ITV

Tag: business

  • ‘Dabba’ continues to do business worldwide as it is sold to over thirty countries

    ‘Dabba’ continues to do business worldwide as it is sold to over thirty countries

    NEW DELHI: Already acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for North America, the Indian film The Lunchbox (Dabba) which made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival‘s Critics‘ Week section has also been sold to several non-traditional markets like Longride Inc. for Japan and Peterpan Pictures for South Korea.

    Directed by Ritesh Batra and starring Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, The Lunchbox claimed the audience award in Critics Week.

    International sales are handled by Germany‘s The Match Factory GmbH, which also licensed the film to Happiness Distribution for France.

    The film has thus been sold in 20 territories across the globe. It was already pre-sold to five countries. Major international sales include Artificial Eye (UK) and Happiness (France).

    Madman Entertainment has acquired it for Australia/New Zealand. The non-traditional markets include Taiwan where Joint Entertainment International Inc has acquired it, Hong Kong where it will be distributed by Edko Films Ltd, and Singapore where Lighthouse Pictures will release it.

    The film has also been sold to Spain, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Baltic, Mexico, Central America, Brazil and Ex-Yugoslavia (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).

    The film had been pre-sold to Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg.

    The film was produced by India‘s Sikhya Entertainment and Dār Motion Pictures with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Germany‘s Rohfilm GmbH, France‘s ASAP Films and the US‘s Cine Mosaic.

    The story follows the connection between a widower nearing retirement and a frustrated housewife that is established when Mumbai‘s famously reliable system of lunchbox deliveries goes wrong.

  • Agnello Dias among Fast Company’s 100 most creative people in business 2013

    Agnello Dias among Fast Company’s 100 most creative people in business 2013

     MUMBAI: US-based Fast Company Magazine has named Taproot India co-founder and chief creative officer Agnello Dias as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2013.

    Ranked 59th in the coveted list that covers famous personalities from across the globe, Dias has been described as ‘India’s most decorated (and progressive) adman,’ by the magazine.

    This year’s list of 100 Most Creative People spans entertainment to medicine, fashion to technology, academia to social enterprise; companies from Foursquare to Samsung to Starbuck; locations from the Mideast to the sub-Sahara.

    This year has been an outstanding year in terms of creative achievements for Taproot India. While the creative boutique walked away with over 18 metals at the Goafest this year, it was named creative agency of the year at the Adfest 2013, Thailand. Further, the Gunn Report 2012 ranked the agency as the number one creative agency in India.

    Dias said, “I am quite thrilled on hearing this actually, because while buried in work one normally tends to use only the advertising and marketing fields as reference points. To have been noticed, let alone recognised, across all forms of creativity and business and that too globally, is humbling to say the least.”

    “This is a fantastic recognition. Aggi is the only Indian advertising professional on this list. The entire Dentsu Network is truly proud of him,” Dentsu India Group executive chairman Rohit Ohri said, on Agnello’s inclusion in the coveted list of business leaders.

    Fast Company magazine’s 100 Most Creative People in Business list come from diverse industries around the globe. Akin to the four prior years, the 2013 edition features only people who haven’t been on any previous lists or profiled in the magazine before.

    Nate Silver, whose FiveThirtyEight.com blog on the New York Times website successfully predicted the results of the US Presidential elections have been ranked numero uno on the list.

    Fast Company is a progressive business media brand, with an editorial focus on innovation in technology, ethical economics, leadership, and design.

  • Rediff.com introduces new redesigned website

    Rediff.com introduces new redesigned website

    MUMBAI: Rediff.com has launched the new version of its website featuring a new and enhanced homepage sporting a tiled interface.

    The new Rediff homepage brings alive an assortment of content and services using the contemporary grid layout that is visually rich. Each unit of the grid features the latest information photographs and videos, giving it a more interactive and image-friendly appearance.

    Featuring thirty headlines, the new homepage offers a wide range of relevant news items from across sections like news and politics, business, movies, get ahead, cricket and sports.

    Additionally, its e-commerce platform gets a boost with a large footprint on the homepage to capitalise on the growing usage of e-commerce platforms throughout India.

    The new design is based on user feedback and provides a seamless experience on personal computers and laptops as well as touchscreen handheld devices like tablets and smartphones.

    Rediff.com chairman and CEO Ajit Balakrishnan said, “The Indian internet user base is quickly moving to consuming our services on various types of mobile devices, whether at home or on the go. As a result, this transition required us to take a fresh and innovative view of how our users are likely to interact with our portal. Our new tiled interface is a step towards making it easy for a rapidly growing segment of users who access our website from tablet like touchscreen devices.”

    “We have also redesigned the site in terms of providing users with the content and imagery they desire on our home page, while adding more e-commerce options, which have been in higher demand from this growing population. We believe, the steps we‘ve taken will enhance the overall user experience and over time, contribute to a growing Rediff user base and more widespread adoption of the Rediff brand,” Balakrishnan added.

  • Preiti Zinta to be managed by CAA Kwan

    Preiti Zinta to be managed by CAA Kwan

     MUMBAI: Foresight Communications has appointed Anjan Sen as president.

     

    Sen will be heading the ad agency. He will report to Foresight Communications CMD Vijay Shekhar Gupta who is into ad film making business too.

     

    Sen comes in with over 25 years of experience in advertising, strategic planning and corporate communications.

     

    Prior to joining Foresight Communications, Sen was at Wing Pharma. He had also worked with Gadgil Western Group and JK Tyres.

     

    Established in 1991, Foresight Communications has recently won the advertising duties of Tivoli Gardens and Dunar Basmati Rice.

  • Channel NewsAsia relaunches; adds Mumbai bureau

    Channel NewsAsia relaunches; adds Mumbai bureau

    MUMBAI: Asian news broadcaster Channel NewsAsia is ramping up investments and has set up new bureaus in Mumbai and across Asia as it expands its programming lineup.

     

    Channel NewsAsia has relaunched and moved from a live broadcast of 20 hours a day to a 24-hour cycle. The channel also has a new look and new programmes to help viewers better “Understand Asia”.

     

    The free-to-air channel already has a bureau in New Delhi. Going forward, it will add more bureaus. This will enable the channel to produce more original content and news stories for the additional hours of “live” broadcasting

     

    The channel is banking on digitisation that it hopes will reduce carriage fees paid to cable networks.

    The broadcaster has an on-going deal with news agency ANI in India. From India one will see more news on different topics like finance, business and entertainment.

     

    Channel NewsAsia MD Debra Soon said, “As the locus f the world economy shifts towards Asia, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver what we’ve been doing daily since 1999, and help audiences around the world better understand Asia. We have made substantial investments to provide more business content about Asia, from Asia. We intend to increase our lead in covering South East Asia better than other broadcasters operating here, and we will cover South Asia better. This is all part of the drive to deliver insightful documentaries and programmes for viewers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”

     

    Channel NewsAsia’s re-launch was celebrated today with a Champagne Lunch with the channel’s partners and friends at its new Marina Bay Studio. Simultaneous parties were also held in Mumbai and Hong Kong to mark this milestone occasion.

     

    Increased news and business content and documentaries

     

    Business news at prime time is more than doubled. A new one-hour financial programme, ‘Business Central’, airs at 8 pm featuring key stories from the region’s financial hubs – Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The show will give viewers insights into daily developments in other key world financial centres from the bureaus in London and New York.

     

    Day-time market reports and key interviews will be conducted out of Channel NewsAsia’s latest facility in the Marina Bay Financial Centre, at the heart of Singapore’s new financial district.

     

    The Marina Bay Studio will be featured during a new one-hour lunchtime show, ‘Asia Connect’, which will bring together the market action from every trading day in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and keep viewers on the pulse of Asia. This studio is a result of the collaboration with DBS Bank.

     

    News content is increased by more than one-third. A daily additional newsbelt called ‘News Pulse’ from midnight to 6 am, tracks world developments overnight for Asia, with breaking news from the US and Europe. This will be followed by a new start to Asia’s day, with ‘First Look Asia’ from 6 am.
        

              
          

    With a line-up of new programmes interspersed throughout the channel, viewers are given an uninterrupted flow of news through the day:

     

    (1) First Look Asia

    (2) News Now
    (3) Asia Connect
    (4) Singapore Connect (Only on Channel NewsAsia, Singapore)
    (5) Business Central
    (6) Business Singapore
    (7) News Pulse

     

    Beyond the news, Channel NewsAsia is raising the depth of content about Asia with nearly 30 per cent more hours of current affairs programmes focused on the dynamism and progress of Asia. An example is ‘Power List Asia’, which looks at the core of Asian success stories through interviews with top CEOs and tycoons.

     

    ‘Extraordinary Asians’, meanwhile, profiles the exceptional Asians who inspire the community by contributing in extraordinary ways. ‘Boomtown Asia’ offers a preview of what Asian cities of the future might look like and what is being done now to help make existing cities sustainable, liveable and future-proof.

     

    New branding and on-air look: The launch is marked by the channel’s new branding and on-air look. “To be the Voice of Asian Progress” describes Channel NewsAsia’s unique positioning of capturing the exclusive stories unfolding in the region in all its diversity. The fresh graphics and colours reflect the channel’s celebration of the dynamism and energy in Asia, while the channel will stay true to its mission of helping viewers “Understand Asia”.

     

    All platforms: In such a dynamic environment, consumers would expect to have information whenever and wherever they are. Channel NewsAsia is already available via the iPhone, iPad and Android Apps. Its Android App will have enhanced features when relaunched later this year.

     

    The channel is also streamed “live” on both Channel NewsAsia (url: channelnewsasia.com ) and Livestation (url: livestation.com/en/cna_en) websites. It has entered into a strategic partnership with YouTube to provide even better quality services for viewers.

     

    Marketing initiatives: On the marketing front, Channel NewsAsia has launched a series of initiatives in the region, such as the partnership for the CEO World Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on 11 January 2013.

     

    In March 2013, the channel is taking its discussion programme, ‘Perspectives’, on the road in Jakarta. To be recorded on location live, a panel has been invited to discuss the topic of Indonesia Rising. Speakers include Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board chairman Dr. M. Chatib Basri; Garuda Indonesia president, CEO Emirsyah Satar, the World Bank’s Country Director for Indonesia Stefan Koeberle and Indonesia’s Pertamina president, director and CEO Karen Agustiawan. The channel will launch more of such initiatives, like the Luminary Awards Forum in Singapore at the end of March.

  • Thomson invests in Paprikaas Animation Studios

    Thomson invests in Paprikaas Animation Studios

    MUMBAI: Thomson, through its Technicolor Content Services business, has announced it is expanding its entertainment services capabilities with a strategic investment in Bangalore based Paprikaas Animation Studios, an animation and game content provider.

    This transaction further strengthens Thomson’s commitment globally and in India to expand its service offerings in the feature film, television animation and video game industries.

    The addition of Paprikaas’ creative, technical and computer animation work will give Technicolor added capabilities and resources to capture the growing industry demand for high end 3-D digital animation for feature films, television animation, commercial advertising and video games and provide Thomson with a leading position in the rapidly expanding Indian entertainment industry, informs an official release.

    “Technicolor Content Services has been looking to capture a larger share of the growing market trend toward outsourcing in theatrical, broadcast, commercial advertising, animation and video game segments,” said Technicolor Content Services president Ahmad Ouri. “Paprikaas has proven that their animation and game content creation work consistently meets our high standards, enabling us to further expand our capabilities and global reach, while also achieving cost efficiencies.”

    “This strategic investment is another step in Thomson’s initiative to expand its services to content owners and to broaden its scope of offerings for the film, broadcast and gaming communities. As one of India’s leading animation studios, Paprikaas earned a strong reputation for quality services, which is in alignment with Thomson’s high standards. This move also provides Thomson with a strategic platform from which to access the fast growing Indian media and entertainment market, thus, enabling us to accelerate our roadmap in India,” says Thomson – India vice president Thierry Pasquet.

  • bbcnews.com to hold mobile photo contest for South Asia

    bbcnews.com to hold mobile photo contest for South Asia

    MUMBAI: BBC News website has launched its first Mobile Photo Contest for South Asia.

    Themed My Changing World’, the contest will be open till 31 March 2007, with prizes to be won every week. Details of the contest are available on bbcnews.com/contest.

    BBC News Interactive head Steve Herrmann said, “The pictures we receive every day from our audience are changing the way we report the world. This contest is specifically for our South Asian audience. We think this will be a good way to engage with younger audiences across the region, and hope it will be fun to take part in.”

    The contest invites mobile photos from people across South Asia, and offers participants a chance to win BBC merchandise every week. This is in addition to prizes such as an iPod Video, Digital Camera, and Worldspace radio at the end of the contest. Every week, the website will feature some of the best and most interesting picture entries.

    The BBC News website offers a selection of news, entertainment, business, science, technology, and sport news.

    The BBC News website claims to receive over 900 million page impressions every month, and has around 40 million unique users a month.

  • CNN-IBN celebrates the few who made a difference

    CNN-IBN celebrates the few who made a difference

    MUMBAI: As part of 60 years of Indian Independence celebrations, CNN-IBN is instituting an annual award CNN-IBN Indian of the Year. This will recognise the Indians whose contribution to the country in 2006 has strengthened the social foundation and helped build brand India in the process. The objective is to create the highest, non-governmental, civilian award conferred on an individual. Additionally, it will provide both a national and international platform to recognise, showcase and revere Indian achievements across different walks of life.

    The awards will salute the best and the most dynamic Indian icons across six main categories: Politics, business, entertainment, sports, public service and NRI. Votes from the public and the electoral college, both holding equal weightage, will then decide the most superlative candidate to be the Indian of the Year!

    CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “We at CNN-IBN feel that many Indians and their accomplishments often go unnoticed and so we took it upon ourselves to create an award that would do just the contrary. The CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award will not only recognise, but also felicitate such achievers. The sheer credibility of the channel as well as the involvement of great personalities in the thorough selection process will lend immense authority to this title.”

    CNN-IBN and IBN 7 national sales head Sanjay Dua says, “CNN-IBN Indian of the Year is a property that I am confident brands will find this platform very attractive and lucrative. They will find a sense of pride in being associated with such a prestigious title as it represents Indian achievements across various disciplines, and takes it to an international level”.

    The Judiciary council in concurrence with the TV 18 Editorial Group will undertake the preliminary step of generating a list of prospective nominees for each category. The Council is an elite club of five Padma awardees: Padma Shri Geet Sethi, six times World’s Billards Champion; Padma Vibhushan Soli Sorabjee, former Attorney General of India; Padma Bhushan Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys Technologies; Padma Bhushan Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC and Padma Shri Kiran Bedi, a Magsaysay award recipient.

    Electing winners for each group will be a three-tier process involving the Judiciary Council, the Electoral College and the citizens of India. The Electoral College, composed of 250 eminent citizens, each recognised in their respective fields, will vote for their chosen aspirant(s). The process of Vox Populi will be conducted simultaneously, through two means: ibnlive.com – for online casting of the citizen’s franchise and 2622 – voting through people’s mobile phones. Both, the Electoral College and the Indian public will be assigned 50 per cent of the vote weightage in determining winners from within every category.

    The Indian of the Year besides being bestowed with this exalted title will also receive a trophy provided by Swarovski CCB at an event held in Delhi on 6 February.

  • Financial site CNNMoney.com launches online video platform

    Financial site CNNMoney.com launches online video platform

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster CNN and publication Fortune have announced that its business and finance web site CNNMoney.com has launched a new online video platform.

    This will offer users a unique library of streaming video content covering the world of business and finance. The initiative will utilize the high quality video production of CNN, which will co-produce each segment. As part of the launch, a prominent video module with eight featured and newsworthy video segments will be posted on the site’s home page at all times.

    The segments produced for the site will derive from key stories from each of the four magazines housed on the site – Fortune, Fortune Small Business, Money and Business 2.0 – as well as stories by the dedicated editorial staff of CNNMoney.com. In addition, business news from CNN’s broadcast networks will be available directly through the newly-launched CNNMoney.com video player.

    The Time business and finance network president digital publishing Vivek Shah says, “Video is a vital component of the Web experience. The access and insight of our magazines combined with CNN’s video production capabilities will translate into a Web video experience unlike any in our category.”

    The site features nearly 50 video segments which build off of some of the ’ frmagazinesanchise issues including Fortune’s Fastest Growing Companies, Money’s Best Places To Live, Business 2.0’s The Next Disruptors and Fortune Small Business’ Best Bosses 2006. Video coverage also includes some of the magazines’ events and conferences.

  • Infomedia & Reed Business Information partner to launch Hotfrog.in

    MUMBAI: Infomedia India Ltd., special interest and directory publishing company has joined forces with the Australian business to business publisher Reed Business Information, and its online division, Catch, to launch Hotfrog.in in India.

    Hotfrog.in is a free business listings site where the content is driven by its users and is maintained and updated by its users. Users are able to update their listings with press releases announcing news for their business, as well as listing products and services and linking back to external websites, informs an official release.

    “Being India’s largest Yellow Pages and having healthy partnership with Reed Business Information, it was a logical step to launch an Indian-based site as it’s such a rapidly growing and vibrant online market,” Infomedia managing director Prakash Iyer said.
    “HotFrog is one of the most exciting new web developments which gives users control. We are happy and confident that with the strong database of Infomedia Yellow Pages, Hotfrog will reach out to the right target audience in Indiam,” said Catch managing director Andrew Dent.

    Hotfrog.in is the 10th Hotfrog site to be launched around the world and its is estimated that Hotfrog.in already has 450000 listings. Launched in Australia in May 2005, HotFrog.com.aucurrently has around 900000 businesses listed.