Tuesday 3 May 2016

Star Plus announces Star Pariwar Awards 2016


The winners for the awards gala were chosen through online voting and by the esteemed jury which included ace choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan and directors Goldie Behl and Omung Kumar.
The award night
Specially designed by Omung Kumar’s team, the stage of the Star Parivaar Awards 2016 featured a perfect mix of grand props and big screens, which were used to give special effects in the various acts.
While actor Nakuul Mehta performed a special aerial act, actresses Deepika Singh and Devoleena Bhattacharjee showcased their Kathak dancing by performing on a medley of hit songs from various Bollywood movies.
The fun quotient of the event was taken care of by actress Ananya Khare from the show “Mere Angne Mein” who beautifully managed to make the audience laugh at the venue through her gags.
The wholesome entertaining award night was brought to an end by a foot tapping performance by popular rapper Badshah, who sang a few of his hit songs while actors Harshad Arora, Hina Khan and Anita Hassanandani joined him on stage.
The winners
Actress Divyanka Tripathi had a golden time at the star-studded ceremony of the Star Parivaar Awards 2016 where she won as many as six trophies including categories like Favourite Bahu, Favourite Maa and Favourite Patni among others for her role of Ishita Bhalla in popular TV show “Ye Hai Mohabbatein”.
Apart from that, Divyanka also took home the trophies for Favourite Digital Sadasya (Female), and Favourite International Jodi and Favourite Jodi, both of which she shared with her “Ye Hai Mohabbatein” co-star Karan Patel.
Not only Divyanka, other actors of the show including Karan and Anita Hassanandani also clinched big honours. While Karan won the awards for Favourite Pati and Favourite Digital Sadasya (Male), Anita was chosen as the Most Stylish Sadasya.
Following “Ye Hai Mohabbatein”, which won nine awards, other big winners of the night were TV shows like “Tamanna”, “Mere Angne Mein” and “Dahleez”, which took away two awards each in various categories.
“Dahleez” lead couple Harshad Arora and Tridha Choudhury were given the trophies for Favourite Naya Sadasya (Female) and Favourite Naya Sadaysa (Male).
Actors Kiran Karmarkar and Anuja Sathe, who are seen as father and daughter in finite series “Tamanna”, were honoured in the Favourite Pita and Favourite Beti categories.
On the other hand, Varun Badola and Krutika Desai were given the award for Favourite Sasur and Favourite Saas.
Other big winners of the night were actor Ashish Sharma, who was given the Favourite Beta award for his portrayal of Lord Ram in mythological show “SiyaKe Ram”, and actress Deepika Singh, who clinched the NayiSoch award for her inspiring role of IPS officer Sandhya Rathi in “Diya AurBati Hum”.

BARC Week 16 Regional Mapping: Zee Marathi, Sarthak & Sun TV leads the regional chart


BarcReg1Marathi
Zee Marathi stood strong at top spot with 134767 GVTs. Colors Marathi remained at second position with 88538 GVTs, followed by Zee Talkies with 55078 GVTs. Fakt Marathi stood at fourth spot with 27956 GVTs, while Star Parvah occupied fifth position with 24566 GVTs.
Bangla
Star Jalha continued to lead with 194449 GVTs, while Zee Bangla remained at second spot with 135016 GVTs. Jalsha Movies stood at third position, whereas ABP Ananda climbed to fourth spot with 39406 GVTs. Colors Bangla slipped to last spot with 31174 GVTs.
Bhojpuri
Big Ganga maintained its lead with 14076 GVTs, followed by Bhojpuri Cinema and Dabangg with 11910 and 4910 GVTs, respectively. At fourth position was Dangal TV with 3419 GVTs and ETV Bihar Jharkhand stood at fifth spot with 2171 GVTs.
Oriya
Sarthak continued to lead with 84692 GVTs, while Tarang stood at second spot with 49138 GVTs. Odisha TV climbed to third position with 12889 GVTs, followed by Colors Oriya and Alankar with 12193 and 8730 GVTs, respectively.
Tamil
With 886818 GVTs, Sun TV led the chart once again. KTV remained at second position with 257941 GVTs, followed by Star Vijay and Zee Tamil with 138992 and 94652 GVTs, respectively. Polimer returned to fifth spot with 73066 GVTs.
Telugu
Once again Zee Telugu claimed the throne with 452891 GVTs, followed by ETV Telugu with 395766 GVTs. Maa TV stood at third position with 371398 GVTs, while Gemini TV and Gemini Movies remained at fourth and fifth spots with 319895 and 172009 GVTs, respectively.
Kannada
Colors Kannada maintained its lead with 279414 GVTs. Survana stood strong at second spot with 180425 GVTs. Zee Kannada returned to third position with 169288 GVTs, followed by sisters Udaya Movies and Udaya TV with 153875 and 151174 GVTs, respectively.
Malayalam
Asianet stood strong at top spot with 326291 GVTs, followed by Mazhavil Manorama with 127000 GVTs. Flowers TV climbed to third position with 66232 GVTs, while Surya TV slipped to fourth spot with 64830 GVTs. Asianet Movies remained at fifth position with 59473 GVTs.

Zee Studio inks deal with Disney for Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War


To keep up with the momentum of this much awaited franchise, Zee Studio inked a major strategic deal with Disney to offer the Indian audience with an opportunity of a lifetime. As a part of this partnership, selected audience would now get a chance to watch Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, the third instalment of the franchise at a special screening a day before the film opens in India on 6th May.
Speaking on the association, Ali Zaidi, Business Head, Zee English Cluster said “We always intend to bring to our viewers what they love and superheroes top that list. We are happy to have Disney on board for the channel premiere of Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This, we believe would be the perfect opportunity to re-experience Captain America’s journey so far before the third instalment’s release next week.”
For the viewers to seal a seat, they need to answer a few questions under the Watch and Win contest asked during the premiere and send the responses using #CatchUpwithCap tagging Zee Studio on Twitter or Facebook. But that’s not the end. Zee Studio takes gratification to the next level for Captain America fans; few contest winners can also take home some really cool Captain America: Civil War merchandise and the lucky one can stand a chance to win the mega prize, a Yamaha FZ – S Fi bike.
To ensure maximum eyeballs for the premiere, Zee Studio initiated an all-round 360° campaign spanning across TV, Radio and Outdoor media outlets. The channel got into major In-cinema promotions in the southern markets.

Sony Entertainment to premier Baba Ramdev’s biopicYogYatra


Yogyatra1After the launch of The Kapil Sharma Show last weekend, Sony Entertainment announced the premier of yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s biopic YogYatra. This full length biopic on the life and times of Ramdev and his close friend Acharya Balkrishna, will be premiered on 1st May.
The 90-minute biopic, written and directed by Kaveta Chaudhry of ‘Udaan’ tele-serial fame, was originally intended to be presented as a corporate movie by the Patanjali group. It traces the life journey of Baba Ramdev from a yoga teacher to corporate leader with his Patanjali group.
Chaudhry said she spent months researching for the film. Even during the shooting, the script required rewriting to bring to life real incidents which shaped the lives of the two yoga teachers.
“YogYatra came to me with Acharya Balkrishna’s plans to make a film on their institution. I convinced them to expand its scope to including the vision behind Patanjali and their activities,” commented Chaudhry.
Acharya Balkrishna lauded Chaudhry’s work and her creativity. “Her passion and flair for story-telling makes us happy she was a part of our forward journey,” he said.

MTV unveils Many Me Project at Youth Marketing Forum 2016


Aptly titled MTV Many Me Project, this in-depth research explores the many facets of youth life – their attitudes, motivations, aspirations and anxieties that was presented with much fanfare at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016 – flagship insights event that studies and dissects the world of the youth.
Speaking about the project, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “The Many Me Project is a look into the ever changing, ever dynamic youth of India. The headline of what has emerged is that today young people are fascinatingly multidimensional and multi-faceted. For them, being multitasking isn’t enough, they want to be multi-achievers. The world of the young is changing rapidly and the pace of this change is only doubling with time. At MTV, the universe of the young, we are passionate about tracking this change, because today, more than ever, the youth is incredibly dynamic. What’s more, they expect us, their brands, to be as dynamic, ever evolving and layered. It is a great pleasure for me to share these insights in order to help youth marketers build a strong connect with young people through cutting edge content.”
This year, the study also explores the role of content in life of youngsters and questions the existing paradigm that content is just a social currency. MTV also investigates on the emergent social etiquettes on the social media platforms, and the plurality of the online and offline lives of the youngsters. This research explores the manifestation of new-age gender definitions and therefore, its impact on the relationships between friends, families and significant others.
YMF1Expressing his thoughts at YMF2016, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “As a content powerhouse, it is mandatory for us to understand the pulse of our audience. Hence, MTV’s constant endeavor to understand its primary target audience – the youth, what they are up to and how they feel about various aspects of life – is extremely crucial. For the last 10 years, MTV has been working incessantly to understand every nuance of each interaction young people have amongst themselves and their media consumption habits.  It is these patterns of consumption and interaction which then form the basis of everything we do at MTV. The headline study for this year – ‘MTV Many Me Project’ – has thrown up some fascinating insights into the lives and minds of this absolutely dynamic demographic. I am positive that every single person who has been a part of the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016 will now be able to decode the ever-changing youth of India much better.”
MTV Insights Studio, which is the insights arm of MTV, conducts the detailed exploration on what makes the youth tick. MTV had conversations with more than 11,000 youth across more than 50 cities across NCCS (new definition of SEC) A B & C in India to find out what exactly what makes them tick. Spanning an age group of 13-25 years, MTV used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methodology.
This year, MTV deployed interesting non-intrusive yet immersive techniques such as selfie-project, peer scope, digital shadowing along with ethnographic interviews, peer group discussions to understand the new emerging face of young India. As always, the insights gathered from this research were presented through interactive seminars and presentations every year at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016, which also featured renowned trend speakers across the world such as:

Star Plus gears up for second season of Dance +


Dance+1After the success of last year’s dance reality show Dance+, Star Plus is all set to bring the second season. The first season was produced by Frames production and judged by Choreographer and film maker, Remo D’Souza.
Hosted by Raghav Juyal and Dharmesh Yelande, Sumeet Nagdev and Shakti Mohan were the mentors of the show. However, according to sources, Choreographer-Actor Punit Pathak will replace Nagdev in forthcoming season.
The auditions for the second season will kick off on 3rdMay in cities such as Indore, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Jaipur, Lucknow, Delhi, Guwahati, Ranchi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Siliguri, Dehradun and Chandigarh.

Big Ganga launches mythological show Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali


Bajrang1RBNL’s (Reliance Broadcast Network Limited) regional entertainer of Bihar and Jharkhand BIG Ganga launched a new mythological show Jai Jai Jai Bajrangbali. The mythological show which takes viewers through the life of Bajrang Bali from his childhood to being a Shiva avatar is currently running on Big Magic in Hindi as well. The show will air on every Monday to Friday at 7 PM in Bhojpuri.
The story revolves around lesser-known mythological events surrounding the trials and tribulations of Hanuman, while he was combating the evil and malevolent forces espoused by characters such as Raavan.
BIG Ganga’s programming strategy is built on local insights with a deep cultural connect and has shows pegged on devotion and festivities. Big Ganga audience will now get a chance to watch another mythological show in Bhojpuri, in addition to Baal Krishna and Devo Ke Dev Mahadev.

Viacom18 rebrands Nickelodeon Sonic


Sonic1The kids franchise, Nickelodeon, from the house of Viacom18 Media is all set to rebrand its 2011 launched kids channel – Sonic.  With this rebranding, Sonic, an integral part of the kids franchise, is all set to evolve its content strategy to now include edgy comedy along with riveting action. The evolution in the content strategy will be brought alive through the renewed graphic elements and the new vibrant logo imbued with energy and life.  Sonic in its new avatar will go live, starting 3rdMay, 2016.
Speaking on the development, Sudhanshu Vats – Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “Our flagship Kids channel Nick has been the genre leader for almost 2 years now and our Kids portfolio is amongst the top 2 in India. Seen in this light, the rebranding exercise for Sonic is part of an evolving  content strategy aimed at building Sonic up as a strong second to Nick, thereby increasing the combined viewership share of our Kids portfolio as we aim to cement our position as the number one Kids’ content destination in India. Our commitment to the genre is reflected in how we’ve placed it across our network through Consumer Products and a dedicated section in our OTT service Voot.”
Sonic3The channel is already prepped for the transformation through a refreshing programming line-up.  This change has already been set into motion with action comedy series, Shiva moving to Sonic. Upping the action + comedy quotient of the channel will be all new episodes of Pakdam Pakdai and Oggy the Cockroaches along with the ever-green shows Supa Strikas and Shaun The Sheep.
Talking about the rebranding of Sonic, Nina Elavia Jaipuria -EVP and Head – Kids Cluster, Viacom18 said “While Nickelodeon continues its dream run, our focus for this year is on building SONIC into a formidable channel that becomes a part of every child’s daily life. Our research shows that Children love action but with a significant dash of comedy.   It is aligning to this insight that we have curated the all new SONIC that is fun, refreshing, vibrant, full of action and entertainment  and with an edgy sense of humor which we are sure that children will love.”
The refreshed look of the channel will be brought to life with the Shiva campaign. The expansive marketing campaign will have promotions with an extensive cross channel plan, large scale on-ground, ambient engagement and interesting on-line interactivity.
Adding to this will be the on-ground initiatives such as retail and mall partnerships, the association with Pantaloons for the Junior Fashion Icon, Shiva themed games and meet-and-greets at Funcity, etc, all of which will introduce as well as allow kids’ to engage with their all new Sonic.

Monday 2 May 2016

India’s TV ad expenditure to grow at 12 .3 per cent in 2016: Carat report 2016

Carat1According to recent report by Carat Ad Spend Report, advertising expenditure in India continues to accelerate. Following a buoyant year in 2015 with a growth of +11.0 per cent, 2016 has begun on a positive note with a forecast growth rate of +12.0 per cent. Growth will be supported by the India T20 Cricket World Cup and the state elections. Media-related statistics for India include:
TV advertising revenues are forecast to grow by +12.3 per cent in 2016, supported by strong spending from e-commerce companies and FMCG brands.
According to Jerry Buhlmann, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network, the strength of digital continue to be the dominant element in the growth of global advertising expenditure whilst TV spend remains as the foundations of the industry.
“As advertising becomes more data driven and complex, its crucial to move rapidly to navigate and meet the needs of the digital economy and this is reflected in the innovative capabilities and approach we provide to our clients,” expressed Buhlmann.
While TV is expected to remain dominant for many years to come, advertisers are increasingly utilising Online Video as an invaluable complement. However, share of total Digital advertising spend in India is still relatively low at 8.9 per cent (2016).
Unlike in other markets, positive Newspaper advertising spend growth is expected to continue in India at +10.5 per cent in 2016, primarily due to investment from e-commerce, Automotive and a small contribution from Government spending. Retail advertisers also continue to spend on Print.
Carat’s first forecasts for 2017 predict continuing strong growth for the advertising market in India with an estimated increase of +13.9 per cent and expected favourable economic conditions in which advertisers vie for consumers’ attention.
Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, Carat’s latest global forecasts highlights that advertising spend will reach US$538 billion in 2016, accounting for a +4.5 per cent year-on-year increase.
Fuelled by high-interest media events taking place during the year– including the US presidential elections, Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics and the UEFA EURO 2016 championship – the positive outlook for 2016 is predicted to continue into 2017, with Carat’s forecast highlighting a consistently strong year-on-year global advertising growth of +4.5 per cent.
Carat’s latest forecasts reconfirm the rise of Digital as the established driver of global advertising spend growth. Powered by the upsurge of Mobile (+37.9 per cent), Online Video (+34.7 per cent) and Social Media (+29.8 per cent) in 2016, the strength of Digital is expected to continue to grow at double digit prediction levels of +15.0 per cent this year, and a further +13.6 per cent in 2017.
Overall, Carat predicts the upsurge of Digital to account for 27.0 per cent of advertising spend in 2016 and extend significantly to 29.3 per cent in 2017, reaching US$161 billion globally.

Nickelodeon initiates Together For Good


Nick-good1Viacom18’s Kids’ entertainer Nickelodeon announced Together For Good – an initiative that endeavours to make torchbearers of the future- the kids of India, take small steps towards a better tomorrow.  Kick-starting on 18th April 2016, the 1st edition of the campaign will make the process of cleaning more fun and entertaining for children.
Together for Good is Nickelodeon’s worldwide initiative that believes anyone, anywhere, any time can help make the world a better place. In India too, the movement has been launched with a vision to empower kids to be the change agents in society.
Commenting on this initiative, Nina Jaipuria, EVP and Business Head, Kids Cluster at Viacom18 said. “At Nickelodeon, we believe that children are change agents of tomorrow. Through ‘Together For Good’ we want to start imbibing in children the eternal virtues of cleanliness, while also empowering them to make small but impactful changes in society. Together For Good is a movement that will inspire the ever creative and curious kids to bring about a positive change in the world.”
Given the fact that cleanliness is one of India’s primary concerns, this edition of Together For Good  sets out to address the concern by inspiring children to take small but actionable steps towards creating  a cleaner future.
Collect. Clean. Create
Nickelodeon believes that kids are very creative and hence goes beyond just simple ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ to contribute towards society in their unique way. Hence, this year the campaign will be actioned through the unique idea of ‘Collect -> Clean -> Create’. This will not only help them to be aware but go a step further to unleash their creativity and build simple usable items out of waste, scrap and junk.
In keeping with the core of Collect, Clean and Create, Nickelodeon will begin by seeding messages of cleanliness on-air and online with the help of the kids favourite Nicktoons with whom they share immense equity. Children across the country will be encouraged to take up the issue at an individual level, or even join clubs and groups to help out.
The movement will be brought to life on digital on nickindia.com/TFG. The page will help kids with simple and actionable steps with a starter kit with info-graphics, articles on the importance of cleanliness and various methods and tools that we can use for personal as well as environmental cleanliness. The page will also list all the other activities that are currently active in the country and open to participation.
The movement will also be brought alive on-ground across 3 cities to amplify the message of   Together For Good, moving towards cleaner surroundings.  Children under the guidance of a leading artists will clean a popular city locale and create a unique art masterpiece – bringing alive the message of Together for Good.

How Uday Shankar is planning to make Star India a major contributor to global profits of the Murdochs’ entertainment biz


UdayShankar1It was Holi in Uttar Pradesh in 1991. Sanjay Gupta, at the time a young management trainee at Hindustan Lever (now Hindustan Unilever), had organised a short film show in Etah, a town in Aligarh. Gupta’s plan turned into a nightmare when revelry among the audience deteriorated into a drunken brawl. In desperation, Gupta went back to his room to get his katta (country made revolver). His host in Etah had asked him to keep it under his pillow when he slept, just for safety.
Gupta fired the katta in the air (for the first and only time) and managed to break the fight. While that day, in end February of 1991, is etched in his memory for the wrong reasons, Gupta swears by his learnings in Etah. It made him live the life of his consumers and soak it in. Today, Gupta, who has just been elevated as managing director of media giant Star India, makes sure that his team members spend a lot of time in the homes of their audience. A Star India team is scheduled to fan out a across Uttar Pradesh next month. Gupta recalls how, after joining Star in 2009, he did his own bit of such touring.
In Surat, he met one Mrs Shah who helped her husband in his diamond business. She was well known in her locality. But he realised that she wanted to be more than Mrs Shah; she wanted to be known as Minal Shah, a jewellery designer. Gupta explains how aspirations for such transformations are part of his target audience’s lives, and have inspired Star to build their soaps around women who come from humble beginnings and want to make it big time. A transformation along similar lines was celebrated in the recently concluded Star soap Diya Aur Baati Hum , about a girl, married young, who becomes an IPS officer. Transformation is also the reigning buzzword in Star India.
Star1Chairman on his feet
It starts in the corner office. On the 37th floor of Urmi Estate in Mumbai’s Lower Parel commercial district, Gupta’s boss and Star India chief Uday Shankar works standing at his workstation, which is a raised table without a chair around. The room, with glass walls on two sides, looking over central Mumbai’s concrete jungle, has three separate seating areas and a large television screen. Shankar, who has just been elevated as chairman and CEO of the company has his own storyline for transformation. He tells ET Magazine: “The company was started and designed as a small operation.
It was not created to handle the growth we are seeing now.” He started off last week by carving up the company into five business verticals and elevating the business heads as CEOs of those businesses. There is a lot to keep Shankar on his feet — mainly the financial goals set by his boss James Murdoch, CEO of Star India’s parent 21st century Fox. Shankar has to take the company from a negative operating profit position in 2014-15 to deliver half a billion dollars of profit by 2018 and then double it by 2020. Shankar has to make good on a Rs 20,000 crore bet that sports will be profitable, and make money out of a digital platform, Hotstar, that Star India has pioneered.
The good news
Growth is a great place to begin with. In the last two years, Star India has doubled its turnover. From Rs 5,204 crore in 2013-14, it went up to Rs 7,164 crore in 2014-15 and now is at Rs 10,800 crore for 2015-16 (around 65 per cent of Star’s revenues come from advertising). Star India has been valued at $14.3 billion (a little over Rs 91,000 crore) by Edelweiss in January 2016, putting it way ahead of its rival Zee Entertainment (See How it Compares With Listed Entertainment Companies ).
With 51 channels in eight languages, Star’s overall network share among Indian broadcasters is 22-23 per cent, making it the king of the hill. Star has a deep presence in general entertainment channels (GECs) and is among the top three in Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. It leads in sports, with Star Sports owning the rights to BCCI and ICC events up to 2018 and 2023, respectively. It has the rights to Wimbledon and two European football leagues and also coowns Indian leagues in kabaddi, hockey and football.
StarChampians1The bad news
While that is the good news, here is the bad. Year 2014-15 produced Star India’s biggest ever net loss — Rs 1,273.88 crore as a standalone entity and Rs 1,467.35 crore when consolidated with its subsidiaries. The sports model still revolves around cricket, which may be high on visibility but not on profits, not yet. Last August, Star India paid $420 million to get out of a contract with the BCCI to broadcast the Champions League T20.
This will hurt the profit and loss account for 201516. In other words, the company will again be in the red. Hotstar, the digital platform, is still hungry for investments. Star is facing a tough challenge in Hindi GEC space, with Colors from Viacom’s stable often outdoing it in weekly ratings from BARC. In late 2015, its major gambit, Amitabh Bachchan hosted Aaj Ki Raat Hai Zindagi gathered low ratings and was later taken off air.
The game plan
Shankar points out that Star India is in a unique position as it is unlisted and has a parent that is ready to pump in cash whenever needed — as it did for Star India’s acquisition of Telugu broadcaster Maa TV in February 2015. Also, the company barely has any loans. The acquisitions of Vijay Television and Asianet provided Star with a strong footing in southern India, and Fox was happy to invest through separate subsidiaries, keeping it out of Star India’s balance sheet. CFO Sanjay Jain points out that the two companies, Vijay Television and Asianet, are profitable (a combined net profit of around Rs 450 crore) but are not consolidated with Star India.
For any plan to succeed, Star’s sports business must turn around by 2018. Shankar admits that the sports broadcasting model in India is broke and that broadcasting top cricket events is not profitable. He sees a turnaround of the sports business by pushing sports programming into regional channels and markets. To realise this vision, Star India has invested in a sports studio in Mumbai in the same building that houses its headquarters.
The recent World T20 had multiple commentary teams in different languages, creating regional language feeds. In search of profitability, Star also wants a flotilla around cricket and to look beyond urban audiences. That explains investments in different sports leagues like football, hockey and kabaddi.
To garner a larger viewership, kabaddi was also put on Star Gold. Star India has eight sports channels, with a clear focus on separating the audience that wants English content from the one that Shankar is seeking out. “The focus is to make sports available to a larger number of people, in local languages, Hindi as well as others,” says Shankar.
Is Star India’s bid to create new sports media properties sustainable? There are a few sceptics. Ronnie Screwvala, owner of U Mumbai kabaddi team, lauds Star for promoting kabaddi, but adds: “I have a mixed view, as media companies cannot use media expertise to build a sport, because then the DNA and the thinking will always be from the ratings, viewership /audience and advertising points of view. While there may be nothing wrong with any of that, just those can’t be the objectives because then we will not build a long-term sport but a long-term media property.”
Take football. Star India created the Indian Super League (ISL) in a joint venture with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance. The assessment within Star itself is that running two national football leagues, the ISL and the I-League, is not viable in the long run.
Hotstar1The digital design
Star also has to turn around Hotstar, its digital platform that has seen 58 million app downloads in 14 months — a record of sorts. Hotstar can be accessed through an app or directly on the web through mobile web and website. Star expects 100 million unique views for the 2016 IPL season, for which it has the digital rights. Ad revenues on digital for this IPL are expected to touch 12-14 per cent (3 per cent in 2014). Also, more people today watch the English Premier League on Hotstar in India than they do on television. Star India is planning a paid version of Hotstar.
Streaming video is not cheap, and Star’s MD Gupta figures that anyone who is able to watch videos can also afford to pay more for premium content — for shows like Game of Thrones or even the English Premier League. Gupta says: “We expect an overall explosion of television-watching time in India and we want to grab the new advertising and subscription opportunities.” The search for audiences has taken wings, with the Star soap Iss Pyaar ko Kya Naam Doon? becoming a rage in Turkey.
The digital platform allows Star India to seek subscribers outside India, wherever the diaspora is spread out. As a relief to the company, the film business has seen two successes in 2016, with both Neerja and Kapoor & Sons promising good returns. Shankar says Star India is changing gears in films.
The profit and loss statement of Star India for 2014-15 shows that the company has upped its spending on programming and programme rights by more than Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 5,597 crore. So profitability will only come via greater revenues. Edelweiss analysts Abneesh Roy and Rajiv Berlia wrote in their report in January: “Star is best placed to charge premium ad rates due to a higher demand for prime-time slots. Zee TV’s ad rates are 0.75 x Star Plus rates, which shows the premium commanded by Star.”
Starprokabbadi1Closer to the audience
Shankar, doubtless, sees an opportunity for closing the gap between expenses and revenues. The regional thrust is a push for profitability as these channels often enjoy a 30-40 per cent margin. The South is clearly a focus area. In the shakeup last week, managing director of Asianet, K Madhavan, has been elevated as managing director (South) for Star India. Madhavan says, “The South is a very profitable unit.
About 30 per cent of the television population resides in the four southern states and most of these markets are priority for advertisers.” Shankar wants to ride on the top line growth to a healthy bottom line and has decided to pump prime the content pipeline and create content ahead of its time. “I want our teams to work on at least 100 projects in Hindi and another 100 in other languages simultaneously,” he says. One of the initiative she has taken has been to diversify recruitment.
“We hire from the top management and engineering colleges but now we have started going to universities in places like Allahabad and Benaras,” he says, stressing on the need to avoid sameness in hiring and the key role that diversity plays in keeping alive a content-generating company like Star India. So to find Bengali writers, a Star team went to Santiniketan. To help bring in more creative people on board, Star has introduced flexible contracts that do not tie professionals to the company in  the manner of a job. To retain women employees, the company introduced flexible maternity leave—six months of paid leave and then another six months of leave at half the pay, or full pay for half the working hours. In various ways, through programming and hiring and the changes initiated last week that drive the decision-making powers down the line, Star is trying to get closer to its audience, deep inside India, in tier-2 and tier-3 towns and villages. These are places like Etah where Gupta started his career. Television today ensures that in these towns, no one needs to wait for a film screening on special days like Holi. For Star, this audience can be key.

BARC Week 14 Regional Mapping: ETV Telugu claims the throne; Zee Kannada loses eyeballs

BarcReg1Marathi
Once again Zee Marathi led the chart with 132345 GVTs. Colors Marathi stood strong at second spot with 91262 GVTs, followed by Zee Talkies with 63225 GVTs. Fakt Marathi remained at fourth position with 27814 GVTs, while Star Parvah occupied fifths spot with 23826 GVTs.
Bangla
With 196633 GVTs, Star Jalsha topped the chart once again, followed by Zee Bangla and Jalsha Movies with 130119 and 48837 GVTs, respectively. Zee Bangla Cinema climbed to fourth position with 33418 GVTs, while Colors Bangla returned to fifth spot with 29263 GVTs.
Bhojpuri
Big Magic continued to lead with 16765 GVTs. Bhojpuri Cinema stood at second spot with 9922 GVTs, followed by Dangal TV and Dabangg with 6434 and 5674 GVTs, respectively. Oscar Movies Bhojpuri remained at fifth position with 2577 GVTs.
Oriya
Sarthak TV maintained its lead with 105351 GVTs, followed by Tarang TV with 50413 GVTs. Colors Oriya remained at third spot with 16319 GVTs. Odisha TV stood at fourth position with 11912 GVTs, followed by Alankar with 7984 GVTs.
Tamil
Sun TV stood strong at top spot with 926201 GVTs. KTV remained at second position with 257879 GVTs, followed by Star Vijay with 145536 GVTs. Zee Tamil occupied fourth spot with 107402 GVTs, while Polimer stood at fifth position with 69781 GVTs.
Telugu
ETV Telugu claimed the throne with 409782 GVTs, while last week’s topper Zee Telugu slipped to second spot with 398788 GVTs. Maa TV stood strong at third position with 392493 GVTs.Gemini TV remained at fourth spot with 338823 GVTs, followed by sister channel Gemini Movies with 167823 GVTs.
Kannada
Colors Kannada maintained its lead with 247946 GVTs, while Survana returned to second spot with 178024 GVTs. Udaya TV stood at third position with 172069 GVTs, followed by sister channel Udaya Movies with 170014 GVTs. Zee Kannada witnessed huge dip in terms of both viewership and ranking. It’s slipped from second spot in week 13 to fifth position with 155204 GVTs.
Malayalam
With 311011 GVTs, Asianet topped the chart once again, followed by Mazhavil Manorama with 104351 GVTs. Flowers TV remained at third spot with 71025 GVTs. Surya TV climbed to fourth spot with 68313 GVTs, while Asianet Movies slipped to fifth position with 61988 GVTs.

BARC Week 14 English Genre: Comedy Central claims the throne


Barceng1Entertainment channels
Comedy Central claimed the throne with 192 GVTs, while AXN climbed to second spot with 149 GVTs. Star World who was at fifth spot in week 13, climbed to third position with 144 GVTs.
Last week’s topper Zee Cafe witnessed huge dip and slipped to fourth spot with 125 GVTs. Colors Infinity SD stood at fifth position with 86 GVTs.
News channels
Times Now continued to lead with 306 GVTs, followed bu India Today TV and CNN IBN with 147 and 120 GVTs.
News9 climbed to fourth position with 93 GVTs, while NDTV 24×7 slipped to fifth spot with 92 GVTs.
Business news
ETV topped the chart once again with 88 GVTs, followed closely by CNBC TV18 with 87 GVTs. NDTV Profit and NDTV Prime occupied third spot with 28 GVTs and with 15 GVTs, Bloomberg stood at fourth position.
Movies
With 3378 GVTs, Movies Now maintained its lead, followed by Star Movies with 2828 GVTs. Sony Pix climbed to third spot with 1621 GVTs, while Zee Studio remained at fourth position with 1361 GVTs. HBO slipped to fifth spot with 1295 GVTs.

ETV to launch three regional channels under News18 banner


eTV1On the pattern of ETV regional news channels, TV18 is now launching three more news channels under the banner of News18. These news channels will be for Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the north-eastern states, a company statement said.
The channels have been named as News18 Tamil Nadu, News18 Kerala and News18 Assam/NE, with a soft launch on Thursday. These channels are a part of Network18 group, the media house owned by Reliance Industries.
Initially, transmission of all the three channels will be from Hyderabad studios and shift to the respective state capitals from June. Jagdeesh Chandra who is the CEO of existing 10 ETV channels, shall also head the new regional channels.

Viacom18 appoints Narayan Ranjan as Chief of Staff; Soumen Ray takes over as CFO


Soumen1Viacom18 announced the appointment of Narayan Ranjan to a new and strategic role of Chief of Staff – Viacom18. In his new role, Ranjan would be responsible for mergers and acquisition, internal audit, internal control as well as the admin function while continuing work on improving group level governance.
Viacom18 has also promoted Soumen Ray as the Chief Financial Officer of the company. Ray joined as the Deputy CFO at Viacom18 in 2013 and has played a pivotal role in the company’s growth trajectory. Both the managerial changes have been made with effect from 15th April.
Commenting on the management restructuring, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “With a 30X growth in topline since inception, we are one of India’s fastest growing M&E companies. As we gear up for a more streamlined growth phase, it is imperative to align our corporate functions so that we can leverage both the experience and the expertise that our leaders possess. Narayan Ranjan, one of our more experienced and senior leaders, will now take on a more strategically aligned role that streamlines our business and administrative processes across the ever-growing brands of Viacom18. Soumen Ray, who as the Deputy CFO, has been pivotal in streamlining the network’s financial performance, will now take over as the Chief Financial Officer.”
Ranjan had joined Viacom18 twelve years back to head the finance function after having successfully managed critical roles within the broadcast industry and outside and was part of the team that forged this JV back in 2007.
With close to 2 decades of experience in financial planning, Ray had joined Viacom18 three years ago after successful stints at HUL, ITC and Eveready Industries. A Chartered Accountant by qualification, Ray has played a pivotal role in the network’s meteoric growth, over the last few years.