ITV

Category: Television

  • Nick celebrates ‘Worldwide Day of Play’ on 30 Sept; analyses American leisure habits

    MUMBAI: As Nickelodeon celebrates Worldwide Day of Play by “going dark” on air 30 September to encourage kids to get up, go out and go play, Leisure Trends Group takes a look at recent trends in America‘s leisure habits.


    Sponsored by Nickelodeon and its partners, Worldwide Day of Play is the highlight of its Let‘s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge that has evolved into a health and wellness movement. Leisure Trends, the market research company has conducted an ongoing US survey to examine the changing landscape of Americans at play and publishes results in its quarterly LeisureTRAK.


    Leisure Trends data confirms Worldwide Day of Play is well timed to encourage continued activity when most households are burrowing in for winter. On average, as Americans move from summer into fall, they lose 20 minutes of leisure time per day, according to Leisure Trends Research director Laurel Hyslop, PhD. Americans lose an additional 10 minutes of leisure time once winter rolls around, she added.


    As time outdoors declines, TV becomes a bigger lure. Americans begin spending 13 more minutes on average a day watching television in September as compared to summer months. In fact, when asked what leisure activities they participated in the previous day, an analysis indicate outdoor sports decline 28 per cent from summer to fall and decline 40 per cent from fall to winter.


    In addition to seasonal changes in leisure habits, Leisure Trends has identified differences in leisure motivations and activities Americans pursue, with the tragedy of 9/11 marking a pivotal shift in priorities. Spending time with family and friends has always been a high priority, but since 9/11 it has become the top priority – moving ahead of the two traditional top choices, reading and TV. Family and friends matter, and Americans are finding time for them. This trend cuts across all ages and includes both sexes. As a favourite activity, socializing has risen from 23 per cent of Americans prior to 9/11 to 36 percent more recently.


    According to Hyslop another key trend is Americans 16 and older are moving away from team sports to individual sports. Team sports require more time, both to play and to organize playing partners. With all the things Americans want to do in their leisure, individual sports provide the most flexibility.


    “These trends also point to the shift toward pleasure and away from competition that has altered the very hierarchy of leisure motivations,” Hyslop said. The company has been studying leisure motivators for the past 15 years, finding they yield stronger consumer insights than such traditional dimensions as demography and geography. “Pleasure-seeking now exerts a stronger pull than competition in determining leisure pursuits. The changes point toward a growing desire to have fun and a declining interest in competition and getting ahead in life.”


    The clearest manifestation of the changing motivations is the long-term growth in participation in entertainment activities, up from 42 percent to 52 percent since 1990. “The ongoing battle between sport and entertainment will determine the future of leisure time in America,” Hyslop said.


    The absolute authority on leisure in America, Leisure Trends Group provides powerful insight into the changing habits of America at play and the implications to business.

  • Nickelodeon’s ‘Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge’ kicks off in US

    Nickelodeon’s ‘Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge’ kicks off in US

    MUMBAI: Nickelodeon and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation has kicked off the “Go Healthy Challenger Search 2007,” today, a nationwide US campaign that seeks to find the kids who will be featured in next year’s Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge.

    Kids are encouraged to send in personal home videos sharing how they want to “go healthy” and why they want to be a 2007 role model for the campaign. The Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge follows real kids on-air on their personal journeys towards healthier lifestyles. It is part of Nickelodeon’s Let’s Just Play pro-social initiative, with partner the Alliance for a Healthier Generation — a joint initiative between the American Heart Association and William J. Clinton Foundation — to encourage kids to participate in active, healthy and playful lifestyles, informs an official release.

    To be considered as a Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenger, kids will need to submit a “Performer Application,” which is available for download on http://www.nick.com/letsjustplay, along with no more than 10 minutes of home video footage.

    The 2007 Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challengers will be determined in early November. The chosen participants will be notified and those selected will be posted on http://www.nick.com/letsjustplay.

    Nickelodeon and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation will also be holding local casting calls open to kids on 14 and/or 15 October. The casting calls will consist of a videotaped interview, in which kids will be asked to answer questions about their health goals, how they would like to achieve those and why? A location for the casting call in New York is still to be determined.

    In addition, local American Heart Association divisions and Boys and Girls Clubs of America will support the casting process in various cities. Local volunteers will be on-site (specific venues to be determined) with required paperwork and video cameras to create the home video footage for kids to participate. Kids attending any casting calls are required to be accompanied by a legal guardian to provide permission to participate.

    The solicitation for the 2007 Go Healthy Challengers begins on 30 September, marking the network’s Worldwide Day of Play celebration which includes the Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Celebration finale at 7:30 pm ET/PT, adds the release.

    The 2006 Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge inspired more than 150,000 kids across the country to “go healthy” and become more active by following four real kids on-air in their personal health quests, and with tactical online tips that kids could use in their own lives. The Go Healthy Challenge, an on-air and grassroots campaign developed by Nickelodeon and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation encourages real kids to make their lives, schools and communities healthier.

    Nickelodeon is currently in its fourth year of its award-winning pro-social initiative, Let’s Just Play. In November 2005, Let’s Just Play entered into a partnership with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to combat the spread of childhood obesity. The three organizations combined forces on a comprehensive media and public awareness campaign, encouraging young people to engage in healthy and active lifestyles.

  • NGC institutes awards for filmmaking

    NGC institutes awards for filmmaking

    MUMBAI: Infotainment channel National Geographic Channel (NGC) has announced a new initiative to recognise outstanding work in non fiction. It will present awards for excellence in non fiction film-making in India.

    It aims to set a benchmark for the best non-fiction productions and raise the bar of Indian film-making to produce exceptional content for the global and Indian audience.

    NGC says that the awards are India’s first such initiative to recognise and honour exceptional non-fiction films and will also provide an opportunity to realise every film maker’s aspiration to showcase their work in the international arena. The inception of these awards is an ideal extension of ‘s commitment to recognise films that are thought provoking and at the same time interesting to watch besides providing entertainment.

    The awards will focus on works of both professional as well as amateur film-makers of Indian origin in separate categories. Details like the award’s name, categories, application procedure, selection criteria, the jury, events, dates and other information will be announced shortly.

    NGC India senior VP – programming, Joy Bhattacharjya said, “With our documentary initiatives with Singapore’s Economic Development Board in Singapore and projects like Taiwan to the World, Nat Geo has already showcased its dedication to developing and recognizing talent around the world and providing opportunities to help film makers showcase their work.”

    “With these awards we aim to recognise and encourage superior non-fiction film-making in India and establishing a benchmark for the same. These awards are an ideal extension of our proposition to encourage viewers to rethink about the way they watch television. We plan to make this into an annual property and hence make this an event to remember with an innovative 360 degree activation experience which is bound to make the audience Think again”.

  • NDTV making ‘CAT’ easy for aspiring students

    NDTV making ‘CAT’ easy for aspiring students

    MUMBAI: If you are worried about admission into the country’s best MBA colleges, then it’s time to forget your worries. An advice for students from NDTV- no need to sweat it.

    Watch NDTV, and find out how to Crack the CAT Code. CAT SCAN on NDTV 24×7 and CAT MANAGER on NDTV INDIA – the 8 part half-hour weekly series starting on 30 September 2006, will provide valuable insights on CAT 2006. 8 episodes, one every week will help the students in preparing for the CAT exam.

    Watch experts like MD of Career Launchers Gautam Puri, senior faculty IIM(A) Ravichandran, Alumnis of IIM (A), Rajul Mahur and Mahesh Natarajan, share their insights, advices and last minute tips on cracking CAT 2006.

    CAT SCAN on NDTV 24X7 and CAT Manager on NDTV India take you from one business School Campus to the next. This program will not only be an informative tool about cracking the CAT exam, but will but will also answer many other queries as to- what is the curriculum like, and what career prospects are on offer here? It will also provide information on financial aid besides how to deal with stress.

  • Hungama TV to telecast talent show ‘Mother n Child’ on 14 &15 October

    MUMBAI: The Multimedia Informatics talent show Mother n Child grand finale round will be held on Sunday, 1 October in Mumbai. The telecast partners are Hungama TV and the show will be aired as a two part program on 14 and 15 October.


    This show aspires to identify and nurture talent in young children between the age 2 ? and 7 years old. The sixth edition of the event will pay tribute to the bond between children and their mothers and will witness mother-children pairs performing jointly through singing, dancing, mimicry, satire, comic skits, enacting fables.


    The ‘Mother n Child‘ event promises to help imbibe in a child, confidence, poise, stage presence, team spirit and also groom their basic personality. The auditions were held in the premises of schools such as R. N. Podar, Sailee International, Don Bosco and nurseries like Anandi Playschool, Tiny Steps and Junior Crafting, Blooming Buds. The grooming sessions for the event were held earlier this week and 40 shortlisted participants were called for the grand rehearsals. The finalists were given tips to better their performance as well as briefed about the camera angles and stage settings, states an official release.


    Multimedia Informatics Pvt. Ltd. distributed enrollment forms through various activity classes, hobby classes, dance classes and many such other intuitions. It also had extensive mobile van publicity at various places in Mumbai in addition to promotional activities at malls and multiplexes. It also had hoardings at strategic locations across the city. At every audition centre, an average of about 45 – 50 Mother n Child pairs participated. The final selection decision will be based on the judges, adds the release.


    Multimedia Informatics Pvt. Ltd. Shashank Mane says, “The bonds of motherhood are stronger than any other bond. A mother is also the one who identifies and nurtures the talent in a child. Keeping this in mind, Multimedia Informatics came up with a unique event called ‘Mother n Child‘, a chance for an early start to hone the talent in your child. Being our third event on Mumbai level, we decided to make it even bigger this year by reaching out to maximum schools as possible. And we have managed to get phenomenal response from participating schools and nurseries.”


    Sagarika (singer, model, and actress) one of the celebrity mothers, who participated in the earlier events said, “I would like to be a participant when my child grows eligible to participate. But I am not sure whether I will be able to perform with confidence and these people do.”


    Another celebrity mother Walucha Robinson (model) added, “It‘s not very easy to stand on stage and perform but that‘s how I started…I was young when I started out on a small little stage…but you get where you want to in life when you start small

  • Disney’s Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing

    Disney’s Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company has announced the acquisition of video games company Climax Racing.

    The addition of Climax Racing allows BVG to create triple-A racing titles that meet the highest standards for creativity and quality. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. The deal is expected to close in early October, informs an official release.

    Buena Vista Games senior vice president and general manager Graham Hopper said, “The acquisition of Climax Racing aligns perfectly with our strategic and geographic goals by allowing us to both reach into new genres and new markets for creative talent. Adding Climax Racing to our creative family will provide an additional catalyst for our continued growth in the video games market.”

    UK based Climax Racing is a known developer of racing games, including its critically-acclaimed work on such franchises as MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury. The studio and its products have won or been nominated for awards, including winning four IGN Best of Show awards at E3 2006.

    “As a premier, award-winning studio that has created some of the best racing titles of all time, Climax Racing is an ideal component of BVG’s expanding portfolio of development talent,” said Climax founder and chief executive officer Karl Jeffery.

    The studio is of both strategic and geographic importance to BVG as it becomes the third internal studio, and the first in Europe, that BVG has added to its development capacity. BVG currently operates development studios in Vancouver, British Columbia (Propaganda Games), and Salt Lake City, Utah (Avalanche Software), adds the release.

    Tony Beckwith, co-founder of the studio, has been named vice president and general manager of Climax Racing as it continues its creative direction under BVG.

    “The Walt Disney Company holds one of the largest and most exciting portfolios of intellectual property in the world, and through BVG, we look forward to having access to the company’s deep resources in the video games space to continue creating remarkable interactive entertainment,” said Beckwith. “This promises to be a mutually beneficial relationship and we believe that together we will make outstanding games for the next generation and beyond.”

  • Century Communication launches 2nd post production studio Pixion II in Mumbai

    Century Communication launches 2nd post production studio Pixion II in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Century Communication Limited (CCL), an integrated media & entertainment company surges ahead with its launch of its second state-of–the-art post production studio, ‘Pixion II’ in Mumbai.

    The Pixion brand of CCL has established itself as a clear market leader in the video space and is one of the dominant industry players in the film post production market.

    The existing Pixion’s state-of-the-art post production facilities provide end to end digital post production solutions to film and video production houses. It provides complete solutions ranging from offline to online Processing, graphics and digital sound.

    With the new launch, Pixion boasts of being the biggest post production facilitator in Mumbai market. It has added two more grading facilities, four more online smokes, one IQ, two EQ, 4-5 offline suites and more than forty visual effects & animation stations. Pixion studios introduces IQ in India making it the holder of the largest concentration of Quantel systems in India.

    Quantel’s generationQ is a radical, all-encompassing, new concept that offers total scalability in both hardware and software across post production, graphics and broadcast for multiple resolutions, team-working production environments.

    Commenting on the launch of Pixion II, CEO Pixion Naresh Malik said, “The post production industry is rapidly growing and the demand for post production, DI and visual effects is increasing at an enormous rate. With the second facility in Mumbai we ensure to meet this demand and also provide world class infrastructure and talent to Indian and international film makers.”

    “With advance technology, state of art infrastructure and a commitment to create international benchmarks Pixion offers the best in both talent and technology “, said Director CCL Anand Tewari.

    “We are very optimistic about the Pixion brand and plan to set up studios in other markets like Hyderabad and Chennai too”, he further added.

  • Disney’s Buena Vista Games to acquire Climax Racing

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista Games, Inc. (BVG), the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company has announced the acquisition of video games company Climax Racing.


    The addition of Climax Racing allows BVG to create triple-A racing titles that meet the highest standards for creativity and quality. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. The deal is expected to close in early October, informs an official release.


    Buena Vista Games senior vice president and general manager Graham Hopper said, “The acquisition of Climax Racing aligns perfectly with our strategic and geographic goals by allowing us to both reach into new genres and new markets for creative talent. Adding Climax Racing to our creative family will provide an additional catalyst for our continued growth in the video games market



    UK based Climax Racing is a known developer of racing games, including its critically-acclaimed work on such franchises as MotoGP and ATV Offroad Fury. The studio and its products have won or been nominated for awards, including winning four IGN Best of Show awards at E3 2006.


    “As a premier, award-winning studio that has created some of the best racing titles of all time, Climax Racing is an ideal component of BVG‘s expanding portfolio of development talent,” said Climax founder and chief executive officer Karl Jeffery.


    The studio is of both strategic and geographic importance to BVG as it becomes the third internal studio, and the first in Europe, that BVG has added to its development capacity. BVG currently operates development studios in Vancouver, British Columbia (Propaganda Games), and Salt Lake City, Utah (Avalanche Software), adds the release.


    Tony Beckwith, co-founder of the studio, has been named vice president and general manager of Climax Racing as it continues its creative direction under BVG.


    “The Walt Disney Company holds one of the largest and most exciting portfolios of intellectual property in the world, and through BVG, we look forward to having access to the company‘s deep resources in the video games space to continue creating remarkable interactive entertainment,” said Beckwith. “This promises to be a mutually beneficial relationship and we believe that together we will make outstanding games for the next generation and beyond.”

  • MSN and Control Room take music performances to Europe

    MSN and Control Room take music performances to Europe

    MUMBAI: MSN, a leader in delivering compelling entertainment to Indian consumers, anounced a multiyear global content distribution agreement with Control Room, the No 1 provider of live digital entertainment and the producers of Live 8.

    The partnership will see MSN as the exclusive online worldwide destination for Control Room’s live music programming, via live and on-demand streaming.

    Officially launching in the UK on 2 October, the agreement means that nearly 465 million visitors to MSN worldwide, including millions of fans in India will have access to an exclusive performance from John Legend.

    The multiple-award-winning singer, songwriter and pianist’s live Royal Albert Hall performance will be available at http://msn.co.in/johnlegend from 16.00 GMT. Additional artists already scheduled to appear on MSN through the relationship with Control Room include Rod Stewart from the Nokia Theater in NYC and John Mayer from Webster Hall in NYC.

    The partnership will further allow visitors to MSN video ongoing access to live concerts from the most popular, top-selling musical artists as well as today’s most talked-about breakthrough acts.

    “With the video content market surging as it has been in the last year since Live 8, we have proven that there is a robust market for a company like ours to change the way live entertainment is consumed, now and in the future,” said CEO of Control Room Kevin Wall.

    “With MSN, we have found a global partner that sees the value and profit in providing our rich and cutting-edge live entertainment content to its consumers worldwide,”added Wall.

    General Manager for the MSN Network Greg Nelson said,”With this collaboration, artists now have an extremely valuable, cohesive, global marketing and promotion avenue to reach and connect with fans worldwide, while in turn it creates another key access point for consumers to get high-quality content from the musicians they love.”

    With this agreement in place, MSN and Control Room will embark upon a deep, exclusive content collaboration, combining Control Room’s expertise in creating and delivering live music events for cross-media distribution with the feature-rich video programming of MSN and its global reach and branded entertainment appeal to advertisers.

    Further, through this agreement, Microsoft Corp. may stream Control Room shows to other platforms, including Xbox Live, MSN Messenger, Microsoft Windows Media Player and Windows XP Media Center Edition.

    The Control Room team will leverage its deep and broad experiences, relationships and skills accrued while creating and digitally distributing more than 59 shows in the past year to deliver high-quality live music programming to MSN. Control Room maintains the same seasoned management team, many of whom worked on the now historic Live 8, and also continues content distribution relationships with television, radio, theatrical and retail partners worldwide.

  • Zee News launches online game ‘The Prince of Kurukshetra’ on Games2Win

    MUMBAI: The news story on the rescue operation of The Prince of Kurukshetra had gripped the nation’s media and particularly the Zee News. The Hindi news channel has now tied up with the online game portal Games2win (g2w) to launch a game on The Prince of Kurukshetra, with a mission to save Prince.

    The game will be promoted it through its channel. In the near future, in partnership with Games2win, Zee News will offer the Prince of Kurukshetra game on mobile phones soon.

    The game has been templated in a the same setting of Kurukshetra. The game is enveloped on rescuing a boy that has fallen into a deep well. The challenge of the game is to correctly build a completely connected shaft using the varying types of pipe shapes provided and placing them in the correct grids of the underground map.

    According to an official release, upon completion of Level 1, the player is challenged further to complete Level 2 and 3 that increases considerably in complexity and difficulty. Also, a timer measures how fast a player can complete the levels. For consumers who get stuck, they can always ‘reset’ their scores. The game has been conceptualized, created and powered by games2win and will be exclusively premiered and featured on www.zeenews.com for the first three days of launch. It will later also be available on games2win.com.

    Zee News AVP marketing Rohit Kumar said “We are very happy to partner with Games2win.com on this really innovative concept. Zee News is one the most watched Hindi News Channels in the country and ideas like these make our viewers ‘participate’ in the content we show. This is a great synergy between passive and interactive viewer involvement.”

    Games2win founder Alok Kejriwal says, “This is a pioneering concept we have created with Zee News where an Indian thematic and current topic has been converted into a very interactive online game that will be promoted by a news channel to drive participation on their website. We believe that the fusion of TV with interactivity is best represented with ideas like this and g2w is proud to be pioneering this concept”