ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • Star India unveils interactive audio service ‘Voice’

    Star India unveils interactive audio service ‘Voice’

    MUMBAI: Star Entertainment has launched what it claims as the organisation’s biggest endeavor in the mobile entertainment space Star 7827 Voice. The interactive audio- service is kicking off with an audio-episode of Star Plus’s new prime-time show Karam Apnaa Apnaa.

    The audio episode will launch on 23 August, ahead of the soap’s premiere, which is scheduled for 29 August.

    To explore Star 7827 Voice, mobile subscribers can dial in 127827 from their BSNL mobile phones and say ‘STAR’ to get a sneak preview of what the new show Karam Apnaa Apnaa, is all about. This service will also be extended to other telecom subscribers in the due course, informs an official release.

    This May, Star India had announced a slew of initiatives to enhance & expand its services from television-focused interactivity to entertainment specially created and aggregated for the mobile screen through Star 7827.

    Says Star India Interactive senior VP Viren Popli on the new initiative, “Star 7827 is one of the key focus areas of our business and by creating such special content, we have put together an offering that synergizes our programming strength with global learnings of entertainment ‘on the go’. We will continue to make such efforts and refresh our content to offer compelling entertainment for our mobile & television consumers.”

    Adds Star India marketing’s Satya Raghavan, “Star Plus’ new prime time show Karam Apnaa Apnaa is one of the biggest launches of the year for us, therefore we wanted to extend the service of Star 7827 Voice, first with this show. Going forward we would integrate this interactive service with other ongoing programs of the channel, as well. This platform is really our endeavor to reach the consumer further, and deliver him content at his convenience and time, so he can catch up with his favorite programs, which will help him to be abreast of all that is happening on television, even when he is on the move.”

  • R & D facility in Bangalore will work on key components of SanDisk products

    BANGALORE, INDIA, FEBRUARY 7, 2006 – SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced the opening of SanDisk India Device Design Center Pvt. Ltd. in the country’s technology hub of Bangalore, where engineers will work on the core elements of the company’s flash memory products. The announcement was made at a press conference in Bangalore that was attended by Sanjay Mehrotra, SanDisk chief operating officer, and other company officials.

    “India is a logical place for us to expand our global network of research and development centers because of the great talent pool here and because of our existing relationships with companies that support us in hardware, firmware and software testing,” said Mehrotra, who is also SanDisk’s co-founder.

    India, he added, is expected to become a major market for SanDisk products as a result of booming consumer demand for mobile phones and MP3 audio players. “We need to have a solid presence to promote our brand and to leverage the opportunities for growth in the retail sector,” he said. “As we increase our production of flash memory this year, we intend to focus more attention on India, including the addition of more distributors and storefronts.”

    The SanDisk India Design Center will initially concentrate on projects involving NAND memory – the heart of SanDisk’s flash memory cards, USB drives and MP3 players. Later, the team will be expanded to include development work on ASIC controllers, which are the gatekeepers for data in flash memory cells.

    Although the India Design Center is SanDisk’s first stand-alone facility in India, the company already has engineers assigned to several projects at two SanDisk technology partners in India, Wipro and RelQ. Wipro is the world’s largest third party R&D services provider, offering design engineering, product lifecycle management and product realization. RelQ is an independent software testing and validation company. Both have major operations in Bangalore. In total, SanDisk currently has approximately 60 engineers among the three facilities.

    Mehrotra noted that SanDisk’s rapid growth as the leading supplier of flash memory cards requires global strategies in design and manufacturing. In addition to its extensive R & D activities in Silicon Valley, California, SanDisk has research facilities in Israel, Japan and Scotland. And the company has teams of process/device/design engineers located at the semiconductor fabrication plants that are operated in partnership with Toshiba in Japan.

    Ceremonies inaugurating the Design Center were also attended by Yoram Cedar, SanDisk’s executive vice president of handset business and corporate engineering; Tom Baker, vice president of human resources; and Simon Stolero, vice president of Israel operations.

    SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world’s largest supplier of flash data storage card products, using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S

  • Mauj Telecom wins Red Herring Asia 100 Award

    Mauj Telecom wins Red Herring Asia 100 Award

    MUMBAI: Mauj Telecom, the wireless solutions provider, has emerged as a ‘Red Herring Asia 100 Winner’, an award programme that recognises the most promising private technology companies in the region.

    Red Herring’s lists of top private companies are an important part of the renowned magazine’s tradition of identifying new and innovative technology firms and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google and eBay were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors as companies that would change the way we live and work, states an official release.

    After receiving more than 600 submissions and nominations from across countries in Asia, Red Herring’s editorial staff rigorously evaluated Mauj Telecom and the other contenders through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy and dedication to research and development. The Red Herring 100 Asia companies are at the forefront of the technologies that are changing our lives in profound ways, the release adds.

    Mauj Telecom CEO Arun Gupta says, “Mauj Telecom in less than three years is established as the Gold Standard in the Mobile Entertainment business in India. We are continually pushing to set new standards in mobile entertainment by delivering a broad range of exclusive and highly compelling content,applications and services on the mobile phone and that is revolutionizing the way people experience entertainment on the move, transforming the mobile into the fourth screen for entertainment after Cinema, TV and PC. Mobile media channel is one of the biggest opportunities of this century and Mauj Telecom is very excited to be at the vanguard of this business.”

  • Bahl sells 275,000 TV18 shares to Network 18 Fincap

    Bahl sells 275,000 TV18 shares to Network 18 Fincap

    MUMBAI: Network 18 Fincap Pvt Ltd (previously known as SGA Finance and Management Services Private Limited) has acquired 275,000 equity shares from the promoter Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), Raghav Bahl for Rs 183.1 million.

    So far, Bhal has transferred 1,275,000 shares to Network 18 Fincap for an approximate amount of Rs 800 million in less than a months’ time.

    For the record, he sold 200,000 shares at Rs 609 on 18 August, followed by 300,000 equity shares at Rs 601 on 14 August, 300,000 shares at Rs 640 on 4 August and 200,000 at Rs 650.25 on 3 August to Network 18 Fincap.

    The transaction was executed by way of block deal on the stock exchange, TV18 said. “Pursuant to the sanction to the scheme of arrangement by the Hon’ble High Court of Judicature at Delhi, Network 18 Fincap Pvt Ltd has acquired 2,75,000 shares from Bahl,” a statement TV18 posted on the BSE declared.

  • Star donates US$1.1 million to UNICEF’s Tsunami Fund

    Star donates US$1.1 million to UNICEF’s Tsunami Fund

    MUMBAI: Unicef has received a donation of US$1.1 million (HK$8.6 million) from Star for its tsunami recovery projects in Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The donation will address the educational, developmental and health care needs of the children affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

    The donation cheque was presented by Star CEO Michelle Guthrie to Dr Robert Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Committee of Unicef, and Charlie Young, ambassador of Hong Kong Committee for Unicef. At the event, Young also shared her experience of her visit to Sri Lanka shortly after the Indian Ocean tsunami, informs an official release.

    Disaster relief funds from around the world have been instrumental in providing children and families in Sri Lanka and Indonesia with basic necessities after the tsunami destroyed their ways of life in December 2004. Today, children are still depending on assistance in the areas of education, development and health care.

    In order to address these, US$550,000 of Star’s donation will be used for the School Reconstruction Programme in Ampara, Sri Lanka and US$560,000 for the Comprehensive Early Childhood Development and Health Care Provision Programme for children in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh) Province, Indonesia, the release further adds.

    Says Guthrie, “We are honoured that today’s donation will play a part in helping children in two of the worst hit areas to gradually put their traumas behind them. Our sincere hope is that by working together with Unicef through their tsunami recovery projects, the children will be able to lead fulfilling lives and look towards a brighter future.”

    Fung adds, “With the generous support of Star, I am sure that Unicef’s recovery projects in Sri Lanka and Indonesia will be very successful, achieving Unicef’s aim to help affected countries to ‘Build Back Better’”.

  • Star World catches Canadian singer Michael Bublé in the act

    Star World catches Canadian singer Michael Bublé in the act

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel will air a concert featuring Canadian singer Michael Bublé.

    The 29-year-old takes centrestage in the show Caught in the Act: The Greatest Performance. He performs at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

    Caught In The Act presents behind the scenes footage of Michael and his band backstage at Wiltern. It includes guest performances by trumpet virtuoso Chris Botti, a duet of the standard, You’ll Never Find with Italian diva Laura Pausini and a hilarious surprise visit by Josh Groban.

    He performs Nina Simone classic Feelin’ Good, Van Morrison’s Moondance among other numbers.

    Bublé, who has been performing around the world for rabid fans of all ages, has critics raving about his talent. “He had ’em dancing in the aisles… a natural showman… belted out standards like a master,” raved the Toronto Star about his recent performance. “Backed by a 12-piece band playing arrangements that would make Nelson Riddle smile, Buble can sing and swing. He moves easily between ballads and up-tempo numbers. Michael Buble has arrived and in fine style,” echoed Robert Nesti of the Boston Herald.

  • Pix looks to grow further through original content

    Pix looks to grow further through original content

    MUMBAI: It has been a little over four months since Sony’s English movie channel Pix went on air. The channel positions itself as being different from the competition by airing films which tell a good story, regardless of when they were made.

    In July, to add variety the channel launched the interview based show Inside The Actors Studio. Now it is looking at putting out original content.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Pix business head Sunder Aaron says, “We are looking to have two, perhaps three shows of our own on air some time after the Diwali festival. We are looking at talk shows and other concepts. It could be Bollywood stars talking about their favourite Hollywood films. We are also looking at a show that examines current trends in film, both in India and abroad.

    “We are also looking to do reviews of current films. In the future we will acquire films from independent and medium sized studios. Our main focus is on whether a film tells a strong story. After all, a big budget, big name stars, costly visual effects do not necessarily make for a great film.”

    Aaron also claims that in terms of GRPs and reach Pix is ahead of Zee Studio. “There is still room for improvement here though. We have received an encouraging response from cities like Bangalore and Chennai.” Not surprisingly, information available with Indiantelevision.com indicates that Pix had to pay carriage fee to cable operators so as to ensure that the channel had adequate visbility among viewers.

    Says Aaron, “We will now go out to the market and target media agencies to advertise on Pix. We waited to establish our distribution as well as viewership. Our audience is not the teenager who likes flashy blockbusters.

    “It focusses on the discerning viewer. While our TG is 15-44, time will tell whether our channel attracts an older set of viewers (25+) compared to the competition.”

    Pix has also rolled out a marketing campaign which is in the form of among other aspect hoardings. It is being done in the six metros. The message is that the channel watches many movies before handpicking a few for the viewer. The aim is to convey the message that a lot of thought goes into choosing films for that select audience that wants and expects only the best. There are also radio spots. Pix also has a presence in multiplexes in the form of slides and a radio programme. Pix also has an on-air competition. Viewers can answer simple questions by sending an SMS to 2525.

    When asked whether Pix is becoming associated with nostalgia, Aaron said that while that may partly be the case, people watch it and stay with it for the stories. “When we brought actor Will Smith down for the launch of the channel, he said that it was Pix’s commitment to storytelling that attracted him to it. He felt that there was a need on the part of Hollywood to get back to the basics of solid storytelling. Perosnally, I am happy to see that this is the case. The films that were nominated for the best picture Oscar this year all had strong stories.”

  • Channel [V] appoints Anirban Bhattacharyya as executive producer

    Channel [V] appoints Anirban Bhattacharyya as executive producer

    MUMBAI: Channel [V] has appointed Anirban Bhattacharyya as the executive producer. In his current assignment, Bhattacharyya will provide direction for creation of original programming for the channel, according to an official statement.

    He began his career almost a decade ago with TV18. He then moved on to join Channel [v] in 1999 where he worked on various youth, lifestyle, travel and celebrity centric shows- some as iconic as Channel [v] Popstars and [v] Freedom Express.

    His most recent assignment was with Walt Disney Television International (India) where he spearheaded the creation of local non-fiction content, informs the release.

    “Anirban Bhattacharyya’s appointment strengthens the senior management team. His energy and creativity will rev up the [V] posse, and help keep us at the cutting edge of hot content” states Channel [V] VP content & communication Saurabh Kanwar.

    “For me, its like being back home. Channel [v] has the country’s hottest creative team which has only outdone itself each year in terms of edgy, crazy content. Look out for what’s coming up. Mind it!, Bhattacharyya says.

  • Global net TV firm Internet Broadcast offers searchable global news broadcasts

    Global net TV firm Internet Broadcast offers searchable global news broadcasts

    MUMBAI: Canadian Internet TV news network, Internet Broadcast Corporation www.ibctoday.com, formerly known as MediaScrape has released new navigation expanding access to world television news.

    The company which claims to have thousands of users in the US and other countries has also announced a new broadcast partner Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and a goal to be the number one global Internet video news source.

    Internet Broadcast Corporation (ibcToday) says that it is the first Internet TV News Network to digitise analogue TV broadcasts in a format that is high quality video, on-demand, translated, interactive, free, searchable and archived.

    ibcToday publisher Tyler Cavell says, “This name change reflects ibcToday’s goal to be the leading international Internet TV News Network. The new name explains more clearly what we are, and translates easier to our global users.”

    The site currently has registered users from 91 countries and broadcasts two hours of news clips a day from North America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. To achieve the company’s goal of providing more information in a user-friendly environment ibcToday has employed groundbreaking navigational techniques, including ajax.net components.

    This technology allows ibcToday to retrieve data for the user without refreshing the page, stopping the video or hindering site performance. Another new feature is ‘one-stop-shop’ navigation, which enables users to watch video while browsing the top stories from other regions.

    Internet Broadcast Corporation recently signed an agreement with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to broadcast their top national and international stories. The CBC joins ibcToday’s other video news agencies and wholesalers, including AP, Canadian Press and Dogan News Agency. Internet Broadcast Corporation has also signed partnerships with local television broadcasters from Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia and expects to sign on more than a hundred countries over the next year.

    Updated every 30 minutes, 24-hours a day, Internet Broadcast Corporation also features message boards, blogs and user submitted content. By offering its Internet video services free of charge to the public ibcToday aims to become the number one Internet television news network.

  • Zee announces scholarship to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs winners from Kidzee

    Zee announces scholarship to Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs winners from Kidzee

    MUMBAI: Zee TV’s premier music programme, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has announced Rs 3 million as prize money for winners of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs. The winner of L’il Champs will get Rs 1.5 million, the first runner up Rs 1 million and the second runner up will receive Rs 5,00,000.

    The prize money will be deposited in an account that will be accessible by the winners on attaining the age of 18 years, as per an official release.

    Speaking on the prize, Zee TV busines head Punit Goenka said, “We are awarding this prize money to L’il Champs winners for their secure future. We want to encourage them to pursue music wholeheartedly & if they wish to pursue higher studies, they will be able to fund themselves.”

    Talented youngsters from across the country have participated in this music programme that has given singers like Shreya Ghosal, Kunal Ganjawala to the industry.