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  • Bajaj Auto launches Platina with Jhalak Dikhlaja campaign

    BANGALORE: In a bid to redefine benchmarks and grab a major stake in the two wheeler market which is dominated by the 100cc motorcycle segment, Bajaj Auto (BAL) today launched their first of the five launches expected this year – the 100 cc Platina.
     
     
    The two wheeler market, or to be more specific the motorcycle market had seen a growth of 19 per cent in the last fiscal (2005-06) which is two percent lower than that of the preceding year (2004-05). BAL claim that they grew faster than the market. They have achieved 32 per cent for 2005-06 and 42 per cent for 2004-05.
     
     
    Bajaj claims market leadership in the top three of the four segments in the motorcycle market – the 180cc where they claim 56 per cent market share through that their Pulsar 180 and Avenger, 63 per cent of the pie in the 150 cc segment dominated mainly by their Pulsar150, 45 per cent in the 125cc segment and 27 per cent in the 100cc segment. Hero Honda is the bigger player in this segment with 51 per cent of the pie. Overall, Bajaj claim 31 per cent market share in the motorcycle market.  
     
    Platina will augment their existing CT100 and the Discover112 in the 100cc segment and Bajaj are optimistic of grabbing 50 per cent market share in this segment too, which will boost up their stake to the 35-40 per cent in the motorcycle market.

    ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja’ (Show me a Glimpse) from the popular Hindi song is the theme of the campaign for this bike. The campaign will be mainly through TV as per a BAL Sr. Mgr-Marketing executive.

    A TVC created by Lowe was screened during the press conference in Bangalore showed a young woman driving a car on the highway at night striving to catch a glimpse of a young man on the bike as he weaves through the beams of her headlights on a curved road. Her bewilderment is obvious when he suddenly disappears from view, and then a smile when she espies him in her rearview mirror. The entire sequence has the background score of ‘Jhalak Dikhlaja’.

    “For a new product’s all India launch, we spend around Rs.100 to 150million for marketing and campaigns. I am sure that you can expect the same in the case of Platina too,” revealed a company source who did not want to be named.

    The other ad agencies that also handle the Bajaj account are Leo Burnett and O&M.

    Two versions – the basic one costing Rs.34,000 and the high end version with alloy wheels coating Rs.36,000 (both ex-showroom-N. Delhi) were unveiled. The basic version comes in three colours – Red, Blue and Black and the high-end version in platinum silver.
     
     

     

  • Zee Muzic presents ‘Dance with Dino’

    Zee Muzic presents ‘Dance with Dino’

    Mumbai, February 7, 2006: This Valentine’s Day, Zee Muzic makes your dreams come true. The 24-hour music channel from Zee Network brings an exclusive opportunity for its viewers. Dance with Dino, a contest, where one lucky winner will get a dance with filmstar Dino Morea. Viewers have been asked to send in their entries, 5 lucky ones from across the country will be short listed to perform in front to the entire crew & cast of “Holiday” on February 12, 2006, at Bohemia in Juhu, Mumbai, 8:30 p.m. onwards. The winner from these 5 contestants will get a dance with Dino Morea. Pooja Bhatt, Dino Morea & Onjolee Nair will judges the contenders.

    Holiday is Pooja Bhatt’s directorial venture. The cast of the film includes Dino Morea, Onjolee Nair, Gulshan Grover, Nauheed Cyrusi & Kashmera Shah.

    Announcing the contest, Irshwin Balwani, Business Head, Zee Muzic, said, “Zee Muzic is a channel with a lot of youth appeal. In keeping with our image, we have a contest in collaboration with Pooja Bhatt’s new film “Holiday”. Dino Morea is a much sought after star. Dance with Dino will give our viewers an opportunity to get up close & personal with their favourite star.”

    About Zee Muzic:
    Newer, brighter, colourful and a brand new look… That’s Zee Muzic! Zee Muzic is a 24-hour music channel from Zee Network. The target audience being SEC ABC, 15-34 yrs, Zee Muzic is on a mission to reinvent itself. The glossier & brighter Zee Muzic in its current form reaches out to Australia, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Fiji, Hong King, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, Maldives, Thailand & Middle East. A separate beam of Zee Muzic is also available in UK & US. With brand new shows and vignettes, the programming aims to carve a separate niche for itself in the arena of music channels. The USP of the channel is its Bollywood content and with some innovative programming and fresh content, the aim is to create a recall value amongst consumers. It promises to get you addicted!

    To find out who is the lucky one to get a Dance with Dino
    Keep watching Zee Muzic!

  • ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ sells five million DVD’s on first day

    ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ sells five million DVD’s on first day

    MUMBAI: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is casting a spell on DVD.

    Retailers have reported record day-one sales of around five million units in the US.

    On the big screen the film made over $890 million globally. Brisk DVD consumer sales are expected to continue through the next three months.

    Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders says, “We are extremely pleased with the out-of-the-gate success of the DVD release of Goblet of Fire. We knew that fans really connected with this installment in the Harry Potter series, and that continued loyalty to the franchise has carried over to these phenomenal DVD sales figures.”

  • Hong Kong organising an Entertainment Expo later this month

    Hong Kong organising an Entertainment Expo later this month

    MUMBAI: Entertainment Expo Hong Kong will take place from 20 March to19 April 2006.

    The event, which is in its second year, will bring together eight fixtures in Hong Kongs entertainment calendar, including film, digital entertainment, music and TV. Industry professionals from around the world will converge at Asias world city to partake in this month-long entertainment showcase.

    The events brought together under the Expo include the three founding events; the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Hong Kong Film Awards.

    There are also five core events – Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum, Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Excellence Awards, IFPI Hong Kong Top Sales Music Award, Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum and the Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards.

  • Winter Olympics exceeds expectations on European broadcaster Globosport

    MUMBAI: The XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin has become the single largest event ever screened on British Eurosport.

    The Games, which were broadcast from 10 to26 February 2006 reached over 8.4 million viewers to out-perform even the Summer Olympics from Athens in 2004 and Sydney in 2000. British Eurosport broadcast over 361 hours of coverage from Italy, with 51 per cent live, over the 17 days of the Games.

    The success of the event was matched across Europe where Turin scored the best Olympic Games’ ratings on Eurosport with 140 million different viewers following the Olympic competition.
    With 367 hours of broadcast, the Olympic Games drew twice as many viewers as the regular average for the channel.

    Figure skating, alpine skiing and biathlon are amongst the best programmes. Exclusive live coverage of the preliminary ski jumping before the main competition broadcast on Eurosport on 12 February peaked at 5.2 million viewers.

    The newly re-launched Eurosport.com website, with its enhanced live scoring and editorial content, also recorded good figures with more than 13 million visits over the 16 days of the Turin Games, double the volume of traffic as registered during the Athens Games.

    Eurosport has attributed its success to its international editorial line. Expert commentaries, with consultants such as Alberto Tomba, and innovative shows such as Daring Girls contributed to reinforce Eurosport as the reference channel for the Games’ coverage.

    Eurosport was also involved on-site in Turin. As Official Olympic Broadcaster and partner of TOROC (Organising Committee of the XX Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games), Eurosport became the first broadcaster to be present in the Olympic Sponsor Village with the Eurosport Pavilion. Over 400, 000 people visited the Olympic Sponsor Village in Turin and had the opportunity to be entertained in Eurosport’s Multimedia space.

  • ‘Quest’ goes in search of spirituality in March

    Airtimes: Indian Standard Times Saturday, March 25 at 1630hrs Sun, March 26 at 1130am and 1730hrs From the gurus and ashrams of India to New York’s very own brand of spirituality, CNN’s Richard Quest goes in search of inner peace in March’s edition of QUEST.

    Despite all of life’s luxury and convenience, people are often overworked, over-stressed and ultimately unfulfilled. Quest talks to his Holiness the Dalai Lama, actress Goldie Hawn, musician Cat Stevens, also known as Yusuf Islam, and cult film director David Lynch to discover how they make their worlds a happier and more peaceful place.

    Quest’s journey begins with a pilgrimage to the remote village of Dharamsala in the Himalayan foothills of India, home to the 14th Dalai Lama. His Holiness tells Quest how he manages to cultivate inner peace.

    In her apartment 54 floors above Manhattan, New York City, actress Goldie Hawn talks to Quest about becoming a ‘Jew Bu’ – her conversion from Judaism to Buddhism and explains how she found a spiritual path away from Hollywood. Back in London, UK, Quest is captivated by Karen Armstrong’s story. The so-called ‘run-away nun’ broke away from a strict Catholic upbringing to become one of the world’s foremost authors on world religion.

    Pop star Cat Stevens, also known Yusuf Islam, tells Quest that God is indispensable to a spiritual life. However according to scientist and prominent atheist Professor Richard Dawkins, it’s best to look for answers not in heaven, but in the world around us when it comes to inner peace. Quest also hears from cult film director David Lynch, who argues that “a spiritual nirvana lies inside us – all you need to do is ‘dive inside’ through transcendental meditation or TM.”

    Quest’s journey ends where it began – in India. Outside the southern city of Bangalore, the Art of Living Foundation is preparing to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Over a million dedicated followers travel from all corners of the globe to join in the festivities and pay homage to their spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. To many, Shankar’s blend of philosophy, meditation and breathing exercises make him a messiah. But some sceptics think he is too self-promoting and offers false hope to lost souls. Either way, this modern spiritual movement symbolises a desire for inner peace and the anniversary event promises to be a party that Quest will never forget.

  • Telekom Malaysia acquires 49% stake in Spice Telecom

    Telekom Malaysia acquires 49% stake in Spice Telecom

    MUMBAI: Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) has secured a critical piece in its regional footprint, with the acquisition a 49 per cent stake in India’s Spice Communications Pvt Ltd (Spice) for a consideration of $178.85 million.

    The acquisition, made through TM’s international investment holding company TM International Sdn Bhd (TMI) involved the purchase of the stake held by Deutsche Bank AG and Ashmore Investment Management Limited consortium (DBA).

    The remaining 51 per cent remains with the existing shareholders, the Mcorp Global Ltd and its associates (Mcorp).

    A statement jointly released in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi stated that the definitive agreements governing the transaction were executed in Kuala Lumpur today. Completion of the transaction is expected within a month, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals. A media conference-cum-briefing explaining the transaction was also held in Kuala Lumpur jointly by senior TM and Mcorp officials.

    Spice is a privately held company incorporated in India providing cellular telecom services in the states of Punjab and Karnataka. The company commenced operations in 1997 after receiving its cellular licences from the Government of India.

    With the company’s recent decision to migrate to the Unified Acess Licensing regime, the scope of services allowable has since broadened to further include full and limited mobility fixed and wireline services, VAS, as well as broadband services.

    Through new applications, the company is also in the process of obtaining licences for 6 new circles (namely Jammu/Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh West/East), as well as National Long Distance (NLD) and International Long Distance (ILD) licences.

    According to TM chairman Tan Sri Mohd Radzi Mansor, the proposed investment is consistent with TM’s objectives of becoming a significant mobile player in the Asian markets, and to participate in the growth opportunities in the Indian cellular market. TM, which has re-strategised its international investments to focus on regional markets closer to Malaysia, has strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, with investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Pakistan.

    “India is the missing piece in our regional footprint. Now with Spice as part of the TM family, it strengthens our regional presence and complements our existing presence in Sri Lanka where we are the number one, and Bangladesh where we are the number two mobile operator. We are excited about sharing our experience and learn more about the Indian market from Spice,” he said.

    “With Punjab being the most prosperous state in the country and Karnataka dubbed as the “Silicon Valley” of India, there is tremendous potential for mobile telephony in these markets. We are optimistic that Spice will contribute positively to the overall performance of TM in the near future” he added.

    TM Group CEO Dato’ Abdul Wahid Omar described organic growth as the key approach for creating shareholder value in Spice. “Apart from growth through new cellular circles expansion, we are excited about the implementation of other services under the Unified Access licensing regime. TM and its partner Mcorp will seek to grow Spice to be a market leader in the geographies it operates in, including attaining a pan-India presence,” he said.

    “Spice customers today join TM’s global mobile subscriber base of over 20 million. Apart from TM’s operational and management experience both in Malaysia and key Asian regional markets, Spice customers stand to benefit from through the creation and innovation of new products and services, sharing of technological experience and implementation, and the leveraging of group synergies such as in global procurement,” he further added.

    Mcorp Global chairman Dr B K Modi described India and Malaysia as natural allies and which have strong historic cultural ties, and share the same values and aspirations.

    “Today, both countries are at the forefront of the revolution in information, communication and entertainment (ICE) technologies and have much to offer each other. Together, they could become a powerful force to take Asian companies to an entirely new globally competitive level,” he said.

    “We are totally committed to the principles of enhancing human productivity – boosting the prosperity of the entire Asia Pacific region, and promoting global peace for the sake of all humanity. It is now time to redefine our relationship, rewrite our destiny, and reinvent the future. I am confident our strategic partnership with TM will create a new synergy and help us in maximizing growth in one of the world’s fastest growing markets,” Modi added.

    Dr Modi also described Spice as the pioneering brand of mobile telephony in India, committed to becoming the most preferred choice for energetic young minds through synchronised performance in ICE products and services. Spice, he said, has been built on the bedrock of its values: fun, innovation, vibrancy, empathetic, trustworthy and fast to respond. It has a presence in two of the high potential markets of Punjab and Karnataka.

    Lazard India were sole financial advisors to TM and TMI on this transaction.

  • Cartoons to resurrect Chinese mythology

    Cartoons to resurrect Chinese mythology

    MUMBAI: China has approved the first batch of cartoon adaptations of classic mythologies and historical novels for 2006. However, The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) said the cartoons must not fabricate or distort the original work and must not advocate superstition.

    The 220 approved cartoons will generate 193,867 minutes of content. The list includes classic mythologies and historical novels such as the Creation of Gods, the Pilgrimage to the West and Three Kingdoms.

    Reportedly, SARFT has denied approval to approximately 25 cartoons because of the inapt subject matter or repetition of the same subject.

  • FCC hits CBS with record fines for indecency

    FCC hits CBS with record fines for indecency

    MUMBAI: Renewing a campaign against broadcast indecency, the US Federal Communications Commission ( FCC) upheld a decision to fine television broadcasters for violating federal decency limits, including a record $3.6 million for stations that aired a show depicting group sex.

    The agency also upheld its decision to fine 20 CBS stations $550,000 for singer Janet Jackson’s faux pas during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.

    All four big-timers–ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC-were fined for indecent content. But, CBS incurred the highest penalties and were fined $3.63 million, the most ever, for an episode of the show Without A Trace that depicted a teen orgy. The fine is to be shared by 111 CBS stations, according to media reports.

    Marking the first proposed fines in more than a year, the FCC addressed more than 300,000 backlogged indecency complaints and issued long-awaited decisions the agency said were aimed at giving broadcasters a better idea of what they could and could not air.

    “Although the scene contains no nudity, it does depict male and female teenagers in various stages of undress,” the FCC said, adding there were shots depicting intercourse and group sex. CBS denied wrongdoing in the cases and said it would “pursue all remedies necessary to affirm our legal rights.” The stations could appeal to the FCC and the federal courts.

    FCC chairman Kevin Martin fired back. “We appropriately reject the argument that CBS continues to make that this material is not indecent.That argument runs counter to commission precedent and common sense.”

    Martin added, “These decisions, taken both individually and as a whole, demonstrate the commission’s continued commitment to enforcing the law prohibiting the airing of obscene, indecent and profane material. We believe that they will provide substantial guidance to broadcasters and the public about the types of programing that are impermissible.”

    The FCC has tightened its reins on all broadcast programming significantly since the Super Bowl incident. A batch of radio rulings will also be forthcoming, quoting FCC officials.

    Federal regulations bar television and radio broadcast stations from airing obscene material and limit them to airing indecent material, such as profanity and sexually explicit content, during late-night hours when children are less likely to be in the audience.

    Congress has been considering boosting fines for violating decency limits to as much as $500,000 per violation from the current maximum of $32,500.

    Around 50 TV shows were put under the scanner, with the FCC refusing to take action on complaints about material in 28 programs, including an episode of Oprah in which teenage sexual activity was discussed.

    On the other hand, Fox was found guilty of violating indecency standards with its 2003 telecast of the Billboard Music Awards. The Parent Television Council was none too pleased when Nicole Richie and costar Paris Hilton used two profane words . Fox was not fined at the time because the FCC was not taking action then against individual uses of expletives. But Martin has said that the agency should be fining each “offensive utterance”.

  • Telcos warned to stay out of the content business at London IPTV Forum

    Telcos warned to stay out of the content business at London IPTV Forum

    MUMBAI: Telecoms companies seeking to develop IPTV services are being warned to stay out of the content business and instead concentrate on being service providers.

    Speaking at the IPTV World Forum in London, consulting director at research/consulting firm Ovum Tom McKeever said the key to success was finding content partners who can offer the service provider some differentiation, adding that it would be a mistake to make the content themselves.

    “Telecoms companies are trusted by consumers to provide connectivity around the home. While content is king, content wants to be on every single platform so if you focussed your entire strategy on content then you might miss other pieces like provisioning and customer care, billing and being a trusted provider in the home. Telecoms companies have the tools for that today and it is where they have to focus their strategies.

    “Ultimately most content will be available on most platforms and it won’t be a critical differentiator,” said McKeever.

    These sentiments were echoed by BT Entertainment Division CEO Andrew Burke, who told the London audience: “You have to partner for content. We are not a content company but know what we do well, and that is providing a platform and billing and that is what we are going to major on.”

    Explaining why the UK incumbent decided to offer broadcast TV off-air, using the Freeview DTT bouquet, and concentrate on on-demand video via DSL, Burke said: “We decided we could not afford to broadcast over our broadband network.”

    Burke told delegates that content mobility will be a key goal of the BT offering, subject to the development of suitable Digital Rights Management solutions. He added, “”Content must go to multiple devices. You cannot say you can only watch something on television. This content must travel.”