ITV

Tag: India

  • Star India’s sports push

    Star India’s sports push

    KOLKATA: In a bid to expand its footprint beyond film, Star India’s Bengali movie channel, Jalsha, has acquired exclusive broadcast rights of two football events: the Calcutta Football League (CFL) and IFA Shield Tournament.

    The CFL, which enjoys the distinction of being the oldest football league in Asia, will be broadcast live on Jalsha Movies starting 8 September, 4:00 pm onward. The upcoming season of the prestigious IFA tourney too will be aired with the aim of ushering a new era in Bengal’s much loved sport.

    When contacted, business head Jalsha Movies Kevin Vaz confirmed the news and added, “The acquisition of broadcast rights of CFL and IFA Shield is a step towards ensuring an even more engaging relationship with our viewers. We are excited to partner with IFA in making CFL a bigger extravaganza and we will bring in expertise from our sports channels to create a state-of-the-art product.”

    While on the subject of sports, highly placed industry sources told this correspondent that Star India plans to launch a Bengali sports channel.

    “Star India is looking forward to working with sports authorities and boards, and making local Bengali sports like swimming, hockey and football popular,” a source revealed.

    Apparently, Star India is looking to expand beyond cricket into sports such as hockey and kabaddi, and producing sports programming in regional languages is part of the plan. “The channels’ focus on sporting activities clearly indicates that Star India is betting on this segment for growth,” pointed out the source.

    A sports analyst observed, “Star India aims to make sports the new religion, looking at the fact that there are 650 million cricket-crazed consumers in India. Knowing this, the entertainment channel has earmarked a huge investment in sports.”
    The shows will be marketed through a multi-media campaign with effective use of television, print, out of home and digital. The marketing campaign is focused on innovations as it will help in creating the required noise in the markets and also establish the shows.

  • YouTube launches Comedy Week in India

    YouTube launches Comedy Week in India

    NEW DELHI: YouTube in close collaboration with leading Indian content producers and production houses has announced the launch of Comedy Week in India. Running from 5 September until 12 September, YouTube will play home to the best of Indian comedy with over 400 hours of comedy content curated all on YouTube India’s channel at www.youtube.com/comedyweek.

    The week will feature a wide range of content including best comedy scenes from Bollywood, all-time favourite TV comedy shows Comedy nights with Kapil,Great Indian laughter challenge, MTV Bakra, Kahani Comedy Circus ki, best of Indian mimicry and Indian regional language comedy content in Telegu, Tamil, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Gujarati and Kannada.

    As part of Comedy week launch in India, YouTube, in partnership with production houses, has also launched over 35 new YouTube exclusive shows featuring stand-up comedy acts from the biggest names in comedy in India. O4 Digital Media will launch YouTube channels featuring content from leading comedy stars in India such as Cyrus Broacha, Vir Das, Bharati, Krushna, VIP, Saurabh Pant and Sugandha Raja Sagoo and many more.

    Comedy Week also would not be complete without getting some of the funniest YouTube partners in India on board. Over the next seven days, you can watch brand new content produced by popular YouTube comedy creators including Jay Hind TV, TheViralFever and NH7.

    Speaking at the launch of Comedy Week, YouTube APAC director content partnerships Gautam Anand said, “Here in India, comedy shows contribute to over 30 per cent of total watch hours within the TV shows category, and in the past year, comedy show viewership has shown one of fastest growth in viewership. Bringing Comedy Week to India allows us to give India’s audiences more of the content they love and discover new content that they can only enjoy on YouTube. We have also worked hard with the biggest names in the comedy in India and are excited to bring more leading Indian comedy content onto one destination on YouTube.”

    Google India director marketing Sandeep Menon also launched YouTube’s first television commercial in India for comedy week.

    Speaking at the launch, Sandeep said, “YouTube globally is on fire: There are over one billion people coming onto YouTube every month and over six billion hours of video watched every month. We’ve seen tremendous growth and momentum for YouTube here in India and today we are launching Comedy Week to help reach out to the first time Internet users in India and give them a reason to get onto the Internet for their daily dose of entertainment.”

    Comedy Week will also feature content from premium broadcasters and film production houses like Rajshri, Eros, T-series, Shemaroo, Disney, Star, Colors, SabTV, Sri Adhikari Brothers, Telguone, MTV, Yash Raj films who will showcase content from this existing catalogues and specially produced content for comedy week.

    Speaking about the launch of 25 new shows on YouTube for Comedy Week, O4 Digital Media founder and executive chairman Sanjiv Sharma said, “We have had a long standing relationship with comedy and TV, now with YouTube becoming the go to destination for all video content and the creative freedom that it offers, we want to establish a strong presence online with our original content. Our aim is to become the #1 comedy network on YouTube. Starting with Comedy Week, we are launching 10 brand new channels featuring original programming covering all genres of comedy from exclusive shows of leading stand-up comedy stars, mimicry, slapstick comedy, sketch and character comedy.”

  • Indian filmmaker on international jury of CICFF

    Indian filmmaker on international jury of CICFF

    Vinod Ganatra, an independent award winning film maker from Mumbai, is a member of the international jury of the 12th China International Children’s Film Festival to be held from 9-15 September in Siping City, Jilin Province.

     

    The China International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF) is an international biennial film festival held at different parts of China. The festival provides Chinese children an opportunity to learn about the world and helps global children’s film professionals know about China. The Festival aims to enhance the international communication and cooperation for children’s films, and promote the worldwide development of children’s films.

     

    Vinod Ganatra, a recipient of The Liv Ullmann Peace Prize, Chicago, has been active in the Film and Television Production from 1982. He has edited and directed about 400 Documentaries & News Reels. He has Produced 25 TV Programmes for Children & Youth. He has also made three Films for Children’s Film Society, India, and these films have won 23 International Awards.

    He is also a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award conferred by The Association of Film And Video Editors. He has several National & International Awards to his credit. Widely travelled, he has also served as Jury at several National and International Film Festivals world over for last two decades.

     

    His debut feature film Heda Hoda (Blind Camel) travelled to about 58 International Film Festivals world over and won many Awards. His next film Lukka Chhuppi (Hide-n-Seek) was listed in the LIMCA Book of World Records as ‘the First Children’s Feature Film fully shot at the highest altitude’ at Ladakh in the Himalayas. It was also screened at about 21 International Film Festivals.

     

    Harun-Arun, his next film in Gujarati, based on the Indo-Pak border was world premiered at the 26th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and conferred with the prestigious ‘Liv Ullmann Peace Prize’. He also won the ‘Best Juvenile Audience Award at Dhaka International Film Festival in January 2010. This was followed by yet another Goal of Transmedia Critics Jury Award in March 2010. In June he received the ‘Light of Asia Award at Sri Lanka.

  • Pan Nalin’s Kumbh Mela film finds buyers in Europe

    Pan Nalin’s Kumbh Mela film finds buyers in Europe

    Eminent Indian-origin filmmaker Pan Nalin’s documentary Faith Connections has been sold to France and Switzerland ahead of its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

     

    SDD (Sophie Dulac Distribution) has acquired French rights to the India-French co-production, filmed at India’s Kumbh Mela, while the Swiss rights went to Filmcoopi. Advanced negotiations are also underway for sales to Canada, the US, Germany and India.

     

    The film is being sold by Raphael Berdugo’s Cite Films, which is also co-produced with Nalin and Gaurav Dhingra’s Jungle Book Entertainment. Berdugo, Dhingra, Nalin and Virginie Lacombe are credited as producers.

     

    Faith Connections follows the stories of holy men, policemen, pilgrims and a runaway child at India’s biggest religious festival, which is held once every 12 years and attracts around 100 million Hindu pilgrims.

     

    Nalin has previously directed feature documentary Ayurveda: Art of Being and narrative features Samsara and The Valley of Flowers.

     

    “We decided to co-produce and take on the sales of this film because we trust the talent of director Pan Nalin to tell us deeply moving human stories which can appeal to the world,” said Berdugo.

     

    “My experience of international sales when I was in charge of Roissy Films was that the common language of the world is emotion and people are eager to be moved while discovering other cultures.”

     

    “Ayurveda: Art of Being and Samsara were huge successes in Switzerland – both were based on the vast interest of our audience in spirituality and a quest of wellbeing of humanity. Pan Nalin’s new film follows these themes and we are sure that it will be successful too,” said Filmcoopi’s Felix Hachler.

     

    “A garland of magnificent images captured by Pan Nalin; truly exceptional characters with simple but astonishing stories; and an incredible happening which only occurs once in twelve years encouraged us to bring this extraordinary documentary to the French public,” said Dulac.

  • India requests IOC to retain wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games

    India requests IOC to retain wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games

    NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has requested full membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take up the matter of wrestling at the 125th session of IOC at Buenos Aires (Argentina) and take a decision to retain Wrestling in the category of core sports in Olympic Games.

    In a letter written to all the IOC members, Sports Secretary P K Deb has said that Wrestling, which combines Freestyle (Men and Women) and Greco-Roman events, goes back to the inaugural modern Olympics held in Athens in 1886 and has been a core sport from the first Olympics onwards. It was a part of the ancient Olympics too. The exclusion of the discipline from the core sports of Olympics is against tradition which is so much a part of Olympics.

    The letter said, in modern times, wrestling has immense popularity and fan following world-wide. Its popularity can be gauged from the fact that 71 countries participated in wrestling events in the London Olympic 2012, to full houses. The letter said the decision of the executive board of IOC not to include Wrestling in the core sports for 2020 Olympics will severely affect the sustenance of the game in future.

    The letter said, India believes that the decision to exclude the sport of wrestling from the 25 core sports needs to be reconsidered particularly in view of the fact that wrestling has got not only universal appeal, but is also very affordable.

    The letter has been written in the context of the decision of the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at its meeting held on 12 February 2013 recommending that wrestling governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling (FILA), be not included in the list of core sports for the 2020 Olympics. The Executive Board of IOC at its meeting held at St. Petersburg (Russia) on 20 May 2013 recommended that baseball / softball, squash and wrestling be proposed to the 125th session of IOC for possible inclusion as an additional sport in the Olympic Programme for 2020 Olympic Games. The full IOC membership will meet for the 125th session in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 7th to 10th September 2013 and will vote on which of the three sports to add to the programme of the Games for 2020 Olympics in addition to the 25 core sports.

  • Discovery kids presents famous tales of adventure in 1001 nights

    Discovery kids presents famous tales of adventure in 1001 nights

    NEW DELHI: In its mission to offer distinct and enriching content for children, Discovery Kids presents 1001 NIGHTS – an animated series that brings the most famous and charming tales of 1001 Arabian Nights to the screen. Bringing imagination to life is the famed storyteller Shahrzad, who narrates tales of genies, magic and fantasy.

    Filled with exciting stories and unforgettable characters, 1001 NIGHTS will air every day at 5 pm, starting September 15. The episodes will repeat everyday at 8 pm on Discovery Kids.

    Rahul Johri, Senior Vice President and General Manager – South Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, said, “Discovery Kids offers a perfect blend of entertainment and learning with its compelling content. 1001 NIGHTS is among the most famed collection of folk tales which will interest and entertain kids.”

    While kids have heard of Sinbad, Aladdin, and Ali Baba, there are still 998 more stories to explore! 1001 NIGHTS brings out the best of these captivating tales through laughter, excitement and non-stop fast paced action that keep viewers coming back for more.

    The series traces stories back to the 9th century from across Asia covering India, Persia, China and Baghdad. The magical series offers children an enjoyable way to satisfy their natural curiosity as each story unveils messages on harmonious living, generosity and patience.

    Episodes include The Tale of the Mountain and the Valley, The Broken Jewel, The Genie, The Fish, The Wolf and the Witch, Abu Kassim’s Smelly Shoes and The Riddle of the Ruined Tomb.

    Discovery Kids has established a strong foothold which is evident from its availability across India on both analogue and DTH platforms including Tata Sky, Dish TV, Reliance DTH, Airtel Digital and Videocon D2H.

  • Radiation norms non-compliant mobiles can no longer be sold in India

    NEW DELHI: The government, which had introduced stringent mobile radiation norms from 1 September last year, has now said in new norms that non-complaint phone makers will not be permitted to operate in India.

     

    Companies manufacturing or importing mobile phones for sale in India will have to ensure that the handsets are compliant with new norms. In the EMF (Electromagnetic Frequency) Radiation Standards issued last year, mobiles to be manufactured from 1 September 2012 were to have one tenth of the radiation levels compared to the then mobiles.

    The government had also said at that time that the mobile handsets with existing designs which were compliant with 2.0 W/kg averaged over 10 gram of human tissue would continue to co-exist up to 31 August 2013. Thereafter, only the mobile handsets with revised SAR value of 1.6 W/kg would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India.

     

    It is expected that this may also help in curbing illegal imports and help Indian manufacturers such as Micromax, Karbonn, Lava and Spice to avoid pricing pressure in the market since they will not compete with lesser known rivals.

     

    Under the new rule put in place by the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, the exposure of radiation emitted from a mobile phone over a gram of human tissue should not be more than 1.6 watt if a consumer uses it for six minutes.

     

    All companies will have to display radiation emitted from mobile phones on the handset in terms of SAR (specific absorption rate) unit. According to a Department of Telecom official, no fresh stock of non-compliant mobile phones will be allowed to be sold from 1 September.

     

    Bureau of India Standards is also working on certain norms which are expected to provide clause for seizure of non-compliant handsets, the official said. These guidelines made India one of the select few countries in the world to have stringent, established in the interest of public health, for mobile towers and mobile handsets. Indian standards are now 10 times more stringent than more than 90 per cent countries in the world.

     

    Furthermore, the Manufacturer‘s mobile handset booklet will contain safety precautions. All cell phone handsets sold in the market in India will comply with relevant standards and shall be available in hands free mode.

     

    A scientific study in India-specific context is being undertaken jointly by the Department of Telecom and Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Indian Council for Medical Research, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Science & Technology Ministry to derive norms based on credible scientific evidence taking into account diversity of Indian social context.

     

    While guidelines for consumers on mobile handset usage have been issued and placed on the DoT Web site (http://www.gov.dot.in), they include keeping distance – Holding the cell phone away from the body to the extent possible; using a headset (wired or Bluetooth) to keep the handset away from and not pressing against the head, and limiting the length of mobile calls and using text.

     

    Radio Frequency (RF) energy is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source – being very close increases energy absorption much more. Other precautions include putting the cell phone on speaker mode and not carry a mobile phone that is close to the chest or pants pocket. When a mobile phone is switched-on, it automatically transmits at high power every one or two minutes to check (poll) the network.

  • NNG and ANS launch new-generation personal navigation device in india

    NNG and ANS launch new-generation personal navigation device in india

    NNG and Ayana Navigation Solutions (ANS) have introduced a new Personal Navigation Device (PND) especially designed for Indian roads. The high-quality and powerful ANS Navigator

     

    A-501 device, a 5-inch model, runs on the renowned iGO primo software by NNG, a global leader in the GPS navigation industry. The new PND is pre-loaded with the latest India maps and a total of over 7 million Points of Interest (POIs). To guarantee continued reliable guidance, the unit comes with a 1-year map update guarantee from NNG’s update portal Naviextras.com

     

    Fitted with the Integrated Quick Search (IQS) feature, iGO primo enables every driver to begin trips with no delay. IQS offers a search mechanism that allows the driver to program his destination in just a few seconds: by entering no more than the first 3 letters of his destination, the software starts searching simultaneously across all available databases such as POIs, Favorites, Point Addressing and more.

    While driving, the Intuitive Navigation feature in iGO primo merges all available resources such as map and POI data, registered driving speed, and the ability of fast recalculation in a single superior navigation experience.  It interprets the user’s behavior and offers fast solutions: in response to reduced driving speed, the software calculates detours, assuming that the driver has run into sudden traffic. When leaving the highway unexpectedly, the system doesn’t just blindly guide the driver back to his original route, but, offers petrol stations or restaurants as an alternative.

     

    Other key features of the ANS Navigator A-501 include:

     

        Point Addressing – for more exact destination-finding, addresses are stored as individual points on the map
        Natural Guidance – voice guidance in the common way humans instruct each other, making reference to shops, monuments, bridges and more
        Enhanced Junction View – realistic and high-quality images of junctions that simplify turning maneuvers
        Live Traffic – online traffic messages that warn the driver of congested road sections
        Historical Speed – considering past traffic data when calculating the best route based on the day of the week and the time of day

     

    Commenting on the scope of navigation devices in India, Peter Bolesza, Vice President of EEU and Emerging Markets at NNG, said “India has a diverse demography and with increased urbanization, navigation solutions have become the need of the hour. We are convinced that iGO primo – easy and quick to use, and optimized for the Indian road system – makes driving an enjoyable and stress-free activity.”

     

    Amit Sharma, Director at ANS India, said “Our aim has always been to offer innovative navigation solutions that enhance the driving experience. We’re positive that the new ANS Navigator device with iGO primo brings real value to every car.”

     

    The new PND will be available in car dealerships, retail channels & aftermarket accessory stores from October, 2013.

  • Madras Café to go the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag way

    Madras Cafe is sighting a tax free status for itself, after Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

     

    Sources reveal that the movie opened a very important chapter in the history of India. While it was promoted as a film that was based in Sri Lanka, but at the end it was all about Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.

     

    The source further goes on to clarify that it is against violence and terrorism of any kind. Since it involves more than just subtle messaging around, the film deserves to go tax free.

     

    The lead actor of the film John Abraham and director Shoojit Sircar, who have collaborated on the film wanted to see how the film will be received, before creating a case for considering tax exemption.

     

    A fellow filmmaker who does not wish to be named wishes that the film should be seen by maximum number of people and if John is contemplating a tax free status, he is very much right in his thought.

     

    Last heard, a case study was being readied for submission to various authorities in different states. To begin with, Maharashtra and Delhi are under consideration and other cities are expected to follow soon.

  • Travel service suppliers and traveleres benefiting at www.notseenworld.com

    Travel service suppliers and traveleres benefiting at www.notseenworld.com

    MUMBAI:Travel social network www.notseenworld.com is benefiting registered Travel Service Suppliers by connecting with Individual Travellers and Travel Suppliers from across the world!
    Travel Social networking site www.notseenworld.com in its first month of going live has attracted Travel Service Suppliers from across the globe. The site gives a free platform that works as an interface between Travel Service Suppliers and Individual Travellers. Anyone can scan the offers and attractions with pricing and booking options of every Travel Service Supplier to decide their travel plans with best travel deals.

     

    The site works as a B2B and B2C platform, where Travel service suppliers can be friends with each other, like each other and sell packages as a unit. Travel service Suppliers from USA, Algeria, Mexico, Egypt, India, Madagascar, Kenya, Namibia, Thailand, Ecuador, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Ireland, Portugal, Jordan, Turkey, Bahrain, Canada, Kuwait, South Africa and many other countries have so far registered across more than 20 categories, got their own micro website, and been promoting their travel services. The categories are Airlines, Theme Parks/Safaris/Attractions, Bed & Breakfast Houses, Bus/Taxi/Limousine Operators, Camp/Outdoor Facility Operators, Currency Exchange, Vehicle Rental Companies/Airport Specialty, Travel Technology Provider, Convention & Visitors Bureaus, Cruise Lines, Ferries, Hotels/Resorts/Casinos, National Tourism Offices, Passenger Rails, Restaurants/Pubs, Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Travel Media, Travel Insurance, Travel Training Institutes, Supplier/Rental of Travel goods and services and Others.

     

    And the best part is, IT IS FREE to register at www.notseenworld.com!
    www.notseenworld.co has also got many Individual Travelers registered with it. These Individual travellers from many countries have got their own profile page and been sharing their travel stories, while scanning and interacting with various listed service suppliers to decide their holidays.

     

    So, how does an Individual traveller benefit here?
    www.notseenworld.com, being a social networking site, has the usual social networking tools. But the site facilitates you with much more than any quality social networking site’s offerings. Beyond the usual Wall, Pictures, Videos, Maps, Contacts, Friends, Groups and Events,
    Here you get ‘self customised’ features to access service providors’ promotions and services along with seasonal packages and facilities that no other social networking site provides you with. It also gives you an opportunity to directly connect and interact with the travel service providers for quality services from across the globe.

     

    And these features can be accessed as and when you want. You can directly seek the features and facilities from any travel service provider who is registered with Notseen World, through innovative search, private chat and messages features. And you choose and utilises their services, you will have an option of to write your sharable quality reviews.

    www.notseenworld.com is founded by Shreedatt Dash and Soumitra Dey, and they feel over time, the site is going to be a bible for ‘self planning tourists’.

     

    If you are a Travel Service Supplier, or just an individual Travel enthusiast, REGISTER NOW FREE, to either BUY or SELL Holiday Plans.