Category: Software

MUMBAI: Gaming and lottery company Playwin has announced its entry into a joint venture with Sportech PLC, a UK-based football gaming business ompany and owner of The New Football Pools.

The association will mark the launch of a broad-based online gaming platform for India. This association will enable Playwin to offer games which will be specifically tailored for the Indian audience. The new games are expected to be launched in Spring 2010 with new prediction and fantasy games initially centred around the most popular sports of cricket, football and Formula One motorsport.
 
This will be a 50 per cent JV and looks to capitalise on India‘s one billion population‘s passion for sport with the new gaming platform initially offering a set of sports prediction and fantasy games.

Playwin already offers various games that are based on international lotto game formats. Till date Playwin has given away more than Rs 80 billion in the form of prize money, making it one of the most successful forms of gaming within a short span of 7 years. Over 12,000 retail shops enjoy Playwin‘s patronage. The biggest jackpot win of Playwin has been bagged by a single winner with Rs 172 million on Playwin‘s Thursday Super Lotto.

Pan India Network CEO Amit Goenka said, “India is a sports loving nation and there is huge market for gaming. We are glad to have this association with Sportech considering a very wide base of sports fans in the country. With exciting sports games on offer, we are sure both Playwin and Sportech will see great success in the Indian market. Innovation has always been the backbone of Playwin‘s strategy since its inception in 2002 and basis of all our accomplishments. Moving ahead, we aim to attract and target a huge chunk of sport lovers through this joint venture”.  
 
Sportech CEO Ian Penrose says, “This gives Sportech a great opportunity to launch sports-based gaming products into a growing and lucrative marketplace, and is the logical next step in Sportech‘s ambition to be an international gaming operator. We look forward to operating a successful business in India as we continue to pursue further international expansion opportunities.”

MUMBAI: Dutch International public broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) has entered into a partnership deal with Web18, the internet and mobile arm of Network 18.

Under the deal, RNW‘s international news will be published on Web 18‘s portal In.com. Additionally, RNW players, with live radio and music programmes such as Euro Hit 40, European Jazz Stage and Live at the Concertgebouw, will be available online. 
 
Says RNW director general Jan Hoek, “We want to strengthen our position as one of the five most influential international broadcasters in the world. One of the means to sustain that position is through investing in new digital technologies. This partnership in India is a big step for RNW, as it gives us access to the country‘s enormous and important online market.” 
 
Web18 CEO Lakshmi Narsimhan avers, “We at Web18 are extremely enthused with the collaborative initiative being launched with RNW. We hope this partnership will further the cross-cultural understanding among the music enthusiasts from both countries while strengthening media ties on a more global level.” 

MUMBAI: McAfee and online social network Facebook have announced a collaboration that will provide additional security protection to a significant portion of the Internet population.

Through this partnership, the two companies have jointly created security solutions that include McAfee security software, a custom scanning and repair tool, and consumer friendly education materials that Facebook will make available to its more than 350 million users. 
 
Under the terms of the partnership, McAfee is Facebook‘s exclusive provider of consumer security software, and Facebook users will be eligible for a complimentary six-month subscription of the McAfee Internet Security Suite software. Following the six-month period, Facebook users will be eligible for special discount subscription pricing.

Facebook is applying all financial incentives from this partnership to the benefit of its users and will not be taking a share of any revenue from user subscriptions. McAfee Internet Security Suite software protects users‘ PCs from online threats, viruses, spyware, hackers, online scammers, identity thieves and other cybercriminals, and includes award-winning McAfee SiteAdvisor site rating technology. 
 
To keep users educated about the latest threats, Facebook and McAfee will work together to develop educational content for the Facebook Security Page, Facebook‘s principal resource for security-related information with more than one million fans.
McAfee Consumer, Mobile and Small Business executive VP, GM Todd Gebhart says, “Facebook is very serious about security and has made significant efforts to protect its users and service by investing in dedicated teams and sophisticated systems, and this partnership with McAfee furthers that mission. We believe our partnership will make a real difference in the battle to secure the Internet by giving so many more people access to industry leading technology from McAfee.”

Facebook selected McAfee after a competitive review process among the leading security vendors.

Facebook VP of global communications, marketing and public policy Elliot Schrage says, “Keeping the Internet secure requires that users, security vendors and Internet companies all work together. We think we‘ve developed an excellent model for this collaboration, and to ensure the greatest possible value to our users, Facebook will not accept any revenue from subscriptions. We hope this is something that other services will emulate.”

Upon launch, McAfee Internet Security Suite software will be available to Facebook users in the US, UK, Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Numerous additional countries will be added throughout the first quarter of the year.
 

NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said today that she has asked Prasar Bharati to work towards offering at least 200 television channels on the country’s only free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform, DD Direct Plus.

‘‘We are discussing the matter with the Prasar Bharati people, and I have asked them to try to increase the number of FTA channels to about 200,‘‘ Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here after releasing the annual India 2010 and Bharat 2010 reference manual brought out by the Publications Division and the Research and Reference Division of her Ministry.

Currently, DD Direct Plus carries 57 channels, apart from 21 channels of All India Radio. The TV channels include 21 Doordarshan channels.

Soni said the decision to increase the number of channels on DD DTH was in consonance with the objectives of the Ministry to make the public broadcaster of maximum use to the public. 

Earlier this year, Soni had denied in Parliament that any television channels had withdrawn from DD Direct Plus. She said DD Direct Plus signals were available in the entire country except the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

DD sources told indiantelevision.com that it may be possible to increase the number of channels on the platform as the annual carriage fee that broadcasters have to pay has been lowered. The carriage fee for all private FTA channels has been brought down from Rs 10 million to Rs 2.5 million along with a service tax of Rs 300,000. However, foreign broadcasters have to pay a carriage fee of Rs 5 million.

Earlier releasing the INDIA 2010 and BHARAT 2010 publications, Soni said the aim should be to sell at least 100,000 copies and this could only be done by approaching all state governments and educational institutions to buy copies. 
 
Soni was reacting to the remark earlier made by the Director General in charge of the Reference, Research and Training Division of the Ministry, SM Khan. She said that unless information about Government schemes reaches every citizen, the work of the media units of the Ministry remains unfinished. The Minister advised that proper translation in all constitutional languages should be made available in educational institutions.

Additional Director General (In-charge) of Publications Division K S Dhatwalia assured the Minister that all efforts to increase sales of books by Publications Division would be undertaken in earnest. Ministry Secretary Raghu Menon was also present on the occasion. 

MUMBAI: Mips Technologies, which provides industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer, home networking, wireless, communications and business applications, has announced the integration of an optimised Yahoo! Widget Engine for MIPS-BasedTM digital home devices.

Mips will develop an optimised reference platform running the Yahoo! Widget Engine for digital TV and set-top box applications. Leveraging this reference implementation, MIPS licensees will be able to quickly develop devices incorporating Yahoo! TV Widgets. Yahoo! TV Widgets enable popular Internet services and online media to reach viewers through applications specifically tailored to the needs of the television watcher.
 
Mips Technologies VP marketing Art Swift says, “This is another important step in our commitment to deliver full solutions, optimizations and reference platforms that speed our customers’ product development cycle.

“Yahoo! TV Widgets are capable of providing an entirely new connected and personalized television viewing experience. With number one market share in processors for digital TV and other connected digital home markets, MIPS is pleased to be enabling that experience on our customers’ platforms to reach the majority of DTV manufacturers.”
 
Yahoo! Connected TV senior director of product management and design Arlo Rose says, “Yahoo! enhances the television viewing experience for millions of consumers around the world by bringing personally relevant experiences to Internet-connected TVs. By combining our TV Widget technology with the global distribution of partners like MIPS Technologies, we will further enable consumers to access the exciting content developed by Yahoo! and third-party developers across a broad range of living room devices.”
 

MUMBAI: Japanese consumer electronics major Sony will introduce torne for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system in Japan.

This is a set of digital terrestrial tuner and application in Blu-ray Disc (BD) for viewing and recording digital terrestrial broadcasting on the PS3 system.

Users can enjoy watching digital terrestrial broadcasting and record them on the hard disk drive (HDD) of the PS3 system 1 by simply connecting the digital terrestrial tuner to the PS3 system using the attached USB cable and installing the application from the BD. 
 
To accommodate those users who wish to record TV programmes in high-definition on PS3 and store many high quality entertainment content already available on PlayStation Store including games, anime, movies, TV dramas, music videos and many other various content and services, SCEJ will also introduce a PlayStation 3 Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Recorder Pack.

This comprises the PS3 system with 250GB HDD, the largest HDD capacity of the existing model, and “torne.” The special bundle pack will become available in March 2010, concurrent to the release of torne.

Applying the expertise acquired from game development, torne offers what the company says is a user friendly interface, allowing users to swiftly and intuitively operate the application using DualShock 3 wireless controller 2. Users will be able to search through the electronic TV programme guides or play back recorded content comfortably as if they were playing games.

The 24 hour TV programme guide can be zoomed in or out by pressing L1/R1 buttons, allowing users to easily find and select their favorite TV programs by a simple touch of a button.   
 
Various Online features : torne also offers online functionalities, such as the Internet browser which can be used simultaneously with the application, and unique “Toru-Miru feature”.

SCEJ will deploy various measures to further expand the platform to offer interactive entertainment experiences, only available on the PS3 system, claims the company.
 

MUMBAI: Reliance Communications‘ direct-to-home (DTH) brand Big TV is expecting to clock a revenue of Rs 1 billion from value added services (Vas) over the next five years.

“Right now Vas contributes five per cent of our revenues. We expect this to cross to 10 per cent over the coming months. In five years, Vas revenues will touch Rs 1 billion,” Big TV CEO Sanjay Behl said.

Big TV is especially bullish on gaming, and has announced a tie up with Indiagames, a subsidiary of UTV Software Communications, for gaming services.

“Gaming will contribute to 10 per cent of our Vas revenues. We expect a little over 2.5 million subscribers by the end of the fiscal. This deal with Indiagames will add a new dimension to the relevance of gaming,” Behl added.

As part of the agreement, Indiagames will leverage its partnership with US-based Oberon Media to provide games for Big TV. The service will offer eight games which will be refreshed regularly. This will be free to subscribers until 26 January. Thereafter users can avail the service by paying Rs 30 per month.

The DTH gaming service will be branded as iGames and will include I-play, Galapago, Solitaire (with four different versions including Classic, FreeCell, Pyramid and Towers), Moodies, Space Moodies, Air Hockey, and Darts. Indiagames will also focus on local content like its portfolio of Twenty20 cricket games and games based on films like Chance Pe Dance.
 
Indiagames COO Samir Bangara said, “This initiative, and the DTH partnership with Oberon Media, marks our foray to the third screen of gaming making us the first Indian triple play games company with a strong presence across- mobile, PC and now DTH. The games on Big TV have been chosen keeping the family in mind. We have a revenue-sharing arrangement with them.”

Indiagames is looking at doing similar deals for IPTV and digital cable.

The company will be coming out with a game based on the show, Emotional Athyachar. It will also be releasing a game based on the film Run.

Big TV‘s other Vas offerings include free-of-cost interactive features like iCooking, iAstro, iStock, iCricket and iNews.

“When we launched we started our offerings with a strong movie package. We offer 236 channels, out of which 30 are devoted to movies. Gaming is the next major logical step. Going forward we will be strengthening our VoD content and are in talks with Hollywood and European studios not just for films but also for television content,” said Behl.

Big TV is also planning to introduce a series of Vas offerings, which will offer monetising opportunities to drive the financial growth of the company. As part of this outlook, the company is building three specific streams of revenues in the direction of PPV (pay-per-view), interactivity and advertising. 
 
As part of its drive to enhance the monetizing opportunity of its PPV offerings, Big TV is focussing on building its regional PPV repertoire. The company is in talks with various regional film producers and production houses for the DTH rights of regional language films. This regional PPV repertoire will help Big TV cater to the regional viewing needs of its customers across various languages in India.

The interactivity revenue drive will be done by offering unique and benchmark interactive services offering great value proposition to its subscribers. As part of this focus, Big TV will launch a series of interactive services over the next few months including iJobs, iHolidays, iMatrimony, iEstate, iJuniors, iEducation, and iHealth.
 

NEW DELHI: IBM has signed a five-year business transformation deal with Ronnie Screwvala-promoted UTV Software Communications Ltd.

IBM will transform UTV‘s business processes to provide customers with high quality content and services as it continues its rapid rate of expansion.

Under this agreement announced today, UTV will work with IBM to sharpen its focus within the organisation on its core media business. Acting as the change catalyst to UTV, IBM will be implementing various business transformation initiatives over the next few years.
 
UTV, the integrated global media and entertainment company, intends to streamline the company’s finance and accounts, rights management, procurement, projects, material management, and other key functions by implementing an enterprise-wide SAP solution.

For UTV the objective of this deal is to provide a customer-centric operating environment that delivers quality, cost-effective and value-added information services to enterprise entities, reducing total cost of ownership and providing security compliance while enabling the company to focus on its core business.

The contract also includes cloud-enabled email implementation via LotusLive iNotes, a security-rich, Web-Based email service.

UTV also plans to expand this agreement with a selection of core media business solutions including Broadcast Management System (BMS), Content Management System (CMS), and IP Rights Management, which will be implemented in various lines of businesses including broadcasting and TV content production. 
 
“At UTV, our focus is on setting trends and not following the same. The market here is growing at a rapid pace and customers are increasingly becoming demanding, making it imperative for us to offer fresh delivery platforms and content diversity enabled by technology. Teaming with IBM not only brings domain expertise but foresight that could potentially be a game-changer in the industry,” said UTV Software Communications CFO Rajeev Wagle.

UTV operates across five verticals including broadcasting and TV content, game content, motion pictures and new media. T

“Media and entertainment companies around the globe have to be leaner and smarter than ever to overcome the technology challenges they face as they evolve in a multi-channel marketplace,” said IBM India/ South Asia director – communications sector Avinash Joshi. “Drawing on IBM’s global expertise, we will work closely with UTV in its quest towards delivering trend-setting content for its audience. At IBM, it is our resolve to provide UTV with the necessary competitive advantage as it moves towards a more efficient, customer-focused organization that delivers first class services,” he added.

MUMBAI: There has been a management restructuring at News Corp. Assuming the new designation of entertainment chairman at Fox Networks Group, Fox entertainment chairman Peter Rice will oversee FX Networks (FX and Fox Movie Channel).

The move brings all entertainment-centred domestic Fox networks namely broadcast and cable under the purview of Rice and marks a big promotion for the former Fox Searchlight topper who has been in the TV business for 10 months.
 
Similarly, Fox Sports chairman and CEO David Hill will be in charge of all Fox sports TV operations including Fox Sports, the company‘s 19 regional sports networks, Fox Soccer Channel, Speed, Fox Sports en Espanol and Fuel TV. He also will oversee the company‘s joint venture sports businesses Stats and Big Ten Network.

Both Rice and Hill will continue to report to Fox Networks Group chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra.
 
A potential new role is being worked out for Rich Battista, who was till now overseeing Fox‘s cable nets as president of Fox National Cable Networks, reporting to Vinciquerra.

Said News Corp. president and COO Chase Carey, “This reorganization is not targeted at short-term change but at maintaining our momentum while better aligning us in key content areas for long-term growth,”, adding that “Rich Battista is a valued member of this company, and we hope to find a new opportunity for him in the near term.”

MUMBAI: The popularity of Avatar and other 3D movies will put 3D TV on the map for consumers, reports In-Stat.

2010 will be a big year for 3D entertainment, as movie studios release more 3D films shown in a growing number of 3D-equipped theaters.
 
In-Stat analyst Michelle Abraham says, “Exposure to 3D films is important to the debut of 3D TV, because consumers who have seen 3D films are more interested than the general population in being able to view 3D content at home,. In-Stat’s 3D consumer survey shows that 64 per cent of consumers are at least somewhat interested in 3D in the home. For those who have seen a 3D movie in the last 12 months, the percentage increases to 76 per cent.” 
 
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

In-Stat projects worldwide 3D TV shipments will reach 41 million in 2014.

3D Blu-ray player shipments will track closely with 3D TVs.

Pricing is a major barrier, as survey respondents are not willing to pay much of a premium for 3D TV sets and Blu-ray players.

Many Pay-TV operators will use half resolution 3D as a stepping stone and learning opportunity for full HD 3D in the future.

On a regional basis, North America will be the largest market.
Recent In-Stat research, 3D TV Coming Soon to a Home Near You covers the worldwide market for 3D television. It includes:

Examination of the 3D eco-system: 3D formats, 3D content, consumer interest in 3D, transmitting 3D to the home, and 3D consumer devices.

Worldwide five-year forecasts for 3D channels, 3D TV set shipments, ASPs, revenues by region, and 3D Blu-ray player shipments through 2014.

Analysis of 3D standards and formats, and 3D content availability.