ITV

Category: Software

  • GSTV to deploy WASP3D workflow solution

    GSTV to deploy WASP3D workflow solution

    MUMBAI: Gujarat Samachar will deploy Beehive Systems WASP3D workflow based on-air graphics solution for its recently launched television channel GSTV.

    GSTV will largely broadcast live news content along with some entertainment and advertiser-funded programs (AFP), targeting Gujarati community in and outside the state.

    WASP3D is being used for creating all its on-air graphics (tickers, name bands, bugs, and scrolls etc.), virtual sets and is integrated with Octopus Newsroom NRCS and Harris play out automation system.
     
    GSTV Promoter Shreyansh Shah said, "This project is of great strategic importance to our group and we looked to WASP3D because of their experience in broadcast graphics space. We wanted a graphics solution that is powerful yet flexible to handle variety of programming."

  • Afghan channel Zhwandoon TV to be beamed via AsiaSat 3S

    Afghan channel Zhwandoon TV to be beamed via AsiaSat 3S

    MUMBAI: Asia Satellite Telecommunications (AsiaSat) has signed a lease agreement with Zhwandoon Radio Television Network of Afghanistan for C-band capacity on AsiaSat 3S to distribute Zhwandoon TV.

    Zhwandoon TV has commenced free-to-air broadcasting on AsiaSat 3S, offering programming in the Pashto and Dari languages, with content ranging from news, entertainment, sports, music, religious to social, educational and political programmes.
     
    Through AsiaSat 3S‘s access across the Asia Pacific, Zhwandoon TV will reach all broadcast networks and audiences in Afghanistan besides Central Asia, Middle East, South Asia and other parts of Asia Pacific.

    “We are excited to put our service on AsiaSat 3S that delivers our programming effectively to the entire country and takes our services abroad, serving overseas audience in more 50 countries and regions across the Asia Pacific. AsiaSat 3S is the region‘s most popular satellite for programme distribution. Its excellent penetration into rebroadcast networks in our country and in Asia will help increase our local and overseas viewership,” said Zhwandoon TV Chief Executive Professor Mohammad Ismael Yoon.

    “We are very pleased to announce the addition of Zhwandoon TV to AsiaSat 3S‘s exciting portfolio of Pashto and Dari language programming. AsiaSat 3S‘s leading position in distributing a wide range of programming to an audience of different cultures in Asia is well recognised and appreciated by broadcasters from all over the world,” said AsiaSat President and CEO William Wade.

  • ZEE launches mobile app for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

    ZEE launches mobile app for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa

    MUMBAI: After the mega success of the Dance India Dance mobile wap & app that received over 7 lakh downloads and won a Gold at the ‘Smarties‘, Zee TV has announced the launch of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa 2012‘ mobile app.

    Now fans of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ can connect with their favourite show on their mobiles even beyond watching the show every weekend on Zee TV at 9 PM. Loaded with many interactive features, it makes the experience completely social. The app allows you to listen, share, and comment on everything related to the show. The app is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter.

    Today, mobiles are an extension of everyone‘s lifestyles – we use our cellphones for almost everything, including capturing pictures and storing music. With this in mind, Zee TV‘s ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ wanted to provide a mobile experience that gave viewers different ways to enjoy their music. It is an innovation in the reality show genre on Indian television as it‘s a new way for audience‘s to engage with a quality app on a mobile device. Following a successful collaboration for the ‘Dance India Dance‘ app, Zee TV continues its partnership with Mobilox Innovations Pvt. Ltd to develop the ‘Hero Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ Mobile APP technology.

    Did we mention that it‘s free? To download the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ App, one just needs to give a missed call at 18002661614. You will receive an SMS with a link in the message and on clicking the link, you can download the app absolutely free of cost. The ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ mobile App has been designed to take interactivity and viewer‘s feedback to the next level. Once you download the app, it will provide you with a gateway to information about every stage of the competition. The app has features that will engage with viewers in real time like‘Vote for your Favourite Contestants‘ with no extra charges, chat with mentors, get latest updates and also allows one to access all the Twitter messages and Facebook posts of all contestants and mentors on one page.

    There are ‘Competition Charts‘ to map the progress of a contestant and features like ‘Live Comments‘ will give you a platform to appreciate your favourite contestant or mentor while you watch them sing on television. The ‘Music Tutorials‘ tab in the app will allow viewers to take music lessons from mentors, anchor and contestants. It will also give them useful tips on live performance, music recordings and lots of trivia on music. It‘s a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn music from the stalwarts in the music industry, Shankar Mahadevan, Sajid-Wajid, Rahul Ram and Javed Ali. One can also access the best performances and images of the show using the‘Media Gallery‘ anytime, anywhere.

    "The DID App was just the start of our quest to be innovators in exploring the digital medium. It is gratifying to know that at a time when ‘on-demand‘ entertainment is the order of the day, we are able to provide our viewers with content that keeps them engrossed and engaged," said Akash Chawla, Head – Marketing, National Channels, ZEEL and adds, "Zee TV is committed to developing and delivering technology that supports our growth and distinguishes our brand for offering the very best viewer experience The launch of the new ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ Mobile App highlights our determination to invest in technologies that help us exceed our viewer‘ expectations and enable our brands to have their identity beyond the TV screen. We know that our viewers rely on their mobile devices now more than ever, and we are glad to provide them with this exciting new app in a way that is uniquely ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘."

    With the rapidly changing landscape and to further distinguish the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ brand in India, the app is designed to meet the expectations of the demanding, active and inspired music fans in India. It will surely change the way that users interact with music. For maximum convenience, the ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa‘ mobile app can be accessed anytime, anywhere – perfect for a long flight, journey to work or a train ride

  • Techzone partners with Sunburn, offers WAP page for international music

    Techzone partners with Sunburn, offers WAP page for international music

    MUMBAI: Techzone, the largest aggregators, developers, publishers and distributors of entertainment content, has become the official partner of Asia‘s premier Dance Music Festival "SUNBURN" for offering a single platform to users for accessing unlimited international music via PLAYGROUND, and valuable informative content on Sunburn via WAP, CRBT and SMS services.

    With this association, users will get to completely get into the groove of Sunburn as PLAYGROUND will open up the biggest library of international music in India for all the music lovers and offer them unlimited free access for 3 days. To add to it, the specially created WAP page allows an interactive platform that allows customers to browse and download more than 2,00,000 + International music tracks from the two labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music International, Videos, Artists‘ trivia, gossips, program schedule, festival guide, exclusive photo gallery, has voting options etc. All this, right through their mobile phones, while they are on the move without worrying about the long buffer time of downloads and the screen misfits for the web pages by simply sending SMS SUNBURN to 56060.

    It‘s the first time in the VAS industry that almost the entire catalogues of these two labels have been made available at a single portal for Indian mobile user to download.
    Commenting on the Official tie-up with Sunburn, Mr. Naveen Bhandari, Director of TechZone says, "We are glad to be associated with Sunburn and offer PLAYGROUND as their official technology partner. Sunburn is expanding year on year with thousands of followers and participants, and there is a need to engage all of them with superior services and an enhanced experience of the festival. Our WAP, CRBT and SMS services will make sure that all the users have a increased access to all the important information about the festival and PLAYGROUND will ensure that they have enough music to lose themselves into the Sunburn aura."

    He adds, "There is a great demand for international music in India, and with the biggest of audio labels on board, we want to make the entire library of international content more accessible to a larger base of users by offering it on mobile platform. Our expertise in monetization of content enables us to create a robust business model that enables us to participate with events such as Sunburn, creating opportunities for the consumer to experience the product offering and access the same experience at a later stage through the PLAYGROUND Store."
    Mr. Karan Singh, CEO of Sunburn, adds, "Sunburn is Asia‘s biggest music festival that garners great attention from music lovers across the world. During every sunburn festival we have been witnessing huge demand for content on sunburn and on international music. Thus, we decided to partner with Techzone to provide the music and sunburn enthusiasts what they want. Techzone‘s technological expertise and its PLAYGROUND store with its cast library of music is a great addition to the event."

    To ride on the SUNBURN wave, simply SMS SUNBURN to 56060 and get grooving with mind-blowing music

  • GECs, movies rule the roost on Ditto TV

    GECs, movies rule the roost on Ditto TV

    MUMBAI: The Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre is the most popular on over-the-top (OTT) platform Ditto TV with 43 per cent of the total time consumed being spent on these channels, as per findings of user-generated data by Ditto TV.

    GECs are followed by movies as the next preferred choice at 16 per cent. At 14 per cent of total time consumed, regional channels are the third most preferred genre followed by news which garnered 13 per cent.

    These findings are collected from over 4,25,000 Ditto users who have downloaded the Ditto TV application to their mobiles, tablets and computers. Ditto TV is the OTT platform from Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zeel.

    Every third Smartphone user in India uses an Android-based handset to access live entertainment content online while every fifth user prefers a Symbian platform. Blackberry users claim a close third spot, garnering over 17 per cent of the OTT viewership space.
    While Mumbai retains its front line position in terms of adoption of new technologies with 16 per cent of the user base, overall the metro circles, with 26 per cent of the total user base, look to be facing stiff competition from states like (rest of) Maharashtra (11 per cent) and even Rajasthan (7 per cent).

    The markets of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Gujarat together account for nearly 40 per cent of the total user base. Interestingly, the total time spent on the content in Mumbai is double that in Delhi.

    Not surprisingly, the maximum usage happens on PCs accounting for 30 per cent of the user base but over 50 per cent of total usage. Android is a close runner up accounting for 25 per cent of overall consumption. Symbian trails with 10 per cent just behind Apple (11 per cent).

    Zeel Business Head-New Media Vishal Malhotra elucidating the findings said, “OTT service providers such as Ditto TV are redefining the way consumers are viewing TV today. With people being always on the go, getting the right content to the public becomes even more important today. The findings of this data sifted from consumers’ mobile TV data usage have implication for stakeholders that go beyond only the content providers.

    "Handset manufacturers will need to take note of why and how their products are being assessed by their customers. Similarly, the service carriers will have to ensure that they have the capability and bandwidth to seamlessly support such services. The biggest beneficiary of this study remains the Consumer since his tastes and preferences will now have to be considered.”

  • Universal Music appoints Vinit Thakkar as head of digital

    Universal Music appoints Vinit Thakkar as head of digital

    MUMBAI: Universal Music has appointed Vinit Thakkar as the new head of digital for its business in India.

    Thakkar‘s role as Digital Head of Universal Music will entail consolidating and growing Universal’s Digital business in India and SAARC.

    Prior to joining Universal, Thakkar was with Sony Music as Sr. General Manager handling the P&L responsibility across Digital, Licensing & Publishing businesses.

    Universal Music India and SAARC MD Devraj Sanyal said, “The digital business for UMGI is one of the most critical parts of the music business and I am very pleased to welcome Vinit to the team. Vinit brings with him an exceptionally great & relevant background to the table with his years at Sony, Citi & Titan. I have no doubt in my mind that Vinit will take Universal Music and all its allied future businesses to the next level.”

    Thakkar has also worked with companies like Titan and Citibank in sales & marketing functions.

    Thakkar said, “At such a pivotal time for music, where the digital landscape is undergoing a sea change, it’s more important than ever to fully exploit the many opportunities that new digital services and products provide in reaching audiences around the world. I look forward to this new challenge and I am extremely confident of building a robust digital business at Universal Music."

  • Zee forms task force to tackle piracy in US

    Zee forms task force to tackle piracy in US

    MUMBAI: Asia TV USA, the exclusive distributor of Zee channels in the Americas, has initiated a technical task force, making sustained efforts to seek out those who are pirating programming and signals from the Zee suite of channels.

    Zee said it is taking all steps to prohibit piracy where streaming of content on services such as Live TV Box, Shava TV, Jadoo TV and Boom TV permit viewers to access Zee’s content illegally.

    Zee has been successful in shutting down Zee content on Live TV Box and Jadoo TV that was being streamed illegally.
    "We recognize that consumers are being led to believe that Zee content is legally available for free on these streaming boxes. However, Zee in the Americas is a premium subscription service that viewers pay a monthly fee to receive," a Zee spokesperson said.

    It also said that it will not hesitate to take action against illicit services such as those described above as well as South Asian retail stores that sell these boxes.

  • Airtel digital TV to drop ESPN and Star Cricket HD from 23 Dec

    Airtel digital TV to drop ESPN and Star Cricket HD from 23 Dec

    MUMBAI: Airtel digital TV has said that it will stop carrying ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD just ahead of the India-Pakistan series.

    The DTH operator cited high subscription fee as the reason for the removal of these two channels. It will stop carrying both the channels from 23 December.

    ESPN HD is priced at Rs 141.8 while Star Cricket HD is priced at Rs 119.9. The two channels are available at Rs 183.2 in a bouquet.
    "We will stop carrying ESPN HD and Star Cricket HD because the price is very high from a consumer point of view," Airtel digital TV CEO Shashi Arora said.

    Airtel will replace the two channels with Sony Six HD and Zee Studio HD.

    Other DTH operators like Dish TV and Sun Direct have not been carrying the two channels for quite some time. However, Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV and Videocon d2h are carrying them.

  • Zee Cinema, Zee Salaam and Zee Tamizh launch on Cogeco Cable in Ontario

    Zee Cinema, Zee Salaam and Zee Tamizh launch on Cogeco Cable in Ontario

    MUMBAI: Zee Americas in partnership with Ethnic Channels Group Limited (ECG), Canada’s largest distributor of third language television services, launched Zee Cinema, Zee Salaam and Zee Tamizh on Cogeco Cable on 12 December.

    Aimed at Ontario’s South Asian communities, these channels will serve to add great content to Cogeco’s third language services and help the Canadian multi-ethnic majority watch TV.

    Zee Americas CEO Suresh Bala said, “Canada is a dynamic market and we are happy to serve viewers in Ontario quality programming in the form of Zee Cinema, Zee Tamizh and Zee Salam. Ethnic Channels Group has been a pioneer in Canada bringing South Asians the kind of content that they most desire, this is a great partnership for us to offer Zee’s brand of top notch dramas, reality shows, news, Bollywood movies and music to our Canadian viewers.”
    Zee Cinema is a Bollywood channel in the US that includes a privately held Bollywood video library with more than 5000 hours of premium content.

    Zee Salaam is Zee’s first Islamic general entertainment channel targeting the Muslim community and the Urdu listening audiences, while Zee Tamizh is a general entertainment channel that offers a variety of programmes targeting the Tamil-Canadian audience.

    Cogeco Cable marketing and strategic planning VP Ron Perrotta said, “For Cogeco Cable, the second largest hybrid fibre coaxial cable system operator in Ontario, adding 23 services in 8 different languages distributed by Ethnic Channels Group allows Cogeco Cable to respond to a variety of customer tastes and needs and to enhance our already engaging multicultural TV offering.”

  • Itimes relaunched as an interest networking site

    Itimes relaunched as an interest networking site

    MUMBAI: Times Internet has relaunched Itimes.com by shifting its focus from general social networking towards interest networking centered around relevant topics and content.

    The site in its new release is live with over 5000 interests. Individuals can use it as a platform to build a following, share knowledge and to disseminate information on topics or interests.

    With a live leader board that crowns users as “Interest Masters", it encourages active contributions in the form of discussions, photos, videos, blogs and polls.

    "Times Internet has over 32 million visitors every month who interact with our varied content offerings. Itimes.com is oriented around building communities around the topics people care to read about. It’s an interesting proposition and we hope that it will engage users and help create and curate relevant content” said Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

    The company said that Itimes.com is a network driven by content and is social only by its ability to viral and distribute the content.