ITV

Category: Television

  • VSNL International to invest US$ 200 million in undersea cable

    VSNL International to invest US$ 200 million in undersea cable

    MUMBAI: VSNL plans to pump in US$ 200 million to build undersea telecom cable linking Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

    The telecom major will make this investment through its Singapore arm, VSNL Singapore Pte Ltd (VSNL International).

    The new intra-Asia cable will enable VSNL International to service its global customers doing business in and with the burgeoning Asia-Pacific markets, the company said in an official statement.

    The investment of US $ 200 million follows the recent announcement by VSNL to build a new system from India to Europe that will provide connectivity to the Gulf region and the African continent.

    The intra-Asia cable, when combined with the Tata Indicom Cable System (TIC) and the TGN-Pacific cable system (both of which are built with eight fibre pairs capable of supporting 7+ Tbil/s of traffic), will complete VSNL International’s multi-Terabit capability from India to Asia and onward to the US.

    “With Asian bandwidth demand forecasted to grow at an average of 27 per cent CAGR, VSNL International is taking steps to expand its capacity to serve customers in the booming intra-Asia market,” comments VSNL International president Vinod Kumar. “This new high-capacity cable system, soon to be one of the region’s largest, combined with our existing C2C capacity and TGN-P capacity, will enable us to deliver high-performance bandwidth at the most cost-effective pricing and fulfil our strategy to become the market leader in bandwidth supply.”

    VSNL International will commence construction of the new intra-Asia cable by December 2006. The scheduled build time for the project is 12-14 months. The Company is already in the process of finalising design details, selecting suppliers and identifying additional partners for the project. Future potential landing stations for the cables include locations in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Guam.

  • TV18 plans to raise Rs 1 billion, HSBC gets mandate

    TV18 plans to raise Rs 1 billion, HSBC gets mandate

    MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen India Ltd. plans to raise Rs 1 billion by placing equity shares or convertible bonds with foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
    The company has mandated HSBC to manage the proposed issue, a source close to the company says. “We are close to finalising on whether it would be an equity or a convertible bond instrument. We have mandated HSBC and plan to raise Rs 1 billion,” he adds.

    When contacted, TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla declined to comment on the issue.

    TV18 had earlier, in its Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM), cleared a proposal to enable the board to issue up to an aggregate amount of Rs 3 billion through a “qualified institutional placement to qualified institutional buyers.” This was “just an enabling clause so that the board would not have to seek regulatory clearance again,” the source adds. By making qualified institutional placements, companies are able to raise money in India from FIIs.

    TV18 may use part of the amount to fund acquisitions and upgradation of studio infrastructure. Bahl has aggressive expansion plans, both in the TV and the internet space.

    Web 18, TV18’s internet arm, will have a chief executive officer to head the operations, the source says. Recently, TV18 Group announced the acquisition of three internet companies — Cricketnext.com, Compareindia.com and Urban Eye, a web design and technology firm. The internet businesses are being consolidated under Web 18.

    TV18 is also setting up a Media Venture Capital Trust (MVCT) through which it plans to invest Rs 500 million in the convergence space, identifying small-sized ventures to whom it would provide funding support at the early stage.

  • Meridian Mobile flies in India

    Meridian Mobile flies in India

    MUMBAI: Meridian Mobile, which is part of the UK based Meridian Group, has launched its flagship brand for GSM phones, “Fly” in India.

    The marketing spend in the first year is likely to be $2 million as stated by the company. Malaika Arora has been signed-on as the brand ambassador for the product. She will be part of both, the print as well as the electronic campaign. The campaign aims to reflect the trendy and glamorous styling of the product.

    There are many models like Fly SL 500M, Fly SL 300M and Fly MP 330, to name a few, that will be introduced in the tech savvy Indian market. Fly SL 500M has a 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with expandable memory, video ring tones with MPEG 4 and IRDA, Bluetooth and other features such as video recorder and player, MP3 player and 64 tone polyphonic and MP3 tones.

    Whereas, Fly SL 300M has features like MP3 player, video player and recorder, 64 tone polyphonic and MP3 ring tones and expandable memory. Whereas,

    Meridian Mobile adds that Fly MP 330 is the only phone in the market that can enhance equivalent volume of 40 watts. Besides having a video recorder and a player, 64 polyphonic and MP3 tones, it has features like 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with woofer and speaker console, which is a new feature and is yet to be launched even in the West.

    Fly 2040 comes laden with features like 1.3 Mega-Pixel camera with Flash, Bluetooth enabled (voice, data and music), MP 3 player, continuous video recording and playback, 262K TFT display, video ringtones, 60 MB Internal Memory ( Nand Flash ), Micro SD Card Slot and IrDA connectivity.

    Meridian Mobile CEO India operations Rajiv Khanna says, “It is important to have fully loaded phones as the replacement market gets stronger. This is likely to result in huge demand for feature rich and stylish phones. Meridian will offer the critical buyer with smart value choices.”

    “Our marketing strategy is to focus on store branding and forging alliances with retailers. In the 1st phase our focus is on placement. We hope to reach 5000 premium counters by the end of the quarter, which will together account for 70 per cent of the over-all retail sales.”

  • TDSAT rejects Cable Com’s stay application against Zee Turner

    Kolkata, June 16, 2006: TDSAT on June 14 rejected a stay application filed by Cable Com Services Pvt. Ltd. (Cable Com) for restoration of Zee Turner bouquet channels on its network in Kolkata.

     

    Cable Com, one of the leading cable operators that reaches out to over in Kolkata and suburbs, had an agreement with Zee Turner Ltd. for distribution of the company’s bouquets of 23 channels in Kolkata only. The agreement for distribution if Zee Turner channels including Zee TV, Zee Bangla, Cartoon Network, CNN, CNBC amongst others expired on February 3, 2006 and was due for renewal.

    However, despite repeated requests from Zee Turner, Cable Com failed to sign the requisite agreement and also indulged into unauthorized distribution of Zee Turner signals to other regions besides Kolkata. The operator also failed to entertain the outstanding payments to the company thereby forcing Zee Turner to deactivate its signals on Cable Comm’s network on June 3, 2006.

     

    Following the deactivation of Zee Turner signals, Cable Com filed a petition before TDSAT denying any act of unauthorized distribution/piracy and challenged the de-activation. However, on hearing the arguments of both the sides on June 14, TDSAT rejected the interim application filed by Cable Com and refused to grant injunction to Cable com for restoration of the signals at its network by Zee Turner. As a result of such order the signals of all the channels of Zee Turner Bouquets will not be available on the network of Cable com. The matter is now listed before Honorable TDSAT on July 13, 2006.

     

    With TDSAT rejecting operator’s stay application, Cable Com has started misleading its customers by propagating a fallacious price hike by Zee Turner. The operator since June 13 has been running a scroll on his network stating that Zee Turner has increased the price of its channels by Rs. 43.60, hence the deactivation. On the contrary, there has been no increase in price of channels and the deactivation had been solely due to unauthorized distribution/activities on part of the operator. In fact, the regulatory body TRAI has freezed prices of all the channels/bouquets by various broadcasters and abstains any broadcaster from any sort of price hike.

     

    Mr. Arun Poddar, CEO Zee Turner Ltd., speaking on the issue said,” It is extremely sad that our viewers are being deprived of our channels despite them being paying for these channels. It is also very unfortunate that Cable Com, is misleading our viewers by propagating a false increase in price of our channels. I would like to take this opportunity to inform our viewers that there has been no increase in price of our channels and the deactivation has been purely on account of unauthorized activities being undertaken by the operator. The court’s judgment against Cable Comm is a testimony to this fact.”

     

    About Zee-Turner

    With 14 regional offices a countrywide network of over 400 dealers, Zee-Turner has the maximum depth and width of distribution in the country. Headquartered in New Delhi, Zee-Turner was incorporated in February 2002, when the two media giants – Zee Telefilms & Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. – joined hands to form a distribution joint venture. Zee- urner manages distribution and trade marketing for Zee, Turner as well as third party channels such as CNBC and Reality TV, in India and Nepal.

    Zee-Turner’s comprehensive bouquet already comprises of 26 channels catering to every genre and age, and offering quality national and international content at a very competitive pricing. Some of these include the flagship channels Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee News, Zee Café, Zee Trendz, HBO,CNBC, CNN International, POGO, Cartoon Network, and the regional Zee channels, among others.

     

    For further information, please contact:
    Pawandeep Kaur
    Corporate Communication
    Zee-Turner Ltd.; Ph: 011-55563213; 9899796960
    Fax: 011-26779350
    Email: <mailto:kaurp@zeeturner.com> kaurp@zeeturner.com

  • News Corp looking to launch magazine for MySpace

    News Corp looking to launch magazine for MySpace

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate News Corp is said to be looking at expanding the scope of its social networking site MySpace by making a print magazine.

    An Ad Age report suggested that the magazine would feature prominent members of the MySpace community and their interests.

    MySpace has held talks with music and fashion magazine Nylon about the initiative. The two parties have worked together before. In May, they joined up for the magazine’s seventh annual online music issue.

  • Century Communication buys out ex-UTV Mishra’s 30% stake in Pearl Media

    Century Communication buys out ex-UTV Mishra’s 30% stake in Pearl Media

    MUMBAI: Delhi-based Century Communication Limited (CCL) has bought out ex-UTV Anil Mishra’s 30 per cent stake in Pearl Media for an undisclosed amount.

    Pearl Media will now become a division of the company. “Earlier Pearl Media was functioning as a subsidiary of CCL. We have bought out Mishra’s stake,” CCL chairman PK Tewari tells Indiantelevision.com. CCL will consolidate its air-time sales, TV software, outdoor media and radio ad sales businesses under the umbrella of Pearl Media.

    CCL had joined hands with Mishra in 2004 after he quit UTV as COO of air-time sales and syndication. Pearl Media was formed to start the ad sales business with particular focus on Sun TV’s group of channels. Pearl Media since then has grown to a turnover of Rs 700 million, handling 15 shows on Sun Network and two on Doordarshan.

    “I have sold my stake and parted ways with CCL,” says Mishra who functioned as CEO of Pearl Media.

    A new team is now being put in place with Sanjay Reddy roped in from Walt Disney to head Pearl Media.

    CCL, which posted a turnover of Rs 1.5 billion for the fiscal 2005-06, has recently ventured into the FM sector and has bagged nine radio licenses in various cities across India. The company is targeting Rs 2 billion this fiscal. Apart from ad sales business through Pearl Media, CCL is into post production under the brand name of Pixion.

  • HBO, NBC lead winners circle at Emmy Awards

    HBO, NBC lead winners circle at Emmy Awards

    MUMBAI: US TV industry’s biggest award show, the 58th Primetime annual sEmmy Awards, saw HBO sweeping aways with nine awards followed by NBC, which managed to bag six.

    The crime drama “24” won the Emmy for best television drama. This is the first time that 24 has won an Emmy for the best drama show.Kiefer Sutherland won the best actor award for his portrayal of counter terrorist agent Jack bauer for the same show. Whereas, The Office took the trophy for best comedy show.

    The best actress award was taken by Julia Louis-Dreyfus for her role as Christine Campbell in The New Adventures of Old Christine. Dreyfus was earlier working in the television drama Seinfeld. Tony Shalhoub won for his role in Monk.

    The Sopranos,” heading in its final episodes, won an Emmy for outstanding drama writing.

    Elizabeth I” won nine awards, including best miniseries. Fox’s “24” was second with five awards.

    Ironically, three of the four best supporting actor and actress awards went to performances from shows that have gone off the air. Alan Alda won the best supporting actor award for his role as Arnold Vinick on NBC’s “The West Wing.” The political drama ended its seven-year run on NBC in May winning 26 Primetime Emmys over the years.

    And Blythe Danner was adjudged the best supporting actress for the show Huff. Megan Mullally won the trophy for the supporting actress in the sitcom Will & Grace which came to a close on NBC in May after an eight year run.

    Jeremy Piven was named best supporting actor for his role as a Hollywood agent on HBO’s show Entourage. The award for the best film went to HBO’s The Girl In The Cafe.

    Mariska Hargitay won the Emmy for outstanding actress in a drama series for her role in NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”

    The award ceremony was aired on NBC and hosted by Conan O’Brien. The show has received cricitism though from some quarters for the fact that the same old shows are nominated. New shows that keep viewers hooked like Lost sometimes get ignored. The Academy had changed the rules for voting and that critics say that it may have led to nonsensical omissions like Lost and also Hugh Laurie failing to get nominated for House.

    The criticism is that even with the change in the voting rules shows from cable channels like TNT, FX, Sci-Fi and USA that are seen by critics as pushing the boundaries are ignored. Shows such as Rescue Me and The Closer might get a token nomination or two, but the bulk of what the cable networks have to offer is not present.

    Of course American cable television is not as heavily reliant on advertsing as the broadcast networks. That allows for more flexibility in the shows that the likes of HBO do though the budgets might be less. The other challenge for the Emmys and other shows that honour the best in American television is that the line between what constitutes a lead actor and a supporting one is getting blurred.

    Under the new Emmy rules holders of various television jobs can vote in on all categories, instead of actors only voting for actors. Ironically Dick Askin who heads the Academy has pointed out that the aim of the change was get away from the valid criticism that the Emmys have a sameness. The criticism is that when the same shows and same actors keep getting nominated it leaves no room for newer shows to be recognised.

    It is worth pointing out that this problem is also glaring at both the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Those awards recognise both television and film. With film the nominee roster keeps changing and fans can look forward to what is nominated as it might reflect trends like earlier this year when independent films outshone their studio counterparts. With television though there is a sense of deja vu as the same faces and shows keep cropping up.

    Coming back to the Emmy’s the opening kit that featured O’Brien has received criticism for being insensitive. Basically he travelled on an airplane which crahes on an islland like the show Lost. After being greeted by Lost star Jorge Garcia, O’Brien fled through a mysterious hatch and ended up crashing through other series including The Office, 24 and House. Yesterday 49 people perished in the US’ deadliest air crash in five years.

  • Emmy Awards to pay tribute to Aaron Spelling

    Emmy Awards to pay tribute to Aaron Spelling

    MUMBAI: The late American television producer Aaron Spelling will be honoured as part of this year’s Emmy Awards.

    Hosted by Conan O’Brien the show takes place on Sunday, 27 August.

    Stars from some of Spelling’s numerous hit series, including Joan Collins Dynasty, Steven Collins 7th Heaven and Heather Locklear Melrose Place will take part in a tribute to his illustrious career as one of television’s most prolific and successful producers of dramatic series and made-for-television films.

    Annette Bening, Craig Ferguson and Sean Hayes are among the list of presenters at the Emmy Awards.

  • BBC announces a wedding themed reality show in the UK

    BBC announces a wedding themed reality show in the UK

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC One has commissioned a new primetime series in which engaged couples volunteer to put all the plans for their wedding day into the hands of their nearest and dearest – only getting to see the results, including the wedding dress, on the big day itself.

    Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? is a five-part series being made by Lion TV. It will give both sides of the family a unique opportunity to genuinely get to know each other.

    The relatives will be given a helping hand by a team of experts led by Nick Knowles, stylist Hannah Sandling and wedding expert James Love. The experts will be there to ensure that the big day runs smoothly, on time and on budget, and be better than the happy couple could have imagined in their wildest dreams.

    Knowles said, “It is supposed to be the happiest day of your life but very often the stresses and strains of organisation and family feuds can make it one of the most trying. We remove the bride and groom from this stress and ramp up all the pressure on the two families by forcing them to make all the decisions with all the consequences you would expect.”

    At the start of the week, Nick will meet the bride and groom to learn about their hobbies, favourite food and colours, personal preferences and outlook. This crucial meeting will be the happy couple’s only input into the elements chosen by our team. From then on, the couple’s own wedding budget will be handed over to their friends and family who will be responsible for making things happen.

    With only five full days to make all the arrangements, Nick Knowles will pull out all the stops and, where necessary, bring in additional expertise to work alongside the family members to make the wedding day special – from top florists, cake makers, DJs, public speakers, bands, artists, to entertainers and jewellers.

    The show will build to the day of the wedding where each of the elements will be revealed to the couple for the first time – along with the odd surprise for both viewers and couple.

    The series producer and director Martin Bisiker said, “A wedding always contains a heady mix of emotion, drama, humour and ceremony but, with the entire process taking just five days to organise, it’s not just the wedding day that becomes the big moment in the film.

    “It’s interesting to see how different families and friends react to a range of tasks throughout the course of the week when there’s just one objective – a perfect wedding.”

  • Asiasat sees HK $475 million sales till 30 June ’06

    Asiasat sees HK $475 million sales till 30 June ’06

    MUMBAI: Asian satellite communications provider Asiasat has announced interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2006.

    It managed sales of HK $475 million which represents a rise of seven per cent.

    Profit attributable to equity holders HK$239 million a rise of 29 per cent. Overall utilisation rate up four per cent despite overcapacity in many Asian markets. During this period it expanded blue-chip customer base with long-term contracts. It started the process of construction of Asiasat 5 in May.

    Turnover for the first half of 2006 was HK $475 million including a one-time receipt of HK $46 million for early termination of a contract, an increase of HK $30 million. As of 30 June 2006, the Group held contracts worth HK $2,785 million , of which approximately HK $381 million will be recognised in the second half of the current year.

    Despite the slow market, Asiasat says that it has been able to make a number of improvements and maintain its backlog level.

    Asiasat chairman Romain Bausch said, “Despite some encouraging signs, there is little evidence emerging to indicate that these will make significant changes to Asiasat’s results for the second half of 2006.

    “Thus, it is unlikely that the results for the full year will be materially different from those of the prior year. However, the group is in excellent shape and is making solid progress wherever possible in the development of our customer products and services, particularly with the contracting of our new satellite. As the market leader in the region, we recognise our role in setting the standards for quality and service and we remain optimistic about future growth. Asiasat’s reputation for excellence and its market leadership position the company well for the future.

    “The economic improvements that we have noted in recent reports continue to be evident in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the persistent overcapacity present in many markets across the region is still holding down transponder rates and causing the satellite market to remain stubbornly flat. As a result, despite an increase in demand in our business and a concerted effort to capitalise on opportunities, little positive impact has come through in the results for the first six months of 2006.

    “In these circumstances and with a view to the longer term, it is pleasing that I am able to report that, following the 18 per cent increase in our overall utilisation rate during last year’s difficult market, we achieved a further four per cent increase in the first half of 2006. This is an encouraging improvement amidst otherwise unimpressive results.

    “Asiasat, however, continues to attract and maintain an enviable blue-chip customer base with long-term contracts. The company is also debt free and has no need to make any provisions for doubtful debts in the period under review. Looking at the longer term, our confidence in a bright future for satellites in the Asia Pacific is unchanged, as is our belief in Asiasat’s potential to benefit from this in due course. For these reasons, we continue to focus on our customers and on enhancing our products and services so as to further consolidate our market leadership and be ready for the next growth phase.

    “Underlining our continued confidence in the future of the Group, in May this year we announced the signing of the construction agreement to design and build AsiaSat 5, and we also announced its Launch contract. This new satellite, a replacement for Asiasat 2, is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2008,” said Bausch.