ITV

Category: Event Coverage

  • Indians notch up MipTV success

    Indians notch up MipTV success

    MUMBAI: MipTV, the world’s biggest content marketplace, which ended last week in Cannes, proved to be a very successful one for India’s content creators, distributors and aggregators.

    Some 43 production, broadcasting and mobile phone companies jetted their way down to Cannes to keep a tab on content trends in Europe and globally, buy and sell films, series and formats, find co-production partners and schmooze with the world’s most important players in the TV, animation, film and mobile content sweepstakes.
    The change this time around was that TV producers have invested in buying formats as against just broadcasters doing so. “The power has been weighing heavily in the hands of TV channel programming executives who have been behaving in a high handed manner with TV producers ordering them around as if they were serfs and they – the programmers – the fount of all that is creative,” one of the producers was candid enough to say. “Now with us buying formats, we will also be able to have our say. The times have to change. More power has to come to TV producers’ hands.”
    And mobile players from India aggressively scoured the landscape looking to do deals for video. Among these: Reliance Infocomm, Hungama Mobile, and Cellnext Solutions.

    Almost everyone who attended the market from India went back with a smile on their faces. Krishna Durbha Head of Business and Marketing – Reliance Infocomm Ltd., Applications Solutions Group (India), a panelist at a session on Asian markets, received a standing ovation and was spoken of as one of the more eloquent and candid speakers during the conference programme. Says Durbha: “It’s been a major eye opener for us. We are in the content space for the mobile and I got at least half a dozen leads which will lead to positive results.”

    Sahara Motion Pictures, which took a stand for the first time, was so delighted with the response that it has evinced interest in exhibiting in MipCom as well. “MipTV proved a great platform for us for creating business opportunities,” says Sandeep Bhargava, Chief. Operating Officer, Sahara One Motion Pictures. “We get to meet the who’s who of content in the world in one place and get results.”

    Sony Entertainment Television India, which took a stand, too had a rewarding market. Led by Kaushal Modi on the sales and syndication side, and by programming head Anupama Mandloi on acquisition, the content owner had a very busy market.

    WEG India, Eros and Suman – three other companies that have been attending and exhibiting at MipTV and MipCom for several years now – too had a good market. “Both MipCom and MipTV to be honest are great ways for us to meet, greet and service all our clients at one place,” says Vimal Gupta of the UK based distributor Suman Film.

    Zee TV, which was represented by Deblina Chakrabarty, Parul Chatruvedi and digital head Abhijit Saxena, too, made its mark. While Chakrabarty was sizing up opportunites for content acquisition – though she had a fall from the stairs in the Palais des Festivals and was even taken to hospital – Chatturvedi was exploring how India’s largest network could up its syndication revenues. Saxena – like a lone ranger – moved around in the shadows meeting all and sundry trying to further milk the potential of the 60,000 hours or so of the Zee TV content library, which is currently being digitized by IBM. Watch out for action in this space from Saxena as Zee TV chairman Subhash Chandra is himself driving the digital initiative with Saxena as his lieutenant.

    Star India, which used to have a separate stand until a year and a half ago when it was brought under the umbrella of Hong Kong based centralized syndication arm Fortune Star, too had a sizeable presence. Viren Popley, Ravi Menon and Manju Nair were at the forefront of the Star TV charge. Syndication experts however point out that it would be better if Star India’s Hindi content were not subsumed by the larger interests of Fortune Star’s huge Chinese library. A separate stand with a separate identity for Star India would help it further exploit its syndication potential.

    Other broadcasters who made their way to the market included NDTV (represented by KVL Narayan Rao and I.P. “Baj” Bajpai) and Aaj Tak (CEO G Krishnan).

    The buzz this year from the Indian delegation was centered around the production companies. Optimystix, Contiloe, Miditech, Maverick, Clapstem, AIM Television, UTV, ESP Films were amongst those who made waves. ESP is on the verge of signing a huge deal with a European producer for co-producing a new documentary.

    Sorely missed at MipTV were the two other big players Balaji Telefilms and BAG Films, who, are missing out on several opportunities in the global content marketplace. “Agreed they are more than busy in the domestic marketplace,” says a Cannes veteran. “But not being present internationally means that not many people in the world know you at a time when boundaries between nations are dissolving and cultures are beginning to merge. That is a huge opportunity loss.”

    The animation presence at MipTV came in the shape of Maya, Crest, Toonz Animation, Graphiti Multimedia which continued with their efforts to make themselves better understood by the world at large. And in the process snap up some co-production, original IP deals.

    Indian presence at MipTV:

    Aim Television Pvt. Ltd.
    Broadcast Worldwide Limited
    Cellnext Solutions Limited
    Clapstem Productions
    Color Chips India Limited
    Contiloe Films Pvt Ltd.
    Dawsen Infotech Private Limited
    Dessin Works
    Digikore Studios Limited
    Digimate Productions
    DQ Entertainment Ltd
    Escotoonz Entertainment Pvt Ltd (Subsidiary Of Escosoft Tech)
    ESP Films
    Fortune Star
    Fusion Films Inc. (Part Of Giriraj Group)
    Graphiti Multimedia Pvt Ltd
    HTMT
    I Stylus
    Maverick Productions Pvt. Ltd.
    Maya Entertainment Ltd.
    Miditech Pvt. Ltd.
    New Delhi Television Limited
    Optimystix Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd.
    Oxigen Infovision Pvt. Ltd
    Percept Picture Company Pvt Ltd
    React Media Pvt Ltd
    Sahara One Media And Entertainment Limited
    Sony Entertainment Television India (P) Ltd
    Super Cassettes Industries Limited Aka-T-Series
    Toonz Animation India Pvt. Ltd
    TV Today Network Ltd
    UTV / Hungama TV
    Video Movie International
    Weg India Pictures Pvt Ltd
    Zee Telefilms Limited

  • Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Eurodata announce Audience Award nominees

    Monte-Carlo TV Festival, Eurodata announce Audience Award nominees

    CANNES: The Monte-Carlo TV Festival and Eurodata TV Worldwide announced at MipTV the nominees for the inaugural International TV Audience Awards. These Awards reward the highest-rated shows in the drama, comedy and telenovela/soap opera categories.

    The Awards will be presented based on the sum of TV ratings across five continents. The nominees are pre-selected among the ten best imported fiction programs in 51 countries, i.e., 2.5 billion potential viewers.

    Nominees for drama are Lost, CSI and Without a Trace; the comedy nominees are Desperate Housewives, Joey and Mr. Bean; and the telenovela/soap nominees are The Bold and the Beautiful from the U.S., Rubi from Mexico and Pasión de Gavilanes from Colombia.

    The winners will be presented at the 46th Monte Carlo Television Festival Awards on 1 July in Monaco.

  • Endemol secures deals on reality formats

    Endemol secures deals on reality formats

    CANNES: Endemol international has secured a range of agreements on its reality formats, including Fear Factor, in addition to several new game show format deals.

    The format of Fear Factor has also just gone to air on SET India. The format has now been sold to 24 countries worldwide including the U.S.

    Set to premier this April, Fear Factor will air on RTL in Croatia, Show TV in Turkey, and later this year on Caracol in Columbia. This follows the success of the format’s recent launches in Indonesia on RCTI and Malaysia on Channel 7. The series is made on locations in Argentina and Malaysia as a co-production between Endemol affiliates.

    The Match , the sports reality format, has been acquired in Croatia by HRT and in Switzerland by SFDRS. And, Fool Around With is due to launch on Europe TV in France later this year.

    The Big Brother rollout will premiere on Top Channel in Albania this September. This follows the launch of the first series on 17 March in Serbia on B92, simulcast in Bosnia on Pink TV. The format has now been sold to 38 countries.

    Endemol’s director of international sales Ed Louwerse said, “All the signs are that the worldwide reality TV phenomenon is here to stay. The vintage formats are as popular as ever and the more recent hits are showing significant growth.”

  • OpenTV adds Auction and Sales modules to its multi-platform product

    OpenTV adds Auction and Sales modules to its multi-platform product

    CANNES: OpenTV Corp., which provides technology solutions for advanced digital television services, has released new Auction and Sales modules that will add support for television auctions and sales to its multi-platform OpenTV Participate product. OpenTV Participate enables viewers to participate in real-time or time-shifted competitions, votes, polls, quizzes and games, via mobile phones, web, IVR, and TV remote controls.

    The Auction and Sales modules are fully integrated with existing OpenTV Participate modules, including third party billing, fulfillment, accounts, customer care, bonus, loyalty, and marketing. Operators can now run a dedicated shopping or auction channel or individual shopping or auction events.

    As with all OpenTV Participate modules, the new Sales and Auction modules utilize wizard-based logic, enabling almost any type of sales or auction event-including the popular ‘bid up’ and ‘bid down’ auction models-to be created by non technical personnel. Support for selling content is also included, enabling broadcasters to offer pay-per-use and on-demand services such as mobile TV clips, downloads, or video streaming on any platform, states an official release.
    With these new modules, OpenTV continues to enhance OpenTV Participate’s unprecedented combination of functionality in a single, scalable system, enabling broadcasters and programmers to offer their viewers an even richer choice of interactive products and services.

    “Our vision for OpenTV Participate is to enable broadcasters to convert passive viewers into active customers by offering compelling interactive services and building a profile of their viewers’ TV habits,” said Amos Manasseh, OpenTV’s VP of Global Sales and Marketing for Participation Television. “These new modules further advance this vision as well as OpenTV Participate’s unique position in the market place, benefiting both broadcasters and advertisers alike.”

    OpenTV will be demonstrating OpenTV Participate at the upcoming MipTV/MILLA, NAB, and NCTA conferences, the release adds.

  • BVITV ties up with European & Asian broadcasters

    BVITV ties up with European & Asian broadcasters

    CANNES: Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) has announced a range of deals with broadcasters in Europe and Asia snapping up the company’s slate of kids’ shows, dramas and formats, on the first day of MipTV.

    The format for Extreme Makeover has been licensed to ICTV in Ukraine. ICTV also took the British version of Extreme Makeover, the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy as well as slate of features, among them Dick Tracy, The Waterboy and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

    Also in Ukraine, New Channel has licensed the first three series of the hit comedy According to Jim plus the features Three Men and a Baby, Arachnophobia and Born Yesterday. In a separate deal, New Channel has also licensed Jetix Europe programming like W.I.T.C.H.

    Ukraine broadcaster STB also picked up a series of titles, among them The Color of Money, The Three Musketeers, Turner and Hooch and the reality series Miracle Workers.

    TV Nova in the Czech Republic has taken a raft of features, series, kids’ programming and TV movies. The network is set to launch Lost, which has been licensed to more than 210 markets, features like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Seabiscuit; and library features including Pretty Woman and Sister Act. On the kids front, TV Nova will launch a new Disney-branded kids’ block, Disney Club, running weekly for two hours, and has licensed a selection of Jetix Europe shows.

    In Thailand, BBTV has renewed its multiyear agreement with BVITV-AP for live-action series, current features and Disney animation, and has signed a new package deal for animated features from Disney’s Classic Treasures, which will air for the first time on Thai terrestrial television.

    Under the multi-year agreement, kids in Thailand will continue to have access to top Disney shows on the Disney Club block that runs every Saturday morning from 6:50 am. to 8:30 am. Also, terrestrial audiences will have access to a slate of international box office hits including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Seabiscuit.

  • Ericsson to boost mobile TV experience with on-demand services at MipTV

    Ericsson to boost mobile TV experience with on-demand services at MipTV

    MUMBAI: Taking the next evolutionary step in mobile TV, Ericsson will showcase its enhanced program guide for mobile TV at the TV and broadcasting event MipTV/Milia.

    The application integrates television and on-demand mobile television services in one location in one device.

    In an official statement, using the solution, Ericsson will demonstrate how a wide range of TV and on-demand programs can be well structured and easily accessed in one location on the mobile.

    The solution also allows users to easily access stored content for playback, making the mobile TV service even more attractive and personal.

    The enhanced program guide feature provides mobile TV users with comprehensive information on each program, providing users with a rich TV experience.

    Ericsson Mobility World VP Kurt Sillén says that personalization and ease-of-use are essential for mass-market uptake of the service.

    “Adding on-demand TV to the program guide will stimulate consumption and bring new revenues to the whole mobile media industry,” Sillén adds.

    Ericsson Consumer and Enterprise Lab studies show that consumer interest in mobile TV is often based on situation and an attractive option for filling time.

    With on-demand services, users can access recorded programs, yesterday’s highlights and archived material whenever they please. Both TV and on-demand services are necessary to meet the requirements of mobile TV users.

    The enhanced application will be commercially available as part of Ericsson’s Mobile TV and Video solution in the fourth quarter of 2006, informs the release.

    Ericsson provides operators with a true end-to-end solution that utilizes the WCDMA and GSM/EDGE mobile networks for commercial mobile TV and video services.

    Today, existing 3G mobile technology enables service providers to launch high-quality and cost-efficient mobile TV services.

    By the end of 2005, more than 40 operators had commercially launched mobile TV over mobile networks via unicast. As mobile TV becomes a mass-market service, mobile network broadcast technologies, such as MBMS (Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services) will be added to mobile networks to further boost capacity.

    Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.

  • It’s ‘All In The Game’ for Granada Intl at MIPTV

    It’s ‘All In The Game’ for Granada Intl at MIPTV

    CANNES: A new TV movie – All In The Game – starring Ray Winstone and Roy Marsden and produced by UK’s Tightrope Pictures, is being showcased by Granada International at the television event MIPTV in Cannes, France.

    This distribution deal is the first between Granada International and Tightrope Pictures. The company has already produced a number of dramas including The Girl in the Café, To The Ends of the Earth and Dad.

    All In The Game is a depiction of the modern football industry. Winstone plays Frankie, a larger-than-life football manager who, together with his son, has made a nice life for himself in the game – with fast cars and big houses, but not always secured through “above board” means. But his scams are starting to show through and suspicions are being raised.

    His latest and perhaps biggest plan centres around a young new player called Joel. Hugely talented and naive, Joel’s loss of innocence is mirrored in the fall of the game to the corrupt money men. It’s no longer about playing your best and winning or losing. It’s all about money and winning at all costs.

    Granada International drama head Noel Hedges said, “As a riveting drama about the ‘beautiful game’ and with the World Cup coming up this summer, we’re thrilled to be taking this to MIPTV 2006. It is a top quality piece of UK drama from a great writer with fantastic performances from a highly talented cast.”

  • Rainbow Media inks multiple licensing agreements at MipTV

    Rainbow Media inks multiple licensing agreements at MipTV

    CANNES: Rainbow Media Holdings and its London-based distributor iD Distribution have announced an explosion of international licensing agreements for Rainbow’s WE: Women’s Entertainment at MipTV.

    Spanning countries in four continents, these deals – which involve the signature series Daddy’s Spoiled Little Girl, Secret Lives of Women and Style Me – mark significant progress for Rainbow in its global market debut of WE.

    The news also affirms Rainbow’s success in its broader strategy to expand its brands internationally, having kicked off the effort at MipCom 2005.
    “We are obviously gratified by the terrific response we have received for our programming around the world. This is an incredible way to start what promises to be a rich pattern of global growth for the WE brand,” said Rainbow senior vice president business development Glenn Oakley.

    “WE’s high quality programming is a solid offering to broadcasters for its smart and edgy subject matter. These series have a proven entertainment value, and we are delighted at the opportunity to provide them to international audiences,” added iD Distribution managing director Sally Miles.

    The deals are as follows:

    Daddy’s Spoiled Little Girl (12 x 30’) – Sold to TV400 (Sweden), TV2 (Denmark), SBS (Belgium), Digiturk (Turkey), Sub TV (Finland), Orion Media (Korea), MBC (Middle East) and Sky Network Television (New Zealand). In this original series, WE looks at father/daughter duos who take “daddy’s little girl” to new heights. Rich or poor, these dads indulge even the most outrageous requests, including ‘faux mitzvah’ parties, $200,000 Bentley’s, private jets to Rome and shopping sprees in Paris.

    Style Me (2 x 60’ and 6 x 30’) – Sold to Kanal 5 (Sweden) and Sky Network Television (New Zealand). This reality-based show seeks to create the next top celebrity stylist for series host Rachel Hunter. Twelve contestants vie for the top spot and the chance to win $10,000 in cash plus a one-year contract with a talent agency and the opportunity to style Hunter for an A-list, red carpet event.

    Secret Lives of Women (9 x 60’) – Completed program rights only sold to TV400 (Sweden) and MBC (Middle East). This series explores the double-lives that some women lead, from plastic surgery addicts and anorexics to forensic sex investigators and shopaholics.
    Currently seen in over 58 million US homes, WE: Women’s Entertainment is the only cable network dedicated to helping women connect to one another and the world around them.

  • FICCI’s report on the entertainment industry projects optimistic figures

    FICCI’s report on the entertainment industry projects optimistic figures

    The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has compiled a report “The Indian Entertainment Industry: Strategy & Vision” with the assistence of Arthur Anderson. It was officially released at the “International Conference on the Business of Entertainment: India-Opportunities in the 21st Century” held in Mumbai on 30 March, 2000.

    The report presents very optimistic figures pertaining to the entertainment industry and makes some recommendations to the government to facilitate the growth of the industry. It expects the turnover of the entertainment industry to touch Rs 600 billion. The report says that the future of television broadcasting belongs to the satellite channels. The market of regional channels is huge with more and more players like Zee and Broadcast Worldwide making a foray into the regional channel market. Even the niche channels like Nickelodeon, Maharishi, Cartoon network, Fashion TV, ESPN, Discovery, Channel V etc have a tremendous potential and their huge success indicates the fragmentation of audience. Regarding the Direct-To-Home (DTH) mode of distribution of television channels, the report says that it too has a tremendous potential and if the segment is opened up, there would be 1 million DTH homes in India by 2002.

    FICCI recommends that the government should lift the ban on the use of KU Band reception equipments as it will be incongruent in a scenario of freely viewable television channels over the Internet. It also suggests that the government should privatise the terrestrial network along with introduction of DTH which will enable the smaller cities to receive satellite channels as the cable operators ignore that segment. Another important point highlighted is the ammendment in the conditions for the presumptive rate of taxation of foreign companies which stands at the rate of 10% of deemed profits. A legislation clarifying the taxation of foreign telecasting companies is demanded.

    Development of about two to three earth stations in India within the next six to seven years would generate revenues between $12 million to $23 million as Indian as well as foreign channels would consider uplinking from India. The Government can generate revenues between $12 million to $23 million by leasing a part of its terrestrial network. The level of employment can double from the existing 2,50,000 people in the next three to five years. The growth in the broadcasting industry will simulate a similar trend in industries such as the television software industry, film industry, the music industry and even the equipment and hardware manufacturing industry which directly depend on the broadcasting sector.

    In the cable television sector, FICCI has requested the government to rectify the hinderences in the growth of the cable television market due to restrictions on foreign equity participation and the short-sightedness of the Cable Television (Networks) Act, 1995 and the archaic Indian Telegraphs Act, 1885. The growth of the cable television industry would help the government in generating more revenues in the form of taxes. The penetration of Internet to the common man can also increase with the growth of the cable television industry. Employment in this sector stands at 2,50,000 people. Additional 4,00,000 peaple can be employed in the next three to five years.

    On the television software side, FICCI has requested the government to nominate a representative who would be an active member and assist in industry issues like hardware insurance, copyright protection, etc. The government should also facilitate the growth of training institutions focussing on software development that would help the students learn modern techniques on up-to-date equipment and be aware of the dynamic trends in the entertainment industry. The television software and entertainment companies should also benefit similarly from the 10% listing criterion currently enjoyed by infotech companies as it would help in giving adequate ESOPs. Another benefit of utilising 100% proceedings of funds raised through ADR/GDR issues to acquire overseas companies is enjoyed only by IT industries and this benefit should also be made available to other companies.

    Owing to the increase in revenues in this segment to $2,093 million by 2005, the government’s tax collections will rise to $318 million. If proper and adequate incentives are provided by the government, the export earnings from this segment will rise to $233 million within the next two years, from the current $81 million. The industry expects this figure to touch $1.356 billion by the year 2005. Direct and indirect employment will rise from the current level of 1 million to 2 million by the year 2005.