ITV

Tag: Zee Bangla

  • Zee Bangla brings Tagore’s passion play ‘Chokher Bali’ on screen

    Zee Bangla brings Tagore’s passion play ‘Chokher Bali’ on screen

    MUMBAI: Zee Bangla’s latest fiction Chokher Bali will bring to life Rabindranath Tagore’s masterpiece on the silver screen for the very first time. Inspired by Tagore’s famous novel, Zee Bangla’s Chokher Bali delves into the intricacies of human emotions like love, passion and desire.

     

    Set in the early twentieth century, the story revolves around the lives of Mahendra, Ashalata, Binodini and Behari. Binodini, a beautiful young widow happened to stay with a newlywed couple, Mahendra and Ashalata. The beauty and charm of Binodini soon enchants Mahendra towards her. But as time progresses, Binodini gets drawn towards Mahendra’s friend, the idealist Behari. How Binodini becomes the ‘Chokher Bali’ for Ashalata forms the trajectory of the story. The story, carved beautifully by Tagore, is a reflection of man-woman relationship and much more.

     

    Earlier, Zee Bangla has adapted novels like Subarnalata and Keya Patar Nouko, into shows.

     

    Chokher Bali, which launches on 30 March, will air from Monday to Saturday at 9:30 pm on Zee Bangla.

  • Greymind Communication looks at launching Sourav Ganguly as quiz master on TV

    Greymind Communication looks at launching Sourav Ganguly as quiz master on TV

    KOLKATA: City-based Greymind Communication is looking to launch Sourav Ganguly on a suitable national channel as a quiz master, after its Zee Bangla venture in Kolkata.

     

    Greymind Communication is an entertainment and sports production company skilled in programming, making documentaries and telecasting live sports.

     

    Additionally, the company which has come up with original formats for the television sports and entertainment channels, is planning to launch food shows in the near future.

     

    “In the entertainment field, we are now planning to launch Sourav Ganguly on a national channel as quiz master, as we did it before for Zee Bangla,” informs Greymind Communication director Anilava Chatterjee. 

     

    Greymind Communication was the creator and producer for Zee Bangla’s Dadagiri Unlimited in the first year of its journey. “We have conceived and produced the show in the first year,” said Chatterjee. 

     

    The company is already in talks with a few channels. However Chatterjee refused to divulge details, saying things are not yet finalised, and it is difficult to mention the details of the format and name of the channel at the present moment.

     

    The flamboyant former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was back to his charming best in the year 2010 as a quiz master on the popular Bengali TV show Dadagiri Unlimited and enthralled West Bengal. 

     

    Ganguly’s witty questions and sharp repartee were on display on Zee Bangla and won accolades all over. “Now if he works for a national TV channel, it would be a proud moment for the people of Bengal,” said Pranab Gangauly, an independent corporate film director and editor.

     

    Ganguly as an anchor has been accepted wholeheartedly. Dada’s witty posers, along with his intelligent humour and pranks, will no doubt charm national audience as well, experts said.

     

    On the other hand Abhishek Sengupta, editor-in-chief-Demagogue Unzip Your Mind, a media and publishing company, said that Sourav’s pan India popularity is unchallenged. “But one thing we must not forget is that Sourav’s success as an anchor in regional television is more because of his iconic status here. To recreate the same for a national audience, the programme producers will need to take some serious efforts,” he said.

     

    Talking about other production work, Chatterjee added, “Previously we produced Ke Hobe Biggest Fan for Zee Bangla, which was anchored by noted film director Anurag Basu. We have also got some food show in the pipeline as we are very much into food sector as a group.”

     

    “Our publication wing Greymind Publication is now publishing one of the most successful Bengali magazine of recent times Hangla Hneshel for Bengali readers. We are also arranging lots of on ground events on sports and food as well, Our monthly Bengali food magazine Hangla Hneshel is the one of the highest selling Bengali magazines now.” he said.

  • Zee Bangla launches new fiction show – ‘Kojagori’

    Zee Bangla launches new fiction show – ‘Kojagori’

    MUMBAI: Zee Bangla has launched a new fiction show titled Kojagori. The show revolves around the love story of Saheb and Mohul, who are diametrically different from each other.

     

    Flamboyant Mohul’s character has been played by Aparajita Ghosh Das, whereas ideal guy Saheb’s character is played by Raja.

     

    Kojagori is produced by Magic Moments, which has produced shows like Keya Patar Nouko, Ishti Kutum and Jal Nupur to name a few. Written by Leena Gangopadhyay, the show will be telecast from Monday to Saturday at 8 pm.

     

    Mohul is a city-bred, pampered young girl who lives life on her own terms. Saheb is a well-read, upright yet grounded youth who believes in simple living with high ideals. Life takes a turn when the two end up getting married. How Mohul and Saheb get married and get along with each other becomes the trajectory of the show.

  • Godrej moves beyond TVC with soaps integration

    Godrej moves beyond TVC with soaps integration

    MUMBAI: The 30-sec ad has served all of us well and still continues to do so. Today, content is king, and broadcasters are trying newer ways of communication to reach consumers.

     

    One such means is brands’ integration with broadcasters on TV shows. A case in point is the Tata Safari tie up with Colors’ for 24. With the fast changing consumer behaviors, attitudes, lifestyles and beliefs, brands along with broadcasters have realised that integration with the popular shows will help build recall value.

     

    Recently Madison Media Ultra team partnered with national and regional broadcasters on their prime time serials and scripted Godrej product story with ongoing story line of episode. It executed this ‘epistory’ concept where they got lead characters of the show advocating the simplicity and joy of owning and using Godrej products in their day to day life.

     

    Prime time serials, which represent the metro forward audiences, were chosen (like Mere Rang Mein Rangne Wali on Life OK, Uyirmei on Zee Tamil, Parvati Parameshwara on Zee Kannada and Raage Anuraage on Zee Bangla) for the eight brand integrations in a single episode.

     

    The eight products were – U-sonic Washing Machine, Godrej Interio Video-door phone, Godrej Interio Kreation Wardrobe, Electronic hydraulic Karbon Bed, Good Knight Fast Card, Yummiez – Mumbai Vada, Godrej Expert rich cr?me hair colour and Godrej Properties.

     

    Godrej Group head – strategic marketing Shireesh Joshi said, “There are two core objectives behind the brand integration. One, it wants people to recognise that Godrej has the most comprehensive range of modern products that takes into account their lifestyle needs. For that we need to ensure that multiple Godrej examples get shown on television.”

     

    Secondly, it wants to drive the revenue traffic to the individual products themselves. “Having an opportunity to tell what the product is about and what it does, it helps both the attraction and the revenue for the individual products,” asserts Joshi.

     

    The campaign revolves around a young modern couple who discover a new idea from Godrej. In this eight series film campaign, Godrej products were interwoven in an episodic way showcasing a slew of innovative products, through the continued story of Sam and Meera, who made their debut in Godrej Masterbrand campaign last year.

     

    Joshi feels that there is an advantage in integrating with TV shows, as it allows them to showcase unlimited products, where a quick 30 sec TVC demands only one or two. Further it also helps the brand to explain the products in a far more detailed manner and also helps them to move beyond a 30 sec TVC. “Because it is embedded in the story and coming from characters that audiences are watching, it also acts as an endorsement.”

     

    So how does it work? Firstly, the brand identifies the channel. Looking at that as a starting point, it tries to identify which program makes sense based on the kind of communication that the brand wants to convey to the audiences. It took between 8-12 weeks right from ideation to scripting and lastly shooting.

     

    On the marketing front, customized promos from the integration episode were created and promoted separately on-air on the respective channels to drive maximum tune-ins for the integration episode. An additional watch and win promo was also created for brand contest to drive maximum call on Godrej Free G number where viewers could participate and answer questions and win prizes.

     

  • ETV Bangla set for revamp; launches new shows

    ETV Bangla set for revamp; launches new shows

    KOLKATA: ETV Bangla, a Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC), under the belt of Network18, is up for a revamp. The channel is working towards changing its existing look in order to cater to its target group.

     

    “In keeping with the plans we have launched Byomkesh Bakshi as well as a programme which has a mass connect like Rannagharer Roskstar with Mithun Chakraborty,” said ETV Bangla business head Sujay Kutty.

     

    ETV Bangla, in order to garner huge viewership, had a few months ago launched a dedicated afternoon time band called Duronto Dupur. The channel as part of this created original content. “There has definitely been an amazing response for the different kinds of programme as it spreads across viewers of all age groups,” Kutty added.

     

    The channel had recently premiered Byomkesh Bakshi for its viewers. “Premiere is usually for movies and not TV programmes, especially on ground. However, we had a grand premiere like a movie,” he said.

     

    ETV Bangla plans to compete with market leaders by producing original content in Bengal to increase its viewership.

     

    The Bengal GEC market is mainly dominated by Star Jhalsa and Zee Bangla. While earlier the noon slot had reruns of the evening programmes, ETV Bangla has differentiated itself by airing original content. The channel that first launched an afternoon time band has now also launched cookery and detective shows. With this, the GEC is also looking at some share in this monopoly market.

     

    Being a GEC, ETV Bangla provides a variety of programmes- including cultural events, family dramas, movies, debates, children’s programmes and tourism, among other shows. Some of the original programmes on the channel are Prathamar Rannaghar,  Jhalak Dikhlaja Bangla, Ranga Mathaye Chiruni, Bigg Boss Bangla and Sadhok Bamakhyapa among others.

  • ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    ETV Bangla inducts Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team

    KOLKATA: ETV Bangla, a regional general entertainment channel (GEC) under the belt of Network18 has appointed Hitesh Anil Unadkat in its sales team. Unadkat who has earlier worked as deputy vice president –advertising sales at Zee Entertainment Enterprise, has already taken up the new role at ETV Bangla from 15 May.

     

    While the Bengal GEC market is mainly dominated by Star Jalsha and Zee Bangla, ETV Bangla is now aiming to penetrate more households.  The channel is not only producing original content to increase viewership, but is also making managerial changes to ensure better output.

     

    Unadkat is not the first one to join ETV Bangla from Zee Bangla. It can be recalled that around three weeks ago, the channel had appointed Sujay Kutty as its business head, who had also worked with Zee Bangla as its executive – vice president, business head.

     

    When ETV Bangla officials were contacted, they confirmed the appointment of Unadkat but could not mention his exact designation.

     

    So is ETV Bangla becoming a threat to the GEC leaders in the state? Answers a city based media expert, “ETV Bangla is trying all the means to capture the market in Bengal. It has earmarked crore of rupees for creating original content under the band ‘Duranto Dupur’. Money brings more money. The investment by TV18 is big and it expects a bigger return too.”

     

    ETV Bangla’s programming roster comprises ‘Prathamar Rannaghar’, ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja Bangla’, ‘Ranga Mathaye Chiruni’, ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ and Sadhok Bamakhyapa among others.

     

    “The channel is spending a lot on original content. Looking at huge revenues, new appointments are likely to play a crucial role,” concludes the ETV Bangla official.

  • Soon: Season 8 of ‘Mirakkel’ on Zee Bangla

    Soon: Season 8 of ‘Mirakkel’ on Zee Bangla

    KOLKATA: Riding on the success of the earlier seven seasons, Zee Bangla is ready to soon roll out season eight of its popular reality show, Mirakkel Akkel Challenger. The upcoming season will once again see host Mir Afsar Ali aka Mir in top form, and will be directed by Subhankar Chattopadhyay.

     

    While the previous season ran for 72 episodes, the eighth season is likely to have around 56 episodes initially. This season too, there will be participation from Bangladeshi stand-up comedians – a norm established since season six of the show. To encourage promising talent from the neighbouring country, Zee Bangla has even held auditions at four locations there including Chittagong.

     

    Asked about the focus on comics from Bangladesh, Chattopadhyay said they could speak well and had a unique style of entertaining the audience. About the auditions, he informed, “In the first week of this month, auditions in north Bengal including Cooch Behar were completed. Auditions in Kolkata will be decided only after the polls.”

     

    The channel is upbeat about promoting season eight of Mirakkel. Plans are afoot to launch a marketing campaign around the show theme, i.e. fatafati 8. The show’s official facebook page has already garnered over 964 likes, what with the ever popular Mir posting “Khub taratari asche Mirakkel akkel challenger 8” on it.

     

    A one-of-its-kind reality show, Mirakkel premiered on Zee Bangla in 2006 and has been a hit with the people of Bengal ever since. “It is also very popular among the youth and many puns and wit from the show are common amongst all sections of people,” said a media expert. He attributed the show’s success to Mir’s larger -than-life presence and the satirical and political songs in the show among others.  

     

    For Chattopadhyay, the format of the show is the winner. “On an average the GVT (gross viewers in thousands) last year was around 1400,” he said.

  • ETV Bangla inducts Zee Bangla’s Sujay Kutty as business head

    ETV Bangla inducts Zee Bangla’s Sujay Kutty as business head

    KOLKATA: ETV Bangla, a regional general entertainment channels (GEC), under the belt of Network18 has appointed Sujay Kutty as its business head.

     

    Kutty who was earlier with Zee Bangla as the executive vice president, business head, is likely to take up the new role with ETV Bangla from 22 April.

     

    Also, the GEC came up with a dedicated afternoon time band called ‘Duronto Dupur’last week with an aim to target huge viewership by creating original content.

     

    When ETV Bangla programming head Ritika Roy was contacted she confirmed the appointment of Kutty.

     

    “With the channel spending a lot on the original content and looking at huge revenues, Kutty is likely to play a crucial role,” ETV Bangla official added.

     

    “Money brings more money. The investment by TV18 is big and it expects a bigger return too. Sujay is joining ETV that is certain. Business revenue will be one of his KRAs. I hope ETV can bring in a dose of fresh entertainment programs in the already saturated market,” feels a city-based media expert Swaraj Mukherjee.

     

    Being a GEC , ETV Bangla provides a variety of programs- including cultural events, family dramas, movies, debates, children’s programs and tourism, among other shows.

     

    Some of the original programmes telecasted are ‘Prathamar Rannaghar’, ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja Bangla’, ‘Ranga Mathaye Chiruni’, ‘Bigg Boss Bangla’ and ‘Sadhok Bamakhyapa’.

     

    ETV Bangla, which aired three news bulletins till March, has stopped telecasting news after floating the news channel, ETV News Bangla, last month.

  • ETV Bangla’s new game reaches every ‘para’ and ‘bouthan’

    ETV Bangla’s new game reaches every ‘para’ and ‘bouthan’

    KOLKATA: Regional general entertainment channel (GEC) ETV Bangla has just launched a unique game show called Parar Shera Bouthan which claims to reach every para (locality) and give every bouthan (sister-in-law) an opportunity to participate in it.

     

    FishEye Productions principle owner Nilanjan Banerjee who is also the producer of the game show said, “We have shot more than 12-13 episodes, which will be on air for two weeks. After the telecast of the first episode itself, we have officially registered 150 calls from viewers.”

     

    FishEye Productions plans to produce the game show for a year initially, after which, the contract will be renewed depending on the viewers’ response.

     

    Parar Shera Bouthan unfolds over five rounds with an elimination in each of the first three rounds and attractive prizes to be won at the end. Every round is unique and involves games testing mental and physical abilities of the women as also the chemistry they share with their better halves.

     

    ETV Bangla has even created an afternoon slot called Duronto Dupur and is looking at airing Parar Shera Bouthan to keep viewers hooked onto the channel as well as carve a niche for itself in the regional entertainment space.

     

    “The programme Parar Shera Bouthan aims at creating a niche for itself in the Bengali market, which has had several progressive shows,” said Banerjee.

     

    “We go with the set to different localities in Kolkata and that is the USP of it. In the next two to three months, we plan to cover suburbs like Barasat and Sonarpur among others. We will also visit the different districts of West Bengal in the long run,” he added.  

     

    Banerjee informed that they have a research team of four to five people who continually visit different localities. 

     

    While Zee Bangla already airs a similar game show called Didi No 1, Parar Sherar Bouthan, according to experts, is very different from other shows. They further said that to shoot such a game show, the channel would easily spend between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 2.25 lakh, including the fees of anchor, Aneek Dhar.

     

    FishEye Productions has previously produced content for broadcasters the likes of Star Jhalsa, ETV Bangla, Zee Bangla, ABP TV, BBC and Miditech among others.

     

  • Zee Entertainment notches up stellar results in FY 2013

    MUMBAI: The folks at Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (Zeel) have been working with a lot of zeal, it would seem. Especially if one looks at its latest Q4-2013 financials and also its results for the financial year ended 31 March 2013. A big upward tick of 21.6 per cent in its net profit to Rs 718.2 crore on 31 March 2013 over the previous year‘s Rs 591 crore is a hallmark of the Zeel performance.

    As far as its Q4-FY-2013 results were concerned they were in line with various analysts’ bullish expectations. Commanding an astounding 670 million plus viewers worldwide, a scale of operations across 169 countries with 32 channels and over 100,000 hours of programming to its credit, it has maintained its leading position in most of its major business operations including television broadcasting, cable distribution, DTH services etc.

    Says Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra: “FY 2013 was a defining year for the media sector in many ways. The biggest transformation was the implementation of DAS in 42 cities nationally. There were 33 million DTH subscribers and 16 digital cable TV homes as fiscal 2013 ended as against 29 million DTH and 4 million DAS homes in the previous year. We believe we can continue to return meaningful amount of capital even as we strengthen our business and invest in the growth of our businesses. We will continue to pursue growth opportunities which would enhance long term shareholder value.‘

    “DAS phase 2 has been implemented across the country. Industry ARPUs on DTH seem to be growing with exciting consumer offers being provided by operators on premium channel subscriptions,” adds Zeel managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka. “We believe similar effort by digital cable operators will ensure a robust growth of the industry for all stakeholders. The improving economic outlook augurs well for the media and entertainment sector. We are hopeful that a steady growth in ratings will help Zee deliver better performance in the coming quarters. Our content focus approach combined with better monetisation of subscription revenues, especailly from digital markets, will contribute to the company delivering steady and sustainable returns in the year ahead.”

    Let us look at the consolidated Q4-2013 financials as against the corresponding Q4-2012

    The Q4-2013 financials report a fair positive trend with the operating revenues for the quarter standing at Rs 964.3 crore, an increase of 11 per cent from the previous year‘s corresponding quarter’s (Q4-2012) which stood at Rs 869 crore. Q4-2013 ad revenues at 479.2 crore are up 15.5 per cent over Q4-2012‘s Rs 415 crore. Subscription revenues have surged to Rs 454.5 crore as against Q4-2012’s Rs 402.1 crore, a 13 per cent increase, courtesy the spread of digitisation and the fact that it was able to draw further benefits of its distribution joint venture with Star India – MediaPro. Of this, domestic subscription revenues rose to Rs 337.4 crore in Q4 2013 (its accounting treatment for MediaPro changed in Q4 2012 hence it says the figures can‘t be compared with Q4 2012). International subscription revenues climbed 11.7 per cent to Rs 117.2 crore in Q4 2013.

    Zeel has managed to tighten the screws on its total expenses, allowing these to rise by only 2.2 per cent over the previous corresponding quarter. As a result, its EBITDA skyrocketed 51 per cent to Rs 242.3 crore as against Rs 160 crore in the last corresponding fiscal quarter. At those numbers, its EBITDA margin is a fat 25.1 per cent. Even its PAT numbers are looking good. They are up 10.7 per cent in Q4-2013to Rs 180.35 crore as against the corresponding last Q4-2012’s Rs 163 crore.

    On the business front, Zeel‘s flagship Zee TV, the flagship Zeel channel had an average of 220 GRPs in Q4 and a 19 per cent market share, and was placed among the top six Hindi GECs.

    As far as its regional language offerings are concerned, all its channels including Zee Marathi, Zee Bangla, Zee Telegu and Zee Kannada have reported good growths in average GRPs.

    While the sports business has yet to breakeven, an improving and promising trend is anticipated with various events and leagues lined up for telecast. The sports business revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 107.2 crore. Dish TV, the largest DTH service provider reported an ARPU of over Rs 159, significantly higher than its peers in the segment.

    Let us look at the consolidated results for FY-2013

    Thanks to the sharp rise in net profit in the full fiscal year and its net margin of 19.4 per cent, its earnings per share (EPS) too climbed up to a handsome Rs 7.51 as against last fiscal’s Rs 6.08.

    Zeel‘s total income for the year to 31 March 2013 (advertising sales and subscription revenues) registered healthy growth with FY-2013’s total revenues standing at Rs 3669.57 crore, up by 19.7 per cent from last year’s Rs 3040.56 crore.

    Its full year domestic subscription revenues were up to Rs 116.48 crore, and international subscription revenues were Rs 458.6 crore, a growth of 26.3 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, over the previous fiscal year‘s revenues. Overall ad revenues for the full year have shown a double digit growth of 24 per cent to Rs 1963.9 crore from the last fiscal’s Rs 1584 crore.

    The YOY expenses have sharply risen 19.4 per cent, with FY-2013’s expenses standing at Rs 2785.18 crore. This increase is majorly contributed by a 21.5 per cent increase in its operating cost and its employee benefit expenses rising over 19 per cent. The latter cost is justified for a conglomerate commanding an employee base of over 2050 employees.

    Zeel‘s EBITDA (operating profit) for the full year FY-2013 stands at Rs 954.3 crore, growing 29 per cent YoY as against Rs 739.6 crore in FY 2012.

    With this fiscal year marking the 20 years of Brand Zee in the industry, the Board has recommended a cash dividend of Rs 2 on a face value of Re 1 per share. In addition to this the board has also announced a distribution Rs 2,000 crore through a bonus issue of redeemable preference shares.

    The company’s share is currently being traded at Rs 241. Many analysts have predicted that the stock will cross Rs 270, as it starts deriving more and more subscription revenues courtesy cable TV digitisation.

    The outlook for the media conglomerate is extremely bright. It has a loyal viewer base for its GEC channels, it has a presence in cable TV through Siticable, then its DTH operation DishTV has a huge subscriber base of 13-14 million. It recently announced it would take a stab at the movies through its subsidiary Zee Motion Pictures which plans a couple of film launches in the near future. In the television space, Zee reported a decent market-share for the full year FY-2013, while revenues significantly poured in from its international operations, especially with the launch of Zee TV across several networks in Canada. Zee TV and Zee Cinema did well in the UAE and were the No 1 TV channel among south Asians for the March 2013 quarter.

    Meanwhile, Zeel’s board has said it would be approaching shareholders to approve its plan to increase the FII investment limit in the company to beyond the existing 49 per cent and to the maximum allowed under the government’s FDI norms for the media sector.