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  • OpenTV adds Auction and Sales modules to its multi-platform product

    OpenTV adds Auction and Sales modules to its multi-platform product

    CANNES: OpenTV Corp., which provides technology solutions for advanced digital television services, has released new Auction and Sales modules that will add support for television auctions and sales to its multi-platform OpenTV Participate product. OpenTV Participate enables viewers to participate in real-time or time-shifted competitions, votes, polls, quizzes and games, via mobile phones, web, IVR, and TV remote controls.

    The Auction and Sales modules are fully integrated with existing OpenTV Participate modules, including third party billing, fulfillment, accounts, customer care, bonus, loyalty, and marketing. Operators can now run a dedicated shopping or auction channel or individual shopping or auction events.

    As with all OpenTV Participate modules, the new Sales and Auction modules utilize wizard-based logic, enabling almost any type of sales or auction event-including the popular ‘bid up’ and ‘bid down’ auction models-to be created by non technical personnel. Support for selling content is also included, enabling broadcasters to offer pay-per-use and on-demand services such as mobile TV clips, downloads, or video streaming on any platform, states an official release.
    With these new modules, OpenTV continues to enhance OpenTV Participate’s unprecedented combination of functionality in a single, scalable system, enabling broadcasters and programmers to offer their viewers an even richer choice of interactive products and services.

    “Our vision for OpenTV Participate is to enable broadcasters to convert passive viewers into active customers by offering compelling interactive services and building a profile of their viewers’ TV habits,” said Amos Manasseh, OpenTV’s VP of Global Sales and Marketing for Participation Television. “These new modules further advance this vision as well as OpenTV Participate’s unique position in the market place, benefiting both broadcasters and advertisers alike.”

    OpenTV will be demonstrating OpenTV Participate at the upcoming MipTV/MILLA, NAB, and NCTA conferences, the release adds.

  • America Online is now AOL

    America Online is now AOL

    MUMBAI: After 15 years, AOL announced that it is retiring the name America Online and will now officially be known as AOL.

    AOL Chairman and CEO Jon Miller said, “Our company long ago accomplished the mission implied by our old name … we literally got America online. Our new corporate identity better reflects our expanded mission – to make everyone’s online experience better. Plus, consumers in the U.S. and around the world already know us by our initials.”

    The legal structure of AOL has also changed, from a corporation to a limited liability company.

  • FremantleMedia goes global with Jamie Oliver

    FremantleMedia goes global with Jamie Oliver

    CANNES: The distribution arm of global production company FremantleMedia, Fremantle International Distribution (FID), announced at MipTV a raft of international sales for a number of series starring celebrity British chef Jamie Oliver, including Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie’s Great Italian Escape and Jamie’s Kitchen.

    Jamie’s School Dinners is currently planned to premiere in the US on TLC while Jamie’s Great Italian Escape will make its American debut on theTravel Channel.The launch of Jamie’s Kitchen, also on TLC, will mark the first time the show will air on one of the Discovery Communication Inc.’s cable networks.

    Both Jamie’s Kitchen and Jamie’s School Dinners have received tremendous praise from viewers and critics alike. Jamie’s Kitchen has recieved many awards like Indie Award, C4 Documentary Award (UK), Grierson, Most Entertaining Documentary(UK); Jamie’s School Dinners has won the National Television Award, Most Popular Factual Programme (UK).
    Fremantle International Distribution managing director David Ellender commenting on the raft of international sales said, “Jamie Oliver’s accessibility and culinary creativity have allowed him to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers to create a great demand for his programming around the world. As we introduce Jamie to a wider audience in the United States, Discovery Communications Inc.’s unique array of networks provide the perfect venue for these premieres and make them the ideal partner.”

    Jamie’s Great Italian Escape follows Jamie’s impulsive trip to Italy where he searches for new sources of inspiration in order to reignite his passion for cooking. Driving from town to town in his trusty camper, Jamie’s adventures take him across the country as he learns about street food in Palermo, dines with monks in Farfa and hunts wild boar in the mountains of Le Marche.

    25 territories have to date snapped up Jamie’s latest series, Jamie’sGreat Italian Escape including RaiSat, Italy; TV Norge, Norway; TV Danmark, Denmark; SABC, South Africa; Kanal 5 Sweden; Discovery Asia; Network Ten, Australia; TVB, Hong Kong; TVNZ, New Zealand; RTL2, Germany; Food Network; Canada, WOWOW, Japan; GloboSat, Brazil; VMMA, Belgium; Ren-TV, Russia and CP 2000 and Ceska, Czech Republic.

    In Jamie’s School Dinners, Jamie embarks on a monumental undertaking: take charge of 20,000 school dinners a day in one of London’s most demanding areas. If he succeeds in transforming the way kids eat, Jamie will try to create a blueprint for school meals across the United Kingdom. But will Jamie’s efforts put him at the top of the class or will his quest to create a healthy eating curriculum prove too daunting a task?

    An impressive 33 territories have ordered Jamie’s School Dinners including ORF, Austria; OK-Nova TV, Croatia; Cuisine TV, France; RaiSat, Italy; SIC, Portugal and Kanal 5, Sweden, among others.

    Jamie’s Kitchen chronicles Jamie’s effort to open a brand new restaurant in London’s East End. Not only is this his first restaurant, but Jamie gives himself an additional challenge by selecting 15 unemployed and inexperienced Londoners to train as his chefs. A busy schedule, delays in construction, increasingly troublesome trainees and the birth of his child gradually make the process more difficult for Jamie as he seeks to prove that it’s a passion for food, not academic qualifications, that make a great chef.

    Jamie’s Kitchen has also proved to be a phenomenal globe-trotting series for FID, which has secured sales in over 40 territories, including RTL2 Germany; SBS, Denmark; TV Norge, Norway; Mico, Japan and TVB, Hong Kong.

    Also, FID has also sold Oliver’s Twist to TV Azteca,(Channel 7), in Mexico, which is the 50th market to have bought the series. Fronted by Oliver, Oliver’s Twist blends the culture and style of London street life with interesting people and delectable food. From the markets, to house parties and of course to Jamie’s new kitchen, Jamie cooks up fresh, simple food for good times with family and friends.

  • E! signs Asian licensing deals

    E! signs Asian licensing deals

    CANNES: The world’s largest producer and distributor of entertainment news and lifestyle-related programming, E! Networks has secured a range of Asian licensing deals in the first quarter of this year, selling 600 hours of entertainment and lifestyle programming to broadcasters across the region.In India, Zoom Channel took a range of E! titles, including Girls of The Playboy Mansion, Gastineau Girls, and Gone Bad.

    AXN (India) has meanwhile, also licensed E! and Style programming.

    South Korea’s On Style opted for E! News Weekend, 101 Entertainment Countdown Series, Dr. 90210 and Style Star, while CJ Media took Isaac, 50 Most Specials, Gastineau Girls, Girls of The Playboy Mansion, The E! True Hollywood Story, and Gone Bad for O’live Channel.

    CJ Media has also picked up select titles for ZTM and Home CGV. Japan’s Reality TV licensed Gastineau Girls and 101 Most Shocking Moments, while Superchannel acquired Live from the Red Carpet specials, including the 2006 Emmy Awards.

    Shanghai Media Group (China), UBC Inside (Thailand), Lifestyle and Studio 23 (Philippines), Channel 9 (Thailand), Sun Media and Story On Channel (South Korea) have also licensed E! and Style programming.

    E! Networks managing director for Asia Christine Fellowes noted, “The Asian television market is booming and we look forward to unveiling our new slate of entertainment and lifestyle-themed programming at MipTV 2006. E! Networks’ programming continues to have strong international appeal, particularly in the Asia Pacific market, and we’re delighted to deliver our latest offerings including Sexiest, 10 Ways and Instant Beauty Pageant to our partners in Asia.”

  • DIC looks to acquire & co-produce at MipTV

    DIC looks to acquire & co-produce at MipTV

    CANNES: DIC Entertainment is at MipTV with an aim to acquire and/or co-produce programming for its new Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party on CBS, in addition to sealing deals on its library of kids’ properties.

    DIC has a five-year deal to broadcast 30 series on the three-hour CBS kids’ block. It is looking for both animated and live-action properties that can air on the block and can be extended across new media and merchandising platforms.

    DIC Entertainment chairman and CEO Andy Heyward said, “MIP and MIPCOM have always served as key markets to initiate major media deals for our business, and we are thrilled to once again utilize them to launch a significant strategy for the Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party programming block. We always welcome the opportunity to work with leading international broadcasters to create quality programs, and we look forward to meeting with producers and distributors to find stellar series to air on the block.”

  • AL Jazeera International ropes in ABC Richard Gizbert to present ‘Listening Post’

    AL Jazeera International ropes in ABC Richard Gizbert to present ‘Listening Post’

    MUMBAI: The soon to launch 24- hour English news and current affairs channel Al Jazeera International has designed a news show Listening Post. The show will be presented by the former ABC news journalist, Richard Gizbert.

    A weekly insight Listening Post will bring news from around the world into how the news is handled by the world’s media and assess how news reporting changes depending on where it is coming from. It will monitor and examine all forms of media, all over the world. From the biggest network to the most obscure web bloggers Listening Post will report critically on what they cover – and what they don’t. It will examine the big stories and explain how and why coverage of them differs in different parts of the world, informs an official release.

    Listening Post is a fully commissioned jointly owned programme with Moonbeam Films Ltd. As a commissioning house, Al Jazeera International’s programmes will include material gathered from freelancers and independent companies all across the globe through a unique commissioning site: www.ajicommissioning.net

    Gizbert joins Al Jazeera International’s line-up of on-screen talent from ABC News where he worked since 1993. Starting as a correspondent in their London bureau, he has reported abroad on many of the major international stories such as the conflicts in Iraq and the continuing unrest in the Middle East.

    Al Jazeera International programme director Paul Gibbs said, “Listening Post is Al Jazeera International’s eyes and ears on the world’s electronic media. It’s a fantastic addition to our line-up of extensive programmes.”

    Graduated from Algonquin College in Ontario, Gizbert, previously worked as a correspondent-producer for CJOH-TV in Ottawa, where he produced in-depth features for Sunday Edition, the national current affairs programme. Prior to that, Gizbert was CJOH’s parliamentary correspondent for five years, responsible for national political coverage. For his reporting of a bus hostage situation on Parliament Hill, he received the National Award for Breaking News Coverage.

    From 1983 to 1985, he was a correspondent and political editor for CFTO-TV in Toronto, covering federal politics and co-anchoring special events coverage.

  • Fox Reality acquires shows from outside the US

    Fox Reality acquires shows from outside the US

    CANNES: Fox Reality channel has announced a slate of new acquisitions at MipTV, taking on programs from the BBC, Endemol, Sony Pictures Television International and Eyeworks Distribution.

    Fox Reality CEO and GM David Lyle said, “We like to be innovative and introduce some classics and some of the most irreverent and entertaining reality shows from outside the U.S. to domestic audiences for whom these shows are new experiences.”

    From the BBC, the channel has secured five seasons of Castaway, seasons one and two of Driving School and three episodes of The Bronx Crime & Justice. Driving School follows a number of would-be drivers as they prepare to take their driving tests. In Castaway, a number of Britons are stranded on the remote Scottish Island of Taransay in the Hebrides. The Bronx Crime & Justice offers a look into the New York legal system.

    Through Endemol, Fox Reality has secured the rights to the controversial dating show There’s Something About Miriam, and with SPTI, it has taken the broadcast rights to the British (three seasons) and Australian (one season) of Dragon’s Den.
    And from Eyeworks, the channel acquired the ten-episode adventure reality Going Straight.

  • BVITV ties up with European & Asian broadcasters

    BVITV ties up with European & Asian broadcasters

    CANNES: Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) has announced a range of deals with broadcasters in Europe and Asia snapping up the company’s slate of kids’ shows, dramas and formats, on the first day of MipTV.

    The format for Extreme Makeover has been licensed to ICTV in Ukraine. ICTV also took the British version of Extreme Makeover, the ABC medical drama Grey’s Anatomy as well as slate of features, among them Dick Tracy, The Waterboy and Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

    Also in Ukraine, New Channel has licensed the first three series of the hit comedy According to Jim plus the features Three Men and a Baby, Arachnophobia and Born Yesterday. In a separate deal, New Channel has also licensed Jetix Europe programming like W.I.T.C.H.

    Ukraine broadcaster STB also picked up a series of titles, among them The Color of Money, The Three Musketeers, Turner and Hooch and the reality series Miracle Workers.

    TV Nova in the Czech Republic has taken a raft of features, series, kids’ programming and TV movies. The network is set to launch Lost, which has been licensed to more than 210 markets, features like Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Seabiscuit; and library features including Pretty Woman and Sister Act. On the kids front, TV Nova will launch a new Disney-branded kids’ block, Disney Club, running weekly for two hours, and has licensed a selection of Jetix Europe shows.

    In Thailand, BBTV has renewed its multiyear agreement with BVITV-AP for live-action series, current features and Disney animation, and has signed a new package deal for animated features from Disney’s Classic Treasures, which will air for the first time on Thai terrestrial television.

    Under the multi-year agreement, kids in Thailand will continue to have access to top Disney shows on the Disney Club block that runs every Saturday morning from 6:50 am. to 8:30 am. Also, terrestrial audiences will have access to a slate of international box office hits including Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Seabiscuit.

  • Zone Vision’s Club channel launches in Korea

    Zone Vision’s Club channel launches in Korea

    MUMBAI: Club Channel, owned and operated by Zone Vision Networks Ltd, launched in Korea on 3 April.

    The Club Channel will air 24-hours a day, seven days a week, initially to one million cable subscribers. Series such as the popular Globe Trekker, Saturday Kitchen, Fashion File and the ‘Uncovered’ series, will be among the titles included in the 60 per cent of acquired content for the channel.

    The remaining 40 per cent of content for the channel will be produced locally. One of the MSO’s which Club Channel will launch on is CJ, one of Korea’s leading producers and distributors of entertainment products and services in Korea.

    Zone Vision general manager Asia Pacific Alan Hodges said, “Asia continues to be a key growth area for Zone Vision, and we are delighted that our next channel launch will be in Korea. Club Channel has such an eclectic mix of programming, we are sure that its shows will appeal to the broad spectrum of viewers in Korea.”

    Club Channel Korea managing director of programming and strategy Ki-Myung Kim added, “Club Channel Korea has unlimited potential to fascinate young generations who love clubbing, party, and leading new cultural trends. This channel will build up club maniacs and grow with them to be the best lifestyle channel specializing in Clubbing & Party. Based on this unlimited potential of channel style, we are expecting the number of subscribers to increase considerably over the next 12 months.”

  • AOL launches mobile browsing service

    AOL launches mobile browsing service

    MUMBAI:AOL announced the debut of new mobile information and location services, including a new addition to the industry-leading suite of mobile AOL Search services. The new offering is a mobile browsing service that automatically adapts web pages for mobile screens. The easy-to-use mobile browsing service can be used by wireless subscribers with web-enabled phones.

    According to a new survey AOL conducted with the Associated Press and Pew Research Center, 52 percent of adults keep their cell phone turned on all day, everyday, and 40 percent of those aged 18-29 are likely to drop their landline once and for all. The report reveals that more than 30 percent of adults want to search and browse the web from their cell phone, while 47 percent say that mobile maps and driving directions are a “must have” on the next phone they buy.

    AOL’s wireless group senior vice president of Products Eric Engstrom said,”We are committed to providing people with easy access to the web’s full range of information, location and communications services wherever they may go. We are pleased to be working with the nation’s leading carriers to provide their subscribers with our complete suite of popular and consumer-friendly offerings. Together, we are making it easy for people to stay connected to friends, family members and colleagues.”

    AOL’s new mobile browsing service has been seamlessly integrated into the existing suite of mobile AOL Search services — including web search, shopping search and local search — to make it easy for consumers to navigate the web and find anything they need from their mobile device, according to an official release. Mobile AOL Search Services, including the new advanced browsing services, are available via mobile browser at http://www.aol.com .

    The new browsing service also marks the successful expansion of AOL’s alliance with InfoGin Ltd., a pioneer of web to mobile content adaptation solutions. AOL uses InfoGin’s transcoding and content analysis technologies to extend the ease of desktop search and navigation to wireless devices, bringing a wealth of web resources to mobile users’ finger tips.

    Also, AOL is bringing its mobile portal services to Sprint subscribers nationwide. AOL’s mobile web portal is a wireless version of the new AOL.com portal (http://www.aol.com). It is a one-stop-shop that gives mobile users easy access to the newly enhanced mobile AOL Search, AIM, AOL Mail and AOL Pictures services as well as AOL’s news, entertainment, sports and weather content.

    Sprint subscribers now have full access to America’s most popular instant messaging community via downloadable mobile AIM applications or through the wireless web. Features include presence awareness via the mobile Buddy List feature, IM Forwarding and two-way desktop-to-mobile (IM2SMS) messaging services.To learn more about mobile AOL services available to Sprint subscribers, please go to http://www.aolmobile.com/sprint

    In a related announcement, AOL debuted MapQuest’s new web-enabled service making it easier for consumers to access MapQuest.com. Coming soon, MapQuest Navigator will enable consumers to access Global Positioning Service (GPS), turn-by-turn, voice-guided directions on their mobile phones.

    Consumers with web-enabled mobile phones can access MapQuest.com by going to http://wap.mapquest.com .MapQuest expects the MapQuest Navigator service to be available through major U.S. cell phone providers later this year. For more information, see http://www.mapquest.com/mobile.

    Other services coming soon from AOL include a new mobile pictures upload feature will allow AOL Pictures users (AOL members and AIM users alike) to automatically post photos taken with their mobile device to their AOL Pictures account, regardless of their wireless carrier. The feature will be enabled through the AOL Pictures website ( http://www.aol.com/pictures).

    AOL will also introduce mobile blogging capabilities that will enable consumers to automatically post pictures from their mobile device to their AOL Journal or AIM Blog.