ITV

Tag: National Geographic

  • ACK Media elevates Manas Mohan to COO

    ACK Media elevates Manas Mohan to COO

    MUMBAI: ACK Media has announced the promotion of Manas Mohan to COO.


    Mohan, who was head – direct to customer, will now oversee the direct marketing and e-commerce business.


    He will be heading the National Geographic business, advertising sales and strategic leadership of the brand- marketing function including licensing and merchandising.


    Mohan has over 17 years of experience across marketing, communications, media, advertising and branding.


    Mohan had joined ACK Media in 2010. Prior to it, he has worked with Wunderman India, Lintas Direct/Lowe Personal, webdunia.com, Discovery Channel India and Solutions Integrated Marketing Services.

  • Nat Geo announces global cell phone coverage solution

    Nat Geo announces global cell phone coverage solution

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster National Geographic has launched the National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel Phone.

    It has ben designed specifically for the needs of the traveling public. It allows for affordable calls from over 100 countries, with no contracts to sign and free incoming calls in most international markets.

    GSM cell phone technology experts at Cellular Abroad in California, collaborated with National Geographic in a licensing partnership to provide this service that works seamlessly across international borders, picking up local cellular networks and providing consumers with the best coverage available.

    Unlike other services, the phone number stays the same, no matter where the consumer travels. As an added benefit, the National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel Phone features a dedicated toll-free number to reach Cellular Abroad’s 24/7 customer support service.

    Cellular Abroad president Sebastian Harrison says, “Staying in touch while overseas has proved difficult for travellers the majority of overseas travelers have not been able to afford the security and convenience of a cell phone.

    “With expensive rates and little or no technical support, international cellular service has excluded the general public. Now, it is at their fingertips.”

    National Geographic senior VP licensing John Dumbacher says, “National Geographic is excited to offer the Talk Abroad Travel Phone to all international travellers. Students, vacationers, business travelers and our own explorers and photographers can now stay connected with this affordable travel phone and SIM card, while they seek to understand and experience our world”.

    The National Geographic Talk Abroad Travel phone will be available from next month at www.Cellularabroad. com/ travel phone.

  • National Geographic TV Intl inks deal for kid’s show with broadcasters

    National Geographic TV Intl inks deal for kid’s show with broadcasters

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Television International (NGTI) has announced a raft of new deals for its festive family special – Toot & Puddle: I’ll Be Home for Christmas.

    Based on the Holly Hobbie book of the same name, the show has been licensed to broadcasters including ARD and Ki.Ka in Germany, Nickelodeon in the UK and Australia, YLE Finland, TV2 Norway, DR1 Denmark and ATV Hong Kong.

    NGTI head of kids’ sales Karen Vermeulen comments, “In Toot & Puddle, Holly Hobbie has created very charming characters – and they definitely succeeded in charming a number of buyers at their first outing at Mipcom this year!

    “This is the first programme out of the four in production from National Geographic Kids’ Entertainment to deliver, and has been tremendously well received. Kids is a relatively new area of business for NGTI but the strong heritage of the National Geographic brand means that buyers know to expect top quality kids’ programming that both entertains and excites kids to explore the world around them.”

    Toot & Puddle: I’ll Be Home for Christmas tells the tale of two piglet pals who must overcome severe winter weather, cancelled flights and other unexpected delays in order to spend Christmas together. Targeted at families and kids aged 3-8 it is produced by National Geographic Kids’ Entertainment, in association Warner Home Video.

  • Aggregator launches TV over broadband(TVoBB) service

    Aggregator launches TV over broadband(TVoBB) service

    MUMBAI: Aggregator Limited has announced the launch of its first TV-over-Broadband (TVoBB) service, a Russian language portal that is set to change the TV viewing habits of over half a million Russians living in the UK.

    MoëTV (pronounced ‘my-oar TV’ meaning ‘My TV’ in English) will go live later this month and will provide a collection of on-demand entertainment, drama, current affairs, films, documentaries, music and children’s programming.

    MoëTV is a service which combines the speed of broadband and the best in Russian television with high quality pictures and sound. Aggregator has secured licences for programming from over 20 content suppliers including Amedia, Discovery Networks, Mosfilm, MTV Russia, National Geographic, nTV and RenTV.

    Consumers interested in the service can pre-register by going to www.moe.tv and entering their email address. The service will offer around 400 hours of programming at launch, growing to an average of 1000 hours, refreshed monthly.

    MoëTV has no mandatory subscription charges, meaning consumers can choose to obtain content on a per-view basis of 99p to £2.99 per programme or to view unlimited content for a £15.99 monthly payment.

    All that the viewer needs to do to receive MoëTV is a broadband connection from any ISP and a PC or laptop. Programming can be viewed on the PC or the TV using a media extender. Aggregator has built a unique TVoBB content delivery platform, based on open standards technologies, to provide the viewer with a quality and easy to use service – for example MoëTV can schedule downloads so that users don’t exceed their ISP’s monthly download limits. 

    “The launch of this service will provide broadcast-quality television services to the 500,000 Russian speakers in the UK,” said Aggregator’s co-founder and Director of Programming, Chris Griffin.

    “This is a well-educated, affluent community that has grown rapidly in the UK but is woefully underserved by mainstream television platforms. MoëTV can ensure that they, and their families, stay in touch with their language and culture while they are living abroad,” Griffin added.

    MoëTV is the first in a series of planned service launches targeted at niche audiences from Aggregator, the brainchild of senior television industry figures Martin Goswami and Chris Griffin. Aggregator’s TVoBB services will create a new UK pay-TV platform, an on-demand broadband service that will deliver high-quality content to ethnic and special interest communities that are currently underserved by the television market.

    “In order to be successful and provide consumers with exciting services they are prepared to pay for, new TV delivery platforms such as IPTV and TVoBB need differentiated content. We are excited about the potential of a fast growing broadband universe, so we have created services that work best in an IP based environment,” said Aggregator’s co-founder and CEO Martin Goswami.

    “It seems that many operators currently planning IPTV services are targeting audiences who are already well-served on existing platforms. We’ve looked at that model and rejected it. What we’ve done instead is to develop packages of the best content available for specialist audiences who are not part of the mainstream pay-TV franchise,” added Goswami.

    Aggregator is well advanced with a number of services aimed at underserved communities and interest groups. In 2007, the company plans to bring all these services together under a common platform brand incorporating the Freeview channels and PVR functionality.

  • Tata Sky adds four regional channels and introduces Actve Games

    Tata Sky adds four regional channels and introduces Actve Games

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, the direct-to-home platform from Tata and Star Group has added four regional channels to its special introductory package of Rs 200 per month (inclusive of taxes). The DTH platform also introduces the fifth interactive service Actve Games.

    The four channels include Star Ananda, DD Chandana, DD Gujarati and DD Punjabi.

    The DTH company has earlier introduced interactive services such as Actve Newsroom, Actve Khabar, Actve Star News and an on-screen Guide.

    Actve Games, this dedicated interactive gaming service will be available free to all its subscribers. The service provides access to play multiple interactive games on television.

    According to an official release, the gaming service caters to all ages with the option of playing six exciting interactive games including Aliens, Trance, Solitaire, Cubix, Bug Blaster and Speed Spell on their television screen.

    This service termed as ‘easy-to-use’ can be played with the help of the Tata Sky remote, eliminating the need of investing in additional hardware, states the release. Further, to maintain the enthusiasm levels of its audiences, Tata Sky will refresh the games periodically.

    Actve Star News service presents the viewer with four screens in a single window allowing him to choose from current news, headlines, top stories and special features, at the press of a button. The service also scrolls text, allowing the viewer to read the headlines, weather updates of 35 cities and a constant update on the stock market.

    Tata Sky CEO and MD Vikram Kaushik said, “Services such as Actve Games and Actve Star News are perfect examples of how television today has transformed into an interactive medium, allowing viewers the opportunity to do more than just watch television. This is only the beginning, we will continue to introduce innovative services to enhance the entertainment choices for our subscribers.”

    Tata Sky recently launched its satellite television service across 300 cities in India on 8 August. Only 15 days from the launch and the service has already penetrated 2000 cities,the company claims.

    At present, the platform has on offer channels includes Star, Sony, Discovery, Disney, MTV, NDTV, ESPN Star Sports, National Geographic, Eenadu, TV Today, Asianet and many more.

  • National Geographic offers podcasts

    National Geographic offers podcasts

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster National Geographic now makes it possible for consumers to take a guided walk through the streets of Venice, experience an African safari and hear the week’s top science and nature news, with audio and video podcasts for free download.

    Available at www.nationalgeographic.com/podcasts as well as on iTunes and Yahoo!, the first offering of podcasts aims to inspire audiences to care about the planet by tapping into a wide range of newly produced and existing content from National Geographic. Of the 10 National Geographic offerings on the iTunes storefront, eight are in the top 75 downloads for this week.

    Free audio podcasts from National Geographic include:

    – National Geographic News — The week’s top science and nature news, world music features, interviews with innovators, audio quizzes and a “Photos on the Radio” feature

    – Afropop Worldwide — Lively, in-depth reports on the music and culture of Africa and the Americas and their transatlantic connections

    – Traveler Magazine’s ’50 Walks of a Lifetime’– Some of the greatest walking tours, including San Francisco, Tribeca (NY), Paris and Venice, selected by editors of National Geographic Traveler and narrated by radio and television travel authority Rudy Maxa

    – National Geographic World Talk — Interviews with the world’s most compelling scientists, explorers, photographers and thinkers

    – The Best of National Geographic Magazine –The best of 118 years of adventure, cultures and creature features, including the award-winning Sights & Sounds

    – National Geographic Minutes — Minute-long reports on nature and science

    Free video podcasts include:

    – Wild Chronicles — Rare access to unknown places and in-depth reporting from the public television series Wild Chronicles, hosted by Boyd Matson and made possible by National Geographic Mission Programs and Lindblad Expeditions and presented by WLIW New York

    – National Geographic Video Shorts — Videos from National Geographic, including Mysteries of Lost Civilisations, The World’s Most Unusual Foods, Extreme Healing, The World’s Toughest Jobs and spotlights on countries around the world

    – National Geographic Atmosphere — Features video with ambient sound that exposes users to exotic settings and locations

    – National Geographic Spotlight — Featuring one-on-one interviews with superstars from around the globe. From Brazilian crooners to Senegalese superstars, Spotlight lets the musicians speak for themselves.

    National Geographic digital media VP content operations, Betsy Scolnik says, “For more than a century National Geographic has crossed borders in its storytelling. Podcasting is shaping up to be the ultimate tool for crisscrossing the globe, making it easy for everyone — from the armchair traveler to the on-the-go adventurer — to access great stories through video, audio, music and still photos.”

  • BBC Worldwide looks to expand reach of channels in Latin America

    BBC Worldwide looks to expand reach of channels in Latin America

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Worldwide has made an appointment with a view to expanding the reach ot its chanels in Latin America.

    Jessica Rodriguez becomes VP, global channels for Latin America and for the Hispanic US Market. She will be responsible for the strategic development and implementation of BBC Worldwide’s channels and will manage the day-to-day activity across the Latin American region and in the US Hispanic market.

    BBC Worldwide MD global channels Darren Childs said, “Jessica’s appointment is a commitment from BBC Worldwide to further develop the Latin American and Hispanic North American market for our channels business. Jessica has introduced a number of new channels and we are keen to explore new opportunities for growth.”

    Rodriguez says, “In Latin America, BBC Worldwide’s presence is already strong through our programming participation and investment in Animal Planet and People and Arts. Given its rapid growth and strength, the US Hispanic market is critically important to our strategy. BBC America has already successfully demonstrated the power of the BBC’s superlative content in the US, and I am delighted to be developing our new branded channels in this marketplace.”

    She has over 16 years of experience in launching and expanding brands such as Travel Channel, National Geographic and USA Network across international markets. She also has an extensive development and management record having worked in business development positions at Discovery Channel and Landmark Communications and having spearheaded several channels in Latin America and Asia.

    Based in Miami, Jessica will be working across BBC Worldwide’s content divisions of program sales, new media, magazines, consumer publishing and home entertainment to maximise and consolidate brand exposure in the Latin and US Hispanic markets.

  • PanAmSat solidifies HD dominance with National Geographic HD win

    PanAmSat solidifies HD dominance with National Geographic HD win

    MUMBAI: National Geographic HD has chosen to join PanAmSat’s high-definition neighborhood. PanAmSat’s Galaxy HD neighborhood reaches over 9,000 cable systems throughout the US and features many of America’s top HD offerings, including: HBO HD, Cinemax HD, National Geographic HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Encore HD, ESPN HD, Fox Sports Net HD, NBA HD, NFL Network HD, The Outdoor Channel, Showtime HD West, STARZ! HD, TNT HD, WB HD and Wealth TV.

    “National Geographic’s high-quality, award-winning programming lends itself perfectly to high-definition television delivery. By joining the A-list roster of customers on Galaxy 13, National Geographic HD will enjoy the industry’s best coast-to-coast coverage that this powerful spacecraft offers. And, bar none, the Galaxy HD neighborhood delivers what television networks want — to pass every potential HDTV cable home in the nation’s top ADIs,” said PanAmSat executive vice president global sales and marketing Mike Antonovich.

    National Geographic HD is distributed by Fox Entertainment Group. Fox had signed a long-term, multi-year, multi-satellite, multi-transponder deal with the Company, consolidating its entire suite of US programming onto PanAmSat’s global fleet as well as a significant portion of its international traffic. The contract was later expanded to include two additional transponders on Galaxy 13, the new home for National Geographic HD.

    High-definition television has made large strides in the US and is predicted to make even larger inroads in the next four years.

    According to industry analyst reports, by 2009, HDTV will be in 52 million households, up from the current four million households. Northern Sky Research estimates that 500 channels will be broadcast in HD by 2010. And, the Consumer Electronics Association reports that seven in 10 consumers are planning to purchase a digital cable-ready HDTV as their next television.

    Ultimately, the continued price reductions in the HDTV arena, coupled with the looming analog cut-off, will result in 55 percent of US households having at least one HD-capable TV by the end of 2010 explain analysts from Leichtman Research Group’s in a recent report entitled, “HDTV: Awareness, Interest and Intent to Purchase 2005.”