ITV

Category: GECs

  • Pinnacle anounces innovation for television on a PC

    Pinnacle anounces innovation for television on a PC

    MUMBAI: Avid Technology in the US has announced that its consumer division, Pinnacle Systems is expanding its popular Pinnacle PCTV product family with the addition of Pinnacle PCTV To Go.

    This new product gives customers the ability to enjoy their home entertainment systems from any location in the home or around the world. This is amde possible through an easy wireless setup, integrated Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) support and comprehensive digital video recorder (DVR) capabilities.

    Pinnacle Systems GM Jeff Hastings says,“PCTV To Go is the ultimate wireless solution for TV viewing on a PC. It’s easy to set up, easy to control, easy to access, and all without extra set-up or monthly service fees. Not only can customers use PCTV To Go to access and watch their home TV from anywhere in the world, they can also control features remotely, such as changing TV channels, video sources, and programming on their DVRs.”

    Pinnacle PCTV To Go enables consumers to watch full resolution, DVD-like quality in MPEG-2 while viewing television in and around the home, or high quality MPEG-4 while viewing television remotely, with nothing more than a simple internet connection. Designed to quickly plug into an existing entertainment system, the product acts as a pass-through device and eliminates the need for reconfiguring the entertainment system.

    In addition, Pinnacle says that the product is unique in the market in that it communicates wirelessly to an existing network or directly to a wireless PC. This specific feature eliminates the need for consumers to co-locate an Internet router and/or access point in the proximity of the entertainment system. With Pinnacle PCTV To Go, consumers can connect to a broad range of devices, including cable and satellite set-top boxes, over-the-air antennas, DVD players and fully functional DVRs.

    Furthermore, Pinnacle PCTV To Go seamlessly works as a TV source within a wirelessly connected Microsoft MCE equipped PC, meaning that consumers can set up and use an MCE entertainment system in a location far from their TV source.

  • Zoom launches ‘Popkorn Newz’

    Zoom launches ‘Popkorn Newz’

    MUMBAI: Zoom, India’s lifestyle channel is launching Popkorn Newz, an hourly show which will be aired every Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm with a repeat telecast at 10:30 pm.

    The weekend edition will air on Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 12:30 pm. The show will be hosted by Barkha Bisht.

    The show will cover all the latest happenings, breaking news, scandals from Bollywood, Television, Music, Events, asserts an official release.

    From Bollywood to the Indian Tellywood; from the faces in modeling to the interesting happenings from the world of art and theatre, Popkorn Newz, claims to be an Indian version of E News.

    Weekend Popkorn Newz will provide a round up of the biggest entertainment news in the week with a segment called the Popkorn Rating Points (PRP), which rates the top five most happening celebrities of the week in different categories such as – best dressed, cosiest couple spotted, most seen at parties, adds the release.

  • Channel [V] to launch VJ hunt on 19 November

    Channel [V] to launch VJ hunt on 19 November

    MUMBAI: Channel [V] is all set to launch, [V] VJ Freshers, a search for the channel’s next new VJ, on 19 November at 12 pm.

    The hunt is presented by Pantaloon and styled by Maybelline New York.
    This six-episode series will capture the entire drama, fun and tribulations experienced by all the contestants. The first episode will see the four city auditions that took place in New Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and Mumbai, asserts an official release.

    From students, architects, doctors to animated individuals; the auditions witnessed a gamut of performances, desperate attempts and die-hard efforts by contestants to impress the [V] team judging them and make it to the final eight.

    Some of the contenders are Farhad from Pune who did a pole dance, Ram Menon from Mumbai who imitated Laloo campaigning for votes, Neel from Mumbai who feels his sense of humour is like his faithful dog Tommy, Tulika from Pune and Akshat from Delhi.

    Accompanying the contestants through their trip is VJ Juhi, who will host the series and take viewers through their journey on [V] VJ Freshers, adds the release.

  • Star Plus to unveil ‘Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein’ on 25 November at 10 pm

    Star Plus to unveil ‘Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein’ on 25 November at 10 pm

    MUMBAI: Star Plus has announced the launch of an hourly weekend show Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein 25 November at 10 pm.

    Sprucing up its programming in the weekend segment with Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein, the channel’s endeavor is to further add to the pool of its creative and innovative mix with the show’s unique-‘slice of life’, concept which is based on a mix of humour and strong emotions, portrayed by characters which are essayed through their stories, states an official release.

    However, the battle in the general entertainment space for the Saturday 10 o’clock slot will only get fierce as Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein will be up against the competitor’s reality show Idea Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj.

    Commenting on the new show, Star India Pvt. Ltd. EVP content Deepak Segal said, “Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein brings back to Indian television the spice of every day life and ‘middle class mohalla’ which has earlier defined success and popularity for shows like-Wagle Ki Duniya, Nukkad, Hum Panchi Ek Chawl Ke etc. Aek Chabhi Hai Padoss Mein is all set to create a genre of entertainment, with its light humorous storyline, as the show prods gently into the core of the human heart introspecting it’s universal themes and most of all it’s infallible romantic spirit…it’s strength!”

    With an ever changing plot to the story, the show gets its spirit from three families – Mehta, Singh’s and Ali’s, having their distinct outlook and ways towards life. While the Mehta Family is a true reflection of typical middle class, the Singh Family lead each day as it comes, while the Ali Family pin their hopes with every day of life, adds the release.

  • Zee TV enters new genre with ‘Ravan’ on Saturdays at 9

    Zee TV enters new genre with ‘Ravan’ on Saturdays at 9

    MUMBAI: In the peaceful abode of so called ‘Lanka’, Zee TV unveiled its latest mythological drama Ravan. From comedy to reality, the network aims to strengthen its hold in the general entertainment space with the addition of yet another genre, mythology. Ravan will kick off on 18 November at 9 pm to beef up the prime time weekend slot.

    Unlike the customary tales of Hindu mythology, this show hopes to delve into the life of the evil one ‘Ravan’. Little is known of Ravan as a great scholar, a devotee of Lord Shiva and that he was the grandson of Lord Brahma. Backed by research, the drama will follow the events and characters that drove Ravan to emerge as the malevolent King.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com at the launch, Zee TV Sr. VP marketing Tarun Mehra said that this will add to the existing line up which will make for ‘Super Saturdays’ which kicks off with Nerolac Impressions Jama De followed by Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hain, the yet to be launched Ravan and Idea Zee Cine Stars Ki Khoj.

    Expectedly, Zee will push their new property to the hilt. “We will advertise heavily on the channel itself, along with using outdoor in 10 to 12 cities, while radio promotions will also be included on Big FM and Radio Mirchi,” Mehra says.

    The costs for opulent sets of the show have been pegged at Rs 10 million and it is estimated that about Rs 1.5 million to 1.6 million is spent on every episode of the show. In total, 52 episodes are being shot.

    Explaining why the channel has decided to go the ‘mytho’ way, Mehra says, “There seems to be a rejuvenation of mythology as has been seen in the latest animated movies Hanuman and Krishna. Zee TV has always been known to do things differently and so we hope to lure viewers from grandparents to kids to view the story from Ravan’s perspective.”

    Zee TV business head Punit Goenka said, “Ravan is the latest addition to our diverse programming consisting of dramas, comedies, reality shows and movies. This show reveals the lesser known facts about the life of Ravan; his journey from Mahamanav to Mahadanav. The script of this mythological drama has been written with authentic references and research. With Ravan Zee TV presents viewers with a mythological show that is different from the present generation of serials.”

    Given, that the story narrates the life of one who is widely accepted as ‘evil’, the untold story of the Ravan may get viewers to sample the show. Even though the channel says research forms the backbone for the drama, whether it can find its hold in the given slot is yet to be seen.

  • Amrita TV ‘Super Star’ grand finale live on 19 November

    Amrita TV ‘Super Star’ grand finale live on 19 November

    MUMBAI: The music reality show, Amrita TV Super Star, which has completed 115 hourly episodes reaches its finale on 19 November.

    The two finalists Job Kurian and Sangeeth S.R. will compete for the Super Star crown and the grand prize of a Maruti Suzuki Swift car.

    The three hour finale which will be held in Trivandrum will be decided by public voting through SMS which will be processed instantly and the winner announced soon thereafter– all of which will be telecast live worldwide between 7 pm to 10 pm to viewers in India, Middle East, Europe and USA, asserts an official release.

    The programme also comprises performances from the earlier 13 contestants who got eliminated in the shortlisting rounds. Besides participation of contestants,there will be music performances by the celebrity judges and pianist who participated in Super Star right from inception.

    The programme will be attended by various actors like Dileep , Kavya Madhavan, and the film personalities who donned the role of invited jury for Super Star during the earlier episodes. The audience for the finale will also see an invited gathering from business houses,ad agencies,government,public sector,media,cable networks and fans and friends of contestants.Hindustan Lever is the main brand sponsor of Super Star.

    Amrita TV’s Super Star has resulted in the creation of a Super Star blog forum in the channel’s website which attracted 1.7 million hits in October from across the world. In September it logged 1.1 million hits, adds the release.

  • Essel Shyam Communication plans to raise Rs 600 million via IPO

    Essel Shyam Communication plans to raise Rs 600 million via IPO

    MUMBAI : Essel Shyam Communication Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Essel Group and Shyam Group, is looking at an initial public offering (IPO) size of Rs 600 million to fund its expansion plans.

    The company plans to set up four teleports, three of which are to be funded from the IPO proceeds. While it has obtained licenses for Mumbai and Noida (in the outskirts of Delhi), the other two teleports will come up at Cochin and Chennai or Hyderabad. The company has earmarked Rs 130 million from the IPO towards installation of teleports and Rs 15 million for playout facilities.

    “We hope to come out with the IPO in January-February. The final size will be decided through the book building process. We are looking at Rs 600 million and if there is a necessity, we will fund it through internal accruals,” Essel Shyam Communication ED and whole time director Lalit Jain tells Indiantelevision.com.

    The new facility at Noida will be for Ku band. Essel Shyam has an existing teleport in Noida where Zee and several other channels are uplinked. The new teleports in Mumbai and Noida are expected to be completed by 2007.

    For the expansion of VSAT operations, the company plans to invest Rs 85 million. Essel Shyam, which has seven hubs, proposes to add another three.

    The fund requirement for expanding deployment of DSNG (digital satellite news gathering) vans is Rs 80 million. These services are offered to customers for the purpose of news gathering, content transfer, live coverage and live uplinking of events. A further investment of Rs 175 million is planned to extend its existing BPO of 32 seats to a BPO/KPO of 500 seats. This will include KPO of 70 seats. New businesses will need Rs 50 million (Rs 10 million for system integration and Rs 40 million for radio frequency identification).

    Post-IPO, the promoters’ holding, which stands at 97 per cent, will faill to 70 per cent. Essel Shyam has filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus for an IPO with SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India) and proposes to offer 55,00,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each through the book building process.

    The company is into the business of providing various services related to satellite communication such as VSAT, teleport, SNG/DSNG and BPO facilities. The company is providing teleport services to channels of Zee Group, Janmat, Zoom (Times Group), IBN 7, Hungama TV. Several regional channels like Shalom TV, MM TV, Sangeet Bangla, Total TV and Sudarshan TV are also using Essel Shyam’s teleport. The company has recently set up a modern facility for TV Channels from studio to the cable distributor.

  • Apple signs deals with airlines for iPod integration

    Apple signs deals with airlines for iPod integration

    MUMBAI: Software firm Apple has announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between its music player on the go the iPod and in-flight entertainment systems.

    These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays.

    Apple VP worldwide iPod product marketing Greg Joswiak says, “There is no better traveling companion than an iPod, and now travelers can power their iPods during flight and even watch their iPod movies and TV shows on their seat back displays. We are excited to work with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to offer iPod users an even better in-flight experience.”

    In-flight iPod connectivity will be available to Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United passengers beginning in mid 2007. Additionally, Apple is working with Panasonic Avionics Corporation to bring even more leading airlines in-flight iPod connectivity in the future.

    The iPod ecosystem continues to flourish with more than 3,000 accessories made specifically for iPod that range from fashionable cases to speaker systems, and more than 70 percent of 2007-model US automobiles currently offer iPod connectivity.

  • International products and technology innovations to be unveiled at Wire & Cable India 2006

    International products and technology innovations to be unveiled at Wire & Cable India 2006

    MUMBAI: With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh having assigned priority status to infrastructure, a strong impetus has been provided to construction, power and telecom sectors. This, in turn, is giving a major boost to the wire and cable industries, and the related input technologies, equipment and products.

    All these key aspects of this high growth potential segment will be presented this week at Wire & Cable India 2006, which will be held from November 16 to 18, 2006 at MMRDA Grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex.
    Organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), this flagship event will feature over 120 exhibitors from 20 countries, showcasing the latest products and world-class technology innovations. Around 4000 trade visitors from India and its neighboring countries are expected to attend the three-day event.

    With 50% of the exhibitor profile comprising International players from Germany , Italy, Spain, Japan and China and Korea , Wire & Cable India 2006 will provide a common industry platform for meeting key clients and partners from across the globe in a comprehensive, cost-effective format.

    Wire & Cable India 2006 is exclusively for materials, machinery and accessories for the production of wires & cables, optical fibre cables, fasteners, springs, wire ropes and other wire products. A variety of finished products including wires will also be displayed.

    The exhibitors will unveil the most modern wire manufacturing and finishing machinery, spring manufacturing machinery, cable and stranding machines, process technology tools, process technology materials, lubricants, measuring and controlling technology, process monitoring systems, quality assurance and measuring systems, drive and control technology, “finished product” testing system, all types of wires, cables, wire rods, bright, bars, sheet metal and specialty wires.

    Visitors will primarily be engineers, technicians, buyers, production managers and sales managers from a diverse range of sectors including the wires, cables, automotive supply, electricals, aerospace supply, electrical engineering and electronics, telecommunications, computer manufacturing, chemicals and construction.

  • Natpe Conference to have an in-depth focus on mobile

    Natpe Conference to have an in-depth focus on mobile

    MUMBAI: The National Association of Television Programme Executives (NATPE) in the US has announced the schedule for its annual conference. This takes place from 15-18 January 2006 in Las Vegas.

    A highlight is the daylong NATPE Mobile++. This is is a specially focussed and separate conference addressing the impact and business opportunities for wireless, mobile and digital distribution platforms for television producers, developers, technology companies, broadcasters and advertisers.

    The conference will analyse the rapid evolution occurring in the digital media industry, its impact on the traditional media industry and the many lucrative business opportunities it presents. It will explores cutting edge audience behaviours – the rapid consuming of mobile and digital entertainment. It will look at

    – Branded entertainment and the important role of advertising in the digital media industry

    – The ever-growing role of mobile media and mobile services

    – Mobile technology’s role in social networking and community building

    – Monetisation strategies for user generated content

    – The importance of user-centric design in the digital media industry

    Another session looks at The Long Tail. Online services carry far more inventory than traditional retailers. Even as consumers flock to mainstream books, music and films there is a real demand for niche fare found only online. To one degree or another, the same is true for all other aspects of the entertainment business.

    These potential markets may be twice as big as they appear. If the biggest money is in the smallest sales, how do we get over the economics of scarcity? Attendees will find out more about the markets that lie outside the reach of the physical retailer – they are big and getting bigger says Natpe. The panelists are Wired Magazine editor-in-chief Chris Anderson; ICM (International Creative Management) vice chairman Robert Broder, USA Networks president Bonnie Hammer and Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn.

    There will also be a sesion on IPTV in terms of the lessons learned from global Rollouts and what the implications are for the US. IPTV Natpe notes has already achieved significant penetration in both Asia and Europe; however, the degree to which IPTV will successfully penetrate the United States market is still anyone’s guess. With that said, insights into how IPTV has achieved this success overseas foreshadow the coming challenges for the US market.

    What will compel subscribers to leave their existing provider and switch to IPTV. Is it interactivity? specialised programming? price? Will telcos find new revenue streams or simply a way to reduce churn?

    There will also be a Shoot Out session that looks at Hollywood. This is a live extention of the TV show Shoot Out which is hosted by Variety editor Peter Bart and Mandalay Entertainment chairman/CEO Peter Guber. On the TV show which kicks off in India on Star World next month they take their best shots at the industry, the movies, and each other. If Hollywood is talking about it, they’re fighting about it.

    Now at Natpe the two hosts will conduct a session in order to get an international perspective on the industry’s changing landscape. The speakers are MGM worldwide TV Group Harry Sloan and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer.

    Another session is called The Currency of Content “In a time where content development and its marriage to marketing can cause chaos, adult supervision is at a premium,” says panel moderator Media Link’s Michael Kassan. How best to quantify, monetise and harness the explosive energy that is the result of ever more personalized and divergent content delivery?

    That is the challenge faced by businesses who work in the field of cross-platform content delivery and marketing. This panel chosen Natpe says has demonstrated the ability to recognise opportunity, bring disparate creative forces to bear on initiatives, and convert the resulting content into business currency. The panelists include Microsoft corporate VP global marketing Jeff Bell; Cingular Wireless VP, advertising and marketing communications Daryl Evans; FremantleMedia North America CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Digitas president Laura Lang and Unilever US head of worldwide media Alan Rutherford.

    Another session looks at TV formats. From American Idol to Project Runway to Next Top Model, some of the most successful shows on TV today started as international formats and in some cases spawned their own international versions. Producers of hit shows have had to learn to adapt success for audiences that speak different languages, live in different cultures and even have different senses of humour.

    Producers of some of these shows talk about what makes a successful format that can be taken worldwide and the challenges of adapting a format for multiple markets.

    Another session aims to impaort knowlege on generations X, Y, and Z. Natpe notes that it is important for media firms to keep up with how our most wired, engaged and media savvy generation of consumers experience media content? Brian Seth Hurst, one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Digital 50, interviews members of this on-demand, user-engaged community. The panel of 18 -25 year olds will break it down for attendees – how they experience brands, consume content and, yes, even create their own networks for themselves and their peers. Where does traditional media fit in and how can firms capture this audience?

    There will also be a chat with Elise Doganieri who co-created the reality show The Amazing Race.From the creative processes to strategic decisions to the seemingly infinite logistics, this hands-on executive producer oversees every single detail of The Amazing Race which airs in India on AXN. So, what is the recipe for reality TV success and how do you create award-winning programming that consistently beats the competition and is considered the real must-see TV? That is what the sesion looks to answer.