ITV

Tag: Chennai

  • Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    Pirated software worth $2.1 mn seized in 2006 raids

    BANGALORE: The total value of software seized in 2006 in the more than 200 anti-piracy raids carried out across the country is $2.1 million.

    The raids were conducted by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and its member companies collectively and individually. BSA has vowed to step up enforcement actions in 2007 to further bring down piracy rates.

    Jeffrey J Hardee, BSA vice president and regional director, Asia-Pacific, said, “In over 200 actions that have been conducted by BSA and its member companies in 2006, we had found widespread use and sale of pirated software across Indian cities. With the high software piracy rate in India, it is important to highlight efforts of the industry in combating piracy through enforcement.”

    The BSA and its members have carried out raids in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Hyderabad in 2006.

    As per the findings of the BSA-IDC study of 2005, the rate of PC software piracy in 2005 was 72 per cent. According to the statistics, the Indian software industry lost revenue to the tune of of $566 million in 2005.

     
    Hardee added, “BSA adopts a three pronged strategy i.e. spreading the awareness on the perils of piracy, training and education of users including use of specialized tools like software asset management (SAM) and enforcement, in addressing software piracy around the globe. Whilst enforcement is a last resort, it is an important part of our approach as it serves to underline the seriousness of the matter.”

    Pirated software that has been seized includes those from Adobe, Autodesk, McAfee, Microsoft and Symantec.

     
    The BSA maintains a close working relationship with the government and industry associations in India such as Nasscom. According to an economic impact study conducted by IDC, if the piracy rate is reduced by 10 points by 2009, India could benefit with an additional 115,000 new IT jobs; an additional $ 5.9 billion pumped into its economy and increased tax revenues of $ 386 million.

  • Big FM Chennai commits itself to a social cause

    Big FM Chennai commits itself to a social cause

    MUMBAI: Big FM show Adhirshtalakshmi had housewives in Chennai striking it rich by winning up to 50,000 rupees on the show. The station has now decided to support a cause through the show.

    In an example of how localised radio can reach out in times of need the show will have housewives in Chennai playing the game as usual, only this time, the prize proceedings would be collected for a 13 year old girl suffering from a congenital problem.

     
    To support this noble cause, housewives can call up and participate in the Adhirshtalakshmi show, answer the questions asked by RJ Balaji and win money for the girl’s surgery.

    The show will also feature Kollywood celebrities in Chennai who will play the on-air game and contribute money for the surgery.

    Other listeners can send their prayers and their well wishes to the girl by sending SMS at 5454. The station has also promised to have its RJs visit the girl in the hospital to entertain her.

    RJ Balaji who has committed himself for this cause and who has been behind the initiative says ” BIG 92.7 FM’s theme is to make life worth living for the general public and I feel that this is a small step in making somebody’s life”.

    The Adhirshtalakshmi will begin collecting money for the girl from 5 March onwards.

  • Radio One now finds listeners a ‘Valentine’

    MUMBAI: Put on your best perfume, think of interesting opening lines and leave the rest to Radio One FM 94.3. Mentos presents Radio One Speed Dating, a totally fun event where single, interesting and eligible guys and girls get together for a fun evening.

    Speed Dating is an exciting concept and is based on the psychological evidence that most people make up their mind of whether they like someone in the first 60 seconds of interacting with them.

    Perfetti India and Radio One have signed up a deal to conduct Speed Dating sessions at leading nightclubs at 4 locations across the country i.e. Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

    Speaking on the concept and success of Speed dating over the years, Radio One FM 94.3 vice president Shariq Patel says, “This is the third speed dating event we are organizing and the registrations have increased with each event. This is also the second time in a row that Mentos has partnered with us. Given the previous years experience this year Mentos has signed up for the event across all 4 of our stations i.e. Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore apart from Mumbai.”

    Perfetti marketing head Samir Sunjea adds “Speed dating is a perfect fit for Mentos since it caters to our target age group. It is a ‘fresh’ concept in India and therefore echoes our brand’s core intrinsic values.

    Moreover, the Speed Dating concept adheres to the ‘Mentos Life’ philosophy – a way in which to avoid the dull and usual and to adopt a fun and innovative approach to ordinary life.”

    Event Details
    – 20 men and 20 women invited for the exclusive event
    – All have to register at the venue
    – When registering all the participants are given a badge and a memo card with interested/uninterested marked against every name.
    – Each participant will get around 5 mins for 20 one-on-one dates.
    – The men will keep moving while the women remain seated.
    – The participants will move to the next table at the sound of the bell
    – If two participants are interested in meeting again, they are to mark their memo card accordingly.
    – Only if both concerned people are interested in each other, as marked in their memo card are they matched
    – Radio One will provide the female participant with the male’s contact details. Only if she wants to pursue the friendship further will she call. Hence a completely safe way of interacting with people.

     

    To register for speed dating all you have to do is log on to www.radioone.in and register yourself. If you are a working professional above the age of 21, you have a chance to be invited for this exclusive event at your city.

    Mumbai-The speed dating event will happen at Squeeze in Mumbai on 8th February, 2007. The cast of the new film Just Married is also expected to attend the event. Esha Deol, Perizaad Zorabian and Bikram saluja .

    Bangalore- followed by Mumbai, the action will shift to Bangalore on Feb 11th at Athena. IT people, its all about working and networking!

    Chennai- Feb 12th, Chennai will rock like never before at Sparks, Hotel savera.

    Delhi- A day prior to the Valentines day, Delhi will conduct speed dating at Lizard lounge on Feb 13th. A day prior to the V day!

  • Radio One launching in Chennai Wednesday

    Radio One launching in Chennai Wednesday

    MUMBAI: Radio One 94.3 launches operations in Chennai tomorrow after 9 days of test runs in the southern city.

    The past few days have seen the station gearing up for the Chennai launch with promotional activities which included branding its name and logo on tea stalls across Chennai to garner more visibility.

    A Mid Day Multimedia Limited and BBC Worldwide venture, Radio One is already present in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. Chennai will be the FM station’s fourth foray.

    Speaking on the issue of how it would take on some of the bigger more established radio stations like Surya and Radio Mirchi, Radio One station head LV Navaneet said, “These are major players and more established as they had the first mover advantage. Radio One will concentrate on 
    content and attitude to position itself. In fact content is at the centre of our universe.”

    The channel is looking at a target group of 20 to 30-year-olds and the content and the feel of the radio station leans towards the youth.

    “The focus will be on fast tempo Tamil music because this is what the youth in Chennai are more interested in. And this fast, racy music will be played throughout the day. Even if you switch on the channel at 6 o’clock in the morning, the music that will greet you will be up tempo not slow spiritual sounds,” according to Navaneet. In fact he goes on to mention that no melodies pre 1990 will be played on the station.

    The sound of the station is also young in keeping with its youth centric theme. Most of the RJs on the station were selected through a RJ hunt and the criteria was to have the right attitude to be part of Radio One.

    On D-day, the station plans to start the day with a celebrity RJ hosting a 2-hour show where the celebrity will talk about issues that affect him in the city and grouses faced by the city’s denizens. “Mumbai and Delhi are perceived as rocking cities by people who live there and even outside.

    Chennai, on the other hand, is not considered cool enough. With this initiative we want to instill a sense of pride within Chennaiites, make 2007 a year to celebrate Chennai.”

    The celebrity RJ concept sure seems to be catching on as the show will be flagged off with television actor Vijay Adhiraj taking on the airwaves and over the weeks 50 other celebrities will host the show. Other stars lined up on the station include film stars like Vikram and Surya.

    Another unique initiative is a team of journalists who will scour the city in search of news, views and opinions focused on the Chennai youth. This will be used as part of regular programming by the various RJs on their shows.

    Radio One will soon launch more stations in Pune, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

  • Dopod launches in India with convergent mobiles

    Dopod launches in India with convergent mobiles

    NEW DELHI: Dopod International Corporation, a leading PDA phone and Smartphone provider, today opened their India operations, setting up office in New Delhi. The company is launching here with three models that has convergent technology powered by Microsoft.

    Dopod also announced the appointment of Ajay Sharma as the Regional Sales Manager, Dopod Communications (India) Private Limited, to oversee its Indian operations.

    Sharma told indiantelevision.com “Initially, we are introducing three handset models – C800, C720 and 818Pro in India. These devices are aimed at providing the combined power of telecom and IT through a unique, convergent solution with Microsoft.”

    Sharma will manage Dopod International’s new office, serving as India’s first Regional Sales Manager, India, overseeing all marketing and business development activities in the region.

    Asked about the company’s investment plans in India, Sharma said: “Presently, we are just setting up a distribution base here to cater to the Indian market. In due course we will be investing a substantial amount in marketing and sales related activities”.

    The models being introduced are 818Pro, a GSM Quad Band PDA phone that enables users to communicate by voice, any place around the world; the C720W, which supports Bluetooth v2.0 w/A2DP & AVRCP, and USB 1.1 for charging and data transfer and also provides GSM Quadband with GPRS & EDGE & hi-speed WLAN access 802.11g.; and C800, which has a sliding QWERTY keypad and 5-way navigation button that “makes messaging a breeze”.

    The last also offers the “ultimate connectivity”, with Bluetooth v2.0 w/A2DP & AVRCP, and a USB port for charging and data synchronisation, and provides GSM Quadband with GPRS & EDGE & hi-speed WLAN access 802.11g.

    Company executives explained that Dopod have entered the Indian market late, after it has seen the expansion phase into the B and C class cities, and the Class A cities have matured into creating a large demand for convergent mobile phones.

    “Dopod International would offer sophisticated and innovative converged solutions to the Indian consumers, which would be at par with the best designs and trends prevalent internationally. The distribution of its handsets models in India would start through a strategic tie-up with National Distributor, Jaina Marketing & Associates,” Sharma said.

    Asked about the roadmap for the company in India, Sharma said, “In the first phase Dopod plans to make its handsets available to Indian customers in 10 cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat and Chandigarh.

    Dopod International Corporation was founded in 2002, and has expanded rapidly, Sharma said.

    By the end of 2007, Dopod plans to set up operations in 25 cities in the country.Talking about the models on offer, Sharma said: “818Pro is designed simply to appeal to the no-fuss crowd. It is a light, small and futuristic device which comes in lifestyle design with incredibly enhanced features.”

    The machine packs a host of comprehensive connectivity options, including WiFi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, Infrared, GPRS (on top of basic features like SMS and MMS), making it “an unparalleled choice for not only general consumers but also mobile business professionals”, Sharma claimed.

    Powered by the advanced Microsoft Windows Mobile Version 5.0, the 818Pro comes with a full suite of applications for viewing and editing files, like Pocket Word, Excel, Power Point, managing address book and e-mails like Pocket Outlook while allowing users full access to the Internet.

    In addition, the 818Pro also comes bundled with the WorldCard Mobile Business Card Capture Solution software. “This means users can now enjoy easy business card data input. All they need is to take a picture of a business card with the intelligent software and all their contacts are instantly captured, recognised, sorted and stored,” according to Sharma.

    Model C720W has a lean and mean design, Sharma said, adding that runs on user-friendly Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone operating system. “Windows Mobile 5.0 with DirectPush Technology allows you to instantly synchronise emails, calendars and schedules, and besides, you can access PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents allowing you to work even while on the go,” Sharma explained. It has a built-in 128 MB ROM, 64 MB RAM with persistent storage and a Micro-SD card slot, he added.

    Model C800 is the “slimmest PDA Phone with slide-out QWERTY keyboard”, but apart from that has all the features of C720W.

  • A new formula to ‘Engross’

    The biggest threat for advertisers is rapidly climbing as the rate of ‘ad avoidance’ crosses the 70 per cent threshold across all media, among both active and passive avoiders. What’s more alarming is the fact that ad avoidance is higher in rural India than in urban areas.

    As this trend is expected to go even higher, Intellect, a part of the Lintas Media Group in association with Hansa Research Group released the findings of a study titled ‘Engross, a media engagement and ad avoidance study.’

    Lintas India Pvt. Ltd director media services Lynn de Souza addressed a gathering of media planners, owners and clients, alerting them of the implications of this growing menace for the industry.

    “We have all been battling with ad avoidance for a while,” says de Souza. “What we certainly didn’t expect were such high avoidance levels, even in rural areas, and even on the internet. That is clearly a reflection of the consumer’s overall disapproval of the enormously high and growing ad clutter levels and is an issue that media owners should seriously take on board. In an attempt to reduce per unit prices they often simply increase the inventory on offer in an ad sales package, which results in high clutter, and high avoidance of the very ads they are trying to get more of!”

    What emerged as a result of the findings, de Souza said, was not that this group of ‘heavy media consumers’ disliked advertisements altogether, but instead they choose to avoid the growing clutter that they perceive to be dominating the media landscape. Encompassing all mass media including TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor and internet, her advice to fellow media experts, was that flooding the environment with an overdose of brands will ultimately lead the consumer to turn away from advertisements.

    With specific reference to television, this will pose a big ‘risk’ to the so-called burgeoning branded entertainment industry, which is just beginning to bear fruit in India. What’s more, the changing technological media environment will aid passive ad avoiders to quickly become active in doing the same.

    Spanning two months, October and November, Intellect engaged Hansa Research to update its biannual ad avoidance measures. This year the study included an understanding of how various consumer segments engage themselves with different genres of mass media, including sport, news, movies, education, fashion, serials etc.

    Besides narrowing in on an urban sample size of 1,073 respondents (SEC A, 15-40 year olds, students, housewives, working people) across Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad, the study also captured the behaviour of the rural audiences. The Bharat Barometer (Intellect’s joint venture with ITC’s e chaupal network) was used to estimate the same measures by contacting 892 people in rural UP, Maharashtra and AP. These included 606 e chaupal Sanchalaks and 286 rural women.

    On having conceived the study, Initiative senior vice president Premjeet Sodhi said, “We are still discovering new nuggets of information each time we analyse the findings. This study is directly applicable to the media planning needs of our various clients who focus on the key youth, housewife, and working segments, and also provides us with data on the ‘upper market’ rural audiences which the industry has never had at such a detailed level earlier.”

    Focusing on two verticals within the framework of a consumer’s media interaction – content and ambient design. The former drives engagement while the latter generates avoidance which has greatly risen from last year across media. Based on the content vertical, the study highlighted the degree of engagement taking four main factors – Content, Relevance, Interactivity and Personalisation (CRIP score). Thus, Intellect has devised 305 CRIP scores across 61 genres and five target groups to be used by media planners to improve media selection.

    Speaking about the method used to administer the study, Intellect associate VP Julius Augustine says, “The most important part of the study was the development of the statements that would measure engagement across the four parameters of content, relevance, interactivity and personalization (CRIP).

    “We needed to measure engagement not just at the media but also at the genre level. Hence, part of the questionnaire was self administered, guided by the interviewer. The respondent had to place all the genres simultaneously on an engagement scale at the same time for each statement separately. Hence, if needed, the respondent could go back and change his ratings as each new medium was presented (For example, he began to compare news on TV with news in dailies) till he had rated all genres to his or her satisfaction.”

    Using the CRIP score which is synonymous with engagement, Engross concluded that the more engaging the content the lower the ad avoidance (except for magazines). More specifically, the more consumers are engaged with a particular genre, the less likely are they to avoid ads in that genre.

    Some of the findings also revealed data that would provide a ray of hope for the umpteen news channels, as news on television has emerged as more engaging than in newspapers.

    However, the biggest challenge for advertisers comes from ‘student’ consumers, as regardless of the degree of engagement with a particular genre, the level of ad avoidance remains high.

    In this day and age when media clutter is commonplace and every brand attempts to adopt newer ways to ‘break through that clutter,’ the essence of creating engaging content somehow gets displaced. All in all the core aim of seducing the consumer also gets blurred!

  • Radio City, Chennai gets hip ‘n’ happening with new programming

    MUMBAI: Radio City 91.1 FM, has changed its programming in Chennai to cater to the cr?me de la cr?me, following the recent change of its frequency to 91.1 FM for uniformity on all its stations across India It will now play 70 per cent content in English and
    the rest in Hindi and Tamil Chennai from 9 November 2006.

    Along with this new frequency, actor Madhavan has unveiled a fresh new Fixed Point Chart (FPC) with loads of innovative shows, more interviews with hot stars, more contests and prizes, and definitely a lot more English music.

    Radio City 91.1 FM has always believed in providing its listeners with the best. Radio City 91.1 FM, Chennai, which earlier used to operate on the frequency -105.8 FM and predominantly had Tamil content, has undergone a revamp and will now air content, predominantly in English, along with a right mix of Hindi and premium Tamil music. The content is tailored to suit the day part and audience who specifically tunes in and will follow the mood map concept, which is followed by Radio City across all its stations.

    Listeners can now look forward to start their day with Radio City 91.1 FM, the only station to air western classical, fusion and world music on Morning Raga from 5 am to 7 am in the early morning band. Additionally, there will be dedicated housewife and student time-bands specifically scheduled in the FPC.

    Targeted at the discerning music lovers cutting across premium audiences comprising of students, housewives and working men, the innovative and fresh Radio City 91.1 FM programming is an outcome of an in-depth study undertaken by the station to understand the listening habits and tastes of Chennai-ites.

    The findings confirmed that there is definitely a large audience just waiting to listen to the Radio City kind of programming mix.
    Radio City therefore has very clearly filled a huge need-gap in Chennai, where every other FM station plays Tamil music predominantly.

    Elaborating on the strategic importance of the change, Radio City head marketing Rana Barua said, “We are thrilled and proud to announce the strategic changes in programming for Radio City, Chennai. Our research helped us to understand the minds of the traditional and Tamil film music inclined Chennai listeners. We have customised our programming with afantastic blend of English, Hindi and Tamil programs reflecting the true sound of cosmopolitan Chennai”

    “Our content is tailored to suit the day part and audiences who specifically tunes in within that day-part, which will ultimately give advertisers a great value for their money spent. Our music expertise and innovative programs will stir listeners to indulge in their kind of music. We would continue to play the best and make Radio City an integral part of the lives of Chennai-ites,” he added.

    As part of the big activation idea, Radio City 91.1 FM has planned a host of exciting on-air and on-ground activities at happening malls across the city like Landmark, across multiplexes like Satyam and several hangouts like Café Mocha.

    Additionally Radio City 91.1 FM also has entered into an exclusive tie-up across the 28 Spencer’s Dailies outlets in Chennai, which will make the visitors ‘hum’ and groove to Radio City’s foot-tapping music all day long. Its interactive programming content will mesmerize and connect with the people of ‘Chennai’ offering a unique listening experience.
     
  • Radio City moves to common frequency of 91.1 FM

    Radio City moves to common frequency of 91.1 FM

    MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Private Ltd promoted Radio City has adopted to a common frequency 91.1, which becomes effective from tomorrow (27 October).

    Among all the stations that Music Broadcast operates, it is only Radio City Jaipur that has been broadcasting on the 91.1 frequency since its launch. Besides Jaipur, Radio City operates in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow.

    Radio City, which launched its radio operations on different frequency in Mumbai 91 FM, Delhi 91 FM, Hyderabad 106.4 FM, Bangalore 91 FM, Lucknow 104.8 FM and Chennai 105.8 FM, will all shift on 91.1 FM, according to a press statement. 

    With its shift of frequency, Radio City will be unveiling some new shows, interviews, contests and prizes.

    As part of the big activation idea, Radio City 91.1 FM has planned a host of on-air and on-ground activities at happening malls across the city like Landmark and Lifestyle, across multiplexes like PVR and several hip hangouts. 

    Radio City will launch Get lucky contest from 27 October up till 29 October. The contest will see five lucky listeners winning a Philips DVD every day across all stations and 1 lucky listener will walk away with a Philips Home Theatre. The contest gala will continue through the week with listeners winning goodies in all shows.

    According to Radio City marketing head Rana Barua, “Even as we change our frequency to 91.1 FM, we will have a better offering for our listeners with more stars, more innovative shows more music, and more prizes. We will continue to redefine the programming limits in order to sustain our musical expertise and our leadership position.” 

  • Adlabs Films Q2 net profit up 224 per cent at Rs 204 million

    Adlabs Films Q2 net profit up 224 per cent at Rs 204 million

    MUMBAI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group controlled Adlabs Films’ net profit stood at Rs 204 million for the quarter ended 30 September as against Rs 62.86 million for the same period last year.

    The second quarter total income recorded an increase of Rs 595.97 million from Rs 246.82 million for the July-September quarter 2005.

    Operating profit stood at Rs 309.51 million as against Rs 110.04 million for the corresponding period last year .

    The company’s expenditure for the quarter closed at Rs 286.45 million as compared to the previous fiscal period Rs 136.79 million.

    Recently, the company picked up 51 per cent stake in Siddharth Basu promoted Synergy Communications. The company also launched its radio stations in Delhi , Hyderabad , Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore, under the brand name Big 92.7 FM.

  • Big 92.7 FM signs up Mohinder Amarnath for ICC updates

    Big 92.7 FM signs up Mohinder Amarnath for ICC updates

    MUMBAI: The cricket bee has stung the newly launched private FM player Big 92.7 FM! The brand has signed up with ‘Jimmy’ Mohinder Amarnath, the 1983 World Cup match winner, to provide updates on the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.

    The ICC World Cup Champions Trophy kicked off 7 October and will continue till 5 November. Spout chewing gum has been roped in to sponsor the updates on Big 92.7FM.

    According to an official statement, Amaranth will be offering regular cricket updates on Big 92.7 FM four to five times a day to provide a ringside update on the matches and players performance and even a few interesting tid-bits on the player’s and team’s performance. 

    The show will be broadcast in Hindi on New Delhi station and in English on Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore stations. The brand is likely to launch in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore in the coming weeks.

    Speaking on the occasion, Big 92.7 FM COO Tarun Katial said, “It is our endeavour to create an edge and provide our listeners with exclusive entertainment. Cricket is a sport which unites the nation and it is our way of offering Big entertainment on Big 92.7FM. The credibility of Mohinder Amarnath gels with the Station’s aim of providing credible and relevant information to our listeners.”