ITV

Category: TV Channels

  • ‘American idol’ winner Hicks sues record producer

    ‘American idol’ winner Hicks sues record producer

    MUMBAI: The winner of the fifth season of US broadcaster Fox’s music based reality show American Idol Taylor Hicks has filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the release of his first recordings.

    The soul singer has been granted a temporary restraining order, which will prevent producer William Smith from cashing in on Hicks’ early tracks. Hicks hopes that the court will make the injunction permanent. He is also seeking unspecified damages in a lawsuit filed against Smith.

    Media reports state that Smith has been using ITunes to sell some very old tracks that Hicks recorded back in 1997, including a song titled “The Fall”. E! Online has quoted Smith as saying, “I have the legal right to use these recordings for a period of seven years to further his musical career. I am not going to radio, I am going to iTunes. This is the best way to make this single a number one hit.”

    Hicks has sued Smith and his production company for more than $75,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. Reports indicate that the singer’s lawyer received a letter in July from Smith stating that he planned to release a song on iTunes that Hicks had laid down in 1997 called The Fall.

    Hicks stated in his complaint that Smith has no ownership rights to any of the songs in question, and he is maintaining that Smith is in violation of the agreement the two arrived at after the songs unlawfully hit iTunes the first time around.

  • CAS notified areas: Pay channels issue some clarifications

    MUMBAI: Trai had issued press releases on 15/10/06 and 25/10/06 placing the details of Maximum Retail Prices fixed by the broadcasters in respect of CAS areas on the basis of the reporting done by them in terms of clause7 (ii) of the Tariff Order of 31/8/2006.

    The list placed on the website currently contains details of 13 broadcasters.

    Subsequently, the Authority was informed in one of the meetings held to assess the progress of implementation of CAS that some of the pay channels listed in the website are not pay channels in some of the notified areas.

    The issue was accordingly taken up with the broadcasters and the broadcasters have now indicated the correct position in respect of these identified channels.

    The changes reported so far is in respect of the following channels:
    Name of the Channel and BroadcasterStatus as reported earlier Status as reported now

    ETV – Bangla (Ushodaya Enterprises) Pay Channel in all notified areas including Chennai Pay channel in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, but FTA in Kolkata.

    ETV – Marathi (Ushodaya Enterprises) Pay Channel in all notified areas including Chennai Pay channel in Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, but FTA in Mumbai

    BBC World – BBC World Pay Channel in all notified areas including Chennai Pay channel in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, but FTA in Chennai

    Star Vijay – Star India Private Limited Pay Channel in all notified areas including Chennai Pay channel in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, but FTA in Chennai

  • Star China renews Sony Picture Television Intl’s game show ‘Blackjack Bowling’

    Star China renews Sony Picture Television Intl’s game show ‘Blackjack Bowling’

    MUMBAI: Star has signed a deal with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) to renew the second season of 212 episodes of Blackjack Bowling for Star Chinese in Taiwan.

    This follows the success of the game show format on the channel since its launch last June in Taiwan.

    On Star Chinese the show is known as Lucky Star and kicks of next month. The game show’s first season, which began broadcasting in June 2005, registered an audience of 6.6 million, and a 31 per cent reach in viewership in the first three months. It has consistently been ranked among the top three most watched game shows on pay TV channels in Taiwan says SPTI.

    SPTI adds that Blackjack Bowling is the only show of its kind that combines two of the world’s favorite pastimes – blackjack and bowling. Just as the two simple elements of the roulette wheel and hangman were combined to create Wheel Of Fortune, SPTI united two activities that everyone in the world has played. Blackjack Bowling’s format is flexible and can be played in either a half an hour or a one hour format.

  • DTH: Trai supports interoperability, MDU tech

    DTH: Trai supports interoperability, MDU tech

    NEW DELHI: Keeping up its busy schedule on industry related issues, India’s broadcast regulator came out with suggestions on DTH regulations today. The regulator has pitched for mandatory interoperability for DTH services and has okayed multi- dwelling unit (MDU) technology with certain riders in consumer interest.

    Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said that the new set of recommendations provide for “clarifications to certain provisions of the (DTH) licensing conditions” and guidelines to be followed in the adoption of MDU technology, which is basically perceived to be in consumer interest.

    According to Trai, the suggested guidelines relating to DTH will ensure that “interests of the consumers,” cable operators and other DTH players are protected.

    Some of the major DTH recommendations are as follows:

    # Personal Video Recorders and Interoperability: There should not be any amendment in Articles 7.1 and 7.2 of the DTH license agreement, which mandate technical interoperability among DTH service providers.

    # The license conditions should be amended to provide for casting an obligation on the service provider to inform and educate the consumers about the limited technical interoperability of the Set Top Boxes with Personal Video Recorders/Digital Video Recorders.

    # Uplinking and Platform Services: The guidelines for uplinking from India should be amended to exclude DTH platform services aimed at enabling the subscribers to utilize the platform efficiently and informing them of platform functionality and services.

    # MDU technology: The DTH license conditions should be amended to specifically permit use of MDU technology subject to the following conditions:
    a. The DTH service provider should not insist on any exclusive arrangement for installation of MDU technology to the detriment of other distributors of TV channels.
    b. Signals from the MDU technology shall not be provided to a consumer outside the multi-dwelling unit building, where the MDU technology is installed.
    c. The MDU technology should not carry the content from any other service provider other than the DTH service provider and
    d. The DTH operator shall obtain written consent from those subscribers living in a multiple dwelling unit who are desirous of availing the facility of MDU technology, before installing the same. A general permission obtained from office bearers of the Residents Welfare Association/group housing society will not be considered sufficient.

    The government had sought Trai’s views regarding certain issues relating to the licensing provisions of DTH. A full text of Trai’s suggestions could be accessed at www.trai.gov.in.

  • CNN-IBN to turn pay, likely to be priced Rs 5

    CNN-IBN to turn pay, likely to be priced Rs 5

    MUMBAI: CNN-IBN, the English general news channel from the TV18 stable, is turning pay and is tentatively priced at Rs 5.

    Global Broadcast News (GBN), the company which owns and operates CNN-IBN, has entered into an MoU with Zee Turner Ltd. for distributing the channel. The MoU is valid till 31 March 2007.
    “We have entered into an MoU with Zee Turner pursuant to which we will become a pay channel,” GBN said in its draft red herring prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

    Though the price quoted in the MoU is Rs 5 a month per subscriber, this could change depending on the market situation. The channel may go pay in October, a source in the company says.

    CNN-IBN will be distributed by Zee Turner as a stand-alone channel. “Zee Turner Ltd has agreed that it shall endeavour to collect the subscription charges from the subscribers on the basis of the agreement signed with them and remit the actual collected amount within 60 days of last day of collection to the company,” GBN said in its IPO (initial public offering) document. Zee Turner will be entitled to a fee of 20 per cent on the subscription charges on collection.

  • Worldwide mobile phone sales grew 18% in Q2 2006: Gartner report

    Worldwide mobile phone sales grew 18% in Q2 2006: Gartner report

    MUMBAI: Worldwide mobile phone sales totaled 229 million units in the second quarter of 2006, a 18.3 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to Gartner Inc. This compared to a 23.8 per cent increase in the first quarter.

    Gartner said it had expected the slight slowdown compared to quarter one and that its mobile phone sales forecast is still on track to reach 960 million units in 2006, with 238 million units in the third quarter of 2006.

    “While mobile operators in the mature markets of Western Europe and North America struggled to maintain the customer acquisition growth levels seen in previous quarters, but mobile operators in emerging markets continued to sign new customers driving handsets sales,” said Carolina Milanesi, principal analyst for mobile terminals research at Gartner, based in Egham.

    Leading vendors Nokia and Motorola both grew their market share and accounted for more than half of the worldwide mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2006.

    Nokia maintained its number one position with a 33.6 per cent market share, gaining two per centage points compared to the same period last year. Gartner stated that as Nokia starts to ship more feature-rich phones (such as the N72 and N73) in the third quarter of 2006, it needs to ensure that it can also cater for users who put fashion ahead of functionality and are looking for thin products, states an official release.

    “Motorola is the big winner this quarter,” said Milanesi. The company achieved a market share of 21.9 per cent, growing its market share by 4.2 per cent year on year, the highest growth this quarter. Motorola maintained its lead in North America and Latin America and its second position in other markets. With the Morofone, KRZR and RIZR mobile phones due to ship from the third quarter of this year, Gartner said Motorola should be able to continue to gain market share in both emerging and mature markets, informs an official release.

    Samsung retained its third position but lost market share compared to the top two players. Sales reached 25.5 million units in the second quarter, approximately half of Motorola’s total sales this quarter. Lower sales in the home market coupled with weaker than expected demand in some key markets in Asia Pacific explained Samsung’s weaker performance. To grow market share in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America, Gartner said Samsung needs to match its high feature set with a more distinctive design.

    Sony Ericsson regained the fourth position with sales reaching 15.3 million units. “Sony Ericsson’s bet on music and imaging continued to pay back. 25 per cent of their sales came from the Walkman branded devices and the first Cybershot phone k800 was also well received by consumers,” said Milanesi.

    Despite the success of the KG800 Chocolate phone, LG lost 0.4 per cent market share year on year and slipped into fifth place. “Although The Chocolate phone sold very well and helped to increase LG’s brand awareness globally, ‘one swallow does not make summer’. LG needs to bring to market more products from the Black Label series including a 3G offering, to win back and hold the fourth position,” added Milanesi.

  • Max kicks off Champions Trophy promotions with Gully Cricket

    Max kicks off Champions Trophy promotions with Gully Cricket

    MUMBAI: Movies and events channel Max is back with its flagship on-ground activity Gully Cricket. Launching on 7 September, the initiative will kick off the channel’s promotional activities around the big ticket cricket property ICC Champions Trophy.

    Max brand ambassadors Mandira Bedi, Sameer Khan and the mascot Tiger Deewana will visit the cities of Hyderabad, Nagpur, Kolkata, Mangalore, Visakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Amritsar, Ahmedabad and Lucknow between September 7 and September 30, 2006 to take the cricket fever from the lofty stadiums to the dingy bylanes.

    The fifth edition the Champions Trophy, which is being played in India for the first time, is scheduled for October 2006.

    Commenting on the return of the promotional initiative, Max business head Albert Almeida said, “Cricket is not only for the select few rolling their arms and swinging their bats in the parks and fields. It is our national passion and there’s no greater fun than playing the game on the streets. And with our Max icons for company, I am sure Gully Cricket will make everyone go deewana all over again.”

    Gully Cricket schedule

    Nagpur 7 September

    Kolkata 10 September

    Mangalore 15 September

    Visakhapatnam 17 September

    Coimbatore 20 September

    Amritsar 23 September

    Ahmedabad 26 September

    Hyderabad 28 September

    Lucknow 30 September

  • Hungama launches third Captains Hunt; to search for leaders of tomorrow













    MUMBAI: Hungama TV has launched the third edition of its Captains Hunt, which will search for 10 of the smartest kids across the country, between the age group 8 – 14 years. These kids will be on the board of directors of Hungama TV and run the channel for the next one year.


    The channel has set aside a budget of Rs 10+ million for this year‘s Captain‘s Hunt. While in the initial phase the concentration will be on school contact programmes in 10 cities; the focus will shift to mass media during November – December, when the hunt will culminate.



    The hunt kickstarted on 15 August 2006 and will travel to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Indore and Baroda targeting more than 500,000 kids in 500 schools across these cities. These kids will offer regular inputs on programming, marketing, distribution and competition.


    This year the premise of the Captain‘s Hunt has been changed. The aim is to find and shape the future leaders of India. The final 10 will be trained by industry leaders from various fields and will provide them with advice and direction to develop their potential and emerge as leaders of tomorrow. The kids will be judged on the basis of articulation, intelligence, confidence, ambition and talent.


    UTV senior vice president – marketing and communications Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “At Hungama TV, our Captains are always an integral part of decision making, be it programming, marketing initiatives or on-ground research. Hungama TV Captains have helped the channel reach the position it has today and we really value their inputs. This year we are looking for the best and brightest kids across the country to run the channel and benefit from personal mentoring by iconic leaders of today.”


    Once the entries are received from the 10 cities, 1000 kids will be shortlisted from each city in the second round. Thereafter, 50 kids will be chosen in the third round after which the number boils down to two kids from each city. Out of these 20 kids, 10 will then be chosen (one per city) to be the Captains.


    The last day for receiving entries is 30 September. The auditions will take place in November and the finale on 9 – 10 December.


    The 2007 captains will have many opportunities in store. A Captains Advisory Council (CAC), which will comprise leaders from various walks of life, will mentor these captains. The Captains will have exclusive access to the Council to seek advice and guidance on a regular basis. Also, Hungama TV will support a unique talent of every Captain by funding their coaching or training during their tenure.


    Origentest, the research and implementation arm of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd, has been roped in as the knowledge partner and will be responsible for developing the various tests of the hunt.


    This year‘s hunt has Parle-G as the presenting sponsor and Boost Chocoblast as the co-presenting sponsor. The associate sponsors are Colgate, The Sugar & Spice, Reynolds, Kellogg’s Chocos, Dukes Big Bite and Boomer Mango Jelly.

  • Animax to premiere ‘Appleseed’ as movie of the month on 26 August

    MUMBAI: Animax, international animation channel will showcase an exclusive premiere of the animation movie – Appleseed on Saturday 26 August at 7 pm.


    Appleseed illustrates a story in the year 2131 and the post-apocalypse period, in a world called Olympus created after a non-nuclear war where the world is dominated not only by humans but mechanical Cyborgs, informs an official release.
     
    A fierce war has left the world barren and desolate and ex-soldier Deunan Knute travels the wastelands fighting alone, not knowing that the war is over. With no mode of communication and nobody but herself, Deunan is attacked by a helicopter and knocked unconscious, and wakes up in the utopian city of Olympus.


    All seems peaceful and calm, especially after the war and Deunan is quickly brought up to date by her ex-lover Briareos. While she appreciates the happiness of the people of Olympus, Deunan gradually senses something amiss – the tranquility is almost eerie, and she learns from the stunning Hitomi that most of the ‘people‘are actually clones.


    With the near-complete destruction of mankind in the war, even Briareos is almost-all machine, and Hitomi herself is a Bioroid. In the new world order Olympus has become the leader to the rest of the countries, depended on for their very existence. But lurking beneath the surface is a web of sinister cover-ups and changes which threaten to destroy mankind while preserving it – tensions are growing, and when Deunan discovers an insidious conspiracy in Olympus itself, she must face her own past in the battle to save the fate of humanity, adds the release.

  • ESPN Star Sports extends Spanish soccer rights till 2009

    ESPN Star Sports extends Spanish soccer rights till 2009

    MUMBAI: Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports has extended its multi-year agreement for exclusive broadcast rights of the Spanish Soccer league in India till 2009.

    This further strengthens ESS’ coverage of international football in India, including rights to broadcast the English Premier League, FA English Football package, the Asian Football Confederation package, in adddition to the Fifa World Cup 2006 coverage live on its network.

    Announcing the acquisition, ESPN India head RC Venkateish said, “We’re pleased to partner with Sportfive once again for broadcasting the league in India. Our effort to build affinity for Spanish Primera Liga has started paying rich dividends. We expect to grow the league even further in the coming three years.”

    The Spanish Primera Liga boasts two of the best known clubs in the world in Real Madrid and Barcelona. ESS has been making special efforts to promote international soccer in the country with live screenings, building viewer affinity for international leagues like the Spanish league and growing knowledge among Indian viewers are some of the steps ESPN Star Sports has taken to enhance the passion associated with the game.