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  • AOL co-founder Case apologies for Warner merger

    AOL co-founder Case apologies for Warner merger

    MUMBAI: The co founder of US internet service provider AOL Steve Case has apologised for merging his company in 2001 with Time Warner.

    The merger proved to be a disaster and the company lost $200 billion of its value. The entity was called AOL Time Warner but then embaressed executives at Time Warner decided to drop AOL from the company’s name a few years down the line.

    In an interview on US pubcaster PBS with Charlie Rose Case expressed frustration that the merger did not develop in the manner that had been hoped for. He however, still belives that it was a good idea.

  • MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MTV Asia Pacific postpones first edition of Movie Awards

    MUMBAI: MTV Asia Pacific has postponed production of the inaugural MTV Asia Movie Awards due to scheduling issues.

    MTV is in the process of strategising future plans for the event with its business constituents including the Singapore Tourism Board, sponsors, and the international and regional film and music industries. The awards were supposed to have been held in October.

    MTV Asia Pacific president Nigel Robbins stated, “The decision to postpone the MTV Asia Movie Awards was not taken lightly, and we are examining ways to deliver a show that is second to none at a later date. Our first priority to our audience, sponsors and the film and record industry is to deliver a top-notch, star-studded MTV event.”

    Currently, there are local versions of the MTV Movie Awards staged in Indonesia, Russia and the US. MTV says that the franchise is one of the most popular of its tentpole events, with its unique twist to ‘traditional’ movie kudofests by offering off-the-wall categories appealing to MTV’s audience such as Best Kiss and Best Fight.

  • Star World focusses on crime with new show ‘NCIS’

    Star World focusses on crime with new show ‘NCIS’

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World will air the show NCIS from 28 July at 9 pm.

    The show deals with the inner workings of the government agency that investigates all crimes involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position. Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humour the show that focusses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations.

    Leading the troupe is NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a former Marine gunnery sergeant, whose skills as an investigator are unmatched. Gibbs is a man of few words, who only needs a look to explain it all. Working under Gibbs is Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo (Michael Weatherly), an ex-homicide detective who may come off as the world’s oldest frat boy, but whose instincts in the field are unparalleled.

    Joining them are forensic specialist Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), a talented scientist whose dark wit matches her Goth style and eclectic tastes, and NCIS Special Agent Timothy McGee, an MIT graduate whose brilliance with computers far overshadows his insecurities in the field. Assisting the team is medical examiner Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard (David McCallum), who knows it all because he’s seen it all, and he’s not afraid to let you know.

    Internally, the NCIS team will have to band together and recover after the devastating loss of Special Agent Kate Todd at the hands of a terrorist. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy and Marine Corps ties.

    The first episode deals with the investigation of a Secret Service agent’s death aboard Air Force One leads Gibbs and the others to uncover a terrorist’s scheme, and partners them up with another Secret Service agent, Kate Todd – who may have longer ties with NCIS than any of them foresee.

  • India to host Afro Asia Cup next year

    India to host Afro Asia Cup next year

    MUMBAI: India will host the next edition of the Afro Asia Cup in cricket next year in Mohali. The rights for the event are with Nimbus.

    Media reports indicate that The Afro-Asia Cup was launched two years ago but not held after that because of the packed schedule of India and the other teams.

    In 2008 the event will be held in Kenya.

    When the event was held in 2005 South African cricketer Jacques Kallis had criticised the event saying that he was not as excited about participating in it as he is when playing for South Africa. Also the fact that some top players had made themselves unavailable meant that the event lost some of its sheen.

  • Guba, MPAA to crack down on movie piracy

    MUMBAI: Online video entertainment website Guba is collaborating with the Motion Picture Association of America, (MPAA) to block illegal trading of movies and television programs on www.guba.com.
    Guba is the first video sharing community to partner with the MPAA in filtering copyrighted video.
    Guba is filtering movies and TV shows using a proprietary technology Johnny. Johnny analyses video in digitised form and generates a unique fingerprint for each video. Once Johnny has scanned a video, that video is blocked from illegal file trading or distribution on Guba’s site.
    Guba plans to make Johnny available to other video sharing services to help eliminate copyright infringement on the Web and on Usenet, an electronic bulletin board commonly
    used for illegal file sharing. Until the implementation of Johnny, copyrighted content on Usenet has been largely unfiltered.
    Guba CEO and founder Thomas McInerney says, “Johnny can identify a video, even if that video has been modified, cropped, reformatted, re-encoded or reposted. Guba allows users to upload and share their videos, while Johnny
    helps protect copyright holders from illegal posting and sharing. Johnny is an essential cog in making video sharing safe and easy.”
    The MPAA has been working with technology companies to provide a bridge in the digital transition. Guba and the MPAA have included thousands of movies and television programs from major studios in Johnny’s filters. Filtering efforts on MPAA titles have so far been successful and Guba is committed to
    continuing and improving on this initiative. In the last month, Guba has begun distribution of Warner Bros. and Sony film and television shows online.
    MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman says, “Providing consumers legitimate ways to get movie and television programming online is essential to our industry. Collaborating with Guba has given us an opportunity to test new technology that will help ensure consumers can freely share videos without being exposed to illegal programming, which could lead to copyright infringement. We hope that other such sites will employ similar technology which allows them to conduct legitimate online businesses while protecting the creations of thousands of people who work in the entertainment industry.”
    As a copyright-friendly service, Guba currently prevents users from uploading feature-length films, DRM-protected content, MP3 files, and software.

  • Pogo Amazing Kids Awards get interactive this year

    MUMBAI: It‘s time for the third edition of the Pogo Amazing Kids Awards (PAKA) and this time the fun and frolic around the awards is set to double. Unlike its previous two editions, this time round apart from airing the awards on Pogo in December, the channel will also weave programming around it.


    “We will be presenting PAKA in a serialised format this year comprising 19 episodes over a period of seven weeks, which will showcase the kids who are shortlisted in the award categories,” says Turner International India vice president advertising sales and networks (India and South Asia) Monica Tata.


    What‘s more, for the first time, the show will also weave interactivity around it wherein viewers can SMS and vote in for their favourite kids in various categories. The call of voting for Paka will start from 15 September and will end of 31 October. The awards will be held in December.


    The series will begin airing on 4 November. The first eight episodes will be non-category specific, profiling episodes, with the viewer getting to see five amazing kids every episode. The ninth episode will be a re-cap and episodes 10 – 17 will have the top three kids‘ pitched against each other vying for the top rung by impressing the jury, viewers and thereby getting their votes. Episode 18 will again be a re-cap and also the curtain raiser to the finals. Winners will be announced in the 19th episode.


    The winners will get a child benefit policy worth Rs 500,000 and will also get a change to be on Pogo through 2007. Derek O‘Brien‘s company will manage the entire selection and search process for PAKA 2006.


    The search for the 40 kids from eight categories (five kids per category) of arts, sports, music, singing, dance, genius, leadership and entertainment will begin on 1 August and end on 20 August. These 40 kids will further be shortlisted to 24 (three per category).


    Tata added, “Having the distinction of being the country‘s only televised kids‘ awards, as also a unique platform that acknowledges India‘s wealth of budding talent and kids‘ choices, Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 aims to raise the benchmark for children‘s awards in the country through audience polls and a panel of illustrious judges whose combined feedback would determine which amazing Indian kid bags each of the eight coveted titles. Right from the solicitation phase up to the grand finale, every phase of Pogo Amazing Kids Awards 2006 will truly reflect Pogo‘s promise of being a channel that Indian kids can call their own.”


    PAKA is divided into two sections – Pogo Voice Awards and Pogo Kids Awards. The Pogo Kids Awards segment will recognize exceptional talent and brilliance and reward them for their extraordinary talents in multiple areas.


    The channel has tied up with Bata as their on-ground partners, wherein kids can avail of the entry forms from any of the 850 Bata outlets across the country. Forms can also be downloaded from www.Pogo.tv and information can also be found by sending an SMS to 8558.


    Apart from that there are two presenting sponsors (Horlicks and Parle G) and six associates sponsors (Kellogg‘s, Big Babol, Kissan, Reynolds, Munch and Ganuchi Shoes).


    To promote PAKA 2006, Pogo will kick off an integrated media campaign comprising outdoor, print, internet and school contact programmes. Mailers will be sent out to 200,000 kids across India and school contact programmes will be held in approximately 3000 schools.

  • Vijay TV set to launch ‘Kallaka Povadhu Yaaru 2’

    Vijay TV set to launch ‘Kallaka Povadhu Yaaru 2’

    MUMBAI: Tamil channel Vijay TV is gearing up to launch the second series of its popular comedy show Kallaka Povadhu Yaaru. The show, slotted for Fridays at 10 pm, will launch on 28 July.

    The promotional campaign idea for the show revolves around the thought that “Its Fresh”. As a part of the on air promo campaign which showcases the Hutch Kallaka Povadhu Yaaru 2 brand as a fresh glass of juice, fresh and healthy Atta and many such interpretations of freshness. 

    The off air campaign has got a road show being held across six cities in Tamil Nadu where preview of the HKPY 2 is being shown on a giant screen and the winners of HKPY 1 would accompany this van as a part of the promotion, according to an official release.

    States Vijay TV GM Ravinath Menon on the initiative, “I am sure Hutch Kallaka Povadhu Yaaru 2 will live up to the expectations of viewers as well as advertisers. Our team has managed to source extraordinary talents even from remote places. The show is big with lots of surprising elements in store. The brand enjoys great equity in media and in the film industry. If the huge interest levels in the audition phase is any indication, the show is sure going to be another super hit like its first part.”

  • ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    ESS announces executive appointments; Vijay Rajput made COO

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India, today announced the appointment of Vijay Rajput as COO, Sricharan Iyengar as vice president and business head of the consumer business group and emerging technologies and Rajesh Kaul as vice president, affiliate sales.

    Commenting on the the executive changes, ESPN managing director RC Venkateish said, “These senior management appointments will help us focus our efforts on key growth areas, both for the present and the future and positions us to effectively evolve our organization to maximize new opportunities.”

    Vijay Rajput joined ESS as director finance in 1997. In his new role Rajput will be responsible for handling the finance, administration, HR and legal divisions at ESPN in addition to playing a pivotal role in the strategic management of the company. Rajput has considerable management expertise as he has an industry experience of nearly two decades.

    Iyengar, associated with ESS since 2000, was earlier overseeing the marketing & distribution functions of ESPN & STAR Sports across South Asia. While continuing to handle consumer marketing and direct to consumer services of DTH/Broadband and IPTV, Iyengar will lead the company’s thrust into the emerging technologies of mobile, wireless and internet.

    “We realise there is a big business opportunity on the emerging technologies. As a leading sports broadcaster, we will have to be omnipresent on all the delivery platforms. We will also have to plan for content on new media. This will require proper focus,” Iyengar says.

    Rajesh Kaul, who was earlier reporting to Iyengar, is given independent charge of affiliate sales. Matters relating to multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable TV operators will, thus, be handled by him.

    ESS recently tied up with mobile phone operator Airtel to offer voice-based update system during the Fifa World Cup. “Wireless can become a big platform. We tied up with Airtel during the football World Cup. We will see how this service evolves. CDMA mobile operators like Reliance Infocomm can offer video clips. We will have to create products for these new media vehicles,” Iyengar says.

    Value-added services on mobile phones is still evolving. “Sports and news will drive the mobile business. When we sort out the bandwidth issue, video-based applications will become popular,” he adds.

  • Motorola to extend portfolio of ‘video anywhere’ solutions with acquisition

    Motorola to extend portfolio of ‘video anywhere’ solutions with acquisition

    MUMBAI: Motorola will acquire the American firm Broadbus Technologies. It provides technology solutions for Television On-Demand (TOD).

    Broadbus Technologies’ carrier-class technology solutions enable the distribution of on-demand content to consumers through multiple devices. The company’s innovative solid-state server architecture is based on the intelligent configuration and management of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). As a result, the platform can use less space and power than traditional hard-disk based technology, while providing performance, reliability and scalability improvements for video ingest, streaming, and storage.

    With the acquisition, Motorola will extend its video delivery platform with new content management and distribution capabilities that address growing market opportunities such as mobile video, video-on-demand (VOD), time-shifted TV, network-based digital video recording (nDVR), on-demand ad insertion (ODAI) and switched digital video (SDV).

    Motorola connected home solutions president Dan Moloney says, “Today, consumers expect to access video entertainment on the different devices they have, inside and outside of their home, in varying formats – and to have it available upon request. The addition of Broadbus Technologies will bring Motorola’s video delivery platform one step closer to enabling this vision of seamless mobility by providing us with field-proven content management and delivery solutions.

    “Service providers will be able to take advantage of a complete end-to-end seamless video experience enabled by Motorola technology to extend their customer relationships.”

  • Emmy Awards to salute TV icon Dick Clark

    Emmy Awards to salute TV icon Dick Clark

    MUMBAI: US television industry icon Dick Clark will be at the 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards hosted by Conan O’Brien, on 27 August 2006. Clark among other activities produces the Golden Globe Awards.

    Clark began his entertainment career at the age of 17 at WRUN Radio in Utica, New York. After graduating from Syracuse University with a bachelor of science in business administration, he became a news anchorman at television station WKTV. In 1952, he moved to Philadelphia to work for WFIL Radio and Television. Four years later, he became the host of the local television station’s show, Bandstand.

    In 1957, Clark founded Dick Clark Productions and convinced ABC to carry the show nationwide. Within weeks American Bandstand was the US’ highest-rated daytime show. American Bandstand holds the record as television’s longest running music/variety programme.

    It has earned many awards and honours, including two Emmy awards. The show also served as the foundation upon which Clark rose to national fame and built a multi-faceted entertainment company which produces shows like So You Think You Can Dance, The American Music Awards and The Golden Globe Awards.

    Since his breakthrough with American Bandstand Clark has gone on to host many special broadcasts including the annual Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve specials, the Bloopers series and specials, and numerous retrospective specials centered around his history-making American Bandstand television series. Clark is also well known for his live behind-the-scenes interviews at events like the Golden Globe Awards.