ITV

Tag: discovery+

  • WGA strike tops AFI’s list of significant moments

    WGA strike tops AFI’s list of significant moments

    MUMBAI: The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced the year’s AFI Moments of Significance.These seven noteworthy events were determined to have had an impact on the world of the moving image during the year.

    The first moment is the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. The ongoing digital revolution has upended conventional economic models, and uncertainty abounds when attempting to project how an audience will receive its storytelling in the years to come and how creators will be paid for their work.

    On 5 November 2007, the 12,000-plus members of the WGA went on strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Though the strike is itself traumatic, it is but a part of a larger paradigm shift. At best, it may be a defining event in shaping the future.

    AFI says that it looks forward to the day when a new business model will form, and an artist‘s work will rise above the numbers and continue to inform and inspire.

    The second moment was the fact that Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, two of the world‘s most influential filmmakers, passed away on 30 July.

    Bergman directed more than 50 films in a career that spanned 40 years. Classics like The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries explore religion, death and existentialism with honesty and eloquence.

    Antonioni’s career also spanned more than 40 years, with landmark films like La Notte and The Passenger, each marked by the director‘s innovative approach to narrative storytelling.

    The third event was Apple‘s iPhone. Apple‘s unveiling of the iPhone sparked a cultural frenzy. In addition to operating as a phone, camera and computer, the user-friendly iPhone allows consumers to stream and download television programs and movies. Overnight, the iPhone became a symbol of a public that demands its content where they want it and when they want it.

    The fourth event was a cultural spasm created by the war on terror. 2007 marked a year when American film artists responded to the war in an attempt to create order out of chaos. Though it was largely difficult to find an audience for their stories, filmmakers marched forward in a struggle to understand — to ask questions — to demand answers.

    Films like In The Valley Of Elah, Lions For Lambs, Charlie Wilson‘s War and A Mighty Heart wrestled with the war directly. And this emotional quandary carried into the core of other films as well — the dark brutality of two of the best films of the year There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, and the moral questions raised by Michael Clayton also reflect America‘s bruised and brooding times.

    The AFI notes that no other American war has inspired this deep a cinematic expression while the conflict is still taking place. Films released during World War II were supportive of the war effort, but movies dealing with the emotional, psychological and societal impact of that war, and also Korea and Vietnam, weren‘t produced until years after they had ended.

    Part of this new immediacy is due to the accessibility of information from the front line. Whether from an embedded journalist or an Iraqi citizen posting photos on the Internet, news about the war is plentiful, direct and personal, arriving virtually the same day it happens. Given these images and information, filmmakers are driven to make sense of it all here and now and project their stories across America and around the world.

    On the TV side a major event was Discovery’s show Planet Earth which has been hailed as being a landmark show in high definition. The AFI says that this show illuminated the power of television as a unifying force in the global community.

    Over five years in the making the show captured images from more than 60 countries and over 200 locations. From the forests of Eastern Russia to the Gomantong Caves in Borneo to a volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, this epic visual document captured some of the world‘s most remote and awe-inspiring locations and brought them into the living room.

    That the series came to life in high definition crystallised a moment in the public appreciation for this welcome and wondrous technology.

    Another event was news getting more tabloid in nature. 2007 marked a year when traditional news became subsumed by coverage of material normally relegated to tabloid magazines.

    Coverage of Paris, Nicole, Lindsay, Britney, O.J. and Anna Nicole often eclipsed news on the war, an economy in turmoil or topics of international scope or scale.

    Websites like TMZ.com and PerezHilton.com attracted devoted audiences, with TMZ even spawning a half-hour television version of its Internet activity. These types of sites are fueled by the ubiquity of cell phone cameras and other recording devices that empower a “citizen paparazzi” who are aggressive and eager partners in helping to tear down pop idols.

    America‘s cultural obsession with scandal is not a new trend, but in 2007 the tide turned, and the nation began to drown in a sea of celebrity.

  • BBC, Discovery charter new territories with two new ‘Expedition’ series

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s Natural History unit, in partnership with Discovery, is venturing into remote rainforests, high mountains and raging underground rivers to uncover the mysterious landscapes of Guyana and Papua New Guinea, in two epic Expedition series.

    It will be shown on BBC One in 2008.

    Expedition Guyana: Hidden on the northern coast of South America, the forgotten country of Guyana holds some of the most extraordinary jungle on Earth. With the forest currently under threat from loggers and their chainsaws, the Expedition Guyana team aims to discover new species in order to help Guyana protect its environment.

    Living rough in a jungle camp alongside local conservationists, the team will track the animals from high in the canopy to deep within the rivers. They are in search of the giants of Guyana including the anaconda, jaguar, giant anteaters, giant turtles and the enormous Harpy eagle. Working in a pristine jungle, which has been earmarked for logging or oil exploration, the cameras will be rolling every step of the way.

    The series producer Steve Greenwood says, “This incredible habitat is completely unspoilt and we’re sure it is home to some remarkable creatures. We’ll be spending a month tracking them down and capturing them on HD. We’ve got all the latest camera technology to help us: thermal cameras, remote cameras, micro and underwater cameras – but in the end it will be old fashioned field skills that are most needed to survive and find the animals in this tough jungle.”

    Expedition New Guinea: New Guinea is the most species-rich island on the planet but its landscape is so inaccessible that much of the wildlife is barely known. Recent exploration has hinted at new and utterly unique species with strange adaptations thriving in the dense forests, in the depths of the impenetrable swamps and perched on the edges of the active volcanoes.

    Hidden deep within this island is the deepest mystery in the whole of the tropics. A series of colossal caves pepper the hillside, most of them completely unexplored. Joined by world experts in extreme caving, the Expedition team take on this stern and drastic environment providing true and original exploration, captured on camera as it happens.

    Running in parallel, other members of the expedition team will explore the rugged rainforests that drape the mountains. These missions include journeying up the Sepik River to meet the Crocodile People and the 26-foot crocodiles they share the river with; searching for strange birds of paradise, capturing on camera their bizarre rituals and mating behaviours; and exploring for Queen Alexandra birdwing butterflies, the largest butterfly in the world and one that is rapidly declining towards extinction.

    The show’s executive producer Tim Martin says, “New Guinea will be our toughest expedition yet. Sheer mountains and tangled forests make its interior hard to navigate and disputes between rival tribes are an added complication we’ll have to cope with. But the rewards should be great – birds of paradise, tree kangaroos and whole forests that scientists have yet to investigate. And beneath the ground lies a vast system of caves, much of which has never been explored.

    “The observational style of our Expedition brand, as seen on Expedition Borneo, Amazon Abyss and Pacific Abyss, captures the dramas of expedition life and gives a real sense of what it’s like to explore some of the world’s last great wildernesses. Tourists and film crews tend to visit the same well known National Parks and our approach is to go much deeper into the wilds, to places that haven’t yet felt the impact of humans.”

  • BBC, Discovery to jointly explore `Oceans’

    MUMBAI: The hidden stories of our planet’s oceans are to be told in a new BBC commission, Ocean, a documentary series for late 2008/early 2009. This is a co-production with Discovery and will be filmed in HD.

    The proposed team of intrepid adventurers – explorer Paul Rose, maritime archaeologist Dr Lucy Blue and marine biologist Tooni Mahto – will take a journey to explore the oceans of planet earth. Hidden in these unknown depths are stories that reveal new truths about our past, our planet and the life within it.

    In Ocean, the international team of underwater explorers brave the dangers of the deep to unravel these mysteries.This series will tell stories from the world of underwater archaeology, geology, marine biology and anthropology.

    It will take in everything from great white sharks to lost cities buried undersea to divers who try to fathom the mysterious life forms of the deep. Filming starts in June 2007 in the Mediterranean and will finish in June 2008.

    The show’s executive producer Anne Laking said: “It took us nearly a year to find the right people to present such an exciting new series. They needed to have the right balance of robust scientific knowledge, first-class diving skills as well as genuine drive, passion and thirst for high octane adventure.

    “The series will show the ocean as it’s never been seen before. We’ll use cutting-edge techniques to delve into this unknown world of our wonderful planet.

  • ‘We see DT&L exploding over the next few years as an advertising category and a wish category’ : Aditya Tripathi- Discovery lifestyle networks VP

    ‘We see DT&L exploding over the next few years as an advertising category and a wish category’ : Aditya Tripathi- Discovery lifestyle networks VP

    Discovery Travel and Living VP -lifestyle networks Aditya Tripathi was in Bangalore to showcase the channel’s new local show ‘A Matter of Taste’ hosted by television anchor Vir Sanghvi. The show follows Sanghvi as he embarks on on a culinary journey to explore Indian tastes, debunk myths and discover the finest in Indian food and drink.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Tarachand Wanvari caught up with Tripathi to get a lowdown on the localisation plans, the challenges of shooting in India and client customisation.

    Excerpts:

    How would you describe the progress that Discovery has made this year?
    Discovery is growing really well. In the first 13 weeks of this calendar year, we’ve beaten everybody. That’s all English news, all English movies, all English music channels – MTV et al.

    Would this apply to Discovery alone or other channels – Animal Planet and Discovery Travel & Living (DTL)?
    This is Discovery alone. There is not even a comparison with the other channel in our genre (NGC).

    What’s new in the programming line-up on DTL, especially from India?
    The big one is of course A Matter of Taste with Vir Sanghvi. We are working on a couple of other programmes also. There’s one on Indian fashion and style which will come out towards the end of the year.

    Then there’s one based on a hotel (Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai) which will go on air by July or so, this year. We have actually gone into a hotel and spent three months there. It covers the hotel, about how a hotel functions. When you go to the reception of a hotel, some pretty girl smiles at you, they give you a room key, you go up, actually there are lots of people working behind the scenes that you don’t see. So how does the hotel function?

    The channel is an international channel and the intention has always been that it will be an international channel with some 15-20 per cent Indian content. The majority of the programming will always come from outside. You are looking at the Indian who wants to see the world, not an insular person who wants to see only content about India.

    And what about the fashion and style show that you mentioned?
    We have already started working on that. We have taken a well known fashion designer and we are working with him on this show. I’ll share the name with you when the show is closer to being completed.

    In this series we are traveling around India and outside the country also. We look at rural fashion, we look at pop art, we look at cheap fashion, it’s not only the high haute couture and the expensive fashion. We are at looking at the Indian style sensibilities across the board. And not only in clothes, in interiors, in hotels, in all kinds of things. It’s a very interesting show, but we have shot only two episodes right now, so we are still working on it.

    Some of the episodes will be location specific, so we’ll look at a part of the country. Other episodes will be following a story in preparing for a fashion show.

    How many episodes have you planned for? What about the sponsors for the series?
    It will be a 13-episode series. We’ve not yet lined up sponsors for the moment. We’ll wait till we have a little more polished stuff to show them. We’ve just shot two episodes. The concept has been talked about to a number of people who are interested.

    So is it mainly the garment industry that is interested?
    No, because it’s not only clothes and that kind of fashion. We’ve got interest from car brands, we’ve got interests from mobile phone companies, paints, even those categories. Then jewelry and accessories will also come in.

    Your first local show was ‘The Great Indian Wedding’ where one episode was aired. What is the status on that?
    Depending upon the press you read, we were covering so many things. According to The Times of India, we were covering the Bachchan-Ash wedding also, but that’s not true.

    We have created a brand, but we want to find very special weddings. For a lot of weddings that are special, either the people are not very comfortable to be in the public domain or there are a number of weddings where the people are scared of the tax authorities. And then there are some people who are very conscious of publicity and keen to get it, but it may not be a very classy wedding.

    We are going to keep this as an irregular one-off show. Every time there’s a wedding, we approach the family and if we can shoot, we’ll take it forward from there. But the original plan was to do a series of many weddings, we’ve decided not to do that.

    What are the challenges that you face while making something out of India?
    One challenge that we have is to convince our colleagues in other parts of the world that it will be a good story. Because we see now on Discovery channel, on our own channel DT&L there are now many programmes that are being made out of India. There’s a series like the one by Anthony Bourdain, or any of these international shows, they come and make one or two episodes out of India, but they come with their foreign crew, foreign anchor and cameramen and they come and shoot here and they go back and shoot the rest of the series everywhere.

    We are in the process of convincing them that an Indian production unit can make a show just as well, plus, we make them at a lower cost. The point is that the storytelling will be as good, the production quality will be as good. That’s one of the main challenges that we face.

    Could you shed light on the logistical challenges?
    Shooting a series which is not based in a studio is always a challenge. For instance, each half hour episode of A Matter of Taste has involved seven to eight days of travelling and shooting around different cities, plus the dubbing and editing and other work. For each episode we’ll go to three or four cities. The logistics for that are challenging, but it’s not that they would be any different anywhere else.
    What about your programmes that are focused on communities such as the drinking community – The Thirsty Traveller?
    That is one guy, an anchor called Kevin Brauch who travels around the world, like you have food programs and travel programs, his program is to explore the drinking culture and the different local beverages. That’s a show that has been very popular.

    Is anything coming out of India on those lines?
    There was talk that they would come to India. I was in touch with the production company and there was a little problem with getting permission. So we are now working with them to try and get an episode out of India.

    Won’t there be conflict with the authorities on that? After all alcoholic drinks are products that you can’t even advertise about in India?
    Well, all that we have heard so far is that they had permission problems. We are not sure what they are. We are working with them to find out.

    What is the situation as far as advertising is concerned?
    Of the English entertainment channels including movies, we have sold more inventory, more secondage than any of the others in the last year. That is movies, Star World, Zee Café…

    But those are a different genres altogether?
    We are the only lifestyle channel. When we launched two and a half years ago, Zoom, Star One VH1 – we were launching at the same time and all four were saying that we are lifestyle. Now I think that all the others have changed their formula.

    Certainly among the advertising community, we are recognised as the only lifestyle channel. But being a single channel in a genre that is not defined by anyone, it’s very difficult to define, so we compare ourselves with English entertainment. Because generally the values of the programming are the same, it’s kind of an unwinding programme that you watch to entertain.
    ‘Depending upon the press you read, we were covering so many things. According to The Times of India, we were covering the Bachchan-Ash wedding also, but that’s not true.‘

    So have your advertiser numbers improved from the 236 brands that you had said sometime ago?
    Yes. The number of brands keep going up. The very interesting thing about the channel is that from the day we launched, actually even before we launched, we said that we’d be an upscale channel and we are trying to fill a niche for the advertiser of upscale products.

    Today, traditionally a lot of advertisers for upscale products are on print. They are not on TV, because most channels are not focused. So we said that we will come in and reach those kinds of advertisers. So Pepsi will not advertise on my channel, but Diet Pepsi will advertise or Crush will advertise. Now Airtel no longer advertises on our channel for their standard connections because they are much more of a mass product, but Blackberry Pearl will come on our channel, Samsung LCD screens will come on our channel. The battle for us is not to get as many advertisers as we can, the battle is to keep that focus.
    To return to the localisation issue how many of the Indian programmes are being broadcast abroad? Where do you get the best response from?
    In Discovery the way this works is that all the shows that we make here are offered to our colleagues and then it’s up to them to buy them. So our last production Indian Rendezvous is there outside the country, in UK, this was a six-episode series and all the six episodes will be there. In the case of A Matter of Taste which is now complete, we’ll be sending it to them. I am confident that this will also air around the world.

    Singapore, which is the whole of Asia region and the UK, these are the places where there is maximum affinity. But I am hoping that going forward the US will also start buying into the programming. Right now it is UK more than the rest of Europe. But now that India is on the top of mind for everyone around the world, I am expecting that our spread will be greater than it is now.
    As far as your international content is concerned and programme blocks, is there anything special happening?
    One show that we are looking forward to is Queer Eye For The Straight Guy which we will introduce later this year. This is a makeover show for men.

    Each episode features a new candidate usually a straight/heterosexual man ready to be culturally transformed. Each candidate prepares for a special event and receives generous guidance from each Fab Five member in their respective categories of expertise. Candidates are prepared for such events as a marriage proposal, a first dinner with a girlfriend’s parents, and a backyard barbecue.

    We have a women’s hour. However our viewership is homogeneous. So we have not focussed on building programme blocks.
    Have you done any further client customisation like you did for HSBC some time ago and what has been the response to such efforts? How effective has customization been for your clients?
    We do a lot of client customisation where we package programs. We had a Monday to Friday programme Off to the Caribbean with Pepsi Gold around the World Cup time. What we do is to pick up a selection of programmes.

    A few weeks ago we did something for HT Mint, a very upscale targeting was required, so we did a series that we already had for Europe. We packaged that as Mint Money Mantras. With the travel site yatra.scom we did Amazing Yatras.

    That kind of customisation happens all the time. In terms of product integration, we haven’t done that yet, but are looking at doing that as well. In terms of effectiveness the client keeps on coming back for more so obviously it is quite effective for them.
    Who are your repeat clients?
    Pepsi is a repeat client. They have come back on various occasions and we keep getting new clients also. So it’s obviously effective.

    What marketing activities does the channel do to create awareness?
    We don’t do a lot of marketing. Word of mouth has helped us a lot. The fact is that our target audience is tough to reach through the traditional mass media. Having said that, we did put in some ads in newspapers to create awareness about A Matter Of Taste.

    Discovery Lifestyle launched a couple of channels in Malaysia recently. Any plans to bring them into India?
    Not at the moment. While DTH and digital cable are growing this is not immediately on our radar.

    Who are the big advertisers from Bangalore ?
    Yeah, I do, to meet the advertisers. There’s Britannia, then you’ve got ITC here, they are the big ones. Titan, Tanishq, IBM-Lenovo, etc. ING is a big client, Kingfisher Airlines, lot of these are our clients. In the case of the IT software companies, it’s more of a B2B arrangement, so we don’t have these as our clients.

    Could you offer your views on the television scene in India?
    These are exciting times. Well, every time you open a website or a newspaper you see channels being launched left, right and center. Every one is launching channels. You’ve reported that Sun has started a Kids channel.

    So how long do you think these can be sustained?
    I’ve been working with media for a long time now. Even in the mid nineties, people were saying that so many channels are being launched and they won’t be able to sustain, but no high profile channel has really gone down. They are still able to financially keep going. Obviously there is a lot of money following the channels. You know especially when distribution money is not very substantial. Around the world, channels run on distribution money, the subscription route. If that is not substantial, then it’s very difficult.

    Finally where do you see DT&L over the next three years?
    We launched about two and a half years ago to fit into the upscale Indian. We were hoping to create a new category of advertisers. We’ve had success so far in shifting and attracting the TV advertisers. One thing that hasn’t happened yet is that a lot of print only advertisers haven’t yet moved onto TV. That’s one thing that we expect to do a lot on.

    As the economy booms, as more tourists start travelling, we are very well paced and we really see this channel as an advertising category and a wish category exploding over the next few years. I am very proud of what we have done so far. We are ahead of our advertising and revenue targets, but we expect that the next two or three years will really be boom time for us. The operations here are profitable, but we never disclose country specific breakup details.
  • Catholic forum forces Discovery to cancel plans to air documentary on ‘Tomb Of Jesus’ in India

    Catholic forum forces Discovery to cancel plans to air documentary on ‘Tomb Of Jesus’ in India

    MUMBAI: Looks like Catholics in India are more than a little touchy when it comes to Jesus on film and television. Earlier this year, they had opposed the movie The Da Vinci Code. The film was eventually released with a note before and after the film that it was a work of fiction.

    Now the Mumbai-based Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) has forced Discovery to cancel plans to air the documentary The Lost Tomb Of Jesus. As has already been reported by Indiantelevision.com, the programme claims to show that scientific analysis of limestone ossuaries (bone boxes) and physical evidence found in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Talpiot, Jerusalem, provide credible new information that the tomb once may have held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

    James Cameron served as executive producer on the show. It has been directed by Simcha Jacobovici. The documentary, which will have its global television premier tomorrow (4 March), claims to present the latest evidence from experts in Aramaic script, ancient DNA analysis, forensics, archaeology and statistics

    In India, the CSF had written to Discovery in New Delhi requesting it to refrain from broadcasting the feature. CSF argued that the show trivialises the credibility of the Bible and the Christian faith.

    CSF secretary Joseph Dias was quoted in reports as stating that the show hurt religious sentiments in a pluralistic society and was an attempt to commercialise religion for selfish profit and commercial gains or cheap publicity.

    With references to Jesus as a human being with a family; mentions of Judah as the secret offspring of Jesus through Mary Magdalene; a portrayal of Mathew, one of the writers of the Gospels, as a maternal relative of Jesus and a mention of the burial of Jesus’ siblings in the same tomb, the CSF says the documentary attacks the basic tenets of Christianity.

    While cancelling plans to telecast it in India, Discovery “expressed regret that the channel had inadvertently hurt religious sentiments of the Christian community”. the CSF had threatened an agitation on the day of telecast and legal action if the channel went ahead with the telecast.

    The CSF even sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers, including information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, demanding that the telecast be scrapped.

    CSF is also looking to prevent the release of the book and DVD in the country.

  • Discovery takes an in-depth look at the video gaming industry

    Discovery takes an in-depth look at the video gaming industry

    MUMBAI: The video game revolution, underway for decades, has progressed from simple amusements created in the 1950s to an all-pervasive force in today’s popular culture that rivals films and television. What began as a sub-culture pastime has evolved and transcended genres to become a e form of expression impacting everything from modern warfare to interpersonal relationships. Discovery will give viewers an insight at this successful multi-billion dollar behemoth in the show I, Videogame.

    The show will air eevry Thursday at 10 pm from 1 March 2007.

    The show will explore the past, present and future of video games and video gamers. Featuring interviews with giants in the gaming industry of yesterday and today, this five-part series examines the evolution of the videogame and its cultural impact on the world of entertainment today.

    From the early days of Pong to today’s ever-popular Halo 2 and from Atari 2600 to Nintendo and PlayStation, the show narrates the story of the people, their ideologies, the technology behind video games and how it exploded into a cultural phenomenon.

    The first episode shows how the concept of the video game came into being. In the 1950s, the Cold War quickly evolved between the world super powers of the United States and the Soviet Union. Mutually assured destruction enforced an uneasy stalemate, yet also drove computer technology to create missile simulations in order to predict the results of a nuclear war.

    This same computer technology was used to develop the first computer game in 1958 – Tennis for Two. The space race and Vietnam coincided with Steve Russell’s game Space War and the emergence of the first true giants in the video game business – Nolan Bushnell and Atari. Space Invaders and Pac-Man soon followed, and the Golden Age of videogames was born. Video games emerged as a form of entertainment where the player was in control, as opposed to the more passive diversion of watching television.

    The second episode looks at the scene in the late 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Instead of controlling things like spaceships and tennis rackets, video game technology let players command recognisable characters with real faces and back stories. Game developers were liberated to create more complex videogames with heroic journeys – and Japanese creators like Shigeru Miyamoto rose to prominence with star characters Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda.

    But in the 1990s, Generation X emerged and the games of their childhood couldn’t satisfy the new teen angst that now permeated pop culture. With Sega’s Genesis and Sony’s PlayStation, gamers dismissed cute cartoon characters in favour of grittier heroes like Sonic the Hedgehog and anti-heroes in games like Grand Theft Auto III. This episode features interviews with Trip Hawkins (Silicon Valley entrepreneur and co-founder of Electronic Arts), Al Lowe (creator of Leisure Suit Larry), Tim Schafer (creator of Full Throttle) and other figures in the gaming industry.

  • TDSAT upholds Rs 5 tariff by Trai, imposes costs on ESPN Star and Set Discovery

    TDSAT upholds Rs 5 tariff by Trai, imposes costs on ESPN Star and Set Discovery

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today upheld the tariff of Rs 5 per channel fixed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) against which three broadcasters had appealed. It also imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 for each of the broadcasters in favour of the sector regulator.

    In its pronouncement on the appeal filed by Set Discovery, ESPN Star Sports (Singapore) and ESPN Software India, TDSAT held that the case was devoid of merit, and thus the appellants are liable to pay costs, totaling Rs 150,000, to Trai, which had proved its case.

    In a related development, some of the respondents in the case that includes Trai, Indus Ind Media and Communications Limited, and Hathway Cable & Datacom Private Limited, have filed a Caveat in the Supreme Court, since the broadcasters are most likely to appeal against the TDSAT order in the apex court.

    While giving its ruling, TDSAT said that the broadcasters had themselves said that 70 to 80 per cent of their revenues come from advertisements, and the bench noted that “at various fora”, it has been argued by the broadcasters that they also generate revenue through sub-licensing and through fees paid by consumers in sending SMSs to the channels.

    It held that the same broadcasters had said that due to underdeclaration by LCOs and MSOs, they get only 20 per cent of the subscription revenue actually generated.

    The tribunal noted that under the Cas regime, wherever Cas has been implemented, there is no longer a question of underdeclaration, and therefore, data on subscription revenue is 100 per cent.

    In this situation, whereas the broadcasters were – as they themselves said – earning only 20 per cent from subscription, the Trai order on Interconnection gave them 45 per cent, which is a sea change.

    Hence, going by the arguments of the broadcasters themselves, the case is devoid of merit and liable for dismissal, with a cost of Rs 50,000 per appellant.

    The tribunal, comprising the full bench of chairperson Arun Kumar, and members DP Sehgal and Vinod Vaish, made the following observations:

    “We have carefully considered the procedure undertaken by Trai for conducting the exercise. We have also considered the justification for the regulation. We find that the approach of Trai in regulating the CAS regime at its introductory stage in the notified areas is fully justified.

    “We find nothing wrong in the process undertaken by the Authority. In this connection we note that the Trai was conscious of its difficulties and the problems which it had to face while conducting the exercise.

    “It was a virgin field and the Chennai model could not serve as a good guide. The exercise was complex and it was made all the more difficult by the non-cooperative attitude of the broadcasters. In the given circumstances, Trai, in our view, has acted fairly by balancing the competing interests.

    “The Authority has promised to revisit the issue, including consideration of deregulation if the circumstances so warrant. The experience to be gained after introduction of CAS would enable it to reconsider everything.

    “This being a transitory phase, the appellants ought to have had patience and ought to have waited till Trai was able to revisit the issue. The hurry on their part to raise the issue before this Tribunal was not necessary.

    “We also cannot help observing that the broadcasters are either unmindful of the fact that they stand to gain in the CAS regime or they are intentionally feigning lack of knowledge of this fact.

    “To say the least, they have not been fair in placing their case before us. We find no merit in these appeals. They are liable to be dismissed. We order accordingly. Appellants will bear the costs of the Respondent, Trai which we quantify at Rs 50,000/- for each appeal. Costs are awarded only in favour of Trai,” the TDSAT order concluded.

  • Discovery renews deal for ‘Cash Cab’

    Discovery renews deal for ‘Cash Cab’

    MUMBAI: The New York-based production and development unit of Lion Television USA has received an 80-episode order from US broadcaster Discovery for the Cash Cab series..

    Hosted by comedian Ben Bailey, each half-hour episode sees suspecting commuters step inside a seemingly ordinary cab. They suddenly discover they are on national television with a chance to win cash on the way to their destination.

    As the questions get harder, they fetch in more money, but if contestants get three questions wrong, they are kicked out of the cab, before reaching their destination.

    Lion TV USA executive VP Tony Tackaberry says, “We are very proud to be receiving another significant series order from the Discovery Channel. During the last year that Cash Cab has been on the air, the series has attracted a fanatical viewership that has grown with the series.”

    The series’ executive producer Allison Corn says, “The Discovery Channel has really supported the growth of Cash Cab from an early cult hit to a full fledged franchise.”

  • SET Discovery targets Rs 4.5 billion in FY07 on back of World Cup

    SET Discovery targets Rs 4.5 billion in FY07 on back of World Cup

    MUMBAI: Riding high on the ICC cricket World Cup wave, SET Discovery expects to garner a revenue of Rs 4.5 billion in 2006-07. This would mean a growth of 40 per cent in a tight subscription market with cable operators resisting any big increase in payouts to broadcasters.

    “SET Discovery is targeting a total income of Rs 4.5 billion in 2006-07. This will include for the first time income from direct-to-home (DTH) which should be contributing eight per cent of the overall kitty,” says a source in the industry who is close to the company.

    SET Discovery signed a contract with DTH service provider Dish TV in June 2006 and subsequently with Tata Sky.
    When contacted, SET Discovery president Anuj Gandhi declined to talk on the financials of the company. “We had set an aggressive target this year and we are going to hit it,” he said.

    Despite a slide in Sony TV’s ratings, analysts say SET Discovery’s growth in the fiscal would be greatly helped by a rich lineup of cricketing properties that include ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC World Cup.

    SET Discovery’s revenue stayed flat in 2004-05 but rose 15 per cent to Rs 3.2 billion last fiscal as it added Ten Sports in its distribution bouquet. Sony signed a distribution deal with the sports channel which has key cricket properties that include the Pakistan, Sri Lanka and West Indies boards.

  • Ratings: Discovery maintains lead in infotainment

    Ratings: Discovery maintains lead in infotainment

    MUMBAI: Continuing with our review of how different genres have fared over the last six months we now cast our eye on the infotainment space.

    Tam data c&s 15+ all India shows that Discovery has a clear lead over archrival National Geographic Channel (NGC). It increased its share which was at 38 per cent from 15 September – 15 October 2006 to 42 per cent for the period 15 December 2006 – 13 January 2007. NGC’s share fell from 31 per cent in the 15 October – 15 November 2006 period to 25 per cent from 1 January to 13 January 2007.
    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on this Discovery India executive VP and MD Deepak Shourie says that a robust consumer feedback mechanism and viewer-centric approach has allowed the broadcaster to present engaging and entertaining programmes which has led to this surge in viewership.

    “These programmes were aggressively promoted through innovative marketing and public relations strategies.” He gives the examples of the show Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real which did well as far as viewership is concerned.

    Meanwhile NGC VP marketing Rajesh Sheshadri points out to big properties like the second season of Mega Structures, Nat Geo Investigates: Terrorism which has helped boost viewer involvement. The plan is to have a major property come out at least once in two months. For instance this month it focusses on martial arts with Fists Of Fury. In the past it has done shows like Megastructures to build up the Thursday primetime slot and Air Crash Investigations on Mondays.

    When asked about the plan to bridge the ratings gap he adds, “As far as the infotainment genre is concerned, Nat Geo is the only true blue factual channel today. The others (including NGC’s sibling The History Channel) have moved in the entertainment space. However, we definitely need to keep the momentum going to push the ratings forward.” Of course since both Discovery and NGC air shows related to current events at times there is an overlap. A case in point was September when they both focussed on the theme of terror.

    Creating awareness: Shourie meanwhile points out that the marketing effort has been to highlight the diverse variety of programming that Discovery offers to its viewers.

    “Within this, we promoted a range of programmes from nature to engineering to science, and even India-centric programmes offering viewers a wholesome television experience and an alternate to soaps and movies.”

    In terms of marketing and promotional activities Sheshadri says, “We always endeavour to provide 360-degree experience to our viewers through innovative promotions linked with our programming, which also provide our advertising partners an ideal opportunity to reach out to the consumer.”

    A case in point was its tie up with McDonald’s for an in-store promotion for kids, the ‘Roboraptor Contest’. McDonald’s outlets across Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bangalore and Hyderabad promoted the initiative, where kids could win toys from the animated series Dragonball Z with every happy meal.

    The Local Push: This is an area where all the channels have looked to take things to the next level. On the local front to encourage talent and build a closer connect NGC late last year announced a new initiative to recognise work in non fiction. It will present awards for excellence in non fiction film-making in India. It will take this activity forward in June as it does not want to clash with the cricket World Cup. It aired specials under the theme Emerging India last year.

    This looked at different topics from call centres in Mumbai to Delhi’s firefighters. Sheshadri says that localisation can be used as a marketing tool. For instance promos were cut with prominent people like the Police Commissioner expressing their appreciation on the terror initiative. Sheshadri adds that a lot of NGC’s viewers are those that watch news a lot. They often watch NGC as they are passionate about a certain topic that the channel has chosen to focus on.

    Last year Discovery increased the number of hours devoted to Indian shows. The Discover India block on Saturday night is now two hours instead of one hour.

    The media buyers take: OMS media director Madan Mohapatra feels that Discovery fares better on account of the wide range of shows it has. “It probably has a broader appeal among its audience which is why in terms of incremental reach offered in the media plan and affinity with its TG it fares better.” Starcom’s Rahul Panchal feels that Discovery in a lot of places will be on a better channel band. Also its awareness level is probably higher. Last year Discovery is estimated to have earned around Rs. 350 million while NGC would have made around Rs. 200 million.

    The other players: One surprise when one looks at the ratings is the fact that Animal Planet is faring a little better than The History Channel (THC). Why it is surprising is simply because THC had undergone a repositioning from an infotainment channel to an entertainment channel in May. Therefore its breadth of offerings is much wider compared to the other channel whose sole focus is on the animal kingdom.

    Animal Planet’s share is at 19 per cent compared to The History Channel which has a share of six per cent. Even Discovery Travel and Living has a slightly higher share at eight per cent for the period 1 January – 13 January 2007.

    Shourie says that Animal Planet due to the strength of the brand attracts high viewership from across age groups, genders and geographies. Last year in order to emphasise the channel’s diverse programming and attract appointment viewing, Animal Planet introduced a time-band strategy last year, segmenting the programmes under well-defined bands. To leverage this advantage and to draw higher consistency and control over viewership, the channel targetted specific and relevant viewers allowing it to build loyalty says Shourie.

    Mohaptra says that Animal Planet’s advantage is that kids love it. So dual viewership happens for the channel. “Parents often do not mind watching something they feel is good for their kids. That is why Cartoon Network has impressive numbers. THC does not have this factor going for it.”

    Panchal feels that one can approach Animal Planet in a more relaxed manner which works in its favour. With THC one has to concentrate more with their films and mini series. Also Animal Planet’s content one cannot find elsewhere.

    Shourie is also optimistic on the performance of DTL. “The emerging aspirations and attitudes in India, strongly endorsed by the fast-changing travel and consumption habits, reflected a demand for lifestyle-oriented television content in India and led to the launch of Discovery Travel and Living.”

    The channel he has been successful in redefining ‘lifestyle’ programming in India. He claims that DTL is available in 22 million homes around the country and attracts more than 120 advertisers from across product categories.

    Mohaptara feels that as far as DTL is concerned it helps that travel and tourism are two booming sectors. There is a clear interest among the upper class to travel more to exotic locations. This helps DTL leverage its brand proposition among the media fraternity although the numbers may not be that high. The perception is that the upper crust that travels abroad regularly and which is important for the lifestyle brands would be tuning into DTL to find out the hot locales and cool things to do.

    Panchal says that DTL has a small but loyal audience. So it is particularly attractive for tourism boards, airlines. DTL is estimated to have earned around Rs. 160 million last year. Due to the high quality of the audience it managed to get more than double what Animal Planet got which would be around Rs. 75 million. Growth in the infotainment sector is estimated at around eight per cent for this year.

    Meanwhile THC’s tagline is ‘Live The Story’. The new fare includes mini-series, re-enactments and also films. All have a historical connect. That is the basic criteria. The aim is to change the perception of history as being dull and boring to that where it is a vibrant topic and comes alive. As Sheshadri says, “We have focussed and build on the two franchises that we have established – Double F (Fridays at 9 pm) and Jumbo movies (Sat and Sun at 8 pm) like Hitler: Rise Of Evil.”

    The Double F meshes facts and fiction. So for instance you could see a biography of Jack The Ripper followed by a film on the serial killer with Michael Caine. In December to strengthen the weekday offerings THC launched the shows Sharpe with British actor Sean Bean, Sherlock Holmes and Kennedy at 9 pm on weekdays.

    Sheshadri says that at the same time the channel has constantly refreshed the factual content which is the bedrock of the channel. So one sees new shows coming up like Dogfights, Shootout, Engineering An Empire. These use extensive reenactments and computer graphics to enhancing the theme of history.

    On the local front THC came out with an online initiative called Save Your History. This is a community sharing site that allows Indians to share and collaborate on important historical happenings in their lives, which could be in the form of photos, precious documents and artifacts.

    For instance, a famous cricketer could put a photograph of his first bat or the first match that he played. The campaign aims at educating people on the importance of responsibility and commitment to saving one’s culture and heritage for the sake of posterity. This Sheshadri says is a good way to get a community involved with the brand.

    In terms of marketing one thing that THC did was a tie up with NGO, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural heritage (Intach). The organisation works towards promoting awareness of heritage and conservation. Both parties aim at making history more relevant.

    THC has screened shows like French Revolution, The Mughals, Rome and Crusades have been organised by Intach with its chapters, schools and colleges. In the first month, the activity reached 6000 students. This way THC hopes that children will not look at history as being dull and boring. THC is estimated to have earned around 170 million in ad revenue last year.

    Localisation is also something that DTL has gotten into. Last year it started airing locally commissioned shows on India like The Great Indian Wedding and Indian Rendezvous. The aim was to boost interest in the channel. The challenge Shourie says is to still maintain its international positioning.