ITV

Category: MAM

  • Smriti Z Irani on CNN-IBN’s ‘Being’s at 8 p.m. on 25 February

    Smriti Z Irani on CNN-IBN’s ‘Being’s at 8 p.m. on 25 February

    “I would love to be the Devil’s Advocate and sit and corner Pranab Mukherjee” – Smriti Z Irani

     

    New Delhi, February 24, 2006: Think television soaps in India and one of the first names that comes to mind is Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Launched on the same day as Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) in 2000, the show outlived KBC and was the center of attention for millions of viewers.

    The epicenter of this familiar, familial melodrama, Smriti Irani hooked a generation of housewives to television. But there’s more to Smriti Irani than being Tulsi. She balances a political career, a family and children, produces plays and manages a hectic acting schedule. From working at McDonald’s, to getting rejected because she didn’t look like the typical Indian housewife, everybody’s favorite agony aunt tells us what it’s like BEING Smriti Irani Only on CNN IBN, Saturday 25th February 20:30pm & Sunday 26th February 15:30pm.

    Excerpts from the interview:
    “I would genuinely trade my job any day to run behind and get breaking news through. I would love to be a part of your Lakshmi Narayan Mittal exclusive, I would love to be the Devil’s Advocate and sit and corner Pranab Mukherjee, I almost thought that Karan had it that day. I would love to do what you did with the Bofor’s case. Just be there, hunt, investigate, it almost sounds like a fantasy. It’s the rush of discovering something that’s hidden under so many layers”

    “I was in an environment (in Delhi) where it was easy to accept rejection. I was constantly told that’s its not my cup of tea .I realized it’s the environment that’s propelling me towards a different destiny. That’s why I left. I have faced rejection from the day I stepped into Mumbai, from not winning the Ms India crown, to missing out so many auditions, to being rejected for an ad for home appliances because I didn’t look like an Indian housewife. So many people told Ekta Kapoor she’s out of her mind if she wanted to caste me .I mean rejection is not something new. I lost my first election. I would in fact take it as a sign of a new beginning because I’m in an environment where everybody that I know is not the type to give up easily.

    ‘I have stepped out of the comfort zone. Its not an easy thing to do but the biggest burden of Being Tulsi is the constant criticism that comes along with my job. I have from day one been the poster child for all the flak for all saas-bahu soaps and its not easy trying to maintain ones sense of balance or politeness through it all and let the critics get away’.
    “If you look at how soaps began post ‘Kyunki saas bhi….’, there were so many that came into being where the marketing strategy was “It’s different from the ‘saas- bahu’ soaps”. There were so many actors that came to the surface whose entire interview revolved around that one quote –” I don’t do saas- bahu”. But ironically most of them revolved and came about and started doing saas- bahu on their own because I think somewhere the realization came that it was not selling on the basis of that “we are different factor” .At the end of the day we are at of the entertainment business, channels have got caught in the revenue net. Today for a channel the viability of a project is much more important than the message I’m trying to give”.

    “I think he (Narendra Modi) has changed a lot of peoples opinion through his administrative work .I have spoken to him. He’s extremely gracious and I’m in touch with him. He was extremely gracious in letting a lot of things go and extremely gracious as not to comment on what I said. I think that’s one part that everyone has to accept. He never said a word about me. It says a lot about the man. He’s willing to be prosecuted for any crimes that courts might decide against him that’s says a lot about somebody who is sitting in a seat of power”

    GBN, a TV18 Group Company, is a 74:26 joint venture between the TV18 Group and professionals – Rajdeep Sardesai, Sameer Manchanda and Haresh Chawla. GBN’s charter is to launch channels in the general news space under the editorial leadership of Sardesai, one of India’s most reputed TV journalists. The TV18 Group is India’s leading and most successful business news broadcaster, in both English and Hindi.

    – END –
    For more information contact:
    Prachi / Priyadarshani
    Hanmer & Partners
    New Delhi
    011 2921 4793/ 4

     

  • Dead men walking!

    The prologue to an agency review – an agency review is ideally an open minded exercise that is meant to evaluate the performance of the advertising agency over the past year, in as fair and unbiased manner, as is humanly possible. However, since this is about as achievable as having an advertising awards show without at least one self respecting agency deciding to boycott on ‘philosophical’ grounds, what it’s very announcement leads to is unmitigated stress, panic and confusion all round.

    “News of an impending review always fuels the need for warm brew.” The hushed oriental accent, the slight flutter of mach speed induced turbulence and Chai-La (the mystical Chinese canteen tea boy) had delivered the customary tea cup and opening barb to Ram Shankar. It was Monday morning and Ram had not yet got his bits and bytes together when Vikas (his boss) beckoned him, in a manner that meant business.

    “Mr Bose has told me this morning that we are going to have an agency review,” started Vikas, adjusting his tie in his reflection in Ram’s glasses.

    “Do you think the account is in danger?” asked Vikas in a hushed tone.

    “I wouldn’t know,” began Ram and was cut in mid sentence by PP (the creative director of the exaggerated mustache fame) bursting into Vikas’s chambers like Ronaldo in the penalty box.

    “Why are we having an agency review man? Are we going to lose the account?” boomed PP in his customary high decibel style, causing weak hearted account executives to instantly sign up for medical insurance policies.

    “Relax PP, its nothing new,” replied Vikas, in his most soothing tone, trying to function for once like the head on the business, but after he remembered that it was the first time that this was happening in five years, his morale fell faster than the credibility of ‘breaking news’ after the last pest control visit of the BMC had been aired live.

    “This hasn’t happened with us in a very long time,” echoed Planimus, the media head, in his routinely philosophically platonic tone, “I smell trouble brewing.”

    Almost on cue Dharti, the ravishingly radiant account planner walked in, “Hey the security guard told me that the account was up for review, what’s happening guys?”

    “Lets just meet in the conference room, we need to figure out a strategy,” suggested Vikas, and for once all the necessary evils were in agreement.

    The scene shifted to the conference room. Vikas, following his perfunctorily servicing impulse of staying on top of things, walked purposefully to the board, marker pen in hand straight from the ‘have whiteboard will scribble’ school of thought.

    “Let’s see what we have here,” furiously constructing geometric shapes, like he had a personal vendetta against parabolas (he didn’t draw any, just in case you assumed).
    He finished with three circles – client, agency and external forces and had somehow managed to link all three with arrows that looked like having directional issues.

    “What does all this mean?” asked an irritated PP. “Why must you complicate simple things? I bet that’s why the review is happening.”

    “If you had shown more interest in the account after finishing with the film, maybe we wouldn’t be here, client’s dislike creative who just do the glamorous jobs.”

    “It’s not my job to write calendars, I am never good with dates,” retorted PP.

    “Given the numerous angry women waiting in the reception for you daily, for once I would agree,” replied Vikas, relishing the opportunity to kick the old foe in the more delicate, unmentionable parts.

    Before PP could venture into his nuclear explosion, Dharti patted a firm hand on his shoulder, fortified with a smile that spoke waist downwards.

    “Must we be fighting like this? Let’s try and figure this out,” she purred, instantly sending goose pimples down Ram’s spine.

    However years of crunching and rounding figures had made Planimus oblivious to the wiles of women, and he still had some ax to grind.

    “Madam, you knocked us all out the last time we discussed strategy, I think the client is still nursing the bump on his head from your last interaction. In my time strategy used to be simple, over and done with in ten minutes.” He finished with a sardonic smile.

    “This isn’t your time Planimus,” cooed back Dharti, in an interesting tone that bordered between spite and contempt.

    “To lose the war, put four generals together in a room and ask them to arrive at a decision-Old Chinese army saying.” Chai-La popped in and out of Ram’s subconscious mind, leaving behind the sacred brew nestled in his fingers.

    Ram waited for the mayhem to subside before deciding to make his point. A valuable tip he had picked from Planimus, about advertising when clutter was low for more impact.

    “Could it just be that given the new personnel at the clients end, they want to look at everything in a fair and unbiased manner? You know like bringing a newer perspective to the table so that the communication that we create could actually get better and more focused? Are we making too much of our fear of losing the account?”

    All the participants in the room starred at Ram in rapt silence, like people would have when Moses was reciting the commandments. Then the conference room erupted with laughter.

    “Fair and unbiased,” choked Vikas, as he hung onto PP’s shoulder for support in a rare ‘Kodak moment of camaraderie’.

    “Should we be scared of losing the business?” stuttered Planimus as he kept banging the table in an almost tribal ritual.

    Dharti sat composed, dignified and silent through it all.

    Ram felt he had at least one supporter. All the others turned to look at her.

    “Bringing a new perspective so that we can create better communication,” she said and burst out into laughter, further fuelling the mirth factor in the room.

    Ten minutes later all attention was back to the whiteboard, though not strictly at the seismographic visuals Vikas had crafted earlier.

    “We need to figure this one out. You know how the boss panics when he hears these things, we will end up creating 42 campaigns for everything,” mulled Vikas.

    “Why 42?” Dharti queried innocently.

    “That’s because the boss is a Douglass Adam fan and you know the bit about 42 being the answer to life, the universe and everything. The chief applies it everywhere.”

    “Well I don’t mind writing a 42 slide presentation,” cooed Dharti.

    “What about the creative trying to churn out 42 campaigns, are we going mad?”

    “Well statistically 42 is an interesting number,” started Planimus and was instantly rebooted by the chilling glares that were shot in his direction.

    “Why don’t we just call Bose, maybe he will help us,” asked Dharti.

    “After the way I keep taking his case in meetings,” said PP, “I think he is having this because he wants to settle scores with me. I expect to be the target.”

    “Tchah!” interjected Vikas, “He hates it that I’m not involved on a day to day basis,” not wanting PP to steal the limelight even in such issues.

    “Why don’t we just call him?” implored Dharti

    “Who should?”
    Furtive glances were exchanged across the room.

    “He hates me.”

    “He is intimidated by me.”

    “I can’t stand the creep.”

    All eyes rested on Ram Shankar.

    “Call him chief,” chirped Vikas, relieved that the onus of this ‘stress call’ was off him. “Make it seem natural, start like you were just inquiring when it is.”

    All the others offered encouraging glances by way of support.

    Ram’s hand was trembling as he began dialing the number, somewhere deep down he felt that he was a bit too junior to be making that call, but Vikas’s quick fingers zipped across the number pad and the phone was buzzing at the other end before Ram could even think of formulating an escape plan.

    “Mr Bose, I was just calling to inquire when the review meeting would be?” he began in his most earnest voice, all eyes in the room transfixed on him.

    There was silence as Bose’s voice cackled its usual cacophonic tone for a bit. Ram put down the phone, his hand still shaking. “He says it was just a misunderstanding. The Chairman had told his assistant, ‘Get the agency to Hotel Sea-View to meet me.’ That fellow apparently has a hearing problem and so he spread the word about the agency review.”

    “I knew it!”

    “How can they dislike our work?”

    “Or our planning.”

    “Or strategy.”

    And before he knew it the other four had cleared the room and zipped off for a lavish lunch, the voucher of which Ram would have to clear later (with much explaining).

    “Tale of the review woe is useful to keep agency on toe,” the ancient Chinese rhyme (for better or verse), the express delivery of the tea cup and Chai-La had vanished into one of the circles on the whiteboard.

  • Dead men walking!

    By VINAY KANCHAN

    The prologue to an agency review – an agency review is ideally an open minded exercise that is meant to evaluate the performance of the advertising agency over the past year, in as fair and unbiased manner, as is humanly possible. However, since this is about as achievable as having an advertising awards show without at least one self respecting agency deciding to boycott on ‘philosophical‘ grounds, what it‘s very announcement leads to is unmitigated stress, panic and confusion all round.


    “News of an impending review always fuels the need for warm brew.” The hushed oriental accent, the slight flutter of mach speed induced turbulence and Chai-La (the mystical Chinese canteen tea boy) had delivered the customary tea cup and opening barb to Ram Shankar. It was Monday morning and Ram had not yet got his bits and bytes together when Vikas (his boss) beckoned him, in a manner that meant business.


    “Mr Bose has told me this morning that we are going to have an agency review,” started Vikas, adjusting his tie in his reflection in Ram‘s glasses.


    “Do you think the account is in danger?” asked Vikas in a hushed tone.


    “I wouldn‘t know,” began Ram and was cut in mid sentence by PP (the creative director of the exaggerated mustache fame) bursting into Vikas‘s chambers like Ronaldo in the penalty box.


    “Why are we having an agency review man? Are we going to lose the account?” boomed PP in his customary high decibel style, causing weak hearted account executives to instantly sign up for medical insurance policies.


    “Relax PP, its nothing new,” replied Vikas, in his most soothing tone, trying to function for once like the head on the business, but after he remembered that it was the first time that this was happening in five years, his morale fell faster than the credibility of ‘breaking news‘ after the last pest control visit of the BMC had been aired live.


    “This hasn‘t happened with us in a very long time,” echoed Planimus, the media head, in his routinely philosophically platonic tone, “I smell trouble brewing.”


    Almost on cue Dharti, the ravishingly radiant account planner walked in, “Hey the security guard told me that the account was up for review, what‘s happening guys?”


    “Lets just meet in the conference room, we need to figure out a strategy,” suggested Vikas, and for once all the necessary evils were in agreement.


    The scene shifted to the conference room. Vikas, following his perfunctorily servicing impulse of staying on top of things, walked purposefully to the board, marker pen in hand straight from the ‘have whiteboard will scribble‘ school of thought.


    “Let‘s see what we have here,” furiously constructing geometric shapes, like he had a personal vendetta against parabolas (he didn‘t draw any, just in case you assumed).
    He finished with three circles – client, agency and external forces and had somehow managed to link all three with arrows that looked like having directional issues.


    “What does all this mean?” asked an irritated PP. “Why must you complicate simple things? I bet that‘s why the review is happening.”


    “If you had shown more interest in the account after finishing with the film, maybe we wouldn‘t be here, client‘s dislike creative who just do the glamorous jobs.”


    “It‘s not my job to write calendars, I am never good with dates,” retorted PP.


    “Given the numerous angry women waiting in the reception for you daily, for once I would agree,” replied Vikas, relishing the opportunity to kick the old foe in the more delicate, unmentionable parts.


    Before PP could venture into his nuclear explosion, Dharti patted a firm hand on his shoulder, fortified with a smile that spoke waist downwards.


    “Must we be fighting like this? Let‘s try and figure this out,” she purred, instantly sending goose pimples down Ram‘s spine.


    However years of crunching and rounding figures had made Planimus oblivious to the wiles of women, and he still had some ax to grind.


    “Madam, you knocked us all out the last time we discussed strategy, I think the client is still nursing the bump on his head from your last interaction. In my time strategy used to be simple, over and done with in ten minutes.” He finished with a sardonic smile.


    “This isn‘t your time Planimus,” cooed back Dharti, in an interesting tone that bordered between spite and contempt.


    “To lose the war, put four generals together in a room and ask them to arrive at a decision-Old Chinese army saying.” Chai-La popped in and out of Ram‘s subconscious mind, leaving behind the sacred brew nestled in his fingers.


    Ram waited for the mayhem to subside before deciding to make his point. A valuable tip he had picked from Planimus, about advertising when clutter was low for more impact.


    “Could it just be that given the new personnel at the clients end, they want to look at everything in a fair and unbiased manner? You know like bringing a newer perspective to the table so that the communication that we create could actually get better and more focused? Are we making too much of our fear of losing the account?”


    All the participants in the room starred at Ram in rapt silence, like people would have when Moses was reciting the commandments. Then the conference room erupted with laughter.


    “Fair and unbiased,” choked Vikas, as he hung onto PP‘s shoulder for support in a rare ‘Kodak moment of camaraderie‘.


    “Should we be scared of losing the business?” stuttered Planimus as he kept banging the table in an almost tribal ritual.


    Dharti sat composed, dignified and silent through it all.


    Ram felt he had at least one supporter. All the others turned to look at her.


    “Bringing a new perspective so that we can create better communication,” she said and burst out into laughter, further fuelling the mirth factor in the room.


    Ten minutes later all attention was back to the whiteboard, though not strictly at the seismographic visuals Vikas had crafted earlier.


    “We need to figure this one out. You know how the boss panics when he hears these things, we will end up creating 42 campaigns for everything,” mulled Vikas.


    “Why 42?” Dharti queried innocently.


    “That‘s because the boss is a Douglass Adam fan and you know the bit about 42 being the answer to life, the universe and everything. The chief applies it everywhere.”


    “Well I don‘t mind writing a 42 slide presentation,” cooed Dharti.


    “What about the creative trying to churn out 42 campaigns, are we going mad?”


    “Well statistically 42 is an interesting number,” started Planimus and was instantly rebooted by the chilling glares that were shot in his direction.


    “Why don‘t we just call Bose, maybe he will help us,” asked Dharti.


    “After the way I keep taking his case in meetings,” said PP, “I think he is having this because he wants to settle scores with me. I expect to be the target.”


    “Tchah!” interjected Vikas, “He hates it that I‘m not involved on a day to day basis,” not wanting PP to steal the limelight even in such issues.


    “Why don‘t we just call him?” implored Dharti


    “Who should?”
    Furtive glances were exchanged across the room.


    “He hates me.”


    “He is intimidated by me.”


    “I can‘t stand the creep.”


    All eyes rested on Ram Shankar.


    “Call him chief,” chirped Vikas, relieved that the onus of this ‘stress call‘ was off him. “Make it seem natural, start like you were just inquiring when it is.”


    All the others offered encouraging glances by way of support.


    Ram‘s hand was trembling as he began dialing the number, somewhere deep down he felt that he was a bit too junior to be making that call, but Vikas‘s quick fingers zipped across the number pad and the phone was buzzing at the other end before Ram could even think of formulating an escape plan.


    “Mr Bose, I was just calling to inquire when the review meeting would be?” he began in his most earnest voice, all eyes in the room transfixed on him.


    There was silence as Bose‘s voice cackled its usual cacophonic tone for a bit. Ram put down the phone, his hand still shaking. “He says it was just a misunderstanding. The Chairman had told his assistant, ‘Get the agency to Hotel Sea-View to meet me.‘ That fellow apparently has a hearing problem and so he spread the word about the agency review.”


    “I knew it!”


    “How can they dislike our work?”


    “Or our planning.”


    “Or strategy.”


    And before he knew it the other four had cleared the room and zipped off for a lavish lunch, the voucher of which Ram would have to clear later (with much explaining).


    “Tale of the review woe is useful to keep agency on toe,” the ancient Chinese rhyme (for better or verse), the express delivery of the tea cup and Chai-La had vanished into one of the circles on the whiteboard.


     


    After stints at Lowe, Mudra and Everest the author is now with Triton as Associate Vice President Brand Services. In addition to that he is also patron saint of Juhu Beach United – a movement that celebrates obesity and the unfit ‘out of breath‘ media professional of today. To join up contact vinaykanchan@hotmail.com


    (The views expressed here are those of the author and Indiantelevision.com need not necessarily subscribe to the same)

  • FremantleMedia deploys Artesia DAM solution to hasten access to TV shows

    FremantleMedia deploys Artesia DAM solution to hasten access to TV shows

    MUMBAI:The international creators and producers of television programmes FremantleMedia has implemented Open Text’s Artesia Digital Asset Management solution (Artesia DAM) for a new Web-based system that will dramatically speed up access to programmes for broadcast customers in countries around the world.

    The international creator has deployed the Digital Asset Management to speed up access to television shows globally.

    The announcement was made at the National Association of Broadcasters conference, NAB 2006, the electronic media show at Las Vegas.

    The Open Text’s Artesia Digital Media Group has a major presence at the event as sponsor of the Digital Asset Management Pavilion and the DAM Theater.

    According to an official release, with this Web-based application, all of FremantleMedia’s regional offices have the ability to preview more than 1,000 hours of programming as well as new shows in more than 20 countries where FremantleMedia has production offices.

    The solution initially supports the worldwide drama department and will soon scale across other departments.

    “This is already one of our most important sales tools, letting broadcasters around the world tap into the breadth of our programming quickly and easily. We look forward to expanding the system across all of our departments,” said FremantleMedia Production executive VP production Worldwide Entertainment Rob Clark.

    An important aspect of FremantleMedia’s business is identifying and selling “formats” globally. For example, the company reviews programmes when they are aired and determines whether the programmes have potential for remarketing in other markets.

    A recent example is The Apprentice, which FremantleMedia brought to the UK and other international markets. A traditional format like The Price is Right, the world’s number one game show, took about 40 years to get to the point where it is now broadcast in 40 different countries.

    Today improved communications and digital broadcasting mean that a format like Pop Idol in the UK has reached 30 countries in three years. By using Artesia DAM, the company is compressing this time even further.

    “From the outset we were looking for a DAM solution that could meet our needs for at least the next five years. That meant it had to scale in two dimensions by volume and by the nature of the content used,” said FremantleMedia information systems & technology head Nigel Dixon.

    “Other critical factors that led to the selection of Artesia DAM were the ability to integrate into our existing systems and other products, and production deployment within a six-month timeframe. We worked closely with the Artesia team to deliver the solution on time and under budget, ” briefs Dixon.

    The initial implementation of Artesia DAM will give the company’s sales staff and broadcasters around the world immediate access to shows shortly after they are broadcast. At present, this is done by the distribution of DVDs which results in significant delays.

    The company is already seeing a significant time-to-market advantage using the new system. In addition, more than 1,000 hours of FremantleMedia’s extensive programming archive is available in Microsoft Windows Media format through the Web application.

    “FremantleMedia is leading the trend globally toward central management of program content and distribution using digital asset management along with Web-based user interfaces,” said Open Text’s Artesia Digital Media Group president Scott Bowen.

    “Across the board we’re seeing that Artesia DAM delivers significant business value, helping to lower operational costs and improve the bottom line.”

    Artesia DAM is a leading solution for managing large volumes of digital content, such as video, audio and graphics files, in global organizations. The solution helps customers manage this content more efficiently, and helps them to reduce costs, safeguard copyrights and derive new revenue streams by re- expressing and reusing existing content. It complements every phase of the video asset lifecycle including production, review and approval, distribution, and content preservation.

    The company has a cliente based which includes leading media and entertainment companies, such as Comcast, Discovery Communications, DreamWorks, HBO, and MLB.com, informs the release.

  • Reliance Info intl business president Garg to head Flag Telecom

    Reliance Info intl business president Garg to head Flag Telecom

    MUMBAI: Reliance Infocomm Ltd international business president Punit Garg has moved to Flag Telecom as its new head.

    Flag Telecom, which owns and manages an extensive optical fibre network connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US, was acquired by the Reliance Group and became a Reliance Infocomm company on 12 January 2004. Flag offers a focused range of global products, including global bandwidth, IP, internet, ethernet and co-location services.

    Garg will be replacing Patrick Gallaghar. Punit will also continue to be a member of the parent’s senior management team, while Patrick will move on to become the Flag Telecom non-executive vice chairman.

    Garg’s appointment is expected to hasten the process of assimilation for the global carrier with its parent company under the new management and put it on a faster growth trajectory.

    “Punit’s long stint at Reliance Infocomm and his understanding of its objectives and approach will be extremely beneficial for Flag Telecom, Reliance Infocomm and, our customers. The change will help us in charting out a new growth path for the global carrier,” said Flag Telecom chairman Anil Ambani.

    An engineer by training, Garg joined Reliance Infocomm in January 2001 and went on to hold a number of key leadership positions in the company. Planning and launch of fixed call fixed wireless phones, public calls office and broadband are some of the initiatives he spearheaded in Reliance Infocomm.

    Prior to joining Reliance Infocomm, Garg was Lockheed Martin Global Telecom managing director, responsible for joint ventures and business management for South Asia. He has also held senior executive positions in leading global organisations such as Comsat and Equant.

  • Motorola introduces new local content distribution system for TV

    Motorola introduces new local content distribution system for TV

    MUMBAI: Motorola, Inc. has introduced a new content distribution system that allows programmers to customise national video feeds for local audiences by inserting content at affiliate sites. The new Motorola On-Target gives programmers a new way to address different market segments by adding local information into a national broadcast.With the new Motorola On-Target system, programmers can pre-position regionalised content such as advertisements, and seamlessly insert that content during a selected local available time slot, giving viewers a customized message that is relevant to their regional area.

    The new On-Target system was demonstrated at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) tradeshow.

    The system consists of two components: An uplink management component to ingest, manage, create schedule, and distribute content, and a new downlink Integrated Receiver Decoder (IRD) to receive, store and insert customized content into the national feed on a pre-scheduled or real-time basis.

    The new Motorola Integrated Server Receiver (ISR) 4410 is an IRD with a internal 200GB hard drive. The hard drive can receive and store MPEG2 video clips, graphics and text that can be used to insert customized spots into a video feed received from a satellite uplink location. Graphics and text can be animated and composited with stored or live content, with content seamlessly switched between the live and stored feeds.

    The Motorola On-Target Control System is an open-source based server that manages content distribution, including a file queue that can send content to all Motorola ISR 4410s, a subset of the ISRs in a system, or a single device. The system also includes automated remote backup of ISR hard devices.

    In addition, the system includes an authoring station where editors can create timelines, playlists with graphics and/or text, and preview any sequence prior to distribution. The web-based application can be located at an affiliate site so that local content can be created and uploaded to the On- Target Control System for eventual playout to headend-resident ISR4410s.

    “The Motorola On-Target system delivers a complete end-to-end system for customising programmers’ national feeds at the local level and providing the facilities for value-added services. With the advent of the On-Target system, we are continuing our commitment to provide programmers with innovative solutions to leverage their investments in Motorola digital content delivery networks,” said Motorola corporate vice president and Connected Home Solutions general manager Doug Means.

  • Cellebrum.com partners with three cellcos to offer users customised background music

    Cellebrum.com partners with three cellcos to offer users customised background music

    MUMBAI: Music is one of the few features, which is being pushed aggressively by various mobile operators. Himachal Pradesh based integrated telecom VAS solution provider Cellebrum.com Pvt. Ltd has launched a customised background music (BGM) solution as its latest offering, allowing users to play music in the background during a call.

    Cellebrum.com has tied up with leading operators like IDEA Cellular, Spice Telecom and Reliance Telecom at the national level and is offering BGM to its existing subscribers.

    The VAS solution provider is also running a pilot programme for Airtel for its landline services in the Madhya Pradesh Circle.

    It is upbeat about its BGM, which is played by the operator in the background of a call. The background music is a value addition to mobile peer to peer calling wherein a subscriber is allowed to create his own ambience during a call by playing music in the background.

    This customized solution in which, a call, when answered, is accompanied by music in the background. The caller can choose his music from a variety of sounds provided.

    This solution is different from CRBT solution, where music is played
    before the call is connected. In BGM, music is played after the call is connected. Technically, it is a conference service, which involves the calling party, called party and the music playing entity, which is also, part of the conference. This entity is responsible for playing back music
    during the conversation.

    BGM has the ability to boost the ARPUs of cellular operators due to the low cost at which it is being offered. However, this cost varies from operator to operator. There are three kind of charges — the activation charge, the chosen background song and the per minute cost of the song.
    Today, over 170,000 mobile subscribers across the network of IDEA Cellular and Spice Telecom have tried using the BGM service.

    In order to use the service, the user needs to dial a prefix (say 234) before the phone number, for the call to be connected with the Music M-vironment (BGM). Without the prefix, the call will be connected as a normal phone call. Users can always change background sound at will by dialling provided IVRS (Interactive Voice Response Services) Interface.

    It is important to note that the caller has to be within the coverage area of the home network. It is an IVR based service which will not be accessible outside home network.

  • Adlabs board to meet on FM radio demerger on 22 April

    Adlabs board to meet on FM radio demerger on 22 April

    MUMBAI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) controlled Adlabs Films is holding a board meeting on 22 April to discuss the demerger of its FM radio business.

    As reported last month by Indiantelevision.com, ADAE has sought government clearance for bringing all the radio business under a division — Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd.

    The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the board will “consider the proposal for the reorganisation of the Company and demerger of its FM Radio business pro-rata to all the shareholders, pursuant to a scheme of arrangement under sections 391-394 of Companies Act, 1956.”
    According to a recent PTI report, ADAE had further increased its stake in Adlabs Films to 54.91 per cent after the acquisition of an additional 3.8 million shares.

    Reliance Land Private Limited, along with Reliance Capital Limited acquired these shares on 12 April, Adlabs Films has informed the stock exchanges.
    The mode of acquisition has been preferential allotment (conversion of warrants to equity), it said. With this latest acquisition, Reliance Land and Reliance Capital now own 21,855,000 shares aggregating to 54.91 per cent of the total paid up capital of the company.

    Reliance Land, a part of the Reliance Capital Group, last year had acquired 51 per cent controlling stake in Manmohan Shetty’s Adlabs Films, a leading motion picture processing laboratory which also runs a chain of multiplexes.