Category: News Headline

Outlook Group to co-publish ‘Insight Travel Guides’ for Indian market

MUMBAI: The Outlook Publishing Group and APA Publications of Singapore have entered into a co-publishing agreement to publish the Insight range of international travel guides for the Indian market.

The Insight Guide series, established in 1970 and known for their photography and incisive text, will be priced by Outlook for the Indian market, thus enabling outbound Indian travellers to buy practical and easy-to-use travel guides and plan their journey according to their own needs.

The range of international titles will be selected by Outlook Publishing, based on the travel destinations most frequented by Indian travellers. In the first year, more than 30 international titles are expected to be introduced into the Indian market under the Outlook Traveller series. The guides will cover both countries and cities. The first few titles of the new Outlook Travel Guides series are likely to hit bookshops by July this year.

APA Publications managing director Jeremy Westwood said, “I am truly delighted that APA has formed this association with Outlook Publishing. Thanks to Outlook’s excellent and wide ranging sales and marketing operations throughout India, our guidebooks will now reach the widest possible audience in the fast growing Indian market. In their own publishing Outlook shows the same dedication to quality that has always been a feature of Insight, and that makes Outlook the perfect partner for this co- publishing venture.”

Outlook Group publisher Mahesh Peri added, “By offering the more than seven million outbound travellers, growing at more than 12 per cent each year, travel guides with great content at prices which are within the reach of Indians and not dollar denominated, the Outlook Group hopes to help nurture Indian travellers who are better informed when they visit foreign destinations.”

Outlook Group also publishes Outlook Traveller and Outlook Traveller Getaways series.

June 8, 2006
The 18th Annual Miss Asia USA Pageant to premiere on ImaginAsian TV

MUMBAI: ImaginAsian TV has announced that it will premiere the 18th Annual Miss Asia USA Pageant on 25 June.

ImaginAsian is a 24-hour Asian American television network.

Few weeks ago, ImaginAsian TV network along with Charter Communications, a broadband communications company, had sponsored the 18th Annual Miss Asia USA Pageant in California.

ImaginAsian TV SVP of programming and production David Chu said, “We are delighted to be able to telecast nationally for the first time the Miss Asia USA Pageant.

“This pageant is a fun event that not only showcases the talent and beauty of its participants, but also celebrates a mix of cultures with a dynamic line-up of musical and dance performances.”

“We were delighted to partner with ImaginAsian TV in sponsoring the Miss Asia USA Pageant and also producing this important programming,” said Charter’s Los Angeles systems VP and GM Wendy Rasmussen. “Charter serves some of the most vibrant Asian communities in Southern California and we are always looking for unique programming to meet their needs.”

With 28 participants representing countries within the Asian continent, the show was hosted by Rob Fukuzaki, KABC-TV Sports Anchor and Reshma Dordi, Miss L.A. India 1989.

The event was graced with celebrity judges including Bai Ling (Anna & The King; VH 1’s But Can They Sing?) and Benjamin Salisbury (The Nanny). Additionally, performances included R&B singer Natalise, Filipino American hip-hop act The Basco Brothers, bellydancers the Bellytwins, as well as the Punjabside International Bhangra Team.

The Pageant will air at 5 pm (PT)/ 8 pm (ET), followed by a presentation at 10 pm (PT)/ 1 am (ET), respectively.

June 8, 2006
Mid-Day Radio Go 92.5 relaunches as Radio One 92.5

MUMBAI: Radio Mid-Day Go 92.5 FM has undergone a change in its brand identity as well as positioning of the FM channel. From a niche player, Go 92.5 FM is set to create a mark as a mass player. Towards that end the station has undergone a name change to Radio One.

Radio One is a Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide venture.

Earlier this year, BBC Worldwide Holdings B.V. entered into a deal with Mid-Day Multimedia Ltd to invest Rs 318.5 million for a 20 per cent stake in Radio Mid Day West (India) Pvt Ltd.The venture has bagged licenses to operate FM stations in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune. While the Mumbai station is operational, other metros like Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi will go on air in the next few months.

Interestingly, one of the radio brands from the BBC Worldwide stable is called BBC Radio 1. BBC Radio Service also runs BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Five Live in the UK.

BBC Radio 1 specialises in popular music and targets the 16-24 age bracket. It was launched in September 1967.

“With Radio Mid-Day becoming a national player in seven major metros around the country, it was only natural that we would evolve what we were doing in Mumbai into what is going to be a robust national play,” says Radio Midday CEO Rajesh Tahil.

“As a single city player, being niche made sense, but a national presence gives us the opportunity to go back to the drawing board and look at opportunities to shed our niche image and broaden our markets, both in terms of audience and revenue,” Tahil adds.

Commenting on the opportunities that the Phase II licensing allows for the growth of private FM in India Tahil adds, “For both Mid-Day Multimedia and the BBC, being a significant national radio player is of great strategic significance.”

Radio Mid-Day and operating head of the Mumbai station Radio One Shariq Patel said, “We have tested the new format and have seen a healthy improvement in numbers from our own internal tracking. With FM becoming a truly mass medium, we’re on our way to building a mass brand.”

The company has also brought about a change in its programming strategy. According to a statement issued today, the change in programming for the Mumbai station will be the first big change in the play-out of the national brand through which Radio Mid-Day aims to become the number one station in the cities it transmits.

“The new radio station will still have the flavour of Go and the essence of what the brand stood for, which is fun, energy and exuberance reflecting the city of Mumbai. This will all remain though the language and the context changes a little,” says Radio Mid-Day VP programming and brand Vishnu Athreya. “For us, music and Bollywood are an integral part of the programming mix. Hindi music itself has come a long way and the attitude that Abhishek Bachchan reflects in a new Bollywood film or the fact that Himesh Reshammiya queues up playlists at a club shows us the new age of a changing audience.”

The company is also optimistic about the new format giving a boost to revenues. “As the market share (audience) of the radio station increases, we are certain the share of revenue will increase as well. Already we have seen interests from a wider list of advertisers that may not have considered us a necessity earlier,” Radio Mid-Day VP advertising sales Avinash Pillai, who has recently joined, concludes.

June 8, 2006
Global Crossing enables video streaming of Fifa World Cup for Swedish ISP

MUMBAI: Global Crossing which provides telecommunications solutions has successfully delivered high-speed, 10-Gbps IP Transit Service to IP-Only Telecommunications. The latter is a Swedish Internet service provider that is streaming video of the 2006 Fifa World Cup matches.

Anticipating additional strength in demand for IP services in the Nordic region, Global Crossing recently installed new 10-Gbps-capable routers in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. As a result, the company was able to provide the requested service quickly, with IP-Only becoming the first customer connected via the new router in Stockholm.

IP-Only CEO Svante Jurnell says, “We have several of the largest Swedish Internet sites running over our network. It was important for us to get this service installed in time for the June 9th start of the World Cup. We are very happy that Global Crossing was able to meet our need.”

Even though thousands of despairing Swedish fans had to witness their team face defeat at the hands of Germany, the service provided by IP-Only enabled football fans to view the knock-out matches, leading to the final between France and Italy on 9 July 2006.

Global Crossing has 10-Gbps capacity at its IP nodes in Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and London. The Madrid router and the second routers at Amsterdam and Frankfurt will be commissioned shortly. The company’s Scandinavian ring was also recently upgraded with multiple 10-Gbps wavelengths.

Global Crossing MD Europe Pieter Duijves says, “Europe is a key part of our global strategy, and we’re investing in on our rapidly growing carrier data business in the Nordics by upgrading our transport backbone and the capacity of core IP network.

“Through our network, IP-Only’s service is allowing Swedish viewers abroad the thrill of watching their team play on Swedish Internet sites. Data-intensive applications such as this play to our strengths as a leading provider of
high-capacity services in the region.”

This new capability forms part of an ongoing European network expansion programme. In recent months, additional IP points of presence have been commissioned in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Spain, and new points of presence were created in Italy and Russia. Network extensions connecting to the major exchanges in Moscow and Rome enable Global Crossing to offer its suite of voice and data products to carriers and enterprises in these cities.

June 8, 2006
Soccer World Cup: Casbaa kicks off anti-piracy campaign

MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has once again urged the Hong Kong hospitality sector to boost legitimate entertainment and sports industries, and not engage in signal piracy.

As part of its long-term campaign, Casbaa and its members are seeking to further raise the consciousness of bars and clubs in Hong Kong that screening pay-TV services without legal subscriptions means they are operating outside of the law, states an official release.

With the launch of the Fifa World Cup soccer competition in sight this Friday, Casbaa has reminded some 300 bars and clubs that legal action can be taken against those who air unlicensed pay-television broadcasts that infringe copyrights and the Hong Kong Broadcasting Ordinance.

The 300 advisory letters to the bars and clubs, including private members clubs, note that pay-TV television signal theft is not to be tolerated by government or industry, the release adds.

Meanwhile, Casbaa commented that some progress is being made. During the past year, some bar owners have given undertakings to cease screening illegal TV broadcasts.

“We commend those who screen only legitimate pay television broadcasts,” says Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez. “And we continue to encourage bar-goers to contribute to Hong Kong’s economy by giving their patronage to businesses airing legal, Hong Kong-licensed TV services. Certainly we want the community to enjoy the World Cup, but to do so in a way that ensures adequate remuneration to Hong Kong’s service providers and the sports leagues who stage the games.”

Under Hong Kong law, bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as i-Cable or now Television. Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, MultiChoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authorised to offer pay-TV subscriptions in Hong Kong.

June 8, 2006
Vijay TV plots new gameplan for prime time

MUMBAI: Star India’s Tamil channel Vijay TV has a new prime time strategy on the anvil. The channel is presently revamping its 9 to 10 pm band and will be initiating a change in the 10 to 11 pm band as well, post July.

Vijay TV is also in process of re-planting its morning kids band to the evening slot with an expanded time period. “We are launching a reverse quiz show, Grand Master, in the 9:30 pm weekday slot. Our existing game show Vasool Rani moves to the 9 pm slot, making the 9 to 10 pm band a total gameshow slot. The 5:30 pm to 7 pm band will be converted to a kids band in July. All the soaps placed in the 7 to 9 pm band will come to a logical ending, paving way to a new set. Later this year, we will attempt a revamp in the 10 to 11 pm time band also,” says Vijay TV GM Ravi Menon.

Grand Master is inspired by the successful Kairali TV gameshow Ashwamedham, conceptualised by the popular Malayalam television host G S Pradeep. (Ashwamedham had been the channel driver for Kairali TV in its early years.) Pradeep himself will be anchoring Grand Master in Vijay. The show, launching on 12 June, will be promoted through movie theatres in a novel publicity drive, according to Menon.

“We will be running the Grand Master promos in about 80 theatres in Tamil Nadu. This is a different kind of marketing strategy we have initiated to grab the eyeballs of the attentive audience,” he says.

Meanwhile, the six-month old show Vasool Rani, which pursues the female TG as the name suggests, is being re-packaged. The studio-based show will now move to the outdoors. “In an attempt to provide variety and kill any kind of fatigue factor, we have conceptualised a Mobile Vasool Rani. Vasool Rani vans will travel across the state, making it much easier for the mass to participate in the show,” says Menon.

After launching a chat show You and Me on Sundays, Vijay TV is now looking at beefing up the weekend programming with a youth-oriented show. Titled EQ (Entertainment Quotient), the show will be a state-wide competition to find out the college with the best ‘entertainment quotient’. Vijay TV has instituted an ever-rolling trophy for the winner of this talent hunt, making it an annual affair.

“We are confident about the programme delivering decent returns since it has a sponsorship friendly format. It has already created a curiosity among advertisers,” says Menon.

Speaking on the 10 to 11 pm revamp, Menon said the timeframe for this initiative would depend on how the 9 to 10 pm revamp delivers. “Presently we have the crime show Kuttram and Kathu Karuppu running in this band. This is a time band, which gets the attention of the entire family. Hence, we are looking at slightly more expanded viewership and the plan is to bring in shows which will appeal to the whole family,” says Menon.

The show, which presently garners the best ad rates for Vijay TV is The Great Indian Laughter series. The Great Indian Laughter Challenge was followed by the Champions and now the channel is gearing up to launch the second version of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge.

“We haven’t revised our ad rates as such, but the channel has arrived at a benchmark ad rate with the success of TGILC. The channel has now three to four shows delivering very well compared to the earlier case of having one or two good shows. Advertisers on board are surely going to benefit because they have more popular shows to invest in now,” points out Menon.

June 8, 2006
ESS, SCV in talks as clock ticks for World Cup kick-off

MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: The countdown is well and truly on as the world awaits the greatest sporting spectacle on the globe – the Fifa World Cup 2006 – to get underway tomorrow in Munich, Germany.

In India a very different confrontation is on between ESPN STAR Sports, the exclusive telecast rights holder, and Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV), promoted by the Sun Network, which belongs to the Maran family that rules in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and owns cable networks in Chennai, a city where CAS has been implemented since 2003.
The first ball in the fracas was kicked by SCV on Wednesday when it issued a statement that all World Cup matches would be telecast live on any free channel on the premium band enabling viewers without STB (set top boxes) to get all the action.

ESS in its response issued yesterday was quite categorical that “soccer lovers in the city can enjoy live telecast of Fifa World Cup 2006 only through set top boxes or through DTH services.” For Maran family patriarch and DMK leader M Karunanidhi, recently sworn in as chief minister after ousting bitter political rival Jayalalitha at the hustings, the prospect of Chennai’s citizens being deprived of the chance to see the soccer World Cup is unthinkable.

While the buzz in Delhi is that Karunanidhi had called for a meeting with ESPN managing director RC Venkateish and his team might well be stretching things, that ESS and SCV executives were scheduled to meet to thrash out the matter today is true.

It is worth noting here that one of Karunanidhi’s pre-election promises was for the supply of free colour TV sets to the state’s needy so all matters linked to the television are politically charged.

Till the time of writing this report, an update on the meeting between ESS executives and the Marans were not available.

According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, the issue will get resolved if an agreement is reached between SCV and ESS on the payout Chennai’s dominant MSO will have to give to access the telecast.

Once that happens, SCV’s assertion to its subscribers that the World Cup matches would go live on the free-to-air (FTA) band will be fulfilled.

The fact is though, that whether SCV and ESS reach an agreement or not, if the MSO were to show the World Cup matches on the FTA band it would be in breach of existing CAS laws.

Chennai after all is the only metro in the country where conditional access is operative and delivery of pay channels by any means other than through a set top box is illegal.

A point of note is that SCV already appears to be in in violation of CAS laws in the matter of the Ten Sports telecast of the ongoing India-West Indies Test series being played out in the Caribbean. SCV has been airing the matches live on the FTA band.

However, since the SCV subscriber is not having to pay anything extra for getting the Ten Sports feed, for all practical purposes the Dubai-based sports channel is an FTA channel in the Chennai territory. That the Sony-Discovery One Alliance distribution bouquet (of which Ten Sports is a part) has chosen to look the other way about it is clearly linked to the fact that SCV is its distributor in Tamil Nadu.

Sun TV Network promoter Kalanidhi Maran’s younger brother, Dayanidhi, is a minister in the federal coalition government in charge of telecommunications and infotech portfolios.

ESS warns cable ops against unlawful Fifa telecast

Rajesh Kaul, associate vice-president, affiliate sales, ESPN Software has in a statement said, “No other channel, whether pay, free to air or terrestrial is authorized to provide, show or distribute the Fifa World Cup Germany 2006 in the territory of India.”

He added, “Also carriage, reception or distribution of the Fifa World Cup Germany 2006 by any MSO / cable operator / sub-operator without written authorization from ESPN Star Sports is a violation of copyrights and hence an illegal activity. If any person(s), entities are found to be resorting to such activities, legal action shall be initiated against such persons(s) / entities.”

These assertions by ESS were necessitated as cable operators in various parts of the country were threatening to show the World Cup either through ESS signals or by accessing them from elsewhere.

For example, Indiantelevision.com learns from ESPN India that a cable operator in Agartala in north-eastern part of the country had threatened to access the World Cup via Bangladesh TV, signals of which spill over to Indian border states also.

Dish TV bullish on WC fuelling STB sales

The cable controversy apart, Subhash Chandra’s Dish TV, country’s first DTH service, is bullish that the World Cup would fuel sale of boxes not only in Chennai, but in other parts of the country also.

Dish TV business head and additional vice-chairman of Essel Industries Jawahar Goel said, “The off-take of our DTH boxes in Chennai is up almost 300 per cent these days.”

While admitting that having ESPN and Star Sports on the DTH platform is an incentive for sale with the soccer fiesta just a day away, Goel, however, said that Dish TV would like to keep “away from the controversy” raging on in Chennai involving ESS and Sumangali.

“We are businesspeople and would like to restrict our involvement to business deals,” Goel explained.

An added advantage for Dish TV — present subscriber base in India close to 1 million — in pushing up its sale is that pubcaster Doordarshan will only be able to show the opening ceremony and match, plus the two semi finals and the final of the soccer World Cup.

According to a report in The Hindu, taking advantage of the growing World Cup football fever, infotech major HCL will start distributing Dish TV products through Nokia outlets in Chennai.

HCL, itself a Nokia distributor, officially launched its DTH distributorship at a meeting for 120 dealers in Chennai on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, asked what would be Dish’s reaction if cable ops in football-crazy Kolkata in West Bengal re-transmit ESPN and Star Sports signals during the World Cup illegally to subscribers, Goel said action would be taken against errant cable ops.

“Any cable operator trying to steal ESS signals from Dish TV (for football matches) would be hauled up and legal action will be initiated against him,” Goel said, pointing out that such subscribers would be switched off from the Dish control room.

“We have launched a nationwide anti-piracy drive and will not tolerate piracy of signals from Dish TV,” Goel said.

June 8, 2006
FremantleMedia appoints Dominic Burns as VP licensing, UK

MUMBAI: FremantleMedia Licensing Worldwide (FLW) has appointed Dominic Burns as vice president of licensing for the UK market.

Burns will be responsible for managing the brand licensing, sponsorship and interactive businesses in the UK. In addition to this, he will maximise the value of FremantleMedia’s portfolio of rights and sponsorship opportunities and the exploitation of new commercial opportunities.

He will be based in London and will report to FLW senior vice president, licensing, UK and Germany Claire Tavernier. Burns replaces Dom Wheeler, who leaves FremantleMedia this month after six years with the company.

Tavernier said, “Dominic has made a significant contribution to the growth of our sponsorship business in establishing global relationships with major advertisers such as Coca Cola, Nokia and Unilever. His leadership qualities, experience and relationships will be a great asset to our UK business.”

Commenting on Wheeler’s departure Tavernier added, “Dom was one of the very first members of the FLW team and has contributed immensely to its success. We wish him every success for the future.”

Burns joined FremantleMedia in 2003 as vice president, sponsorship and advertiser relationships, where he managed all worldwide agreements with advertisers and sponsors. Prior to this, he was head of commercial strategy for Eurosport TV where he was responsible for setting the commercial programming focus of the channel and providing support to the international sales team.

Further to this appointment, Melissa Goodwin, currently vice president, licensing, EMEA, will be moving to the UK team as vice president, interactive and telephony, UK. In this position, Goodwin will assume day-to-day responsibility for the company’s interactive and telephony business, including voting on The X Factor, home viewer competitions across all of FremantleMedia’s entertainment formats, the commercialisation of the company’s websites and the development of mobile content and games around FremantleMedia and talkbackThames’ extensive TV properties in the UK.

Also, Pindy O’Brien, currently head of brand licensing, UK, becomes head of brand licensing and retail, UK. The position will see O’Brien expand her role to take on the company’s relationships with the retail sector as well as continuing her work in the area of brand licenses around FremantleMedia and talkbackThames’ UK portfolio.

Both Goodwin and O’Brien will be based in London and will report to Burns.

Claire Baker, currently head of retail, UK, will take up Goodwin’s position as vice president, licensing, EMEA. In this capacity, Baker will be responsible for managing the brand licensing, sponsorship and interactive businesses in the Nordic countries, Southern Europe and the Middle East. She will be based in London and will report to FLW senior vice president licensing, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific Mark Newton.

June 8, 2006
BVITV and Flextech TV ink UK licensing agreement

MUMBAI: Walt Disney’s Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) and Flextech Television have announced a UK licensing agreement for the launch of acquired US network series content on Flextech’s new broadband service.

As per the agreement with BVITV, Flextech’s new service will offer on-demand and on a rental basis, series like Grey’s Anatomy, Extreme Makeover and Alias, which air on Living TV and Bravo.

Accessible via the channel websites www.livingtv.co.uk and www.bravo.co.uk, the service enables UK users to download episodes that will be available for a 24 hour window within seven days of downloading, informs an official release.

In partnership with online broadcasting solutions provider Servecast and protected by Digital Rights Management software, this new service will enable viewers to download Living TV and Bravo’s homegrown shows. In addition, episodes of commissioned programme brands such as Most Haunted, Sin Cities and Real Football Factories will also be available for download, priced at £2.50 per episode.

The release adds that the line-up of titles available for download will be coordinated with Living TV and Bravo’s linear schedules, maximising the on-air promotional opportunities created by the new service, with series two of a programme appearing on air as the first series becomes available online. Free episodes will also offer tasters of the latest shows on the Living TV and Bravo channels.

Commenting on the agreement, BVITV EMEA executive VP and MD Tom Toumazis said, “We are working closely with international partners to use new technology in bringing our content to consumers in flexible new ways, and are pleased that viewers in the UK will now be able to enjoy these gripping hit series on demand through our agreement with Flextech.”

Flextech Television head of interactive Edward Humphrey said, “We’ll experiment with a variety of pricing models including PPV, packaging and subscriptions to better understand how our audience wants to purchase TV content online. We’ll also continue to offer free preview downloads of new shows – as recently demonstrated with Bravo’s Man’s Work – to encourage sampling of new content.”

The new service provides another medium for audiences to connect with Flextech’s brands, which are already available as linear TV channels, via cable video-on-demand, on the web and via mobile networks, adds the release.

June 8, 2006
DD-1 to telecast 2006 Fifa WC finals live

MUMBAI: With only one day to go for the big event, Doordarshan has secured the telecast rights for four matches of the 2006 Fifa World Cup, including the big final to be played on 9 July.

The rights allow the channel to telecast the opening ceremony live from Germany on Friday 9 June from 7 50 pm to 8 30 pm on DD-1. This will be followed by a live telecast of the opening match between Germany Vs. Costa Rica from Munich, from 9 30 pm to 11 30 pm.

The semi finals to be held on 4 and 5 July respectively, will also be telecast live on DD-1.

As mentioned earlier, the final on 9 July will be telecast at 11 30 pm on DD-1 on terrestrial mode.

Meanwhile, a one hour capsule of highlights of daily matches will also be telecast from 4 pm to 5 pm from 10 to 28 June and in the first week of July.

To key in on all the action, every match telecast on the channel will be preceeded and followed by a pre-match and post-match analysis.

June 8, 2006