ITV

Tag: Zoom

  • Govt revenues from DTH licensing fees zoom

    Govt revenues from DTH licensing fees zoom

    New Delhi: The six private direct-to-home operators paid Rs 3.078 billion as licence fee to the government for the year 2011-12, compared to Rs 1.778 billion in 2010-11 and Rs 1.262 billion in 2009-10.

    The revenue in 2008-09 was Rs 893 million from four operators, since both Airtel Digital TV (Bharti Telemedia Ltd.) as well as Videocon d2h (Bharat Business Channel Ltd.) had not commenced services.

    The other DTH players are Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, and Reliance Big TV.

    Under DTH licensing norms, the platforms pay a non-refundable entry fee of Rs 100 million and an annual fee equivalent to 10 per cent of gross revenue every financial year. Thus, the platforms have paid Rs 600 million as one-time entry fee.

    Interestingly, Tata Sky paid a licence fee of Rs 793 million in 2011-12 as against Airtel Digital’s Rs 618.7 million and Dish TV’s Rs 300 million. Sun Direct paid Rs 360 million, Reliance Big TV paid Rs 95 million, and Videocon d2h paid Rs 50 million.

    DTH services are governed by the DTH Guidelines and terms and conditions issued by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 15 March 2001 and amended from time to time.

    The seven DTH players in the country including Doordarshan’s free-to-air DD Direct Plus cover around 35 million TV homes.

  • Zoom increases ad rates by 30%

    MUMBAI: After ET Now and Times Now, its Times Television Network’s Bollywood and Lifestyle channel Zoom that is upping its ad rates.

    The channel, which competes against UTV Stars and E24, has decided to increase its ad rates by 30 per cent.

    According to Zoom, ET Now and Times Now chief sales officer Hemant Arora, the channel used to charge around Rs 1200 per 10 seconds. “The new rates would come into existence with immediate effect,” he said.

    Zoom claims to dominate the Bollywood category with over 45 per cent channel share.

    ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, “Zoom’s strong and consistent viewership figures capture just one dimension of the brand’s popularity among its audience. Over the last few years we have seen a staggering response from Zoom’s fans in the real world engaging with the brand on Social Media platforms from across the globe. Zoom generates over 13 milliom impressions and sparks over 1 lakh interactions every day in the Social Media space – it is the biggest TV Brand on Social Media in Asia! Our esteemed clients believe in the power of Zoom as a platform to reach out to their urban, upscale consumers and the fact that Zoom has the largest client base in the category is reflective of that trust.”

    The channel said that the width and depth of Zoom’s Bollywood content and its unique presentation style have been the key differentiators for the brand. With a mix of initiatives planned across content, brand-building and multi-platform presence, Zoom said it aims to further strengthen its leadership position.

  • Times Now ups ad rates amidst slowdown

    MUMBAI: English news channel Times Now has taken up the challenge of upping its ad rates when the advertising economy is in the midst of a slowdown. Buoyed by ratings, the channel has hiked ad rates by 30 per cent across all time bands and its prime time 9 pm property ‘News Hour‘, anchored by Arnab Goswami, by 50 per cent.

    Times Now, ET Now and zoOm CEO Avinash Kaul explains the rationale behind the move. “Times Now has had a high base of loyal viewers through its focus on hard-hitting and incisive news analysis. We continue to reign supreme in the English news genre for the 5th consecutive year and look forward to setting higher benchmarks for ourselves and for the industry. With our ever-increasing viewership share, we are positive that Times Now will always be the primary choice for the advertisers,” he says.

    But how much does Times Now charge advertisers? “The channel charges Rs 3000 to Rs 3500 on an average for a 10 second spot and Rs 20,000 for News Hour,” says Times Now, ET Now and Zoom chief sales officer Hemant Arora.

    Media buyers are not too sure that the revised rates would succeed. Several senior executives Indiantelevision.com spoke to believed that the targets were too aggressive without taking into account the ground reality.

    Platinum Media CEO Basabdutta Chowdhury offered a mixed reaction. “News Hour, going by its popularity and perception, may be able to attract the rates the channel is targeting. It is a case of demand and supply and in this case, the demand is there. But when it comes to the average rate increase by 30 per cent, I am not so sure. Considering the current economic climate, the advertisers may be reluctant to pay extra.”

    Kaul believes this is a calculated move. “We have not revised our ad rates in a long time. We are only correcting the rates. When it comes to increasing the rates, there is never a ‘good’ time, but one has to make a start. We have just come out of a bad (economic) year and the budget looks optimistic. We expect the year to be better and hope to capitalise on the good sentiment.”

    News broadcasters, who are struggling to post modest ad revenue growth, consider this as a bold move. “While the ad rates are the purview of individual news channels, it is a fact that they have been undervalued until now. It has been the effort of news broadcasters to increase the ad rates on their channels. I believe it is a bold move on the part of Times Now and we need to wait and watch how it pans out for them. It is not going to be easy,” says the chief executive officer of a rival network.

  • Zoom to launch a fashion reality show on 8 March

    Zoom to launch a fashion reality show on 8 March

    MUMBAI: Zoom is launching a reality show titled ‘Fashion Drill – Model of Honour’ on 8 March.

     

    The show will air every Friday and Saturday at 8:30 pm.

     

    Presented by Pepe Jeans London and powered by Yamaha, renowned stalwarts in the industry like Alison Kanuga, Subi Samuel and Nethra Raghuraman will guide the contestants on the passion, dedication and technique needed to make it “big” in the industry.

     

    With Samuel, Raghuraman and Kanuga, the twelve contestants will be mentored and tested through a series of rigorous regime be it the photo-shoots, ramp-walk, ad film shoots, print ad shoots and everything else possible to bring out the best in them.

     

    The episodes promise to give viewers their fill of glamour with surprise visits from celebrity judges that range from well-established models and designers.

     

    Only one male and one female contestant will stand a chance to win modelling contracts worth Rs 500,000 each with Toabh, a wardrobe from Pepe Jeans London and bikes from Yamaha. These models will also be a part of the special feature in Elle magazine.

     

    ET Now, Times Now and Zoom CEO Avinash Kaul said, “Zoom is seen by the youth as the go-to destination for current fashion trends and glamour updates. The Zoom Fashion Drill – Model of Honour is by far one of the biggest platforms that takes aspirants a step closer to understanding the world of fashion. Having roped in industry stalwarts and celebrities for this show we aim to give our audiences an exciting show with interesting insights on what it takes to make it big in the industry.”

  • Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

    Zoom TV launches responsive website Zoomtv.in

     MUMBAI: Bollywood channel Zoom has ramped up its internet presence with a new responsive website Zoomtv.in.

     

    Developed by Times Internet, the new website brings together the best of Bollywood entertainment content and technology to deliver it seamlessly across all devices and platform.

     

    A responsive website automatically adapts and resizes itself according to the resolution of a device. Hence a single site is displayed in different visual formats with flexible images and fluid grids. In today’s world of multi-screen experiences, like phones, tablets, and computers, responsive sites automatically adjust to give the best experience for each one.

     

    The content on the website has also undergone a strong refresh. Besides regular channel programming, the site will feature exclusive videos and unused footages from the channel to offer depth to its video content. Insider gossips, photos, blogs and articles by Zoom Star anchors and reporters will also form core content on the site. Movie trailers, promos, stills and first reports will offer variety to Bollywood fans.

     

    Zoom has put a major focus on reinvigorating its digital products to provide its users with readily accessible content which is relevant, fresh, multiple-format and available on all platforms.

     

    Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Times Internet prides itself in developing cutting edge digital platforms. This is our first responsive design product for the market, complemented with a very strong technology platform. As consumption becomes multi-screen, ZoOmTV.in is well positioned to serve content across devices.”

     

    Zoom TV CEO Avinash Kaul said, “We have been, and continue to be, very serious about the digital presence of zoOm and that’s what’s made zoOm. The Worlds No. 1 Bollywood Destination”. We are revolutionising the way we cover and distribute Bollywood content across platforms in relevant ways that inform and entertain our users at all times.”

     

  • Times Now and Zoom launch in Canada on Cogeco

    Times Now and Zoom launch in Canada on Cogeco

    MUMBAI: Times Television Network (TTN) Tuesday said it has launched Times Now and Zoom in Canada on Cogeco Cable to take the international reach of the two channels to 45 countries across four continents.

    TTN will be extending its international presence further this year with its launch in Europe.

    With a mix of localised marketing and programming events in respective international markets, TTN aims to strengthen connect with the Indian diaspora.

    TTN MD and CEO Sunil Lulla said, "Times Television Network has found great resonance with the viewers from the Indian Diaspora. Despite having launched only quite recently in some of the markets, the brands have gained the same stature and respect as they have here. We expect to penetrate more geographies shortly."

    TTN is also in discussion with other content owners and broadcasters in India and South Asia for alliances that will see TTN taking its content and channels to other markets.

  • Sony India earmarks Rs 1.5 bn marketing spend in festive season

    MUMBAI: Sony India has earmarked a marketing budget of Rs 1.5 billion for the festive season even as it targets a 50 per cent surge in sales.

    Enhancing its product lineup, Sony India has recently launched the 84 inch Bravia 4K LCD TV, which is a 3D Viewer – Head Mounted Display HMZ-T2 is a touch-screen Vaio with Windows 8, the new flagship Full-Frame ?99 interchangeable lens camera and Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, the professional compact camera with a sensor.

    Sony is looking at a sales revenue of Rs 28.50 billion during the September-November period.

    Says Sony India MD Kenichiro Hibi, “We aspire to achieve 50 per cent sales growth over last year‘s festive sales. We have also allocated a budget of Rs 1.50 billion towards marketing activities for this festive season. “

    Sony is doing a contest around the upcoming James Bond movie ‘Skyfall‘. The contest is called ‘This Diwali Bond with Sony‘. Skyfall releases in India on 1 November.

    On purchase of selective products from dealers appointed by Sony, customers can participate in the draw and can win prizes like 100 55″ (140 cms) BRAVIA TVs, 200 Head Mount Display, 500 XPERIA™ Tablet and 1000 XPERIA™ Smartphones, Tipo. This offer is valid on Bravia Televisions, Alpha cameras, Cyber-shot cameras, Handycam video cameras, Procam video cameras, DAV & Blu-ray Home Theater Systems, Mini Hi-fi and Micro Hi-fi systems, Blu-ray players, Sony Playstations, Vaio Notebooks, Xperia Tablet and Xperia Smartphone, Tipo.

    The new Bravia products have been powered with Indian picture settings that are now exclusively designed to cater to versatile demands and preferences of Indian customers for brighter displays and sharper contrast. Last year, Sony engineers met hundreds of Indian customers to precisely understand their preference in terms of picture quality. As a result, Sony developed Indian Picture Settings, which means the brightness and vividness in the Bravia TVs is in tune with the taste of the audience in India.

    There is a bundle offer on the BRAVIA range. On purchase of any 3D Bravia model, customers can purchase a Sony Blu-ray (BDP-S490) player at a price of Rs 9,900, thereby saving Rs 10,000 on its MRP, and get a pair of 3D glass, HDMI cable and two 3D Movie titles free.

    In addition to this with the purchase of Bravia HX925, HX850, HX750 series customers will get an assured 8 GB pen drive preloaded with contents of ‘Men in Black 3‘ and with the purchase of NX650, EX650/550, EX430/330, CX350 & BX450/350 series customers will get an assured 4 GB pen drive preloaded with content of ‘Skyfall‘‘s trailer and a video blog.

    Marketing campaign: Sony India has a dedicated multi-media marketing campaign for its flagship product category. The campaign has been created keeping in mind the flavour and zest of the Indian festive season. This campaign kicked off mid October and runs till the end of next month.

    Cyber-Shot: Sony claims to offer the widest variety of compact cameras in the High Zoom range. Sony says that it realised that there has been significant demand for High Zoom in the compact camera segment and now boasts of a very wide product range to cater to this demand. The newly launched DSC-H100, has been designed as per the taste of Indian customers.

    Post customer feedback, Sony came up with this product which offers very powerful zoom of 21X in a premium design, with a price point of Rs. 12,990. Sony also launched Cyber-shot DSC-WX150, which combines high zoom in a compact design, thereby offering a much more value-added product to the customers. Sony expects high sales for this particular model during the festive season.

    Consumer offer: In the digital imaging segment, customers will get free 4 GB Sony Memory card and Original Carrying case on purchase of any Cyber-shot or Alpha camera. On purchase of Handycam, customers will get a free carrying case.

    Marketing campaign: Cyber-shot will also be highly visible during the festive period. The concept of this campaign is Pocket Zoom. Customers can enjoy very high zoom in pocket-size Cyber-shot cameras.

    Vaio: Sony India‘s Vaio line-up is VAIO E14A, with a wrap design and accent colours, VAIO T, the Ultrabook and new models of E, S & Z series. The aim is to offer a better user experience with useful features like Backlit keyboard which is helpful to type in dark, USB charging to charge USB devices even when the notebook is turned off and multi-gesture touchpad which allows users to zoom and scroll with gesture on touchpad. With the latest Intel 3rd generation Core CPU, our laptops offer faster computing speed and highly improved graphics.

    Consumer offer: Sony will provide free original Vaio Backpack on its recently launched ‘Spark a Trend‘ campaign VAIO series. This festive offer extends across all models of Sony VAIO.

    Finance offer: Keeping in mind the overall economic slowdown and the fact that this is a time when consumers are slightly hesitant, the company is offering a Zero Percent Finance Offer and Zero Processing Fee. Sony is offering attractive EMI offers on select credit cards as well.

  • ‘BCCI rights great opportunity to build Star’s sports biz’ : Star India CEO Uday Shankar

    ‘BCCI rights great opportunity to build Star’s sports biz’ : Star India CEO Uday Shankar

    Just over a year old, UTV Stars is banking on revenue growth from advertising, syndication and distribution to achieve operational break even this fiscal.

     

    The launch of UTV Stars last August has expanded the Bollywood lifestyle TV genre, created by Zoom and E24. The core target audience of the channel is upscale youth in the age group of 15-24 years.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Javed Farooqui, UTV Stars business head Nikhil Gandhi talks about the channel‘s progress, its differentiated content and the challenges in the space.

     

    Excerpts:
     

    Does UTV Stars get a competitive advantage by being the child of Disney-UTV?
    We definitely have an edge as we have got a thriving motion pictures business. This allows us to do that much more compared to our competitors. Our access to the big Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor or a Hrithik Roshan is much easier. If you see the kind of news content that we create, we are credible.

     
    Since UTV Stars‘ sister arm also produces movies, doesn‘t that also present a conflict of interest while covering Bollywood news?
    Once you have established yourself as a credible player in the space, I don‘t think any star or film producer would think that there is a conflict of interest. They, in fact, would want to promote their films that much more. Moreover, our editor is Manish Dubey who was with Aaj Tak and has credible bondage with the movie stars. Also, our correspondents as well as special features editors have professional relationships with all the big superstars.

     
    Isn‘t differentiation very thin in this kind of genre?
    When we started, we positioned UTV Stars as the official channel of Bollywood. We were also known as being the intimate insider to Bollywood. We got all the big stars to endorse and that reflected in our launch campaign. We did a big chat show with Priety Zinta. We also did a show called ‘Live My Life‘ which is coming up for its second season after the channel‘s first anniversary on 19 August. Our channel is also available in High Definition, taking the viewing experience to a whole new level.

     
    How is your content mix different from other rival channels?
    On a daily basis, we have three and half hours of original content while the others offer three hours. So we have half-an-hour of additional content. This is largely because we have original long format shows, giving our channel a differentiated value. You won‘t see big ticket reality shows on other channels.

     

    We run Bollywood music and movies but news and shows form a large portion of our prime time content. We play music in non-prime time because the TG loves it and because Bollywood music lends itself well with the channel. 

     

    ‘On a daily basis, we have three and half hours of original content while the rival channels offer three hours. So we are half-an-hour of additional content‘
     

    How would you define your target group?
    We are in the youth space but have a definite skew towards Bollywood. In terms of demographics, our core target group is 15-24 SEC AB. Bollywood stars influence the youth of India a great deal. In that sense, the kind of content that we have created caters to the Indian youth. So even though Bollywood content cuts across age groups, we are going to focus on youth particularly after the kind of success that we have seen online.

     
    Could you elaborate on the online growth?
    We have almost half a million fans on Facebook. We are also the largest content provider for Bollywood content on YouTube and have already got 30 million views. We power the UTV group content engine on YouTube per se including UTV Motion Pictures. We have got 10,000 hours of content that we had shot last year. All this gives us a cutting edge.

     
    What is the break even period that you have set for yourself?
    We are looking at an operational break-even next year (FY‘ 13). With the kind of control that we have on our costs and if the markets start improving, we should be able to reach that milestone.
     

    What impact did ad slowdown have on your revenues?
    We experienced a bit of a volume loss but our big shows also get a premium. The advertising community is also appreciating the kind of content that we have been able to create and they are now talking to us for annual deals going forward.

      
    Who are your big advertisers?
    We have all the top advertisers that occupy the youth space. Like in FMCG, we have Hindustan Unilever, P&G and L‘Oreal. We run about 10 minutes of commercial in one hour of programming, which can go up to 12 minutes. 

     
    What are the major revenue streams for UTV Stars?
    Currently, ad revenues contribute 60-75 per cent of our overall revenues. But we would like to bring this down to 50-55 per cent and with digitisation we are hopeful that this shift will happen. We are also looking at syndication opportunities overseas as well as in India. We are already syndicating in-flight entertainment across big airlines. Our business model includes distribution, syndication, video on demand, ad revenue and on-ground events.

     
    You have been quite aggressive with on-ground properties?
    So far as ground connect goes, we have been able to rope in partners who are in the lifestyle and Bollywood space. So we had partnered People magazine to do the ‘People Best Dressed‘ show; we had also partnered Cosmopolitan to do ‘Free Fearless Awards‘. Besides, we also did ‘F1 After Parties‘ with Arjun Rampal.

     

    However, the biggest property we did was ‘Walk of the Stars‘ at Bandra Bandstand (Mumbai) where we had the biggest stars giving their hand impressions. It‘s like the Hollywood Walk of the Fame. We got the Walk of the Stars branded as UTV Walk of the Stars as a permanent structure and it has also got statues and benches of legendary stars from Raj Kapoor to Shammi Kapoor and now Rajesh Khanna. We are taking it to Delhi next year and it‘s going to be available at Kingdom of Dreams. We tied up with IIFA Awards this year and took this property to Singapore. 

     
    What big shows are on the anvil?
    There is ‘Nirma Lifestyle‘ season 2 that is coming up in the quarter beginning October. We have another show called ‘Gods of Style‘ coming up where we are going to showcase top 10 style icons in Bollywood. We have four more shows in the pipeline about which I can‘t reveal much at this stage.

     

  • Publicis enters Palestine, buys 20% of Zoom Advertising

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has become the first publicly-listed international communications group to enter the Palestinian market space, purchasing 20 per cent equity stake in Massar International‘s subsidiary Zoom Advertising based in Ramallah.

    This announcement comes close on the heels of Publicis‘ announcement of the acquisition of Israeli advertising and communications firm BBR.

    Post the stake acquisition, Zoom Advertising will be renamed Publicis Zoom and will be aligned with the Publicis Worldwide global network. General manager Firas Awad and managing partner Jane Masri will continue to lead the 23 employee strong company.
    Palestine is the latest addition to Publicis Worldwide‘s expanding Middle East presence joining agencies in UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

    Founded in 2004, Zoom provides digital and interactive tools, has expertise in multimedia applications, and provides creative and brand strategy services. It has corporate clients across market sectors including Bank of Palestine, the Paltel Group, the Palestine Exchange, Coca-Cola, the European Union, UNICEF, UNRWA, Peugeot, Cairo-Amman Bank and the new Palestinian planned city of Rawabi.

    Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Maurice Levy said, “This transaction is important on several levels. One key element, of course, is Publicis‘ desire to serve our clients wherever they work.

    But the impact of this operation extends much further than that. It is also a call to French and international companies to set up in the region and to contribute to creating the economic development without which there can be no durable peace.”

    Publicis Groupe COO Jean-Yves Naouri added, “Zoom Advertising‘s excellent track record in the Palestinian digital and interactive markets made it a natural partner for Publicis Groupe, with its focus on fast growing markets and digital as its two strategic pillars. The Arab world is embracing digital technology at an unprecedented pace, as was demonstrated during the events of the Arab spring, and Palestine is no exception.”

    Zoom board chairman Bashar Masri stated, “Today‘s deal is a key step towards the goal of fostering an enabling business environment for private sector growth and development, and I am confident that more investments like this one are on the horizon.

    The fact that a Palestinian company passed the rigorous due diligence procedures of a global, publicly-listed company like Publicis Groupe should send a very strong message to the Palestinian private sector. I am particularly proud that Zoom was the company to achieve this milestone for the communications industry in Palestine.”

  • Divya Radhakrishnan launches Helios Media

    Divya Radhakrishnan launches Helios Media

    MUMBAI: Divya Radhakrishnan, who had quit in February this year as president of TME, the media arm of Rediffusion-Y&R, has launched her own venture, Helios Media.

    Helios Media, an integrated ancillary service company for television broadcasters, has collaborated with specialised partners to complement services in all allied areas. It has set up Sales, Marketing, Research and Traffic management verticals and will offer the services as a composite piece or as a stand-alone, based on the requirements of the broadcasters.

    The company has set up offices in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

    The company has also roped in former business head of Zoom, Bala Iyengar as business director. He will lead the sales and content syndication function at the company.

    According to the official communique, the vision of this company has been crafted on the premise that the increasing number of TV channels in India is facing a key business challenge. While content is the primary scope of these channels, a lot of effort has to be invested in creating a robust eco-system to run the business. This puts in a lot of stress on the channel business head, resulting in dilution of focus from the key delivery, which is content. Also, the proliferation will lead to further slicing of the revenue pie making the all-encompassing business model non-viable.

    The company has already signed up two music channels — MTunes and Music Express — as clients. It has also partnered with World Media Connect (WMC) as its Asian arm. WMC markets Indian Channels to the ethnic population based in US and UK. The portfolio includes six channels of the Sun TV Network (Sun TV, KTV, Gemini TV, Udaya TV, Gemini Movies, Surya TV) and Punjjabi TV at present.

    Helios Media said that with the above contracts already in place, it is in advanced stages of negotiations with four speciality channels coming into India.

    Radhakrishnan has over 24 years of rich experience in the business of media management. She has worked with leading advertising agencies like Publicis and Rediffusion Y&R. In her last assignment, she headed the Contact Practice at Rediffusion Y&R wherein the Media company TME, Public Relations company Rediffusion PR and the Event Management company Showdiff Worldwide were under her leadership.

    Meanwhile, Iyengar, who has over 14 years of experience, has worked with leading media networks like Times of India, Sony Entertainment Television, Star Network and MTV.