ITV

Category: Television

  • Star World focusses on crime with new show ‘NCIS’

    Star World focusses on crime with new show ‘NCIS’

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World will air the show NCIS from 28 July at 9 pm.

    The show deals with the inner workings of the government agency that investigates all crimes involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humour the show that focusses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations.

    Leading the troupe is NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a former Marine gunnery sergeant, whose skills as an investigator are unmatched. Gibbs is a man of few words, who only needs a look to explain it all. Working under Gibbs is Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo (Michael Weatherly), an ex-homicide detective who may come off as the world’s oldest frat boy, but whose instincts in the field are unparalleled.

    Joining them are forensic specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), a talented scientist whose dark wit matches her Goth style and eclectic tastes, and NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, an MIT graduate whose brilliance with computers far overshadows his insecurities in the field. Assisting the team is medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), who knows it all because he’s seen it all, and he’s not afraid to let you know.

    Internally, the NCIS team will have to band together and recover after the devastating loss of Special Agent Kate Todd at the hands of a terrorist. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy and Marine Corps ties.

    The first episode deals with the investigation of a Secret Service agent’s death aboard Air Force One leads Gibbs and the others to uncover a terrorist’s scheme, and partners them up with another Secret Service agent, Kate Todd – who may have longer ties with NCIS than any of them foresee.

  • MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MUMBAI: MTV Asia Pacific has postponed production of the inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards due to scheduling issues.

    MTV is in the process of strategising future plans for the event with its business constituents including the Singapore Tourism Board, sponsors, and the international and regional film and music industries. The awards were supposed to have been held in October.

    MTV Asia Pacific president Nigel Robbins stated, “The decision to postpone the MTV Asia Movie Awards was not taken lightly, and we are examining ways to deliver a show that is second to none at a later date. Our first priority to our audience, sponsors and the film and record industry is to deliver a top-notch, star-studded MTV event.”

    Currently, there are local versions of the MTV Movie Awards staged in Indonesia, Russia and the US. MTV says that the franchise is one of the most popular of its tentpole events, with its unique twist to ‘traditional’ movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV’s audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight.

  • AOL co-founder Case apologies for Warner merger

    AOL co-founder Case apologies for Warner merger

    MUMBAI: The co founder of US internet service provider AOL Steve Case has apologised for merging his company in 2001 with Time Warner.

    The merger proved to be a disaster and the company lost $200 billion of its value. The entity was called AOL Time Warner but then embaressed executives at Time Warner decided to drop AOL from the company’s name a few years down the line.

    In an interview on US pubcaster PBS with Charlie Rose Case expressed frustration that the merger did not develop in the manner that had been hoped for. He however, still belives that it was a good idea.

  • News Corp to acquire a stake in Turkish TV station

    News Corp to acquire a stake in Turkish TV station

    MUMBAI: In a bid to expand its presence in the smaller European markets US media conglomerate News Corp has bought a majority stake in a Turkish broadcaster.

    The company will spend $98 million to buy TGRT. Media reports state that News Corp’s subsidiary Fox is working with Ahmet Ertegun, a Turkish citizen who founded and is the chairman of Atlantic Records, to buy the channel from Turkish firm Ilhas Yahin Holding.

    Reports add that the alliance with Ertegun may help Murdoch to by-pass Turkish regulations barring foreigners from owning more than 25 per cent of a media company.

    News Corp will compete with Turkish broadcasters including market leader Dogan Yayin for a share of an ad market that grew more than 30 per cent last year.

  • UN signs contract with Teletrax for global news, video monitoring

    UN signs contract with Teletrax for global news, video monitoring

    MUMBAI: The United Nations has announced an agreement with global media intelligence company Teletrax. Teletrax will monitor output of all its broadcast video products. UNTV, a service of the Department of Public Information, provides live daily news feeds and edited features to news agencies and individual broadcasters across the world.

    As part of the multi-year agreement, the United Nations will utilise Teletrax’s suite of video watermarking, monitoring and near real-time reporting services to monitor broadcast output of all video products including UNifeed, its global news distribution service, as well as its television series, UN in Action, 21st Century and Year in Review. Teletrax’s reporting technology will provide detailed analysis on which stories, spots and programs are aired by broadcasters throughout the world.

    UN chief of the radio and television service Susan Farkas says, “Many international organizations rely on the UN for information on a multitude of global issues, and often we are the only source of news and information coming from some countries.

    “The tracking information we receive through Teletrax’s reporting tools assists us in assessing which stories and formats are most used by broadcasters. It enables us to adjust our production priorities to ensure that broadcasters have access to the most relevant material to meet their needs.”

    Teletrax president Andy Nobbs says, “The UN is one of the most highly regarded world organisations, and we are honoured that Teletrax has been chosen to monitor the output of all its video products, information sources relied upon by so many different audiences across the globe.

    “Our ability to provide intelligence on which topics are in high-demand lends invaluable support to publicising international issues, solidifying Teletrax as a trusted partner for high-caliber news and governmental organizations.”

    Teletrax provides broadcast television intelligence to video content providers such as entertainment companies, news organisations, TV syndicators and the advertising industry. The company currently maintains a proprietary network of detectors that monitor the television broadcasts of more than 1,250 channels from 50 nations, including the top 150 markets in the US, representing more than 90 per cent of all US television households. Its international network comprises monitoring stations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, South and Central America and Canada.

    Launched in 2002 as a service developed by a joint venture between Philips and Medialink, with an underlying technology that is patent protected both by Philips and Digimarc Corp. (Nasdaq: DMRC), Teletrax delivers online reports of individual broadcast airings in near real-time to each client’s custom-designed portal or in data file transfers. Each client’s broadcast activity is updated dynamically, 24 hours a day, enabling clients to respond immediately to reported results such as changes in end-user preferences or detections of unauthorized use.

    Entertainment, news and media organisations that have also contracted to use Teletrax for the tracking of news video, advertising or promotional content include BBC, ABC, NBC, Reuters Television and Medialink. A number of other companies are also in active trials with the Teletrax service.

  • PlayFirst releases ‘SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash’ for the Macintosh

    PlayFirst releases ‘SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash’ for the Macintosh

    MUMBAI: PlayFirst, a publisher of casual games announced the Macintosh-compatible version of the chart-topping SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash — the popular casual game combining Nickelodeon’s star from Bikini Bottom and the gameplay of the original Diner Dash.

    Already a hit with the PC audience on PlayFirst.com and Nick Arcade, SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash features the same classic game mechanic and fast-paced fun of the original game with the characters from the Emmy-nominated series and sponge-worthy storylines.

    PlayFirst’s Diner Dash has become one of the most popular games on the web with more than 100 million plays worldwide. The original hit game follows Flo as she grows her fledgling diner into a five-star restaurant, satisfying customers of all types along the way.

    Launched in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has been the most watched animated series for kids on television for the past six years. SpongeBob SquarePants is consistently one of the top rated kids’ shows on television. More than 60 million viewers tune into the show each month.

    SpongeBob SquarePants Diner Dash is free to try for 60 minutes or purchase for $19.95. It can be downloaded on a Mac or PC version from www.playfirst.com/game/spongebobdash. The PC version is also available for download on www.nickarcade.com.

  • Guba, MPAA to crack down on movie piracy

    MUMBAI: Online video entertainment website Guba is collaborating with the Motion Picture Association of America, (MPAA) to block illegal trading of movies and television programs on www.guba.com.
    Guba is the first video sharing community to partner with the MPAA in filtering copyrighted video.
    Guba is filtering movies and TV shows using a proprietary technology Johnny. Johnny analyses video in digitised form and generates a unique fingerprint for each video. Once Johnny has scanned a video, that video is blocked from illegal file trading or distribution on Guba’s site.
    Guba plans to make Johnny available to other video sharing services to help eliminate copyright infringement on the Web and on Usenet, an electronic bulletin board commonly
    used for illegal file sharing. Until the implementation of Johnny, copyrighted content on Usenet has been largely unfiltered.
    Guba CEO and founder Thomas McInerney says, “Johnny can identify a video, even if that video has been modified, cropped, reformatted, re-encoded or reposted. Guba allows users to upload and share their videos, while Johnny
    helps protect copyright holders from illegal posting and sharing. Johnny is an essential cog in making video sharing safe and easy.”
    The MPAA has been working with technology companies to provide a bridge in the digital transition. Guba and the MPAA have included thousands of movies and television programs from major studios in Johnny’s filters. Filtering efforts on MPAA titles have so far been successful and Guba is committed to
    continuing and improving on this initiative. In the last month, Guba has begun distribution of Warner Bros. and Sony film and television shows online.
    MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman says, “Providing consumers legitimate ways to get movie and television programming online is essential to our industry. Collaborating with Guba has given us an opportunity to test new technology that will help ensure consumers can freely share videos without being exposed to illegal programming, which could lead to copyright infringement. We hope that other such sites will employ similar technology which allows them to conduct legitimate online businesses while protecting the creations of thousands of people who work in the entertainment industry.”
    As a copyright-friendly service, Guba currently prevents users from uploading feature-length films, DRM-protected content, MP3 files, and software.

  • Pogo Amazing Kids Awards get interactive this year

    MUMBAI: It‘s time for the third edition of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (PAKA) and this time the fun and frolic around the awards is set to double. Unlike its previous two editions, this time round apart from airing the awards on Pogo in December, the channel will also weave programming around it.


    “We will be presenting PAKA in a serialised format this year comprising 19 episodes over a period of seven weeks, which will showcase the kids who are shortlisted in the award categories,” says Turner International India vice president advertising sales and networks (India and South Asia) Monica Tata.


    What‘s more, for the first time, the show will also weave interactivity around it wherein viewers can SMS and vote in for their favourite kids in various categories. The call of voting for Paka will start from 15 September and will end of 31 October. The awards will be held in December.


    The series will begin airing on 4 November. The first eight episodes will be non-category specific, profiling episodes, with the viewer getting to see five amazing kids every episode. The ninth episode will be a re-cap and episodes 10 – 17 will have the top three kids‘ pitched against each other vying for the top rung by impressing the jury, viewers and thereby getting their votes. Episode 18 will again be a re-cap and also the curtain raiser to the finals. Winners will be announced in the 19th episode.


    The winners will get a child benefit policy worth Rs 500,000 and will also get a change to be on Pogo through 2007. Derek O‘Brien‘s company will manage the entire selection and search process for PAKA 2006.


    The search for the 40 kids from eight categories (five kids per category) of arts, sports, music, singing, dance, genius, leadership and entertainment will begin on 1 August and end on 20 August. These 40 kids will further be shortlisted to 24 (three per category).


    Tata added, “Having the distinction of being the country‘s only televised kids‘ awards, as also a unique platform that acknowledges India‘s wealth of budding talent and kids‘ choices, Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 aims to raise the benchmark for children‘s awards in the country through audience polls and a panel of illustrious judges whose combined feedback would determine which amazing Indian kid bags each of the eight coveted titles. Right from the solicitation phase up to the grand finale, every phase of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 will truly reflect Pogo‘s promise of being a channel that Indian kids can call their own.”


    PAKA is divided into two sections – Pogo Voice Awards and Pogo Kids Awards. The Pogo Kids Awards segment will recognize exceptional talent and brilliance and reward them for their extraordinary talents in multiple areas.


    The channel has tied up with Bata as their on-ground partners, wherein kids can avail of the entry forms from any of the 850 Bata outlets across the country. Forms can also be downloaded from www.Pogo.tv and information can also be found by sending an SMS to 8558.


    Apart from that there are two presenting sponsors (Horlicks and Parle G) and six associates sponsors (Kellogg‘s, Big Babol, Kissan, Reynolds, Munch and Ganuchi Shoes).


    To promote PAKA 2006, Pogo will kick off an integrated media campaign comprising outdoor, print, internet and school contact programmes. Mailers will be sent out to 200,000 kids across India and school contact programmes will be held in approximately 3000 schools.

  • Pogo Amazing Kids Awards get interactive this year

    Pogo Amazing Kids Awards get interactive this year

    MUMBAI: It’s time for the third edition of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (PAKA) and this time the fun and frolic around the awards is set to double. Unlike its previous two editions, this time round apart from airing the awards on Pogo in December, the channel will also weave programming around it.

    “We will be presenting PAKA in a serialised format this year comprising 19 episodes over a period of seven weeks, which will showcase the kids who are shortlisted in the award categories,” says Turner International India vice president advertising sales and networks (India and South Asia) Monica Tata.

    What’s more, for the first time, the show will also weave interactivity around it wherein viewers can SMS and vote in for their favourite kids in various categories. The call of voting for Paka will start from 15 September and will end of 31 October. The awards will be held in December.

    The series will begin airing on 4 November. The first eight episodes will be non-category specific, profiling episodes, with the viewer getting to see five amazing kids every episode. The ninth episode will be a re-cap and episodes 10 – 17 will have the top three kids’ pitched against each other vying for the top rung by impressing the jury, viewers and thereby getting their votes. Episode 18 will again be a re-cap and also the curtain raiser to the finals. Winners will be announced in the 19th episode.

    The winners will get a child benefit policy worth Rs 500,000 and will also get a change to be on Pogo through 2007. Derek O’Brien’s company will manage the entire selection and search process for PAKA 2006.

    The search for the 40 kids from eight categories (five kids per category) of arts, sports, music, singing, dance, genius, leadership and entertainment will begin on 1 August and end on 20 August. These 40 kids will further be shortlisted to 24 (three per category).

    Tata added, “Having the distinction of being the country’s only televised kids’ awards, as also a unique platform that acknowledges India’s wealth of budding talent and kids’ choices, Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 aims to raise the benchmark for children’s awards in the country through audience polls and a panel of illustrious judges whose combined feedback would determine which amazing Indian kid bags each of the eight coveted titles. Right from the solicitation phase up to the grand finale, every phase of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 will truly reflect Pogo’s promise of being a channel that Indian kids can call their own.”

    PAKA is divided into two sections – Pogo Voice Awards and Pogo Kids Awards. The Pogo Kids Awards segment will recognize exceptional talent and brilliance and reward them for their extraordinary talents in multiple areas.

    The channel has tied up with Bata as their on-ground partners, wherein kids can avail of the entry forms from any of the 850 Bata outlets across the country. Forms can also be downloaded from www.Pogo.tv and information can also be found by sending an SMS to 8558.

    Apart from that there are two presenting sponsors (Horlicks and Parle G) and six associates sponsors (Kellogg’s, Big Babol, Kissan, Reynolds, Munch and Ganuchi Shoes).

    To promote PAKA 2006, Pogo will kick off an integrated media campaign comprising outdoor, print, internet and school contact programmes. Mailers will be sent out to 200,000 kids across India and school contact programmes will be held in approximately 3000 schools.

  • Herb Granath is US Academy of TV arts and sciences chairman

    Herb Granath is US Academy of TV arts and sciences chairman

    MUMBAI: The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Natas) in the US has elected Herbert Granath as its chairman.

    Granath says, “I am honoured to take on this leadership position in this preeminent organization that plays a key role in fostering and recognising excellence in the television industry. It is a dynamic time for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as we strive to represent a changing television industry that has come to include not only a growing number of television networks but also those who distribute video content via ever-expanding platforms including the Internet, cell phones and handheld devices.

    Granath is among other things the co-chairman of Crown Media Holdings, which owns and operates The Hallmark Channel in the US. Granath also serves as Media and Entertainment Holdings Chairman and CEO. The investment company specialises in worldwide media properties. He also acts as senior programming consultant for Telenet, a cable company in Belgium.