ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • FremantleMedia goes global with Jamie Oliver

    FremantleMedia goes global with Jamie Oliver

    CANNES: The distribution arm of global production company FremantleMedia, Fremantle International Distribution (FID), announced at MipTV a raft of international sales for a number of series starring celebrity British chef Jamie Oliver, including Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie’s Great Italian Escape and Jamie’s Kitchen.

    Jamie’s School Dinners is currently planned to premiere in the US on TLC while Jamie’s Great Italian Escape will make its American debut on theTravel Channel.The launch of Jamie’s Kitchen, also on TLC, will mark the first time the show will air on one of the Discovery Communication Inc.’s cable networks.

    Both Jamie’s Kitchen and Jamie’s School Dinners have received tremendous praise from viewers and critics alike. Jamie’s Kitchen has recieved many awards like Indie Award, C4 Documentary Award (UK), Grierson, Most Entertaining Documentary(UK); Jamie’s School Dinners has won the National Television Award, Most Popular Factual Programme (UK).
    Fremantle International Distribution managing director David Ellender commenting on the raft of international sales said, “Jamie Oliver’s accessibility and culinary creativity have allowed him to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers to create a great demand for his programming around the world. As we introduce Jamie to a wider audience in the United States, Discovery Communications Inc.’s unique array of networks provide the perfect venue for these premieres and make them the ideal partner.”

    Jamie’s Great Italian Escape follows Jamie’s impulsive trip to Italy where he searches for new sources of inspiration in order to reignite his passion for cooking. Driving from town to town in his trusty camper, Jamie’s adventures take him across the country as he learns about street food in Palermo, dines with monks in Farfa and hunts wild boar in the mountains of Le Marche.

    25 territories have to date snapped up Jamie’s latest series, Jamie’sGreat Italian Escape including RaiSat, Italy; TV Norge, Norway; TV Danmark, Denmark; SABC, South Africa; Kanal 5 Sweden; Discovery Asia; Network Ten, Australia; TVB, Hong Kong; TVNZ, New Zealand; RTL2, Germany; Food Network; Canada, WOWOW, Japan; GloboSat, Brazil; VMMA, Belgium; Ren-TV, Russia and CP 2000 and Ceska, Czech Republic.

    In Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie embarks on a monumental undertaking: take charge of 20,000 school dinners a day in one of London’s most demanding areas. If he succeeds in transforming the way kids eat, Jamie will try to create a blueprint for school meals across the United Kingdom. But will Jamie’s efforts put him at the top of the class or will his quest to create a healthy eating curriculum prove too daunting a task?

    An impressive 33 territories have ordered Jamie’s School Dinners including ORF, Austria; OK-Nova TV, Croatia; Cuisine TV, France; RaiSat, Italy; SIC, Portugal and Kanal 5, Sweden, among others.

    Jamie’s Kitchen chronicles Jamie’s effort to open a brand new restaurant in London’s East End. Not only is this his first restaurant, but Jamie gives himself an additional challenge by selecting 15 unemployed and inexperienced Londoners to train as his chefs. A busy schedule, delays in construction, increasingly troublesome trainees and the birth of his child gradually make the process more difficult for Jamie as he seeks to prove that it’s a passion for food, not academic qualifications, that make a great chef.

    Jamie’s Kitchen has also proved to be a phenomenal globe-trotting series for FID, which has secured sales in over 40 territories, including RTL2 Germany; SBS, Denmark; TV Norge, Norway; Mico, Japan and TVB, Hong Kong.

    Also, FID has also sold Oliver’s Twist to TV Azteca,(Channel 7), in Mexico, which is the 50th market to have bought the series. Fronted by Oliver, Oliver’s Twist blends the culture and style of London street life with interesting people and delectable food. From the markets, to house parties and of course to Jamie’s new kitchen, Jamie cooks up fresh, simple food for good times with family and friends.

  • AL Jazeera International ropes in ABC Richard Gizbert to present ‘Listening Post’

    AL Jazeera International ropes in ABC Richard Gizbert to present ‘Listening Post’

    MUMBAI: The soon to launch 24- hour English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has designed a news show Listening Post. The show will be presented by the former ABC news journalist, Richard Gizbert.

    A weekly insight Listening Post will bring news from around the world into how the news is handled by the world’s media and assess how news reporting changes depending on where it is coming from. It will monitor and examine all forms of media, all over the world. From the biggest network to the most obscure web bloggers Listening Post will report critically on what they cover – and what they don’t. It will examine the big stories and explain how and why coverage of them differs in different parts of the world, informs an official release.

    Listening Post is a fully commissioned jointly owned programme with Moonbeam Films Ltd. As a commissioning house, Al Jazeera International’s programmes will include material gathered from freelancers and independent companies all across the globe through a unique commissioning site: www.ajicommissioning.net

    Gizbert joins Al Jazeera International’s line-up of on-screen talent from ABC News where he worked since 1993. Starting as a correspondent in their London bureau, he has reported abroad on many of the major international stories such as the conflicts in Iraq and the continuing unrest in the Middle East.

    Al Jazeera International programme director Paul Gibbs said, “Listening Post is Al Jazeera International’s eyes and ears on the world’s electronic media. It’s a fantastic addition to our line-up of extensive programmes.”

    Graduated from Algonquin College in Ontario, Gizbert, previously worked as a correspondent-producer for CJOH-TV in Ottawa, where he produced in-depth features for Sunday Edition, the national current affairs programme. Prior to that, Gizbert was CJOH’s parliamentary correspondent for five years, responsible for national political coverage. For his reporting of a bus hostage situation on Parliament Hill, he received the National Award for Breaking News Coverage.

    From 1983 to 1985, he was a correspondent and political editor for CFTO-TV in Toronto, covering federal politics and co-anchoring special events coverage.

  • E! signs Asian licensing deals

    E! signs Asian licensing deals

    CANNES: The world’s largest producer and distributor of entertainment news and lifestyle-related programming, E! Networks has secured a range of Asian licensing deals in the first quarter of this year, selling 600 hours of entertainment and lifestyle programming to broadcasters across the region.In India, Zoom Channel took a range of E! titles, including Girls of The Playboy Mansion, Gastineau Girls, and Gone Bad.

    AXN (India) has meanwhile, also licensed E! and Style programming.

    South Korea’s On Style opted for E! News Weekend, 101 Entertainment Countdown Series, Dr. 90210 and Style Star, while CJ Media took Isaac, 50 Most Specials, Gastineau Girls, Girls of The Playboy Mansion, The E! True Hollywood Story, and Gone Bad for O’live Channel.

    CJ Media has also picked up select titles for ZTM and Home CGV. Japan’s Reality TV licensed Gastineau Girls and 101 Most Shocking Moments, while Superchannel acquired Live from the Red Carpet specials, including the 2006 Emmy Awards.

    Shanghai Media Group (China), UBC Inside (Thailand), Lifestyle and Studio 23 (Philippines), Channel 9 (Thailand), Sun Media and Story On Channel (South Korea) have also licensed E! and Style programming.

    E! Networks managing director for Asia Christine Fellowes noted, “The Asian television market is booming and we look forward to unveiling our new slate of entertainment and lifestyle-themed programming at MipTV 2006. E! Networks’ programming continues to have strong international appeal, particularly in the Asia Pacific market, and we’re delighted to deliver our latest offerings including Sexiest, 10 Ways and Instant Beauty Pageant to our partners in Asia.”

  • SBS Broadcasting sees success with first original drama series

    SBS Broadcasting sees success with first original drama series

    CANNES: Capitalising on its successful productions of local formats, SBS Broadcasting has branched out into original scripted drama development. The pan-European broadcaster’s first original dramatic series For Better or Worse runs Monday through Friday 7 pm time slot on host network TV2 Hungary.

    Today, more than a year since its debut, For Better or Worse continues to average 1.35 million viewers for a 14.4 rating/28 share among total viewers nationwide, the company claims in an official release.

    Initially conceived in November 2004 by Interaktiv, the SBS-owned production company, For Better or Worse (Joban Rosszban in Hungarian) is a hospital drama series set in the small town of Csillagkut, near the capital city of Budapest. The hospital, Csillagvirag Clinic, is privately owned by Peter Pongracz (the series’ protagonist) and his sister Reka, both practicing doctors. Focusing on the everyday lives of the town’s three most influential families – the Pongracz, Nemes and Varnagy families – the series explores human relationships as well as medical issues.

    The multi-layered storylines, crafted by the writing team of the scripted division of Interaktiv, involve elements of romance, jealousy, adolescence, comedy, and drama.

    TV2 head of programming Lóránd Poich says: “We are very pleased with the audiences’ response to For Better or Worse. Airing the program as a half-hour daily strip for over a year, we are encouraged by its ability to deliver consistently across all target demographic groups, proving to us that locally produced programming resonates with the viewer and really does provide an advantage to our station.”

    Added SBS Broadcasting VP production Daniela Matei, “This series has been an interesting exploration of developing original scripted drama series for our stations. As you know, our corporate mandate is always to deliver the best programming possible in the most cost effective and efficient manner. And based on the continuing success of this series and the affordability of the production, we are now looking at the possibility of adapting the local Hungarian scripts for other markets.”

  • Canadian teens continue to watch less television: Survey

    Canadian teens continue to watch less television: Survey

    MUMBAI: A report from survey and research firm Statistics Canada notes that in the fall of 2004, Canadian teens aged 12 to 17 spent 12.9 hours a week in front of the TV, two hours less than in 2003 and almost three hours less than five years ago.

    This drop can partly be attributed to the Internet. According to the survey data on household spending, Internet use in households with children under 18 has risen substantially, from 50 in 1999 to 82 per cent in 2004.

    News and public affairs programmes experienced the sharpest decline with teen viewers. In 2004, teens spent only 9.4 per cent of their total viewing time on this type of show, down from 17.4 per cent in 2003. The full brunt of this loss came from Canadian programmes.

    Men aged 18 to 24 watched the least amount of television (12.3 hours a week), whereas women 60 and over watched the most (35.6 hours a week).

    Canadians spent 6.5 per cent of their television viewing time tuned into sports in the fall of 2004, down from 8.2 per cent in 2003. People were also spending less time watching programs with Canadian content, with viewer time falling to 37.2 per cent in 2004 from 40.2 per cent a year earlier.

    Among all the age/gender groups, men aged 18 and older account for the majority of viewers of sports programs. In the fall of 2004, they spent 11.3 per cent of their time watching sports broadcasts, down from 14.3 per cent in 2003.

    The cancellation of the 2004/05 National Hockey League season also significantly reduced Canadian content viewing. In the fall of 2004, it represented 45 per cent of sports programming, a significant drop from 62 per cent in 2003. In previous years, Canadian sports programming viewing had been relatively stable.

    This, in turn, affected the overall proportion of television viewing of programmes with Canadian content. On conventional Canadian television stations, Canadian content dropped to 54.1 per cent in 2004 from 56.5 per cent in 2003. On Canadian pay and specialty channels, Canadian programs accounted for only 36.8 per cent of viewing, down from 44 per cent in 2003.

  • ABU,Casbaa & Unicef invite entries for Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award 2006

    ABU,Casbaa & Unicef invite entries for Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award 2006

    MUMBAI: The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), Cable and Satellite Broadcasters Association of Asia (Casbaa) and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) are inviting Asia-Pacific broadcasters and producers to submit entries for the Asia-Pacific Child Rights Award 2006.

    The ABU-Casbaa-Unicef Child Rights Award, launched in 2001, is given each year in recognition of the best television programming on a child rights issue produced in the Asia-Pacific region. It recognises the efforts of broadcasters in pursuing both the production of top-quality children’s programming and news coverage of children’s issues.

    Programmes both for children and about children are eligible and can cover any child rights issue. Entries can include documentaries that detail the plight of children, dramas that help break down stereotypes and discrimination, or animation that teaches and entertains.

    Entries, which are free, must have been broadcast between August 2005 and July 2006, and must be received by 25 August 2006. The Award will be presented at the ABU Annual General Meeting in Beijing in November 2006.

    The past winners of the award are as follows:

    2005: Juvenile Injustice by Philippine broadcaster ABS – CBN Channel 2
    2004: Hong Kong Connection: Children In Need by Radio Television Hong Kong
    2003: Angels in Prison by Philippines’ GMA-7 Channel
    2002: Child Soldiers by Radio Television Hong Kong
    2001: Children Will Grow by Japan’s Mainichi Institute

  • US conference to focus on IPTV broadcast technology

    US conference to focus on IPTV broadcast technology

    MUMBAI: American firm IQPC will host a conference focussed on the IPTV industry in the US. IPTV and Beyond: The Future of Broadcast Technology will take place from 18 to 20 April in San Diego, California and will feature best practices from companies that have actually completed successful IPTV deployments.

    The conference aims to help attendees capitalise on IPTV by showing them how to implement it, how to identify the potential for their organization, how to develop a content strategy for their services, and how to understand the economic benefits and challenges related to IPTV.

    Companies that will participate include Accord Media Group, ACN, Advanced Media Strategies, Alcatel, HBO Latin America Group, Motorola, MTV Attendees will learn about the economic benefits of delivering IPTV over RF in FTTP networks as well as how to differentiate IPTV from standard TV to customers.

    Speakers will dwell on the significant platform and technology trends affecting IPTV carriers going forward as well as why content protection is so important and how it can protect revenue for the service provider.

    A report from Infonetics says that IPTV is set to skyrocket to 53.7 million subscribers, $44B in service revenue by 2009. In 2004, service providers worldwide spent $304 million on IPTV-related services infrastructure, growing to almost $4.5 billion in 2009.

    The number of IPTV subscribers worldwide will grow to 53.7 million in 2009. The number of IPTV subscribers in North America will increase 12,985 per cent between 2004 and 2009. According to IP Television Magazine in the 1st quarter 2005 there were: 2.1 million IPTV users worldwide, 150 million broadband users worldwide, more than 240 carriers providing IPTV services, and more than 25 manufacturers producing IP set top boxes.

  • CBS unveils a slew of children’s shows

    CBS unveils a slew of children’s shows

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster CBS and entertainment firm DIC have announced the programming slate for their new 2006/2007 children’s programming line-up.

    CBS’ Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party a three-hour, branded programming block will premiere on 16 September 2006 with six series comprised of animated properties and two new live-action shows.

    From animated adventures and dance-mania to a pair of do-it-yourself innovators, the slate includes three new series – Horseland, Kooky Kitchen and Littlest Pet Shop, as well as Sabrina: The Animated Series, Trollz and Madeline. DIC is also in pre-production on two new, live-action, reality-based series Cake and Dance, Dance, Dance!. The shows are targetted at children ages 6 through 12.

    All the above mentioned shows will broadcast 26 episodes per year, compared to the previous scheduling pattern which averaged 12 episodes per season, providing viewers with more original programming. To ensure that the programming meets FCC regulations, each of the series is being created under the specific educational supervision of Donald F.
    Roberts, PhD., a Stanford professor of communications and children’s media expert, and Gordon Berry, EdD. who is the chief consultant for the CBS Television Network’s programmes created for children.

    Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party will also feature unique animated and live-action interstitials threaded throughout the morning block to promote healthy eating and balanced, active lifestyles for kids. The messages, which will promote nutritious eating habits, will be created in consultation with Baylor College of Medicine’s Children’s Nutrition Research Center (CNRC), an institute devoted to pediatric nutrition studies.

    Dance, Dance, Dance! is designed to teach contestants a variety of styles of dance, the cultural inspiration for the various dance styles and encourage home viewers to get up out of their seats to dance along. A pop music act will also perform a fresh new song each week.

    Horseland featuring CGI and traditional animation, is set in a stable, where kids and their horses compete and have adventures, and the horses and other animals can talk to each other — about the humans. Each episode features themes that deal with issues such as compassion, honesty and cooperation – both human and equine.

    Kooky Kitchen is an animated comedy action series that brings the ultimate cooking adventure for kids. From a magical secret kitchen hidden beneath a famous restaurant, a chef takes his special guests on culinary trips around the world through the Magic Recipe book to find the necessary ingredients for his masterful creations.

    Littlest Pet Shop revolves around tiny pets that help their adolescent owner explore big issues through their parallel life experiences in the fantasy world of Petopia. Jasmine Valentine is a typical 12 year old girl dealing with the same kinds of problems that challenge adolescent girls everywhere. Jasmine does have one distinct advantage when it comes to coping with the daily dramas: her extraordinary group of feathered, furry and finned little friends that occupy her bedroom. As the pets work through their relationships and challenges in magical Petopia, Jasmine comes to understand her own situations better.

    DIC Entertainment chairman, CEO Andy Heyward said, “As a children’s entertainment producer for over 25 years in the industry, the launch of the CBS’ Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party offers a tremendous opportunity to apply our experience in producing and distributing quality kids’ series to programming a rich schedule that we believe offers an unprecedented viewing experience”.

    Sabrina: The Animated Series is a companion to the show Sabrina: The Teenage Witch. It follows Sabrina Spellman, a 12-year-old with a big heart and an even bigger secret: she’s half mortal and half witch! While her lessons in
    how to be a good witch are demanding, they pale in comparison to what she must learn to be a good person and that human attributes such as loyalty, honesty, tolerance and perseverance are the true lessons to learn.

    Madeline is based on Ludwig Bemelmans’ classic books. The protagonist is a clever little red-headed girl whose capricious antics have won the hearts of children, parents and educators everywhere. The show is narrated in rhyme by actor Christopher Plummer.

  • BBC scouting for partners in India for Hindi and Urdu news channel services

    BBC scouting for partners in India for Hindi and Urdu news channel services

    MUMBAI: The British Broadcasting Corporation is scouting for joint venture partners for launching television news channel services in Hindi and Urdu languages in India.

    “We are launching a 24-hour news channel in Arabic next year and we are looking at television services in Hindi and Urdu. They will be joint ventures,” BBC World Service business development manager Michel Lobelle told reporters in Colombo, according to news agency PTI report.

    The expansion of television saw a slight dip in radio listenership in India but, it is on the rise again with more people tuning into radios, he said.

    In India, the Corporation has already entered into partnership on various fronts such as magazine and radio. The BBC Worldwide owns 50 per cent of the Times of India’s magazines subsidiary including its selling titles, FilmFare and Femina. In August 2005, Top Gear magazine launched in India making it the first BBC magazine from the joint venture.

    On the radio front, the BBC Worldwide has partnered with Radio Mid-Day West (India) Private Ltd. The company has won bids for six cities including Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune.

    The Corporation also announced its rebroadcasting deal with Sri Lanka’s state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) radio.

    The SLBC radio will rebroadcast nine hours of BBC programmes under the new deal, Lobelle said, adding that the deal provides an opportunity for Lankans to easily access BBC programmes through a network of FM channels.

  • Classical pianist prodigy Lang Lang on CNN’s ‘Talk Asia’

    Classical pianist prodigy Lang Lang on CNN’s ‘Talk Asia’

    Airtimes: Indian Standard Times
    Saturday, February 11 at 09:30am, 20:00hrs, 22:30hrs
    Sunday, February 12 at 06:00am, 17:00hrs and 20:30hrs
    Monday, February 13 at 09:00am

     

    World renowned classical pianist Lang Lang joins Lorraine Hahn on this week’s Talk Asia. The 23-year-old has taken the musical world by storm, playing in front of presidents and world leaders, accumulating accolades and rave reviews for his performances in competitions and festivals.

     

    Lang Lang credits his early success partly to his parents while also recalling another influential, if unusual, musical inspiration: “I was watching Tom and Jerry, and one of the episodes they were playing Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody number two. Tom was playing like a totally crazy cat! He is a crazy cat, but the way he played on that piano, I will never forget … flat fingering, fingers flying all over, that really inspired me a lot!”

     

    His performance at New York’s Carnegie Hall was especially memorable as he played a duet with his father, someone who had made numerous sacrifices to further his son’s talent and career. His father joined him at the end of the concert and played the Chinese classical stringed instrument the ehru. Lang Lang felt he was giving something back to his father, particularly so as all musicians aspire to play Carnegie Hall. And, when that involves playing a Chinese instrument, “…it’s far beyond dreams”.

     

    The young virtuoso suggests that classical music education is “…often very strict. So I think for kids, it’s not very healthy.” He suggests that instead budding musicians should treat music like art where “every piece has the fun part, the sad part, the beautiful part. But you should bring the joy from your heart and bring that out!”

     

    For more program information and details on upcoming guests on Talk Asia visit http://edition.cnn.com/ASIA/talkasia/

     

    AIRTIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE