ITV

Category: Social Media

  • Yahoo! India promotes Pranesh Anthapur to COO research & development

    Yahoo! India promotes Pranesh Anthapur to COO research & development

    MUMBAI: Yahoo! India has promoted Pranesh Anthapur to COO of its research and development centre.

    In his capacity, Anthapur will head up operations as well as bring new ideas to the company’s R&D center in Bangalore. He will work with the senior management team to put Yahoo! India R&D on a growth trajectory and will spearhead Yahoo!’s move to the new office, which is scheduled for early next year, informs an official release.

    Anthapur recently moved to Bangalore from Sunnyvale, the Yahoo! HQ in California. He brings with him experience in talent acquisition, talent development and cross border general management. Anthapur is a seven year Yahoo! veteran and has held several key positions in both the US and other International locations. Prior to moving to Bangalore, he was VP for Yahoo!’s International HR and HR Mergers and Acquisitions group in Sunnyvale.

    “The Bangalore Development centre is growing rapidly and currently employs over 800 knowledge workers and plans to cross the 1000 mark in headcount by the end of this year. We welcome the expertise in the field of global talent and operations that Pranesh brings with him to Yahoo! India R&D,” said Yahoo! India Research & Development CEO Venkat Panchapakesan.

    “In his new role, Pranesh will provide direction to all the operational areas of the center including business planning and process enhancements,” Panchapakesan added.

    Another recent addition to Yahoo!’s Bangalore centre is Pete Deemer who moved from Yahoo!’s Sunnyvale office to become the Chief Product Officer of Yahoo! India Research and Development, adds the release.

    Deemer who joined Yahoo! Inc in 2003 till recently held the position of VP – product development, overseeing Yahoo!’s product development practices, product quality and integration efforts under the chief product officer.

    In his new role, Deemer is closely aligned to the CPO office in Sunnyvale, USA. He is helping the Bangalore office define the strategy for the products being built and evolving the product development process besides incubating some new product initiatives. He will also be a player in the India specific initiatives recently started by the company.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Nokia launches first live DVB-H mobile TV service in Asia

    Nokia launches first live DVB-H mobile TV service in Asia

    MUMBAI: Mobile communications firm Nokia and Vietnam Multimedia (VTC) have inked a deal to launch commercial mobile broadcast TV services based on Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) technology in two Vietnamese cities by the end of the year.

    The agreement is Nokia’s first commercial mobile TV service rollout in the Asia Pacific region. It is also among the first of Nokia’s commercial rollouts globally. Nokia is currently spearheading several trials in the Asia Pacific, Europe and North American countries.

    VTC is a broadcaster and operator in digital broadcasting. It will make available its mobile PayTV services to consumer subscribers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Consumers in both cities will be able to enjoy seven digital TV channels as well as a video-on-demand service from a catalogue of selected titles offered by VTC.

    The service is available on Nokia’s Nseries DVB-H enabled multimedia devices, delivered by the Nokia N92 which will make its debut in Vietnam for this purpose.

    For the uninitiated DVB-H, is a broadcast-to-mobile technology which provides reception of the ordinary television broadcasting in digital format on mobile phones and television screens mounted on-board public and private means of transportation. DVB-H was chosen based by Nokia on its merit to support mobility, efficient power management, and DVD quality audio and video services without disturbance.

    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.

    Mobile TV broadcasting works by receiving a digital TV broadcast signal optimized for mobile devices from the air in much the same way as televisions at home do. Channel guides will also be broadcast allowing users to keep abreast of the latest programmes on air. Broadcast Mobile TV is not the same as a streaming video service over 3G or GPRS where each recipient gets a separate copy of the programme stream. Rather, one simultaneous TV stream can be received at any time by any number of users enjoying high picture quality and low battery power consumption.

    VTC director Le Doan Quan said, “The open technology platform solution provided by Nokia resonates with VTC’s vision of increasing choice and participation for consumers and other technology providers. Nokia implementation uses the OMA DRM approach for services and content delivery protection thus enabling many additional possibilities such as delivery of ringtones, logos, music, videoclips, games and large file applications, in addition to the ordinary TV programmes.”

    “This equips VTC with a cost-effective and future-proof platform for driving the development of the vibrant multimedia ecosystem in Vietnam.”
    Nokia Multimedia Asia Pacific director, experiences Jawahar Kanjilal said, “We are delighted to be part of this great development in Vietnam. This marks the beginning of exciting times in the Asia Pacific broadcasting industry, bringing digital television to consumers’ pockets and ushering in a new era of personal interactive entertainment.

    “The Nokia N92 multimedia computer will be a key element of this consumer offering, and we look forward to the continuing development of mobile TV services in the region.”
    Under the agreement, Nokia and VTC are committed to jointly propel the consumer adoption of mobile entertainment services in Vietnam. After taking mobile TV services commercial in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh in 2006, VTC plans to extend the coverage to a national level over a two-year period.

    In the Asia Pacific, Nokia claims to have spearheaded several mobile TV technology showcases in countries such as Singapore (with Mediacorp & M1), Malaysia (Astro & Maxis), as well as in India and Taiwan. Nokia also participated in many industry-wide events demonstrating simulcast mobile TV content together with players in the media and entertainment industries in Australia.

    Nokia is also in the midst of a DVB-H trial first started last July 2005 with the Bridge Networks & Telstra consumers in Sydney. In Europe, Finland, Digita, supported by Nokia, has been awarded an operator license and is working to debut DVB-H mobile TV services soon. Italy has also launched a DVB-H service, while many other regions in the world are expected to follow suit with the commercialisation activity once their own trials are concluded.

  • YouTube.com and Weinstein Co. to feature ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ content on Web

    YouTube.com and Weinstein Co. to feature ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ content on Web

    MUMBAI: Viral video site YouTube.com and the Weinstein Company will feature the first eight minutes of the thriller Lucky Number Slevin.

    Lucky Number Slevin is in theaters nationwide in US, which stars Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Lucy Liu and Bruce Willis. TWC is offering YouTube users an exclusive first glance of the first eight minutes of the movie on the web.

    In an official statement issued, this marks the first time that the opening of a feature film will be released specifically for the YouTube audience.

    The Weinstein Company executive vice president Gary Faber stated, “Audiences love the opening of Lucky Number Slevin — the twists and turns, all set up in this eight minute opening are one of the major reasons why word-of-mouth on the film has been so overwhelmingly positive. Deciding to partner with YouTube was a no-brainer — what better way to help fuel the film’s positive buzz than by partnering with the number one word-of-mouth website out there today.”

    “Bringing more entertaining and exclusive content to YouTube helps further our goal of providing the best video experience on the Internet,” said YouTube VP programming Kevin Donahue.

    “The Weinstein Company is one of the most progressive movie studios moving beyond traditional means to promote its films with original video programming on YouTube,” adds Donahue

    Lucky Number Slevin is a thriller that moves its way through an underworld of crime and revenge where nothing is as it seems. Set in New York City, a case of mistaken identity lands Slevin (Josh Hartnett) into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city’s most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi (Ben Kingsley) and The Boss (Morgan Freeman).

    Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski (Stanley Tucci) as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat (Bruce Willis) and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to escape the maze alive.

    Also starring Lucy Liu, Lucky Number Slevin is directed by Paul McGuigan and written by Jason Smilovic. The movie is a MGM release of a TWC presentation.

    In addition to Lucky Number Slevin, Deep Focus, the advertising agency for TWC, has reached YouTube’s audience to promote recent films by posting trailers for Scary Movie 4, which has been viewed nearly 1.5M times on YouTube, and Clerks II, which is gaining steam with more than 200,000 video views on the site, informs an official release.

    “Prior to YouTube, there was no other way to premiere the first few minutes of a movie in a viral way,” said Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer.

    “With help from the YouTube community, Scary Movie 4 had a record-breaking box office release. With the upcoming release of Clerks II and with Lucky Number Slevin in theaters nationwide, we are excited to continue to find cool, new ways to bring our movies to market,” said Schafer.