ITV

Category: Television

  • Nick US to give multi million dollar push to non-linear entertainment platforms

    Nick US to give multi million dollar push to non-linear entertainment platforms

    MUMBAI: At its 2006-07 upfront presentation US broadcaster Nickelodeon launched into a new era of creating entertainment for kids in the digital age.

    While continuing its unprecedented leadership in linear television production, Nickelodeon announced a slate that will include content developed from such platforms as feature films, video games, broadband and international production, as well as announcing a multi-million dollar development slate for non-linear productions.

    On air Nickelodeon will also premiere 254 new episodes during the 2006-07 season. Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Group president Cyma Zarghami says, “The first Nickelodeon generation of kids grew up in a video democracy where the words broadcast and cable meant nothing, and great characters and stories meant everything. This next generation of kids is platform agnostic. We already are programming to kids on 15 different platforms and we’re excited to be expanding our tradition of strong content development to reach across broadband, digital and wireless screens that have become a daily part of their lives.

    “Kids are the first adapters of the digital age and we are going to fully integrate our brand into that space with great character and story-driven content that will be developed specifically for the products they are accessing.”

    Zarghami added that Nickelodeon is committing to a multi-million dollar development slate to introduce new original content specifically for non-linear platforms.This includes launching an animation laboratory called Inkubators based at Nickelodeon’s animation studio in Burbank, Caqlifornia.

    The Inkubators Lab will be dedicated to the development of original animated content made specifically for a diverse range of platforms, including broadband; wireless; portable video devices; online and gaming. Additionally, Nickelodeon will be committing development resources to the creation of long and short form content developed from creators in international markets.

    During the 2006-07 season Nickelodeon will also introduce several series that were developed from non-traditional platforms. They include –

    Tak and the Power of JuJu – This premieres in 2007 on Nickelodeon. Developed from the successful video game series, Tak and the Power of Juju is a CGI animated adventure comedy series created in conjunction with THQ, Nickelodeon and game developer Avalanche Software which follows the slightly skewed comic adventures of fun-loving, mischievous 14-year old Tak, who has gained access to the magical, mythical realm of the always colourful and powerful Jujus.

    Set in a jungle paradise, Tak and his partners in adventure, Keeko and Jeera constantly find themselves in over their heads, but somehow always find a way out by relying on their native wits. Hal Sparks stars as the voice of Tak, with Tommy Davidson as Keeko and Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Jeera.

    Mr. Meaty – This also premieres in 2007 on Nickelodeon. Developed from Nickelodeon’s TurboNick broadband platform where it appeared as a series of shorts, Mr. Meaty is an animated comedy set in the flashy façade of a fast-food franchise and focuses on the working life of two teenage slackers, Josh and Parker, the unofficial, unaware champions of the underdog in a world that relies on the cookie-cutter mentality and the veneer of a perfect customer service experience.

    Full of teenaged self-importance and slouching indifference, the boys are willing to endure one of the most soulless jobs on earth in order to save enough money to produce their dream project – an awesome horror movie called “Ninja Zombies.” From their six-by-six foot square food-court bunker, they plan to improve their lives and their ultimate escape from the monotony of minimum wage.

    Downward Doghouse – This premieres in March 2007 on Nick Jr. Developed and produced through a partnership between Nickelodeon and Wang Films, Downward Doghouse is a new, original animated series that introduces preschoolers to the many aspects of Chinese culture and language through a five-year-old Chinese-American girl named Kai-lan.

    Following in the tradition of Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go!, this new play-along series features an intergenerational Chinese-American family and teaches the Mandarin language to preschoolers at home – a first for preschool television. Each half-hour centers on Kai-lan and her relationships with her grandfather, her animal friends and the natural world. Kai-lan is an emotionally gifted child who is driven to understand the world and how things are linked together both physically and emotionally.

    Every episode follows the adventures of Kai–lan and her friends as they learn to identify their emotions and stop to consider the feelings of others. The series explores the colorful aspects of Kai-lan’s upbringing and background including family, food, and language while encouraging preschoolers to care for others and their environment. Downward Doghouse is created by Karen Chau and Executive Produced by Mary Harrington.

    The animation production for Downward Doghouse will be done in conjunction with Wang Films, with animation taking place in both Shanghai and Taiwan. In addition to the animation work, key episode designs will be created and produced at the Wang studio in China.

    The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival premieres in August 2006 on Nicktoons Network. After two successful festivals and entries received from around the world, Nicktoons Network, the 24-hour animation network owned by Nickelodeon, will partner for the first time with Kidscreen Magazine and again with Frederator Studios, for this year’s Nicktoons Network Animation Festival. Animators from around the globe can submit their original short films created in any style of animation and a grand jury will select a $10,000 grand prize winner from the top ten films chosen by the pre-selection jury.

    The festival will debut on Nicktoons Network’s air on August and will run for six nights. For the first time, the animation festival will also be available to view online at www.nicktoonsnetwork.com and will kick off with a two-day live screening event at the Nicktoons Studios in Burbank, CA on 12 August and 13 August.

    Meanwhile Barnyard was developed from the upcoming feature film of the same title and created by Steve Oedekerk. This is a CGI animated comedy series which takes a hilarious look at what really happens in a barnyard when the farmer’s back is turned. The series centers on Otis, a former carefree party cow who recently took over as the patriarch of the farm. Otis is advised (and sometimes ill-advised) on how best to govern the barnyard by his best friends: Pip, an outspoken mouse; and Freddie, a neurotic ferret and Peck, a level-headed rooster.

    Constantly faced with protecting the barnyard animals from all that lurks just beyond the fence, Otis must balance his desire to be the irresponsible cow of his youth with his new, grown–up responsibilities.

  • Zee Muzic presents ‘Dance with Dino’

    Zee Muzic presents ‘Dance with Dino’

    Mumbai, February 7, 2006: This Valentine’s Day, Zee Muzic makes your dreams come true. The 24-hour music channel from Zee Network brings an exclusive opportunity for its viewers. Dance with Dino, a contest, where one lucky winner will get a dance with filmstar Dino Morea. Viewers have been asked to send in their entries, 5 lucky ones from across the country will be short listed to perform in front to the entire crew & cast of “Holiday” on February 12, 2006, at Bohemia in Juhu, Mumbai, 8:30 p.m. onwards. The winner from these 5 contestants will get a dance with Dino Morea. Pooja Bhatt, Dino Morea & Onjolee Nair will judges the contenders.

    Holiday is Pooja Bhatt’s directorial venture. The cast of the film includes Dino Morea, Onjolee Nair, Gulshan Grover, Nauheed Cyrusi & Kashmera Shah.

    Announcing the contest, Irshwin Balwani, Business Head, Zee Muzic, said, “Zee Muzic is a channel with a lot of youth appeal. In keeping with our image, we have a contest in collaboration with Pooja Bhatt’s new film “Holiday”. Dino Morea is a much sought after star. Dance with Dino will give our viewers an opportunity to get up close & personal with their favourite star.”

    About Zee Muzic:
    Newer, brighter, colourful and a brand new look… That’s Zee Muzic! Zee Muzic is a 24-hour music channel from Zee Network. The target audience being SEC ABC, 15-34 yrs, Zee Muzic is on a mission to reinvent itself. The glossier & brighter Zee Muzic in its current form reaches out to Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Fiji, Hong King, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Maldives, Thailand & Middle East. A separate beam of Zee Muzic is also available in UK & US. With brand new shows and vignettes, the programming aims to carve a separate niche for itself in the arena of music channels. The USP of the channel is its Bollywood content and with some innovative programming and fresh content, the aim is to create a recall value amongst consumers. It promises to get you addicted!

    To find out who is the lucky one to get a Dance with Dino
    Keep watching Zee Muzic!

  • ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ sells five million DVD’s on first day

    ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ sells five million DVD’s on first day

    MUMBAI: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is casting a spell on DVD.

    Retailers have reported record day-one sales of around five million units in the US.

    On the big screen the film made over $890 million globally. Brisk DVD consumer sales are expected to continue through the next three months.

    Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders says, “We are extremely pleased with the out-of-the-gate success of the DVD release of Goblet of Fire. We knew that fans really connected with this installment in the Harry Potter series, and that continued loyalty to the franchise has carried over to these phenomenal DVD sales figures.”

  • Winter Olympics exceeds expectations on European broadcaster Globosport

    MUMBAI: The XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin has become the single largest event ever screened on British Eurosport.

    The Games, which were broadcast from 10 to26 February 2006 reached over 8.4 million viewers to out-perform even the Summer Olympics from Athens in 2004 and Sydney in 2000. British Eurosport broadcast over 361 hours of coverage from Italy, with 51 per cent live, over the 17 days of the Games.

    The success of the event was matched across Europe where Turin scored the best Olympic Games’ ratings on Eurosport with 140 million different viewers following the Olympic competition.
    With 367 hours of broadcast, the Olympic Games drew twice as many viewers as the regular average for the channel.

    Figure skating, alpine skiing and biathlon are amongst the best programmes. Exclusive live coverage of the preliminary ski jumping before the main competition broadcast on Eurosport on 12 February peaked at 5.2 million viewers.

    The newly re-launched Eurosport.com website, with its enhanced live scoring and editorial content, also recorded good figures with more than 13 million visits over the 16 days of the Turin Games, double the volume of traffic as registered during the Athens Games.

    Eurosport has attributed its success to its international editorial line. Expert commentaries, with consultants such as Alberto Tomba, and innovative shows such as Daring Girls contributed to reinforce Eurosport as the reference channel for the Games’ coverage.

    Eurosport was also involved on-site in Turin. As Official Olympic Broadcaster and partner of TOROC (Organising Committee of the XX Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games), Eurosport became the first broadcaster to be present in the Olympic Sponsor Village with the Eurosport Pavilion. Over 400, 000 people visited the Olympic Sponsor Village in Turin and had the opportunity to be entertained in Eurosport’s Multimedia space.

  • ‘Quest’ goes in search of spirituality in March

    Airtimes: Indian Standard Times Saturday, March 25 at 1630hrs Sun, March 26 at 1130am and 1730hrs From the gurus and ashrams of India to New York’s very own brand of spirituality, CNN’s Richard Quest goes in search of inner peace in March’s edition of QUEST.

    Despite all of life’s luxury and convenience, people are often overworked, over-stressed and ultimately unfulfilled. Quest talks to his Holiness the Dalai Lama, actress Goldie Hawn, musician Cat Stevens, also known as Yusuf Islam, and cult film director David Lynch to discover how they make their worlds a happier and more peaceful place.

    Quest’s journey begins with a pilgrimage to the remote village of Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills of India, home to the 14th Dalai Lama. His Holiness tells Quest how he manages to cultivate inner peace.

    In her apartment 54 floors above Manhattan, New York City, actress Goldie Hawn talks to Quest about becoming a ‘Jew Bu’ – her conversion from Judaism to Buddhism and explains how she found a spiritual path away from Hollywood. Back in London, UK, Quest is captivated by Karen Armstrong’s story. The so-called ‘run-away nun’ broke away from a strict Catholic upbringing to become one of the world’s foremost authors on world religion.

    Pop star Cat Stevens, also known Yusuf Islam, tells Quest that God is indispensable to a spiritual life. However according to scientist and prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins, it’s best to look for answers not in heaven, but in the world around us when it comes to inner peace. Quest also hears from cult film director David Lynch, who argues that “a spiritual nirvana lies inside us – all you need to do is ‘dive inside’ through transcendental meditation or TM.”

    Quest’s journey ends where it began – in India. Outside the southern city of Bangalore, the Art of Living Foundation is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Over a million dedicated followers travel from all corners of the globe to join in the festivities and pay homage to their spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. To many, Shankar’s blend of philosophy, meditation and breathing exercises make him a messiah. But some sceptics think he is too self-promoting and offers false hope to lost souls. Either way, this modern spiritual movement symbolises a desire for inner peace and the anniversary event promises to be a party that Quest will never forget.

  • Playhouse Disney launches ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse’

    MUMBAI: Playhouse Disney, the preschoolers block on Disney Channel has launched the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a learning-focused series for tiny tots. The show is named after Disney’s favorite mascot.


    The show will be aired on Saturdays and Sundays at 8:30 am.
     
     
     
     
     
    The series has been created by producer Bobs Gannaway, producer and director of the Emmy Award-winning Disney‘s Mickey Mouse Works. The series later evolved into Disney‘s House of Mouse, that featured not just Mickey, but virtually all of the Disney animated characters.


    Although the character designs are referential to 1940s drawings, the show has 3D computer animation, a logical next step for the characters that have evolved, along with film technology, from black and white, to color and now to digitally rendered 3D.


    In order to ensure that each episode is entertaining and comprehensible to this core audience, Disney Channel writers and researchers visited preschools where they read story books based on the shows to students to see if they enjoyed it, if they understood the concepts and were engaged enough to participate.


    “The shows that have worked best with young kids are interactive ones, where the audience feels they‘re playing along as opposed to just sitting back and watching. It‘s always been Mickey‘s way to connect one-to-one with kids, making him the perfect choice to further develop a close relationship with kids in a preschool learning environment,” said Walt Disney Television International (India) director programming and production Nachiket Pantvaidya.


    “The show helps to broaden the definition of math skills to include not just counting, but learning shapes, patterns, colors and fractions. Early math skills are key to preschoolers‘ development because if it is embedded right from the beginning, kids will embrace the subject. The wonderful thing is that kids of this age love to count and master skills. They don‘t see it as a chore or a lesson, they‘re really proud of being able tell you what‘s bigger and what‘s smaller, what‘s near and what‘s far. It‘s not work to them, it‘s really fun,” he added.


    Mickey Mouse Clubhouse will help define the series‘ educational goals and have an age-appropriate curriculum with the help of the Sensational Six: Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Daisy and Donald.

  • Murdoch’s India visit confirmed

    Murdoch’s India visit confirmed

    After Star TV Executive Chairman Gareth Chang’s recent resignation, and NewsCorp Arthur Anderson officials have visited India twice to asses the value of Star TV, NewsCorp Chairman Rupert Murdoch plans a five day India visit starting 10th March. His wife Wendy Deng and son James, NewsCorp’s Vice President of Music and New Media will accompany him.

    The trip is expected to kick off with a two days in Bangalore, where he expects to kickstart NewsCorp’s joint venture with Pramod Mittal’s Ispat Group company eVentures. eVentures has already invested in two portals recently. Net Access, a Delhi based e-business service provider, where eVentures has invested about US$ 1.75 million acquiring a 26 equity.

    The joint venture has also acquired 100 percent equity in netpligrims.com, a web based placement service provider. Besides eVentures deals, Star TV plans 10 to 20 percent in popular portals. The net plans to extend synergies between broadcasting and the Internet, “to increase our access to content and tap the traffic which comes on various sites on the Internet,” said News television India Ltd.’s CEO Peter Mukerjea in a newspaper interview. The strategy is via the mergers and acquisitions route, and plans are to for multi-point distribution including the Internet and mobile communications.

    Besides, Murdoch will visit Bombay “to meet his office people” as a spokesman puts it. Also appointments are being arranged with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley, Minister for Information technology Pramod Mahajan and Opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.

    Murdoch’s visit, the first since June 1996 when he met Deve Gowda gains significance. The importance of India in it’s Asian strategy is apparent. NewsCorp has doubled it’s content related investment in India over the next five years. An additional US$ 20 million this year has for it’s Indian operation. Murdoch will seeks a first hand view impression on the Broadcast bill including DTH and other regulatory issues, besides it’s proposed Internet /mobile investments in India.

  • VH1’s new series features top 100 toys

    VH1’s new series features top 100 toys

    MUMBAI: The hula hoop tops VH1 US’ I Love Toys countdown proving that you are never too old to love toys. From Lego to Mr. Potato Head to Barbie and Candy Land, VH1 is reprising its I Love the ’80s approach for its all new five-part series I Love Toys but with a countdown of the top 100 toys.

    The show will culminate later this month with a 90-minute special that will countdown toys 20-1. I Love Toys offers viewers yet another nostalgic look back at their childhood with the toys that defined their generation. The journey to rank the top 100 toys of all time and setting your inner child free consisted of online voting, sales, historical significance and longevity.

    Each one-hour episode of “I Love Toys” will feature today’s top celebrities, such as Ricky Martin, Rachel Leigh Cook, Lisa Lisa and Biz Markie.

    The top 10 toys of all time include Star Wars Figure, G.I. Joe, Barbie and Lego.

  • Sahara TV aims to bang the Hindi entertainment market

    Sahara TV aims to bang the Hindi entertainment market

    One more channel joins the entertainment bandwagon. Sahara TV was launched yesterday amidst much fanfare. And this one’s claiming freshness in its content too.

    The channel officials said that they have pre-tested each of their programmes before commissioning them. The channel which has hi-tech studio facilities at Noida as well as Mumbai, says that it will avoid reruns as far as possible as it has 11 hours of daily fresh content. Sahara is placing a lot of emphasis on the look as well as quality of the channel. Plus many reputed TV producers & directors have been commissioned to make programmes for Sahara TV. According to the officials, the channel has also tried to create new genres of programming in order to provide freshness to the channel.

    When asked about the distribution network of the channel, a senior official said that “Sahara TV has the largest distribution team in the television industry. We have worked out a comprehensive support plan for cable distributors, which include ready information on equipment upgradation, easy finance schemes and a helpline. Besides Sahara India Pariwar is a household name in the Hindi belt. Also our 6 lac committed workers as a part of the pariwar will help promote the channel all over the country. Thus we expect a cable penetration of 65% of the total 30-million C&S homes to start with.” The channel is also looking at forming their own DTO bouquet and forging alliances with other channels. But first it will concentrate on its main entertainment channel.

    The channel is also closely monitoring Internet as a powerful communication medium of the future.

  • Will the new scripted dramas make an impact?

    Will the new scripted dramas make an impact?

    After two years, finally, some light ahead on the narrative television sightscreen? Hindi entertainment certainly needs it. 24 April will witness the launch of five new scripted dramas across the GEC channels, with three other prime time shows subsequently lining up for launch during this April-May phase.

     

    The K-shows continue to have a clamp on share of audience, but on share of mind, it has been the reality and gameshow genres that have held sway since 2004
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    One would really hope that some of these offerings hit bulls eye since it’s been a while since scripted drama got front row mindspace on Hindi entertainment television. It was way back then, in September 2003 to be precise, that narrative entertainment made headlines and IMPACT when Star Plus’ Kahiin To Hoga and Sony Entertainment’s Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin debuted almost simultaneously on the small screen.

     

    What of Balaji’s K-serials, one might ask? True, the K-shows (let’s not forget Kahiin To Hoga is one as well but it is different) continue to have a clamp on share of audience, but if one were to look at a share of mind + audience combo, it has been the reality and gameshow genres that have held sway since 2004.

     

    If end-2004 and beginning 2005 belonged to SET’s Indian Idol, the second half of 2005 belonged to Star Plus’ KBC2 and Star One’s Nache Baliye and The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC), with Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge also making a year-end splash.

     

    Barely have the viewers gathered their collective breaths on these shows, we’re already into Star One’s TGILC 2, Sony’s Fear Factor India and Zee’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Main Aur Ek Tu.

     

    It is pertinent to note that even Star, which has had by far the most success on its narrative offerings, would have reported a rather flat year had it not been for the success that KBC2, TGILC and Nache Baliye provided.

     

    Now coming back to the narrative tale, it has happened abroad, with scripted drama making a grand comeback thanks in particular to extremely strong and successful worldwide successes such as Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost.

     

    Star, which has had by far the most success on its narrative offerings, would have reported a rather flat year had it not been for the success that ‘KBC2’, ‘TGILC’ and ‘Nache Baliye’ provided
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    In India meanwhile, it is refreshing therefore, to know that in the middle of all this format overdose, Zee TV has been able to build a scripted success in Saath Phere – Saloni ka Safar (not your regular saas-bahu weepy) that rode beyond the spike provided by Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge. That is critical if such efforts are to get acceptance. Because while mind share is fine, the brutal truth is that the moolah is in audience share.

     

    To quote Star Entertainment India CEO Sameer Nair: “Going by the theory, ‘People watch programmes and not channels,’ you require really strong magnetic programming to be successful. TV programmes and channels are going to further focus on the differentiation.”

     

    More power to the drama is what we say. And since so much of television in India gets its cues from cinema, here’s hoping that the box office success of offerings as different and diverse as Rang De Basanti, Malaamal Weekly and Being Cyrus is reflected on the small screen as well with the new shows that are set to debut. And those which follow.