ITV

Category: iWorld

  • Nimbus looks to push genre frontiers with Neo Sports Plus

    Nimbus looks to push genre frontiers with Neo Sports Plus

    MUMBAI: Your Gateway to the best sporting action! This is the tagline that Nimbus is using to push its second channel Neo Sports Plus. The channel, which Nimbus says is a sports entertainment offering, has launched today. Sister cricket channel Neo Sports had launched a month back.

    Neo Sports Plus will offer content from a variety of sports like soccer, badminton, motorsports. As Nimbus chairman Harish Thawani says, “Some of the recent Indian sporting achievements have come from sports disciplines like golf, tennis and motor racing, to name a few. On the back of these developments we believe that there is potential in building sustained consumer interest in sports beyond cricket amongst Indians in the medium to long term through strategic content and marketing initiatives.”

    On the soccer front Neo Sports Plus has acquired content from Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina through leagues like Bundesliga, Serie A, Copa Suda Americana and Copa Libertadores. In motorsports it has got V8 Supercars and Superbike World Championships. Additionally, the channel is also focussing on badminton through properties like the Sudirman Cup, The Thomas Cup, The Uber Cup and The World Badminton Championship. Thawani says that the sport, despite strong grassroots support in India, has not got the backing of a channel to realise its potential.

    Neo Sports Broadcast CEO Shashi Kalathil says that the aim is to build up passion for different sports in the long run. It has sports entertainment concepts on the drawing board. Some shows have gone into production. The channel is looking at chat shows, reality shows, sports serials, game shows, quizzes etc.

    Further Neo Sports Plus will also air India cricket in dubbed languages like Hindi. This initiative kicks off this month with the Duleep trophy. Kalathil says that search has been done into what kind of sports entertainment concepts the Indian viewer will like and dislike.

    It has already come up with some entertainment shows. One of them is Unbreakable. This focusses on a memorable performance of a batsman or a bowler or a partnership that refused to buckle under pressure. Then there is Test of Strength. This is a daily show that focusses on India’s great cricketing moments. When India Beat looks at victories by the Indian cricket team. Neo Sports Rewind provides a crisp look at classic ODIs. Mission Impossible is a one hour show that looks at some of the finest cricket matches. The anchor takes viewers through the match and sees how an individual made the impossible possible.

  • Yaari.com brings mobile social networking to India

    Yaari.com brings mobile social networking to India

    MUMBAI: Yaari.com, a social networking site for Indian youth, has released Yaari Mobile, India’s platform for mobile social networking.

    Co-founder and CEO Prerna Gupta said, “The benefit of integrating a social networking site with mobile phones is that it keeps users connected to their network of friends from anywhere, which is especially relevant in India where people do not always have continuous Internet access.”

    The product release includes two primary features: Ywords and Ychat. Ywords allows users to browse the network and interact with other individuals on the site using simple Sms functionality. For example, if a Yaari member sends an Sms command ‘Y profile prerna gupta’ to Yaari, she will receive Prerna’s profile information in the form of an Sms on her phone. She could then go on to browse Prerna’s friends in the same manner, and also send them ‘pinches’, a unique way of interacting with other Yaars.

    The other feature, Ychat, uses Sms to enable group chatting on the go. Users log in to Yaari.com in order to create their Ychat groups and invite their friends to join. Once the group is in place, members can join group discussions via their mobiles and can broadcast messages to every person in the group with a single Sms. They can also reply to messages sent by other members, both from their mobiles and online.

    Yaari.com also plans to introduce non-Sms based mobile features, such as photo and video upload, in the near future, added the release.

    “There are 25 million active Internet users in India. While this figure is large and growing rapidly, it is just the tip of the iceberg. With over 100 million mobile phone users, more than half of which are youth, India is ripe for a mobile social network,” added Prerna.

  • Mauj brings Lakme Fashion Week 2006 on mobile phones

    Mauj brings Lakme Fashion Week 2006 on mobile phones

    MUMBAI: Mauj Telecom, a mobile wireless solutions provider has announced their association with Lakme Fashion Week to bring the fashion extravaganza on mobile handsets. Mauj Telecom is the official mobile content partner for this event which is being held from 31 October to 4 November 2006 at Mumbai.

    Mauj Telecom has tied up with leading designers like Vikram Phadnis, Sabyasaachi Mukherjee, Wendell Rodricks, Seema Khan and Deepti Toor providing them a platform to showcase their entire exquisite collection to millions of cell phone users across the globe.

    People from across the country can stay abreast with the latest happenings at the LFW with exclusive wireless fashion content like animated screensavers, images, wallpapers, themes, video clips of models, interviews of designers, highlights of the shows and all the possible action on the ramp. This will be made available across majority of Indian cellular operators. Content will be available through both SMS and WAP platforms.

    Mauj Telecom has also announced a contest, where by sending SMS “LFW06” to 7007 one stands a chance to be the lucky winner of a Sabyasaachi creation.

    On the occasion of this partnership Mauj Telecom CEO Arun Gupta said, “Mobile phones are now a fashion accessory. Mauj has always been at the forefront of introducing some of the biggest events and movies on the wireless platforms including Miss World, Wimbledon, KANK, Omkara and Gladrags. We are excited not only to become the official mobile content partner for LFW but also to extend our association with IMG by creating a platform for the fashion designers to display their creations on mobile phones.”

    For entering the world of Lakme Fashion Week- Spring Summer Collection 2006, all one needs to do is send an SMS ‘LFW’ to the shortcode 7007 or log on to the WAP portal www.wap.mauj.com. One can access designers’ collection with whom Mauj has tied up by sending keywords to 7007.

  • Intel, NBC in broadband content alliance

    Intel, NBC in broadband content alliance

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC Universal and compueter chip major Intel have announced the launch of the NBC VIP Access online service.

    This will provide on-demand broadband-delivered entertainment content for free to consumers with Intel Viiv technology-based PCs and Centrino mobile technology-based laptops.

    NBC.com will provide Intel customers the opportunity to download many of their favorite NBC Universal programs in high-resolution video, including access to the entire fall season of two new shows Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

    NBC Universal Digital Media and Market Development president Beth Comstock says, “Great content coupled with a great experience is a key differentiator on the Web. NBC’s VIP Access showcases some of the best content that we have and we are proud to be working with Intel to deliver the best high-resolution online video experience available to consumers.”

    Intel’s Digital Home Group VP Kevin Corbett says, “The combination of NBC content with Intel Viiv and Centrino technology will give users a chance to enjoy great television in a high quality format in the living room and on the go. This showcases the value the PC can deliver in providing high-quality entertainment content-previews, full episodes, webisodes, etc– on-demand.”

    NBC VIP Access will feature over 20 different NBC Universal broadcast and online programs, including online access to full-episodes of the fall season of Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. NBC VIP Access will also showcase the season premieres of Friday Night Lights, 30 Rock and Ghost Hunters and first scenes from Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Battlestar Galactica. Special extras include The NBC News Special: Bono in Africa, a Battlestar Galactica special and Ghost Hunters: Best of Season One.

    The NBCU-Intel collaboration began last year with a jointly developed site on NBCOlympics.com entitled “Your NBCOlympics.com Moments.” Consumers using PCs powered by Intel Viiv technology and Intel Centrino mobile technology enjoyed NBC Universal’s Olympic highlights and content in high-resolution format through an easy to use interface.

    Intel Viiv technology connects the PC to the TV, and enables consumers to simplify, share and control their sports, games, music and movies with the energy-efficient performance delivered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor. The technology is widely supported by a number of PC and consumer electronics manufacturers, as well as content and service providers such as NBC Universal. Intel Centrino mobile technology is a set of integrated computing technologies, now with the Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor, designed to power wireless laptops and make it simple for people to enjoy mobile computing and entertainment.

  • Google opens video marketplace

    Google opens video marketplace

    MUMBAI: Live from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Google Inc. announced the planned opening of the Google Video store, the first open video marketplace enabling consumers to buy and rent a wide range of video content from a major television network, a professional sports league, cable programmers, independent producers and film makers.

    This fast growing collection of videos will include prime-time and classic hits from CBS, a full slate of NBA games from this season and outstanding performances from the past, music videos from Sony BMG, Charlie Rose interviews as well as news and historical content from ITN and new titles being added everyday, informs an official release.

    “Google Video will let you watch lots of high quality video on the web for the first time. You can search and browse, and we make it fast and easy for you to watch,” said Google’s co-founder and president, Products Larry Page. “For video producers and anyone with a video camera, Google Video will give you a platform to publish to the entire Google audience in a fast, free and seamless way.”

    Available soon, people who visit the Google Video homepage at http://video.google.com will be able to browse listings of video by category from the store or search Google’s entire collection of videos by simply entering keywords into the search box, the release adds.

    “This is yet another exciting platform in which CBS can leverage its market-leading content to a whole new audience,” said CBS Corporation president & CEO Leslie Moonves. “Making our programming accessible to the Google Video store guarantees our shows significant new exposure to millions of users who are likely to access this web service and who may not be traditional TV viewers. As the industry’s most prolific generator of popular TV content, it’s only natural that CBS would partner with Google on this service, which is destined to become one of the web’s most popular destinations.”

    CBS’s current primetime hits will include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race. Library classics will include I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, Have Gun Will Travel, Mannix, My Three Sons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. All CBS programs will be presented commercial free.

    Google Video will also feature NBA games from this season and some of the greatest individual performances in NBA history. Marking the first time NBA fans can purchase full NBA contests on the Web, each NBA game for the rest of this season, including the NBA Playoffs and The Finals, will be available to fans in its entirety 24 hours after the contest’s conclusion. In addition, the highest scoring games of several of the NBA’s best players will be available including Kobe Bryant’s 62 point performance in three quarters vs. Dallas last month.

    Additional highlights of Google’s video collection will include:
    Music videos from Sony BMG. The line-up of launch videos includes offerings from some of SONY BMG’s global superstar artists, including Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Kenny Chesney, Destiny’s Child, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Lil’ Flip, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, System of a Down, Switchfoot, Usher, and many more.

    Feature Length Independent Films from Greencine.com. Including works by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda (Promised Land), documentary filmmaker Ted Bonnitt (Mau Mau Sex Sex) and independent actor/director Caveh Zahedi (In the Bathtub of the World).

    Historic, news and educational footage from ITN. This material ranges from coverage of key events in 2005 such as the Pope John Paul II’s death, back to a recording of the 1896 coronation of Tsar Nicholas II – one of the earliest known pieces of moving imagery.

    Charlie Rose interviews. Including interviews with Henry Kissinger, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Martha Stewart, Martin Scorsese, Harrison Ford, Dan Rather, Charles M. Schulz, Steve Jobs, Jay Leno, Tom Brokaw, and others.

    Cartoon classics from Classic Media. Featuring many of the world’s most famous animated series such as Felix the Cat, Casper The Friendly Ghost, and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

    Children’s educational programming from CLEARVUE & SVE. Educational video topics vary from teen education on tattoos to explanations about the workings of the human brain.

    Clips from Getty Images’ Archive Films Collection. A diverse collection of short clips that capture personalities, moments and eras throughout history – selected from vintage newsreels and educational film, as well as contemporary news and events from around the world.

    There will be thousands of titles for sale in the Google Video store with more titles added everyday. The list of content producers will also include a broad range of entertainment and educational partners including among others, BlueHighways TV, CareTALK, Fashion TV, here! TV, HDNet, HilariousDownloads.com, Image Entertainment, iWatchNow.com, Kantola Productions, MediaZone.com, Plum TV, PorchLight Entertainment, SOFA Entertainment, Teen Kids, Trinity Broadcasting Network, WGBH, Wheels TV, and Wilderness Film India Ltd.

  • Mauj Telecom joins Miss World Ltd as global media partner

    Mauj Telecom joins Miss World Ltd as global media partner

    MUMBAI: Mauj Telecom has entered into a partnership with the Miss World Ltd as its global mobile partner. Mauj through its partnership with 50 plus operators and portals worldwide would be distributing the Miss World content exclusively on mobile phones worldwide.

    The mobile content would include World zone show highlights, contestant images, final highlights, video profiles of contestants, video ring tones, wallpapers, ring tones, screensavers, themes, and calendar application, as per an official release.

    Mauj is also developing a virtual reality application called as “I want to be Miss World” which takes the users through the experience of preparing for the Miss World pageant. All archived images and videos from Miss World 2003-2005 will also be available to subscribers across the world through Mauj and its Partners. The content will be available on 200 plus handsets from all leading manufacturers.

    Mauj would also be the interactive voting partner for Miss World worldwide on mobiles, adds the release.

  • Homing in on broadband TV

    Homing in on broadband TV

    The San Jose based Homeland Networks is gearing up for the broadband era in India and across the Asian continent. The venture promoted by ex-Intelite and broadband expert Ron Victor has unleashed three sites www.tvofindia.com, www.radioofindia.com and www.pressofindia.com. The company believes in “interactivity by ethnicity and geography”.

    Tvofindia.com is a project for the broadband world and already has a bit of broadband programming which can be viewed as streaming video. UTV has signed on as a content provider and has picked up a 10 per cent stake, apart from providing infrastructure. Ron is in talks with several media companies for providing interactive content and he wants tvofindia to be a platform for interactive programmes in all genres. The site claims to generate 1,000 viewers a day.

    Says Ron, “We’d like to work with every single media company in India to provide exciting interactive content to the viewers. Our ambition is to make the whole world into a single studio. We want our viewers to get an incredible experience which cannot be felt on regular television or radio, and interactivity will be a key component.”

    Homeland Networks has already struck a deal with a media company for content. Talks are on with a couple of television channels.

    The company is also looking at archived programming from different media companies and providing them with a medium to showcase them.

    Currently tvofindia.com focusses on the NRI community due to the availability of broadband abroad. But Ron Victor is confident of it gathering pace in India within a year and half to three years and would then focus on the resident Indian community.

    The revenue model of the company is sponsorships and advertising apart from e-commerce which will take some time. Pay-per-view and video-on-demand will also generate revenues. The global viewership will be backed by local advertising and e-commerce and will additionally have global branding opportunities for advertisers. The difference between traditional Internet advertising and advertising on Homeland sites would be the feedback and the possibility of monitoring the actual effectiveness of the ads, reveals Victor.

    The company is backed Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia who has picked up a 5% stake in the company, KB Chandrashekhar of Exodus fame having 5% stake, Ronnie Screwvala of UTV who holds 10% stake. The company is in talks with a couple of Venture Capitalists for the second round of funding.

    Victor plans to focus on the China market after the India and to replicate his India model for Internetters there.

  • YouTube in deal with Warner Music

    YouTube in deal with Warner Music

    MUMBAI: In a boost for video sharing site youtube music videos from artists like Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sean Paul will be legally available on the site.

    It has signed a deal with Warner Music Group.

    Media reports state that Youtube wil share ad revenue with Warner. A report in The Wall Street Journal further states that YouTube is developing software that automatically identifies copyrighted music and video content uploaded to the site, reported in its online edition. A portion of the revenue from ads placed near the copyrighted material will go to the owner of the copyright. 100 million videos are viewed daily on youtube.

    YouTube co-founder and CEO Chad Hurley.has ben quoted saying that in the future it would explore options for sharing online ad revenue with smaller and amateur creators of videos. “But right now we are building tools for record labels, TV networks and movie studios.”

    Interestingly this announcement of the tie up comes at a time when the world’s largest record company, Universal says that it will go after social sites like Youtube and MySpace for infringing copyright. Universal Music CEO Doug Morris has been quoted in reports saying that he believes that sites like youtube owe firms like Universal tens of millions of dollars.

  • Motorola, Nokia to cooperate on mobile TV interoperability

    Motorola, Nokia to cooperate on mobile TV interoperability

    MUMBAI: In an effort to encourage greater adoption of broadcast mobile TV services and accelerate service deployment, Motorola and Nokia today announced that they will work to achieve interoperability among their DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast – Handheld) enabled mobile devices and network services.

    The handset manufacturers will work together to support solutions based on open DVB-IPDC standards available for operator partners interested in deploying multi-vendor mobile TV services and trials in 2006 and onward.

    For the uninitiated DVB-H technology enables the TV service to be broadcast to one’s mobile device. The parties state that DVB-H provides a superior end-user experience in the mobile environment with excellent picture and reduced battery consumption. Up to 50 TV channels can be delivered with low cost, over one network. With extensive pilots of broadcast mobile TV currently taking place across the globe, involving leading broadcasters, mobile operators, broadcast network operators and handset manufacturers, the market for commercial broadcast services is expected to grow throughout this year.

    According to market research firm Informa, the mobile TV market is poised to grow exponentially – by 2010, there are anticipated to be over 50 million DVB-H enabled mobile devices sold globally. The deployment of mobile TV services will offer new business opportunities for companies across the value chain – including content and broadcast companies, mobile service providers, infrastructure and handset manufacturers and technology providers — and the availability of interoperable DVB-H enabled devices and services is a key factor in further opening up the market.

    Among the many digital technologies available to deliver mobile TV services, Motorola and Nokia both view DVB-H as an effective technology for deploying broadcast mobile TV. DVB-H technology offers high service level quality, low battery consumption and offers the end-user the ability to simultaneously receive broadcasts while using other mobile services such as telephony and internet access on their device.

    Motorola director of broadcast technologies Rob Bero says, “Operators around the world are evaluating broadcast mobile TV as a compelling new service to offer their subscribers – and interoperability will play a key role in bringing these services to market faster.

    “As a vocal leader in open standards, including DVB-H, we’re pleased to be working with Nokia to deliver interoperable handset and network solutions that will help enable operators to offer the ultimate mobile TV experience for consumers.”

    Nokia director, multimedia experiences Harri Männistö says, “Commercial mobile TV services are on the verge of launching in several markets across the world. In order for mobile TV to be a true success, we need interoperable mobile devices and systems which deliver the best experience for consumers and enable enjoyable, live broadcast TV when and where it suits them, redefining prime times and television program content. Nokia is happy to see that open DVB-H technology has and will have widespread support across the industry players, including Motorola and Nokia, in bringing mobile TV to market”.

    In parallel to supporting mobile operators launching mobile TV services based on existing technologies in their networks, Motorola and Nokia are both active in ongoing standardization and technology development to optimize the broadcast mobile TV experience. The companies will work on interoperability efforts using the open DVB-IPDC standard while continuing to participate in industry-wide interoperability efforts within the related standardization bodies.

  • Where goest the broadcast bill?

    Where goest the broadcast bill?

    The fate of the broadcast bill hangs on a razor’s edge, despite Braodcast Minister Arun Jaitley’s pledge to table it in the surrent budget session of parliament.

    Lobbying for the Broadcast bill is expected to reach fever pitch after March during the Budget session recess. The broadcasters lobby group, The Indian Broadcast Foundation has set up three committees for the purpose. Discovery India’s Kiran Karnik, News Television India’s Peter Mukherjee and Urmila Gupta, and Sony Entertainment Television’s Kunal Dasgupta are looking at convergence and spectrum allocation issues. ESPN’s Manu Sawney and Turner International’s Anshuman Misra are reviewing technology convergence, especially the last mile infrastructure.

    Content provider UTV’s Ronnie Screwvala and Khursheeda Mody, Nimbus Communications Harish Thawani and MTV India’s Alex Kuruvilla are looking at Internet regulatory issues. Three government committees are also reviewing critical areas in the bill.

    Jaitley expects to reach a consensus during the recess before tabling the bill in parliament. Some analysts believe that foreign equity in cross media holding and DTH may not form a part of the bill, plagued by opposing political viewpoints. Others indicate that the bill may be tabled, but will go into a sub committee for further review.