ITV

Tag: Warner Bros.

  • Warner Bros acquires worldwide TV rights of ‘Chef In Your Ear’

    Warner Bros acquires worldwide TV rights of ‘Chef In Your Ear’

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros has secured the worldwide TV rights (excluding Asia) for the newly launched studio entertainment game show, Chef In Your Ear created by UK based company, The Format People for Food Network Canada. 

    The format will receive its global launch at MIPCOM in October.

    The 26-part primetime series is the Food Networks’ number one rated show on Monday nights in 2015, increasing the year-ago slot average by 172 per cent (A18-49) and winning 271,000 viewers so far. 

    Food Network is famed for long-running programming that includes Top Chef Canada that in its previous Monday night time-period ranked as a top series on the network and reached 242,000 total viewers.

    Chef In Your Ear premiered 31 August, 2015 and has become the number three show across 59 basic cable networks in Canada amongst Adults 18-49 in its time period. 

    Food Network’s debut coincided with a second production of Chef In Your Ear for French speaking Canada on Ici Radio-Canada Télé. Locally titled Un Chef ? L’Oreille, the 14-part series is produced by 350 productions and the premiere ranked  number one  at 8 pm amongst all key demos in the territory.   

    Chef In Your Ear sees two professional chefs aim to deliver a restaurant quality dish by remote control. All the cooking is done by two novice cooks, many of whom claim to be kitchen disasters, each wearing an ear-piece. They take instruction from a celebrity chef whom they have been paired with, and who is locked away in a booth, unable to smell or taste the food.

    Warner Bros. International Television Production senior vice president format development and sales creative Andrew Zein said, “Chef In Your Ear brings the familiarity of the studio kitchen, super sized and transformed with a fun-packed and completely original twist by splitting the professional chef out of the kitchen to direct our amateurs. It’s a totally new TV experience that is exciting, emotional at times and rewarding for both the viewer and contestant. We’re delighted to have acquired the format and will be launching it with our global partners at MIPCOM.”

    “We are thrilled that Warner Bros. will distribute Chef In Your Ear. They have a stellar reputation with broadcasters everywhere and we are confident that they will enjoy great success with this highly scalable format,” added The Format People CEO Michel Rodrigue.

  • Warner Bros & China’s CMC ink joint venture to make films

    Warner Bros & China’s CMC ink joint venture to make films

    MUMBAI: In anticipation of Chinese President Xi’s state visit to the United States, China Media Capital (CMC) and Warner Bros. Entertainment have inked a joint venture to deepen the cultural exchange between the two countries.

     

    They joint venture company called Flagship Entertainment Group Limited will develop and produce a slate of Chinese-language films, including global tentpoles, for distribution around the world, including China.

     

    Flagship Entertainment will be owned 51 per cent by CMC – with Hong Kong broadcaster TVB holding 10 per cent of the CMC-led consortium – and 49 per cent by Warner Bros.

     

    The new entity will combine the expertise of Hollywood’s largest studio with China’s preeminent investment and operational platform dedicated to media and entertainment. Flagship Entertainment’s goal is to capitalize on the rapidly growing market for premium content globally, particularly in China, and the increasing demand for high-quality Chinese-language movies around the world.

     

    Warner Bros chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara said, “We look forward to working with CMC in this exciting new venture, as we gain additional insight into the Chinese film industry. Warner Bros. has a proud legacy of making great movies, and we’re excited to share that expertise with our colleagues in China. The country’s incredibly rich history and culture provide a huge trove of great stories, and we want to help tell those stories for new generations of filmgoers, in China and around the world.”

     

    CMC founding chairman Ruigang Li added, “CMC has been actively investing and operating throughout the ecosystem around the explosive content market in China and around the world. With the proliferation of platforms available to consumers, premium content is more valuable than ever. This partnership with Hollywood’s most iconic studio will bring Warner Bros.’ deep experience in creative storytelling and unparalleled expertise in producing global titles to China’s film industry. It will also further CMC’s commitment to building a premier platform for making films that resonate with both Chinese and worldwide audiences, helping to enhance the cultural exchange between China and the rest of the world.”

     

    The new company will be headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices in Beijing and Los Angeles. 

     

    Flagship plans to develop, invest in, acquire and produce films for distribution throughout China and around the world, utilizing Warner Bros.’ global film distribution network. The first titles bearing the new imprint could be released as early as 2016. 

     

    This creative collaboration between US and China filmmaking partners also allows for the exchange of technical expertise and the development of young Chinese talent for years to come, combining Warner Bros.’ technical and creative knowledge base with CMC and TVB’s access to local talent and market expertise.

     

    Local language film production is the cornerstone of China’s booming entertainment business. As Chinese cinemagoers continue to embrace both domestic and international movies, theatre owners are adding thousands of new screens each year, and total box office is on track to surpass $10 billion annually in the next four years.

  • Q2-2015: Warner Bros revenue growth boosts Time Warner revenues by 8.2%

    Q2-2015: Warner Bros revenue growth boosts Time Warner revenues by 8.2%

    BENGALURU: A 14.9 per cent revenue growth in its Warner Bros segment at $3298 million in the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 (Q2-2015) as compared to the $2870 million in Q2-2014 helped boost Time Warner Inc by 8.2 per cent. 

     

    The other two segments – Turner and Home Box Office (HBO) also reported revenue growth to the extent of 2.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively. Time Warner’s revenue in Q2-2015 was $7348 million as compared to the $6788 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Adjusted Operating Income grew 15 per cent to $1862 million due to increases at Turner and Warner Bros., partially offset by a decline at HBO. Operating Income increased 19 per cent to $1859 million.

     

    Company speak

     

    Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, “We had a very strong second quarter, with revenues up 8 per cent and Adjusted Operating Income growing 15 per cent to a quarterly record of $1.9 billion. Our results were led by Turner and Warner Bros and were achieved at a time when we’re investing aggressively to position the company for continued growth, including the successful launch of HBO NOW, our standalone domestic streaming service. HBO and its sister service Cinemax recently received a combined 131 Primetime Emmy nominations, with a record 126 for HBO – the 15th year in a row that HBO has led in nominations. In addition to being nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, Game of Thrones‘ fifth season set a new record for viewers of an HBO series.”

     

    Bewkes continued, “At Turner, TNT and TBS ranked as the #1 and #2 ad-supported cable networks, respectively, in primetime among adults 18-49, and together with Adult Swim claimed the top 3 spots in primetime among adults 18-34. Cartoon Network was again the only top 3 kids network to grow its 6-11 audience during the quarter and claimed the #2 spot for the first time. And CNN grew primetime viewership in its key 25-54 demo 25 per cent with the help of its award-winning original programming. Warner Bros concluded a very successful upfront, with 62 programs slated for the upcoming television season, including 29 on broadcast networks. That includes a record 20 returning shows and makes Warner Bros. the top supplier of broadcast series again this year. In the quarter, Warner Bros games business also shined with releases of Batman: Arkham Knight and Mortal Kombat X helping make it the top videogame publisher for the first half of the year. Reflecting our commitment to provide direct returns to shareholders, we have returned more than $2.6 billion in dividends and share repurchases year-to-date.”

     

    Segment performance

     

    Turner

     

    Revenues increased 2.8 per cent ($77 million) to $2827 million, benefiting from growth of 48 per cent ($69 million) in Content and other revenues and two per cent ($20 million) in Subscription revenues, partially offset by a decline of one per cent ($12 million) in Advertising revenues. The increase in Content and other revenues was due to the licensing of select Turner original programming to Hulu. Subscription revenues grew due to higher domestic rates and local currency growth at Turner’s international networks, partially offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates. Advertising revenues declined due to the impact of foreign exchange rates, partially offset by growth at Turner’s domestic businesses and local currency growth at Turner’s international networks. The increase in domestic advertising was due to growth at Turner’s domestic news businesses and the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tournament, partially offset by lower delivery at certain domestic networks and the absence of NASCAR programming. Advertising revenue growth was also adversely impacted by fewer NBA playoff games in the quarter.

     

    Adjusted Operating Income increased 20 per cent ($190 million) to $1130 million, due to the increase in revenues and lower expenses, including lower programming costs. Programming costs decreased nine per cent primarily due to the absence of NASCAR programming as well as lower syndicated programming expenses as a result of the abandonment of certain programming in 2014. Operating Income increased 22 per cent ($201 million) to $1130 million.

     

    Home Box Office

     

    HBO revenue increased one per cent ($21 million) to $1438 million, due to an increase of four per cent ($40 million) in subscription revenues, partially offset by a decline of seven per cent ($19 million) in Content and other revenues. Subscription revenues grew due to higher domestic rates, partially offset by lower international revenue, which included the impact of the transfer to Turner of the operation of HBO’s basic cable network in India. The decrease in Content and other revenues reflected lower home entertainment revenues.

     

    Adjusted Operating Income decreased eight per cent ($44 million) to $508 million, as the increase in revenues was more than offset by higher marketing and technology costs, primarily related to the launch of HBO NOW, HBO’s stand-alone streaming service. Operating Income decreased seven per cent ($40 million) to $508 million.

     

    Warner Bros

     

    The revenue increase mentioned above reflects higher videogames and television licensing revenues, partially offset by lower theatrical revenues and the impact of foreign exchange rates. The increase in videogames revenues was primarily due to the releases of Batman: Arkham Knight and Mortal Kombat X. Television licensing revenues benefited from the second-cycle syndication of The Big Bang Theory and the subscription video-on-demand licensing ofSeinfeld. Theatrical revenues decreased primarily due to lower worldwide television licensing revenues of theatrical product and a decline in home entertainment revenues due to the comparison against the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in the prior year quarter.

     

    Adjusted Operating Income increased 46 per cent ($108 million) to $344 million, due to the increase in revenues, partially offset by associated film and print and advertising costs, as well as higher theatrical valuation adjustments. Operating Income increased 46 per cent ($107 million) to $341 million.

  • EU files anti-trust charges against Sky TV & major Hollywood studios

    EU files anti-trust charges against Sky TV & major Hollywood studios

    MUMBAI: The European Commission has filed anti-trust charges against Sky UK and six major US film studios namely Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros, accusing them of unfairly restricting customers’ access to content within the European Union.

     

    The Commission takes the preliminary view that each of the six studios and Sky UK have bilaterally agreed to put in place contractual restrictions that prevent Sky UK from allowing EU consumers located elsewhere to access, via satellite or online, pay-TV services available in the UK and Ireland. Without these restrictions, Sky UK would be free to decide on commercial grounds whether to sell its pay-TV services to such consumers requesting access to its services, taking into account the regulatory framework including, as regards online pay-TV services, the relevant national copyright laws.

     

    If the Commission’s preliminary position were to be confirmed, each of the companies would have breached EU competition rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements. The sending of a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.

     

    EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said, “European consumers want to watch the pay-TV channels of their choice regardless of where they live or travel in the EU. Our investigation shows that they cannot do this today, also because licensing agreements between the major film studios and Sky UK do not allow consumers in other EU countries to access Sky’s UK and Irish pay-TV services, via satellite or online. We believe that this may be in breach of EU competition rules. The studios and Sky UK now have the chance to respond to our concerns.”

     

    US film studios typically license audio-visual content, such as films, to a single pay-TV broadcaster in each Member State (or combined for a few Member States with a common language). The Commission’s investigation, which was opened in January 2014, identified clauses in licensing agreements between the six film studios and Sky UK, which require Sky UK to block access to films through its online pay-TV services (geo-blocking) or through its satellite pay-TV services to consumers outside its licensed territory (UK and Ireland).

     

    The Commission’s preliminary view as set out in the Statement of Objections is that such clauses restrict Sky UK’s ability to accept unsolicited requests for its pay-TV services from consumers located abroad, i.e. from consumers located in Member States where Sky UK is not actively promoting or advertising its services (passive sales). Some agreements also contain clauses requiring studios to ensure that, in their licensing agreements with broadcasters other than Sky UK, these broadcasters are prevented from making their pay-TV services available in the UK and Ireland.

     

    As a result, these clauses grant ‘absolute territorial exclusivity’ to Sky UK and/or other broadcasters. They eliminate cross-border competition between pay-TV broadcasters and partition the internal market along national borders. The Commission’s preliminary conclusion is that, in the absence of convincing justification, the clauses would constitute a serious violation of EU rules that prohibit anticompetitive agreements (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union).

     

    The Commission previously also set out concerns as regards licensing agreements between the film studios and other major European broadcasters (Canal Plus of France, Sky Italia of Italy, Sky Deutschland of Germany and DTS of Spain). The Commission continues to examine cross-border access to pay-TV services in these Member States.

     

    These antitrust investigations focus on contractual restrictions on passive sales outside the licensed territory in agreements between studios and broadcasters. At the same time, broadcasters also have to take account of the applicable regulatory framework beyond EU competition law when considering sales to consumers located elsewhere. This includes, for online pay-TV services, relevant national copyright laws. In this context, in parallel to its actions under EU competition law, the Commission will propose to modernise EU copyright rules and review the EU Satellite and Cable Directive as part of its Digital Single Market Strategy adopted in May 2015. The aim is to reduce the differences between national copyright regimes and allow for wider access to online content across the EU.

     

    Background

    EU antitrust rules prohibit the restriction of passive sales, i.e. the sales of products cross-border in the internal market responding to demands from customers not solicited by the seller. In its October 2011 ruling on the Premier League/Murphy cases, the EU Court of Justice specifically addressed the issue of absolute territorial restrictions in licence agreements for broadcasting services. The Court held that certain licensing provisions preventing a satellite broadcaster from providing its broadcasts to consumers outside the licensed territory enable each broadcaster to be granted absolute territorial exclusivity in the area covered by the license, thus eliminating all competition between broadcasters and partitioning the market in accordance with national borders.

     

    As part of its Digital Single Market strategy, the Commission will propose to reform EU copyright rules. It seeks to improve people’s access to cultural content online as well as to open new opportunities for creators and the content industry. More specifically, the Commission wants to ensure that users who buy online content such as films, music or articles at home can also enjoy them while travelling across Europe.

     

    Currently, service providers, in particular in the audio-visual sector, may be prevented from providing such portability features by copyright licensing arrangements. The Commission also wants to facilitate wider access to online content across borders. In this context, the Satellite and Cable Directive will be reviewed and a public consultation will be launched after the summer. The Commission will notably assess if the scope of the Directive needs to be enlarged to broadcasters’ online transmissions.

  • Warner Bros & SpringHill Entertainment ink content creation partnership

    Warner Bros & SpringHill Entertainment ink content creation partnership

    MUMBAI: Basketball star LeBron James’ company SpringHill Entertainment is partnering with Warner Bros. Entertainment in an unprecedented agreement spanning all areas of content creation.

     

    The deal will see James’ creative footprint touch all areas of the studio, with plans for projects in television, film and original digital content. 

     

    Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara said, “LeBron James has one of the most powerful, well-known brands in the world and we are excited to be in business with him and his partner, Maverick Carter, and SpringHill Entertainment. The combination of LeBron’s global media presence and Warner Bros.’ unmatched production and distribution expertise is a big win for fans everywhere. We’re excited to welcome LeBron and Maverick to the Warner Bros. family and look forward to partnering on incredible projects that will connect with consumers across a variety of platforms.”

     

    “Connecting with my fans and telling meaningful stories have always been my passion. In everything I’ve done, from Nike commercials toUninterrupted and Survivor’s Remorse, it’s always about connecting with people of all ages and providing unique content they can all enjoy. And I’ve always loved movies, which makes Warner Bros. the ultimate partner to help us continue to push the envelope. I can’t wait to see what we come up with,” added James.

     

    SpringHill Entertainment, the entertainment and content company created by James and business partner Maverick Carter, develops creative content across a wide variety of platforms including digital, documentary and feature films, and scripted and unscripted TV. SpringHill’s growing project portfolio includes Disney XD’s inspirational series Becoming, the Starz’ breakout scripted comedy Survivor’s Remorse, Uninterrupted, the multimedia platform for unfiltered athlete content hosted on Turner digital platform Bleacher Report, and an upcoming primetime game show for NBC.

     

    “In everything we do, we think long and hard about how we want to grow and partners that can help us bring our content to the next level. And we’re always looking for new, creative ways to explore ideas that haven’t been done before, and this partnership with Warner Bros. will open a lot of doors for that. We want SpringHill to be a leader in the original content-creating space, and this partnership with a major player in the entertainment industry like Warner Bros. will help us continue to grow in the right direction,” said SpringHill Entertainment CEO Maverick Carter.

  • Turner Broadcasting & Warner Bros. sign global multi-series deal for Boomerang

    Turner Broadcasting & Warner Bros. sign global multi-series deal for Boomerang

    MUMBAI: Turner Broadcasting and Warner Bros. the two Time Warner companies have decided to deepen their ongoing partnership with a global agreement that will build on the company’s two-network strategy by strengthening the pipeline of original content being developed for the recently rebranded Boomerang.

     

    The agreement, which represents the first-ever original content being developed exclusively for Boomerang, includes nearly 450 half-hours of programming from Warner Bros. Animation. The content will premiere on all Boomerang channels worldwide and on some Cartoon Network channels internationally, along with potential crossover with Turner Broadcasting’s Pogo and Toonami in Asia, and Boing and Cartoon Network in other territories.

     

    The partnership also extends Boomerang’s access to the classic animation portfolio from the Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Warner Bros. Animation collection, a total of 3,500 titles. Drawing upon the vast resources of the world’s largest animation library which includes contemporary classics from Cartoon Network Studios, Boomerang’s on-air schedule will continue to feature timeless favorites like Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo!, programming that has multi-generational appeal and great co-viewership.

     

    “Turner Broadcasting has a very strong kids and family business around the world and our exciting new partnership with Warner Bros. presents a number of new opportunities that will help strategically grow the Boomerang brand,” said Cartoon Network president and general manager, Boomerang adult swim Christina Miller. 

     

    “Through this expanded relationship with our corporate partners, we will create new content that will engage fans across a variety of screens and platforms and further grow these timeless franchises that we’ll leverage not only across Boomerang but also our global kids and family portfolio of businesses,” added Miller.

     

     Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Digital Series president Sam Register said, “With the television landscape becoming more and more crowded, we are extremely fortunate to have one of the largest animation libraries, with some of the world’s most iconic and revered characters, and to be embarking on this important new partnership with Turner and Boomerang. This deal presents an exciting creative opportunity to explore this vast collection, to develop new and compelling programming based on these beloved characters, and to introduce them to new generations of families.”

     

    Premiering this autumn will be the first of Boomerang’s new original series from Warner Bros. Animation. Bunnicula is an all-new animated comedy series based on the bestselling children’s book of the same name. The series follows the paranormal comedy adventures of Bunnicula the vampire rabbit, who – instead of drinking blood – drains the juice of carrots and other vegetables to boost his supernatural abilities. Be Cool Scooby-Doo! is an all-new 22-minute animated comedy series featuring the Scooby gang, back with a modern comedic twist on the beloved classic. This time, the gang is working as hard to solve their own personal problems as they are to solve the endless, mind-bending mysteries that await them. In Wabbit – A Looney Tunes Production, Bugs Bunny is starring in all-new shorts that find the iconic carrot-loving rabbit matching wits against – and getting the best of – classic characters like Yosemite Sam and Wile E. Coyote, along with brand new foes.

  • Big Magic’s Hindi adaptation of ‘The Middle’ titled ‘Tedi Medi Family’

    Big Magic’s Hindi adaptation of ‘The Middle’ titled ‘Tedi Medi Family’

    MUMBAI: The Hindi adaptation of Warner Bros’ The Middle, which will be aired on Big Magic has been titled Tedi Medi Family. The show is slated to go on air from 8 June in the 8.30 pm slot.

     

    Bodhi Tree Productions will produce the 24-part Hindi adaptation.

     

    As was previously reported by Indiantelevision.com, Reliance Broadcast Network had acquired the adaptation rights of U.S television comedy-series The Middle created by Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline.

     

    Tedi Medi Family will be produced as a single-camera comedy and will follows the daily commotion of raising a family, in the middle of life. Set in a typical family household in Pune, the series will star Saloni Daini, Ami Trivedi and Iqbal Azad along with Sushant Mohindra and Dharmik Joisar.

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network EVP and business head Ashwin Padmanabhan said, “The consistently amusing and relatable scripts for The Middle are a perfect fit with our channel’s vision. The characters of a mother, father and three children and their universal journey to just succeed with everyday life means that The Middle has fantastic potential to be recreated for an Indian audience.”

     

    Warner Bros. International Television Production senior vice president creative format development and sales Andrew Zein said, “The Middle is an extraordinary comedy. This hugely funny and beautifully captured world of every day family life is a concept relatable to family audiences across the globe. Tedi Medi Family has found the perfect home in Big Magic with its commitment to high quality family comedy.”

     

    The launch of the show is supported by a multimedia marketing campaign, which includes television, digital and social media marketing, outdoor, radio promotions as well as extensive promotion through activation and branding.

     

    Padmanabhan added, “In line with our positioning of being a comedy destination, we hope to expand our channel reach and preference. With original content targeted metros and non metros, both long and short formats yet retaining the quality of being episodic, we shall strive to offer nothing but comedy in various ways to our viewers. We try to bring in assortment of shows that shall be attractive to our core target audience, kids for earlier time bands and young males for late nights. Apart from new content, we have refurbished existing content, made changes in production, look, story, scripting and even producers behind shows.”

  • Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Shazam’ set to release before 2019

    Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Shazam’ set to release before 2019

    MUMBAI: The DC Comics adaptation Shazam will see the light of the day earlier than expected. Dwayne Johnson will be seen essaying the role of Black Adam, one of the villains in the movie.

     

    Back in October 2014, Warner Bros set the movie’s release date as 5 April, 2019. However, it’s not really surprising if the release date will be changed because Johnson had already teased about it in an interview at the 87th Academy Awards in February this year.

     

    Produced by Johnson, Hiram Garcia, Michael Uslan, Peter Segal and Michael Ewing, the movie centers on young Billy Batson, who finds himself gifted with the power of the wizard Shazam to fight against the forces of evil. No director has been tapped for the movie yet. 

  • Big Magic acquires adaptation rights of ‘The Middle’ from Warner Bros

    Big Magic acquires adaptation rights of ‘The Middle’ from Warner Bros

    MUMBAI: Reliance Broadcast Network’s Hindi comedy channel Big Magic has acquired the adaptation rights to Warner Bros’ popular American sitcom The Middle.

    Reliance Broadcast Network’s creative head Paritosh Painter and his production team will work closely with Warner Bros. to rewrite the script in Hindi for Indian audiences.

    What’s more, given the potential for the show, the channel is betting big on it. Plans are to market it via campaigns across TV, radio and digital mediums. The channel has earmarked marketing spends of Rs 3 – 5 crore for the same. 

     

    “Apart from our own radio and television platforms, we are looking forward to engage other media in promoting the launch of the show. Digitally, our in-house marketing team is engaging viewers with the campaigns. Excluding our own media holdings, we are looking at a figure of around Rs 3-4 crore in media spends, which can easily cross the Rs 5 crore mark if we take our media platforms into consideration,” said Reliance Broadcast Network EVP and business head Ashwin Padmanabhan, adding that there will be limited OOH campaign done for this show.

     

     

    This six-season-long show The Middle, which ran on the ABC network, draws its comic inspiration from the day to day lives of a highly dysfunctional middle class family. Big Magic believes that the theme will strike a chord with Indian viewers as well. 

     

    “The main characters of The Middle, the parents and their three kids are unique and very different from one another, which gives The Middle a huge potential to be recreated in an Indian setting. Moreover it fits well with the kids and family time slot we are aiming at for our evening band,” said Padmanabhan.

     

    Big Magic was in talks with Warner Bros, the television distributors of the original show, for some time and the deal was signed 45 days ago.

     

    With an aim to air the pilot episode by 1 June, the shooting for the show, which will have an Indian twist to the tale, started a week back with the new Indian star cast. 

     

    Actress Ami Trivedi has been cast as the mother while Iqbal Azad plays the father. Sushant Mohindra, Saloni Daini, and Dharmik Joisar have taken up the characters of the eldest son, middle daughter and the youngest boy respectively.

     

    Apart from the fact that the show will have a Hindi name, Padmanabhan refused to reveal further details about its title.

     

    While the crux of the sitcom’s story makes for engaging television content for Indian viewers, the social setting of the characters are vastly different. Keeping that in mind, when queried as to how much of the content Big Magic was looking to Indianise, Padmanabhan said, “We are keeping the main storyboard of all the seasons intact structurally, and the character personalities and their internal conflicts will also be true to the originals. But we are rewriting the parts where the story influenced by the character’s social and cultural surroundings.” 

     

    The channel is currently looking at two majorly distinctive time slots in terms of its target comedy consumers — the 7 – 9 pm slot where the viewers are mostly kids and teens, which gradually shifts to family audience by 11 pm. “Post 11 pm, our target viewers are mostly the male members in the family. Shows that will be scheduled post 11 pm will be more edgy,” Padmanabham said. 

    The campaign for the launch of this show will be closely followed by a bigger campaign for the entire channel where Big Magic is looking to engage in more OOH services. These campaigns are closely related to the new content strategy that the channel has adopted.

     

    Padmanabhan also hinted at two new show launches in a couple of weeks that will be aimed at the male audience, apart from another short form comedy show like Googly, which will have a topical and more dynamic format.

  • Q1-2015: Turner record results overcome Warner Bros, HBO downturn for Time Warner

    Q1-2015: Turner record results overcome Warner Bros, HBO downturn for Time Warner

    BENGALURU: Turner’s record adjusted operating income growth of 26 per cent to $1128 million for Q1-2015 as compared to the $895 million in Q1-2014 was offset in part by declines at Warner Bros. and Home Box Office (HBO) says Time Warner Inc.

     

    Time Warner’s adjusted operating income grew 11.6 per cent to a record $1814 million during the quarter ended 31 March, 2015 (Q1-2015, current quarter) as compared to the $1626 million in Q1-2014. Time Warner revenue was up 4.8 per cent to $7127 million in Q1-2015 as compared to the $6803 million during the corresponding quarter of last year. The revenue increase was due to growth in all divisions says the company.

     

    Time Warner chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said, “We got off to a very strong start in 2015, with revenues up five per cent, and adjusted operating income growing 12 per cent to a quarterly record of $1.8 billion. This led to a 23 per cent increase in adjusted EPS and puts us on track to achieve our goals for the year. We accomplished a lot in the quarter, led by Turner, which had its best quarter ever, with audience growth across a number of its networks. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was a huge multiplatform success, with its highest average television viewership in over two decades helping make TBS the #1 ad-supported cable network in primetime among adults 18-49 in the quarter. And March Madness Live served more than 80 million live video streams and grew its usage by almost 20 per cent over last year’s tournament. Warner Bros. led the domestic box office for the quarter on the strength of American Sniper, which brought in well over $500 million globally. Warner Bros. also continued to lead the industry in television production, including the #1 comedy and unscripted series among adults 18-49 on television this season. HBO once again grew domestic subscribers in the quarter while continuing to gain acclaim for groundbreaking programming such as the recent documentaries Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief and The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. The return of Game of Thrones reached a new premiere high, while also providing the backdrop for the highly-anticipated launch of HBO Now, our standalone streaming version of HBO – which is off to a great start. Reflecting our strong commitment to provide direct returns to shareholders, we returned more than $1.4 billion in dividends and share repurchases year-to-date.”

     

    Segment Results

     

    Turner

    Turner reported 4.5 per cent growth in revenue to $2710 million in Q1-2015 from $2593 million in Q1-2014. Turner’s adjusted operating income has been mentioned above.

     

    The company says that Turner benefited from growth of four per cent ($42 million) in advertising revenues, three per cent ($38 million) in subscription revenues and 25 per cent ($37 million) in content and other revenues.

     

    Turner advertising revenues benefited from growth at Turner’s domestic businesses mainly due to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship tournament (NCAA Tournament) and growth at Turner’s news businesses. Subscription revenues grew due to higher domestic rates partially offset by lower domestic subscribers. Both international advertising and international subscription revenue growth were more than offset by the impact of foreign exchange rates. The increase in content and other revenues was due to higher subscription video-on-demand revenues.

     

    Turner’s adjusted operating income increased 26 per cent primarily due to higher revenues and lower expenses, including lower marketing, programming and general and administrative costs, largely as a result of operational efficiency initiatives and timing. Programming costs declined three per cent due primarily to timing and lower syndicated programming expenses as a result of the abandonment of certain programming in 2014.

     

    HBO

     

    Home Box Office revenue in Q1-2015 was up 4.4 per cent to $1398 million as compared to the $1339 million in Q1-2014. Adjusted operating income fell 1.3 per cent to $458 million in Q1-2015 from $468 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    According to the company, HBO revenues grew four per cent and reflect increases of four per cent ($49 million) in subscription revenues and five per cent ($10 million) in content and other revenues. Subscription revenues increased primarily due to higher domestic rates, partially offset by the transfer to Turner of the operation of HBO’s basic cable network in India. The increase in content and other revenues reflected higher home entertainment revenues and higher international licensing revenues.

     

    HBO adjusted operating income declined one per cent ($6 million) to $458 million, as higher revenues were more than offset by higher programming, distribution and marketing costs. Programming costs grew nine per cent, primarily due to increased expenses for original programming. Distribution costs increased primarily due to higher participation expenses. The increase in marketing costs was primarily related to the launch of HBO Now.

     

    Time Warner informs that through the first two weeks, the fifth season premiere of Game of Thrones totalled 18.1 million gross viewers, over one million more viewers than the prior season’s first episode after the same period of time. In April 2015, Home Box Office launched HBO Now, its stand-alone streaming service, in the US.

     

    Warner Bros

     

    Warner Bros revenue grew 4.3 per cent to $3199 million in the current year from $3066 million in Q1-2014. Adjusted operating income declined 13.2 per cent to $330 million in Q1-2015 from $380 million reported in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Warner Bros revenue increase, reflects higher television licensing revenues primarily due to the subscription video-on-demand sale of Friends and higher revenues from videogames. Revenues also benefited from growth in theatrical revenues led by the strong performance of American Sniper. The increase was partially offset by the effect of foreign currency exchange rates.

     

    Adjusted Operating Income declined 13.2 per cent, as higher revenues were more than offset by higher film and advertising costs due to the mix of theatrical releases and videogame product.

     

    Through 27 April, American Sniper grossed over $540 million at the worldwide box office. On 9 April, Warner Bros., its TT Games business and The Lego Group announced Lego Dimensions, a videogame experience that combines physical Lego brick building toys based on multiple franchises, including Warner Bros.’ DC Comics, The Lord of the Rings and The Lego Movie, with interactive console gameplay.