ITV

Category: Television

  • Animax turns 24×7 in Malaysia; available on Astro

    Animax turns 24×7 in Malaysia; available on Astro

    MUMBAI: Animax, the animation channel in Asia has announced that it will be available 24×7 in Malaysia starting 31 August and will be carried exclusively on cable provider, Astro.

    As part of the channel’s expansion plans, Animax will upgrade from a time-block channel to a full service channel to provide target demographic – youths and young adults. It will thus reach out to over 1.9 million Astro subscribers.

    Animax viewers in Malaysia will get to watch cutting edge animation in both English and original Japanese language, with Bahasa Malaysia subtitles during the primetime belt (6pm-8.30pm), informs an official release.

    Animax Asia vice-president Betty Tsui says, “We are excited to launch Animax in Malaysia with a strong partner like Astro and bring viewers exceptional anime entertainment like never before.”

    Greater youth-driven plans are in the pipeline, beginning with a Malaysia edition of on-air initiative, Imagine-Nation, featuring local talents that go beyond the ordinary. Imagine-Nation was launched last June in Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. It features famous people connected to the creative world of games, film and design, sharing their visions and inspirations with viewers in a series of candid interviews, adds the release.

    In keeping with the channel’s commitment to engage and inspire the youth, recently two lucky Malaysia Animax contest winners gained exclusive backstage tours and met with top gamers at the World Cyber Games 2006 Asian Championship, where Animax was a principal partner.

    Tsui adds, “The host of talent in creative fields are aplenty in Malaysia and I am thrilled to be able to share creative passion with the youths in Malaysia. We hope to inspire them through the Imagine-Nation project and more.”

    Animax Asia, a regional youth cable and satellite TV channel dedicated to Japanese animation (anime) programming under SPE Networks – Asia, brings to Asian viewers animation from Japan and anime-inspired original productions and activities.

    Offering programmes of various anime genres from sci-fi (Ghost in the Shell), action (Blood+), romance and fashion (Honey and Clover, Paradise Kiss) to drama (Black Jack, Girl from Hell) and anime favorites (Dragon Ball), Animax will showcase a line up of high-quality programmes targeted at its youths and young adults demographic in the coming months – including first-run series, Girl From Hell during Halloween this October 2006, adds the release.

  • Hungama Mobile & TSeries release ‘Don’ music on itunes

    Hungama Mobile & TSeries release ‘Don’ music on itunes

    MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile, a popular aggregator of Indian entertainment content and TSeries, have announced the availability of the music of Farhan Akhtar’s eagerly-awaited Don for purchase on the iTunes Music Store (www.itunes.com).

    This is the first time in the history of Bollywood that the soundtrack of a movie is being made available online on the same day as the official launch of its music, and prior to public availability of its music on CD. The soundtrack of the film will be featured on the World Page on iTunes, informs an official release.

    The music was released on 26 August at an event, wherein along with Shahrukh Khan, music director of the film, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy were also present.

    Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “This provides a great opportunity for Bollywood, as the worldwide popularity of iTunes means we can reach out to the growing Bollywood fan base online, wherever they are. We’re proud to have achieved a milestone by making the Don music available on iTunes.”

    “We are continually working to forge strategic relationships with key digital entertainment players, such as iTunes, to extend Hungama Mobile’s presence in online entertainment globally,” added Hungama Mobile chief operating officer Saleem Mobhani.

    The film is a remake of Amitabh Bachchan starrer Don, which had hit numbers to its credit like Khaike Paan Banaras Waala, because of which expectations are high from Sharukh Khan starrer Don.

    “It’s another step forward in our endeavor to reach the Global consumer and offer them the best of Bollywood through our digital initiative which is the first from the Indian music industry,” said T-Series chairman and MD Bhushan Kumar.

    “We are really excited to be working with Hungama Mobile to deliver exiting and original entertainment content and are working diligently to establish a more comprehensive distribution network in the mobile and digital space.”

    Excel Entertainment producer Ritesh Sidhwani said, “We are excited to be working with Hungama Mobile to release the Music of Don for the First time on the Digital platform via the iTunes Music Store along with the audio release. We are looking forward to increasing the fan following of hindi films by reaching out to the main stream audience through iTunes and welcoming the new era of Digital consumption of content.”

  • Zee TV associates with Sifymax for ‘Cinestars’ auditions

    Zee TV associates with Sifymax for ‘Cinestars’ auditions

    MUMBAI: Zee TV, which is targeting an October launch of its reality talent hunt property ‘Cinestars’, has associated with Sifymax for the on-ground auditions. The auditions will be held in 154 cities across India using the technology edge of Sify and its 3400 plus iWay cyber cafes.The channel has, meanwhile, kicked off its first phase of the auditions.

    Procedure of an audition: The participant will sit in front of the web camera at the iWay cyber cafe and record his / her talent stint, further to which the same will be uploaded on Sifymax.com. Prior to performing their respective stints, guidelines in the form of tutorials will be given to the participants in the form of audio-video content.

    Says Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra on the association, “Zee Cinestars is an all India contest and understandably the auditions requires a lot of hard work. But, with the help of Sifymax, we have simplified the whole process. The technology lessens the load and this helps us to channelise our resources to the other areas of the project.”

    As per the official release, Sify iWays will act as talent hubs for aspiring participants as it will make the audition process simple and comfortable for the contestants by allowing them to come to the iWays, showcase their talent, record and upload it on www.zeecinestar.sifymax.com.

    Mehra adds that, the auditions will conclude by the second week of September, after which the process of shortlisting will begin. “The shoot will begin by mid-September and we expect to launch the show by Diwali,” he says.

  • Star gets FIPB approval for new channels, share transfer

    Star gets FIPB approval for new channels, share transfer

    MUMBAI: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved a proposal by Star Group to invest in the country to start and create new non-news channels, which in all probability, would be niche channels for the direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

    FIPB has also approved share transfer from Indian shareholders to others in companies through which Star proposes to undertake other initiatives.

    “The commercial feasibility of creating channels in India has been matched by the liberalisation in foreign investment norms relating to the sector, which now makes it possible for a foreign investor to invest wholly in an Indian company to undertake activities of owning and uplinking a TV channel in India,” the Star application with the FIPB had stated.

    However, FIPB’s approval will have to be ratified by the finance ministry before Star can go ahead with its proposed activities.

    In its application to FIPB, Star had said that for its newer activities, it proposes to use three companies in India, which have already been incorporated. The need for separate companies was driven by the fact that the nature of content in the (proposed) channels is distinct and this necessitates different skill sets and facilities, which can be more “efficiently housed in different entities.”

    The three companies sought to be used by Star are Touch Tele Content India Pvt Ltd (TTCL), PPV Movies & Content Pvt Ltd (PMCPL) and Star Games Development Company Pvt Ltd (SGDPL). Star’s holding in the last two companies would be held by a Mauritius based group company, Star ISP Ltd.

    In addition to the investment into fresh equity of PMCPL and SGDPL, Star ISP Ltd will also purchase the existing shares from the current shareholders of the investee company, which were in the process of seeking clearance from the information and broadcasting ministry for uplinking channels from India.

    Touch Tele is presently engaged in providing support services to other media companies. PPV Movies and Star Games Development were recently incorporated as companies.

    The Star application also stated that amongst the many benefits accruing from this proposal will be investments made in India to create “world class infrastructure related to channel creation that is, on-air promotion, playout (facilities), delivery, etc.”

  • Buena Vista partners with Fujisankei Commns Intl to produce reality game show for US

    Buena Vista partners with Fujisankei Commns Intl to produce reality game show for US

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista Productions (BVP) has partnered with Fujisankei Communications International to develop and produce the mega-hit Japanese reality game show Run for Money for US and international markets. Reality entertainment veteran Scott Messick has been roped in as executive producer for the show.

    “The current marketplace calls for shows that will be talked about, and ‘Run for Money’ makes a lot of noise,” said BVP executive vice president Gwynne Thomas. “It is a huge spectacle in a high-energy environment with lots at stake. We are always looking for long-living franchises, and believe ‘Run for Money’ will be just that.”

    Run for Money, was originally broadcast on Fujisankei Communications’ corporate parent Fuji Television. It is a high-tech game of hide-and-seek featuring celebrities on the run from a pack of menacing “hunters.” Broadcast in Japan in 2004 and 2006 as a series of late-night specials, the show became a ratings juggernaut in just three airings, informs an official release.

    The show will be licensed to international broadcasters as the original BVP-produced series and a format by Buena Vista International Television.

    Fujisankei Communications executive producer Akifumi Takuma said, “We are thrilled with this co-production deal with BVP for one of our top-rated formats. It will further strengthen and expand our long-standing relationship with the Disney Media Networks that ranges from ABC News to content deals with ESPN.”

    Four-time Emmy Award winner Scott Messick has been tapped as executive producer of Run for Money. Messick currently serves as president of Mess Media, with current productions including Pros vs. Joes for Spike TV, Nascar Drivers 360 for FX, Madden Nation for ESPN, and Fight Girls, a two-hour reality-film for Oxygen Network, adds the release.

    Messick has produced and directed a number of shows for broadcast and cable, including the 2002/2003 Fox series Boot Camp and Bachelorettes in Alaska. He also served as director and supervising producer of the inaugural season of the primetime hit Survivor.

    “Scott is a proven innovator in the reality genre. With a director’s eye and masterful storytelling skills, he is ideal for this high drama, big event format,” said Thomas.

  • Sports TV forum sees China as an important global growth market for sports TV services

    Sports TV forum sees China as an important global growth market for sports TV services

    MUMBAI: At an event hosted by the State Administration for Radio Film and Television (SARFT) and organised by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) with media partner CCTV-5, the sports network of Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, China emerged as an important global growth market for sports TV services.

    The August 24th international industry summit was held in Beijing with an audience of more than 400 international and China-based sports broadcasting executives was dominated by discussion of the potential for the Asian sports TV market and the 2008 Beijing Olympics, informs an official release.

    With speakers from World Cup soccer organisers Fifa, the UK’s FA Premier League, ESPN Star Sports, Total Sports Asia and the International Olympic Committee, the conference was keynoted by Dave Gordon, the head of major events at BBC Sport, following an introduction to CCTV’s plans for 2008 by network vice president Sun Yu Sheng.

    “Our biggest advantage is that we have between 300 to 400 million TV sets and one billion viewers in China,” said Sheng. “Meanwhile, I can assure you that China will have five dedicated Olympic TV channels as well as a channel for High Definition TV for 2008, allowing us to screen some 3,800 hours of Olympic programming.”

    Touching on an assurance repeated throughout the conference, Alex Gilady, a member of the International Olympics Committee and the Vice President of NBC Sports, noted that “Sports remains the premium content that viewers have proven they are willing to pay for. In 25 years time, we are not sure whether commercial free-to-air programming will still exist. But we do know that pay-TV (and premium sports TV) will still be around.”

    The value of the television rights that underpin the global sports market was highlighted by Phil Lines, the head of International broadcasting and media operations FA Premier League, “In 2003, our total revenue from overseas broadcast rights went up from just over 170 million pounds to more than 300 million pounds for three years. We sell the rights to 25 countries in Asia providing 31 per cent of our total worldwide audience. Given that we are nearly always shown on pay TV channels in Asia this is a remarkable feat.”

    In the run up to the Olympics in 2008 Beijing Olympic Broadcasting COO Ma Guo Li said, “We are in a very important time right now. But the true outcome of the Beijing Olympics won’t be felt until long afterwards. Then we will see what we have achieved and how it will change China’s sports TV industry forever.”

    At the conclusion of the conference, Marcel Fenez, the chairman of CASBAA, thanked co-organisers CCTV-5 and CITV, as well as the official Host, SARFT. “This event, the second in a series as we run-up to the Beijing Olympics, has demonstrated once again the strength of China’s sports TV industry, as well as its regional importance,” he said.

  • Rising from the Ruins: South Asian Quake revisited on CNN

    Rising from the Ruins: South Asian Quake revisited on CNN

    Airtimes: Indian Standard Times
    Saturday, Feb 18 at 1800hrs, 2200hrs
    Sunday, Feb 19 at 0700hrs, 1400hrs and 2000hrs

     

    Chronicling the story of a tragedy that left more than 83,000 people dead and millions homeless, CNN correspondent Stan Grant revisits Pakistan and the families devastated by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that rocked the region on October 8, 2005. The special half hour program, “Rising from the Ruins”, follows the physical and emotional progress of those affected by the South Asia quake.

     

    Millions are rebuilding their lives, with the coming of spring a chance to start anew. The Anwars are one such family and “Rising from the Ruins” follows them as they trek 45 km back up the mountain to their destroyed village of Bagh. Stan Grant witnesses how they are rebuilding their home from the ground up, while also laying their son and devastating reminders of the disaster to rest.

     

    If faces could tell a story, then Zareena Bibi’s is a tragedy. Only 30, but old before her time, the mother of three is coping with the post-quake trauma as well as the death of a son. In a tearful interview, Bibi reveals her fears for the future as she faces problems providing even basic necessities for her family, particularly as her husband is unable to find employment. Once the relief agencies move on, “Rising from the Ruins” asks what the future will hold for her family and thousands like them.

     

    AIRTIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

  • SPE Networks Asia introduces structural changes at AXN & Animax

    SPE Networks Asia introduces structural changes at AXN & Animax

    MUMBAI: The two channels from the SPE Networks Asia stable, AXN Asia and Animax Asia have undergone a re-organisation with new hires and promotions of key personnel. A strategic attempt by the organisation to facilitate expansion and boost the channel profiles in the region.

    AXN director-programming Wong Yan-Jong, has been promoted to executive director and will oversee the programming of AXN Asia and manage the functions of marketing and creative services. The enlarged portfolio will give her a bird’s eye view of the brand, ensuring consistency in strategy planning right through to the execution of on-air and off-air activities, informs an official release.

    Also within the AXN team, Kartik Budhraja has been promoted from senior producer to associate director of creative services at AXN. He leads a team of producers for various feeds including East Asia, Taiwan, Korea and India.

    At Animax, vice-president Asia Betty Tsui will similarly oversee the critical functions of programming, marketing and creative services, as well as conquering new markets to expand the channel’s reach.

    The Animax brand was given a new look and image in June 2006 and in its effort to ensure a smooth execution of the revamp, two significant additions were made to the Animax team -Judy Chow is the new marketing director; while Garry Hui joins as the associate director for programming. Together, they will have the responsibilty to identify programmes and marketing initiatives that will connect and interact with today’s youths, adds the release.

    In addition, Tracy Wong was promoted from senior producer to associate director of creative services, overseeing on-air activities for Animax across all feeds, including the launch of the new on-air branding. Prior to February 2006, Tracy was the senior producer for AXN East Asia feed, where she showcased her creativity through various on-air campaigns that garnered numerous awards, including two Gold awards at Promax Asia 2005.

    Also, a new affiliate marketing manager has been hired to take care of affiliate marketing – Shyanne Chao joins SPE Networks Asia from StarHub, and will be dealing with cable partners around the region.

    These structural changes come in response to the organization’s attempts to consolidate the programming and brand marketing of their two channel brands during last three months.

  • ABU, ILO and Bloomberg Television to conduct Asia Working co-production workshops

    ABU, ILO and Bloomberg Television to conduct Asia Working co-production workshops

    MUMBAI: The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in cooperation with Bloomberg Television Asia-Pacific have announced their partnership for the ‘Asia Working 2006’ co-production workshops, that will train 15 Asian broadcast journalists from national, terrestrial broadcast companies throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

    The initiative was launched today with a gathering of television journalists at the 14 ILO Asia Regional Meeting in Busan, South Korea.

    Content produced from the initiative will scrutinise the implications of employment and workplace issues on trade, economics and commerce in the participating journalists’ home countries. The final product, consisting of short documentary features and news items for the ‘Asia Working’ series, will be made available for exchange among other ABU member broadcasters. Asia Working 2006’ is a continuation of the ‘Asia Working’ project launched last year, informs an official release.

    Broadcast journalists participating in the initiative represent the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Bangladesh Television, Hong Kong Cable Television, the Broadcasting Corporation of India, Fiji Television, Radio Television Malaysia, Nepal Television, Geo TV Pakistan, ABS-CBN Philippines, MediaCorp Singapore, Sri Lanka Rupavahini, Channel 5 Thailand, ANTV Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and Bhutan Broadcasting.

    Participating broadcast journalists will also participate in a workshop at the Bloomberg Television newsroom and studios in Hong Kong in November. Bloomberg will provide a trainer and executive producer to address the participants in instilling best practices and professional techniques in identifying and reporting on the economic and financial implications of the workforce issues.

    ILO director communication Zohreh Tabatabai said: “The ILO is pleased to continue this innovative media initiative with the ABU and welcomes the expertise that Bloomberg TV will bring to the project. The ILO is committed to giving Asian journalists and their viewers access to the best information, research and analysis relating to work and workplace issues.”

    ABU secretary-general David Astley said: “We are pleased to be partnering with ILO once again and to have Bloomberg on board this year in this second ‘Asia Working’ series. The exchange of such human-interest stories focusing on labour among broadcasters will help to promote awareness and allow audiences from different parts of Asia understand the labour issues faced in the region today.”

    This ABU-ILO co-production workshops and series will draw on expertise in reporting on economic trends and labour issues gained through the production of series such as Bloomberg’s ‘Changing Jobs’ which deals with unemployment, worker education, wage trends and executive recruitment in Asia.

    “Bloomberg is recognised for its comprehensive reporting on economic and financial issues which are directly related to labour and workforce issues. We look forward to working with the national terrestrial broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific through the ABU and with the ILO on labour issues and to contribute to raising the standards of production for this CO-production series,” said Bill Dorman of Bloomberg Television Asia-Pacific.

  • Shemaroo releases ‘Omkara’ on DVD, VCD

    Shemaroo releases ‘Omkara’ on DVD, VCD

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Video has released Omkara on DVD and VCD.

    The film is Vishal Bhardwaj’s third interpretation of a literary classic after Maqbool which was based on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Chatri Chor which was based on Ruskin Bond’s The Blue Umbrella. Omkara is based on Shakespeare play Othello.

    The VCD has been released with English sub-titles. However since the film has extensive regional dialect from North India, Shemaroo has also released VCD with Hindi subtitles so that the audiences can enjoy the film’s dialogue and performances.

    Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada said “We are extremely proud to release Omkara on home video. Omkara has been acclaimed worldwide for its epic portrayal of Othello in the rugged semi-urban Indian backdrop. It is a movie people would like to add to their collection.”

    The DVD has a 10 page booklet which mentions facts and trivia about the film. It also has many bonus and special features like The Making of Omkara. The director and actors speak about the film and script, the locations, the cast and characters, the look and costumes, the music and songs. The DVD also has deleted scenes.