ITV

Category: Television

  • Dopfner elected to join Time Warner Board of Directors

    Dopfner elected to join Time Warner Board of Directors

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Inc. has announced that Mathias Dopfner has been elected to join its Board of directors. Dopfner is chairman, CEO and head of the Newspapers Division of German publishing giant Axel Springer AG.

    Dopfner becomes the 12th member of Time Warner’s Board. His election is part of the company’s previously announced plan to add two new independent directors to its Board. Under the leadership of the Nominating and Governance Committee, the company is continuing the process of recruiting an additional independent director, informs an official release.

    Robert C. Clark, who chairs the Time Warner Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee, said, “We’re delighted that Dopfner has joined Time Warner’s Board. He’s an energetic and widely respected executive, with a solid record of leadership in the media industry. Dopfner not only brings the personal qualities that we seek in directors, but also enhances our Board’s independence and geographic diversity.”

    Time Warner Chairman and CEO Dick Parsons said, “Mathias Dopfner has done a terrific job of running one of the leading media companies in Europe, which is a key region of growth and opportunity for our company. In doing so, he has emerged at the top of a new generation of media industry leaders. He has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing media businesses around the world as well as the intelligence and character to enable him to serve the interests of our shareholders effectively.”

    Dopfner added, “I’m honoured to join Time Warner’s Board of Directors. I look forward to the opportunity to work with my fellow Board members and management in helping this great company achieve its strategic objectives and provide superior returns for its shareholders.”

    Since 2002, Dopfner has been CEO of Axel Springer which publishes more than 150 newspapers and magazines in 32 countries. He joined Axel Springer in 1998, as editor-in-chief of Die Welt. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the member of Axel Springer’s Management Board responsible for the company’s Multimedia and Newspapers Divisions. Before joining Axel Springer, Dopfner waseEditor-in-chief of Hamburger Morgenpost (1996-1998) and Wochenpost (1994-1996), adds the release.

    The other members of Time Warner’s Board are Richard D. Parsons, James L. Barksdale, Stephen F. Bollenbach, Frank J. Caufield, Robert C. Clark, Jessica P. Einhorn, Reuben Mark, Michael A. Miles, Kenneth J. Novack, Francis T. Vincent, Jr. and Deborah C. Wright.

  • Bollywood Fashion Awards recognise Indo-American talents

    Bollywood Fashion Awards recognise Indo-American talents

    MUMBAI: The Bollywood Fashion Awards were held in New York on 29 July 2006, with Broadway’s Bombay Dreams’ lead Manu Narayan as host.

    Kamal Dandona, who launched the Awards, has instituted an event that has become beacon for generations of designers drawing inspiration from both Indian and American traditions.

    Supermodel Iman, presented Rachel Roy with the award for “Outstanding Contribution to American Fashion” for her couture which is a celebrity-favourite in Hollywood.

    Another top honour was given to theater legend Ben Vereen who was felicitated with the specially instituted “Sammy Davis Jr. Award” for combining style and talent. The audience broke into loud applause when he spoke of his desire to go to Bollywood.

    Rouge, the girl-band toppping of the charts in the U.K. and India, was honoured with the award for “Most Stylish International Group.” Later in the evening, they captivated the crowd a performance including their hit song including “Don’t Be Shy.”

    Other awards were taken home by Aryan Vaid for “Model of the Year – Male”, Nethra for “Model of the Year – Female”, Manish Malhotra for “Designer of the Year – Film”, Sabyasachi for “Haute Couture” and Black for “Most Stylish Film.”

    Other performers included DJ Sanj, Sourabh Jain, Narayan and Amir Jamal.

    Among the designers to showcase their collections were Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra, Sushma Patel and Sabyasachi.

  • Sony to launch adaptation of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in September

    Sony to launch adaptation of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in September

    MUMBAI: Reality shows and Sony Entertainment Television (SET) go hand in hand and have more or less become synonymous with each other. Having already launched Indian Idol, Fame Gurukul and Fear Factor and with the buzz being high on upcoming new launches like Big Brother and Extreme Makeover; comes another adaptation of the ABC’s reality show Dancing With the Stars on Sony.

    The Indian adaptation – Jhalak Dikhla Ja – will be co-produced by Siddhartha Basu’s Synergy Communications and Theatre Red and is scheduled to launch in the first week of September. Jhalak Dikhla Ja will be a bi-weekly show and will involve a high level of audience participation and viewer interactivity.

    Dancing with the Stars is the American version of the BBC TV series Strictly Come Dancing. The concept of the show is to pair a celebrity with a professional dancer in an attempt to win a high score from a panel of three judges and then a majority of votes from the viewers, who can call in or vote online. The person who receives the lowest score is eliminated.

    SET India senior vice president and programming head Anupama Mondloi says, “We will have celebrities from different walks of life like television, Bollywood, cricket and hospitality industry.”

    When queried as to how Jhalak Dikhla Ja will be different from Star One’s successful show – Nach Baliye – which was based on the same lines, Mondloi says, “All shows have certain amount of similarities whether it is a soap or a reality show. The key differentiator of Jhalak Dikhla Ja will be the viewer interaction. We will be looking at having maximum touch points for viewers to select their favourite celebrity and choreographer pair.”

    As per the original format, phone lines open at the beginning of each show for viewers to vote for their favorite couples and stay open for 30 minutes after the show ends. The couple with the lowest score is knocked out of the competition and one couple will be knocked out of the competition each week, starting with the first week. Online voting options are also made available and only one vote per email address is allowed.

    With its pulse firmly on the reality meter, Sony will be launching the local version of Big Brother in November this year. On the other hand, Extreme Makeover will launch sometime early next year along with the second season of Fear Factor India. Another reality show on the cards is Paisa Bhaari Padega. The subsequent seasons of Indian Idol and Fame Gurukul also cannot be dismissed altogether!

    Only time will tell whether the reality overdose will eventually lead to viewer fatigue on Sony; but it’s worth keeping in mind that reality shows are just spurts in the overall programming scenario and hence Sony will also have to pull up their socks on some high voltage drama and fiction front. New fiction shows on Sony like Thodi Khushi Thode Gham, Aisa Desh Hai Mera, Vaidehi and Akela still have to pick up steam on the ratings front, where Star shows are omnipresent and Zee’s Saath Phere, Kasamh Se and Sambhav Asambhav too are definitely making a mark.

  • Hinduja TMT Q1 records profit at Rs 1670.53 million

    Hinduja TMT Q1 records profit at Rs 1670.53 million

    MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT Ltd has posted a profit of Rs 1670.53 million for the quarter ended 30 June, as against Rs 105.40 million for the same period a year ago.

    Total income is Rs 2850.10 million for the quarter, as against Rs 411.48 million a year ago.

    The figures related to the quarter ended 30 June, are not comparable to the corresponding previous quarter, since the company’s Manila Branch commenced operations with effect from 1 October, 2005.

    HTMT provides information technology (IT), business process outsourcing (BPO) and contact center services.

  • Channel [V] launches animated Simpoo on wireless platform

    Channel [V] launches animated Simpoo on wireless platform

    MUMBAI: Star India’s music arm Channel [V] has launched its eccentric animated character Simpoo, the math professor on the mobile platform.

    The launch of the new Simpoo Zone on the WAP site www.wap.star7827.com, the users can download the animated character on their mobile phones as wallpapers, animations, themes and soon to come video downloads.

    Star 7827 has also created a game called Super Simpoo which could be previewed on the website www.star7827.com. The Simpoo game is a Star 7827 exclusively available to BSNL, BPL, Hutch, DWL, and Spice telecom subscribers, informs an official release.

    Channel [V}’s eccentric Simpoo, India’s most popular animated character has evolved over the years from a passive Math teacher to an activist for animals, renouncing all things non-vegetarian in support of PETA. Now he enters yet another phase in his eventful life as he sets forth on a new mission of saving the school kids from giggling Gabbar, on th5e first of its kind Super Simpoo mobile game.

    Visibly excited about this new phase in Simpoo’s life, Amar K Deb, Head Honcho Channel [V} says ‘We spoke to Simpoo Sir about his foray into the wireless world and in true Simpoo style he jumped at it with the small concern that his students should not spend their Math classes playing Super Simpoo instead’.

    Commenting on the launch of the Simpoo Zone, Star India St VP Viren Popli said, “In line with our promise to offer a variety of quality and exclusive content to our consumers we are very excited about the first character from Star’s TV network that is being extended to the mobile screen as a mobile game. We have created a mobile content package on our wapsite; the Simpoo zone and we hope to bring other such popular Star TV characters onto the mobile screen in the future. With the charm of your regular eccentric college math professor, Simpoo has a very good connect with young mobile subscribers. And whatever is popular on the mobile device today, it’s out here on Star 7827.”

  • Radio One kicks off in Bangalore on 1 August

    Radio One kicks off in Bangalore on 1 August

    MUMBAI: The third FM radio station to officially launch in the city of gardens –Bangalore is Radio One FM 94.3 on 1 August.

    Radio One is a Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide venture. The radio station will offer a mix of hit Kannada and Hindi music. The entire programming package is designed to celebrate the spirit of young Bangalore with Kannada roots.

    Radio City was the first Fm radio station to launch, but under the Phase I of FM privatization. The Phase II saw the launch of Radio Mirchi.

    “We are very excited with our launch in Bangalore as we believe we are the first private FM station targeted at the majority local population. Given the huge potential gap the latent need of the market we are very confident of a leadership position in Bangalore,” Radio One CEO Rajesh Tahil says.

    “Radio One has been testing its signal in Bangalore for over two weeks now and has already caught the imagination of the city. “We have already started receiving over 1000 responses a day over SMS, email and on the phone. Listeners have welcomed this Hit radio station with a lot of enthusiasm.

    “Radio One has advertisers on-board from the day one of its launch. Clients like Hindustan Levers, Purvankara Builders and Coke reposed great faith in the station on the basis of our product offering and have over 10 clients signed up since launch day.” adds Tahil.

    Early June, Radio Midday Go 92.5 FM underwent a change in its brand identity as well as positioning of the FM channel. From a niche player, Go 92.5 FM entered to a mass player as Radio One.

  • Radio Mirchi to be on common frequency 98.3 FM from 1 Aug

    Radio Mirchi to be on common frequency 98.3 FM from 1 Aug

    MUMBAI: The Mumbai based Entertainment Network Ltd, which runs radio stations under the brand name Radio Mirchi will be available on a common frequency 98.3 FM, with effect from 1 August.

    At present, the brand which operates in Pune, Indore and Ahmedabad are not yet part of the common frequency network.With this, Radio Mirchi, which launched its radio operations on different frequency in Hyderabad 95 FM, Bangalore 93.3 FM and Jaipur 105 FM, will all shift on 98.3 FM, according to a press statement.

    Radio Mirchi, which is heard in metro cities; Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are already running on 98.3 FM.

    Earlier this year, the private radio FM operators had made a presentation to the information & broadcasting ministry seeking permission to switch over to a common frequency, per operator, across markets.

    According to Entertainment Network (India) LTD MD and CEO, “Operating from a common frequency will provide us with the benefit of building the brand in a consistent manner and help make our communication more effective, across cities.

    “Moreover, listeners frequently on the move too can get their daily dose of Radio Mirchi while travelling inter city (between Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata).”

    Radio Mirchi airs hits in contemporary music, city happenings, Bollywood gossip, special interviews, exclusive film promotional tie-ups and lots more.

  • Trai rejects MSO plea for a la carte rates for new pay channels

    Trai rejects MSO plea for a la carte rates for new pay channels

    MUMBAI: The cable and broadcast regulator has rejected a proposal from the MSO Alliance that would have required broadcasters to offer new pay channels only as individual channels (a la carte).

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in its order issued today, noted that “there have been developments in the area of DTH in terms of likelihood of a competing operator and the decision of the Delhi High Court on implementation of CAS in the Metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.” In the light of these developments Trai has come to the conclusion that the proposal to provide for new pay channels only as individual channel WOULD NOT lead to better consumer choice in the absence of addressability at the consumer end. Trai has decided that the only amendment that is required in the Tariff Order of 1 October 2004, is to provide for a framework to benchmark the prices of new pay channels.

    Accordingly, Trai has added a new section 3B to the 1 october 2004 order stating that in determining the similarity of rates of similar channels while benchmarking the price of a new pay channel, the factors such as the genre and language of the new pay channel /converted FTA to pay channel, range of prices ascribed to the channel of similar genre and language in the price of bouquets that existed on 26.12.2003, range of prices of individual channels of similar 
    genre and language as existing in CAS areas would be taken into account.

  • Crest Animation Q1 FY07 revenues slips at Rs 51 million

    Crest Animation Q1 FY07 revenues slips at Rs 51 million

    MUMBAI: Crest Animation Studios Ltd, has revenues, which stood at Rs 51 million for the qarter ended 30 June as against Rs 72 million in the same period of last fiscal.

    The net Loss after tax and before has been recorded at Rs 33 million as against Rs 6 million for the corresponding period.

    During the quarter, the company shifted its entire operations into a state of art studio at Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Consequently, this transition resulted in a downtime of three to four weeks in several processes, due to which there was a significant impact in the current quarter’s revenue billings, though all expenses relating thereto and the expenses of shifting have been charged to the accounts, according to an official release.

    The results of the quarter, to the above extent have to be treated as exceptional and may not be comparable consistently with the same quarter for the previous year or with the succeeding quarters.

    The above transition will not impact the planned annual revenues of the company for the year. The company continues to have a healthy outstanding order book position. During the quarter, the Company has signed and begun work on two new DVD/TV projects, aggregating to approximately Rs 210 million with leading international studios for delivery over the next twelve to eighteen months, in addition to the existing projects under execution.

  • India to play Australia, Windies in September

    India to play Australia, Windies in September

    MUMBAI: This is one series that should have Zee Sports seriously pushing it as a prime property. Just ahead of the Champions Trophy in October, India will be playing a tri-series against Australia and the West Indies in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

    “The triseries of seven One-Day Internationals between India, Australia and West Indies [is] scheduled to be played in September this year in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as part of the newly formatted Neutral Venue Schedule,” Zee News quoted the BCCI as saying in a statement issued here.

    The series falls under the neutral venue matches that Zee had secured rights to in April with whopping $219.15 million bid (average of $ 8.77 million per match) for 25 matches spread over the next five years. .

    The triseries was approved by the Marketing Sub-committee which met in Mumbai on 28 July, Zee News quoted the BCCI statement as saying.

    The format of the tournament is a league where each of the three teams will play each other twice and the top two will go through to the Finals.

    Singapore will host the first three ODIs while Kuala Lumpur will host the following four matches (including the Finals).

    The Indian board will handle the marketing and sale of television rights, while Cricket Australia will manage and consolidate all ground handling for the series, the BCCI statement adds.