etv media group's blog

BINGO! ETV MEDIA GROUP TAKES GALA TV ONLINE

etvmediagroup — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:12:04 +0000

- RE-LAUNCH INCLUDES ENHANCED PLAYER COMMUNITY AND INTERACTIVE FEATURES -

etv media group is re-launching Gala Coral Group’s successful bingo channel, Gala TV, as an online channel in a strategic move to align with changes in viewing and playing habits. The move to online also enables the use of interactivity and digital media tools to enhance the player community experience.

Mark Murphy, MD, etv media group said: “Gala TV has proved a fantastic success, and the move online is a conscious strategic decision made with the advent of social TV and increasing online viewing figures firmly in mind. The channel has attracted a loyal player community, and the level of immediacy, community and enjoyment that will be offered with the re-launch will put these players at the heart of the action.

Our work on producing the televisual content for Gala TV over the last two years has been an incredible feat – from the production of the live shows through to the collection and processing of the data – and a testament to our team’s abilities. The next stage in the channel brand’s development builds on this, utilising etv’s expertise in delivering web content that attracts, engages and retains users. The re-launch will also allow us to look ahead to future opportunities such as simulcasting and alternative web-based platforms.”

From 31 March, Gala TV will be moving off the Sky EPG, and will instead be broadcast 24 hours-a-day on the Gala TV section of www.galabingo.com. As part of the re-launch, etv will be introducing several new online features which will strengthen the playing community and drive viewer interaction:

o New player profiles with visual elements such as pictures and a location map.

o Online player communication with each other and the on-screen talent using the live chat room, Facebook, Skype, Twitter and email.

o Analysis and presentation of player and channel data such as the display of winners’ names and pictures on air, winner postcode maps and the percentage of winners from each star sign.

There is also a range of new talent joining the channel, including Sam Mann (Capital FM, This Morning, Angela & Friends, E – the entertainment channel and Wedding TV), Ben Hull (Hollyoaks and Casualty), Torie Campbell (Sky Sports, Bid/Price Drop TV) and Will Gowing (GMTV/Daybreak, QVC and LBC Radio) among others. Each night there will be a regular signature show for a presenter, which will be themed from music and showbiz gossip to heath and fitness and movies.

etv media group was originally brought on board by Gala Coral Group in 2009 to re-launch the Gala TV channel, which had previously been produced by Endemol UK, with the aim of improving its performance – leading to significant upward trends in the number of unique players per night and the participation rate of those players.

‘Push’ launches on Fiver TV

etvmediagroup — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 09:17:39 +0000

Push, a 10×30’ scripted drama series set in the real world, is to premiere on fiver this Wednesday (11th August) at 10pm with one minute updates screened every weekday. The programme brings together many of the brand and media elements which its creators believe will provide a model for future television and online production. The story follows a wannabe fashion journalist as she moves to London to look for a job. Nicole Farhi, Models 1 and Elle among other brands will feature in the editorial, whilst Rimmel London will sponsor the programme.

The blurring between fiction and the real world is continued online with the main character’s fashion blog (StylePush) appearing both on five.tv and Facebook and www.stylepush.co.uk along with the one minuet update shows. The programme is being filmed as close as possible to the on-air dates, allowing it to be reactive to current events and culminate at London Fashion Week just as interest in the sector is at its peak.

The programme is created and produced by Camden Creative in association with etv Media Group with five as broadcaster and Endemol International as programme and format distributor.

etvmediagroup — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:50:30 +0000

The Real Life Social Network v2

View more documents from Paul Adams.

New deckchairs, new business models

etvmediagroup — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 11:43:32 +0000

The UK media business is enjoying massive change this summer as new managers and new ideas start to impact TV channels, newspapers and magazines. Advertising revenue is doing ok too and that’s leading some media companies to wonder if they have overdone the gloomy messages of last year. Audiences are consuming more media not less and buying more devices to enjoy it on. This should be a boom time but there still remains a basic problem-advertising breaks between the content are so last century and unless we can find new ways of funding content, the commercial basis for journalism and programme making is thrown back upon subscription. That can only support the few and the very best or the very niche. So, there is a major problem and it will need a revolution in thinking to get to grips with it. I think that’s more likely to come from the social media upstarts than it is from the established media industry. It’s all about the content (and the device and the context) but is it any longer about the publishers or the broadcasters?

Mark Cullen

etv launches VisitBritain’s first adaptive video application

etvmediagroup — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:16:04 +0000

VisitBritain has today appointed etv online to design and build a unique video eCRM application which will enable VisitBritain to showcase the variety of experiences and destinations available within the UK, to international audiences.
VisitBritain is using its wealth of video footage to capture the best of Britain’s tourist attractions, which etv will post-produce and package up into the bespoke online application. The video tool will launch in October and will sit on the VisitBritain homepage.
All the footage will form a library from which the application will create bespoke videos, reflecting the user’s unique preferences. The user can then post a branded link to the video on their social network sites to stimulate traffic and debate. The application will be a Flash Media Server-based solution; hosted by etv online and inserted into the main VisitBritain website.
The launch of this application follows the huge success of the Cruise Selector developed by etv for Thomas Cook, which was a very similar application in terms of user functionality.
To better service its expanding client-base, etv online has made several key appointments. Ex-Microsoft Project Manager Paul Douglas has taken on the role of Lead Project Manager. Jiri Mocicka has been appointed as Lead Designer and joins the etv creative team from Sony Design Centre Europe. Both Paul and Jiri will play an integral role in ensuring the success of VisitBritain’s new video application.
Andy Rogers, MD, etv online, said: “We’re delighted to be developing VisitBritain’s first adaptive video application. Online video is the perfect medium to showcase the best of Britain’s tourist attractions and this application will ensure that the viewer’s experience is targeted and relevant. Paul and Jiri bring a wealth of experience to our team as we continue to seize exciting new opportunities despite the challenging economic environment.”

Justin Reid, Head of Online Marketing, VisitBritain, added: “etv has always impressed us with their innovative ways of showcasing material through interactive video that allows the user to determine what they want to view and more importantly share with their friends in their favourite Social Media spaces. Their application compliments perfectly our online strategy of engaging users in their preferred online arenas.”

All of us who make travel television owe Teletext Travel a huge debt.

etvmediagroup — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:12:15 +0000

All of us who make travel television owe Teletext Travel a huge debt. In was in the late 90’s and early noughties that clunky old analogue Teletext Holidays had stolen something like 13% of the entire UK package travel market. It was that singular statistic that encouraged first TV Travelshop, then Thomas Cook, Sky and Thomson to enter the television travel market with their own dedicated travel channels.

It seems slightly sad that the internet and those glossy channels – the children of teletext – have killed off the original. Having said that, what Thomas Cook and most of the other payers have learnt is that video sells holidays. If Teletext really does plan to put all their weight behind their online service and take on the big boys like Thomas Cook and Thomson, they’ll really have to do better than they currently do on teletextholidays.co.uk where video is very much an afterthought on a completely separate site.

All of us who make travel television owe Teletext Travel a huge debt.

etvmediagroup — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:34:22 +0000

It seems slightly sad that the internet and those glossy channels – the children of teletext – have killed off the original. Having said that, what Thomas Cook and most of the other payers have learnt is that video sells holidays. If Teletext really does plan to put all their weight behind their online service and take on the big boys like Thomas Cook and Thomson, they’ll really have to do better than they currently do on teletextholidays.co.uk where video is very much an afterthought on a completely separate site.

It’s rare to come across real insights into how businesses of the future might look. I think this sentence from Charles Leadbeater’s “We-Think” really encapsulates the sort of radical transformation that consumer facing companies are going to have to get to grips with.

etvmediagroup — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:29:05 +0000

“The most exciting business models of the future will be hybrids that blend elements of the company and the community, of commerce and collaboration; open in some respects, closed in others; giving some content away and charging for some services; serving people as consumers and encouraging them, when it is relevant, to become participants” Charles Leadbeater: We-Think

Fat Pets, Fat Owners in the Daily Mail Online

etvmediagroup — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:27:55 +0000

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1198602/Fat-cats-Britains-porkiest-pets–fatter-owners.html

etv bolsters sales team with ex Red Bee Media and ITV sponsorship heavy weight Andy Thompson

etvmediagroup — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:29:10 +0000

etv media group has appointed Andy Thompson to the newly created role of Head of Business Development. In this new position, Andy will be working with brands and agencies to provide them with engaging video and digital marketing solutions.

Andy will begin his new role on 20th July 2009 and report to Andy Rogers, managing director, etv online. He will lead the current sales team, focused on selling the etv branded content and etv online propositions. James Penfold, etv’s Business Development Director, and Lyndsay Duthie, etv’s Head of Development, will concentrate their activities working with broadcasters and media owners including advertiser funded programming.

Prior to joining etv, Andy played a leading role in establishing the UK’s broadcast sponsorship market. Andy most recently was involved as a digital commercial consultant to Brandirector, a newly launched online marketplace for branded entertainment opportunities including sponsorship, brand integration and product placement.

Between 2006 and 2008, Andy held the role of Business Director, Client Services, at Red Bee Media, where he was responsible for account direction for the BBC, Virgin Media TV and UKTV. He instigated a cultural change within Red Bee from a BBC-centric company to a commercialised, client-focused business.

Andy worked at ITV for over twenty years rising to the role of Controller, Sponsorship and Branded Content. He shaped ITV’s sponsorship strategy and developed its first advertiser funded series. Having built ITV’s status as a market leader in sponsorship, Andy went on to create numerous online and interactive packages.

Some of Andy’s multi-million pound sponsorship deals include: Sainsbury’s sponsorship of ITV Drama Premieres, ITV movies packages for Motorola, Quality Street and Martini, the first and award-winning sponsorship of the ITV Christmas showcase as well as long-term sponsorship of The Bill with npower and The Co-operative.

Andy Rogers, managing director, etv online, said: “With an increasing number of agencies fighting over dwindling marketing budgets, it’s now more important than ever before to invest in the best people in the business to represent you. Andy’s unrivalled industry experience and extensive network of decision makers will bring etv’s range of services to an even wider market.”
Andy Thompson added: “This is a very exciting opportunity to grow the digital business for etv and to join a team for which I have a great deal of admiration and respect.”