ITV

Tag: Vivek Srivastava

  • Movies Now brings back 100 Mania and it’s #NotforLosers

    Movies Now brings back 100 Mania and it’s #NotforLosers

    MUMBAI: Movies Now, India’s favourite English movie channel, brings back its most-awaited mega property ‘100 Mania’, starting 15 December at 9pm. From cars, bikes, smartphones, digital cameras, laptops, fitbits and lots more, 100 Mania Season 4 offers viewers the opportunity to watch and win a 100 prizes by watching 100 blockbusters over 100 days!

    In this unique consumer engagement activity, viewers need to watch the 9pm blockbuster movie, give a missed call and answer simple questions. Movie buffs will find themselves glued to their screens as this property will feature the biggest action blockbusters and franchises that Hollywood has to offer.

    Times Network Vivek Srivastava senior vice president & head, English entertainment cluster, & Zoom Vivek Srivastava said, “100 Mania is an iconic property for Movies Now and we are proud to bring it back in a bigger bolder avatar for its fourth season. Conducting a daily contest over 100 days with 100 mega-prizes on offer is a mammoth task and it is unparalleled in the English movie genre. The property has aided the channel in strengthening its leadership position and this year we are offering a new proposition of #NotForLosers, which will definitely resonate with the youth. Over the years, 100 Mania has created a huge buzz and a loyal audience for the channel while attracting multiple advertisers. I am sure that we will continue to rule audience minds with 100 Mania Season 4.”

    Smartphone brand Vivo has come on board 100 Mania Season 4 as the presenting sponsor while the co-presenting sponsor is Kurlon and Ocean’s is the Associate sponsor.

    Vivo CMO Vivek Zhang said “We are happy to partner with ‘100 Mania’ which is an iconic property for Movies Now. The show has extensive viewer engagement and keeping in mind the vibrancy of the youth, we believe that a partnership with this classic property presents a splendid opportunity to connect with the right audience in a refreshing way. We are constantly making efforts to consolidate our position in the Indian market through thoughtful brand associations and innovative marketing initiatives. We wish ‘100 Mania’, all the very best.”

  • Amitabh lends voice to genre-defining MN+ ‘Pathbreakers’

    Amitabh lends voice to genre-defining MN+ ‘Pathbreakers’

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s gold class of Hollywood movies, MN+, has launched a special property which will compile the best of Hollywood movies. The property, Pathbreakers, is an attempt to reach out to the audience that appreciates movies that define cinema and genres. Promoted on radio campaign by the Pink movie star Amitabh Bachchan, it will be launched today, and will showcase 50 path-breaking movies from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

    “With this line-up, we aim to stir strong emotions in our discerning movie buffs,” said Times Television Network senior VP and head English entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava.

    Pathbreakers will air movie titles that are classics, award winning and genre-defining. MN+ will showcase movies such as 12 Years A Slave, The Shawshank Redemption, The Departed, Boyhood, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Inception, etc.

    Bachchan added, “I am glad to launch Pink with the channel’s biggest property Pathbreakers which promotes movies that have initiated change in society and individuals. Through Pink, our endeavor is to ensure women get their due respect in society.’’

    Pink is a thought-provoking movie produced by Shoojit Sircar. The movie reflects on the current situation of women in the country and raises voice against the dubious moral codes.

    Sircar said, “The tie-up with MN + Pathbreakers was important for us to ensure we reach out to the right audience in urban India.” Pink is aimed at the youth and hopefully shall be looked on as a film that set a new trend upon its release.”

  • Amitabh lends voice to genre-defining MN+ ‘Pathbreakers’

    Amitabh lends voice to genre-defining MN+ ‘Pathbreakers’

    MUMBAI: Times Network’s gold class of Hollywood movies, MN+, has launched a special property which will compile the best of Hollywood movies. The property, Pathbreakers, is an attempt to reach out to the audience that appreciates movies that define cinema and genres. Promoted on radio campaign by the Pink movie star Amitabh Bachchan, it will be launched today, and will showcase 50 path-breaking movies from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

    “With this line-up, we aim to stir strong emotions in our discerning movie buffs,” said Times Television Network senior VP and head English entertainment cluster Vivek Srivastava.

    Pathbreakers will air movie titles that are classics, award winning and genre-defining. MN+ will showcase movies such as 12 Years A Slave, The Shawshank Redemption, The Departed, Boyhood, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Inception, etc.

    Bachchan added, “I am glad to launch Pink with the channel’s biggest property Pathbreakers which promotes movies that have initiated change in society and individuals. Through Pink, our endeavor is to ensure women get their due respect in society.’’

    Pink is a thought-provoking movie produced by Shoojit Sircar. The movie reflects on the current situation of women in the country and raises voice against the dubious moral codes.

    Sircar said, “The tie-up with MN + Pathbreakers was important for us to ensure we reach out to the right audience in urban India.” Pink is aimed at the youth and hopefully shall be looked on as a film that set a new trend upon its release.”

  • Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    MUMBAI: Home to blockbuster movie titles, happy sitcoms, popular romcoms, cult classics- the Times Network’s English Entertainment Cluster has managed to find its space in the Indian cable TV and DTH sun despite it being a late entrant. And it has been continuously ramping up its offering targeted at discerning English content guzzling audiences.

    Now it has added another channel to that bouquet by announcing the launch of a new age Hollywood channel for Young India titled Movies Now 2 (MN2)

    With a library of 300 plus titles, the channel is slated to launch on 24 June 2016 at 9 pm. While the HD feed will roll out by end-July 2016, MN2 has signed a long term first output deal for the satellite rights with MGM which includes six to seven premieres a year. Apart for this, it has also partnered with Warner, SPN, NBCUniversal, etc for various hit titles.

    Positioning itself as the cinema of tomorrow, MN2 will have stylised content, right from a new identity and on-air look to an interesting library. It is also being promoted as a destination for some of the most high profile and appropriate titles across genres that are universally celebrated by youth. The Times Network has labelled MN2 as Hollywood’s wild brainchild channel with a ‘rebellious’ personality.

    Times Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava says he is excited about the launch as the channel has been honed for this free-spirited, opinionated, rebellious and “engaged youth looking for adventure, edgy and new-age stylised cinema. It is an all new Hollywood English channel experience for young India which is Sexy, Stylish and Smart.”

    But why choose the name Movies Now2? “Movies Now is an iconic name and we think it deserves an extension. Lot of research has been put into place before deciding this name. We want to go mass and make this colloquial,” explains Srivastava.

    Banking extensively on bold content, the channel plans to air it in programming blocks or on-air properties with quirky titles like Moviegasm which has been given a slot of 9 pm Monday to Friday; the Swag Nights segment broadcasts every Monday to Friday at 11 pm; BAE Love starts from June 2 every Saturday at 7 pm, while the weekend spoof festival 2wisted will telecast at 9 pm. Thug Life will showcase movies like Hangover III, Kick Ass 2, Bangkok Dangerous, the Oceans series, R.I.P.D, 21, etc on weekends at 11 pm.

    So have these segments been drawn up to give advertisers a reason to latch on to them? Clearing the doubt, Srivastava points out that hey have been created only to drive mass viewership. “The festivals are created for viewership and not sponsorship. But if this gets us business, there is no harm in that,” he jests. “Crisp segmentation, visible positioning backed with quality content makes a channel successful and that’s what we have done with MN2.”

    The channel will also premier a bevy of movies like Sin City 2, Hot Pursuit, 3 Days to Kill and Poltergeist to name a few. With no repeated content from the other two channels of the network, MN2 will have a mix of old and new content which will be routinely updated.

    Beaming through Intelsat, the new channel is part of the group’s English bouquet and carriage have been struck across all major DTH and cable TV platforms.

    With an already overcrowded movie space and with two movie channels already in the group, how will this channel have an edge over the rest? Srivastava believes the youth positioning and edgy indie and mainline films will do the trick. He asserts: “On the one hand we have roughly 400 Hindi/regional channels, but on the other hand we have a mere 40 English Entertainment channels. I think there is enormous space for multiple channels to be launched than what we have today.”

    The Moves Now 2 logo has been designed by Famous Innovations while the channel IDs and the promos were created in-house.

    Focussing on the beyond metro cities too, MN2 will extensively be promoted through traditional out of home (OOH) advertising. The OOH campaigns will begin from 28 July while marketing on television and print will be initiated with the launch of the channel. “We have always been aggressive with marketing our properties and we will continue to do so with MN2. Apart from the diverse promotions across our network, we have a robust TV and print advertising plan ready for action. We will significantly focus on digital platforms as well, voiced Srivastava.

    With approximately Rs 250-300 crore business in the English entertainment space, the group is just a few licences away from launching another English news and an entertainment channel.

    So watch this space for further action from the Times Network.

  • Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    Hollywood’s wildchild Movies Now 2 HD to launch by July end

    MUMBAI: Home to blockbuster movie titles, happy sitcoms, popular romcoms, cult classics- the Times Network’s English Entertainment Cluster has managed to find its space in the Indian cable TV and DTH sun despite it being a late entrant. And it has been continuously ramping up its offering targeted at discerning English content guzzling audiences.

    Now it has added another channel to that bouquet by announcing the launch of a new age Hollywood channel for Young India titled Movies Now 2 (MN2)

    With a library of 300 plus titles, the channel is slated to launch on 24 June 2016 at 9 pm. While the HD feed will roll out by end-July 2016, MN2 has signed a long term first output deal for the satellite rights with MGM which includes six to seven premieres a year. Apart for this, it has also partnered with Warner, SPN, NBCUniversal, etc for various hit titles.

    Positioning itself as the cinema of tomorrow, MN2 will have stylised content, right from a new identity and on-air look to an interesting library. It is also being promoted as a destination for some of the most high profile and appropriate titles across genres that are universally celebrated by youth. The Times Network has labelled MN2 as Hollywood’s wild brainchild channel with a ‘rebellious’ personality.

    Times Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava says he is excited about the launch as the channel has been honed for this free-spirited, opinionated, rebellious and “engaged youth looking for adventure, edgy and new-age stylised cinema. It is an all new Hollywood English channel experience for young India which is Sexy, Stylish and Smart.”

    But why choose the name Movies Now2? “Movies Now is an iconic name and we think it deserves an extension. Lot of research has been put into place before deciding this name. We want to go mass and make this colloquial,” explains Srivastava.

    Banking extensively on bold content, the channel plans to air it in programming blocks or on-air properties with quirky titles like Moviegasm which has been given a slot of 9 pm Monday to Friday; the Swag Nights segment broadcasts every Monday to Friday at 11 pm; BAE Love starts from June 2 every Saturday at 7 pm, while the weekend spoof festival 2wisted will telecast at 9 pm. Thug Life will showcase movies like Hangover III, Kick Ass 2, Bangkok Dangerous, the Oceans series, R.I.P.D, 21, etc on weekends at 11 pm.

    So have these segments been drawn up to give advertisers a reason to latch on to them? Clearing the doubt, Srivastava points out that hey have been created only to drive mass viewership. “The festivals are created for viewership and not sponsorship. But if this gets us business, there is no harm in that,” he jests. “Crisp segmentation, visible positioning backed with quality content makes a channel successful and that’s what we have done with MN2.”

    The channel will also premier a bevy of movies like Sin City 2, Hot Pursuit, 3 Days to Kill and Poltergeist to name a few. With no repeated content from the other two channels of the network, MN2 will have a mix of old and new content which will be routinely updated.

    Beaming through Intelsat, the new channel is part of the group’s English bouquet and carriage have been struck across all major DTH and cable TV platforms.

    With an already overcrowded movie space and with two movie channels already in the group, how will this channel have an edge over the rest? Srivastava believes the youth positioning and edgy indie and mainline films will do the trick. He asserts: “On the one hand we have roughly 400 Hindi/regional channels, but on the other hand we have a mere 40 English Entertainment channels. I think there is enormous space for multiple channels to be launched than what we have today.”

    The Moves Now 2 logo has been designed by Famous Innovations while the channel IDs and the promos were created in-house.

    Focussing on the beyond metro cities too, MN2 will extensively be promoted through traditional out of home (OOH) advertising. The OOH campaigns will begin from 28 July while marketing on television and print will be initiated with the launch of the channel. “We have always been aggressive with marketing our properties and we will continue to do so with MN2. Apart from the diverse promotions across our network, we have a robust TV and print advertising plan ready for action. We will significantly focus on digital platforms as well, voiced Srivastava.

    With approximately Rs 250-300 crore business in the English entertainment space, the group is just a few licences away from launching another English news and an entertainment channel.

    So watch this space for further action from the Times Network.

  • Times Network launches campaign to promote its HD feed

    Times Network launches campaign to promote its HD feed

    MUMBAI: Speaking of the digital era, the number of LCD television sets sold each year has only been growing. For 2015, an Ernst & Young study had projected that 12 million television LCD and LED sets would be sold in India, reinforcing the point on the CRT to LCD/LED conversion. But this same conversion is not reflected when it comes to consumers going from SD to HD feed, especially in the case of English Entertainment television channels. The issue, Times  Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava feels, is not in affordability but in awareness.

    “HD channels’ have shown 93 per cent increase in viewership over the last year and doubled their advertisement revenues. But the one thing that remains a hiccup in the segment is the adoption rate of HD feed. It is estimated that 12 million HD enabled TV sets are sold every year but there are only 6 million HD subscribers. That means there are another 6 million who have the equipment but not the content pipeline.  There is immense growth potential. So both for us, we as a network and for the industry, there is a need to educate consumers on the perks of HD quality video. This campaign will benefit not only our own English cluster, but the entire industry,” explains Srivastava.

    Times Network has initiated steps to educate its consumers with a 360  degree ad campaign that the network will launch starting today – 2 May. Given the fact that its core English Entertainment channels are mostly in HD, it makes sense for Times Network to propagate the cause for HD conversion in the country.  The campaign aims to push the HD subscription for its three HD English entertainment channels — MN +, Movies Now and Romedy Now HD. “Across the globe the main drivers for HD viewership have been sports and movies. In India, while the sports genre has seen that positive change, movie entertainment channels are lagging behind. Being a major player in the English entertainment space with a huge movie library, it was in our interest to push this cause,” says Srivastava.

    Created and conceptualised in-house in three months, a TVC that is a fun-take on how Hollywood is viewed in India, features actor Purab Kohli enjoying a home theatre experience at home in all its glory. The punch line  — ‘Raise your standards to High Definition’ — comes when the audience is made aware that all this luxury comes to a nought if the picture quality is not in high definition, thereby urging movie lovers to go HD. The campaign intends to play with the urban movie buffs minds that swear by their Hollywood movies and prefer a quality experience even at home.

    “For the last three or four years, most of the HD TV commercials have spoken about the best quality and sound making one believe that all one needs to do to experience that is to buy the TV. But in reality that’s just the first step; and getting the content pipeline by switching to HD feed is what completes the process,” said Srivastava as he reveals the idea behind the ad.

    The campaign will be heavily promoted across networks, with heavy emphasis on television and a strong digital backing. The campaign will also see some presence on print. “With reach being the primary objective, we are trying to expand the number of eyeballs as much as possible, especially amongst the television audience. The campaign kicks off on our network and will be gradually carried across all channels on other networks as well. We will not necessarily promote it on English entertainment channels alone. Out of the 650 million (65 crore) television watchers, around 30 percent watch English content, so obviously there is an increased need to reach out to a cross section of audiences to propagate the message better. We will have a presence on Hindi GECs, movie channels, news channels. Even music channels are a part of our media plan mix.” The ‘across channels’ promotion will be carried in parts, while the campaign will be kept alive within the network.

    While Srivastava agrees that the Times Network channels primary viewership comes from the metros, this particular campaign is targeted pan India. “The metros have some awareness about the HD feed, but it is the tier II and tier III cities that we really need to touch base with,” he further reveals.

    Given the ‘all in’ nature of the campaign, Srivastava also reveals that the network is spending slightly higher than the marketing budget for a regular mainline premiere on Movies Now.

     

  • Times Network launches campaign to promote its HD feed

    Times Network launches campaign to promote its HD feed

    MUMBAI: Speaking of the digital era, the number of LCD television sets sold each year has only been growing. For 2015, an Ernst & Young study had projected that 12 million television LCD and LED sets would be sold in India, reinforcing the point on the CRT to LCD/LED conversion. But this same conversion is not reflected when it comes to consumers going from SD to HD feed, especially in the case of English Entertainment television channels. The issue, Times  Network English Entertainment Cluster senior VP and head Vivek Srivastava feels, is not in affordability but in awareness.

    “HD channels’ have shown 93 per cent increase in viewership over the last year and doubled their advertisement revenues. But the one thing that remains a hiccup in the segment is the adoption rate of HD feed. It is estimated that 12 million HD enabled TV sets are sold every year but there are only 6 million HD subscribers. That means there are another 6 million who have the equipment but not the content pipeline.  There is immense growth potential. So both for us, we as a network and for the industry, there is a need to educate consumers on the perks of HD quality video. This campaign will benefit not only our own English cluster, but the entire industry,” explains Srivastava.

    Times Network has initiated steps to educate its consumers with a 360  degree ad campaign that the network will launch starting today – 2 May. Given the fact that its core English Entertainment channels are mostly in HD, it makes sense for Times Network to propagate the cause for HD conversion in the country.  The campaign aims to push the HD subscription for its three HD English entertainment channels — MN +, Movies Now and Romedy Now HD. “Across the globe the main drivers for HD viewership have been sports and movies. In India, while the sports genre has seen that positive change, movie entertainment channels are lagging behind. Being a major player in the English entertainment space with a huge movie library, it was in our interest to push this cause,” says Srivastava.

    Created and conceptualised in-house in three months, a TVC that is a fun-take on how Hollywood is viewed in India, features actor Purab Kohli enjoying a home theatre experience at home in all its glory. The punch line  — ‘Raise your standards to High Definition’ — comes when the audience is made aware that all this luxury comes to a nought if the picture quality is not in high definition, thereby urging movie lovers to go HD. The campaign intends to play with the urban movie buffs minds that swear by their Hollywood movies and prefer a quality experience even at home.

    “For the last three or four years, most of the HD TV commercials have spoken about the best quality and sound making one believe that all one needs to do to experience that is to buy the TV. But in reality that’s just the first step; and getting the content pipeline by switching to HD feed is what completes the process,” said Srivastava as he reveals the idea behind the ad.

    The campaign will be heavily promoted across networks, with heavy emphasis on television and a strong digital backing. The campaign will also see some presence on print. “With reach being the primary objective, we are trying to expand the number of eyeballs as much as possible, especially amongst the television audience. The campaign kicks off on our network and will be gradually carried across all channels on other networks as well. We will not necessarily promote it on English entertainment channels alone. Out of the 650 million (65 crore) television watchers, around 30 percent watch English content, so obviously there is an increased need to reach out to a cross section of audiences to propagate the message better. We will have a presence on Hindi GECs, movie channels, news channels. Even music channels are a part of our media plan mix.” The ‘across channels’ promotion will be carried in parts, while the campaign will be kept alive within the network.

    While Srivastava agrees that the Times Network channels primary viewership comes from the metros, this particular campaign is targeted pan India. “The metros have some awareness about the HD feed, but it is the tier II and tier III cities that we really need to touch base with,” he further reveals.

    Given the ‘all in’ nature of the campaign, Srivastava also reveals that the network is spending slightly higher than the marketing budget for a regular mainline premiere on Movies Now.

     

  • Romedy Now completes 2 years; commands 58% share in English GECs

    Romedy Now completes 2 years; commands 58% share in English GECs

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel (GEC) Romedy Now has completed two years and as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India data, the channel today commands 58 per cent share viewership in the genre. Additionally, 18 shows out of the top 25 shows in the English GEC genre are on Romedy Now.

     

    What’s more, as compared to last year, the channel’s ad rates have also gone up by 50 – 60 per cent. 

     

    Since its launch on 22 September, 2013, Romedy Now has been home to some of the most romantic movies and funniest shows. Shows like FRIENDS, Ally Mcbeal, Witches Of East End, 2 Broke Girls, Friends With Better Lives and Jane The Virgin have all partnered in the growth of the channel and have contributed to its success.

     

    Speaking on the channel completing two years, Times Network head English entertainment cluster senior vice president Vivek Srivastava said, “The channel has done very well in the last two years in terms of numbers. We are constantly number one in BARC India and TAM Media Research (TAM). Romedy doesn’t command the share of mind but the share of heart and that’s the strength of our brand. The channel command 58 per cent viewership in the genre and in the last 13 weeks, 18 shows out of the top 25 shows in English GEC space are on Romedy Now. That is the power of the content we have. Moreover, Romedy Now is not compared with the movie channels’ segment but with the English entertainment space. That said, even if it were compared with the movie channels’ segment, it holds the leadership position.”

     

    Recently Romedy Now added an extra hour of content with The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is being simulcast in India with the US. “The mood of the channel determines the content that we acquire and the mood of the channel is happy. So any romantic movie or feel good factor will feature on the channel and that is the kind of content that we acquire,” he added.

     

    Throwing light on the channel’s ad revenue compared to last year as well as the category of clients that have come on board, Srivastava said, “We have almost doubled our revenues as far as Romedy is concerned because it is the only segmented and differentiated brand in the category. It has a very strong appeal so advertisers’ pull on the brand has been fantastic. The ad rates have gone up by 50 – 60 per cent from last year. We don’t have to hard sell the brand and that’s an advantage we have. E-commerce, automobile, jewellery and FMCGs are the big category clients that we have on board.”

     

    As part of the second anniversary celebrations, the channel premiered the Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson starrer British comedy The Love Punch on 22 September at 9 pm.

     

    Romedy Now has also launched an anniversary contest called ‘Happy 2gether.’

     

    On the programming front, the channel launched one of America’s best sitcoms – Hot in Cleveland on 21 September, which is being aired from Monday to Friday at 8.30 pm. In October the channel is planning to launch Addicted to Love in the romantic slot at 9 pm, whereas November will see How I Met Your Mother launching. For Diwali, the channel will be airing a special called Diwali Delights as well as the Romedy of the month movie – Girl Most Likely.