ITV

Tag: NBC

  • Fremantlemedia looks to put a twist on romance

    Fremantlemedia looks to put a twist on romance

    MUMBAI: Television format owner and creator Fremantle Media North America (FMNA), which produces American Idol for Fox, America’s Got Talent for NBC and The Price Is Right for CBS, has inked a one-year, first-look deal with best-selling novelist, Jackie Collins.

    As part of the deal, Collins will work with FMNA’s scripted division to create new romantic television dramas based on both original ideas and existing novels.

    FMNA CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz says, “This partnership is the perfect creative marriage. We are excited to work with a literary legend whose ingenious ideas match our expertise in developing and producing original programming.”

    Collins says, “I am delighted to be in business with Fremantle. They are a forward-thinking, extremely productive and innovative company with a great creative spirit and a fine team to back everything up.”

    In addition to this new deal, Collins will also release her 25th book entitled Drop Dead Beautiful: The Continuing Adventures of Lucky Santangelo. This is the fifth book in the Santangelo series, which will be published by St. Martin’s Press in July. Lucky/Chances, starring Nicollette Sheridan, and Lady Boss, starring Kim Delaney, were turned into two very successful, highly-rated miniseries for NBC, both written and executive produced by Collins herself.

    Collins started writing as a teenager, creating steamy stories her schoolmates paid to devour. Her first book, The World is Full of Married Men became a sensational best-seller with its open sexuality and honest depiction of the gender double standard. Eight best-selling novels later, Collins wrote the international sensation Hollywood Wives,which later became one of ABC’s highest-rated miniseries, produced by Aaron Spelling and starring Anthony Hopkins and Candice Bergen.

  • Al Gore, Cameron Diaz throw weight behind ‘Live Earth’ concerts to fight climate crisis

    Al Gore, Cameron Diaz throw weight behind ‘Live Earth’ concerts to fight climate crisis

    MUMBAI: Detailing an effort to engage billions of people across the globe, Kevin Wall, former US VP Al Gore, Pharrell Williams, film star Cameron Diaz, and the MSN Network have launched Save Our Selves (SOS) – The Campaign for a Climate in Crisis. The announcement was made at the California Science Center.

    SOS is designed to trigger a global movement to combat our climate crisis. It will reach people in every corner of the planet through television, film, radio, the Internet and Live Earth, a 24-hour concert on 7/7/07 across all 7 continents that will bring together more than 100 of the world’s top musical acts. Live Earth alone will engage an audience of more than 2 billion people through concert attendance and broadcasts. MSN has partnered with SOS to use its reach to make the Live Earth concerts available across the globe.

    The Live Earth audience, and the proceeds from the concerts, will create the foundation for a new, multi-year global effort to combat the climate crisis led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Vice President Al Gore. SOS was founded by Kevin Wall, who won an Emmy as Worldwide Executive Producer of Live 8.

    Wall said, “Our climate crisis is the paramount challenge facing humanity. SOS is more than a global distress call. SOS will give the world the tools we need to answer that call with meaningful action. The most important part of SOS is how individuals, corporations, and governments respond.

    “Our climate crisis affects everyone, everywhere, and that’s who SOS is aimed at. Only a global response can conquer our climate crisis. SOS asks all people to Save Our Selves because only we can.”

    Gore featured in a documentary about the environment An Inconvenient Truth which is the favourite to win an Oscar. He says, “In order to solve the Climate Crisis, we have to reach billions of people. We are launching SOS and Live Earth to begin a process of communication that will mobilise people all over the world to take action.

    “The climate crisis will only be stopped by an unprecedented and sustained global movement. We hope to jump-start that movement right here, right now, and take it to a new level on July 7, 2007.”

    MSN corporate VP and chief media officer Joanne Bradford says, “At MSN, we have the worldwide audience and the technology stage to help unite a global community around SOS and Live Earth.

    “Anyone around the world with an Internet connection will be able to come to MSN to view not just the concert events, but also an extensive collection of interactive media that will entertain, educate, inspire and ultimately drive change.”

    Wall has announced that 25 of the 100 top musical acts that have answered SOS’s call and are performing at Live Earth. SOS is also engaging other celebrities, CEOs, athletes, academics and government leaders to engage their constituencies. Please see that attached list of 25 artists.

    Wall adds, “More than 100 artists are performing at Live Earth and they’re all headliners. That’s what it takes to engage billions of people. We’re not just engaging fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snoop Dogg, or the Foo Fighters and Faith Hill. We are engaging them and everyone in between.

    “We have been overwhelmed by the response from the artist community and are feverishly working out the logistics for all of the bands that want to be involved. Today we are announcing just the first 25 and will soon be announcing even more headliners who, for contractual reasons, cannot be announced today.”

    The campaign’s identity is based on SOS, the international Morse code distress signal: three dots, followed by three dashes, followed by three dots. SOS is the most urgent, universal message we have, and SOS will use that signal as a continuous distress call to prompt individuals, corporations and governments around the world to respond to our climate crisis with action.

    Wall says, “SOS is creating an unmatched communications platform to take on an unparalleled crisis. Our message must saturate the globe if we are to succeed, and we will. In the US, we’re partnering with NBC-Universal and its networks. On satellite radio, we have SIRIUS and XM. In the UK, we’re partnering with the BBC. In Japan, we have a historic partnership with two broadcast partners. We have already secured television, Internet and wireless coverage in 120 countries, and the rest are soon to come.”

    Wall announced that Live Earth concerts will take place in the Brazil, Shanghai, Japan, Johannesburg, London, Sydney, and the US. Live Earth will be broadcast worldwide on MSN, which was the first sponsor to answer SOS’s call. MSN is one of the world’s most popular Internet destinations, and as such will allow the SOS campaign to have a global reach. MSN has services in over 42 markets and 21 languages, and more than 465 million people around the world visit MSN each month. Beginning today, people can go to http://liveearth.msn.com and begin participating in the global movement, and on 7/7/07, to watch the Live Earth concerts.

    Live Earth is being produced by Control Room, of which Kevin Wall is the CEO. Control Room has produced and distributed more than 60 concerts since its founding a year and a half ago featuring Beyoncé, Madonna, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band, Keith Urban, James Blunt, Snoop Dogg, the Rolling Stones, among others. Its multi-partner network provides a global reach for live offerings through broadband, television, digital movie theatres and mobile phones throughout the U.S. and the world.

    Live Earth will implement a new Green Event Standard that will become the model for carbon neutral concerts and other live events in the future. The Green Event Standard is being developed in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Commission to create a way for venues to be Leed-approved.

  • Former TWI chief Bill Sinrich is dead

    Former TWI chief Bill Sinrich is dead

    MUMBAI: Bill Sinrich, the former NBC newsman who became CEO of London-based sports producer TWI, died unexpectedly last Friday, 2 February 2007, after a short illness.

    He was being treated for depression at the time, according to a statement issued by his widow Nicola Cornwell.
    Sinrich, who joined TWI in 1987, is credited as being the man who helped the Indian cricket board break the Doordarshan monopoly on cricket telecast in the country.

    Sinrich left the company last February not long after IMG/TWI was acquired by New York private investment firm Forstmann Little & Co. His departure was reportedly due to disagreements with the new owners over the future course the company should take.

  • NBC Universal’s Wright calls for greater cooperation between govts for piracy fight

    NBC Universal’s Wright calls for greater cooperation between govts for piracy fight

    MUMBAI: NBC Universal chairman and CEO Bob Wright has called for governments and businesses to join forces in a rigorous alliance to combat piracy and counterfeiting.

    At the Third Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy, organised by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, he appealed to broadband providers, Internet auction sites, financial intermediaries and shipping companies to act more promptly in controlling the flow of illegal downloads and trading on their watch.

    His speech was called “Hear No Evil No Longer”. He urged business leaders to put the issue of dealing with piracy at the top of their agendas. “The days of ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ must come to an end. The scale of the epidemic leaves no choice. Legitimate businesses have to step forward and declare that they will not profit on the back of IP theft. And if they don’t step forward, governments need to adopt laws to require cooperation.”

    He noted that the technology-based, information-based society of tomorrow depends on innovation, invention, and creativity. These are the drivers of growth and progress. He warned that if they are not protected, tomorrow’s world will suffer greatly.

    “And from where I sit, we are losing ground in this battle. Much more urgent and concerted action must be taken if we are to turn back a rising global surge of counterfeiting and pirating, which threatens not just to dampen but to seriously threaten the fire of innovation and invention that creates economic growth.”

    He noted that one challenge involves raising the profile of the vast extent of intellectual property theft — and explaining and quantifying the threat to it. He stressed the need for action that goes beyond just modest measures.

    Piracy results in a ripple effect that magnifies the losses suffered by any individual sector of the economy. For every dollar a nation’s industry loses to counterfeiting and piracy, that nation will lose at least three dollars of GDP.

    When a movie studio loses revenues to piracy, it doesn’t have that money to reinvest into making more movies and television. Not only does this affect the individual studio but it also impacts all the companies that would have contributed to or benefited from these unmade productions. It reduces the revenue of the upstream suppliers to movie producers, and of the downstream industries, like movie theaters, DVD retailers, and video rentals.

    He went on to note that counterfeiting and piracy depends on legitimate businesses for distribution and resale. It is these businesses that must be enlisted in order to reduce trade in counterfeit and pirated product.

  • Tandberg TV provides interactive applications to coverage of Golden Globes

    Tandberg TV provides interactive applications to coverage of Golden Globes

    MUMBAI: Tandberg Television has provided an interactive television experience for entertainment fans via polls, trivia, winner predictions, fashion critiques and backstage video feeds during the 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards on 15 January on NBC.

    The Tandberg Television interactive application created for NBC’s 2007 Golden Globe Awards provided viewers with the ability to vote in a variety of film and television polls and answer trivia questions., informs an official release.

    “We are pleased to be working with Tandberg Television again to give our viewers an enhanced digital entertainment experience that adds an exciting element to our live programming,” said NBC Digital Entertainment and New Media executive vice president Vivi Zigler. “NBC.com has been aggressively exploring interactive features for our programming and this is another great example.”

    During the broadcast of this year’s Golden Globe awards, viewers could provide winner predictions, fashion critiques by logging on to http://www.nbc.com/Golden_Globes_2007 at NBC.com. and earn points for their participation or even compare responses to those of other players. Additionally, NBC gave away $5000 to a randomly selected winner from all registered users, adds the release.

    As part of the interactive experience, fans could rate the speeches and learn facts about their favourite actors, TV shows and movies, as well as have exclusive access to live backstage video feed and a real-time blog written by a behind-the-scenes NBC producer.

    “The interactive television (iTV) application we developed for this year’s Golden Globes broadcast demonstrates the direction that the television industry is heading,” said, Tandberg Television senior vice president, programmer sales Joe Franzetta. “Television viewers no longer want to passively watch television, so we develop interactive applications that provide an exciting and active experience that is much more personalized and immediate to the consumer. At Tandberg Television we are committed to providing a wide array of innovative interactive technologies that will alter the television landscape moving forward.”

    The Flash two-screen application marks the third project developed by Tandberg Television as an interactive application for an NBC special (2006 Golden Globes, 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006).

  • Letterman extends CBS deal through 2010

    Letterman extends CBS deal through 2010

    MUMBAI: The Late-night television comedian David Letterman has extended his contract with the CBS network in a deal that will keep his Late Show on the network through the fall of 2010.

    Letterman hosted his original show, Late Night on NBC in the time slot immediately following The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and was long considered a likely successor to Carson.

    CBS Corp chief executive Les Moonves said, “We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS home.”

    Letterman, who began his network TV career on NBC, will celebrate 25 years in late-night comedy this coming February. Letterman came to CBS in 1993 after 11 years on NBC, asserts an official release.

    CBS shares rose 1.5 per cent to close at $30.20 on 4 December after the announcement, adds the release.

  • Time Warner hires NBC’s Randy Falco as CEO of AOL unit

    Time Warner hires NBC’s Randy Falco as CEO of AOL unit

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Inc. has hired NBC Universal Television group president Randy Falco as chairman and chief executive officer of its AOL unit, replacing Jonathan Miller.

    The announcement was made by Time Warner Inc.’s chairman and CEO Richard D Parsons and president and COO Jeff Bewkes, asserts an official release.

    Commenting on Falco’s appointment Parsons said, “Jeff Bewkes and I are very pleased that a top operating executive of Randy Falco’s expertise and experience will be leading AOL into its next stage of development. A key to Time Warner’s digital future, AOL is showing early success in transitioning to an advertising-focused business model, and Randy is a first-rate choice to ensure AOL realizes its promise.”

    As president of NBC’s broadcast and network operations division, Falco was in charge of the facilities and operations of the NBC television network worldwide, adds the release.

    Falco added, ” My challenge will be to execute on the strategy that I believe will make AOL once again the leader of the online world. I see a tremendous opportunity for meaningful growth at AOL and will work hard with the fine people at AOL to make sure the company lives up to its full potential.”

    Time Warner, parent of AOL is a US based integrated media and communications company whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks and publishing.

    Based in Dulles, Virginia, AOL is a global web services company that operates web destinations, runs the country’s Internet access business, and provides a full set of advertising solutions.

  • NBC Universal laughs with broadband comedy channel

    NBC Universal laughs with broadband comedy channel

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate NBC Universal has launched a comedy broadband channel DotComedy at www.dotcomedy.com.

    NBC Universal Cable Entertainment president Jeff Gaspin says, “The launch of this new digital brand is an important milestone for us. NBC Universal has built a great history of comedy from late-night to ‘must-see TV.’ DotComedy is a digital extension in the same tradition. Comedy is one of the most successful genres on the web and this broadband channel will appeal to the advertisers’ targeted demos.”

    The focus of the programming on the new channel will be original, web-exclusive material developed specifically for DotComedy. The broadband channel will also feature content from NBC’s legendary late-night shows, including the first ten years of David Letterman’s late night career – NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman along with Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O’Brien.

    Sitcom fans will find vintage material mined from the NBC Universal television library, featuring the HBO series Dream On, Leave It To Beaver, The Munsters, Coach and Significant Others. DotComedy will also be home to a wide selection of stand-up, sketch material and viral videos.

    Additionally, DotComedy will give users an opportunity to showcase their own comedic talents by providing them with a virtual stage on which the site will feature user-generated content.

  • NBC Universal introduces interactive talk show

    NBC Universal introduces interactive talk show

    MUMBAI: This is a concept by US media conglomerate NBC Universal that looks to make a television show more encompassing through a presence across differnt platforms.

    The NBC Universal Television Stations, iVillage and the Universal Orlando Resort, have joined forces to create daytime’s first interactive talk show. It will be made available simultaneously on air, online and in front of a live studio audience.

    Shot at Universal Orlando Resort iVillage Live will build on the iVillage brand and connect content, community and commerce in a new experience for the daytime audience. The show launches Monday, December 4 at Noon/ET (11a.m/CT) on the NBC owned-and-operated stations, Bravo and iVillageLive.com.

    NBCU Television Stations president Jay Ireland says, “We’re thrilled to add ‘iVillage Live’ to our daytime schedule. This is a new model we developed for daytime programming in terms of its concept, content, interactivity and brand. The 360-degree premise allows our viewers to interact with the show in the way that best suits them; a true programming first for today’s digital age. We believe in this show’s potential and look forward to building its audience.”

    iVillage president Deborah Fine says, “For over ten years, iVillage.com’s loyal audience of women have been connecting online to laugh, learn and share life’s moments. iVillage Live’ is a ground-breaking programme, which enables our community to extend their conversation in a revolutionary way — on-air, online and even in person. It is a key component in our effort to bring our noted brand to the marketplace in a unprecedented, multi-platform manner.”

    Audience participation takes place through the dedicated website, iVillageLive.com, which is housed on iVillage.com, and has been specifically designed to maximize community involvement in the program. In addition to the live show stream, the site will host a daily live chat, portions of which will be discussed during the broadcast and scroll along the bottom of the television screen during relevant moments.

    A second live chat will take place at Noon/PT allowing west coast viewers to lend their voices to the conversation. A daily poll question and audience comment box will stay open for 24 hours to invite participation and influence the next day’s coverage.

    Viewers on the go can interact with iVillage Live via their mobile phone by texting IVL 360 to ask questions and share comments during the programme, as well as sign up for show reminders, news alerts, ringtones and wallpaper. On-demand access is available through the website, which will make that day’s show available for 24 hours after the initial broadcast. After that, visitors to the site can easily search for past episodes of the show, which will be archived by date, segment and topic.

    iVillage Live will also work closely with its advertising partners to create unique product integration and e-commerce opportunities. The charter sponsors, including Bally Total Fitness; Calphalon; The Estee Lauder Companies, including Aramis & Designer Fragrances, Clinique, Estee Lauder and Origins, among others; GE Profile Appliances; Goody; Graco; Healthy Choice; Overstock.com; Priceline.com and Unilever, will participate in on-air segments, when appropriate, to round out the show and offer value to viewers. On the site, users will have access to a gateway where they can buy the sponsors’ products in real time, while also engaged in the program.

    iVillage Live also marks the first time a theme park is being used as the permanent home for a daily, live talk show. The resort will add to the overall show experience in terms of audience, location, set and content. Universal Orlando draws visitors from all over the world, giving iVillage Live the potential to have one of the most internationally diverse studio audiences in daytime.

    The Park’s former “Toon Amphitheater” has been transformed into a space that fits with the interactive nature of the show, including the installation of audience polling devices attached to each seat.

  • NBC gives the game of ‘The Office’ a Flash make-over

    NBC gives the game of ‘The Office’ a Flash make-over

    MUMBAI: Mobile games are closing the gap to traditional computer games with the launch of a new technology that enables richer mobile experience.

    US broadcaster NBC has announced that The Office Games has produced a flash-enhanced game for its series of six mini-games, based on Verizon Wireless’ new Flash Lite for Brew technology.

    NBC says that the new The Office Games feature cleaner graphics, enhanced sound and quicker relay times and can be played on select Get It Now-enabled phones. As had been reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, Indiagames had developed NBC’s The Office Games to be played at the office or at home.

    With shorter play times, Verizon Wireless says that its customers will find the intuitive array of games easy to navigate and simple to play — which is good for a break, after a stressful meeting or on an awkward phone call. The games feature the characters from the television series participating in a selection of cubical game-play including Wasteketball, Paper-Football (Hateball), Table-Top Golf, Office Paper War, Chair-Racing and more.

    Indiagames VP US Sean Malatesta says, “We are proud to bring the comedy of The Office to Verizon Wireless using the incredible Flash Lite technology. It truly has been a great partnership indeed. These games are so addictive — and the new graphics make them even more fun!” .

    Indiagames is striving to bring high-quality CG games to mobile. With increased mobile phone screen sizes, Indiagames has begun to rollout a series of graphically driven games, similar to desktop games, but made for mobile. The new high-resolution graphics for NBC’s The Office Games are closer to those seen in traditional video games — with clean transitions during score updates and between games. Similarly, the maneuverability has been enhanced to capitalize on player reaction times.