ITV

Tag: Dido

  • Bertelsmann triples profit; Eyes purchases

    Bertelsmann triples profit; Eyes purchases

    MUMBAI: The German giant is roaring! Bertelsmann is eyeing acquisitions after its music and TV units helped triple half-year profits, more prominent being Bill Clinton’s memoirs and top music acts. 

    According to media reports, Bertelsmann chief executive Gunter Thielen said that he was ready to use his group’s  $ 2bn (?1.36bn) war chest to invest in growth. Although Thielen declined to comment, it is said that Bertelsmann is looking for acquisitions including part of the British Broadcasting Corporation Worldwide.

    But the media reports indicate that BBC has talked to the German group and its bigger US rivals Time Warner and Disney about a possible sale of its BBC Worldwide unit, which owns assets such as magazines and stakes in TV channels.

    The world’s fourth largest media group, after years of declining sales at the group, saw the revenues at its music unit BMG and television arm RTL Group rise strongly, while cost cuts across the group also helped earnings, says a company statement.

    “Bertelsmann is steadily increasing its scope for investments to strengthen our core businesses and expand in new growth markets. We will pursue appropriate opportunities when they become available.” Thielen is reported to have said in a statement.

    “The BMG music division’s recorded music triumphs and RTL Group’s excellent business performance made an essential contribution to this rise in earnings,” he added.

    Strong sales and earnings growth at television broadcaster RTL and music unit BMG helped Bertelsmann, owned by the founder’s family and a Belgian investor, to post operating earnings of  596m in the six months to June, up from  186m a year ago, the reports inform.

    Former United States president Bill Clinton’s My Life and music acts, including rapper Usher and singer Dido, helped sales increase 3.2 per cent to  $ 8.1bn after years of decline. Adjusted for currency effects and portfolio changes, they rose 4 per cent. Cost cuts across the group also helped.

    It sold a science publishing unit in 2003 and has consolidated TV station M6 since February.

    Bertelsmann’s music division BMG, which last month merged with Japanese electronic giant Sony’s Sony Music, had 74 million euros in earnings, up from a loss last year, as sales rose by 10 per cent despite the still weak global music market, say the reports.

  • Disney Sets New Box Office Records With Debut of ‘Captain America: Civil War’

    Disney Sets New Box Office Records With Debut of ‘Captain America: Civil War’

    MUMBAI: German based international media company Bertelsmann has increased its first-quarter operating results by 186 million euros, recording a profit of 111 million euros.

    During the same period last year, the company had made a loss of 75 million euros. Bertelsmann is also planning to enter the Indian media industry.

    Bertelsmann CFO Siegfried Luther commented, “We confirm our forecast of a continued improvement in the operating results for the full fiscal year. As for revenues, we expect business to grow.”

    The group made investments of 234 million euros in the quarter. The first-quarter consolidated revenues are amounted to  3,790 million euros. The figure is slightly below the previous years  3,934 million euros figure.

    The company owes this improvement to its music unit. The Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG) has around 200 labels such as RCA, Jive and J Records. Artistes affiliated include Alicia Keys, Dido and Usher. Bertelsmann also includes the television and radio group RTL as well as what it claims is the worlds biggest book-publishing group Random House.

    There is also the direct group which deals with its direct-to-customer businesses.

  • High fives for [V] Popstars’ chosen ones

    High fives for [V] Popstars’ chosen ones

    It was a countrywide search and a mega promotion that spread across all the channels in the Star Network, besides both print and public hoarding campaigns. Finally, after a 45-day, six-city search, Channel [V] announced yesterday its “chosen 5” to front the all girl Coke [V] Popstars band.

    GIRL POWER: (From left) Pratichee Mohapatra, Seema Ramchandani, Neha Bhasim, Anushka Manchanda, Mahua Kamat.

    The five girls who get a shot at fame as India’s Spice Girls are Pratichee Mohapatra, Neha Bhasin, Mahua Kamat, Anushka Manchanda and Seema Ramchandani.

    Future episodes of Coke Popstars the series will see the girls training in different areas like modulating their vocal chords, fine tuning their dance skills as well as a health and fitness regime. They will also undergo a complete makeover so that their looks fit their profile. 

    The name of the group is yet to be decided and model Noyonika Chatterji will manage the band. They will spend several sessions in a studio recording their album, which is due for release sometime towards the end of May. 

    Javed Akhtar is writing the album lyrics and the music is being composed by eight music directors including Jatin Lalit and Sandeep Chowta, an official release states. 

    Their first live performance takes place in Mumbai on 26 April.

    Pratichee is a Mumbai girl, 24 years old. She has been trained in Hindustani Classical music for over six years. 

    Delhi girl Neha Bhasin, 19, is a second year student doing her Sociology honors. Her hobbies include dancing and writing songs. 

    Anushka, is all of 18 and ‘dead serious’ about her career as a musician. She has had little formal training in music even though that did not stop her from learning to play several instruments like the piano, guitar, drums and at the moment she is trying to learn to play the flute! 

    Seema Ramchandani, 22, is from Pune and a postgraduate diploma holder in school psychology. She comes from a musically inclined family and likes all sorts of music from the romantic Kishore Kumar to the rocking Led Zeppelin. 

    Mahua Kamat, 20, from Pune and in her Second year B.Com, gave up a year to get into music. She has been training in Hindustani classical music for a very long time. She is greatly influenced by Alanis Morissette, the Cranberries, Tracy Chapman, Dido and lot of R&B, hip-hop, for their rhythmic beats.