Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE), in line with its national-level CSR drive against Covid-19, donated a dedicated Covid health centre (DCHC) for frontline workers and their families to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

The DCHC facility has been built at Ghodbunder Road, Thane. It was inaugurated and officially handed over to the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) at an event by Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Zee, in the presence of Uddhav Thackeray, Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The arrest of Republic CEO Vikas Khanchandani by Mumbai Police in the alleged TRP scam case has sent shockwaves across the media and entertainment industry as top industry leaders have criticised the action as far-fetched.

Mumbai metropolitan magistrate court on Sunday remanded Khanchandani to two-day police custody till December 15. Republic TV is set to move the Bombay High Court against the city court's order.

Media veteran Raj Nayak, who knows Khanchandani for more than two decades as a close friend and professional colleague, said, “I am really saddened by the arrest of my dear friend Vikas Khanchandani. We’ve been close for over two decades and I can vouch for his integrity. His only fault being at the wrong place at the wrong time and getting caught in the crossfire.  Praying that he is safe and released soon.”

Mumbai: Republic Media Network’s CEO Vikas Khanchandani has been arrested from his home by the Mumbai Police on Sunday morning without any papers being served.

According to Republic TV, the illegal arrest comes despite the fact that Mr. Khanchandani’s anticipatory bail application was filed and to come up for hearing in the Bombay High Court on Monday.

The statement issued by Repuplic TV stated, “It is clear that as the fake TRP case collapses and the Mumbai Police Crime Branch has been exposed for its vengeful and baseless campaign of calumny against Republic, the Mumbai Police has accelerated its vicious witch-hunt that has no basis in facts or in law.”

New Delhi: The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has articulated that it is deeply disturbed on the early morning arrest and two-day remand of Republic TV CEO Vikas Khanchandani, in the investigation into allegations of TRP rigging.

Vikas Khanchandani’s arrest by the Greater Mumbai Police is the latest police action after its senior executive Ghanshyam Singh was arrested, remanded and released on bail after spending 26 days in prison. Vikas’ anticipatory bail petition is scheduled to be heard by the court and the arrest and remand is highly disturbing.

The ongoing pandemic has forced brands to look at innovative ways to stay relevant. Brand transformation has become a key conversation that is shaping the marketing landscape.

As part of its knowledge series, exchange4media in association with ABP will be hosting a panel discussion on 'Brand Transformation in The Digital Age' on December 15, 3pm to 4pm (IST)

The discussion will be focused around: Why and when is brand transformation necessary, Legacy vs. new approaches to brand transformation, Brand transformation in the light of digital disruption, The process of brand transformation and Evaluating the outcome of brand transformation.

NEW DELHI: The confluence of marketing and technology has reshaped how sales and promotions are done by marketers. With the infiltration of digital technologies even in the remotest corners of the world, marketers now sit on loads of data and possess the means to target their customers better. However, most of them might be missing the bus by a few miles. 

Dentsu Performance Group CEO Vivek Bhargava pointed out, “There is so much information we have in the marketing world that we are not using effectively to make advertising more targeted and result-oriented. The data remains segregated in so many disparate sources and we need to connect them.” 

New Delhi: The Walt Disney Company conducted its annual Investor 2020 day where it shed light on the current properties and the future plans associated with them. They focused on Disney+. Hulu, ESPN+, Marvel Universe, studios, animation and shared a perspective on their plans across the countries.

During the presentation, The Walt Disney Company international operations and direct-to-consumer segment chairman Rebecca Campbell shared that Disney+ Hotstar subscribers accounted for 30 per cent of Disney+'s 86.8 million subscriber base as of December 2, 2020. This accounts for nearly 26 million subscriber base for the OTT platform in India.

This accounts for nearly 7.5 million increase in the subscriber in the last two months, as the last reported numbers on the Hotstar’s subscriber base were 18.5 million in September 2020.

Building on the successful launch of Disney+ Hotstar in India and Indonesia, Disney has revealed new details for its international general entertainment content brand, Star, which will be included as part of Disney+ in select international markets, and launch as a separate streaming service in Latin America as Star+.

The Star brand will serve as home to thousands of hours of television and movies from Disney’s creative studios, including Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, and more, enhanced by the addition of local programming from the regions where available.

Star will launch in Europe and several other international markets on February 23, 2021 as a fully integrated part of Disney+, with its own branded tile and a new collection of renowned general entertainment series, movies, documentaries and more that will double the content catalog available to Disney+ subscribers.

From the time of its launch, Zee Biskope has tried to be differentiated in its content offering and its marketing, says Jit Sengupta, Lead, Brand Management, at the channel.

“We have been offering a curated channel to an otherwise competed market. All these initiatives that we have been doing—the engagement drives, marketing initiatives, and the content calendar that we prepare — have been based on robust consumer centricity consumer insight.”

“I think content and marketing these days synonymously used; they go hand in hand, and they kind of create value offering. It's better to say that is the value offering that we cater to the audience,” he added.

Buoyed by the growth in 2020, over the top (OTT) giants Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar are expected to up their original content investment in 2021.

London-based technology research and consulting firm Omdia has projected that the three OTT players are expected to collectively spend approximately Rs 2824.9 crore ($383 million) on original content in India, dwarfing the Rs 2080 crore ($282 million) by local OTT players.

The local operators include the likes of Eros Now, SonyLIV, MX Player, Voot, ALTBalaji, Jio TV + Jio Cinema, Hungama Play, and others. The OTT players are collectively expected to spend Rs 4905 crore ($665 million) in 2021.