ITV

Tag: Max

  • Max gears up for the cricket World Cup

    Max gears up for the cricket World Cup

    MUMBAI: With seven weeks to go before the biggest sports event of the year the cricket World Cup kicks off Max is gearing up to create buzz around the event.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Max business head Sneha Rajani says that Extraaa Innings the wrap around show kicks off at 5 pm on each match day. Since matches get over in the wee hours of the morning the pre show will start with a review of the previous match with the expert panel.

    It will then go on to previewing the upcoming match. This time around some matches will also air on the English movie channel Pix in case Max and Sab cannot accomodate them. Besides the first couple of Extraaa Innings Charu Sharma and Mandira Bedi the channel has commentators like Geoffrey Boycott, former Indian cricket coach John Wright who will provide an insider’s touch, Barry Richards and Ian Chappell. Max is also in the process of finding someone to send to the West Indies to join its commentary team with its Host Ka Dost hunt.

    Max has kicked off promotional activity for the World Cup with an on air campaign. The message is that one world will be converging in the West Indies to watch the event.

    The campaign is feel good and light in the spirit of the Caribbean which is known for its relaxed, fun atmosphere. From Friday a series of countdown spots will air to build anticipation. Rajani adds that no cricketers have been used. There will be calypso music to give viewers a feel of the upcoming event.

    On the ground the channel will conduct a roadshow next month. A van will visit 150 cities in a bid to get fans to express their support for the boys in blue. The winning placard will be sent to the Indian team. Rajani conceedes that the fact that matches finish late might impact viewing particularly for the non India games. The hope is that the matches will be involving enough so that viewers do not mind going to bed late even if the likes of Saurav and Sachin are not involved.

    The World Cup will be used to push Indian Idol 3 which is expected to kick off sometime in the May – June period on Sony. It will also push Max’s blockbusters which will kick off from May. Key shows on Sony and Sab will also be pushed.

  • ‘What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band’ : Sneha Rajani – Max business head

    ‘What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band’ : Sneha Rajani – Max business head

    It has been an eventful time for Max. It recently aired the champions Trophy. Having successfully shored up its share on the weekend due to its focus on Sunday, it is now concentrating on strengthening its week day prime time band. It is also putting together plans for next year’s cricket World Cup.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Max business head Sneha Rajani for a quick chat. She recently took over from former head Albert Almeida who was tapped to head Sony.

    Excerpts:

    Firstly, could you talk about the push given to The Champions Trophy by Max?
    If you look at the, ratings you will see that once again cricket on Max has delivered higher ratings than on any other channel. This started four years back. The non-India match ratings have been a revelation. It has been the highest since the World Cup. Our ratings were certainly helped by the buzz that Extraaa Innings bought and the innovations we did.

    Some advertisers I spoke to were not too happy. Do you feel there would be some cooling off in the next edition of the event?
    One grouse is that a lot of the matches including the final finished way too early. I think the advertisers are smart enough to understand that its in nobody’s hand whether the game ends before 100 overs or goes on till the end. This Champions Trophy has been fascinating from a cricket point of view as it has been unpredictable. When you have a high scoring game you have an idea of who will win and lose. Here dodgy totals kept viewers in suspense. It could swing either way. This is why the non-India ratings were more than what was achieved in 2004. So I don’t think it would in any way effect the next year’s Trophy.

    A lot of matches did not last 100 overs as it was a bowlers tournament?
    Matches ending early is in nobody’s hand. As an advertiser, if you decide not to put money the next time around in 2008 because of this and most matches last 100 overs it will be a lost opportunity. You cannot pre-empt anything.

    What is Max’s game plan going to be to build up buzz and anticipation ahead of the World Cup?
    We tailor our campaigns around where an event is happening. The campaign is always skewed to reflect the country a tournament is being played in. So when the Champions Trophy was in Sri Lanka it had a sub continental feel to it. In England we incorporated the stiff and proper mannerism into our campaign.

    In India we did the Shaadi campaign to emphasize the spectacle. Everything was shown as larger than life and melodramatic. Now when we go to the West Indies the campaign will be around beaches, sun and sand. It will have a carnival atmosphere.

    You are doing a ‘Host ka Dost’ hunt. What are the logistics involved to find someone to go the West Indies?
    This initiative is being done in collaboration with Reliance. It is a hunt for someone who’ll be part of the Extraaa Innings team for the World Cup and other cricket that we may have.

    If one is selected from the call they would be asked to come for an audition at Reliance Webworld, where they have to give a two to three minutes performance in front of the camera. There will be five finalists who would be further shortlisted by public voting. At present we are just at the call stage. We should wrap this up by the second week of January.
    ‘Matches ending early is in nobody’s hand. As an advertiser, if you decide not to put money in 2008 because of this and most matches last 100 overs it will be a lost opportunity‘

    What are the big properties that Max has lined up for now till March?
    We signed some big movies recently. Fanaa is coming up as a weekend premiere. We also have Apna Sapna Money Money. January and February 2007 is where big titles will be shown. In terms of thematic blocks right now we have a King Khan festival.

    Certainly having a theme block associated with a star brings in loyalty. We will also have a comedy festival lined up for December.

    How do you push the non-blockbusters?
    It’s simple. We market and promote them in a way that has not been done before. It is all about the buzz you create – old wine in a new bottle. On air promotions are a key. You find a key moment that defines a film and you push that. We had a movie called Nayak, which tanked at the box office. It has delivered tremendous ratings for us though.

    In the past you focussed heavily on Sunday with housefull and then the blockbuster at 1 pm. How did this help grow your share over the weekend?
    Our reach has grown by 20 per cent. A 12-hour slot delivers an average of 1+. We will continue to focus on Sundays as well as festivals that happen once in a month. What we need to do now is concentrate on our week day prime time band. The evening slots are fine. The afternoon band is doing well where we have a block for women.

    My job is to strengthen the Monday – Friday prime time band from 9 pm. There will be a mix of titles. We have 36 China Town, Golmaal.

    What libraries were recently acquired?
    To name a few we have acquired Sajid Nadiawalla’s library, Yash Chopra’s library and Ramesh Behls library recently. Our library is over 1000+.

    What are the changes that have happened in the acquisitions process in the past couple of years?
    We have always focussed on acquiring the top five to six films in a year and that will stay. The scenario has changed with more players. More buyers for the same product means that the pricing has become buoyant. Competition is good and It keeps us on our toes.

    One big change that has happened, especially in the past year is that films are acquired before their theatrical release. This is a risk that all broadcasters are taking. This was not the case earlier on. Then it was more staid. You now go by track records in buying films pre-release. We just presume that a certain star cast with so and so director and producer should be doing well.

    If you go with established producers you should be fine. Sony has great relationships with them. Shaadi Se Pehle was a title that we bought pre release. The acquisition process is very organised. The producers are fairly realistic, they know which film is to be priced at one crore and which at 10 crores.

    How important are dubbed Hollywood films?
    Extremely! We launched Hollywood Hungama two and a half years back. It is one of the most loyal slots on our channel. Each year we acquire 25-30 titles.

    You had in the past done the innovation of the onebreak film. What further innovations can we expect to boost viewer loyalty?
    It worked for us initially and then it did not. Viewers got worried that why is the channel not having a break. They might feel that one ad break equates to a channel not doing well. They are conditioned to having breaks in between a film. Also we had a lot of ads on our plate to schedule. The one ad break did not prove to be economically viable.

    We keep looking at innovations that will surprise people. In this Champions Trophy we had huge cut-outs of Mandira Bedi and Virendra Sehwag at Mahim. We will do some wrap around programming on films and we are also looking at an innovation during our ad breaks. We do outdoors on special occasions, like for Lucky we had done an outdoor and we might do it for Fanaa too.

    Are you also looking at new formats like chat shows, news related film specials to add variety or is there too much of this already on Indian television?
    No! We already have Sony and Sab for this kind of content. We have a news show Current Bollywood but we will not be adding to this.

    New media segment is growing in importance in terms of mobile and the internet. What can we expect from Max in this regard?
    We did a lot of mobile activity for the Champions Trophy. It was very interactive. We offered movie trivia on the mobile and did contests as well. Clips we do not offer as the rights belong to either a mobile firm or a producer. Whether we go beyond will be an a decision that will be taken as an organisation and not as a channel. We won’t rule it out though. On the net right now Max site basically offers film information.

    One way that Max has separated itself in cricket has been through personalities like Mandira Bdei. Are you planning to extend this association further through the film platform?
    We already do this. She used to anchor Extraaa Shots which was a wrap around show for our films. Manish Vanicha is now anchoring the show. He is now doing stuff on cricket. So while Mandira moved from a cricket anchor to a film anchor Manish did the opposite. Next year you will see more personalities.

    Besides cricket and films what other events is Max looking at over the next few months?
    We have the Max Stardust awards coming up. We have been doing that for the last two years. I would say that it was the best looking awards show last year. Concerts air across the network.

    Could you talk about how your client portfolio has grown as well as ad rates?
    In the last year our client base has grown by 25 per cent. I am not in a position to talk about revenues or increase in ad rates.

  • Zee Cinema remains top of the heap; Filmy up

    Indian television‘s Hindi movie channels (HMCs) are no more playing second fiddle to the big brother general entertainment channels (GECs).Since 2005, the space has been witnessing a lot of interesting trends – be it innovations, strategy changes or experiments.

    The introduction of Sahara One Media and Entertainment‘s Filmy in the space has given a new dimension to the goings on as the channel‘s unconventional approach to movie programming won it good returns. In this context, Indiantelevision.com thought it would be worth analysing how the channels fared during the third quarter of the 2006 calendar year (based on Tam CS4+ HSM ratings).

    We have two sets of market share data in front of us. One is the average channel share data spread over the period of 12 February to 29 July and this almost covers the first and second quarters of the 2006 calendar year. As per the data, Zee Cinema is leading the line up with a channel share of 35 per cent, closely followed by Max at 32 per cent. Star Gold come in third with 25 per cent, followed by newcomer Filmy with 7 per cent. The B4U Movies‘ picture is a dismal one with just 1 per cent of viewing audiences.

    Moving in to the Q3 period of July to September, Zee Cinema has further increased its average market share – from 35 per cent to 36.7 per cent. Max, however, shows a slip, shedding about 2 per cent to stand at 30.2 per cent during this period. Star Gold also tells a similar story with the channel‘s average share down to 22.4 per cent. Filmy, on the other hand, has improved its position from 7 per cent to an impressive 9.5 per cent, while B4U Movies has also shown some positive traction to reach 1.3 per cent share.

    According to Zee Cinema programming head Mohan Gopinath, Zee Cinema could maintain its growth momentum by concentrating on three factors: movies that work, strategic scheduling and the brand power that Zee Cinema enjoys. Except for Garam Masala, the channel didn‘t have any big ticket premiere for the period and still there hadn‘t been a drag.

    Explains Gopinath, “The movies which have done the trick for us during this period are mainly Garam Masala, Waah Life Ho To Aisi and then a Rajnikant movie premiere. So the plan has always been to schedule effective movies on a strategic basis and then push the properties with the kind of brand power the channel enjoys. The innovation of break content has also helped the channel to deliver. The Amitabh movie band Shaniwar ki Raat Amitabh Ke Saath has played a key role in sustaining the good performance. We are now celebrating the completion of 100 weeks of Shaniwaar Ki Raat.”

    For Filmy, meanwhile, the period has been hectic with experiments, attempted innovations and trial and error runs. The channel, which created a buzz in the market during its initial phase with big movies, wrap-around programming and heavy marketing, spent the July to September period by unveiling some innovative property launches and attempting a re-look at certain programming aspects. The period saw the channel unveiling the concept of a stock exchange based interactive TV game Filmy Stock Exchange.

    Filmy marketing and content head Shailesh Kapoor feels Filmy‘s unconventional approach to movie programming proved successful in the market.

    “We could get a good opening and as more and more people started sampling the channel, it reflected in numbers as well. We made our best efforts to bring more variety, be it in our promotional campaigns or movie properties. Our attempt has been to give a complete Indian twist to television‘s movie-viewing habit. Our refreshing image makes the viewer come back and this has been the key to our success,” says Kapoor.

    Though Star Gold and Max had lined up some impressive movies during this period, the impact of Filmy and the superiority of Zee Cinema as a brand resisted their surge in the rating charts. As the data reveals, the market hasn‘t got an expansion during this period as such, but Zee Cinema and Filmy have actually eaten into the shares of Max and Gold.

    Cricket is expected to drive the fourth quarter for Max and rival channels are strategising their moves to counter Max on this front. Star Gold has lined up the big premiere of Rang De Basanti for the Diwali phase. Filmy is unveiling its Hollywood dubbed movie segment Firangi Filmy in the same period. The channel has also announced plans to conduct a contest based on the stock exchange game to promote the premiere of Malamaal Weekly on the channel.

    Zee Cinema introduced its youth block Klub, well ahead of Diwali and one of the movies it has lined up for Diwali premiere is the Salman-starrer Kyunki..

    When queried on the chances of Max stealing the show in the fourth quarter with a heavy doze of cricket content, Gopinath says cricket can never substitute movies as a mode of entertainment. “Movies and cricket are different in terms of TV programming. Both have their own USP. For a pure movie lover, cricket is completely another genre. We are confident that, this particular segment will witness our Q4 growth.”

    “Our target is to achieve about 14 per cent channel share by the end of 2006. We have taken into account cricket as a challenge and will be dealing with this issue by resorting to some smart scheduling of movies,” says Kapoor.
     

  • Filmy to launch Hollywood dubbed block ‘Firangi Filmy’ on 20 October

    Filmy to launch Hollywood dubbed block ‘Firangi Filmy’ on 20 October

    MUMBAI: Sahara One Media and Entertainment Ltd’s Hindi movie channel Filmy has chosen the occasion of Diwali to unveil its Hollywood dubbed movie block Firangi Filmy.

    The property, slotted for Fridays at 8 pm, will debut on 20 October with the Jackie Chan starrer Shanghai Knights.

    In order to bring in the Bollywood flavour in its Hollywood properties, Filmy will be renaming the film titles in Hindi. Accordingly, Shanghai Knights will be titled Jackie Chan Ki Sholay.
    “Our effort is to present the Hollywood titles we have acquired in very Bollywood style. Hence, we have invested extra efforts in the quality of dubbing, choice of movies and the on-air promotions. We are largely lying on our existing viewers to make this property a big hit,” states Filmy Marketing & Content head Shailesh Kapoor.

    As per Kapoor, Filmy has acquired 25 Hollywood movies for the initiative in the first phase. “We will be expanding this library once the property establishes its position,” he says.

    In the Hindi movie channel space, Max and Star Gold telecast Hollywood flicks dubbed in Hindi, where as Zee Cinema is yet to adopt this programming trend.

  • ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    Cricket, cricket and cricket. That is the exciting scorecard SET India will have for display in the fiscal 2006-07.

    A lineup of eight sponsors that is set to gobble up 50 per cent of the inventory. A bulk deal with Dentsu that eases the pain of selling individually to clients. Sony’s ad target: Rs 5 billion upwards. A figure that many in the industry are sceptical about, but the team at SET India is confident of achieving.

    Centring around the World Cup will also be a slew of high-profile programme launches. The aim: to give SAB TV and Sony TV the much-needed lift.

    In an interview with Sibabrata Das, SET India executive VP ad sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta talks about how media agencies should go beyond ratings and rates to work with broadcasters for deriving value from sports and other big properties. The industry with 70 million cable & satellite (C&S) homes, he says, is under-served and undervalued.

    Excerpts:

    What exactly is the deal with Dentsu?
    Dentsu has bought a high proportion of inventory on Max for the two ICC tournaments. By coming in early, the agency has ensured that its clients get into the World Cup without paying a real high premium (settling between the sponsorship and spot rates). The deal has put less pressure on us to individually sell that many spots.

    Was there a proposal to handle the entire inventory on a minimum guarantee (MG) and revenue share basis?
    Dentsu did make an offer. But we couldn’t have done that in India because of ICC restrictions. Besides, we were clear that we wouldn’t do one block deal. We still have to maintain our relationship with other agencies and clients.

    Is the Dentsu deal going to be a trendsetter in sports selling even as acquisition costs for cricket TV telecast rights go up?
    It definitely is an eye opener for a lot of people. What Dentsu has done, most agencies should start doing – engaging with broadcasters well in advance. Agencies shouldn’t try to beat the ground pricing always. As much as I have to sell, they have to buy. Everything can’t boil down to rates; then you will never get value. Where are the CPRPs (cost per rating point) for Super Bowl in the US? There is something called an ‘impact buy.’ Cricket should be looked at from that perspective; it not only brings in new audiences but is also a religion in the country.

    Is SET India targeting an advertising revenue of Rs 5 billion from the two ICC tournaments?
    I can’t disclose the exact figures. But we are going to double our revenues from the last World Cup.

    How?
    Just look at the cable and satellite (C&S) viewing universe which will have more than doubled from 32.5 million homes in the 2003 World Cup to 70 million by the time the March 2007 edition kicks off in the Caribbean. That would mean a potential viewership of over 300 million glued on to their TV sets.

    Besides, the two tournaments sit on a perfect timing with brands being active from October (festival season) to April (summer spending). Add to this the advantage of the Champions Trophy being played in India.
    ‘We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. With cricket and Fame X, we have a far more aggressive growth plan for the channel‘

    How much money have you tied up from the eight sponsors?
    I can’t go into the specific details, but 50 per cent of the total inventory is consumed by the two presenting (Reliance Infocomm and Nokia) and six associate (Pepsi, Hero Honda, Maruti, Hewlett Packard, LG Electronics and ITC Foods) sponsors. We have sold the two tournaments together as they involved huge outlays from clients. We will eat into the share of the biggest channel’s revenues.

    What are the brands you target for Extraa Innings?
    This is a very big property for us and we sell it to a separate set of sponsors. We target smaller brands who do not have that kind of budgets to be on the World Cup matches itself. Extraa Innings is not just wraparound programming but is fun and entertainment. We monetise every property that we have.

    How much of a revenue advantage will the Hindi feed on Sab TV be?
    Doordarshan gets 30 per cent of its viewership from C&S homes because of the Hindi commentary. Our aim is to eat into this. We are, thus, simulcasting 18 key matches on Sab in Hindi. We are offering value to the advertisers who would have also bought on DD. We want to own the entire C&S homes.

    During the last World Cup, SET India’s strategy was to push Max. Are you working out a similar strategy with Sab this time?
    We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. We did that with Max during the last World Cup and raced ahead of Zee Cinema, which had an early mover advantage, in one year’s time. We have planned big launches like Fame X (the refurbished version of Fame Gurukul) on Sab TV. We have also recently put up a clutch of comedy shows.

    Have you changed the positioning of Sab TV after buying it out?
    When we acquired Sab TV, it had a fuddy, duddy image with an appeal in the Hindi heartland. As this old image restricted growth in ad revenues, we felt the need to reposition it as a youthful, light hearted channel. Sony as a network stands for the youth brand. With cricket and Fame X, we obviously have a far more aggressive growth plan for Sab. Our aim is not to make Sab TV a flanking but a strong channel standing on its own.

    Sony is in talks to acquire stake in Ten Sports. Do you feel the need of a complete sports channel?
    I wouldn’t like to offer comments on this.

    Is the time right to hive off Max into a complete movie channel in the changing scenario?
    With so much of cricket happening now, it is certainly good to have a sports channel. Because in a hybrid channel, you are disrupting the viewership and revenues. But it all depends on what properties you are acquiring. For us, Max has worked well as a hybrid channel. We have been able to marry together both the passions – movies and cricket. The ICC property we had offered major tournaments every two years; we could change gears effectively. Max is no more a poor cousin of Sony, but rakes in ad revenues over Rs 1 billion (from around Rs 280 million before the World Cup) purely on its movie strength. Whether we will continue down this road, I don’t really know. I wouldn’t at this stage be able to comment for the future.

    How will revenue support high telecast fees for the next World Cup bid?
    The industry will have to use new ways. As TV telecast rates climb higher and higher, we may have tie-ups with agencies and clients at the time of bid. We don’t know – all that may happen to minimise risks. We will have to explore all options. Cricket, after all, will be a dominant monopoly at least for the next ten years. Of course, other sports like football will emerge. But cricket will continue to rule in viewership and revenues.

    Will advertising back up such acquisition costs or the model be driven by subscription revenues?
    Ad rates will have to go up. When Harish Thawani starts selling this time, he will have to get real pricing because his company Nimbus has paid that kind of money to get the telecast rights for cricket in India. He couldn’t do that last time because he didn’t have a channel. The real value of cricket is now going to show up because the new rights where people have paid huge money are now coming in. So the next 6-8 months in cricket is going to be exciting because you will see the rates go up substantially. Otherwise, somebody is going to get bankrupt.

    We will also see money shift from on ground to on-air advertising. The value of on ground properties is diminishing.

    What about subscription revenues?
    Direct-to-home (DTH) and conditional access system (CAS) will form a revenue component when the ICC bid comes up this time. We had factored in some inflows from DTH when we made the bid last time, but it got delayed by two years. For us, it has been advertisement-led and we have successfully achieved that.

    With Zee TV on a resurgence, how has the slip in Sony TV’s ratings affected the revenues?
    As a network, our ad sales will grow by 30 per cent this fiscal. Sony TV saw a blip last quarter but with the launch of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa we are sorting it out. We will also be using cricket in a big way to promote our properties and are launching Big Brotherimmediately after the Champions Trophy. Unlike the last World Cup, we have planned up big show launches just after the tournament.

    Isn’t Pix slow to take off?
    We have now got the distribution right. We will start focussing on selling. We are looking at premium brands as the positioning of the channel is for SEC A.

    Pix has a library from MGM but lacks new movies which HBO and Star Movies are able to telecast. How do you plan to correct that?
    The two movie channels show premium new titles only once a quarter. We don’t plan to have those titles for at least the next one year. But that won’t affect us. We have a good library. Besides, there is space for three English movie channels.

    What are the plans for AXN?
    We will continue to do at least three big local ground events. That is the advantage AXN has against its competing channels. We integrate events with the local brands. Man’s World is also coming up. AXN is a youth and adventurous channel which telecasts action titles.

    Is there concern that the World Cup almost coincides with the implementation of CAS?
    We see it as an opportunity. The World Cup will drive CAS. Much like brands being born out of the World Cup. We have seen how the top two players in any sector (consumer durables, telecom, automobiles, etc) have used cricket to grow. That is the power cricket has over audiences in India.
  • Max goes the Extraaa mile for Champions Trophy

    Max goes the Extraaa mile for Champions Trophy

    MUMBAI: Cricket weds entertainment! With the Champions trophy in cricket kicking off in less than a month’s time on 7 October 2006, Max is adding more muscle to its wrap around show Extraaa Innings.

    Max executive VP and business head Albert Almeida notes that Max turned cricket into an entertainment property. This way it was able to hook in women and kids as well. This time he says that the Extraaa Innings content has been beefed up. For starters, in addition to the hosts Mandira Bedi and Charu Sharma, whom Max calls the first couple of cricket it has roped in television stars Rohit Roy and Shonali Nagrani as well. Roy will co-present various segments of Extraaa Innings. Nagrani will be the roving reporter. “Having said that Extraaa Innings will continue to be a judicious mix of serious cricketing action for the hardcore cricket buff and wholesome entertainment for the family,” Almeida adds.

    They will be joined by many experts on the game including former English opening batsman Geoffrey Boycott, former Indian cricket coach John Wright who will provide an insider’s touch, Navjot Singh Sidhu, who should add spice to the show, Barry Richards and Ian Chappell. On each match day Eztraaa Innings starts at 12:30 PM There will be a two-hour pre show, a show during the lunch break and a one-hour post show.

    A dual feed: Sony COO NP Singh says that this time around there will also be a Hindi feed on Sab. Three India matches, the semi finals and final will be aired on Sab. Maninder Singh, Atul Wassan and Saba Karim are among the commentators for this feed. The aim is to reach out better to places in the North like UP.

    Almeida says that Extraaa Innings haws been beefed keeping in mind factors like Indians increasingly becoming technologically savvy, they see cricketers as celebrities who do other things (like Sachin has his own restaurant).

    Max will organise a talent hunt using Extraaa Innings to promote it. The hunt looks for a roving reporter who will join the team to cover World Cup in the West Indies next year. There is also an interactive game Predict 2 Win, which allows fans to win prizes. The Gully Cricket initiative has been turned into a mobile game, which can be played by visiting the mobile portal 2525. Then the mascot of Max the tiger Deewana will now be a part of Extraaa Innings. There will be Deewana’s countdown of her game, his ratings of the game, players etc. Then there is also a Max Makeover.

    Here one will see fashion experts comment on the style quotient of the players.

    Of course features that were there before will return.
    These include Q&A. Here fans get to ask questions to the panel through SMS. Then there is Voice of India.

    Here Max’s expert panel will ask the audience to voice their opinion on issues. Answers can be sent through SMS or the internet. Message Board is a platform where viewers can send in goodwill messages to the Indian team through SMS. Another section India On tour offers a sneak peak into the daily routine of the Indian team. This will take them behind the scenes to the nets, practice matches etc.

    The DTH Plan: Sony CEO Kunal Dasgupta says that Max is talking to both DTH platforms Tata Sky and Dish TV regarding putting in interactive features. One feature will allow viewers the option to choose one of four angles to watch the match. Max also plans to offer highlight packages.

  • HC seeks undertaking that only U, U/A movies will be aired

    HC seeks undertaking that only U, U/A movies will be aired

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has asked for an undertaking from broadcasters and cable service providers declaring that they will only be transmitting U and U/A films.

    The High Court bench, headed by Justice Lodha, also clarified that its 23 August order against the broadcast of adult movies did not restrain channels and cable service providers from airing movies with U and U/A certificates.

    The bench gave the clarification in response to an application made by a cable subscriber, the Press Trust of India news service reported.

    The court also directed cable service providers to remove the scrolls many of them were carrying which said movie channels were off the air because of the High Court order. The court termed such scrolls as a misinterpretation of its original ruling.

    The High Court said it had not stopped the channels which were currently off air in Mumbai from operating but had only restrained them from showing adult content.

    The nine channels — Hindi and English movie channels (Zee Cinema, Star Movies, HBO, Filmy, Star Gold, AXN and Max), and Hindi entertainment channels Star One and Sahara One — had originally been blacked out after the Mumbai police confiscated the decoders of major cable networks and beaming equipment of channels on the charge that they had violated the law by telecasting uncertified movies. This followed orders from the Bombay High Court that channels showing adult movie content should be taken off air.

    When the matter of the seized decoders was brought up, the bench told the broadcasters to arrange for replacements. Multi-system operators (MSOs) like Hathway and In Cable (who hold sizeable chunk of connections in Mumbai) as well as Zee Group controlled Siticable were among those that had their equipment confiscated in the police raids.

    The court’s ban order on adult movies had come on a PIL filed by a Mumbai college professor.

  • ‘Banned’ channels allowed to go on air; some operators await decoders

    ‘Banned’ channels allowed to go on air; some operators await decoders

    MUMBAI: After Sahara One and Filmy, the weekend saw the return of the remaining seven “banned” channels to most cable TV networks in Maharashtra.

    However, these channels were still off air on networks of major multi-system operators (MSOs) like Hathway and In Cable (who hold sizeable chunk of connections in Mumbai) as well as Zee Group controlled Siticable, among those that had their equipment confiscated by the police in raids on 21 August, when reports last came in. These cable networks were expected to start beaming all the channels again once their decoders were in place.

    The first to get back on air was Zee Cinema, while the other six channels – Star Gold, Star One, Star Movies, HBO, AXN and Max – came back soon after.

    Zee Cinema, like Sahara One and Filmy, had claimed that it was telecasting U/A certified movies.

    Broadcasters of other channels also got the clearance to get back on air soon after with the Mumbai police social service branch granting permission to the channels to resume transmission late on Saturday.

    The permission came with a rider though: that the channels would follow the Mumbai High Court directives that they would not air uncertified as well as adult movies.

    The nine channels had originally been blacked from 21 August after the Mumbai Police confiscated the decoders of major cable networks and beaming equipment of channels on the charge that they had violated the law by telecasting uncertified movies. This followed orders from the Bombay High Court that channels showing adult movie content should be taken off off air.

    Meanwhile, the Cable Operators and Distributors Association (Coda) have decided to meet the information and broadcasting (I&B) minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi to express their protest against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)’s support to direct-to-home (DTH) service providers for using multi-dwelling unit (MDU) technology.

    “We are planning to meet the I&B minister for placing our case against MDU. DTH is to home and not direct-to-building,” says CODA president Ganesh Naidu.

  • HC’s U/A ok sees Sahara One, Filmy back on air

    HC’s U/A ok sees Sahara One, Filmy back on air

    MUMBAI: Sahara One and Filmy are back on the cable TV networks in Maharashtra while the ban on the other seven channels for showing adult movie content continues.

    “Sahara One and Filmy were banned due to a confusion on U/A certificate. We have certain movies with U/A certificate and mistakenly it was included in the A category. But yesterday’s High Court ruling brought the clarity that U/A certified movies don’t come under the purview of the ban. Hence, our two channels are now back on air,” says Sahara One Media & Entertainment CEO Shantonu Aditya.

    B’casters to meet I&B ministry to convey views
    Broadcasters are planning to meet the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry to represent their views. They are willing to obtain certificate from the censor board before they air any movies. But they feel the entire process of certification of their movie library would require time. “The certification board needs to beef up its infrastructure to clear a huge pile of movies. We want to be given time for carrying out this process,” says a senior executive of a leading movie channel.

    The channels which are still to come on air are Star Gold, Star Movies, Star One, Max, Zee Cinema, AXN and HBO. These channels will continue to remain off air at least till the next hearing of the case.

    DTH providers continue to show banned channels
    Direct-to-home (DTH) service providers, however, continued to show these banned channels as they were yet to be served notice. Tata Sky Ltd and Dish TV executives were not available for comment. The Bombay High Court yesterday ruled that DTH service providers and broadcasters were bound by the 21 December, 2005 order banning the telecast of movies with `A’ certificates.
    “Nobody has received the High Court order as yet. This could be the reason for these channels being still available on DTH,” an industry observer says.

    Out of the list of 122 movies given to the High Court, 84 have U/A certification. “We are happy that the order includes broadcasters and DTH operators. If DTH is showing the channels today, that may be because the fine print of the High Court order has not reached anybody,” says Ravi Singh, a distributor of Wire and Wireless India Ltd (WWIL).

    The cable TV service in pockets of Malad and Borivli, located in the western suburbs of Mumbai, are yet to resume following the police raid and sealing of amplifiers. “We are taking up the matter with the court tomorrow for restoration of signals. Seven sub-operators are affected in this area,” says Singh.

    Broadcasters have recently been cautious in buying Hindi movies from producers. In acquiring new adult movies for telecast rights, they are insisting on re-censoring it for television. Sahara, for instance, acquired Gangster, an `A’-rated movie after asking the producer to re-censor it for TV viewing.

    “In case we buy A movies in future, we will re-censor it,” says Aditya.

    Film producers, however, feel that re-censoring is an unnecessary headache and will occupy bureaucratic procedures. The editing may also make it less attractive for TV viewing if the content is essential to the plot of the movie, they say.

    Meanwhile, the Film & Television Producers Guild Of India has sought clarity from the I&B minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi over the confusion prevailing “in respect of film certification and broadcast content regulation.”

    Guild president Amit Khanna said the entire entertainment fraternity would be grateful if the I&B ministry could take issue of ‘censorship’ holistic in the spirit of a self-regulating code and take appropriate steps to make suitable legislative amendments in this regard at the earliest.

  • Cable blackout in Mumbai ends

    Cable blackout in Mumbai ends

    MUMBAI: Cable television is finally back in Mumbai after almost two days. However, movie channels, as well as Hindi entertainment channels Star One and Sahara One, remain on the blink.

    A compromise was reached late this evening after the Cable Operators and Distributors Association (Coda), which represents local cable ops, as well as representatives of the various multi-system operators, met Maharashtra home minister RR Patil.

    The cable fraternity’s contention has been that since they are only service providers, and not content producers, they require “clear cut regulation from the government for the telecast of movie channels.”

    According to a cable operator who preferred to remain anonymous, all the networks were restoring cable services barring those of the nine channels that triggered the imbroglio in the first place. “We will wait for the verdict, which will be heard tomorrow (Wednesday) by Justice Lohda (before deciding on the next course of action),” he said.
    Cable operators have filed an intervention petition in the Bombay High Court asking why broadcasters and direct-to-home operators were not being taken to task by the authorities. The petition is scheduled to come up for hearing tomorrow.

    Earlier in the day, cable operators were running a scroll informing viewers of the reasons behind the suspension of services. “Due to unprecedented raids on cable operators for carrying satellite movie and entertainment channels having adult content, all Maharashtra cable operators have shut down these channels till further directions from the High Court and commissioners. Kindly bear with us.” — Cable Operators and Distributors Association.

    The channel blackout was not total all over Maharastra though. Besides Mumbai, other parts of the state – such as Nasik, Pune, Thane and New Mumbai – were affected to varying degrees by the channel blackout. In Pune, for instance, the cable networks only discontinued the transmission of movie and music channels.

    Cable services were halted last evening after the Mumbai police raided cable TV control rooms and seized the decoder boxes of nine channels charged with showing adult content. Among these were Hindi and English movie channels (Zee Cinema, Star Movies, HBO, Filmy, Star Gold, AXN and Max), and Hindi entertainment channels Star One and Sahara One.

    Police said the operators were raided because they were showing adult films, despite there being a ban on them. At least three million homes were affected by the blackout.