Category: News Broadcasting

  • McDonald’s spreads more smiles in Mumbai opens its 2nd outlet in Bombay Central

    MUMBAI: Mumbai Central residents who love McDonald’s have good reason to cheer as the worlds leading chain of fast food restaurants; McDonald’s opened its 2nd restaurant in Mumbai Central.

    The restaurant at Bellasis Road, Mumbai Central has added to the chain’s 45 restaurants in the west and south region and is the 20th restaurant in Mumbai. It is spread over an area of 2187sq. ft. with a total seating capacity of 58.

    Commenting on the launch, Mr. Amit Jatia, MD & JV Partner, McDonald’s India (West & South) said, “Mumbai has always been an important market for us from the very beginning. The second restaurant at Mumbai central will continue keeping in line with the McDonald’s tradition of convenience and quality at a single stop and we look forward to the continued support from our customers.”

    McDonald’s Family Restaurant:

    The McDonald’s restaurant at Mumbai Central will continue to deliver the same quality of food, excellent service and a relaxed ambience that it is internationally renowned for. Appreciating and respecting Indian sentiments, McDonald’s has developed a special menu with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences with separate enclosures for vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking.

    In addition, McDonald’s has blended various Indian spices to prepare an extensive vegetarian menu, amongst which are the McVeggie™ Burger, Paneer Salsa Wrap™ and the Shahi Paneer McCurry Pan™. Besides eliminating beef or pork items from its menu, McDonald’s in India has also specially created for the vegetarian consumers; sandwich sauces and soft serves which are eggless and 100% vegetarian.

    Brief Background on McDonald’s:

    McDonald’s is the world’s leading food service retailer with more than 31,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving 50 million customers each day.

    Celebrating 10 years of leadership in food service retailing in India, McDonald’s today has a network of 104 restaurants across the country, with its first restaurant launch way back in 1996. Prior to its launch, the company invested four years to develop its unique cold chain, which has brought about a veritable revolution in food handling, immensely benefiting the farmers at one end and enabling customers to get the highest quality food products, absolutely fresh and at a great value.

    In line with its respect for local culture, India is the first country in the world where McDonald’s does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald’s has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements of vegetarians. Vegetable products are kept separate throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. The mayonnaise and the soft serves are also 100% vegetarian.

    McDonald’s has retained the No. 1 position for 3rd consecutive year in the latest ‘Business World Most Respected Companies of India’, survey in the food retailing industry. The company was also awarded the ‘CNBC Awaaz Consumer Award’ in the ‘Most Preferred Fast Food Company’ category. The company has also been honored with the Images Retail Award in the ‘Catering Services Category’ for the current year.

  • Details of MRPs of pay channels declared by broadcasters

    NEW DELHI: Details of Maximum Retail Prices of the pay channels declared by the Broadcasters for CAS notified areas in terms of clause 7 (ii) of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s Tariff Order dated 31.08.2006.

    Name of the Broadcaster
    Authorized Distributor
    Details of Information on Prices Received. (Rs per subscriber per month) Remarks given by the Broadcasters while declaring the prices
    Star India Pvt Ltd i) Star Plus 5/-, ii) Star Movies 5/-,iii) Star World 5/-, iv) Star Gold 5/-, v) National Geographic Channel 5/-, vi) Vijay 5/-*, vii) Channel(V) 5/-, ix) History Channel 5/-, x) STAR one 5/-, xi) Toon Disney 5/-, x) The Disney Channel 5/-, xii) Hungama 5/-, xiii) NEO Sports 5/-, NEO Sports Plus 5/-. The prices are being filed
    under protest and without prejudice to Star India Private Limited’s rights and contention raised in petitions filed by Star India Private Limited and / or any other parties on the issues. The channel Vijay, Toon Disney
    (Tamil) & The Disney
    channel (English) will
    however, be Free to Air
    in Chennai CAS areas.
    Set Discovery Private Ltd i)Animal Planet 5/-, ii)Animax 5/-, iii)AXN 5/-, iv)Discovery 5/-, v) Discovery Travel & Living 5/-,vi) MTV 5/-, vii)NDTV Profit 5/- viii)NDTV 24/7 -5/-,ix) Nick 5/-, x) SAB 5/-,xi) SET 5/-, xii) SET MAX 5/-,xiii) SET PIX 5/-,xiv) Ten Sports 5/- The MRP shall be effective from 31.12.2006 and is subject to (i) implementation of CAS in the notified areas pursuant to MoI&B’s notification dated 31.07.2006. (ii) Orders that may b e made by the TDSAT in Appear No
    10© of 2006 or in any
    proceedings pending or
    freshly initiated by the
    Broadcaster before any
    forum including the Delhi High Court interalia in relation to TRAI’s Interconnection Regulation dated 24.08.2006 & TRAI’s order dated 31.08.2006
    and Cable Television Networks (Second Amendment ) Rules 2006 dated 31.07.2006. 2. Rates as indicated are applicable in all CAS
    notified areas including
    Chennai area where CAS
    is already in force except
    for NDTV 24X7 and
    NDTV profit which are
    FTA in the CAS notified
    areas of Chennai.
    ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd i) ESPN 5/-, ii)Star Sports 5 /-, The prices are applicable
    only for the CAS environment and are
    subject to modification in
    accordance with applicable law, court order and/ or practice
    Raj Television Network
    Ltd.
    i) RAJTV 5/-ii) RAJ DIGITAL PLUS 5/-,iii)VISSA TV 5/- Bouquet price for all the above three channels Rs.9/- The channels will however be free to air in Chennai CAS area
    B4U Television Network
    (India) Pvt. Ltd.
    B4U Movies Rs 5/per subscriber per
    month.
    ——————–
    SUN TV Limited i)KTV 5/-, ii) Sun Music 5/-, iii)Sun News 5/-, iv)Adithya 5/-,v) Teja News 5/-, vi)Ushe TV 5/-, vii)Udaya News 5/-, viii) M/s Sun TV 5/- The channels will
    however be free to air in
    Chennai CAS area
    Udaya TV i) Udaya TV 5/-, ii) M/s Udaya Movies 5/-,iii) M/s Udaya Varthegalu 5/-. The channels will however be free to air in Chennai CAS area
    Gemini TV Private Ltd., i) Gemini TV 5/-, ii)Teja TV 5/- , iii) Gemini Music 5/-, iv) Gemini News 5/-, v) Gemini Cable Vision 5/- The channels will however be free to air in Chennai CAS area
    Ushodaya Enterprises
    Limited
    i) ETV 5/-, ii)ETV2 5/-, iii)ETV – Bangla 5/-, iv)ETV – Gujrati 5/-, v) ETV – Urdu 5/-, vi) ETV – Marathi 5/-, vii) ETV – Kannada 5/-, viii) ETV – Uttar Pradesh 5/-, ix) ETV – Madhya Pradesh 5/-, x) ETV – Rajasthan 5/-, xi) ETV – Bihar 5/-, ETV Oriya – 5/- ETV Marathi will be
    Free to Air in Mumbai
    notified CAS Areas and
    ETV Bangla will be Free
    to Air in Kolkata notified
    CAS areas.
    M/s BBC World i) BBC world 5/- M/s BBC reserve their rights under law on prices and also the right to change the price should the ceiling change. Will be only Free to Air channel in
  • Increasing security needs of enterprises to fuel growth in the World Content Filtering Market

    MUMBAI: The content filtering landscape is witnessing several changes. Traditionally, the Web, e-mail and instant messaging (IM) filtering markets have evolved separately. The uptake of solutions, especially in the e-mail filtering market, has been successful. As a result, the content filtering market is maturing and existing vendors are expanding and diversifying their product and service portfolios.

    Frost & Sullivan (http://www.networksecurity.frost.com) finds that the World Content Filtering Market earned revenues of $1.31 billion in 2005 and estimates to reach $4.86 billion by 2012.

    If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the World Content Filtering Market, then send an e-mail to Ravinder Kaur – Corporate Communications at ravinder.kaur@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state, and country. We will send you the information via email upon receipt of the above information.

    Although the content filtering industry is maturing, there is growing demand from two areas, the first being security. Content filtering is increasingly overlapping with the broader security field. Malware attacks have increased in spread and potency. These attacks are increasingly motivated by financial gain. Phishing, botnets, denial-of-service and directory harvest attacks have become increasingly common over the last 18 months.

    “Whilst the traditional issues of spam and employee productivity are still driving the content filtering market, protection against malware is becoming a strong driver for market growth,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Katie Gotzen. “With malware attacks becoming more sophisticated in nature, enterprises are eager to protect themselves. As a result, Web and e-mail filtering are becoming useful tools in the security battle of enterprises.”

    The second factor driving market growth is compliance. Legislation such as Sarbanes Oxley and HIPAA in the United States and the Data Protection Directive in Europe increasingly regulate the content of emails that leave an organisation. This is resulting in the increased uptake of email filtering solutions as well.

    “The content filtering market is taking over the IM market as well, since most IM vendors have been bought by content filtering vendors and most content filtering vendors now possess IM filtering capabilities,” notes Ms. Gotzen. The diversification trend also applies to delivery modes. Earlier, vendors delivered solutions in the form of either software, appliances or managed services. This trend has changed and vendors are now offering two or three of the options of software, appliances and managed services.

    Vendors that are competing in only web or e-mail filtering and rely on a single delivery mode are rightfully concerned about their competitive potential. In such a scenario, considering mergers and acquisitions, or partnering in order to diversify their product offerings will prove beneficial. Diversification strategies can include both web and e-mail filtering, strengthening outbound e-mail filtering capabilities, or adding hardware and/or hosted services to product portfolios.

    World Content Filtering Market is part of the Network Security Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: web filtering, email filtering. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.

    Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities.

    Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit www.frost.com.

  • TV9 plans to invest Rs 1.2 billion in regional news channels, Africa operations

    TV9 plans to invest Rs 1.2 billion in regional news channels, Africa operations

    MUMBAI: Hyderabad-based Associated Broadcasting Company PVT Ltd. (ABCL) promoters are planning to invest Rs 1.2 billion in regional news channels and starting African operations.

    ABCL will be pumping in Rs 200 million for TV9 Kannada, the recently launched news channel. The company is also considering launching news channels in Marathi and Gujarati languages which would consume an additional Rs 400 million. “We will take a final call on this in 4-6 months. We hope our Kannada channel, which we launched on 7 December, would have stabilised by then,” says ABCL vice president operations KVN Murthy.

    The promoters plan to expand to Africa through a separate company and initially pump in Rs 600 million for the venture. “We see opportunities there, particularly in cable operations. We are also looking at local language content which would be a mixture of entertainment and news. We plan to initially invest Rs 600 million and are exploring options of going through the joint venture route with a local partner,” says Murth

    ABCL has already invested close to Rs 200 million in TV9 Telugu. The company is 80 per cent owned by iLabs, a venture fund, and Unified Group. The balance 20 per cent is held by Ravi prakash and five other professionals.

    Expansion into other language channels is also on the radar. “We may step into new geographies and are looking at the other regional markets except Tamil and Malayalam where there are entrenched players,” says Murthy.

    The company may raise capital through private placement or dilution to strategic investors if it decides to go ahead with the expansion plans. “We want to first have a strong presence in the two regional markets before we decide to take a look at various valuation opportunities including tapping strategic investors. Our Telugu channel is doing well. We hope TV9 Kannada would break even in 18-20 months,” says Murthy.

    ABCL clocked a revenue of Rs 106 million in FY06. “we expect our revenues to double this fiscal and we should touch Rs 340 million in FY08 through our existing operations alone. We are EBITDA positive since this April,” says Murthy.

  • BBC announces its biggest-ever search for quiz show talent

    BBC announces its biggest-ever search for quiz show talent

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC has announced its biggest-ever search for quiz show talent in the UK to take part in a series – The National Lottery People’s Quiz.

    Throughout January 2007, Jamie Theakston, William G Stewart, Kate Garraway and Myleene Klass will be hosting open auditions across the UK to search for undiscovered quiz show talent.

    Theakston says, “It’s certainly one of the most exciting shows I’ve ever worked on. For the first time the whole nation can compete against each other to find out who is the best quizzer in the country.”

    There are 200,700 chances to take part and contestants must answer ten general knowledge questions correctly in a row to get through to the next round. Pass through the next three rounds successfully and one could be the guaranteed winner.

    In a twist, every question for the initial heats will be published in advance of the auditions, allowing everyone in the UK to test their general knowledge and polish their quiz show skills.

    Questions are available now at bbc.co.uk/peoplesquiz for potential contestants to start practicing their general knowledge.

    But with hundreds of thousands of questions on subjects ranging from Posh and Becks to party politics, only the very brightest will make it through to the final and the chance to win a cash prize.

  • YouTube, Chevrolet, Warner Music Group present New Year’s Eve countdown

    YouTube, Chevrolet, Warner Music Group present New Year’s Eve countdown

    MUMBAI: Online video sharing site YouTube and Warner Music Group (WMG) have announced the YouTube New Year’s Eve Countdown presented by Chevrolet.

    The promotion will celebrate New Year’s as it happens around the world with new videos featured every hour from New Zealand to Los Angeles.

    As New Year’s Eve rings in around the world, special messages from YouTube celebrities Boh3m3, Smosh, Terra Naomi, Renetto, Chad Vadar, The WineKone and YourTube News, as well as award-winning artists from WMG labels Atlantic Records, Warner Bros. Records and Warner Music International will be featured on the homepage.

    In addition to videos from YouTube personalities, WMG will provide special video content from New Year’s celebrations with its artists as well as music videos and concert footage. ‘Almost-live’ videos from New Year’s concerts will be uploaded directly from the venues as the events occur with ShoZu-enabled mobile phones, featuring Fueled By Ramen/Atlantic Records artist Panic! At the Disco from New York City’s Times Square, Atlantic Records artist Paolo Nutini from Scotland and Warner Bros. Records artists The Flaming Lips and the Goo Goo Dolls from Los Angeles, Mike Jones from Houston, Muse, My Chemical Romance from New York City’s Times Square and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The New Year’s Channel will also feature comedy skits from select performers as well as specially recorded live songs for the event.

    YouTube director of advertising strategy Jamie Byrne says, “Our community served as the inspiration behind this idea. In 2006 we witnessed an influx of New Year’s resolution and celebration video postings as the New Year began. Thanks to support from our users, Chevrolet, and exclusive content from Warner Music Group artists, we will be able to offer a special venue for the community and the world to share their New Year’s celebrations and begin a new tradition.”

    YouTube is encouraging users to upload their New Year’s resolutions and wishes for a chance to be featured on the homepage alongside the YouTube celebrities and Warner Music Group artists. Users can upload their videos in a special New Year’s YouTube group at www.youtube.com/group/newyears.

    Warner Music Group states that it is continually seeking new ways to empower our artists and their fans. This New Year’s Eve Bash with YouTube further redefines how its artists and fans are coming together around the world through platforms that are transforming all of our lives.

    On 31 December and 1 January 2007, Chevrolet will serve as the exclusive sponsor of YouTube which will feature a special edition homepage to host all of the specially created New Year’s content.

    Chevrolet GM Ed Peper says, “New Year’s Eve is a truly global holiday and Chevrolet is a truly global brand. We sell cars and trucks in more than 120 countries around the world, so we’re very happy to be part of YouTube’s worldwide stage to showcase how different cultures celebrate New Year’s Eve”.

    Featured New Year’s YouTube messages will be posted by WMG artists including Adrienne Pauly, Beatsteaks, Big and Rich, Blake Shelton, Bloc Party, Brainstorm, Crime Mob, Cute Is What We Aim For, and Danity Kane.

  • ‘The Simpsons’ ring in 2007 with New Year resolutions

    ‘The Simpsons’ ring in 2007 with New Year resolutions

    MUMBAI: The characters of the popular television show The Simpsons have announced their New Year resolutions. In India the show airs on Star World. In the US Fox will air new episodes from 7 January 2007.

    Homer’s resolve is to lose 10 pounds, and then gain it back by Valentines Day.

    Marge’s resolve is to finally learn how to make pancakes that dont stick to the pan. Bart helped me come up with that one.

    Krusty says that in 2007, she promises not to keep using the same old jokes she has been telling since 1961.

    Barney resolves to quit drinking coffee. It leaves less room for beer.

  • Jump Games, Reliance Communications launch gaming contest ‘Don Kaun’

    Jump Games, Reliance Communications launch gaming contest ‘Don Kaun’

    MUMBAI: Jump Games and Reliance Communications have announced the launch of nation-wide mega mobile contest ‘Don Kaun’ on the Reliance Mobile World platform.

    The grand winner of the contest will win a date with the Bollywood actor Sameera Reddy. Other daily, weekly and monthly winners can take home gifts like Ipods, PS IIs, XBoxs along with a Plasma TV for one lucky winner, asserts an official release.

    The contest will sport Jump Games’ ten Mobile games that include titles like Sameera the Street Fighter, Bappi Da Disco King, Run Maddy Run and Baichung Bhutia – Pro Striker as well as a few international titles like Maradona and Van Damme Kick Boxing.

    The games featuring in the contest will be available for Reliance Mobile World (R World) subscribers across the country. The users will be able to access the games on Reliance Mobile World. To be eligible to take part, users need to submit high scores for each game.

    Commenting on the contest, Jump Games CEO Salil Bhargava said, “Mobile gaming is on a steady rise in India and this countrywide contest on Reliance Mobile World is an excellent platform to reach out to our audiences. We have some of our best games up for Don Kaun Contest and we hope that people have a good time playing them and of course, winning prizes that are up for grabs.”

    Reliance Communications president application solutions and content group Mahesh Prasad added, “Reliance Mobile’s innovative sachet-based pricing for mobile games has created a large mobile gaming community within the Reliance network. The Don Kaun contest is sure to create excitement among our subscribers.”

  • PHL dresses up with 30 foreign players

    PHL dresses up with 30 foreign players

    MUMBAI: The Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), ESPN Star Sports (ESS)and Leisure Sports Management (LSM) have announced the names of the foreign players who will play in the third edition of the Premier Hockey League (PHL).

    These players will be allocated to the teams keeping in mind their strengths and the slot available. For the first time international players from seven countries will play in PHL with big names from nations like Australia, Netherlands and Spain. Pakistan and Netherlands top the imports with 12 and eight players respectively scheduled to play in league starting on 4 January in Chennai.

    Some of the key names include Jamie Dwyer- the goal scorer from Australia, Santi Freixa from Spain- the best FIH player and Junior Player of the World, Pakistani Hockey team captain Rehan Butt, Sander van der Weide- a multiple medal winner with the Dutch hockey team among others.

    The foreign players have been classified to play in short stints and some of them will play in the Chennai leg of the league and some will join their respective teams for the Chandigarh leg. The Pakistani players will however stay on for a longer duration.

    IHF president KPS Gill said, “We are looking at a much bigger and more competitive league this season. With only one tier featuring seven top teams and 30 foreign players confirmed, I am sure Indian Hockey will be the winner at the end of it all.”

    ESPN Software India MD R C Venkateish said, “It was essential to bring in foreign players to give the league, the players and the viewers a competitive and international standard of Hockey in the country. These players will not only raise the standard of the game but also provide an interesting dimension to the viewers. We are on verge of taking the Hockey broadcast to the next level. We realise that there is a strong need to make the game of Hockey more and more viewer friendly.”

    LSM MD SS Dasgupta said, “The players have been chosen keeping in mind their skill set and they will be allocated to the seven PHL teams in accord with the need and requirements of each team that will be discussed in consultation with the IHF, the coach and the captain of the team.”

  • BBC viewers vote ‘Casino Royale’ as top film of the year

    BBC viewers vote ‘Casino Royale’ as top film of the year

    MUMBAI: Viewers of UK pubcaster the BBC’s show Film 2006 With Jonathan Ross have votd the Bond film Casino Royale as the film of the year.

    Having visited Bond sets in the Bahamas and Buckinghamshire, the show’s host Jonathan Ross was delighted to see his own enthusiasm for Casino Royale being matched by the voters.

    He says, “Daniel Craig is a magnificent Bond and Casino Royale is a daring and spectacular success.”

    The top 10 films voted were

    1) Casino Royale
    2) The Wind that Shakes the Barley
    3) Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
    4) Children Of Men
    5) Little Miss Sunshine
    6) Clerks II
    7) Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Kazakhstan
    8) Pan’s Labyrinth
    9) Superman Returns
    10) The Prestige.