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  • ‘Desperate Housewives’ to be made into a computer game

    ‘Desperate Housewives’ to be made into a computer game

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster ABC’s show Desperate Housewives is being turned into a computer game.

    The game will give fans of the show the chance to play a fictional character on Wisteria Lane. The game will be released by Buena Vista Games later this year.

    Talks are going on with the show’s stars Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross and Nicolette Sheridan to appear in the game.

    The game puts players in the role of a new housewife who moves into Wisteria Lane – the central location for the television show – and sets about uncovering the scandals hidden behind the idyllic and seemingly perfect neighbourhood.

    ABC is said to be continually looking to build upon this successful franchise. It believes that extending this program into the world of PC gaming will result in a fun new way for fans to connect more deeply with the series and its captivating collection of characters.

    The game is currently in development at Liquid Entertainment and the move into gaming marks the latest merchandising extension of the television show. This includes a best selling DVD box set, a clothing range, board game, fragrance, online store, mobile personalisation tools, ringtones, graphics and a forthcoming cookbook.

  • Dic Entertainment re-acquires the rights of over 750 half hour of animated properties from Disney

    Dic Entertainment re-acquires the rights of over 750 half hour of animated properties from Disney

    MUMBAI: Dic Entertainment has re-acquired the rights to an extensive slate of animated children’s properties from The Walt Disney Company and Jetix Europe for television, home entertainment and consumer products.

    The announcement was made by Dic Entertainment chairman and CEO Andy Heyward.

    As part of the deal, Dic will now control various marketing and distribution rights for 750 half-hour episodes of globally recognised brands previously produced by Dic, including Care Bears, Inspector Gadget, Heathcliff, Dennis the Menace, The Littles and more.

    “We have one of the largest libraries of animation in the world consisting of some of the most popular children’s properties ever, and we are thrilled to have these properties back in the Dic family. There is always a huge demand for classic children’s programming, particularly in the home entertainment marketplace, and we look forward to offering our clients these series across multiple platforms,” said Heyward.

    The slate of programming, which will be offered at MipTV this year, includes, Inspector Gadget, Beverly Hills Teens, Care Bears, Dennis the Menace, Dennis the Menace specials, Get Along Gang, Heathcliff, Hulk Hogan, Jayce & the Wheeled Warriors, Lady Lovelylocks, The Littles, MASK, Photon, Pole Position, Poochie, Popples, Rainbow Brite, Starcom, Sylvanian Families, The Littles Movies and Ulysses 31.

    Brand highlights from the new programming include Care Bears, an evergreen property and one of the most popular children’s brands across the world. Since re-launching four years ago, Care Bears has grown into a $1.8 billion franchise and generated more than $600 million in worldwide retail in 2005. Inspector Gadget, Dic’s flagship property, is a franchise that includes a television series which has aired for over 20 years in key territories around the world.

    Additionally, the property has been a major success with two blockbuster features — a star-studded, Disney live-action feature film that generated over $100 million at the box-office and a direct-to-DVD title, which has sold nearly three million units to date. Based on the classic cartoon strip, which still appears in over 1,000 newspapers globally, Heathcliff has been a best-selling children’s book, a greeting card line and No. 1 best-selling comic book.

  • Banff to focus on digital media with sister event nextMedia

    Banff to focus on digital media with sister event nextMedia

    MUMBAI: Recognising that new media platforms is an invaluable part of todays television industry, the Banff World Television Festival in Canada has ramped-up the programme for its lead-in, sister conference, nextMedia 2006.

    The aim is to offer delegates an all-encompassing experience. nextMedia from 9 to 11 June will deliver the latest information on cutting-edge multi-platform distribution and content. This will be followed by Banff 2006 from 11 to 14 June.

    Set amid the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Alberta, this years nextMedia is a three-day event, featuring keynotes, international panels, best practices, case studies, as well as pitching and networking events. All these will focus on the future of digital content.

    This years theme focusses on digital content that is seamlessly integrated into our lives and distributed across multiple media platforms. nextMedia will also offer attendees an insight into the future of television, providing an essential companion to the Banff World Television Festival.

    Achilles Media CEO Robert Montgomery who is producing the event says, “nextMedia is on the pulse of emerging technologies and the future of digital content on such mobile channels as mobile internet, videophones and other handheld devices. The nextMedia/ Banff 2006 coupling is a must-attend for all television industry executives interested in staying up-to-date on such advanced media distribution platforms and their expanding markets and audiences.”

    nextMedia 2006, now in its second year, has bolstered its offerings to include these new highlights:

    – Digital Delivery Briefings with content aggregators
    – Interactive Exchange Sessions with broadcasters, CEs and TV executives
    – The Digital Deli a working lunch for content creators, where delegates learn how to repurpose and sell their content
    – The Market Place a delegate lounge with screening facilities and market kiosks.

  • Zee English and Zee Movies go on the blink

    Zee English and Zee Movies go on the blink

    The two babe-in-the-wood channels blanked out yesterday on the day of their launch for a cumulative period of 45 minutes. The first black out came between 9:30 and 10 pm and was followed by another shutdown between 11 and 11:15 pm. The channels are being beamed off.

    Zee TV officials are looking into the development. However, Asiasat officials point out that an unknown carrier barged in on the same frequency of the two chanels leading to their disappearce. However, they add that they have not been able to ascertain who it was and whether the interfering transmission was intentional or accidental.

    Sources, however, indicate that there was a problem during the transmission of the channels, which could be attributed to a mismatch of the symbol rate at which the transmission was being done and the symbol rate at which the Philips boxes – which are being used receive the two digital channels – were set. That resulted in a blackout.

  • Zee Telefilms creates 3 new business entities; to list them

    Zee Telefilms creates 3 new business entities; to list them

    MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra promoted Zee Telefilms board today approved splitting of its broadcasting business into three entities — news operations, broadcast and content creation, and Siti Cable, which will also include the initiatives on the CAS front.

    After the restructuring, which is expected to be completed within six to eight months, the new entities involved in cable business, and news operations, would be listed on the stock exchange.
    It also announced an ‘in principle’ approval of a proposal to demerge the consumer services business for Dish TV. The board of directors has approved the restructuring proposal related to the de-merger of news and cable business while directing the management to evaluate the direct consumer services business (Dish TV related) and the assess the effect of de-merging it.

    According to Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra, the company had a complex structure, which needed to be simplified as required by the regulatory environment and market needs.

    * ZTL holds 33 per cent in Zee News Limited, while promoters of Zee hold the balance. Zee News Ltd delivers news uplinked fto the satellite for Zee News, Zee Business and News content of regional channels.
    He added, “Due to regulatory restrictions, the business of Dish TV was structured in a very fractured manner and hence was difficult for ZTL shareholders to understand.

    “At the same time, the structure was also tax inefficient. The management of the businesses under the same board was not focused and thus unable to capture the growth opportunities in the market as different skill sets are required for distribution to trade, which in this case is cable business.”

    He continues that the regulation in the news and news related broadcast content is different from regulation in entertainment and other content.

    Due to technological advancements and changes, the media businesses have to be prepared for a forthcoming digital age, the company said.

    “We feel confident that these measures of restructuring these businesses subject to necessary approval would result in streamlining operations and better exploitation of opportunities in each area to build long term shareholder value. It would also clear the ground for acquisitions and strategic or financial partners in the demerged businesses, apart from unlocking shareholders value,” Chandra says.

    Queried as to whether he saw the demerged cable business (Siti Cable) and the direct consumer services business (Dish TV) as being the most likely to invite international interest for strategic and financial partnerships, Chandra replied in the affirmative.
    Restructuring of consumer business for Dish TV
    The direct consumer business is marked by division of activities between the DTH license holder ASC Enterprises Limited (ASCEL) and the subsidiaries of Siti Cable.

    * Percentage holding to be decided by the board after valuation by independent valuers.
    As per the proposal, the direct consumer related business of ZTL would be de-merged into ASCEL, with the shareholders of ZTL receiving shares in ASCEL in proportion.

    This has been done due to lack of clarity in structure, inefficiencies in tax and diffuse strategic focus.

    The proposal has met with in principle approval of the Zee board. The board has authorised management to evaluate the proposal and its effect and present to board for final approval.

    The scheme of arrangement would require approval of the stock exchange, shareholders and creditors of Zee and from Bombay High Court.

    Restructuring of news business; regional channels included

    # ZTL shareholders would get 137 shares of Zee News Ltd for 100 shares in ZTL. ZTL foreign shareholders will get upto a maximum of 26 per cent. Any additional shares accruing would be converted into Preference Shares. Currently the FII holding is 31 per cent, hence everyone will get equity shares. The equity shares held by foreign promoters would be shifted to India as domestic holdings.
    In compliance with the news uplinking guidelines with effect from October 2005, newsgathering activities of ZTL were transferred to Zee News Limited, while downlinking and commercial exploitation of all news-bearing channels was retained under ZTL.

    “Despite a compliant corporate structure for news bearing channels (particularly regional channels), we have felt it important to bridge the divide and bring all the operational activities together, to create strategic focus, remove tax efficiencies and unlock shareholders value,” Chandra said.

    Under the scheme of arrangement, the news-related business (Zee News, Zee Business, Zee Bangla, Zee Punjabi, Zee Marathi, Zee Telegu and shortly to be launched Zee Kannada will be subsumed into Zee News Limited (ZNL).

    The company will in due course be suitably changing the name of Zee News Ltd.

    As the result of preparation of news business the shareholders of Zee Telefilms will get proportionate shareholding in ZNL. As per the formula that has been worked out 137 ZNL shares will fetch 100 shares in ZTL.

    In case the allotment works out to more than 26 per cent (which is the permissible limit of foreign investment in news ventures in India), the FIIs would be allotted preferentail shares of equivalent value on a proportionate basis.

    Zee News Limited would be listed on all stock exchanges where ZTL is listed.

    Restructuring of cable business

    Siti Cable has been hived off into a separate entity, Chandra pointed out, as the cable assets were under-utiliseted, despite large and well-positioned investments in the cable business.

    To properly address the emerging business opportunities in digitisation of cable and convergence, there also are large funding requirements. And the regulatory requirement applicable to cable distribution is very different to broadcasting.

    Combined with the fact that the competitive environment of distribution business is also different, the Zee board felt that an invigorated corporate and governance set up was essential to aggressively address the emerging opportunities.

    * Shares held by foreign promoters will be shifted in India as domestic holding to bring down the overall foreign holding to about 35 per cent. Cable business is allowed foreign holding upto 49 per cent.

    As per the scheme of arrangement, the cable business of Siti Cable, a 100 per cent subsidiary of ZTL, and the cable related business of ZTL would be de-merged into Wire and Wireless (India) Limited (WWIL), a new company incorporated for the purpose.

    The shareholders of ZTL would receive shares in WWIL in proportion, as consideration.

    WWIL would in turn issue preference shares to the shareholders of ZTL.

    Meanwhile, the Zee scrip moved in a narrow band today. While opening at the BSE on 238.90, the scrip touched a high of 243.35 and a low of 236.10 before closing the day at 239.55. The stock is expected to react tomorrow as the restructuring of Zee’s businesses was announced in the evening, after the bourses had closed.

    MY Khan joins Zee board

    Dr MY Khan, chairman of Banking and Advisory Council, YES Bank Ltd, has joined Zee as a director on the board of the company. Dr Khan has previously served as chairman of J & K Bank. He is also a director on the Board of Bharat Hotels, as well as an advisor for Berenson & Company, New York.

  • CNN doc looks at the final days of Pope John Paul II

    CNN doc looks at the final days of Pope John Paul II

    MUMBAI: News channel CNN will air a two-hour documentary that takes viewers inside the secret world of the Vatican for the untold stories on the last days of Pope John Paul II. CNN faith and values correspondent Delia Gallagher obtained access to both the Vatican and to those who knew the pope best.

    The first part of CNN Presents: The Last Days Of Pope John Paul II airs on 2 April at 10 30 am, 15 April at 11 30 am and 7 30 pm. The second part airs on 2 April at 5 30 pm and on 16 April at 11 30 am. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Pope John Paul II’s friend and personal secretary for 40 years, takes viewers inside the pope’s private chapel in Kraków, to recount the pope’s early days as a young cardinal and archbishop in Poland, and later, his final hours in the papal apartment.

    Gallagher, who reported from the Vatican for seven years prior to joining CNN, introduces viewers to the pope’s medical team and confidantes who movingly describe the ailing pontiff’s acceptance of his fate. “This pope, who had taught so many people around the world how to live, was also teaching – in those moments – how a person can die,” recalls Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman whose emotional press conference signalled to the world that the end of Pope John Paul II’s life was truly near.

    While inside the Vatican , nuns and cardinals prayed over the pope’s body, outside an estimated seven million pilgrims crowded into St. Peter’s Square and the streets of Rome to pray for the pope. “Catholics and non-Catholics alike were mesmerized by the last days of Pope John Paul II – and later, by the secret conclave that selected his successor,” said Mark Nelson, senior executive producer for CNN PRESENTS , “CNN will now show viewers what they were unable to see then.”

    Millions worldwide watched one of history’s largest funeral masses, and the spontaneous chants of “santo subito” – “sainthood now” – that erupted from the mourners. In interviews with the men charged with proving Pope John Paul II’s sainthood, Gallagher speaks with Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who oversees the canonization process for the Catholic Church, and Monsignor Slawomir Oder, who is investigating miracles attributed to Pope John Paul II.

    Other insights and interviews include:

    Edmund Casimir Cardinal Szoka, the governor of Vatican City, and Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., who discuss the cardinals’ activities during the pope’s funeral and the conclave voting process, and

    Cardinal Szoka, Francis Cardinal George, the archbishop of Chicago, and Renato Cardinal Boccardo, secretary-general of Vatican City , describe the confusion inside the Sistine Chapel as the cardinals tried to operate the papal bells and chimney to alert the world that a new pope had been elected.

  • Globecast delivers ESPN Classic to the UK via satellite

    Globecast delivers ESPN Classic to the UK via satellite

    MUMBAI: US sports broadcaster ESPN has struck a deal with GlobeCast, a global content management and delivery company, to deliver ESPN Classic, the company’s first UK-dedicated sports channel, to the Sky Digital platform.

    Launched this week using Globecast’s capacity on the Eurobird satellite, ESPN Classic is devoted entirely to the greatest moments and legends of sport with a mix of all-time classic highlights, matches, movies, interviews, profiles and documentaries.

    GlobeCast’s solution for ESPN includes connectivity from the broadcaster’s playout facility in West London to GlobeCast, where the feed is encoded, multiplexed then sent to GlobeCast’s Brookmans Park teleport for uplink to the Sky Digital platform using GlobeCast’s Eurobird capacity. ESPN Classic is available 24 hours a day on Sky’s EPG channel 442.

    GlobeCast has an established relationship with ESPN Classic, providing a content and delivery services for the channel’s existing French, Italian and European feeds via Astra at 19.2ºE, Hotbird at 13ºE and Sirius 2 4.8ºE respectively.

    Globecast is a subsidiary of France Telecom. It is a global content management and delivery company. Via its worldwide satellite and fibre network, the company manages and transports 10 million hours of video and other rich media yearly for its core customer base of broadcasters, as well as corporate, government and retail clients.

    Globecast is network agnostic and ingests once to deliver content to any network via multiple platforms, including direct-to-home satellite, cable, video-to-mobile, IPTV/video-over-ADSL, desktop broadband, and more. The company’s global presence includes 15 teleports and technical operations centres throughout Europe, America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

  • Talent show targeted by Chinese regulators

    Talent show targeted by Chinese regulators

    MUMBAI: The hit Chinese talent search reality show The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Supergirl Contest is being targeted by Chinese media regulators seeking to either change the format or keep it off the air.

    The American Idol knockoff was a huge hit for Hunan Satellite Television. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has reservations about the show because it showed contestants in “vulgar” clothing and so-called “low-class” behavior, reports indicate.

    According to media reports, SARFT has issued a notice indicating that talent shows will be more strictly regulated in the future, and some will be banned from broadcast in certain regions.

  • Discovery Travel & Living’s new interactive series ‘5 Takes’ starts 5 April

    Discovery Travel & Living’s new interactive series ‘5 Takes’ starts 5 April

    MUMBAI: Come April, in an unique cross platform event involving Internet, television and mobile, the lifestyle channel Discovery Travel and Living presents a pioneering 13 episode interactive television series, 5 Takes. It chronicles the journey of five young travelers on the adventure of a lifetime with one mission: to share their experiences with the world through their five varied perspectives.

    After many successful series like Globe Trekker, Trailblazers, Faking it, American Chopper and Biker Build Off, Discovery Travel and Living captures their target group of urban 18 to 45 years age group with yet another new series 5 Takes. The series will air every Wednesday, from 5 April till 28 June at 8 pm.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Discovery Networks India vice president- Lifestyle Networks Aditya Tripathi says, ” 5 Takes is an unique reality programme adopting travel as the theme. Its distinct interactive concept would further engage the viewer. Extending television programming to the Internet, mobile or into the Interactive TV space is an exciting development and will allow a viewer-friendly alliance of television and interactivity.”

    The five travel journalists (TJs), armed with video cameras, laptops and US$50 a day, will visit 12 cities across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 12 weeks. The TJs are Gabe, Josh, Renee, Tiffany and Tony.

    Meet the TJs -Tony, Renee, Josh, Tiffany and Gabe.

    Coming from diverse backgrounds, the TJs describe their adventures in these incredible cities, and the life-changing experiences they have along the way. Gabe is the DJ from Colorado, Josh lives in Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, Renee works as an Internet manager and also volunteers as an adult literacy tutor in NewYork, Tiffany is currently working full time assisting the general manager of a hotel and has a part-time job assisting a real estate team and Tony is the introspective and impulsive bartender from Washington, D.C.

    The TJs will travel through various destinations for 5 Takes like
    Sydney, Cairns, Perth, Northern Territory and Melbourne/Byron Bay in Australia, Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown in New Zealand, Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia.

    What makes this show different is that it is the Discovery Travel & Living online community at travelandlivingtv.com.au/5takes that will decide the last cities the TJs should visit in Australia and Asia, and suggest what the TJs should do in every city they visit. In effect, it is the online community that will set the itinerary and drive the show.
    The TJs will also be posting their personal blog daily as well as creating a video log (vlog) once a week to let viewers know how they are faring. This online element will happen in real time, enabling the community to have a concrete impact on the TV show that follows just seven days later.

    On promoting the new initiative, Tripathi says, “The activity will be promoted through on-air promos on the channel. Additionally, there will be online initiatives as well (e-mailers).”

    Apart from India, the international territories airing the programme include Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Taiwan and United Kingdom. Produced by Rosenblum Associates, 5 Takes is also unique as there is no “voting off” or scheming to win the big prize and there is no “winner” as there is no prize to win. At its core, the series is an immersion into a two-month-long summer trip by five young travelers.

    Talking of the mobile network that viewers can use to participate or download programme related information, Tripathi adds, “India’s mobile operator Hutch is the participating network for this series. The voting is open to all users in India. The Indian audience will also be able to download wallpaper and text content from the 5 Takes programme through the Hutch portal.”

    Hutch users will receive a response message to the vote that will direct them to the Hutch WAP portal. The voting begins from 1 April and runs till 7 April. The short code for India is 6365.

    The keywords for the first vote are:
    5 ME for Melbourne (5ME)
    5 BB for Byron Bay (5BB).

    Viewers can visit http://www.travelandlivingindia.com/5takes/ to read the TJs daily blogs and see the vlog.

    5 Takes will have a repeat telecast on Thursdays at 4 pm and Fridays at 12 pm.

  • HBO US signs multi-project deal with Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan

    HBO US signs multi-project deal with Russell Simmons, Stan Lathan

    MUMBAI: Following its successful collaborations with Russell Simmons and Stan Lathan on Def Comedy, HBO in the US has entered into a multi-project deal with the two producers for a slate of productions, including scripted series and comedy specials.

    In addition, HBO will have exclusive rights to Simmons and Lathan for all cross-production platforms, with projects to be executive produced through Simmons Lathan Media Group, their production company.

    HBO US chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht says, “I have had the privilege of working with Russell and Stan at HBO for many years, and have always admired their ability to stay current in their sensibilities and taste.

    “I have said many times that HBO is only as good as the people who work here, and I can’t think of two people I would want inside the HBO fold more than these talented individuals.”

    Simmons says, “Stan and I have been in business with HBO for more than 15 years. They have allowed us the freedom to knock down doors and have supported us in creative ventures that would not have seen the light of day anywhere else in Hollywood, and for those reasons we are thrilled to build upon this great relationship.”

    Lathan says, “We are already working on exciting and innovative comedy, dramatic and variety projects. We are excited about bringing new talent to the forefront, and continuing to develop our relationships with established talent.”