Category: Television

The 2006 New York TV Festival announces MSN as the official online sponsor

MUMBAI: The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) has announced that MSN will provide online support and awareness as an official signature sponsor for the 2006 NYTVF scheduled to be held from 12-17 September 2006, in Manhattan.

Currently in its second year, the festival provides an opportunity to artists to showcase original, independently produced TV pilots directly to network executives and industry officials.

Commenting on the same, NYTVF founder and executive director Terence Gray said, “The goal of the NYTVF is to provide independent artists with a platform for getting their work seen by the decision-makers in the TV industry.”

According to an official release, the Festival’s alliance with MSN is one component of a larger initiative the NYTVF is launching to unite independent artists from TV, music and film in the NYTVF Online Community. NYTVF will collaborate with MSN integrated services, MSN TV and MSN Spaces to create a resource to pilot-makers looking to interact or collaborate with other creative people locally and globally, where anyone with an original script can receive the guidance and support necessary to get an independent pilot off the ground.

As the official online sponsor, MSN will provide the following services:

MSN Video will have exclusive online rights to stream all NYTVF pilots submitted to the Festival’s Independent Pilot Competition at http://tv.msn.com/NYTVF, beginning in July.

MSN Video will deliver an Internet webcast of the Festival and on-demand video content of panel discussions and special events featured at the 2006 Festival.

MSN Spaces will be the official blogging platform for NYTVF participants for the organization’s Online Community.

In an attempt to present independent pilots to a worldwide audience, MSN GM Entertainment and Video Services Rob Bennett said, “Through the MSN relationship with NYTVF, consumers have the unique opportunity to see new television concepts and pilots in their purest form.”

The release states that officially selected pilots featured at the 2006 NYTVF will be placed in one of the following five categories: comedy, drama, reality, educational or animation. To be considered for competition, pilots in all categories except animation must have a running time of between 15 and 22 minutes. Animation pilots must have a running time of between two and 20 minutes.

The date of submission for the 2006 Independent Pilot Competition is 7 July. There is no fee for students with a valid ID.

In its inaugural year, the 2005 NYTVF received more than 230 original independent pilots produced by artists from 24 states and seven foreign countries. The 2005 NYTVF was presented in association with TV Guide. The Festival worked in partnership with the William Morris Agency and in conjunction with the mayor’s office of New York City. Official network sponsors included NBC Universal, FOX, Comedy Central, VH1, VH1 Classic, Spike TV, A&E Networks, Rainbow Media, TV Land and Court TV, adds the release.

June 7, 2006
India a key TV market for Fifa: Blatter

MUMBAI: With the football World Cup scheduled to kick off in Germany on Friday Fifa president Sepp Blatter has called India a key market with regards to soccer viewership and following as the nation gears up to witness the event on ESPN Star Sports (ESS).

Blatter stated that the soccer’s world governing body expected to overshoot the reach of 28.8 billion globally.

Blatter who is known for his endeavour to enhance the global image of the game also lauded ESS’ initiatives to promote the game in the country.

Blatter said, “I am very pleasantly surprised with the huge interest in soccer in a cricket crazy nation like India. It is the glory of the soccer world cup, which has transcended, like in other countries, over the language and sports barriers. In addition, ESPN Star Sports’ programming initiatives and the special effort to telecast the 2006 Fifa World Cup in the national language, Hindi will further increase the viewer-ship. I congratulate ESPN Star Sports on all its plans to grow the popularity of soccer in India.”

ESS India MD R C Venkateish said, “A phenomenal awareness has already been created around the Fifa World Cup in Germany. ESPN Star Sports continues to make efforts to excite and involve consumers for the FIFA World Cup. We have been building the football fever and would have showcased more than 200 hours of the 2006 Fifa World Cup related programming by the time we reach June 09.

“Our interactive marketing campaign continues to roll out to involve the viewers. We are confident that our telecast of the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Hindi will entertain viewers and help us in penetrating new markets for soccer. We expect to transfer and retain viewers to our Hindi telecast of the English Premier League after the 2006 Fifa World Cup”.

June 7, 2006
30 billion viewers expected to watch World Cup

MUMBAI: More than 30 billion people around the world are expected to tune in to watch the 2006 Fifa World Cup in the course of the month-long tournament.

A report in Sapa-AFP indicates that channels across Asia are eagerly awaiting the opportunity. The television ratings forecast expect a huge boost as compared to the event four years ago.

While the boost is probably due to the tournament being in Europe, where soccer is akin to a religion, a lot of Asians will tune in this time.

Meanwhile a report in the Financial Times indicates that a radical plan to restructure international football has been prepared for top European clubs. This envisages the World Cup being held every two years.

The proposal, called Grand Slam World, is part of a presentation commissioned by the G-14 grouping of European clubs – a collection of the 18 richest sides in Europe – by Hypercube, a Dutch consultancy.

Another option called Grand Slam Euro will see continental tournaments, such as the European championship, also held every two years, while a possible World Cup for clubs would be contested every four years.

Making the World Cup, which starts in Germany on Friday, a biennial event is the most radical of four options outlined in a 36-page presentation.

June 7, 2006
BBC looks to enhance content diversity in the UK with new appointment

MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC’s director of television, Jana Bennett, has announced that Mary FitzPatrick is the editorial executive of diversity to oversee the way BBC channels represent the audiences they serve.

Bennett said, “The creation of this important new role reflects our commitment to putting audiences at the heart of what we do at the BBC. To deliver the ambition of Creative Future and meet audiences’ expectations in a changing world, we need our programmes to reflect fully and accurately the diversity of the UK population.”

FitzPatrick used to be a BBC programme maker. She was most recently Channel 4’s editorial manager of cultural diversity.

FitzPatrick will work closely with channel controllers, commissioners, in-house and independent production companies to improve on-screen portrayal and diversity on BBC Television, including offering valuable advice to programme makers during the course of the development and production of programmes. She will take overall responsibility for reviewing and tracking on-screen content including the portrayal of black and minority ethnic and disabled people.

Part of her role will be to ensure that programmes are culturally authentic and accurate, but also challenging and authoritative. She will aim to set up the industry’s definitive database for locating diverse on and off-screen talent for use by in-house production and Indies.

Bennett adds “Mary FitzPatrick has a formidable track record in marrying outstanding diverse talent with a range of genres and great productions. This, combined with her fantastic relationship with internal and external producers and PACT, makes her the perfect person to drive this new role. I look forward to welcoming her back to the BBC.”

FitzPatrick said, “I see my role as enhancing the BBC’s programming by opening it up to diverse talents and voices in a way that will deepen its relationship with all its audiences. The emphasis will not be on quotas or box-ticking, but on focusing minds on the fact that television audiences are hugely diverse and they rightly expect to see themselves and their life experiences reflected on TV.”

June 7, 2006

How not to break news

our news television medium seems to have finally begun to distinguish between truth-telling and ideological discourse. Indeed, this seems to be an increasing trend among most news channels today. Take the tagline for Zee News, for example: Haqeeqat jaisi, waisi khabar. Seemingly holding a defiant mirror to society and policymakers in the wake of post-Gujarat criticism, news channels in India have created truths far beyond the imagination of pre-liberalisation policymakers. Rising ratings for news are perhaps the closest endorsements to this trend. Why, then, do we see all around us a growing scepticism about our news channels?

The reasons have to do with audiences themselves: the question is, do audiences expect news to tell them what’s happening, or what editors think they should know? News television channels would do well to overhaul their thinking, because the technology they use provides them with the inherent power to democratize news. For example, many channels are still experimenting with “breaking news”. An editor even spoke on a platform recently (an event, hosted by another channel), and said that breaking news was passe. Even as he was doing so, his channel was flashing “Breaking News”. Gone are the days when news was just news. Today, the delivery of news has the capacity to attract new eyeballs. A cognitive research done in the US in January 2005 showed that the attention span of a television channel-surfer is so low that his/her decision whether to switch channels is made in the first 0.15 seconds. So what’s on the screen is what either sells or doesn’t.

Gone are the days when news was just news. Today, the delivery of news has the capacity to attract new eyeballs
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Research conducted in the US last year concluded after a nationwide survey that news channels regularly use hard, unplanned news to mean breaking news – not something that necessarily takes the newsroom by surprise. The problem with this trend has to do with viewer credibility. It’s simple: ever heard of the “crying wolf” story? Breaking news can work the same way. (Actual example: “Breaking News: Salman reaches court for hearing”) If, for story after story, the attention-grabbing flash continues to disappoint the viewer, breaking news ends up breaking TRP dreams. The Salman Khan “breaking news” is based on the age-old “late news” or “just in” principle: it conveys to the viewer that the story just got in. But with live news now, the concept must undergo a change in our editors’ minds: news stories every half hour should be “just in”.

News channels only need to stick to their own agenda in order to score: if their claim is to present investigative stories, do so without diluting the definition of an investigative story
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So how can channels break through the viewer’s attention-span problem? By using a judicious mix of emotive and rational approaches. The pace of news stories is important, and many of our channels are inept at this skill. Because VT editors are armed with the latest techniques and gadgets that allow them to cut rapidly, they often forget basics like establishing scene, sequence and story. Channels seldom depend on visual richness, but too often on anchor branding. News anchors gain credibility and brand strength over time and after much sweat. Merely marketing them like an FMCG product will rarely rake in the returns. And on that note, 57 students of journalism who conducted a comparative content analysis of television channels in 2005 said that the excessive amount of advertising on many news channels is enough to lead away audiences from news.

Clearly, therefore, news channels only need to stick to their own agenda in order to score: if their claim is to present investigative stories, do so without diluting the definition of an investigative story. However, my prediction is that news channels cannot afford to distinguish their product so clearly, and must present a mix of reportage and discussion. The writing is on the wall: our nascent TV news audiences have been hoping that the news media are an answer to pull up a failing administration. In many ways, our media have lived up to that expectation. However, that may soon change if news channels do not settle down to understanding that news audiences invariably grow more knowledgeable over time, and expect more from their television.

(The writer heads a media institute in Pune, and is a former news channel employee.)

(The views expressed here are those of the author and Indiantelevision.com need not necessarily subscribe to the same)

June 7, 2006

Zee TV takes lead in weekday 9-10 prime time

MUMBAI: It’s been a long time coming, but Star Plus’ vice like grip on prime time has been breached. Zee TV, which has been methodically building its narrative programming and taken a firm handle on the number two slot, has now made its first major assault on Hindi entertainment’s lead channel.

And critically, this has been achieved not by a format show but two soaps working in tandem. Powered by the career best performances from Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, the channel has gone ahead of the market leader Star Plus in the highly contested 9 – 10 pm prime time band for Week 21 (18 May to 24 May), according to Tam.

As per the data, the top programme on Zee TV during the period was the 9:30 pm soap Saat Phere which recorded its best ever 6.61 TVRs on 25 May with a reach of 11.28 per cent and time spent/viewer of 24 minutes. Saat Phere also gave an above average performance on 22 May (4.7) and 26 May (4.68). In the 9 pm slot, Kasamh Se topped with 4.96 TVR on 24 May, 4.68 on 22 May, 4.27 on 25 May and 3.72 on 26 May.

On the other hand, Star Plus’ counter soaps Kkavyanjali (9 pm) and Miilee (9:30 pm) for Monday to Thursday performed like this: Miilee – 4.77 TVR on 22 May, 4.17 on 25 May and 3.95 on 24 May. Kkavyanjali – 5.61 TVR on 22 May, 4.25 on 25 May, 4.19 on 24 May and 4.12 on 23 May. On Friday, 26 May, Prithviraj Chauhan recorded 4.24 TVR in the 9:30 pm time slot.

To an extent, the good show from Saat Phere has been attributed to certain creative exercises the channel experimented on the soap. The consistent performance the soap had been maintaining over a long period gave the channel the opportunity to create, play up and reveal a suspense element on the soap and these efforts have now reaped it good fortunes.

24, 25 and 26 of May were crucial for the soap as the suspense was revealed step by step during these days. And as the data reveals, the ploy has worked for Saat Phere and in the process the soap even emerged as the top show of the week in GEC in the 9-10 pm time band.

“Saat Phere had been maintaining an upper trend if you look at the last few weeks data. We knew that the gap was closing. The suspense factor was just one of the reasons, but yes, it has helped the soap to record good numbers. However, this is just a one week performance and we have still got a lot of ground to cover to make our claims to the number one slot in this time band. Now the challenge lies in sustaining this good show,” states Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra.

Star India senior creative director Shailja Kejriwal agrees that Saat Phere is doing a good job for Zee TV at present. “Zee TV has got two good shows in this time band and we agree that these shows are doing a good job. We have a healthy competition going on.”

However Kejriwal is quick to warn Zee that Star Plus wouldn’t be sitting idle watching it stealing all the glory. “We are working on a strategy to beat it. Not only our newly launched or upcoming properties, but all the Star Plus prime time shows will play their roles in this process. This is a highly contested slot and we are confident of winning it back. In this particular slot, we have made fight backs earlier also. Earlier we have battled off the Sony soap Kkusum when it was going great guns in this slot. So we are confident of a comeback.”

As already reported, Star Plus is launching a one hour soap Viraasat in the 9 pm slot, starting 12 June.

The Tam data for the period also reveals that Zee TV has improved its position in the GRP (Gross Rating Points) space as well. In the 9 pm to 9:30 pm band, Zee recorded GRPs of 4.03 for the week, almost on par with Star Plus’ 4.04. But it was in the 9:30 pm to 10 pm slot that Subhash Chandra’s channel really made its play achieving average GRPs of 5.02 as against Star Plus’ 4.21.

The channel as a whole recorded a GRP of 230 for the week 21, up by 34 points from 196 of the previous week. Meanwhile, the GRPs of Star Plus recorded a decline of 7 points, to 492 in the same week. Sony also went down by 5 points to stand at 103.

What ammunition the “Empire” uses to strike back at the upstart that has intruded into its domain will be watched with interest. Whatever the final outcome though, it’s match on for the prime time ratings stakes.

June 6, 2006
SifyMax to cover French Open & Wimbledon as broadband partner for TWI/IG

MUMBAI: Sify Max, (www.sifymax.in) has tied up with TWI/G as its exclusive broadband partner for India for videos of the highlights of the on-going French Open, (28 May – 11 June) and Wimbledon, which will be held from 26 June – 6 July.

As a result of this tie up, a special French Open 2006 section on SifyMax features, besides the highlights of the tournament, interviews with players, behind-the-scenes footage and previews. The highlights of the 2005 French Open will also be available.

The Wimbledon 2006 special on SifyMax will also offer comprehensive coverage replete with videos of individual match highlights, interviews with star players, daily round-ups and the behind-the-scenes action with live audio commentary. A live score-card and golden moments of the 2005 tournament will also be available.

Sify Limited senior vice president Surya Mantha said, “Following the immense success of last year’s Wimbledon coverage on SifyMax, we are delighted to be associated with TWI/IMG again to bring the excitement of both the French Open and Wimbledon 2006 to sports lovers in India. The content on video of the highlights of the matches will offer a satisfying and complete experience of the two tournaments. Users can follow the tournaments on SifyMax at their convenience, either from their homes, offices or from any of our 3300 iWays across India. We believe this initiative will help make tennis a mainstream sport by making the French Open and Wimbledon available to users in India at their convenience.”

IMG India senior corporate director Andrew Wildblood added, “TWI is excited to partner with SifyMax as the exclusive broadband content partner for the French Open and Wimbledon championships this year. This unique endeavour will extend the viewership of the French Open and Wimbledon 2006 beyond their existing formats. Sify Max will help us to take these premier tennis tournaments to the fast growing base of broadband Internet users in India, from both home and cyber cafes, and to capture new audiences outside the realm of traditional TV viewing.”

June 6, 2006
Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will premiere two Indian animation features – Son Of Alladin and The Legend of Buddha this month.

Son Of Alladin will be aired on 10 June at 2 pm and The Legend of Buddha will be telecast on 25 June at 12 noon.

The 80 minute feature, Son Of Alladin will be shown during the channel‘s Thanda Funda programming block.

The animated movie is an action adventure thriller about Mustafa, the Prince of Basra who is hunted down by an evil sorcerer. However, he meets his ladylove and also happens to rescue his long lost parents. It has been produced using motion capture technology and a photo realistic environment.

The other animation feature, The Legend of Buddha is slated to premiere during the Cartoon Network Theatre slot. This 2D animation feature is based on the journey of Prince Siddhartha of Kapilavastu, who abandons all worldly pleasures, for one of asceticism. The storyline follows the milestones that mark the path of the Prince towards Nirvana.

Produced by Pentamedia, the two feature-length animations take the tally of local animations acquired and showcased by Cartoon Network to 11, with three of these launching in 2006.

Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. MD Anshuman Misra said, “Cartoon Network is extremely proud of its pioneering role in bringing Indian folklore and historical tales to young audiences in a format that is appealing, educating and entertaining. We are also very happy that local animation has very quickly gained its rightful place of honour on the Network, right beside the ever-popular international animation shows, demonstrating that quality content, be it Indian or international, resonates with the discerning young viewers.”

“In sync with our programming strategy of offering a healthy balance between International and Indian content, we will continue to entertain our fans across the country with no less than five additional local animation products within this year itself,” he added.

Apart from airing Indian animation features on the channel, Cartoon Network is also scouting for fresh scripts from Indian animators.

“Having paved the way for Indian animation showcase on television channels in the country, we are very enthused by the success of these shows on the Network. Taking cue from the overwhelming positive response to Indian content by viewers across the country, Cartoon Network is now moving to the next level of being involved in the creative process. The Network is scouting avenues for lending its expertise on the likes and dislikes of Indian kids to partner studios from the conceptual stage to the finished product,” adds Misra.

June 6, 2006
Radio City strenghtens workforce; appoints Mumbai, Chennai station heads

MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd (MBPL) owned Radio City has, as part of its overall growth plans in the second phase of FM expansion, aggressively expanded its workforce recruiting over 70 professionals in the last 70 days.

The appointments have been made across all levels in the sales, marketing, programming and technical departments. The two top-level recruitments have been Krishna Iyer and Madhusudhan who have been appointed as the station heads for Mumbai and Chennai respectively.

An MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Iyer comes from the advertising industry, having worked with agencies such as Lowe, Enterprise Nexus and JWT over the last 14 years. The company claims that Iyer’s skills and expertise in working with creative teams will help Radio City, Mumbai retain its leadership position in the FM space and further strengthen and drive its innovative content and communication platform.

Madhusudhan has over 10 years experience in organisations like ANP Sanmarg Life Insurance, Idea Cellular and HCL-Nokia. He will be instrumental in Radio City’s launch in Chennai.

Amidst this recruitment drive, Radio City Delhi and Lucknow vice president and station head Amritendu Roy, has put in his papers citing personal reasons after a two-year stint at Radio City.

Under his stewardship, Radio City Delhi consolidated its listenership and increased it to over two million in Delhi and the NCR. He also spearheaded major content innovations and interactive station promotions in Delhi. According to an official release, his stint at Radio City Lucknow has helped strengthen Radio City’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by furthering private-public partnerships to support various causes.

Radio City national HR head Ashish Gharde said, “Radio City aims to be the best employer in the media industry. Our recent recruitment drive has been phenomenal and also a huge challenge, especially due to the limited talent available within the radio space and the dynamic situation in the media industry. In such a scenario, we had to look outside and I am glad that we have been largely successful in putting together a talented team across all our stations. Retention is also a key issue and we have initiated measures to retain and upgrade skills of key personnel within Radio City. Having said that, Amrit’s decision to leave will be a setback for us and surely he’ll be missed.”

June 6, 2006
Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’

MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will premiere two Indian animation features – Son Of Alladin and The Legend of Buddha this month.

Son Of Alladin will be aired on 10 June at 2 pm and The Legend of Buddha will be telecast on 25 June at 12 noon.

The 80 minute feature, Son Of Alladin will be shown during the channel’s Thanda Funda programming block.

The animated movie is an action adventure thriller about Mustafa, the Prince of Basra who is hunted down by an evil sorcerer. However, he meets his ladylove and also happens to rescue his long lost parents. It has been produced using motion capture technology and a photo realistic environment.

The other animation feature, The Legend of Buddha is slated to premiere during the Cartoon Network Theatre slot. This 2D animation feature is based on the journey of Prince Siddhartha of Kapilavastu, who abandons all worldly pleasures, for one of asceticism. The storyline follows the milestones that mark the path of the Prince towards Nirvana.

Produced by Pentamedia, the two feature-length animations take the tally of local animations acquired and showcased by Cartoon Network to 11, with three of these launching in 2006.

Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. MD Anshuman Misra said, “Cartoon Network is extremely proud of its pioneering role in bringing Indian folklore and historical tales to young audiences in a format that is appealing, educating and entertaining. We are also very happy that local animation has very quickly gained its rightful place of honour on the Network, right beside the ever-popular international animation shows, demonstrating that quality content, be it Indian or international, resonates with the discerning young viewers.”

“In sync with our programming strategy of offering a healthy balance between International and Indian content, we will continue to entertain our fans across the country with no less than five additional local animation products within this year itself,” he added.

Apart from airing Indian animation features on the channel, Cartoon Network is also scouting for fresh scripts from Indian animators.

“Having paved the way for Indian animation showcase on television channels in the country, we are very enthused by the success of these shows on the Network. Taking cue from the overwhelming positive response to Indian content by viewers across the country, Cartoon Network is now moving to the next level of being involved in the creative process. The Network is scouting avenues for lending its expertise on the likes and dislikes of Indian kids to partner studios from the conceptual stage to the finished product,” adds Misra.

June 6, 2006