ITV

Tag: Vuclip

  • Sameer Gogate returns to Viacom18 as Colors business head

    Sameer Gogate returns to Viacom18 as Colors business head

    MUMBAI: When general manager Sameer Gogate put in his papers at BBC Studios, it was not clear why and where he was headed. Why would someone give up a plum secure job working with the Beeb which many an executive joins with a retirement plan in mind?

    That clarity came in mid-this week, when whispers started that he was actually heading back to his alma mater – Viacom18 – now called JioStar, followed the merger  with Disney Star India. 

    But what would he be doing there, was the question? Isn’t the company extremely top heavy with so many bosses that not even department executives know who is reporting to whom and who has the responsibility for a particular function?

    That clarity too came when Gogate’s responsibility was leaked. He would be in charge of the business of Colors, Viacom18’s star channel.  In his new role, Gogate will report to Alok Jain, head of cluster entertainment at JioStar.

    For the record, Gogate joining Viacom18 is like returning home for him  as he was once deeply embedded in its ecosystem. He was director of commercial and syndication, overseeing content syndication, film acquisitions, and co-productions for Viacom18 Motion Pictures and he also had a position at Colors, where  he managed music and format licensing, talent management, and group commercial strategy a few years ago.

    Gogate brings a wealth of experience from his time at BBC Studios, where he played a pivotal role since 2019 in producing local adaptations of popular BBC formats, including multiple seasons of Criminal Justice and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Dancing with the Stars). He also oversaw the creation of original series such as Highway Love, Ishq in the Air, School of Lies, and Tujhpe Main Fida. Among his recent successes was the IMDb top-ten hit, The Shekhar Suman Show.

    Prior to BBC Studios, Gogate worked at Vuclip as Head of Monetisation, Commercial, and Distribution, where he managed revenue operations and key content partnerships. He also held senior roles at Eros International Media, Endemol India, Viacom18, and EY. 

    Meanwhile, following Gogate’s departure, BBC Studios India has announced an interim leadership arrangement. Deepa Nair, head of business and legal affairs, and Sachin Mahajan, head of finance, will jointly oversee the production team in India. Stanley Fernandes will continue leading the channels & streaming and content sales divisions for India and South Asia. The company has yet to announce a permanent successor for Gogate.

  • BBC Studios India appoints Sameer Gogate as Business Head, Productions

    BBC Studios India appoints Sameer Gogate as Business Head, Productions

    Mumbai: BBC Studios announces the appointment of Sameer Gogate as Business Head for India’s production business.  Gogate, joins BBC Studios from the 1st of July, 2019. In his new role, he will lead India’s production business and report to Myleeta Aga, based in Singapore.

    Gogate comes with a rich background in content, having worked across the TV and Film Industry with Eros International, Endemol and Viacom in various functions – including Business Planning, Commercial and Production Management for TV and Films. At Vuclip, he has been Head of Revenue and Business Development since 2017. He will be overseeing existing series in production, development of new concepts, format adaptations and branded content in his new role.

  • Viu India content head Bimal Unnikrishnan steps down

    Viu India content head Bimal Unnikrishnan steps down

    MUMBAI: Viu India vice president content Bimal Unnikrishnan has resigned. He joined the organisation last July to focus on driving a strong content-led value proposition for consumers, as well as strengthen the original content library for the OTT platform.

    The senior media professional has more than two decades of experience in the direction & programming division at media companies. Prior to Viu, he worked in media companies such as Sony Entertainment Television and Reliance Big Magic.

    Recently, Viu’s chief marketing officer Shantanu Gangane left the organisation. Viu is an OTT Video service by PCCW and Vuclip available in 15 markets.

  • Viu starts Tamil journey with localised content

    Viu starts Tamil journey with localised content

    MUMBAI: OTT platform Viu has expanded its footprint in the regional market by launching in the Tamil market. It has entered the market with localised content including Tamil language Originals, Tamil short films along with Korean dramas and curated content.

    Viu is highly focusing on partnerships with leading players of the Tamil content industry. It has partnered with AP International Films, Sameer Bharat Ram, digital content producer Trendaloud , YouTube content producers Black Sheep and Fully Filmi.

    “The youth of Tamil Nadu are unique. They have a perfect balance of modern unbiased outlook and deep-rooted culture and values. They have a unique liking for great stories told with local style and taste. We are here to offer them exactly that through our compelling curated content and fresh Viu Tamil Originals. We are deeply committed to investing in this market to develop the content industry and talent pool to serve the Tamil audience,” Vuclip president and COO Arun Prakash said.

    The platform aims to win Tamil millennial audience by offering content in comfort language. The four new Tamil premium originals include Kalyanamum Kadhandhu Pogum, Madras Mansion, Door No. 403, Door No. 403 while two Tamil short films Masha Allah… Ganesha, The Wind will be exclusively available on the platform.

  • SLA Digital powers Viu carrier billing

    SLA Digital powers Viu carrier billing

    MUMBAI: SLA Digital has partnered with Vuclip, a PCCW Media company, and the leading premium video-on-demand service provider for emerging markets, making its service, Viu, available to more customers via carrier billing.

    Viu provides compelling original content in addition to the freshest regional and premium TV shows and movies to its 16 million users across 15 markets including the Middle East countries of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    “SLA Digital is committed to delivering new and innovative services for Asian and Middle Eastern mobile customers to consume via carrier billing. This exciting partnership with Vuclip enables us to expand our content offering and ensures that Vuclip’s customers are treated to a frictionless entertainment experience to consume at their leisure.” commented Ashley O’Kane, Head of Marketing at SLA Digital.

    With carrier billing, SLA Digital provides customers with an alternative mobile payment solution to subscribe to Viu’s comprehensive catalogue of content where the amount is charged to their post-paid bill or deducted from their prepaid balance. This option, therefore, provides customers with a seamless and secure payment alternative to credit or debit cards.

    Speaking about the partnership, Wesam Kattan, Vice President Content & Brand Marketing, Vuclip MENA, said, “Viu is happy to partner with SLA Digital to facilitate our consumers with a convenient and secure payment solution for our service. Through the integration of carrier billing, viewers can now easily subscribe to our comprehensive catalogue of TV shows, movies and original content. This partnership also enables us to expand in the region to include SLA Digital’s Middle Eastern and Asian mobile operator portfolio. We are excited to kick off with an initial offering with Zain Kuwait and look forward to developing our relationship further.”

    The carrier billing partnership is now live with Zain Kuwait, with plans to further leverage SLA Digital’s mobile operator connectivity across the region.

    PIX COURTESY: ZAWYA

  • Viu brings best of korean shows to india

    Viu brings best of korean shows to india

    MUMBAI: Viu, the premium video-on-demand service by Vuclip and PCCW today has launched popular Korean dramas for their viewers in India. After successfully rolling out Korean TV Shows in other Asian markets, Viu has now expanded its Korean content library to the young digital consumer in India. Viu continues to be a trendsetter in offering digital entertainment that popularizes the global phenomenon of Hallyu among the Indian millennials.

    Shows available on the service include hits like ‘Come Back Alive’, ‘Heirs’, ‘My Love From Another Star’, ‘Descendants of the Sun’, ‘Sweet Stranger and M’, ‘Doctors’, ‘Poet Warrior Youth’. The plan is to launch 20 more shows by March 2018. The entire library can be accessed at https://www.viu.com/ott/in/korean-en/korean_dramas.

    Speaking on the launch, Viu India, Country Head – Vishal Maheshwari said, “We have witnessed a very healthy uptake by young viewers, aged 18 to 24 years, who are watching Korean TV shows with English subtitles. The youth of India today are looking for world class TV shows. Korean TV shows deliver on all aspects from story to production which makes it such a success. The trend of watching Korean content is picking up rapidly across the country.“

    Viu has approximately 4,000 hours of the latest Korean drama and variety shows telecast from SBS, KBS, MBC and CJ E&M for all regions. All of this content can be accessed at https://www.viu.com or by downloading the Android app from Google Play or the iOS app from the Apple App Store.

  • VOD service Viu rolls out first ad campaign targeting new millenials

    VOD service Viu rolls out first ad campaign targeting new millenials

    MUMBAI: After about a year and a half of building its content catalogue and also on organic customer acquisition, the Hong Kong headquartered PCCW-owned-VuClip-promoted freemium VOD service Viu is now looking at upping the tempo through an integrated marketing and advertising campaign from 28 August.  Titled Kaaf Feels Bro, it is targeted at the new millenials and aims to encapsulate the very essence of the brand that delivers fascinating stories to today’s young and digital-first audience.  While showcasing an array of genres that viewers can choose from, the advertising seeks to focus  the customer’s attendtion on the riveting, fresh and original stories available on the platform, including movies and Korean shows.

    Since its India launch in 2016, Viu claims to have showcased over 15,000 hours of content and has managed to log in a subscriber base of four million.

    And since this is the first ad campaign it is resorting to, it is hoping to get a of  lot of bang for the buck and also help it make up for lost time.

    Says Viu India head of marketing Shantanu Gangane:  “The concept comes right from the heart of the product which is content. The whole plot was to look at the millennials as the TG, and also we had some data from YouTube and our own app that who is actually consuming our content. We had a vision of our TG but the actual consumers were really different — that was the first thing,”

    One needs to dress up the content from the TG’s perspective, Viu realised.

    “What will the content deliver” — was the brief given, and that’s how the emotion and plot emerged in the spot: “the content versus consumer” in the campaign.

    Conceptualised by Bates Chi & Partners, the ads have been created in two languages, Hindi and Telugu, signifying the availability of multilingual content on Viu, both original and licensed.

    public://f3_0.jpg

    Produced by Dev Chugani and Rupali Mehta’s Greenlight, the film echoes the essential intent of offering content that appeals to consumers’ emotions in a variety of genres such as horror, drama, romance and comedy on Viu. The TVC shows people who are immersed in the viewing experience to the extent of feeling they are a part of the story, going through the fears and joys the show has to offer. The film has been directed by Karan L Butani and DOP is Rishi Punjabi.

    “The campaign will go on air on 28 August and will run across GECs, Hindi movies, music channels, English movie channels for five to six weeks. It’s a packed week coming for us,” shares Gangane.

     The ads are being  rolled out across TV, print (Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune), OOH (across key markets) and radio. The social platforms are ensuring buzz for the highly captivating content that the OTT platform has to offer.

    public://f4_0.jpg

    “At Viu, kaafi is happening. We are planning to launch four shows by December this year, so a lot of things are happening. And, 2018 will be overflowing. You will be having a number of originals even from a television standpoint and not from OTT standpoint. There is excitement coming your way, consumer’s way and our way,” adds Gangane.

    “We have to look at few things. First is that we are not the only OTT player out there, we are the late entrant in that space. Also, we are focusing on originals. We have to make sure that whoever we get on board should have a mass appeal, has popularity. There were two problems that we needed to get sorted.  First, that we have to make this familiar fascinating concept but there were other facets. They sound like synonyms but they are not. The intensity of the content, the pace with which the content moves is not same. But, all this content makes you feel something. That inspired us to take the idea that this is the content that will make you feel something. We were very focused who is our target audience. You are talking to millennials and that’s how we came up with Kaafi feels bro!,” says Bates Chi & Partners India CEO V.S Srikanth.

    Creative agency:
    CEO: VS Srikanth
    HEad of Office: Samrat Bedi
    Business head: Sachin Ramchandani
    Creative team: Bates Creative Team
    Account planner: Nishu Raina
    Account management:  Bhavesh Nainani, Hemchandra Shah, Prashant Motwani
    Producer: Dev Chugani, Rupali Mehta
    Production house: Greenlight Productions
    Film director: Karan L Butani
    DOP: Rishi Punjabi

     

     

     

  • PCCW Media reports lower half year video numbers, higher OTT numbers

    BENGALURU: Hong Kong based telecommunications, media, IT solutions, property development and investment and other businesses group PCCW Limited reported lower numbers for its video operations comprising of NowTV and improved revenue for its ViuTV and its OTT operations for the half year ended 30 June 2017 (H1-17) as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Overall, on a consolidated basis, the group’s revenue and operating profits were stable during the current year period as compared to the corresponding year ago period.

    For NowTV, the company reported a stable subscriber base of about 1.3 million and lower average revenue per user (ARPU) of HK$186 in H1-17. The company has mentioned ARPU of HK$ 194 for H1-16 and HK$192 for H2-16. Consequently, revenue in the current quarter declined 3 percent to HK$ 1,350 million from HK$ 1,391 million in the corresponding period of last year (H1-16) and from HK$ 1509 million in the immediate trailing half year period (H2-16).

    NowTV EBIDTA was HK$ 154 million, HK$ 184 million and HK$ 229 million for H1-17, H1-16 and H2-16 respectively.

    For its Free TV business – ViuTV, the company reported revenue in H1-17 of HK$94 million as compared to HK$ 52 million in H1-17, but lower than the HK$ 108 million for H2-17. ViuTV had a higher operating loss (negative EBIDTA) for H1-17 at HK$ 116 million as compared to HK$ 68 million in H1-16 and HK$ 115 million in H2-16.

    OTT services revenue increased 24 percent to HK$ 337 million in H1-17 as compared to HK$ 227 million in H1-16 and HK$ 312 million in H2-16. OTT services reported a higher operating loss (negative EBIDTA) of HK$ 125 million in H1-17 as compared to HK$ 109 million in H1-16 and slightly lower than an operating loss of HK$ 126 million in H2-16.

    Overall, PCCW Limited core revenue decreased by 5 percent to HK$ 17,576 million due to a slowdown in Mobile handset sales at HKT. Excluding Mobile handset sales, core revenue was steady at HK$ 16,549 million. The Solutions and over-the-top (OTT) businesses showed continued growth momentum with their revenues increasing by 6 percent and 24 percent, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2017, compared to a year ago

    PCCW Group managing director BG Srinivas said the Group’s strategy was to continue to develop and maintain our leadership in the relevant markets of each of our core businesses of IT solutions, media, and telecommunications, while seeking new growth opportunities.

    He said, “With an excellent track record in large-scale IT projects and a global data centre network alliance, PCCW Solutions will continue to benefit from the needs of enterprises and the public sector to go digital. The significant recurring nature of its business and the expanding demand for digital transformation capabilities should lead to a growing contribution from PCCW Solutions.”

    “Now TV has consolidated its market leadership in the pay TV industry in Hong Kong while ViuTV has broadened our reach into the TV advertising market. Although the environment in the media industry in Hong Kong has been very dynamic in the past year, we expect the competitive behavior to rationalize and lead to improved profitability. The OTT business has extended our geographic scope beyond Hong Kong and we now have a presence in 24 markets. Our goal is to build the leading digital media service in Asia with the best viewing experience and most relevant content,” added Srinivas.

    PCCW raises US$ 110million for video and music streaming

    In a press release, PCCW says that it has raised US$110 million to expand its penetration in its existing markets as well as to expand to other high growth markets its range of video and music streaming services. Hony Capital, Foxconn Ventures and Singapore sovereign fund Temasek have taken an 18 percent share in the enlarged issued share capital of PCCW OTT. PCCW Media will remain as the controlling shareholder of PCCW OTT. PCCW OTT is present in over in 24 markets globally. Its services include video streaming services under the Viu and Vuclip brands along with a music streaming service MOOV.

    The company says that this strategic investment will strengthen PCCW OTT’s ability to enhance its core value proposition of relevant content including distinctive original productions, and to continue to deploy the latest technologies and leverage its patents in video streaming and encoding to offer the best customer experience.

  • Vuclip parent PCCW sells 18% in OTT biz for $110m, fuels growth

    MUMBAI: PCCW Media, the parent company of Vuclip which provides web-based and short-form content video services in 19 markets including India, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and other emerging markets with multiple patents, has introduced three investors.

    Further fueling growth and innovation of Viu and other OTT services in Asia and beyond, PCCW has brought in Hony Capital (Hony), Foxconn Ventures (Foxconn) and Temasek as investors of PCCW International OTT (Cayman Islands) Holdings Limited (PCCW OTT).

    This strategic investment will strengthen PCCW OTT’s ability to enhance its core value proposition of relevant content including distinctive original productions, and to continue to deploy the latest technologies and leverage its patents in video streaming and encoding to offer the best customer experience. As a rapidly expanding business, PCCW OTT aims to increase its penetration within the existing markets where it has made significant inroads as well as to expand its footprint in other high-growth markets.

    PCCW OTT engages in the provision of OTT (over-the-top) Internet media and entertainment services in 24 markets globally, including video streaming services under the “Viu” and “Vuclip” brands as well as a music streaming service under the “MOOV” brand. Hony, Foxconn and Temasek will own approximately 18% of the enlarged issued share capital of PCCW OTT for a total consideration of US$110 million. PCCW Media will remain as the controlling shareholder of PCCW OTT.

    PCCW Media Group managing director Janice Lee said, “Our focus on content, pricing and technology that are locally relevant in various markets, together with our fast-tracked rollout across the region, has enabled Viu to become a leading OTT video service in Asia. We are very excited to have Hony, Foxconn and Temasek join us as strategic shareholders. Bringing these reputable partners in the business will support our current plans and strengthen our leading position in the market with the introduction of more locally relevant and original content, and technology to support innovative product development – all of which are beneficial to our ecosystem comprised of users, advertisers and business partners.”

    Hony Capital chairman and CEO John Zhao said, “Hong Kong is the forefront of international collaboration responding to the Belt and Road Initiatives, and Viu at present has laid out effective business map in Southeast Asian countries along the Belt and Road, which will no doubt play an essential and unique role to help the culture, content as well as creative ideas to travel abroad. We are glad that we can join hands with Viu led by Lee, and we hope Hony Capital can bring in not only the capital support, but also other value-added services and resources. In the meanwhile, Hony Capital can incorporate the business into our existing endeavors in the cultural and creative industry, to eventually offer even better Chinese contents to the world.”

    Foxconn EVP Fang Ming Lu said, “Foxconn is transforming to be a Technology Service Provider from content creation to network transmission. We will work with PCCW to deliver advanced OTT service to the market. We believe the collaboration will enhance the customer experience in entertainment life and accelerate the development of the OTT ecosystem.”

    Launched in October 2015, Viu has over 12 million monthly active users as of June 2017. The service operates on a dual-model of an ad-supported tier of service and a premium subscription tier of service with more features. Viu delivers premium Asian content in different genres from top content providers with express delivery of local language subtitles as fast as four hours after original telecast. It also offers original production series under the “Viu Original” initiative. Viu is available in 15 markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and the Middle East countries of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    Joining the PCCW family in May 2015, both Viu and Vuclip users can enjoy smooth and unbuffered viewing experience regardless of device or network conditions. MOOV is one of Hong Kong’s largest multi-platform digital streaming music service and ranked number one on brand awareness and user satisfaction in Hong Kong (which is also available in Vietnam).

    ALSO READ :

    “We have a multi-headed monetization approach for Viu”- Vishal Maheshwari

    Viu Originals to feature two new shows by Vikram Bhatt & Culture Machine

    Viu goes regional with original

    Viu’s unique Asian content attracts six million active users, claims 50% growth in four months

  • VIDNET 2017: MINING THE BURGEONING OTT/VOD SECTOR

    MUMBAI: Leaders of India’s OTT, live streaming and video on demand ecosystem will be congregating at the Hotel Westin in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb to participate in the second edition of indiantelevision.com’s industry confab VIDNET 2017- Content on the Go.

    Heads of Hotstar, DittoTV, Voot, SonyLiv, YuppTV and Viu, BARC’s planned digital measurement offering and the entertainment and media partnership heads of YouTube India and Facebook India will be highlighting the progress that their platforms have made and the way forward for video on demand and streaming services which are in their relative infancy but have seen tremendous traction over the past year or so..

    “2016-17 has been a year of an explosion in video consumption for the plethora of VOD and streaming service providers who have popped up in India,” says Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO & editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari. “This is thanks to dropping bandwidth prices, the Reliance Jio effect of free data. Humungous investments are being poured into original content by Netflix, and Amazon, even as others are either investing in movies, sports, or kids content. This at a time when they are grappling with the business model: go pay or free or a mix of both. Our estimate is that around Rs 1,500-1,700 crore has already been invested by the various players. Thus, VIDNET 2017 is happening at an apt time. It will help foster discussions, relationships, deals between the various players and possibly allow for new ideas to flow in. A stellar lineup of speakers makes VIDNET, the industry’s leading VOD thought gathering.”

    VIDNET 2017 is slated to feature panel discussions on whether OTT/VOD/digital video is a sound investment proposition, its attractiveness to advertisers, the need for deeper distribution for the platforms, and who should be commissioned to produce the content, Bollywood biggies or smaller independents.

    Among the speakers who will be sharing their views at VIDNET include:

    Arre co-founder & CEO Ajay Chacko,

    Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan,

    Still and Still Media collective founder

    Amritpal Singh Bindra,

    Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO & editor in chief Anil Wanvari,

    Pocket Aces founder Anirudh Pandita,

    Z5 Business EVP & head of digital India Archana Anand,

    Republic TV founder Arnab Goswami,

    VideoTap founder & CEO Dilip Venkatraman,

    Viacom18 digital ventures Voot COO Gaurav Gandhi,

    VideoconD2h COO Himanshu Patil,

    Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd director Jai Maroo,

    BARC India digital business head Jamie Kenney,

    Aisa TV Forum and Market Reed Exhibitions executive producer & editorial director Lunita S V Mendoza,

    Asia TV Forum & Market – Reed Exhibitions business development manager Meen Yi Phua,

    Media Partners Asia vice president Mihir Shah,

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures content head Monika Shergill,

    Cheetah Mobile India director of brand solutions Neel Sapre,

    Principal Provocateur Advisory Paritosh Joshi,

    Monozygotic co-founder & chief creative officer Raghu Ram,

    WATConsult founder & CEO Rajiv Dingra,

    Prime Focus technologies founder & CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan,

    Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sameer Nair,

    Akamai Technologies country sales manager, media Sandeep Reddy,

    Youtube entertainment partnership head Satya Raghavan,

    Facebook India media partnership head Saurabh Doshi,

    Swastik Productions, One Life studios founder & creative director Siddharth Kumar Tewary,

    Viu India marketing head Shantanu Gangane,

    Producer Siddharth Jain,

    Den Networks Ltd CEO S N Sharma,

    Amagi Media labs co – founder Srinivasan KA,

    Sourabh Pant,

    Perform group director content sales India Subhayu Roy,

    RBNL CEO TaruN Katial,

    Yupp TV founder & CEO Uday Reddy,

    SonyLIV EVP & digital head Uday Sodhi,

    Viu country head India Vishal Kumar Maheshwari,

    Emerald Media executive director & investment head Vivek Raicha

    Castle Media Pvt Ltd executive director Vynsley Fernandes.

    An initiative by Indiantelevision.com, Vident 2017 is powered by Viu. The summit partners for the event are Hotstar and Voot. Prime Focus Technologies, Sony Liv and Perform group is associate partners. Akamai is OTT partner. Animationxpress.com, Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are online partners. The event is executed by ITV 2.0 productions.

    VIDNET 2017 will also be honoring key pioneers and movers and shakers of the industry with a plaque for their contribution to rapidly emerging digital video ecosystem.