ITV

Tag: Anshuman Misra

  • Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’

    Cartoon Network to premiere ‘Son of Alladin’ & ‘The Legend of Buddha’

    MUMBAI: Cartoon Network will premiere two Indian animation features – Son Of Alladin and The Legend of Buddha this month.

    Son Of Alladin will be aired on 10 June at 2 pm and The Legend of Buddha will be telecast on 25 June at 12 noon.

    The 80 minute feature, Son Of Alladin will be shown during the channel’s Thanda Funda programming block.

    The animated movie is an action adventure thriller about Mustafa, the Prince of Basra who is hunted down by an evil sorcerer. However, he meets his ladylove and also happens to rescue his long lost parents. It has been produced using motion capture technology and a photo realistic environment.

    The other animation feature, The Legend of Buddha is slated to premiere during the Cartoon Network Theatre slot. This 2D animation feature is based on the journey of Prince Siddhartha of Kapilavastu, who abandons all worldly pleasures, for one of asceticism. The storyline follows the milestones that mark the path of the Prince towards Nirvana.

    Produced by Pentamedia, the two feature-length animations take the tally of local animations acquired and showcased by Cartoon Network to 11, with three of these launching in 2006.

    Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. MD Anshuman Misra said, “Cartoon Network is extremely proud of its pioneering role in bringing Indian folklore and historical tales to young audiences in a format that is appealing, educating and entertaining. We are also very happy that local animation has very quickly gained its rightful place of honour on the Network, right beside the ever-popular international animation shows, demonstrating that quality content, be it Indian or international, resonates with the discerning young viewers.”

    “In sync with our programming strategy of offering a healthy balance between International and Indian content, we will continue to entertain our fans across the country with no less than five additional local animation products within this year itself,” he added.

    Apart from airing Indian animation features on the channel, Cartoon Network is also scouting for fresh scripts from Indian animators.

    “Having paved the way for Indian animation showcase on television channels in the country, we are very enthused by the success of these shows on the Network. Taking cue from the overwhelming positive response to Indian content by viewers across the country, Cartoon Network is now moving to the next level of being involved in the creative process. The Network is scouting avenues for lending its expertise on the likes and dislikes of Indian kids to partner studios from the conceptual stage to the finished product,” adds Misra.

  • Pogo lines up rib-tickling fare this April

    Pogo lines up rib-tickling fare this April

    MUMBAI: Pogo has lined up a treat of hilarious programmes in its slot called Pogo Funny Side Up on Prime Pogo from 2 April.

    The special line-up includes weekend side-splitters – Chuppa Rustam, new episodes of Takeshi’s Castle, Mr Bean, Just for Laughs Gags – and a slew of weekend movies.

    The channel has also launched a ‘Spot the Bug’ contest wherein kids can win iPods and Pogo goodies every week.

    “Pogo has always been at the forefront to ensure that kids have a good time, be it through exciting programming or innovative ground events. Pogo Funny Side Up will give kids the much needed wind-down after a month of examinations. What better way to greet the summer vacations than with a treat of humorous shows and movies that are sure to appeal to kids and their parents alike,” says Turner International India Pvt. Ltd managing director Anshuman Misra.

    To kick off Pogo’s repertoire of weekday bone-ticklers, the popular candid comedy series will catch India off guard in Chuppa Rustam. Be it out on the streets, in shops, offices, restaurants or even at the doorsteps of homes, the world falls unaware for the most hilarious pranks on Chuppa Rustam every weekday at 7 pm.

    Plus, Pogo presents a lethal combination of the wackiest game show on earth with the funniest guys in India. Brand new episodes of Takeshi’s Castle, voiced by stand-up comedians – Ehsaan Qureshi, Naveen Prabhakar, Raju Srivastav and Sunil Pal – of the Great Indian Laughter Challenge fame will be aired on weekdays at 7:30 pm.

    Mr. Bean – the man with a child-like nature – will be aired Mondays through Fridays at 8 pm.

    Some clever jokes, a hidden camera and a few unsuspecting victims make Just for Laughs Gags, which will be back with all-new episodes, every weekday at 8:30 pm.

    The laughter marathon continues into the weekend with a two hour special of Takeshi’s Castle Jaaved Jaffery – Mini Marathon back to back from 7 to 9 pm every Saturday and Sunday.

    Among the movies that are lined up are Dr. Dolittle (2 April), Wallace & Gromit (9 April), Getting Even With Dad (16 April), Baby’s Day Out (23 April) and Home Alone (30 April). These movies will be aired every Sunday at 2 pm on Lights, Camera, Pogo! Funny Side Up.

    In the ‘Spot the Bug’ contest, kids can win exciting prizes like iPods and Pogo goodies every week while viewing side-splitters on Pogo Funny Side Up by instantly SMS-ing ‘Funny’ to 8558 upon spotting a bug on their television screen.

  • Kids’ channels line up hot fanfare as summer beckons

    Kids’ channels line up hot fanfare as summer beckons

    MUMBAI: Summer is just around the corner and no doubt kids’ channels have a lot of programming goodies up their sleeves. Movies, live action, animation, contests and much more… it’s all there on Cartoon Network, Pogo, Hungama TV, Disney Channel, Toon Disney and Nick.

    What’s more… comedy seems to be the flavour for the holidays with Pogo, Hungama TV and Nick introducing special comedy shows for the summer.

    Pogo started its summer special programming with Pogo Funny Side-Up, featuring new episodes of Takeshi’s Castle, voiced by some of the winners of the Great Indian Laughter Challenge show.

    Pogo will also launch another new original, live-action production on Pogo following our two summer launches last year, M.A.D. and Bam! Bam! Bam!… Gir Pade Hum.

    On the other hand, Cartoon Network will see the launch of more Indian animation shows and a network premiere of a Beyblade full length movie – Beyblade, The Movie: Fierce Battle in Cartoon Network Theatre.

    Other highlights include, Beylade Marathon – 3…2…1 Hojaye Shuru, which will air every Sunday from 4 – 8 pm. Apart from that, Raja Hindustani – a special one hour block of Indian animation – began on the channel from 16 April and airs every Sunday at 11 am.

    Also new episodes of Tom & Jerry Tales will be aired on Sundays at 10 am. The new series in the Toonami block include Pokemon: Advanced, Beyblade G Revolution and a new show called One Piece. Yet another new show in the Half Ticket Express block called Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs will also be aired in summer.

    Turner International India Pvt. Ltd managing director Anshuman Misra said, “Summer is an important time for Cartoon Network and Pogo. We have some of the best programming mix lined up for Indian kids during these holiday months. New original productions, new family shows and blockbuster movies will mark their debut during the April – July period.”

    Homegrown kids channel Hungama TV too has a robust summer lineup in store for kids. The channel has acquired a couple of Japanese animation shows.

    In March, the channel already launched Dragon and FiFi & the Flower Tots in the pre-school band. The preschool band has now been renamed Toon Toon Toon.

    The other two bands that the channel will introduce are the Toon Blast band and a two and a half hour comedy band called Ha Ha Ha Hungama.

    The Toon Blast band will air new seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sonix X. In addition Hungama TV will launch the anime version of one of the most successful Japanese merchandise Amdriver, which has a futuristic storyline of a fight of good v/s evil. Yu-Gi-Oh! will air at 5 pm, Amdriver at 5.30 pm and Sonic X at 6 pm from Monday to Friday.

    The Ha Ha Ha Hungama band will tickle the funny bone with a new show Kochikame at 2.30 pm from Monday to Friday. “This show is the longest running hilarious slapstick comedy in Japan about an inefficient cop who is good in his heart but otherwise is good for nothing,” informs Hungama TV COO Zarina Mehta.

    Another show called Peep and the Big Wide World will also be launched in this band and will air at 3 pm from Monday to Friday. This is a series featuring three birds – a chicken called Peep, a robin called Chirp and a duck called Quack. The story revolves around close friends and their fun and exploration in their neighborhood. Apart from unique humor it also imbibes a positive attitude and inquiry skills that promise to provide inspirational programming for kids.

    “We have always managed to get the best of content for our audience. The shows that are due to launch in April have truly delightful visual appeal offering kids a 360-degree entertainment parameter that will definitely make their vacation a roll-a- costar ride at home,” says Mehta.

    And that’s not all… Hungama TV is also planning a large scale ground event to coincide with a big show launch. But the channel is keeping it tightly under wraps for now at least!

    Coming to Disney Channel, one thing to look out for here is the Oscar-winning ‘fishy’ movie Finding Nemo. The channel will premier the movie in Hindi on 25 June. The film follows the comedic and eventful journeys of two fish – Marlin and his son Nemo. Disney Channel will go the whole hog to promote Finding Nemo including a watch-and-win contest around movie trivia, which will be aired during breaks. Viewers can send in their entries through SMS and IVRS to win cool Nemo merchandise.

    Apart from that, the channel will also air the first Indian animation movie – Hanuman, to which it recently acquired the telecast rights for three years from Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd. Hanuman will launch in May on Disney Channel as an eight episode series and will be aired at 9 am on weekends.

    What’s more, the channel will build a 360 degree multi media campaign around all new episodes of That’s So Raven!. On 15 April, Hatim – the saga of a strong and courageous Prince of Yemen will launch on Disney Channel at 6 pm on weekdays.

    Apart from that, the preschool content destination, Playhouse Disney is being further strengthened with the launch of Mickey Mouse Club House. The show will launch on 6 May at 8.30 am on weekends.

    The Walt Disney Television International (India) director programming and production Nachiket Pantvaidya says, “This summer we have an exciting line-up of content for kids. We believe in showcasing a mix of the best local kid’s content and the best international content from the Disney stable. Hits like Hanuman, Finding Nemo and That’s So Raven will draw older kids to Disney Channel.”

    Live action, preschool programming and comedy will rule the roost on Nick. The first in line is a live action comedy show called Drake & Josh. The show revolves around a pair of diametrically opposite step-brothers and will premiere as part of an April Fool’s Day stunt on 1 April.

    Another new show Avatar will be launched in May. This new animated show is about a 12 year old boy who is master of all four elements and must stop the ruthless Fire Nation from conquering the world.

    Nick has also acquired a couple of preschool shows called Peppa Pig and Dougie in Disguise, which will also launch in May. While Peppa Pig revolves around a family of pigs, the Spanish acquisition Dougie in Disguise is about an ordinary kid who plays with sticker albums that come to life through his imagination. Apart from these, Nick has also lined up another new preschool show in June.

    “Summer vacations will be huge on Nick with an enormous programming bonanza rolling out. Starting 1 April, we’re premiering a show called Drake & Josh, which is a live action comedy and also showing a Nick Dhoom double bill on weekends featuring a whole hour of top shows,” says Nick India vice president and general manager Hema Govindan.

    Speaking on the preschool shows Govindan adds, “Preschool is doing very well and becoming a focus for us so we’re expanding our Nick Jr. preschool block. We’re also doing Monday Marathons of hit shows like Kenan & Kel and SpongeBob SquarePants, which means eight hours at a stretch of these shows.”

  • HBO joins the English movie channel bandwagon

    HBO joins the English movie channel bandwagon

    Home Box Office (HBO) is all set to launch on 22 March, 2000. The channel which boasts to be the first one on cable television when it started in 1972 claims to be the leader in a lot of areas not only in programming but also technical, promises the viewer a variety of entertainment right from blockbuster hollywood movies to a wide array of entertainment including various shows mini-series and concerts. The channel will follow the self-censorship mode and won’t feature “after dark” films.

    On gathering eyeballs, Anshuman Misra, Managing Director, Turner International India, says “Content and programming will drive the viewers from our competing channels”.

    HBO which reaches over 47 million viewers in 45 countries is confident of creating a bang in India. The channel targets the urban and the semi-urban viewers which amounts to 15 million subscribers though the management is uncertain about the time frame to reach such a vast amount of viewers. The initial target is: five million homes in the next six to seven months. The encrypted channel beaming off PanAmSat-4, will remain advertisement free for around six months and thus is not perturbed about the TRPs its programming generates.

    The average per subscriber rate is Rs 6.00 but that will differ from one cable operator to another. The Sceintific Atlanta PowerVu decoders are being place with cable operators on payment of a deposit of Rs 10,000.

    HBO which lacks distribution network will face a tough task of reaching the desired penetration. A distribution team of 20, along with independent distributors, is working on taking the channel further into urban homes.

    Misra expects HBO to contribute two-thirds of Turner’s subscription revenues when in full steam. It might well get that, but the channel will have a tough battle on its hands what with Star Movies all the rage and Zee Movies being launched yesterday as a free service. The additional advantage that Zee TV has is that it owns the cable TV netowrk Siticable. The third major rival is the local cable channel – airing pirated English movies – operated by the cable operator for his subscribers.

    Misra is not worried however. “Our content will rule,” says Misra.