Aidem, eBus Media form JV, get 90 broadcasters on board

The new vertical, eBus-Aidem has already been signed for its services by networks like Zee, Sony, STAR and Eenadu.

Aidem Ventures has joined hands with Singapore-based eBus Media Network to form a joint venture (JV) that aims to offer a complete solution for digital distribution and management of television commercials (TVCs) to advertisers, agencies, media owners, content producers and broadcasters.

Catering to the Indian market, eBus-Aidem, as the new vertical will be known, has already been signed for its services by over 90 broadcasters. It aims to get at least 250 channels on board by the year-end.

Speaking to afaqs!, Kaushal Dalal director, Aidem says, "India is currently home to more than 500 television channels. Our initial target will be to tap at least half of that number by the year-end. We already have over 90 broadcasters on board, including channels such as Zee, Sony, STAR and Eenadu."

The new vertical, Dalal expects, will add substantially to the company's overall revenue. Says he, "Since Aidem Ventures is looking at expanding into the space of media-related services, the Aidem Ventures - eBus Media tie-up fits well into our theme. We believe that the future is going to be tapeless and digital delivery of TVCs will be the norm."

The new JV will be headed by Ajay Verma who will take over as chief executive officer. Prior to this, Verma was CEO at eBus. He was part of eBus' startup operations in India. The JV will be driven by the eBus-Aidem board comprising Kaushal Dalal, director, Aidem and Carmine Masiello, CEO, eBus Singapore.

The company claims that the JV will provide a digital delivery solution where the advertiser has to just send TVCs once. It will then, within six hours, be digitally delivered to the list of broadcasters as specified by the client/agency. Advertisers/ agencies can track the commercial reaching broadcasters online as well as have easy access to commercials in different formats for their presentation on mobiles and the Internet.

Says Carmine Masiello, CEO, eBus Singapore, in an official communiqué, "With the expansion and modernisation of the television industry, including digital and HD, we provide advertisers a much faster and convenient mode for delivering TVCs. Given the complexity of the Indian markets, we trust that partnering with Aidem will not just add the local expertise we need to promote our products and services, but also go a long way in establishing eBus as the standard mode for delivering TVCs in this market space."