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  • Bachchan to announce IIFA Weekend at House of Commons

    Bachchan to announce IIFA Weekend at House of Commons

    MUMBAI: On Wednesday 8 November, the House of Commons will play host to the official announcement of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and the IDEA IIFA Awards in Yorkshire in June 2007.

    IIFA’s Brand Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan will be speaking at the reception alongside dignitaries, including Secretary of State, Tessa Jowell, Leader of the House, Jack Straw, and the High Commissioner of India to the UK, Kamlesh Sharma, to celebrate the return of the IIFA Weekend to the UK, informs an official release.

    As the leading location for investment in Europe, dignitaries will be speaking about the economic benefit for both national and regional business partnerships with India. One of the key members of the Indian delegation is Sanjeev Aga, president of Birla Nuevo, one of India’s leading investors in Britain. Additionally, Judith Donovan, chairperson for the Yorkshire Tourism Board and Tom Riordan from Yorkshire Forward will be announcing details of IIFA Weekend and the anticipated impact for Yorkshire business and tourism, the release adds.

    Speaking about the launch of the Idea IIFA Awards, Idea Cellular MD Sanjeev Aga says, “After the phenomenal success of the Idea IIFA Awards in Dubai, Idea is eagerly looking forward to the Idea IIFA Awards in Yorkshire. IIFA offers us the best platform to demonstrate the true essence of mobile and entertainment convergence. With IDEA IIFA, our privileged customer will have access to specially created merchandise, contests, video and MMS downloads and several other value added services. Only Idea can and will take you there.”

    Bachchan, who was voted BBC’s Superstar of the Millennium in 2000 pushing behind Hollywood’s biggest stars and heartthrobs, will focus on the rising popularity of Indian cinema as a major global business, with an estimated global audience for the IIFA Awards in 2007 of over 480 million.

    Now in its eighth year, the IIFA Weekend has previously visited Amsterdam, Dubai, Singapore, London, Malaysia and South Africa. As a direct consequence of the IIFA celebrations, tourism and business investment to each of these destinations has increased tremendously, making a major impact. Yorkshire was successful in its bid to attract the event organizers attention and the bid presentation was supported by prime minister Tony Blair.

    The House of Commons launch event will be followed by a five-city launch the next day in the company of the Mayors of York, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and Bradford, who will flag off the IIFA Weekend announcement along with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan. The five-city launch will be held at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (NMPFT), Bradford.

    Previous IIFA Weekend events have hosted popular celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Shekhar Kapur, Ashok Amritraj, Jean Claude Van Damme, Bo Derek, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and others. IIFA Weekend celebrations, which were launched at the Millennium Dome in 2000, have travelled across South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Amsterdam and Dubai. IIFA Weekend Yorkshire marks the return of the celebration which has already become one of the world’s most-watched and sought after event.

  • Discovery expands content offering on Google Earth

    Discovery expands content offering on Google Earth

    MUMBAI: US media firm Discovery Communications has expanded its expansion of its collection of world-class content on Google Earth.

    It has added over 150 video segments for destinations around the globe. A pilot partner for Google Earth’s new showcase of multimedia overlays, the Discovery Networks World Tour; can be accessed through the Featured Content checkbox in the Google Earth sidebar. This expansion follows the April announcement of Discovery being the first provider to bring video content to Google Earth.

    Google Earth is a satellite imagery-based mapping product that combines 3D buildings and terrain with mapping capability and Google search. Over the past year, there have been more than 10 million unique Google Earth downloads from around the world.

    Discovery senior executive VP for strategy and development Don Baer, says, “As promised, Discovery has continued to populate the world with engaging video to help Google Earth users explore the wonders of our planet. Discovery is dedicated to growing its showcase on Google Earth, giving virtual globetrekkers a journey of infinite proportions.”

    The initial collection included companion video for 10 of America’s most popular national parks,including Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore and Dinosaur National Park. Drawing from its rich stable of programming and to enhance viewers’ experience with its TV brands, Discovery has expanded the offering to include 48 world landmarks, national parks, American and European cities, and African location.

    Google Earth users will find videos on everything from the design process used to create the face of George Washington on Mount Rushmore and how to make authentic Belgian chocolate, to the history of China’s Terra Cotta soldiers and why fire is one of the most important natural forces in Yellowstone Park’s ecosystem.

    Users can access the video elements by clicking on Discovery’s globe icon, shown at destination sites where Discovery video content is available. An interactive broadband player hosted by Discovery launches into a selection of rich and compelling two- to four-minute videos. Destinations include the following:

    • National Parks and Landmarks — Representing the natural diversity of the United States,videos are available for Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, the Everglades, Point Reyes National Seashore, Niagara Falls, Mt. Rushmore, Alaska National Parks, Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Santa Monica Mountains National Park, Carlsbad Caverns and Dinosaur National Park.

    • US Cities — From the Lincoln Memorial to the Golden Gate Bridge, users can explore the history, architecture and food of some of America’s favorite cities; Atlanta, Boston,Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

    • European Cities — Users can discover cathedrals, museums and neighborhoods while learning about the history, people and cultures of Europe’s greatest cities and regions: Amalfi Coast, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bavaria, Berlin, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh,Florence, Interlaken, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Naples, Paris, Rome and Zurich.

    • Africa — Unlocking the majesty of the world’s most diverse continent, users can learn about Ghana on a virtual tour with its president, uncover the ruins of a once great empire in Zimbabwe or get a glimpse inside King Tut’s famous crypt.

    • World Landmarks — Spanning thousands of years and hundreds of cultures, the human race has created astounding feats of architecture, engineering and beauty. Users can marvel at the majesty of some of the world’s greatest wonders, including the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall and Terra Cotta Army in China, El Tajin in Mexico, the Great Pyramids in Egypt and the Shrine of Itsukushima in Japan.

    • Coming Soon — Special features based on the upcoming global series Discovery Atlas. This is an HD project, offering video for 35 different locations in China, Brazil, Italy and Australia, the first of 30 countries in the multiyear programming franchise.

  • Infront, HBS win Judges’ Award at IBC2006 in Amsterdam

    Infront, HBS win Judges’ Award at IBC2006 in Amsterdam

    MUMBAI: Infront Sports & Media, the company which handled the worldwide marketing and sales of the broadcast rights to 2006 Fifa World Cup and its subsidiary Host Broadcast Services (HBS) have won the Judges’ Award at the IBC show in Amsterdam.

    HBS was responsible for the host broadcast operations of the 2006 Fifa World Cup.

    The award was for New Media production at the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany. The tailored production services provided by HBS transformed the coverage of the event for New Media in terms of quality and content. The prospect of tailored production drove sales – this was the most widely covered sports event on the internet and on mobile phones to date. More than 100 countries were covered by 50 licensees in Mobile Telephony and World Wide Web.

    A team of 40 producers and journalists created a special New Media Content Package – tailor-made for licensees, designed for exploitation without the need for extensive editing and incorporating various innovations designed specifically for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The near-live clips were enhanced with specific or customised match and competition summaries, graphics, background sound, music and commentary.

    The fact that this was the first FIFA World Cup covered entirely in HDTV opened the door to improved picture quality for New Media. HD video-based Pan and Scan technology was utilised, allowing the editor to zoom in and capture the core action, producing a clear picture more exciting than ever for tiny handsets.

    HBS also offered a voice-over commentary service in the language of one’s choice. A total of eight different languages were booked and produced simultaneously in the IBC during the tournament: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swiss German.

    The benefits for licensees were considerable – better quality production, reduction of cost per licensee through central multilateral production and HD-based content, delivering “never seen before” picture quality in small formats.

    HBS director of production Peter Angell received the Award on behalf of HBS and Infront. He said, “This award confirms that our two companies, Infront and HBS, were right in deciding to embed new media requirements in the overall production strategy, providing licensees with a level of service never experienced before. The fact that all matches of the 2006 FIFA World Cup were filmed in HDTV has transformed the quality of New Media coverage.

    ” Combined with the use of Pan and Scan technology to capture the core action in a way that is relevant for tiny handsets, it has delivered pictures of unprecedented quality. Licensees and consumers were thrilled”, he said in his acceptance speech.

    HBS CEO Francis Tellier said, “This special award acknowledges the quality of services and innovations our team has provided in the area of host broadcasting. The new media production of the 2006 Fifa World Cup has been the defining step forward and underlines our ambition, to lead the industry through innovation.”

    Infront Sports & Media president and CEO Philippe Blatter says, “We are proud that the outstanding production capabilities of the Infront Group have been recognised and we see this year’s IBC Judges’ Award as a challenge to push even further in future”.

  • Packet Vision to launch addressable IPTV advertising delivery platform

    Packet Vision to launch addressable IPTV advertising delivery platform

    MUMBAI: UK based — Packet Vision, the addressable IPTV advertising specialist, will commercially launch its new TV advertising delivery platform in September at the International Broadcasting Convention 2006 (IBC2006).

    The exhibition will kick off from 8 September and culminate on 12 September at Amsterdam.

    The platform has been designed to enable both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ advertising: enabling ads to be highly personalized to match viewer demographics, even down to individual household level, and allowing subsequent viewer interaction that is much more sophisticated than is currently possible, according to an official statement.

    “Addressable IPTV advertising has huge potential but its development has been hampered by the lack of appropriate technology to deliver it,” says Packet Vision managing director Patrick Christian. “Our platform makes it possible for TV advertising to achieve the level of personalization that tends to be associated more with the internet: not only in how ads are carried and the ways in which consumers can interact with them, but also with regard to their measurability which can be instant and precise.”

    The release adds that the demonstrations of the network-based Packet Vision delivery platform, which combines all the functions of video server, splicer, IP router and management system in a small, scalable unit, will be available throughout IBC2006.

    Christian envisages that the platform will appeal to a wide range of advertisers, network operators and broadcasters: “It makes TV advertising feasible even for smaller niche or locally-oriented businesses, as well giving large advertisers an easy platform on which sophisticated and highly interactive ad campaigns can be built.”

    He adds, “We have taken some lessons from the highly successful internet advertising model and our business model will make it possible even for smaller network operators and those without advertising sales operations to generate income from television advertising.”

  • Global Crossing enables video streaming of Fifa World Cup for Swedish ISP

    Global Crossing enables video streaming of Fifa World Cup for Swedish ISP

    MUMBAI: Global Crossing which provides telecommunications solutions has successfully delivered high-speed, 10-Gbps IP Transit Service to IP-Only Telecommunications. The latter is a Swedish Internet service provider that is streaming video of the 2006 Fifa World Cup matches.

    Anticipating additional strength in demand for IP services in the Nordic region, Global Crossing recently installed new 10-Gbps-capable routers in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. As a result, the company was able to provide the requested service quickly, with IP-Only becoming the first customer connected via the new router in Stockholm.

    IP-Only CEO Svante Jurnell says, “We have several of the largest Swedish Internet sites running over our network. It was important for us to get this service installed in time for the June 9th start of the World Cup. We are very happy that Global Crossing was able to meet our need.”

    Even though thousands of despairing Swedish fans had to witness their team face defeat at the hands of Germany, the service provided by IP-Only enabled football fans to view the knock-out matches, leading to the final between France and Italy on 9 July 2006.

    Global Crossing has 10-Gbps capacity at its IP nodes in Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and London. The Madrid router and the second routers at Amsterdam and Frankfurt will be commissioned shortly. The company’s Scandinavian ring was also recently upgraded with multiple 10-Gbps wavelengths.

    Global Crossing MD Europe Pieter Duijves says, “Europe is a key part of our global strategy, and we’re investing in on our rapidly growing carrier data business in the Nordics by upgrading our transport backbone and the capacity of core IP network.

    “Through our network, IP-Only’s service is allowing Swedish viewers abroad the thrill of watching their team play on Swedish Internet sites. Data-intensive applications such as this play to our strengths as a leading provider of
    high-capacity services in the region.”

    This new capability forms part of an ongoing European network expansion programme. In recent months, additional IP points of presence have been commissioned in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Spain, and new points of presence were created in Italy and Russia. Network extensions connecting to the major exchanges in Moscow and Rome enable Global Crossing to offer its suite of voice and data products to carriers and enterprises in these cities.