date for reckoning the shareholders entitled to receive the bonus shares of the company in the ratio of 1:1 (i.e., one fully paid up bonus equity shares for every one fully paid equity shares held) as approved by the members in the Annual General Meeting held on 20 September, 2014. The company also plans to up borrowings.

     

    “The new capital that we plan to infuse in will be used for new expansions in our broadcast content management business. We should expand the kitty to between eight – ten channels from the current three that we manage in next couple of months,” revealed TDM CEO and CFO Vishal Gurnani. While refusing to share the channels that TDM plans to manage, Gurnani said that NDAs with the channels prevented him from revealing details at this stage.

     

    Industry sources told Indiantelevision.com that the company plans to add channels from the regional space – South India and Bengal to be more precise.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    The resolutions that the TDM board passed are as follows:

     

    To make preferential allotment of up to:

     

    (a) Six lakh equity shares for consideration other than cash to non-promoters

     

    (b) 100 lakh convertible warrants to promoters

     

    (c) 40.5 lakh convertible warrants to non-promoters

     

    At a price a price to be calculated as per SEBI (ICDR) Guidelines, 2009

     

    (d) The board has approved the resolution for increase in the authorised share capital to Rs 40 crores

     

    (e) The board has approved to increase the borrowings limits under Section 181 (1) (c) of the Companies Act, 2013.

     

    (f)  The board has approved to increase the limit of loan and investment by the company under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013.

     

    After weak performances since its inception, TDM had reported fair results during the previous financial year (FY-2014), but, over the past few quarters, there has been a noticeable dip in its numbers. For Q3-2015, TDM reported revenue of Rs 21.48 crore, 8.4 per cent lower than the Rs 23.45 crore in the trailing quarter and 35.2 per cent lower than the Rs 33.12 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Despite lower revenue, the company’s profit after tax (PAT) for Q3-2015 at Rs 2.17 crore (10.1 per cent of revenue) was more than double (about 2.5 times) the Rs 0.88 crore (3.8 per cent of revenue) in Q2-2015, but below par as compared to the Rs 2.49 crore (7.5 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014.

     

    During 9M-2015, TDM reported revenue of Rs 71.39 crore and a PAT of Rs. 3.47 crore (4.9 per cent of revenue) as compared to the revenue of Rs 57.88 crore and a PAT of Rs 6.1 crore (10.5 per cent of revenue) in 9M-2014. For FY-2014, the company had reported revenue of Rs 74.74 crore and a PAT of Rs 8.49 crore (11.4 per cent of revenue).

  • FTV to hot up things with enhancement agenda in India

    FTV to hot up things with enhancement agenda in India

    MUMBAI: Iconic global fashion broadcaster, Fashion TV, founded by Michel Adam, has new plans on its agenda for India.

    The broadcasting and operations of the channel including programming, licensing & merchandising have been entrusted to Trinity Dreamworks who have extended the revenue and brand management mandates to Helios Media.

    Founder of FashionTV and mastermind behind the global fashion revolution on TV, Michel Adam said, “FTV the brand has been growing from strength to strength across the globe as THE fashion destination be it our broadcast brand or various categories we are into under the “F” brand. With the surge in Indians consuming global brands, it’s only natural that we affirm our presence in the market with renewed vigour”   

    The brand’s commitment to India is underlined by the growing off-air presence. FBars have been successfully entertaining guests in Mumbai and Bengaluru for a few years now, the first ever FResidence in India is progressing rapidly in Pune, with discussions in advanced stages for 40 FCafes around the country in the next 3 years. Apparels and accessories under the FAccessories label are in the pipeline and the FVodka might soon be at a bar near you.

    Commenting on the India programming agenda, Trinity Dreamworks’ Vishal Gurnani said, “The Indian Fashion industry is growing phenomenally. The markets are flooded with the best of brands from all over the world indicating growing awareness and consumption. Fashion TV in India has contributed towards enhancing the viewer’s knowledge and experience in the world of fashion, for over a decade. It is now time for us to enhance positioning of the channel itself so we can continue to satiate the viewer’s increasing love for fashion.”

    On the assignment, Helios Media MD Divya Radhakrishnan said, “Being entrusted to represent and partner the world’s biggest Fashion brand is an appreciation of our ability at Helios to position channels as brands and not commodities. With MTunes HD and FoodFood, we have exhibited how this takes the agenda beyond merely selling inventory. The teams across our offices are ready to offer advertisers the opportunity to associate and integrate with the #1 global Fashion destination.”

    Adding further momentum to the overall vision, Helios Media will undertake the Revenue and Brand Management of FashionTV India. While a team of handpicked media sales experts has been assembled to represent the channel among advertisers and media agencies, another team of Brand specialists will ensure that FashionTV India becomes the single destination for anything that is ‘Fashion’ in India. Covering everything from fashion trends, to glamorous lifestyles and global events, the channel will be the mecca for the swish set of the country and the guide for those aspiring to add a touch of glamour in their lives. If the viewer identifies with the tagline “I Love Fashion”, then this is where they will be found.