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  • Radio Mirchi 95 FM launches in Hyderabad

    Radio Mirchi 95 FM launches in Hyderabad

    MUMBAI: Entertainment Network (India) Limited has launched its Radio Mirchi 95 FM radio station in Hyderabad. The station went on-air at 6 am today, with the voice of Southern superstar Chiranjeevi being the first voice on the station.

    Radio Mirchi 95 FM Hyderabad is the 10th station of ENIL to start operations. Radio Mirchi 105 FM Jaipur and Radio Mirchi 93.3 FM Bangalore went on air on 17 April, making them the first private FM radio stations to go on-air under the Phase II of radio privatization.

    In the Phase II bidding process, over 250 frequencies across 90 cities were successfully auctioned in a process that lasted 5 weeks in January and February 2006. ENIL was successful in winning 25 licenses in addition to the 7 stations it already operates.

    Speaking on the occasion, ENIL MD & CEO A P Parigi said that with these back to back launches, ENIL had managed to demonstrate its project management capabilities. He added that in all three stations detailed market research was carried out to provide inputs to programming – so that the station reflected the tastes and aspirations of each city.

    Under the Phase II rules, radio stations are permitted to commence broadcasting by way of interim transmission facilities in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur.

  • Star World celebrates ‘Dance Fever’; unveils a world of luxury

    Star World celebrates ‘Dance Fever’; unveils a world of luxury

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World is looking to capitalise on the success of American Idol through another music based show.

    The difference is that instead of singing, the contestants on Dance Fever show off their skills on the dance floor.
    The show will air every Tuesday from 9 May at 8 pm. The mission of this dance competition is to find out America’s best dancers. The ultimate Dance Fever contestant or team champion will strut away with a $100,000 grand prize.

    Auditions for Dance Fever were held in New York, L.A., Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta. Of these auditioners, only 48 individuals or teams will make it past the initial audition process and head to Las Vegas for their chance at dancing stardom. The Top 48 can consist of individual dancers, or teams of two to four dancers. Once the elimination rounds begin in Las Vegas, the contestants will meet host Eric Niles.

    The contestants will also face, for the first time, the Dance Fever judges: actress and singer Carmen Electra (Baywatch, Starsky & Hutch); Grammy-winning artist MC Hammer; and director/choreographer Jamie King, who has worked with Madonna, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin.

    The channel will also boost its lifestyle offerings by exposing viewers to a world of luxury. Luxury Unveiled airs every Sunday from 28 May at 7:30 pm. This is a reality – documentary series that goes behind the scenes to find out how these brands swept the world, how they got there, how they keep the magic alive and why men and women from very different countries, cultures and lifestyles spend thousands buying into them.

    Each episode will concentrate on one luxury brand. The cameras will follow as the brands prepare for the latest show; as the designers, the marketers and the manufacturers create the house’s new look. Over the hour, viewers will watch the creation, production and unveiling of a haute couture collection or a new line of accessories or a new scent and all the pain and expectation along the way. At the same time, using historical footage and interviews, the show explains how the brand got here and how many of these firms transformed themselves from provincial family-run shops into huge multi-nationals.

    More reality on air with Beauty and The Geek. The show kicks off on 31 May and airs every Wednesday at 8 pm. It teams up a group of beautiful girls with a bunch of genius guys in the hopes that one group’s strengths will help overcome the other group’s weaknesses. The “Beauties” are a group of stunningly attractive young women who use their looks to manipulate every situation. What they lack in intelligence they more than make up for in beauty.

    Each “Geek” is one of the country’s next brain surgeons, rocket scientists and philosophers, who will create cures and technology that will change the world. But despite their massive intellects, these guys don’t possess the confidence or social skills to even talk to a girl or ask her out on a date. Partnered into Beauty/Geek teams, each will train the other to develop his or her brains or charisma. In a series of hilarious contests, the incredibly hot women go head to head in a battle of smarts, while the troop of genius guys compete to prove who can be the coolest, hippest and sexiest.

  • FremantleMedia expands UK home entertainment team

    FremantleMedia expands UK home entertainment team

    MUMBAI: Fremantle Home Entertainment (FHE), the home entertainment division of format creator FremantleMedia has appointed Rebecca Candler as senior product manager for the UK.

    Candler will manage and develop the ongoing relationships with DVD labels represented by FHE. Additionally, she will be responsible for creating and developing innovative marketing campaigns to support releases from these labels as well as FHE’s own label and also assist in building brand awareness of the division by maximising opportunities for the company’s proprietary library of over 19,000 hours of programming.

    Candler will be based in London and will report to FHE marketing manager Michelle Donovan.

    Donovan says, “2006 sees the continued expansion of our DVD business in the UK. With this appointment, we have another experienced marketing executive who can further develop relationships with our labels and oversee the strategic marketing of our portfolio of brands. I am very pleased to announce that Rebecca is joining the team and I feel certain that, with her tremendous TV and studio experience along with her industry knowledge, she will be a great asset to the team and play a major part in the continued growth of our business.”

    Candler joins FremantleMedia from Warner Home Video where she was senior product manager, television and special interest. In this role, she was responsible for the strategic product management of the company’s TV sector including key Warner Bros TV properties Friends, Joey, The OC and West Wing.

  • Mike Phillips returns to BBC Worldwide

    Mike Phillips returns to BBC Worldwide

    MUMBAI: Mike Phillips will to return to UK pubcaster BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide in a consultative capacity.

    He will work as an executive producer, theatrical films, on projects such as Earth, the feature film produced in parallel with the series Planet Earth and other factually based theatrical titles that BBC Worldwide plans to develop in the future. Before relinquishing corporate duties, Mike was deputy CEO at BBC Worldwide, responsible for managing the relationships with BBC production departments and with independent producers; for rights acquisition and investment in programmes; for marketing and communications and for exploiting programme formats through the international production business.

    BBC Worldwide director of content and production Wayne Garvie said, “Mike has an incredible passion for films and is also very well connected in the industry. There’s no-one better to work with producer, Alastair Fothergill and our partners in Greenlight Media to ensure that Earth is an outstanding production and to develop other ideas for the international market.”

    Phillips said, “The success of our oceans movie, Deep Blue, alongside other factually based films like Fahrenheit 9/11, Touching The Void and March Of The Penguins has created tremendous international interest in the genre. With Earth we have a uniquely ambitious project, already pre-sold in key territories. In addition, we are developing a number of other strong stories both with BBC producers and with UK independent firms.”

  • China associates with Venezuela for broadcaster training, program exchange

    China associates with Venezuela for broadcaster training, program exchange

    MUMBAI: Venezuela and China have signed a mutual agreement on program exchange and training of television and radio broadcast professionals.

    The deal was signed between Venezuelan communications minister William Lara, and deputy head of China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) Tian Jin, said a Venezuelan communications ministry statement.

    As per the agreement, Venezuela will broadcast two channels of Central China Television programs in Venezuela and will also have access to China Radio International’s programs in a variety of languages. “Radio, television and cinema are the frontline” of Venezuela’s revolution, and the Latin American country needs China’s know how to fight on this terrain”, said Lara.

    Tian expressed hope that the cultural and information exchange would boost friendship between the two nations, as radio and television are the easiest ways to get information.

  • UTV in sale agreement with Media Footing

    UTV in sale agreement with Media Footing

    MUMBAI: UTV Software Communications Ltd has entered into a share sale agreement with Media Footing SDN BHD for sale of the entire shareholding held by the company in UTV International (Holdings) Ltd, BVI.

    UTV international (Holdings) Ltd, BVI will, thus, cease to be a subsidiary of the company.

    Consequently, Antah UTV Multimedia & Communications SDN BHD, which is a 70 per cent subsidiary of UTV International (Holdings) Ltd, BVI will also cease to be a subsidiary of the company.

  • Zee launches dramedy ‘Jabb Love Hua’

    Zee launches dramedy ‘Jabb Love Hua’

    MUMBAI: Zee TV today announced the launch of its latest kid in the prime time soap block. The dramedy Jabb Love Hua will run Monday through Thursday in the 8:30 pm slot, starting 24 April.

    With Jabb Love Hua, Zee TV is exploring the dramedy genre once again, after the success it had with Kareena Kareena. The serial, set in a scenic village in Uttar Pradesh, also brings back producers Tony and Deeya Singh of the DJ’s Creative Unit to the Zee team after a gap.

    “We have something different in Jabb Love Hua. A serial, set in a rustic backdrop, is something we don’t see often, and we have explored this aspect with Jabb Love Hua,” says Zee TV programming head Ashwini Yardi.

    Zee TV kicked off the promotional campaign for the serial today. Zee TV is exploring outdoors, radio, print and its network platform to promote the serial.

  • Cable operators black out Star chnls in Kolkata

    Cable operators black out Star chnls in Kolkata

    MUMBAI: A majority of cable networks in Kolkata have blacked out the Star group of channels, protesting against a seven per cent rate hike. Another contention is the forcing of the second bouquet which includes channels like Star One.

    The Star channels including Star Plus are not available to most viewers in the city since Saturday midnight. The decision was taken by the last mile operators (LMOs) who also blamed Tata Sky, in which Star is a 20 per cent joint venture partner, for approaching housing societies with the offer of a central dish antenna through which individual installations could be provided for direct-to-home (DTH) service.

    Indian Cable Net (which was bought out by Siticable) and Manthan Cable Network, the two big multi-system operators (MSOs) in the city, are not having the Star channels on their cable systems. “We were asked by the last mile operators not to carry the Star channels,” says an executive in Indian Cable Net.

    Earlier, Star had switched off signals to Manthan after claiming outstandings of over Rs 20 million. “Manthan owed us money and we switched off signals on 15 March after giving a month’s notice. There is no reason for the other cable operators blacking us out as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has allowed a seven per cent hike,” says a Star India spokesperson.

    Manthan director Gurmeet Singh admits Star was off the network from 15 March, but says the case regarding dues is pending in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

    The protest against carriage of the Star channels was led by the Forum of Cable Operators and Cable Operators Sanjukta, two association bodies of the last mile operators in the city. “Star was asking for a hike, which we couldn’t have passed on to the consumers. Besides, Tata Sky, where Star is a partner, is wanting to grab subscribers by offering housing societies free cabling from a single central antenna,” says Cable Operators Sanjukta spokesperson Papi Banerjee.

    Star channels are, however, available on Cablecom and Purvalaya Communications. “Star is also supporting some operators by issuing decoder boxes,” says a last mile operator in Kolkata.

  • TV18 to pump in Rs 2.5 billion in new ventures, raise Rs 3 billion equity

    TV18 to pump in Rs 2.5 billion in new ventures, raise Rs 3 billion equity

    MUMBAI: Television Eighteen India Ltd. board has approved a Rs 2.5 billion expansion plan in new ventures and potential acquisitions.

    The majority of these projects are intended to be in the television, internet and “triple convergence” areas. “We are looking at expansion on the TV, internet and even at opportunities on the mobile space. For all these new ventures that we get into, we will not go alone but with globally reputed partners,” says TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla.

    While some of the investments will create greenfield projects, others are likely to result in acquisitions of operating companies. “A significant amount of this investment shall be raised by the sale of strategic stakes in some of these downstream subsidiary companies to globally reputed investors. The company will seek shareholder approval for these investments in accordance with law, as the investment plans firm up,” the company informed the BSE.

    The board also authorised the management to seek shareholders approval for raising Rs three billion in equity over a period of time. “At the present stage, the management is seeking only an enabling approval from its shareholders. The management does not expect to issue any immediate equity under this approval,” the company said.

  • Isro to ramp up number of satellite launches

    Isro to ramp up number of satellite launches

    BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has responded positively to the increasing demand for satellite space. Speaking at the launch of the Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment (ISITE) facility in Bangalore, Isro chairman G Madhavan Nair hinted at Isro upping its ante in this area.

    “Presently, we are doing about one and a half Insat class satellites a year and one remote sensing satellite launch in every eighteen months. The demand from all segments is high and rising and we should actually be doing around four Insat class satellites, two to three remote sensing satellites and around three to four micro satellites of the around 100 kg payload,” said Nair.

    Nair added that Isro had its hands full with many projects including a couple of commercial satellites for Europe. He said Isro was expecting orders for two more satellites from this region.