MAM
Yantra Media, Asianet programming initiative takes on movie piracy
MUMBAI: After unleashing its fight against movie piracy with the launch of a full-fledged digital movie project last month, the Kerala entertainment space is now all set to deliver a second punch on the industry evil, this time through a TV show venture.
In an innovative programming initiative, the Chennai-based production house Yantra Media and the Malayalam entertainment channel Asianet have come together to launch a movie-based game show Super Hit Challenge, which promises to nurture Malayalee’s theatre-viewing habit.
Aspiring contestants will be asked to answer certain questions based on the movie they have recently watched in a theatre, through an Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS) system. The binding clause of the ‘rules’ is that, the contestant should submit the movie ticket he had purchased in the theatre to ensure his entry into the contest.
The game show promises bumper prize to the winner of each episode. The ‘challenge factor’ comes in, when the ousted contestants decide to ‘challenge’ the leading scorer, when he prepares to face the bumper prize questions, and the amount both the parties have already won is at stake.
Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Yantra Media head Shyamsundar said, the show would unfold a unique synergy between the television and movie industries. “Today, in television, we get to see a lot of film-based programmes, which are meant to boost the box office fortunes of those films covered. But, none of them really make an attempt to fight the more serious issue of movie piracy, which is actually killing the industry. In this context, Yantra Media, supported by Asianet, has conceptualised this innovative format. This format urges and inspires consumers to watch movies in theatres only”, says Shyamsundar.
Yantra Media has made an initial investment of Rs 4.5 million on the project. “Since we will be spending a lot on the prizes, the actual investment would peak in the long run. We are in the process of signing up leading brands for the prizes,” says Shyamsundar.
Asianet is expected to launch Super Hit Challenge in August and each episode will have a half hour run. The channel is presently working out a slot for the game show.
Anchored by popular Malayalam film actor Mukesh, Super Hit Challenge promises participation from the cream of the film industry. “The whole industry is backing us. Superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal have already assured us their participation in the show,” says Shyamsundar.
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Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
