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  • Impact of DAS on Sports Ecosystem: Rajesh Sethi

    Impact of DAS on Sports Ecosystem: Rajesh Sethi

    DAS  (digital addressable system) is here to stay. Despite the shortcomings, the hiccups in the implementation of the first two phases, the government has announced that it will not extend the deadlines of December 31, 2015 for phase III areas and December 31, 2016 for phase IV, when the entire country is expected to be digitised. After complete switchover, cable TV services will be available only through set top boxes in India.
     
    We, at the Indiantelevision.com are starting a new section – ‘The Impact of DAS’ through which thought leaders, experts from the television ecosystem will share their thoughts, ideas, and say their piece on the subject. We are beginning with the impact of DAS on the sports broadcasting ecosystem. 
     
    Our expert for the section is Ten Sports Network CEO Rajesh Sethi.

     

    Excerpts: 

     

    How big an impact has phase I and II digitization made when it comes to subscription revenue?

     

    Phase I and phase II digitization has made a positive impact as far as the subscription revenue is concerned for the industry and given the trend we expect increase in the revenue once phase III and IV is completed. Ten Sports has also experienced the upside of subscription revenue which can be seen from our increased ARPU.  The addressability has improved but a lot still needs to be done. We believe that as the digitalization matures & packaging is implemented on ground by the operators, we will be able to achieve complete benefits of digitalization.
     

    From sports broadcaster’s point of view are you happy with the two phases of digitization?
     
    Although the implementation of two phases of digitization had been slow as compared to expectations, the completion of the two phases has facilitated increased subscription revenues and more accountability in the industry. From a sports broadcaster’s perspective, it will provide Ten Sports an opportunity to introduce new products based on the type and preference of consumers and provide enhancements like multi camera action, on demand services etc. We as asports broadcaster are keen to enhance the consumer experience and are interested in working with operators to fully reap the benefits of digitalization.

     

    Is the sports broadcasting industry in a subscription positive scenario? Or we are still ad dependent?

     

    The sports broadcasting industry in India is still evolving and ad revenue contributes significant part of revenues and will continue to remain the same in foreseeable future for main streamsports content. However, as digitization is still not complete, there is a high potential of increased subscription revenue and lesser dependency on ad revenues. We expect the niche sports offering to move towards subscription driven revenue model. As a sports broadcaster, we believe that the industry is moving in the right direction and once phase III and IV is complete there will be a possibility for this industry to be in a subscription positive scenario.

     

    Are sports like Football, Badminton which are hugely popular but has very little room for advertisement profitable assets for broadcaster?
     

     

    There has been increased interest from consumers for non-cricket sports in India in the last few years. Football and Badminton have gained traction in an industry which is preliminary dominated by cricket. It’s a step forward in right direction and we have seen advertisement revenue picking up for non-cricket content, the most recent example being Kabaddi. With regards to football and badminton being a profitable asset for a broadcaster, profitability is a function of revenue potential and content cost. Though the revenue potential and content cost presently is limited, it is expected to rapidly grow for these products. This makes it a good opportunity for a broadcaster to obtain future profitability on these content.
     
    With phase III and IV scheduled do you see a substantial inclination in subscription revenue?
     

     

    Phase III and IV is all about getting to remote areas of India. It provides an opportunity for thesports broadcasters to bring local content which connects & relates to the audiences residing in these towns. We see positive growth in subscription revenue as the number of HH’s in these towns provide a growth opportunity from the existing very low ARPU levels.
     

     

    How can a non cricket sport or a sport with least ad room turn profitable for broadcasters?

     

    The subscription revenue and ad revenue are the two key revenue source for a sports broadcaster. However, profitability for a content not only depends on revenue but also on the cost. The sportswhich has least room for ad revenues would depend on increased subscription revenue which we expect to increase once phase III and IV digitization is completed. At Ten Sports, as part of innovation drive, our team analyzes the potential of content across various genres which might not be currently popular in India and then builds it up for the consumers. We see increased traction for non-cricket content in recent years which translates into higher revenue potential and eventually a profitable content.

     

  • English entertainment channels get spooky this Halloween

    English entertainment channels get spooky this Halloween

    MUMBAI: It’s that time of the year when giving your nerves a jolt of terror feels like the right thing to do. It’s the time when the moon becomes a brute and black cats are seen. It’s the time when witches go on a ride. It’s the time to trick-or-treat: it’s Halloween on Saturday, 31 October and sure enough English entertainment channels have turned up their horror quotient to spook viewers further.

     

    Halloween is usually celebrated amongst family, friends and, sometimes, co-workers. However, some areas hold large community events. While some adults may celebrate by watching horror films or by holding costume parties or creating haunted houses or graveyards.

     

    English entertainment channels have lined up power packed shows all night long for viewers. If you are browsing for horror movies to stream tonight, we’ve got you covered. 

     

    After perusing the available options on channels like FX India, Star World, AXN, and Comedy Central, we recommend a few under-the-radar titles for your Halloween viewing pleasure.

     

    Read on:

     

    FX India

     

    FX has upped its creepy ante by airing the American Horror Story: Hotel with it’s Halloween special episode 4, Devil’s Night. The episode showcases some gruesome incidents influenced by the supernatural that take place within the walls of Hotel Cortez. It will see devils at play, vampires continue to feast and the eeriness of Hotel Cortez goes up a notch. The special episode will air on 31 October 2015 at 11 pm.

     

    Star World

     

    Tune-in to the channel for a spookier ride this Halloween by watching episodes 13 – 18 of Sleepy Hollowseason 2 airing on 31 October at 12 pm. The show is a thrilling, mystery adventure drama series spanning two and a half centuries, in which a resurrected Ichabod Crane pairs up with a present-day cop to save the enigmatic town of Sleepy Hollow and the world from unprecedented evil.

     

    AXN

     

    AXN will premier the episodes of Penny Dreadful season 2 all night long this Halloween. This season of the second part horror-thriller will intertwine the lives of men and monsters. It opens with Vanessa Ives and her allies finding themselves locked in epic battle against an unholy evil. The episodes will air 12 am onwards on 31 October.

     

    Comedy Central

     

    The channel will air Deadbeat all night this season from 12 am. The series revolves around a lazy slacker and a medium for hire, who attempts to solve various ghosts’ unresolved issues, so that they can move on to a final resting place, occasionally with the help of his best friend and drug dealer.

     

    On that note, Happy Halloween! 

  • Veni, vidi, non vici: Shows that didn’t last on TV in 2015

    Veni, vidi, non vici: Shows that didn’t last on TV in 2015

    MUMBAI: They came, they saw, they failed to conquer!

     

    While there are a few set formulae for shows to work on television, it is unlikely that all that go on air manage to get viewers’ patronage, specially in the wake of the many entertainment options available today.

     

    Moreover, gone are the days when broadcasters and production houses launched TV series that ran endlessly for years. With the changing time, change in people’s mindset and growing competition in the television space, creators want their shows to have top recall value. Bringing back to back shows with new concepts and ideologies is what’s trending these days. In this era that is identified with instant acceptance and instant rejection as well as fads galore where variety is the spice of life, it doesn’t take long for viewers to reject shows that don’t match up to their expectations. And more and more broadcasters are choosing not to milk the shows that aren’t turning out to be cash cows. 

     

    Multiple shows are churned out every year on Indian television across genres and channels. While some hit the ratings jackpot, some are met with disdain and are yanked off air.

     

    Let’s take a look at the fiction shows on Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) that failed to stand the test of time in 2015 for various reasons.

     

    A recent announcement by Star Plus may have come as a surprise to many. After a runtime of just two months, the channel pulled out its musical romantic series Badtameez Dil, which is produced by Swastik Pictures. While the show was low on ratings on the channel despite being appreciated for the content and quality, it was rather popular on Star’s OTT platform Hotstar. And hence the show was shifted from a linear to a digital channel.

     

    A source in Star Plus asserted, “The reason behind the show going off air was that it failed to generate sustainable ratings. Another reason for Badtameez Dil going off so soon was to pave the way for Balaji Telefilms’ Kuch Toh Hai Tere Mere Darmiyaan.” 

     

    That said, another show by the same production house called Manmarziyan on Star Plus was launched in April. While it was lauded for its content, it failed on the ratings graph as a result of which it was wrapped up after a four month run on the channel.

     

    Romance and drama aside, even the comedy genre was not spared from viewers’ apathy. Sab’s comedy show Peterson Hill, produced by Garima Productions, was pulled off air due to low ratings despite having a cast like Rohit Roy, Sucheta Khanna and Ashwin Mushran.

     

    A finite series Gulmohar Grand produced by Sunshine Productions was launched on Star Plus with a bank of 26 episodes in May. However, the channel pulled it off after airing 17 episodes.

     

    Sab pulled down four of its shows on 19 July this year. The first one to bite the dust was the weekend comedy showHansi Hi Hansi Mil Toh Lein, which was launched on 29 March. The second show titled Rumm Pumm Po hit the screens on 6 June and was wrapped up within 43 days. The game show titled Sab Ka Sapna Money Money, which started from 26 April went off-air in four months too. Rukawat Ke Liye Khed Hai, which launched on 26 April, was the fourth show that ended on the same date.

     

    A channel source informed Indiantelevision.com that Sab’s Hansi Hi Hansi Mil Toh Lein was revamped from theThe Great Indian Family Drama. “We tried to tweak the format and content to make it better. The channel’s weekend shows like Rumm Pumm Po and Sab Ka Sapna Money Money were part of the channel’s experimentation with content and formats within the genre of comedy,” the source said.

     

    Sab’s sister channel Sony Entertainment Television also had its share of shows that didn’t last in 2015. The channel launched the romantic drama soap opera Mooh Boli Shaadi on 23 February and pulled it down within four months. Dil Ki Baateien Dil Hi Jane also met with the same fate.

     

    Zee TV’s Service Wali Bahu, which also went on air on 23 February this year in the 6.30 pm slot, also adds to the list. A source in the Zee programming team said, “The 6.30 pm time slot is still in an establishing stage and there is no certain phenomenon, which has proved to be sustainable. The programming team decided not to elongate the existing show. Produced by Village Boy Production Service Wali Bahu and was replaced by Sarojini in 6:30 pm slot.”

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the reasons why some shows fail to make a mark, Deepti Bhatnagar Production founder and CEO Deepti Bhatnagar said, “I always believed that creators start the show with one concept but with so many changes taking place in the show, they lose the plot. Once you lose the plot of the show, it stops working for the audience because producers don’t really stick to the story.”

     

    Elaborating further, she added, “Also another reason I believe is that we don’t really work on character. Pick any Hollywood show like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, every character is well connected with the audience, which is missing here. Nowadays so many channels are launching so many shows and some don’t know what they are actually making. So, one has to work on that.”

     

    Sunshine Production founder and series director Sudhir Sharma asserted, “People have a lot many choices these days. It’s not that we don’t have good content. We do have good writers in the industry. While shows today have a good story line, the characters, which are essential medium of connection, are not well researched.”

     

    Director’s Kut Production director Rajan Shahi said, “If there are shows, which are going off air in a short span of time, then there are also shows like Tarak Mehta Ka Olta Chasma, Diya Aur Bati Hum, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai and Balika Vadhu, which have been running for a few years. So there are shows, which are sustaining for a longer period. Broadcasters and creators are trying to experiment with genres and subjects. They sometimes hit the mark and sometimes don’t.”

     

    Shahi was of the opinion that this also had a lot to do with market changes. “I think today competition is severe in the industry. Moreover, what we would like to see and what is actually working on Indian television is very different. We are going back and doing stories that we have been done 10 years back. It’s all about the results at the end of day and the turnaround time for it has to be faster,” he voiced.

     

    With increasing competition in the Hindi GEC space, rather than experimenting and introducing twists and turns into story lines of shows that don’t work, channels nowadays prefer to take them off air.

     

    Platinum Media CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri said, “The content pipeline has improved over the years. Earlier the content supply was not abundant but now that pipeline has improved. It is far more possible to change the programmes more often than earlier. In today’s time, we have enough production houses that produce multiple shows. If the advertiser doesn’t find the show attractive, they can’t make business from it. So ultimately the broadcaster will replace the show with some new shows.”

     

    Fiction shows are going off air on the basis of performance. Channels are extremely careful and protective about the ratings of their time slots and a lot of money is being poured into research. Madison COO Karthik Laxminarayan said, “If a show is not performing, channels are going back to the drawing board to re-invent them as they are aware that once you lose a viewer, you have to work very hard to get them back. So it’s better to give them something new and keep them engaged rather than keep giving them more of the same non-working shows.”

     

    He further added, “Earlier the reason they used to run the show for long was to amortise their fixed costs namely the sets and realise profits from their fictions but currently as the market is up and inventory sold is higher than usual, the money is coming in anyways and hence they don’t mind spending that extra on new sets etc. This is a short term strategy and will soon change as bottom lines will plummet and bleed eventually.”

     

    With more and more entertainment options at the audiences’ fingertips these days, channels will have to pay more heed to the kind of content that the viewer wants.

  • Zee’s Subhash Chandra plans succession; names Amit Goenka as head – international biz

    Zee’s Subhash Chandra plans succession; names Amit Goenka as head – international biz

    MUMBAI: In a bid to steer to company towards the future, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (Zeel) Next Gen is stepping into pivotal roles. While Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra had pulled in his elder son Puneet Goenka into the firm a decade ago, he is now shoring up the senior management by bringing in his younger son Amit Goenka as CEO of Zeel’s international broadcasting business.

     

    Even as Puneet has steered Zeel to greater heights as its managing director and CEO, Amit, who was earlier the non executive chairman of the company, has been entrusted with the responsibility to provide clear focus to the company’s international operations. 

     

    To this effect, Zeel is reorganising its overseas broadcasting operations of all international channels, excluding sports, English channels and uplinking activities, under a wholly owned subsidiary of its company Asia Today Ltd (ATL). Currently, these operations are housed under Zeel’s overseas subsidiaries ATL, Mauritius (being renamed as ATL Media Ltd) and Zee Multimedia Worldwide (Mauritius) Ltd and their respective subsidiaries.

     

    Additionally, Zeel has also got board approval to write-off of an investment of GBP 3.25 million (equivalent to Rs. 33.06 crore) made by ATL, in 2013 for acquiring a minority stake in MirriAD Ltd., UK. This write-off was on account of continuing losses and consequent capital reduction and restructuring in the latter.

     

    “Bringing in Amit is a good move by Chandra as he has successfully been working behind the scenes at the Essel Group on innovations and business development despite heading Playwin as its CEO. He has a good deal of experience under his belt, which should help Zeel achieve Chandra’s global vision for Zee,” says a media observer. “It’s good succession planning by the savvy mediapreneur. And it’s quite akin to what his former partner Rupert Murdoch has done in recent times by bringing in his elder son Lachlan in a non-executive capacity as News Corp co-chairman and 21st Century Fox. His younger son James has been running 21st Century Fox as its CEO much earlier.”

     

    A techie at heart, Amit has more than 10 years experience and is the CEO of Pan India, which runs the online lottery business under the Playwin brand. Some of the other projects where he is involved are ITZ Cash, animation division, wireless mobility, 7575 short code business, Digital Media Convergence Limited, Mumbai Football Club, All Sports Bar and All Sports Magazine amongst others. Amit has also worked with Zee Telefilms and was closely associated with the group’s investment and restructuring of the ICO project, a global mobile telephony project during his early days.

     

    Additionally, Zeel executive vice chairman Subodh Kumar has resigned from his post with immediate effect. He will, however, continue as a non-executive director on the Board of the company.

  • Q2-2016: Ad & subscription revenue growth drives Zee net up 9%; income up 24%

    Q2-2016: Ad & subscription revenue growth drives Zee net up 9%; income up 24%

    BENGALURU: Riding on the back of higher advertising and subscription based revenues in the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016), the Subhash Chandra led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) net income was up nine per cent at Rs 247.40 crore (17.9 per cent margin) than the Rs 229 (20 per cent margin) in Q2-2015. This was also 1.5 per cent more than Rs 243.76 crore (18.2 per cent of consolidated total revenue or TR) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    The company’s total revenue in Q2-2016 increased 23.9 per cent to Rs 1384.90 crore from Rs 1117.82 crore in Q2-2015 and was 3.4 per cent more than the Rs 1339.86 crore in Q1-2016.

     

    Advertising revenues saw a 34.7 per cent hike in Q2-2016 to Rs 843.31 crore (60.9 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 625.94 crore (56 per cent of TR) and was 8.1 per cent more than the Rs 779.93 crore (58.2 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Subscription revenue in the current quarter also increased 12.9 per cent to Rs 479.14 crore (34.6 per cent of TR) from Rs 424.45 crore (38 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter and rose 3.6 per cent as compared to the Rs 462.53 crore (34.5 per cent of TR) in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Zeel’s total revenue during the half year ended 30 September, 2015 (HY-2016) increased 25.4 per cent to Rs 2724.76 crore from Rs 2172.88 crore in HY-2015.

     

    Advertising revenue increased 30.1 per cent to Rs 1623.24 crore (59.6 per cent of TR) in HY-2016 from Rs 1248.04 crore (57.4 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago period. 

     

    Subscription revenue in HY-2016 at Rs 941.67 crore (34.6 per cent of TR) increased 12.6 per cent from Rs 836.58 crore (38.5 per cent of TR) in HY-2015.

     

    PAT for the current half year increased to Rs 491.16 crore (18 per cent margin) from Rs 438.12 crore (20.2 per cent margin) in HY-2015.

     

     

    Other results reported by Zeel for Q2-2016 and HY-2016:

     

    Total Expense (TE) in Q2-2016 at Rs 1050.05 crore (75.8 per cent of TR) increased 29.5 per cent as compared to the Rs 810.75 (72.5 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015 and was 0.4 per cent more than the Rs 1045.47 crore (78 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Zeel’s operating cost increased 28.3 per cent to 603.62 crore (43.6 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 470.30 crore (42.1 per cent of TR) in the corresponding year ago quarter, but was 1.2 per cent lower than the Rs 610.76 crore (45.6 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Other expense in Q2-2016 fell 18.3 per cent to Rs 179.05 crore (12.9 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 219.11 crore (19.6 per cent of TR) and was 2.3 per cent lower than the Rs 183.24 crore (13.7 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Employee Benefit Expense increased 17.4 per cent to Rs 126.70 crore (9.1 per cent of TR) than the Rs 107.96 crore (9.7 per cent of TR) in Q2-2015, but was 8.2 per cent lower than the Rs 138.01 crore (10.3 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

    Advertisement and Publicity expense in the current quarter was 64.6 per cent more at Rs 120.90 crore (8.7 per cent of TR) in Q2-2016 as compared to the Rs 73.45 crore (6.6 per cent of TR) and was 25.1 per cent more than the Rs 96.65 crore (7.2 per cent of TR) in Q1-2016.

     

     

    Company speak

     

    Chandra said, “Zee has seen an impressive performance during the second quarter. The improvement in advertisement industry and improved performance of our network has helped us grow ahead of the market. We continue to see the positive results of our investments. We will endeavour to continue on this track going forward and pursue new opportunities that will yield long term growth. Our effort is to entertain audience across the world.”

     

    Zeel managing director and CEO Punit Goenka added, “We are quite pleased with our quarterly performance and it continues to remain on track. We have grown as a network on the back of superior programming on our new and existing products. The improvement in the overall advertisement market has further aided our strong growth. The domestic subscription market has also seen steady growth.”

     

    “Zee is the leading content player in the Indian TV industry offering maximum hours of content for audiences both home and abroad. Going forward, our endeavor would be to further enhance our offerings and be ahead of the market in delivering innovative and high quality entertainment to our viewers across consumption platforms. We believe that in this fast evolving media and  entertainment space delivering excellent content will remain key for monetising revenues, from both advertising and subscription standpoint,” said Goenka.

  • Zee Media Corporation CEO & executive director Ashish Kripal Pandit resigns

    Zee Media Corporation CEO & executive director Ashish Kripal Pandit resigns

    MUMBAI: Zee Media Corporation executive director and CEO Ashish Kirpal Pandit has resigned from the company with effect from 12 October.

     

    He handled senior management roles for more than 27 years in industries from ranges from telecom to retail. He has been associated with brands like Alcatel, Efirst Technologies, Fortis Healthcare Limited,  Reliance Webstore and Tata Teleservices. 

     

    Pandit joined Zee Media Corporation in October 2014 and looked after senior management team. Pandit was with Digicall Global for three years before joining Zee.

  • Zee pledges to go green

    Zee pledges to go green

    MUMBAI:   ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) once again leads the way by pledging to go Green with the launch of its ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative today. As a pilot project, ZEE has successfully transformed the set of &TV’s Gangaa as a ‘Green’ set.

     

    Speaking on this initiative,  ZEEL MD& CEO Punit Goenka said, “Every industry has environmental responsibilities and the Media & Entertainment Industry is no exception. Film making and content creation is like any manufacturing activity with high fuel and electricity consumption, raw material and manpower usage, and production of landfill waste. With ‘ZEE Is Green’ we aim to translate our environmental commitment into action by integrating sustainability across our organization, in front of the cameras as well as behind it.”

     

    Elaborating further,  Goenka said, “Since the last three months, we have been working closely with all the stakeholders, from the production houses to the studio owners to our vendors. We have tried to study their problems, their needs, and their work processes. After doing an in-depth analysis, we have devised eco-friendly systems which do not disrupt their normal processes drastically but will still make a significant impact in the reduction of carbon emissions and production cost, over a period of time.”

     

    Discussing the initiative,  ZEEL chief brand officer Roland Landers commented, “In line with our corporate brand philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, ZEE has been embracing the world as One Family. As a caring corporate, we want to touch people’s lives, not just through our entertainment but by building a sustainable enterprise that fosters action towards a better world. Our ‘ZEE is Green’ initiative aims at developing the next generation of production practices that puts people and profits in sync with the planet.”

     

    The mission of ‘ZEE is Green’ is to raise awareness, build capacity and foster the widespread adoption of economically viable, environmentally restorative and socially constructive processes. The pilot project under this initiative was the successful greening of the set of &TV’s popular show ‘Gangaa’. Green measures introduced on the set include the installation of colour-coded bins for waste segregation, an organic waste converter to transform wet waste into manure and a plastic shredder that prevents wrongful reuse of plastic bottles and also saves on the fuel associated with their transportation.

     

    Other measures adopted include the use of eco-fonts to print scripts which will reduce ink consumption by approximately 35%, the installation of water coolers with RO purifier to eliminate the use of 20 liter plastic water jugs, the use of rechargeable batteries in sound recording and the commissioning of solar street lights in the studio complex.

     

    In the next phase, these policies will be extended to other productions with the aim of cutting carbon emissions by 10% in the coming year. Further, ZEE will also be launching Zeeisgreen.com, a portal which will host unique green guides, the green experiences on different sets and useful information which will be easily accessible to all stakeholders. The site will host a unique module which will list vendors who provide environment friendly goods to be used in production.

     

    By creating eco-wealth, ZEE is confident of building a stronger business and a more sustainable world in the process.

  • Zee’s new reality show to bring celebs out of comfort zone; Farhan Akhtar to host

    Zee’s new reality show to bring celebs out of comfort zone; Farhan Akhtar to host

    MUMBAI: The popularity and success of reality shows showcasing various skills and talent on Indian television was a harbinger of sorts for Zee TV to bring the international non-fiction format show I Can Do That to India. What’s more, throw in a few celebrities as contestants and the show’s appeal increases manifold. 

     

    Developed by Israel’s Armoza Formats, Zee TV will launch the Indian version of the show on 17 October. What’s more, the channel has also roped in Farhan Akhtar as the host of I Can Do That. The weekend show will be aired on Saturdays and Sundays in the 9 pm primetime slot and has a run time of only six weeks. 

     

    I Can Do That will have 12 celebrities from different walks of life, who will be seen performing jaw dropping acts. The show will challenge them to outdo each other in a wide range of tasks, from intricate dance choreography to magic and illusion, from flair bar tending to daredevil stunts and more.

     

    The 12 celebrities that the channel has roped in for the show are Dino Morea, Gauahar Khan, Gurmeet Choudhary, Rithvik Dhanjani, Madhurima Tuli, Mandira Bedi, VJs Bani and Andy, Shibani Dandekar, Meiyang Chang, Ranveer Brar and Bharti Singh.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the reasons for investing in an established worldwide format, Zee TV business head Pradeep Hejmadi says, “It’s a format, which is very close to what Zee TV stands for. Zee has always celebrated formats, which identifies the talent in people. The show at its core matches with what we have done so far with our other shows like Dance India Dance (DID) and Saregamapa, which focus on talent. In this show, we aim to pull out the hidden talent from celebrities and take out them of their comfort zone. I Can Do That is a format, which is very close to our DNA in the non-fiction space.”

     

    Throwing light on the reason for choosing Zee’s platform for the international format, Armoza senior creative director – development department Elwin Vizetelly De Groot says, “We are very excited to work with the biggest entertainment channel in India that is Zee Television. India is such an important market for us. I travelled across India and spent a few days working with the team. The basic format of the show is that it’s a story of your favourite celebrities, who will perform amazing acts on stage. We are working very closely with the team of Zee to launch this show here in India.”

     

    Groot further adds, “People will see celebrities doing something different.  They will watch them dancing, singing, sometimes cooking and other things. Our aim was to combine all that we wanted in a show. I Can Do That is a platform where we can showcase amazing talent and something that Indian audiences has never seen before. Zee and Armoza are very excited with the prospects of the show and we believe that it can do really well. It has done very well in other territories and we believe that India is next.”

     

    While there are multiple reality shows on television today, which showcase, celebrate as well as hone various talents, I Can Do That will be different. Talking about the USP of the show, Hejmadi says, “The difference comes in the show from the contestants because automatically the players are people, who come with certain talent. On this platform, people will be seen performing certain kind of things that they have never before done in their lives. It is not just a show, which has celebrities. Usually other shows focus on the strengths of celebrities but in this show, the audience will see them performing unbelievable tasks. And therein lies the difference.”

     

    With the multi-talented Akhtar as the show’s host, Zee TV is banking on his popularity to take the show a notch higher than the rest. “Farhan is a great embodiment of the format. He is multi-talented and has always pushed boundaries to do multiple things. He is great guy, who can stand up with the format and can say I Can Do That,” Hejmadi says.

     

    To push the show at multiple levels, Zee TV will be adopting a 360 degree marketing approach. Hejmadi informs, “There is always an on-air television based campaign and along with that we will go with off-air marketing as well. There is huge digital campaign that we are mounting. The format is such that everyone from kids to very elderly people can enjoy the show, so the campaign is designed to appeal to the masses.”

     

    With Vaseline as the presenting sponsor for I Can Do That, Hejmadi says that advertisers’ response to the new show has been encouraging so far. “We have received an excellent response from them. While we have almost closed all the positions of sponsorship, we are still in discussion with a few advertisers,” he adds.

     

    Speaking on the research carried out for the show, Hejmadi says,  said, “Even as we met the contestants, we were parallelly evaluating the stunts done in the international format. We also looked at different kinds of talent that we should evaluate for each of the players, who were coming on board. So a series of evaluations were done in terms of the kind of acts that people would like to see.”

     

    The reality show format I Can Do That has been popular in countries like the US, Italy and Israel amongst others.

  • Zee launches customised GEC in Africa for French audience

    Zee launches customised GEC in Africa for French audience

    MUMBAI: After launching its English general entertainment channel (GEC) – Zee World in Sub Saharan Africa early this year, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) is all set to launch another channel in the region called Zee Magic.

     

    Zee Magic is a customised GEC for French audiences in Africa, showcasing French dubbed Indian movies, series, food, reality shows and more. 

     

    The channel will be available on the Canal Plus Overseas platform on #51 from 1 October, 2015.

     

    Zee Magic will launch with three award winning series namely Remariage, La Promesse and Lien Sacre along with a host of Bollywood movies.

     

    Essel Group & Zeel chairman Dr. Subhash Chandra said, “Our corporate philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ meaning ‘The world is my family’ is at the forefront of bringing authentic and entertaining content to our fast growing audiences across the globe.”

     

    “Zee Magic is a dedicated French offering from Zee for Francophone Africa. All content has undergone extensive research and we are very excited to be the first to offer Bollywood in French to our viewers,” added Zee TV Africa CEO Harish Goyal.

     

    With a worldwide presence with over 36 international channels across 169 countries, Zeel first ventured into Africa 19 years ago as the brand’s first international territory. Its flagship channel Zee TV has been present on DSTV since 1996 and on Canal Plus since 2006.

  • Zee to extend language subtitles on channels to support educational initiative

    Zee to extend language subtitles on channels to support educational initiative

    MUMBAI: Quality education is the right of every child. Keeping this in mind, Zee Entertainment, in association with USAID, PlanetRead and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is planning to extend its Same Language Subtitling (SLS) initiative across more of its regional channels. Two years back, the SLS initiative was launched on Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi with the aim to improve the basic functional reading competency of children in Maharashtra. 

     

    The initiative is in line with the Ministry of Human Resource Development’s (MHRD) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) – ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’.

     

    Speaking on this initiative Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) MD & CEO Punit Goenka said, “Television, being an effective medium of mass communication, is an excellent platform for children to improve their reading skills. We, at Zee, had undertaken this pilot project of Same Language Subtitling on our regional channels, Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi with the objective of improving literacy in children in Maharashtra. Over the span of two years, SLS has been activated for songs in over 250 frequently aired movies in our library. Seeing the successful results of this study, we plan to extend this project to our other channels as well.”

     

    IIM Ahmedabad and co-author of the SLS report Brij Kothari stated, “In the pilot project, for nearly two years, from June 2013 to May 2015, Same Language Subtitling was added on all the songs of 10 weekly Marathi movies telecast in prime time on Zee Talkies. The song-subtitled movies were further repeat-telecast in other slots on Zee Talkies and Zee Marathi. Together, this resulted in an unprecedented scale up of SLS in Maharashtra, far more than the project had even planned for or anticipated. The study has shown tremendous impact on school children’s reading skills, especially in Classes 1-3, with the results showing 10 to 14 per cent more children becoming good readers in each grade.”

     

    Conceived in 1996, SLS is simply the idea of subtitling mainstream TV content in the “same” language as the audio. What you hear is what you read. Several research studies have found that SLS causes automatic and inescapable reading engagement among viewers. Especially on song-based content, regular SLS exposure is known to contribute to reading skill improvement.