ITV

Tag: kicks off

  • ESPN School Quiz kicks off on 10 May

    MUMBAI: The much-awaited ESPN School Quiz 2005 goes on air from Tuesday, 10 May. Hosted by commentator and presenter, quizmaster – Harsha Bhogle, the competition will have 62 on-air episodes starting with a curtain raiser on the launch day.
     

    The ‘Best of 3’ national finals of this year’s ESPN School Quiz will be aired on 1 August – 3 August, 2005. The inaugural episode of the quiz will be showcased at 5:00 pm, 10 May.

    Launched in 2000, ESPN School Quiz has shown student participation grow by almost 5 times in the last 4 years, claims the channel in an official release.
     
     

    The on-ground events for ESPN School Quiz 2005 were organized in 10 cities – Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore Guwahati, Chandigarh and Delhi. More than 3,500 teams took the written test held in 40 cities all over the country. Only 108 teams from the initial 3500 have been selected for the on-air version. Schools from as far away as Imphal, Surat, Jammu and Thiruvananthapuram participated in the quiz making a truly national event, adds the release.

    According to the Quizmaster Harsha Bhogle, “It is an overwhelming experience to interact with young students from such diverse geographies. I think the attitudinal difference between students of the metros vis-?-vis small cities has progressively reduced. This years’ school quiz reflects the changing paradigms of Indian society, the youth of today is much more confident as compared to my time.

    The ESPN School Quiz 2005 is being sponsored by Alpenliebe lollipop in association with Parle G.

  • South Korea kicks off satellite-based mobile TV service

    MUMBAI: For the first time in the world, satellite-based mobile TV service has begun commercial operation in South Korea, according to the operator TU Media Corp.

    The Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) service is expected to bring real-time digital television programs on handheld devices such as mobile phones. To access the new service, customers are required to buy handsets equipped with the antenna and chips needed to receive the satellite signals.
     

    Terrestrial broadcasters in South Korea are also planning to launch similar TV services for mobile phone users through land-based stations from June. TU Media has plans to expand the total number of channels to more than 40 when it can relay terrestrial TV programs. Presently, the operator plans to provide seven video and 20 audio channels.

    TU Media Corp is a unit of SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile phone operator. South Korea is Asia’s third largest wireless market.
     
     

    A survey conducted by the London-based research group Informa, meanwhile offers some good news for the service providers. The survey findings say, about 125 million consumers will be watching television on their mobile phone in five years from now. Handset makers will sell 130,000 TV phones this year, rising to 83.5 million by 2010.

  • Alpha Marathi kicks off brand building exercise with below-the-line activities

    MUMBAI: Zee Network’s Marathi language channel Alpha Marathi is planning a slew of brand building initiatives based on below-the-line (BTL) activities. This will include daily online contests, promo campaigns on local cable networks and outdoor campaigns.
     
     
    Alpha Marathi, which had earlier advertised its programmes on the local cable networks in Mumbai, is going one step ahead and launching promotional campaigns of its shows on local cable networks across Maharashtra. The initiative is targeted at both the urban and the rural segments. Another ploy the channel is planning is to set up television sets which would beam only Alpha Marathi channel in Mumbai’s 12 Apna Bazar super market outlets.
    “This year, the marketing strategy is to groom Alpha Marathi as a brand. The brand building exercises will be conducted all major cities across Maharashtra with a focus on consumers. For the promotions, we want to explore the possibilities of below-the-line activities to its full extent,” offers Alpha Marathi senior manager – marketing – Pranita S. Loke.

     
     
    The online daily contests were first launched on primetime shows Avantika (Monday-Friday 8:30 pm) and Vaadalvat (Monday-Friday 9 pm). Inspired by the success of the two contests, the channel is now launching two more show-based contests, on Bandhan (Mon – Fri 8 pm) and Adhuri Ek Kahani (Mon- Fri 10 pm).
    Episode-based questions were asked to the viewer on the channel ahead of the show and viewers were given two options to send in their answers – either by a calling a BSNL number or by sending SMS to 7575. The correct answer was revealed in that day’s episode and the winners’ names were announced in the primetime news bulletin. The Avantika, Vaadalvat contests ended last week.

     
     
    The channel claims to have received 347000 calls and 74599 during the three-week long activity (23133 calls per day on an average). According to the channel, calls have been received from all corners of Maharashtra and even outside with places like Delhi, U.P., Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. The prizes ranged from Maruti Alto (mega prize, awarded to the person who sends in the maximum number of correct answers in a week) to two wheeler bikes to washing machines and pearl jewellery.
    Alpha Marathi senior vice president Nitin Vaidya informs that the channel could generate a huge database through the contests. “We generated a vast database of the contact details of our viewers in just three weeks. This will be useful for our future interaction purposes”, he offers.

    The coming months will see the regional channel launching more marketing initiatives. According to Loke, the channel will be making an extra effort on the brand building part in 2005.

    “This year, our efforts will be to position Alpha Marathi as a strong brand. The contests and other activities are meant to get closer to our viewer and keep them glued to the channel,” sums up Loke.

  • LTTE kicks off TV channel with news broadcast

    MUMBAI: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has launched its television channel National Television of Thamil Eelam (NTT). To start with, the channel is beaming news from an undisclosed location in northeast Sri Lanka.
     
    The NTT logo

    In the initial phase, the channel will beam 15-minutes news to Europe and thereafter the time will be increased to half an hour, a pro-LTTE website Tamilnet reports quoting NTT officials.

    According to the report, the Paris based Tamil Television Network (TTN) will relay the broadcast to their audiences in Europe at 18.00 GMT. NTT programs cannot be viewed in Asia now. The TV channel will expand its reach to other parts of the world in due course, the official has been quoted as saying.
     
     
     

    The NTT logo shows the flower, “Karthigaipoo” or Gloriosa Lily (Botanical name – Liliaceae Glory lily or Gloriosa superba), declared as national flower of Eelam Tamils in 2003.

  • ‘Honeymoon Travels’ kicks off promotional push

    MUMBAI: The forthcoming Bollywood film ‘Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.’ is looking to ride the vehicle that is featured in the movie, the Tata Starbus, across multiple mediums as part of its promotional agenda.

    A web contests will be run on MSN India, IndiaFM
    and Bharat Matrimony giving two lucky couples an opportunity to win a honeymoon package at Taj Exotica, Goa.
    While an SMS contest will give Tata Indicom customers in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai and Kolkata a chance to play to win tickets for two for the film.

    As part of an on-ground initiave, The Honeymoon Travels Starbus will travel all across Mumbai city this week, starting from Andheri East to Churchgate Station, Azad Maidan, St. Xavier College, Jai Hind College, Wilson College, Chowpatty Beach, Bandstand, Carter Road and Juhu Beach. Tata Motors along with Excel Entertainment, will carry out a number of promotional activities in other key cities as well, informs an official release.

    The trailer for Honeymoon Travels- Starbus is also being streamed on You Tube. While Vox Populi will provide Bollywood fans to voice their opinions about the bus and the movie clips/music etc.
    Excel Entertainment’s multi-starrer directed by Reema Kagti is the story about six newly married couples on a package honeymoon tour from Mumbai to Goa on a bus. The star cast includes Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, KK, Raima Sen, Ranbir Shorey, Diya Mirza, Karana Khanna, Amisha Patel, Abhay Deol, Minisha Lamba, Sandhya Mridul and Vikram Chatwal.

  • NBC kicks off new variant of ‘Law And Order’

    MUMBAI: A few days ago US broadcaster NBC kicked off the fourth variant of the courtroom drama series Law & Order called Trial By Jury. In India Law And Order airs on Star World.
     

    The late legendary screen and stage actor Jerry Orbach will make his final appearance in the first two episodes, along with Emmy and Tony winner Bebe Neuwirth, Amy Carlson, Third Watch, Kirk Acevedo who starred in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers and Fred Thompson.

    Law & Order: Trial By Jury takes viewers through the legal process from arraignment to trial, told not only from the point-of-view of the prosecutors and police but also from the perspective of defendants, defense attorneys, judges and jurors. From this omniscient perspective, viewers will be privy to ex-parte communications, intimate conversations between defendants and their attorneys, and a behind-the-scenes look at witness preparation and jury selection.
     
     
     

    The show’s executive producer Dick Wolf says, “The thing that makes this show totally different from the other three shows is that it is the first one that has a differing point of view. The other brands Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent are all told from the vantage of law enforcement or the prosecutors. This show has a 360-degree point of view where you’re going to see both defendants and defense attorneys and judges and jurors.”

    Neuwirth portrays New York Assistant D.A. Tracey Kibre. She said, “What I’ve noticed about this show and which I find very interesting as an audience member, is to follow how the defense forms its case. You see a little bit more of how the whole case comes together from every single different perspective.”

    In the first episode Abominable Showman Neuwirth tackled the case of a murdered aspiring Broadway actress. Kibre, joined by her unflappable deputy A.D.A. Kelly Gaffney (Carlson), work with Detectives Briscoe (Orbach) and Salazar (Acevedo) to pursue physical evidence, as they have no blood or body. The accused, an acclaimed but arrogant theater producer Kurt Lascher feels confident that his attorney Maggie Dettweiler played by Annabella Sciorra Jungle Fever will prevail.

  • Radio Mirchi kicks off RJ hunt

    MUMBAI: Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM conducted the audition of its third radio jockey hunt, which was inaugurated by bollywood actress Isha Koppikar at Cross Roads, Haji Ali.

    The auditions will be held from 17 January uptill 23 January and the candidates interested can walk in anytime between 11 am to 8 pm informs a media release.

    The RJ hunt was presented by Directors Special Black Sizzling Hits Cassettes & CD’s in association with Yahoo India, Xtra Premium from Indian Oil and Strepsils.
     
    Radio Mirchi VP & station director Sameer Soni& Bollywood actress Isha Koppikar

    The other venues for the audition include High Street Phoenix (Lower Parel), R Mall (Mulund), Fun Republic (Andheri), Globus (Bandra). Moreover, the Radio Mirchi audition float will be touring the city.

    The hunt will be spread across four stages in the city. The auditions round will be followed by a detailed audition round and a ‘listeners choice’ round, says the media release.

    The hunt will culminate in a grand finale in front of a panel comprising of jury members.

  • AXN’s Xtreme: India-Pak Challenge kicks off 21 Aug

    AXN’s Xtreme: India-Pak Challenge kicks off 21 Aug

    MUMBAI: AXN has announced that its biggest ground event of the year AXN Xtreme: India vs. Pak Challenge kicks off on 21 August with a series of qualifying events.

    As reported earlier by indiantelevision.com, the challenge requires teams to prevail over extreme situations, conditions and overcome extreme challenges. Competitors will face off in a series of challenges that may be held both indoor and outdoor.

    AXN Xtreme: India vs. Pakistan will include a multitude of elements, including popular sports, and man’s most common and dreaded fears – – – think Fear Factor. And, after going through physical and mental hell, he/she is also expected to be a presentable and camera-friendly team person.

    The city-wise elimination rounds will begin with Mumbai at St Xavier’s Parel East Football Ground on 21 August. The New Delhi edition will be held at Polo Grounds Delhi University on 22 August. On the same day, AXN’s crew will visit Kolkata at Nalban Boating Complex. The search will then travel to Bangalore to St John’s Medical College Grounds on 28 August and culminate in Karachi on 29 August.

    One winner from each city in India will make it to the final team, whereas, all four finalists from Pakistan will be selected from Karachi itself. Selected finalists will then face off in a series of challenges in Taiwan. The original production would be subsequently broadcast Asia-wide, on AXN, in the final quarter of the year.

    What is unique is that the challenges are revealed to the participants only on the event day. The aim is to retain the element of surprise, to stimulate creativity given the limitations and, most importantly, to have a level-playing field.

    The finale in Taiwan will comprise three stages. The first stage would be the basic physical challenge. Contestants will perform simple but physically demanding rigours. The participants possessing the greatest physical prowess will proceed to the next stage. This will involve a multi-discipline high impact challenge where contestants will be tested under various more complex tests and conditions.

    Over a gruelling five-hour period, the short-listed participants will be subject to various rigours to check their range and versatility – from fear of heights to keeping cool under pressure. The third and final stage will test mental agility and screen friendliness. This involves tests by psychoanalysts as well as screen tests that will decide how camera-friendly a contestant is.

    Whether rain, burning heat or hail, short-listed participants are expected to spend the entire day facing the elements, whatever the conditions. Hence, the event will not only pit man against man, but also man against nature. The final winner would be selected on the basis of his/her performance in all three stages and would be announced on the day itself.

  • Dukes Lemonade launches mascot, kicks off promo campaign

    MUMBAI: Dukes Lemonade today launched a series of consumer initiatives in the city to make this summer full of takatak taajgi for its consumers.

    The aim is to take Dukes Lemonade, the popular lemon drink from Pepsi, closer to consumers through a new campaign which includes a new tagline for the brand, massive on-ground visibility drive, interactive programmes on radio and sampling activities for consumers.
     
     
    The entire campaign is built around the character called Bandya Shinde and the new tagline is takatak taajgi. Bandya is a reflection of the current rage for Bollywood bhais such as Munna bhai and Aslam bhai. Despite being the short-tempered buddy of a “bhai”, Bandya has a simple view of life without tension or maj-maj, and is loved by one and all. For Bandya Shinde, Dukes Lemonade is a source of refreshment and a way to chill.

    Announcing this in a press conference, Pepsi’s head of operations in western region Praveen Someshwar said, “Dukes Lemonade has been a popular lemon drink in Mumbai, and has built up a loyal consumer base over the years. Our initiatives aim at creating fun and excitement amongst existing consumers, and draw new consumers into the Dukes Lemonade fold.”

    Special interactive live programmes on radio have been designed for consumers, who can call Bandya to play agony uncle to their problems in life.

    The visibility drive will include paintings on local trains, bus-shelters, street banners, point-of-sale and posters among others. Discount coupons will be distributed to consumers outside trains painted with Dukes Lemonade visuals. Consumers can redeem the coupons at the station on the same day, and enjoy their Dukes Lemonade.

    Apart from this, consumers can even play a fun game dukes lemonade wheel of fortune at specially designated points in the city, and win complementary Dukes Lemonade bottles, pouches, caps and pens.

  • Luxor kicks off catch a ball promotion for World Cup

    NEW DELHI: To further ignite the world cup fever, Luxor Writing Instruments (LWIPL) has come up with the Catch A Ball Promotion .

    To make this promotion more exciting and vibrant, Luxor has hired cartoonist Sudhir Tailang, to design and lend his creativity to the packs which have cartoons of cricketers

    With this Catch A Ball Promotion, the cricket lovers will not only get a Beta Roller Ball Pen in new body colours like Orange, Black, Fluorescent Yellow and a Sporty Blue but also get a cricket ball worth Rs. 20 free with it.

    LWIPL general manager Pooja Jain said: “The objective of launching this Beta Cricket series promotion with Sudhir Tailang is to add zeal to the product and to be a part of the cricket fever.”