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  • Alfred Haber Distribution to distribute ‘Vanity Insanity’ worldwide

    Alfred Haber Distribution to distribute ‘Vanity Insanity’ worldwide

    MUMBAI: Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc. (AHDI) has announced that it has been selected as the exclusive worldwide distributor (excluding Canada) of Insight Film Studios’ docu-reality series Vanity Insanity. This 26 half-hour series tells the tale of real individuals attempting to transform their lives by altering their appearances.

    Hosted by R & B artist Deborah Cox and shot in HDTV, each episode features accounts of body modification, cosmetic surgery and image exaggeration, thus exposing the growing obsession with looking good at all costs.

    According to an official release, every week a different aspect of the industry is examined, providing a graphic, but accurate portrayal of the worldwide addiction to the “beauty revolution.”

    Filmed throughout North America, Mexico and Brazil, the series highlights true stories that include, Tattoo You, an look at full body and face tattoos, Bald R Us, the painstaking – and expensive – search for a full head of hair, The Singing Doctor, about a surgeon who provides clients with the opportunity to sound like they did in their prime and Julie Rubinzer, the story of a young woman who went in for a breast augmentation upgrade from which she never woke up; another cautionary tale that reinforces the fact that there is no such thing as “routine surgery,” adds the release.

    The founder of Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc., Alfred Haber said, “Three months ago Vanity Insanity debuted on Canada’s Global Television Network to remarkable ratings going up against the ubiquitous American Idol. We immediately sought out the producers, developed our marketing strategy, and signed the deal.”

    “With over 12 million procedures performed last year in North America alone, I am confident that Vanity Insanity will be an incredibly strong series both domestically and internationally,” he adds.

  • American Red Cross to benefit from sale of American Idol Taylor Hicks’ single

    American Red Cross to benefit from sale of American Idol Taylor Hicks’ single

    MUMBAI: As the ‘soul’ survivor of US broadcaster Fox’s music based reality show American Idol’s fifth season, the Alabama native, Taylor Hicks, had signed a record deal with 19 Recordings Limited/Arista Records.

    A portion of the proceeds from the sales of his single Do I Make You Proud will benefit the American Red Cross.For every CD sold, $0.25 will go to the American Red Cross, as well as $0.15 for every digital download sold, and $0.20 for every ringtone and ringback. The single to be released tomorrow 13 June marks the fourth American Idol single to provide financial support to the mission of the Red Cross and the people it serves. Sales of the past three recordings generated more than a quarter million dollars in donations.

    BMG US president and COO Charles Goldstuck says, “It has been a privilege these past three years to support the American Red Cross in their fundraising efforts and on behalf of the RCA Music Group and 19 Entertainment we are proud of our association with them.

    “With an active hurricane season predicted, what better time to continue support of their enormous efforts and everything they stand for.”19 Entertainment’s Simon Fuller says, “Great traditions are meant to be extended. It’s been a wonderful experience working with the American Red Cross over the years and 19 Entertainment is proud to continue helping those who need their services the most.”

  • Teri Hatcher recalls tough times before landing ‘Desperate Housewives’ role

    Teri Hatcher recalls tough times before landing ‘Desperate Housewives’ role

    MUMBAI: On UK pubcaster BBC One’s show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross which aired a few days ago Golden Globe-winning Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher admitted that she is full of insecurities. Hatcher – who revealed that she wasn’t wearing underwear all evening – recountted how she’d fallen on hard times before she won the role of Susan Mayer.

    She also spoke on the dificulties women have to face in Hollywood. “I was practically begging for a job, I really needed it,” she says of a failed sitcom audition. “I didn’t get it, I cried for 18 hours … I was desperate.”

    She also lashed out at the fake world of LA. “There’s this illusion that we feel so great. I wanted to admit [in her new book, Burnt Toast] that we women in Hollywood put on extra hair, shove our feet into shoes that don’t fit . There are a lot of women where there are parts that aren’t satisfied. As you gain confidence you are less sensitive about what other people think. That’s played itself out in my life.”

  • ETC to telecast ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Puruskar- the performances’ on 17 June

    ETC to telecast ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Puruskar- the performances’ on 17 June

    MUMBAI: Music based entertainment channel, ETC will air an exclusive telecast of the ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Puruskar- the performances’ on Saturday 17 June 2006 at 8.30 pm.

    The event that was held in Jaipur included performances from a variety of Bollywood and television celebrities.From song and dance to stand up comedy, the star studded evening included performances by artistes Vinod Rathod, Aslam Khan, Suman Rangnathan, Shekhar Suman, Perizad Kolah, Ahesan Qureshi, Udbhav, Sonu Kakkar, Jai Chaniara (kidcomedian), Bhatti Brothers and Raja Hassan

  • BBC forks out $33mn to retain film host Jonathan Ross

    BBC forks out $33mn to retain film host Jonathan Ross

    MUMBAI: Jonathan Ross who presents film shows for UK pubcaster the BBC like Friday Night and Film 2006 has renewed his contract despite fierce bidding from rival channels. Reports indicate that Ross will be paid $33.1 million over a three year period.

    With his tongue firmly in cheek Ross said, “I am delighted to be staying with the BBC if only because it is the only studio I can drive to without getting lost. It is the best channel in the country, and I’m proud they want me back.”

    This deal covers BBC Television and BBC Radio. Channel 4 and ITV were competing for Ross. However, when the BBC matched Channel 4’s offer Ross decided to stay put with the pubcaster.

  • VH1 US, Sundance Channel team up for documentary series on illicit drug use in America

    VH1 US, Sundance Channel team up for documentary series on illicit drug use in America

    MUMBAI: Prior to the 1960’s, very few Americans had ever tried drugs. Today, more than 110 million (nearly half of the U.S. adult population) admit to having used an illicit substance at least once in their lifetime.

    Now VH1, in association with Sundance Channel, have produced the original documentary series The Drug Years. This is a four-part look at the rise of illicit drug use and its cultural impact in the second half of the twentieth century.Based on the book Can’t Find My Way Home: America in the Great Stoned Age, by Martin Torgoff, the series premieres on VH1 in the US tonight 12 June 2006.

    Spanning the 1950’s to the present, The Drug Years explores the development of a commercial drug culture in America, using archival footage and interviews to illustrate how popular culture — including music, movies, comedy, and television – have shaped and reflected public perceptions of illicit drugs. The Drug Years also looks at how drugs became part of the nation’s political landscape, from the youth rebellions of the 1960’s to the War on Drugs and beyond.

    This epic recounting of American drug culture is told through dozens of interviews with actors, musicians, journalists, policy advocates, former drug smugglers, and a retired DEA agent.

    Celebrities who will be interviewed include actor Peter Coyote, singer Jackson Browne, rap star Ice-T and rock star John Mellencamp

  • Zee English to scrap its Indian programming

    Zee English to scrap its Indian programming

    Zee English is making a few changes in its programming and seems to be going the Star World way. It has decided to scrap its Indian programming and will now focus exclusively on foreign content. This move seems to be the channel’s effort to become more focused on the upper crust audience.

    The channel had some four Indian English shows on air. The shows were The Life Style Show, Tonight with Feroze, Spice and You Got It. The channel will get in some additional foreign programmes to fill in these spots.

    It can be noted that Zee English has not achieved the kind of popularity amongst its target elite English-speaking audience that its rival channel Star World has achieved. The move to improve or revamp its programming might also attract additional advertising revenue.

  • ‘We should leverage on each other’s strength and boost the sector by providing the consumer a common platform of services’ : Viren Popli – Star senior VP, Interactive Services

    ‘We should leverage on each other’s strength and boost the sector by providing the consumer a common platform of services’ : Viren Popli – Star senior VP, Interactive Services

    For the last six years, Viren Popli has been an integral part of the Star India system. As the international business senior VP, Popli reported to Kaushik Dalal before moving to the Wireless division to work with Sumantra Dutta. As he puts it, those were days when he worked quietly behind the camera and enjoyed the ‘privacy’ too.

     

    The so-called privacy was soon broken when he was made the head of Interactive Services in February 2005. As he recognizes the tough task he has at hand to build this emerging business as a strong revenue stream, Popli settles down to give his first interview to the media.

     

    At the Wireless division, Popli and his team are making efforts to create a highly sought after destination brand for mobile content, Star 7827, to offer specially created and aggregated content for the mobile screen available through SMS, WAP, Web and voice platforms. In this interview with indiantelevision.com’s Bijoy A K, Popli shares Star’s plans and talks about the evolving digital market.

     

    Excerpts:

    Star India has been spending the last three years to prepare the first draft of its wireless and interactivity plan. And as the first step, the revamped version of Star’s wireless platform 7827 has been unveiled. What went into the research? What are the key findings?

    Several things went into the research. Firstly, we have tried to analyse the effectiveness of areas such as voting, gaming and content. For example, on the gaming front, we have tried to look at the effectiveness of text games and java games. We wanted to know how the product actually sells itself.

     

    Secondly, we have done a lot of focus group studies and discussions across the country to gather useful feedback. Lastly, while doing the research, we did a series of internal studies which covered the whole News Corp platform. News Corp entities across the globe are doing various things on mobile. Hence, we were able to exchange ideas.

     

    Research provided us with a total new insight into the market. For example, very few people in this country know how to download using a mobile. There are booklets and help manuals released by mobile phone companies, but you won’t get a solution in any of those. Someone had to teach people to effectively use the mobile phone in such practical situations.

     

    People are willing to learn technology and pay for it, if they are provided the right content. What kind of content is desired by the mobile community? What is the age group structure here? What is the significance of the word of mouth communication in this segment? Through our research, we got an idea on the kind of efforts we have to make to provide the right response. We also learnt that flexibility, speed and relevance are the most important pieces of this business.

    Could you elaborate on your digital and wireless strategy?

    Our first goal is to make our mobile service 7827 as the most preferred platform both for content owners/mobile operators and consumers. The next focus will be on content. I would rate content space as the biggest challenge in the wireless business.

    What is the next step?

    We want to deliver an all-pervasive service available on all platforms, whether it is text, web or WAP. For an average Indian, Web and WAP are high-end technology words. Hence, we also want to put together an easy-to-access interface method that is more accessible.

    How much of investment has gone into revamping 7827?

    The project requires a significant funding. I can’t provide you the actual figures because we are still in the investment mode. We want to expand in the areas of technology, content and marketing. This is an ongoing process.

    What are the issues that will foster an even faster mobile market growth in India?

    The mobile business has grown tremendously, but the industry is just three or four years old. It will still take some time to evolve. The value chain and the relationship need to fall in place. The audio visual content should reach the masses. The market requires effective strategies and marketing initiatives to attract consumers to audio visual content. This will be crucial for the market to grow.

     

    3G is still some distance away as far as India is concerned. The Indian market has explored 2G and 2.75G technologies really well, but I would say there is still room for improvement. These technologies have still juice in them to drive innovative concepts and deliver better results.

     

    Instead of waiting for the arrival of 3G, we should explore the 3C business, which is Cool Connected Consumer. Mobile phone is no more a mere communication equipment. We change our mobile phone models in such frequency, while we never make an attempt to change our fixed phones. Here the content, as the driver of such a phenomenon, takes centre stage. As a content provider for wireless, we want to make sure that the market will not run short of content. That is what we are doing here. We believe that, content can force the technology to catch up or take a leap.
    ‘We have learnt that, flexibility, speed and relevance are the most important pieces of this business‘

    Will web streaming as a concept catch up in India?

    It is a tremendous opportunity. As I said, it again depends on technology and the technology depends on the content. If the content is really attractive, we will have more and more people opting for the broadband service.

    What is your take on the global scenario? Is there any learning from the China market, where Star Wireless is already operational?

    This space is all about intelligence and experimentation. One interesting development has happened in the international space. Globally, most of the mobile companies are getting out of the content sector. The operators have found working on the content space — which is not actually their main area of strength – very distracting. Across the platform, the players have decided to focus on their main areas of strength.

     

    In India also, mobile operators will have to move out of the content space. It would be very difficult for them to run content services. Focus on a niche area is very important in this sector.

    Who are the key players occupying the digital and wireless space?

    Yahoo is very strong in the communication space, while Google reigns supreme in search. Entertainment companies are aggressively eyeing the digital space. Fox, for example, has taken major inititatives. There are also many small companies. But once consolidation happens, we will have four or five big aggregators and a range of secondary companies working around them in niche areas.

    What is the role played by News Corp. in Star India’s interactive initiatives?

    There is a macro direction element present in the whole process. News Corp. as a company has been a great idea exchange platform. It is all about sharing ideas and capitalising on the ideas and thoughts exchanged through this vast network. Since each individual country has its own local environment, we won’t be able to accept all the ideas generated. We will have to see what survives in our environment. However, the global platform has helped us tremendously to share and generate information and ideas.

    News Corp recently acquired the social network portal Myspace.com. Are you looking at creating a similar networking platform in India?

    The concept of online social networking has been very successful in the West. Star India is also exploring opportunities to launch a social networking portal on its mobile platform.

    Star India launched mobisodes last year. Now it is more than six months since this happened and how was the experience? How much did the initiatives contribute to Star India’s revenues during the fiscal?

    It did really well. We had significant number of video downloads, though the lack of technology awareness and penetration limited the exercise to certain areas. However, I would say, the initiative covered its costs and made a profit.
    ‘Interactivity works for a channel or a programme, when the viewer chooses mobile phone over remote control‘

    You are about to launch your mobile voice platform. What are the growth plans for this?

    We have signed agreements with Hutch and BSNL, while more deals are on the anvil. We will have a different short code on Voice. On the technology front, there is bit of a problem since BSNL has a separate short code digit structure. In that case, we will have to market two different short codes for Voice. At present, we are trying to sort this issue out.

     

    We are also working on the Voice content. The radio channel will offer a mix of created, aggregated and Star India content.

    How do you plan to leverage Star India’s programming dominance with the mobile initiatives? Are there plans to make mobisodes of your popular soaps including Kyunkii…??

    All our programmes can go to mobile as well. At the same time, variations of these programmes can also go. For example, it would be interesting to watch Tulsi’s (the lead character in Kyunkii..) fashion transformation over the years in a mobisode. We can present alternative storylines through mobisodes. Lots can be done in terms of this content variation.

     

    We have plans to do a lot of things this way. But, I am not in a position to offer a timeline since, once we start such an initiative, we will have to be consistent with our delivery. We can’t provide Kyunkii.. on mobile for a week and forget about it. We will have to offer the Kyunkii.. content six days a week. It requires significant amount of planning and improvisation. The editing of an episode for mobile itself would consume significant amount of time. Hence, to make a formal announcement, we want to be confident of our delivery cycle.

    Does it also work in reverse? Will 7827 also help in driving up viewership?

    It can be assumed that the consumer downloading a mobisode of our programme is a loyal viewer of our shows. The interest in the programme must be inspiring him to download the mobisode of that particular programme. Hence, we believe that mobile holds tremendous potential to boost viewership and audience base.

     

    Now, how to take it ahead? Here is where interactivity comes in. We are looking at various methods to boost interactivity by way of the existing mobile technologies. Interactivity works for a channel or a programme, when the viewer chooses mobile phone over remote control. There are these traditional methods such as contests and special schemes. Interactivity can be a more powerful weapon, if used effectively in breaks. We are looking at various strategies to improve on this front.

    Any SMS-driven shows from Star? Are you planning any mobile-based gameshow at the moment?

    I have nothing concrete to offer you at the moment. But we are definitely exploring this segment.

    Has Star recently bought any show formats for the mobile and internet?

    We keep scanning the environment. But nothing significant has caught our attention as of now.

    Are you planning to work with film producers for mobile and other interactive initiatives?

    We are looking to work with every content provider in the country, including filmmakers and producers. In fact, we are very keen to work with film producers.

    How much have broadcasters raked in as revenues through SMS services during the last fiscal? How fast will it grow this year?

    It is in the range of Rs 750 million to Rs 1 billion. With more initiatives coming in, we expect this to double this fiscal.

    In the next five years, how much will the mobile division contribute to Star India’s revenues?

    Mobile will evolve as a strong revenue stream for Star India, after advertising and subscription. It is difficult to forecast the figures, because the technology will undergo lot of changes during the next five years.

    Will it be totally subscription driven or is there a scope for ad revenues in the immediate future?

    In the mobile content platform, there have been many experiments to generate advertising revenues. There is this method of inserting brands in content, but it is not generally very effective because of the space constraints. That is just one way of doing it. We believe that the real opportunity is yet to happen and there should be a better way out. Marketing and branding should be handled in a smarter way in this case.

    What is your take on in-game advertising?

    In-game advertising can be effective in the case of console and PC gaming. But, again, when it comes to mobile, we have space restrictions. The brand will look too small to generate appeal. Branded games can be one way out. Still, how many people would want to download a branded game? This space requires an effective strategy.

    What are the plans in India for the Lost game?

    Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) owns the rights for the game and as far as I know, they are very keen to launch the product in India.
    ‘In the next five years, mobile will be a strong number three as Star India’s revenue resource, after advertising and subscription‘

    Are there any Indian shows that you feel have potential for this kind of an extension?

    Absolutely. I would say, most of our shows have the potential to be extended as various mobile initiatives. But we haven’t really zeroed in on any particular show as yet.

    Have you struck deals with international companies?

    The plan is to aggregate the best content from across the world. We are planning associations with companies working in the areas including content, applications, technology and games. We haven’t reached a position to name any particular company as our associate yet.

    How would you like to explore the interactive market segments such as video sharing, messaging, connecting and email through your digital initiatives?

    We are an entertainment and information service provider. We would stick to what we are doing at present. There is no plan to offer services which are outside our purview.

    How do you rate competition in this segment?

    All the players have competed really well to create their own space in the mobile industry. The next incremental step should be a leap in terms of strategies. All of us should come together to empower the business. We should try to leverage on each other’s strength and boost the sector by providing the consumer a common platform of services.
  • UK pay TV provider Sky looking to launch another sports channel

    UK pay TV provider Sky looking to launch another sports channel

    MUMBAI: UK pay television service provider Sky is looking to launch a fifth sports channel to add to its Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 and Sky Sports Xtra channels.

    Sky won a new TV licence from media regulator Ofcom. The licence has been issued under the name Sky Sports 4.

    A report in brandrepublic.com states that Sky already has a Premiership rights package, which was extended last month. It also has the rolling sports news channel Sky Sports News, which, as well as being broadcast on satellite and cable channels through Sky, is also broadcast on Freeview channel 83. In addition to Premiership football rights, Sky’s live sports coverage includes cricket, rugby, golf and boxing.

  • Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    MUMBAI: Representatives from seven US government agencies are meeting European Commission officials to discuss anti-piracy initiatives.

    This is the second leg of the Strategy Targetting Organised Piracy (Stop!) initiative. Stop is an attempt to dry up the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, which is estimated at over $600 billion per year. Stop will target large-scale operations as opposed to individual file traders. In addition, the US is looking to apply pressure on foreign governments where piracy is rampant.

    Among the tools to be used by Stop! are the publication of annual lists of foreign companies profiting from pirated goods, targeting organised criminal groups involved in piracy, and overhauling US intellectual property laws.

    Stop! states that its outreach to Europe marks the continuation of the Administrations sustained global effort to build international cooperation against piracy and counterfeiting. Piracy hurts the marketplace for legitimate producers, discourages innovation and threatens the safety and well-being of consumers.

    Among the topics scheduled to be discussed with European officials are strengthening border control measures, boosting investigation and prosecution of money laundering crimes associated with trade in fakes, improving law enforcement methods and standardising the trademark registration process.

    Stop was formed last October to enhance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement globally. Earlier this year in April members of Stop! had toured Asia to build a coalition of nations to join an international fight against IPR thieves. Stop! is looking to make life as miserable as possible for the counterfeiters and pirates.

    Since 2001, annual seizures of counterfeit goods at US ports have increased by 81 per cent. The value of the seized assets rose by 64 per cent to $90 million in 2003. In 2004, there was a 60 per cent increase in criminal IPR-related arrests.