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Tag: Vivek Srivastava

  • Vivek Srivastava to join JioCinema as EVP & business head

    Vivek Srivastava to join JioCinema as EVP & business head

    Mumbai: Vivek Srivastava, who led growth and business operations for Amazon Prime Video in India, will be taking over as the executive vice-president and business head for JioCinema Hindi, as per sources.

    Before Amazon, Srivastava held key roles in the media industry, such as president of digital and broadcast at Times Network and head of digital and commercial at Colors, Viacom18. In his new role, he will report to Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd president of general entertainment Alok Jain.

    His appointment comes at a time when JioCinema has surpassed 15 million paying subscribers, following the launch of new subscription plans in April.

    Despite being a late entrant in local-language originals, JioCinema aims to grow its subscriber base with affordable pricing. Viacom18’s media operations are also set to merge with Star India Pvt Ltd, in a deal valued at ₹70,350 crore, with Reliance Industries investing ₹11,500 crore ($1.4 billion) to support its growth.

  • Prime Video and MGM International launch MGM+ on Prime Video Channels

    Prime Video and MGM International launch MGM+ on Prime Video Channels

    Mumbai: Prime Video, an entertainment destination, has launched MGM+ on Prime Video Channels. MGM+ offers an extensive and enthralling selection of entertainment including critically acclaimed and popular series, blockbuster movies and timeless classics primarily from the iconic Hollywood studio, MGM. Prime members can purchase an annual add-on subscription to MGM+ at a special price of Rs 599 per year.

    With an add-on subscription to MGM+ on Prime Video Channels, Prime members can enjoy a vast slate of multi-genre content offerings including classic and cult-favourite movies like Legally Blonde, Hercules, The Prodigy, The Silence of the Lambs, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Robocop, The Vow, Child’s Play, Death Wish, and more, along with much-loved series like Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Teen Wolf, Get Shorty, among others.  

    “We’re thrilled to launch MGM+ as a channel for our customers in India, offering an extensive library of blockbuster, much-loved, and premium content at a single destination – Prime Video. Since launch, our objective with Prime Video Channels has been to provide our customers with increased choice, improved accessibility and greater convenience of watching their favourite content all within a single app,” stated Vivek Srivastava, head of Prime Video Channels, Prime Video, India. “In a short time, Prime Video Channels has offered increased reach to both local and global streamers to expand their footprint in India, allowing them to connect with a vast and diverse audience across the country. We are certain that with its vast library of iconic movies and series, MGM+ will entertain and delight Indian customers.”

    “We’re excited to partner with Prime Video India to deliver exceptional entertainment to Indian audiences through MGM+,” remarked Michael Katzer, head of MGM+ International. “The streaming service brings a huge range of premium quality, successful movies, much-loved series as well as ageless classics, spanning multiple genres including sci-fi, suspense, action-thriller, romance, and much more. The expansion of MGM+ in India further cements Amazon’s commitment to invest in and grow the MGM+ channel internationally, while enhancing the content offering available to subscribers.”

    Prime members in India can subscribe to MGM+ through Prime Video Channels for Rs 599 per year.

    Prime Video Channels benefits for Prime members include:

    No hassle login & billing: Customers do not have to juggle between multiple usernames, passwords and billing due dates. With Prime Video Channels, all premium content subscriptions are managed within a single destination – Prime Video apps and website.

    More time watching, less time deciding: Customers don’t have to spend time toggling between their favourite services to discover what’s new and popular. With Prime Video Channels they can browse in one place, search across all their premium subscription and get personalized recommendations. All of this without ever having to leave the Prime Video app or website.

    Enjoy your favourite features, no matter which service: Customers can enjoy IMDb’s X-Ray feature and a single consolidated watch list and download library for offline viewing. Subscribers can also manage data consumption and much more across all their premium channel subscriptions.

    More Choice: With Prime Video Channels, Prime members can access thousands of additional titles across 20+ OTT channels, including MGM+.

  • Prime Video & Sony Pictures Television launch Sony Pictures – Stream

    Prime Video & Sony Pictures Television launch Sony Pictures – Stream

    Mumbai: Prime Video has entered a distribution agreement with Sony Pictures Television (SPT), a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), to launch Sony Pictures – Stream on Prime Video Channels. Curated for Indian customers, Sony Pictures – Stream offers a vast and exciting repertoire of entertainment including SPE’s outstanding international selection of iconic, blockbuster movies, timeless classics and highly popular TV shows available on Prime Video Channels. Prime members can purchase an annual add-on subscription to Sony Pictures – Stream at a special introductory price of ₹399 per year.

    With an add-on subscription to Sony Pictures – Stream on Prime Video Channels, Prime members can enjoy an extensive slate of multi-genre content offerings including action-packed blockbusters, heart-warming dramas, rib-tickling comedies, suspenseful thrillers, evergreen classics, and much more. Some of the movies include Charlie’s Angels, Men in Black, Peter Rabbit, Ghostbusters, Jerry Maguire, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Taxi Driver, A Few Good Men, Legends of the Fall, Spotlight, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Terminator, Groundhog Day, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Step Mom, Book of Eli, Seven Pounds, Legend of Zorro, Anaconda and Evil Dead, among others. TV aficionados will find timeless classics such as I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, Mad About You, and Diff’rent Strokes and recent hit shows including A Very English Scandal and Loudermilk.  

    “We are delighted to launch Sony Pictures – Stream, a new Prime Video Channel curated specifically for our customers in India. The collaboration allows Sony Pictures Entertainment to make their vast and beloved library available in India at a single destination, reaching customers across the length and breadth of the country via Prime Video Channels,” said Prime Video Channels, India head Vivek Srivastava. “Within a short span of time, Prime Video Channels has offered the perfect launchpad for several international streaming services and studios, helping them reach an incredibly wide audience across India. In sync with our philosophy of super-serving our customers with choice, access and convenience, we have worked towards offering a wide variety of content, making it all available at a single destination – Prime Video. We are sure that with its vast and diverse library Sony Pictures – Stream will offer something for everyone, delighting Prime members with their favourite movies and series.”

    “We’re thrilled to work with Prime Video to super-serve Indian audiences with content from SPE’s extensive library of award-winning films and critically acclaimed television series while simultaneously offering a bespoke experience that is easily accessible to viewers across the region. Additionally, in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Columbia Pictures, a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Pictures – Stream spotlights the studio’s history and incredible film legacy by offering customers an incredible array of films from the studio’s beloved vault spanning the decades.” said Sony Pictures Television VP – South Asia Sonika Bhasin.

    Prime members in India can subscribe to Sony Pictures – Stream through Prime Video Channels at an introductory price of ₹399 per year.

    Prime Video Channels benefits for Prime members include:

    ●    No hassle login & billing: Customers do not have to juggle between multiple usernames, passwords and billing due dates. With Prime Video Channels, all premium content subscriptions are managed within a single destination – Prime Video apps and website.

    ●    More time watching, less time deciding: Customers don’t have to spend time toggling between their favourite services to discover what’s new and popular. With Prime Video Channels they can browse in one place, search across all their premium subscription and get personalized recommendations. All of this without ever having to leave the Prime Video app or website.

    ●    Enjoy your favourite features, no matter which service: Customers can enjoy IMDb’s X-Ray feature and a single consolidated watch list and download library for offline viewing. Subscribers can also manage data consumption and much more across all their premium channel subscriptions.

    ●    More choice: With Prime Video Channels, Prime members can access thousands of additional titles across 22 OTT channels, including Sony Pictures – Stream.

  • Amazon appoints Vivek Srivastava as head of partnerships Prime Video Channels, India

    Amazon appoints Vivek Srivastava as head of partnerships Prime Video Channels, India

    Mumbai: Amazon has appointed Vivek Srivastava as head of partnerships for Prime Video Channels, India. Amazon had launched Prime Video Channels in India in September 2021.

    In his previous role, Srivastava was with Times Network as president strategy and operations, digital and broadcast.

    He has two decades of experience with most of it in the broadcast sector across business planning, programming strategy, content acquisition and syndication, distribution strategy and planning, international business, audience behaviour and research, digital marketing and integrated communication.

    Srivastava was previously associated with Viacom18 as head of digital and commercial for their flagship GEC Colors. He has also had a stint with TAM Media Research.

  • Movies Now celebrates 10 spectacular years

    Movies Now celebrates 10 spectacular years

    MUMBAI: Movies Now, home to Blockbusters, celebrates the successful completion of a decade in entertaining its viewers with the best-in class Hollywood content. Redefining the way viewers watch English movies in India, Movies Now that offers a distinctive movie viewing experience, has been instrumental in shaping the consumer appetite for English content. 

    Recording many firsts and exclusives with movie premieres, path breaking initiatives and curated properties as a market leader in the category, Movies Now has reflected on the preferences of Indian viewers, who love to watch popular and universally celebrated blockbuster Hollywood titles. Pioneering the superlative quality viewing of the movies, Movies Now was the first Hollywood Movie channel to launch in HD in India.  Successfully driving immersive consumer engagement, Movies Now led the innovative use of AR for its Spielberg Special property as well as 3D OOH sites for promotions of the movie Avatar. Augmenting the Hollywood experience, Movies Now was the first to present DC and Marvel titles together for its viewers in India. The channel through the course of seven seasons of its flagship property, 100 Mania, has successfully implemented India’s biggest consumer engagement activity.

    Celebrating this iconic milestone, the channel has announced #10YearsofMoviesNOW, a special campaign that brings a line-up of exciting and engaging activities. Presenting movie aficionadas a unique opportunity to be part of the week long celebration, where they can exclusively handpick their favourite movies from a selection of top Hollywood blockbusters that will air on the big day, Movies NOW hosted a movie poll on its Instagram stories which witnessed an unprecedented engagement. Making the celebrations a memorable and collaborative experience for the viewers and the brand, the channel launched a curated game filter on Instagram that allows fans to win exciting prizes by collecting the Movies NOW 10-year special logo to score points and share it on their stories tagging the channel. Recognising and rewarding the channel’ s loyal viewer base, Movies Now has rolled out a ‘Watch and Win’ contest on TV, where participants have to screenshot and tweet the special Jackpot, that will appear on their screens during the movies, spins to 10 10 10. 

     Times Network news & English entertainment cluster business head & strategy president Vivek Srivastava  said, “It’s been a fantastic journey so far and we are absolutely thrilled to achieve this milestone. We set out with a promise of creating an unprecedented movie viewing extravaganza for our viewers and today, we are proud that we have consistently delivered on that. Through the last ten years, each of our initiatives and properties have met with a phenomenal viewer response, which is a testament to our robust and diverse content strategy. As we march ahead, we aim to continue raising the bar and setting new benchmarks in the category.”

    Movies Now has also rolled out an integrated promotional plan that includes special promos across the network channels and social media assets, digital promotions and print ads across Times Group leading dailies.

  • #ActNow for mental health awareness, says Times Network

    #ActNow for mental health awareness, says Times Network

    MUMBAI: In 2017, 197.3 million people had mental health disorders in India (lancet psychiatry 2020), implying that while at least 14 per cent Indians are living with such issues, an alarming 86 per cent is behind a veil of ignorance. India’s mental health landscape presents a grim reality of poor implementation of mental health policies, age old discriminatory attitude towards those suffering from mental health illnesses, compounded with shortage of qualified personnel and low perceived need for care. With the Covid2019 outbreak triggering implications that reach far beyond the direct impact on people’s physical health, there has been an exacerbated spiralling of tension and anxiety, further increasing the load on India’s overtaxed mental health machinery.

    Addressing the rampant stigma and discrimination around mental health problems, Times Network has launched #ActNow, an initiative to spread awareness, normalise conversations around the issue and sensitise people to be responsive to the mental health needs of others.

    A special campaign film #ActNow  takes an outside-in view of the problem and targets the ‘people around’ to act, rather than the one living with mental health issues. Mirroring how societal structures treats a person living with a mental ailment with ignorance, pity, annoyance and utter disbelief, the film unravels the state of mind of someone who is besieged by misinterpreted advice of his near and dear ones as he fights a lone battle. A clarion call to realign our minds to escape from the entrapment of the prevalent social stigma and recognize mental health as an existential crisis for humanity, the impactful film urges public at large to remain receptive to the deteriorating mental health of people around and take appropriate course of action to offer support without prejudice and fear. The initiative launched on a special edition of Mirror Now’s Urban Debate, hosted an expert panel that analysed and discussed the deteriorating condition of mental illness in India.

    The initiative which encourages the essential steps of acknowledging the signs, choosing the right words and urging people to talk to an expert, draws relevance from Times Network’s nationwide research study commissioned to Nielsen India titled, ‘How Urban India Perceives Mental Health’. The study indicates that while awareness levels related to mental health ailments have gone up recently, there is a pressing need to disseminate the factual information to tackle the strong undercurrents of stigma and lack access to quality mental healthcare. Mental health conversations remain the single most important detriment and solution for this issue. The quantitative study that examines the dynamics, culture, mindset and perceptions of the people towards mental health was conducted through three prolonged evaluations based on secondary research, in depth interactions with mental health experts and a survey with India’s cross-section of urban population.

    Key findings as follows:

    ·         70 per cent of urban India claim to suffer/know of someone who has suffered from a mental health ailment

    ·         Among people who are suffering/know someone suffering from mental health ailment, depressions come out as the most prominent at 58 per cent.

    ·         76 per cent perceive that “People are not open to talk about mental health to everyone” and there is still shame and stigma associated around mental health ·          52 per cent of the people face problems in accessing a mental health professional and 63 per cent perceive that there is difficulty in procuring medication

    ·         54 per cent people are not completely aware about the diseases covered in a health insurance policy and 47 per cent of the people are unaware of the government mandate for health insurance policies to cover treatment of mental health ailments

    ·         57 per cent of urban India considers financial pressures to be the leading cause of negative impact on mental health

    The study took a sample size of 2,440 people across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Patna, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Vishakapatnam, Bareilly, Guwahati, Raipur, and Mangalore.

    Times Network president – strategy and business head – news and English entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava said, “The new normal has triggered anxiety and deepened emotional turmoil, consequently leading to a quieter but concerning rise in the number of people grappling with mental health issues. ActNow is our endeavour to spread awareness and drive dialogues to break barriers around the mental health issue. Through our multi-faceted campaign, we urge the society at large to look beyond the happy faces that conceal the sufferings and encourage healthy and judgement-free conversations on mental health.”

    Refining and bringing a comprehensive view on mental health with the expert voices, the Network has onboarded Jaslok Hospital as the knowledge partner. Psychologists and mental experts from the hospital will provide critical inputs and steer the campaign with relevant information and decode the complex challenges associated with mental health crisis. Fostering positive mental health and evoking a sense of response amongst the millennials, Times Network has partnered with youth marketing firm, Viral Fission to drive community engagement through student advocates of mental health.

    #ActNow will be driven across Times Network channels and digital assets, print sds across The Times of India daily and a dedicated page on the network's digital news destination, Timesnownew.com, which will host a curated series of articles on mental well-being.

  • Vivek Srivastava gets additional responsibility of Times Network’s news business

    Vivek Srivastava gets additional responsibility of Times Network’s news business

    MUMBAI: Times Network president – English Entertainment Cluster strategy business head Vivek Srivastava will also be looking after the news business of the network. As business head Srivastava who led the growth strategy for the Network’s English Entertainment channels like Movies Now, Romedy Now, MNX, and MN+across platforms will take additional charge of Times Now, ET Now and Mirror Now.

    In his role, Srivastava was responsible to maintain high viewership performance across the English Entertainment Cluster.

    Prior to joining Times Network in 2014, he had a successful stint at Viacom18 Media where he handled Channel strategy for Hindi GEC COLORS as a part of their launch team, then he moved to handle international business and distribution. He also served as COLORS commercial and digital head.

    Srivastava has over a decade of experience in the broadcast industry. He has worked into P&L management, content acquisition and syndication, , international business, distribution strategy and planning, business planning, programming strategy, digital marketing, and audience behavior research.

    Prior to Viacom18, he has also worked with TAM Media Research and IMRB.

  • It’s all-day primetime for Times Network’s English movie channels during lockdown

    It’s all-day primetime for Times Network’s English movie channels during lockdown

    MUMBAI: In the third week of lockdown due to COVID-19, Indians decided that they had had enough news and turned to movies for a refreshing change. While Hindi and regional movie channels gained big, English movie channels saw an 83 per cent rise in viewership in week 13 in 2020, according to the BARC-Nielsen report.  

    Times Network English entertainment cluster president – strategy and business head Vivek Srivastava says: “Overall TV viewership has seen a 45 per cent increase during this lockdown period. News and movies have been the two most-watched genres. Movies have exhibited almost 80 per cent growth. Times Network’s English entertainment brands had adapted to the new tariff order (NTO) very well and we barely lost any eyeballs. However, post the implementation of the NTO, few players lost significant viewership, and it is heartening to see that during this lockdown, the category is seeing resurgence and that’s a positive sign.”

    During the ongoing lockdown, the network is treating the whole day as primetime and is scheduling blockbuster Hollywood content throughout the day. Some of the big titles include The Avengers, Thor: Ragnarok, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman Franchise, Despicable Me 3, Cars 3, Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle, Ant-Man, Creed 2, Vice, etc.

    Srivastava informs that primetime is still the biggest peak, but there has been significant growth in non-primetime as well, especially the afternoon band. However, advertising has declined during the lockdown period. “That is primarily because of the unavailability of products across most categories and the inability of consumers to step out of their homes during this period. We expect a slowdown till the lockdown remains,” he adds.

    While some advertisers have stopped advertising, those less affected are using it for brand building. For them, the movie genre presents a good opportunity. “We continue to see advertising from BFSI, a few brands in automobiles, e-commerce, consumer durables, and FMCG categories,” he says.

    On the company front, Srivastava says that the Times Network was one of the first broadcasters to adopt a work-from-home system even before the nationwide lockdown was announced. “This was a result of our foresight and preparedness to ensure seamless BCP by equipping our teams with necessary technological services, increased internet bandwidth, collaborative IT tools for meetings and discussions for executing work requirements seamlessly,” he says.

  • Romedy NOW celebrates Children’s Day with #WingsToDream

    Romedy NOW celebrates Children’s Day with #WingsToDream

    MUMBAI: Romedy Now, India’s one of the leading English Entertainment Channel celebrates this Children’s Day with its unique initiative, #WingsToDream that empowers children to explore and live their dreams.

    In partnership with CRY and Kidzania, Romedy Now organized day long workshops in Mumbai and Delhi for children from less privileged backgrounds, giving them an opportunity to experience myriad directions that their careers can take. Capturing the essence of this on-ground activity with the heartfelt moments of the children who experienced a world of opportunities, Romedy Now released a special video across the channel’s platforms on November 14, 2019.

    Perfectly in sync with the brand’s proposition, ‘Love. Laugh. Live.’ and in context of Children’s Day, the channel launches the #WingsToDream initiative to infuse more happiness into children’s lives.

    Delivering a powerful message on the importance of a defined career direction, #WingsToDream encourages Romedy Now viewers to motivate an aspiring child, by doing something very simple, convenient and yet, potentially life changing. Viewers are requested to narrate their own career stories to any child who is pursuing an education and might not have the relevant reference circle to seek guidance and inspiration. Through this simple effort, a child might be given that spark which was missing in their life and be motivated to discover newer possibilities of what this world might have in store for them.

    Times Network President – Strategy and Business Head – English Entertainment Cluster Vivek Srivastava said, “It’s every individual’s responsibility to make sure that our next generation enjoys equal opportunities to build their lives, regardless of their socio-economic status. Moulding the young minds to dream and aspire, thisChildren’s Day we are working towards opening a world of hopes and dreams for the children, who are devoid of the right exposure and guidance. We believe that our viewers can play a significant role in motivating these children in realising their true potential and we hope to positively influence our society to take this step towards shaping the future of the children.”

    Celebrating Children’s Day, Romedy Now has also curated a special on air property, ‘Naughty & Nice’, showcasing a line-up of animated movies including Mune, Sherlock Gnomes, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and Sing on November 14, 2019 from 10.15 am to 4:15pm.

  • Hindi news genre sees 22% growth in beginning of festive quarter

    Hindi news genre sees 22% growth in beginning of festive quarter

    MUMBAI: According to BARC data, this year festive season has brought 22 per cent viewership growth on Hindi news channels. The genre has recorded 988.5 million average impressions from week 33 to 39 2019 whereas the average impressions in 2018 were 811.7 million in the respective week of 2018. Ad insertions also grew by 4 per cent this year on the genre. Last year from week 33 to 39 there were 551,535 ad insertions and this year the number has jumped to 571,649.

    This year, due to the general election, Pulwama attack and few other events, news channels have grabbed the interest of various brands and festive season also added to the growth of viewership. ABP News CEO Avinash Pandey said, “News as a genre is very dynamic. There is never a dull period. If you look at this year, it kick-started with major events – like Pulwama, Balakot strike, General election, Article 370 and now three state elections. Needless to say, it will be an action-packed time.”

    He also said, “Festive season is a fantastic time for news genre since there are several categories that are super active especially categories like automobile, retail, services and e-commerce. These categories advertise heavily on news genre to maximise their reach and take full advantage of this celebratory period when people spend more.”

    “Festive season always brings cheers and enthusiasm as far as ads are concerned. The industry witnesses about 25 to 30 per cent growth in the festive quarter. Channels plan specific launches and revise programming line-up to get better viewership during this period because advertising happens on the boom in viewership,” said Times Network English entertainment cluster president – strategy and business head Vivek Srivastava.

    TG for Hindi News Genre: HSM 15+
    Data Period – W33-39 2018 and 2019

    Week 33-39

    2018

    2019

    Growth

    Avg Impressions

    Avg Impressions

    Hindi News Genre

    811.7 Mn

    988.5 Mn

    22%
           
           

    Week 33-39

    2018

    2019

    Growth

    Ad Insertions

    Ad Insertions

    Hindi News Genre

    5,51,535

    5,71,649

    4%

    However, newscasters are noticing a dip in the post-festive season from the last 2-3 years. Pandey also added that ad rates have not been in sync with the festive trend. “Television ad volumes have been a bit stagnant in the last few months as against a decline in print and radio volumes. However, TV advertising volumes are beginning to see an upward trend with the approaching festive season,” Network18 English & business cluster CEO Basant Dhawan opined.

    “In FY19, the English news genre saw around 6 per cent increase over the previous year but CNN-News18 saw a humongous jump of 32 per cent over the last year in viewership terms. We are hoping the same trend to continue given the new programming impetus we are providing,” said Dhawan.

    However, if we look at the BARC data, the beginning of the festival quarter recorded negative growth in the English news genre’s viewership and ad insertions. Week 33 to 39, 2019 had few regional festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam, Parsi New Year and Raksha Bandhan. The genre had witnessed -29 per cent growth in that respective week. Last year the average impressions on English news channels were 4 million and this year the average impression fell to 2.8 million. Similarly in those weeks, the ad insertions also recorded negative growth by 27 per cent. Last year on the genre there were 169,456 ad insertions from week 33 to 39, this year Ad insertions also fell to 123,290.

    TG for English News Genre: India/AB Male 22+
    Data Period – W33-39 2018 and 2019

     

    Week 33-39

    2018

    2019

    Growth

    Avg Impressions

    Avg Impressions

    English News Genre

    4 Mn

    2.8 Mn

    -29%
           
           

    Week 33-39

    2018

    2019

    Growth

    Ad Insertions

    Ad Insertions

    English News Genre

    1,69,456

    1,23,290

    -27%

    But Dhawan remained positive as the rest of the festive week might see huge interest from brands. He said, “Post the General Elections period there was an anticipated marginal decline in the television news advertising volumes especially so in English news genre. As I mentioned earlier we are now at the cusp of the festive season where the demand is going up. We are seeing interest from various brands on our new programming initiatives on both CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. In fact, the new programming is being offered to brands at a premium pricing.”

    Srivastava also commented on the impact of economic slowdown on the channels, he said, “There is some slowdown in the market but the good part is that the brands are doing well. Our brands are in a strong place and geared up to turn around the economy slow down. We are having a positive conversation happening with the advertisers. We have number 1 and Number 2 brands in the portfolio and the slowdown will impact smaller brands rather than the bigger one because bigger brands have stable viewership.”

    News Channels Programming strategies for festive season:

    To attract advertisers’ attention news broadcasters have developed programming strategies during the festive seasons. ABP News’ regional channels came up with special shows focussing on regional festivals. “We have structured our programming aptly to give viewers a taste of this festive period. Sharad Ananda is the biggest Flagship Programme of ABP Ananda that captures the true spirit of the Durga Puja festival in Bengal and grabs a million eyeballs. It is the most comprehensive coverage of Durga Puja from across the globe. For ABP Asmita, we have Garba Samman which brings to viewers Navratri celebrations across Surat, Rajkot, Baroda and Ahmedabad,” said Pandey.

    Whereas, Network18’s Hindi news channels and English channels focused on the market trends. Speaking on its revamped programme line-up Dhawan said, “A lot of new programming has been developed. For instance on CNBC TV-18, we have launched a brand new show ‘Startup Street’, where one will get to see stories of entrepreneurial successes, expert advice for business challenges and insights from the leaders of India Inc., leveraging on the new drivers of the new economy – the startups. The same show concept in Hindi ‘Startup Nation’ reaching out to the Hindi speaking belt of India will be launched on CNBC Awaaz on 23 September. Looking at the consumer interest and current volatility in the markets, and the insatiable appetite that Indians have for the yellow metal, we have launched a show called Gold Spot on CNBC Awaaz. It will be a one-stop guide for everything one needs to know about gold – from industry issues, latest jewellery trends to gold funds.”

    He also informed, “Also on CNN-News 18 we are trying to break the norms of the standard programming in the English news genre; on 16 September, we had revamped our prime time lineup. Viewpoint in a new format launched at 5.57 pm where seasoned journalist Bhupendra Chaubey brings the citizens’ voice to centre stage from across the length and breadth of India. The Right Stand which has been reconceived as a 90-minute hardcore debate show with a nation-first philosophy at its core to be hosted by Anand Narasimhan. This show also had live viewers’ participation. We have moved News Epicentre to 10.26 pm where Marya Shakil presented burning political stories of the day with the biggest political voices and newsmakers present. Overall the new primetime lineup will bring all key stories in various formats such as discussions, debate & explainers which we think will help our viewers get to details of the stories in a unique, informative and engaging manner.”