ITV

Category: News Headline

  • Sahara to take FCCB route for raising $50 million

    Sahara to take FCCB route for raising $50 million

    MUMBAI: Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd has decided to take the foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) route to raise around $50 million (Rs 2.2 billion).

    “We are in the final stages of documentation for issue of FCCBs. We plan to raise around $50 million,” says a source in Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd.

    Earlier the shareholders of Sahara had approved the issue of securities in the international market in the form of FCCBs, global depository receipts (GDRs) or other securities through public issue, private placements or preferential allotment. Sahara had also taken an enabling clause to raise up to $50 million.

    The funds will be deployed for movie production, launch of a music channel, content acquisition for Hindi movie channel Filmy and general entertainment channel Sahara One.

    Sahara has already tied up Rs 1.58 billion by diluting stake to investors. While C Sivasankaran’s Aircel Televentures Ltd. (ATL) has put in Rs 1.2 billion for acquiring 14.98 per cent stake, Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (publishers of The Times of India) has invested Rs 378 million for a six per cent equity. Sahara is in the process of issuing a preferential allotment of 322.5 million equity shares to ATL with a face value of Rs 10 each at a price of Rs 372 per share.

    Sahara is also in talks to rope in a strategic investor. After divesting stake to ATL, the promoters holding in Sahara stands at 73 per cent. While Bennett, Coleman and Company’s holding is a little less than six per cent, the balance is with the public.

  • Pogo comes alive with new original programming

    Pogo comes alive with new original programming

    MUMBAI: Turner Entertainment Networks Asia’s (Tena) kids’ channel Pogo, created specifically for the Indian market, has more original programming up its sleeves this year. Game shows, sitcoms, documentaries and fiction shows is what’s on the kiddies’ channel’s agenda for 2006-07.

    What’s more, Pogo is now garnering a lot of interest from international markets as well. In April this year, Turner’s Latin American kids channel Boomerang was re-launched with the Pogo branding. While the name of the channel remains the same, a lot of elements in terms of promos and on-air look were borrowed from Pogo.

    Coming back to new original programming; taking a cue from the popularity of shows M.A.D (Music Art Dance), Bam! Bam! Bam! Gir Pade Hum, Prime Pogo and Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (2004 and 2005), the channel is now set to launch a new half hour comedy show called It’s Alive! from 21 May. The 13-episodes show, which has been produced in-house, will air Sundays at 11 am and will star Prime Pogo stars Niall and Chinu.

    What’s more, Galli Galli Sim Sim, the Indian version of Sesame Street, is also slated to launch around mid-August and is likely to air from Monday to Fridays. The third edition of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards is also on the cards this year. Apart from this, a new season of M.A.D. coupled with a summer special of the same is also in the pipeline.

    “Pogo itself is an original production and we are constantly looking at innovative, smart and fun ideas that will back up the Pogo brand. The success of our original productions on Pogo has inspired us to do more such shows,” says Tena vice president creative and original content Orion Ross.

    Plans for the annual Pogo Amazing Kids Awards are also big this time round. The channel plans to film ‘amazing’ kids across the country and develop a 13-week series around the same, which will lead up to the grand finale. “This time on the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards the emphasis is going to be on the kids themselves. Sixty kids across 10 categories will be profiled. We will be finding out their stories and air them every week and towards the last two weeks before the awards, the series will be aired every night,” informs Ross.

    Viewers will also be asked to vote for their favourite ‘amazing’ kid via SMS. The winner in each category will be chosen on the basis of the votes as well as the jury for the awards. Ross says, “The aim is to build ways for viewers to be more involved in the process.”

    TURNER OPEN TO PRODUCE / COMMISSION INDIAN ANIMATION IDEAS

    Until now, Turner’s strategy has been to acquire original animation series from Indian studios and air them on their channels. Some of them are – Akbar & Birbal, The Legend of Buddha, Son of Aladdin, Tenali Rama and Ramayana – The Legend of Prince Ram.

    Now the network is planning on something big and a first of sorts. “We are open to hearing animation script ideas from individuals as well as studios in India and then develop the series for Cartoon Network and Pogo. They could be series, feature films or pre-school shows,” says Ross.

    Ross is in charge of overseeing the overall strategy for Tena’s two existing teams – the Hong Kong based Creative Services as well as the India based Original Productions. One of Ross’ mandate at Tena is to set up and manage a new Asia Pacific animation development structure in India, which will focus on new Indian animation projects.

    The network will decide whether to produce the new series in-house or commission it to Indian studios. Tena will be funding the production for the series.

    “The approach is creative driven. We are looking for the big idea in Indian animation. We are open to talking to people who have a distinct creative vision. The aim is to find the next William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, Chuck Jones or Craig McCracken,” says Ross.

    However, whether the series will be solely for the Indian market or will be aired in the international markets as well is a decision the network will take at a much later stage. Ross’ 12-member team will look to set the ball rolling in this direction.

    This surely could be music to the ears of aspiring animators in India… provided they have the Big Idea!

  • VH1 premieres ‘SuperGroup’ on 21 May

    VH1 premieres ‘SuperGroup’ on 21 May

    MUMBAI: US TV network VH1 has assembled some of the greatest rock icons to star in a new reality show, SuperGroup which is scheduled to premiere on 21 May at 10 00 pm.

    The show has been titled “the ultimate rock and roll experiment” and the band has been challenged to become the “heaviest supergroup in history.”

    It brings together five heavy metal veterans Ted Nugent, Scott Ian, Sebastian Bach, Evan Seinfeld and Jason Bonham. Over a span of two weeks the rockers will live together in Las Vegas, Nevada and film seven episodes for the show.

    The musicians will be groomed by rock manager Doc McGhee. Their efforts will finally culminate in a concert at The Empire Ballroom in Vegas.

    Vh1 executive Michael Hirschorn is quoted saying, “What I liked about SuperGroup was that is combined elements that have worked so well for us, with an organic music idea.”

    In the late 1960’s the term ‘supergroup’ was coined to describe music groups comprising of members who had already achieved fame or respect in other groups or as individual artists. The new band members have not committed to staying together beyond the filming of the show, but plans to record a single are being discussed.

    SuperGroup is produced by 3Ball Productions and Moving Pictures, DPI in conjunction with VH1.

  • Star Movies presents X-MEN Special

    Star Movies presents X-MEN Special

    Mumbai, May 17, 2006: X’treme action fans are in for a treat this Sunday. Star Movies gives you the perfect way to end your weekend with the X-Men Special! Star Movies builds the excitement with the back-to-back airing of X-Men and X-2: X Men United to get your adrenaline rushing. If that’s not enough, it presents a sneak peek into the much-awaited X-Men 3: The Last Stand, the final chapter in the X-Men motion picture trilogy. So don’t forget to tune in to the X-Men Special, from 3:50 pm onwards this Sunday evening, 21 May only on Star Movies!

    For starters, tune in to X-Men at 3:50 p.m. to watch unusual children born with an added twist to their genetic code- the “X-factor” which allows them to perform extraordinary feats. At 5:50 p.m. watch X 2, in which the X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the president’s life. To end the perfect evening, Star Movies presents a dream come true for any “X-Men” fan with Opening Night. Watch some never seen before footage and special glimpses of the making of X-Men 3: The Last Stand at 8:30 p.m.

    Opening Night will not only showcase clippings of the unreleased movie, but will also take you behind the scenes where you can watch Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and the rest of the cast talk about their experiences while shooting this most ambitious work of the trilogy. They discuss how it required complex strategic maneuvering to bring the entire cast back for this project, due to their busy schedules and how their participation was never in doubt as it was key to the story and character relationships, and important to the fans who love these films. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby discuss how it never occurred to them forty years ago that the characters created by them for Marvel Comics would result in such magnificent movies. In this film the characters undergo significant changes and the action is taken to a whole new level.

    X-Men 3: The Last Stand, a “cure” for mutancy threatens to alter the course of history. For the first time, mutants have a choice: retain their uniqueness, though it isolates and alienates them, or give up their powers and become human. The opposing viewpoints of mutant leaders Charles Xavier, who preaches tolerance and Magneto, who believes in the survival of the fittest, are put to the ultimate test – triggering the war to end all wars.

    Presented by rising star Terence Yin (Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life, New Police Story), Opening Night gives you an up-close and intimate view of the most anticipated films before their general release. Previous episodes of this hit show has featured Hollywood blockbusters like Pink Panther, Ice Age 2, Chicken Little, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Fantastic Four, Robots, Ocean’s Twelve, I- Robot, Ladder 49, Lemony Snickets: A series of unfortunate events, Kingdom of Heaven, The Goal and King Kong.

    So don’t forget to tune in to Star Movies on Sunday, May 21st for X-Men Special from 3:50 p.m. onwards, with the back to back airing of X-Men and X-2, followed by an exclusive sneak peek into the making of X -Men 3: The Last Stand.

    About Star
    STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. STAR broadcasts over 50 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel). STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com

    For further information please contact:
    In Mumbai
    Zeenat Khan Shiraz Bhavnani / Aditi Chada
    Asst. Vice President – Publicity Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
    STAR (India) Ltd. Tel: 91-22-5656 8787
    Tel No. 91-22-56305555 Fax: 91-22-5656 8788
    Email :sbhavnani@vccpl.com / achada@vccpl.com

  • Microsoft India develops Office Communicator Mobile

    Microsoft India develops Office Communicator Mobile

    BANGALORE: Microsoft’s India Development Center (MIDC) today announced their involvement in an end-to-end project to develop ‘Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile’ – a unified communications client that provides information workers with a premier mobile collaboration experience through native integration of mobile applications with enterprise-grade, real-time communications tools.

    Communicator Mobile will extend features of Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 and Microsoft Office Communicator to the Windows Mobile 2003 SE and Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, both Pocket PC Edition and Smartphone, the company said in an official release.

    The development process included getting feedback from usage within Microsoft, Beta users outside Microsoft, and TAP (Technology Adoption Program) partners. The suggestions and feedback from user groups were incorporated into the product in the early stages of the development cycle, the release adds.

    Recently unveiled during Steve Ballmer’s keynote at 3GSM in Barcelona Spain and based on the user interface of the Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 desktop client, the client goes beyond simple voice services, incorporating connected communication modes such as more secure instant messaging (IM), presence awareness and integrated VoIP-telephony.

    Commenting on the product being completely developed out of India, MIDC VP & MD Srini Koppulu said, “Our India Development Center plays an important role in contributing to future innovations at Microsoft and we are proud to be at the core of Microsoft’s global development initiatives. The release of Communicator Mobile is an endorsement of Microsoft’s mission to “innovate, energize, and support Microsoft investments for the mobile user experience.”

    Communicator Mobile client increases potential data revenue for mobile operators by driving demand for business-class devices with an enterprise-grade client, adding rich, real-time collaboration capabilities to mobile data networks, the company claimed in the statement.

  • ABC introduces new series to its Fall 2006-07 schedule

    ABC introduces new series to its Fall 2006-07 schedule

    MUMBAI: ABC has announced a host of new series to be included in its Fall TV schedule. Said ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson. “We want viewers making appointments with ABC Television every night of the week.”

    Mondays nights kicked off with new editions of Wife Swap at 8 pm, followed by The Bachelor and What About Brian. However, The Bachelor will be replaced by a new edition of Supernanny in the 9 pm slot, later in the season.

    “We set out to develop a diverse group of shows that will continue in that vein and also to grow our audience. Our success has been driven by great storytelling and memorable characters that audiences have fallen in love with,”said McPherson.

    Dancing With the Stars is aired on Tuesdays at 8 pm, leading into two new comedy shows Let’s Rob Mick Jagger and Help Me Help You. Boston Legal returns to the 10 pm slot, and after Dancing With the Stars goes off, it will be replaced by a new game show Set For the Rest of Your Life.

    On Wednesdays the results of Dancing With the Stars are announced at 8, but will be replaced by George Lopez and According To Jim, at the end of its season. A Warner Brothers Television drama series The Nine, with Tim Daly and John Billingsley, will follow at 10 pm.

    ABC plans to air consecutive episodes of Lost scheduled for the 9 pm slot, followed by the new thriller Daybreak, starring Taye Diggs, with Lost reappearing in the new year for another uninterrupted run.

    Following Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday, are two new comedies starting at 8 pm. Big Day, which takes a look at a couple’s wedding day from the view point of those involved, and Notes From The Underbelly, about a couple expecting their first baby. At 10 pm J.J.Abrams drama, Six Degrees will be telecast, which focuses on six different New Yorkers whose lives are somehow interconnected.

    On Fridays, Betty The Ugly, set at a fashion magazine, is an adaptation of a telenovela starring America Ferrera and Eric Mabius, with executive producer Salma Hayek. While, Alaska-set comedy Men In Trees follows at 9 and the newsmagazine 20/20 will air at 10 pm.

    Saturday nights will broadcast the national security thriller Traveler, followed by Greg Behrendt’s Wake-Up Call, an unscripted series that offers relationship advice and the hidden-camera half- hour series Just For Laughs.

    Finally on Sunday nights, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Desperate Housewives are joined by a new drama, Brothers And Sisters, a family soap, starring Calista Flockhart and Ron Rifkin.

    Other midseason replacements include, American Inventor and the Jon Favreau-directed comedy In Case of Emergency, as part of the fall 2006-2007 schedule.

  • ‘Da Vinci Code’ crew says it’s entertainment not theology

    ‘Da Vinci Code’ crew says it’s entertainment not theology

    CANNES: The maker of The Da Vinci Code – director Ron Howard – and the cast and crew today stated that it is the media, which is looking for a story that has created the hype around the so called religious controversy. “The controversy has actually been very limited,” says Alfred Molina, who plays the part of Bishop Aringarosa.

    Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou and Ron Howard at Cannes (Picture from www.canada.com)The film, which has created a storm in India with news channels and newspapers giving blanket coverage to the calls for the movie to be banned, is no stranger to controversy. Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi on Tuesday said that he “will not allow the controversial film Da Vinci Code to be screened unless representatives of Catholic churches along with the Censor Board watch the movie and clear it.”

    Even for newly launched English movie channel from the Sony stable SET Pix (Sony Pictures is distributing the film worldwide), the hullabaloo has come as a big dampener. Amongst other marketing activities it had planned, it had also scheduled a special screening of the movie in Mumbai for the cable and media fraternity on Saturday.

    Speaking to the media after the film’s screening Howard said, “Right from the beginning I expected controversy. We were talking about a global bestseller,” said Howard. “We were expecting it to be upsetting to some people. But we cannot forget that this is a piece of fictional entertainment people who have not seen the movie are talking about. What I would tell them is see the movie and then form your opinion. And if you are going to be upset by the movie don’t watch it. The movie will arouse different reactions from various people. We wanted to stir debate, we wanted people to think.”

    Added Tom Hanks: “This is not theology, it is entertainment, and if people can remember that, it will be good. It is a piece of commercial cinema.”

    When asked if the religious community put any pressure on him before he enacted the role of Robert Langdon, Hanks said, “Thankfully, brains score over emotion and fiction.”

    Ian McKellen, who essays the role of Sir Leigh Teabing added in lighter vein that the fact that Jesus was married puts to rest the speculation that he was gay. Tom Hanks avoided the question saying that he was not around then.

    As far as box office goes, Howard said that his partner in Imagine Entertainment expected the movie to do well. His partner Brian Glasser, who begins work on Imagine’s next project American Gangster with Russel Crowe and Samuel Jackson in Harlem two months from now, said he expects it to do very well. “A big winner,” he said.

    That remains to be seen though. With calls for bans and the like coming in from across the globe as well as the tepid reviews the film has been getting, the producers might be hoping for a miracle in expecting that viewers will flock into the theatres.

  • Zee Sports to telecast Italian Open 2006 live

    Zee Sports to telecast Italian Open 2006 live

    MUMBAI: Zee Sports will telecast the WTA Alice Cup Italian Open live and exclusive. This Tier I $1.34 million, tournament will be played from 15 May to 21 May on Red Clay. Zee Sports will start the telecast of the matches from quarter finals onwards.

    The top seeded players, including Maria Sanchez Lorenzo of Spain, Estonia’s Maret Ani Nathalie Dechy of France, Ai Sugiyama of Japan, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, Russian Nadia Petrovas, Elena Dementieva Svetlana Kuznetsova, Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder, Italian Francesca Schiavone and comeback girl Martina Hingis will play for the honours in this tournament, said an official release.

    Zee Sports presenter Tina Sharma along with Indian tennis star Ankita Bhambri will present the preview and review show of each of the match. SportsCafe, Zee Sports daily news program will present the highlights and analysis of the best moments of the matches.

    The quarter final matches will be played on 18 May and 19 May, from 4 pm onwards. Semi finals will be held on 20 May and the matches will begin at 9:30 pm. The final is scheduled for 21 May at 7 pm.

  • SAARC nations to evolve strategy to exchange information during calamities

    SAARC nations to evolve strategy to exchange information during calamities

    MUMBAI: The Press Information Bureau additional principal information officer B S Chauhan will be heading the Indian delegation at the Third Conference of Editors and Working Journalists of SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries at Male. On the agenda is SAARC countries evolving a strategy to exchange information on media usage during calamities

    The prime criteria is that reaching out is a must in disseminating critical information for those in the concerned affected areas.

    India has reiterated that SAARC Nations should make special efforts through media so that the people, especially women and children of these areas can be brought closer to the mainstream.

    With a view to reach out to people affected by terrorist acts and hilly terrain in India, Chauhan emphasised that radio coverage should be strengthened to reach the affected zone, informs an official release.

    Sharing the experience of India on media management during Tsunami crisis, he said, all stations of All India Radio in southern states of India and East Coast including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands where continuously broadcasting information on the developing situations in the affected areas are based on live inputs by districts and State authorities from different locations.

    Radio and TV stations also broadcast information about relief measures like helplines and measures to combat epidemics. He said that, the media must be involved as a participatory agency which combines the media, government officials, government multimedia implementing agencies, NGOs, public opinion representatives and the beneficiaries.

    Apprising the member countries of transparency measures being taken by India, Chauhan said India had recently adopted a legislation in Parliament relating to the Right to Information (RTI). The RTI Act is a major stride in further increasing transparency in the country and is expected to go a long way towards making officials more responsive to people’s urges articulated through the media. This is an idea, which the other countries in SAARC region may like to emulate.

    SAARC is an association of eight countries of South Asia including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan,Afghanistan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The two-day conference is being attended by the representatives of the SAARC countries except Nepal.

  • Hong Kong’s PCCW to broadcast real-time TV over 3G network

    Hong Kong’s PCCW to broadcast real-time TV over 3G network

    MUMBAI: The Hong Kong-based PCCW Mobile announced it has become the world’s first mobile provider to broadcast real-time TV over its 3G network, using Cell Multimedia Broadcast (CMB) technology.

    The service was demonstrated today by PCCW executive director Alex Arena at a keynote address at the 2006 Broadband World Forum Asia, being held in Hong Kong.

    PCCW will begin broadcasting programming from its IPTV service, now TV, to its 3G mobile trial customer base, using the CMB technology. The technology, developed by Huawei Technologies, allows broadcasts of television programming to 3G phones, states an official release.

    The service is being progressively rolled out throughout Hong Kong, with deployment begun in Hong Kong’s MTR underground railway system nearly complete. Deployment throughout Hong Kong will be completed by end-June, making mobile TV available to all 110,000 users on PCCW mobile’s 3G trial, the release adds.

    “This is a significant innovation by PCCW, allowing us to leverage our extensive content line-up to more people, across more of our platforms, fixed and mobile,” PCCW executive director Alex Arena said. “We are excited to bring this groundbreaking 3G technology to our customers – another world first for us.”

    CMB technology allows continuous broadcast feeds of TV programming over the 3G mobile network, reaching many more people simultaneously than other current 3G technologies. The technology is ideal for high density urban areas, including underground railways and other forms of public transport. With broadcast technology, network capacity can support large numbers of concurrent users with minimal impact on the network loading, allowing for cost-effective delivery.

    Initial program offers over the mobile network will include now TV’s Cantonese-language Business News Channel and other news and sports content. Other entertainment and infotainment programming will be added in time. Sports content from ESPN STAR Sports will be available in two weeks time, including ESPN’s ever-popular SportsCenter news program. Sports event content from Sportev, including action, from next season’s Barclays English Premier League (2006-07), will be available when the football season begins in August, the release informs.