ITV

Tag: NBC

  • Singer Celine Dion to make appearance on NBC’s show ‘Deal Or No Deal’

    Singer Celine Dion to make appearance on NBC’s show ‘Deal Or No Deal’

    MUMBAI: Superstar singer Celine Dion will make a special guest appearance on the special 90-minute season finale of US broadcaster NBC’s reality show Deal or No Deal.

    The show raises the stakes as the top prize money increases from one to five million dollars on 5 June. During the finale high school guidance counselor Casey Bell of Temecula, California is the lucky contestant. She will be surprised with a chance to become a millionaire five times over when the new stakes are revealed. Does she have the nerves of steel needed when she is confronted with life-altering financial decisions in a highly pressured environment?

    She gets a little help from her family, friends and a surprise guest when she serenades the banker with a song by her all-time favorite musical artist, Celine Dion. Dion joins Bell’s support team live via satellite from Las Vegas and helps Bell during crucial decision making moments when host Howie Mandel asks the all-important question, “deal, or no deal?”

    A Deal or No Deal aficionado, Dion watches the show with her family. She says, “Around our house, Deal or No Deal rules! My son Rene-Charles is a very enthusiastic ‘at home’ contestant, and my husband and I are right there with him! It was a thrill for me to participate and give encouragement to the contestant on the show.”

    Hosted by Howie Mandel Deal or No Deal sees contestants play for a large cash prize in a high-energy match of nerves, instincts and raw intuition. Each night, the game of odds and chance unfolds when a contestant faces 26 sealed briefcases containing anything from a penny to one million dollars. Without knowing the amount in each briefcase, the contestant picks one — his to keep, if he chooses, until its unsealing at game’s end.

  • ABC, Fox up on Upfront, CBS flat, NBC to drop: Merrill Lynch report

    ABC, Fox up on Upfront, CBS flat, NBC to drop: Merrill Lynch report

    MUMBAI: Will it stay flat or will there be another fall? And how much longer will the annual highpoint event for television networks in the US – the broadcast upfront presentations – even matter to executives taking the call on where to put their advertising buck?

    As new digital media options open up, these are issues that TV execs in the US are having to grapple with increasingly in the upfront season but a report just out from investment firm Merrill Lynch does offer a window into what the future could hold. At least in the near to medium term. And contrary to the doomsayers, it is not all gloom for the networks in an age where a new generation of consumers are increasingly getting their entertainment fix outside of the TV screen.

    To quote from the report: “Generally speaking, we believe that traditional broadcasters may be better positioned for this market than credited given their multiple touch points with consumers, experience in content production, already large inventory of much sought after video content and strong relationships with advertisers.”

    The report further said that if advertisers opted to shift their spends to new digital platforms like broadband or mobile, “broadcasters are primed to attract a significant share of that spending with their offerings in the new arenas”.

    On the dollars gained front, the report predicts the major networks should wind up about flat or slightly lower than the $9.1 billion booked in 2005, when upfront spending fell 2 percent from the previous year. Among the networks, ABC again leads its rivals on the continued momentum delivered by its three big hit shows – Desperate Housewives, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy. Upfront commitments are predicted to increase 7 per cent to $2.23 billion. News Corp’s Fox meanwhile, shows the biggest projected growth of 12 per cent to reach $1.78 billion.

    Though CBS will only be up 1 per cent this year, by virtue of its having the largest ad pie share among the top four US networks means it will rack up $2.63 billion from the upfront.

    NBC continues the slide after seeing its prime-time ratings drop 14 per cent over the last year. Merrill Lynch predicts that NBC will decline 3 per cent this year, to touch $1.84 billion. Some consolation for the ratings challenged former numero uno network is that it has somewhat bottomed out from the disastrous 33 percent free fall it suffered last year.

  • NBC introduces new programming schedule for its 2006-07

    NBC introduces new programming schedule for its 2006-07

    MUMBAI: With the end of television hits such as Friends and Frasier, NBC is attempting to regain its top ratings by introducing its new primetime lineup with six new dramas and four new comedies for its 2006-2007 Fall schedule, as announced by NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly.

    “The face of NBC is changing,” said Reilly. “We took the first step this season with Thursday hits My Name Is Earl and The Office. Next season we’ll add momentum and excitement with the addition of Sunday Night Football and establish a foundation of quality across the week by standing behind shows that each say something about who we are.”

    The season includes two previously announced new dramas Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip to be telecast on Thursdays 9-10 pm ET, with an all-star cast that includes Matthew Perry , Amanda Peet and Bradley Whitfordand and Emmy Award-winning executive producer-writer Aaron Sorkin. It attempts to capture the drama behind the humour of producing a popular, late-night comedy sketch show.

    Also to be aired is Kidnapped, a serialized thriller about the kidnapping of a teenaged boy, starring Jeremy Sisto and Delroy Lindo, every Tuesday at 9 pm ET.

    In addition, the new drama Friday Night Lights will be telecast every Tuesday at 8 pm ET, stars Kyle Chandler and is inspired by the hit feature film that revovles around the high expectations set by a small town in Texas for their football team .

    Another new entry is Heroes to be telecast on Mondays at 9 pm ET, an epic drama centering on the radically changed lives of ordinary people who realise they possess extraordinary powers.

    Two new comedies to be telecast include 20 Good Years every Wednesday at 9 pm ET. It is a high-energy comedy starring Emmy winner John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor and follows two New Yorkers who finally realize that life doesn’t last forever. This will be followed by 30 Rock at 9:30 pm ET. 30 Rock stars Emmy winner Tina Fey as the head writer of a frenetic late-night television variety show. Also starring are Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan.

    NBC has been known to introduce new series throughout the entire season. In keeping with this, ER premieres its 13th season in December followed by the new drama The Black Donnellys from Oscar winners Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco Crash, which will debut in January on Thursdays at 10 pm ET and will continue with consecutive original episodes, until it completes its first season.
    Sunday Night Football will air every weekend from 8 to 11 pm, which will be preceded by the pre-game show Football Night in America.

    In January 2007, NBC will introduce a new Sunday night line up featuring Simon Cowell’s new talent search America’s Got Talent hosted by Regis Philbin at 8 pm, leading into a new season of The Apprentice at 9 p.m., this time Donald Trump targeting candidates in L A . Followed at 10pm by the new drama Raines that has Emmy-winning writer-producer Graham Yost and director-writer-producer Frank Darabont and actor Jeff Goldblum as an eccentric police detective.
    As yet unscheduled midseasons include The Singles Table and Andy Barker, P.I.

  • NBC’s new reality show celebrates American talent

    NBC’s new reality show celebrates American talent

    MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC will kick off a new show America’s Got Talent from 21 June 2006.

    The series will feature a colourful array of hopeful future stars. Singers, dancers, comedic performers and unique acts of all ages will have a chance to strut and perform in front of a panel of judges who will determine, which acts advance to the final rounds. The winner walks away with a million dollars in cash.

    The idea comes from FremantleMedia and Simon Cowell who also do the huge hit American Idol on Fox. The show will be hosted by Regis Philbin who has also hosted Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
    NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly says, “Regis is one of America’s most recognisable and beloved TV personalities. I couldn’t be more pleased to have him as the host of America’s Got Talent working alongside Simon Cowell and the excellent team of producers.”

    Philbin said, “For years I’ve thought about hosting a variety show on television but I could never put it together in my mind. Finally, here it is and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”

    Cowell says, “I am delighted that Regis has agreed to host America’s Got Talent. Regis is just the best, and I am really looking forward to working with him.”

  • Endemol announces good results in US, UK & Italy for Q1

    Endemol announces good results in US, UK & Italy for Q1

    MUMBAI: Television format creator Endemol has announced a sound performance in the first quarter of 2006.

    Compared to the first quarter of 2005, Endemol says that it enjoyed a strong increase in business across all genres and most of its markets, especially the US, the UK and Italy. The overall financial outlook for 2006 remains good. Given the lumpy nature of Endemol’s business (project-based), performance in the first quarter cannot be automatically extrapolated to the rest of the year.

    Endemol will publish its half year results on 26 July 2006, with more detailed financial information. Endemol says that its top format in terms of turnover, Big Brother, remains strong. The format was on air in more countries than in the same period of last year, returning to screens in Italy and Belgium after an absence in 2005. The success Endemol has enjoyed worldwide with Deal or no Deal during the first quarter, in particular in the UK and the USA, has resulted in an increasing appetite for game shows (a core element of Endemol’s portfolio), which Endemol is capitalising on.

    In the US, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition continues to do well. After being successfully introduced in the US market in December 2005, Deal or No Deal again had promising ratings for the second series, which aired on NBC in March. Specific examples of the resurgence of game shows can be seen in the US where newly created formats Show Me The Money and For The Rest of Your Life were sold to Fox and ABC respectively and the rejuvenated version of Endemol’s existing format One versus 100 was sold to NBC – all in the same week.

    In the scripted field, Endemol enjoyed a sound performance with several continuing and new soap operas and drama series in its main scripted territories including the Netherlands, Italy and Spain, but also with drama productions in countries such as South Africa and Russia. In April, Endemol increased its stake in the Dutch production company NL Film & TV to 51 per cent, which focuses exclusively on television drama, comedy and feature films.

    In line with the company’s continuing search for expansion in New Territories, the first Asian subsidiary, Endemol India, opened for business at the beginning of the year and enjoyed a successful start in the first three months. In addition, Endemol Polska officially kicked off in Poland as a fully independent production company headed by a newly appointed MD.

    In the digital media field, next to Participation TV, the success of formats like Deal or no Deal and Big Brother is generating substantial revenues on calls and SMSs. Furthermore, Endemol is exploring new sustainable revenue streams through cooperation with companies such as KPN in the Netherlands and BT in the UK, further exploiting Endemol’s library and developing new specific content for their IPTV concepts. This particular broadband and mobile opportunity for exploitation of content is still in its early days and revenues are currently embryonic.

    Endemol CEO Joaquim Agut says, “In the first quarter we have continued to perform strongly across the group. We saw earlier initiated strategic actions taking effect. In addition, several new steps towards the further development and implementation of our strategic priorities were made. We are confident that we will realise the targets given in our financial guidance as provided earlier this year.”

  • Endemol USA secures game show deals with ABC, NBC, Fox

    Endemol USA secures game show deals with ABC, NBC, Fox

    MUMBAI: Format owner Endemol USA has sold three game shows to ABC, Fox and NBC.

    Two of the shows, For The Rest of Your Life for ABC and Show Me The Money for Fox, are new formats from Dick de Rijk. He created Deal Or No Deal.

    1 versus 100 for NBC is from the Endemol catalogue. The shows are expected to air in the second half of this year initially in short runs of between five and 10 shows.

    Endemol USA president and CEO David Goldberg said, “There is undoubtedly a resurgence of game shows in the US and Endemol is leading the charge.”

  • NBC, Tommy Mottola looking for internet band in the US

    NBC, Tommy Mottola looking for internet band in the US

    MUMBAI: In what could be seen as a take off on US broadcaster Fox’s very successful music based reality show American Idol, rival NBC has announced that its new, exclusively online music competition StarTomorrow is conducting a search for the first Internet superstar band or singing group across the US.

    Solo artists, bands, singing groups or duo’s in America who are at least 18 years of age are encouraged to submit auditions to StarTomorrow producers. The top 100 submissions will be invited to audition.

    Group members will secure a record deal with the Casablanca label (a division of the Universal Music Group) who will also offer career guidance.

    StarTomorrow is expected to debut this July on NBC.com with a search that will ultimately narrow the field down to 100 of America’s best groups and bands that have been screened for entry into the competition. Approximately twenty band auditions will be released each week for the first half of the sixteen week series.

    Viewers will then evaluate them and have a week to vote on which groups and bands will move on to the next round. The finalists will then compete in the second half of the series. The format will include covers of pop, rock and country favourites and original material, but as the series goes deeper into the competition, the focus will shift more to original songs.

  • Indiagames to develop mobile game on NBC’s hit comedy ‘The Office’

    Indiagames to develop mobile game on NBC’s hit comedy ‘The Office’

    MUMBAI: Mobile entertainment content provider Indiagames has clinched a deal with US broadcaster major NBC. The company has announced that it is publishing a mobile phone game based on the channel’s hit comedy series The Office in a licensing agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group.

    Indiagames will launch this initiative with The Office Games, a mobile game that will bring petty behavior and zero productivity to the mobile handset. Developed solely in-house, the game will feature groundbreaking cubical game-play that will allow players to participate in a variety of different mini-games including Wastekeball, Paper-Football (Hateball), Table-Top Golf, Office Paper War and more, states an official release.

    “We are thrilled to bring the fun, smart humor and the resulting awkward silence of The Office to mobile phones,” says Indiagames CEO Vishal Gondal.

    “I’m convinced that this suite of addictive casual games will lead to diminished productivity in offices across North America,” said Universal Mobile Entertainment senior vice president Jeremy Laws. “I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to NBC’s hit comedy series.”

    The Office takes a painfully funny look at the interactions of the desk jockeys at Dunder Mifflin paper-supply company in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Golden Globe winner Steve Carell stars as unctuous regional manager Michael Scott who hosts the documentary crew on a tour of the workplace.

  • NBC Universal unveils new division to boost digital media

    NBC Universal unveils new division to boost digital media

    MUMBAI: NBC Universal has formed a new business unit, the Technology Growth Center (TGC), within the media giant to focus on new business opportunities in digital media. NBC Universal has tapped Darren Feher, the company’s chief technology officer, to run the group.

    Feher will be reporting to NBC Universal’s technology and operations division president and chief information officer of Media Works John Eck.

    “Today, consumers want to enjoy media any time and any where,” Eck said. “The TGC will help fulfill this demand by providing the necessary technology to foster a greater variety of distribution methods.”
    The new division will coordinate NBCU’s approach to technology across the company’s various distribution channels.

    TGC is organized into four divisions: Technical Product Development, developing technology in the areas of broadband, iTV, electronic-sell-through, mobile and wireless, DVRs and gaming; Policy, Strategy and Standards, focusing on increasing the influence of NBC Universal’s industry positions among standards consortia and in Washington; Emerging Technology and Research, working with GE’s Global Research Center and universities; and Anti-Piracy Technical Operations, with an emphasis on forensic watermarking, cracking down on Internet piracy, and raids and investigations, stated a media report.

    The division has already developed the technology that allowed NBC Universal to digitally send its TV content to Apple for distribution on iTunes, eliminating the need for digital beta tapes. Other TGC projects underway include DVD point-of sale activation, forensic watermarking, new peer based distribution technologies, download-to-own technology, DRM standards and automatic closed captioning.

    The TGC has also launched several interactive television projects, including a service that enabled DirecTV, EchoStar and Time Warner Cable subscribers to access medal counts, athlete biographies and news during broadcasts of the Winter Olympics in February. More recently, the TGC has facilitated online voting in several NBC shows, including Deal or No Deal.

  • NBC offers entertainment at gas stations

    NBC offers entertainment at gas stations

    MUMBAI: The media landscape is changing and how! The NBC Universal Television Stations group and VST Media Network are partnering to grab eyeballs at the gas pumps. It will deliver customized local news, weather, sports and entertainment video and headlines to on-pump screens at gas stations on daylight-viewable 17-inch screens with stereo speakers.

    The deal will deliver programming to 17 Shell gas stations in Los Angeles, but by year’s end, VST plans to have 500 stations in L.A., San Francisco and San Diego. VST will also add screens at other gas stations across the country in markets with NBC O&O’s.The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

    Programming is in three-minute bursts, which are activated when pumping begins. That duration was determined to be the average amount of time people spend filling up their gas. “Not to sound too corny, but as you’re filling your tank, we’re filling your mind,” said NBC Universal Television Stations digital media and strategic marketing evp Ric Harris.

    The programming, which will be updated twice daily, will come from local newscasts at the NBC stations in each market, and will be coordinated through NBC’s KNTV in San Francisco.

    The programming is also a vehicle for 15-second ads, which will run between breaks. State Farm Insurance and Tropicana are on board as initial advertisers. The ads try to entice gas pumpers to enter mini-marts. State Farm, which is advertising its car insurance with an ad that compares the high price of gas with the premiums the company’s competitors charge. “It’s utilizing a car moment to bring up car insurance,” said State Farm assistant vp for advertising Mark Gibson.

    According to NBC Universal, each participating gas station averages at least 20,000 pump visits per month