MUMBAI: WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network India, has bagged the digital media mandate of Royal Palace Group’s - Royal Rest, a manufacturing and trading company of mattresses, furniture and furnishing accessories in the Middle East and Asia. 

Along with handling the creative duties of the brand, the agency will manage the entire digital assets, including media planning and buying across India and UAE.

WATConsult founder and CEO Rajiv Dingra says, “We are glad to partner with Royal Rest for their digital and creative duties. Through our endeavours, we plan to strengthen brand visibility and presence across markets. We look forward to developing strategic ideas and define the brand's language in the digital space.”

Royal Rest director Suji Sugathan adds, “The partnership with WATConsult will be a great exposure for Royal Palace Group in a digitally dynamic competitive space. In an online space where there is so much information flowing every minute; we are confident that together with proper strategy and planning we will ensure the brand’s objectives are achieved.”

For the record, Royal Palace furniture group is a reputed name that has successfully marked its presence in retail operations in India and the UAE. The Group has nine showrooms with the brand name “Royal Furniture” and five “Royal Rest” showrooms in the UAE and twelve showrooms operating in India with brand name ‘Indroyal’.

With exports to more than 45 countries in Africa, Asia, CIS, Europe and Middle Eastern countries, Royal Palace started operations as a retailer and has grown to become one of the largest manufacturing and trading companies of furniture and furnishing accessories in the Middle East and Asia.

Headquartered in Ajman, UAE, Royal Place Furniture has more than 5000 models of furniture; manufactured and imported, in its showrooms across India and the UAE.

MUMBAI: Following an extensive pitch involving multiple media agencies, Zenith has won the agency of record (AOR) mandate for HDFC Life. This is for the entire traditional media mandate. The digital duties already lay with Performics.Resultrix.

Zenith India group CEO Tanmay Mohanty says, “This win is a matter of great pride for us and an extension of our existing, very fruitful digital relationship with HDFC Life. Our teams were able to demonstrate an effective ROI-focused, data-driven approach to media. Zenith’s strong suite of tools, proprietary research and analytics will unlock new consumer connections for HDFC Life and will deliver on seamless, integrated communications."

HDFC Life CMO and EVP strategic alliances, bancassurance and specialty sales Pankaj Gupta adds, “We are happy to associate with Zenith and believe that it would be an exciting partnership, since Zenith's view on the brand mirrors that of ours. Zenith exhibited fresh thinking and insights on the life insurance category during the pitch. Hope that through its forward-thinking and disruptive approach, Zenith would help us stay ahead of the curve in a dynamic media environment; thereby, deepening our market presence and highlighting our customer-centric value proposition.”

HDFC Standard Life Insurance company is a joint venture between HDFC Ltd, one of India’s leading housing finance institutions and Standard Life Aberdeen, a global investment company. HDFC Life is a leading long-term life insurance solutions provider in India, offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions that meet various customer needs such as Protection, Pension, Savings, Investment and Health.

MUMBAI: Can an ideal son also be an ideal husband? What happens when a newly married woman realises her husband is not the man she expected him to be? Answering these questions will be &TV’s brand-new fiction offering, Perfect Pati which premieres September 3rd every Monday to Friday at 9:30 pm. Produced by Filmfarm India Pvt Ltd., Perfect Pati marks the television debut of veteran actress Jaya Prada who will be seen essaying the character of Rajyashree Rathod, a dynamic and modern mother-in-law. Television actor Ayush Anand essays the role of her son, the stylish and cunning Pushkar Rathod while Sayali Sanjeev will play the small-town girl Vidhita Rajawat.

Set against the backdrop of Rajasthan, Perfect Pati will take viewers through the life of Vidhita, who like many young girls dreams of an idealistic image of her prospective partner. Her approach towards life and situations is in complete contrast to that of Pushkar’s, a rich, attractive and aggressively over-protective man. As the story progresses, Vidhita is in for a rollercoaster ride when her marriage with Pushkar leads to a ‘not so perfect’ married life causing her to deal with various unexpected ups and downs. The narrative touches upon how Rajyashree successfully manages the roles of both being a mother and mother-in-law. Narrating the non–idealistic married life of Vidhita and Pushkar, the show attempts to question the thought that whether an ideal son is capable of being an ideal husband. 

Speaking about the concept of this show, Vishnu Shankar, Head, &TV said, “At &TV, our attempt is to present narratives which highlight the evolving mindset of new India. Our latest addition to this portfolio is Perfect Pati that provides a fresh perspective to the portrayal of a mother-in-law on screen and highlights how the daughter-in-law, being a woman of today deals with her life choices. While we are proud to introduce a strong concept that will prove to be a catalyst of change, we are equally excited that we have a personality of the stature of Jaya Prada leading it. We are positive viewers will appreciate this new offering from our end.”

Talking about the show Rupali Guha, Producer, Filmfarm India Pvt Ltd said, “The concept of Perfect Pati is quite fresh and contemporary with an extremely relatable narrative. The show highlights the emphasis that is put into finding the perfect bahu with set parameters of how an ideal daughter-in-law should be for the son of the house. But very little or no attention is given to whether that son deserves a perfect wife. The show aims to create a change in the way society looks at the entire process of marriage in India, I hope this show is accepted by the audience and furthermore broadens our perspectives.”

Speaking about her first stint on the small screen, the legendary Jaya Prada said, “The character of Rajyashree Rathod will redefine the way a mother-in-law is usually portrayed on Indian television. She is a confident and dynamic woman who will be seen juggling various responsibilities, be it her family business, social work or running a household. She shows her mettle when faced with the difficult decision of choosing between right and wrong. I’m glad that &TV offered me such a progressive character in Perfect Pati with which I begin a new chapter in my professional life.”

Talking about essaying the character of Vidhita, actress Sayali Sanjeev said, “Vidhita, a charming and optimistic 20-year old is an educated, young and independent woman. She is deeply rooted in tradition, yet modern in her thoughts and approach towards life. As I set out on this new journey with Perfect Pati, I’m both nervous and excited to play Vidhita.”

Ayush Anand, who will be seen playing a dark and intense character said, “My character Pushkar has a menacing attitude and a rather daunting way of protecting his family. While he seems lovable and protective, his is a complicated personality, unpredictable in nature and has many shades of grey to him. Viewers though will be intrigued by his character and keen to know his next step as the story unfolds.”

Bringing forth a new outlook to a woman’s decision of choosing her life companion, &TV’s Perfect Pati will answer the much-ignored question of whether an ideal son can also be an ideal husband. Tune into Vidhita’s journey of finding her Perfect Pati from September 3rd, every Monday to Friday at 9:30 PM only on &TV!

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has appointed Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon as the brand ambassador of Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).

As the brand ambassador, Tandon will help the state forest department to create awareness about its various initiatives, like the 50 crore tree plantation drive, eco-tourism in SGNP, conservation of leopards in SGNP, among others.

In a statement, Maharashtra forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said: “I would like to welcome Raveena as the brand ambassador of SGNP. She is an environment-conscious citizen and a respected member of the community. She can help spread awareness among citizens.”

He said SGNP is a vast treasure of flora and fauna in Mumbai city and also provides water to a major part of the city.

The actor met Mungantiwar at his residence to discuss the 13 crore tree-plantation drive and her contribution to help achieve a greener Maharashtra.

Tandon described it as an honour to serve as the brand ambassador of SGNP. “I used to visit Sanjay Gandhi National Park as a kid and now to be chosen as its brand ambassador is a great honour,” she said.

“Spreading awareness is very important in the conservation of the environment and I am pleased to collaborate with Sudhir Mungantiwar ji and the Maharashtra Forest Department in all their initiatives for a greener Mumbai,” Tandon added.

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications has completed the sale of its media convergence nodes (MCNs) and related infrastructure assets worth RS 2000 crore to Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio). The received amount will be the first tranche of payment in the Anil Ambani-owned operator’s asset sale which is sinking in debt of Rs 46,000 crore.

Following the completion of MCN monetisation transaction, 248 MCNs covering 5 million sq ft of area used for hosting the telecom infrastructure were transferred to Jio. During early trade, shares of RCom were up by 1.97 per cent at Rs 19.14 on BSE.

The debt-laden company expects to raise about Rs 18,000 crore by selling the wireless assets to Jio and real estate assets to Canada’s Brookfield. The company also said that it would sell an additional 65 MHz spectrum in the 800 MHz band to Jio for Rs 3,500-3,700 crore. Last year, the company shut down its wireless services.

Back in May, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) cleared the proposals for the sale of assets of Reliance Communications Ltd to Jio.

MUMBAI: Handset maker, Vivo,  has appointed Posterscope India and Laqshya Solutions as its out of home agencies. 

According to a media report, the size of the account is said to be Rs 150-200 crore.

The new partnership will build on Vivo's foundation of existing and unique OOH engagement and initiatives.

Vivo India CMO Jerome Chen says, “OOH has been an integral part of our marketing strategy right from the beginning of our journey in India. Through OOH media, we have been able to successfully establish and position Vivo as a premium brand in the Indian smartphone market. As we continue to grow stronger in India, we believe this partnership will enable us to reach out to a larger consumer base, in both a national and regional level.”

Laqshya executive director and CEO Atul Shrivastava mentions, “The 55-pages brief given for this pitch was one of the best in recent times, which inspired a challenge before us to excel on every parameter. Our research and strategy teams worked very hard on every detail and extracted the data and findings, related to TG, congregation points and competition etc. At every stage of the pitch, we could sense and see client's seriousness on using the OOH media as a strategic media in the market.”

Posterscope Asia Pacific regional director and Posterscope Group South East Asia group MD Haresh Nayak adds, “We’re extremely proud to add such an iconic brand like Vivo to our client roster. Posterscope will create one of its unique offering which enables us to put data at the heart of our decision making, drive speed at a national, local and campaign level, and use our resources efficiently, We look forward to collaborating with the team on creating some industry/category firsts and setting some benchmarks in smartphone advertising.”

MUMBAI: News18’s CricketNext.com, the one-stop-destination for all cricket fans, in a move to bolster its riveting content, has on-boarded a host of renowned writersto contribute to the platform. The repertoire of standout writers includes Ayaz Memon, Siddhartha Vaidyanathan, PremPanicker, Snehal Pradhan, Anand Vasu among many other thought leaders in the cricketing world.

Recognised by cricket fans for their knowledge, insight and gravitas, the venerated writers will add depth to the coverage on the platform; providing sharp, focused writing that has helped them create a dedicated audience for their work over the years.

By providing in-depth match analysis, live blogs and one of the fastest scorecards, CricketNext has become the preferred destination for fans of the sport all over India. Bringing on-board a set of diverse and highly influential writers will accentuate the platform’s content; thereby providing consumers with more engaging and insightful analysis of the sport. 

Speaking about the platform’s latest development, Gaurav Kalra – Group Editor (Sports), Network 18 said, “We are pleased to include a diverse range of writers on CricketNext.com and I am certain our readers will appreciate their insight, knowledge and gravitas. Not only are these among some of the most astute observers in the game but they come at it from varying perspectives and have built a dedicated audience for themselves over the years. I am hopeful that their pieces will make us a trusted platform among cricket fans not just in India, but around the world.”

The experts brought on-board will be seen sharing thought-provoking, insightful, sharp and edgy columns, providing eager fans eminently readable content on day in day out basis. In addition to the wide-ranging reporting cricket tournaments from around the world on the platform, the words of these titans will accentuate the comprehensive experience for the audience on CricketNext.

The dream team of CricketNext

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan – After 10 years of senior positions at ESPNCricinfo, he contributed to The Telegraph UK, Forbes, Wall Street journaletc.

Prem Panicker – One of the founding members of rediff.com, he went to become the Managing Editor of Yahoo India.

Amit Varma – Former managing editor of ESPNCricinfo with 15 years of experience, he has won the Bastiat Prize for Journalism twice.

Ayaz Memon – Has to his credit senior editorial roles at the Times of India, DNA and contributionsto the Hindustan Times and Asian Age.

Anand Vasu –His portfolio includes experience at ESPNCricinfo, Wisden India and Hindustan Times; and columns inThe Guardian, The Telegraph etc.

Snehal Pradhan – A former Indian cricketer, she is now a YouTuber –‘Cricket with Snehal’, who has written columns for ESPNCricinfo, Economic Times and Wisden India.

Freddie Wilde - A cricket data analytics whiz at CricViz, Freddie provides insightful statistical analysis on the game, while freelancing for ESPNcricinfo and Wisden Cricket.

Hemant Buch – Live cricket producer-director and sports broadcaster, Hemant has worked in senior positions at the Trans World International and Ten Sports.

Gaurav Sethi – Founder of a blogging collective, Bored Cricket Crazy Indians (BCC!) he also writes for Hindustan Times and DailyO.

Shrikant Subramanian – Even after Shrikant’s move to the US, he continued to build an audience for his incisive commentary on the game on social media and follows Indian cricket very closely.

Nitin Sundar–Formerly at ESPNcricinfo, Nitin is a blogger and observer with a keen sense of the finer points of the game.

MUMBAI: Digital agency Digitas, a Publicis Groupe brand, has announced a change in its country leadership. 

Himani Kapadia, CEO Digitas and SapientRazorfish, who has been with the company for 11 years, is stepping down to pursue other interests. Amaresh Godbole, currently MD India for Digitas, takes over the reins as CEO of the brand. 

He will report to Publicis Communications India CEO Saurabh Varma and to Digitas APAC CEO Annette Male for the brand. He will also join the Publicis Communications country leadership team.

Saurabh Varma comments, “Himani has done an incredible job, building the country’s largest digital agency, and she could not have left it in a better place, with strong client relationships and a seasoned leadership team. I’m excited about Amaresh’s elevation. He is one of the few people in our industry who truly understands the power of combining data, creativity, media and technology to deliver successful marketing outcomes. I look forward to the next chapter of Digitas’ ascent.”

Says Annette Male, “Himani has been the architect of the India story for Digitas and a champion of our unique culture. She will be dearly missed, all across the network. In Amaresh, she has had an able partner through this journey, and she has mentored him to take on the mantle of country leadership. I am confident he will deliver the next phase of growth for the brand in India.”

Says Himani Kapadia about her plans, “It’s been an exhilarating ride, taking the company from its inception as a startup to a recognised A list agency. It was a rewarding journey with stories, learnings and relationships that I will carry with me for a lifetime. I feel I’m now ready for a new challenge. In Amaresh and the Digitas leadership team, I feel assured knowing that the company is in safe hands.”

Amaresh Godbole commented on his new role, “I’m about to step into an industry giant’s shoes. What gives me confidence to take this on are the lessons learnt from Himani over the last decade, where we’ve seen the company through myriad circumstances. I look forward to working closely with Saurabh to learn new lessons. I am a big believer of the Publicis Groupe vision and the Power of One philosophy. Digitas has extremely unique capabilities and talent, and I hope to deploy these towards continued growth for the brand and the Groupe in India.”

Digitas India is one of the leading digital agencies in the country, with 400 experts across data, strategy, creative, media and technology spread across four cities. Digitas works with some of the top-drawer clients in the country such as Nestlé, Hewlett Packard, FCA (Jeep & Fiat), Reliance Jio, AbinBev (Budweiser), TVS Motors, Parle Agro, HUL, Tata CliQ, Tourism New Zealand and JK Tyres among others.

MUMBAI: In week 33 2018 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, Star Utsav and Star Plus swapped their second and third positions in the Hindi GEC (U+R) market. No changes were observed in the rural and urban market this week.  

Hindi GEC (U+R)

Zee Anmol emerged as the leader this week with 760162 impressions (000s) sum. Star Utsav and Star Plus swapped their second and third positions with 702233 impressions (000s) sum and 659629 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

Sony Pal, Star Bharat and Zee TV stood at fourth, fifth and sixth positions with 616717 impressions (000s) sum, 613947 impressions (000s) sum and 585372 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

Colors, Rishtey and Sony Entertainment Television secured seventh, eighth and ninth positions with 578653 impressions (000s) sum, 512119 impressions (000s) sum and 455355 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

Sony Sab emerged as the new entrant replacing Dangal TV this week with 444958 impressions (000s) sum.

Hindi Rural GEC

No changes were observed in the rural market this week. Zee Anmol, Star Utsav and Sony Pal retained their first, second and third positions respectively with 599647 impressions (000s) sum, 500096 impressions (000s) sum, and 438408 impressions (000s) sum.

Rishtey, Dangal TV, Star Bharat, Zee TV, Big Magic, Star Plus and Colors also retained their fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions with 385097 impressions (000s) sum, 321624 impressions (000s) sum, 318637 impressions (000s) sum, 229668impressions (000s) sum, 228622 impressions (000s) sum, 206696 impressions (000s) sum and 178040 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

Hindi Urban GEC

In urban GEC, Star Plus and Colors retained their first and second position with 452933 impressions (000s) sum and 400613 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

Zee TV, Sony Entertainment Television, Sony Sab, Star Bharat, Star Utsav, Sony Pal and Zee Anmol and &TV retained their third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth positions with 355705 impressions (000s) sum, 340689 impressions (000s) sum, 330276impressions (000s) sum, 295310 impressions (000s) sum, 202136 impressions (000s) sum, 178308 impressions (000s) sum and 160515 impressions (000s) sum and 132254 impressions (000s) sum respectively.

MUMBAI: Romedy NOW, India’s favourite English Entertainment channel, will premiere the award winning American teen romantic drama ‘If I Stay’ for the first time on Indian television on Sunday, August 26 at 1PM & 9PM.

The movie is an adaption of Gayle Forman's best-selling 2009 novel ‘If I Stay’. Featuring Chloë Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, the film revolves around Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz), a young cellist who meets with a car accident that leaves her in comatose. Mia is torn between the decision to either wake up and be stuck as an orphan or die and be with her dead parents but deviate from everyone else she loves. What will Mia choose? Life or death? Even at its most wrenchingly painful moments, the film ranks high on its cinematic brilliance.

Leading to the premier, Romedy NOW is running a social media campaign across the channel’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for its fans. The campaign will include thematic and interactive social media activities such as Live Puzzles, #ReasonsToStay and #HelpMiaDecide contest.

Romedy NOW ignites the cord of love within each one of us through its fun and quirky content. Through its distinctive international content, Romedy NOW offers the viewers the perfect blend of love & laughter with movies like ‘If I Stay’. 

MUMBAI: Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI), India’s leading platform for cinematic disruption and discovery, has appointed Edelman India to drive their Public Relations and Digital mandate for the upcoming edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star. The mandate focuses on driving strategic communication programmes for their annual property, the film festival. Edelman’s extensive experience in building brands and the firm’s expertise in running large format events, makes this an apt partnership.

MAMI was founded in 1997 by renowned film professionals from the Indian Film Industry to create an annual international film festival in India that brings the best of cinema to the audience and also creates a world class film festival that can find a pride place in the film festival map of the world. This edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star will celebrate its 20th year milestone.

Apart from the festival, the academy curates and runs a unique Year-Round Programme that sustains conversations around cinema throughout the year and makes cutting edge cinema from India and across the world available to audiences year-round.

With its experienced team of media strategists, content creators and creative thinkers, Edelman is strongly poised to drive communications for the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star and help it engage with a wide audience.

Creative Director - MAMI, Smriti Kiran said, “We are taking steps every year to strengthen our footprint and also strengthen the organization. For us, the next five years are years of institution building. A consummate film space does not exist in India and this is the one opportunity we have to create that entity. Getting Edelman on board is a step in this direction. They are one of the best integrated communications agencies in India comprising of Digital and PR professionals rooted in content. That is what we need. Disseminators who have a deep understanding of the work we do. I believe they will take the festival and the academy to the next level.”

“We have a national team that understands the mechanics of driving successful large-format events well. Managing multiple stakeholders, conversations and expectations, while telling a compelling and coherent story is a skill that our teams have developed over the years. Our earned-centric thinking and deep local understanding will help us craft a strong programme for the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star and we’re truly excited about this partnership,” said Himanshu Saxena, Brand Head, Edelman India.

MUMBAI: The Bengali and Kannada markets saw no changes in BARC's week 33 data. Bhojpuri Cinema and Big Ganga swapped their first and second positions in the Bhojpuri market. In the Malayalam space, Star TV’s Asianet retained its leadership position but with a dip in the viewership ratings as compared to the previous week. In the Marathi cluster Colors and Star Pravah exchanged their third and fourth positions, whereas in Tamil market, Adithya TV emerged as the new entrant by replacing Kalaignar TV from the previous week. Moreover, in the Telugu market Gemini TV and Zee Telugu swapped their second and third positions.

 Malayalam

All channels in this market saw lower viewership than the previous week, likely due to the floods that affected the state of Kerala. Asianet, the Malayalam general entertainment channel from Star TV stood at first position this week as well with 255174 impressions (000s). Mazhavil Manorama, Surya TV, Flowers TV and Asianet Movies secured second, third, fourth and fifth positions with 96124 impressions (000s), 91925 impressions (000s), 67080 impressions (000s) and 54058 impressions (000s) respectively.

Bangla

 Zee Bangla continued to be placed in the first position in week 33 with 344464 impressions (000s) this week. Star Jalsha too retained the second slot with 289319 impressions (000s) followed by Jalsha Movies, Colors Bangla and Aakash Aath with 66977 impressions (000s), 66124 impressions (000s) and 61363 impressions (000s) respectively.

Bhojpuri

 This week, Bhojpuri Cinema and Big Ganga swapped their first and second positions with 57546 impressions (000s) and 50967 impressions (000s) respectively. Bhojpuri Dhamaka Dishum retained its third position with 11935 impressions (000s). Mahuaa Plus secured fourth position by replacing News18 Bihar Jharkhand as compared to the previous week with 2587 impressions (000s). Oscar Movies Bhojpuri retained its fifth position with 2522 impressions (000s).

Kannada

No changes were observed in this segment. Colors Kannada and Zee Kannada stood at first and second positions with 427321 impressions (000s) and 405191 impressions (000s) respectively. Udaya TV, Udaya Movies and Star Suvarna stood at third, fourth and fifth positions with 244053 impressions (000s), 233483 impressions (000s) and 148338 impressions (000s) respectively.

Marathi

This week, the Marathi market didn’t notice any change. Zee Marathi and Zee Talkies remained steadfast in the number one and two positions respectively with 326283 impressions (000s) and 154175 impressions (000s) this week. Colors and Star Pravah exchanged their third and fourth positions respectively with 134158 impressions (000s) and 116534 impressions (000s). Zee Yuva retained its fifth position with 59176 impressions (000s).

Tamil

Tamil market saw a slight change this week. Sun TV retained its first position with 965030 impressions (000s). Zee Tamil and Star Vijay swapped their second and third positions with 499927 impressions (000s) and 483866 impressions (000s) respectively. KTV stood same at its fourth position with 282438 impressions (000s). Adithya TV emerged as the new entrant by replacing Kalaignar TV as compared to the previous week with 85389 impressions (000s).  

Telugu

Star Maa emerged as the leader with 642234 impressions (000s). Gemini TV and Zee Telugu swapped their second and third positions with 511774 impressions (000s) and 493631 impressions (000s) respectively. ETV Telugu and Gemini Movies secured fourth and fifth positions with 486930 impressions (000s) and 235668 impressions (000s) respectively. 

MUMBAI:  While every other movie channel in the Hindi space is offering dubbed South Indian movies, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is launching a pure offering – its ‘101% Shuddh Bollywood’ channel Zee Bollywood. The channel is launching on 31 August.

Earlier reports had said that Zee Bollywood would be replacing Zee Classic, but ZEEL Hindi movies cluster business head Ruchir Tiwari said that it is not shutting the channel. In fact, the network still has Zee Classic’s HD licence. “We are not shutting Zee classic. As you know, ministry permission for launching a new channel is a very slow process and the demand of Bollywood from the consumer is urgent,” he said.

He added that research shows 39 per cent Indians love watching masala Bollywood movies that are truly entertaining. “Getting the permission is not easy and so we had to use the Classic license to launch this. We did not apply for the Classic license, it will be revamped as a refreshed offering that will be premium and niche and it wouldn’t be ad-supported. You will hear about Zee Classic also very soon,” he said.

With Zee Classic’s market share being 6.5 per cent, Tiwari feels that Zee Bollywood has the potential to reach up to 10 per cent.

Tiwari added that there might be an overlap with other players when it comes to certain movies. “Today all the top three channels have 50-60 per cent of south programming on a weekly level because there is larger viewership in the category especially from west India, where there is a very strong demand. For example, Lagaan movie will be aired quite a few times on the other channels or maybe on Sunday afternoon and this is because there is no room. So now, in this case, there will be some overlapping,” he said.

The network has curated a roster of over 600 exclusive ‘Masalon se koot koot ke bhari filmein.’ ZEEL CMO Prathyusha Agarwal said, “At ZEEL, our aim has always been to fuel the entertainment space with extraordinary content that satiates the needs of our viewers. Specifically, in the Hindi movie segment, we understand the viewer as someone whose mind seeks different kinds of cinema, while his heart continues to yearn for masala Bollywood! Hence, we came up with the big idea of Zee Bollywood.”

The channel has started scouting for advertising partners. Zee network president sales Vijay Sanil said, “Currently we have Nerolac, Lays, Cadbury and Nirma Salt as our channel partners. The response has been extremely positive from our clients and such partnerships further validate our belief in our offering. We are hoping to drive synergies with more brands as we embark on this new journey.”

Time bands also speak the Bollywood lingo such as Mere Sat-Sun Aayenge (Sat, Sun 9pm), Subhah Ho Gayi Mamu (Mon to Fri 10:30am), Dopehar Ka Tadka (Mon to Fri 2pm), Chalti Hai Kya 9 se 12 (Mon to Fri 9pm), Raat Baaki (Mon to Fri 12 am) and Maa Kasam Sunday Hai (Sun 10:30am, 2pm, 5pm).

Shows with romance like Chennai Express, Jab We Met, comedy films like Phir Hera Pheri, Houseful, Welcome, panga with films like Agneepath, Josh, Gadar and drama with films like Lagaan, Judaai, Raja Hindustani among others will be on air.

In the most crowded segment on TV, Zee Bollywood has tough competition to prove and capture market share.

MUMBAI: Affordability is every Indian’s first thought when purchasing anything. However, quality sports shoes tend to be high priced and the likes of Nike Air or Adidas Superstar are beyond the reach of normal people’s budgets.

Enter the latest entrant to try to make the impossible possible – D:FY (read: defy). Launched by fitness enthusiasts Prashant Desai and Rajiv Mehta, who are marathon runners themselves, it aims to make great sports gear accessible to the Indian makes with great technology and breath-taking looks.

For Desai and Mehta, the idea for D:FY seeded with a personal need to buy quality sports products at an affordable price as running was becoming expensive for them. “As runners, we had to buy products by global brands that are heavily priced which has always pinched us. There are enough brands available in the market but they don't give enough quality products and technologies required to run well,” says Desai.

The company competes directly with Indian brands in the same category such as Action, Power, and Red Tape but aspires to compete with international brands including Sketchers, Nike, Adidas, Puma and Reebok in a year’s time. On this, Pradeep says, “We definitely aspire to compete with bigger players in the market. If you compare a product of D:FY’s which is priced at Rs 5500 with a competitor’s Rs 5500 product, ours is definitely way better in terms of technology. But most people compare apples to oranges whereas they should compare apples to apples."

Backed by FMCG mogul Kishore Biyani along with Farhan Akhtar and ex-cricketer Anil Kumble, the company has Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and actor Nidhi Agerwal as brand ambassadors.

The company wants to target a mass audience and hence has decided to price it at a sweet spot. D:FY footwear range targets Indian fitness sensibilities — walk, gym and multi-sport that starts from Rs 2200 whereas apparels start from as low as Rs 799.

Marketing the product efficiently is equally essential to ensure brand awareness and recall and this is where most companies get it wrong. Since digital is available at a much cheaper rate than television D:FY wants to advertise heavily on digital and BTL. It wants to reach consumers at as many touchpoints as possible but will refrain using television at the moment as it comes at an exorbitant cost.

The company is set to invest Rs 10 crore for advertising during the first year of its operations. An optimistic entrepreneur, Mehta says that they are extremely aggressive about their capital spending and will invest in outdoor, digital, BTL, radio and maybe in-cinema advertising along with influencer marketing.

The co-owners don't want to be just another online brand but will look at ramping up the offline presence by opening stores where consumers can touch and feel the product before buying them.

D:FY is planning an aggressive physical presence with 22 store launches across nine cities of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Surat, Vadodara, Mohali, Bareily and Hubli by the end of September and plans to take this to 100 stores by 2022.

Online sales are equally important for any brand and especially if you are just starting out. Usually, brands partner with multiple e-commerce websites to sell the products which help them in reaching out to a large set of audience. But D:FY has tied up exclusively with Amazon to sell the merchandise which kind of narrow downs the scope of reaching a mass audience that shops online.

While the products will be available across all channels, the company does not want to sell the products at a discounted rate as it believes the price-point is pretty much justified.

Though major sales for the brand will come in from metros and mini metros, the co-founders want to reach the rural consumer as well. It will also face a stiff competition from local players that sell sports shoes for as low as Rs 200 and apparel at a mere Rs 100-200.

Where most manufacturers - national and international - are looking at shifting their manufacturing units to India in order to promote the government’s Make In India initiative, the duo wants to continue manufacturing the sports products in China. They will, however, bring the apparel manufacturing business to India which is also manufactured in China.

For 2020, the company has set huge targets where it will become more aggressive in terms of marketing and advertising the products, with an increased number of stores and SKUs. The sports brand targets to have revenue worth Rs 60 by the end of its first year’s operations.

The store has all the feels you get when you walk into a Nike or Adidas outlet. It will, however, be interesting to see if D:FY can create a niche for itself in an already cluttered market where Indians still prefer buying international products for the sake of quality.

MUMBAI: The Bengali TV Industry, one of the major hubs of India's entertainment ecosystem, was in the middle of a major crisis since Saturday. The tussle between the production house guild and artist forum had stalled the shooting of almost 30 mega serials aired on major GECs in the state. With no new episodes in the bank, broadcasters were compelled to air repeat telecasts of shows. With the two warring parties refusing to budge, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee intervened, calling on a meeting involving both factions in the presence of three major broadcasters - Zee Bangla, Star Jalsha and Colors Bangla.

The decision to set up a joint conciliation committee was taken at the meeting, which was also attended by renowned actors like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, representatives of Welfare Association of Television Producers. After the meeting, Banerjee told the media that problems concerning all the parties were discussed and the shooting would now resume.

“The shoot of the mega serials will be resumed tomorrow morning. Our telly industry holds a very respectable place in our state. There will be a Joint Conciliation Committee that will look over all the issues," she said after breaking the deadlock between the two groups.

Representatives from production houses, channels, artists, technicians will be a part of the committee, which will be headed by minister Arup Biswas. The committee is expected to meet every month to resolve any conflict and ensure the smooth functioning of the industry. 

With shooting set to resume today, the entire ecosystem can now breathe a sigh of relief.

This, however, wasn't the first time the artist forum and production houses were involved in a stand-off. But the scale of the conflict this time around certainly had the Bengali TV industry worried and the audience frustrated.

The demands of the artist forum were two-fold - one was about timely payments, the second was with regards to shoot timings. The artists wanted to receive their payment by the 15th of every month. A source close to the development told Indiantelevision.com that there were several artists whose payments have been due for long. The source added that the delay in payments hasn't necessarily hampered lead actors, but the supporting casts. 

As per the directive of the forum, actors, some of whom had put their make up on, refused to continue shooting till their dues were cleared. The artist forum also called for overtime payment after ten hours of work.

The television division head of a leading production house we spoke to blamed some artists for not being present on the floor at the scheduled call time, countering the demand for overtime payment. According to him, some actors did not shoot for more than six hours as they juggled between two projects at the same time. This inflicted monetary losses on the production houses, which pay a monthly rent for floors, he added.

Many people involved in the issue feared that it could hurt viewers’ interest and that they would gravitate towards Hindi GECs. For the younger audience, there’s already an option of digital content.

On Star Jalsha, Colors Bangla, Zee Bangla popular shows like Fagun Bou, Ke Apon Ke Por, Debi Choudhurani, Kusum Dola, Om Namah Shibay, Krishnokoli, Joyee, Andarmahal, Rani Rasmoni, Reshom Jhanpi, Subho Drishti, Aloy Bhubon Bhora did not have fresh episodes. Only two new serials Bajlo Tomar Alor Benu and Bhumikonya on Star Jalsha, along with a few reality shows on Zee Bangla and Colors Bangla were aired properly. However, Bengali GEC Akaash Aath survived the crisis without any disruption in telecasting new episodes.

Had the deadlock not been broken, the entire local entertainment industry in the state could have suffered a great deal of financial damage. With so many people across the state employed in the industry, a prolonged problem between the two parties could have severely crippled the family economy of several households.

It now remains to be seen how the newly formed committee functions in a bid to ensure there is no repeat of such a situation.

BENGALURU: Indian television broadcasters have a reason to smile in 2018. During the first 32 weeks of 2018, the top 10 advertisers from Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) placed 21.42 per cent more television insertions than in the first 32 weeks of 2017. The combined total number television insertions by BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 advertisers across genres for the first 32 weeks of 2018 were 13,255,057 as compared to 10,916,451 insertions during the first 32 weeks of 2017. 

If ad insertions by the top 10 advertisers are a yardstick for the increase in television ads, broadcasters and marketers can definitely expect ad revenues to perk up with more number of advertisements during the fag end of 2018. The major Indian festival season is yet to come – hence the ad tempo can only go up.  If one were to go by the trends of 2017, the number of ad insertions in 2018 could go up by 15 to 20 per cent as compared to the previous year. During the last 20 weeks of 2017, average television advertisements per advertiser among the top 10 advertisers per week had gone up by 16.97 per cent as compared to the first 32 weeks of 2017. Between weeks 33 to 52 of 2017, the average weekly TV ad insertions by BARC’s weekly list of top 10 advertisers had gone up to 27,163.66 from an average of 23,222.52 during the first 32 weeks of 2018.

Please refer to the figure below for the weekly comparison of the combined total insertions of all the top 10 advertisers during the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018 respectively.

g.jpg

There were 27 advertisers that were present at least once each in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 advertisers during the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018. Hindustan Lever Ltd or HLL was the biggest advertiser by far during the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018 with an average of 122,725.65 and 129,604.28 weekly insertions respectively (5.60 per cent increase). At second place was Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd (RBIL) with an average of 59,340.66 and 95,546.63 weekly insertions during each of the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018 respectively (61.02 per cent increase). Both HLL at ranks 1 (HLL- 32 weeks) and RBIL rank 2 (29 weeks)/rank 3 (3 weeks) were present in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 advertisers during the first 32 weeks of 2017. HLL was ranked first as top advertiser for 25 weeks and second for 7 weeks, while RBIL was present at rank 1 for 7 weeks, rank 2 for 24 weeks and rank 3 for 1 week during the first 32 weeks of 2018.

In 2017, only the above mentioned two advertisers were present in BARC’s top 10 advertisers list during all the first 32 weeks of 2017. This year besides HLL and RBIL, ITC Limited (ITL) and Cadbury India (Cadbury) were also present in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 advertisers during all the first 32 weeks of 2018. Both the companies’ – ITC and Cadbury’s average weekly insertions in 2018 were higher than their average weekly insertions in 2017. ITC, which was ranked third in 2018, had average weekly insertions of 33,002.88 in 2018 (32 weeks average) as compared to 18,959.9 in 2017 (20 weeks average), or a 74 per cent y-o-y increase during the periods under review. Cadbury’s average weekly insertions in 2018 were 18.41 per cent more at 27.410.88 (32 week average) as compared to 23,150.03 (31 week average) in 2017. Please note that the growth of average number of weekly insertions has been calculated by determining the average weekly insertions in the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018 only when these brands were present in BARC’s weekly lists of top ten advertisers across genres. The actual difference may not be the one mentioned above.

Most of the advertisers’ average insertions per week when they were present in BARC’s weekly lists of top 10 advertisers across genres have increased in 2018 as compared to 2017. Some notable examples are Procter & Gamble (38.51 per cent increase); Amazon Online India Pvt Ltd (16.47 per cent increase); Colgate Palmolive India Ltd (6.44 per cent increase); Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (17.03 per cent increase); Marico (33.05 per cent increase), etc. 

A few of notable players that have had a y-o-y fall in their TV ad insertions during their presence in BARC’s weekly lists during the first 32 weeks of 2018 are Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurved (Patanjali) (-5.70 per cent*), Brooke Bond Lipton India Ltd (-2.03 per cent*) and Ponds India Ltd (-4.48 per cent*).It must be noted that fall in percentages have been derived by calculating the difference in average weekly insertions in 2017 and 2018 only when these brand owners were present in BARC’s weekly list of top 10 advertisers during the first 32 weeks of 2017 and 2018 respectively. The actual difference may not be the one mentioned above.

 

MUMBAI: Netflix Inc., the world's leading internet entertainment service, hosted a special screening of their first ever horror series, GHOUL , in Delhi in association with world’s largest traveling film festival, Jagran Film Festival, on 23rd August, at Cinepolis Saket and launched the JagranPremiers (A Jagran Film Festival initiative).

Based on Arabic folklore, GHOUL is set at a covert detention center at which military officials question and often torture suspected terrorists. Nida (Radhika Apte), a newly minted interrogator who turned in her own father as an anti-government activist, arrives at the center to discover that some of these terrorists are not of this world, and she must fight for not just the truth behind the military's hyper-nationalist goals, but for her survival in the face of demons, both human and not.

The event saw over 150 enthusiastic fans, media and influencers who experienced the chilling world of GHOUL before the rest of the world! All three episodes of Ghoul, starring Radhika Apte and Manav Kaul, will be available in all territories where Netflix is available on 24th August. GHOUL , produced in partnership with Phantom Films, Ivanhoe and Blumhouse, stars Radhika Apte and Manav Kaul and is Netflix’s first venture into the Horror genre in India.

MUMBAI: Facebook has named Antonio Lucio as the new global chief marketing officer. Lucio is a very prominent face in t he global advertising and marketing industry, having stints in HP, Visa, PepsiCo. He will start his work on 4 September.

Lucio will fill a post that's been open since Gary Briggs announced his retirement in January. According to reports, Briggs helped in the search for his replacement. He will report to chief product officer Chris Cox, overseeing global marketing strategy for the social-media company.

Our Chief Product Officer Chris Cox welcoming @ajlucio5 the Facebook family – joining as our new Chief Marketing Officer on September 4! pic.twitter.com/v0vIGomMmK

— Facebook (@facebook) August 24, 2018

To regain Facebook’s brand value will be a challenge to new CMO as he joins in a crisis period. Since the beginning of this year, the social media giant has faced mounting consumer, regulatory and political pressure in several countries. In last quarter also, the company posted disappointing results. Hence, Lucio’s primary challenge will be to regain reputation of the brand.

Prior to this position at Facebook, he held the portfolio of CMO at HP. He served as Visa’s first global CMO where he directed the company’s famous “Everywhere you want to be” campaign while he also helped the company transition from financial-services player to a technology business. At PepsiCo he served as chief innovation and health and wellness officer.

MUMBAI: It’s that time of the year when koffee mugs are put out and celebrities find themselves on the hot seat of everything ‘entertainment’! Yes, Bollywood’s insider – Karan Johar is back with the upcoming season six of Koffee with Karan on 21st October, Sundays at 9pm only on Star World!

Every season has spruced up conversations and provided audiences around the country with an insight into what our B-Town favourites think, feel and do! Now, Season 6 amps up to arrest us all with some more interesting tête-à-têtes and couplings that Karan has brought together just for his fans and viewers!

And here’s his first reveal – the colour of the Koffee mug changes this season, just like the guests and conversations will, to bring to its viewers something newer, more fun and entertaining!

What will the Bollywood hot seat get celebrities to reveal this season? Who is getting married? Who is dating whom? Who said what and why all year? The red carpet is being laid out for which new celeb actors this year?

No one can do this better than Karan Johar. Keep the waiting on because often the best koffee comes only with the most finely roasted beans brewed to perfection!

Koffee with Karan Season 6 premieres on 21st October, and will air on Sundays at 9pm only on Star World!

MUMBAI: Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) (“Eros” or “the Company”), a leading global Indian film and digital studio, today announced unaudited financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Financial Highlights:

Q1 FY 2019 Highlights

· Revenue of $60.2 million in Q1 FY2019 compared to $60.8 million in Q1 FY2018.

· Reported strong Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $19.2 million in Q1 FY2019, compared to $15.8 million in Q1 FY2018, an increase of 21.5 % year-over-year.

· Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 31.9% in Q1 FY2019, compared to 26.0% in Q1 FY2018.

· Reported net debt of $186.8 million as on June 30, 2018, compared to $189.2 million as on March 31, 2018 and net leverage ratio of 2.28x. The net debt to equity ratio remains conservative at 18.9%.

(1)   A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures discussed within this release to our GAAP operating results are included at the end of this release. See also “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Key Business Highlights:

· As of June 30, 2018, Eros Now worldwide paying subscribers increased by 248.3% year-over-year and 27.8% sequentially to 10.1 million. The Company is reiterating its guidance of 16 million paying subscribers by fiscal year end 2019.  

· As of June 30, 2018, Eros Now has exceeded 113 million registered users worldwide across APP, WAP and Web.

· Over the next year, Eros Now is planning to launch a stable of feature films, made-for-digital originals films and over 20 original episodic programs, all of which will be available exclusively on Eros Now to paying subscribers. Three original series, Side Hero, Flip and Smoke, will be launched in the next few weeks. Originals will feature popular names like Rohan Sippy, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Rajat Kapoor, Siddharth Anand and Pavan Kriplani in various capacities.

· Eros Now announced a partnership with InMobi, a leading global digital marketing platform. The partnership will for the first time enable advertisers to directly monetise on Eros Now’s video platform.

· Eros Now reinforced its mission of non-stop entertainment, anytime, anywhere with one-of-a-kind brand campaign ‘Bolo Kya Dekhogey.’ The campaign, which rolled out three television commercials, reiterates Eros Now’s leadership position in the movie category, offering its extensive movie library across languages.

· Eros released 14 films in Q1 FY2019 (one medium budget and 13 small budget films) as  compared to five films in Q1 FY2018 (one high budget, one medium budget and three small budget films). This is in line with Eros’ strategy of developing its own intellectual property and concentrating on content-driven films rather than high budget star-driven films.

· Bhavesh Joshi  (Hindi), Meri Nimmo (Digital release), Blackmail (Overseas), Haami (Bengali), Goodnight City (Bengali), Alinagarer Golokdhadha (Bengali) and others were the main revenue contributing films during the first quarter.

· Reliance Industries Ltd (“RIL” or “Reliance”) completed its acquisition of a 5% equity stake in Eros at a price of $15 per share for a total cash consideration of $46.6 million on August 6, 2018.

· On a pro forma basis including the $46.6 million equity investment from RIL, Eros’ net debt as of June 30, 2018 is $140.2 million and the net leverage ratio is 1.71x.

· Eros formed a ground-breaking joint venture with V. Vijayendra Prasad, one of India’s top screen-writers and directors. The exclusive collaboration will build a quality content pipeline through joint development of scripts and production and distribution of films and web-series.

· Eros also partnered with Phars Film, one of the UAE’s largest film distribution and exhibition networks. Eros also intends to partner with Pana Film, one of the largest Turkish film studios for Indo-Turkish co-productions.

· Eros releases ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ in Turkey across 190 screens after over $45 million in box office collection in China.

· Eros also has a distribution partnership with Central Partnership in Russia, which may open new markets for Eros releases. These strategic partnerships not only help Eros augment its in-house content production model, but also expand the geographical canvas for content monetization.

Kishore Lulla, Eros’ Group Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated:  

“We delivered a strong set of results this quarter, underscoring our market leadership, solid business fundamentals and continued growth in our digital platform, Eros Now.  As we continue to develop our digital offering and adapt to the dynamic global media landscape we operate in, I want to reflect on the journey we have taken so far. At our core we are, and always have been, a content company delivering premium Indian filmed entertainment to the masses with unparalleled distribution capacity. Almost 20 years ago, Eros developed the first vertically integrated film studio model in India. We combined premium content production and acquisition abilities with best-in-class international distribution reach. Over the last decade we have witnessed many of the major Hollywood studios make their entries into India. It is a testament to our content offering, brand strength and people that we have been able to maintain and grow our market share in the face of this competition.

We are also proud to have one the deepest and richest Indian content libraries in the world. Over the last 10 years Eros has been responsible for 30 of the top 100 highest grossing box office films in India. We must not forget that even in the digital age, premium content is still immensely valuable. Our industry relationships spanning over 40 years allow us access to the best talent across the nation. Our library is constantly evolving and replenished every year with new and innovative content that appeals to all consumers.

We continue to focus on appropriate budget films promising high IRR’s based on our unique portfolio approach. As we increase production across genres and languages, the stories we tell are driven and backed by pre-sale potential with reduced reliance on box office success. The real star of today is the story being told on screen. We are especially excited about our upcoming theatrical slate this year, in addition to our upcoming slate of Eros Now original releases.  Our content partnership with Reliance, new venture with V. Vijayendra Prasad and continued relationship with Aanand Rai are all instrumental to our future and will be keys to our success.”

Rishika Lulla, Chief Executive Officer, Eros Digital who received the award for ‘Women leadership in Industry’ at the Times National Awards for Marketing Excellence, commented:

“The continued strength of our digital entertainment offering was once again a significant driving force behind our solid start to Fiscal 2019. With our diversified and unparalleled library we continue to see growing consumer appetite for compelling content. We are excited to have the largest paying and registered users, beating our own target of 2 million every quarter to be at 10.1 million paying subs this quarter. Our new partnership with InMobi will also allow us to start monetising our 113 million plus registered user base while still being an SVOD model. Living up to our core philosophy of innovative and non-intrusive ad formats, we will also be experimenting with new concepts such as allowing brands to engage seamlessly with branded and high quality digital content.

We truly believe that Eros Now’s extensive content bouquet will satisfy the insatiable appetite of our audiences and further enhance our commitment to be the source of entertainment with penetration in 100 cities across India. This is a significant expansion and with the best talent on board in our industry for movies and originals, we aim to capture an even larger audience with our upcoming star studded ‘Originals’ slate starting with ‘Side Hero’, the first ever Indian original comedy-drama featuring Kunal Roy Kapoor and directed by Rohan Sippy.

India is undergoing a digital revolution which is further fuelled by Reliance Giga venture and other telcos bringing consumers a seamless connectivity experience, where  Indian OTT players are now leaving no stone unturned to lure the viewers to sign up. Eros Now with its matchless proposition of 52 weeks of 52 premiers across genre and languages is uniquely positioned to execute a wide distribution strategy with a library of over 11,000 films spread across over nine Indian languages. According to our proprietary data, the longest content format is the most engaging where the best movies on Eros Now gets viewed in less than two sessions and an engaged viewer returns at least three times a week, spending a minimum of 40 Minutes, making it safe to say that Eros Now is the best engagement platform.”

Prem Parameswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer and President of North America, also commented:

“I am pleased with our first quarter performance, highlighted by strong margin expansion, continued balance sheet strength and solid subscriber additions out of our Eros Now business. We believe the Company is now firing on all cylinders as our Adjusted EBITDA growth and margin expansion is at 21.5% and 587 bps respectively. This coupled with our conservative balance sheet with net debt leverage ratio of 2.28x has us poised for growth in the coming fiscal year. 

Having reached over 10.1 million paying subscribers in Eros Now through the end of the First Quarter, we are confident in continuing to grow our subscriber base over the next few years, especially given our premium content offering coupled with the large Indian and global market opportunities.”