ITV

Category: Television

  • Radio City 91 FM to air Raveena and Asha Bhosale innermost experiences of motherhood

    Radio City 91 FM to air Raveena and Asha Bhosale innermost experiences of motherhood

    Salute the spirit of motherhood with Radio City 91 FM ~ Catch the ravishing Raveena and the Queen of Indian Music, Asha Bhosale as they share their innermost experiences of motherhood only on Radio City 91 FM~

    Mumbai, May 12, 2006: She is an epitome of unconditional love. She is a friend, a confidant, a guide and most important of all she is your pillar of strength.

    Mother’s Day is a time of commemoration and celebration in honour of all mothers. To make the day more memorable, Radio City 91 FM, Mumbai’s favorite radio station, will celebrate the spirit of motherhood by giving listeners a chance to pay tribute to their mothers and express their love for them. On the occasion, kids will get a chance to call-in and leave messages like “My mother is the best because….” on-air for their mothers. The best messages will win exciting prizes from Radio City.

    Listeners can catch up with none other than the Queen of Indian Music, Asha Bhosale and young mother Raveena Tandon, as they share their views on the significance of mother’s day, give insights on parenthood and narrate their experiences of being a ‘mother’.

    Listeners can cook a special meal for their mothers with celebrity Chef Sanjeev Kapoor as he shares his delicious and mouth-watering recipes on-air.
    Mother’s will also get an opportunity to interact with a well-known pediatrician and get tips on baby nurturing, adding to the special feeling of motherhood, a feeling which makes a woman feel complete!

    This and much more!! So tune into Radio City 91 FM on 14 May 2006 for some special moments that you can cherish throughout your life!

  • HBO to kick off final seasons of ‘Sex and the City’ on 14 May

    HBO to kick off final seasons of ‘Sex and the City’ on 14 May

    MUMBAI: HBO will air the final two seasons of its show Sex And The City from 14 May. Two episodes will air every Sunday after the 8 pm movie.

    HBO says that Sex And The City has spawned into a pop-culture phenomenon, amassing fans the world over with its candid yet honest take on the issues women face. The last two seasons won three Emmy Awards and 24 Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe awards and 10 Golden Globe nominations.

    The show’s four heroines represent a contrasting mix of archetypes. For the uninitiated, there’s columnist Carrie Bradshaw, who is in search of “butterflies-in-the-stomach” true love; Miranda Hobbes, a single mother who is trying to juggle the pressures of work, motherhood and dating; Charlotte York who comes to realize that her world need not be so perfect and Samantha Jones, a public relations executive who lives life on her own terms without regrets.

    By focussing on issues women face, from the good to the bad, the ugly and the fun, the fifth and the sixth season of the show sees Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda – return: older and wiser, but no less hopeful.

    Carrie played by Sarah Jessica Parker finds success in her professional life when she publishes a new book. Later in the season, Carrie meets a new love interest in the form of Jack Berger– but will she be lucky in love?

    We see the ‘softer’ side of Samantha played by Kim Cattrall as she discovers that she too, is capable of not only loving someone but also being in a monogamous relationship. That is until, her boyfriend’s roving eyes prove too much of a handful for even a tough cookie like Samantha.

    The usually acerbic-tongued and fiercely independent Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) turns vulnerable following the birth of Baby Brady as she learns to cope with motherhood while Charlotte (Kristin Davis) realizes that the “perfect man” can come in a less-than-perfect package, in the form of her divorce attorney.

    HBO Asia country manager Shruti Bajpai says, “HBO’s Sex And The City has proven itself to be a phenomenon in television entertainment, which is exemplified by the laurels it has won as well as the overwhelming response that the past seasons have received from its patron viewers in India. With Season 5 and 6, HBO’s Sex And the City is all set, once again, to touch the hearts of women and men alike with its engaging storyline and relatable content.“

    In this final season of HBO’s Sex And The City, the ladies come full circle, with each of them experiencing the panacea of friendships, the pain of heartbreaks and the pleasures of relationships.

  • Michelle Dewberry triumphs on BBC’s version of ‘the Apprentice’

    MUMBAI: After 12 gruelling weeks battling it out against Britain‘s brightest business hopefuls, Michelle Dewberry, a 26-year-old telecoms consultant from Hull, has been named as Sir Alan Sugar‘s Apprentice and walks away with the prize of a six-figure salaried job with the self-made multi-millionaire. In the UK, the show airs on BBC Two.



    In the final episode, Michelle beat off stiff competition from 28-year-old sales manager Ruth Badger by project managing a team of fired apprentices and staging a lavish party on London‘s Tower Bridge. The series finale is the first all-female final in the show‘s history, which had more than 10,000 applicants this year.



    These applications were whittled down to the final 14 who all bravely quit their jobs to face the biggest challenge of their lives, a 12-week job interview with the self-confessed “most belligerent person you‘ll ever come across” – Amstrad boss Sir Alan Sugar.



    Each week ambition, business flair and wit were tested to the full as the wannabe tycoons competed in tasks set by Sir Alan. These weekly challenges included working on the sales floor at Top Shop, selling new innovations to the trade, letting flats and designing a charity calendar for Great Ormond Street Hospital.



    This series saw some of the most explosive boardroom scenes, when each week an apprentice was singled out for the sack with Sir Alan‘s terminal catchphrase – “You‘re Fired”.



    Michelle‘s cool, calm and collected approach to each task earned her the nickname ‘The Silent Assassin‘. She proved to be one of the best project managers and found herself on the winning team seven times during the series. She narrowly escaped getting the chop in week seven after making a critical mistake during the selling task in Top Shop.




    “For someone like Sir Alan to recognise my ability is unbelievable. It wasn‘t until right at the very end when he said I‘d won that I believed it. It shows you don‘t need to be cocky and bolshie, just work as hard as you can and hopefully you will get on in life.”



    Michelle will head up Sir Alan‘s Xenon Green company – a new business that will environmentally dispose of companies‘ unwanted computer equipment. Michelle will mastermind the whole business from launch through to its marketing.



    Sir Alan said, “All she has done in her life is work hard and she has become a great achiever. I found her very focussed, very determined, very organised, and this particular job I have in mind requires all of those skills. She‘s young and willing to learn. I think I‘ve got the right girl.”

  • Endemol announces good results in US, UK & Italy for Q1

    Endemol announces good results in US, UK & Italy for Q1

    MUMBAI: Television format creator Endemol has announced a sound performance in the first quarter of 2006.

    Compared to the first quarter of 2005, Endemol says that it enjoyed a strong increase in business across all genres and most of its markets, especially the US, the UK and Italy. The overall financial outlook for 2006 remains good. Given the lumpy nature of Endemol’s business (project-based), performance in the first quarter cannot be automatically extrapolated to the rest of the year.

    Endemol will publish its half year results on 26 July 2006, with more detailed financial information. Endemol says that its top format in terms of turnover, Big Brother, remains strong. The format was on air in more countries than in the same period of last year, returning to screens in Italy and Belgium after an absence in 2005. The success Endemol has enjoyed worldwide with Deal or no Deal during the first quarter, in particular in the UK and the USA, has resulted in an increasing appetite for game shows (a core element of Endemol’s portfolio), which Endemol is capitalising on.

    In the US, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition continues to do well. After being successfully introduced in the US market in December 2005, Deal or No Deal again had promising ratings for the second series, which aired on NBC in March. Specific examples of the resurgence of game shows can be seen in the US where newly created formats Show Me The Money and For The Rest of Your Life were sold to Fox and ABC respectively and the rejuvenated version of Endemol’s existing format One versus 100 was sold to NBC – all in the same week.

    In the scripted field, Endemol enjoyed a sound performance with several continuing and new soap operas and drama series in its main scripted territories including the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, but also with drama productions in countries such as South Africa and Russia. In April, Endemol increased its stake in the Dutch production company NL Film & TV to 51 per cent, which focuses exclusively on television drama, comedy and feature films.

    In line with the company’s continuing search for expansion in New Territories, the first Asian subsidiary, Endemol India, opened for business at the beginning of the year and enjoyed a successful start in the first three months. In addition, Endemol Polska officially kicked off in Poland as a fully independent production company headed by a newly appointed MD.

    In the digital media field, next to Participation TV, the success of formats like Deal or no Deal and Big Brother is generating substantial revenues on calls and SMSs. Furthermore, Endemol is exploring new sustainable revenue streams through cooperation with companies such as KPN in the Netherlands and BT in the UK, further exploiting Endemol’s library and developing new specific content for their IPTV concepts. This particular broadband and mobile opportunity for exploitation of content is still in its early days and revenues are currently embryonic.

    Endemol CEO Joaquim Agut says, “In the first quarter we have continued to perform strongly across the group. We saw earlier initiated strategic actions taking effect. In addition, several new steps towards the further development and implementation of our strategic priorities were made. We are confident that we will realise the targets given in our financial guidance as provided earlier this year.”

  • Peace Arch Entertainment & Genius Products reach US distribution deal for Archetype Genre Films

    Peace Arch Entertainment & Genius Products reach US distribution deal for Archetype Genre Films

    MUMBAI: North America’s Arch Entertainment Group Inc. and Genius Products, Inc. have entered into an exclusive agreement for Genius to distribute a new slate of cutting edge horror and thriller films from Peace Arch’s Archetype Films division. The announcement was made by Genius CEO Trevor Drinkwater and Peace Arch president John Flock.

    Under the agreement, Genius has acquired exclusive US DVD distribution rights to five new films from Peace Arch’s Archetype Films label, which focuses on the horror, thriller and action and science fiction genres:

    * “Warriors of Terra” stars Edward Furlong (“Terminator 2”) as a member of an animal rights group that penetrates a biotech facility and mistakenly releases a monster within.

    * “5ive Girls” stars Ron Perlman (“Hellboy”) as a Catholic school priest who helps five teenage girls with supernatural powers battle the ancient demon Legion.

    * “The Last Sect” starring David Carradine (“Kill Bill”) as a vampire hunter tracking a group of female vampires who use an Internet dating service to line up their victims.

    * “Ultimate Killing Machine” starring Michael Madsen (“Sin City”) as the head of a top-secret U.S. military operation that turns misfits and wash-outs into genetically engineered ultimate soldiers.

    * “Troubled Waters” starring Jennifer Beals (“The L Word”) as a determined detective with psychic powers investigating the suspicious kidnapping of a rich man’s daughter.

    “We are very excited to be getting into business with Genius just as they are emerging as one of the best independent home entertainment distributors in the country,” says Flock. “We believe that these five films will be excellent additions to their growing lineup of top quality productions, and we expect to continue supplying Genius with additional productions from our growing pipeline, whether first run productions from our film and television divisions, family and children’s product from our kaBOOM! Entertainment subsidiary or desirable catalogue content from the Castle Hill/Dream Library, which we recently agreed to acquire.”

    “We are thrilled to be in business with Peace Arch Entertainment and John Flock, who in a very short time established his company as a premiere producer of quality films with high commercial value. This is a terrific deal for both companies and hopefully, the start of a long and successful relationship as Genius Products continues to build its library with top quality titles in the horror and thriller genres,” adds Genius CEO Trevor Drinkwater.

  • Vh1 ties up with Big Fish Games & Midway to provide online games

    Vh1 ties up with Big Fish Games & Midway to provide online games

    MUMBAI: Vh1 has announced the launch of Vh1 Games the online gaming destination for gamers, puzzle experts, and pop culture fans. For this initiative, Vh1 has teamed up with the game developer and distributor Big Fish Games and the interactive entertainment software publisher and developer Midway.

    Big Fish Games has been tapped for their expertise in the downloadable game market, game publishing, and merchandising. Through its licensing agreement with Vh1, Midway is providing authentic arcade classic games to the hub.

    “We have created a gaming site that extends the Vh1 brand by playing off of Vh1’s distinct programming,” said Vh1 VP digital media Tina Imm. “Our original games and ‘Vh1 Classic Arcade’ give our viewers and the enormous numbers of casual online gamers a great mix of old and new games, editorial content, and industry news.”

    In addition to a broad collection of word games, action games and puzzles, the Vh1 Games hub offers original games from Vh1, top downloadable games, and popular classic arcade games from the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s that are part of Vh1’s on-air and broadband programming.

    Vh1 Games also provides gaming news and commentary through its dedicated blog, ‘Vh1 Game Break’. Vh1 Games introduces the ‘Vh1 Classic Arcade’– a collection of authentic online versions of old-school arcade classics like Spy Hunter, Joust, Defender, and Rampage.

    In the classic arcade section of the site, the games will be packaged together with editorial content relevant to the time when these games were originally released.

    Vh1 Games also offers original games based on Vh1’s hit TV shows and pop culture, as well as classic-inspired games including Vh1’s new mini-game compilation, The Arcade Strikes Back. Vh1’s original games include titles such as Escape the Paparazzi, Sudoku Fortunes and I Love Toys.

    Players can download one hour trials of the games or purchase the full versions for $19.99.

  • Star India buys world satellite rights to three PNC films

    Star India buys world satellite rights to three PNC films

    MUMBAI: Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd has announced that the world satellite rights to its latest productions, Ankahee, Pyar Ke Side Effects and Bow Barracks Forever have been purchased by Star TV Network. The company didn’t divulge the financial details of the deals.

    Ankahee, directed by Vikram Bhatt, stars Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol and Ameesha Patel. Pyar Ke Side Effects, a romantic comedy, is directed by Saket Chowdhury. The movie features Mallika Sherawat and Rahul Bose in the title roles. Anjan Datta’s Bow Barracks Forever, which is also scheduled for release this summer stars the likes of Neha and Lilette Dubey, Victor Banerjee and Moon Moon Sen.

    The india distribution rights for Ankahee is shared between Raj Enterprises (Bombay), Sahyog Films (Nizam) and PVR Pictures (Delhi and Punjab). Inox Leisure has acquired four territories, Mysore, Rajasthan, West Bengal and CI. Venus Tapes & Records have acquired the overseas territory. T Series has already released the film’s music.

  • News Corp. Q3 profit up 100%; India drives Star’s ad revenue growth

    News Corp. Q3 profit up 100%; India drives Star’s ad revenue growth

    MUMBAI: News Corporation recorded a clear 100 per cent increase in its profits for Q3 2006. The net income doubled to $820 million from $400 million a year ago.

    The company recorded a third quarter operating income of $1.0 billion, an increase of 14 per cent over the $889 million a year ago on revenues of $6.2 billion, up $155 million from the $6.0 billion reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2005.
    In an official release, News Corp., attributed the growth to good performance by its television, cable network programming and magazines and inserts segments, and have a $90 million improvement at SKY Italia.

    The television segment reported third quarter operating income of $286 million, an increase of $65 million, or 29 per cent, versus the same period a year ago, primarily reflecting higher contributions from the Fox Broadcasting Company (FBC) and Star.

    Star’s third quarter operating income increased 28 per cent as advertising revenue growth, mainly from India, drove total revenues up 14 per cent. Advertising gains were led by weekend programming initiatives at Star Plus and by the growth of Star One and Star Gold.

    Commenting on the results, chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch said, “We are obviously pleased with the 14 per cent operating income growth and two-fold increase in net income we delivered this quarter. Our growth was as diverse as it was deep: continued subscriber expansion at SKY Italia; ratings success at our broadcast network; sustained momentum across our array of cable channels; and a dramatic increase in equity earnings from DIRECTV.

    “This quarter also saw accelerated progress in our new media evolution. MySpace expanded to over 70 million registered users, solidifying its prominence as one of the fastest growing sites on the Internet. We also launched Mobizzo, a comprehensive new destination for mobile content, putting us in the vanguard of this exploding new platform. And we reached agreement with our broadcast affiliates on repurposing network content, thus allowing us to aggressively develop new ways of distributing and monetizing our programming across the full range of new media platforms.

    At the same time, as we invest in these new opportunities, our strong balance sheet has enabled us to continue aggressively with our stock repurchase program. We have completed close to $2.5 billion of the original $3.0 billion buyback program we initiated last June, and today we announced that the Board of Directors has approved an increase in the stock buyback program to $6.0 billion. This $3.0 billion step up clearly reinforces our view that repurchases of News Corporation shares are among the best uses of our cash in today’s environment,” says Murdoch.

    At the FBC, third quarter operating results were profitable versus a loss a year ago as ratings momentum and higher pricing drove primetime advertising revenue growth, the company said. The higher primetime advertising revenues in the current year were partially offset by increased programming costs for several returning series including American Idol and 24, which, along with House, fueled ratings growth of 17 per cent among adults 18-49 for the quarter. Additionally, the third quarter a year ago included a loss associated with the broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX.

    Fox Television Stations (FTS) third quarter operating income declined only 4 per cent despite the benefit a year ago from FBC’s broadcast of Super Bowl XXXIX. Primetime ratings strength and the continued success of local news drove advertising revenue growth which was partially offset by increased local sports rights and the further expansion of local newscasts, said an official statement.

    Sky Italia reported third quarter operating income of $69 million, an improvement of $90 million compared to a year ago on local currency revenue growth of 17%. This improvement primarily reflects the addition of 472,000 net new subscribers over the past 12 months, bringing Sky Italia’s subscriber base to 3.71 million at quarter-end.

    The Filmed Entertainment segment reported third quarter operating income of $225 million versus the $251 million reported in the same period a year ago. The year on year decline is primarily due to comparisons with record results a year ago led by the home entertainment performances of Alien vs. Predator, Napoleon Dynamite and I and Robot.

    According to News Corp., the third quarter film results were largely driven by the domestic home entertainment performances of Walk the Line and Transporter 2 and by the continued success of Fantastic Four in the international home entertainment market. Twentieth Century Fox Television (TCFTV) had increased contributions versus the third quarter a year ago, primarily reflecting continued momentum in home entertainment sales, most notably from Family Guy and 24.

    Cable Network Programming reported third quarter operating income of $211 million, an increase of $39 million over last year’s result. The 23 per cent growth primarily reflects advertising strength at the Fox News Channel and affiliate revenue growth at the Regional Sports Networks (RSNs), the release adds.

  • I&B ministry to bring Optical Disc Law to counter priacy

    I&B ministry to bring Optical Disc Law to counter priacy

    NEW DELHI: The government today said that copyright enforcement cells have been set up in most of the States and Union Territory administrations to check violation of copyrights of films.

    Information and broadcasting minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi today informed the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) that his ministry has made suggestions for restricting incidence of piracy in the film and music sector while considering the on going amendments to the Copyright Act.

    The ministry, he said, has also received a proposal to enact an Optical Disc Law to counter piracy in the entertainment sector.

    The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has been entrusted with the task of determining the need for a separate legislation for manufacture of optical discs.

    Apart from this, I&B ministry has taken measures like organizing training programmes for police personnel on copyright issues in the film sector.

    The National Film Development Corporation Ltd has been commissioned to produce an anti piracy campaign and a film against piracy has been made by Public Service Broadcast Trust on behalf on the government for telecast on Doordarshan, the minister said.

    The Copyright Act, 1957, which falls under the purview of the ministry of human resource development, contains, inter alia, legal provisions regarding copyright in cinematograph films and music.

    The responsibility for dealing with offences under the Copyright Act rests with the State Governments and Union Territory administrations.

    According to entertainment industry estimates, revenue loss from film piracy is about Rs 12 billion annually.

  • TV Today’s Delhi Aaj Tak likely to launch mid-May

    TV Today’s Delhi Aaj Tak likely to launch mid-May

    MUMBAI: Amidst all the debate around uplink and downlink the Aroon Purie-promoted TV Today Network Ltd is set to launch yet another channel in an already cluttered news space. Launching some time in the middle of this month under the name Delhi Aaj Tak is a 24-hour news channel servicing the news needs of the national capital region (NCR) of Delhi.
    Barring any technical glitches, the fourth channel from TV Today stable is expected to begin beaming by mid-May.

    The channel will be headed by one of the old guard of the network Amitabh, who has been with the company for a decade, while the special project head for the channel is Alok Verma. Earlier, Verma was associated with Zee News as its editorial head and had done a stint with Star TV Interactive division in Bangalore, apart from having worked with other media companies at the national and regional levels.

    But a senior executive of TV Today remained tightlipped about the progress of the channel and the launch date, stating that the channel launch will happen in May.

    The channel, which received its uplink clearance in the last quarter of 2005, has been positioned on the plank of Delhi Aaj Tak: aapka sehar, aap tak (Delhi Aaj Tak: your city, up close). The team which will oversee the news channel is already in place, with a fresh pool of talent as well.

    On the technical side, all the news channels from the TV Today stable (including the newest baby) are likely to shift their beaming base from Insat-2E to Pas-10.

    Delhi Aaj Tak will have to battle for viewership with a host of news channels already catering to the NCR region. The players presently operating in this segment include Sahara NCR, S1 and Total TV. NDTV is also planning a new product to service the metros, including Delhi.