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Tag: ZEE Network

  • Tam’s Elite Panel data goes live

    Tam’s Elite Panel data goes live

    MUMBAI: It has taken quite a while but media research agency Tam has finally got its Elite Panel up and running.

    This latest value addition for the Indian TV industry will measure the TV viewership behaviour of the crème de la crème of the Mumbai and Delhi population.

    An Elite Household in the panel is defined as one which is SEC A1 owning AC & PC & Car.

    Tam’s Elite Panel is a mix of cable, DTH and Cas homes. The Indian Elite Panel captures the nuances of TV Viewing among the top three per cent of the Socio-Economic strata in Mumbai and Delhi. Tam Media Research CEO LV Krishnan says, “Across the globe, all Elite consumer media studies are recall based survey measurements. Very few attempts have been made to measure this exclusive set of consumers through a continuous panel based method. Tam’s Elite Panel is the world’s first such study to understand Elite consumers’ TV viewing habits.”

    “At this moment of time, I would like to thank every senior member of our industry who gave us a patient hearing, offered us valuable suggestions and stood the test of time to finally see the industry project through. What I am even more pleased about is that, throughout the two years it took us to implement the industry proposal, Tam received support from all constituents of the industry.

    The key question is how is this development viewed by the industry. Star India president, ad sales and distribution, Paritosh Joshi says that while he has not yet seen the numbers, in principle the Elite Panel together with Cas represents a strong plus for channels like Star Movies and Star World that target the affluent segment. “They will be able to offer more demonstrable numbers to clients. More and more brands that target the upmarket audience from sectors like hospitality, finance, automobiles, apparel and lifestyle are looking for the right media vehicles. This development will allow them to do that.”

    Zee Network’s ad sales head Joy Chakraborthy feels that the introduction of the Elite Panel is better late than never. “It is not fair that unique channels are measured in the same way as the general entertainment channels. That situation will change. So far unique channels have been bought on the basis of perception rather than on reality. It was a case of ‘if I am watching it then others must also be watching it’ scenario. This issue will now get addressed. We are still examining the data though, as we only just got it.”

    On the media side Starcom’s Manish Porwal was happy that the long awaited development had finally happened. “While we will wait and see how it fares in terms of consistency, the fact that it has happened is good news for the niche channels who will now get better exposure. Their representation earlier was small. It certainly allows us to look at the niche English genre with finer lenses and also allows us to better qualify the upmarket audience segment.”

    Spatial Access’ Meenakshi Madhvani says that so far the television ratings system has basically catered to the lowest common denominator i.e. the masses. Now though, one will hopefully get a better idea of what the small in number but important affluent consumers are watching. “It will allow us to get a better fix on the affluent viewers. Also the disadvantage that the niche channels had in terms of not having the numbers to show will not be there.”

    One of the additional USPs of the panel is that it has deployed the state-of-the-art Digital TVM5 peoplemeters. Commenting on this, Tam Media Research VP Pradeep Hejmadi says, “The Elite Panel comprises of homes receiving channels through a mix of Analogue cable, Digital set top box (Cas) and Direct –to-Home (DTH) platforms, making this the first technology-hybrid, platform neutral TV study.”

    Tam adds that across the globe, all Elite consumer media studies are recall based survey measurements. Very few attempts have been made to measure this exclusive set of consumers through a continuous panel based method. Tam says that its Elite Panel is world’s first such study to understand Elite consumers’ TV viewing habits.

  • ‘Rolling out of Cas has been the most significant development’

    ‘Rolling out of Cas has been the most significant development’

    One of the most significant developments of the year has been the re-emergence of Zee Network and especially Zee TV as a clear market leader in the entertainment segment when it surpassed its closest rival Star. Its ‘reality show’ Sa Re Ga Ma Pa registered an all time high TRP/viewership amongst different age groups.

    Zee Network has also launched a new youth centric family entertainment channel ‘Zee Next’ in December 2007. With BAG Films, NDTV, UTV and TV-18 also planning to bring channels of different genres, the viewers can expect a wide variety of content in 2008.

    However, the year has not been so good for sports channels having cricket/BCCI rights as after losing legal battle they had to compulsorily share their feed with Doordarshan in respect of One Day and Test matches under the downlinking guidelines.

    The attempt on the part of government to create consensus on the Broadcast Bill received a setback when certain entertainment channels and news channels opposed to the introduction of the Bill, forcing the government to defer its introduction. Most of the media houses have expressed the view that rather than the government stipulating content code by way of legislation, they would like to have a self-regulatory content code.

    With BAG Films, NDTV, UTV and TV-18 also planning to bring channels of different genres, the viewers can expect a wide variety of content in 2008
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    They apprehend that proposed bill and content code is an attempt on the part of the government to curb the freedom of press through the back door. However, at the same time there has been a vociferous demand from various section of society to impose some kind of control on the ‘unregulated content’ being currently beamed.

    I am of the view that there is an imperative need to have a regulatory regime in the broadcasting sector and the Broadcast Bill is a step in the right direction. The proposed legislation contains various provisions which are not only in the public interest but also in the interest of the broadcast sector, which would not only bring order in the sector but would also stimulate the much needed investment so as to provide an opportunity to the sector develop and grow in a focused manner.

    While there are certain provisions in the bill e.g. provisions pertaining to cross media ownership and restriction in holding shares within electronic media and distribution sector which may act as an impediment to the overall growth of the sector, the media sector has brought to the notice of the government that the present era is that of globalisation and consolidation by way of merger and acquisition, and these kind of restrictions act as barriers for accessing and optimally utilising the resources of capital formation for the growth and development of the sector.

    The Indian media industry, especially Indian broadcasters have to compete with global media companies. In order to match the might of those companies, they must have adequate technology, capital and manpower resources. Thus, the process of capital formation is one of the key ingredients to acquire and accumulate competitive strength and these kinds of restrictions are unwarranted. The government has fairly agreed to review these provisions and has also entrusted the task of developing a draft content code to News Broadcasters Association.

    In my view the industry should welcome the Broadcast Regulator, as an effective Regulator protects both consumer interest and the industry from arbitrariness
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    In my view the industry should welcome the institution of a Broadcast Regulator in as much as an effective Regulator protects the consumer interest and also protects the industry in question from arbitrariness and interference of the government of the day. The media industry has grown too large and too complex and as such it is in the interest of broadcasting sector itself to have a Regulator. However the Regulator must be autonomous, and independent of the Executive.

    Towards the fag end of the year certain court orders and judgments have also come, in which there have been observations that Broadcasters/Media need to observe general community standards of decency and civility in news content, taking particular care to protect the interests and sensitivities of children and general family viewing. The Courts have directed the government to expeditiously bring the content code in the Broadcasting sector.

    It is high time the industry responds to this and effectively works with the government in finalising an appropriate self-regulatory content code at the earliest.

    There have been a lot of regulatory developments during the year. Trai has brought out Quality of Service Regulations for DTH which outline service bench marks to be followed by DTH operators. This particular Regulation mandated the commercial inter-operability for Set Top Boxes (STB) in DTH service.

  • Zee inks deal with Media Overseas for launch in Indian Ocean Islands and Africa

    Zee inks deal with Media Overseas for launch in Indian Ocean Islands and Africa

    MUMBAI: Zee Network has tied up with Media Overseas, subsidiary of Canal+ Group, for the launch on their multi channel satellite pay-television platform, for three of its channels Zee TV, Zee Cinema and Zee Muzic.

    The service will be available on three Media Overseas platforms including, Canal Sat Reunion in Reunion Island, Canal Sat Maurice in Mauritius and Canal Sat Horizons in more than 20 countries in Africa such as Senegal, Cameroon, Togo, Mauritiana, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, informs an official release.

    The service was launched commercially on 14 December for Indian Ocean Islands including Mauritius, Reunion, Madagascar, Seychelles, Mayotte and Camoros and shall be available from 15 January 2007 onwards for French speaking countries in rest of Africa. The cinema and TV channels shall be available with sub titles in French.

    The Zee channels will be uplinked on NSS7 and Eutelsat W2 from the playout centre of Canal in France.

    International Business CEO Dheeraj Kapuria said, “We take great pleasure in announcing the tie up with Media Overseas for the launch of three Zee channels with French sub titles for Zee TV and Zee Cinema. French is the main language in many countries in this region and by bringing Zee channels with French sub title, not only our proximity with the viewer is closer than ever, but also opens a new market for us.”

    “Based on extensive research and feedback, we decided to launch this service for the segment which has great fondness for the content from Indian sub continent but a gap exists due to language barrier.”

    “After Multichoice, with whom we already have a tie up, Canal Sat is the next major pay television platform in the region and through this tie up Zee has widened its reach, its products in Africa and enforces its position as market leader.”

    In continuation of offering services bringing closer to viewer through specific feeds for each region and sub title or dubbing in local language, this is yet another expansion of Zee’s reach in International market. Zee has in the past one year launched its sub titled or dubbed services in Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Middle East and announced plans for entry into China, adds the release.

  • WWIL lines up Rs 2 billion debt, rebrands digital cable as Galaxzee

    WWIL lines up Rs 2 billion debt, rebrands digital cable as Galaxzee

    MUMBAI: Zee Network’s Wire & Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL) is in the process of lining up a debt of Rs 2 billion for funding its digital initiatives and acquisition of cable operators.

    “We have already got Rs 500 million from Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC). We are already in the process of tieing up a debt of Rs 2 billion,” WWIL CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli tells Indiantelevision.com.

    The company plans to invest Rs 7.40 billion over two years and Rs 8.50 billion within five years. “The debt to equity ratio will be firmed up once we know the price it quotes after getting listed in the exchange by February-March 2007. That in a way will determine how much debt component we will require to raise,” Kohli says.

    The company is in talks with strategic and financial investors but conclusive agreement will take place only after the listing. “We are not necessarily looking at a strategic investor. We want somebody who will give us the maximum valuation,” Kohli says.

    WWIL, the de-merged entity of Zee Telefilms’ cable TV business, has set an ambitious target of ramping up its direct subsciber base to 9.6 million within five years. “We expect 7.6 million to receive digital cable. Our aim is to have 4.4 million through our own digital cable service and an additional 3.2 million through our Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) platform. We will have two million through analogue acquisitions,” says Kohli.

    WWIL claims to have added 250,000 subscribers in recent months through aggressive acquisitions. The multi-system operator (MSO) has also expanded operations from 35 to 43 cities. “We plan to be in 66 cities in three years,” Kohli says.

    WWIL will deploy several models of set-top boxes (STBs) aimed at various subscribers. Apart from the basic box, it plans to introduce a STB which will enable internet facilities on TV. “Customers can enjoy interactive games and online share trading through this. We are looking at a monthly fee of Rs 70 for internet and Rs 75-100 for movie-on-demand. Subscribers will have to pay Rs 1499 as deposit and Rs 45 as monthly rent. We haven’t, though, arrived at the final pricing. We plan to introduce these boxes after two months,” says Kohli.

    The basic STB is available on a refundable deposit of Rs 250 and rent of Rs 45 per month or a refundable deposit of Rs 999 with a monthly rent of Rs 30.

    WWIL will also deploy a STB through which it can offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) sometime in April, according to Kohli. The MSO is also poised to offer HITS which will enable it to tap cable operators at a national level even in places where WWIL has no presence, he adds.

    GalaxZee will be the brand under which WWIL will offer its digital cable service. “We have commissioned a digital headend two days back at Worli. We will be in the Cas (conditional access system) notified area of south Mumbai and several operators from rival MSOs are joining us,” Kohli says.

  • WWIL in drive to acquire LMOs

    WWIL in drive to acquire LMOs

    MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL), the cable outfit of Zee Network, is on a drive to acquire last mile operators. The company is offering to cable operators a valuation of Rs 2,000-3,000 per subscriber. While WWIL will be a 51 per cent partner, the balance 49 per cent will be with the operators.

    “We want to expand the size of our network. We are making proposals to operators with decent size where we become partners with 51 per cent,” says WWIL CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    WWIL has acquired control over 5 Star which operates in Andheri, a western suburb of Mumbai, adds Kolhi. “We have also poached a few operators from Incablenet in Andheri East and others from multi-system operators (MSOs) are going to join us.”

    WWIL, which doesn’t have a presence in South Mumbai, is also targeting operators in that area. The MSO has linked up optic fibre and is keen to start operations in this lucrative part of the Mumbai market. The government has notified south Mumbai as the area where CAS (conditional access system) will kick off on 1 January.

    WWIL is also planning to launch a headend-in-the-sky (HitS) platform and has expressed its intent to broadcasters. “We are going to do HITS. This will provide us a wider footprint and hasten the pace for digitisation in the country,” says Kohli.

    The buzz in the market is that WWIL is booking seven transponders on Thaicom 5 for the HITS operations. When queried on this, Kohli declined to comment.

    The problem with HITS, however, is that broadcasters are reluctant to get into agreement with MSOs for providing their channels due to fear of piracy.

    Even as WWIL sweetens its proposals to rope in last mile operators, it remains to be seen how big the impact will be in the cable TV industry. If migration from rival networks take place, it will set the pace for a fresh bout of price and dirty wars on the ground. As Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and CEO K Jayaraman had told Indiantelevision.com earlier in an interview: “As far as poaching of operators go, it is an open ground. Cable companies who focus on good service and have capital to create capacity will turn out winners. Competition is not a one-way street.”

  • Bahl’s South Asia World ceases broadcast

    Bahl’s South Asia World ceases broadcast

    MUMBAI: Just two years after launch, Raghav Bahl has shut down his English infotainment channel, South Asia World (SAW).

    “The channel has discontinued to broadcast. It was not commercially viable,” a source in the company tells Indiantelevision.com. Bahl was not available for comment.

    Aimed at South Asians, TV18 founder Bahl launched SAW in the US on the Echostar direct-to-home (DTH) platform in 2004. The channel was launched the following year in the UK on Sky Digital and was distributed by Zee Network.

    Bahl had floated India World Network USA Inc, which owned and managed South Asia World. The holding company is SAW Holdings Ltd.

    Earlier at the launch of the channel Bahl had said, “South Asia World is the realisation of a dream we’ve had for five years – to create a television forum for Indians the world over. The Indian American community is the fastest growing, representing some of the richest populations in the US. This channel is not only a celebration of the life success of these people, but will also act as a platform to highlight issues that impact their progress.”

    Bahl had set up a separate infrastructure for SAW: a fully equipped studio in the Empire State Building in New York, bureaux in Washington DC and the San Francisco Bay Area, reporters from coast-to-coast in the US, and in-live news studios in Mumbai and Delhi.

  • Zee intensifies focus in south, redesignates Ajay Kumar as head of south initiatives

    Zee intensifies focus in south, redesignates Ajay Kumar as head of south initiatives

    MUMBAI: As part of intensifying its focus on the Southern states, Zee Network has redesignated R Ajay Kumar as head of the south initiatives.

    Kumar now has an additional charge and independently heads the distribution business of all the 32 Zee and Turner Channels in all the four southern states, says an official release.

    Earlier, he was the business head of Zee’s south-language channels.

    Kumar has been associated with Zee Telefilms in last one and half years, spearheading Zee’s South foray by launching two of it’s South-focused TV channels – Zee Telugu and Zee Kannada.

    Zee made its first move by launching regional channels in Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi, and then came Zee Telugu in 2004.

    Also in the pipeline is the launch of Tamil and Malayalam language channels, the two lucrative and difficult markets to penetrate.

  • Zee Cine Awards heads to Bangkok; to be held on 3 March

    Zee Cine Awards heads to Bangkok; to be held on 3 March

    MUMBAI: Zee Network is gearing up for its 10th edition of its prestigious event property Zee Cine Awards. The media house has chosen Bangkok as the venue for this year’s awards.

    Zee Cine Awards 2007 will raise a toast to its meteoric rise through 10 eventful years and the exciting future ahead on 3 March 2007 at Impact Arena, Bangkok, informs an official release.

    Announcing the launch of ZCA 2007, Zee Telefilms CEO Pradeep Guha said, “Zee Cine Awards has been going international for three years now, but what continues to make it special is that going beyond the mere exotic value of foreign locales, each.
    ZCA has done its bit to take Bollywood to the world. And going by the enthusiastic response we get each time, the appetite has only gotten bigger and better! We hope Bangkok will set new records.”

    Zee Cine Awards honours the best of Bollywood. As per an official release, ZCA over the years has come to be one of the blue-chip yardsticks of creative and technical excellence coupled with being the biggest showbiz spectacle ever. Last year’s edition of ZCA was held in Mauritius and the event was participated by Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan to Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherji and Priyanka Chopra to name a few.

  • Malaysia’s RTM to associate with CCTV: Report

    Malaysia’s RTM to associate with CCTV: Report

    MUMBAI: The Malaysian national broadcaster Radio Television Malaysia is expected to ink a tie-up with China Central Television (CCTV), Xinhua News reports quoting a company executive.

    The deal will have CCTV and RTM exchanging economic, cultural and tourism-related programs, Information minister Zainuddin bin Maidin has been quoted as saying in the report. CCTV will be keeping a safe distance from political programmes.

    According to Zainuddin, China Radio International (CRI) is also keen on joining hands with RTM to strengthen its Malay language service in China.

    It can be noted that, Subhash Chandra’s Zee Network in September signed an agreement with CCTV for entering China. As per the deal, CCTV has licensed to Zee Network, the use of news and other programs from CCTV International (CCTV-9). It has also authorised Zee to pick up their signals and transmit it over the Zee Network. Zee Network in turn will license to CCTV the use of its news and programs. Both the networks will exchange news programmes, documentaries and feature programs introducing each other’s culture, history, geography and economy for telecast.

  • Zee TV unveils celeb judge line up for ‘Cinestars’

    Zee TV unveils celeb judge line up for ‘Cinestars’

    MUMBAI: Zee TV has announced the people associated with its upcoming talent hunt event Idea Zee Cinestars. In its second edition, the show is going to be judged by Anupam Kher, Pooja Bhatt and Madhur Bhandarkar.

    The show will be anchored by Aman Verma.

    Announcing the initiative, Zee Network SVP Ashish Kaul said, “Idea Zee Cinestars has so far received lots of entries from young candidates who want to make a name for themselves in Indian cinema. The show will provide participants from various cities an opportunity to court fame and fortune by showcasing their acting and dancing skills.”

    He further added, “The hunt will narrow down to two Best performers from the entire nation. 60 participants will be brought down to Mumbai – The City of Dreams, where, over the weeks they will begin to get eliminated to give us the winners of Idea Zee Cinestars.”

    This journey to fame is interwoven with the trials and tribulations of the participants who are hoping to be introduced to Hindi cinema as actors. The journey of these contestants working towards winning the title will be shown as a reality series that will be split into various stages and will essentially showcase the ecstasy, trauma, victory and defeat of participants through 18 weeks, informs an official release.

    The 60 participants are grouped as couples whom Bollywood’s popular directors and choreographers will groom. Viewers, who will vote for their favourite performers through the weeks, will choose the Best couple., the release adds.