ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • Mipcom keynotes celebrate power of the great story

    Mipcom keynotes celebrate power of the great story

    CANNES: Taking the cue delivered by CBS Corp. president and CEO Leslie Moonves at yesterday’s opening day main keynote, today’s keynotes harked on quality content as becoming ever more critical in a digitally enabled world.

    United Artists CEO Paula Wagner and NBC Entertainment NBC Entertainment & NBC Universal Television Studio co-chairman Ben Silverman both stressed on how important quality content would be in a world of infinite choice.

    Wagner pointed out how global box office receipts of American movies were worth $ 26 million last year, a growth of 11 per cent CAGR. Not surprisingly, more than two thirds of revenues from the movie business came from international markets.

    Wagner pointed to the days of the captive consumer being over and which in turn necessitated ever higher spends on marketing and distribution. 

    Wagner, who with business partner Tom Cruise reached a deal last November with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to take over United Artists, said her studio was committed to promoting original and daring commercial projects that would have one key underpinning – great storytelling.

    Wagner made it clear though that these were business propositions so there had to be clarity on the finacial aspects of any project that UA would undertake.

    Creativity with financial discipline would determine their business model, Wagner stated.

    Following on her talk on the movie business was Silverman who declared that his network was committed to and believed strongly that what would work was content built for the global market.

    Silverman cited the Bourne movies as an example of cinema that has an international outlook in terms of cast and shooting locations. He pointed to how that kind of international outlook was also coming into his network’s shows with more characters from the UK, India, Japan, China, etc having important roles in the shows that were being green lighted as well as those already on air.

    As did Wagner, Silverman also noted how important it was to help foster creative vision and ensure the servicing of creative voices.

  • News channels go the whole 22 yards

    It’s the biggest event on television this year and every news channel has spent the past few months working up a lather on how best to milk it. We don’t know if our Boys in Blue will do the impossible and bring home the Cup but news channel’s ‘programming cup of joy overflows’.

    This quarter has already seen news channels fighting it out for mindspace with budget programming and now the pitch is laid out for cricket. The kind of viewership ratings and ad revenues the channels will garner may set a trend for the year as well.

    Consider this: The World Cup in 2003 saw coverage from just a few news channels operating at the time – Star News, Zee News and Aaj Tak apart from international news channels like CNN and BBC.

    It’s a changed scenario four years on as English news channels – NDTV 24×7, CNN IBN, Times Now and Headlines Today fight it out. The big guns of the Hindi news space include the likes of Aaj Tak, Star News, NDTV India and Zee News. For CNBC TV18 and consumer channel CNBC Awaaz, it’s business as usual with them also sniffing a goldmine.

    More importantly though for news channels like Headlines Today and Times Now, special programming woven around these two events could mean a steady flow of loyal viewership over the next three months. They will be hoping that the ‘stickiness quotient” continues beyond the World Cup as well.

    Indiantelevision.com decided to do a quick round up of news channels and see what’s on offer and what it means to the news channels themselves.

    Programming on most news channels is clearly divided between weekday and weekend sessions lined up for the cricket fan. While weekday news content will focus on daily updates, statistics and numbers crunched in the news room and studios, weekend programming will concentrate on the flavor of cricket, the lighter side of the game, celebrities and loads of entertainment. 

    Howwzat!!
    Its cricket mania all the way as news channels pull out all stops in an attempt to grab viewer eyeballs.

    Aaj Tak and Headlines Today , channels from the TV Today network have a range of programming on their channels. While World Cup programming may not be new to Aaj Tak, Headlines Today slowly making a mark in the English news space will be looking forward to the World Cup. The channel was not operational during the 2003 World Cup.

    Says TV Today CEO G Krishnan, “We have an aggressive coverage plan for the World Cup. Our programming will unfold in phases. The pre world cup phase has special shows profiling cricketers and their preparation for crickets biggest tournament.”

    “We have also launched a show where we are visiting a different city everyday and giving the fans a platform to express their support for the Indian team. Similarly during the tournament we will look at pre and post match specials to analyze the day’s play.”

    “There is a huge line up of several interactive shows and contests. An interesting initiative was when viewers had to predict the final 15 member squad of the Indian team. It was heartening to see over a one lakh responses where viewers predicted the squad with 100% accuracy. Cricket is a religion in this country and as a news channel we cannot under serve the viewer,” he emphasizes.

    NDTV Media CEO Raj Nayak is also upbeat about cricket programming on their network channels. The last World Cup saw NDTV give it a miss as it was in a transitional phase between Star and setting up its own offices. But this year the channels have geared up with cricketers, contests and programming in place. Says Nayak, “Programs like Opening Spell, Turning Point, Googly, Pitch Report, Junoon will have extensive analysis pre and post the match on the days of the World Cup matches. 

    The World Cup is one of the biggest events in the sporting world this year. Our investment in this property will be in tandem with the importance and grandeur of this event. Our viewers will get the very best of the programming, in and around the World Cup matches on the NDTV network.”

    Stepping up its programming on World Cup cricket is Times Now. The channel has announced a all new spruced up daily show on sports calledThe Game in its run up to the World Cup early this year. It now has a whole range of cricketing shows collectively called Calypso Countdown.

    Says Times Now CEO Sunil Lulla, “Cricket is certainly an important aspect of the news genre. As a channel Times Now has sports programming right through the week, its daily show The Game is the leading sports show among English News channels.”

    “We will have programming from West Indies and India and reporting on all the matches; keeping viewers informed of the game sentiment as well. In the recent week Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Kumar Sangakkara, Monty Panesar along with Sanjay Manjrekar, Charu Sharma and Kiran More have been part of the pre-World cup,” he adds.

    Applying its philosophy of the ‘big story’ to cricket as well Lulla adds, “Times Now believes sports is about sporting action, the presentation and the big story of sports which will be live, refreshed and updated right through the World Cup.” 
    Zee News CEO Harish Doraiswamy says, “We have already started our curtain raisers on the game. One of our shows is called Vishwayudh where we have 4 experts – Zaheer, Vinod, Maninder and Nikhil Chopra- they have all been part of the World Cup at one time and so understand the pressures of the game at that level.”

    BBC World also has a refreshing set of programmes. Says BBC World Commissioning Editor Narendhra Morar, “BBC World’s Sport Today team will be providing news four times each weekday and twice at weekends.”

    Also in place is the interactive programme My Cricket World Cup. Morar tells us more, “Following the success of the interactive programme My World Cup during the Football World Cup in 2006, BBC World will be launching My Cricket World Cup to run throughout the tournament. A twice-weekly show presented by Adnan Nawaz, it will feature regular cricket fans and armchair commentators from across the world. Those who wish to interact with Adnan can do so live via webcam, email or mobile, giving them a chance to have their say about the tournament, games, teams and players.”

    While match days will see considerable viewership, the interesting factor this time would be the post match analysis since the matches will start post tea and go well into the night. Most viewers are bound to catch the results and even highlights on various channels the following morning.

    Concurs Krishnan, “There will be enough interesting content on the non-match days as well, in terms of match analyses and expert views. Also, since the second innings of all matches will end around 2 am, India time, viewers will look to news channels for the analysis of the parts they would have missed.”

    Says Nayak, “The NDTV channels had not launched when the last World Cup was held. This is our first World Cup since we launched in April 2003 and we are very excited about it. We will certainly provide all the cricketing action 24/7.”

    Star News has a wide variety of programming under its umbrella property called Cup Tak but one look at its programming line up and you realize that the focus is on entertainment.

    In fact the channel has taken a position which states, ‘Cricket will be More than just cricket on Star News.’ So what’s on offer – well a lot of entertainment!

    Jis Desh Mein Bharat Basta Hai, is a travelogue, Choolah Chauka gives the cricket fan a chance to win World Cup tickets and also allow celebrities to send across their messages to Indian players. Lage Raho India is the daily world cup update section following the fortunes of the ‘men in blue’.

    Cricket + Entertainment
    Star News cricket programming, with its strong focus on entertainment, will have Nikita Anand and Suresh Menon bringing in the humour, while sharing screen space with Dilip Vengsarkar, Sandeep Patil and Saba Karim.

    Wah Cricket! Has been positioned as Star News’ prime cricket property with Sandeep Patil and Saba Karim participating in cricket interviews and coaching camps. Dilip Vengsarkar will host queries from fans on Colonel ka Cut, while bringing in the ‘glam’ factor is former Miss India Nikita Anand bringing the viewers the daily news segment a la Mandira Bedi on another rival GEC Set Max.

    But that not the only show on Star News to woo female audiences who are presumed to be bored by all cricketing talk. The news channel has also tied up with IMG Media to present a special weekend show called Crazy Kiya Re which will feature contests to figure out the World’s Sexiest Cricketer and World’s Sexiest Cricket Team.

    The show will have prominent faces from television, films and the modeling fraternity judging the players in this World Cup. The catch of course is that the parameters have nothing to do with their playing skills. It’s all about the ‘sex appeal’.

    And if its cricket, can gossip and entertainemt be far behind. In a lighter vein, the channel has also roped in Sanjog with all the gossip in a show called Dressing Room Se and comedian Suresh Menon on Silly Point.

    If you are wondering what happened to the ‘heroes of the past World Cup’, well you are bound to catch them on the various news channels doling out their prognosis. So while Krish Srikkanth and Yashpal Sharma are TV 18’s cricketing faces, Zee has four cricket experts – Zaheer Khan, Vinod Kambli, Maninder Singh and Nikhil Chopra on board.

    TV Today aims to bring alive the memories of ’83 World Cup with experts like Kapil Dev, Syed Kirmani, Madan Lal and Arun Lal.

    “Whether it’s our love for the game or national spirit or both, we at CNN-IBN have gone through great lengths to put together an assembly of innovative, analytical, fun and informative programming for our viewers on the occasion of the World Cup,” says CNN-IBN and IBN 7 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai.

    “By calling in ex-cricketers as out studio experts, IBN 7 is adding credibility to its special analytical programming devised around the World Cup” added IBN 7 Managing Editor Ashutosh.

    Nayak says, “We have extensive plans for the coverage of the World Cup on NDTV India and NDTV 24X7 with some of the biggest names from the world of cricket MS Dhoni, Ajay Jadeja, Imran Khan, Dean Jones and Barry Richards besides specials with Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.”

    He further added, “In addition to this coverage of the World Cup matches, we are also offering our viewers a build up to the World Cup. This will include World Cup Special episodes of “India Questions” on NDTV 24X7 and “India Kare Sawaal” on NDTV India which are special one-hr interviews with Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

    Viewers will be treated to a World Cup extravaganza with short programs like Mantra of Cricket, Head to Head, Hain Tayyar Hum, Team ke saath and many more action packed programs. We also have a program titled “Carribean Calling” which will be like a postcard from the West Indies on the soft features related to the venue of the World Cup.”

    Says Zee’s Doraiswamy, “You know cricket and entertainment have always been linked together and while GEC’s cash in on it in a big way roping in Bollywood or television and modeling fraternity, news is also going the same way. And I don’t see why that should be a problem. Cricket is primarily about entertainment.”

    “One must understand that bringing people live sport is not news. There is a lot more to the sport and every channel tries to innovate around it. So I don’t see a conflict in bringing celebrities and sports together.”

    Zee News’ regional channels Bengali Coubees Ghanta and Marathi Chouvees Tas are also gearing up for cricket , “As for our regional channels , the content and packaging will follow similar guidelines but we would also look at having a Vinod Kambli on Chouvees Tas , the Marathi news channel we launched early this year,” he added.

    Pitch report
    There’s live action, analysis, celebrities and entertainment. But if the viewer’s are still asking for more well there are loads of contests and live action programming to keep them hooked on to the news channels. But apart from that, this is also turning out to be the perfect time for some news channel branding given all the on ground activities and audience interaction.

    TV 18 launched the ‘Cheer for India’ initiative a specially designed float that will visit pre-determined locations in various cities in a bid to garner support for the Indian team. The floats will carry with them a giant Cricket bat replica Cricket fans and celebrities were encouraged to sign their wishes for Team India. While the Cheer for India caravans were parked at different venues, fans could also share their opinions and wishes to be aired live on the network’s various channels.

    “Cheer for India campaign is conceptualised, keeping in mind not only the Indian cricket team but also cricket crazy fans all across the country. The gamut of programming surrounding this campaign will provide an opportunity to the fans to come together to celebrate the sprit of cricket”, says CNBC-TV18 managing editor Senthil Chengalvarayan.

    The ‘Cheer for India’ campaign grand finale will take place in Mumbai after all caravans across the country come together on 13 March. A musical concert and talk show featuring cricketers such as Krish Srikkanth and Yashpal Sharma and other celebrities is also on the cards. The finale will of course be telecast as a one-hour special ‘Cheer for India – the Great Indian Bat Show ‘, on 16 March, on all four TV18 channels.

    Says TV Today’s Krishnan, “We have already created a fair amount of buzz around the World Cup with contests and pre-World Cup programming. The contests, in fact have given us overwhelming responses from viewers, indicating interest in our programming.”

    He also explains why cricket will be a strong channel driver for news this quarter. He says, “From a viewership perspective – cricket is definitely a driver. The strategy is to mount special wrap around programming before and after the matches. For the world cup since the matches will continue till very late at night. The news channels will be a preferred destination to get a quick update in the morning. Thus there will be a fair share of advertising revenue generated around cricket programming. 

    As a network we invest money from a brand building and loyalty driver point of view. We are able to drive viewership with our innovative programming and detailed analysis. Thus providing advertisers with a healthy return on their investment on our network.”

    NDTV’s Nayak explains, “We believe in creating compelling content which will drive viewership. We don’t link revenues to specific programming.”

    Says Zee’s Doraiswamy, “We’d like to make money, obviously. But as a news channel we have our limitations. For us cricket world cup is and will be about news content.”

    Net Practice
    Since a lot of viewers will be accessing the web for on the ball updates, news channels have also tied up with various cricket websites. Star’s Indya.com is the global official internet partner for the World Cup. It has also created a website www.cricketworldcup.com.

    The site will have a feature called Matchcast. This allows viewers to watch live scores, ball-by-ball updates, player profiles, team profiles etc. One interactive feature that the site will have is called Voice Of the World Cup. The contest requires participants to provide commentary to a piece of archived footage which has had its commentary removed.The winners will be judged by a public poll as well as by experts. Two winners will get to go the West Indies for the World Cup.

    Times Now had also tied up with cricinfo.com to provide exclusive insights by Kumar Sangakkara, Ian Chappell, Greg Chappell and Sanjay Manjrekar. CricInfo and Times Now are jointly producing Calypso Countdown – a run up series to the World Cup.The matches can also be viewed on the website.

    NDTV will also be running viewer contests with mobile operators. “Our cricket coverage will also be supported by our own website www.ndtv.com, which is one of India’s leading news websites for cricket score downloads during match season”, added Nayak.

    Zee’s Doraiswamy says, “We have a website called www.zeecric.com. The website will see cricketing greats and present cricketers writing in. Zeecric.com has already roped in Steve Waugh who will contribute a regular column during the World Cup.

    If it was sport’s channels and entertainment channels that cashed in last World Cup, this year the news channels have spared no effort to put together a line up of programmes that promises viewers the best in sports programming. We can’t predict how Team India will perform but do watch this space at the end of World Cup to know which news channels actually made the cut and pulled in both – viewers and ratings.

  • Sudhir Chaudhary joins as channel head Janmat

    MUMBAI: Janmat has roped in senior media personality Sudhir Chaudhary as the Head of the channel to execute their massive expansion plans. He will be reporting directly to the group’s Vice Chairman and MD, Markand Adhikari.

    After the maiden IPO of Broadcast Initiatives Limited, the company running Janmat, the management has huge plans to revamp their news and views channel.The company has claimed that it expects to raise about 60 crore rupees in revenue through the IPO.

    Sudhir Chaudhary has been in the TV news industry for over 14 years and has worked at various Hindi channels like Zee News, Sahara Samay National and India TV where he joined as an executive editor.

    Confirming this appointment, Adhikari said, “Sudhir will be responsible for the overall functioning of the channel and his task will be to implement the complete revamp and expansion strategy of the channel.

    Janmat will stick to its unique positioning of news and views channel, which provides platform to every citizen to express their voice. However after our maiden IPO we will be implementing the state of the art studio and technology, which will further sharpen the channel’s niche.

    The company has plans to establish its bureaus all over the country through an extensive network of live broadcasting systems and OB Vans. Sticking to its niche will provide a platform to every Indian to express their voice.”

    Chaudhary said, “Adhikari Brothers, since the inception of Television Industry, have always understood the market gap and have established their niche in the market. I am extremely delighted to join Janmat and consider this to be a great professional assignment to turn around the channel and to make it a futuristic broadcasting platform. In another two to three months times viewers will see Janmat in a new avatar”.

    Furthermore, a wholly owned subsidiary of Broadcast Initiatives, Sri Adhikari Brothers Media (SABML) has just launched (as of 5 March) Marathi language channel Mi Marathi. SABML has entered into an exclusive ad-sales representation Agreement with NDTV Media for the sale of airtime on Mi Marathi.

  • Raj TV in deal with Neo Sports for Bangladesh series

    Raj TV in deal with Neo Sports for Bangladesh series

    MUMBAI: In a first-ever deal, a sports broadcaster has tied up with a regional network to telecast live cricket in language feed.

    Neo Sports will supply Raj Television Network Ltd. feed in Tamil and Telugu for the India Bangladesh cricket series which kicks off on 10 May.

    The telecast will be on Raj TV and Vissa TV, the Tamil and Telugu channels. The cricket series comprises three one-dayers and two Test matches.

    The cricket feed will include the Neo Sports logo bug and will present an advertising opportunity for local advertisers and brands to ride on live India cricket.

    Says Neo Sports Broadcast CEO Shashi Kalathil, “Cricket viewership In Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh is lesser than the Hindi Speaking markets while the overall consumption of local regional TV programmes is very high. It has always been our strategic intent to cater specifically to this large audience bringing value to both the viewer & advertiser.”

    Raj TV COO creative Raju Easwaran said, ” Cricket is the only true national passion which enjoys the same following across the length & breadth of the country. This innovation around cricket is sure to capture the imagination & fancy of the cricket lovers on Raj TV & Vissa TV. We expect unprecedented ratings on the back of our strong channel reach & penetration coupled with the viewer friendly regional commentary around what should be a very exciting series”

    “In what is now seen as a “fresh start” for Team India and in the backdrop of the World Cup result, the Bangladesh tour is also being billed as a revenge series of sorts, resulting in heightened interest nationally.”

    Meanhwhile the live coverage on Neo Sports will include a pre, mid and post match show specifically targetting the youth viewer, called Extra Cover. It features talent like Rohan Gavaskar and Hrishikesh Kanitkar for the first time on international cricket broadcast. Adding a further dimension to the coverage, Neo Sports has signed two well known TV anchors Archana Vijaya and Neha Sareen.

    While Archana would bring to the fore, the pulse of the Indian cricket fan via interviews, vox pops etc. Neha will demystify the statistical aspects of the game with her inherent flair for numbers, being an economics graduate from Ohio University. All this, in a first for Indian sports television, will be enhanced with cutting edge virtual graphics using the very latest that technology can offer, now available to Neo Sports at their new virtual studios at Malad, Mumbai.

  • HTMT gets Bombay High Court approval for demerger

    HTMT gets Bombay High Court approval for demerger

    MUMBAI: Hinduja TMT’s scheme of demerger (Scheme of Arrangement and Reconstruction) has got sanction from the Bombay High Court. The demerged IT/BPO business under a new company is expected to list in two months.

    “We expect the entire process to take two months. The fixing of the record date should take a month and then we have to get the approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for listing,” says an executive of the company.

    HTMT is unifying its media subsidiaries under one umbrella while spinning off its IT/ITES business into a separate entity. HTMT Technologies Ltd will hold the IT/BPO business. The company proposes to change this name to HTMT Global Solutions.

    The residual HTMT with media and real estate has a net worth of Rs 5.77 billion and a cash balance of Rs 2.06 billion (as of 1 October 2006). The IT/BPO company has a net worth of Rs 4.97 billion and a cash balance of Rs 200 million.

    HTMT also informed BSE that the court sanctioned the “reduction of the issued, subscribed and paid up equity share capital of the company, effected by reducing the face value of the equity shares to 1 equity share of Rs 5 each (from 1 equity shares of Rs 10) and simultaneously, consolidating 2 such equity shares of Rs 5 each into 1 equity share of Rs 10 each.”

  • Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    BANGALORE: The total value of software seized in 2006 in the more than 200 anti-piracy raids carried out across the country is $2.1 million.

    The raids were conducted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and its member companies collectively and individually. BSA has vowed to step up enforcement actions in 2007 to further bring down piracy rates.

    Jeffrey J Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director, Asia-Pacific, said, “In over 200 actions that have been conducted by BSA and its member companies in 2006, we had found widespread use and sale of pirated software across Indian cities. With the high software piracy rate in India, it is important to highlight efforts of the industry in combating piracy through enforcement.”

    The BSA and its members have carried out raids in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad in 2006.

    As per the findings of the BSA-IDC study of 2005, the rate of PC software piracy in 2005 was 72 per cent. According to the statistics, the Indian software industry lost revenue to the tune of of $566 million in 2005.

     
    Hardee added, “BSA adopts a three pronged strategy i.e. spreading the awareness on the perils of piracy, training and education of users including use of specialized tools like software asset management (SAM) and enforcement, in addressing software piracy around the globe. Whilst enforcement is a last resort, it is an important part of our approach as it serves to underline the seriousness of the matter.”

    Pirated software that has been seized includes those from Adobe, Autodesk, McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec.

     
    The BSA maintains a close working relationship with the government and industry associations in India such as Nasscom. According to an economic impact study conducted by IDC, if the piracy rate is reduced by 10 points by 2009, India could benefit with an additional 115,000 new IT jobs; an additional $ 5.9 billion pumped into its economy and increased tax revenues of $ 386 million.

  • MobiTV moves past two mn subscriber mark

    MobiTV moves past two mn subscriber mark

    MUMBAI: MobiTV, which provides mobile and broadband television and music services in the US and other countries has exceeded two million paying subscribers worldwide.

    It has more than doubled its fan-base in less than one year.

     
    MobiTV CEO, chairman and co-founder Dr. Phillip Alvelda says, “The recent hype in the mobile media space isn’t all that surprising given the new contenders looking to enter the marketplace some time later this year. But nothing tells an unequivocal story of success quite like a subscriber base soaring past two million and growing faster than ever
    before.”

    MobiTV has more than 100 television channels worldwide, and nearly 40 channels in its US offering including many of the very same live television stations available in homes via
    cable; support for nearly all commercial network standards including existing operator networks as well as future 4G networks such as Wimax and DVB-H; a collection of supported mobile and broadband-connected devices; unlimited channel capacity; the first-ever interactive advertising platform complete with m-commerce capabilities; the industry’s highest
    video quality running real live television direct from the networks at up to full NTSC resolution and as high as 30 frames-per-second.

     
    MobiTV president and co-founder Paul Scanlan says, “After more than three years of delivering real live television and video on demand services commercially for millions of customers, on almost every type of mobile or broadband network, MobiTV has quickly become the industry’s go-to resource for mobile content delivery.

    “There’s nothing more satisfying than helping our carrier partners monetize their newly deployed, multi-billion dollar 3G networks with a next generation platform that seamlessly
    transitions for 4G, Wimax and beyond.”

  • Discovery revenues cross $3 billion

    Discovery revenues cross $3 billion

    MUMBAI: Global media firm Discovery has announced its results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December 2006.

    Its revenue increased 16 per cent for the quarter to $899 million and 13 per cent for the year to $3.01 billion. DCI’s operating cash flow increased five per cent for the quarter to $194 million and 5% for the year to $722 million. Total revenue increased due to increases in distribution revenue of 16 per cent for the quarter and 20 per cent for the year and increases in ad revenue of 14 per cent for the quarter and five per cent for the year.

    In the US revenue increased 16 per cent for the quarter to $516 million and 10 per cent for the year to $1.93 billion. Operating cash flow increased 22 per cent for the quarter to $181 million and 13% for the year to $727 million. The increases in revenue were due to growth in distribution and advertising revenue across the portfolio.

    Distribution revenue increased 13 per cent for the
    quarter and 18 per cent for the year due to an 11 per cent increase in paying subscription units during the year and contractual rate increases. DCI experienced ratings increases during the year at three of its largest networks, the Discovery Channel, TLC and the Travel Channel. Net ad revenue increased 14 per cent for the quarter and two per cent for the year primarily due to higher ad sell-out rates and higher audience delivery on certain channels.

    Operating expenses increased by 13 per cent for the quarter and nine per cent for the year due to an increase in programming expense. Programming expense increased due to the company’s continued investment across all U.S. networks in original productions and series and specials.

    Its revenue from abroad increased by 17 per cent for the quarter to $256 million and 19 per cent for the year to $879 million. Operating cash flow decreased 29 per cent for the quarter to $24 million and increased eight per cent for the year to $116 million. The increase in revenue was due to growth in both distribution and ad revenue.

    Net distribution revenue increased 22 per cent for the quarter and 23 per cent for the year due to a 13 per cent increase in paying subscription units combined with contractual rate increases in certain markets. Growth in paying subscription units was primarily due to growth in Europe and Latin America. Net advertising revenue increased 13% for the quarter and 14 per cent for the year primarily due to higher viewership in Europe and Latin America combined with an increased subscriber base in most markets worldwide.

    Operating expenses increased 26 per cent for the quarter and 21 per cent for the year due to increased programming costs. Programming costs increased due to the launch of several networks along with a new free-to-air channel in Germany branded as DMAX. SG&A expenses increased due
    to infrastructure expansions in Europe and Asia and an increase in marketing expense resulting from marketing campaigns in Europe and Asia for the launch of new channels.

    Revenue in the commerce, education and other divisions increased by 15 per cent for the quarter and nine per cent for the year. The quarter over quarter increase was due to a 29 per cent, or $3 million, increase in education revenue combined with a 13 per cent, or $14 million, increase in commerce revenue.

    Last year David Zaslav took over as Discovery’s president and CEO. Discovery recently announced a series of structural and personnel changes in order to grow further. A number of positions were eliminated like the post of Discovery US president.

    As part of Discovery’s effort to build a lean and aggressive organisation, network general managers will have full authority and accountability to grow their brands. Discovery will be organized into five network brand groups reporting to the CEO: Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Travel Media, Animal Planet/Discovery Kids Media and Discovery Health Media Enterprises.
    The leaders of the network brand groups will assume additional authority over key business functions including production, marketing, new media, communications and research and will have dedicated brand support from ad sales and business development.

  • Green World Award for Yann Arthus-Bertrand at MIPTV

    Green World Award for Yann Arthus-Bertrand at MIPTV

    MUMBAI: French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand will receive the first ever Green World Award at MIPTV featuring MILIA. The new award has been created to recognize the efforts of industry professionals who have contributed to the global awareness of environmental issues.

    Bertrand will receive the Green World Award on Tuesday 17 April during a dinner for industry executives. He will also give a keynote speech in which he will discuss television’s role in the fight against global warming at the 44th annual MIPTV featuring MILIA event at Palais des Festivals, Cannes from 16 to 20 April.

    “We want to contribute to the awareness of environmental concerns through our tradeshows,” says Reed MIDEM Chief Executive Officer Paul Zilk.

    “Television has a huge impact on public opinion and education, and the creation and broadcasting of environment-focused programming is extremely important. The series of documentaries inspired by Bertrand called “From Above,” depict the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. 

    “I’m delighted to receive the MIPTV featuring MILIA Green World Award,” says Bertrand.

    “My commitment to sustainable development grew from studying the Earth on a daily basis, from encounters and from readings. I became aware that my photos were useful and that my own convictions gave them additional value. The more interest one takes in our planet and the more one realises the issues at stake, the greater the desire to actively engage in change for the better.”

    Bertrand has had a childhood passion for nature and has run a nature reserve in France and also studied behavior of lions in Kenya. This is where he published his first book ‘Lions’. He has worked as a photojournalist specializing in adventure sports, nature even tennis.

    His pictures have been published in leading international magazines including Paris Match, Geo, Life and The National Geographic.In July 2005, Bertrand created GoodPlanet.org, a non-profit organisation aiming to promote sustainable development.

    MIPTV featuring MILIA’s 2007 conference programme opens on the 16 April with a conference entitled “Is Green TV prime-time TV?”. The conference presents a panel of leading professionals specialising in the Green TV sector who will discuss the global development of environmental programmes.

  • Its ‘focus India’ for BBC World this March

    Its ‘focus India’ for BBC World this March

    MUMBAI: BBC World launched its first ever India focused brand advertising campaign on 16 January this year and has followed this up with a wide variety of India focused programmes this March.

    The news channel has constantly maintained that India is its first market for region specific programming and the channel continues to focus on this region through mini series, interviews and perspective stories- the latest being its coverage on the Indian Budget.

    Starting 6 March, BBC World will air its mini series Take Off on Indian civil aviation. The documentary series talks to leading industry experts about the recent developments in the aviation sector and analyses the trends.

    While the channel has in the past looked at Indian IT and auto sectors, we asked BBC World Commissioning Editor Narendhra Morar why the special focus on aviation sector.

    Says Morar, “The aviation industry in many ways symbolises globalisation, given that it’s all about connecting people and places the world over. And the aviation industry in India is a very good metaphor for India’s increasing integration into a globalised world economy. It is also a dynamic and rapidly expanding sector. For all these reasons, we felt India’s aviation industry was an important one that can shed light on many aspects of India’s growing economic importance in the world, a development that is being closely followed by businesses and governments the world over.”

    On choosing Miditech to present this documentary series, Morar explained that the comfort level was largely in place having worked with the production house on various other shows and series in the past.

    “We have worked on several series with Miditech, including another business series entitled Call Centre. Miditech have the requisite skills and resources to produce a series that meets BBC standards. The series has interviewed a vast variety of people including the Minister of Civil Aviation, the heads of private airlines such as Jet, Kingfisher and Spice as well as previous entrants who subsequently withdrew from the market such as Damania. This is probably the most comprehensive examination of India’s aviation industry,” he adds.

    He also explained that Take Off could well be one of the biggest series’ the channel has commissioned with a large number of teams in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore contributing to the making of it. “Given that there are continuing developments in the story of Indian aviation, filming has in fact not been completed. Additional filming has and will continue to be done to ensure that the story is as current as is possible. As BBC World’s commissioning editor, I take a very close interest in the content and am in constant dialogue with the producer on each episode of the series. It is a true collaborative process between BBC World and Miditech,” he says.

    Take Off is just the start of the channel’s India focus. Another show Peschardt’s People, which began airing from 3 March, sees Michael Peschardt touring the Asia Pacific region even as he catches up with people and issues that matter in the particular country. Peschardt’s stop in India will see him explore the appeal of Indian films and a conversation with Bollywood actor Preity Zinta. The actress was earlier roped in by BBC news online to write a regular column for their news website.

    But the flavour of the month is cricket with ICC World Cup Cricket on in full swing by the latter half of the month. And like other news channels, the BBC is also doing the cricket tango with shows like Sport Today and Extra Time.

    Morar also spoke about the other World Cup initiatives by the channel. “Following the success of the interactive programme My World Cup during the Football World Cup in 2006, BBC World will be launching My Cricket World Cup to run throughout the tournament. A twice-weekly show presented by Adnan Nawaz, it will feature regular cricket fans and armchair commentators from across the world. Those who wish to interact with Adnan can do so live via webcam, email or mobile, giving them a chance to have their say about the tournament, games, teams and players.”

    Morar admits that BBC World “has always had a strong affinity with the Indian market and Indian audiences and we also remain firmly committed to output covering India in all its myriad manifestations. There has always been a historic link between the BBC and India and in that sense what we are doing now is simply a continuation of this connection.”

    BBC World has maintained that outside Europe, India is the single most important market for the news channel. The competition from national news channels, especially the addition of English news channels and the CNN-factor, have made BBC World take a re-look at their programming and bring in a stronger Indian perspective. The channel can no longer use the garb of historical connections and will have to work aggressively to compete in this key growing market.

    But Morar brushes aside this fact by stating, “Competition from other broadcasters is not only a fact but is to be welcomed as it enables us to give off our best.”