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  • Former I&B minister Pramod Mahajan shot at by brother, remains critical

    Former I&B minister Pramod Mahajan shot at by brother, remains critical

    MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader and former information & broadcasting (I&B) minister Pramod Mahajan was shot this morning (Saturday) and remains in a critical condition.

    Mahajan was shot at by his youngest brother Pravin with a Brownie pistol after an argument at the BJP leader’s apartment in Mumbai’s upscale Worli area at around 8 am, news channels have reported.
    The 56-year-old former I&B minister reportedly has four bullets lodged in his body and has suffered grievous injury to his liver, pancreas and intestines. He underwent a nearly four-hour operation at Mumbai’s Hinduja Hospital where he was administered nearly 25 bottles of blood due to the heavy internal bleeding he suffered in the attack. Doctors have not removed the bullets yet and will take a call on that only after keeping him under observation for the next 48 hours.

    It was on Mahajan’s watch that Star India in 1998-99 made its first concerted effort to get a direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast service going with its ISkyB venture. Mahajan had in end-1998 indicated that DTH clearances would come within two-and-a-half months.

    Doordarshan’s news channel is also a brain child of Mahajan, who floated the idea in 1999. The idea of starting such a channel was mooted immediately after the BJP came to power in March 1998. Mahajan gave the green signal for starting the channel after he became I&B minister in December.

    It was also Mahajan who got the idea to upgrade the facilities of Kashmir DD centre to counter Pakistani propaganda unleashed by Pakistan’s state broadcaster PTV in 1999-2000. Though a dedicated Kashmir channel was started with the help of private broadcasters when Arun Jaitley became the I&B minister after Mahajan in 2000, the former had sanctioned a $100m package for the upgradation of DD Kashmir’s centre.

    After Mahajan was shifted to the telecom ministry, holding also the infotec portfolio, he expressly scotched an idea of merging the telecom and I&B ministry to form an ICE ministry for the proposed convergence era.

    It is not wise to make one out of three important ministries of telecom, information and broadcasting and information technology, especially in view of the amount of work involved and number of employees associated, Mahajan had said while opposing a merger of the three ministries.

  • Starcom Worldwide North India & Pakistan MD Anita Nayyar

    Starcom Worldwide North India & Pakistan MD Anita Nayyar

    From a media executive at Interpublicity Pvt Ltd in 1983 to the managing director North India and Pakistan of Starcom Worldwide, Anita Nayyar has come a long way in her career spanning 23 years.

    Based in Delhi, Anita has also had stints with organizations like Sista’s (now Saatchi & Saatchi), Frank Simoes Advertising (now F S Advertising), O&M (now Ogilvy/Group M), Initiative Media, MediaCom and Optimum Media Solutions.

    With an academic background in medicine, she plunged into the media business in 1983 and since then there has been no looking back. “It is always interesting to take on new challenges. I have in effect done that in all of 22 years of my media career. Moving earlier in life from a medical background in academics to advertising and marketing was a huge challenge in itself and I think I’ve taken it on rather well,” says the serene lady.

    If one were to list out the brands that she has handled in her career, it would surely take up most part of this page. From durables, automobiles, engine oils, mobile phones, cosmetics, fast food to digestives, baby food, beverages, credit cards and political parties, there is not one sector that has been untouched by her.

    Anita played a small but significant role on the changing the government at the center by focused targeting both at the consumer and regions/constituency level for the “Aam Aadmi” campaign for the Congress Party. That it is the Congress’ ‘Aam Aadmi’ the Centre and not the BJP’s ‘India Shining’ (managed by Grey Worldwide) says it all. “The aim was to maximize the media impact of each rupee for Congress campaign in May 2004 and we succeeded in giving the “India Shining Campaign” of the then ruling BJP a run for its money, and that too with one fourth of its spends,” says she.

    She has also been responsible for setting up the outdoor (now Landscapes) and electronic cell – at Ogilvy & Mather Delhi during her 5 year stint with the agency in the early nineties. Known for striking the best deals in the market place and also as an ROI (return on investment) sensitive professional, Anita was also at the helm of structuring and systemizing media services at Initiative Media, MediaCom, Mudra and Starcom.

    Under her leadership the Starcom Worldwide Delhi operations have grown by 147 per cent in year one and 50 per cent in year two.

    So what’s on her agenda now? “Working for Starcom it’s but obvious that the agency agenda will be top priority. Growth is a given however, at Starcom, our holistic approach to media is key. The people internally have also been trained accordingly to look at clients issues and find the best possible solution to it rather than taking a mainstream media approach and push TV/print plans down their throats,” Anita says.

    Challenges is what makes this lady tick and one of the things on her priority list was to develop the Pakistan market for Starcom, where the agency’s launch is slated shortly. “Right now, we are in the final stages for setting up the Starcom brand in Karachi, Pakistan. The exercise entailed sourcing, interacting and negotiating with various media services agencies in Pakistan,” she offers.

    For the clients she has worked for in various sectors, Anita is known for introducing the advantages of the concept of media consolidation to GPI, Maruti, LG, Sony and Yamaha.

    Anita is of the opinion that the television industry, which is growing at a slow pace now unlike the boom years, will pick up “because of its attributes being the medium it is.”

    “While media consolidation is key to our business and the clients are the chief beneficiaries, it’s also important to ensure brand accountability. Like in case of full service clients, it is important for both media and creative to be brand custodians so that there is accountability on a brand and everything is being done in the interest of the brand/marketer,” says she.

    This straight forward, no-nonsense woman firmly believes in working on her weaknesses to convert them into strengths. Her family is her biggest support today. Her two daughters and an extremely loving, supportive and understanding husband are what keeps her going in this overtly competitive industry.

    And if you thought that it was just media planning and buying that she was involved in, think again. Anita is a guest faculty at various management institutes like MICA, Amity School of Communication, College of Media and Communication at Rai Foundation and also the Delhi School of Communication.

    On being queried as to which of her qualities helped her being in the position she is today, she says, “I have always put in my best efforts and have had a very focused approach. From being in implementation when I started in 1983 and when media planning was just about seeing the light, to have learned and moved on from there, I think one has come a long way. I could have just been restricted to implementation but have taken up all the challenges in life and given it my best.”

     

  • Perry Stahman appointed MGM president, domestic theatrical marketing

    Perry Stahman appointed MGM president, domestic theatrical marketing

    MUMBAI: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) has named Perry Stahman as president, Domestic Theatrical Marketing.

    Stahman will report directly to MGM COO Rick Sands. Stahman is a seasoned marketing executive who brings extensive experience from 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony Pictures to the newly created position.

    Stahman takes on the responsibility for supervising all theatrical marketing activities for MGM’s theatrical distribution unit, unveiled as part of MGM’s revitalization strategy in March. The release of several high profile films this year will kick off MGM’s domestic theatrical distribution business in North America, states an official release.’

    Chairman and CEO Harry E. Sloan said, “As part of the marketing team which released Hannibal, Legally Blonde, Barbershop and Heartbreakers, just to name a few, we are delighted to welcome Perry back into the MGM family. Perry’s experience, both in terms of the roster of studios where he has worked and the number of marketing successes he has achieved, will be of tremendous benefit as MGM readies for this new chapter in studio history. We are thrilled to have an executive of Perry’s caliber on our team and leading the marketing efforts for our new slate of films. ”

    MGM COO Rick Sands added: “Marketing is an extremely important function for any studio and we are confident that Perry has the skill, talent and knowledge to make our films big hits with audiences. Having overseen the marketing for a number of high profile films, Perry’s extensive experience encompasses a wide spectrum of film genres and styles as well as different studio environments, which will be a great asset in marketing our well rounded slate of new theatrical releases. I am pleased to welcome him to MGM.”

    “I am excited to be an integral part of MGM’s groundbreaking effort to craft a new model for theatrical distribution, breaking from the bounds of the traditional studio system. I’m energized by the opportunity and look forward to helping MGM establish a fresh and effective new approach to film marketing,”said Stahman.

    Stahman comes from MGM from 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles, where he served as SVP, Creative Advertising since 2004. During his tenure at Fox, Stahman worked on the release of such films as Fantastic Four, Big Momma’s House 2, Transporter 2, Family Stone and Date Movie. Prior to this, Stahman served as SVP, Creative Advertising at Miramax Films. Joining Miramax in June 2002, Stahman created campaigns for Chicago, Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2, Hero and Gangs of New York.

    In February 1997, Stahman joined Sony Pictures as manager, Creative Advertising and worked on Men In Black,Air Force One, As Good As It Gets, Stepmom and The Mask of Zorro. Three years later, he joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as vice president, Creative Advertising.

  • History Channel to air film on Hitler in May

    History Channel to air film on Hitler in May

    MUMBAI: It is reinvention time for the History Channel. In order to live up to its new position of being an entertainment channel, the broadcaster will among other initiatives, air television movies. One of these is Hitler The Rise of Evil. This will air on 6 and 7 May at 9 pm.

    The movie describes the life of Adolf Hitler (Robert Carlyle) from childhood to manhood, and how he became so powerful. It describes his poor childhood in Austria, the first world war from his point of view, and how he became the strongest man in Germany.

    The movie show us how Hitler went from being a poor soldier into the leader of the Nazis, and how he survived the attempts to kill him. It describes his relationship with his mistress Eva Braun (Zoe Telford), and his decisions and enemies inside Germany and inside the Nazi party

    Another film that will air is Haven on 13 May. It stars Natasha Richardson, Ruth Gruber and Colm Feore. This is the true story of a woman named Ruth Gruber who travels to Europe to help escort 1000 Jewish War victims to the United States. She comes to love and feel sorry for them all, and fights for their rights to live in America.

  • Film & TV Producers Guild submits draft for proposed Entertainment Export Promotion Council

    Film & TV Producers Guild submits draft for proposed Entertainment Export Promotion Council

    MUMBAI: Standing by its commitment to strive for the welfare of the entertainment industry at large, the Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd. recently submitted the draft for the proposed Entertainment Export Promotion Council to the Information & Broadcast Ministry.

    The Guild had received a notification from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry with a request to consider the finer details of forming a Special Export Promotion Council for the entertainment industry as suggested by the ICE (Information, Communication and Entertainment) Committee recently constituted by the Prime Minister’s Office. The Guild had been advised to give its proposals in accordance with the requirements of the Department of Commerce, states an official release.

    Accordingly, the Guild has set up a Sub-Group comprising representatives of eminent members having specialization in exports. At their first meeting, members of the Sub-Group had extensive deliberations on the subject, transpiring in the finalization of the draft.

    This draft was formally presented to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry recently by the Guild president Amit Khanna at a meeting in Delhi. The Ministry urged for some time to scrutinize the draft but readily assured the Guild president that the proposed Entertainment Export Promotion Council would be formed under its auspices.

    This development establishes the strong foothold occupied by the Guild in the eyes of the establishment.

    Established in 1954 by the stalwarts of the Indian film industry, The Film & TV Producers Guild is today the most progressive body in show business. From the studio barons like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai to the new diversified media companies like UTV, Nimbus, Zee, Sahara and Adlabs. From the leading TV production houses like Star TV, Sony, TV Today, NDTV, TV Eighteen, BAG Films to the young turks like Ashutosh Gowariker, Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Rohan Sippy are all symbols of the Indian filmed content. Offering genuine stakeholders in the business an opportunity to work for the betterment of the entertainment industry, the Guild is now the cornerstone of Indian entertainment.

  • Radio Mirchi turnover rises 58 per cent in FY06, net profit at Rs 295 million

    Radio Mirchi turnover rises 58 per cent in FY06, net profit at Rs 295 million

    MUMBAI: Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL) has posted a 57.69 per cent rise in gross turnover to Rs 1.2 billion for the fiscal ended 31 March 2006, as against Rs 762.2 million a year ago.

    Net profit stood at Rs 294.6 million as compared to a net loss of Rs 179.2 million in FY 2004-05.

    The earning before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation excluding license fee for the year was Rs 445.7 million, a rise of 61.5 per cent over the previous year.

    For the last quarter of FY 06 fiscal, net profit was at Rs 54.9 million. ENIL, the company which operates FM broadcasting under the brand name of radio Mirchi, has announced its results for the first time since its initial public offering (IPO) in February 2006. Comparative fourth quarter figures for the previous year are, thus, not available.

    ENIL’s consolidated net profit stood at Rs 310.5 million for FY 06 while total income was at Rs 1.4 billion. Earning before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation was Rs 407.6 million.

    Under the consolidated results fall the wholly owned subsidiary company Times Innovative Media Private Limited (TIMPL) for a period of five months. TIMPL was incorporated on October 26, 2005 and it acquired Event Management (3600) and Out of Home Media (Times OOH) business from Time Innovative Media Limited (TIML).

    ENIL has set its sights on increasing its turnover from the additional radio stations to be set up this year. The company has already launched its radio stations in Hyderabad, Jaipur and Bangalore.

    Times OOH won advertising rights of Delhi Metro – Connaught Place and Dwarka (13 stations), Kolkata Metro (80 hoardings spread across the city) amd Delhi-Noida toll bridge for a license fee of Rs.340 million payable over two to five years.

  • Trai issues paper on cable tariffs for commercial purposes

    Trai issues paper on cable tariffs for commercial purposes

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to bring about a semblance of difference between cable TV pricing for commercial purpose (like in Hotels) and home subscribers, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today issued a consultation paper to discuss the issue before finalizing some recommendations.

    The Trai paper on commercial tariff seeks to discuss issues like whether there is a need to fix tariffs for commercial purposes and its methodology, definitions of commercial consumers and how they can be differentiated from non-commercial consumers.

    A tariff order of 1 October 2004 did not distinguish between commercial and other services.
    However, while dealing with a batch of petitions filed by the hotel and restaurant industry, the TDSAT (disputes tribunal) in its judgment of 17 January, 2006 had pointed out that the regulator’s earlier order did not cover commercial services.

    Accordingly, after careful examination Trai decided as an interim measure to amend the tariff order and provide for a ceiling for commercial tariff also.

    The present consultation paper is part of an exercise to discuss the issue in detail with broadcast industry stakeholders and those representing the hotels and restaurants.

  • TWI comes out with podcast show on golf on iTunes

    TWI comes out with podcast show on golf on iTunes

    MUMBAI: Former golf pros and Sky pundits Richard Boxall and Robert Lee will be sharing their expertise with golf fans in a podcast show on iTunes.

    Golf ‘n Around, a half-hour weekly show hosted by the duo, produced by TWI and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, will provide listeners with an insightful and light hearted look at the world of Golf.

    The first edition of the show will provide a look back at the Volvo China Open and discuss the Verizon Heritage on the PGA Tour, as well as previewing this week’s European Tour event in Shanghai and the BMW Asian Open. Regular features will also include golf tips and miscellaneous items of interest.

    As well as having unparalleled access to the players and back-up personnel, Richard and Robert also promise to share anecdotes previously recounted amongst the close-knit golfing community. They joke, ‘What we know about golf you could write on a postage stamp with a paint brush. That’s why we’re pooling our knowledge to share it with the world.’

    Golf ‘n Around is produced by TWI who has agreed a distribution contract with Audible, the leading distributor of spoken-word content on iTunes.

    TWI head of audio sales and distribution Miles Palmer said, “TWI is delighted to work with key broadcasting talent such as Robert and Richard to produce unique content for the downloading public. TWI intends to set the bar for sport content in the podcasting world and this is a great start.”

  • BBC’s new comedy makes viewers ‘Feel The Force’

    BBC’s new comedy makes viewers ‘Feel The Force’

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has announced that it will air a six part comedy series on the police force called Feel The Force from next month. This will air on BBC Two.

    Sally Bobbins (Michelle Gomez) and Sally Frank (Rosie Cavaliero) are two policewomen. They are the Cagney & Lacey for the 21st century, but with worse hairstyles. They are Dalziel and Pascoe, but with sillier surnames. Their boss is Sergeant Beasley (Leigh Zimmerman), a tall and terrifying woman who finds Frank and Bobbins a constant source of irritation.

    Their intentions may be good, but they are too easily distracted, as well as being accident-prone. Add to this Frank’s unrequited love for fellow officer PC MacBean and MacBean’s secret passion for his partner PC MacGregor, and it’s not difficult to see why our heroes have so little time for stamping out crime

  • Lockheed Martin launches DTH satellite system Astra for Europe

    Lockheed Martin launches DTH satellite system Astra for Europe

    MUMBAI: A European direct-to-home television satellite Astra -1KR launched into space yesterday atop an Atlas 5 rocket.

    The satellite which has been built by Lockheed Martin is a high-power Ku-band satellite that features 32 transponders. It will provide distribution of DTH services across Europe. It will be located at 19.2° East, European satellite operator SES Astra’s prime orbital position for delivering broadcast services to Europe, and will also transmit HDTV channels. With its satellite fleet Astra claims to reach 107 million homes in Europe.

    SES Astra is relying on the satellite to become a critical replacement in its space network, which provides more than 1,600 television and radio channels to 107 million households using a fleet of spacecraft.

    The cost of the mission is estimated to be about $200 million. Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems president Ted Gavrilis says, “Our long-standing relationship with SES Astra spans a period of nearly 20 years beginning with the launch of SES Astra’s first satellite, Aatra 1A, in 1988.

    “We are pleased once again to deliver to SES Astra, a state-of-the-art satellite using our flight-proven spacecraft architecture. I also commend our launch team and our SES Astra and ILS partners for their joint efforts and total dedication to Mission Success, which culminated in a textbook launch.”

    SES Astra president and CEO Ferdinand Kayser says, “We are very proud and satisfied that the Astra 1KR mission has been a success. Astra 1KR will benefit our customers, further strengthen our unique inter-satellite back-up scheme and provide replacement capacity for our Astra 1B and Astra 1C satellites. The success of the Astra 1KR mission is a milestone in our company history and shows that we have strengthened the fruitful cooperation with our launch partners, Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems and International Launch Services.”

    The satellite will use an onboard engine over the next week to circularise its transfer orbit. Once in geostationary orbit, the solar array and antenna appendages will be deployed and then a week spent testing onboard systems.

    The handover of the satellite to SES Astra is expected early next month. This will allow controllers in Betzdorf, Luxembourg to perform an extensive checkout of the communications payload and positioning of the craft at its final orbital slot over the equator at 19.2 degrees East longitude.

    The Lockheed Martin A2100 geosynchronous spacecraft series is designed to meet a wide variety of commercial and government telecommunications needs ranging from Ka-band/broadband services and fixed satellite services in C-band and Ku-band payload configurations, to high-power direct broadcast services using the Ku-band frequency spectrum and S-band mobile satellite services. The A2100’s modular design features a reduction in parts, simplified construction, increased on-orbit reliability and reduced weight and cost.

    SES Astra’s satellite is expected to enter commercial service in June, expecting to last at least 15 years. It will replace the aging Astra 1B and Astra 1C spacecraft which had been launched in 1991 and 1993 respectively.

    The Astra Satellite System is a DTH satellite system in Europe, delivering services to some 107 million Direct-to-Home and cable households. The Astra satellite fleet currently comprises 13 satellites, transmitting in excess of 1600 analogue and digital television and radio channels as well as multimedia and Internet services.

    Astra’s two prime orbital positions for DTH services are 19.2° East and 28.2° East. Professional services such as Direct-to cable (DTC), Satellite Newsgathering (SNG) and Occasional Use are offered from the orbital position of 23.5° East.