ITV

Blog

  • TV18 to provide VC funding to convergence companies, earmarks Rs 500 million

    TV18 to provide VC funding to convergence companies, earmarks Rs 500 million

    MUMBAI: Raghav Bahl-promoted Television Eighteen is jumping into the convergence arena. The company plans to invest Rs 500 million in this space, identifying small-sized ventures which need funding support.

    TV18 will function more as a venture capitalist, making investments into these companies at an early stage. “We realise there are opportunities in the convergence area of internet, TV, and broadband. Small companies engaged in this field are springing up. We plan to support them and make judicious investments spread over a string of companies. We have taken an enabling resolution to make investments in this space up to a maximum of Rs 500 million,” says a senior company executive.

    TV18 is setting up a Media Venture Capital Trust (MVCT) through which it will make these investments. The MVCT shall be suitably structured as a tax efficient investment vehicle for undertaking these investments and will offer co-investment opportunities to the promoters of the company and other identified reputed investors.

    The investments will be primarily in high growth companies. “TV18 will seek to invest, directly or indirectly minority stakes in these companies through repayment guaranteed / collateralized instruments convertible into equity, with an option to increase up to majority stake at a later date, wherever possible, subject to necessary provisions and approvals,” the company informed the BSE.

    Outside these investments, TV18 will continue to acquire vertical portals. The company, which has internet ventures being consolidated into a wholly owned subsidiary, acquired in April a 50 per cent stake in the Indian arm of Jobstreet.com. Eariler in the year, it had invested in Yatra Online where other investors included Anil Ambani’s Reliance Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) – Promod Haque’s leading venture capital firm.

  • AOL buys video game site GameDaily













    MUMBAI: AOL has acquired GameDaily, one of the Internet’s leading independent video game publications, from Gigex, Inc, but did not disclose the financial terms.


    As part of the agreement, AOL will acquire both the GameDaily consumer website (http://www.gamedaily.com) and the industry-leading newsletter, (http://Biz.GameDaily.com).


     



    GameDaily will become the flagship video games brand within the AOL Games network, and will be united with content and community features currently found on the AOL Video Games website (http://www.aol.com/videogames), informs an official release.


    In addition, the AOL Video Games editorial team will be integrated into the GameDaily editorial staff to create the new GameDaily editorial team. The GameDaily Biz newsletter team will also operate under the newly combined AOL Video Games-GameDaily editorial team. Additionally, certain GameDaily content partnership agreements will be transitioned to AOL.


    “Video game sites have become a valuable resource for advertisers wishing to reach the young male audience, and GameDaily is a brand that resonates with these highly sought after consumers,” said AOL Games VP and GM Ralph Rivera. “We look forward to continuing to serve this audience, maximizing GameDaily content with AOL’s community features, and further expanding the AOL Games community.”


    “Video games are now a vital piece of the entertainment landscape along with music, video and online communities,” said Gigex Inc CEO Mark Friedler. “We‘re thrilled to combine our experience delivering top-notch consumer content and leading business news with AOL’s tremendous reach to provide a new level of innovative entertainment content to online consumers everywhere.”


    According to the release, in addition to GameDaily.com, the AOL Games network also includes AOL Games (http://www.aol.com/games), destination for casual and downloadable games from leading publishers; AOL Video Games (http://www.aol.com/videogames), gamers’ leading online resource for video game news, previews, cheats and original programming such as the interactive Inside the Game feature; and the recently acquired Games.com, an extension of AOL Games’ best-of-breed casual games available at one of the most popular URLs among web users seeking games content.


    GameDaily is AOL’s fourth announced acquisition of 2006, following the acquisition of Userplane last week, Lightningcast, Inc. in May, and Truveo, Inc. in January. Other recent corporate acquisitions in 2005 by AOL include Music Now, LLC, Weblogs, Inc., Xdrive, Inc. and Wildseed, Ltd.

  • Fix basic tier rate above Rs 100: Cable ops to Trai

    MUMBAI: The basic tier monthly rate of Rs 77 (excluding taxes) in conditional access system (CAS) areas is unrealistic and should not be below Rs 100, cable TV operators told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).


    Six stakeholders have posted their views to the broadcast and cable regulator. Trai had sought views from the industry on the draft tariff amendment order notification for fixing the basic tier rate.
     
    The common argument laid down by the cable operators was that the price for the 30 FTA channels did not take into account the distribution cost through franchisee operators.


    According to clause 3B in the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff Order, 2004 (6 of 2004), “The maximum amount, which a cable operator may demand from a subscriber for receiving the programmes transmitted in the ‘basic service tier‘ provided by such cable operator shall not exceed Rs 77 per month exclusive of taxes, for a minimum of 30 FTA channels. Free-to-air channels, over and above the basic service tier, would also be made available to the subscribers within the maximum amount mentioned above.”
     
    The views posted by New Delhi-based Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) said, “Only one multi-system operator (MSO) headend was considered and not the distribution cost through franchisee operators who maintain their own offices, technical maintenance staff, collection staff etc. Quality of service was not considered while calculating number of subscribers and the number of subscribers was based on extended network of the MSO prevailing at that time.”


    “The cost of FTA channels has to be reworked. Even as per our calculations submitted to the Ministry in 2003 the cost was Rs.180. One option is to use the benchmark of Rs 125, which was the charge for 15 to 20 channels in 1994 when there were no pay channels.”


    Pointing out the need for reworking the cost of FTA channels, the Federation said, “Even as per our calculations submitted to the Ministry in 2003 the cost was Rs.180. One option is to use the benchmark of Rs 125, which was the charge for 15 to 20 channels in 1994 when there were no pay channels.”


    A minimum of Rs 150 should be charged for the basic tier considering the fact that TRAI does not want last mile operators to pay for the FTA package to the MSOs. An amount of Rs 30 to Rs 50 is being paid at present to MSOs, the Federation added..


    Hathway Cable and Datacom has suggested a basic tier price of Rs 100 per month (excluding taxes). This will work out to not less than Rs 150 a month.


    “The cost of materials like cable, amplifier, and electronics have gone up significantly. And other components such as power and fuel in delivery of the services have also risen sharply in the last one to two years,” the MSO expressed to Trai.


    According to cable TV industry observer Col V.C Khare, “The rate was arrived at for a network spectrum 47-550 MHz transporting 62 channels, with a customer base of 32000 and a radius of operation of 7.5 kms on coaxial cable.”


    “Technically, head ends using 500 series trunk cable over 47-862 M Hz and transporting 90 channels cannot deliver signal quality per IS 13420 beyond 4.8 kms cable length, with a cascading limit of 16 amplifiers. The subscriber base of 32000 was high as independent head ends were having 18000 subscribers on an average. On the other hand, networks have consolidated with fiber, 120 digitally compressed signals, encryption and SMS hardware installed. If the upward and downward adjustment in cost for the above factors is taken into account the cost of Rs.72 as prorated would give at least a minimum cost of Rs.100 (exclusive of taxes),” he argued.


    National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) president Vikki Choudhry has suggested a monthly subscription rate of Rs 180. “A price below this level will result in deficiency in quality of service for the consumers, non-conformity with the provisions of CAS and Standards of BIS, no investment in network upgradation or maintenance, loss of employment, incentives most broadcasters to keep (or convert) their channels into pay, loss of revenue to the Indian Government and encourage under declaration by the cable service providers of FTA subscribers.”

  • Manorama News unveiled; ‘varied content’ USP

    Manorama News unveiled; ‘varied content’ USP

    MUMBAI: Print major Malayala Manorama Group has launched its maiden television broadcast venture Manorama News, a 24-hour free-to-air news channel. The channel hit the airwaves with a news bulletin at 12 noon on 17 August and the day also marked the beginning of the Onam month for Keralites.

    Manorama News attempts to make a mark in the highly contested Malayalam (Kerala) television market with its USP of ‘varied content’. “Our strategy is to offer varied content than just news. We have lined up a complete set of different news formats targeted at different viewer segments,” MM TV — the broadcast arm of Malayala Manorama — COO Anil George told indiantelevision.com.

    MM News has divided the state into three regions — South (Thiruvananthapuram), Central (Kochi) and North of Kerala (Kozhikode) — to enable itself to dish out local news in a better way. The channel telecasts three different beams of six local news bulletins every day catering to the regions on an exclusive basis. Except these six local news bulletins, the rest of the channel programming is uniform for the entire state.

    Apart from the three key local points of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, MM News has set up its studios in Delhi and Mumbai.

    MM News offers a package of half-an-hour news bulletins, making it a total of 12 news bulletins per day. The channel airs extended news programmes early morning and in the night. The morning news show Pularvela, slotted for 7 am to – 8:30 am – functions as a platform to provide and discuss all the early news stories coming in. Manorama News Hour, from 9 pm to 10 pm, will provide an in-depth analysis of the day’s news with the updates.

    MM News targets the viewer segment which vies for lighter stuff with a 7 pm show Sakalakala. The crime news genre has been taken care of with Kutapathram at 10 pm. the ‘business class’ is targeted with business news bulletins twice in a day, at 5 pm and 11 pm. Vanita, a female-oriented show, has an afternoon slot at 2:30 pm. The channel has also lined up a celebrity interview series to mark the beginning.

    MM News’ interactive prime time chat show Ningal Parayoo explores the channel’s online space and the mobile short code 7333. According to George, MM News will change its short code to 6776 as the group is planning to acquire a uniform mobile interactive identity.

    “For the time being, we will be using the short code 7333 for Manorama News. But soon, the entire Manorama group will come under the short code 6776,” says George.

    Speaking on the initiatives made on the distribution front, George says the channel has a 100 per cent presence in Kerala and Delhi, while plans for the other key centres are on the anvil.

    “We are working on the distribution front and we will be soon hoping on the Direct to Home (DTH) platform as well. At present, we are not available in the Gulf region. However, talks are on and we would be making it to the Gulf very soon,” he says.

    When queried on the channel’s strategy to make a first impression in the market, George said even entertainment channels had been considered as competitors. “It is not that, we are fighting with the existing news channels of the space. We consider even entertainment channels as out competitors. MM News is launching a number of innovative formats and the plan is to bring in viewers from the other viewing genres also. The national scenario, where news channels are really improving their viewer-base with various innovative strategies, has been really inspiring.”

    Speaking on the immediate target, George said the plan was to let the content bring in viewers and then advertisers. “Our focus is on building a brand in the interest of consumers by offering them the right content. In the next six months, the plan is to win the mindshare and we are sure that the revenue share will follow.”

    MM News follows a two-pronged marketing strategy to create a buzz in the market, according to George. “Our immediate goal is to provide a different experience of news broadcasting to the viewer. The strategy is to let the content bring in the viewer. Then, we will have a consistent advertising campaign series across different media wings of Manorama to promote the channel,” he says.

    When queried on MM TV’s next television venture, George said the company is presently looking at a couple of genres. “We have a long term strategy of getting into other ventures. A couple of formats have been thought of, but no time frame has been set yet.”

  • JANMAT ABHIYAAN – A Signature Campaign for better roads in Mumbai

    JANMAT, the channel that has changed the way citizens engage with their leaders and make them accountable for their actions is now ready to take on bigger issues. It is launching the JANMAT ABHIYAAN – a movement that involves the citizens of Mumbai to connect with their conscience and join in the fight for justice.

    JANMAT has taken upon itself not to stop at only promoting news and views but instead go beyond the obvious. The channel is stepping BEYOND NEWS, to occupy a space that takes the active support of the citizens to change the way governance is handled in India.

    The issue at hand for the first salvo is the MMRDA and its inability to manage the roads and public infrastructure in Mumbai. Recently on the channel when MMRDA work at various hot spots was under the scanner, it was found that corruption, sub-standard work, mishandling of funds and laxity in meeting targets was rampant within the organization. In fact, when a Janmat camera team approached a public road repair area to shoot for their story, an engineer forbade the camera team to shoot. Their attitude was that roads were in fact “their own property”.

    The plan therefore is to mobilize the people of the city to launch a large signature campaign that will enable the channel to make each citizen a participant in the march for justice. Instead of just reporting news, Janmat and it’s nationwide team of citizens will be plaintiffs in the search for integrity in public servants and public bodies that use public money for their projects.

    In the first leg of the Abhiyaan, five mobile groups will travel the length and breadth of the city and collect signatures from citizens. In the second leg, this ongoing campaign will continue and form the basis of a memorandum that will be presented to the Chief Minister.

    Launched in November with a vision to empower every Indian, ‘Janmat’ provides an opportunity for a pro-active working for a resolution of issues. India’s first 24-hour views channel, Janmat, makes the audience the hero.

    JANMAT ABHIYAAN the voice of the people, alongwith the support of celebrities and leaders will eventually function as an Electronic NGO.
    Be a part of the movement. Stand up for your rights!
    ———————————————————————————————–
    For further information please contact:
    Rina Dasgupta: 9821142424
    Verus Ferreira: 9819510183
    Riddhi Kapadia: 9867390985

  • Nimbus’ channel named Neo Sports; Scott Ferguson to head international operations

    Nimbus’ channel named Neo Sports; Scott Ferguson to head international operations

    MUMBAI: Harish Thawani’s Nimbus Communications Limited appears to be on track as regards its stated aim to launch three sports channels between October 2006 and September 2007.

    Nimbus today announced the name of its main channel as Neo Sports and that the sports broadcasting business’ India operations have been spun off into a new wholly owned subsidiary called Nimbus Sports Broadcast Limited. The statement issued by Nimbus, however, made no mention of who would be heading channel operations in India. That announcement is expected next week.

    Nimbus’ international sports broadcast operations will meanwhile, be managed by Nimbus Media Private Limited based out of Singapore. Appointed as head of Nimbus Media is Scott Ferguson who takes charge as COO heading Asiawide sports broadcast operations.

    Scott, who has been heading sports broadcasting at Orbit in the Middle East, has over 20 years of experience and has had earlier stints at BBC TV, ITV, Sky and NTL.

    Nimbus is pumping over Rs 3 billion (approximately $ 67 million) into Phase 1 of the sports broadcasting business and will invest a further Rs 1.5 billion ($ 33 million) in Phase 2. As has already been reported, over the last one year Nimbus has secured over $ 75 million (Rs 3.4 billion) of fresh financing from 3i & Deutsche Bank.

    Meanwhile, Nimbus has commissioned Singapore based broadcast design company Brandspeed to do the channel branding and design.

  • Star News to launch automobile show ‘Top Speed’

    Star News to launch automobile show ‘Top Speed’

    MUMBAI: Starting 20 August, Star News will launch an automobile handbook show targteing auto lovers and the layman alike, Top Speed. The show will offer a weekly dose of wheels, speed and panache and also news that can be used.

    The half-an-hour show Top Speed will proivde latest news on the newest cars & bikes and showcase new paradigms in automobile technology. The show will air every Sunday at 5:30 pm.

    According to an official statement, the Indian automobile sector is clearly on the boom right now with vehicle sales growing at a rate of 8-10 per cent year on year. With many international players setting shop in India and marketing their products here, the scenario is now so much more exciting, yet so much more vexing for the potential buyer.

    The show will include test drives, vehicle reviews, expert advice on vehicle maintenance, the latest must-haves in accessories, exclusive reporting on auto shows, and much more. It will be anchored by the Auto Magazine consulting editor Rajiv Mitra with Manpreet Waraich. The duo will look at a vehicle from the perspective of an expert and a layman respectively, in an attempt to provide a comprehensive opinion on the vehicle. The two will also contest each other to prove their point, resulting in innovative situations and some real ‘top speed’ action, informs the release.

  • AOL buys video game site GameDaily

    AOL buys video game site GameDaily

    MUMBAI: AOL has acquired GameDaily, one of the Internet’s leading independent video game publications, from Gigex, Inc, but did not disclose the financial terms.

    As part of the agreement, AOL will acquire both the GameDaily consumer website (http://www.gamedaily.com) and the industry-leading newsletter, (http://Biz.GameDaily.com).

    GameDaily will become the flagship video games brand within the AOL Games network, and will be united with content and community features currently found on the AOL Video Games website (http://www.aol.com/videogames), informs an official release.

    In addition, the AOL Video Games editorial team will be integrated into the GameDaily editorial staff to create the new GameDaily editorial team. The GameDaily Biz newsletter team will also operate under the newly combined AOL Video Games-GameDaily editorial team. Additionally, certain GameDaily content partnership agreements will be transitioned to AOL.

    “Video game sites have become a valuable resource for advertisers wishing to reach the young male audience, and GameDaily is a brand that resonates with these highly sought after consumers,” said AOL Games VP and GM Ralph Rivera. “We look forward to continuing to serve this audience, maximizing GameDaily content with AOL’s community features, and further expanding the AOL Games community.”

    “Video games are now a vital piece of the entertainment landscape along with music, video and online communities,” said Gigex Inc CEO Mark Friedler. “We’re thrilled to combine our experience delivering top-notch consumer content and leading business news with AOL’s tremendous reach to provide a new level of innovative entertainment content to online consumers everywhere.”

    According to the release, in addition to GameDaily.com, the AOL Games network also includes AOL Games (http://www.aol.com/games), destination for casual and downloadable games from leading publishers; AOL Video Games (http://www.aol.com/videogames), gamers’ leading online resource for video game news, previews, cheats and original programming such as the interactive Inside the Game feature; and the recently acquired Games.com, an extension of AOL Games’ best-of-breed casual games available at one of the most popular URLs among web users seeking games content.

    GameDaily is AOL’s fourth announced acquisition of 2006, following the acquisition of Userplane last week, Lightningcast, Inc. in May, and Truveo, Inc. in January. Other recent corporate acquisitions in 2005 by AOL include Music Now, LLC, Weblogs, Inc., Xdrive, Inc. and Wildseed, Ltd.

  • ICC to invite media rights bids for 2007-2015 in October

    ICC to invite media rights bids for 2007-2015 in October

    MUMBAI: In October, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will begin the process of selling the audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015.

    A statement put forth by the ICC informs that the period includes 18 ICC tournaments. There will be two World Cups, in Asia in 2011 and in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. There will also be at least three Champions Trophy tournaments. It will then focus on selling the sponsorship rights.

    Media reports indicate that the first two Twenty20 world championships to be held in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), also feature among the events.

    The current agreement with Global Cricket Corporation (a News Corp subsidiary), which began in 2000, ends in March/April 2007 with the World Cup in the West Indies. GCC had sold the India territory rights for ICC cricket to Sony Entertainment Television India.

  • MTV International launches multi-platform film competition for Aids awareness

    MTV International launches multi-platform film competition for Aids awareness

    MUMBAI: As part of MTV International’s ongoing HIV and Aids prevention campaign – Staying Alive, the company announced its first film competition, 48fest.

    It will be aired next month across all of MTV’s worldwide platforms – on air, online and on mobile phones.

    Held at the XVI International Aids conference in Toronto from 14-16 August, the competition gave 48 youths 48-hours to write, shoot, edit and deliver a short film of three minutes on HIV and Aids grassroots efforts. The winner will be crowned at the 48fest Awards Ceremony held at the Masonic Temple in Toronto on 17 August.

    MTV International VP, public affairs Georgia Arnold says, “48fest gives young filmmakers the unique opportunity of telling their own stories about HIV and Aids in their own voice. At MTV, we believe one of the strongest ways to deliver HIV and Aids prevention messages is to empower our viewers to talk about HIV and Aids, enable them to use their creativity, and give them a platform to share their voice with their peers. In this case, the platform includes our numerous TV channels, broadband services, websites and mobile TV channels located throughout the world.”

    MTV in Canada senior VP, GM Brad Schwartz says, “MTV in Canada is dedicated to discussing issues that are important to all Canadians. HIV and Aids prevention is one of those issues. We are extremely proud to be hosting this event. It is an exciting first step in our quest to create innovative and new ways to discuss and promote awareness and prevention of HIV and Aids in Canada.”

    The 48fest competition will be comprised of eight teams of six filmmakers from all over the world, who are also youth delegates to Aids 2006. Each team will be assigned to create a film that focuses on one of eight HIV and Aids-themed subjects, including condom use, delaying or abstaining from sex, machismo, testing, violence against women, discrimination, stigma, and vulnerable populations.

    The teams will each be accompanied by a professional Canadian filmmaker, who will serve as a mentor and will help the contestants to sharpen their skills across all areas of filmmaking.

    All of the shorts will be screened by the contestants, their mentors and Aids 2006 delegates before the awards ceremony to be held at Toronto. The films will be critiqued by a panel of judges including MTV US president Christina Norman, Canadian-born rock artist Fefe Dobson and CTV president of programming Susanne Boyce.

    The 48fest films will be made available for broadcast across MTV’s worldwide network of 50 TV channels, 14 mobile TV channels, 18 broadband services and 44 websites. In addition, the shorts will be compiled into a 30-minute documentary, Staying Alive – 48fest (working title), that will showcase the films as well as behind-the-scenes footage as the young filmmakers progress through their many stages of film production.

    The documentary will also air across MTV International’s TV and broadband channels. Offered rights-free and cost-free to third party broadcasters, the shorts and documentary will be available for worldwide broadcast in September.

    In addition, during the Awards Ceremony on 17 August, US based MTV News and Docs – in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation – will premiere Think HIV. This is a documentary in which young people from across the US tell their story of how HIV and Aids has affected their generation. Part memorial, part testimony, these short video vignettes –filmed entirely by infected and/or affected young people – paints a portrait of the epidemic’s impact on their lives. The half-hour show will make its television debut on MTV in the US and Canada the following day.

    It is the first such documentary created by MTV and Kaiser that features 100 per cent user-generated content produced by young people on digital video recorders. Think HIV is part of think MTV, a community where young people get informed, connect to each other, express themselves and take action on the issues important to them, their community and their world.