ITV

Category: Press Release

  • Weber Shandwick Strengthens India Leadership Team

    Weber Shandwick Strengthens India Leadership Team

    MUMBAI: Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s leading global public relations firms, announced a strengthening of its India leadership team today. Atul Ahluwalia, formerly managing director, takes on a new role as vice chairman and will continue to lead the firm’s India operations.  Dilip Yadav, formerly deputy managing director, is promoted to become managing director – client services and additionally is appointed managing director of Creation, one of Weber Shandwick’s best-in-class engagement brands.

     

    At the same time, Carolina Bajaj joins the firm from Edelman and has been appointed deputy managing director, India. Bajaj will be responsible for overseeing the Weber Shandwick Mumbai and Bangalore operations, as well as the India practice teams. Bajaj joins the India senior management team alongside Ahluwalia, Yadav and Mabel Phoon, executive vice president, operations, India.

    Bajaj comes to Weber Shandwick from Edelman, India, where she led their India Corporate practice and was head of their West Region, India. She has more than 14 years of experience in public relations across corporate, aviation, real estate, sports, tourism and consumer sectors. She has also previously worked for the Wadia Group.

     

    “Atul continues to deliver strong leadership in India. His new role reflects his stature in the local market,” said Tim Sutton, chairman of Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific  “Dilip’s new roles are testament to his supreme aptitude to build strong, successful client relationships.

     

    “We are also delighted to welcome Carolina. She holds all the cards to grow our operations in Mumbai and Bangalore significantly and is a great addition to our India-wide leadership team,” said Sutton. 

     

    Yadav will continue to report to Ahluwalia but will have additional dotted reporting lines to Baxter Jolly, vice chairman, Asia Pacific, for his client services role, and George Coleman, president of Creation worldwide. Bajaj will also report to Ahluwalia, with dotted reporting into Jolly.

  • Zee studio gears up to captivate the audience with Brave!

    Zee studio gears up to captivate the audience with Brave!

    MUMBAI: This month Zee Studio sets the screen on fire with heart thumping, fire igniting emotion as Brave; The American animated fantasy comes to life. Released in 2012 the make-believe world of Brave is set in Scottish Highlands, painting the adventures of Princess Merida (protagonist). Living the life of a rebel, her most prized possessions are a bow, arrow and most importantly freedom. But defiance leads her to downfall when the princess accidentally transforms her mother into a bear. Merida soon realizes the graveness of the situation and ventures off to undo her mom’s spell.

     

    Zee Studio takes its animation movie buffs on a thrilling voyage as witches and demons come alive on Indian Television! Brave has won titles such as the Academy Award for Best Animated Film, Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and BAFTA – and is surely on a mission to thrill yet again. The channel believes in showcasing the best films and with this month’s Movie of the Month: Brave, the upcoming weekend already seems to be a much awaited one!

     

    Journey into the adventurous life of Princess Merida as Brave:  THE ONE movie you must watch takes center stage! -Sunday, 22nd June exclusively on Zee Studio-

  • After the successful launch of Season 1, Bloomberg TV India to launch the Season 2 of “Women In Leadership”

    After the successful launch of Season 1, Bloomberg TV India to launch the Season 2 of “Women In Leadership”

    MUMBAI: After profiling eminent women leaders in Season one, Bloomberg TV India, Nation’s leading English business news channel is back with an inspirational new season of ‘Women in Leadership’.  Today’s women is redefining her role and taking the lead in every field. While women were involved in small, home – based business before, they have pursued their entrepreneurial dreams and emerged on top. Woman in Leadership is a show that pays homage to these courageous, successful women.

    Mr. Lavneesh Gupta, COO, Bloomberg TV India said, “Through this show, Bloomberg TV India continues to strengthen its commitment to enrich the business news viewing experience. The channel has carved a niche for itself by catering to influencers and providing exclusive content to its viewers. The Women in Leadership series finds its viewers amongst the key opinion leaders across industries. The show also promises to be an inspiration for next-generation women, to accept challenges and succeed.”

    The first season of the show presented by Life Insurance Corporation of India, featured resilient women leaders like Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank; Ms. Chitra Ramakrishna, MD & CEO of NSE; Ms. Usha Sangwan, Managing Director at Life Insurance Corporation of India; Ms. Roopa Kudva, MD & CEO, CRISL Ltd.; Ms. Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO of Axis Bank and Ms. Sminu Jindal , MD of Jindal Saw Ltd., amongst others. They shared insights on the importance of planning, taking on new challenges, need for confidence, need for more women leaders in the industry, requirement of role models for aspiring women, etc.

    Mr. Neeraj Agarwal, Executive Director, LIC of India said – “Life Insurance Corporation of India has taken huge strides in fostering empowerment of women in various ways. We are employers of choice, more so for women. LIC has always believed in equal opportunities and that women can reach the top positions is proof enough. It is in our corporate culture. Apart from that we also encourage entrepreneurial   skills in women opting for taking Agency as a career.  Financial inclusion and independence for women is our internal mantra as we have various group schemes and Micro Insurance schemes which reach out to the women from the vulnerable classes and rural areas. It has been our privilege to associate with Bloomberg for their ‘Women in Leadership ‘initiative. It was a great experience to interact and acknowledge others who share our convictions. We appreciate Bloomberg  TV India for giving a platform to showcase those that make a difference to the society.”

    The new season of “Women in Leadership” features the fascinating journey’s of some of India’s most talented women entrepreneurs where they share their trials and triumphs, and most importantly, what it takes to become a successful entrepreneur. It focuses on encouraging women entrepreneurs who are confident, believe in themselves and have enormous appetite to take on the best in the business to beat them at their own game.

    The second season of “WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP” will telecast exclusively on Bloomberg TV India from July 2014. 

  • LEADER TALK with Sourav Ganguly & Sanjiv Goenka

    LEADER TALK with Sourav Ganguly & Sanjiv Goenka

    MUMBAI: After a successful first season last year, CNN-IBN is back with its second season of Leader Talk, in association with Gulf Oil. The talk show features some of the world’s most well-known corporate leaders and sports legends who come and share their ideas, thoughts and experiences on leadership and talk about their success mantras.

    On the second episode of this season, Rajdeep Sardesai gets up close and personal with Sourav Ganguly, Former Captain of the Indian Cricket Team and Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. In an ardent discussion on leadership, these two personalities hailing from Kolkata, speak about the qualities that helped them excel in their respective fields. Both Ganguly and Goenka believe that it is a leader’s duty to motivate his team and give them the confidence that they can deliver. Also, while Ganguly does not endorse the idea that ‘a leader is born’ and says that attitude and excellence make a leader, Goenka is of the belief that some people are born to lead whereas some people may be born into leadership positions but do not eventually end up leading.

    Don’t miss this episode of “Leader Talk – Season 2 with Sourav Ganguly & Sanjiv Goenka” on Saturday, June 21, 2014 at 12:30 PM followed by a repeat telecast on the same day at 10:30 PM and on Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 09:30 AM and 10:00 PM, only on CNN-IBN.

    For more information log onto: www.ibnlive.com/leadertalk

    Also, follw us on: www.facebook.com/leadertalk

     

  • Zee Business Awarded as Best Commodity Channel

    Zee Business Awarded as Best Commodity Channel

    MUMBAI: Zee Business part of India’s largest News Network, Zee Media Corporation Limited (formerly Zee News Ltd.) has been honoured by the Commodity Participants Association of India (CPAI) with a prestigious award ‘Best Commodity Programming’ for its contribution to commodity business in a glitterati ceremony in New Delhi. The award is in recognition of Zee Business’s tireless efforts to abreast the common man on the latest developments of the commodity market. Zee Business has been grooming and developing commodity future markets for the past 9 years.

     

    The award felicitated by the CPAI is to honor the efforts undertaken by the channel in providing futuristic trends, headwinds to the viewers. The channel telecasts a half an hour program based on commodities, known as ‘Mandi Live’ daily at 11.30 am and 5.30 pm respectively along with daily six commodity updates.

     

    The program ‘Mandi Live’ has been conceptualized by Zee Business with an aim to provide news, tips and strategy on commodities. However, there are six updates daily which cover entire commodity future & spot market space.

     

    The main focus of ‘Mandi Live’ programming is on ‘how to make money’ while incorporating market recommendations given by various broking houses as well as news updates.

     

    Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Amish Devgan, Editor Output said, “At Zee, we are driven by a strong consumer focus. Mandi Live has been conceptualized to engage viewers with on-going market trends, predictions and analysis. We are honoured to receive this award, for it shows our commitments towards our innovations in making quality programme which has been attracting huge viewership. We are known for quality reporting and this award once again motivates our zeal to work towards improving the quality of program”.

  • Mallika Sherawat exclusively speaks to Al Jazeera English on Bollywood’s impact on women

    Mallika Sherawat exclusively speaks to Al Jazeera English on Bollywood’s impact on women

    MUMBAI: I kissed on screen and was intimate with my co-stars to show realism on screen, Mallika Sherawat told Al Jazeera English in a candid panel discussion on Bollywood’s impact on gender norms in India in their special programming The Stream presented by Femi Oke and Malika Bilal.

     

    Bollywood’s multi-billion dollar industry has massive reach but can it shape gender norms in India? Seductive musical numbers stir debate about whether portrayals of women bleed into real-life relationships. Industry critics argue these films reinforce an unhealthy gender dynamic while others say its impact is overstated. Does Bollywood have a social responsibility?

     

    Speaking on Al Jazeera English, when asked about her views about the kind of roles you have done as an actress. Mallika replied,” When I started my career, it was almost a decade ago, I did films like ‘Murder’ which was a very-very controversial film for the time 10 years ago because it depicts a women having an extra marital affair, it depicts sexuality on screen, it depicts passion. But then I always thought that living in a 21st century how else will you show passion. It got to be real, it got to be realistic and that’s why I kissed on screen, I was intimate with my co-star because I wanted to bring a certain kind of realism on screen; which I think is very very important.”

     

    When asked about her thoughts on scantily clad no relevance to the plots item number. Mallika replied, “Singing and dancing has always been a part of Indian culture and Indian movies, that’s where Indian cinema is based of it came from Nautanki. Singing and Dancing has always been there. I don’t even know what is this called item number; I see it as a song and dance, which is a part of Bollywood movie, part of Bollywood tradition that makes Bollywood unique in every part of the world. I would like to say and ask what’s wrong with looking attractive and glamorous on screen for your audience. After all it’s a movie business and if you are glamorous and appealing. What’s wrong with that? Why actresses should be judged because they are looking good and glamorous. Are you trying to tell me that looking glamorous and sexy is invitation to rape? They definitely do not promote inequality. And why only actresses. You talk about men. There was very popular Bollywood movie called ‘Dostana’ where they objectified male star John Abraham. And if you talk about Brad Pitt, George Clooney. Traditionally I would say yes it is being women who were objectified but now it is just people. It’s objectification of people. There could be sexy and glamorous men; there could be appealing glamorous women as well on screen.”

     

    When asked about her comfort level on the roles she has been doing, Mallika said, “I look at it as art and I am again saying that I am doing nothing that promotes in equality of the women. On the contrary I have always portrayed very strong characters in my movies. And I have always looked to do parts which have a meaning. Be it ‘Murder’ where I have played a women who is lonely and she is having an extra marital affair and she is searching her meaning in life or be it ‘Pyar ke side effects’ or be it ‘Myth’ or be it any movie. I do nothing that promotes inequality. And as I said I mean where objectification is concerned, today it is objectification of people. But yes we all should take collective responsibility for it. We are all responsible for it. Why Bollywood everyone else is responsible for it. Are you trying to tell me those two poor girls who got raped in India and hanged on tree were objectified; were they provokably dressed. They were just relieving themselves in the field and they got raped. Are you gonna blame Bollywood for it.”

  • PALM Mumbai 2014 successful in all categories exceeding market expectations

    PALM Mumbai 2014 successful in all categories exceeding market expectations

    MUMBAI: The 14th successive PALM expo organised by Diversified Communications India fulfilled the scope and potential of the largest ever show in India. The internationally supported PALM India features the maximum number of manufacturers and leading brands ever – including Yamaha, Sennheiser, Shure, JBL, AKG, Soundcraft, Martin Lights, Robe, KV2, TOA, Prolyte, Bose, Bosch, Osram, Sonodyne, Phillips, Neutrik, among others.

     

    All International Brands’ Senior Management expressed complete satisfaction with the PALM organisation, in providing satisfactory and very high standards in all services, from registration process to a very high percentage of interested visitors of professional background.

     

    “Participation is meaningful for international high quality manufacturers only when we meet personally very knowledgeable professionals from the local market, who are also important buyers, in this respect PALM show gets full marks” these responses assure of the PALM attraction to the entire segment of the professional industry in stage light and sound, music production and AV integration.

     

    The highlight of the PALM Expo as in the past years is the HARMAN Live Arena, which was once again a huge attraction. The creation and construction of the Demo Qube exhibit at the PALM was a winner with the target delegates as this novel idea and its successful delivery at the PALM exhibited a tremendous effort and solution for the pro light and sound industry to provide original demo environment. “The Qube was very productive and leads to business and contributes to the growth and development of the market in India. The PALM deserves Kudos for fulfilling a need for professional demo space.”

     

    The PALM 2014 and its unique features covered a gross space of 18,000 sqm. Stage Sound and Lighting equipment + DJ Gear + Music Production and AV Install was showcased in Hall 1, the Qube Ground, Line Array Compound and Hall 5 Annex featuring the Harman Live Arena. Hall 2A was specially dedicated to registration of 18,000 attendees and visitor services including the PALM Souvenir Store. The Conference was held in the International Lounge. Concurrently the Music Expo was held in Hall 2B + 2C.

     

    Visitor Profile

    PALM 2014 marked a dramatic increase in turnout of pre-registered delegates and the highest growth for day one visitor registration at 57% with 6,353 visitors, with “very high quality profile”.

     

    Total attendance increased 28% to 20,966 trade visitors.

     

    The 14th Consecutive PALM show this year brought out not only the highest turnout ever but the largest component of industry buyers and professionals. Predictably the Stage Sound and Lighting + Event Production and DJs comprised 55% of visitors, this includes rental companies, entertainment media and event management.

     

    A trend was visible in the second largest visitor profile registered, from the AV Install and Systems Integration segment, comprising 31% of 18,000 visitors. This segment was from House of Worship, Education, Hospitality, performance Venues – Malls, Theatres, Auditorium, Theme Parks.

     

    Music production and studio segment comprised of 12% including the project studio category.

     

    Industry Awards

    The 8th IRAA (Indian Recording Arts Awards) ceremony was hosted at the PALM 2014 in the Features Hall. The renowned Andy Munro received the Global Innovation in Studio Design, applauding him was the largest gathering of sound engineers and studio owners. Daman Sood was awarded the IRAA Life Time Achievement Award.

     

    The 3rd PALM Sound and Light Awards were hosted at the PALM Exhibitors’ reception party. The 4th DJ Championship was held in the Features Hall with its highest participation. The DJ Soundscape with the added Conference and Workshop attracted hundreds of professional DJs.

     

    PALM continues to invest back into the industry platform with the objective to grow the industry and the international reputation of the Indian marketplace. The PALM organisation represents a highly knowledgeable team that delivers a trade show by the industry for the industry, and a neutral and independent convention.

  • Discovery Channel brings its first scripted series ‘Klondike’

    Discovery Channel brings its first scripted series ‘Klondike’

    MUMBAI: Discovery Channel presents its first scripted series KLONDIKE, which focuses on the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s and is based on Charlotte Gray’s book Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike.

     

    Featuring an all-star cast including Richard Madden (King of the North Robb Stark on Game of Thrones, A Promise), Abbie Cornish (RoboCop, Limitless), Tim Roth (Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs) and Sam Shepard (August: Osage County, Out Of The Furnace), KLONDIKE tells the powerful story of the last great Gold Rush in our history. This epic six hour series will air from June 23 to 28, every night at 10 PM.

     

    Based on Charlotte Gray’s book “Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike,” the six-part period drama brings to life the tale of seven strangers and their collective fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier town in the remote Klondike. The journey begins in 1897 when two childhood best friends, Bill (Madden) and Epstein (Augustus Prew) make the perilous journey through the North American wilderness to Klondike boom town Dawson City, “The Paris of the North,” where neither law nor order prevailed.  In the untamed Yukon Territory during a period of outrageous lawlessness – murder, revenge, riches, violence and redemption awaited these two young, ambitious men who made the arduous, back-breaking journey to Dawson City.

     

    Commenting on the new series, Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President & GM, South Asia and Head of Revenue, Pan-Regional Ad Sales and Southeast Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said, “Discovery Channel continues to bring compelling stories that would be relatable to our audience.  Klondike transports viewers back to the tail end of 19th-century life, and is presented in a refreshing format to offer a contemporary appeal.”

     

    KLONDIKE is a man-versus-nature tale that places the characters in a land full of undiscovered wealth, but ravaged by harsh conditions, unpredictable weather and deceptive, dangerous individuals fueled by desperateness – including greedy businessmen, seductive courtesans and native tribes witnessing the destruction of their people and land by opportunistic entrepreneurs.

     

    Even danger and death could not stand in the way between the gold diggers and their opportunity to hit pay dirt.

     

    Starting June 23, KLONDIKE, airs Monday to Saturday at 10 PM, only on Discovery Channel.

  • ET Now completes 5 years of covering business news

    ET Now completes 5 years of covering business news

    MUMBAI: ET Now has completed five years of broadcasting business news today. The channel has been known for its comprehensive coverage and analysis of markets, business and economy. On the occasion, the channel has come up with a theme titled ‘Five years of Excellence.’

     

    Being a business News channel, some of India’s corporate giants congratulated ET Now for its superior, unbiased and independent coverage.

     

    ICICI Bank chairman K.V Kamath complimented saying, “‘ET Now is not only the default channel but also the go-to channel, when you know something is happening out there and you want to get a grip of it.”

     

    Infosys chairman NR Narayana Murthy added, “Congratulations to ET Now for completing five wonderful years. The channel has scaled up using innovation, hard work and some extraordinary ideas. It has reporters who are enthusiastic, energetic, hungry, inquisitive and very persuasive. Its anchors ask deep, proactive questions and bring out the best in the interviews.”

     

    Bharti enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal too added his good wishes for the channel. “I compliment team ET Now for having built a fine business channel in a very short span of time. I turn to the channel for getting updated about the economy and corporate India.  ET Now can be relied upon for getting news which can be verified by various stakeholders and that makes the channel unique.”

     

     Joining him in wishing the channel was Mahindra and Mahindra chairman and MD Anand Mahindra. “Congratulations and best wishes to ET Now on its fifth anniversary. In an increasingly cluttered media landscape, ET Now stands apart for its insight, initiative and integrity while covering Indian business and the economy. With the country poised yet again at a crossroad, I look forward to watching ET Now as it unveils the next chapter in the story of a nation on the move,” he concluded.  

     

    To drive consumer engagement, the channel had arranged a contest titled ‘You Wish. You Win’ that invited the viewers to share their messages on Facebook, Twitter and Google + using #FiveYearsOfExcellence. The best entries received till 17 June were entitled to win some cool gifts.

  • SES and EBU Broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup in Ultra HD

    SES and EBU Broadcast 2014 FIFA World Cup in Ultra HD

    MUMBAI:  SES today announced that Eurovision – the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) distributor of premium sports and news events – is broadcasting the 2014 FIFA World Cup to audiences throughout North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia in Ultra HD and HD via SES satellites.

     

    Eurovision is distributing matches live in Ultra HD to their global network using the NSS-806 satellite and SES’s teleport in Manassas. SES’s NSS-7 and SES-6 spacecraft are being used to enable Eurovision to deliver matches from the 12 World Cup venues throughout Brazil to the International Broadcast Center in Rio de Janeiro.

     

    “Eurovision and the EBU are gearing up for one of the largest broadcast operations requirements in the history of the World Cup, now including Ultra HD content. The live coverage of some matches in Ultra HD will allow consumers to catch a glimpse of the future of TV,” said Paolo Pusterla, Eurovision’s Head of Procurement.

     

    “Consumers today expect higher and better image quality when watching TV. We are proud to be able to continue working with Eurovision to fulfill the ever-changing demands of broadcasters with confidence, by providing hybrid solutions to deliver coverage of this spectacular sporting event to over 3 billion people around the world,” said Samantha McCloskey, Vice President of Global Occasional Use Services at SES.

     

    More on the SES 2014 FIFA World Cup coverage and SES Occasional Use Services under: http://www.ses.com/fifa-world-cup and www.ses.com/occasional-use

     

    SES is participating at CommunicAsia2014 (hall C, level 1) and CommunicAsia2014 Summit at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore, from 17 – 20 June 2014. For more information on the booth, visit: http://www.ses.com/18836830/CommunicAsia2014