MUMBAI: A new multi-year licensing deal sees hundreds of movies from the Twentieth Century Fox Television distribution library airing commercial-free on the Starz and Encore premium channels.

The agreement also includes associated HD, on-demand and authenticated online offerings. Titles included as part of the pact are Big Momma‘s House, 2001‘s Planet of the Apes, Cheaper By the Dozen, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Fight Club and many others.

"Consumers have long-subscribed to the Starz family of premium services thanks to the depth and breadth of its quality movie product. This agreement with Fox will fortify our pipeline of popular theatrical library content through the end of the decade and is a great complement to our exclusive originals, first-run movies, and other popular movie fare," said business and legal affairs executive VP of acquisitions Michael Thornton. 

"Encompassing a deep collection of hundreds of films including such highlights as movies from the Ice Age, X-Men and Home Alone franchises, as well as There‘s Something About Mary and Alien, these timeless hits will be a great addition for our loyal subscribers." Thornton added.

Twentieth Century Fox television distribution executive VP of worldwide pay television and SVOD Gina Brogi commented, "We are very pleased to extend our relationship with Starz and thrilled that they will have an opportunity to access so many great films from Fox‘s extensive library."

MUMBAI: Star India has scored the rights to carry the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics from Sochi and the 2016 Summer Olympics from Rio across seven South Asian countries.

The deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) also covers the Summer Youth Olympic Games, taking place next year in Nanjing, China. Star India has the free to air, pay TV, Internet and mobile rights for Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In 2012, the Olympics were broadcast in India on state broadcaster Doordarshan.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with Star India for the upcoming editions of the Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games," said IOC president Jacques Rogge. "We are confident they will do a great job providing the best possible broadcast coverage of the Games, on a variety of platforms, to the largest possible audience in the seven different countries."

IOC chairman finance commission Richard Carri?n, said, "The Star India deal marked a shift in the organisation‘s handling of broadcast rights in Asia. Traditionally the IOC has negotiated broadcast rights on a pan-Asian basis; however, the media landscape is changing and we have adapted our approach recently by negotiating directly in certain markets. We are very pleased to have reached this agreement directly with Star India."

For the 2012 games, the IOC had a pan-Asian free-TV deal with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union and a pay-TV deal with the now defunct ESPN Star Sports.

Star India head of sport business Nitin Kukreja added, "The Olympic Games remain the pinnacle of sporting achievement where the world‘s best in various disciplines face off for the title of Olympic champion. Indian athletes have also performed admirably over the last few editions, which is evident in the medal-winning performances that we have come to admire. We value our partnership with the IOC and feel that this spectacular extravaganza can be taken to even greater heights in India on both television as well as on digital platforms."??

Elsewhere in the region, deals for the 2014 and 2016 games were previously concluded with CCTV in China, SBS in Korea and a consortium of broadcasters in Japan.

MUMBAI: From Who wants to be a Millionaire to Kaun Banega Crorepati to Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati, the game show format has travelled a long way.

Earlier this year, ETV Marathi announced the launch of the adapted version KBC. "When KBC was launched in Hindi, it changed the genre. Also nothing like this had ever happened in the Marathi genre. So, our main objective was to change the perspective of the channel and portray ETV as a pioneer in creating such breakthrough shows," says ETV business head and EVP Viacom18 Anuj Poddar.

ETV business head & EVP Viacom18 Anuj Poddar

The channel which already has two game shows (Divided and Aata Tumhi Maalamaal) in its stable had high expectations from KHMC that targeted Marathi manoos who are educated and up-to-date on the latest happenings in India and the world. The channel wanted to focus on the youth who don‘t have any language barrier to come back to the regional channel. "If the content is appealing enough, I‘m sure they would come to a Marathi channel," reasons Poddar.

In May, the show was first premiered on the channel and has been able to create a buzz in the genre. "The sheer reach of the show is enough to tell us how it is different from the rest. The number of people who want to be on the hot seat or just sit at home and win is just amazing," says Poddar who goes to elaborate on how the show which ends in September has helped the channel take a jump in its viewership and strengthen itself. 

The channel has recorded a 47 per cent growth in channel viewership (WK01-04, 2013 Vs WK26-29, 20-13). "Compared to our peers it is a big jump to have in six months and most of it has happened in the past three months," proudly claims Poddar.

He adds, "And looking at the numbers, our advertisers are happy too." KHMC which is presented by New Fair & Lovely and powered by Idea is the single highest revenue driver for the channel which has seen newer advertisers coming onboard because of the show.

Host of the show Sachin Khedekar with a contestant on the hot seat

The channel which claims to be the first to experiment with homegrown non-fiction formats like Gaurav Maharashtracha, Dholkicha Taalavar, Superfast Comedy Express and Crime Diary is confident to bring back as bigger and better season two of KHMC.

As for the Marathi genre‘s growth, Poddar says that the revolution can be divided into three stages. "First being the launch of regional channels by networks. The second was when Star Pravah was launched which saw an uplift in the content and now the third phase is when all three competitors (Zee, ETV and Star) see a three-way fight and because of it the audience will benefit as they will see a better and innovative content," he says.

So one think which we can surely lock on is that KBC in any language or on any platform is surely a game changer!