ITV

Category: News Headline

  • Star TV makes fun of Zee Cinema

    Star TV makes fun of Zee Cinema

    Star TV is taking potshots at its former ally Zee Telefilms. It has been airing an interstitial on its Star Movies channel which takes a dig at Zee TV’s pay TV Hindi movie channel channel Zee Cinema.

    The interstitial starts with a shot of an office building with a neon sign similar in all respects to the logo used by Zee Cinema except for a small change: the brand it is advertising ‘Bee Cinema’. An executive in the Bee Cinema office is shown throwing darts at a dartboard blindfolded.

    A voiceover tells the viewer that unlike other channels (Bee Cinema), Star Movies does not show its viewers movies they would not like to see. The interstitial goes on to tell viewers to log on to the startv.com website and vote for their favourite movies in the pick of the week section. Star promises that it will will then show these movies according to the viewer’s preferences and in order of their popularity.

    While the introduction of this scheme is commendable, Star’s swipe at Zee at this juncture seems surprising. For one, we all thought that the trench warfare between Star TV and Zee TV was a thing of the past. But apparently it does not seem to be.

    According to some inside sources Star’s move stems from a desire by the Star Network to get back at Zee for what many insiders believe was Zee’s hand in the controversial Channel [V] obscenity case.

    Others say that the mocking interstitial is just a teaser for the to-be-launched Star TV Hindi movie channel Star Box Office. The ground is being prepared for the launch of the classic-movies-cum new-movies channel. It is to be seen how and whether Zee will react and if we are in for another war between two industry partners-turned-rivals.

  • FremantleMedia to make shows available for net download

    FremantleMedia to make shows available for net download

    MUMBAI: Format creator and distributor FremantleMedia and Arts Alliance Media have signed a deal for users to download episodes to their PCs and certain portable devices and view them either on a rental basis or keep them on their hard drives to watch whenever they want.

    Fremantlemedia has granted rights to Arts Alliance Media-which provides digital film distribution services in Europe – to make up to 200 hours of classic comedy available to UK broadband internet users. Programming will be sourced from the FremantleMedia and talkbackThames catalogues and will include hit programmes such as Men Behaving Badly, Goodnight Sweetheart and Tommy Cooper.

    The content will be available later this year via a dedicated website as well as via Arts Alliance Media’s download partners which currently includes download and DVD rental site, Lovefilm and AOL, which has over 2.2 million members in the UK, of which more than 1.3 million are broadband members. Additional partners for download distribution will be announced over the coming months.

    FremantleMedia Enterprises CEO David Ellender, says, “This deal represents a central part of our new media strategy which involves us engaging with the consumer across a number of new platforms that are being opened up at present. Arts Alliance Media is the leading download company for the studios and has a reputation and track record second to none in this field. We are very excited about establishing a relationship with them as they move into the TV sector.”

    Arts Alliance Media president Mark Livingstone, said, “We are pleased to be the first to partner with FremantleMedia in a deal which further establishes Arts Alliance Media’s reputation as the premier content provider for download services. FremantleMedia’s content of classic TV comedy adds to our extensive library of feature titles which we look forward to rolling out to our existing and future partners.”

  • Mark Burnett plays ‘Devil’s Advocate’ for Sci Fi Channel

    Mark Burnett plays ‘Devil’s Advocate’ for Sci Fi Channel

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster Sci Fi Channel has unveiled a slate of original series and miniseries. Reality TV guru Mark Burnett The Apprentice and Dreamworks Television will make Devil’s Advocate.

    This is a one-hour conspiracy thriller about a theology professor who is thrust into the world of secret societies, religious espionage and genetic research.

    Hired by a global corporation, but motivated by his own personal search for the truth, the professor forms an eclectic team of ‘devil’s advocates’ who are charged with deciding whether bizarre cases can be explained naturally, or whether there are larger, more supernatural forces at work.

    The channel will also unveil a miniseries Outpost. It centers on a group of private explorers in the near future, that takes over an abandoned Nasa research base after the government has abandoned space exploration as too expensive. The intrepid explorers travel to a distant planet in our solar system to establish a potentially lucrative off-world colony. But, the real adventure begins when they discover an ancient artifact buried deep beneath the planet’s surface.

  • EU court reverses EC decision on approval of Sony BMG deal

    EU court reverses EC decision on approval of Sony BMG deal

    MUMBAI: In what has come as a shock to the global music industry, The Court of First Instance of the European Communities annulled a decision made by the European Commission a couple of years ago.

    That decision had given the nod to the merger of Japan’s Sony and Germany’s Bertelsmann. The ruling marks the first time that the courts have overturned a commission decision to clear a deal. It could affect other acquisitions in the music space. Warner and EMI are belieevd to be talking to merge.

    Media reports indicate that Sony BMG which is the world’s second largest music company has to return to the European Commission within a week to seek new approval. The EC will decide in a month’s time whether to approve the merger while considering current market conditions. The 2004 decision was annulled on the argument that regulators did not show whether a monopolistic situation would be created in the event of the merger or that there wasn’t one at the time of the merger.

    In a statement Bertelsmann said, “Today’s judgment does not affect the validity of the Sony BMG joint venture, which has been up and running since August 2004.” If the EC does not aprove the merger things will get tricky.

    A suit had been filed by Impala, the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, in December 2004 due to concern over dominance of the market by firms like Sony BMG, a newly created joint venture.

  • Comedy Central enhances its broadband channel Motherload

    Comedy Central enhances its broadband channel Motherload

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster Comedy Central is bulking up its broadband channel MotherLoad with a new serving of programming.

    The network’s new original broadband development slate will boost the line-up to include more than 20 original shows

    MotherLoad was launched in November 2005. In the past six months, Comedy Central has unveiled an extensive line-up of original programming including animation, live-action narratives, topical stand-up performances and sketch comedies.

    This year also marked, the development of the channel’s first original multi-platform stand-up series Live At Gotham which premiered as a topical stand-up series on MotherLoad and is now debuting on-air on 21 July, making this the first original broadband programme to migrate to the network’s linear channel.

    One show is the 10 episode Balloonheads. This series features the adventures of various characters who have balloons for heads. Baxter & McGuire is an animated buddy-comedy. It chronicles the adventures of Baxter and McGuire, the closest of pals who never leave each other’s side.

    Good God is a sitcom like The Office about God’s workplace environment. Moonwalk 1986 deals with the adventures of two astronauts on the moon and their banal conversations during missions.

  • Animal Planet to showcase ‘Great Savannah Race’

    Animal Planet to showcase ‘Great Savannah Race’

    MUMBAI: The great wildebeest migration in East Africa is an annual feature. For over a million years, 1.4 million wildebeest and 200,000 zebras and gazelles undertake a dramatic journey from the vast open plains of the Serengeti to the champagne coloured hills of Kenya’s Masai Mara.

    Animal Planet uses cutting edge technology to show this natural wonder. The event will be presented as a wildlife reality show, following the million-plus participants as they run the frantic 800-kilometer Great Savannah Race. The three part series will air on 17, 18 and 19 July at 8 pm.

    Why do the animals carry out this yearly migration? Is it the wind that guides them? Or a sixth sense which leads them in search of rain-ripened grass? And, who will survive the journey and cross the finish line first? The show filmed in high-definition sets out to answer all these questions. The journey begins in Tanzania with veterinarian Patrick Garcia and scientists Anja Brinch Jensen and Sophie Grange.

    Their first goal is to fit 10 animals (seven wildebeests and three zebras) with collars so they can be tracked throughout the epic journey via satellite. The collars, equipped with miniature Global Positioning System (GPS) monitors, satellite transmitters and a VHF radio system, allows the participants to be located within a radius of 1 meter. With the help of Technical Coordinator Sébastien Lafont, the scientists hope to gain a better understanding of the great migration which will help them preserve the fragile equilibrium of the eco-system.

    The long and dangerous trek is fraught with danger. More than 250,000 animals will die along the way from sheer exhaustion, and the migration is relentlessly tracked by Africa’s great predators – lions, cheetahs, hyenas, vultures and crocodiles – waiting for an opportunity to strike weak prey. Most dramatic of all is the moment when the migration arrives at the crocodile infested Mara River, which must be crossed in order to reach the rich grazing. As the bravest takes the initial plunge into the swirling currents, thousands follow – many to inevitable death.

    The series follows the daily trials and tribulations of the 10 main characters, all of whom have been earmarked by the scientists as those most likely to complete the journey. Who amongst the main competitors is predicted to win the race? The young male bursting with energy; the old, yet experienced veteran or the female and her newborn calf?

    For the first time, The Great Savannah Race follows the vast migration from the start to the finish line, capturing all the drama, mystery, intrigue, tragedy and heroic deeds of this truly epic saga.

  • Eurodata TV to provide research on Pakistan channels

    Eurodata TV to provide research on Pakistan channels

    MUMBAI: Eurodata TV Worlwide has announced a new partnership with Gallup in Pakistan to provide TV ratings. This includes ratings by programme or by quarter hours for more than 35 new TV channels in Pakistan including cable and satellite ones.

    The audience results are available from January 2000 and socio-demographic profiles may also be provided for the standard targets (sex, age, income). The Pakistanese audiovisual landscape is dominated by the Pakistan Television Corporation, a public television group, with a 77.2 per cent total audience share in 2005. With a viewership of more than 62 million, its main channel PTV is the market leader with an audience share of 57.7 per cent.

    The best audiences are performed by generalist channels: PTV, ATV and Star Plus, followed by KTN, in Sindhi language and GEO composed of 2 channels: an entertainment and a news channel.

    Last year, the number of cable TV channels increased notably thanks to the diffusion of regional channels, which primarily broadcast in regional languages.

    Among the programmes with commercial breaks, the most popular one is the series Sassi based on a love story relating to the Sindh province. In 2005, this series allowed PTV to reach a record audience of more than 25 million people.

    This new agreement shows that Eurodata TV Worldwide wants to expand its activities to all the countries as they equipped themselves with an audience measurement system. Since 1991 and the launch of Eurodata TV Worlwide, partnerships with audience measurement companies across the whole world are multiplying and constantly enlarging the access to audiences results worldwide for its customers, TV channels, producers, distributors, studios, medias agencies and rights managers.

    Created by Médiamétrie, Eurodata TV Worldwide distributes programming and audience information, based on its partnership with the national institutes operating people meter systems throughout the world.

  • Zee TV to defend turf with ‘Cinestar ki Khoj’, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge’

    Zee TV to defend turf with ‘Cinestar ki Khoj’, ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge’

    MUMBAI: Zee TV is planning to launch the second season of its reality talent hunt show Zee Cinestar Ki Khoj in September-October 2006. The channel also has plans to bring back the 2006-2007 edition of its landmark property, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge, this year itself.

    “Zee TV will be launching the second edition of its reality talent hunt Cine Star Ki Khoj. The channel is targeting September-October for the launch of the new season. Zee will be taking the property to the market very soon. Also, inspired by the success of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa series, the channel will be bringing back the flagship property Challenge this year,” says a source close to Zee.

    When contacted for confirmation of the developments, Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra agreed that plans were on to bring back Cine Star Ki Khoj and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge. However, he was quick to add that no time frame had been fixed as yet on the launch.

    “We have plans to launch Cine Star Ki Khoj’s second season this year. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge may also come back in 2006. But, we are yet to finalise the details,” says Mehra.

    According to reliable sources, Zee has awarded the production duties of Cinestar Ki Khoj 2 to Optimystix Entertainment. The production house has earlier produced the Manoj Bajpai-anchored gameshow Kam Ya Zyaada for Zee TV. The winning couple of the contest will be awarded title roles in a movie.

    Race, the movie which stars the winners of the first season, is presently nearing completion, according to a Zee TV executive. Zee has associated with Subhash Ghai’s Mukta Arts for the film. Zee owns the world rights for the film while Mukta owns the India theatrical rights.

    THE STRATEGY
    Why would Zee TV exhaust all its key properties in the last quarter of the calendar year? Though settled comfortably in the second spot behind Star Plus in the Hindi General Entertainment Channel (GEC) space, the channel is in no mood to rest on its laurels. Reason? Competitors are gearing up to launch some key prime time properties in order to set off a fight-back.

    Sony Entertainment Television will be launching the Indian version of the popular international reality show Big Brother in November this year. The upcoming Champions Trophy, to be telecast on Max and Sab, will also be there in the running for the prime time stakes as the matches will be played Day/Night.

    Star One, on the other hand, has already announced its intention to launch the second seasons of two of its most successful properties Naach Baliye and Remix. However, the immediate priority for Zee TV would be to beef up its 8 pm slot, which is presently occupied by the long running soap Tumhari Disha. The channel will wind up Tumhari Disha in the first half of August with a new prime time property Dulhan.

    The latest Tam data for C&S 4+, HSM, shows that, the rest of the Zee TV properties have already established in their respective time bands. As per the Tam figures provided by the channel for the period of 3 July to 10 July, Saath Phere has recorded a rating of 6.54 TVR in the Zee TV charts, followed by Kasamh Se at 6.11 TVR. In the 8:30 pm slot, the soap Jab Love Hua has recorded a rating of 2.4 TVR. Shabaash India, at 10:30 pm, has delivered a rating of 2.7 TVR, while the 10 pm show Johny Aala Re scored 2.4 TVR. The Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’iL Champs is averaging at 2.7 TVR.

  • Lionsgate expands into television syndication business

    Lionsgate expands into television syndication business

    MUMBAI: US independent film studio Lionsgate has acquired television distributor Debmar-Mercury.

    Helmed by Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, the company will continue to operate under the Debmar-Mercury banner as a wholly-owned subsidiary.

    Debmar-Mercury recently completed a successful test of Tyler Perry’s TV shows (Diary Of A Mad Black Woman, Madea’s Family Reunion and the upcoming Daddy’s Little Girl), the comedy series House Of Payne with select major market stations representing a cross section of key station groups. Lionsgate’s acquisition of Debmar-Mercury extends the company’s relationship with Tyler Perry across not only feature film and video product but original television programming, as well.

    The acquisition follows on the heels of Lionsgate’s successful move into international feature film and library self-distribution, through the October 2005 acquisition of UK-based distributor Redbus, which was renamed Lionsgate UK. It also creates a major new distribution portal for Lionsgate by giving it the capacity to syndicate its own television programming and feature film packages as well as creating a new television distribution revenue stream from third-party franchise properties.

    Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer says, “We again have the opportunity to combine our resources with a culturally similar, entrepreneurial company that is a leader in its market segment and whose principals we know well.

    “Debmar-Mercury has become one of the leading independent distributors in the industry. With our fiscal 2007 slate of nine prime time television series, the acquisition of Debmar-Mercury’s television distribution capabilities across new and traditional media outlets is a natural growth opportunity for our content business.”

    Feltheimer noted that the acquisition continues to further Lionsgate’s game plan of broadening its distribution footprint and aggregating rights to important content and properties.

  • Nat Geo Intl, Singapore EDB invite entries for documentary fund

    Nat Geo Intl, Singapore EDB invite entries for documentary fund

    MUMBAI: Asian stories for a global audience! National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) together with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) invite Asia’s filmmakers to submit programme proposals for the fifth season of the NGCI-EDB Documentary Fund 2006.

    The objective of the NGCI-EDB Documentary Fund is to seek out and groom production talent the region has to offer, as well as facilitate the production of global quality documentaries made in Asia.

    NGCI is primarily looking for one-hour, one-off documentaries but will consider short series of up to three episodes. This documentary fund is open to Asia-based companies and filmmakers and proposal submissions guidelines are available on www.ngcasia.com/asiafilmmaker.

    Previous seasons have received entries from countries like India and Bhutan. It has also inspired Asian films such as Body Snatchers of Thailand. This film won Best Documentary at the Asian Television Awards 2004. In that same year, Kung Fu Dragons of Wudang won World Bronze Medal at the New York Film Festivals. More recently, Hiss of Death was a finalist at the prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival.

    This year, NGCI will commission 11 hours of programming. Filmmakers intending to participate and receive support from the NGCI-EDB Documentary Fund are required to submit programme proposal ideas that challenge, surprise as well as compel viewers to re-think the way we view the modern world. These works have to be dramatic stories with strong central characters and portrayed through innovative storytelling.

    NGCI executive VP, poduction Bryan Smith, said, “We have definitely noticed a flourishing of productions dealing with Asian themes and topics since we embarked on this project four years ago. With greater proficiency in filmmaking, we see more sophisticated storytelling and well-crafted documentaries.

    “We are confident that the NGCI-EDB Documentary Fund, showcased as ShowReal Asia has aided in boosting the region’s filmmaking industry and we certainly hope that its continued success will pave the way for more filmmakers in Asia to showcase their talents on a global platform in the years to come.”

    Economic Development Board director, Infocomms and Media, Quek Swee Kuan says, “Over the past four seasons, we have seen Asia’s best filmmakers produce award-winning documentaries that captured the global audience. EDB is proud to be part of this partnership with NGCI that has helped cultivate and grow the creative talent base in Singapore. This initiative will continue to push the standards of documentary filmmaking here, and bring us closer to our strategic intent of developing Singapore into a media hub.”

    Submissions have to reach NGCI by 4 September. Following the announcement of the shortlisted candidates on 20 September, a producer’s master workshop will be organised from 4 to 6 October. NGCI and EDB will announce the winning commissioned projects on 6 October.

    Selected grantees can showcase their works through National Geographic Channel’s global reach of up to 290 million viewers in 164 countries as well as of a long-term creative opportunity with the Channel.

    As with previous years, this year’s selected talents from ShowReal Asia will be mentored by National Geographic Channel’s producers.