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  • Herb Granath is US Academy of TV arts and sciences chairman

    Herb Granath is US Academy of TV arts and sciences chairman

    MUMBAI: The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Natas) in the US has elected Herbert Granath as its chairman.

    Granath says, “I am honoured to take on this leadership position in this preeminent organization that plays a key role in fostering and recognising excellence in the television industry. It is a dynamic time for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as we strive to represent a changing television industry that has come to include not only a growing number of television networks but also those who distribute video content via ever-expanding platforms including the Internet, cell phones and handheld devices.

    Granath is among other things the co-chairman of Crown Media Holdings, which owns and operates The Hallmark Channel in the US. Granath also serves as Media and Entertainment Holdings Chairman and CEO. The investment company specialises in worldwide media properties. He also acts as senior programming consultant for Telenet, a cable company in Belgium.

  • Pogo Amazing Kids Awards get interactive this year

    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.

  • Ekta & Smriti Irani to co-produce Star Plus soap ‘Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan’

    Ekta & Smriti Irani to co-produce Star Plus soap ‘Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan’

    MUMBAI: Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms and Smriti Irani will co-produce Star Plus’ new weekend prime time venture Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan. The soap launches on 19 August Saturday at 10:30 pm.

    States Irani on her second most significant outing on tube after Kyunki Saas…, “Apart from co-producing the show with the production house that gave me India’s most celebrated show, I am extremely honoured that Star Plus has given me the opportunity to graduate from an actor to a producer.”

    Thodi Si Zameen Thoda Sa Aasmaan, is a story of Uma didi, a 27-year old obedient daughter of a mill worker, who undertakes several jobs to run the family ever since the mill has shut. Set in the heart of Mumbai in a middle class “chawl”, it is mostly occupied by the mill workers, who are out of job; a story full of hardships and tribulations of a common man’s everyday life. Where Uma will hold the centre stage, as she will be looked up as a source of constant inspiration and driving force for the chawl people, who draw their strength and reason to live from her indomitable spirit!

    The story and screenplay of the show is done by the acclaimed Bollywood writer Kamlesh Pandey, who was behind blockbuster movies such as Rang De Basanti and Tezaab. The soap is directed by Santram Verma.

  • US media companies unite in effort to help parents monitor kids’ TV

    US media companies unite in effort to help parents monitor kids’ TV

    MUMBAI: The American Advertising Council has joined a broad cross-section of the media and entertainment industries to launch a national multi-media public service advertising (PSA) campaign calling on parents to take a more active role in their children’s television viewing habits.

    The campaign, entitled Media Management, was produced in partnership with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) representing cable programmers and operators, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA); television broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and direct-to-home satellite providers DirecTV and Echostar.

    The new PSAs are being distributed to media outlets nationwide this month and will appear in advertising time and space donated by the media. The media company campaign partners have committed to donate $300 million in advertising time and space for the new PSAs during the next 18 months.

    Children’s bedrooms have increasingly become multimedia centers, raising important issues about supervision and exposure to unlimited content. Ad Council research shows the majority of parents (70-80 per cent) have serious concerns about age-inappropriate television content. However, according to a Kaiser Generation M study, 53 per cent of 8-18 year-olds say their families have no rules about TV watching.

    In addition, of the remaining 46 per cent who say their families do have rules, the vast majority (80 per cent) say these rules are enforced only some of the time, a little of the time, or never. Despite their general lack of awareness about blocking technologies, many parents are open to ideas that promise more control, and agree that these technologies can be an effective tool.

    “For the first time parents have total power to control all TV programming in their home. Through TV, cable and satellite blocking mechanisms, parents can become the TV Boss in their homes. Whatever programs parents believe to be unsuitable for their nine and ten year olds, can be easily blocked, so that when parents go out to dinner, they can be secure in the knowledge they have blocked out all programs they don’t want their young children to watch. By going to a website, TheTVBoss.org, they can learn how to control all programming in the home,” said former MPAA president and CEO Jack Valenti.

    Created pro bono by advertising agency McCann Erickson New York, the Media Management campaign includes new television, radio, print and web advertising, which aims to educate and inform parents with young children about how they can monitor and supervise their children’s television consumption.

    “We are proud to join Jack Valenti and all of our media and entertainment partners in this unprecedented campaign to give parents the tools they need to block from their homes television programming they feel is inappropriate for their children. This campaign is compelling, engaging and innovative, and I believe it will be generously supported by the media and – more importantly – motivating for parents,” said The Advertising Council president and CEO Peggy Conlon.

    The new television spots humourously feature scenes in which parents take steps to protect their children from exposure to inappropriate behavior. All of the ads say to parents, “You’re the boss of what your kids watch. Make the rules. Know the ratings. Use parental controls.”

    The new PSAs can be viewed at www.adcouncil.org/default.aspx?id=360.

    “It is important for parents to know that they have the power and the responsibility to monitor what their children watch on TV. We decided to show that empowered parent in a humourous, relevant way,” said McCann Erickson New York chief creative officer Joyce King Thomas.

    The campaign encourages parents to visit a new comprehensive website, www.TheTVBoss.org, which provides information on how they can take a more active role in their children’s media consumption. Developed by Ripple Effects Interactive, the website features tips on managing television programming, (including using the V-chip and cable/satellite blocking mechanisms), making program choices together, talking to children about what they’re watching and checking program content and ratings.

  • 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.

  • 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.”

  • CNN doc traces the footsteps of Osama bin Laden

    CNN doc traces the footsteps of Osama bin Laden

    MUMBAI: News broadcaster CNN will air a documentary In The Footsteps Of bin Laden on 23 August at 5:30 pm. The two-hour investigation paints a portrait of bin Laden and his transformation from child to man using first-hand accounts of the people who have known him throughout his life.

    From his peaceful teenage years to orchestrating the events on 9/11, viewers are taken on a global journey, tracing the path of bin Laden’s life from his childhood home and school in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to his residence in Peshawar, Pakistan, where al-Qaeda was born, and to the mountains of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border where he is being hunted today.

    Using never-before-seen photographs, video and even the minutes of the meeting in which al-Qaeda was created, the special weaves a story of the world’s most notorious terrorist.

    CNN International senior VP Rena Golden says, “In The Footsteps Of bin Laden is a unique insight into the world of a man who is both feared and revered in equal measure around the world. For the first time his life, for so long cloaked in myth and mystery, has been documented by Christiane Amanpour for CNN’s international audience.”

    Filmed in 10 countries on four continents, the documentary features 21 first-person accounts of bin Laden from his relatives, childhood friends, former schoolteacher, co-jihadists, bodyguard and even the wife of an al-Qaeda suicide bomber — many of them breaking their silence for the first time on camera.

    The documentary ties the evolution of bin Laden’s philosophy to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism from the late 1970s through the unique personal perspective of Amanpour.

    “The story of militant Islamic fundamentalism did not begin with September 11,” said Amanpour. “The Islamic Revolution that swept Iran in 1979 and forced the pro-American Shah from power was the first sign that Fundamentalist Islam had awoken as a movement in the Middle East and the entire world continues feeling its shockwaves today.”

    The special is based on the book The Osama bin Laden I Know by CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. His book offers numerous new details about bin Laden’s transformation from a quiet, well-bred boy to the Western world’s most wanted terrorist. Bergen, an author and a Fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C., was a CNN producer at the time of the interview with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in March 1997. Bergen, along with others, is featured in the CNN documentary and is credited as a co-producer.

  • Warner makes classic TV shows available on iTunes

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Apple have announced that classic hit programming from Warner Bros.’ television library is available for purchase and download on the iTunesMusic Store.


    It will include shows like Friends, Babylon and sketches from MADtv, as well as animated classics including The Jetsons and The Flintstones. iTunes offers over 150 TV shows for $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod.


    Also available is the pilot episode of Aquaman–a contemporary reinterpretation of DC Comics’ Aquaman mythology from the writing/producing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar Smallville.


    Warner Bros. Digital Distribution president Simon Kenny says, “Making our television content available to iTunes consumers is an important step in our digital distribution strategy. This deal fits perfectly with our philosophy of providing consumers with access to our world-class entertainment properties across the widest selection of platforms and devices available.”


    Apple iTunes VP Eddy Cue says, “We are thrilled to add hit programming from Warner Bros. as we continue to grow our video catalog with the best current and classic television programming. iTunes is the world’s most popular online video store with over 35 million videos sold.”


    With Apple’s ease of use, features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 9,000 music videos, Pixar and Disney short films, a variety of hit TV shows, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

  • Warner makes classic TV shows available on iTunes

    Warner makes classic TV shows available on iTunes

    MUMBAI: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Apple have announced that classic hit programming from Warner Bros.’ television library is available for purchase and download on the iTunesMusic Store.

    It will include shows like Friends, Babylon and sketches from MADtv, as well as animated classics including The Jetsons and The Flintstones. iTunes offers over 150 TV shows for $1.99 per episode for viewing on a computer or iPod.

    Also available is the pilot episode of Aquaman–a contemporary reinterpretation of DC Comics’ Aquaman mythology from the writing/producing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar Smallville.

    Warner Bros. Digital Distribution president Simon Kenny says, “Making our television content available to iTunes consumers is an important step in our digital distribution strategy. This deal fits perfectly with our philosophy of providing consumers with access to our world-class entertainment properties across the widest selection of platforms and devices available.”

    Apple iTunes VP Eddy Cue says, “We are thrilled to add hit programming from Warner Bros. as we continue to grow our video catalog with the best current and classic television programming. iTunes is the world’s most popular online video store with over 35 million videos sold.”

    With Apple’s ease of use, features such as integrated video and podcasting support, iMix playlist sharing, seamless integration with iPod and groundbreaking personal use rights, the iTunes Music Store is the best way for Mac and PC users to legally discover, purchase and download music and videos online. The iTunes Music Store features a selection of over 9,000 music videos, Pixar and Disney short films, a variety of hit TV shows, and more than three million songs from the major music companies and over 1,000 independent labels.

  • Time Warner chairman, CEO Parsons is Mipcom’s Personality of the Year

    Time Warner chairman, CEO Parsons is Mipcom’s Personality of the Year

    MUMBAI: Reed Midem which organises the television event Mipcom in Cannes France has named Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard D. Parsons as the Mipcom 2006 Personality of the Year.

    Parsons will receive the accolade on 11 October. Mipcom takes place from 9 to 13 October 2006 at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes.

    Reed Midem CEO Paul Zilk says, “We are extremely pleased to honour Richard Parsons as our Mipcom Personality of the Year. Under his leadership, Time Warner informs, entertains and connects people all over the globe through its leading brands and programming.

    “In an ever-evolving world defined by constant technological and demographic change, Time Warner – with its long tradition of innovation and creativity – continues to shape not only our industry, but the culture we live in.”

    Parsons says, “I am very honoured to be this year’s Personality of the Year and to join the notable ranks of past honourees. I am particularly pleased to be recognised at Mipcom, the veritable hub of the worldwide television market, which gathers industry leaders together from across the globe.

    “This award is a testament to the more than 85,000 Time Warner employees who are the creative source for all that we do. I dedicate it to them and to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who continue to inspire us to provide the best in entertainment and information in these rapidly changing times.”