Category: Television

MTV launches dating-reality show ‘Gehre Pyaar pe Laath’

MUMBAI: MTV India is no stranger to reality shows. This time round the music network has launched a dating-reality show Gehre Pyaar pe Laath (G.P.L).

The network has adapted and localised the international format show Dismissed, which aired on MTV Networks International. Launched on 28 October, G.P.L airs at 6:30 pm.

Each episode of G.P.L opens up with three people i.e. two guys and a girl or vice versa who go out and spend an entire day together. Starting out as a blind date with a twist, wherein addition to meeting the date, the contestants also meet their rivals, informs an official release.

The mission for the two, in a nutshell, is to destroy the rivals date but ensure that your own date goes smoothly. And as the day unfolds the two guys or the two girls turn on their charm to woo their date. From destinations like amusement parks, arcades and even a sophisticated dinner, the date tests a variety of emotions and bonds. Each episode ends with the wooed choosing just one wooer as his/her final date. For the wooer that wasn’t selected, he/she goes home with a grand G.P.L, states the release.

MTV India VP GM creative and content Ashish Patil said, “Romance, reality, double the number of people you take on a date… and guaranteed double the fun! With a name as provocative as G.P.L., you know it’s going to be one wicked show that only MTV would dare to air.”

With reality TV shows being the most money spinning programme, can more dating reality TV shows be on its way?

November 2, 2006
MTV Networks appoints Mika Salmi as president of Global Digital Media

MUMBAI: MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom has announced that Mika Salmi has been named President of Global Digital Media for MTVN. Salmi was formerly CEO of Atom Entertainment, the company he founded and which was acquired by MTVN in August.

Salmi will work across MTVN’s growing portfolio of multiplatform brands to further develop and implement the company’s strategy of building an engaging universe of music, games, entertainment, networking and interactivity for its communities of targeted audiences. He will report directly to MTVN chairman and CEO Judy McGrath, and will become a member of her senior strategy team, asserts an official release.

Commenting on Salmi’s appointment McGrath said, “I am incredibly pleased to have his talent and leadership experience on board to lead our digital media transformation, worldwide. With Mika’s guidance, our digital teams will continue the momentum we have today, to extend our brands across every platform while creating new business, and next generation applications across every device that engages our community. And he brings that upbeat entrepreneurial spirit that is a hallmark of the digital age.”

“MTV Networks is an amazing global entertainment community reaching targeted audiences through all of its TV, online and mobile brands,” said Salmi.

“What MTVN calls its ‘maniacal consumer focus’ will be the driving engine for our Global Digital Media strategy. We will engage consumers with an industry-leading digital experience through interactivity and community in all media including video, music and games,” he added.

November 2, 2006
EuroNews launches on broadband in Japan

MUMBAI: EuroNews expands its distribution in Asia and launches on broadband in Japan. The news broadcaster has concluded an agreement with The New Media Group (TNMG), based in Tokyo, for the launch of the channel in Japan.

Beginning in November, the international news channel in Europe will be available on The World On Demand IPTV platform owned and operated by TNMG, according to an official release.

Initially, the channel will be broadcast in English and French, eventually expanding to include additional languages, as EuroNews also broadcasts simultaneously in German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

EuroNews has also signed an agreement with Hamers Company, based in Yokohama, for the distribution of EuroNews in hotels within Japan.

EuroNews chairman and CEO Philippe Cayla said: “EuroNews is available in this part of the world in India, in Australia and in New Caledonia, we also are already distributed in IPTV in Hong-Kong and now Japan. We are pleased to have an agreement with for The New Media Group to also launch EuroNews on “The World On Demand” platform in Korea and Taiwan next year. We are also starting to expand the distribution of the channel in hotel rooms first in Japan and later throughout Asia”

“The vision of the World on Demand is to bring together communities and deliver a user experience comprised of high brand-value VOD and linear channels along with community management tools,” said TNMG president Randy McGraw. “Our alliance with EuroNews – which is one of the best news brands in Europe – is exactly the type of content that our user communities want.”

November 1, 2006

Disney Consumer Products adds MusicIP’s ‘MyDJ’ technology to it’s portable media player range

MUMBAI: MusicIP, music search engine has announced that Disney Consumer Products has licensed MusicIP‘s MyDJ embedded technology, which allows users to find the music they want to hear and to create instant playlists with a single button, to power the ‘MixIt!‘ feature on its Disney Mix line of portable media players for kids.

MyDJ does a musical scan, playing samples from the musical zones on the device, creating instant playlists of similar songs. Because MyDJ acts on the musical patterns within each track, instead of metadata, it creates fresh and interesting playlists with songs from every corner of a listener‘s collection, informs an official release.

Disney Consumer Products vice president Global electronics Chris Heatherly said, “With the Disney Mix line of media players, we are making digital music more accessible for kids than ever before. Most players on the market today, are just not intuitive to kids. MusicIP‘s technology lets us make it magically simple for kids to surf their music collections and make playlists in a fun, innovative way that is fresh in the marketplace.”

MusicIP‘s patented MyDJ embedded navigational technology can work within all portable, home, auto and mobile devices, utilizing new or existing user interfaces.

Launched in 2005, the Disney Mix Stick has established Disney among the top 10 best-selling flash-based MP3 players at U.S. retail, according to The NPD Group. In September, Disney announced two new Disney Mix branded products including the Disney Mix Max which plays videos in addition to music. MyDJ will be supported across the entire line of Disney Mix players, adds the release.

November 1, 2006

Nickelodeon US plans ‘SpongeBob marathon’ on 9 November

MUMBAI: Nickelodeon US will be launching a 24-Hour SpongeBob marathon on 9 November at 8 pm, featuring viewers‘ top 100 cartoon picks, leading to the Best Day Ever special premiering on Friday 10 November at 7:30 pm and the network premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at 8 pm.

For five weeks leading up to Best Day Ever (beginning 5 October), Nickelodeon had invited kids to vote for their favorite SpongeBob SquarePants cartoons on a new super-site www.nick.com/bestdayever. Kids were encouraged to choose their 10 favorites by viewing clips from multiple SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.

In the initial weeks of the launch of the super-site, it had already received almost 2.8 million streams and 3.8 million votes. The top 100 will appear on-air, in the order that the fans choose, during the 24-hour marathon leading up to the premiere of Best Day Ever, according to an official release.

Drawing out the suspense further, the All-Time Favorite SpongeBob Pick will air immediately following Best Day Ever.The online super-site also includes an original themed SpongeBob game and exciting new broadband content on the new innovative TurboNick 2.0 site.

“One of the many reasons our viewers love SpongeBob so much is for his unending optimism and ability to look at the bright side of things, which is exactly what Best Day Ever is all about,” said Nickelodeon Television executive vice president and general manager Tom Ascheim.

“We‘ve received a tremendous response from almost 4 million fans who have voted online for their favorite SpongeBob episodes and we‘ll reward them with our biggest SpongeBob event ever,” he added.

Kicking off on Thursday 9 November at 8 pm, the marathon hosted by sea-loving Patchy the Pirate (Tom Kenny — voice of SpongeBob) will feature Patchy cruising around Manhattan on a grand party boat, counting down the top SpongeBob episodes.

As the premiere draws near, Patchy will be joined on the boat by hundreds of partying fans, and in classic New Year‘s Eve tradition, the ‘SpongeBob‘ will drop, bringing the countdown to the Best Day Ever special at 7:30 pm. Patchy will also be joined throughout the marathon by Nickelodeon stars and other celebrity SpongeBob fans who will reveal the details of what would be their own best day ever.

In the Best Day Ever special, SpongeBob is determined to have the perfect day. His ideal day starts with doing what he loves best — working at the Krusty Krab, going to meet Sandy for a little Ka-Ra-Tay, jelly fishing with Patrick and topping it all off with Squidward‘s highly-anticipated clarinet recital. But to his great disappointment, the day does not go at all as he planned. Each of his friends seems to be having a different problem, so naturally he sets out to help them. In doing so, every activity on his perfect day agenda is spoiled.

As SpongeBob realizes that he sacrificed his whole day to help others, his friends rally around him with their heartfelt thanks. Brimming with happiness and friendship, SpongeBob realises that he had his best day ever after all.

SpongeBob SquarePants‘ Best Day Ever is also available as a CD featuring all-new, original music including the Best Day Ever song. The album presents an entirely new SpongeBob story as it introduces the work of the animated band SpongeBob & the Hi-Seas whose debut record is being previewed on Bikini Bottom‘s WH2O, adds the release.

November 1, 2006

BBC Worldwide sells two kids shows across the globe

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide has announced a string of international sales for two of its key children’s programmes – The Secret Show and Charlie and Lola.

The commercial arm of the BBC has licensed new animation show The Secret Show to broadcasters in France, Hong Kong, Finland, Russia and the Middle East – bringing the total to 13. It will also start airing on Virgin transatlantic flights from 1 December 2006.

Aimed at 7-12 year olds, The Secret Show is about secret people doing secret things. Special agents Victor Volt and Anita Knight work for U.Z.Z, protecting the world against the evil forces of T.H.E.M. Managed by a boss whose name is quite literally ‘Changed Daily’, and assisted on their madcap missions by insane scientist Professor Professor, Victor and Anita manage to save the world – or large parts of it – once or sometimes even twice a week.

Charlie and Lola which is based on the books by Lauren Child, has just been licensed to 3 new broadcasters – IRIB in Iran, TVB in Hong Kong and Playhouse Disney in Spain. The pre-school animation, which is a mix of 2D CelAction animation, paper cutout, fabric design, real textures, photomontage and archive footage, has now been sold to 33 countries.

Snow Queen was sold to Al Jazeera’s children’s channel and World of Peter Rabbit & Friends and Tale of Peter Rabbit & Beatrix Potter were sold to Momo TV in Taiwan.

November 1, 2006
Disney Consumer Products adds MusicIP’s ‘MyDJ’ technology to it’s portable media player range

MUMBAI: MusicIP, music search engine has announced that Disney Consumer Products has licensed MusicIP’s MyDJ embedded technology, which allows users to find the music they want to hear and to create instant playlists with a single button, to power the ‘MixIt!’ feature on its Disney Mix line of portable media players for kids.

MyDJ does a musical scan, playing samples from the musical zones on the device, creating instant playlists of similar songs. Because MyDJ acts on the musical patterns within each track, instead of metadata, it creates fresh and interesting playlists with songs from every corner of a listener’s collection, informs an official release.

Disney Consumer Products vice president Global electronics Chris Heatherly said, “With the Disney Mix line of media players, we are making digital music more accessible for kids than ever before. Most players on the market today, are just not intuitive to kids. MusicIP’s technology lets us make it magically simple for kids to surf their music collections and make playlists in a fun, innovative way that is fresh in the marketplace.”

MusicIP’s patented MyDJ embedded navigational technology can work within all portable, home, auto and mobile devices, utilizing new or existing user interfaces.

Launched in 2005, the Disney Mix Stick has established Disney among the top 10 best-selling flash-based MP3 players at U.S. retail, according to The NPD Group. In September, Disney announced two new Disney Mix branded products including the Disney Mix Max which plays videos in addition to music. MyDJ will be supported across the entire line of Disney Mix players, adds the release.

November 1, 2006
Nickelodeon US plans ‘SpongeBob marathon’ on 9 November

MUMBAI: Nickelodeon US will be launching a 24-Hour SpongeBob marathon on 9 November at 8 pm, featuring viewers’ top 100 cartoon picks, leading to the Best Day Ever special premiering on Friday 10 November at 7:30 pm and the network premiere of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie at 8 pm.

For five weeks leading up to Best Day Ever (beginning 5 October), Nickelodeon had invited kids to vote for their favorite SpongeBob SquarePants cartoons on a new super-site www.nick.com/bestdayever. Kids were encouraged to choose their 10 favorites by viewing clips from multiple SpongeBob SquarePants episodes.

In the initial weeks of the launch of the super-site, it had already received almost 2.8 million streams and 3.8 million votes. The top 100 will appear on-air, in the order that the fans choose, during the 24-hour marathon leading up to the premiere of Best Day Ever, according to an official release.

Drawing out the suspense further, the All-Time Favorite SpongeBob Pick will air immediately following Best Day Ever.The online super-site also includes an original themed SpongeBob game and exciting new broadband content on the new innovative TurboNick 2.0 site.

“One of the many reasons our viewers love SpongeBob so much is for his unending optimism and ability to look at the bright side of things, which is exactly what Best Day Ever is all about,” said Nickelodeon Television executive vice president and general manager Tom Ascheim.

“We’ve received a tremendous response from almost 4 million fans who have voted online for their favorite SpongeBob episodes and we’ll reward them with our biggest SpongeBob event ever,” he added.

Kicking off on Thursday 9 November at 8 pm, the marathon hosted by sea-loving Patchy the Pirate (Tom Kenny — voice of SpongeBob) will feature Patchy cruising around Manhattan on a grand party boat, counting down the top SpongeBob episodes.

As the premiere draws near, Patchy will be joined on the boat by hundreds of partying fans, and in classic New Year’s Eve tradition, the ‘SpongeBob’ will drop, bringing the countdown to the Best Day Ever special at 7:30 pm. Patchy will also be joined throughout the marathon by Nickelodeon stars and other celebrity SpongeBob fans who will reveal the details of what would be their own best day ever.

In the Best Day Ever special, SpongeBob is determined to have the perfect day. His ideal day starts with doing what he loves best — working at the Krusty Krab, going to meet Sandy for a little Ka-Ra-Tay, jelly fishing with Patrick and topping it all off with Squidward’s highly-anticipated clarinet recital. But to his great disappointment, the day does not go at all as he planned. Each of his friends seems to be having a different problem, so naturally he sets out to help them. In doing so, every activity on his perfect day agenda is spoiled.

As SpongeBob realizes that he sacrificed his whole day to help others, his friends rally around him with their heartfelt thanks. Brimming with happiness and friendship, SpongeBob realises that he had his best day ever after all.

SpongeBob SquarePants’ Best Day Ever is also available as a CD featuring all-new, original music including the Best Day Ever song. The album presents an entirely new SpongeBob story as it introduces the work of the animated band SpongeBob & the Hi-Seas whose debut record is being previewed on Bikini Bottom’s WH2O, adds the release.

November 1, 2006
Digital Music Group announces music content acquisitions

MUMBAI: Digital Music Group Inc. (DMGI) a content owner and distributor of digital music and video recordings, has announced three long-term and four short-term distribution agreements with a number of independent record labels totaling over 5,000 audio tracks. Under the terms of the agreements signed with each company, DMGI will distribute these music catalogs to online music stores worldwide.

DMGI chief executive officer Mitchell Koulouris said, “Digital Music Group continues to build its music catalog with world-class content.The transactions that have been announced underscore our continued commitment to expanding our catalog with high-quality repertoire from the world’s best independent labels.”

The three new music catalogs under long-term distribution agreements include:

– Music for Little People, which is a children’s music label designed for people turned off by standard commercial kiddie fare, with children’s albums that feature such artists as Taj Mahal, Maria Muldaur, Los Lobos, and many others.

– DM Records which features the catalog of Ichiban Records, an Atlanta-based label and also includes alternative rock labels Sky and Naked Language, with such acts as Pylon, The Swans, Moe Tucker and whip-hop label WRAP, which features MC Breed, DJ Smurf, Treacherous Three and more.

– The Cryptic Corporation which contains a number of audio and visual recordings by noted avant-garde band The Residents. It features Residents classics such as Fingerprince, Our Finest Flowers, The King & Eye and Wormwood Live. Also featured in the catalog are numerous music videos including versions of Wormwood Live, Eskimo and dozens of Residents classic tracks, informs an official release.

DMGI has also announced the signing of four new independent labels to short-term distribution agreements through its subsidiary, Digital Rights Agency (DRA). The labels signed to new short-term distribution agreements include:

– DRT Entertainment which is an independent record label founded in 2003 by Derek Shulman, Ron Urban and Theodore Green. DRT’s artist roster includes: Artimus Pyledriver, Blindside, Clutch,The Rasmus and many more. The label also re-masters and re-releases older material from their artists. Last year, they re-released 35 Anniversary editions of many albums by Shulman’s former band, Gentle Giant.

– ProgRock Records roster includes new, developing artists as well as established artists, including Planet P (featuring Tony Carey), Oliver Wakeman (son of Yes’ Rick Wakeman), Ajalon, and Erik Norlander.

– Takeover Records, formed by the members of the multi-platinum band, Yellowcard, Takeover Records is an alternative/punk rock label based in Long Beach, California. Takeover Records features albums from such alt-rock stalwarts as Yellowcard, Hey Mike and Bracket.

– FILMguerrero, formed by John Askew in the late 1990’s as a means to release the music of his friends and close associates, adds the release.

November 1, 2006
NBC gives the game of ‘The Office’ a Flash make-over

MUMBAI: Mobile games are closing the gap to traditional computer games with the launch of a new technology that enables richer mobile experience.

US broadcaster NBC has announced that The Office Games has produced a flash-enhanced game for its series of six mini-games, based on Verizon Wireless’ new Flash Lite for Brew technology.

NBC says that the new The Office Games feature cleaner graphics, enhanced sound and quicker relay times and can be played on select Get It Now-enabled phones. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Indiagames had developed NBC’s The Office Games to be played at the office or at home.

With shorter play times, Verizon Wireless says that its customers will find the intuitive array of games easy to navigate and simple to play — which is good for a break, after a stressful meeting or on an awkward phone call. The games feature the characters from the television series participating in a selection of cubical game-play including Wasteketball, Paper-Football (Hateball), Table-Top Golf, Office Paper War, Chair-Racing and more.

Indiagames VP US Sean Malatesta says, “We are proud to bring the comedy of The Office to Verizon Wireless using the incredible Flash Lite technology. It truly has been a great partnership indeed. These games are so addictive — and the new graphics make them even more fun!” .

Indiagames is striving to bring high-quality CG games to mobile. With increased mobile phone screen sizes, Indiagames has begun to rollout a series of graphically driven games, similar to desktop games, but made for mobile. The new high-resolution graphics for NBC’s The Office Games are closer to those seen in traditional video games — with clean transitions during score updates and between games. Similarly, the maneuverability has been enhanced to capitalize on player reaction times.

November 1, 2006