ITV

Tag: Kuala Lumpur

  • Malaysia to get Twentieth Century Fox theme park

    Malaysia to get Twentieth Century Fox theme park

    MUMBAI: Malaysian casino operator Genting’s resort unit will build a 400 million ringgit ($125 million) Twentieth Century Fox Theme Park near the capital Kuala Lumpur.

     

    The park – to open in 2016 – will be the first Twentieth Century Fox theme park with rides and other attractions based on such blockbusters as Ice Age, Life of Pi, Alien and Night at the Museum, Resorts World Genting said in a statement.

     

    Twentieth Century Fox consumer products president Jeffrey Godsick said, “The park marked the launch of our global location based entertainment strategy”.

     

    “For the first time, audiences will soon be transported into the worlds of their favourite Twentieth Century Fox properties,” he said.

     

    Built on more than 25 acres (10 hectares), the park will feature more than 25 rides and attractions, the statement said.

     

    It replaces an older outdoor theme park, which is part of Resorts World Genting located at the peak of an area known as Genting Highlands.

     

    The resort, which also includes the country’s sole casino and has attracted more than 20 million visitors per year since 2011, is undergoing a reportedly three billion ringgit refurbishment.

     

    Muslim-majority Malaysia has banned gambling but allows non-Muslims to bet at the casino in Genting Highlands, on horse-racing and the national lottery.

     

    Asia’s first Legoland theme park opened last September in the southern Malaysian state of Johor in an economic hub across a narrow waterway from Singapore.

  • Craft Worldwide goes global, sets up 2 offices in India

    MUMBAI: McCann Worldgroup has consolidated its production assets under a single business unit called Craft Worldwide and has launched it globally including India with offices in Mumbai and Delhi.

    The agency with a client-centric operating model and an emphasis on the craft of execution will have a network of integrated production hubs in 23 markets, capable of producing every type of print, digital and video media available.

    Apart from Mumbai and Delhi, Craft’s main offices are located in New York, London, Singapore, Toronto, Manchester, Paris, Milan, Oslo, Manila, Bucharest, Santiago, Budapest, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Detroit, Bangkok, and Melbourne, with plans to expand further in 2013.

    All Craft Worldwide offices are linked through an innovative technology platform, called the Craft Cloud.

    “Success in global adaptation and production requires the dedication of true craftspeople who care deeply about their clients’ brands and who work tirelessly to drive maximum savings for our clients,” said Craft Worldwide CEO Fred Schuster. “We have assembled a team of the industry’s best, each with a rich and robust background in advertising, adaptation, design and production.”

    Craft Worldwide currently offers clients capabilities in a number of key areas:

    – A marketing operations consulting group that develops go-to-market models that yield maximum efficiency
    – An adaptation design capability that extends the reach of existing tactics into new audience and communication segments, while maintaining brand consistency
    – A world-class translation offering providing translation, transcreation and cultural consulting services
    – Access to a distribution network that can deliver a final asset to literally anywhere in the world
    – A technology platform that streamlines these capabilities and links them together through a cloud-based, highly secure interface

    To deliver these capabilities, Craft currently employs more than 570 full-time employees and is already working for many of the world’s leading brand marketers, such as Coca-Cola, L’Oréal, Aldi, General Mills, and Microsoft XBox, as well as supporting the Commonwealth Agency.

    With its global launch, Craft Worldwide becomes McCann Worldgroup‘s eighth major marketing solutions offering. “Craft is the perfect example of how we can leverage our talent, our global footprint and our ability to work quickly and cost-efficiently to drive our clients’ businesses forward,” said McCann Worldgroup Chairman & CEO Harris Diamond.

    “One key differentiator for Craft is our ability to design bespoke operating models for our clients. These unique plans leverage our vast network of low-cost hubs and have proven success both in maintaining brand consistency and in driving maximum efficiency,” explained Craft Worldwide COO Quinn O’Brien.

  • Publicis Groupe acquires Malaysian interactive agency Arachnid to bolster Saatchi & Saatchi digital offering in APAC

    MUMBAI: France-based Publicis Groupe has acquired 100 per cent stake in Malaysian digital agency Arachnid.

    Established in 1996 in the capital city Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian agency today employs a team of more than sixty digital communications specialists. It has roots in digital and interactive marketing the agency‘s service offering has evolved to cover all forms of interaction-oriented touch-points. Its portfolio of clients includes Dutch Lady (dairy), Lexus, MINI, Petronas (oil and gas), Reckitt Benckiser, and Toyota. Arachnid serves over 25 markets across North America, South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

    Post the acquisition, the agency will be rebranded Saatchi & Saatchi Arachnid, and will become a part of the Saatchi & Saatchi network in the Asia-Pacific region. Arachnid founder and CEO Chin Weng Keong will continue to lead the business as Saatchi & Saatchi Arachnid, and will now report to Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific Chairman and CEO Chris Foster.

    With this buyout, the Publicis Groupe now has more than 600 full-time employees in Malaysia through its networks Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi and VivaKi. At the end of June 2012, Publicis Groupe employed nearly 13,000 people across the Asia-Pacific region.

    Fosters said, “Today‘s transaction signifies a major scaling up of our digital capabilities across the Asia Pacific region, in order to provide our clients with the best possible solutions across the full multitude of consumer channels. The acquisition of Arachnid will further enhance our ability to deliver powerful integrated campaigns for our clients in this strategically important region and to unleash the ‘unreasonable power of creativity.‘ “

    Weng Keong added, “We‘ve been exploring becoming part of a global group for a while and we‘ve received a number of offers. We‘ve finally found the right fit with Publicis Groupe. We share a common vision and strategy with the Saatchi & Saatchi teams, and our excellent rapport promises a wide range of synergies. This is an opportunity for us to evolve beyond pure-play digital, and to integrate our capabilities into a new generation agency well positioned for an exciting future.”

  • Al Jazeera English news show wins award at Monte Carlo TV Fest

    Al Jazeera English news show wins award at Monte Carlo TV Fest

    MUMBAI: Al Jazeera English (AJE) has won the award for ‘Best 24 Hour News Program’ at the 48th Monte Carlo Television Festival.

    The channel beats entries from BBC News, Sky News, Lisboa TV and the Phoenix Satellite Television Company.

    Among the specific reports highlighted at the festival were Nour Odeh’s reports from Gaza, where she brought the suffering of the Gazan people, when she was caught in the middle of a violent street battle between Hamas and Fatah. Following the broadcast of the fighting on AJE, both sides in the Gaza battles agreed to a ceasefire.

    In addition to ‘Best 24 Hour News Program’, AJE received nominations in every news category at the awards show, including ‘Best TV Item’ for James Bays’ Taliban Embedded, which was awarded a second place prize, and ‘Best News Documentary’ for Tony Birtley’s Inside Myanmar – The Crackdown.

    AJE’s MD Tony Burman said, ” For me, the award demonstrates the commitment of AJE’s staff to giving a voice to the voiceless, of telling vital stories that are not on the agenda of the western news networks.”

    AJE was launched in November 2006 with broadcast centers in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington DC.

  • Pyramid Saimira inks JV with Malaysian co. to set up theatre chain

    Pyramid Saimira inks JV with Malaysian co. to set up theatre chain

    MUMBAI: Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has entered into a joint venture with Kuala Lumpur based film distribution company M/s. Asian Integrated Industries Sdn. Bhd to set up a theatre chain in Malaysia with 150 multiplexes and single screen theatres in Malaysia.

    An official announcement issued stated that the JV will be called as “Pyramid Saimira Entertainment Malaysia Sdn Bhd” (subject to approval of concerned authorities) in which both of them shall hold 50 per cent – 50 per cent each.

    The investment in the proposed JV will be 2400 million INR (200 million RM) in which both the parties will contribute equally. The goal is to achieve this in next 2-3 years.

    Currently, the partnership involves acquiring three screen multiplexes immediately and aiming to operate 10 multiplexes by March 2007.

    The new JV will distribute Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam movies, Chinese and Hollywood films and other contents across Malaysia on theatres / DVD / DTH and other methods of exploitation.

    Additionally, the JV will create an Eco system for local Malay, Tamil and Chinese film production using local talents and be a catalyst in distributing the same both inside Malaysia and outside Malaysia.

    The Indian digital technology Pyramid Saimira will provide the back-end resources to the JV for Digital display of contents in Malaysia by leveraging its domain expertise and infrastructure currently being established in India, adds the release.

    The company will also try to exploit all the upcoming community centers in Malaysia by operating theatres as well as convention halls with video conferencing and family entertainment.

  • Measat-3 enters commercial service

    Measat-3 enters commercial service

    MUMBAI: Measat Satellite Systems has announced that Measat-3 has successfully completed in orbit testing and had entered commercial service.

    At a ceremony held Thursday at the Measat Teleport and Broadcast Centre, located just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the satellite was officially handed over by Boeing Satellite Systems International Inc and the first customer, Radio Television Malaysia One (RTM-1), up-linked onto the satellite.

    “Thanks to the hard efforts of the Boeing and Measat teams, the deployment and extensive in orbit testing of the Measat-3 satellite has been completed ahead of schedule with the satellite now ready for commercial use” said Paul Brown-Kenyon, Chief Operating Officer, Measat. “We are focused on managing the migration of our lead DTH, Broadcasting and Telecom customers onto the new platform as they expand their services”.

    Designed to work co-located with Measat-1, the deployment of Measat-3 at the 91.5°E orbital location will boosts Measat satellite capacity at its key orbital location by some 300 per cent. The satellite will also extend the network reach to over 100 countries across Asia, Australia, The Middle East, Eastern Africa and Eastern Europe representing 70 per cent of the world’s population.

  • Hungama mobile launches the ‘Don’ game, on a multiplayer gaming environment

    Hungama mobile launches the ‘Don’ game, on a multiplayer gaming environment

    MUMBAI: Hungama Mobile and Excel Entertainment, the producers of Don, have launched two mobile games on the movie and is said to be the first ever multiplayer online game for any bollywood movie on www.gaminghungama.com .

    The graphics of the game have been done at the same level as the quality of special effects in the movie to give it a contemporary look and the action sequences are just as slick as the movie itself.

    The game created by Hungama Mobile, was unveiled by Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai, along with the film’s producer Ritesh Sidhwani and the director Farhan Akhtar.

    Speaking at the launch, Shah Rukh said, “Not only is it a treat for the game lover’s but also a great way to merchandise.This is just an initial step for this kind of a market and i’m sure it will grow tremendously in the time to come”

    Hungama Mobile MD and CEO Neeraj Roy said, “Our creative and gaming team visited Kuala Lumpur for the making of the movie to understand the flow of the movie and decide on game play. They came back and worked on the concept and created a storyboard and later the virtual game.”

    The Mobile game is available in two versions – one is the race and chase game on the streets of Kuala Lumpur, with the back drop of the Petronas Towers and the other is the role-playing game. The race and chase, gives the player a chance to outfox the Don and capture him. In the other, the player has to help Shah Rukh find the secret disc, which he desperately seeks to prove that he is not the Don, but a victim of a serious case of mistaken identity.

    “The Hungama creative team watched the movie rushes including car crashes in Kuala Lumpur, sky diving and some of the fight sequences and have incorporated all those hair-raising stunts in the game,” said movie director Farhan Akhtar.

    The game is available on mobile and online as a multiplayer game. All operators in India including Hutch, Airtel, Reliance, Tata, Idea and others will provide the Don game. Besides, it will also be available across the Hungama mobile distribution network with over 50 carriers in 20 countries.

  • Al Jazeera International ropes in ITV News’ Shiulie Ghosh as news anchor

    Al Jazeera International ropes in ITV News’ Shiulie Ghosh as news anchor

    MUMBAI: The Doha based Al Jazeera International, the proposed 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel has appointed renowned correspondent Shiulie Ghosh as news anchor.
    Ghosh joins a large team of diverse on-screen talent based around the world at the channel’s broadcast centres: from Ghida Fakhry and Dave Marash at their Washington DC centre, to Veronica Pedrosa and Teymoor Nabili in Kuala Lumpur through to Felicity Barr and Stephen Cole and at the channel’s London broadcast centre, informs an official release.

    Speaking on Ghosh’s appointment, Al Jazeera International director news Steve Clark said, “I am pleased to have Shiulie on board. She brings a wealth of experience in news reporting to the channel and is a great addition to the team.”

    Ghosh joins Al Jazeera International from ITV News where she was a correspondent and a presenter covering a range of major events around the world. Her reporting from Thailand on the Asian tsunami was awarded the 2006 Alfred I. Dupont Columbia News Broadcasting Award. During the conflict in Kosovo, Ghosh was based in southern Italy, where she reported on the bombing missions flown by NATO crews. She secured the first television report from the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible heading for action off the coast of Montenegro. Post-conflict, she reported on the continuing tensions in the divided town of Mitrovica.

    She first joined ITV News as a general reporter in January 1998 and later spent three years as Home Affairs Editor of ITV News. She has covered a wide range of prominent domestic stories for ITV News including the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, the May Day disturbances and the death of the Queen Mother.

    In 2001, Shiulie was named Best Television News Journalist at the British Telecom Ethnic Multicultural Media Awards.

  • MCCS appoints Astro’s Barun Das as vice president

    MCCS appoints Astro’s Barun Das as vice president

    MUMBAI: Media Content and Communication Services Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS), which manages Star News and Star Ananda has roped in Astro All Asia Network international business development head Barun DAs as the vice-president in the corporate function.

    In his present profile as VP at MCCS, Das will have responsibilities both for the MCCS topline as well as bottomline. He will be responsible for creating new revenue models for MCCS in order to increase reach and revenue in non-traditional areas.

    Das had earlier moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to take up his assignment with Astro All Asia Network. His role involved business development with a focus on the Indian subcontinent. Prior to his stint with Astro All Asia Network, DAs was associate publisher – business division, at the India Today Group. He brings to MCCS his legacy of a vast experience that spreads across various media groups including the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group and Zee Publishing, informs an official statement.

    Says MCCS CEO Uday Shankar, “His appointment is in tandem with the exciting new options that the network is exploring in the days to come. In Barun we have a person equipped to exploit this potential and explore new ideas.”

    Das adds, “My previous international exposure has added a new dimension to my professional experience. During my stint with Astro, Kuala Lumpur, I experienced how much the world is excited about India. With so much happening in the world of media, I just could not resist my temptation to be back in India. MCCS with its offerings has been at the forefront of consistent innovation. For me this is a welcome fit and a challenging assignment.”

  • India to play Australia, Windies in September

    India to play Australia, Windies in September

    MUMBAI: This is one series that should have Zee Sports seriously pushing it as a prime property. Just ahead of the Champions Trophy in October, India will be playing a tri-series against Australia and the West Indies in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

    “The triseries of seven One-Day Internationals between India, Australia and West Indies [is] scheduled to be played in September this year in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur as part of the newly formatted Neutral Venue Schedule,” Zee News quoted the BCCI as saying in a statement issued here.

    The series falls under the neutral venue matches that Zee had secured rights to in April with whopping $219.15 million bid (average of $ 8.77 million per match) for 25 matches spread over the next five years. .

    The triseries was approved by the Marketing Sub-committee which met in Mumbai on 28 July, Zee News quoted the BCCI statement as saying.

    The format of the tournament is a league where each of the three teams will play each other twice and the top two will go through to the Finals.

    Singapore will host the first three ODIs while Kuala Lumpur will host the following four matches (including the Finals).

    The Indian board will handle the marketing and sale of television rights, while Cricket Australia will manage and consolidate all ground handling for the series, the BCCI statement adds.