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  • Weekend blockbuster ‘Prithviraj Chauhan’ launch set for 12 May; Star in marketing overdrive

    Weekend blockbuster ‘Prithviraj Chauhan’ launch set for 12 May; Star in marketing overdrive

    MUMBAI: Star Plus will launch one of its biggest productions ever, the weekend blockbuster Dharti Ka Veer Yodha – Prithviraj Chauhan on Friday, 12 May at 9 pm. The serial will run Friday through Sunday with a duration of half-an-hour per episode.

    Star is leaving no stone unturned to promote the historical saga. “The focus of our marketing activities will be to make viewers more familiar with Prithviraj Chauhan. People normally remember only the high points of Chauhah’s life. The marketing efforts will be to make people aware of the real character,” says Star India SVP Marketing & Communication Puneet Johar.

    Apart from the obvious on-air, print, outdoors and radio promotions, Prithviraj Chauhan will have an extensive on-ground activity also – running from Rajasthan to Delhi.

    “We will have a torch run ‘Prithvi Jyoti’ conducted from Rajasthan to New Delhi. The activity will culminate on 9 May in the capital with the vice president of the country addressing a gathering. The serial will be officially launched at the event,” adds Johar.

    The 9 May event will showcase the Prithviraj Chauhan costumes designed by a group of young fashion designers. The music of the serial will hit the market simultaneous with its launch.

    As part of the marketing activities, Star will be merchandising Prithviraj Chauhan properties — such as the weaponry — on a commercial basis later. Star is also planning to release a cartoon book based on the life and adventures of Prithviraj Chauhan.

    What makes the Sagar Films-produced Prithviraj Chauhan one of the much-awaited television programmes on Indian television is the sheer size of the project. According to Sagar Films director Shakti Sagar, the costume drama was launched with a start up budget of Rs 60 million.

    “The Ajmer set we erected in our Baroda film studio cost us about Rs 45 million. We have shot 50 episodes of the committed 156 episodes, which will run for a year. That means, the cost of the show will go up manifold,” says Sagar.

    As part of its plans to revamp the weekend, the channel is also introducing a movie band Pus Superhits in its Sunday afternoon space, at 12 am. Star Plus will open the campaign with movies such as Viruddh, Black and Main Hoon Naa.

    The entry of Prithviraj Chauhan in the weekend prime time band also triggers off a slight reshuffle in the Star Plus prime time schedule. The 9:30 pm & 10 pm Friday through Saturday slots will be occupied by the popular weekend soap Baa Bahoo aur Baby and Shanno Ki Shaadi respectively. Jodee Kamaal Ki will be shifted to the 8 pm slot on Saturday and the same slot on Sunday will be filled by Sai Baba. From 8 May onwards, prime time soaps Miilee and Kavyanjali will be telecast from Mondays to Thursdays only.

  • ETC dedicates 15 May to All The Mothers

    ETC dedicates 15 May to All The Mothers

    Mumbai April 21, 2006: Mothers day is a special day because it is dedicated to one who loves her child without questioning and expectations. ETC, Bollywood Ka Apna Entertainment Channel, is bringing this day with a special dedication to the mothers of our cine stars, their closeness with mother and what they would like to do best for their mother on this special day.

    They are three to five minutes long fillers which will run on Monday May 15, 2006 on ETC all through the day.

    ETC caught up with beautiful Sameera Reddy and her mother Mrs. Niky Reddy in their house. Both talked about each other, their special moments, their fondness and the ultimate bond that they share. They were moments of fun, laughter and light banter. They joked and pulled each other. Sameera’s favorite dish….what kind of groom will she like for Sameera….
    What did she call her mother the first time…..what were the feelings when she held Sameera in her arms the first time….her scariest moment with Sameera…….its is all out in the open now.. Only on ETC. Other stars and their mothers caught on camera are Aarti Chabbaria and Sunita Chabbaria wherein Aarti’s mother tells that her daughter’s special favorite food is typical Sindhi Kadhee, Aloo Tuk and Rice. Chunky Pandey and his mother indulge in one to one conversation talking about their special moments with each other.

    Likewise there is a galaxy of stars indulging in personal happy moments for their mothers just for the viewers of ETC. They dare to bare their emotional bonding for their fans only on ETC. So if you are a fan of your mothers and love Hindi film stars, then tune in to ETC all through the day on 15th May 2006.

    ETC is a music based entertainment channel with music dominating more than 98% of the programming content.
    In all India markets, ETC enjoys the largest reach amongst all the music channels. ETC is watched by more then 30 million households.
    For more information contact:
    Neelam Gupta
    Corporate Communication
    ETC Networks Ltd
    Tel: 022 – 2673 2033-7
    Email: corpcomm@entertainmenttv.com
    www.entertainmenttv.com

  • Water Kingdom rolls out Summer Fiesta

    Water Kingdom rolls out Summer Fiesta

    Mumbai April 03: Water Kingdom, Asia’s largest theme water rolls out a never before summer fiesta this season. Celebrating eight happy years of enthralling crowds from all over India who make Water Kingdom their “must see, must do” destination place, fun and frolic is the anthem for this years celebrations. In keeping with its 8th Anniversary celebrations which rolled-out in mid-April with “Nach Le”, a musical extravanganza with a host of popular celebrities, Water Kingdom has outlined eight week-long week-ends of singing and dancing. So in the midst of all the water splashing there’s some trendy music to gyrate to, promising Water Kingdom patrons a respite from the heat and dust of city life.

    So much for beating the heat this hot summer season!

    Come May 7th and Water Kingdom has popular artist Mikka stir up an emotional frenzy, with loads of surprises. At Water Kingdom it’s not only the musical concerts that promises to be entertaining……it’s also the sheer delight of splashing around the many, many theme water rides with family and friends.

    An entire calendar has been outlined to make this entire summer season a truly family break-away package. There are great live performances from the artists like Bombay Vikings, Mikka, Saru Maini and Avdhoot Gupte to name some, over the next couple of Sundays.

    We invite you to join in the fun at Water Kingdom and have your readers accordingly informed, through your engagement columns and have outlined the calendar of events for this fiesta:

    Date
    Name of Artists

    7th May
    Mikka

    14th May
    Meet Brothers, Shabani Kaashyap

    21st May
    Bombay Vikings, Deepa Chari

    28th May
    Band of Boys, Sonu Kakkar, Crazy Cat

    4th June
    Kailash Kher, Kainaz

    ***********************************

    For media passes and for added information for print, do get in touch with the undersigned:

    Samanta Singh Khumanthem
    Brodeur India
    Tel: 022 2659 2222

  • Govt ultimatum to channels on downlink norms

    Govt ultimatum to channels on downlink norms

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government has issued an ultimatum to all TV channels that those failing to adhere to downlink norm deadline of 10 May will not be allowed to downlink into the country.

    In a statement issued on 3 May, the government has said, “It is clarified that (television) channels for which even complete applications, with processing fees, are not received on or before May 10, 2006, shall not be permitted to be downlinked thereafter.”

    The information and broadcasting ministry has come out with clarifications on various queries on the policy guidelines for downlinking of television channels in India on its website.

    The guidelines stipulate a time of 180 days from 11 November 2005 for completion of all formalities of registration under downlinking guidelines.

    On queries relating to foreign direct investment (FDI) permitted in television ventures, the government statement states that 100 per cent FDI is permitted in the broadcasting sector, which is not under the automatic route and all such proposals will have to be routed through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

    The government has also clarified that as on the date of submission of application for permission under downlinking guidelines, the applicant company must have requisite net worth and continue to satisfy the requirement thereafter.

    The information and broadcasting ministry had earlier stipulated different net worth of television companies as per categories, namely entertainment, news, etc, in an effort to differentiate between the serious and non-serious players.

    The downlink guidelines state that all TV channels wishing to be downlinked into the country would have to get themselves registered with a designated authority and also establish a permanent establishment, amongst some other stipulations that have been dubbed stringent by some media companies.

    For example, the government reiterated on Wednesday that an applicant company is required to provide a facility where online monitoring of content being beamed into India is possible.

    Also, the system should have the capacity to store data for 90 days, which should be available to the government at any point of time in India at a pre-designated place.

    The companies need not set up new facilities for this purpose, but could authorize any of their multi service operators (MSOs) or head end operators to provide this facility, the ministry has clarified.

    The government has shot off letters relating to various queries on downlink norms to the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, Star Group and Time Warner, according to information posted on the site of the I&B ministry.

    Earlier in March, the government had turned down a request from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation to extend the 180-day deadline for fulfilling newly-formulated downlinking norms by broadcasting companies.

    Indiantelevision.com has learnt from government sources that Star group, for instance, has applied under downlink norms for various family channels separately.

  • Optibase provides SmartVideo to Verizon & Cingular cell users in US

     

    MUMBAI: A provider of advanced digital video high-end solutions, Optibase Ltd has announced that its IPTV streaming platforms are enabling SmartVideo to provide full motion TV to Verizon and Cingular mobile subscribers in the United States. SmartVideo is a provider of management and delivery solutions of content to mobile and cellular devices.

     

    Georgia-based SmartVideo is using the Optibase MGW 5100 TV streaming platform to encode and transmit live video received from satellite provider Crawford Communications over a dedicated network to SmartVideo‘s facilities.

     

    At SmartVideo, the video is decoded using Optibase‘s MGW 200 decoders and transmitted using SmartVideo‘s proprietary technology to cell phones and other smart handheld devices. The content offering includes news, weather, sports and children‘s programming from ABC news, NBC Universal, Fox Sports, The Weather Channel and others, informs an official release.

     

    “We are excited about the prospects in the cellular streaming market and this opportunity to take part in an innovative broadcast service that provides high quality live television directly to mobile devices,” said Optibase Inc president Adam Schadle. “SmartVideo benefits from the combination of our encoding and decoding offerings that yield a high quality, end-to-end video streaming solution.”

     

    “SmartVideo has distinguished itself from other service providers by its ability to deliver high-quality, reliable interactive video, audio and graphics simultaneously,” said SmartVideo president David Ross. “The Optibase platforms provide 24×7 services ensuring our customers receive the best possible service.”

  • Business TV host Louis Rukeyser passes away

    Business TV host Louis Rukeyser passes away

    MUMBAI: Business television host Louis Rukeyser died of cancer on Tuesday. He was 73.

    Rukeyser hosted Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser on public TV from 1970 until 2002. His speciality has been the ability to convert complicated finance and economics news to simple news, which can be easily understood by ordinary viewers and investors.

    Louis Rukeyser quit Wall $treet Week and moved to CNBC in March 2002. Rukeyser’s last appearance on his CNBC show was 31 October 2003.

    Later that year, Rukeyser asked CNBC to end production of his show due to a back problem. Rukeyser also found time to publish many best-selling books and newsletters.

  • Miditech inks deal with Strix Television for 40 shows

    Miditech inks deal with Strix Television for 40 shows

    MUMBAI: Until now it was the mighty broadcaster who was going out and acquiring rights to international formats and then roping in a production house to localise the show. But now the tables seem to have turned with Miditech signing a production and licensing deal with Strix Television AB, which are the format owners of shows like Survivor amongst others.

    As per the terms of this deal, Miditech will have exclusive Indian licensing and production rights to the entire Strix format catalogue in India, which tot up to 40 odd shows.

    This deal, Miditech CEO Nikhil Alva believes, will open up new revenue streams for the production house from areas like mobile telephony, licensing and merchandising.
    “The tie up will let Miditech localise the formats – a key factor that contributes to the success of international shows in an Indian context. And a lot of the shows in Strix’s catalogue are what the next step in reality programming in the country is. It will also let us offer products in cost effective packages to broadcasters. Products that have a proven track records in many countries worldwide,” Alva added.

    However Alva refused to divulge the terms of the deal or the cost of acquiring the format rights. “We have taken over their catalog of shows to localize in India. There is a financial arrangement between us but it is a complicated one, which involves down payment, license fees, etc and I won’t be able to divulge any numbers,” he said.

    Some of the shows that Strix has are Ruth 66, Paradise Lost, Floor Filler, 24th, The Farm, The Bar, Expedition Robinson, Casino, Backtrack, Kerrys Getting Married, The Control Commission, Insider, Solidarity, Club Goa, Harem, A Chef in the Family, Fat Resort, Tearing Down the House, No Smoking, Fame Factory, Villa medusa, 24 Hours, Class of 07, My Best Friend, Zoo Kitchen, Home Delivery, Did you get it?, I O U, Showdown, Mother & Daughter, Revenge.Com, Sybarite and Fight Club.

    Strix CEO Robert Aschberg added, “We are delighted to enter into a fruitful and long-term alliance with Miditech since we have seen demand for Strix formats increase exponentially in India over the last few months. Miditech is a perfect fit for Strix with its great ability to produce high-quality programming for the Indian audiences and we are confident that Strix’ catalogue will suit the Indian TV market splendidly.”

    The deal with Strix will also give Miditech an access to Strix’s clients in the international market. “We will be able to market our own shows that we have made here to the international market via Strix. That will increase our presence internationally. We will also be producing pilots jointly with Strix and working with each others’ ideation teams in order to bring out new formats,” Alva added.

    Some of the shows that Miditech has done recently are Indian Idol, Fame Gurukul, Deal or No Deal, Dance Dance, Playhouse Disney, MTV Bajoed! and MTV Roadies. It is also in the process of producing Galli Galli Sim Sim – the Indian version of Sesame Street for Cartoon Network and Pogo and Extreme Makeover for Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India.

  • BSkyB 3Q net up by 8 per cent to $277.5 million

    MUMBAI: British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) has reported an 8 per cent increase in the third quarter net profit. The company said net profit for the three months ended 31 March rose to 151 million pounds ($277.5 million), from 140 million pounds a year ago.


    BSkyB revenue went up by 11 per cent to 1.06 billion pounds ($1.9 billion). The company also revealed a steep drop in subscriber growth ahead of the launch of new products later this year.


    The company said it recorded net subscriber growth of 40,000 in the quarter, significantly less that the 95,000 increase in “direct-to-home” customers in the first quarter of 2005. Analysts had predicted growth of 30,000 to 50,000 new subscribers.


    The broadcaster now has 8.1 million subscribers, it has a target of 10 million by 2010, and forecasts adding 600,000 in the final quarter of this year following the rollout of new products.


    BSkyB chief executive James Murdoch said, “The business is performing well and is delivering on the plan we laid out for 2006. Our focus during the quarter was to successfully implement our new customer management systems, complete the final preparations for the launch of Sky HD, and continue to ready the business for the launch of residential broadband services in the summer. Operational achievements in the quarter were outstanding. We achieved our goals, continued to grow our customer base and increased the number of products they choose to take from us.”

  • BSkyB 3Q net up by 8 per cent to $277.5 million

    BSkyB 3Q net up by 8 per cent to $277.5 million

    MUMBAI: British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) has reported an 8 per cent increase in the third quarter net profit. The company said net profit for the three months ended 31 March rose to 151 million pounds ($277.5 million), from 140 million pounds a year ago.

    BSkyB revenue went up by 11 per cent to 1.06 billion pounds ($1.9 billion). The company also revealed a steep drop in subscriber growth ahead of the launch of new products later this year.

    The company said it recorded net subscriber growth of 40,000 in the quarter, significantly less that the 95,000 increase in “direct-to-home” customers in the first quarter of 2005. Analysts had predicted growth of 30,000 to 50,000 new subscribers.

    The broadcaster now has 8.1 million subscribers, it has a target of 10 million by 2010, and forecasts adding 600,000 in the final quarter of this year following the rollout of new products.

    BSkyB chief executive James Murdoch said, “The business is performing well and is delivering on the plan we laid out for 2006. Our focus during the quarter was to successfully implement our new customer management systems, complete the final preparations for the launch of Sky HD, and continue to ready the business for the launch of residential broadband services in the summer. Operational achievements in the quarter were outstanding. We achieved our goals, continued to grow our customer base and increased the number of products they choose to take from us.”

  • Garnier Fructis Jodi No 1 climbing up the ratings charts

    The black and white round of GARNIER FRUCTIS JODI NO.1 really did a number for Vijay TV with their chart-busting ratings performance. The studio performance on 28 October fetched Star TV’s regional channel a whopping 13 TVRs (CS ABC 15+F; 2000-2130 hrs, Oct 28th; Chennai; Source: TAM), rocketing it to the one of the most favored shows on Tamil television. Vijay TV is known to provide differentiated content has yet again showed its supremacy in executing format shows with GARNIER FRUCTIS JODI NO.1.

     

    What was quite remarkable about the numbers is that the ratings have climbed steadily over the weeks as the competition becomes stiffer. The channels shares read 14.9, 20.3, 20.8, 26.9 in TN for week 40 41, 42 & 43 respectively. (CS ABC 15+F; 2000 hrs – 2100 hrs; Saturday)

     

    The competition’s shares for the above TG and time band read 1.4; 2.8; 12; 4.9 on Jaya TV; while Raj TV clocked 1.7, 0.3, 0.2, 1.3 in Tamilnadu.

     

    Ravinath Menon, General Manager Vijay TV remarked, “The fever has just started. The show is hugely popular across the state, a clear indication of the changing preferences in TV viewing. We anticipate a substantial increase in share on the wild card episode and the finals.

     

    He further said, “Jodi No.1 is a clear driver. It also helped us to drive viewer attention to other weekend formats like Alive Koffee with Anu and Hutch Kallaka Ppvadhu Yaaru -2 while functioning as a launch pad for the four new shows we launched last week in prime time. The fact that Vijay is now available in Singapore and Japan and the plans for Malaysia and Middle East make us work harder to provide international quality content to the discerning Tamil viewer.

     

    The property round episode that concluded on Nov 4th saw the 4th couple being eliminated (Chetan and Devadharshini), so that leaves us with 2 real and 2 reel life couples (Vijay Adiraj & Rachna; Raghav & Preetha; Pooja & Prem; Deepak & Tharika) Two of these 4 couples will reach the finals and all other eliminated couples will come back in the wild card round and one among them will gain entry to the finals. Viewers will have to decide which couple from the wild card round will go to the final by voting for them through Reliance Mobile, 7827, indya.com and BSNL platforms respectively.