ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • Fremantlemedia looks to put a twist on romance

    Fremantlemedia looks to put a twist on romance

    MUMBAI: Television format owner and creator Fremantle Media North America (FMNA), which produces American Idol for Fox, America’s Got Talent for NBC and The Price Is Right for CBS, has inked a one-year, first-look deal with best-selling novelist, Jackie Collins.

    As part of the deal, Collins will work with FMNA’s scripted division to create new romantic television dramas based on both original ideas and existing novels.

    FMNA CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz says, “This partnership is the perfect creative marriage. We are excited to work with a literary legend whose ingenious ideas match our expertise in developing and producing original programming.”

    Collins says, “I am delighted to be in business with Fremantle. They are a forward-thinking, extremely productive and innovative company with a great creative spirit and a fine team to back everything up.”

    In addition to this new deal, Collins will also release her 25th book entitled Drop Dead Beautiful: The Continuing Adventures of Lucky Santangelo. This is the fifth book in the Santangelo series, which will be published by St. Martin’s Press in July. Lucky/Chances, starring Nicollette Sheridan, and Lady Boss, starring Kim Delaney, were turned into two very successful, highly-rated miniseries for NBC, both written and executive produced by Collins herself.

    Collins started writing as a teenager, creating steamy stories her schoolmates paid to devour. Her first book, The World is Full of Married Men became a sensational best-seller with its open sexuality and honest depiction of the gender double standard. Eight best-selling novels later, Collins wrote the international sensation Hollywood Wives,which later became one of ABC’s highest-rated miniseries, produced by Aaron Spelling and starring Anthony Hopkins and Candice Bergen.

  • CNN goes live for the first time with 3G

    CNN goes live for the first time with 3G

    MUMBAI: CNN International has made its first ever global television broadcast from a mobile phone, live from the 3GSM conference in Barcelona. As part of CNN’s coverage from the conference, CNN went live to millions worldwide via the 3G network shortly after 7pm Hong Kong time, Monday February 12.

    The ‘live via phone’ ninety second piece was broadcast by CNN International correspondent Jim Boulden for the daily news show, ‘Business International’ and opened CNN’s coverage from 3GSM trade show.

    Tony Maddox senior vice president of news operations for CNN International said: “This new development underlines CNN’s clear commitment to developing 3G technology in news gathering. By adopting emerging technologies, CNN continues to lead the way in reporting from the field. 3G technology is enabling our correspondents to deliver packages and live broadcasts both quickly and easily from wherever they are in the world. This is an important demonstration of how we are evolving our newsgathering abilities using the latest technologies.”

    Working with mobile technology partner Ericsson, CNN has invested in digital newsgathering which enables its global correspondents to add 3G phones to their reporting tools. The technology has already been tested through live reports on CNN’s broadband service, CNN Pipeline, but this is the first time the news network has used mobile devices for live television.

  • Citizen journalism, blogging to grow in importance in journalism in the US: Survey

    MUMBAI: A majority of Americans (55 per cent ) in an online survey said that bloggers are important to the future of American journalism. 74 per cent said that citizen journalism will play a vital role. The results are contained in a new We Media — Zogby Interactive poll.

    Most respondents (53 per cent) also said that the rise of free Internet-based media pose the greatest opportunity to the future of professional journalism and three in four (76 per cent) said the Internet has had a positive impact on the overall quality of journalism.

    The We Media survey results were released by iFOCOS and pollster John Zogby as part of an iFocos conference on media innovation hosted by the School of Communication at the University of Miami, with major support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In the national survey of adults, 72 per cent said that they were dissatisfied with the quality of American journalism today. A majority of conference-goers who were polled on the subject agreed — 55 per cent said they were dissatisfied, and 61 per cent said that they believed that traditional journalism is out of touch with what Americans want from their news.

    Nearly nine out of 10 media insiders (86 per cent) believe that bloggers will play an important part in journalism’s future. The US is now seeing mainstream acceptance of what the survey calls the Power of Us – – the value, credibility, and vital expression of citizen and collaborative media, Until recently, many traditional news enterprises have been skeptical about We Media. They were either fearful or dismissive of our 2003 research forecasting and documenting the change in the media ecosystem. Now the Zogby poll provides additional evidence that “We Media” is an essential component — perhaps the essential component — for the agenda for news and information into the future.

    iFocos co- founder Andrew Nachison says, “The research documents the widespread recognition that control and influence on how we know what we know is shifting to a vastly more distributed network of empowered individuals and organisations. This obviously will have a big impact on how media organisations evolve and conduct business, but it’s really about how we all discover, create, share and apply information, and that’s important to all industries, to entrepreneurs, to non-profits, to governments, to individuals and to society as a whole. We are all part of the ecosystem.”

  • Bhaskar Group launches MY FM in Chandigarh

    Bhaskar Group launches MY FM in Chandigarh

    MUMBAI: Bhaskar Group announced the launch of its second FM station in Chandigarh. The group’s first station was launched in Jaipur in May 2006.

    The music of MY FM – Chandigarh ranges from popular Hindi film music to Indipop. Keeping the local listenership in mind, Punjabi pop, fusion, remixes, retro music and evergreen ghazals will also be part of its music mix. The tag line of the FM station is MY FM 94.3 Dil Sey.

    The station promises on the hour, every hour contests for its listeners while the weekend programming will have shows like Boss ka Boss featuring the better half of a corporate honcho, Sunday Ki Awaaz which allows one lucky winners to be an RJ for a special Sunday show, My Mehfil for the lovers of ghazals and Dhol Wajda playing the best of Punjabi pop.

    My FM national programming head Viplove Gupte says, “MY FM is going to be one of the most exciting brands to watch out for in the radio business. My FM is uniquely placed in the FM arena with presence of Print linkages with the dominant Newspaper in terms of Dainik Bhaskar and Divya Bhaskar.

    The FM will leverage this to provide interactive radio programming and a 360-degree experience for the listener. We expect My FM to soon cultivate a large unique set of loyal listener community.”

    Says MY FM station head Richa Sharma “Chandigarh is a unique city and to have its own private radio station will push the city among the top league of like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and others. My FM is value for money to its advertisers by offering customized solutions and focused audience. Even today the reach of radio is more than that of television.”

    MY FM will be launching soon in Bhopal, Indore, Gwalior, Nagpur, Raipur, Jabalpur, Bilaspur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota, Ahmedabad, Surat, Amritsar & Jalandhar.

  • More than 2 lakh lines per day added to the telecom network

    MUMBAI: The New Year started with the addition of about 6.78 million phones in the number of telecom subscribers during the month of January 2007 – an average daily addition of more than two lakh lines. As a result, the total number of telephones in the country, now has gone up to 196.7 million thereby registering a growth of 3.5%.

    Almost the entire growth registered during the month was in the wireless segment – with GSM contributing 4.99 million and CDMA contributing 1.79 million. With this, the overall teledensity now stands at 17.45%. However, it may be noted that there was a marginal decrease of about five thousand subscribers in the fixed line segment.

    Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat telecom circles added more than 3.7 lakh each in the GSM segment, followed by the Karnataka circle (3.5 lakh). In the CDMA segment, the total subscriber base registered a growth of 3.9% with a net addition of 1.73 million subscribers. Maharashtra telecom circle contributed the maximum to this addition. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra circles added more than 5 lakh subscribers each during the month.

    The growth of broadband connections improved further and at the end of December 2006, about 2.03 million broadband connections were provided and coverage of broadband connectivity by public sector service providers has reached 762 cities. The total number of existing ISP licencees is 385.

    Under Bharat Nirman Programme, out of the 66,822 villages, so far 38795 villages have been provided with Village Public Telephones (VPTs). The remaining 28027 villages are to be covered by November, this year.

  • Alcatel-Lucent wins contract for 2 mn GSM lines with ITI for MTNL’s network expansion

    BANGALORE: Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) and ITI, India’s largest telecom equipment manufacturing company, today announced a contract to supply and install 2 million lines for MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited) based on advanced wireless communications technology.

     

    This multi-million euro contract covers the expansion of MTNL’s radio access and next-generation core network in Mumbai, India, and is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s GSM/EDGE and W-CDMA/HSPA technologies. It further demonstrates Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in high-growth economies such as India.

     

    Alcatel-Lucent and ITI have a long-term collaboration agreement for the production and deployment of Alcatel-Lucent’s latest generation GSM/EDGE and W-CDMA/HSPA solutions in India. The technology provided through this new contract will make it possible for MTNL to increase its customer base and deliver high-quality voice and other communications services to its subscribers in Mumbai. MTNL expects to begin commercially offering these services later this year.

     

    “We are proud of the fact that with the deployment of these 2 million mobile lines employing advanced wireless technologies from Alcatel-Lucent, we will enable MTNL to become the first telecom operator in India to provide third-generation services to its subscribers,” said ITI CMD, Mr. Pritam Singh.

     

    “With the deepest and broadest wireless portfolio in the industry, and being the long-standing partner of ITI in India, we are bringing the latest third-generation technology to India,” said Olivier Picard, President of Alcatel–Lucent’s Europe and South activities. “This advanced technology will provide the high quality of service that the people of India deserve. Our goal is to create long-term value for all our customers by addressing their most critical challenges.”

     

    Alcatel-Lucent has more than 170 GSM/EDGE customers in more than 90 countries, making it a leading player in providing mobile communications solutions. As a global leader in the development and deployment of third-generation (3G) networks, Alcatel-Lucent has deployed commercial 3G (CDMA2000 and W-CDMA/HSPA) systems for more than 70 operators worldwide.

  • CNN-IBN and IBN 7 celebrate Valentine’s Day

    MUMBAI: CNN-IBN and IBN 7 celebrate Valentine’s Day

    Mumbai: CNN-IBN and IBN 7 will present a line up of special programming for Valentine’s Day.

    The season finale of Minus 30 will also be a Valentine’s special. The show will feature host Paras Tomar probing people both famous and ordinary trying to answer that multi million-dollar question – What is love?

    IBN 7 on the other hand has come up with a programme series especially for the occasion called ‘Kambhakt Ishq’, which involves short, realistic and highly dramatic stories surrounding different couples. The series’ grand finale on February 14th at 7 pm will bring together these narratives in a half hour episode to create that ultimate Valentine’s special!

    “Valentine’s is a special occasion for most. Programmes on both CNN-IBN and IBN 7 have been designed to reflect this sentiment and help our viewers celebrate the festival of love”, says CNN IBN and IBN 7 editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai.

    “I have no doubt that ‘Kambakht Ishq’ will be a runaway success, especially with our young audience,” says, IBN 7 managing editor IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh.

  • SBI Mutual Fund is the Mutual Fund of the year at CNBC-TV18 – CRISIL Mutual Fund Awards

    MUMBAI: In a glittering ceremony, CNBC-TV18, India’s leading Business Medium and CRISIL, India’s premier ratings agency announced the most sought after and valued Mutual Fund Award in the country – ‘CNBC-TV18 – CRISIL Mutual Fund of the Year Award’.

     

    Mark Tucker, Chief Executive of Prudential & Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive, Fund Management, Prudential Corporation Asia spoke on the performance of mutual funds across the world, emerging trends, investor reactions and expectations setting the tone for the evening. This was followed by a p anel discussion with Mr Ramesh Damani, Mr Jaikumar, Mr Kela and Mr Naganathan moderated by Udayan Mukherjee.

     

    As the most powerful radar to prosperity, the CNBC TV18 and CRISIL Mutual Fund of the Year awards performance and consistency in wealth creation of enterprising fund houses for the year 2006. These Awards, based on CRISIL’s objective and analytically rigorous CRISIL~CPR methodology, are the ultimate test in performance and consistency on one of the most distinguished platform.

     

    These awards are the Investors most definite guide to the best managed fund house in the country. It brings together the world’s most renowned investment experts and shares their ideas, philosophies and predictions.

    The winners in the various categories at the Mutual Fund of the Year were:

    Category
    Winner
    Large Cap Oriented Equity Funds DSP Merrill Lynch Opportunities Fund Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus
    Diversified Equity Funds SBI Magnum Global Fund
    SBI Magnum Sector Umbrella – Contra Fund
    Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Midcap
    ELSS SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993
    Income Funds Principal Income Fund
    UTI Bond Fund
    Income Short Reliance Short Term Fund
    Balanced Funds HDFC Prudence Fund
    SBI Magnum Balanced Fund
    Liquid Funds HDFC Cash Management Fund – Savings Plan
    UTI Liquid cash plan
    Liquid Funds Institutional Tata Liquid Fund – SHIP
    Liquid Funds Super Institutional UTI Liquid Cash Plan – Institutional Plan
    Gilt Funds Long Reliance Gilt Securities Fund – Long Term Plan
    Templeton India G-Sec Fund – Long Term Plan
    MIP Aggressive HDFC Monthly Income Plan – LTP
    MIP Conservative Prudential ICICI MIP Plan – Cumulative
    Floating Rate Funds (Long term) Principal Floating Rate Fund – Flexible Maturity Plan
    Floating Rate Funds (Short term) HDFC Floating Rate Income Fund – Short Term Plan
    Sectoral –IT SBI Magnum Sector Umbrella – Infotech Fund
    Emerging Fund of the Year (diversified equity) Prudential ICICI Infrastructure Fund
    Mutual Fund of the Year SBI Mutual Fund

    In addition to leaders from various fund houses, luminaries from India’s financial services sector including senior regulators, leading economists and analysts witnessed a host of awards being presented to various mutual funds for their consistent performance over time on the CRISIL~CPR performance rankings framework.

     

    Commenting on the methodology Rupa Kudva, ED & Chief Rating Officer,CRISIL, said “The fund house of the year award is given to the mutual fund which performs well in CRISIL’s CPR framework, has a good presence across categories, and wins at least 2 category level awards”

     

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Haresh Chawla, CEO, TV18 Group said, “The size of the Mutual fund industry is a burgeoning Rs 3,39,662 crore indicating the popularity enjoyed by Mutual funds amongst investors who want to participate in India’s growth story. Increased popularity in Mutual funds as an investment avenue and a spurt in the number of innovative mutual funds calls for a robust, unbiased and objective evaluation of the annual performances of funds. Since its inception, ‘The CNBC-TV18 – CRISIL Mutual Fund of the Year Award’ has established a benchmark for excellence in the Mutual Fund industry and has over the years, assisted investors to make the right choices in their mutual fund investments.”

     

    Speaking on the initiative, Mr. Ashvin Arora, Director, OptiMix, said, “CNBC Mutual Fund awards is a landmark event in the Indian Mutual Fund Industry, which recognizes and rewards the best managed fund houses on the basis of objective performance criteria laid down by Crisil. As India’s first multi-manager, Optimix identifies best of breed mutual funds and blends them together into separate products, so that optimal combinations of expertise and style are available to the investor. The Optimix process helps the investor with superior, consistent wealth creation. All in all, this is a great fit and we are proud to be associated with the CNBC TV-18-Crisil Mutual Fund Awards 2007. My heartiest congratulations to the winners of this prestigious award.”

  • CNN : Food for thought

    MUMBAI: CNN International show ‘Global office’ sees the innovative business show setting its sights on one of the few industries that can boast of year on year growth: the food and drinks business. In this episode, CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout looks at the one of the fastest growing sectors of the food industry, the reinvention of a centuries-old beverage company, and one man who is looking to preach his culinary gospel beyond his home shores.

    Eating healthily has turned organic farming into a hugely lucrative industry, with global sales of organic food approaching US$ 40 billion a year. Global office looks at how major supermarket chains are taking advantage of the organic trend and assesses whether it is driven by altruistic goals or pure profit.

    From there the show visits the headquarters of the largest beverage company in the world. Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks manufacturer, whose brands include Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Baileys and Crown Royale, and Global office spends time with CEO Paul Walsh to discuss the delicate balancing act that is marketing the company’s alcoholic brands, and promoting sensible drinking.

    After five cookbooks, three hot restaurants and a globally syndicated cooking show, Australian celebrity chef Bill Granger is ready to take the world by storm. Bill is now looking to expand his brand beyond the shores of his home country; and he’s set his sights on the country where his passion for food began: Japan. But will diners there be enraptured by Bill’s creations? Global office finds out.

    Airtimes: India

    Sat, February 17 at 1400 and 2000
    Sun, February 18 at 0100 and 1800
    Mon, February 19 at 1200
    Thurs, February 22 at 2000
    Fri, February 23 at 1200

  • Design and innovation unite Motorola’s announcements at 3GSM World Congress; showcasing compelling mobile experiences

    BANGALORE: Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT), a global leader in wireless communications, today delivered compelling mobile experiences with a portfolio of devices and solutions that demonstrate the company’s leadership in design, music, media, high-speed performance, wireless broadband and connecting the unconnected.

    “What better place than 3GSM World Congress to show how Motorola’s latest products and services are making seamless mobility real?” said Ron Garriques, president of Motorola Mobile Devices. “This year we’ll be demonstrating wickedly cool and compelling products that are making on the go and always-on entertainment and communication a personal reality for everyone, as well as the solutions and services which enable our customers to deliver them to their consumers.”

    Goodbye low bandwidth; HELLO mobile TV

    Motorola has further defined its ‘no compromise’ commitment to quality high-speed performance with a series of new HSDPA-enabled handsets.

    The MOTORIZR™ Z8 provides quick downloads of streamed media via ultra-fast HSDPA technology. With a multimedia feature set that includes a brilliant 16 million colour 35x50mm QVGA full screen display, MOTORIZR Z8 boasts outstanding video quality playback with speeds of up to 30 frames per second.

    The unprecedented entertainment experience is brought to life via a partnership with BSkyB* which will users to access Sky’s mobile content services. As well as offering access to an on-demand library of updating news, entertainment and sports, Sky’s ‘Anytime’ application also provides an access point to Sky’s range of live mobile TV services. Anytime also allows customers to use their mobile phone to programme their Sky+ boxes remotely.?

    MOTORIZR Z8 features Motorola’s first ever “kick slider”, a graceful mechanism that achieves a “fit-to-face” profile by gliding open in a curve to match the contour of your face.

    The new MOTOKRZR™ K3** is where Motorola style meets performance. The handset features the beautiful MOTOKRZR design language, while providing a full multimedia experience through HSDPA connectivity. The MOTOKRZR K3 is a cool wireless high-speed multimedia handset, incorporating no compromise use of colour, materials and finishes.

    Goodbye Office; HELLO Liberated Lifestyle

    Motorola has expanded its award-winning MOTOQ™ platform with the new MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm — two experience-optimized QWERTYs for HSDPA and GSM/EDGE networks designed to. Delivering power, style and ease-of-use, with features and functions uniquely their own, MOTO Q q9 and MOTO Q gsm continue to evolve the mobile office experience and personalize productivity for users worldwide.

    MOTO Q q9 rounds out Motorola’s HSDPA portfolio and sets a new standard for smartphones, delivering power, richer messaging and multimedia experiences and even better basics for consumers and professionals who want it all. Operating on the new Windows Mobile 6 platform with Motorola’s Good Mobile Messaging technology, MOTO Q q9 provides easy and intuitive personal and corporate email, as well as Windows Mobile “PlaysForSure” enabling compatibility with hundreds of music and video stores worldwide. ?

    The second handset built on Motorola’s SCPL platform, MOTO Q q9 is thin, lightweight, and sophisticated with an ergonomically-optimized keyboard and five-way navigation key to enable fast, no compromises text entry. MOTO Q q9 also boasts one of the world’s smartest screen displays, automatically adjusting to produce the best visual experience, indoor or out.

    MOTO Q gsm retains all the productivity features and style of the original CDMA-based MOTOQ while adding a few new twists. MOTO Q gsm features quad-band GPRS and EDGE capabilities to deliver worldwide connectivity?, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6 software for flexibility and power, as well as a full suite of multimedia and messaging options.

    Goodbye isolation; HELLO Connectivity

    Motorola was connecting the unconnected even before we were awarded the GSM Association’s Emerging Market Handset programmes in 2005 and 2006.

    Together with the GSM Association (GSMA) and MTC Namibia, we’re announcing at 3GSM the first trial for wind and solar power systems to support the African operator’s remote GSM cell sites. Such systems provide an alternative to the main grid electricity supply or diesel driven generators in remote areas. The cell site will remain a part of MTC Namibia’s current wireless network and continue to carry the same levels of traffic.

    Goodbye four walls; Hello super-fast wireless broadband

    Motorola is delivering WIMAX today; infrastructure that delivers super-fast wireless broadband. As well as offering compelling network economics, Motorola WiMAX transforms services. And we’re showing an impressive range of engaging WiMAX experiences at 3GSM. These include: a look at the possibilities presented by advanced interactive gaming; high quality, live video conferencing between laptops and mobile devices; and true mobile WiMAX TV. Extensive multimedia and content services also promise to captivate.

    Goodbye Low Tier; HELLO MOTOMOBILE Experience

    Motorola’s mass market success is set to continue with the introduction of an expanded MOTOMOBILE portfolio. The new portfolio will bring enhanced features and a rich mobile experience to the next billion mobile users with all the style and innovation of Motorola’s higher-end devices.

    The new MOTOMOBILE portfolio now includes features such as mega-pixel camera, speakerphone, MP3 playback and video functionality, as well as Motorola’s CrystalTalk™ technology, making it easy to hold conversations in noisy environments.

    The MOTOMOBILE line up includes Motorola’s W510, offering the best in design and value with uncompromised functionality. This stylish clamshell features sleek MOTOKRZR inspired design and boasts a vibrant 262k colour TFT screen.

    Motorola also announced MOTOSLVR™ L9, merging powerful multimedia features with Motorola’s sleek MOTOSLVR form factor. MOTOSLVR L9 provides a rich visual entertainment experience via its 2.0 mega-pixel camera and full screen landscape playback as well as an integrated FM radio with a dedicated key.

    Goodbye Boredom, Hello Music for the Masses

    Motorola’s music heritage continues to bring a rich mobile music experience to consumers. As part of the portfolio, Motorola has announced MOTORIZR Z6, a multimedia masterpiece with the latest music features and a powerful digital imaging platform.

    MOTORIZR Z6 is Motorola’s first Linux-Java software based handset that incorporates Windows Media technology allowing users to sync music to their phone from over 200 music stores worldwide.?

    The handset’s dedicated music key, enhanced audio capabilities and integrated music player, with support for multiple music formats, provides a compelling music experience.

    Cutting edge Bluetooth® enabled accessories for wireless music streaming round out the music experience including the new Motorola Bluetooth Stereo Active Headphones S9, which delivers a true hands-free music experience for consumers.

    Motorola has also announced key alliances; including Warner Music Group, which will create compelling mobile scenarios on mobile devices with products such as MOTO EP (Experience Pack), a single download that contains a series of music-based products that provide a rich multimedia experience.?

    Goodbye street search; Hello mobile navigation

    Motorola has taken Bluetooth wireless technology on the road with its new Phone-based Navigation System T805 and T815 featuring MOTONAV. MOTONAV adds turn-by-turn GPS navigation to compatible Bluetooth enabled handsets4 providing exact locations, on-screen maps and turn-by-turn spoken and visual directions. The compact T805 and T815 GPS receivers fit easily in the user’s pocket and come complete with a car charger, phone holder and flexible mounting options. The T805 comes with a 12-month MOTONAV national subscription, while the T815 includes MOTONAV loaded on a memory card.