Category: Television

  • Percept bags three BCCI tenders for Malaysian Tri-series

    Percept bags three BCCI tenders for Malaysian Tri-series

    MUMBAI: Percept has bagged three tenders floated by the BCCI totaling a deal that’s around Rs 750 million. BCCI had earlier invited tenders for the official provider of the Indian team’s formal wear and accessories, the BCCI ratings and awards and the ground rights for the Malayasian tri-series to be held between India, West Indies and Australia from 12 – 24 September 2006.

    The BCCI Ratings and Awards was bagged at an overall price of $ 6.41 million spread over a period of five years. Percept Holdings president – corporate affairs Ajay Upadhyay said, “We believe there is an opportunity in the market. This kind of a rating system will drive more enthusiasm and participation towards this game and ensure higher competitive levels and bring about excellence in the game. The intent is to have a strong public participation in the ratings.”

    Percept will be announcing their partners very shortly. According to the deal, it would create, conceptualise and manage the ratings in consultation with BCCI.

    Percept assisted Pantaloons to bag the rights to formal wear and accessories at a deal that is pegged around Rs 200 million over a period of four years. Pantaloons would have the rights to provide these garments and market them as the official team clothing for five years and will cover the Under-19 and Women’s Cricket as well.

    Percept Holdings joint managing director Shailendra Singh said, “Future Group (Pantaloons) has emerged as one of the biggest players in the Retail business today. I am sure that the partnership with BCCI will be the start of a very long relationship. It is a company of international standing with a wide network across the country. Cricket is a religion in India and high quality fashion endorsed by the team will find popular acceptance through the Pantaloons retail network.”

    PDM International, a Percept Group Company, has also bagged the exclusive ground rights for the Malayasian Tri-series. The tournament rights were awarded to PDM International by the BCCI Marketing Committee headed by Sharad Pawar at Delhi, on 20 August, 2006 for a price of $ 5.14 million.

    PDM International beat five other bidders to bag the rights for the series. Nimbus, 21st Century Management, Laqshya Media, Right Angle and Reliance (who chose not to bid) were the other bidders in the fray for the exclusive ground rights to the series.

    The initial bid of $ 4.15 by PDM International was raised to $ 5.14 million after news of cancellation of the bi-lateral series in Sri Lanka due to the inclement weather. The reason cited in an official release was that this would definitely ensure greater viewer interest in the forthcoming Malaysian tri-series and hence increases the value of the series further.

    The bagging of ground rights is not a first for PDM International. It had earlier bagged the bid for sponsorship rights for the India-Pakistan one-day series held in Abu Dhabi on 18 and 19 April, 2006.

    Added Singh, “We understand the sport and the potential it has. Our cumulative business in cricket over the past decade has exceeded Rs 10 billion through sponsorships, ground rights, events, celebrity management services and coverage. Percept Holdings is utilizing various opportunities to enter new markets overseas. We entered the Middle East when we bagged the rights for the Indo-Pak series in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and the Malaysian Tri-series gives us a strategic opportunity to venture into the Asia-Pacific region and showcase our expertise in the media and sports entertainment domain. “

  • 2 new DD satellite channels for North-East India mulled

    2 new DD satellite channels for North-East India mulled

    NEW DELHI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is likely to set up uplinking facility for two new North East Indian channels in about a year and a half.

    These would, however, commence when adequate number of suitable programmes is ready, information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said today.

    The minister said that Rs. 27.9 million and under Rs. 1 million have been earmarked for the launch of these channels and their inclusion in Ku-Band under the North East special package phase-II, which was approved in May, 2006.

  • Zee Business institutes Pinnacle Awards to recognise the best in real estate sector

    MUMBAI: With an aim to take definitive look at success and achievements in the real estate sector, and recognise excellence, the Hindi business channel –Zee Business has announced the Zee Business M-Tech Pinnacle Awards. Driven by positive growth in the economy, real estate in India is booming, thus Zee Business M-Tech Pinnacle Awards are being instituted when the Indian Real Estate Industry is going through a metamorphosis and is witnessing a boom.

    According to an official release, Pinnacle Awards will feature and honor the finest professionals in the construction, building and allied industries. The awards will become an annual event highlighting the glory of India’s fast growing real estate industry. Pinnacle as the name suggests will honor men and women who have achieved and contributed to building India. It will strive to become a platform to give India’s real estate industry an iconic status.

    The awards will have 23 categories from the construction, building and allied industries in real estate. It will recognise talents for their contribution in technical, creative and individual achievements. Entries will be evaluated by a jury of experts drawn from fields, which are diverse yet relevant to construction industry.

    The jury comprises of industry leaders like DTZ (Debenham Tie Leung) MD Ankur Srivastava, Cushman & Wakefield joint MD Sanjay Verma, Zee News Ltd director news group Laxmi Goel, National Institute of Design executive director Dr (Prof.) Darlie O Koshy and Fairwood Consultants CEO Ranudas.

    The last date of receiving entries is 10 September, while the entries will be judged on 3 October. The final award ceremony will take place in Delhi on 6 October, 2006. The audit firm, ECS LTD (ECS), a premier management consulting firm will handle the entire nomination process. There will be a dedicated jury for each of the award categories and jury will vet all the selected nominations on the pre-defined parameters and decide on the winners for each category, according to an official release.

    Speaking on the occasion, Zee News LTD director news group Laxmi Goel says, “We have always believed in encouraging and identifying talent. Pinnacle awards, aims to bring together the finest mix of accomplished individuals and corporates in India’s booming real estate and construction industry. We hope to receive an overwhelming response as our aim is to make this an annual affair.”

    Commenting on the need for the awards in the booming Indian Real Estate scenario, Goel added, “With a 30 per cent annual growth for the domestic construction industry, the Indian construction industry is all set to become Rs 18 lakh crore sector by year 2010 from its present size of RS 14 lakh crore. The time is ideal for the sector to propel national economy on a higher growth trajectory, by maximising performance and operational efficiency. There is a need for a greater level of transparency in the sector to enable it to be better placed in swinging investments / FDI. The Pinnacle Awards will provide a benchmark for construction industry in India by present a platform to recognize excellence in the field.”

  • Mumbai cable TV shut as operators protest police clampdown

    Mumbai cable TV shut as operators protest police clampdown

    MUMBAI: Cable operators across India’s entertainment capital Mumbai blacked out all channels on their networks on 21 August late evening. The reason: they were protesting against the move by the authorities to stop them from transmitting English and Hindi movie channels to their viewers.

    Earlier in the day, the Mumbai police had swooped down on cable TV control rooms and sealed decoder boxes of nine channels for showing adult content. Among these were Hindi and English movie channels (Zee Cinema, Star Movies, HBO, Filmy, Star Gold, AXN and Max), and Hindi entertainment channels Star One and Sahara One.

    At the time of writing, unconfirmed reports were that other cities across the western Indian state of Maharashtra had also been affected with cable TV services partially or completely shut down. For instance a major cable operator in Pune revealed that decoders of the above nine channels and also those of MTV and Channel V had been sealed.

    Additionally, certain cable TV networks had started scrolling that the agitation had spread through the rest of Maharashtra with services being shut down every where.

    “Police have sealed the decoder boxes of nine channels. We had to sign a bond that we wouldn’t be telecasting these channels till the High Court ruling,” says a senior executive of a leading multi system operator (MSO).

    The Bombay High Court had last week pulled up the Maharashtra police chief for not acting against cable operators who were violating its earlier order banning adult movies on TV. In December 2005, the High Court had ordered the police to take action against cable operators and cable service providers who beamed movies with ‘A’ or ‘U/A’ certificates. This was in response to a public interest litigation filed by social activist Pratibha Nathani.

    In Mumbai, cable operators have blacked out their service. “There was too much confusion and we didn’t receive a definite list of which channels to block. Movie channels like Pix and Zee Studio, for instance, are spared. It is only late in the day that the police has come to our control rooms and sealed the decoders of nine channels. To avoid all this chaos, the three control rooms of Siticable in Mumbai have switched off their service,” says Ravi Singh, a distributor of Siticable.

    Adds a cable operator, “They should have told us early in the day which channels we are not to telecast. There would have been no need for the police to visit all the control rooms in Mumbai as we would have blocked these channels. We are not broadcasters and we can’t be expected to act as the censors of content.”

    The Bombay High court had on 16 August directed Director General of Police Dr P S Pasricha to file an additional affidavit within a week to explain whether any action has been taken against erring cable operators.

    MSOs are deciding what course of action they should take. “We may move the court,” says Wire and Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL) CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    When contacted, a Star India spokesperson did not wish to comment on the issue.

  • China to announce terrestrial digital TV standard soon

    China to announce terrestrial digital TV standard soon

    MUMBAI: China will soon unveil a locally developed terrestrial digital TV standard, Xinhua News Agency has reported.

    Wang Xiaojie, director of the technology department of State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), said the new standard will be promoted for one year before it is fully implemented.

    Broadcasting systems operating with other standards will be forced to embrace the new standard after the promotion year ends, Wang said.

    Terrestrial digital TV is designed to replace the existing analogue system through which the majority of viewers in China watch the TV networks.

    The number of households with digital broadcasting facilities rose from one million in 2004 to 4.13 million in 2005.

  • Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes exclusive coverage on Ten Sports

    Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes exclusive coverage on Ten Sports

    9th November: The world’s richest and most exciting cricket sixes tournament, The Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes, takes place this weekend and Ten Sports has exclusive coverage of all the action.

    The twelfth edition of the event will see some of the best known names in cricket take to the field at the Kowloon Cricket Club including Darren Gough and Dominic Cork of England, South African Nicky Boje, West Indian Champions Trophy representatives Carlton Baugh and Marlon Samuels and Pakistanis Imran Nazir and Yasir Arafat.

    Add to that the considerable talents of Indian Reetinder Sodhi, last year’s Player of the Tournament, and Sri Lankan Saman Jayantha, who won the accolade in 2003, and all the ingredients are in place for another explosive weekend of cricket.

    India, Australia, West Indies, England, New Zealand Kiwis, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Hong Kong are the nine teams that will be competing for the coveted trophy but before they are able to claim victory the winning side will have to battle through two round robin stages and then the knock out stages to reach the final.

    And for the first time on Ten Sports the channel will have a female commentator on its team. Kass Naidoo is South Africa’s first female cricket commentator and she will be making her Ten Sports debut this weekend at the Hong Kong Sixes.

    Coverage of the tournament begins at 19.00 hours IST

    ABOUT TEN SPORTS: Only launched in April 2002, Taj TV’s Ten Sports is watched by more viewers than any other sports channel in the sub-continent and is available in more than 50 million cable/ satellite households worldwide. In just a short span of three years, Ten Sports has also become the world’s biggest producers of cricket. The Channel broadcasts cricket from Sharjah, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Morocco throughout the Indian sub-continent and Asia, as well as in Europe and the Middle East. Other cricket properties broadcast by Ten Sports in certain territories include internationals from India, the World Cup 2003 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2004.

     

    FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TEN SPORTS PROGRAMMES, CONTACT:

    Murtuza Madraswala – Taj Television India Pvt Ltd, 403 Manish Commercial Complex, Dr. A.B. Road, Mumbai, India. Tel no: +91 22 6662 3101; Fax no: +91 22 6662 629; Email: murtuzam@tajtv.com or visit www.tensports.com

  • HBO dominates Creative Arts Emmys

    HBO dominates Creative Arts Emmys

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster HBO topped the list of winners at the 58th Annual Creative Arts Emmy Awards with 17 golden statuettes. Among broadcast networks, ABC led the field with 10.
    The ceremony was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles a few days ago. HBO’s show Elizabeth I got five trophies. Baghdad, ER and Rome got four awards each.

    The Creative Arts Emmy Awards are dedicated primarily to the many essential crafts and technical disciplines involved in television production-including picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing, special visual effects, cinematography, art direction, music, stunts and more. Awards are also handed out for animation, variety series, reality series and four acting categories.

    The award for Guest Actress in a Drama Series went to Patricia Clarkson for Six Feet Under; Guest Actress in a Comedy Series went to Cloris Leachman for Malcolm in the Middle; Guest Actor in a Drama Series went to Christian Clemenson for Boston Legal and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series went to Leslie Jordan for Will And Grace.

    The Governors Award, which is given to individuals or organisations committed to important social causes, went to mtvU, MTV US’ college network, for the outlet’s Sudan Campaign-which for the past two years has been informing and empowering college students to help stop the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

    The Children’s Programme category resulted in a tie. Awards went to both the Disney Channel movie High School Musical (which also won the award for choreography) and the HBO production I Have Tourette’s But Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me.

  • Times Now to feature the vision of ‘Bangalore Tomorrow’

    Times Now to feature the vision of ‘Bangalore Tomorrow’

    MUMBAI: Starting 21 August, Times Now has launched a series Bangalore Tomorrow showcasing icons like Nandan Nilekani, Dr Devi Shetty, Vani Ganapathy, Arundhati Nag, U R Anantha Murthy and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw providing an account on their vision for the series.

    Bangalore Tomorrow, Action Today, For Tomorrow is the new focus on urban trends on the channel. According to an official release, the series has started with ‘I report from Bangalore’, a series of vignettes, where the regular news faces have taken a backseat and the prominent, concerned Bangaloreans are playing the roles of reporters for the city.

    As part of its regular news programs, this initiative will present vision, insights and information on the cities infrastructure, environment, crime and emerging industries thereby shaping a vision for Bangalore’s Tomorrow.

    Commenting on the special series on Bangalore, Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla said, “As an urbane channel, Times Now regularly focuses on cities and their issues. Bangalore is at crossroads today, with the citizens looking at a lot of action towards making the city look different Tomorrow. It is this essence of Bangalore Tomorrow that we are capturing on the channel.”

    With an approach to enthuse participation on presenting viewer’s point of view, the channel has launched an on-ground campaign, wherein the viewers will get a chance to voice their opinion to the camera crews in the city. This is also supported by an aggressive SMS contest to weave in greater interactivity and encourage Bangaloreans to speak up for their city.

  • Amitabh Bachchan launches International Indian Film Academy commemorative book

    Amitabh Bachchan launches International Indian Film Academy commemorative book

    Dubai, June 15th 2006: Amitabh Bachchan the brand ambassador of the International Indian Film Academy today launched the IIFA commemorative book- Lights, Camera, Masala! at the Grand Hyatt, during the IIFA Weekend presented by Tiara Residence in Dubai.

     

    The book LIGHTS CAMERA MASALA is an insider’s look at the glitz, grit and grandeur of Hindi Cinema , the world’s largest film industry. It is a celebration of contemporary Hindi cinema – popularly known as Bollywood. The book documents the fascinating process of making a typical commercial Hindi film through the adventures of a pair of fictitious characters called Vijay and Ravi as they endeavor to make a Hindi film of their own.

     

    Famous film personalities – from seasoned scriptwriters such as the Salim-Javed duo, to celebrated actors such as Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, and renowned directors like Ramesh Sippy and Karan Johar – all share their experiences and provide fresh insights into film making. Lights Camera Masala also records he stories of the behind-the-scenes people who are such an intrinsic part of the Hindi Film industry machinery – a light boy, a make-up artist, a choreographer among others. Featuring the emergence of stars as brands and culminating with the glitzy IIFA awards, the book is a visual extravaganza.

     

    Sheena Sippy’s stunningly evocative photographs capture the grandeur, grit and madness that is ‘Bollywood’. Luxuriously packaged in an avant-garde design with over-the-top special features, including a fold-out poster and a star studded pinwheel, Lights, Camera, Masala!is a rich tribute to the chaotic, entertaining world of Hindi cinema.

     

    The book has been authored by Naman Ramachandran, a screenwriter, film-maker, film festival programmer and film critic who writes for several publications including the British Film Institute’s prestigious Sight and Sound. Naman is currently attached to several Hindi film , British and American projects as screenwriter and/or director. He divides his time between London, Los Angeles and Mumbai.

     

    The book is published by India Book House is a leading publisher of large-format, illustrated volumes on Indian history and heritage, specializing in architecture, fine art, decorative arts, film, environment, and lifestyle. In Dubai the book Lights, Camera, Masala is being distributed by Jashanmal’s, Dubai’s leading lifestyle stores. Lights Camera Masala will be available for purchase in every leading book store across India and Dubai.

  • Star Movies To Premiere ‘Shattered Glass’ On 17 Th November

    Star Movies To Premiere ‘Shattered Glass’ On 17 Th November

    MUMBAI: Don’t believe everything you read… Read between the lies! This Friday, watch the exclusive premiere of a thought-provoking thriller about honesty and integrity in news reporting. Watch Shattered Glass, which is a story of a very talented and at the same time very, flawed character.

    It is also a look inside one of the noblest professions, one that protects our most precious freedoms by revealing the truth, and what happens when our trust in that profession is called int question. Tune in to the exclusiv premiere this Friday night, November 17th at 9 p.m. only on Star Movies.

    This film tells the true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass (Hayden Christensen), who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at “The New Republic” for three years (1995-1998), where 27 of his 41 published stories were either partially or completely made up. Glass’ articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington, but a bizarre chain of events – chronicled in Buzz Bissinger’s September, 1998 Vanity Fair article upon which “Shattered Glass” is based – suddenly stopped his career in its tracks.

    Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down…