Nitesh Kripalani says farewell to SonyLIV

MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Network) executive VP new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani has apparently decided to call it a day at the network. He has reportedly put in his papers last week.

Industry sources confirmed the news to Indiantelevision.com. However Kripalani refused to confirm or deny that he had resigned.
 
The 33 year old  was ranked amongst the top 40 under 40 executives in India by Business Today magazine as recently as March this year and he was extremely gung-ho about SonyLiv, which the magazine says contributed 5 per cent to MSM's topline.  And he was hopeful of taking that up to 15 per cent in the next three years.
 
His departure hence was sudden, and surprised many in the industry.
 
Kripalani joined MSM in 2009 and was directly recruited by the then CEO and now chairman Man Jit Singh. He spearheaded the broadcast network's programming syndication initiatives,contributed to some M&A initiatives, and investment decisions. But his biggest success was with SonyLiv digital platform which serves as a central digital point for all the network's content. Kripalani chose the advertising revenue generation route for SonyLiv which made the going that much more challenging.
 

400 private websites restrained from beaming FIFA

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court issued an injunction order restraining around 400 private websites from beaming the World Cup Football FIFA matches.
 
The vacation bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao gave a directive to the Department of Information Technology and Telecom to ensure implementation of the order of the court. He directed that his directive would be forwarded to the concerned ministry.
 
 The judge, who listed the matter to come up in the last week of July, gave the directive after hearing Saikrishna Rajagopal who was arguing on behalf of Multi Screen Media Entertainment (Sony) which holds the exclusive rights for beaming the matches in India.
 
 The sports arm of MSM, Sony Six, is the official broadcaster of the football extravaganza, while its digital platform LIVSports.in has the exclusive rights to live stream the event.
 
The network had moved the court after it found out that several unauthorized websites were streaming the World Cup matches.

Amitabh Bachchan's debut TV series 'Yudh' to go on air in July

Mumbai: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is set to debut on a fiction TV show with "Yudh", seemed excited yet nervous about watching a "trial" of the show here Saturday.

"The hour arriveth...the labor and effort, of days to be seen today. The episodes of 'YUDH'! Scream your exuberance!!! No the 'YUDH' serial is not starting today, we the team are seeing the trial for the first time today. It shall air in July," he posted on his Twitter page.

The actor plays the role of Yudhishtir in the show, which will air on Sony Entertainment Television. Its promo has already garnered a fairly positive response, and all eyes are set on whether Big B's new venture on the telly will bring the same revolution that "Kaun Banega Crorepati" brought back in 2000.

A file photo of Amitabh Bachchan

News Headline | Sony Six set to redefine prime time viewing with 2014 FIFA World Cup

MUMBAI: Beginning 12 June, Sony Six, the official broadcast partner for 2014 FIFA World Cup, will redefine prime time viewing of Indian audiences. Being hosted in Brazil, the event is getting ready to capture the imagination of millions of sports enthusiast and hard-core football lovers. With an estimate of over 65 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent itself, the World Cup hopes to rival even the biggest of sporting events in India.
 
With the world talking of the big sporting event, Sony Six is all set to tap into the prime time slot featuring the live games from the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The channel will exclusively broadcast nearly 38 per cent of the total live games in the prime time slot of 9.30pm across the Indian subcontinent (24 games in the 9.30pm time slot out of the total 64 matches).
 
The telecast will begin at 8pm with one of a kind studio show, leading up to the match kick off at 9.30pm, where popular anchors and guests will provide the most interesting and unique insights about the players and the tournament.
 
 The 9:30pm slot will showcase some of the most exciting match-ups of the group stages including Germany vs Portugal. Viewers can also catch some of their favourite teams including Spain, England, Uruguay, Netherlands and few of the most exciting knock out stage games in the same slot.
 
Last time around, of the total viewer demography in India, the tournament had attracted 38 per cent viewership from the 15-34 year audience category presenting a unique opportunity for advertisers and marketers to invest in.
 
Commenting on the estimated viewership for this year tournament, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “The projected reach during the tournament is incomparable, given its value as well as time convenience, the viewership numbers account for a wide geographic spread as well as a significant proportion of the world’s population.”
 
Alliance Advertising, the media buying agency of XOLO, the first official advertiser for 2014 FIFA World Cup on Sony Six, director Arshad Nizam said, “2014 FIFA World Cup is the most anticipated event this year and associating with an event of such magnitude gives XOLO a great opportunity to reach out to the key target audience who will be glued to Sony Six to catch the best footballing action. Considering majority of the matches are slotted for 9.30pm, which is prime time television viewing, gives advertisers a great platform to connect and engage with their audience.”
 
Not limiting the reach through in-home viewing, the channel feels there will be a continued increase in viewership through out-of-home set up’s including pubs, bars, restaurants, clubs, hotels and official FIFA Fan Fests etc. from metros as well as other emerging markets across the country.
 
Oxygen Entertainment & Media Solutions director Sajjad Meherally said, "2014 FIFA World Cup has created a huge stir across India with everyone cheering for their favourite team - planning parties and getting geared for the biggest sporting extravaganza. Clients are planning Brazilian themed viewing parties with international performances for their guests. We are getting a lot of inquiries from smaller towns like Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Indore, Nashik and Ludhiana too."
 
Besides India, the channel will also broadcast the tournament exclusively to audiences across Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives. 
 
The tournament will be in two stages; group stage will feature 32 nations and will be played from 12 June-26 June. The knockout stage will start from 28 June and conclude with the FIFA World Cup final match on 13 July.

News Headline | Discovery to launch three new channels

GOA: Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific has announced the launch of three new channels in India at the ongoing GoaFest. Widely recognised for enhancing the television viewing experience in India over the last two decades, Discovery will launch a refreshing new concept Hindi entertainment channel named ID - Investigation Discovery.

One of the pioneers in high definition genre in India, the company will also expand its HD offering with the launch of two differentiated gold standard channels - TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World.

The company’s expanded portfolio of 11 differentiated channels reflects India’s potential and resonates the core promise of digitisation in India.
 
ID will be India’s first Hindi entertainment channel dedicated to offering compelling true stories of mystery, crime and suspense. The channel promises to ‘always reveal’ intriguing twists and turns that culminate into thrilling conclusions. Providing fascinating stories of human nature, the channel’s alluring series, in-depth specials and thought-provoking one-offs will challenge viewers’ perceptions and expand the Hindi entertainment genre.

Rahul Johri executive vice president and general manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific and head of revenue, pan-regional ad sales and Southeast Asia said, “The launch of three new channels    ID, TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World demonstrates Discovery’s commitment to entertain Indian viewers and offer high-quality and differentiated programming. ID is one of the great success stories in US cable and we are thrilled to present the impactful and entertaining investigative programming to viewers in India.” 
 
“Steering the premium audience in the country, TLC HD World promises to celebrate every moment of life by offering the finest experiences from across the world. With its dedicated 24-hour programming, the channel will indulge the audience through its captivating content on destinations, personalities and trends underscoring its ‘live more’ promise,” stated the release.
 
Offering the gold standard in high definition, Animal Planet HD World will bring alive the warm and intimate bond that exists between humans and animal kingdom. “Surprisingly Human, it will broadcast premiere content, scheduled as per Indian viewers’ preference with gripping on air packaging,” the release added.

Discussing the growth potential of high definition in India, Johri said, “The launch of the two new high definition channels TLC HD World and Animal Planet HD World has further extended Discovery’s leadership in the HD genre. Both the new networks, along with existing Discovery HD World, will enrich television viewing experience and satisfy the emerging demands of audience, advertisers and affiliates.”

 Discovery’s existing portfolio in India includes eight channels: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Tamil, TLC, Discovery Kids, Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD World.

News Headline | Indian regional cinema finds home in Max 2

MUMBAI: It was in April that broke the news of Multi Screen Media (MSM) planning to launch a second movie genre channel, christened Max 2. The channel which is already on air currently runs movies from the MSM library. But plans are much bigger.
 
The tagline for the newly launched channel is ‘Jab Dekho Tab Naya’. “The channel currently airs movies which our viewers have grown up watching. From the older movies to the most recent ones. But this is not all,” informs MSM India CEO NP Singh.
 
Max 2 will be a clear differentiator from its competition. Says Singh, “The objective of the movie channel is to get good cinema made in India to our viewers.”
 
He elaborates, “While a lot of the movie genre channels air Hindi dubbed Telugu action movies, other regional language movies like, Marathi, Gujarati among others, do not reach mainstream media. And they are beautiful movies. Our aim is to bring those to Max 2.”
 
The network is surely going an extra mile to differentiate its new movie channel from the rest.

News Headline | Sony earns big in week 17

MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League (IPL) has started impacting the general entertainment channels (GECs). And so is visible in the week 17 of TAM TV ratings where most of the GECs have seen a drop in the TVTs with an exception of Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which is the only gainer.
 
Sony over took its sister channel Sab and has made its way to number five with 297,073 GVTs (244,069). Reason, the double airing of Umang 2014 which was telecast on 20 April. Other properties of the channel saw a rise as well compared to the previous week. Thus Jee Le Zara reported 1,305 TVTs, up from 1,069 TVTs,Adaalat scored 1,483 TVTs, up from 1,359 TVTs and Maharana Pratap garnered 2,828 TVTs, up from 2,548 TVTs.
 
Despite shedding numbers, Star Plus continues to lead the flock with 743,435 GVTs (790,776 GVTs). Its chart topper Diya Aur Baati Humscored 13,301 TVTs, down from 14,531 TVTs a week earlier. Saathiya Saath is the second highest rated show for the channel which garnered 9,503 TVTs, down from 9,934 TVTs and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai has seen a new rise every week. This week it scored 7,490 TVTs, up from 7,384 TVTs.
 
Zee TV continues to hold on to its number two position strongly as it rated 444,500 GVTs (473,025 GVTs). Its new entrant in the comedy space Gangs of Haseepur opened on a decent note. It garnered 2,727 TVTs.  Rest all the shows have seen a drop in the ratings. Thus its historical series Jodha Akbar scored 9,834 TVTs, down from 10,470 TVTs, Sapne Suhane Ladakh… stood at 5,281 TVTs, down from 6,503 TVTs, Qubool Hai seems to have lost interest as it shed for the third consecutive week with 4,588 TVTs, down from 5,000 TVTs.
 
Colors stood at number three with 423,262 GVTs (433,237 GVTs). The channel’s reality shows have seen a decline in the viewership. Thus Khatron Ke Khiladi noted 5,752 TVTs, down from 7253 TVTs, Comedy Nights with Kapil reported 6,992 TVTs, a huge fall from 8,457 TVTs. Its fiction properties have shown some improvement. Thus Sasural Simar Karecorded 4,445 TVTs, up from 4,377 TVTs, Madhubala scored 3,106 TVTs, up from 2,886 TVTs and Rangrasiya noted 3,179 TVTs, up from 2,916 TVTs.
 
Life OK maintains its stability at number four and recorded 349,580 GVTs (389,214 GVTs). Almost all its properties have seen a drop in the ratings. Thus the channel’s most popular show - Shapath recorded 2,546 TVTs, down from 2,998 TVTs. Tumhari Pakhi witnessed a major fall and reported 2,585 TVTs, down from 4,082 TVTs. Its reality show Welcome Bazishowcased 1,322 TVTs, down from 1,756 TVTs.
 
Sab stood at number six. Its chart topper Taarak Mehta noted 6,098 TVTs, down from 6,476 TVTs. The channel’s game show - Sab Khelo sab Jeeto saw a rise high in the viewership and stood at 1,456 TVTs, up from 1,150 TVTs.
 
Sahara One continued to be at the bottom of the chart and recorded 22,645 GVTs, up from 21,245 GVTs.
 
In the movie genre: Zee Cinema reported 203,672 GVTs, down from 217,826 GVTs; Movies OK scored 123,291 GVTs, down from 144,732 GVTs; &pictures garnered 85,904 GVTs, down from 93,933 GVTs; Zee Anmol earned 71,400 GVTs, down from 76,195 GVTs and Max registered a huge rise, thanks to the IPL frenzy as it recorded 495,922 GVTs, up from 410,312 GVTs.