ITV

Tag: Lucknow

  • TDSAT directs Media Pro to restore signals to Lucknow MSO

    TDSAT directs Media Pro to restore signals to Lucknow MSO

    NEW DELHI: In an order that may help multi-system operators whose applications for DAS licence are pending with the government, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Media Pro Enterprises to restore television signals to Lucknow-9 Cable Network of Lucknow as an interim measure.

    The Lucknow-based operator had said that its application for licence under Digital Access System (DAS) has been pending before the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for several months.

    Chairperson Justice Aftab Alam and member Kuldeep Singh also directed the Lucknow network to file an affidavit to the effect that its application filed in the Ministry for grant of license under Rule 11 C of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 was not defective but was complete and in order, in all respects. It would also file a copy of the application in a sealed cover.

    Meanwhile, the Lucknow-based operator would pay to content aggregator Media Pro all dues following a reconciliation of accounts and further to file an undertaking before this Tribunal that it would transmit or retransmit programmes of any channels following the provisions of section 4 A of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. This undertaking has already been filed.

    Media Pro counsel Tejveer Singh Bhatia had told the Tribunal that his client could not supply the signals as it was prohibited from doing so under clause 3(2) of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Television Systems) Regulations, 2012 ‘for the simple reason that the Petitioner did not have a license under Regulation 11 C of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.’

    But Counsel for the operator Vikram Singh said as there was inordinate delay in the grant of license, the operator had approached the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court which had disposed off the Petition by order dated 2 June 2013 directing the concerned authority to rid the application for license within 15 days from the date of receipt of the certified copy of that order. Counsel also stated that the date stipulated in the High Court’s order has expired on 2 July 2013 but it has so far not received any communication in regard to its application for the license.

  • Contempt notice against Union Home Secretary, I&B Secretary

    Contempt notice against Union Home Secretary, I&B Secretary

    NEW DELHI: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court issued contempt notices to Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami and Information and Broadcasting Secretary, Bimal Julka for not following its orders.

     

    Justice Ajai Lamba issued this notice on the contempt petition filed by social activist Dr. Nutan Thakur against not following the orders issued by the bench of Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice Mahendra Dayal who had directed them to decide Thakur’s representations within four weeks.

     

    The representations related to framing guideline to direct the newspaper publishers and news channel broadcasters to keep record of their newspapers for a definite period.

     

    The plea was also that these records be provided to those asking for them on a nominal fee and to take specific names of the newspapers and news channels being referred to in their news instead of using cryptic words like one newspaper or one news channel.

  • UTV Stars takes “Parachute Advansed Tender Coconut Hair Oil Presents Stars in Your City” on air With Travel Partner – Jet Airways

    UTV Stars takes “Parachute Advansed Tender Coconut Hair Oil Presents Stars in Your City” on air With Travel Partner – Jet Airways

    MUMBAI :In continuation of its efforts to bring Bollywood closer to its audiences, UTV STARS – the official channel of Bollywood will extend its hugely successful on-ground property to an on air show titled “Parachute Advansed Tender Coconut Hair Oil Presents Stars In Your City” premiering on Sunday 19th of May 2013. “Parachute Advansed Tender Coconut Hair Oil Presents Stars in Your City” is a unique format wherein the stars will go on a journey for a day to a city of their choice from across the country. Each episode will feature one star and their journey along with a special meet and greet with five of their biggest fans from the city.

    UTV Star’s and Bollywood fans viewers will get to see their favorite celebrities experience the specialties of cities such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Indore, Bhopal, Pune, Surat, Kolkata and many more as they try local street foods; go shopping and sightseeing and indulge in various cultural activities much like their fans. The show will be a 10 part series hosted by Garima Kumar, a popular name in the entertainment journalism and a host on UTV Stars.

    “UTV Stars brings Bollywood closer to its audiences and Stars In your City is a continuation of this philosophy. This initiative is a unique opportunity for our viewers to experience Bollywood – Touch Feel believe. ‘Stars in Your City’ has been a successful multi-city on-ground activation the show is a natural extension to take the experience of the stars and their fans on air. The show will reach out to a much larger audience and the fan base of each of the stars featured in the episode”, said Indrajit Ray, Director – Content Disney UTV Media Networks.

    Stars that will be seen on the show are Huma Qureshi, Richcha Chadha, Yami Gautam, Amrita Rao and many more. Huma will be seen visiting the land of Nawabs, Lucknow. Richcha Chadha will be seen enjoying the experiences offered by the pink city of Jaipur. Yami Gautam will be seen exploring her own home town of Chandigarh, and delve into some farming and enjoying the local treats, while actress Amrita Rao enjoys Ahmedabad through a shopping trip at the local markets, a kite making lesson and kite flying with a fan family.

    The property is supported by an extensive marketing campaign comprising outdoor, digital and radio promotions in the respective cities by UTV Stars. While the Travel Partner for this initiative is Jet Airways.

  • HBN Group soft launches CNEB news & entertainment channel

    HBN Group soft launches CNEB news & entertainment channel

    MUMBAI: The HBN Group has soft launched its 24-hour Hindi news and entertainment channel CNEB. CNEB, which stands for Complete News and Entertainment Broadcast, has signature statement Lahar to paida hogi (ripples will be created).

    The channel is all set to launch commercially in May.

    Girish Juneja, who was executive producer of programming in India TV, is the creative and programming head of CNEB.

    “Our soft launch is on and CNEB will see commercial launch in May,” Juneja told Indiantelevision.com.

    “More and more news channels have shifted their focus from hardcore news to a lot more of entertaining content. We have tailored our channel taking this into account, so as to give a 360 degree view of news,” said Juneja.

    In addition to news, CNEB will also showcase shows on crime, entertainment, travelogues and public interest.

    Run from a 16,000-square foot building in Noida, the channel has three fully functional bureaus in Lucknow, Chandigarh and Dehradun. The Mumbai bureau is under construction. For the rest, CNEB will rely on stringer-based network.

    “The channel is available through DishTV and will be shortly available on Tata Sky,” said Juneja.

    Amandeep Singh Sran is the chairman of CNEB Pvt Ltd, a part of HBN Group that runs HBN Homes Colonisers, Viraman Buildcon and Developers, HBN Dairies and Allied Ltd, and HBN Insurance Agencies Ltd.

    The group also has plans to launch next year two Punjabi language channels – a music and a news and entertainment channel.

  • Star plans radio re-entry, to pick up 20 per cent in Radio City

    Star plans radio re-entry, to pick up 20 per cent in Radio City

    MUMBAI: Star Group plans to pick up 20 per cent in Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd. (MBPL), marking a re-entry into the private FM radio business.

    Star is buying the stake from India Value Fund, (earlier GW Capital) a venture capital fund. With this, India Value Fund’s holding will drop from 75 per cent to 55 per cent.

    In early 2005, Star had sold its stake in MBPL, the company which operates its FM radio stations under the Radio City brand, for Rs 300 million. India Value Fund had acquired a controlling stake in MBPL.

    “Star is buying back the 20 per cent it had sold earlier in MBPL. The radio business is set to explode with the government changing its policy and opening up the second phase of private FM expansion,” says a source close to the company. He, however, could not confirm the price Star is paying to acquire the stake.

    MBPL chief executive officer Apurva Purohit was not available for comment. Star officials also could not be reached. The government regulations permit only 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the FM radio business.

    In May 2005, Star had discontinued its arrangement of supplying content to MBPL. Later in the year the country’s biggest television network in terms of revenue also ceased doing air time sales for Radio City.

    Since the inception of Radio City, MBPL had contracted Star to provide its expertise in the areas of programming, ad sales and marketing. The operations were handled through DigiWave, a 50:50 joint venture between Star and the PK Mittal-promoted Ispat group.

    Radio City is already operational in seven cities comprising Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur. The plan is to launch in 13 more cities including Ahmedabad, Surat, Baroda, Sangli, Akola and Nagpur.

  • WWIL to pump in Rs 3 billion over 2 years in STBs

    WWIL to pump in Rs 3 billion over 2 years in STBs

    MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL), the demerged cable outfit of Zee Group, is planning to invest Rs 3.28 billion on set-top boxes (STBs) over a period of two years to spread its presence in digital cable.

    This will comprise 46 per cent of its overall funding requirement of Rs 7.14 billion. The next big expenditure will be towards hardware. The multi-system operator (MSO) has earmarked Rs 2.21 billion for investments in hardware during the two-year period.

    “We have planned such investments for two years. We are bullish about digitalisation,” says WWIL CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli.

    Another area where WWIL will be pumping in big money is customer acquisition. The company plans to put in Rs 1.14 billion towards this. “We are aggressive on customer acquisition. We have ramped up 250,000 subscribers in recent months through aggressive acquisitions,” says Kohli.

    WWIL has made MSO acquisitions in Lucknow, Shimla, Agra, Nagpur, Pune Jalgaon and Indore. It is under negotiations with 15 MSOs in places like Meerut, Allahabad, Jaipur, Noida and Kohlapur.

    The company is planning to launch a headend-in-the-sky (HITS) platform and has booked transponders on Thaicom satellite. It has already lined up a debt of Rs 2.15 billion and plans to make an initial investment of Rs 5 billion.

    WWIL recently set up a digital headend at Worli in Mumbai. “We already have nine digital headends,” says Kohli.

  • Inox Q2 records 58% net profit at Rs 69.6 million

    Inox Q2 records 58% net profit at Rs 69.6 million

    MUMBAI: Inox Leisure Ltd has reported 42 per cent year on year (YoY) growth in revenues at Rs 399.6 million for the second quarter ended 30 September 2006 versus Rs 282.4 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

    According to an official release, for the half year, the growth registered at 58 per cent from Rs 508 million crores to Rs 804.9 million.

    The profit after tax for the quarter amounted to Rs 69.6 million, as compared to Rs 56.4 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year – an increase of 23 per cent.

    For the half year, profit after tax grew from Rs 97.2 million to Rs 153.3 million – an impressive 58 per cent.

    This quarter has seen Inox launch its Nagpur property taking its tally up to 44 screens in 12 multiplexes across 11 cities. Inox has another 21 properties in different stages of implementation, which it expects to operationalise by March 2009. This will help Inox take its total count to 33 properties across 21 cities, 130 screens and 37000 seats by March 2009, informs the release.
    In addition to the above, in September, INOX also entered into a definitive agreement for an all share swap deal with Calcutta Cinema Private Limited (CCPL) for acquiring CCPL & its brand of multiplexes – ‘89 Cinemas’ and merging the latter’s operations with Inox Leisure Limited. CCPL operates 2 properties as at present and has another 7 properties under different stages of implementation.

    Inox Leisure Ltd Deepal Asher said, “We have been able to maintain our industry leadership position in revenues and profitability, due to better footfalls and pricing at our existing multiplexes as well as the addition of new properties to our portfolio. We expect to maintain the momentum of growth going forward, with another seven properties expected to open by March 2007, in cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Bharuch, Vijaywada, Lucknow, Faridabad and Jaipur. We have also been helped with a good spate of releases, and expect this trend of a continuous flow of big budget and good quality content to continue.”

  • Radio City moves to common frequency of 91.1 FM

    Radio City moves to common frequency of 91.1 FM

    MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Private Ltd promoted Radio City has adopted to a common frequency 91.1, which becomes effective from tomorrow (27 October).

    Among all the stations that Music Broadcast operates, it is only Radio City Jaipur that has been broadcasting on the 91.1 frequency since its launch. Besides Jaipur, Radio City operates in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Lucknow.

    Radio City, which launched its radio operations on different frequency in Mumbai 91 FM, Delhi 91 FM, Hyderabad 106.4 FM, Bangalore 91 FM, Lucknow 104.8 FM and Chennai 105.8 FM, will all shift on 91.1 FM, according to a press statement. 

    With its shift of frequency, Radio City will be unveiling some new shows, interviews, contests and prizes.

    As part of the big activation idea, Radio City 91.1 FM has planned a host of on-air and on-ground activities at happening malls across the city like Landmark and Lifestyle, across multiplexes like PVR and several hip hangouts. 

    Radio City will launch Get lucky contest from 27 October up till 29 October. The contest will see five lucky listeners winning a Philips DVD every day across all stations and 1 lucky listener will walk away with a Philips Home Theatre. The contest gala will continue through the week with listeners winning goodies in all shows.

    According to Radio City marketing head Rana Barua, “Even as we change our frequency to 91.1 FM, we will have a better offering for our listeners with more stars, more innovative shows more music, and more prizes. We will continue to redefine the programming limits in order to sustain our musical expertise and our leadership position.” 

  • Hungama TV Captains Hunt auditions kick off 28 October

    Hungama TV Captains Hunt auditions kick off 28 October

    MUMBAI: Currently in its third year, the Parle-G Hungama TV Captains Hunt 2006 is set to kick off the audition stage. With the inclusion of Indore, Baroda and Hyderabad, the hunt will travel across 10 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow . The first two-day audition will commence in Kolkata on 28 and 29 October at St. Thomas Boys School.

    Having received a favourable response, of about 1,68,318 kids, Hungama TV will finally select 10 kids in the age group of 8-14 years to represent their respective cities as the Hungama TV Captains providing their valuable inputs in running the channel.

    At this stage, the articulation ability and confidence levels would be tested through a method of extempore speech. The uniqueness, level of achievement and ambition to pursue the talent at this level will also be measured. This year, instead of the evaluation rounds being based on artistic abilities, a balance of the right and left-brain skills will be tested.

    Qualified judges from the event’s knowledge partner – Origentest would evaluate all the rounds to arrive at two candidates per city who would compete in the Grand Finale to be held in Mumbai on 9 and 10 December, informs an official release.

    What’s different, is that the premise for this year’s talent hunt is to ‘Find and Shape the Future Leaders of India’ thus, several leaders from various industries will form a Captains Advisory Council (CAC) to meet the Captains on a regular basis and provide them with a sound platform to hone their nascent talent, while giving them advice and direction to emerge as leaders of tomorrow.

    As reported earlier, the channel has set aside a budget of Rs 10+ million for this year’s Captain’s Hunt. Hungama TV will be pushing the initiative via on air promotions and on-ground initiatives primarily through the intensive School Contact Program.

    Initiated in 2004, this concept allows a Board of Kid directors to give active and regular feedback on running of the channel specifically in the area of programming, marketing, distribution and competition.

  • Hungama launches third Captains Hunt; to search for leaders of tomorrow

    Hungama launches third Captains Hunt; to search for leaders of tomorrow

    MUMBAI: Hungama TV has launched the third edition of its Captains Hunt, which will search for 10 of the smartest kids across the country, between the age group 8 – 14 years. These kids will be on the board of directors of Hungama TV and run the channel for the next one year.

    The channel has set aside a budget of Rs 10+ million for this year’s Captain’s Hunt. While in the initial phase the concentration will be on school contact programmes in 10 cities; the focus will shift to mass media during November – December, when the hunt will culminate.

    The hunt kickstarted on 15 August 2006 and will travel to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Indore and Baroda targeting more than 500,000 kids in 500 schools across these cities. These kids will offer regular inputs on programming, marketing, distribution and competition.

    This year the premise of the Captain’s Hunt has been changed. The aim is to find and shape the future leaders of India. The final 10 will be trained by industry leaders from various fields and will provide them with advice and direction to develop their potential and emerge as leaders of tomorrow. The kids will be judged on the basis of articulation, intelligence, confidence, ambition and talent.

    UTV senior vice president – marketing and communications Siddharth Roy Kapur said, “At Hungama TV, our Captains are always an integral part of decision making, be it programming, marketing initiatives or on-ground research. Hungama TV Captains have helped the channel reach the position it has today and we really value their inputs. This year we are looking for the best and brightest kids across the country to run the channel and benefit from personal mentoring by iconic leaders of today.”

    Once the entries are received from the 10 cities, 1000 kids will be shortlisted from each city in the second round. Thereafter, 50 kids will be chosen in the third round after which the number boils down to two kids from each city. Out of these 20 kids, 10 will then be chosen (one per city) to be the Captains.

    The last day for receiving entries is 30 September. The auditions will take place in November and the finale on 9 – 10 December.

    The 2007 captains will have many opportunities in store. A Captains Advisory Council (CAC), which will comprise leaders from various walks of life, will mentor these captains. The Captains will have exclusive access to the Council to seek advice and guidance on a regular basis. Also, Hungama TV will support a unique talent of every Captain by funding their coaching or training during their tenure.

    Origentest, the research and implementation arm of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd, has been roped in as the knowledge partner and will be responsible for developing the various tests of the hunt.

    This year’s hunt has Parle-G as the presenting sponsor and Boost Chocoblast as the co-presenting sponsor. The associate sponsors are Colgate, The Sugar & Spice, Reynolds, Kellogg’s Chocos, Dukes Big Bite and Boomer Mango Jelly.