ITV

Tag: Mumbai

  • CODA urges government to fix cable TV rate

    CODA urges government to fix cable TV rate

    MUMBAI: Cable operators today urged the Maharashtra government to fix cable subscription rates in the state. They also asked for a rollback of 50 per cent hike on entertainment tax.Addressing the press in Mumbai, the representatives of Cable Operators’ Distributors Association (Coda) said they had written to the state revenue minister Narayan Rane, requesting to re-consider its decision on the hike. 

    The state finance minister Jayant Patil had proposed a hike in taxes which included a 50 per cent increase in entertainment duty levied on cable operators, while presenting a surplus budget of Rs 3.06 billion for 2006-2007 in the Assembly.”We have asked the state government to fix a uniform cable TV rate. We have also asked the government to revise its decision on the entertainment tax hike. We hope to meet the minister on this next week,” said Coda vice president Ravi Singh.

    Entertainment tax in those areas under municipal corporations, such as Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Nagpur, will go up from Rs 30 to Rs 45. Also, Grade-A municipal council areas would now pay Rs 30 instead of Rs 20, while Grade-B & C municipal council zones would pay Rs15 instead of Rs10.

    Coda also suggested for a three-tier entertainment tax system. “The government could consider a different entertainment tax rate structure for the upper, middle and lower classes. If the government goes ahead with the 50 per cent hike in entertainment tax, we may go on strike. Why should we be responsible for collecting entertainment tax? We are, after all, service providers,” said Singh.

  • Trai drafts standardised interconnect regulations

    Trai drafts standardised interconnect regulations

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to streamline the cable industry, sector regulator today released the proposed standard forms of interconnect agreements for CAS areas between broadcasters and multi system operators and between MSOs and local cable operators (LCOs).

    The reason for this being suggestions from the industry stake holders to the government that a standard form of interconnect agreements be formulated.

    On 10 March, 2006 the Delhi High Court had directed the government implement CAS in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai within a month’s time.

    Subsequent to this order, a series of meetings were taken by the information and broadcasting ministry.

    Taking note of suggestions emanating from the meetings, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to finalise a standard format for interconnection agreements for CAS in consultation with the industry.

    Accordingly, a draft of the standard forms has been placed on the website of Trai today. The draft agreements contain a number of sections and provisions.

    One of them relate to revenue sharing. The actual revenue share percentages have been left blank in the draft and are proposed to be filled up after getting comments of the stakeholders.

    Trai has also asked for feedback on the following:

    •Should there be a uniform revenue share percentage between all broadcasters and MSOs and MSOs and LCOs. If yes, what should be the revenue share percentages? What is the methodology, data and principles on which these are based?

    •Should the revenue share percentages be different for different broadcasters? If so, should the rates for different broadcasters prevailing in Chennai be adopted in other CAS notified areas?

    •Is there any other alternative method of arriving at the revenue share?

    A draft regulation has also put on the website for comments containing the provisions for the standard agreements as well as a clause for prohibiting minimum subscriber guarantee. The deadline for sending comments is 27 June.

  • Radio City launches autobiography series ‘Meri Kahani’

    Radio City launches autobiography series ‘Meri Kahani’

    MUMBAI: Starting 11 June, Radio City will launch a series on autobiography of the stars by the stars. The series Meri Kahani will be aired across the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Lucknow on every Sunday at 1 pm.

    The series kicks off with the autobiography of Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar. In this one-hour show, the queen of the Indian melody reminisces her soulful moments and milestones of her extraordinary life and career that will strike a chord, leaving a lasting impression in the minds of millions of fans across the country, according to an official statement.

    Besides, Lata Mangeshkar Radio City will feature Subhash Ghai, Jitendra, Shilpa Shetty, Tabu, Khayyam and many more through the series.

    The show Meri Kahani incites the stars to talk about their lives, childhood stories, the backgrounds in which they have grown up, the start of their careers, struggling years, turning points and the important people who have been instrumental in shaping up their great lives. The stars also talk about their future plans and views on the Indian film and music industry.

    “At Radio City, it has always been our aim to connect with our listeners and the experts of the entertainment industry in a unique way. The unique format of this new show will enable listeners to connect with some unforgettable and unheard aspects in the journey of their favourite stars as they relive their past,” says Radio City national programming head Vikas Verma. “

  • Hathway launches interactive music channel ITV Digital

    Hathway launches interactive music channel ITV Digital

    MUMBAI: The Rajan Raheja promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom, in which Star India has a 26 per cent stake, has launched a dial-up interactive music channel I-TV through its digital services.

    The channel, which was launched yesterday and is currently available in Mumbai and Pune, will also be taken to other cities in due course, according to a statement issued by the MSO. Hathway is already running a movie and entertainment based channel CCC.

    “I-TV Digital will be a completely ‘ads-free’ channel and with its launch through our digital services Hathway ensures that its viewers receive great music that caters to all ages,” company spokesperson Haresh Gehaney was quoted in the release as saying.

    The I-TV Digital is packaged differently for its viewers who will be able to choose from a wider variety of songs categorised into various genres that include rock, pop, classical (English & Hindi), reggae and remixes.

    I-TV operates through the advanced hands-free technology for providing instant music on demand. Software the channel uses enables the operation of the service from a video server placed at each and every head-end in cities, which in turn are connected via the cable TV network, states the release. 

    Hathway’s digital cable TV services provides more than 150+ TV channels, radio channels and value added features like EPG as well as gaming (introduced last month).

  • Radio City strenghtens workforce; appoints Mumbai, Chennai station heads

    Radio City strenghtens workforce; appoints Mumbai, Chennai station heads

    MUMBAI: Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd (MBPL) owned Radio City has, as part of its overall growth plans in the second phase of FM expansion, aggressively expanded its workforce recruiting over 70 professionals in the last 70 days.

    The appointments have been made across all levels in the sales, marketing, programming and technical departments. The two top-level recruitments have been Krishna Iyer and Madhusudhan who have been appointed as the station heads for Mumbai and Chennai respectively.

    An MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Iyer comes from the advertising industry, having worked with agencies such as Lowe, Enterprise Nexus and JWT over the last 14 years. The company claims that Iyer’s skills and expertise in working with creative teams will help Radio City, Mumbai retain its leadership position in the FM space and further strengthen and drive its innovative content and communication platform.

    Madhusudhan has over 10 years experience in organisations like ANP Sanmarg Life Insurance, Idea Cellular and HCL-Nokia. He will be instrumental in Radio City’s launch in Chennai.

    Amidst this recruitment drive, Radio City Delhi and Lucknow vice president and station head Amritendu Roy, has put in his papers citing personal reasons after a two-year stint at Radio City.

    Under his stewardship, Radio City Delhi consolidated its listenership and increased it to over two million in Delhi and the NCR. He also spearheaded major content innovations and interactive station promotions in Delhi. According to an official release, his stint at Radio City Lucknow has helped strengthen Radio City’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives by furthering private-public partnerships to support various causes.

    Radio City national HR head Ashish Gharde said, “Radio City aims to be the best employer in the media industry. Our recent recruitment drive has been phenomenal and also a huge challenge, especially due to the limited talent available within the radio space and the dynamic situation in the media industry. In such a scenario, we had to look outside and I am glad that we have been largely successful in putting together a talented team across all our stations. Retention is also a key issue and we have initiated measures to retain and upgrade skills of key personnel within Radio City. Having said that, Amrit’s decision to leave will be a setback for us and surely he’ll be missed.”

  • Max announces ‘Sabse Bada Deewana’ contest

    Max announces ‘Sabse Bada Deewana’ contest

    MUMBAI: Ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy in September, the telecast rights holder Max is attempting to create a buzz in the market. Driving the initiative is a search for the ‘Sabse Bada Deewana’ to be launched across the country.

    Through the hunt, Max will choose the biggest “deewana” from across the country through auditions on-ground across six cities- Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal, Surat, Kolkata and Mumbai. Participants could either register by sending a sms “Deewana” to 2525 or turn up for an audition at the venue, said an official release.

    Speaking on the onset of Sabse Bada Deewana, Max EVP & business head Albert Almeida says, “This campaign will capture the true passion and fervor of the viewer and showcase what fuels his or her Deewanapan. The idea is to identify these deewanas, capture their deewanapan and present them to other passionate viewers of the channel.”

    According to Almeida, the on ground activity will be supported by an extensive off air and on air marketing campaign.

    Max will take the biggest deewana and movie fanatic of all times – Sajid Khan across these cities and hunt down the Sabse Bada Deewana of the nation. After rolling out auditions in six cities, the campaign moves further as the six deewanas chosen from the city will then be eliminated by viewer votes and the Sabse Bada Deewana would be chosen from amongst them, adds the release.

  • Mumbai to host Digital Cinema Show

    Mumbai to host Digital Cinema Show

    MUMBAI: A Digital Cinema Show is being organised by Saicom Trade Fairs & Exhibitions from 26 May to 28 May at Nehru Centre, Worli, Mumbai from 11 am to 7.00 pm. The show consists of an exhibition, conferences and film screenings.

    The show as well as the conference will have exhibits and speakers from all over the world and India and is sponsored by JVC and Panasonic of Japan, Quantel and Western Digital of UK, Digital Film Systems of Ireland and AGIV India, states an official release.

    The purpose behind the event is to make the producers, directors and technicians of the film industry aware of the digital technology and the method of making films from script to screen using this latest trend. It is a free entry show for the technicians as well as producers and directors of the film and television industry, adds the release.

    There are at least two dozen films being made in India using high definition digital format out of which 16 are being made in Mumbai itself and rest of them in Hyderabad and Chennai.

  • Worldspace Q12006 revenues up 35% to $3.5 million

    Worldspace Q12006 revenues up 35% to $3.5 million

    MUMBAI: For the first quarter of 2006, satellite radio player Worldspace reported revenues of approximately $3.5 million, representing a 35 per cent increase compared with revenues of approximately $2.6 million for the first quarter of 2005.

    Subscription revenue doubled to approximately $1.6 million for the first quarter of 2006 compared with subscription revenue of approximately $0.8 million for the first quarter of 2005, the company said in an official release.

    Worldspace recorded a net loss for the first quarter of 2006 of $29.2 million, or $0.79 per share, compared with a net loss of $9.2 million, or $0.40 per share for the first quarter of 2005. Sequentially, the net loss improved from the fourth quarter 2005 results of $33.2 million, or $0.90 per share. Worldspace had an EBITDA (earnings before interest income, interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization) loss of $31.2 million for the first quarter of 2006, compared with EBITDA of $1.5 million for the first quarter of 2005, and an EBITDA loss of $44.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, the release adds.

    The company said it finished the first quarter of 2006 with 153,437 subscribers. The Company added 38,131 subscribers in the first quarter of 2006, an increase of 109 per cent over the 18,233 subscribers added in same quarter of 2005. In India, the Company had 111,723 subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2006, up 50 per cent from 74,574 at the end of the fourth quarter of 2005 and a five-fold increase from 21,730 at the end of the first quarter of 2005, it said in a release.

    At the end of the first quarter of 2006, Worldspace had rolled out its satellite radio services in ten cities in India – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, and Kolkata. It also signed Indian music impresario AR Rahman as a brand ambassador in India.

    Globally, Worldspace introduced three new programming channels, including Fox Sports Radio, and Ranin and Min Zaman, the latter two targeted to listeners in the Middle East, bringing the total number of channels broadcast on Worldspace’s global system to 223 by the end of the first quarter of 2006.

  • Radio Mirchi goes on air in Bangalore

    Radio Mirchi goes on air in Bangalore

    MUMBAI/ BANGALORE: Following a trial period of one week, Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL) radio brand — Radio Mirchi formally went on-air in Bangalore today. Radio Mirchi 95 FM is the second 24 hour FM radio station to go on-air in Bangalore.

    The first FM radio station in the city is Music Broadcast Pvt LTD Radio City. Radio Mirchi is the first brand to go on air in the phase II FM, within three months after completion of the Phase II bidding.

    The information & broadcasting had earlier this year awarded 280 licences to 36 private operators for running FM radio stations in 91 cities.

    Speaking on the potential of FM radio to revolutionise media consumption, ENIL CEO and MD AP Parigi said “Radio’s strength is its immense flexibility, adaptability and suitability for a modern and active life. It is the best companion. Thus our aim is to deliver programmes that are relevant to the people of Bangalore. This is a station for the people of Bangalore – playing their music and speaking their language.”

    He further added that “We expect the Mirchi style of programming of Radio Mirchi to revitalise the position of radio in Bangalore, just the way we have been able to win the loyalty of listeners in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and other cities.”

    The station is positioned as a sunshine channel, with a baseline which reads “It’s Hot” With round the clock programming, Radio Mirchi will bring in contemporary music, city happenings, Bollywood gossip, special interviews, exclusive film promotional tie-ups and lots more. 24 hours hit Hindi music is what Radio Mirchi promises to deliver to its listeners, informs an official release.

    Radio Mirchi 93.3 FM will broadcast a diverse mix of shows including Hello Bangalore, a charged up breakfast show to say hello! to a bright new day; Bombat Bhama, a gossip based show for the housewives; Bitti Ticket, for the latest gossip from the films, an afternoon show for the students; Chill Maadi, a chilled out evening drive time gaming show; Mirchi Talkies for retro music and Dr. Love, to handle teenager love problems.

    Moreover, the station uses the ‘best of class’ transmission and studio equipment to broadcast crystal clear stereophonic sound to its listeners.

    ENIL had launched its first radio station in the city of Indore in October 2001. At present Radio Mirchi is operational in 10 cities which includes Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Ahmedabad and Pune.

  • Set Discovery promotes Gurjeev Singh Kapoor to SVP, sales & marketing

    Set Discovery promotes Gurjeev Singh Kapoor to SVP, sales & marketing

    MUMBAI: Set Discovery Pvt. Ltd., which distributes a bouquet channels under the brand name One Alliance, has promoted Gurjeev Singh Kapoor to the position of SVP, sales & marketing.

    In his new position, Kapoor will look after the company’s India sales and marketing operations. He will also take up the additional responsibility of international marketing.

    Based out of Mumbai, Kapoor will be reporting to Set Discovery President Anuj Gandhi.

    Set Discovery has also promoted about 17 executives in the junior and middle level management categories, across the country. “We have promoted people across the board. There are senior managers who have become AVPs and managers who have been assigned as senior managers,” informs Gandhi.

    Kapoor has earlier worked with ESPN and Zee International before joining Discovery Communications. He moved to Set Discovery in April 2002, when the joint venture between Sony Entertainment Television and Discovery Communications was formed.

    SET Discovery distributes channels including Sony Entertainment Television, Max, Discovery, Ten Sports, Discovery Travel and Living, MTV, Sab TV, AXN, NDTV India, NDTV 24×7, NDTV Profit, Nick, Animal Planet and Animax channels through the One Alliance brand.