Channels

NGC open to launching third channel in DTH environment

Published

21 years ago

October 6, 2004

MUMBAI: While Discovery is all set to bring in another channel Discovery Travel and Living on 18 October National Geographic is looking at addressability coming into India and settling down before taking a firm decision on bringing more channels into the country.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com National Geographic Channel (NGC) India MD Zubin Gandevia said that at the moment there were no plans to bring in a third channel. “Currently we have nothing in the pipeline. Right now our focus is on our two strong brands. When DTH comes in (read Star’s Space TV) then we could look at introducing another channel next year. However at the moment that is not a priority for us.”

Gandevia said that for next year National Geographic Channel (NGC) would look at having three-four localised series at the very least. At the moment around 10 per cent of the content comes from India.

“We have an India Hour from 8-10 pm on Thursday where we showcase films made in India. However our philosophy is that it is not the content that needs to be local but rather its presentation.

“So we don’t feel that it is important where the content is from. Even if it comes from Alaska as long as the show tells a great story and be backed up by great production values. Our audience should be able to relate with it. Conversely if you have a made in India product that has not been not backed up by a great story then it will not work. Our localisation process involves dubbing in Hindi. When we do promotions we try and bring a local angle to it.

“There are great production people in India. However our projects will be done keeping in mind not just India but also the global audience. The cost of a show
could go from Rs. 5 million to as much as Rs. 50 million. Mission Everest, which we did last year, cost us $1.4 million. Taxi Ride would of course be much less.”

As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com NGC has launched its biggest localised initiative to date Nokia Innovations. Besides the on-air show which airs every Sunday at 10 pm there will be an on-ground initiative. This is a tie up that NGC has done with the mobile service provider Nokia and IIT Delhi to find Indians who have turned their creative genius into technology that benefits the country.

“The show is about cutting edge technological developments. It is exactly what our brand values are about. It also means taking our mission beyond the
channel through an award which we have instituted for kids. Nokia’s brand values are also about innovations. So they have managed to go beyond plain vanilla advertising. They are a partner in the true sense of the word.”

NGC will visit several schools across the country in this regard. However the main thrust will rest on promoting the show on the Star network. The outdoor campaign kicked off with hoardings being seen in
prominent places.

“When we green light a local project it is important that it should resonate key NGC values. Research and credibility are paramount in importance. It should be
cutting edge. At the moment because of the scale of Innovations our focus on the kids genre is just that show. Once it gets over we would certainly look at expanding our repertoire in that genre.”

As far as channel share is concerned Gandevia claimed that data over the past several weeks showed that it was neck and neck with Discovery. “We look at trends over several weeks. However we do not define competition as just Discovery because together we are not that big. Our audience can also come from music
and sports channels.”

On the advertising front NGC is looking at more than doubling revenues.. As per Indiantelevison.com estimates the broadcaster earned Rs. 150 million in the previous fiscal. If our assessment is correct then Gandevia is looking at a haul of over Rs. 300 million.

The channel recently invested in a team of ad sales professionals who are exclusive to NGC. “We have also invested a lot of effort in providing solutions for advertisers to invest in our brand. To give you an example earlier we never had a confectionery brand advertising. Now we have Perfetti. Hero Honda has returned after being absent for a year” Gandevia added.

While not being specific Gandevia sounded an optimistic note about providing content online in the future. “We already have access to exclusive broadband content. Already on our India site visitors can view clips and promotional material from our shows. With the amount of bandwidth available in the country growing rapidly online content is an area that shows promise.”

Channels

Best gold jewelry to carry for being the most elegant wedding guest

Published

6 years ago

December 30, 2019

indiantelevision.com Team

This is the season of the weddings. Everyone around us is getting married and here we are thinking about what to wear in the weddings. Seems shallow? But it isn’t. You can wear a lot of great jewelry at a wedding that will allow you to create a wonderful style statement.

We have created a list of tips for you that will come in handy if you are looking forward to becoming an elegant wedding guest.

So, read on . . .

A gold necklace:

This is what is the conventional method of going to a wedding, women just don a necklace and they are good to rock any party. You can find your ideal necklace and just wear it to rock a party. You can find necklaces in various designs and can actually don the one that you think reflects your style in the best manner. It can be a broad necklace with kundan, polkisetc or it can be a simpler one that is sleek and stylish.

A Gold chain:

If you are not a necklace person, we would suggest you to go for gold chains instead. You can glam up them as well, it is really all you need to do is to stack a few gold chains in your neck and you are glammed up. Can it get simpler than this? Your chains can have tiny pendants and charms in them that complement your outfit so that you can rock it without getting into the hassles of putting on a heavy necklace.

Maang tikka

Well, Maang tikka is back is vogue and how! You can dress up your wedding look by adding maang tikka, earrings and a gajra and going without the necklace. Trust us, this look is really elegant.

Rings:

You can never have enough rings in your closet. We will suggest you to wear a cocktail ring as it looks really fancy and goes with your wedding look.

Earrings:

Let your ears do all the talking at the wedding, it would be amazing to wear your heavy chandbalis or jhumkas that will let you create a wonderful style statement. You can ditch the gold for Rose gold earrings designs that you can find plenty all over the internet. All you need to do is to open your favouritejewlery shopping site and search for Latest gold drop earrings designs and you are good to go!

Watch:

An important element that will make you look elegant is a watch. You can wear gold watches in the wedding for a powerful statement.

A sleek bracelet/ bangle

You can wear your gold bracelet/ ring in the same hand as your watch as it gives away a very powerful style statement.

So, these are some of the tips in the jewelry section that you can incorporate to look really stylish and elegant as a wedding guest. We really had fun writing these tips for you. We hope you also have fun incorporating these style tips.

Channels

Govt invites bids for second phase of FM radio

Published

20 years ago

September 26, 2005

indiantelevision.com Team

NEW DELHI: The second phase of FM radio is all set to roll in India with the government today issuing the tender notice on the website of the information and broadcasting ministry (www.mib.nic.in).

Bids are being invited for the second phase in 91 cities having a population of more than 300,000, information and broadcasting minister Jaipal Reddy said here today.

Interacting with journalists here, Reddy said that the second phase of FM radio has the scope for approximately 338 stations to go on air as there are as many frequencies being put on offer.

The controversy-ridden first phase, which was flagged off in 2000, covered cities with population of 500,000 and more.

An I&B ministry official added, “We would have issued the tender document earlier, but some legal points, which needed to be properly phrased, took time to be cleared by the law ministry.”

With 20 per cent foreign investment allowed in FM radio ventures, the government expects more players would join the fray, while the existing ones would bid for additional stations.

The government had earned a sum of Rs 370 million by auctioning off FM frequencies to over 25 private companies during the first phase as advance fee.

Subsequently, quite a few of the companies dropped out even before the radio stations could go live, citing discrepancies in the tender document and final licence agreement.

“That’s why in the second phase, we have tried to plug loopholes and remove the drawbacks after getting extensive feedback from the industry,” the ministry official explained.

In the tender document, the government has stated applicant and its related entities “shall be allowed to bid for only one channel per city, provided that the total number of channels allocated to an applicant and its related entities not exceed the overall limit of 15 per cent of the total channels allocated in India.”

In respect to existing license holders, the license(s) held by them under Phase-I shall be taken into consideration for calculating the 15 per cent limit.

The second phase applicants will be eligible to participate in bidding in all the four regions after their financial eligibility has been assessed before the bids are finally opened.

Every applicant has to have a minimum net worth (calculated as sum of paid up equity and free reserves minus accumulated losses, if any) as per the classification of the city.

For `D’ category cities, bidders net worth will have to be Rs. 5 million, `C’ category Rs. 10 million, `B’ category, Rs. 20 million and for `A’ and `A+’ cities (the latter being the metros) Rs. 30 million. If a company is bidding for all the cities being put on offer, then the minimum net worth has to be Rs. 100 million.

The last date for submitting bids for the pre-qualifying round is 7 November 2005.

This time round some new entrants like Rajiv Chandrashekhar, former head of BPL Telecom and Hindustan Times-Virgin Radio (owned by flamboyant entrepreneur Richard Branson) combine are expected to enter the fray.

Channels

AXN looking at an ‘India Challenge’ next year

Published

21 years ago

October 29, 2004

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: One of the brand building initiatives that AXN has done over the last couple of years in India is organise ground events. It started in 2002 with Who Dares Wins. Last year this concept was expanded upon withExtreme Dhamaka.

This year the channel is in the middle of the India Pakistan Challenge. The broadcaster is now looking at holding another ground event next year in March-April.

Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Sony assistant VP marketing Rohit Bhandari who looks after AXN in India said, “There are a couple of ideas in the pipeline. We may look at having an AXN Challenge in India. Having participants compete in different activities like swimming, rope climbing would make for an attractive ground activity.”

Basically an AXN Challenge sees participants doing a variety of activities like rope climbing, kayaking. There are also mental tests which tests how well the teams of three can think on their feet. All members of a team have to cross the finish line together. Otherwise they are disqualified. The next AXN Challenge takes place In Phillipines on 27 November.

A couple of years ago AXN had held a mini Challenge for India in conjunction with the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The winners were then sent to Hong Kong to participate in the AXN Challenge. The event next year will no doubt look at expanding on this.

Besides the logistical issues if there is a drawback in these proposed plans for India it is the fact that Indians are not adventurous and do not enjoy playing sports. In 2002 most of the participants came from the Indian Army and Navy. This is not the case in other Asian countries like Singapore and Malaysia where you have executives and business professionals participating along with professional racers.

As far as this year’s India Pakistan Challenge is concerned the preliminary rounds have been completed. The finale takes place in Taiwan in the middle of next month. Bhandari added that the delay was on account of storm warnings that had been issued in the country.

Meanwhile on the programming front AXN will do something quite rare for it. It will premiere a high profile movie that has not been seen on Indian television. This is Michael Moore’s documentary Bowling For Columbine and airs on 28 November at 8 pm.

It won an Oscar earlier this year and deals with America’s gun culture. What is interesting is that Moore’s film reveals that while Canada has the same number of guns as America Canadians do not shoot each other.

The guns are used for hunting purposes. Also the documentary pooh poohs the theory that violence in America is on account of its violent past. Germany had the holocaust in the second World War. However Germans today do not go around killing each other.

The channel will also kick off the sixth edition of the reality show The Amazing Race every Sunday at 5 pm from 21 November. This is just four days after CBS premieres the show in the US. As in the past participants run around the world in the hopes of winning a grand prize of $1 million

The previous edition of The Amazing Race saw California couple Chip and Kim McAllister a sporty duo from the Los Angeles suburbs pull out all the stops to cross the finish line first.

To net their million-dollar reward, Chip and Kim covered more than 72,000 miles of terrain across six continents and 11 countries. They ran, hiked and even made use of a luge to snag the first place slot.