Category: Software

MUMBAI: Mumbai-based Baroke lounge and bar has assigned its digital mandates to digital advertising and marketing agency BC Web Wise (BCWW).

The agency will manage Baroke‘s complete online presence.

It has become the digital AoR for Baroke with a mandate to design the website with a “robust and customised content management system, search engine optimisation and marketing as well as social media” to ensure consistency throughout all online avenues, and across all channels of communication.

Baroke director Saurabh Shetty said, “We invited pitches from half a dozen agencies, and BCWW emerged a clear winner. Baroke will be downtown‘s most happening spot, and this needs to stay constant online too. We‘re confident that BCWW‘s in-house creative, technology, animation and social media services will be the best fit for Baroke.”
 
“We are excited to be signed up by Baroke for their launch campaign and digital initiatives. It is going to be one of the most premium night clubs in Mumbai, and gives us an opportunity to do some exciting and viral content not yet done by anyone in this business,” BCWW founder and MD Chhaya Balachandran Aiyer said.

Created by BCWW, Baroke will launch its new micro site, as part of the opening of the lounge on 23 December. The website will showcase the club, and feature loyalty programs, gig calendars, and a gallery of past events.

It will also deploy a custom content management system that will allow staff at the club to update the website with new events, images and blogs. BCWW‘s designers have been tasked with creating an online mood which resonates with Baroke.

MUMBAI: Online gaming network ibibo.com has announced that games like Mumbai Underworld, Teen Patti, Rummy, Yes Prime Minister and CricEx are now available to the users of Google‘s Chrome browser.

These games are available for free on Google Chrome Web Store and users can play by just logging in with their Gmail IDs. Players can also invite their friends to play online with them.

Mumbai Underworld and Teen Patti, the company claims, are played by more than five million users. Mumbai Underworld and Yes Prime Minister are social games, while Teen Patti and Rummy are card games.
 
Ibibo.com president Rahul Razdan said, “We are very happy that Google chose our games as part of the Chrome Web Store showcase in India. Mumbai Underworld and Teen Patti are currently the biggest Indian online game titles and we hope these will further help establish Chrome Web Store as a wonderful platform to discover and play online games for users in India.”

According to Google, they are happy to be part of this effort to bring games to chrome users in India and worldwide.

MUMBAI: The world is moving toward ubiquitous multiscreen connectivity, and new devices are making all content personal. Consumers are viewing professional video programs on tablets, smartphones, laptops, netbooks, and in vehicles. As mobile devices continue to improve, consumers expect high definition on everything.

The pay-TV services are ramping up TV Everywhere to compete with direct-to-consumer services like Netflix. As a result, the momentum behind multiscreen content delivery platforms is accelerating and new NPD In-Stat research forecasts that revenues from multiscreen content platforms will top $21 billion in 2015.

Research director Gerry Kaufhold said, “Consumers now expect to have professional video available on an ever-expanding number of devices, and they want their ‘user experience‘ to be under their control. It‘s no longer simply a matter of delivering 1080p 3D video to their device, they want to share what they are viewing with their connected community, they want to upload their own additions to the content, and they want to be able to engage with their content on whatever device provides the best experience at any particular time.”

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider BSkyB has announced that Sky Sports will launch a channel for Formula 1 coverage. The aim is to take viewers under the skin of the sport.

Starting in March 2012, Sky Sports F1 will get Sky customers closer than ever, with more action, analysis and information – on their TV, online and mobile devices – throughout the season.

This new home of Formula 1 will be the only place to enjoy live coverage of the whole Grand Prix season, including all practice and qualifying sessions and every race in the calendar.
 
From launch, Sky Sports F1TM HD will give viewers: Every Race Live, Live Practice, Qualifying; the Full Season In-Depth; and Extra Live Content.

The dedicated channel will be provided at no extra charge to all Sky TV customers who take both Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 or the HD pack of channels. It will be found at 408 in Sky‘s on-screen guide, after a scheduled move of the Sky Sports channels. Sky Sports viewers without the Sky+HD pack will receive a standard definition version.

Sky Sports F1 HD viewers can also follow the action wherever they are with all live coverage on Sky Go, through online, mobile or tablet devices, at no extra charge.

Sky Sports MD Barney Francis said, “Formula 1 followers are hungry for more and we want to give them the ultimate experience. Its not just every minute of every race but a channel devoted to Formula 1.
 
“We can now tell the whole story of the season, from every Grand Prix from start to finish. Formula 1TM will get the full Sky Sports treatment. We have big plans for live shows and a rich line-up of Formula 1 programmes; getting to the drivers, exploring the technology and lapping up the drama. With a dedicated channel for Formula 1 we can also give all sports fans the depth and breadth of sports they demand every weekend, right through the year.”

Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch said, “This brand new channel again proves Sky‘s commitment to investing in the best content for customers. It will give even more value to Sky customers and create another reason for others to consider pay TV.

“This is another example of the value we are creating for customers through our content leadership. It follows the recent launch of other high-quality new channels like Sky Atlantic and Sky 3D as well as our growing commitment to UK original content in areas such as drama, comedy and the arts.”

MUMBAI: Web 18‘s moneycontrol.com has announced the launch of its new application for iPad users.

The financial app is already on iPhone and other smart phone platforms. The new moneycontrol.com iPad app will provide access real-time access to financial markets.

Web18 COO Joyson Thomas said “As increasing number of users are now consuming content and services through tablets and smartphones, it made sense to tap into this fast growing segment of savvy users, and carve out a dominant position in this space. Launching the moneycontrol app for iPad is part of our endeavor to stay in tune with changing user preferences. Looking at the overwhelming response to the moneycontrol app across all other platforms and the feedback that iPad has received from the market, we are positive that the combination of both will take this product to a new level.”
 
With the new iPad app, the users can get real time stock quotes, commodity prices, currency rates, Indian and global market indices as well as access coverage and analysis of financial markets, economy, business and much more.

Users can also access their portfolio and watchlist and watch live streaming of CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz. They can access moneycontrol‘s investor community through the message board service.

There are other features like alerts, in-depth information and data on all listed companies, and video-on-demand.

NEW DELHI: With cable operators dithering about switching to digital technologies because of the huge costs involved, a Government proposal for increasing the foreign direct investment in the sector from 49 to 74 per cent is expected to be expedited.

A draft note to this effect by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion had been sent to various ministries including Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications ministries for their comments and inputs last month.

This will help distribution platforms and also moot the proposal for uniform FDI cap across various carriage platforms like DTH, IPTV, mobile TV, HITS and cable companies. I&B Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are expected meet the 18-member digitisation Task Force headed by Additional Secretary Rajiv Takru next week review the progress in digitisation following the notification in this regard. The final recommendations will be placed before the Cabinet.
 
The sources said that 49 of the proposed 74 per cent will be put under automatic route. The remaining will be through Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). At present, the current norms for FDI differ on various platforms. For mobile TV, HITS and IPTV, it is 74 per cent, but the permissible foreign investment cap for cable distribution companies is 49 per cent. Of this, up to 20 per cent can be FDI. The balance can be from foreign institutional investors and non-resident Indians among others.

In June last year, Trai had made suggestions to raise FDI for broadcast carriage services like DTH to 74 per cent. The broadcast sector regulator had also recommended reducing the FDI cap for analogue cable firms from 49 per cent to 26 per cent, but the I&B ministry did not agree to it.

This will meant a major increase in the FDI cap in the distribution platforms from 49 per cent to 74 per cent and also enforce a uniform FDI cap across various carriage platforms like DTH, IPTV, Mobile TV, HITS and cable companies. At present, 49 per cent FDI is allowed in cable TV and DTH, while it is 74 per cent in HITS.

The move is expected to help the media which has been clamouring for more foreign investment, and for several foreign investors including expatriate Indians.

At present the FDI norms for Mobile TV, HITS and IPTV are pegged at 74 per cent, for cable distribution companies at 49 per cent of which up to 20 per cent can be FDI while the balance can be from foreign institutional investors, non-resident Indians, and others. For private FM radio, the FDI limit was recently raised to 26 per cent from 20 per cent.

The country has about 106 million cable and satellite homes in India, of which 26 million are DTH while 80 million are cable homes. There are 706 TV channels in India.

MUMBAI: Gaming network, ibibo, has taken its social game, Mumbai Underworld, to Android phones.

Users can now download the Mumbai Underworld game from the Android market place on to their mobiles for free and play with their friends on ibibo and Facebook.

This follows the recent launch of India‘s biggest multiplayer game ibibo Teen Patti on Android, and which is now one of the top games in its category in the Android market place.

ibibo web president products, operations Rahul Razdan said, “We are extremely happy to extend our most popular social game, Mumbai Underworld, to the Android platform. The Android platform is the fastest growing mobile platform globally, as well as in India. With this development game players will be able to carry on their existing game to their Android phones as well.

“We expect a great response not only from the users but from other partners in the mobile space as well. We have some very exciting developments coming up in the world on mobile gaming shortly.”

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide, the BBC‘s commercial arm, has announced that the global BBC iPlayer App will be offering users a free piece of festive content every day from 1st – 25th December, exclusively from the App store, as part of a special Christmas promotion.

The service will also be available in Canada – the sixteenth territory to be added to the pilot launch.

The global BBC iPlayer App is a Video on Demand pilot subscription service available on iPad that offers viewers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland the opportunity to delve into an extensive archive of award-winning classic and contemporary British TV programming both at home and on the move.

BBC Worldwide President of Worldwide Networks and Global iPlayer Jana Bennett said, “We‘re proud to be building on the successful launch of this App by introducing it to Canada. It will open up the opportunity for a whole new audience to enjoy the best moments from seventy years of brilliant BBC programmes, wherever and whenever they want.”

Those who download the App for free from the App store can access an episode every day until Christmas Day for no charge and without having to sign up to the monthly or annual subscription. The free content includes a festive themed variety of the best of BBC and the best of British creativity including Christmas specials from iconic shows Only Fools and Horses and Absolutely Fabulous, plus 12 Days of Gavin and Stacey, Jamie Oliver‘s The Naked Chef – The Christmas Party, and Blackadder‘s Christmas Carol dependent on availability per country.

Global iPlayer GM Matthew Littleford said, “For those not familiar with the great BBC content available on the App, the festive offering is the perfect way to trial the service and get a good flavour of the quality and breadth of programmes it provides.”
 
Those who wish to subscribe to the service can do so for a cost of €6.99 a month (or €64.99 for an annual subscription) in Europe, $8.99 a month (or $84.99 for an annual subscription) in Canada and $9.49 a month (or $89.99 for an annual subscription) in Australia. Viewers will be able to sample carefully selected content for free before subscribing.

A subscription to the global BBC iPlayer offers access to British comedies such as ‘Fawlty Towers‘, ‘Absolutely Fabulous‘ and ‘Only Fools and Horses‘ as well as contemporary sitcoms and sketch shows including ‘Gavin and Stacey‘ and ‘Little Britain‘. Viewers can also enjoy new drama series ‘Whitechapel‘ and ‘Spooks‘, classic period dramas such as ‘Pride and Prejudice‘ starring Colin Firth, recent episodes of the soap ‘EastEnders‘, motoring show ‘Top Gear‘, the ‘Doctor Who‘ archive, stunning natural history programmes ‘Blue Planet‘ and ‘Horizon‘ and the children‘s show ‘Charlie and Lola‘. 

MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel has announced that its mobile customers in India will be able to access Twitter on their mobile phones for free till 1 March 2012.

Users can avail this facility by visiting http://mobile.twitter.com or they can also use SMS shortcode 53000 to sign up for Twitter and even Tweet or receive Tweets from specified users.

Bharti Airtel CMO – consumer business N Rajaram said, “Today‘s discerning Indian customer is increasingly relying on the mobile device for accessing everything from emails to music to social networks. In conjunction with this trend, we are pleased to introduce 90 days of free access to Twitter for mobile users in India, first on Airtel. With this, 170 million+ Airtel mobile customers will now potentially be able to enjoy Twitter‘s rich interface on their mobile web browsers or access updates posted by specific users through SMS notifications free of charge.”
 
“This initiative will introduce new users to an exciting world of possibilities that mobile internet enables, thus providing an impetus to data services market. Airtel has always been committed to delivering experiences that are innovative and relevant for customers. This launch reinforces our focus on this promise and adds to our list of many industry firsts” he added.

MUMBAI: Casbaa, in association with Campaign Asia Pacific, is to stage its inaugural TV Upfront – The Singapore Screenings on 13 December, 2011 at the Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore.

A half-day networking and preview experience for media buyers, agency heads and clients and led by the Asia TV Advertising Coalition (ATAC), the invitation-only presentations will promote pay-TV as an effective promotional tool for companies looking to maximize marketing budgets.

Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez said, “The objective is to promote the multichannel TV industry as a single dynamic entity. With the region‘s multinational broadcasters presenting their upcoming programming for 1H 2012, there has never been a better opportunity to show media buyers the advantages pay-TV advertising.”

Participating networks will include Discovery Networks Asia, Fox International Channels, NBCUniversal, Bloomberg, A+E Networks, MTV Asia, Sony Pictures Television Entertainment and Turner International through special screenings of their most compelling upcoming programming for the next season.

Special guest speaker Asia Planning Council, BBDO/Proximity chairman Andy Wilson will present a strategic overview of the industry to attendees and Brian Fisher, Caltex Global Brand Manager, Chevron International will offer a case study on the creativity and effectiveness of using pay-TV.

With multichannel TV now in more than 50% of TV homes across Asia , the power of pay-TV is amplified through new research commissioned by CASBAA from Universal McCann.
 
Based on a notional regional ad budget of just $1.5 million, new data demonstrates that investing progressively more on Pay-TV and less on free-to-air (FTA) yields improved ROI for clients. The findings show that an advertising message will be viewed by more people when the share of investment on pay-TV increases versus FTA.

“With multichannel TV‘s fast rising penetration in Asia, it can no longer be considered a “niche” platform but a valuable marketing tool garnering the greatest reach and efficiency for advertisers,” added Fenez.