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Star Plus and Colors have engaged in an interesting battle. The two channels are experimenting significantly with their inventories to corner any available rating point. Colors was bold and even did this in one week’s prime time; Star Plus, on the other hand, has been dropping inventories in weekend non-prime time for past few weeks now.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 16, 2009 9:01 AM
After a two-year alignment, Starcom Worldwide and The Future Group have decided to end their relationship. It is understood that this was a mutual parting of ways by both the companies. In the meanwhile, Allied Media has added Future Group to its kitty. There was no pitch process involved in the development.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 14, 2009 8:32 AM
NGC India’s plan to get more Fox brands on television in India is near fructification. The channel officials have informed that the legal requisites to launch FX, Fox Crime and Baby TV have been taken care of and that the channels would launch in two to four weeks. NGC officials have also informed that the programming changes on Fox History channel, following the name change, have paid off.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 13, 2009 8:11 AM
Walt Disney Television India is all geared for the new season of ‘Hannah Montana’, which is breaking in April 2009, and the subsequent theatrical release of the movie on May 10, 2009. Walt Disney has got busy building the presence of the brand across domains and touch points.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 13, 2009 8:09 AM
A sharp focus on events coverage and the ability to be able to cover a story in many different ways has worked in the favour of Times Now, which has surged ahead of its competition in the English news genre. The channel has left traditional genre leader NDTV 24x7 and CNN-IBN behind, and in the last 14 weeks has managed to stay on top of the ratings charts across TGs.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 13, 2009 8:06 AM
Churn at INX Media had become a regular affair in the last couple of months. However, the big development came on March 10, 2009 when Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea stepped down from their management roles at the company. While INX investors have already roped in industry veteran Pradeep Guha to consult on the way forward for INX Media, the environment of anxiety has intensified at the organisation.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 12, 2009 7:38 AM
The launch week numbers for Hindi GEC Real from TAM Media Research are here. The channel has opened with just over 9 GRPs. Media planners and buyers have said that the numbers are lower than expectations, but added that this is only the first week of the channel and it would be interesting to see how the numbers pan out once the channel builds further on distribution and other counts.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 12, 2009 7:37 AM
Following on the heels of the many exits at INX Media, Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea, the promoters of the company too have now stepped down from their current management roles. In the meanwhile, INX investors have roped in industry veteran Pradeep Guha to consult on the way forward for the organisation.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 10, 2009 7:11 PM
Starcom MediaVest Group’s entertainment arm, The Bridge, has seen a change in its leadership. Pranay Anthwal, who has been with the organisation for over five years and was instrumental in setting up the entertainment practice of SMG, has quit the organisation. SMG has appointed P9’s Rajesh Iyer as Business Director to lead the division at present.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 9, 2009 8:15 AM
Exits at Multi Screen Media that started on March 5, 2009 saw some more names added to the list a day later. The company saw many mid-management staff leave the company from across departments. It is understood that there would be a Management Committee Meeting at Multi Screen Media on March 9, when the implications of this development would be discussed. MSM officials are still refraining from offering any comments on these exits.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 9, 2009 8:14 AM
Multi Screen Media saw the exits of many of its senior resources and old hands on March 5, 2009. The day began with the announcement of Sony Entertainment Television’s Business Head Albert Almeida putting in his papers, and at least eight more names announced their exits by evening. It is believed that this outward bound list is growing and the number varies from 40 to 50 people. MSM officials were not available for comments.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 6, 2009 7:02 AM
The political wars have begun, and Congress party is riding the ‘Slumdog’ wave, roping in the Oscar winner ‘Jai Ho’ for its communication. Percept India, which has conceptualised and executed this for the Congress, has also gone a step ahead and has attempted to ensure that other political parties do not take the ‘Jai Ho’ ride.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 5, 2009 7:39 AM
The aggression in the Hindi general entertainment genre is intensifying every week. Even as Colors hit a 304 GRP in the latest TAM week, which is one rating point behind Star Plus, the celebrations at the channel were muted. Reason, the channel had gone all out to corner any rating point that there was and yet did not cross Star. At the same time, STAR India ensured that it has highlighted Colors’ break patterns and programming strategies that allowed it to get this close to ‘STARdom’.<br> <font color=red>Comment:</font> <a href=http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/news/fullstory.asp?section_id=6&news_id=34108&tag=29076&pict=0 target= _blank>GRPs ke liye kuchh bhi karega!</a>
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 5, 2009 7:38 AM
It has been two weeks now since Man Jit Singh, who has been the Chairman of the Multi Screen Media (MSM) Board since 2007, took complete charge of MSM as its interim CEO. Singh informs that MSM is busier than usual with its regional expansion plans taking off, beginning with the Eastern India market; IPL being in the process of closing the deals with its sponsors; and Sony, Max, Sab and Pix gearing for a “good year”.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 4, 2009 7:43 AM
Real has left no stone unturned in its efforts to reach and engage its audiences enough to remind them that the channel is set to launch on March 2, 2009. From innovations in print, outdoor and radio to contests on television to on-ground stunts that Real hopes would create enough word of mouth to create a buzz around the channel’s debut. In addition, the channel would be available on DishTV and Tata Sky from day one itself.
Noor Fathima Warsia Mar 2, 2009 6:49 AM
Real is giving its content an unprecedented approach – “fiction squeezed between non-fiction” is what Nikhil Alva describes it as, and a closer look at the opening line-up reiterates his point. Real has gone with a 60 per cent skew towards non-fiction programming, and even as the channel knows that this means constantly refreshing the content with new shows, channel officials say that when the battle is nine-way, extreme measures are required.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 27, 2009 7:50 AM
Starcom MediaVest Group has announced the creation of a new position of General Manager - Marketing. Ashish Limaye, who was till recently the Deputy General Manager of the Group’s out-of-home specialist brand, Navia, will handle this position.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 26, 2009 7:13 AM
The Reed Infomedia JV in India is set to break up soon. Reed Business Information is revisiting its investment patterns in various markets, including India. Company sources have informed that Reed Business is in conversation with Infomedia to change the current structure, where instead of being a stakeholder in the business, it would want to license its titles to Infomedia.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 26, 2009 7:11 AM
It appears that the industry has reciprocated to Colvyn Harris’ argument that while slowdown was a reality, GoaFest was an industry effort, and that everyone must be a part of it as an industry member. After Ogilvy promising its participation, McCann Erickson, too, has said that it would send in “limited” number of entries for the Abby Awards 2009 as an industry gesture. Harris waits to hear from Lowe Lintas now.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 26, 2009 7:09 AM
The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has taken objection to the deals done by advertising agencies that are based on exclusivity and market share clauses. The INS believes that these are Restrictive Trade Practices and has written to the MIB to intervene and issue guidelines to advertising agencies to refrain from such deals. The INS has also written to its members advising them not to enter into such transactions.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 26, 2009 7:08 AM
Starcom MediaVest Group has announced the creation of a new position of General Manager-Marketing. Ashish Limaye
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 25, 2009 1:48 PM
Hewlett-Packard recently completed its global media review and the business has been awarded to the Omnicom Media Group. The India teams were also part of the pitch process, and following this global development, the HP media planning and buying business has moved to OMD in India. ZenithOptimedia was the incumbent on the business.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 23, 2009 6:45 AM
Multi Screen Media’s CEO Kunal Dasgupta has quit the organisation. The announcement was made in the office earlier on February 19. Man Jit Singh, who was appointed Chairman on the Multi Screen Media board in March 2007, then known as SET India, is the interim CEO. Sony officials have confirmed the development.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 20, 2009 7:01 AM
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was the single biggest television property last year, and in the initial process of the second season this year, many had said that IPL almost appeared slowdown-proof. Multi Screen Media’s CEO Kunal Dasgupta, however, says that not only is IPL facing a situation where sponsors are not “interested” in the property, but there is uncertainty on whether or not the IPL would be on a Multi Screen Media channel at all, following the latest compensation issue between BCCI and MSM.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 18, 2009 7:13 AM
The second leg of universe update and addition of new markets in TAM Media Research data has been completed. From week six of 2009, the data comprises Bihar, Assam and the below one lakh markets of Maharashtra, which together constitute 4.1 per cent of the all India C&S universe. If the first set of data is anything to go by, the ratings are not very different from the previous weeks’.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 12, 2009 7:17 AM
The economic slowdown has had an impact on the GoaFest 2009 as well. With Ogilvy’s decision to not participate in the awards, and the likes of McCann Erickson being undecided, the first challenge is to get the industry to participate. Festival Chairman Colvyn Harris is prepared to take on the challenge, and in an exclusive chat with exchange4media, stated that this was more of an “industry” duty, than an agency one.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 12, 2009 7:16 AM
Star Plus has decided to pull the curtains down on three more Balaji shows – ‘Karam Apna Apna’, ‘Kayamath’ and ‘Kasturi’. It is understood that the channel has given a notice to the content creator and the shows are expected to go off-air from mid-March 2009.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 11, 2009 6:57 AM
In the last six months, Colors has managed to see a strong growth curve in the Hindi general entertainment sector. Now, it is monetisation time for the channel. Colors is actively looking at going pay in the next couple of months, besides looking at beginning feeds in international markets such as the US, UK, Middle East and Africa.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 11, 2009 6:56 AM
After a stint of one and a half years at BBC Worldwide, Nachiket Pantvaidya has decided to call it a day at the organisation. Pantvaidya is believed to be headed to Balaji Telefilms as its CEO. Industry sources inform that Pantvaidya is already meeting with the various companies that Balaji is creating content for, but would completely move to the company later this month.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 10, 2009 7:04 AM
Ogilvy & Mather has decided not to enter the GoaFest this year. This is probably the first ever Abby Awards where Ogilvy would not be participating in. Ogilvy & Mather’s Executive Chairman and NCD, Piyush Pandey, confirmed the development and stated that the company was looking at all its costs and cutting down on “frills”.
Noor Fathima Warsia Feb 10, 2009 7:02 AM
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