ITV

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  • Alfred Haber to distribute Madonna’s London tour

    Alfred Haber to distribute Madonna’s London tour

    MUMBAI: Alfred Haber, who founded Alfred Haber Distribution (AHDI), has announced that the company has been selected as the international distributor for the two hour Madonna: The Cconfessions Tour Live From London, which will premiere on US broadcaster NBC on 22 November.

    The special was taped this summer at Wembley Arena in London, UK during Madonna¹s worldwide sold-out 25-city Confessions Tour. It marks the first-ever broadcast network programme by this international musical icon.

    Haber says, ” 2006 has definitely been the Year of Madonna. With her top-rated Confessions On A Dance Floor album, her sold-out Confessions World Tour and now her first-ever U.S. Network special, we are delighted to be offering this musical superstar to her fans around the world.”

    The concert special will feature songs from the artist’s albym Confessions On A Dance Floor which debuted at No. 1 in 29 countries and has sold over eight million copies around the globe.
    The broadcast will also include some of Madonna’s greatest hits from her career, including Future Lovers, Like A Virgin, Music, Erotica, La Isla Bonita, Ray of Light and Live To Tell.

  • Reality show ‘Big Brother’ draws the ire of Australian authorities

    Reality show ‘Big Brother’ draws the ire of Australian authorities

    MUMBAI: The reality show Big Brother has run into hot water in Australia. The show is about a group of individuals living in a house and then getting voted out each week.

    In a controversial incident a few days ago, two contestants were thrown out of the show and the police were called in. Media reports indicate that one man held down a woman while another rubbed his crotch in her face.

    Not surprisingly, influential figures have criticised the show. Some have asked Channel 10 to take the show off the air. Australian Prime Minister John Howard got on the front foot saying that in the interest of good taste, the show should no longer be aired.

    Besides concern that the show sets a bad example, the Casey Pastors Network says that the drunk and sexual behaviour of contestants is having an adverse effect on the City of Casey’s youth. Instead, the broadcaster should have shows that motivate Australia’s youth to excel in life.

  • Broadcaster files case against hotel for showing TV channels without permission

    MUMBAI: A hotel Enclave in the Mumbai suburb of Khar was raided a few days ago for violation of copyright and theft of signals of ESPN Star Sports and Zee turner. Raid was jointly carried out by ESPN Star Sports and Zee Turner through its authorised representatives Novex Communication.

    An FIR was filed by along with equipments/related materials from the hotel. The equipments and related materials was also seized by the police.

    The hotel needs to take authorisation from the broadcaster directly and not through any cable operator/MSO. Under section 2(7) 1930 of sales of goods Act, if any channel is shown without our permission, it’s against the copyright act.

    Novex Communication GM Anurag Parmar says, “We once again request all commercial establishments, hotels and everybody who does this kind of thing to please avoid it.”

  • Single network to ease dilemma faced by broadcasters

    Single network to ease dilemma faced by broadcasters

    SINGAPORE: Broadcasters – with their need to transport uncompressed studio-quality video – are the most demanding customers for video, voice and data networks. Broadcasters face an expensive and complicated future with the task of upgrading networks to enable digital terrestrial television, HDTV and Video on Demand (VOD) and upgrading data and telephony to meet today’s standards, unless they can implement a single network that can meet all of these needs.

    NetSight Sweden global director operations Thomas Wahlund threw light on how European broadcasters such as Eurovision and Broadcast Services Danmark have recently implemented unified Next Generation networks to provide video for contribution, distribution, and digital terrestrial television plus audio for radio, internet and even telephony.

    “Using Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI), a very common interface used to transport MPEG compressed video to satellite uplinks, between studios and for distribution in for example CATV networks, PCR jitter has to stay under 500 nanoseconds in order for a correct decoding to be done. Since the format is compressed, if only one of these frames arrives out of spectrum it could make the decoder loose synchronisation and it could take several seconds before the service is restored. In the ad-driven world of broadcasting even a few seconds of black screen is obviously unacceptable,” Wahlund said.

    Delivery channels – terrestrial, cable and satellite, need to keep pace with the ever-increasing demands of the content to be streamed, the demands upon spectrum and the constant high and sometimes unreasonable expectations of the viewer.

    Each professional uncompressed standard video stream requires 270Mbps, which is more than 50 times the requirement for a cable -TV movie. Due to the demands of video, broadcasters deploy separate networks for voice and data.

    Broadcasters are now looking to upgrade their analogue TV networks with digital TV networks. Singapore, Japan, Australia and Taiwan have rolled out Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), and most Asian countries will do so in the coming years. With DTT or DVB-T, digital TV signals are transmitted from terrestrial antennas to digital TV receivers in the households. The benefits of this are lower operational costs, a higher picture quality and the ability to transmit up to four times more TV channels on the same frequency range. 

    Wahlund further added, “The requirements on video transport will also soon increase, as broadcasters change from SDTV to large – scale deployment of HDTV. As a norm, an HD feed takes up roughly four times the bandwidth of a standard definition feed. Today’s delivery mechanisms will not be sufficient to handle the increased bandwidth. Broadcasters are now faced with a dilemma of upgrading their data and telephony networks to meet today’s standards.” 

    In Europe, several major broadcasters have actively acquired their own networks. The European Broadcast Union (EBU) and Broadcast Service Danmark (BSD), the provider of analog and digital distribution of TV and radio in Denmark, each built its own next generation networks to provide video for contribution and distribution plus audio for radio, internet and even telephony.

    “They are now using the networks to connect production studios with film banks, stadiums and other production sites. These optical networks handle a mix of video, audio, data and even telephony without massive over provisioning of bandwidth, delay, jitter and constant (and costly) traffic engineering. Broadcasters have been able to increase the services such as HD and VOD and they have also been able to improve workflow, and substantially save on operating and capital expenses,” Wahlund said. 

    “They are meeting the challenges of providing new services such as HDTV and digital television by building next generation multi-service fibre networks that can provide these services. They are achieving additional benefits by intelligently using the additional bandwidth these networks to provide state of the art contribution and distribution networks and upgraded data and telephony services. They are also benefiting from reduced operating expenses from a unified management system. This is proving to be a rare win-win proposition for all,” he concluded.

  • Internet TV broadcaster JumpTV adds 11 channels to lineup

    Internet TV broadcaster JumpTV adds 11 channels to lineup

    MUMBAI: The Toronto based JumpTV which provides ethnic television over the Internet, announced that it has signed 11 new exclusive internet broadcast agreements with channels from Pakistan, Thailand, Lebanon, Nigeria and Benin, expanding its network to 270 channels under license.

    Channels signed include: ORTB (Benin), Channels TV, Lagos TV and MiTV (Nigeria), Zam TV and Rung TV (Pakistan), Popper, Rak Thai TV, Panorama 07 and Thai Cable Channel (Thailand) and Mlive (Lebanon).

    The 11 new channels are expected to be individually priced at $9.95 per month when launched commercially, and some will become part of country/region-specific channel bundles at later dates. The addition of the three Nigerian, four Thai and two Pakistani channels brings JumpTV’s Nigerian, Thai and Pakistani channel lineup to seven channels, nine channels and 12 channels respectively, and bundles will be launched for each of these countries soon. The additional Lebanese channel is to be included in JumpTV’s Pan Arab Package, which currently includes 23 top Arab channels for $29.95 per month.

    Commenting on the partnership with JumpTV, ORTB general director M. Julien Pierre Akpaki said, “JumpTV is enabling ORTB to grow from a number one national channel that is available in Benin only to a global channel overnight. Since a majority of our programming is in French, we believe there is a real market for our content not only among the people of Benin, but anyone interested in West African television.”

    JumpTV head of content acquisition and global operations Sila Celik says, “JumpTV is thrilled to announce the addition of 11 channels from countries like Nigeria, Thailand, Pakistan and Lebanon. We understand that our subscribers want an array of content from their country or region of origin and these channels add substantially to our offerings.”

    JumpTV International CEO and president Kaleil Isaza Tuzman says, “The first phase of JumpTV’s business strategy has always been to aggregate the most television content from around the globe. Now with 270 channel partnerships, JumpTV continues to solidify itself as the largest broadcaster of ethnic programming, providing its subscribers with live television, when and where they want it.”

  • Sports super show kicks-off in Germany

    Sports super show kicks-off in Germany

    MUMBAI: The biggest global sporting event on the planet kicked off in Germany with the hosts playing Costa Rica. Around 1.5 billion viewers around the globe are expected to tune in to the opening fixture of the World Cup alone.

    A record number of deals: What is helping television viewership in this regard is the sheer number of deals that have been done by football’s governing body Fifa’s marketing agency Infront. Besides getting deals which will ensure the event gets viewed in over 200 countries, InFront has also signed deals with more than one broadcaster in key territories like Germany.

    The World Cup is projected to get a cumulative viewing global audience of 32.5 billion. This marks a 10 per cent increase compared to 2002. For 2006, there will be more than 500 broadcast partners including 240 television licensees, a record number of 220 radio stations and more than 50 New Media Licensees (Mobile Telephony and Internet). By comparison, the 2002 event was transmitted by 300 broadcast partners.

    Distribution has been handled on an open-market basis. This offers viewers variety and choice in how they watch the event and an exciting array of production advances to add to their enjoyment. Infront achieved these record results through ‘layering’ different television offerings for the various markets worldwide. The event will be shared between a broad range of distribution platforms, offering viewers a variety of options. Infront has contracted with two or more broadcasters in 120 territories.

    Strong deals in the key markets: In the top television markets Infront’s marketing strategy has led to impressive results. For instance in host country Germany Infront signed deals with three Free-TV stations – ARD, ZDF, RTL. It also signed a pay TV deal with Premiere. Another important market is France. There it has signed two Free-TV (TF1, M6) and two Pay-TV (Canal+, Eurosport France) agreements.

    In soccer mad Brazil, it has signed four Pay-TV
    (Bandsports, DirecTV, ESPN do Brazil, Globosat) deals and one free TV (TV Globo) agreement. 77 per cent of Brazilians are eagerly counting down the hours to kick off, a figure exceeded only by the 79 per cent recorded in Mexico and Japan.

    Radio coverage of the event is also becoming increasingly important as a category of the overall broadcast. The 2002 World Cup was the first time that radio rights were offered independently and separately from television. The 2006 event continues with this expansion, further acknowledging the growth in radio and its importance as a communication medium.

    Around 80 regional and local radio stations will ensure record radio coverage in Germany. In France five stations have done deals while in Brazil the number is 24.

    Fifa taps into new media: New media coverage of the event is set to reach new standards. In 2002, new media coverage of the event was limited to the official Fifa website and trial transmissions to mobile phones in Japan. This year fans will be able to receive near-live coverage of the most dramatic and decisive moments of all the 64 matches on their mobile telephony devices or their home computer. More than 100 territories are covered by a New Media license.

    Technological inovations: The event will showcase HD technology. Following 2002, this is the second World Cup host broadcast in private hands – a break from the past when this function was handled by the world’s television unions. Infront’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Host Broadcast Services (HBS), is charged with the task of delivery.

    2006 will be the first Fifa World Cup produced exclusively in the high definition (HD) 16/9 widescreen format and will be the first major international sport event to commit fully to the format of the future and to showcase it on a significant scale.

    All 64 matches will be produced in HDTV and made available in both high and standard definition (SD). While the majority of broadcasters will still broadcast in SD 4/3 the demand for widescreen format and HDTV gains momentum.

    Several broadcast partners will pick up the state-of-the-art HD feed produced by HBS and HDTV will be featured in more than 70 territories worldwide, including host country Germany (Premiere), France (TF1, M6), United Kingdom (BBC, ITV), Italy (RAI, Sky Italia), USA (ABC, ESPN), Canada (Rogers Sportsnet), Brazil (TV Globo, Bandsports), Mexico (Televisa, TV Azteca), Japan (Japan Consortium, Sky Perfect), South Korea (KBS, MBC, SBS), and China (CCTV).

    HBS produces 2,200 hours of host broadcast coverage, as opposed to 1,200 hours for Korea / Japan 2002, filmed by a total of 170 cameras. Super feeds will include specific team and player coverage to help broadcasters tailor their offering to a national audience at home. 25 HD cameras will capture every moment and nuance of every match.

    A serious money spinner: All the marketing and promotional activity is expected to pay off big time. A report from Sportcal.com indicates that the event is on course for profits of €1.1 billion. The estimated €1billion cost of staging the event is far outweighed by revenues from the sale of media rights, sponsorship, merchandise and tickets.

    Fifa’s anticipated media rights revenues of €1.2 billion for the 2006 World Cup represent a 34-per-cent increase on the media rights revenues it realised at the 2002 World Cup, held in Japan and South Korea, a less favourable time zone than Germany’s for most of soccer’s top television markets.

    The UK’s BBC and ITV are among the largest contributors to overall 2006 World Cup revenues, jointly paying £105 million for the rights for the event. The largest single contribution to 2006 World Cup revenues is coming from ARD and ZDF, the German public-service broadcasters, which jointly agreed to pay €170 million for the television rights to screen the event.

    All not hunky dory: There has been criticism in some corners over the aggressiveness of Fifa in terms of merchandising and also regarding ticket sales. A report in Deutsche Wells indicates that this is the first World Cup where Fifa got aggressively into the business side of things. Cracks are said to be forming in its relationship with the German Organising Committee as Fifa allegedly pockets millions from the sales of tickets at the expense of fans.

    Fifa has also been strict in the use of branded phrases. Such is the power of Fifa that Hamburg’s AOL Arena has had to remove its name for the duration of the World Cup, since it is not an official partner, as has Munich’s Allianz Arena. The logo on sportswear giant Nike’s headquarters in Frankfurt has also been covered after Fifa took objections to it. German businesses and politicians are furious over Fifa imposed zones around stadiums where only official sponsors can advertise. For example, milk cannot be used on match days in the Coca Cola area.

    A recent survey by SID sports news agency showed that a third of Germans are annoyed at the level of commercialisation that Fifa is doing around the World Cup. To offer an example Budweiser is the sponsor of the event and Germans are upset that at the stadium popular German brands will not be allowed. The head of Fifa Sepp Blatter has had to defend the organisation from accusations over the past few weeks that big business concerns are spoiling the spirit of football.

    Fifa, not surprisingly, justifies its aggressiveness as each partner pays a lot of money to be associated with it. On an average each partner has forked out around $ 60 million for the 2006 WC. However the fact that there are as many as 15 partners means that there is the danger of clutter. That in fact is a major reason why Phillips had earlier chosen not to renew its deal with Fifa.

    ‘Sport selling its soul to big business’: That Fifa’s aggressive marketing tactics have not gone down well in some quarters can be gauged from what former German football great Franz Beckenbauer, who is the head of the World Cup organizing committee, had to say. He recently expressed concern that the sport is selling its soul to big business. Therefore he feels that there is need for discussion on the limits of money-making. Blatter countered that by talking about the importance of a mutually beneficial partnerships between Fifa, television and the global economy.

    A small but significant example of economic benefit can be seen in England’s pubs. The Independent did an investigation on the phenomenon of the rise in the number of people looking for jobs in pubs up and down the UK. In terms of atmosphere Britain’s pubs are considered to be even better than watching the game live according a job applicant.

    On the ground level a report in VOA News indicates that the German government has spent around $7.7 trillion on improving stadiums and transportation infrastructure. The country expects a 1.6 percent increase in its gross domestic product this year, with analysts saying a half per cent of that will be because of the World Cup. Germany is expected to get around four million visitors on account of the event. Each visitor is expected to spend around $400 a day. The World Cup is expected to have generated 60,000 jobs in Germany alone. 20,000 are expected to remain once the event concludes.

    A report in The BBC says that “A Time to Make Friends” has been the slogan in Germany and over the past two years the country has striven to spread its message far and wide. Other official messages have included “We Want to Roll out the Red Carpet For You” – the tag for the 6 billion euros invested from both public and private funds in stadiums, hotels, roads and train stations.

    It is a chance to portray Germany as a dynamic place to visit or do business

    However, there are mixed feelings in Germany about what the economic outcome will be. Germany is looking to show itself as not just a place that is passionate about soccer but also a country that is an excellent tourist destination.

    A study, from Postbank claims the additional sales of TV sets, beer, soft drinks, VIP hospitality, sports goods and other WM-themed products will come to between two and three billion euros.

    However another report from Germany’s influential DIW economic research institute seeks to puncture this growing optimism, forecasting that the World Cup will not significantly aid the country’s economic situation.

    The World Cup, it says, will have a negligible impact on the domestic economy, which for years has been beset by weak demand at home.

  • Animax to launch in Korea on 29 April

    Animax to launch in Korea on 29 April

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and Korean satellite TV broadcaster SkyLife will be launching their joint venture channel Animax in Korea on 29 April.

    The announcement was made by SPTI international networks president Andy Kaplan and SkyLife CEO Dong-Koo Surh.

    Animax in Korea will be a 24-hour local program provider focusing on animation programming that will be carried exclusively on SkyLife’s DTH platform, which has a subscriber base of about 1.9 million in Korea.

    Unlike other animation channels in Korea, which focus mainly on programming for young children, Animax will air programs for teens and young adults. With various genres from anime producers, Animax will offer a wide variety of programming choices, including comedies, science fiction, action, dramas and thrillers.

    God Save Our King!, Monkey Typhoon, The Count of Monte Cristo, Otogi Zoshi, The Adventures of Tweeny Witches and Galaxy Angels, are among the first-run programs airing exclusively on Animax in Korea. Additionally, Animax will air popular local Korean animation programs such as Yorang-Ah and Black Rubber Shoes.

    Animax in Korea is part of SPTI’s expansion plans for its international network portfolio which now includes over 40 channels around the world.

    Animax Korea representative director Marty Hong said, “Animax Korea will be differentiated by a line-up of high quality programs and sophisticated graphic design elements. We will lead a new trend among animation channels and we also hope that by leveraging the distribution network of Sony, we will be able to contribute to the local animation industry.”

    “Sony Pictures Television International is committed to growing its international networks group, and Korea figures prominently in our plans. We launched our AXN channel in Korea on SkyLife last year and we’re thrilled to be working with them again on launching Animax in Korea. We now have Animax channels in Japan, South and Southeast Asia and Latin America, and the channels have been embraced by audiences everywhere. The thirst for quality anime programming is apparent and we’ll strive to make sure Animax in Korea offers the best anime shows,” said Kaplan.

    Surh added, “We are pleased to launch such a global channel as Animax, which will create a buzz in the animation industry. We think that the addition of Animax will add great value in terms of content differentiation of SkyLife and we will continue our efforts to secure strong content in various ways in the future.”

  • Asian VOD broadcaster Anytime signs distribution deal in Taiwan

    Asian VOD broadcaster Anytime signs distribution deal in Taiwan

    MUMBAI: The Asian video on demand (VOD) channel Anytime has reached a distribution deal in Taiwan with the interactive broadband platform TDMC.

    TDMC TV chairman Zhong Zhen says, “The deal gives TDMC TV customers a variety of content from the Hollywood studios over a secure ADSL broadband connection to a set-top box. The channel launches in Taiwan this month.

    “Anytime has output deals with more Hollywood studios and Asian content creators than any other video on-demand channel. The new Anytime channel on TDMC TV will give viewers in Taiwan easy access to the most popular, up-to-date entertainment, when they want it.”

    The Singapore-based Anytime has existing carriage deals in Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand, and the rights to license into 14 territories in Asia Pacific. Shareholders include CPE Holdings (Sony), Fox Media Services, Warner Bros. Entertainment, YTC Group, the Macquarie Bank Group and US based Coote/Hayes Productions.

  • Panamsat unveils new solution for news delivery across the US

    Panamsat unveils new solution for news delivery across the US

    MUMBAI: Global satellite services provider Panamsat and On Call Communications have developed a new satellite-based communications solution to enable the coverage of breaking news and live events by local and independent news stations in the US. By using PanAmSat’s QuickSPOT on-demand satellite technology and On Call’s OnSpot auto-deploying broadband satellite communications systems, broadcasters can now report on breaking news events as they happen and then transmit the coverage to viewers in real time with unrivalled simplicity, mobility and cost-efficiency.

    Koce, a PBS-affiliate based in California, is using the new system to provide live news coverage to viewers of events that previously could only be pre-recorded. Koce says that the QuickSPOT/OnSPOT solution gives it the opportunity to deliver live remote broadcasts at far lower costs and convenience than anything it has been able to do in the past. Koce says that being live on the scene gives it a new dimension, covering the news as it happens, making the story much more ‘real’ to viewers. The recent fires in Southern California exemplified this as it reported from the field, delivering the latest updates from fire officials, what areas were being evacuated and what schools remained open. Thereffore the news was much more relevant to our viewers compared to something written and broadcast from the studio.

    The QuickSPOT/OnSPOT solution provides a cost-effective broadcast delivery system making it possible for smaller broadcasters to access the formerly cost-prohibitive world of live broadcasts. These stations can now avoid the expense of dedicated satellite space by paying only for their on-air time. And, no technical knowledge is required to operate the auto-deploying terminals.

    Panamsat executive VP, global sales and marketing Mike Antonovich says, “Through our work with OnCall, we’ve developed a truly game-changing broadcasting solution that transforms the world of satellite news gathering. By using smaller auto-pointing antennas in conjunction with the latest generation of digital encoding and compression and our bandwidth-on-demand provisioning service, live news coverage is now simpler, smarter and smaller then ever before. These lower-cost systems can now affordably be made available to support everyone from major market television stations to local community cable channels. Smaller communities benefit by getting up-to-the-minute reports on local weather, storm conditions and developing news events. And, independent stations can provide a wider variety of coverage and perspectives as they serve up their own live reports. It is a win-win for everyone—the broadcaster and the viewer.”

    On Call Communications specialises in providing quick deployments of mobile satellite telecommunications systems for broadcasting, disaster recovery and government applications. They design, integrate and install custom satellite communications networks.

  • HBO US renews drama series ‘Big Love’ for second season

    HBO US renews drama series ‘Big Love’ for second season

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster HBO has renewed the drama series Big Love for a second season.

    HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss says, “Big Love is a unique and remarkable series. The second season will offer more of the terrific storytelling that has gripped critics and subscribers this year.”

    Big Love tells the story of Salt Lake City native Bill Henrickson, who balances the needs of his three wives – Barb, Nicki and Margene – their seven kids, three houses and his home improvement stores. Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin and Harry Dean Stanton star in the series.

    The second season kicks off next year.