ITV

Tag: Zeel

  • TDSAT directs Taj TV to give signals to Fastway Transmission in Karnal

    TDSAT directs Taj TV to give signals to Fastway Transmission in Karnal

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Taj Television – the distribution arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) – to provide its signals to multi-system operator (MSO) Fastway Transmission in Karnal in Haryana as an interim measure.

     

    The Tribunal has said that the final order will be passed post the resolution of a pending dispute where another New Delhi based MSO – Indiverse Broadband has claimed that both Siti Cable and Fastway are indulging in piracy and taking away its subscribers.

     

    It said the interim order was being given “having regard to the fact that due to non-supply of the signals, Fastway may be losing the market on a daily basis.”

     

    Even as it appointed Mansoor Ali Shoket as the advocate-commissioner to record the submissions of all the parties, the Tribunal said that Fastway will pay a monthly sum of Rs 17 lakh to the Tribunal and the first month’s fee will have to be deposited in the Tribunal by 3 February.  

     

    TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh said, “The supply of signals by virtue of this direction shall not create any equity in favour of Fastway. It is further directed that while enlisting any LCOs or subscribers, Fastway should bear in mind that in case its petitions are finally dismissed, the supply of signals by Taj Television may come to a sudden end without any notice. It is further made clear that as a result of disconnection of the supply of signals, Fastway alone will be responsible for any monetary claims raised by any LCO or subscriber or any civil or criminal liability.”

     

    The order further said, “Even while the Tribunal proceeds to consider the rival cases of the parties on their merits, it is made clear that the pendency of the petitions before the Tribunal shall not, in any manner, come in the way of any other authority or court having jurisdiction to proceed in the matter.”

     

    The Tribunal said the cases will be listed on 2 February for framing of issues. On that day, the counsel for all the parties shall jointly submit an agreed list of issues. In case there are issues on which there is no agreement between the parties, the decision will be taken by the Tribunal. All the three sides shall file their respective evidence affidavits by 10 February.

     

    Fastway shall then produce its witnesses for cross-examination before Shoket – appointed by mutual consent – on 12 February. After cross-examination of Fastway’s witnesses, cross-examination of the Indiverse witnesses will take place following which the cross-examination of Taj Television witnesses will take place. The Advocate-Commissioner and all sides shall ensure that cross-examination of all the witnesses is over by 5 March.

     

    Shoket will be paid honorarium at the rate of Rs 7,500 per day. The payment for the days on which the cross-examination of any party takes place, will be made by that party. The three cases will be listed for hearing on 19 March.

     

    The Tribunal noted that in these cases, “We are faced with the issue of piracy of TV channels, that is to say, in case it is established that an MSO is engaged in unauthorised transmission of channels on a large scale and in an organised manner over a long period of time, what would be its liability and what would be the remedies available to the broadcaster whose channels are re-transmitted without legal sanction.” 

     

    Even though clause 3.2 of the Interconnect Regulations 2004 expressly mentions “default in payment” as the ground for denial of signals, “the question that needs to be examined is whether an MSO indulging in organized large scale piracy over a long period of time would still be entitled to claim the supply of signals as of rights in terms of the Regulations. The ancillary question is what remedies are available to the broadcaster and the other MSOs suffering losses on account of the piracy,” the Tribunal noted.

     

    Fastway Transmissions had come to the Tribunal seeking a direction to Taj Television, to give its channels for re-transmission in Karnal. Earlier, Indiverse had filed its petition seeking a direction to Taj Television to agree to a substantial reduction in its subscriber base on the plea that the unauthorised entry of Fastway and another MSO, Siti Cable in Karnal, has greatly eroded its subscriber base.

     

    Taj Television resisted the demands of its channels by Fastway primarily on the allegation that the latter is engaged in rampant piracy of its signals in the area of Karnal. Indiverse also makes the same allegation and states that even though it held dominant position as an MSO in Karnal, as a result of unauthorised entry of Fastway and Siti Cable, another MSO there, and the rampant piracy by them, it is reduced to a state where 90 – 95 per cent of its network is taken over by the two MSOs.

  • &TV to hit airwaves on 2 March

    &TV to hit airwaves on 2 March

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (Zeel) new GEC under the ‘&’ bouquet, which is christened &TV, will launch on 2 March.

     

    As was first reported by Indiantelevision.com last week, &TV has acquired the rights of an Iranian quiz show. The Indian version, which will be called India Poochega: Sabse Shaana Kaun?, will see Shah Rukh Khan as the host. The gameshow will be aired from Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

     

    Rajesh Iyer is the business head while Doris Dey is head of fiction, Sunanda Gupta Jenna is head of non-fiction and Rachin Khanijo is marketing head.

     

    &TV, with the tagline – ‘Jashan Jeene Ka,’ will showcase a diverse mix of relatable fiction, high voltage non-fiction, marquee events and blockbuster movies.

     

    The promos of the shows will hit the television screens tonight (24 January).

     

  • Zee will continue to follow 12 mins ad cap: Punit Goenka

    Zee will continue to follow 12 mins ad cap: Punit Goenka

    MUMBAI: Reacting to the statement that the Information and Broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley was not in favour of the 12 minute ad cap for television channels, Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka has said that though he was happy with the views of the minister, his company Zee will continue to follow the ad cap.
     
     
    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Goenka said, “It is a good move for news and music channels but Zee will continue to follow the ad cap.”
     
     
    “The ministry comes up with such statements and many fall for the trap,” he added.
     
     
    On the current inventory system for news and niche channels, Goenka believes that if ad cap is not followed, the channels will continue to work on minimalistic rates.
     
     
    It may be recalled that Jaitley had said that while the government was not inclined to interfere in the content or the business of media entities, he was not in favour of a cap on advertising for TV or print media. He said that essentially, ad cap conflicts with fundamental rights.
     
     
    The ad cap law brought in by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been legally challenged and the matter is pending in court. As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the Delhi High Court today adjourned the petition by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and others challenging the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour sought to be imposed by the government to 24 March.
  • Q3-2015: Zeel PAT up 44.5%; income up 14.8%; ad revenue up 8.5%

    Q3-2015: Zeel PAT up 44.5%; income up 14.8%; ad revenue up 8.5%

    BENGALURU: The Subhash Chandra-led content and broadcast player Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel) reported a 44.5 per cent hike in y-o-y PAT to Rs 308.61 crore (22.6 per cent of Total Income from Operations or TIO) in Q3-2015 from Rs 213.59 crore (18 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and a 36 per cent increment from the Rs 227 crore (20.3 per cent of TIO) reported in the previous quarter. The company’s year to date (YTD) PAT at Rs 746.73 crore was 10.7 per cent higher than the Rs 674.5 crore during 9M-2014.

     

    Zeel reported 14.8 per cent higher TIO in Q3-2015 at Rs 1363.72 crore as compared to Rs 1188.36 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and 22 per cent more than the Rs 1117.82 crore in Q2-2015. TIO for 9M-2015 at Rs 3536.60 was 8.4 per cent more than the Rs 3262.89 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    The company’s advertisement revenue in Q3-2015 at Rs 742.6 crore (54.5 per cent of TIO) was 8.5 per cent more than the Rs 683.41 crore (57.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 18.6 per cent more than the Rs 625.94 crore (56 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. During 9M-2015, ad revenue increased 10.7 per cent to Rs 1990.64 crore (56.3 per cent of TIO) from Rs 1797.69 crore (55.1 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2015.

     

    Let’s look at the other results reported by Zeel:

     

    Zeel reported a 2.3 per cent drop in subscription revenue to Rs 446.13 crore (32.7 per cent of TIO) from Rs 456.49 crore (38.4 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014, but reported 5.1 per cent higher subscription revenue than the Rs 424.45 crore (38 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. Zeel says that due to a change in arrangements with various operators across international territories, the reporting of subscription revenue for the current year has undergone a change and is not comparable to the with the figures of previous years.

     

    The company’s other income in Q3-2015 more than tripled (up 3.68 times) to Rs 174.99 crore from Rs 47.56 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year and more than doubled (up 2.6 times) the Rs 67.43 crore in Q2-2015. Other Income in 9M-2015 at Rs 263.25 crore more than doubled (up 2.1 times) as compared to the Rs 126.52 crore in 9M-2015.

     

    Zeel’s Total Expenditure (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 1027.36 crore (75.3 per cent of TIO) grew 12.8 per cent from Rs 911.10 crore (76.7 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and was 26.7 per cent more than the Rs 810.75 crore (72.5 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 TE at Rs 2603.57 crore (73.6 per cent of TIO) was 8.4 per cent more than the Rs 2401.39 crore (73.6 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Operation cost in Q3-2015 at Rs 645.57 crore (47.3 per cent of TIO) was 5.9 per cent more than the Rs 609.50 crore in Q3-2014 and 32.3 per cent more than the Rs 470.30 crore (42.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. Operation cost in 9M-2015 at Rs 1519.25 crore (43 per cent of TIO) was 0.3 per cent lower than the Rs 1524.37 crore (46.7 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Zeel’s Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 109.27 crore (8 per cent of TIO) was 14 per cent more than the Rs 95.86 crore (8.1 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and was 1.2 per cent more than the Rs 107.96 crore (9.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. EBE during 9M-2015 at Rs 328.94 crore (9.3 per cent of TIO) was 13.2 per cent more than the Rs 290.68 crore (8.9 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Zeel chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Our quarterly performance reflects the investments that Zee is making to grow its business and market share. We will continue to pursue growth opportunities, which would enhance long term shareholder value.”

     

    Zeel managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka added, “We had a good quarterly performance reflecting the industry wide trend. On the domestic subscription front, we grew in low double digit figures during the quarter. On a sustained basis, we are growing in high single digits on domestic subscription revenues. Implementation of digitization in the remaining parts of the country will push the growth momentum further.”

  • Essel Vision’s ‘Jazbaa’ starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to go on floors on 20 Jan

    Essel Vision’s ‘Jazbaa’ starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to go on floors on 20 Jan

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s (ZEEL) creative and production studio Essel Vision Productions is gearing up for its much anticipated film – Jazbaa. The movie, which is touted as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback film, is slated to go on floors on 20 January.

     

    Essel Vision Productions will be producing the movie in association with Sanjay Gupta’s White Feather Films and Sachiin Joshi’s Viiking Entertainment. The movie also stars Shabana Azmi, Irrfan Khan, Anupam Kher, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Atul Kulkarni, Siddharth Kapoor, Baby Sara Arjun and Priya Banerjee. It will be directed by Gupta.

     

    Speaking on its foray, Essel Vision CEO Nittin Keni said, “Jazbaa is an amazing story intertwined with superlative action, drama and mystery. It is the kind of entertaining and meaningful cinema that we want our audience to associate us with. Supported with keen creative & business acumen we are confident that we deliver compelling, profitable entertaining content to global audiences.”

     

    Jazbaa is a crime thriller and filled with unpredictable twists in the plot hence it was imperative for the actors to be completely in sync with their characters. With the film all set to go on the floors on 20 January, the makers organised a script reading session, which gave an opportunity for the cast and crew to come together to understand and prepare their roles thoroughly.

     

    The script reading session was helmed by Gupta along with scriptwriters Kamlesh Pandey and Robin Bhatt. It opened interesting conversations among the actors about the concept in India for a Bollywood film. This was later followed by a detailed dialogue with the creative team including sound designer Resul Pookutty and cinematographer Sameer Arya.

     

    Commenting on the narration, Gupta said, “The script reading session of Jazbaa with the entire cast and crew went off very well. Internationally, it’s the norm and I think it helps the cast bond with each other before the shooting starts. It’s a better arrangement than having the actors meet each other only when they reach the sets when the shoot begins. Writers sometimes tend to miss out certain elements when they are so close to the script. The inputs I received from the actors were fresh as they have interesting perspectives when they hear the story at one go like this and will only help us make a better film. It was also an ice breaker for the talent on the film since most of my cast are working with each other for the first time.”

     

    Keeping the lead actress’ parenting duties in mind, Gupta, who is also father to a young child, plans to shoot the film only on weekdays.

     

    Shabana and Aishwarya hit if off instantly as they waited for Irrfan to join them. It was not surprising to see Aishwarya go up to and welcome the young child actor, Sara, on board the film by hugging her. Even as Sara smiled and told her that was her huge fan, the actress responded by saying, “Don’t be my fan, you’re my daughter!”

     

  • Zee Action to go full-throttle in two months’ time

    Zee Action to go full-throttle in two months’ time

    MUMBAI: With the numerous award shows being held across the world, one thing is clear – everyone loves movies.

     

    And with the number of movie channels increasing in the country, the competition is only growing multifold. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel), which boasts of six movie channels – Zee Cinema, Zee Classic, Zee Action, &Pictures, &Pictures HD and Zee Cinema HD – under its banner, plans to revamp its 24/7 action movie channel.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Zeel Hindi movie channel business head Ruchir Tiwari said, “In terms of content, action movies are the most preferred choice for the audiences. This makes us feel very confident of the potential for a focused 24/7 action movie channel and the year 2015, will see a revamped Zee Action in full gear.”

     

    “The channel will explore its maximum potential with an aggressive line-up. We would be experimenting a lot with Bollywood, Hollywood and southern content catering to the needs of voracious action movie lovers,” Tiwari further added.

     

    Come March, and the channel will get into full action with an aggressive marketing plan in its core markets. Been worked upon for the last one year, the channel can now boast of a sizable and fresh library.

     

    “We will launch with a primetime property,” highlighted Tiwari without revealing much. However, he did add that with the content revamp underway, the packaging will too undergo a change to keep up with the new strategy.

     

    Currently, the channel is focusing on a 360 degree robust marketing plan, which will highlight Zee Action as the best in its genre like the network’s other movie channels.

     

  • BARC India to conduct roadshows in February

    BARC India to conduct roadshows in February

    MUMBAI: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) is all set for 2015, as it will hold roadshows in February on the GUI (Graphical User Interface) in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

    It was in 2013 when the Council held its first round of roadshows that aimed at sharing the latest updates from BARC with all constituents across the entire broadcast value chain, and, equally important, to receive feedback and suggestions, so that the new television measurement system is completely robust, transparent and representative.

    Welcoming the New Year, the council thanked its stakeholders, vendors, partners and associates as well as highlighted its achievements. With more than 275 channels having ordered for embedders, all major networks in each region and across genres are now on-board.

    As it continues to reach out to the stakeholders for feedback, the playout monitoring facilities are in action and meta-tagging of content across watermarked channels is in full throttle in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

    It has also tested the end-to-end integration of the system, which is working perfectly fine. The technology handshakes are in place and ratings are being generated from the BARC system now.

    In continuation to unravel the puzzle of TV audience measurement system in India, BARC India shared a few learnings and insights on the importance of Relative Errors and Confidence Levels in audience measurement for new beginnings.

    BARC India and the importance of Relative Error

    Over the past few months, BARC India has highlighted its commitment to data robustness and has spoken about lower Relative Errors at high Confidence Levels. It has repeatedly highlighted that Relative Errors are an important factor to be considered whenever it evaluated the ratings data, or read any research report, for that matter.

    Relative Error and its impact on research data

    It is not possible to sample every individual (except perhaps, a Census); hence, sample surveys are undertaken. Statistics offer scientific methods to estimate phenomena across entire population by studying samples. Any sample survey suffers inherently from various errors. Owing to these, statistics never talk about an average (or mean) without talking simultaneously about a measure of dispersion, usually the standard deviation.

    A researcher has to balance between demands of greater accuracy and constraints of finite resources. Statisticians therefore work with defined ‘Confidence Intervals’ and ‘Sampling Errors’. One of these sampling errors is the ‘Relative Error’, or the deviation (in percentage) of the observed value from the actual (expected) value.

    Confidence Level (or Confidence Interval)

    Confidence Level is generally defined as a percentage or a decimal figure less than one. So, if a researcher says that the Confidence Interval is 90 per cent, what he means is that 90 per cent of the samples of the same size taken from the same population will produce results within a defined range.

    Relative Error

    A TV ratings measurement system estimates that the programme has 1 TRP with a standard deviation of 0.25. This means that the actual rating is expected to lie between 1-0.25 and 1+0.25 or 0.75 and 1.25. The relative error is simply 0.25/1.0 or 25 per cent.

     A simplistic explanation that may antagonise a purist, but can be explained simply in the diagram below:

    In other words, it is important for a research to ensure least possible Relative Error at the highest possible Confidence Level; else it risks generating data with such wide variance that it becomes meaningless. Just imagine saying that a programme has 1 TRP at the above Relative Errors.

    Factors affecting Relative Error

    The most important factor that affects Relative Error is sample size. Relative Error increases in geometric magnitude as sample size decreases, while it becomes independent of sample size beyond a certain threshold.

    Sampling is also relatively simpler when estimating a homogenous population and more complex for heterogeneous population. It is hence extremely important to have a significantly large sample size, especially when calculating estimates for large heterogeneous universe.

    On how BARC India intends to handle issues related to sample size to ensure robustness of data, the council shares a hypothetical scenario – A planner wishes to evaluate programme viewership for the following TG for a premium brand – males, NCCS AB, 40+ in Delhi

    Total Sample Size: 130

    Approx. sample size for a programme with a rating of 1 per cent viewers: 13

     A sample size of 13 is way too low to do any meaningful evaluation. Hence, BARC India would not encourage such evaluations.

     To circumvent this issue, BARC India intends to aggregate the data through one of the following means:

    •        Aggregate viewership data across two or more weeks

    •        Add more cities to the sample, aggregating geographically

    •        Instead of considering a particular individual programme or a limited time, evaluate a day part, thus aggregating by time bands

    Each of the above methods would increase the sample size and would allow the planner to make his decision based on robust relevant data. The BARC India Technical Committee is evaluating options of either hardcoding the aggregations in the pre-publishing stage itself, or allowing the planner to decide the aggregation based on his/her requirements. This decision would be taken only after seeing the data for all panel homes and assessing the pros and cons of each method.

  • Content differentiation has been the clear winner for Zindagi: Punit Goenka

    Content differentiation has been the clear winner for Zindagi: Punit Goenka

    MUMBAI: A result of ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka’s gut feeling, Zindagi, the premium mass Hindi entertainment channel from the network, was meant to be a breath of fresh air in the cluttered market space.

    Launched six months ago on 23 June, the channel promised to break out of the usual set framework and melodrama with the shows never seen on Indian small screens. Keeping true to its philosophy and tagline Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, shows from across the border were handpicked to meet the Indian sensibilities.

    With 32 GVTs in week 51 of TAM TV ratings, the channel targeting at the CS4+ AB in Hindi speaking markets (HSM) is happy with its performance, so far. “Extremely delighted with the launch and the subsequent response we are getting from the viewers. The channel has been received very well and has a rapidly growing loyal base,” says Goenka who believes that Zindagi has managed to create a new category in the Hindi entertainment space and is the only premium Hindi channel in India.

    The stories, when compared to the over-the-top (OTT) Hindi melodrama, have a realistic outlook. The natural settings and pragmatic acting make the shows like Humsafar, Maat, Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain stand true to its tagline ‘jodey dilon ko’. To top it all, it has made Pakistani actors household names so much so that many have entered Bollywood after the popularity gained here. “Zindagi has introduced many firsts on Indian televisions in the Hindi entertainment space today, be it finite nature of dramas or original soundtrack in every drama and many more,” pinpoints Goenka.

    “Content is king and since launch, all that has been shown on Zindagi has appealed to audiences (males and females) of all ages,” adds the channel business head Priyanka Datta.

    “The way we wanted to establish our channel, we have been able to achieve so,” says Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal. Butting the critics, who say that for a channel which wants to compete with the GECs hasn’t achieved the numbers needed to survive in the highly volatile market, Sehgal says, “TAM doesn’t have the ample sample size and most niche channels – English as well as infotainment – face the same number wrath.”

    He goes on to explain that in the country, when it comes to compartmentalisation of genres, English means niche and Hindi means mass, which doesn’t stand correct for a channel like Zindagi. Catering to the “evolved” viewers who have the disposable income, the channel wants to tell the brands that it is a perfect platform to cater to the premium TG.

    Started with only 20-25 clients, the channel now boasts of 100 clients. “We haven’t compromised on our pricing and are still getting new clients as well as repeat ones, which is a very good signal,” says Sehgal. The channel has jewellery brands, premium FMCG brands like P&G, Nestle amongst many others as its clientele. A 10 second ad rate at the core primetime demands from Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 while non primetime varies from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000.

    “The market is slowly accepting the channel as well as understanding its TG,” says Sehgal and adds, “One must understand that the channel was launched midyear and by then most media agencies had formed their key performance indicators (KPI) for their clients. Therefore, they either advised clients to come to us on their own or asked them to keep out. We are optimistic that things will change next year as agencies will support us and help us take our business higher.”

    With marketing budget being 25 per cent of the entire pie, the channel aims to double its clientele as well as make it more acceptable to brands in the coming year. “The year 2015, will see us escalating our charge as we will build on marketing campaigns and continue to get newer faces and stories,” highlights Sehgal.

    The channel isn’t affected by the two more channels, Sony Pal and Epic, which were launched after it. “Pal caters to SEC CD and Epic still has a long way to get people’s acceptance,” opines Sehgal while adding that Zindagi on the other hand has been able to tap into the audience’s mindset. “Unlike other established GECs also we have a very high, almost 90 per cent, engagement level with the fans on social media.” At the time of writing the article, the channel has 10.5k followers on Twitter while 314,971 likes on Facebook.

    With storyline as its hero and an agenda of generating beyond Rs 100 crore revenue in 2015, the channel hopes to breakeven by 2016.  “Clearly and most definitely content and the content differentiation from what has been seen on television in the Indian sub continent till Zindagi was launched, has proved to be the clear winner,” opines Goenka on what makes the channel stand out.

    On plans for the channel in the coming year, Datta says, “In the coming year, we will also start producing original content for Zindagi.”

    “After the phenomenally encouraging response to the channel, we will definitely stay the course where Zindagi is concerned and will create and source stories from different demographics that will appeal to the sensibilities of discerning audience and bring freshness to storytelling style in India,” concludes Goenka.

     

  • Zee TV’s four shows top this year’s fiction launches

    Zee TV’s four shows top this year’s fiction launches

    MUMBAI: There is no dearth of entertainment in the country of 800 plus channels. Every now and then, new channels and shows are launched to keep the momentum going.

    For Zee TV, one of the oldest and leading general entertainment channel (GEC) of the country, launching a number of new shows in a year is nothing new; every channel does so at regular intervals. But what is noteworthy is the fact that the channel has produced top four weekday fiction launches of 2014.

    If one takes a look at the opening week averages of all the fiction launches across GECs for the year, it is very clear from the numbers that who ruled the ratings charts. ‘Jamai Raja’ leads the pack with 5488 TVTs, ‘Satrangi Sasural’ that opened in week 49 with 4970 TVTs stands at number two,  ‘Bandhan’ with 4366 TVTs  and ‘Aur Pyar Ho Gaya’ with 4044 TVTs followed at number three and four, respectively.

    If that wasn’t enough, the channel’s other property, ‘Kumkum Bhagya’, according to TAM data provided by the channel, while a four-week average for the pre-wedding period (starting week 21’14 to week 24’14) stood at 3,263 TVTs, the show has seen a 127 per cent increase in viewership.    

    According to the channel’s business head Pradeep Hejmadi there are two reasons behind this. He explains, “Shows open well when two conditions are served. One, the concept strikes an interesting chord and second, the promotions are well crafted to sound inviting. We have done rigorous work to ensure we fire as desired on both these pre-conditions. Hence, the not-so-surprising, but certainly noteworthy success with our launches.”

    With growth as its top priority, the channel hopes to sustain the upward trend in at least some slots. “A careful assortment of variety across shows, clutter-breaking ideas/concepts, consistency in audience targeting have been the three key corner-stones of our successes,” points out Hejmadi.

    The channel doesn’t believe in rating itself, but rather leaves it to its audiences (current and prospective). “From the numbers, they clearly seem to rate us well, so we are motivated to up the ante on this further,” he says.

    With a strong weekday fiction line up and recently-launched new weekend properties like ‘Maharakshak Aryan’ and ‘Neeli Chhatri Wale’, the channel hopes to continue entertaining its viewers.

    “Interesting and inspiring concepts that will set the tone for the category…” is how Hejmadi wants to see 2015.

     

  • Ditto TV partners with Hull to power customer engagement

    Ditto TV partners with Hull to power customer engagement

     MUMBAI: Ditto TV, a distribution platform from Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced its partnership with the unified customer engagement platform, Hull to strengthen its customer engagement activities.

    The partnership with Hull will provide unified identity management, cross-domain single sign-on, social login and engagement mechanics across their next-generation iOS, Android and Web applications users. These features will be available to Ditto TV’s over one million registered customer base and a potential audience of 700 million plus.

    On this development, Ditto TV business head Manoj Padmanabhan said, “We chose Hull because they were ahead of the competition with their ability to offer a single interface to all customer interaction across every device, their quick turnaround, high availability, and rich feature set.”

    Hull was competing against many different solution providers including in-house development and bagged the partnership thanks to its affordable price, scalability, flexibility and rich feature set, making it the best choice to quickly build a large-scale unified user experience across all of Ditto TV’s platforms.

     

    “We are pleased to have Zee Entertainment utilizing our Hull connected consumer platform as a central hub that gathers all data into a unified user profile and enables multi-channel communication,” commented Hull president & CEO Stefan Koenig.