In a collaborative effort, nasscom and ZEE’s Technology and Innovation Centre organised a one-day workshop to identify areas of mutual interest and explore synergies for potential partnerships. As part of the workshop, ZEE hosted 14 startups from the nasscom Generative AI Foundry programme at the ZEE Technology & Innovation Hub in Bengaluru. With this one-of-its-kind initiative, the company aims to foster collaborative growth and empower the select start-ups to succeed in the dynamic AI landscape.

Nitin Mittal, president – technology & Data, ZEE, said “We are delighted to embark upon this exciting journey in collaboration with nasscom, aiming to shape the future of India’s AI community. The synergy between our endeavours, nasscom’s commitment to nurturing tech startups, and ZEE’s leadership in media innovation signifies more than just a convergence of minds—it represents a fusion of futuristic visions poised to define the industry’s next chapter. As a frontrunner in India’s M&E ecosystem, this partnership stands as a testament to our commitment towards elevating consumer experience by leveraging digital technologies. At ZEE, we believe that collaborations of this nature are instrumental in propelling the growth of startups and fostering innovation in the India’s AI landscape.”

Ankit Bose, head of NASSCOM AI, said “The partnership between both organisations is a significant one for the Generative AI startups. It is heartening to witness excellent initiatives from the industry to collaborate with these startups. The innovative solutions possess the potential to transform various sectors including M&E.”

Nasscom’s Generative AI Foundry initiative aims to boost India’s standing in the global Generative AI startup industry by providing support and nurturing technology startups in this field. To achieve this goal, the program has selected 26 promising startups in collaboration with over 30 industry organizations and investors. These chosen startups will be offered comprehensive assistance, including mentorship, access to resources, funding, and industry connections, to help them progress their products to the next level.

Hare Krsna TV Channel, a renowned source of high-quality spiritual content, is thrilled to announce its availability on Tata Play (formerly known as Tata Sky), India’s leading direct-to-home (DTH) service provider, starting today.

Hare Krsna TV, dedicated to promoting eternal well-being through spiritual enlightenment, curates immersive content from The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) centers worldwide.

Dr. Bimal Shah, Director of Hare Krsna, expressed excitement about this development, stating, “We are delighted to partner with Tata Play. Since its satellite launch in 2019, Hare Krsna has garnered significant followers. Our mission is to elevate the consciousness of viewers of all ages, enabling them to lead more vibrant lives without compromising modern principles. Tata Play offers us an ideal platform to reach a vast audience interested in spirituality.“

Hare Krsna TV is a Free to Air (FTA) channel, available on all Tata Play packs, without any additional charges. Devotees can tune-into channel #1089 for their everyday reverence.

‘Hare Krsna‘ TV Channel operates 24/7, dedicated to spreading the Holy Name of Lord Krishna worldwide. It is the first channel to create Krishna awareness programs celebrated globally, reaching over 60 million devotees through traditional television services, OTT platforms, and various digital channels.

As a ‘well-being‘ channel, it is anticipated to attract viewers from all walks of life, as noted by Dr. B.C. Shah, Director of Hare Krsna Channel and an ISKCON devotee.

The channel features programming such as Hare Krishna festivals held worldwide, discourses on ancient Indian Vedic texts, and talks by religious scholars.

ISKCON has a presence in over 100 countries with 650 centers worldwide.

This channel was launched as a local channel in India during ISKCON golden jubilee year in September 2016. After its satellite launch in 2019, it became available on Dish TV, GTPL, Siti, Hathway, Den, Fastway, NXT, In Cable, UCN, BRDS, Darsh, JK media, and many other cable networks. It can also be accessed on mobile devices and smart TVs through YouTube, JioTV, Zee 5, Yup TV and more.

The channel’s schedule is designed to promote the well-being of the audience throughout the day, featuring programs such as early morning Mangal Aarti, Kirtan and devotional music, utility and life-inspiring programs during noon, thought-provoking documentaries and children’s shows in the evening, and enlightening talks by ISKCON gurus. It offers 6 hours of fresh content daily, with special events showcased on weekends.

The core mission of the channel is ‘Wellbeing for the World‘, focusing on providing happiness and well-being to all who tune in.

Key highlights include live Darshan of various ISKCON Temples, major ISKCON events like Rath Yatra, Janmasthami, and Gaur Purnima Festival.

Hare Krsna TV is an advertisement-free channel with no revenue model.

This will be the first time when a TV series will be adapted and developed from an online self-publishing and audiobook platform. Stories on Pratilipi have an extensive readership and listener base that extends up to 15 million subscribers. These stories written by authors from all over the country are currently available in the form of short stories, series, audiobooks, and comics. This association also opens doors for thousands of writers across India, allowing them to envision their stories in various formats.

Ranjeet Pratap Singh, CEO and co-founder, Pratilipi, said, “At Pratilipi, we are proud to be a platform consisting of over 10 million stories. We have always believed in providing quality content in multiple formats to suit everyone’s needs. Our collaboration with Disney Star is a testament to our continuous commitment to creating multi-format content for a wider audience. Pratilipi is home to some of the best stories, especially in the regional languages, and we are truly delighted that with this association, we will be recreating some of our popular stories into televised series.”

Commenting on the collaboration, Gaurav Bannerjee, Head Content, Disney+Hotstar & HSM Entertainment Network said, “Our collaboration with Pratilipi underscores our core belief in empowering writers, which is essential for creating compelling content on both TV and digital platforms. As the nation’s leading storyteller, we are excited to provide a platform for authentic storytelling emerging from fresh talent across the country.”

This collaboration is just the beginning of Pratilipi’s entrance into such exciting partnerships with broadcast and streaming platforms. As the digital storytelling landscape continues to evolve, Pratilipi remains dedicated to empowering writers and creators to share their narratives in diverse ways.

About Pratilipi

Pratilipi is the largest Indian language storytelling platform. Its eponymous product is home to over 950,000 writers in 12 Indian languages as well as over 30 million monthly active readers. The Pratilipi app is available on both Android and iOS devices and can be accessed to both read and publish stories across twelve different Indian languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, and Odia).

In 2020, Pratilipi acquired Mumbai-based IVM Podcasts to enter the fast-growing podcast market. In 2021, they took over The Write Order, one of the largest self-publishing platforms in the country, to expand their repository of original stories. And in 2022, Pratilipi entered the traditional book publishing market with the acquisition of Westland Publications, which was previously owned by Amazon.

Pratilipi’s range of products include Pratilipi FM which has an inventory of over 10,000 audio books, podcasts, and podcasts, along with 300,000 monthly active listeners. Pratilipi Comics too is an integral part of the business which is the largest online comic product in five Indian languages with thousands of digital comics and over 500,000 monthly active readers.

It’s that time of the year again when Fremantle’s India’s Got Talent (IGT) has the audience glued to their television set as they are wowed every week by some of India’s most talented performers. The show, that is currently in its 10th Season, has a legacy of showcasing some of India’s most gifted singers and dancers, uniquely-skilled artistes and edge-of-the-seat daredevil stunts. It is the only reality talent show in India that has consistenly, for over a decade now, welcomed people of any age, any talent, any number to its stage, making it truly diverse and inclusive in nature. 

IGT Season 10, which went live on July 29th this year, has already been a game changer for some of the star performers who got the opportunity to not only showcase their talent but also set a new Guinness World Record. Amongst the contestants who gave this a shot and succeeded are 8-year-old Arshia Goswami who set a record for the most clean-and-jerk repetitions in a 30-second period and 95-year-old Bhagwani Devi from Haryana became the oldest woman to throw a shot put. This range of achievement is proof of one of IGT’s founding principles – when it comes to talent, age is just a number. 

Today India’s talented performers are so impressive, they are being invited to showcase their skills on international platforms across the world. Here are some IGT acts that have taken the world by storm with their talent:

Divyansh Kacholia & Manuraj Singh Rajput

Fate brought this beatboxing and flautist duo together when their respective partners failed to turn up for the India’s Got Talent auditions. Belonging to two different realms of the music world, this duo from Jaipur bonded due to their common love for music and went on to win Season 9 of India’s Got Talent with their perfectly tuned acts. They were then selected to perform at America’s Got Talent: All-Stars 2023 where they got a standing ovation. Heidi Klum described their performance as ‘Bollywood meets Brooklyn’.

Warrior Squad

This dance-acrobat group from Haryana led by Rahul Yadav were one of the finalists in India’s Got Talent season 9. Yadav mastered the art of acrobatics educating himself through online sources such as YouTube. Though his troupe had limited resources, their dedication and passion propelled them to attain widespread acclaim and they eventually got an opportunity to perform on America’s Got Talent. Their edge-of-the-seat acrobatic feats, agility and core strength impressed the judges and won them a standing ovation. The group is was the front runner at the current season of AGT – season 18. Still in the race.

Bad Salsa

The Bad Salso duo, Sonali Majumdar and Maraju Sumanth from Kolkata, were crowned winners of India’s Got Talent Season 4. They subsequently joined America’s Got Talent season 15. Though they finished in the lower half of the Top 10, they were a fan-favourite. The dynamic duo was also a part of Romanii Au Talent where they impressed the judges with their energy packed acrobatic-salsa routine and even won a Golden Buzzer.

V Unbeatable

V Unbeatable is a Mumbai-based acrobatic dance troupe with members aged between 12 to 28. Despite hailing from the slums of the city and living with limited resources, they went on to win America’s Got Talent season 15 – The Champions. Their finale performance featuring punk rock act Blink 182’s drummer Travis Barker, was nothing short of incredible! Lauding their performance, one of the judges Howie Andel said that it was one the most exciting, dangerous and thrilling act in the history of AGT.

Akshat Singh

This young ‘dance dhamaka‘ of a boy appeared on India’s Got Talent Season 5 and instantly rose to fame with his splits, back flips and frisky dance moves. He achieved celeb status when he was invited as a guest to the ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ that has hosted the who’s who of the international entertainment circuit, from Nicole Kidman to Barack Obama.

Bringing these hidden singing, dancing and variety talents into the limelight is no easy task for production houses like Fremantle. Their crews spend months on meticulous research, sending out their trained, sharp-eyed teams to different parts of India to scout for the best talent before packaging and sharing them with the whole world. 

India’s Got Talent has been scouting talent from every nook and cranny of India for over a decade now, giving a platform to thousands of aspirants from across India to showcase their skills. If not for these production houses, many people with special talents would never have the opportunity to share their gifts with the world and bring joy to thousands of people who watch them and love them and also change their lives for the better, forever! 

TV9 Network, promoted by Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (ABCL), operates a national Hindi news channel, TV9 Bharatvarsh, and several regional channels including TV9 Telugu, TV9 Kannada, TV9 Marathi, TV9 Gujarati, TV9 Bangla, and the recently launched News9 Live – A fully integrated digital English news channel. The network has been a leader in the news broadcasting industry and has made significant strides in the digital news space as well.

“We are thrilled to partner with TV9 Network, one of the largest news networks in India that provides authentic and relevant news to its viewers and strives to excel.” said Navdeep Saini, co-founder and CEO of DistroScale, the parent company of DistroTV. “This partnership will bring the best of Indian news content to our users around the globe, expanding our diverse content line-up with hundreds of channels,” added Saini.

Vikas Khanchandani, CEO of DistroScale, India, SEA, and MENA, added, “This collaboration with TV9 Network is a significant milestone in our journey to provide high-quality content to our viewers. It aligns perfectly with our mission to cater to the diverse interests of our global audience and reinforces our commitment to becoming the leading platform for free streaming services worldwide.”

Commenting on the association, Raktim Das, Chief Growth Officer of TV9 Network, said, “Disruption-led leadership has been ingrained into the DNA of TV9 Network over the last three years. With a culture of agile transformation, the Network has consolidated its position as the No.1 News Network of the largest democracy in the world, holding an unbeatable 33% market share. As the audience transitions to CTVs and embraces the ecosystem, we are delighted to partner with DistroTV, whose platform offers our global audience effortless and seamless access to our news content through an array of devices. This partnership perfectly aligns with our unwavering dedication to delivering an unparalleled user experience for our valued viewers.”

AHMEDABAD, India, July 31, 2023  — GTPL Hathway Limited (GTPL), India’s largest Multi System Operator (MSO) and a leading Wired Broadband player, today, announced its association with leading Bollywood young Superstar Kartik Aaryan and India’s National Crush Rashmika Mandanna as the new brand ambassadors for GTPL.

Kartik Aaryan, a multi award-winning Bollywood actor, is known for his charm, wit, versatility and universal appeal, especially among the millennials and the Gen Z. The fact that he is a self-made star and has achieved such success in the industry makes him an icon for the young India. As a result of his growing popularity, he has gained immense admiration overseas as the youngest actor to ever do so. Being from a middle-class family, Kartik Aaryan brings earnestness to his performance and a relatability factor – making him a favorite of brands.

Rashmika Mandanna has tugged heartstrings of millions across the country. She is a versatile, award-winning Pan India actor, both critically and commercially acclaimed for her acting prowess in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi & Tamil Cinema. Rashmika’s reach and mass appeal within the Indian market is incredible. She topped Forbes India’s list of most influential actors, thus making her a perfect fit for the brand.

Kartik and Rashmika will be featured in GTPL’s upcoming advertising campaigns across all media channels, including television, print, outdoor and digital as the Brand Ambassadors. The campaign aims to communicate the strengths of Digital Cable TV and break the perception of it being an outdated technology. The #AbKeZamaneKaConnection relates to the high-quality HD Digital Cable TV, High-speed Broadband and OTT aggregation services offered by GTPL.

Commenting on this association Mr. Aniruddhsinh Jadeja, Managing Director, GTPL Hathway Ltd said, “We are delighted to welcome Superstars Kartik and Rashmika onboard as our brand ambassadors. Both of them bring fresh energy and authenticity to everything they do and have built a connection with the audience, which is also exactly what our brand does – builds Connections Dil Se! We look forward to working with them to take our brand to new heights.”

“I am extremely excited to be associated with GTPL. The brand is known for quality and innovation, and I am proud to represent it as a brand ambassador. I believe in the brand’s values and philosophy, and I look forward to working with them.”, Kartik commented on his association with the brand.

Rashmika on her association with GTPL commented, “I am thrilled to be associated with GTPL as a Brand Ambassador. I believe that the relationships built with the audience through their reliable and high-quality services helps customers to stay connected with information, entertainment and much more. I am really looking forward to this association and can’t wait to see where it takes us.”

ABOUT GTPL

GTPL Hathway Limited is India’s largest MSO providing Digital Cable TV services and is amongst the leading Broadband service provider in India. The Company is the largest Digital Cable TV and Wireline Broadband Service Provider in Gujarat & is a leading Digital Cable TV Service provider in West Bengal. The Company’s Digital Cable TV services reach 1,500 plus towns across India in 22 states including Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Odisha, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand. As on June 30, 2023, the Company has approximately 9.05 million Active Digital Cable TV Subscribers and 9,60,000 Broadband Subscribers and a Broadband homepass of about 5.40 million.

The channel will offer a diverse library of international shows catering to both male and female audiences aged 15 and above. Among the Korean content, they have lined up several drama shows such as My Strange Hero, Love Temperature, My Lovely Girl, Divorce Lawyer in Love, Doctors, Birth of a Beauty, The Secret House, and The Second Husband. Among the Turkish content, Atrangii TV has currently selected Aziz, The Last Summer, and Broken Destiny to be included in its revamped content library.

Commenting on the announcement, Vibhu Agarwal said, “We are extremely excited to add quality international dramas to Atrangii TV.  There have been researches and data from our OTT app that shows that Korean and Turkish drama series are loved by the Indian audiences and have found a loyal audience base in the country. Its increase in demand, led us to revaluate the content strategy for our GEC. It has been our constant endeavour to provide quality content for Hindi speaking and understanding audiences across the country. There exists a gap in content consumption between Tier 1 and television viewing households with limited hi-speed data in tier 2, 3 and tier 4 parts of the country.”

He added, “We wanted to bridge this gap and get the same quality content on OTT to the television sets of people across the country for family viewing. Atrangii will now air Korean, Turkish, Russian and other acclaimed international language series from all around the globe, dubbed in Hindi for its loyal audiences. We roll out with four hours of original programming. This will be the first time ever a Hindi general entertainment channel will offer this unique experience to its consumers. We will further bolster this content offering with other acclaimed international language content gradually”

The channel stated that the new brand identity has been designed to capture the unified essence of Bengali cinema, while reflecting the multi-hues of Bengal and the various genres. The design approach involves incorporating cultural signatures of Bengal and colours associated with different emotions to arrive at a captivating colour palette.

An official statement from Colors Bangla Cinema read, “Each colour represents a specific genre, enabling viewers to instantly connect with the emotions evoked by the films. Pink symbolizes romance, blue signifies drama, orange represents action, yellow reflects comedy, green embodies thriller/horror, and violet portrays fantasy. On the other, the colour red stands for bonding which is also the landing colour for the channel where all other colours come together.”

“Cinema, in its essence, is a powerful manifestation of human emotions. Different genres, such as romance, comedy, drama, action, thriller, and fantasy, address these emotions in unique ways, adding magic and vibrance to people’s lives while instilling new hope in their minds. At Colors Bangla Cinema, the brand promise is to offer an entire spectrum of emotions that touches every chord, much like the seven colours of a rainbow, with an aim to become the ultimate destination for movies, providing a seamless and fulfilling experience for our audience,” added the statement.

In line with the new brand identity, Colors Bangla Cinema also brings a Blockbuster Movie Festival- ‘Cine Mahotsav’ for its viewers. Kicking off with a fourteen-day movie festival and with fourteen titles, starting from 17th to 30th June, Colors Bangla Cinema aims to offer a seamless entertainment experience. The line up for Cine Mahotsav includes ‘Poran Jaye Jolia Re’, ‘Sasur Bari Zindabad’, ‘Premer Kahini’, ‘Le Halua Le’, ‘Total Dadadgiri’, ‘Bojhena Se Bojhena’, ‘Bolo Dugga Mai Ki’, ‘Sathi’, ‘MLA Phatakesto’, ‘Awara’, ‘Yuddha’, ‘Sedin Dekha Hoechilo’, and ‘Rehmat Ali’.

Sagnik Ghosh, Business Head of Colors Bangla and Colors Bangla Cinema, shared his thoughts on the new brand identity, stating, “With ‘Saat Ronge Bandha,’ we aim to create an emotional resonance with our viewers by bringing together the diverse range of human emotions depicted in Bengali cinema. Our new brand identity truly captures the essence of Bengal, its vibrancy, and the plethora of emotions evoked by different movie genres. Through our wide variety of movies, we are determined to establish Colors Bangla Cinema as ‘The Destination’ for Bengali movies, offering our audience an unparalleled entertainment experience.”

The channel will don the new brand identity across various platforms, including on-air promotions, digital channels, social media platforms, and marketing collaterals.

Chumbak TV aims to provide an entertaining viewing experience which is aptly aligned with its tagline, मस्त है [Mast Hai] capturing the essence of the exciting line-up of shows. The content is designed for the viewers to sit back, unwind and indulge in a joyous viewing experience with their loved ones. The channel’s content slate comprises popular K-dramas like Goblin, engaging content from new-age creators with fan-favorite series like Jungle Book and Vir – The Robot Boy, and many more exciting such shows.

Arghya Chakravarty, COO – Shemaroo, said, “The launch of Chumbak TV is yet another milestone for us as we continue to expand our presence in the B2C space. With the success of our existing channels, we are confident that Chumbak TV will strike a chord with viewers and meet their evolving entertainment needs, thereby establishing itself as a household name. With Chumbak TV, we aim to further strengthen our position in the Indian entertainment industry and continue to be a leader in the market.”

Sandeep Gupta, COO – Broadcasting Business, Shemaroo, added, “Chumbak TV is the latest addition to our existing strong portfolio of broadcast channels. We will ensure that our programming will excite and engage with young audiences leaving a lasting impact on their hearts and minds. With the launch of Chumbak TV, our network now offers tailor-made propositions for every member of the family as we are committed to providing our audiences with the best entertainment experience”

Chumbak TV is poised to capture the hearts and minds of the youth with its exciting content and youthful appeal, which will certainly bolster Shemaroo’s existing broadcast offerings.

The channel is available on the flagship OTT platform ShemarooME and will soon be available on all major direct-to-home and cable networks, ensuring that viewers across the country can easily access its content. Chumbak TV is committed to engaging with audiences at multiple touchpoints to cement its position as the ultimate destination for audiences looking for entertainment.

With over two decades of experience in production and programming, Nivedita has been one of the most noteworthy professionals in the entertainment industry. She has been extensively involved in creating content on Atrangii’s platform with highly successful shows like Parshuram, Hara Sindoor and Jaganya Apradh. She has been instrumental in bringing Atrangii to new heights by starting new verticals with live shows, cricket and many such content properties and roped in premium production houses to develop quality content for the viewers.

Speaking on the announcement, Vibhu Agarwal, founder & CEO Atrangii shared, “Nivedita has been an integral part of Atrangii ever since its launch. We are pleased to elevate her as the Vice President (Content and Business Alliances). As we plan to revamp Atrangii with more than 10 new upcoming fiction and non-fiction shows and add international content to the platform, Nivedita will be playing a key role in developing and creating these shows which will have celebrated actors and exceptional storytelling. We are confident that in her new role, she will lend her expertise, aligned with our vision in growing our brand Atrangii to reach newer and higher heights in the general entertainment space.”