ITV

Category: Television

  • Brand-comm ‘webinar’: Consumer insight best tool

    Brand-comm ‘webinar’: Consumer insight best tool

    MUMBAI: Consumer trends on the web were discussed at Brand-comm’s web seminar BrandWidth Online 2006.

    The seminar was addressed by Titan Industries managing director Bhaskar Bhat, McCann Erickson president Santosh Desai and Brand-comm CEO Ramanujam Sridhar.

    The seminar drove home the thought that consumer insight is the greatest tool, after all for marketers who want to keep pace in the changing market scenario.

    Some interesting questions to the panelists were on the movement behind the traditional Indian woman rising above her passivity, on consumer insights providing the way-forward for marketers and the role of technology in the consumer decision process. The panelists discussed the ‘More-Mania’ and the key drivers of consumer behavior in India.

    The seminar had 78 participants who logged in from different parts of the country.

  • Isro renews MOU with Andhra Pradesh on Sat-Com applications

    Isro renews MOU with Andhra Pradesh on Sat-Com applications

    BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh have renewed their July-2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the application of satellite based communication. A Bhaskaranarayana, director, Satellite Communication Programme of Isro and T V Parthasarathi, director, IT and Communication Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, signed the renewal of MOU in Hyderabad.

    Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Dr Y S Rajashekara Reddy and chairman, Isro Dr G Madhavan Nair were present during the signing ceremony.

    Under the renewed MOU, which also includes new applications, Andhra Pradesh will use Insat capacity for satellite based communication in the areas of distance education, telemedicine, agricultural extension, self-help groups, etc. While Isro provides the transponder capacity on board its Insat and the technical support, Andhra Pradesh Government operates the satellite communication network for these applications, states an official release.

    Soon after the signing of the original MOU in July 2000, experimental transmissions had started in November 2000 from Isro’s Master Control Facility at Hassan and subsequently, in April 2002, a satellite Hub station was established at Dr B R Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad. Following this, a satellite based “Andhra Pradesh Net” was set up in March 2003. At present, a full-fledged Mana-TV is operational with a state-of-the-art studio. Mana-TV has over 2,000 terminals and has 5 television channels and one data channel catering to the requirements of educational institutions like schools and colleges (including engineering colleges). It is used for both formal and non-formal educational training.

    Mana TV is now being upgraded to include more interactive terminals as part of Edusat. In the recent years, under the Edusat programme, an exclusive network has been established connecting top fifty technical institutions/engineering colleges in India under Indo-US cooperation for transmitting lectures by invited US experts delivered from Amrita Viswa Vidyapeetam, Coimbatore. Four of these colleges are located in Andhra Pradesh, the release adds.

    In the field of telemedicine, the first pilot project was started in Andhra Pradesh in 2000 connecting Apollo Hospitals at Chennai and Aragonda village and Isro’s hospital at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota, in Nellore District. The telemedicine network will now be extended to eight more hospitals.

    Andhra Pradesh is also one of the foremost in the utilisation of remote sensing technology for management of land and water resources and disaster management. For example, remote sensing technology is used for watershed management in drought prone districts of Adilabad, Ananthapur, Kurnool, Mahaboobnagar, Nizamabad and Ranga Reddy. Management plans for major irrigation projects like Srirama Sagara and Nagarjuna Sagara have been planned using remote sensing data. More than 35,000 bore wells have been drilled using remote sensing data with better than 90 percent success rate.

    As part of M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Network, a Village Resource Centre (VRC) has been set up at Adakkal, Moosapet with an Expert Centre located at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Another 16 locations have been identified for setting up of VRCs to connect the Expert Centre through Byraju Foundation.

    Thus, Andhra Pradesh has been extensively using Isro satellites for societal applications and today’s renewal of MOU reiterates its commitment to extend these applications with Isro’s help.

  • BVITV inks multiple deals at Los Angeles Screenings

    BVITV inks multiple deals at Los Angeles Screenings

    MUMBAI: Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) has concluded multiple deals at the Los Angeles screenings. The first one was inked between BVITV Japan and Jupiter Entertainment, which is the provider of the Movie Plus channel, for distribution of visual entertainment consisting mainly of live action and animated movies.

    The closure of this contract guarantees the provision of hit releases as Six Days, Seven Nights, Snake Eyes and The Crimson Tide. It also means that popular Disney animated productions like The Nightmare Before Christmas will be available for view over the Movie Plus channel.

    BVITV Japan has also inked a new agreement with Pay-Per-View Japan, Inc. for distribution of visual entertainment consisting mainly of cinema-release movies and TV series.

    With this deal, movies such as The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Cinderella Man and Flight Plan will be availabe for Pay-Per-View Japan.

    It also means that the successful TV series Lost, along with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest will be available for view over the Pay-Per-View Japan platform.

    BVITV has also announced multi-genre deals with Pop TV to bring a range of new and returning series, features and TV movies to viewers across Slovenia.

    This was announced by BVITV EMEA executive vice president and managing director Tom Toumazis and Pro Plus general manager Marijan Jurenec.

    With these agreements, Pop TV has licensed the second series of Lost and Desperate Housewives as well as Grey’s Anatomy, the drama Criminal Minds and the family comedy According to Jim.

    Pop TV has also picked up the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. A contemporary “break into song” production, the comedic movie tells the story of two teens who must learn to believe in themselves despite the polarization of high school cliques. The US premiere of High School Musical delivered the highest ever household ratings for Disney Channel original programming.

    Pop TV’s selected first run features include M Night Shyamalan’s movies Signs and The Village. Other features include the classic movies Pretty Woman, starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere and Con Air.

    In a separate agreement introduced by BVITV, Pop TV has licensed a selection of action-packed Jetix Europe programming. Younger viewers will be able to enjoy a selection of popular series including W.I.T.C.H. and Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.

    Toumazis said, “Following the continued success of our programming on Pop TV, including Lost and Desperate Housewives, we are delighted to be working with the channel to bring this broad selection of new, schedule-driving entertainment to its viewers.”

  • Zee Kannada explores animation genre

    Zee Kannada explores animation genre

    MUMBAI: Zee Kannada, the Kannada entertainment channel from Zee Network, is looking at the animation genre to beef up weekends.

    To start with, the channel will telecast an animation film Siddhi Vinayaka on 27 August.

    “We chose to telecast this particular movie because of the auspicious occasion, Ganesh Chaturthi. We have the intention to explore this genre aggressively,” says Zee Kannada business head Venkat Giridhar.

    Siddhi Vinayaka, with a duration of one hour, is slotted for 10 am. The film is a co-production between Zee Kannada and the Bangalore-based animation firm Media Tech. According to Giridhar, the channel will promote the film through a print campaign.

  • Busch Entertainment Corp & Sesame Workshop expand partnership













    MUMBAI: Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC), the family entertainment subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., has signed a long-term agreement with nonprofit educational organisation Sesame Workshop to create fixed Sesame Street-themed attractions in four of its U.S. parks — SeaWorld California in San Diego, SeaWorld Texas in San Antonio, Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Fla., and Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, Va.


    Also as part of this agreement, Sesame Workshop has agreed to extend BEC‘s license to feature Sesame Street characters in Sesame Place, the company‘s Langhorne, Pa. park. Sesame Place, is a theme park based on Sesame Street that was opened in 1980. Most recently, Sesame Place opened ‘Elmo‘s World,‘an all-new land with three new rides themed after the popular red furry monster.


    In addition, the Sesame Street characters will make periodic appearances at SeaWorld Florida in Orlando beginning in 2007, informs an official release.



    “Sesame Workshop and Busch Entertainment both aim to bring families fun and interactive experiences. We commend Busch Entertainment for their 26 years of partnership with Sesame Place and we look forward to extending this commitment through new Sesame Street locations in SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks that will transform the entertaining and educational features of the television series into memorable experiences for families across the country,” said Sesame Workshop president and CEO Gary E. Knell.


    BEC president and chairman of the Board Keith M. Kasen said, “Over the past 26 years we have come to appreciate just how well known and loved the Sesame characters are and the kind of connection guests can make with them in a theme park setting like Sesame Place. The deal we are announcing today allows us to offer these kinds of experiences at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. These parks combined play host to more than 19 million people each year.”


    Kasen also added that the partnership with Sesame Workshop will enhance BEC‘s long tradition of delivering high-quality family entertainment to its guests with attractions at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens that will include family rides, water elements, live character shows, 4-D film attractions or character dining programs. These Sesame-themed attractions will begin in the next several months as part of the deal, which establishes BEC as the exclusive U.S. theme park partner of Sesame Workshop.


    “We will provide our guests with attractions that showcase wonderful characters like Ernie and Bert, Big Bird, Elmo and Oscar the Grouch, and do it in a way that fits with the unique themes of our SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks.” Kasen said.


    Plans call for the first Sesame-themed attraction to open in 2008. However, the terms of the agreement were not disclosed, adds the release.

  • MySpace.com founder Greenspan launches company to invest in Chinese internet properties

    MySpace.com founder Greenspan launches company to invest in Chinese internet properties

    MUMBAI: MySpace.com founder Brad Greenspan has announced that he has launched and provided initial funding for BroadWebAsia (BWA), a new company that partners with and powers social networking, entertainment and Internet search properties across Asia.

    BWA has already signed agreements to invest in and partner with more than 20 rapidly growing Chinese Internet companies. Combined, these companies have more than 20 million unique visitors and approximately one billion page views per month, with tremendous opportunity for growth, informs an official release.

    “The launch of BroadWebAsia will allow me to implement my proven US internet strategy in China, where there are more than 120 million Internet users, making the country second only to the US in terms of online users,” said Greenspan. “With less than 10 percent of the Chinese population online, there is vast potential for growth. By partnering with early leaders and working with local management, we will dramatically increase traffic and revenue potential for our emerging online Chinese partners.”

    BWA’s first portfolio company, BBMAO.com, is the first meta-search engine focused on China. BBMAO was just named one of the 100 “most promising companies in all of Asia” by Red Herring Asia magazine. Greenspan helped the founders of BBMAO strategize and launch the Web site more than nine months ago. Today, BBMAO has over 70,000 unique users a day and is continuing to grow quickly while rolling out new features.

    BWA is also seeking to raise up to $50 million dollars for other acquisitions, investments and transactions in the Chinese internet marketplace. Greenspan serves as BWA’s chairman of the board, the release adds.

    Greenspan previously served as founder, CEO, and chairman of eUniverse (later renamed Intermix Media), where he led the creation and launch of MySpace in August 2003. eUniverse owned 100 per cent of MySpace — and Greenspan through his ownership of eUniverse — owned approximately 30 per cent of MySpace, effectively making him the largest historical
    individual shareholder of MySpace. At MySpace’s inception and launch, Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson were eUniverse employees that managed MySpace under the direction of Greenspan.

  • Trai poised to finish CAS-related work; price fixing of pay & FTA channels next on the agenda

    Trai poised to finish CAS-related work; price fixing of pay & FTA channels next on the agenda

    NEW DELHI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is close to fixing prices of pay and free to air (FTA) channels, which will complete part of the formalities for rollout of addressability from 1 January 2007.

    According to sources in the regulatory body, which oversees the broadcast and telecom sectors, over the next few days more directives are likely to come on pricing of channels in a conditional access system (CAS) regime.

    The sources said that most major bouquets and TV channels have submitted a formula for pricing of channels for a regime when pay channels will have to go through a set top box on a mandatory basis.

    “Networks like Star and bouquets like Zee Turner and (Discovery-Sony) One Alliance are there with prices of individual channels,” a Trai source said when asked whether a la carte prices of TV channels have been submitted to the regulator or not.

    CAS is scheduled to be rolled out in the south zones of Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai from midnight of 31 December 2006, as per a Delhi court-mandated understanding that the government has reached with the broadcast industry.

    Trai sources said that over the weekend the regulator is first likely to fix the price of free to air channels, which will form the basic tier in a CAS regime, and then follow it up with pricing of pay channels.

    Trai had asked various pay TV channels to submit a la carte prices instead of bouquet pricing, which was being pushed vigorously initially by a section of broadcasters.

    The regulator had also clarified that if the pricing of a pay TV channel in a bouquet seems unreasonable or on the higher side compared to other siblings, it will then fix a price, which will be valid for a year.

    What is not clear at the moment is whether Trai will okay individual prices of pay TV channels in a bouquet or go in for genre-wise pricing like bunching all movie channels across the spectrum, for example, and then fixing their individual prices.

    It is also expected that the price of FTA channels in the basic tier is
    likely to be more than what was fixed three years back at Rs. 72 (exclusive of taxes).

    This time round, cable operators have petitioned to Trai that the basic tier should be priced around Rs. 150 keeping in view the general inflation and increase in other sundry costs like usage of electricity poles in various cities. These charges are given to local power companies as cable ops use electricity poles to string their own cable.

    According to the sources in the regulatory body, the whole CAS-related work will have to be finished before month-end.

    Over the past few days Trai has come out with directives on quality of service for cable operators and multi-system operators and revenue share formula amongst various industry stakeholders.

  • Airtel announces strategic tie-up with Microsoft

    Airtel announces strategic tie-up with Microsoft

    Airtel announces strategic tie-up with Microsoft – Becomes first Telco to offer Microsoft’s latest Windows Mobile 5.0 technology in India

    · Strategic partnership with Microsoft to reinforce & strengthen Airtel’s innovation charter
    · Airtel enhances its business solutions portfolio with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 – a powerful platform that delivers a comprehensive mobile experience beyond just email
    · Familiar MS Windows user interface big advantage for users
    · A huge opportunity with a large enterprise segment running predominantly on the MS Exchange server
    · An estimated 4 million SMEs potential users

    New Delhi, August 21, 2006: Reinforcing its commitment to innovation, Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecom services provider, today announced a strategic tie up with Microsoft. This partnership is expected to deliver great value to all Airtel customers spanning mobile, landline and Broadband services.

    Today, Airtel and Microsoft launched Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 platform that provides an opportunity to all Airtel customers to access corporate email via direct push technology. Airtel becomes the first operator in India to offer this technology to its customers. The service will deliver
    powerful business applications and multimedia experience to all Enterprise and SME customers across India.

    Airtel’s tie up with Microsoft is part of its strategic innovation strategy that has been the cornerstone of the company’s objective to redefine the telecom experience of its 25 million plus customers. The tie-up also comes close on the heels of India’s first ever comprehensive ‘Service Delivery Platform’ that was recently announced by Airtel.

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manoj Kohli, President, Bharti Airtel Ltd., said “Our partnership with Microsoft reinforces and strengthens our commitment to innovation. This is a great beginning for two leaders in the industry to come together and forge a strategic partnership with a single
    minded focus of providing value to the end user. It has always been our aim to be a step ahead of customer expectation and this alliance will further help us achieve this objective and consolidate our leadership position.”

    The Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 5.0 platform offers a host of applications, with a never-before ease of use. All Airtel users will now have access to MS office (Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Internet Explorer), multi-mediafunctionality (camera, MP3, video recording) and Line of Business applications like Sales Force Automation on their mobile phones. With this latest innovative offering, Airtel has significantly enhanced its business solutions portfolio.

    Elaborating on Microsoft’s value proposition for customers, Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India, said, “The launch of Windows Mobile 5.0 is in line with our stated vision of creating People Ready Businesses. Microsoft believes that people are the most critical asset of any business and empowering them with the right software is an imperative to deliver greater business value. Windows Mobile 5.0 is the perfect solution for the global mobile workforce to work in an always on environment and better organize their work and personal lives.”

    “The alliance with Bharti Airtel reflects the synergy between two industry leaders, both focused at innovating to help individuals realize their true potential. With this association Bharti Airtel thus joins 115 existing mobile operators who currently offer the Windows Mobile solution worldwide,”
    he further added

    This platform is viable for broader adoption by enterprise customers as a large number of such organizations in India use MS Exchange as their core platform for mail applications within their enterprise. Windows Mobile 5.0 is seamlessly integrated with MS Exchange server 2003. In addition, it does not require additional middleware or servers and offers a cost effective e-mail push environment.

    This tie-up also gives Airtel the opportunity to tap into the estimated 4 million SME market share in India. With anytime access to MS Office, it offers a compelling proposition to users from these segments that are constantly on the move. Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 will be available to Airtel customers on the latest HP I-Paq and I-Mate handsets. Airtel enterprise customers will
    also get the benefit of preferential hand-set pricing. A dedicated after-sales support, owing to the back to back SLA with all its partners, ensures uninterrupted services exclusively for Airtel’s customers.

    About Bharti Airtel Ltd.

    Bharti Airtel Limited is one of India’s leading private sector providers of telecommunications services with an aggregate of 25.89 million customers as of end of July‘06, consisting of 24.34 million mobile customers. Bharti Airtel has been being ranked among the top 10 best performing companies in the world in the BusinessWeek IT 100 list. The company was the first private operator to provide mobile services in all the 23 circles in India. The company also provides telephone services and Internet access over DSL in 92 cities. The company complements its mobile, broadband & telephone services with national and international long distance services. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine
    cable (owned by an associate company) connecting Chennai and Singapore. The company is a part of the consortium, which jointly owns and has developed the next generation undersea cable system SEA-ME-WE-4. The company provides reliable end-to-end data and enterprise services to the corporate customers by leveraging its nationwide fiber optic backbone, last mile connectivity
    in fixed-line and mobile circles, VSATs, ISP and international bandwidth access through the gateways and landing station. For more information, visit http://www.bhartiairtel.in

    About Microsoft
    Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software-any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft has been in India since 1990 and employs over 4000 people across its offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.

  • Finance Minister P Chidambaram voted Mantri No. 1 in IBN 7

    Finance Minister P Chidambaram voted Mantri No. 1 in IBN 7

    MUMBAI: Manmohan Singh led UPA government having completed half of its five-year tenure was indeed a noteworthy landmark. With the UPA government crossing the 30-month halfway mark of its tenure, IBN 7, CNN-IBN and ibnlive.com invited their viewers to vote for their favourite minister on ‘Mantri No.1’. The results for the online poll are out and India’s Finance Minister P Chidambaram is voted ‘Mantri No. 1’ of the Cabinet.

    Viewers were invited to vote on www.ibnlive.com for their favorite ministers on the basis of their performance during this tenure. The online poll received an overwhelming response of over twenty thousand votes from across the country. The performance-based results rated the Union Finance Minister highest on the performance scale and picked him as the favourite among the 33 ministers in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad ended up as the second best choice, but Chidambaram led the race by a very comfortable margin.

    The voters picked Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran as their third choice while External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee made it to the fourth slot. Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath finished fifth. Kamal Nath narrowly beat his Cabinet colleague and Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal, who ended up on the sixth slot.

    “The online poll conducted tries to ascertain the opinion of our viewers on the performance of their leaders. We strongly believe that the citizens of the country have the right to judge the performance of the decision makers. I am glad that viewers have appreciated our initiative and have voted generously.” said Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, CNN-IBN and IBN 7.

    Our aim is to try and ascertain the opinions of our viewers on issues that are of national interest. Mantri No I is a valuable barometer to gauge the public mood. We are glad that our efforts have been duly appreciated and acknowledged by the viewers” added, Ashutosh, Managing Editor,IBN 7.

    Some other ministers who featured in the survey were Kapil Sibal, Prem Chand Gupta, Ambika Soni, Kamal Nath, S Jaipal Reddy, Sharad Pawar, Ram Vilas Paswan etc.
     

  • Watch Aishwarya Rai discuss the various twists and turns in her life on the second-part episode of Rendezvous with Simi Garewal on Star World

    Mumbai, November 1, 2006… Too pretty… too professional, too manipulative, too icy, too good, too diplomatic, too plastic… Everybody has an opinion on Aishwarya Rai! But what is the real Ash all about? Watch her open up to Simi as she discusses her joys and pains, her public face and her private life and how she copes with scandals and gossip, as she returns in this exclusive two-part Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, this Sunday, November 5th, at 9 30 p.m. only on Star World.

    This Sunday, Ash talks about the wonderful bond she shares with her family, friends and co-stars! She discusses her love-hate relationship with the media and how she handled eerie rumors like her death and about her being manglik. She shares her feelings about marriage and kids and admits that if given a choice, she would choose love over her career! And of course, watch her talk about how she feels about being linked with India’s most eligible bachelor- Abhishek Bachchan!!!

    Watch all this and more on Rendezvous with Simi Garewal, this Sunday, November 5th at 9 30 p.m. only on Star World.

    About Star
    Star is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. Star broadcasts 60 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel).

    Star controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com

    For further information please contact:
    In Mumbai
    Zeenat Khan
    Asst Vice President, Publicity
    STAR (India) Ltd. ?
    Tel No. 91-22-28523880

    Shiraz Bhavnani / Aditi Chada
    Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
    Tel: 91-22-6656 8787
    Fax: 91-22-6656 8788
    Email:sbhavnani@vccpl.com / achada@vccpl.com