MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl is restructuring his media and entertainment companies under three operational heads as he gears up for expansion after getting Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to indirectly invest in it.

Forming IndiaCast, a distribution company that houses content syndication as well, Bahl has got individual heads to shepherd the entertainment, news and distribution businesses that are entering a new growth phase.

Bahl‘s broad plan could be to bring the ETV regional entertainment channels under Viacom18 operational management while its news entities will be under TV18, a source familiar with the development says.

It is not clear yet if this operational structure will be allowed to transition into an equity arrangement. For this to happen, media conglomerate Viacom will have to agree to invest and induct the ETV entertainment channels into the joint venture company, Viacom18, where it holds 50 per cent stake.

"Nothing has been finalised yet. Viacom, no doubt, will be happy to have the regional GECs under Viacom18. A lot will also depend on how RIL wants the structure to evolve. But there are other issues as well," the source says.

As part of the plan to fortify its regional presence, TV18 acquired partial ownership in the broadcasting assets of Eenadu after valuing it at Rs 21 billion. With the purchase, the company has got 100 per cent stake in 5 regional news channels of ETV (where RIL has 100% interest), 50 per cent stake in 5 regional GEC channels excluding Telugu (where RIL has 100% interest) and 24.5 per cent stake in ETV Telugu channels (where RIL has 49% interest). The news channels include ETV Uttar Pradesh, ETV Madhya Pradesh, ETV Rajasthan, ETV Bihar, and ETV Urdu. The regional GECs are ETV Marathi, ETV Kannada, ETV Bangla, ETV Gujarati and ETV Oriya.

The restructuring exercise comes in the wake of these developments and the exit of Haresh Chawla who functioned as Network18 and Viacom18 Group CEO.

"The role of Chawla was too unwieldy as he had full control of all the group companies . After his exit, a restructuring was needed keeping in mind the growth plans," the source explains.

Network18 Group has a combined turnover of Rs 19.52 billion that includes 50 per cent of Viacom18 (Colors, MTV, etc), the news channels under TV18 (CNBC TV18, CNN IBN, IBN7, etc), the web properties and HomeShop18. As the company gears up to launch a Hindi movie channel (put on hold) and regional-language channels, a breakup in roles is the need of the hour.

"It wasn‘t practical for Chawla to oversee the whole of Bahl‘s empire. His operational role at Viacom18 at times was uncalled for and led to a quiet unrest," says a senior executive who has left the company on condition of anonymity.

Bahl Wednesday announced the hiring of Sudhanshu Vats, a senior executive at HUL, as the group CEO of Viacom18 Media. Under
 him will fall Colors, Comedy Central, MTV, Nick, Sonic, Vh1 and Viacom18 Motion Pictures. He has already recruited Anuj Gandhi, an industry veteran, to spearhead IndiaCast‘s growth.

Bahl‘s new structure will mean that the non-ad sales business falls under the care of Gandhi while Vats gets to groom the entertainment networks and Sai Kumar to directly nurse the news and web businesses while continuing his role as Network18 and TV18 Group CEO.

"Earlier, everybody was reporting to Chawla. Now the reality is that each of these lines of businesses need individual management and are too expanded to be operationally under one CEO," the source says.

Take IndiaCast, for example. The new distribution company, under which also resides the syndication business, is already having a turnover of Rs 4.30 billion. Bahl‘s ambition is to scale this up to the size of the biggies, particularly in a digital environment where there is going to be exponential growth in subscription revenues. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) reported domestic subscription of Rs 9.22 billion in FY‘12 and Rs 1.32 billion through other sales and services (syndication sales, playout & transmission services and facility usage income).

Bahl has given IndiaCast a wider playground, bringing under its umbrella content asset monetisation across geographies, platforms and mediums. The other channel distribution companies do not have such a broad canvass and content syndication falls outside their functional zones.

"Bahl believes that IndiaCast has enough leg room to grow and become a Rs 10 billion company over the next few years after digitisation of cable TV spreads," a media analyst at a broking firm says.

Vats will also have his plate full as the group expands its regional footprint and comes out with a Hindi movie channel and other entertainment products that are sure to launch in a digitised environment.

Kumar will have a tough task cut out for him as he tries to beat slow revenue growth for news channels. The web properties will 

also have to be guided to a scale that will make it comfortable for Bahl to tap the American market for raising capital through a public float.

After being rescued from a debt overhang by RIL, Bahl is laying out the new leadership structure that will provide fertile ground for new growth.

Also Read:

Sudhanshu Vats joins Viacom18 as Group CEO

MUMBAI: Vh1 India will kick off Mike Judge?s ?Beavis and Butt-Head? on 24 June at 7 pm.

The presenting sponsor of the show is Samsung Galaxy SIII.

The show centers around two socially awkward, metal loving teenage delinquents who live without any adult supervision at home. These dim-witted, under-educated friends lack any empathy or moral scruples even for each other.

Their favourite activity is to watch music videos all day and criticise them with much fervour. And this time around they have more than just music videos to make fun of. Jersey Shore, the Internet, Ultimate Fighting will all be crossing their TV screen and be ridiculed with a lot of excitement. Despite having no experience with women, their other signature trait is their obsession with sex, and their tendency to chuckle and giggle whenever they hear words or phrases that can even remotely be construed as sexual or scatological!

Viacom18 Media senior VP, GM English entertainment Ferzad Palia said, ?We?re very excited to launch Mike Judge?s Beavis and Butt-Head - a show which is sure to stand out in the English entertainment category. It?s been one of the most popular shows in the West and Vh1 has a strong 360-degree launch marketing campaign to support the series too. We are confident that Beavis & Butt-Head?s world famous whacked-out personalities will resonate well with the Indian audiences."

Known for their super cool comments? Beavis and Butt-Head have entertained audiences in the West with their most common activity of watching music videos, which they tend to judge by deeming them "cool", or by claiming, "This sucks!" They also apply these judgments to other things that they encounter and usually deem something "cool" if it is associated with violence, sex, or the macabre.

Vh1 also goes a step further to interact with its audience on the digital space. On Facebook (www.facebook.com/vh1india) , users can type any question they want in the text box and they will get an instant response from Beavis and Butt-Head! This promises not only to be riotous but also takes interactivity with the characters to the next level. Users will also be able to take part in exciting contests, download wallpapers, games, watch videos and win merchandise.

MUMBAI: Big CBS has transitioned its youth focussed channel, Big CBS Spark, into a music channel for the youth.

Big CBS, a joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd, feels there is a gap in the upmarket audience that the channel can tap into; they want to hear and watch global artistes. Currently, the only channel that has Western music is Vh1.

Big CBS Spark, launched last April, already has a one-year deal with Sony Music. The deal, which can be renewed, will give access to the entire archive of music videos and concerts as well as Sony Music?s upcoming content.

Big CBS is also talking to other labels like Universal to expand the source of its content.

Big CBS business head Vishal Rally said, ?We started the process of beefing up music about a month back. Even earlier the channel had around 30 per cent of music content. We did research. Music is the lifeline of youth. There are very few options for Western music on television.?

With the amount of music content going up, shows like ?90210? have left the channel. The channel recently launched three music based shows - Hip Hop MCs (for rap, hip hop music), Indie Rock Mania (for rock music and independent bands) and Hot Hitz.

The channel defines primetime as 7 pm-midnight. ?We have created music blocks for different genres like pop, rock, world music. At the same time we do have some non music content like the reality show ?Cheaters?. We also have light and comic shows like ?Oblivious? and ?Real TV. Non music content forms around 30 per cent of our primetime lineup,? said Rally.

The channel already has 10-15 per cent local content and aims to increase this to 30-40 per cent. ?We have started to feature college festivals. We want to offer a platform for young and upcoming artists to be showcased in the channel. The focus will be on English rock and pop bands and singers in the country. We are also looking at folk music, which is sadly being ignored. We are also planning to feature musicians from the North East and will do a show around that,? averred Rally.
Big CBS Spark plans to bring international artistes down.

"We will spend the next couple of months observing how the channel fares with youth the core TG being 15-34 SEC A,B. As we are focussing on the youth, the channel will see a use of social media to connect with audiences," said Rally.

MUMBAI: Grammy nominees Coldplay and Rihanna will perform live together for the first time, and nominee and 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year Paul McCartney is set to perform as part of the lineup for the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

One of the biggest nights in music will be hosted by two-time Gtammy winner LL COOL J - and will air here on Vh1 on 13 February. The show also will be supported in the US on radio worldwide via Dial Global, and covered online at Grammy.com and CBS.com, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/thegrammys. Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon.

Previously announced performers include Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, and Taylor Swift.

MUMBAI: Percept?s music festival Sunburn will receive continued support from MTV and Vh1.

Sunburn is a destination for all music lovers and its popularity in India has only grown from strength to strength, supported by MTV and Vh1. Specially with Nikhil Chinappa being the festival director of Sunburn, fans have only the best of music to grove to.

Percept joint MD Shailendra Singh said, "We are glad to be associated with MTV and VH1 once again. They really share our passion and vision for Sunburn. Their support all throughout has been encouraging and has helped us grow the culture of dance music in this country. No one brings the groove like MTV and VH1."

Percept?s concept to bring a musical celebration to one of India?s loved destination of Goa and fusing their partnership with MTV and Vh1 has become a red marked date on the calendar for all music fans.

Vh1 India business head Ferzad Palia explains the association with Sunburn, "It?s great to see the association between Sunburn and Vh1 only strengthening with every year. Vh1, being the sole flag bearer of international music in India has been deeply associated with the festival, right from when it was just a plan on paper many years ago. Therefore to see it grow this well, is even more satisfying. Sure this year too will be spectacular."

MTV India EVP, business head Aditya Swamy said, "MTV has supported Sunburn right from its inception and we are ecstatic to see the festival grow in stature every year. This year we take the festival to over 10 million music fans on MTV with first ever television broadcast of the event. Also what we have in store for fans when they arrive at Sunburn is another surprise all together. So Stay Sunburnt, Stay Raw..."