ITV

Category: News Headline

  • Kasenna PortalTV solution enables Cavalier to deploy USA’s first MPEG-4 Broadband TV

    Kasenna PortalTV solution enables Cavalier to deploy USA’s first MPEG-4 Broadband TV

    MUMBAI: The IPTV company, Kasenna has announced that Cavalier Telephone and TV, a telecommunications services provider, has gone live with the United State’s first MPEG-4-based (H.264) Broadband TV service, powered by Kasenna’s PortalTV solution.

    Kasenna PortalTV, integrated with other MPEG-4 video elements, such as video headend, encryption system, network equipment and set top boxes, has enabled Cavalier to deploy an end-to-end MPEG-4 based broadcast-quality video network.

    This will have a Triple-Play package including advanced features such as on-screen caller ID, Broadcast TV and VOD.

    According to an official release, Kasenna PortalTV combines streaming server, middleware, management, client, and content offerings into the end-to-end, pre-integrated IPTV solution. The fully interactive electronic program guide lets Broadband TV customers smoothly move through the service suite; from setting parental controls and viewing on-screen caller ID, to watching broadcast, pay-per-view and VOD programs.

    “Cavalier offers a world-class, broadcast-quality, interactive television service that gives consumers much greater degree of interactivity and much higher video quality, “said Kasenna CEO Kumar Shah. “We are delighted that Cavalier has chosen PortalTV, the industry’s first MPEG-4 based IPTV infrastructure, to deliver their customized, advanced Broadband TV services.”

    Cavalier CEO Brad Evans said, “Our mission is to deliver a superior and interactive television experience with the industry’s most advanced voice, video and data services. We are very proud to be the first service provider in the US that has rolled out MPEG-4 based Interactive Broadband TV. Kasenna and its fully-integrated PortalTV solution are key to our success – having enabled us to quickly deliver advanced, custom-branded, interactive IPTV services to multiple cities on our regional network. Furthermore, Kasenna’s open, standards-based middleware platform allows us to stay on the cutting edge with future service offerings to our customers.”

    On completion of the rollout, Broadband TV will be available to two million homes passed with its Triple Play service. In addition, Cavalier is also planning its next-generation services including TV mail, interactive programming and gaming to make Broadband TV even more entertaining and convenient, adds the release.

  • Zee-Turner switches off OCN Network in Mangalore

    Zee-Turner switches off OCN Network in Mangalore

    MUMBAI: Zee Turner Limited, the distribution arm of Zee Telefilms Ltd and Turner International (I) Pvt. Ltd, has finally switched off its bouquets of 26 channels on OCN Network in Mangalore due to non payment of its huge outstanding to Zee Turner and non signing of fresh agreement after expiry of earlier one.

    Zee Turner has been in negotiations with OCN for past eight months to clear its outstanding and to sign a fresh subscription agreement declaring its accurate subscriber base as the old agreement. It was found that OCN had been serving many more subscribers and households as compared to the number of subscriber households declared to Zee Turner.

    The decision to switch off the operator came in wake of fall out of negotiations and the operator’s constant abstinence from clearing its outstanding and signing the requisite agreement.

    While rest of Mangalore on CCC and ICN’s network continues to enjoy the channels of Zee Turner, close to 50,000 subscribers of OCN Network are deprived of channels like CNN, Zee Cinema, Zee TV, HBO, Cartoon Network, Pogo due to default on OCN’s part.

    Zee Turner Ltd. CEO Arun Poddar said, “We are concerned about our viewers and still trying to negotiate with OCN and have kept all our channels of communication open. We have shared an extremely healthy relationship with OCN in past and are positive of resolving the issue in an amicable manner.”

    It is to be noted that as per the regulation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), if a cable operator drops a channel or bouquet of channels from his network, he is required to reduce the price of such channel/bouquet to be charged from his customers/households. The viewers are, therefore, entitled and may ask for reduction in price from their monthly cable bill if these channels are missing due to such switch off.

  • NDTV India pulls the curtain down on crime shows

    NDTV India pulls the curtain down on crime shows

    NEW DELHI: NDTV India, the Hindi news channel from the Prannoy Roy-promoted NDTV Ltd stable, has decided to say goodbye to crime shows. Instead, it will focus more on investigative and topical features.

    So, out go daily shows like Dial 100 and weekly FIR. In their place come more socially relevant programmes like exploring the DNA of increasing number of suicides by farmers in the Vidharbha region of India. Even in Metro FIR, the crime segment would be dropped.

    “Our strength has always been serious and topical features and we are going to exploit it further. Crime shows and sensational stuff is not our cup of tea,” NDTV India managing editor Dibang told journalists here today, explaining the future roadmap for the channel.

    According to Dibang, a print medium journalist-turned-TV newsperson, feedback has shown that crime shows might give ratings, but do have a tendency to pander to sensationalism and be intrusive in the personal lives of people.

    “We want to set ourselves apart from tabloid (news) channels and this is not something that we have realized suddenly or over night,” he explained.

    However, this realization doesn’t take away the fact that NDTV India, which at one time was seen as the contender for the top spot in the Hindi news space, has slipped to No. 3 position, while Aaj Tak continues to rule as the market leader. Star News has been occupying the No. 2 slot for some time now.

    Quizzed on this, Dibang, who came to NDTV from Aaj Tak, acknowledges the recent turn of events, but stands by the theory that NDTV India would rather dish out serious and thought-provoking shows than ones that may bring in the ratings in the short term at the cost of assaulting viewers’ sensibilities.

    “We have always been a pro-active channel and given the regulatory environment and policies being proposed by the government, we’d prefer to do away with crime shows and unnecessary sensationalism. NDTV India is not going to be TRP-linked, but become an example for self-regulation,” he counter punched.

    As an alibi, he also dished out some figures like declining viewership of crime shows, most of which are aired at 11 p.m. on TV news channels. “Few years back, the novelty factor of crime shows brought in audiences, more than prime time in the evening. But recent data shows viewership of such shows have fallen as the Hindi-speaking audience is slowly maturing,” Dibang said.

    Does that mean NDTV India would not cover crime events at all. “We’d cover crime as done by newspapers, depending on an event’s merit,” Dibang explained, adding issues that affect the common man would be more aggressively taken up.

    It needs to be seen whether discerning viewers in the HSM flock to NDTV India or not.

  • ‘Mid Day’ to launch in Bangalore on its 27th anniversary

    ‘Mid Day’ to launch in Bangalore on its 27th anniversary

    MUMBAI: While Mid Day is celebrating its 27th anniversary with a special issue on 27 June. This year, the anniversary celebrations are doubled as it will also launch in Bangalore on the same day.

    This time, it is not just another anniversary issue that’s coming out. After 27 years of chronicling Mumbai on the move, Mid Day is now on the move as it hits Bangalore as a separate edition.

    An official comminuque states that since Bangalore has a large English-reading middle class, which is out and about during the day and as it also has significant amount of retail advertisers in the market, it makes sense for Mid Day to target Bangalore.

    Mid Day’s Mumbai anniversary is a mega 264 pages issue. It’s the single largest issue in terms of the number of pages that a newspaper has ever done in the country. The anniversary issue has six supplements and each is highlighting fours hours of a day. It will cover Mumbai round the clock at usual places in odd hours and odd places in usual hours, exhibiting the soul of Mumbai.

    Mid Day will also launches its E-paper on the anniversary. www.mid-day.com has gone a whole lot ‘E-sier’ and much more ‘E-xciting’ after undergoing a face lift. The E-paper will be free for the readers.

  • Anil Ambani’s Flag Telecom ties up with OmanTel for telecom, internet link

    Anil Ambani’s Flag Telecom ties up with OmanTel for telecom, internet link

    MUMBAI: Flag Telecom, a Reliance Infocomm company, is stepping up its global operations. The network support and communication services company has signed up with Oman Telecommunications Company (OmanTel) for providing an internet transit point between West Asia and Africa.

    Flag Telecom would also lay a marine cable for the Oman-based company. Flag Telecom executive president Punit Garg and Omantel executive president Mohammed Bin Ali Al Wahaibi signed the agreement.

    Internet services along with lease circuit services and the Multi-Party Labelling System (MPLS), known to be the fastest electronic link, would begin from September to 12 countries, including the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

    “One of the agreements is to make Oman a link between Africa and the Middle East in the Flag’s loop cable project, relating to the extension of communication links to Egypt and Hong Kong via marine cables with multiple landings in the Gulf region,” says an official release.

    Omantel will seek to extend the African cable through a network of marine cables to converge at Seeb and Khasab in Oman.

    The second agreement, to start in September, will be to make the country an internet transit point, catering to 12 countries including members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It will also provide lease circuit services as well as multi-party labelling system, the fastest in electronic telecommunication technology.

    “The signing of the MoUs was part of Omantel’s keenness to boost its investments and to make the country a global communication hub,” says Al Wahaibi .

    Flag Telecom has gained from a strong demand for its bandwidth by broadband service providers across the globe. In 2005, it signed major contracts for additional capacity with international carriers and a global internet content provider.

  • Mobile content, digital lifestyle applications take centre stage in Singapore

    Mobile content, digital lifestyle applications take centre stage in Singapore

    MUMBAI: Convergence has brought together a showcase of overlapping technologies between the media, telecommunications and IT industries at BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia and EnterpriseIT.

    From infrastructure to deployment, the shows gathered vendors with applications and solutions at different stages of the value chain for convergent technologies such as IPTV, broadcasting to handhelds and mobile entertainment. This year’s events hosted 2,339 exhibiting companies from 67 countries/regions.
     
    A total of 63,814 international attendees, of which 49 per cent were from overseas, saw the latest products and services birthed out of convergence that are expected to change the way consumers and businesses will use and interact with electronic devices. Attendance at this year’s event has increased by five per cent from 2005.

    Singapore Exhibition Services chief executive Stephen Tan said, “The convergence of technology has spawned off a whole new range of exciting digital lifestyle applications many of which were seen on the show floor. Clearly, the focus at this year’s exhibitions is on content for handhelds and the race is on among content providers to come up with new and exciting applications that will enhance mobility for both consumers and businesses. The increase in attendance at BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia and EnterpriseIT and reflects a surge in industry confidence as convergence becomes reality.”

    Digital lifestyle showcase

    Ericsson showcased a video dating service where one can record a personal video message and send to new acquaintances, and a video karaoke where the user can call to see other singers and rate them as well as sing along to text and music and record it on video.

    On display at NTT Docomo was a technology that allows pet owners to see their pets as well as dispense food into the feeding bowl through their mobile phones. MyHeart by Philips Research Laboratories monitors a person’s health using intelligent biomedical clothes. The data is then sent via a wireless personal area network to a mobile phone or PDA and from there to a health care provider.

    Other mobile lifestyle applications at CommunicAsia included Bidshot – the first ever auction website that allows members to buy, and sell through their mobile phones, XFinance which is a mobile financial management tool which provides an overview of all your income, as well as Xovulation which is a mobile family planning tool.

    At BroadcastAsia, Innoxius Technologies showcased a gadget that turns a PDA into a multi-system mobile digital TV receiver for standards such as DVB-H, DVB-T, T-DMB, DAB and enhanced packet mode DAB standards in various spectrum ranges.

    French exhibitor Visiware launches the first triple-play gaming offer available on TV, mobile and broadband. Games can be played on the TV at home then continued on the mobile or internet. BroadcastAsia also hosted a DVB-H, DMB and Qualcomm’s MediaFLO feature, which demonstrated the capabilities of each standard to bring content onto handhelds.

    Launch pad for international players

    BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia and EnterpriseIT remain an important platform for international players to reach Asia’s markets. This year, China’s participation at CommunicAsia grew by 45 per cent.

    “Participation in premier industry events, such as CommunicAsia, continue to be a good platform for Huawei to not only reach out to key influencers in the region, but also to deepen our relationship with existing and potential key customers. We have participated in CommunicAsia for more than five years and look forward to next year’s show,” said Huawei Technologies Asia Pacific vice-president Liu Jianfeng.

    The Korean presence on the BroadcastAsia show floor has doubled from last year. Korean Broadcasting Commission technology director Park Jun-Seon said, “Last year’s event was very successful in introducing DMB as one of the latest platforms for convergence services and this year we are here to showcase latest applications available through DMB. BroadcastAsia is a must attend event for breakthrough technologies such as DMB.”

    The exhibitions are seeing strong participation from Europe. The European ICT Pavilion, which was at CommunicAsia for the first time, provided an exciting snapshot of new, leading-edge technologies, products and applications for audio-visual, e-Government, e-health, e-security, and telecommunications.

    A strategic meeting place

    For many exhibitors, BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia and EnterpriseIT were ideal platforms to showcase their latest offerings, network and meet target buyers.

    “We have found the show to be one of the means to launch and showcase our new wireline and wireless service offerings and solutions to our customers around this region. It is also a very good platform for our executives from across the globe to meet customers in this region and understand their needs so as to better our products for them,” said Ericsson Telecommunications Pte Ltd head of communications (Singapore) Jacinta Ong.

    Echolab was represented at BroadcastAsia two years back through their agents. However, this year the USA-based company considered the event important for them to book a space on their own. Echolab regional sales manager William Gray said, “BroadcastAsia presented us with a wonderful opportunity to reach some countries that are not easy to reach from the USA and also to rope in potential distributors.”

    Commenting on the CommunicAsia Summit, Lucent Technologies Singapore CTO South East Asia region Madhusudan Pandya said, “In-depth discussions on the most exciting and up-to-the-minute technologies, business solutions, and revenue-generating applications made the summit exceptional.”

    “I find CommunicAsia going beyond its name. It has truly become an international event, granting participants the world over to connect and converge more effectively and efficiently in a short duration of three days,” he added.

    Trade visitors armed with a $4.5 billion sourcing budget came looking to purchase the latest products and services and explore potential business alliances.

    “We are here to look at the different types of broadcasting technologies and compare systems to find out which ones will suit us the best. We intend to upgrade our facilities and plan to buy equipment worth millions of dollars,” said Setsiri Trisaksri from the Royal Thai Army Radio and TV, Thailand.

    “I’m a regular visitor here and this is my fourth show in a row. We are looking for small and medium enterprises, which develop niche technology. Here we find these people and we partner with them. We have been very successful in doing that and that’s why we love coming to CommunicAsia. It’s a great meeting place,” said Precision Electronics Ltd India president Nikhil Kanodia.

  • IBN 7, Fox in film marketing alliance

    MUMBAI: News channel IBN 7 has entered into an alliance with 20th Century Fox to give a marketing push to the upcoming film Museum ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com this is the first time ever that a Hollywood film will be released in India solely in Hindi.

    IBN 7 has organised a contest to accompany the release of the film. The IBN 7 – Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar Contest will provide people the chance to participate and win tickets to the premieres in Delhi and Mumbai as well as movie tickets across the country. In order to enter the contest one has to simply keep watching IBN 7 and/or log onto ibnlive.com for more information. Viewers can participate in the contest by either messaging ‘Museum’ to 2622 or logging onto ibnlive.com to win exciting prizes.

    IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh says, “This is the first time IBN 7 has joined hands with an international banner as renowned as 20th Century Fox. What is more unique is the fact that a film like Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar is being released in India not in English but in Hindi alone. It’s great to be a part of such an endeavour and to promote the film amongst Hindi speaking audiences.”

    CNN-IBN and IBN 7 director marketing and online projects Dilip Venkatraman says, “IBN 7 is excited to enter into this alliance with 20th Century Fox. This venture is the first of it’s kind, whereby a Hollywood film will be released only in Hindi and not English. In addition to the movie, we have launched a beguiling contest that will create curiosity and eagerness around the film. We are sure this partnership will benefit both the groups and will encourage such endeavours in the future as well. ”

    Fox India marketing manager George John says, “We are delighted to partner with IBN 7 for introducing Museum ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar in India. The contest ‘IBN 7 – Museum Ke Andar Phas Gaya Sikandar Contest’ will further add to the excitement by offering free premiere tickets to the movie. We are confident that the viewers in India will find both the film and the contest extremely entertaining and enthralling”.

  • Lycos reports jump in visits to football online sites

    Lycos reports jump in visits to football online sites

    MUMBAI: The online entertainment destination for creators and consumers of quality content, Lycos has announced data from The Lycos 50. It is the 50 most popular Internet search results for the week ending 17 June 2006.

    In The Lycos 50 top 10, the search results for football sites is at number nine, up 59 per cent over the previous week.

    Interest in the 2006 Fifa World Cup soccer tournament has driven World Cup in terms of searches.

    Also scoring big online is American Idol reject Elliott Yamin at number 21 generating 667 per cent more online interest than winner Taylor Hicks, who actually dropped off that week’s list.

    In terms of search, poker was at number one. Britney Spears, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and MySpace are also in the top 10.

  • CBS announces 15 participants for ‘Rock Star: Supernova’

    CBS announces 15 participants for ‘Rock Star: Supernova’

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster CBS has announced the names of the 15 performers for the music based reality show Rock Star: Supernova. In India, the show will air on Star World from next month.

    The participants will vie to be the new lead singer of Supernova, a new-band formed by drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Cre) with bassist Jason Newsted (Metallica) and guitarist Gilby Clarke (Guns N’ Roses).

    After the winning singer is selected on the show’s finale in September, the band will record an album. The album will then be released in the fall before the band embarks on a world tour starting early next year.

    The previous edition saw rock band INXS choose J.D. Fortune as their new frontman.

  • Discovery US is one of ‘Best Places to Work in IT’: Survey

    Discovery US is one of ‘Best Places to Work in IT’: Survey

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster Discovery has announced that publication IDG’s Computerworld, the ‘Voice of IT Management’ has selected the company as one of its ‘100 Best Places to Work in IT’.

    This honour is part of the weekly IT publication’s 13th annual Best Places to Work in IT survey, which is featured in the June 19th issue of Computerworld and online at Computerworld.com.

    Since 1994, Computerworld’s annual “Best Places to Work in IT” feature has ranked the top 100 work environments for technology professionals, based on a questionnaire regarding company offerings in categories such as benefits, diversity, career development, training and retention.

    In addition, this year Computerworld surveyed more than 27,000 IT workers for the list, and their responses factored heavily in determining the rankings. Discovery’s selection was based upon a survey administered to Technology & Media Services employees earlier this year.

    Discovery says that it focusses on creating a world class work environment that promotes productivity, enthusiasm and creativity. This enables it to deliver high quality media products and services to its global audience. The fact that Computerworld has acknowledged this long-standing commitment allows Discovery to recruit the most talented and dynamic workforce in the industry.

    Discovery adds that enhancing employees’ work/life balance is one of the six prongs of its corporate strategy along with expanding into new technologies and growing internationally.

    In 1999, Discovery launched its signature LifeWorks@Discovery Programme to address the needs of the workforce. LifeWorks@Discovery focuses on family support, health and wellness, flexibility and the community. The company also offers numerous training and career development courses designed to promote individual and team development through its Discovery University programme.