Hindi movie channel Sony Max is all set to host the world television premiere of the action thriller Rowdy Hero 2 at 8 pm on 22nd Jul, 2017. The movie is based on the lives of 2 identical brothers. This South Indian blockbuster is directed by R. S Durai Senthilkumar and features superstars Dhanush, Trisha Krishnan & Anupama Parameswaran in pivotal roles in the movie.
Son Of Satyamurthy 2 Premiere Fetches 4.81 Mn Impressions
The TV premiere of Son Of Satyamurthy 2 was the 4th – most – watched Hindi movie in urban + rural Hindi – speaking market (HSM) with 4.81 million impressions, as per BARC India ratings for Week 28. Son Of Satyamurthy 2, the Hindi – dubbed version of Telugu romantic comedy -action film Hyper, had premiered on Sony Max on 8th Jul, 2017. Salman – Shah Rukh’s 1995 action thriller Karan Arjun was the top film with 5.24 million impressions.
Cauvery News To Be Launched On
The crowded Tamil news space will see a new player in Cauvery News, which is slated for its official launch on 25th Aug, 2017. The free – to – air (FTA) channel is promoted by S Elangovan, the promoter of Cauvery Power Trading Chennai, Elango Industries, Kaveri Gas Power, Cauvery Solar Power & Cauvery Power Generation Chennai.
Aarambh’ To Take A 200 – Year Leap
Star Plus’ fantasy series Aarambh is all set to take a 200 – year leap in its storyline, almost after a month of its launch. With the 200 – year leap, the series will introduce a plethora of new characters, along with a new storyline. The show will also be renamed as Kahani Devsena Ki: Aarambh.
KBC Season 9 Gets 3 Sponsors
Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is all set to bring back the 9th season of Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) after a gap of 2 years. The channel is planning to air the show by Oct, 2017 and it will run on weekdays for 6 weeks. KBC being one of the oldest & popular properties, SET has been able to lock in 3 sponsors even before the launch of the show. The channel has got on board Reliance Jio as the presenting sponsor while the series is being co – powered by Vivo Cameras & Mobile & Ching’s Secret.
Sun Direct Turns Profitable
Sun Direct, the DTH arm of the Kalanithi Maran – promoted Sun group, has turned profitable at the net level for the full fiscal for the 1st time. For the financial year ended 31 Mar, 2017, Sun Direct posted a net profit of Rs 32.21 crore compared to a loss of Rs 35.30 crore a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 1,211.04 crore, up 8.46% from Rs 1,116.61 crore in FY16. The FY17 figures are provisional. Sun Direct does not officially announce its financial performance as it is not a listed company.
Colors To Launch Khatron Ke Khiladi 8 & Dev Anand
Hindi GEC Colors is all set to air the 8th season of its popular reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi from 22nd Jul, 2017 at 9 pm, every Sat & Sun. Produced by Endemol Shine India, the new season is built on the theme of Pain In Spain and marks the return of Bollywood director Rohit Shetty as the host of the show. On 29 Jul, 2017, Colors will add one more show, completing its weekend line – up with the crime thriller Dev Anand, which will air at 10 pm. Produced by Peninsula Pictures, the detective series will feature Ashish Chowdhry in lead role.
Dishum Broadcasting To Launch Bhojpuri GEC
Founded by Vishal Gurnani and backed by other undisclosed investors, newly incorporated Dishum Broadcasting is gearing up to launch its 1st channel in the form of Bhojpuri GEC Dishum. The free – to – air (FTA) channel will launch on 15th Aug, 2017. After incubating Dishum, the company has plans to launch 2 more channels in the movie & news genres. It also plans to start a movie theatre chain across the Bhojpuri -speaking belt of Bihar & Eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Stage Set For A Bidding War
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued tender notice for Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights. The BCCI has broken the IPL media rights into 3 packages, India sub – continent TV rights, India sub – continent digital rights & rest of the world (ROW) media rights. The rights cycle is for 5 years 2018 – 2o22. The India sub – continent TV & digital rights are expected to witness fierce battle between Star India & Sony Pictures Networks India. Amazon India, Twitter, Facebook & Reliance Jio are also interested in the India sub – continent digital rights.
MTV Ropes In 12 Sponsors
Viacom18’s youth GEC MTV has roped in 12 sponsors for the 10th season of its popular show Splitsvilla. The 10th season kicked off on 23rd Jul, 2017 at 7 pm. The channel has got on board Vivo as the presenting sponsor whereas the latest season is powered by Denver Deodorants, Syska Personal Care, PC Jeweller & Manforce.
Star Plus To Launch Rishton Ka Chakravyuh
Hindi GEC Star Plus is all set to premiere a new show titled Rishton Ka Chakravyuh on 7th Aug, 2017. It will air at 6 pm, Mon – Fri. Rishton Ka Chakravyuh will replace the channel’s existing show Mere Angne Mein, produced by Sphere Origins.
Republic TV & Times Now See A Spike
Arch rivals Republic TV & Times Now both saw their viewership grow significantly in Week 28. According to BARC data, Republic TV, which continued its run as the top English news channel, saw a 60.13% jump in weekly impressions to 1.39 million. Times Now’s weekly impressions expanded by a whopping 85.64% to 1.12 million.
Zee Cafe Reclaims Top Position
Zee Cafe reclaimed its leading position from Comedy Central with 406,000 impressions in Week 28, a growth of 20.83% over the earlier week. Comedy Central slipped to the 2nd position with 323,000 weekly impressions, a drop of 4.02%. Star World moved up to the 3rd place with 202,000 weekly impressions, as Colors Infinity SD dropped to the 4th place with 184,000 weekly impressions.
Hotstar Takes Aim At Piracy
Hotstar, which is Star India’s video – on – demand platform and the exclusive online destination for HBO content in India, launched Game Of Thrones’ Season 7 on 17 Jul, 2017. The 1st episode of the new season was available for audiences to view within minutes of its US telecast, under the Hotstar Premium service. Game Of Thrones, the broadcaster said, is the world’s most avidly watched & anticipated show, with immense excitement & conjecture preceding every season premiere. Unfortunately, it is also the most illegally downloaded show in the world, despite the content being legally distributed, globally, by its creators.
Sony Le Plex Hd To Premiere Trumbo
Sony Le Plex HD is all set to showcase the real life story of Hollywood’s Academy Award winning writer Dalton Trumbo as he deifies all odds to keep up with his passion of writing with the India TV premiere of Trumbo on 23rd Jul, 2017 at 1 pm & 9 pm. Directed by American filmmaker Jay Roach, the movie stars actors like Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane & Helen Mirren.
Zee Anmol To Add A Hindi – Dubbed Marathi Show
Following its success with the Tamil show Naagkanya, Hindi free – to -air general entertainment channel (GEC) Zee Anmol is introducing more regional content into its programming. Accordingly, the channel is adding a Marathi mythological series entitled Jai Malhar on 24th Jul, 2017. Considering that Jai Malhar is one of the most popular shows on Zee Marathi (ZEEL’s Marathi GEC), the channel has decided to add the Hindi – dubbed version of the show to its line – up.
Star Plus Reclaims Top Spot
After slipping to the 3rd position the previous week, Hindi GEC Star Plus reclaimed the Hindi GEC throne from Zee TV in the week ended 14th Jul, 2017 according to BARC data in the urban + rural Hindi – speaking market (HSM). Star Plus registered 62.91 crore weekly impressions, marking a growth of 3.82%. Zee TV dropped to 2nd place as impressions declined by 1.74% to 62.36 crore.
Zee Café To Premiere The Kettering Incident
After launching BBC 1st block, English Entertainment Channel Zee Café is all set to premiere The Kettering Incident on 25th Jul, 2017 at 10 pm. Directed by Rowan Woods & Tony Krawitz and starring Elizabeth Debicki, Matthew Le Nevez & Henry Nixon, the show revolves around Dr. Anna Macy, who finds herself inexplicably linked to the disappearance of 2 girls, 15 years apart.
Viacom International Media Networks To Expand
Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a division of Viacom & HyppTV, a IPTV service by Telekom Malaysia Berhad, have announced their collaboration to launch Paramount Channel for the 1st time in Malaysia. As part of the same agreement, 2 more Viacom channels, MTV Asia & Nickelodeon, will also join HyppTV service from 1st Aug, 2017.
Star Utsav Sets A New Record On DD Freedish
Star India’s free – to – air (FTA) Hindi GEC Star Utsav was the highest bidder for a non – news slot in the 36th e – auction of vacant slots on Doordarshan’s free direct – to – home (DTH) platform Freedish. The channel had bid Rs 8.4 crore to renew its slot on the DTH platform. Star India had acquired more slots in that same auction for Rs 8.3 crore & Rs 8.2 crore respectively.
Doordarshan Invites Proposals
In an effort to revamp its content, Doordarshan has invited proposals for programmes in different genres under the sponsored category for mid prime time band. There are a total of 8 genres – Youth / Women Magazine, Family Drama / sitcom / Suspense Thriller, Mythological, Film based series, Chat shows / Game shows / Quiz Shows, Musical shows / Reality shows / Travel shows / Cookery shows, Celebrity Chat shows & Telefilm series.
ITAT Upholds I – T Dept’s Rs 450 Tax Demand
News broadcaster NDTV’s problems have compounded with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) upholding the Income Tax Department’s tax demand of Rs 450 crore on an investment by American media company NBC Universal in NDTV Networks. NBC had invested $150 million in NDTV Networks, which is the holding company for NDTV’s entertainment & lifestyle channels, digital media & other interests, including media products & services in 2008. The tax demand is for the assessment year 2009 – 2010.
Dsport Partners Nodwin
DSport, the sports TV channel launched by Discovery Communications India, has partnered Nodwin Gaming to showcase the flagship e – sports tournament in the country – ESL India Premiership. As a part of the partnership, DSport will telecast 90 minutes of action everyday starting 19 Jul, 2017 from 2:30 pm to 4 pm and will continue until Dec, 2017. E – Sports, the broadcaster said, has revolutionised the concept of sports and recently has been added as a medal event in 2022’s Asian Games.
BBC Earth Branded Block Launches
BBC Worldwide has inked a deal that sees for the 1st time a BBC Earth branded block in South Korea. The block is now available on leading Korean cable channel KMH’s newly launched documentary channel, DocuOne. It launched together with DocuOne on 18th Jul, 2017 and will be available for 6 hours a day, in 2 – hour prime time slots, as part of a basic cable package to over 12 million households. Programmes on the block are subtitled in Korean.
Epic Channel Awards Creative Duties
Makani Creatives has bagged the creative mandate of Hindi infotainment channel Epic. Epic channel has broadened its vision from its initial history & mythology focus. It will now showcase a wide array of original content across varied genres. The channel recently announced its plan to expand the scope of its offerings by including within its programming an eclectic mix of non – fiction content that aspires to imbibe the diversity of India.
BBC Serves Its Most Streamed Wimbledon
BBC served 24.1 million stream requests during the tennis Grand Slam Wimbledon this year via BBC Sport & BBC iPlayer, making it the most streamed Wimbledon to date. The most popular match was Rafa Nadal & Gilles Muller’s 66 – game epic with 1.4 million requests.
Sony To Power Sports Biz
After completing the 1s phase of acquisition of Ten Sports Network from ZEEL in Mar, 2017, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) has re -branded the Ten Sports channels as Sony Ten to unify the sports network under the mother brand, and has dedicated a channel each for cricket, football, fight sports & best of international sports.
Epic To Launch Inspiring Series Umeed India
After changing its positioning as an infotainment channel, Epic launched on 20th Jul, 2017 a show that will narrate the story of 13 top athletes who are preparing for the next Olympics. The show will mark the debut of ace cricketer Virender Sehwag as host. Highlighting the struggle & hard work of India’s non – cricket sportspersons, infotainment channel Epic started airing a new show titled Umeed India from 20th Jul, 2017 every Thurs, at 8 pm.
ZEEL Acquires Remaining 51%
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has completed the acquisition of Bengaluru-based charter plane services firm Fly By Wire (FBW) by acquiring the remaining 51% stake in the company after getting clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA). ZEEL acquired 49% stake in FBW in May this year. In March last year, the company had announced that it would fully acquire FBW for Rs 61.25 crore.
Colors Channel Extends Its Support
Hindi GEC Colors has extended its support to the 5th edition of the women – only marathon event Pinkathon, which will be held in Delhi on 17th Sept, 2017. The channel has associated with the cause for the 23rd time as a presenting sponsor, spreading the message of “wellbeing of women” through this initiative. The focus of this event is to encourage an active lifestyle & overall fitness amongst women, while creating a much -needed awareness about breast cancer & bone health and encourage thousands of new or 1st – timer women to take up running.
Hotstar Continues To Be #1
For the 1st half of this year, Hotstar continues to be in the #1 spot in terms of monthly active usage. Star India’s video streaming app is thus ahead of JioTV & JioCinema from Reliance Jio Infocomm, according to data from app analytics firm App Annie Inc. While JioTV stood in the 2nd place, JioCinema was ranked 3rd. Hotstar offers a free as well as a premium subscription service. It recently scaled up its premium subscription – based offering to maintain its dominance in India over global giants Amazon Prime Video & Netflix. After HBO, ABC & Fox shows, Hotstar bolstered its premium offering by bringing the US cable brand Showtime to the country through a deal with media conglomerate CBS.
MIB Withdraws 6 TV Channel Licences
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has cancelled 6 TV channel licences in Jun,2017. With 7 TV channel licences being given in the same month, the total number of permitted of TV channels grew by just 1 to 883, as of 30 Jun, 2017. The ministry has cancelled 4 uplinking & 2 downlinking licences in Jun, 2017. Bangla Entertainment’s uplinking licence under the name Aath has been cancelled as the company had procured a downlinking licence under the name Sony Aath in Mar, this year.
Hinduja Group’s NXT Digital Enters Punjab
The Punjab cable TV market, dominated by Fastway Transmission, will have a new competitor. The Hinduja Group – owned headend – in – the -sky (HITS) platform NXT Digital has entered the market. NXT Digital’s aim is to get in local cable operators (LCOs) to migrate to the HITS platform. Punjab has around 34 lakh TV households. While around 28 lakh households have cable TV, the rest have direct – to – home (DTH) connections.
