ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • CNBC-TV18’s Banking Industry Vector Series in Mumbai

    The business landscape of BFSI sector is quickly evolving. With their extensive IT budgets, BFSI players continue to create major revenue opportunities for IT solutions providers. TCS, i-flex solutions Ltd, Oracle etc are front runners in this respect. Globally, financial services firms are among the biggest spenders in the $72 billion enterprise software market. Services specifically ATM, phone banking, net banking etc require a greater level of integration and stronger networking capabilities.

    Banks are increasingly relying on computerized services to address the growing needs of the consumers. But in the process of computerization and integration of these services, are banks beginning to lose the “Human” touch? Has convenience, and the quantum strides of computing power, turned banks into gigantic, faceless Teller Machines?

    The discussion brought forth the salient features of these arguments and different perspectives were highlighted by Mr. H N Sinor, Chief Executive, Indian Banks Association alongwith Omkar Goswami, CERG India founder and India’s leading economist with CNBC-TV18’s Vivek Law.

    Commenting on the Industry Vector Series, Omkar Goswami said, “The Industry vector series on CNBC-TV18 promises to be an in-depth journey to the heart of the Indian industry”.

    The Industry Vector series is an 8 episode series on CNBC-TV18 focused on 8 hot sectors specifically: Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Media, Pharma, Logistics, Banking & Financial Services Industry, Education and ITES. Dedicated to industry verticals, Industry Vectors seek industry opinion, highlight burgeoning issues and encourage industry doyens to come together and address them.

    The series will be telecast only on CNBC-TV18 on Saturdays at 10:30pm and on Sundays at 2:30pm.

    About CNBC-TV18:
    CNBC-TVI8 is India’s No.1 business medium. CNBC-TV18 is the undisputed leader in the business. The channel’s benchmark coverage extends from corporate news, financial markets coverage, expert perspective on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond. CNBC-TV18 has been constantly innovating with new genres of programming that helps make business more relevant to different constituencies across India. CNBC-TV18 is currently available in over 20 million households in India.

  • TV18, Balaji scrips shine on strong Q1 results

    TV18, Balaji scrips shine on strong Q1 results

    MUMBAI: This is a result investors may have been waiting for. Television Eighteen put up a robust first quarter performance, pulling the scrip up by Rs 13 to close today in the BSE at Rs 605 in a market that slipped 61 points after four days of continuous rise.

    On the television front, TV18 has doubled its revenues over the year-ago period while net profit has jumped 65 per cent to Rs 138.21 million. The company now has four channels – two in the business space and two general news channels.

    The Group’s internet business is also poised for a scale up, having crossed $1 million (Rs 46.75 million) in the quarter. TV18 is eyeing acquisitions and will soon re-launch jobstreet.com and yatra.com. The company has already announced plans to hive off the internet business which will make it attractive for strategic investors.

    “The scrip could lift up further, based on these results. The valuation of the internet business will also be interesting,” a market analyst says.

    Balaji Telefilms, which announced its first quarter results yesterday, is the other media scrip which climbed 4.34 per cent to close the day at Rs 109.45 in the BSE. Analysts say this was on the back of a 39 per cent jump in the TV content producer’s net profit to close the quarter at Rs 173.77 million.

    The market is yet to be enthused by UTV’s deal with Walt Disney Company, shedding marginally in the BSE to close 1.8 per cent down at Rs 168.65. The global media major had bought out Hungama TV and taken a 14.9 per cent stake in UTV for a total consideration of $44.5 million (approximately Rs 2 billion).

    “The scrip will gain value once Disney chalks out a joint plan with UTV. It is not clear yet where Disney wants to take UTV forward,” says a market analyst.

    Among the other media stocks to fall are Zee Telefilms (2.24 per cent to Rs 257.20) and NDTV (from Rs 156.2 to Rs 155.30). TV Today almost stayed flat to close at Rs 76.60.

  • LCDs, cameras allow Sony to post a better than expected quarterly result

    LCDs, cameras allow Sony to post a better than expected quarterly result

    MUMBAI: Japanese consumer electronics conglomerate Sony has reported better than expected results for the first-quarter ended 30 June 2006.

    Net income was ¥32.3 billion with a loss of ¥7.3 billion a year earlier. Media reports indicate that analysts had expected the company to report lower income. Sony got a boost from sales of its Bravia brand LCD televisions and Cybershot digital cameras.

    For the full year to next March, Sony revised up its operating profit forecast by 30 per cent to 130 billion yen as it started booking patent-related income as recurring revenue rather than miscellaneous income. It kept unchanged its net profit forecast of 130 billion yen.

    Sales rose 11 per cent to ¥1.74 trillion from a year earlier. Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, was ¥27 billion for the period, compared with a restated ¥6.6 billion loss a year earlier.

    Profit from the electronics division, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of the company’s sales, was ¥47.4 billion, from a loss of ¥26.7 billion a year earlier. Sales of electronics including Bravia TVs, Cyber-shot cameras and Vaio personal computers increased by 14 per cent to ¥1.28 trillion.

    Sales of its TVs rose by 75 per cent to ¥262 billion. Sony joins rivals Sharp and Matsushita Electric Industrial in reporting higher profit because of TV sales.

    It looks like Sony CEO Howard Stringer’s cost cutting measures are starting to pay dividends. In September Stringer had outlined a plan to axe 10,000 jobs and shut down 11 factories. Stringer also stopped paying 44 retired executives, sold two corporate jets and some retail businesses, including a cosmetics maker and a restaurant chain.

    On the film front Sony benfited from The Da Vinci Code. This helped the company increase sales by 42 per cent in the quarter. However, higher marketing costs meant that the film division suffered an overall loss.

     

  • K.I. Kwon is LG Electronics US president

    K.I. Kwon is LG Electronics US president

    MUMBAI: LG Electronics has appointed K.I. Kwon as its president in the US for its consumer electronics division.

    Kwon was most recently LG Electronics VP digital display division responsible for the US. Kwon is responsible for the overall management and direction of the consumer electronics, commercial products and information technology businesses.

    LG Electronics North American Headquarters president and CEO Michael Ahn says, “K.I. Kwon has extensive experience in digital display and digital media products as well as with the LG brand in North America and globally, making him the ideal candidate for this position. His fresh ideas and strong leadership skills will provide the insight and direction as LG continues to expand its consumer electronics presence and build its premium brand in the United States.”

  • Tour de France kicks off on Ten Sports on Sunday

    Tour de France kicks off on Ten Sports on Sunday

    MUMBAI: Ten Sports, the world’s number one sports channel for south Asians, will telecast live action from Tour de France, arguably the toughest sporting event of the world.

    This year’s Tour de France assumes special significance as it will be the first time after seven years that a new rider will have the honour of wearing the yellow jersey. After an emotional farewell last year, the legendary American cyclist Lance Armstrong will hand over the crown to a new rider following his retirement.

    The 93rd Tour de France starts on 2 July from Strasborg in neighbouring Germany, and will be made up of a prologue and 20 stages, covering a total distance of 3,600 kilometres. The Tour finishes at Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday 23 July. The cyclists will have only two days of rest in between – on Mondays 10 and 17 July.

    The break-up of the 20 stages are nine flat stages, four medium mountain stages, five mountain stages and two individual time-trial stages. Ten Sports will be there to bring action everyday from the scenic French urban and countryside as the riders are tested with extreme conditions.

    Except for the first three stages of the Tour that clash with the live coverage of India in the West Indies, the remaining 17 stages will be live on Ten Sports, with the coverage starting at 6 pm from 5 July onwards. Complete coverage of the first three stages will be telecast at 3:30 am and 11:30 am IST the following day.
    After its absence last year, the prologue (of seven kms) time trial returns to make the shorter time trial specialists happy. The prologue will be held at Strasborg today 1 July.

    Among the favourites to follow in the footsteps of Lance Armstrong are the 32-year-old German Jan Ullrich of Team T-Mobile, who won the race in 1997 and has already sounded a warning to his rivals by winning the Tour of Switzerland this year; Italian Ivan Basso of Team CSC, considered by none other than Armstrong as the rider most likely to take over his crown, and Alejandro Valverde of Spain, who has won two titles this year.

  • ABC, Tivo win interactive Emmys

    ABC, Tivo win interactive Emmys

    MUMBAI: Tivo, which creates television services for digital video recorders (DVRs) in the US and US broadcaster ABC’s online streaming video player have won interactive Emmies.

    They will take home trophies at the Creative Arts Awards on 19 August.

    TiVo won for achievement for enhanced or interactive programming – television. Tivo president and CEO Tom Rogers says, “Tivo is proud to receive an Emmy Award and recognition from the Academy and its peers for the innovative services that it provides in enhancing the viewing of television by bringing it to a whole new level.”

    Tivo CTO and co-founder Jim Barton says, “We are committed to transforming television viewing by being the leaders in translating the latest technological developments into an easy and simple viewer experience. From our TiVoCast service to TiVo KidZone our mission is to provide subscribers the best way to watch television.”

    ABC.com’s streaming video player won for achievement for enhanced or interactive programming: new delivery platforms. The Academy said, “Conventional wisdom dictated that it was not possible to provide high bit-rate streaming video, over the Internet, to large numbers of people simultaneously, while maintaining consistent quality and doing so in a cost-effective manner. ABC.com’s full episode streaming player dispenses with those previously held beliefs as it leverages emerging technologies and digital platforms to enhance and extend the ABC television network’s relationship with consumers.”

    This year’s Interactive Television Emmy Awards recognise original interactive television programming content, applications and services that have been deployed in the United States between 1 June, 2005 and 31 May 2006 and that have demonstrated creative excellence. Other finalists in this category include AOL Music on Demand, CNN Enhanced and DirecTV Interactive Sports.

    Governor of the Television Academy’s Interactive Media Peer Group Brian Seth Hurst says, “Tivo was the very first offering in the DVR space and it is great that they are still leading the way. The Tivo service is certainly impressive in both its offering and user experience and meets the standard of excellence. It’s easy to see why the voters deemed it worthy of the Emmy.”

  • International Emmys judging: BAG Films’ ‘Siddhant’ through to Finals

    International Emmys judging: BAG Films’ ‘Siddhant’ through to Finals

    MUMBAI: The Indian entertainment industry is looking at a brighter tomorrow as BAG Films’ Siddhant has qualified in the drama category for the final of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ 34th International Emmy Awards.

    The semi final round was conducted in Mumbai today and saw a 19-member jury scan entries in four categories – comedy, non-scripted entertainment, drama series and children and young people (the latter two being new additions from last year’s judging).

    India is among a select few countries like Germany, New Zealand, Australia, Qatar and Greece to host the semi final rounds of this event. The jury comprised different representatives from the television fraternity in India including Abhimanyu Singh, Archana Puran Singh, Ashwini Yardi, Asit Modi, Ketki Dave, Mandira Bedi, Monisha Singh, Nachiket Pantvaidya, R D Tailang, Ravi Kiran, Ram Kapoor, Ravina Raj Kohli, Ritu Goel, Sanjeev Sharma, Shristi Arya, Siddharth Kak, Smriti Irani, Supriya Pathak and Suresh Bala.

    In essence there seemed to be a consensus among jury members that there was a dearth of Indian content due to sheer lack of awareness among producers and TV channels alike.

    International Emmy Awards Semi-Finals host Anil Wanvari with International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences director, Emmy judging, Sandy Clark.
    Speaking to Indiantelevison.com, Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director production and programming Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “Asian content was quite good as there seems to be a trend in programming particularly around the theme of magic and fantasy. However, Indian content was highly under represented.”

    Having been on the jury last year as well, Contiloe Films Pvt Ltd CEO Abhimanyu Singh was of the opinion, “Indian entries are at par with the rest. However, there is a greater need to drive the Emmy’s forward through better marketing of the brand, to encourage greater participation.”

    In response to the jury’s plea for greater awareness in terms of the procedure to enter the competition, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences director, Emmy judging, Sandy Clark told this website, “There is a misconception that the Emmy’s is only open to US programming. However, there are no restrictions and thus broadcasters, directors, distributors and producers can all enter. We spread awareness through our website, via email and through events like Mipcom and MipTV to encourage entries from across the globe.”

    Hopefully this year’s win, combined with word-of-mouth will provide an impetus to more Indian producers and TV channels to make a bigger entry next year. Speaking about B.A.G. Films’ achievement, Indiantelevision.com CEO and International Emmy Semi Final host Anil Wanvari said, “Siddhant making it to the final speaks volumes for Indian content and this will hopefully facilitate greater participation next year.”

    The entries in the remaining categories shortlisted for the final round are as follows:

    Comedy – War of the In Laws, TV Broadcasters Ltd, Hong Kong, China

    Non-Scripted Entertainment – 1. Wisholang (My Wish) – Papawad (Forgiveness), GM Networks, Philippines
    2. Viking Family Special, Fuji Network Corp, Japan

    Children and Young People – 1. My Perfect Partner, Media Corp, Singapore

    2. Advengers, TV Asahi Corp, Japan

    Drama – 1. Home Affairs, Penguin Films, South Africa
    2. Siddhant B.A.G Films, India

  • Toon Boom Animation announces availablity of animation software ‘Storyboard’

    Toon Boom Animation announces availablity of animation software ‘Storyboard’

    MUMBAI: The US-based animation software solutions provider Toon Boom Animation Inc. has announced that its Toon Boom Storyboard is ready to ship. Meeting the needs of all production types-whether 2D animation, 3D animation or live action, Storyboard offers advanced features that make it the tool of choice to create an entirely digital storyboard, the company said in an official release.

    Toon Boom Storyboard provides: Flexible layer-based panel display with motion camera capabilities, complete set of drawing tools, including pressure-sensitive brush tool when using a digital graphic tablet and pen, customizable caption fields to insert fully searchable textual content, such as scene descriptions and comments, advanced timeline to control timing and automatically generate an animatic with sound tracks and transitions between shots, real-time animatic creation with dynamic camera moves extensive export capabilities, including printing, image sequences, and Harmony/Opus/Solo, EDL, SWF and QuickTime file formatting, adds the release.

    Storyboard comes also with a complete set of templates, including characters, backgrounds, props, effects and symbols to get users started quickly.

  • BBC using computer phone technology to boost quality of radio journalism

    BBC using computer phone technology to boost quality of radio journalism

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC is counting on a pocket computer phone is set to revolutionise newsrooms and newsgathering across BBC Local Radio in Britain.

    Earlier this year BBC Radio Lincolnshire linked up with the Maastricht-based Technica del Arte to transform a pocket PC phone, the XDA, into a professional recording device capable of sending high quality sound down a mobile phone line or from a wi-fi spot.

    After exhaustive testing by Radio Lincolnshire staff for the past six months the pilot scheme has been judged so successful that it is to be rolled out to all BBC radio stations across the UK.

    It has also been shortlisted for an international IBC Innovation Award, to be judged at a ceremony in Amsterdam in September.

    BBC controller of English Regions Andy Griffee said, “This new technology means that journalists are totally self-contained. They no longer need to waste time travelling to and from base – they can prepare and broadcast quality radio direct from the scene of the story without going anywhere near a studio, ISDN line or mobile transmitter. This has revolutionised newsrooms and newsgathering in Lincolnshire, and will do the same across the country.”

    The phone can also send pictures for use on web sites and ‘first break’ video footage for television. The BBC says that the technology means that its journalists now spend less time in the office and more time out in the field producing an average of 50 per cent more audio than using conventional recording devices.

    Another benefit is that everyone has a phone with them at all times – therefore there is potentially much quicker/better response and coverage of any major stories which break.

  • WWE inks deal with Canadian broadcaster for ECW property

    WWE inks deal with Canadian broadcaster for ECW property

    MUMBAI: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has signed a deal with Canadian broadcaster Global Television Network.

    The deal is for its property Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). ECW will premiere on the Global Television Network on 11 August. In India viewers can catch WWE on Ten Sports.

    WWE Canada president Carl DeMarco said, “This is great news for WWE and ECW fans in Canada. We’re very happy that we’re able to deliver ECW to 12.2 million homes in Canada.”

    In addition, Global Television Network has also committed to adding both Raw and SmackDown! to their programming lineup in Quebec.

    In the 1990’s ECW was a hardcore wrestling promotion whose fearlessness and innovation caused a tremor that is still being felt today. It has a take-no-prisoners mindset