Sony re-aligns key management portfolios.

Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) has announced a re-alignment of key management portfolios. In the re-aligned organisational structure, SPN’s International business gets consolidated within the networks’ sales and syndication business. SPN’s Sports business gets more closely aligned to the distribution business. Consequently, Rohit Gupta’s role gets expanded to President, Network Sales & International Business, Sony Pictures Networks. Neeraj Arora, Business Head for SPN’s International business will now report to Rohit Gupta.

Rajesh Kaul’s role gets expanded to President, Distribution and Sports, Sony Pictures Networks. – Prasana Krishnan, Business Head for SPN Sports business will now report into Rajesh Kaul. Rohit Gupta and Rajesh Kaul have been with SPN for 14 years and 8 years respectively.

Commenting on the re-alignment, NP Singh, CEO, Sony Pictures Networks, said, “This realignment is configured to further our global business ambitions. It allows us to maximize complimentary synergies existing within the network and augment SPN’s consideration as a partner-of-choice by brands and businesses, alike.” 
 

Sab TV opens its mini-series 'Khidki' from 28 June

MUMBAI: Tell your funny story and relive it along with the world all over again on television! Sony SAB will now give a sneak peek into the funny incidences of the lives of their viewers with its new show, Khidki. The show’s concept revolves around stories that have been sent in by viewers all over India. Some of these select stories are being adapted into mini-series of episodes for the small screen. Khidki is slated to go on air onTuesday, 28th of June 2016, every Monday to Friday, 21:30 hours only on Sony SAB.

The channel in partnership with well-known television producer JD Majethia and Bollywood director Umesh Shukla of Oh My God fame had called in for entries for the show in the month of March 2016. Over 8000 entries have been received by the channel, of which, some of the shortlisted stories are now ready to be presented to the world.

The show will have a set of recurring actors like veteran Sarita Joshi, Rajeev Mehta, Lubna Salim, Aishwarya Sakhuja to name a few who will portray different characters in different stories, along with narration by JD Majethia, who is also the host of the show. Each story will be weaved into episodes designed to last for minimum of three to eight episodes, depending on the length of each story.

SAB TV senior EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, “We at SAB have always brought unique and different concepts for our viewers. With this project we are opening the doors to those Indian families who want to share their funny stories with the world. SAB TV will provide a platform on which these stories which will be showcased, a new story every week.”

Sony Max to air 'Saala Khadoos' on 26 June.

MUMBAI: Sony Max brings alive the dream of Adi Tomar (Character name -Prabhu) to win the boxing gold for India and his scuffle with political powerhouse through the World Television premier of Saala Khadoos on 26 June at 8 pm.

Directed by Sudha Kongara Prasad and produced by Raj Kumar Hirani, Saala Khadoos is an underdog to champion story of foul-tempered headstrong boxer turned coach (R.Madhavan) and his hunt for India’s women boxing champion. Prabhu chances upon the raw fighting talent – Madhie (Ritika Singh) post his transfer from Hissar to Chennai and decides to put all his efforts to tame her and get her to shine as a true wrestler. On the other hand, Madhie is an aggressive fisherwoman who loves her freedom and is too frivolous to be a sportsperson, yet she falls in love with this ‘Khadoos’ but caring coach and delivers a knock-out performance at the World Boxing Championship.

R. Madhavan actor said, “I have given 3years of my life to this movie, preparing myself and working on my look. I had become too complacent, bored with my work and needed a change and thismovie turned out to be exactly what I wanted. But I also went through one of the most difficult times of my life during this film as we struggled to find a producer who would not want to modify the script until Raj Kumar Hirani found it astounding and did much more than required to promote the movie.”

Sony Pix spends between Rs 7 to 9 crore for Fast & Furious franchise.

MUMBAI: Gear up and get ready for a thrilling ride this month. Standing true to its ‘Stay Amazed’ tagline, Sony Pix will quench the viewers thirst for some high speed action on 19 June with the premiere of action film Furious 7 (FF7) at 1 pm with a repeat at 9 pm. 

Starring Vin Diesel, the late Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russell, and Jason Statham, the movie collected approximately Rs 141 crore in India and has grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2015.

Directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan, the movie is a touching tribute to the Paul Walker. Amidst all the noise and the action lies the ferocity of friendship as the entire family re-unites. FF7 features gravity-defying stunts giving rise to a number of exciting and well-choreographed fight sequences with some stunning car chases. It's a bittersweet feeling for the fans on seeing Paul Walker on screen again.

The channel has movie deals in place with NBCUniversal International Distribution under which it will now have access to movie titles from Universal Pictures. With this new deal in place, the three mega box office blockbusters of 2015 namely Jurassic World, Furious 7 and Minions will have television premieres on Sony Pix.

Pushing it further, the channel is extensively marketing the premiere of the movie. Marketing professionals are of the opinion that the channel has already spent between Rs 14 to 15 lakhs promoting FF7. 

Industry experts have estimated that the deal between the channel and NBCU is between Rs. 7 to 9 crore for the entire Fast & Furious franchise. An industry expert opines, “The deal between Sony Pix and Universal for the entire Fast and Furious franchise cannot be for more than Rs 100 million (Rs 10 crore).” The channel has exclusive one year TV rights for FF7.

With a pervasive marketing strategy across print, TV and digital, the movie will also be promoted outside the network. It has routed a 360 degree approach which includes a strong outdoor campaign. Apart from this, social media is also buzzing with fans reminiscing about Paul Walker and gearing up for the premier of Furious 7.

Speaking about this, Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and business head - English cluster Saurabh Yagnik says, “For a blockbuster of this magnitude, we’ve adopted a 360 degree marketing approach which includes a television and print plan, innovative outdoor and an engaging social media campaign. Apart from Furious 7, we have movies like Jurassic World and Minions up next, both having crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide. This is truly a very amazing year for Sony PIX.”

Targeted at the young affluent mass comprising predominantly of males residing in towns, FF7 is presented by Motorola G4 Plus and is driven by Ford. Sony Pix managed to lasso99acres.com, Idea 4G, Myntra and Gillette as the associate sponsors. The channel has also partnered with Bollywood actor Ali Faizal who played an integral part in the Hollywood blockbuster and had quite a lot of memorable stories to share.

The movie is the highest grossing film in the Fast and Furious franchise and is Universal Pictures’ highest grossing film of all time in India. It is the second highest grossing Hollywood movie in India after The Jungle Book’s 2016 edition.

On the content front, the channel has also acquired exclusive rights to the biggest franchises like Hunger Games, Star Wars, Rocky, James Bond, Spider-man, Twilight and Ironman to name a few.

On 19 June Furious 7 will compete with other movies like the Robert Downey Jr and Chris Hemsworth starrer Avengers: Age of Ultron at 1:30 pm and Baby’s Day Out at 9 pm on Star Movies while on the other hand, Movies Now will broadcast another hit from the same franchise, Fast and Furious 6 at 1 pm and 9 pm. HBO will broadcast Final Destination 3 at12:52 pm and Jupiter Ascending at 9 pm. Hotel Transylvania will air at 1 pm while Samuel L. Jackson and Onni Tommila starrer Big Game will be broadcasted at 9 pm on Zee Studio.

India has 890 TV channels against 12th Plan target of 1500

NEW DELHI: With the government having cleared a total of 890 television channels including 401 news channels, it appears highly unlikely that the country will achieve the target of 1500 channels by March next year.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology which goes into issues relating to Information and Broadcasting noted that the State Finance Commission, while drafting its proposals for the 12th Plan (2012-17), had assumed that the number of permitted TV channels would rise to 1500.

However, a recent I and B ministry report said that a total of 890 TV channels had got permission to start their operation as on 31 May. Out of these, twenty channels including seven news channels have been permitted to uplink from India but not downlink within the country, and 96 including 81 general entertainment channels are uplinked from overseas but allowed to downlink into TV homes in the country.

Meanwhile, the committee was told that the present set up of Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) has developed logging and recording facility for 900 TV channels and is thus fully equipped to start monitoring of all permitted channels available on public domain.

The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd. (BECIL) is configuring all available free to air channels in the content monitoring system of the EMMC.

However, configuration of pay channels will require broadcasters to provide necessary equipment for downloading and decryption of the content/signal and this is expected to be completed within 4 months’ time.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology which goes into issues relating to Information and Broadcasting observed that the monitoring capacity of EMMC is being augmented in a phased manner to achieve the objective of developing content acquisition facility for 1500 channels by the end of the 12th Plan.

By the end of Fiscal Year 2014-15, EMMC successfully achieved the Plan target of content acquisition facility of 600 TV channels. Under the 12th Plan, Rs.56.37 crore had been utilized as of 31 March 2016 out of the total outlay of Rs.90 crore.

The committee was told that the budget estimate for 2016-17 had been reduced to Rs 12 crore as compared to Rs 21 crore in 2015-16, out of which Rs 19.76 had been spent by 3 March 2016.

During the year 2015-16, EMMC has procured content acquisition hardware for setting up monitoring facility for 300 additional TV channels and installed at the new set up on the eleventh floor of Soochna Bhawan in New Delhi. The channels are being configured.

The ministry also informed the committee that issues pertaining to monitoring of 600 channels, hardware for which was acquired in FY 2014-15 had been resolved. Hence, EMMC was able to stabilize and regularly monitor 600 TV channels.

The ministry said its target under the Machinery and Equipment head was to develop content acquisition facility for additional 300 TV channels by the end of FY 2016-17.

The committee was informed that during the year 2015-16, 11 cases were found where TV channels were in violation of content guidelines (Programme Code and Advertisement Code).

While there is no provision of pre-censorship of the content telecast on private TV channels, all programmes/ advertisements telecast on such TV channels are required to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the rules framed thereunder. Action is taken whenever any violation of the Codes is noticed or brought to the notice of the ministry.

SPN acquires the exclusive TV & digital rights for the Indian open world ranking snooker tournament

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has acquired the exclusive broadcast and digital rights to telecast the third edition of the Indian Open World Ranking Snooker Tournament, in India and the Indian Sub-Continent.

This year’s tournament being held in Hyderabad from 4 July to 9 July will be telecast live and exclusive on Sony SIX, daily from 1700 hrs to 2000 hrs. In addition to the live coverage, snooker enthusiasts will also be able to live-stream all the matches on Sony LIV.

The Indian Open is a professional ranking snooker tournament and has raised the profile of cue sports in India. India has produced several top ranking players in the past who have contributed to the rising popularity of the sport; namely, Geet Sethi, Pankaj Advani, Aditya Mehta etc. Since its inception in 2013, India Open has seen the participation of leading snooker players from around the world including World Champions Neil Robertson, John Higgins, and Mark Williams as well as current legends Ding Junhui,, Marco Fu, Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham to name a few.

India, as host country, gets a wildcard entry for six snooker players giving the upcoming talent a platform to showcase their skills and rub shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport. 128 of the world’s top cueists convened to England for the qualifiers on 28th May competing for the coveted prize purse of £ 3,00,000. 64 top international snooker players have qualified for the 3rd Indian Open from the preliminaries that was held in Preston, UK which includes Michael White, Shaun Murphy, Barrie Hawkins, Ricky Walden, Mark Davis etc.

Sony Pictures Networks Sports cluster executive vice president & business head Prasana Krishnan said,“As broadcasters, we showcase a diverse range of content that will appeal to our audiences and we believe that we can help create new fans for some of these sporting events. Driven by consistent performances of leading Indian players, the popularity of cue sports has grown over the years. As an international professional ranking snooker tournament, the Indian Open will feature the best of International and Indian cueists. With the inclusion of cue sports in SPN’s sports portfolio, we are continuing our endeavour to have something for every viewer.”

President of the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India and the International Billiards and Snooker Federation Capt P.V.K. Mohan added, “I am very pleased that SONY SIX is partnering with BSFI to cover the event live on all the five days of the tournament during prime time slots. Snooker will be taken to a whole new level with Sony SIX coming on board for the first time since Indian Open started 3 years ago. BSFI in its new partnership with SPN is excited about the prospects that are likely to develop in Cue Sports. The Indian Open is a marquee event which has become very popular with both domestic and international players and is highly rated among the ranking events that take place around the globe. In addition to this, both the International and Indian players have expressed their delight about one of the biggest sports channels of the country telecasting and streaming the event. This will create tremendous awareness and visibility for the tournament as well as the sport.”

The Indian Open World Ranking Snooker Tournament will commence on July 4 and will be telecast live and exclusive on Sony SIX. Live coverage of the matches will also be available to live stream on Sony LIV.

SPN India launches FTA movie channel ‘Sony Wah’

MUMBAI: After Star India launching its free to air (FTA) movie channel Star Utsav Movie, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has expanded the scope of its Hindi movie channels from 3 to 4 with Sony Wah.

Based on a deep understanding of audiences across different strata in the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM) landscape, Sony WAH a premium FTA Hindi movie channel will cater to the unserved needs of rural and small town India.

Celebrating the best of Hindi Cinema, Sony WAH, with its positioning of ‘Filmon Ka Mela” will bring alive the content and experience that audiences of FTA channels have never seen before. The channel will showcase a mix of Hindi movies as well as films from the southern parts of India dubbed in Hindi. There will be a lot of marquee titles as well ranging across present-day blockbusters to movies from the last 3 decades.

With this launch, SPN’s Hindi movie channel cluster comprising of Sony MAX, Sony MAX2, Sony MAX HD and Sony WAH will cover the entire viewer spectrum of HSM at 94 percent unduplicated reach.

Sony Max & Sony Max 2 senior EVP Neeraj Vyas said, “With the launch of Sony WAH, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) becomes the only network to cover a range of audiences across multiple geographies with its unique offering of 4 distinct and differently positioned Hindi movie channels. Sony WAH completes the circle with its focus on rural and FTA audiences offering them a spectrum of movies they would want to see and when they want to see; enabling both choice and selection for the viewer”.

SPN announces digital initiatives for UEFA EURO 2016.

MUMBAI: The official broadcaster of UEFA EURO 2016, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN),has announced an extensive list of digital initiatives to improve the experience of users watching the tournament on their digital platform Sony Liv. The digital campaign is an extension of its on-air time to switch campaign, where the channel has created a personalized on-brand user experience for digital consumers to engage them before, during and after the matches throughout the tournament.

The whole platform has been built to provide a unique real-time experience which is completely led by data science. Real-time data will be captured and a lot of new data science techniques will be used to present data in a manner that will enhance the overall experience of watching these matches.

“UEFA EURO 2016 is going to be one of the biggest sporting events not only in India but worldwide. And we are taking this opportunity to give a very unique, engaging and immersive experience to all our users. And staying true to our campaign philosophy, with our digital initiatives we will cater to the entire spectrum of football fans. On our platform there are many innovative initiatives such as Probability Meter, Momentum Meter, Ball Position, etc. which would excite both the ardent as well as casual fans. Aimed at enhancing the user experience, the microsite features a ‘Time to Switch’ tab for both footy fans and novices alike that will make the ‘switch’ that much more enjoyable and further lift the entire experience of watching UEFA EURO 2016 on our platforms”, Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited digital business executive VP and head Uday Sodhi.

The tournament will commence on 10 June 2016, and will be telecast live on Sony Six and Sony ESPN channels at primetime slots of 6:30 pm, 9:30 pm and 12:30 am.

The match will stream live exclusively in eight countries India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan. This service is available to audience for free with no subscription cost. The matches will be streamed live on the app and will be available on iOS and Android, as well as on the specially created dedicated microsite www.sonyliv.com/euro2016.

Some of the key highlights digital users can look forward to are:

Probability Meter

The Probability Meter will provide winning probabilities for each team during the match. This probability will be calculated real-time and change on the basis of every event that occurs in the match.

Momentum Meter

Momentum Meter is a graphical representation of the momentum between the two teams. This graph will show the momentum building for both the team and the shift of momentum between the team minute by minute.

Ball Position Tracker

Ball Position Tracker is an innovative tool where users can see the plotting of the exact position of the ball on a real time basis. This is done against a graphical representation of the stadium.

Stats Meter

The stats meter will provide a real-time account of each and every event that takes place during the match which will be updated in real-time basis.

LIVE Text Commentary

Users will be able to see real time updates of the scores along with minute-by-minute text commentary of every match.

Along with this, users will also be able to access information not only about the tournament, but also about each and every participating team. Information such as Fixtures, Team Ranking, Team Results,

Historic Performances and Team as well as individual performances over the tournament will be updated on real-time basis.

Post-Match Experience

Once the match is over, users will be able to enjoy unlimited video on demand content for every match which will include complete 90 minute re-runs of the match and lots of short videos (3-10 mins) covering highlights, goals, hat-tricks, saves, free kicks, special moments, penalties etc. which will be made available both on the app as well as the microsite minutes after the match is over.

SPN has also created a fun and interesting time to switch tab on the microsite which offers interactive features to sports enthusiasts who may be novices to football. Online users can take advantage football aids that will ease them into the footy community and become an authority on the sport.

Footy 101

A must have for every footy novice; this e-pocketbook of rules will not only help understand the game, but also do it with a lot of fun! From ‘Spotting the Fraud’, ‘How to say Awesome in Football’ to ‘Foul Play’, Footy 101 is the beginner’s guide to looking like a footy expert.

A New Ball Game

It is easy for a newbie to feel lost, alone and out of place. ‘A new ball game” invites users to open up with their own stories and find a connection with others who are sharing their experiences as a new footy.

Jargonator

Footy is filled with jargon and after switching, everyone needs help understanding words like offside, red flag, etc. Confused much? Well then the Jargonator is the perfect tool to help the audience understand these footy terms with ease in a lingo that they excel at, cricket!

Sony SIX will telecast the English language feed for the tournament while Sony ESPN will give viewers the option of Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil or Telugu language feeds.

Sony LIV partners with Mukta Arts to showcase Whistling Woods International’s short films.

MUMBAI: Whistling Woods International (WWI), one of the world’s leading film, communication and media arts school announced a partnership with Sony LIV, Sony Pictures Networks’ (SPN) premium digital video entertainment platform via Mukta Arts’ digital venture, Connect.1. Underlining the brand’s commitment to enhance the users’ entertainment-viewing experience, Sony LIV’s association with WWI and its digital venture Connect.1, will entail showcase and promotion of short films produced by students of the institute. These films will cater audiences across all age groups and will be featured under the section, “Mini Talkies”, on Sony LIV.

Curated by Sony LIV, the short films will be of varied genres ranging from drama, thriller, action to romance and comedy, including several award winning films which have been screened at national and international film festivals. This partnership marks a new beginning for the WWI students to create outstanding and engaging content, inspiring the extended community in the media and entertainment fraternity, adding to Sony LIV’s existing diverse and growing library.

Uday Sodhi, EVP and Head – Digital Business, Sony LIV, said, “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Mukta Arts, which will further enhance our extensive content library and allow our users to sample the latest content developed by the upcoming talents trained at Whistling Woods International. This association opens up avenues to collaborate with Connect.1 - the digital division of Mukta Arts, to create engaging and entertaining content for our users and establish Sony LIV as the premier digital destination for top-quality entertainment.”

Subhash Ghai, Founder & Chairman, Whistling Woods International; Chairman, Mukta Arts Limited, added, “Firstly, I would like to congratulate Mukta Arts and Sony LIV for the association which will open a range of opportunities for both the brands. Over the time, Sony LIV has established itself as the go-to destination for today’s mobile-first consumer. This association will showcase the works of the students of Whistling Woods International, helping us amplify the reach and recognition of our talented students.”

Headquartered in Mumbai, Mukta Arts, is an Indian film production company known for its association with several blockbuster movie hits such as Taal, Pardes and Ram Lakhan amongst others. These successful hits from the production house of Mr. Subash Ghai have pre-defined directorial credibility for Mukta Arts in the history of Indian Cinema.

ESPN in collaboration with SPN launches ESPN.in & ESPN app.

MUMBAI: With long-term collaboration with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), ESPN has introduced an exciting new mobile-first multi-sport digital offering in India today with the launch of the ESPN.in website and the ESPN app.

With an emerging multi-sport landscape in India, the new site and app will further reinforce ESPN’s market leadership, authority and expertise in digital media, bringing an elegant, lively and more personal sports experience to Indian and subcontinent fans across mobiles, tablets and computers. ESPN.in site and app will also be carrying rights video content for sporting events from SONY LIV, SPN’s digital streaming platform, and SPN’s new Sony ESPN sports channels.

From mainstream sports in India and the subcontinent, to the best of ESPN’s comprehensive coverage of global sports that interest South Asian fans, ESPN.in and the ESPN app will bring fans closer to the games, leagues and athletes they love via world-class digital products.

Both the site and app will offer the best cricket coverage (powered by ESPNcricinfo), but also give fans a one-stop destination for world-class news, features and videos across sports currently underserved by any digital offering in the region, such as football, hockey, badminton, tennis, Formula 1, kabaddi and more.

The new ESPN.in and ESPN app brings Indian and subcontinent fans a clean, dynamic presentation for ESPN’s content and storytelling, including scores, news, video, features, stats and more. Additionally, they will feature LIVE streaming video content of select sporting events in collaboration with Sony LIV.

The launch of the app and website are the latest developments in the collaboration between Sony Pictures Networks India & ESPN.  ESPN.in and the ESPN app, will both carry SONYESPN branding and will feature cross-promotional integration with Sony LIV, the digital streaming platform from Sony Pictures Networks (SPN). 

Earlier this year, this collaboration resulted in the launch of 2 new sports television channels; namely, Sony  ESPN as well Sony ESPN HD. The long-term agreement leverages a winning combination of two of India’s most respected media brands, and serves Indian and subcontinent fans via their combined expertise and high-quality compelling content.

ESPN India and South Asia head & VP Ramesh Kumar said, “ESPN has a strong connection with fans in India and around the world because we are fans ourselves, driven by a similar obsession for sports. The launch of our multi-sport products showcases our digital leadership and offers sports fans outstanding news, features and video experiences around top sports of interest to Indian fans. They also provide the perfect complement to our television collaboration with Sony Pictures Networks India as well as reinforce ESPN’s signature ‘Game around the Game’ analysis across platforms”.

Sony Pictures Networks India Digital Business executive vice president & head Uday Sodhi said, “Sony LIV has been instrumental in bringing the best of entertainment to the digital millennials. Sports is an integral part of our offering. Together with ESPN, we are geared to increase our offering manifold.”

PERSONALIZATION

Passions for sport are intensely personal and ESPN has made it easy to personalize the user experience on both ESPN.in and the ESPN app -- and rewards fans for doing so.  A powerful personalization engine lets every fan select their favorite sports, leagues and teams, and then prominently delivers the latest scores, news, video and images related to those in a distinct ‘Favorites’ section. After registering on either the site or the app, a fan can set their Favorites, which will then work seamlessly across both the site and the app, and on any device – mobile, tablet, laptop, desktop - where they are logged in.

Users of the ESPN app can also set custom tailored notifications, so they will be alerted with all the latest developments for their Favorites, general news and more.

COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT AND COVERAGE

ESPN is the #1 digital sports publisher in India, and around the world – known for its insightful content with personality and its unbiased reporting and analysis with authority.

Social media glory: Vivo IPL 2016 versus Pepsi IPL 2015.

MUMBAI: Although broadcast partner Sony Pictures Network (SPN) has touched estimated sponsorship revenue of Rs 1,200 crores from IPL Season 9, Vivo IPL 9 failed to garner as much social buzz as its predecessor Pepsi IPL did in 2015. As per a recently released reportSocial Penetration by IPL through MESH, which is a proprietary tool for data analysis by Maxus India, Pepsi IPL generated almost double the social media buzz in 2015 as compared to Vivo IPL this year. Comparable buzz numbers were 240,164 minions in IPL 2016 and 456,943 mentions in 2015

The MESH report says that the buzz around #Pepsi IPL 2015 vs # Vivo IPL 2016, Pepsi had generated 47 percent more mentions than this year’s IPL.  Across social media platforms, IPL 2016 crossed 3.1 million (31 lakh) mentions. 

According to the MESH report in week one of IPL 2016, mentions dropped by 9 percent against IPL 2015. Also in week 2 and week 3 of IPL 2016, the mentions went down by 20 percent and 11 percent respectively, while in week 4 social mentions hiked up by 20 percent. As per the reports, week 5 again witnessed a downfall of 8.1 percent but in week 6 mentions went up again by 3 percent. Week 7 of IPL 2016 was an impressive session. The last week witnessed 74 percent hike in social mentions from IPL 2016. 

RCB was the highest buzzing team followed by KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Virat Kohli with 533128 mentions and AB De Villiers with 229 831 mentions were the most tagged players of IPL 2016.

When it comes to top IPL and top buzzing sponsors hashtags Vivo ruled the buzz with more than around 2 lakh mentions around #VivoIPL followed by beverages company Kingfisher’s #UnitedByGoodTimes campaign. Gionee was number three with #GioneeKKR getting 100,000 plus mentions while Freecharge’s #LoDoKhatamkaro and Telecom company Vodafone’s #BeSuper campaign clocked 50,000 plus mentions during IPL 2016.

SPN to launch English movie channel Sony Le Plex HD by June 2016.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited is all geared up to launch its new high definition premium English movie channel Sony Le Plex HD. The network is in the process of seeking regulatory clearances and approvals. Subject to obtaining such approvals, the launch is planned around June 2016.

The channel will serve the discerning audiences who seek entertainment beyond the mainstream movies from Hollywood.

Sony Le Plex HD will serve avid movie viewers with films that are popular and critically acclaimed. The focus for the channel would be to present the movies in a manner not seen before.

The network has made significant investment in securing rights for movies from Hollywood and the premieres on the channel which includes Spotlight, Ex-Machina, Foxcatcher and Straight Outta Compton to name a few and will also be home to critically acclaimed movies like The Inglorious Basterds, Schindler’s List, Taxi Driver, Gladiator, Philadelphia, etc.