ITV

Tag: New York City

  • Sony Pix to air Spider-Man movie marathon

    Sony Pix to air Spider-Man movie marathon

    MUMBAI:  Apart from the telecast, Sony PIX has also arranged to bring a copy of Daily Bugle a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper from the Spider-Man world to India. This is the original copy of the newspaper used in the movie Spider-Man 3 and PIX is going to make it available for viewing across multiple cities in India. Through this one in a million opportunity, the newspaper will be making its round across Hard Rock Café outlets in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad starting 15 January 2016.

     

     The channel will also air five Spider-Man movies back to back on 26 January 2016 starting 10 am onwards to 9:30 pm.

     

    This Marvel Superhero created by Stan Lee, is one of world’s most beloved superhero. Each of his adventures has left its audiences AMAZED for over 50 years. Catch him beset with troubles in his failing personal life, fight a strange black entity, solve his parent’s mysterious death and save New York City that’s under siege by the Oscorp.

     

     A robust marketing plan has been put in place to promote the Pixathon with special focus on social media. Apart from an exciting contest, where in winners can win exclusive Spider-Man merchandises, PIX will do an all India tour with the original ‘Daily Bugle’ engaging with fans and followers of Spider-Man. The Sony Pictures Networks will be utilised to the fullest to promote the Pixathon.

     

     If you have missed any of the Spider-Man series or need to add the rush and excitement of Spider-Man, then Sony PIX gives you an opportunity to relive the Spiderman magic all day long this republic day. 

  • The line between supporters and fanatics has blurred, says Dilip Cherian

    The line between supporters and fanatics has blurred, says Dilip Cherian

    To quell the raging Rajdeep reaction, it seems PM Modi moved swiftly by getting a story out that emissary Adani called to say sorry! While its right or wrong, true or false arguments prevail, Rajdeep became a symbol of something, a fabulous place for any TV journo to be, brand enhancing and truly a victory for Image Managers on either side.

     

    But then, it’s still sad, that it’s not only Hong Kong’s protestors, who are not the ones taking to the streets. The Modi lovers at Madison Square Garden sadly had closet protestors amidst them too! Clearly, this is also the season for violent expressions of distaste and distrust, and Rajdeep Sardesai was just unlucky to be a kind of lightning rod. Provocations and partisan videos aside, clearly something was very wrong amongst those gathered to greet and preen for Modi in New York City that fateful day. And its best, it’s now put to rest!

     

    But a basic malaise seems to have spread even further and Modi may not quite know yet. On a live television channel in New Delhi a former diplomat commenting on the excitement over Modi’s US visit lapsed into the totally unparliamentary word of “tuttoo” to describe Manmohan Singh’s relationship with the United States. A shocked anchor groaned visibly on screen, other guests were similarly aghast, but apologies were not quite forthcoming! The regrettable Rajdeep incident, too, had several up in arms against the treatment meted out to Rajdeep, but, significantly, many others who have been defending the mob’s actions as well. And it’s good that Modi’s minders put their word out too – in a manner of speaking. Clearly, the line between supporters and fanatics has blurred considerably even as the line between the “us” versus “them” perception has deepened and widened.

     

    Clearly, between the protestors in Hong Kong facing the wrath of an obdurate Chinese administration and the voices that seem to assume that Modi would support them in a similarly enthusiastic manner, the message that comes through visibly on television screens in a variety of ways is of a new aggression, a new violence, and that unholy suspicion that silencing the enemy is probably what the New Age mantra seems to have become.

     

    (These are purely personal views of India’s image guru, Dilip Cherian who is also the consulting partner at Perfect Relations and a former editor of Business India and of the Observer newspapers. He is a columnist and business analyst and indiantelevision.com does not subscribe to these views.)

  • Two time Golden Globe winning series BROOKLYN NINE-NINE now on Indian Television

    Two time Golden Globe winning series BROOKLYN NINE-NINE now on Indian Television

    MUMBAI: Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a workplace comedy that deals with a diverse group of detectives. Set in the 99th Precinct of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn, the single-camera ensemble comedy follows a talented-but-carefree detective Jake Peralta and his colleagues, who have to prove themselves to the new Captain Ray Holt who has come on-board and wants his team to work hard and follow the rules.

    Together, these cops interrogate suspects, arrest perps and solve murders. But, ultimately, Brooklyn Nine-Nine is a workplace comedy that’s not really about the job. It’s about the men and women behind the badge – singing karaoke, eating gourmet ham and hitting on each other – all while protecting the fine people of Brooklyn.

     
    Andre Braugher and Golden Globe winner Andy Samberg are the most unusual yet compelling actor duo on the block. Catch them in action and get ready for all the drama starting. May 19, 2014 onwards, every Monday – Wednesday at 10:00pm exclusively on Comedy Central India.

  • Titans of journalism ratchet up pressure on Egypt to #FreeAJStaff

    Titans of journalism ratchet up pressure on Egypt to #FreeAJStaff

    MUMBAI: Journalists from across the world commemorate the 100th day imprisonment of Al Jazeera English journalists.

     

    At the historic Paley Center in New York City, Al Jazeera English’s Executive Producer for Newsgathering in the Americas, Owen Watson, opened the press release with strong calls for the immediate release of Al Jazeera journalists in Egypt. Colleagues from the Associated Press, ABC News and The New York Times, Committee to Protect Journalists and sister-channel, Al Jazeera Arabic, joined him in solidarity.

     

    Jon Williams, Foreign Editor of ABC News, stated, “This is not Al Jazeera’s fight.  This is our fight as journalists.”

     

    Abderrahim Foukara, Al Jazeera Arabic’s Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief, made note of fellow colleague Abdullah al-Shami who has been detained since August of last year with no charges pressed. Al-Shami is currently on this 78th day hunger strike.    

     

    The press conference concluded with an announcement of the International Documentary Association’s letter of support.

     

    At Columbia School of Journalism, a Freedom of Press Symposium was held in partnership with the Dart Center, the Columbia Global Freedom of Expression and Information Project and the Columbia Global Centers l Middle East. The event highlighted the imprisonment of Al Jazeera journalists while reflecting on the changing geo-political landscape across the Middle East as well as press freedom.

     

    In London, Heather Allan, Al Jazeera English Head of Newsgathering participated in the BBC’s Safety of Journalists Symposium, hosted by BBC Global News and CFOM, the Centre for Freedom of the Media at the University of Sheffield, in cooperation with the BBC College of Journalism.

     

    Participants endorsed a statement which called for increased safety and protection of journalists, but also called on the release of the Al Jazeera staff: “Today also marks 100 days since the arrest and detention in Egypt of three respected and highly professional Al Jazeera journalists, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. No credible evidence has been produced to justify their imprisonment and prosecution. A number of other journalists have also been held in Egypt for extended periods without adequate access to justice. We call for the release of all those individuals and the freeing of more than 200 other journalists around the world who are now held behind bars only because they were doing their jobs. Journalism is not a crime; it is essential for a free and open society.

     

    Journalists across the BBC also took part in the social media #FreeAJStaff campaign, posting photos and messages of support for all four arrested Al Jazeera staff.

     

    Al Anstey, Managing Director of Al Jazeera English welcomed the support: “We are very grateful for the immense support of our staff to mark 100 days in prison, and from right around the world since they were detained in Egypt. The response has been amazing from the one minute silence outside New Broadcasting House organised by the BBC, to the press conference in New York. The response to their detention has been outstanding. Over 40,000 people have been actively involved in the campaign, events have been held in over 30 countries and in every continent, there have been over 900 million impressions of the FreeAJStaff hashtag, and there have been repeated calls for an end to the detention of our journalists from governments as well as media organisations from all corners of the globe. The campaign is focussed on the release of our four staff, but is fundamentally a stand in the defence of journalism itself, and a call for people everywhere to have a right to be heard and the right to know what is really going on in their world,” said Anstey.

     

    Since December 29th 2013 there have been calls for the release of all Al Jazeera staff detained in Egypt from the White House, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the European Union. Similarly public calls of support for the #FreeAJStaff campaign have been made from prominent media personalities like Christiane Amanpour from CNN, ITN’s Mark Austin, Channel Seven Australia’s Mark Ferguson, SKY news correspondent Sam Kiley and the BBC’s Lyse Doucet. Various media freedom and human rights groups have issued statements ranging from the Committee to Protect Journalist, the International Press Institute, Amnesty International and Foreign Correspondents’ Association of East Africa.

  • Comcast acquires Time Warner Cable for $45.2 bln

    Comcast acquires Time Warner Cable for $45.2 bln

    MUMBAI: Comcast Corporation, the largest video, high-speed internet and phone services provider in the US, will acquire its competitor Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion in all-stock deal.

     

    Through the merger, Comcast will acquire Time Warner Cable’s approximately 11 million managed subscribers. In order to reduce competitive concerns, Comcast said it is prepared to divest systems serving approximately 3 million managed subscribers.

     

    As such, Comcast will, through the acquisition and management of Time Warner Cable systems, net approximately 8 million managed subscribers in this transaction. This will bring Comcast’s managed subscriber total to approximately 30 million.

     

    Following the transaction, Comcast’s share of managed subscribers will remain below 30 percent of the total number of multi-channel video programming distributor (MVPD) subscribers in the US.

     

    Comcast Corporation  and Time Warner Cable today announced that their boards of directors have approved a definitive agreement for Time Warner Cable to merge with Comcast.

     

    Comcast will acquire 100 per cent of Time Warner Cable’s 284.9 million shares outstanding for shares of Comcast amounting to approximately $45.2 billion in equity value.

     

    Each Time Warner Cable share will be exchanged for 2.875 shares of CMCSA, equal to Time Warner Cable shareholders owning approximately 23 percent of Comcast’s common stock, with a value to Time Warner Cable shareholders of approximately $158.82 per share based on the last closing price of Comcast shares.

     

    The transaction will generate approximately $1.5 billion in operating efficiencies and will be accretive to Comcast’s free cash flow per share while preserving balance sheet strength. The merger will also be tax free to Time Warner Cable shareholders.

     

    Comcast said this transaction will create a leading technology and innovation company, differentiated by its ability to deliver ground-breaking products on a superior network while leveraging a national platform to create operating efficiencies and economies of scale.

     

    “The combination of Time Warner Cable and Comcast creates an exciting opportunity for our company, for our customers, and for our shareholders,” said Comcast’s Chairman and CEO Brian L Roberts. “Also, it is our intention to expand our buyback program by an additional $10 billion at the close of the transaction.

     

    The new cable company will generate multiple pro-consumer and pro-competitive benefits, including an accelerated deployment of existing and new innovative products and services for millions of customers.

     

    Comcast’s subscribers today have access to the most comprehensive video experience, including the cloud-based X1 Entertainment Operating System, plus 50,000 video on demand choices on television, 300,000 plus streaming choices on XfinityTV.com, Xfinity TV mobile apps that offer 35 live streaming channels plus the ability to download to watch offline later, and the newly launched X1 cloud DVR.

     

    Comcast is also a technology leader in broadband and has increased Internet speeds 12 times in the past 12 years across its entire footprint. Time Warner Cable owns cable systems located in key geographic areas, including New York City, Southern California, Texas, the Carolinas, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

     

    Time Warner Cable will combine its unique products and services with Comcast’s, including StartOver, which allows customers to restart a live program in progress to the beginning, and LookBack, which allows customers to watch programs up to three days after they air live, all without a DVR.

     

    Time Warner Cable also has been a leader in the deployment of community Wi-Fi, and will combine its more than 30,000 hotspots, primarily in Los Angeles and New York City, and its in-home management system, IntelligentHome, with Comcast’s offerings.

     

    The companies said the merger agreement between Comcast and Time Warner Cable is subject to shareholder approval at both companies and regulatory review and other customary conditions and is expected to close by the end of 2014.

     

    J.P. Morgan, Paul J. Taubman, and Barclays Plc acted as financial advisors to Comcast and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP are its legal advisors. Morgan Stanley, Allen & Company, Citigroup and Centerview Partners are financial advisors to Time Warner Cable and its Board of Directors, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP are legal advisors.

  • Beyonc breaks iTunes records

    Beyonc breaks iTunes records

    Pop star Beyonce looks to be rising on the chartbusters list. Her self-titled album, Beyonce has become the fastest selling album ever on the iTunes Store.

     

    With an unprecedented 828,773 albums sold in just its first three days, the album has broke the US first week album sales record with 617,213 sold and proved to be a global success going to number one in 104 countries, announced Apple.

     

    Beyonce is the fifth solo studio album from Beyonce, which was made available exclusively worldwide on the iTunes Store on 13 December by Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records. The self-titled set is the artist’s first visual album.

    The album has 14 new songs and 17 visually stunning, provocative videos shot around the world from Houston to New York City to Paris, and cto Rio de Janeiro, all before the album’s release. The album represents Beyonce’s biggest sales week ever.

  • Al Jazeera America set for TWC

    Al Jazeera America set for TWC

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are set to begin offering Al Jazeera America to their customers in the coming months, bringing the news network to almost 55 million homes.

    The network will roll out on basic digital tiers on the two platforms in markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas. Time Warner Cable executive VP and chief video and content officer Melinda Witmer said, “Now that the channel is live, we think that it would be of value to our customers and are pleased to make it available.”

     

    Al Jazeera America’s interim CEO Ehab Al Shihabi added: “It has been a pleasure working with TWC over the past few months as their executives evaluated our programming and commitment to fact-based, in depth reporting. We appreciate the vote of confidence that Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks have given to our brand of unbiased journalism and look forward to working with them as Al Jazeera America continues to grow.”

    Time Warner Cable dropped Current TV following its sale to Al Jazeera at the beginning of this year.

     

  • Al Jazeera America set for TWC

    Al Jazeera America set for TWC

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks are set to begin offering Al Jazeera America to their customers in the coming months, bringing the news network to almost 55 million homes.

     

    The network will roll out on basic digital tiers on the two platforms in markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas. Time Warner Cable executive VP and chief video and content officer Melinda Witmer said, “Now that the channel is live, we think that it would be of value to our customers and are pleased to make it available.”

     

    Al Jazeera America’s interim CEO Ehab Al Shihabi added: “It has been a pleasure working with TWC over the past few months as their executives evaluated our programming and commitment to fact-based, in depth reporting. We appreciate the vote of confidence that Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks have given to our brand of unbiased journalism and look forward to working with them as Al Jazeera America continues to grow.”

     

    Time Warner Cable dropped Current TV following its sale to Al Jazeera at the beginning of this year.

  • Prime Focus wins Emmy for ‘WWII from Space’

    Prime Focus wins Emmy for ‘WWII from Space’

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus, the world leader in media and entertainment industry services, won an Emmy Award in the ‘Outstanding Graphic Design & Art Direction’ category for their work on History Channel’s series World War II from Space. The October Films landmark series WW2 from Space covers the key political events and battles from the Second World War making extensive use of today’s creative technology to deliver the information in a way that will seize the attention of modern audiences.

     

    Winners of the 34th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards were announced on 1

     

    October by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS); the awards were presented at a glittering ceremony at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall in the Time Warner Center in New York City.

     

    The event was attended by more than 900 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Emmy Awards were presented in 42 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.

     

    The VFX (Broadcast and Commercials) team at Prime Focus UK devised and created visually exciting ways to deliver the program’s factual information. The team successfully delivered a 70 minutes of CG for the 82 minute broadcast, supplying more than 420 shots.

     

    Prime Focus founder Namit Malhotra said, “We are proud to be recognised by the prestigious jury at Emmy. Awards like these prove our team’s hard work and creative excellence every time. The team’s exceptional execution on the series has evolved the genre of documentary programming. It was one of the most challenging projects last year. Working with the production company to develop such large portions of the program allowed us to really take control of the look and feel of the show, and push the genre to new heights.”

     

    In the past, Prime Focus has been bestowed with multiple awards at Emmy for documentaries such as The Mona Lisa Curse which won in the Arts Programming category and America The Story for us won for Outstanding Sound Editing for Non-fiction Programming. They have also been recognised for documentaries such as Heston’s Feasts which was nominated for Best

     

    Non-scripted Entertainment while 9/11: Phone Calls from the Towers was nominated in the

     

    Best Documentary category.

     

    More recently the company has also been involved in helping out with the VFX for the Anil Kapoor Productions and Ramesh Deo Productions’ Indian adaptation of 24 starring Anil Kapoor. The series begins to air on c from today every Friday and Saturday at 10:00 pm.

  • Hollywood attorney Irwin Russell dies at 87

    Hollywood attorney Irwin Russell dies at 87

    MUMBAI: Entertainment attorney Irwin Russell, who represented industry notables including Michael Eisner, Jim Henson, David Wolper and Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss), passed away on 23 August from complications related to Leukemia. He was 87.

     

    “Irwin Russell was a brilliant lawyer, an insightful executive, an eloquent writer and, in all things, a true gentleman,” said Eisner, the former CEO of The Walt Disney Company, in a statement. “He represented me for 40 years, including my tenures at ABC, Paramount, Disney and, until the day he died, at Tornante.”

     

    Eisner added: “He was able to write – and get all parties to agree to – a one-page deal, something unheard of in American business. Ethics, doing it right and being fair were embedded in his DNA. This is a deep loss for all of us.”

     

    Born in 1926, Russell arrived in Los Angeles in 1971 after experience serving on the National Wage Stabilization Board in Washington, DC and working in private practice in New York City. He was involved in the takeover of the Walt Disney Company in 1984 and served on the Disney board.

     

    Among the many industry deals he is credited with, Russell helped bring the Muppets to Sesame Street and Candid Camera to television. The lawyer is survived by his wife, Suzanne. A memorial is set for September.