ITV

Category: Stage set

  • Stage set for first digital mobile TV pilot in Spain

    MUMBAI: Abertis Telecom, Nokia and Telefonica Moviles Espana are starting a mobile TV pilot using Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) technology. The project, which is backed by major regional and local channels, is first of its kind to take place in Spain.

    The pilot is a result of the convergence of mobile communications and TV broadcasting technologies. The pilot will take place in Madrid and Barcelona between September 2005 and February 2006, coinciding with the closing ceremony of the GSM World Congress 2006 in Barcelona.

    500 users from Madrid and Barcelona will be able to watch high quality broadcast TV content from Antena 3, Sogecable, Telecinco, Telemadrid, TVE and TV3 on Nokia 7710 smartphones equipped with a special accessory to receive mobile TV broadcasts. With a wide color touch-screen (640 x 320 pixels) and stereo music player, users will also have the opportunity to take part in program related interactive services while watching TV, stated an official release.

    The first technical pilots prior to the actual consumer pilot will start in June 2005. The consumer pilot will allow the three companies to test the feasibility of DVB-H technology and new mobile TV services. It will also be a chance to assess new business opportunities as well as refine the user experience. The pilot will assist in possible market research that would enable Abertis Telecom, Nokia and Telefonica Moviles to measure public interest in mobile TV services.

    Another important objective is to test the quality of the signal and broadcast in- and outdoors, in order to determine the best technical parameters for the viability of DVB-H based services. Under the terms of the agreement, Telefonica Moviles is responsible for customer support, invoicing and interactive services. Abertis Telecom will broadcast the programs in Madrid and Barcelona and are also handling any technical issues with DVB-H signal. Nokia will provide the Mobile TV solution and smartphones that will be used for the pilot, the release added.

    Abertis Telecom is one of the leaders in telecommunications infrastructure and services in Spain. These services include: analogic/digital radio and television broadcasting, mobile radio communications for security and emergency forces and telecommunications services for phone operators. Telefonica Moviles Group offers a full range of services and applications portfolio that uses the latest mobile technologies, including UMTS. Telefonica Moviles is one of the world’s leading mobile carriers and the leader in the Latin American and Portuguese sectors, the release informed.

  • Stage set for seminar on Indian online industry

    MUMBAI: The good old Dot Com days are back. Keeping in mind the needs of the Dot Com fraternity in India, a few major Dot Coms came together to form the Internet and Online Association earlier this year. The body, which will be the representative of the Online companies, is holding a one day seminar where different issues related to the online industry will be addressed. The seminar will be held in Mumbai tomorrow (1 October).
     
     
    The keynote address – ‘The Tides Are Turning’ will be given by Rediff.com chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan, where he will address the real truth about effective eMarketing programs.
     
     

    Session one – ‘Knock Knock, Who’s There?- Actionable eMarketing’ will be moderated by DoubleClick International product director Ramesh Kannan. Session two, interestingly titled ‘Mouse Potato or Couch Potato’ will be addressed by McCann Erickson president Santosh Desai. He will talk about consumer engagement time, which is one of the most important criteria that media planners use to determine the underlying value of each medium. Desai will also delve into how the increasing number of hours Indians spend online is rewriting the rules of consumer engagement and is taking communications away from purely being a function or information to a higher ground of branded ‘experience’.

    Real Media UK Technology Solutions Director Murly Tiwari will address the third session called ‘Catch me if you can – Is Ad Serving equal to Web Analytics?’ This 45 minutes session will be followed by a Q&A round.
     
    Hungama.com CEO Neeraj Roy will moderate session four – ‘Have your cake and eat it too ? – Branding versus direct response?’, where eminent speakers from marketing, media and creative will discuss / debate the big questions that are confronting interactive marketing professionals. Speakers will include Marico Industries marketing head Saugata Gupta, ICICI Bank head of NRI business P Gopakumar, Starcom MD Ravi Kiran, Lodestar executive director Shashi Sinha, Mediaturf Worldwide national creative director Raja Ray and Real Media UK Technology Solutions director Murly Tiwari. The panel will debate about how much should one invest on interactive advertising, branding versus direct response, online versus offline, how marketers should leverage multiple media channels to break through to today’s busy consumer as consumer attention is the ultimate currency and more.

    Session five, on the other hand, will address the issue of where India stands vis-a-vis other markets? GroupM South Asia chairman Andre Nair will talk about the residential mass market as well as enterprise end users of all sizes are driving the communications industry into the future.

    Intel India marketing director Jayant Murty will speak on ‘Beyond Computing – an Intel Perspective’, where he will talk about what the consumer can expect in the next 18 months. Mediaturf CEO and IAO chairman V Ramani will moderate the session on ‘Box Office Or Flop? – How to Measure the ROI of Online Advertising’. The panel for this session will comprise Citibank VP and Head (Internet, Mobile and e-Commerce) Sriram Jagannathan, Thomas Cook India Ltd CEO and MD Ashwini Kakkarv, IRCTC Group GM – IT services Amitabh Pandey, Ramesh Kannan, International Product Director, DoubleClick Grey Interactive Sudhir Nair and Baazee.com CEO Avnish Bajaj.