Indo – Pak Finale Match Watched By 72.31 Mn Viewers
The grand finale of ICC Champions Trophy 2017 between arch rivals India & Pakistan was watched by a whopping 72.31 million viewers on Star Sports network & DD National, as per BARC India data for all India 2+ TG. The previous best record of the tournament was also held by the group stage match between the 2 countries.
BBC Announces Biggest Investment
BBC has announced its biggest investment in children’s services in a generation. It is an additional £34 million across the 3 years to 2019 / 2020, over & above its existing budgets. This new investment will enable BBC to reinvent how it serves its youngest audience in the years ahead. It will fund an enhanced online offer for children, with new forms of content & interactivity. The funding will mean that this can be delivered alongside BBC’s children’s television channels, CBeebies & CBBC.
GTPL Hathway Makes A Tepid Market Debut
Cable TV & broadband service provider GTPL Hathway did not have a wild debut day on the bourses. The shares of the multi – system operator (MSO) did not climb much during the day after opening at the issue price of Rs 170. Being the 1st stock to list after the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST), the scrip plunged to a low of Rs 162.25 on Tues & then recovered to close at Rs 171.65. During the day, it touched a high of Rs 175.
Icc Champions Trophy Hits Show Launches
Compared to previous months, Jun, 2017 witnessed a drop in the number of show launches on the varied Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) as the ICC Champions Trophy took centre stage. Even as India entered the final and lost to Pakistan in the cricket contest, only 5 Hindi entertainment shows were introduced in Jun, 2017 which spanned across comedy, fantasy & mythological genres. These shows were launched on Colors, Star Plus, &TV & Sony Sab. In the IPL month of May, 2017 Hindi GECs launched 8 new shows in varied genres.
Dekkho To Tap Into Unscripted & Independent Creator Market
Online video streaming platform Dekkho has announced its plans to establish itself as the top destination for talent discovery in the country and showcase premium content from non – production house talent. Having collaborated with 80+ creators to curate premium videos across genres such as food, fashion, travel, lifestyle, comedy & gossip, the platform is now gearing up to run multiple digital promotions & events to identify emerging talent and get them on – board over the next 3 to 4 quarters. Dekkho will largely focus on youth based videos & regional content across 6 languages, primarily serving the 18 – 30 year old mobile audience.
Siti Networks Leads As Msos Add 1.67 Mn Pay TV Subscribers
Leading operators in India gained at least 1.67 million pay TV subscribers in the 1st quarter of 2017, with multi – system operator (MSO) Siti Networks adding 800,000 subscribers, as per informitv’s Multiscreen Index. The 100 leading television services in the informitv Multiscreen Index gained 3.46 million subscribers between them in the 1st quarter of 2017, an increase of 0.79%.
Net Active Dth Subs Grew 12%
The total active subscriber base of the 6 private direct – to – home (DTH) operators grew 12% in the calendar year 2016 to 62.65 million from 55.98 million in the previous year. The figure is based on the Performance Indicator Report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the telecom & broadcasting sectors. The net active subscriber base includes the number of temporarily suspended subscribers who have been inactive but for not more than 120 days.
Sun Direct – Astro – Reliance Digital TV & The Sniffing Of A Deal
For billionaire Anil Ambani, holding on to his anaemic direct – to – home (DTH) business makes no sense. The future of Reliance Digital TV under the debt – laden Reliance Communications is dark, as it struggles with a tiny 2% market share in a rapidly growing DTH universe of 62.65 million active subscribers. The way out is its acquisition by Malaysia based Astro in a separate deal, along with the merger of RCom’s wireless business with Aircel.
Network18 Sells Burrp To Bookmyshow
Big Tree Entertainment, the owner of entertainment ticketing platform BookMyShow, has fully acquired Mumbai based local food & restaurant recommendation engine Burrp in an all – cash deal from Network18. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed. This Network18 divestment has been made to Foodfesta Wellcare, a subsidiary of Big Tree Entertainment. The acquisition includes transfer of Burrp’s key assets to BookMyShow, including employees & existing restaurant partnerships.
Comedy Central’s Slate Of New Shows
Comedy Central will offer what it calls a heavy shower this monsoon. Everything will be LITT UP as Comedy Central is gearing up for the return of the duo – Harvey & Mike with the launch of season 7 of legal dramedy Suits on 14th Jul, 2017. Comedy Central is also premiering new shows such as Mom Season 4 on 5th Jul, 2016 & Schitt’s Creek on 25th Jul, 2017. Mom revolves around the adventures of Bonnie and her daughter Christie while Schitt’s Creek is a comedy drama about a billionaire couple Johny Rese & Moira who lose all their money and are forced to relocate to a small town of Schitt’s Creek that they once bought as a joke.
BTVI Makes New Hires
Anil Ambani – controlled BTVi has appointed former Times Network VP revenue Shilpa Shetty & former TV18 South branded content head for CNN – News18 Seema Pisharody to jointly work towards the English business news channel’s revenue generation. The duo will be closely working with Megha (Monica) Tata to grow the channel. BTVi has been strengthening its management team. Recently, it had hired Anuj Katiyar as the marketing & research head.
Sony Pictures TV Networks Commissions Detective Show Carter
Sony Pictures Television Networks has commissioned Carter, a new series starring Jerry O’Connell & Sydney Poitier, for its international channels, including AXN. In Carter, Harley Mackay (Jerry O’Connell) is a detective on a hit American TV show who is forced to return to his sleepy hometown after an embarrassing public meltdown in Hollywood. Once back, Carter taps into his acting experience to become a real – life detective, partnering with long – time friend & no – nonsense veteran of the force, Sam St. Clair (Sydney Poitier).
Sky Sports & ECB Ink 5 Year Partnership
UK sports broadcaster Sky Sports has agreed to a new 5 year partnership with the England & Wales Cricket Board that includes live rights to international & county cricket from 2020, including every match from the new T20 competition. Taking its partnership with English cricket into its 3rd decade, the deal will give customers more live cricket than ever before, said the two parties.
TRAI To Begin Arguments
The Madras High Court will hear the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) pleadings on Mon & Tues as the other respondents, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) & the DIPP, have completed their arguments. Broadcasters Star India & Vijay TV was the first to complete their arguments. The HC had resumed hearing in the matter from 27th Jun, 2017. Earlier, the Madras HC had put off the hearing to 27th Jun, 2017. The matter was supposed to come up for hearing on 12th Jun, 2017.
TDSAT Asks Scod18 To Pay Rs 1.9 Cr
The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has permitted multi – system operator (MSO) Scod18 Networking (You Scod18) to make an interim payment of Rs 1.9 crore to broadcaster Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL). The tribunal said that ZEEL would be required to restore the signals of its TV channels to the MSO as soon as the latter paid this amount & signed an RIO (reference interconnection offer) agreement.
NK Sinha Assumes Charge
Former Ministry of Culture Secretary Narendra Kumar Sinha has assumed charge as secretary in the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB). Sinha is an IAS officer from the 1980 Bihar cadre. Sinha has replaced Ajay Mittal, who has been transferred to the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) as secretary. Mittal, an IAS officer from Himachal Pradesh cadre, had taken charge as I&B ministry secretary in May, 2015 following Sunil Arora’s retirement.
Star Sports Launches Campaign
As table tennis players battle to be the best in India’s newest franchise-based professional sports league Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), Star Sports has unveiled its campaign for the tournament, See Champions – Be Champions. The inaugural season of the UTT league runs from 13th Jul, 2017 to 30th Jul, 2017. The UTT league, the broadcaster said, promises to provide nearly 3 weeks of action packed table tennis. The finesse of Sharath Kamal and the elegance of Han Ying in a table tennis arena is a sight to behold for any sports enthusiast. Holding true to its commitment of making sports a more engaging & immersive experience for viewers, Star Sports has launched a captivating film in the build – up to UTT league.
Colors Bangla To Launch Celebrity Chat Show Golmaal Express
Colors Bangla will air a new celebrity chat show Golmaal Express from 2nd
Jul, 2017 at 5.30 pm. Golmaal Express blends family entertainment with gossip, singing, pranks and a whole lot more within the confines of a car. Radio Mirchi’s popular RJ Somak Ghosh will play host to an array of guests ranging from musicians to actors, directors to anchors.
Zee Marathi To Launch Afternoon Band
Marathi GEC Zee Marathi is launching an afternoon band that will run from 1 pm to 2 pm. Zee Marathi, which leads the genre, is planning to launch some new afternoon shows. However, it has not decided on the genre or nature of the shows. Currently, Zee Marathi has 4 hours of original prime – time programming, which starts from 6.30 pm & ends at 10.30 pm. With the launch of the afternoon band, the total hours of original programming will extend to 5 hours. The channel presently airs 10 original shows.
Star Plus Reclaims Top Spot
Hindi GEC Star Plus reclaimed in the top spot from Sony Pal in urban + rural Hind – speaking market (HSM). Star Plus registered 59.37 crore impressions in the week ended 23rd Jun, 2017 up 1.6% from the previous week. With 56.05 crore weekly impressions and a fall of 5.13%, Sony Pal dropped to the 3rd position.
