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George Alagiah joins BBC World to present ‘NewsHour’

MUMBAI: George Alagiah, one of the BBC’s well-known news presenters, will join BBC World to present a brand-new programme NewsHour. Beginning in June, the programme will broadcast each weekday during peak times in the key markets around the world, including the US breakfast peak and Asia evening peak.

Alagiah will present NewsHour at 12 PM (GMT) from Monday to Thursday. He currently co-presents the BBC’s Six O’Clock News in the UK, and will continue in that role in addition to presenting NewsHour, informs an official release.

BBC Global News Division director Richard Sambrook says, “We are extremely pleased to have a journalist of George’s calibre on board to present our new programme. George has achieved tremendous success in the UK for his objective coverage, in-depth international knowledge, and his sharp interviewing skills. His experience and his ability to uncover the news behind each story will be crucial for the success of NewsHour, which was created to ensure that BBC World delivers continuous and authoritative news programming to its audiences in the US during peak morning hours, and in East Asia in the evening.”

“As a foreign correspondent for a decade, I saw first-hand how people around the world turned to the BBC for its sheer breadth of coverage and the authority with which it came. Now, more than ever, American audiences are interested how global events can have an impact on their lives and Newshour will bring them the day’s international news stories from an impartial and global perspective.”

Alagiah joined the BBC in 1989 and worked as a foreign correspondent specialising in Africa and the developing world. In March 2002, he launched BBC Four’s international news programme and began presenting BBC’s Six O’clock News in January 2003.

He has reported on many issues and events including the famine in Somalia, the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Liberia, Saddam Hussein’s campaign against the Iraqi Kurds and the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York.

Alagiah has won several awards for his reporting and has interviewed many prominent international figures including Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz of Iraq.

The introduction of NewsHour is part of the channel’s plan to establish regular NewsHour programmes throughout the day, to ensure BBC World delivers tailored news programming at the breakfast and evening peak-times across key time zones.

April 25, 2006
Adlabs to buy out Mukta stake in JV, pump in Rs 2 billion in twin-screen theatres

MUMBAI: Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs Films Ltd is buying out Mukta Arts’ 50 per cent stake in the joint venture company, Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition.

As a step up in the plan, Adlabs is earmarking an investment of Rs two billion towards acquisition of 50 old cinema theatres for conversion into “twin screens.” Part of this investment will include the installation of digital projectors in these theatres.

“We are acquiring the entire stake of Mukta Arts. We will be investing Rs two billion to upgrade 50 cinema theatres and install digital delivery systems in them,” Adlabs Films chairman and managing director Manmohan Shetty tells Indiantelevision.com.

Adlabs and Subhash Ghai-promoted Mukta Arts had floated a joint venture company in 2003 for digital delivery of movies. Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition had invested around Rs 100 million but the company had been unable to make much headway with its technology which required a server and projectors to be installed in the theatres.

For buying out the stake, Adlabs has not paid any premium. “We have paid a little less than Rs 50 million which is the actual investments made by Mukta Arts. We didn’t want any partners as we were planning to integrate the twin-screen converted cinema threatres with the installation of digital projectors. We plan to have the 50 twin screen theatres in B-class stations over 3-4 years,” says Shetty.

Mukta Arts, however, is not abandoning the digital delivery of movies project. “We decided to part ways with Adlabs as our plans were different. Digital distribution of movies will be very much part of our plans as we are committed to technologies of the future,” says Mukta Arts CEO Ravi Gupta.

The new technology of digital projection through hard discs avoids the use of film prints, which costs between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 to the distributor. It also enables audiences of “B” and “C” class centres to watch their favourite films on the first day itself, thereby making simultaneous worldwide release a possibility. The technology also combats against piracy.

Anil Ambani has big plans to deliver movies to cinema theatres through Reliance Infocomm’s fibre optic network. Having designs on launching a direct-to-home (DTH) service, he may also take the satellite delivery route for distribution of movies. “Even if the current delivery sytems are changed, digital projectors will be required in the fibre or the satellite system. Our plan is to aggressively install these projectors in the theatres which we are taking up for converting into twin screens,” says Shetty.

April 25, 2006
Private broadcasters resist fee proposal for DD Direct+

NEW DELHI: Indian pubcaster Prasar Bharati’s bid to demand carriage fee from broadcasters to be on its DTH platform, DD Direct+, has met with initial resistance from private sector players.

This was amply clear in a meeting that was held today at the Prasar Bharati headquarters here to discuss the fee issue with private broadcasters who are already present on DD Direct+.

The private sector channels, which have been on DD Direct+ for over a year now, feel that the demand for a carriage fee on the pubcaster’s DTH platform is “unjustified.”

According to a representative of a private broadcaster, “We had assisted Prasar Bharati to launch its DTH service keeping national interest in mind. Now that the service is doing well, this sudden demand is unjustified.”

Early April, Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma, while making a presentation before the media during the announcement of its annual financial result, had said there is a proposal to charge private channels on DD Direct+ an annual fee of Rs. 10 million from May when the total number of channels would be increased to 51.

The private broadcasters on DD Direct+ are understood to have argued today at the meeting that as a gesture of goodwill towards them and their contribution in the success of the DTH Platform, they should not be charged any fee.

“If at all Prasar Bharati wishes to charge a carriage fee, it should do so from newcomers who join the platform now,” a general entertainment channel representative said.

Prasar Bharati is India’s public service broadcaster and manages Doordarshan and All India Radio. The DTH service, which has over 900,000 subscribers as per claims made, doesn’t charge the consumer any monthly subscription fee. The hardware comes at a cost of approximately Rs. 4,000.

Publicly funded Prasar Bharati has said there’s a long queue of Indian and foreign broadcasters waiting to hop on to DD Direct+ in an efforts to establish their presence in a market where all TV homes number over 90 million. Of this, 61 million are C&S homes.

The proposal to levy a fee to ride the DD Direct+ bandwagon is also an effort of the pubcaster to increase its annual income, which falls much short of its total yearly expenditure. For the year 2005-06, ended 31 March, the pubcaster’s revenues stood Rs. 12.38 billion, up a whopping 67 per cent from the Rs 8.31 billion it earned previous year.

Of this, national broadcaster Doordarshan accounted for Rs 9.6 billion riding heavily on cricket and Hindi movies. Most significant was the growth on the radio side though, with All India Radio registering a 59.6 per cent jump in revenues at Rs 2.7 billion.

April 25, 2006
Ekta Kapoor launches talent hunt for ‘Kyunki…’ cast

MUMBAI: Indian television’s most successful television soap Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi is set for a 20-year leap and the next generation of actors will be chosen from a talent hunt.

Walk-in auditions have been planned in three northern cities: New Delhi, Chandigarh and Shimla and the hunt will kick start on 29 April.

The leap makes way for a host of new characters to make their appearance on the small screen. The Ekta Kapoor headed creative team of Kyunki…. is stepping out of Mumbai to search for these new faces, informs an official release.

“The highlight of this talent hunt is the search for “Krishnatulsi” who takes over the mantle of Tulsi from Smriti Irani as she takes over the mantle of Baa,” says Balaji Telefilms creative director Ekta Kapoor.

“We are always on the look out for fresh talent but this time around it is very special. We are looking for the next generation of the Virani family. We started Kyunki… five years back with a large part of the cast selected from the masses and most of them, today, are well established artists with their own fan following. It therefore makes complete sense for us to go back to the masses to look for the next generation of the Virani family,” says Kapoor.

The dates for audition in each city are:

New Delhi — 29 and 30 April at Marwah Studio Noida.
Shimla — 1 May at Chaura Maidan College.
Chandigarh — 2 May at Dev Samaj College for Girls.

The auditions are open to professional actors, models, theatre artists and the general public in the 18 to 25 years age group. Good diction, brilliant attitude and acting skills are factors critical in being short-listed, states the release.

April 25, 2006
Disney ties up with AirTel for mobisodes

MUMBAI: After Star India, it is Walt Disney Television International (India) that is exploring the mobile-enabled episode (mobisode) phenomenon.

The company has tied up with AirTel to develop mobisodes, games, ringtones, wallpapers and animation in the ‘Disney Mobile Theatre’ featuring popular cartoons. This is the third telecom operator Walt Disney will have tied up with, the other two being in Asia.

“It is a sunrise segment for Walt Disney. But it is rapidly growing, particularly in the East Asian markets like Japan,” The Walt Disney Company India managing director Rajat Jain said.

AirTel will, thus, become the first provider of Disney Mobile Theatre in India providing characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto on the mobile.

The wallpapers will be priced at Rs 10 per download, whereas the mobisodes, videos, ringtones and Hello Tunes have been priced at Rs 15. A Disney game can be downloaded for a charge of Rs 99. However, company officials were reluctant to divulge the revenue sharing ratio between the two for the same.

AirTel customers can have access to six Disney animated series in the form of 30 second episodes exclusively made for mobile devices. The content can be downloaded from Airtel’s entertainment portal – Airtel Live! and music and ringtones can also be downloaded from Airtel’s Hello Tunes.

“With voice pricing coming down, we expect this to be a significant revenue stream for us. Across the globe, telecom operators generate 12-20 per cent revenues from non voice segment,” Bharti Airtel director marketing and communications Hemant Sachdev said.

“We have always admired the Disney brand for the difference it makes to lives across the globe – bringing millions of people fun, laughter and wholesome entertainment. We are now pleased to partner with Disney to deliver outstanding creative content and entertainment. With Disney Mobile Theatre, Airtel customers can enjoy the Disney experience on the mobile for the first time in India from wherever they are,” he added.

Walt Disney Internet Group executive vice president and managing director international Mark Handler said, “The launch of Disney branded mobile content on Airtel, including Disney Mobile Theatre and personalisation, content and games, combines Disney’s rich story telling legacy and unparalleled brand equity with Airtel’s leadership in wireless voice and data services to create an engaging and unique mobile experience for customers.”

Added Jain: “India is a priority for the entire company, and we are delivering on our strength to expand our presence here. We have a huge competitive advantage, thanks to the strength of the Disney brand, which is aspirational. We embrace new technology innovations in developing quality Disney entertainment and as leading content creators are best positioned to capture new ways of delivering it when and where the consumer demands. Using technology to advance our content and its distribution will play a fundamental role in securing our future.”

The Walt Disney Internet Group has mobile content distribution in 12 other markets in the Asia Pacific region including Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, China, Thailand, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Macau. Close to 695 million mobile consumers have access to Disney mobile content in this region.

Late last year, Star India had tied up with Hutch to create mobisodes of The Great Indian Laughter Challenge (TGILC), which aired on Star One. The price of a one time download of a mobisode of TGILC is Rs 10 per. Additionally, subscribers can also call 7827 (Star India’s short code) to listen to the TGILC jokes for Rs 6.

Soon after, Zee Telefilms director and business head of Zee TV channel Punit Goenka had told Indiantelevision.com that the company was seriously exploring the phenomenon of mobisodes and were in the process of identifying the properties which were best suited for it.

Now with Disney also tapping the rapidly growing mobile content and entertainment space, it won’t be long before the others too follow suit.

April 25, 2006
Genios secures US distribution rights to Tartan titles

MUMBAI: The US-based producer and distributor of home entertainment products Genius Products, Inc. is adding a library of more than 60 independent films to its slate of DVD releases through an exclusive distribution agreement with Tartan Video USA.

The deal was announced by Genius Products CEO Trevor Drinkwater and Tartan Video USA President Tony Borg.Established in September 2004, Tartan USA boasts a library of more than 60 world-renowned eclectic-and often controversial-feature length independent films. The library includes Tartan’s Asia Extreme line of horror films, a fast-growing contemporary genre featuring the best of cinema from the Far East with such cult favorites as the 2004 Cannes Grand Jury Prize winner Oldboy, A Tale Of Two Sisters, and Takashi Shimizu’s Marebito. The library generated approximately $6 million of net revenue in 2005 and is expected to grow to $9 million in 2006, states an official release.

In addition to distributing Tartan’s library of critically acclaimed films, Genius will distribute all new releases from Tartan Video USA, the American arm of Hamish McAlpine’s Tartan Films. The first titles set for release this summer represent both the Asia Extreme and Tartan Video brands.

“The Tartan Video library is a remarkable line-up of films that have been recognized around the world as not only entertaining and inspiring, but thought-provoking as well. The titles represent another example of the ever increasing quality of content distributed by Genius through the expanded infrastructure we created to handle major titles from The Weinstein Company. With our newly implemented Vendor Managed Inventory system, we anticipate even greater success for Tartan’s library,” says Drinkwater.

“Our agreement allows us to expand our distribution reach with a partner whose product line complements our own. We believe our world-renowned independent films, critically acclaimed Asia Extreme catalog and future branded labels are a great match with Genius’s already impressive catalog,” adds Borg.

April 25, 2006
AOL launches KOL Jr. on the Web

MUMBAI: Preschoolers now have their own website, with the launch of KOL Jr., AOL’s website for kids aged 2 to 5, at http://www.koljunior.com/. The site contains original cartoons, games, music, bedtime stories and other fun, interactive features designed to help parents introduce the Internet to their young children.

The launch of KOL Jr. also marks the debut of a brand new cartoon called Pilar’s Adventures, which covers topics that engage preschoolers’ imaginations while helping them deal with everyday life experiences.

“Parents want to be as involved as they can with their young kids while they are online,” said AOL Kids & Teens SVP Malcolm Bird, “At KOL Jr., parents and their children will have fun learning and playing together, with fresh content and activities that aren’t available anywhere else online.”

Developed by a former teacher and current programming director for AOL, Pilar’s Adventures follows Pilar, a young horse with a wild imagination who joins her new friends in Farmer Roxy’s barnyard. Pilar and the gang — Cleg the horsefly, Hampshire the pig and Susa the owl — explore new places all while learning new and valuable life lessons.

The animated cartoon will launch with 10 five-minute episodes. Beyond Pilar’s Adventures, young kids will also find other engaging activities on the new KOL Jr. service including:

” – Animal Videos – Watch videos from National Geographic and footage of dolphins swimming at the National Aquarium.

” – Games – Play games featuring Pilar’s Adventures’ characters, such as coloring and dot-to-dot, and educational games from AOL Learning Games.

” – Music – Dance along to popular tunes by the Wiggles, Strawberry Shortcake, Hi-5, Barbie Princesses and Barney.

” – TV – Check out kid-friendly movies and DVDs clips such as Muppets, Trollz, Chicken Little, Cinderella, Bambi, Care Bears and Scooby Doo will be available.

” – Toy Time – Become official Toy Time Testers. Parents and kids work together to rate toys from all the biggest toy companies.

” – Printables – Print out some of their favorite characters including Pilar characters, KOL Gliders, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Winx and many others.

This launch follows the success of KOL – AOL’s highly popular service for kids aged 7 to 12, and will compliment other content already available for kids on AOL.

April 25, 2006
Crest Animations’ ‘Jakers!…’ wins Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding children’s animated program

MUMBAI: Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks has won a Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program. Crest Animation Studios provided all the overseas services like modelling, rigging, texturing, animation, lighting, rendering and compositing for this series.

Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks is a 3D, computer animated series that follows the adventure of a spunky eight-year-old pig named Piggley and his friends Dannan the Duck and Ferny the Bull, who live on a farm in Ireland.

The award was conferred at the 33rd Annual Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Awards on 22 April. The 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards is a presentation of the National Television Academy in cooperation with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Crest Animation Studios CEO A K Madhavan said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to be recognised for our quality of work by one of the most powerful body representing the American Television Industry. We have won accolades in the past like the BAFTA award and an ANNIE nomination for our work in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks. We have also won the Apsara Award for Tenali Rama; it is a special feeling, to be one of the best among the international players.”

Crest is moving ahead on its way to become a globally recognized Computer Graphics Imaging (CGI) animation studio. Crest’s US-based subsidiary, RichCrest Animation (RCA), and Lions Gate Entertainment (LGE) have announced a three-picture co-production and co-financing arrangement to produce three state-of-the-art animated feature films for worldwide theatrical release.

RCA and LGE would equally share the cost of production, as well as the profits. The rights to the first film under the agreement – Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, based on the Caldecott Medal-winning story by William Steig (the creator of the blockbuster Shrek) have been acquired, and the film is in development.

April 25, 2006
HBO Latino new boxing series to debut 27 April

MUMBAI: HBO Sports introduces an exclusive Spanish-language boxing series that will launch on HBO Latino on 27 April. Five additional boxing events will be presented in 2006.

The Generación Boxeo series, an innovative and dedicated original program created for HBO Latino, will feature the best young Latino fighters, behind-the-scenes interviews and round-by-round Spanish-language commentary by Raul Marquez and Mario Solis.

“The Generación Boxeo series captures the action, spirit and fury of the ring for boxing enthusiasts,” said director Brand Development at HBO Adrion Porter, “This is another great opportunity for us to continue the event-level type of sports programming that “Oscar De La Hoya Presenta Boxeo De Oro” did on HBO Latino previously.”

The 27 April event will feature the delayed broadcast of three fights: Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., son of legendary Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chavez, against undefeated challenger Tyler Ziolkowski in a junior welterweight bout; unbeaten Mexican-American Juan Diaz defends his lightweight title against Jose Miguel Cotto, brother of Puerto Rican boxing sensation Miguel Cotto; and Mexican Jorge Arce, considered one of the best young fighters of the moment, takes on veteran and two-time champion Rosendo Alvarez of Nicaragua in a flyweight title fight.

Available in 45 per cent of HBO’s cable households, HBO Latino is a dedicated Spanish-language channel designed to reflect the diversity of Latino culture in the country. HBO Latino features U.S. premieres of Spanish-language movies and documentaries; music videos; and original short-form programming, such as “Habla,” that spotlights entertainment and cultural issues; plus a mix of popular Hollywood films and the best of HBO’s originals.

Along with Generación Boxeo, boxing coverage on HBO Latino includes HBO’s flagship World Championship Boxing series, with live ringside Spanish-language commentary, and the critically acclaimed HBO Boxing After Dark, states an official release.

April 25, 2006
ABC to roll out ‘Lost Experience’ game in UK, U.S. & Australia

MUMBAI: ABC is teaming with many networks around the world to launch a global interactive web-based game inspired by the hit TV series Lost. ABC announced the creation of an interactive multiplatform treasure hunt game called Lost Experience that will introduce a new story line but stay true to Lost’s signature mix of supernatural and psychological mystery.

The Lost Experience will feature a parallel story line to the show. Clues will be provided either during the broadcast of the episode itself, or during a commercial break. Not all clues will be given in the U.S, according to media reports.

ABC is teaming up with 19 other media outlets to bring the The Lost Experience to continents the world over. Each part of the world will be receiving different clues.The network also hopes that the game will appeal to both fans and non-fans of the TV show.

Rollout is expected to begin 2 May in the U.K., 3 May in the U.S. and 6 May in Australia. There is no winning prize to the game, but it is expected to provide some extra information to fans of the series. The Lost Experience will require players to trade e-mail messages and phone calls and check out billboards, TV commercials and websites to gather all the necessary clues.

“It’s like a giant, worldwide mysterious jigsaw puzzle that will come to life for all the world to solve,” ABC Entertainment senior VP of marketing Mike Benson is quoted as saying. “The game reaches back into Lost history and looks forward to future episodes. We wanted to make it so that if you watched Lost from the beginning or if you’ve never watched the show before you can get into this.”

The storyline of the game will be different from the one seen in the show but users will have to watch the show to collect clues and other information for the game. The game will also feature new characters and background on the Hanso Foundation, the mysterious group behind the Dharma Initiative.

ABC also announced earlier this month that it is making new episodes of Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias and Commander in Chief, available in May for free online viewing, although fans will have to sit through ads that they can avoid if they download commercial-free shows for $1.99 per episode from Apple’s iTunes Music Store.

Lost, which has averaged 15.4 million viewers this season and is one of iTune’s most popular TV downloads to date, will leave viewers staring into the dark hatch of summer hiatus with a two-hour season finale on 24 May.

April 25, 2006