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Tag: Nirvana

  • Merging I-League & ISL can solve logistical chaos in Indian football calendar: Nitin Kukreja

    Merging I-League & ISL can solve logistical chaos in Indian football calendar: Nitin Kukreja

    MUMBAI: Stakeholders in the growing Indian sports industry unanimously agree that the appetite for football in India is definitely on the rise though there are numerous challenges, which have to be overcome before its full potential can be realised.

     

    At the recently held Star Sports India Football Forum 2015, Star India president sports Nitin Kukreja said that while merging I-League and ISL would solve much of the logistical chaos currently reigning in the Indian football calendar, no concrete progress has been made towards that. He also stressed on the need for schools and colleges to participate in the sport in a structured manner in order to allow a footballing culture to develop on a larger scale, especially in North and West India where the sport does not have much popularity.

     

    Senior professionals from the sports and broadcast industry deliberated on the multiple opportunities in the football sector at the forum titled: “Taking Indian Football Higher, Deeper, Wider,” held in Mumbai on 29 October.

     

    The day-long conference revolved around various Knowledge Sessions such as: Governance & Management – Faster Growth, Higher Visibility, Stronger Management; Maximising Fan Experience- Getting It Right on Air and In Stadia; Internet & Mobile Keys To Experiential Nirvana- Connecting To the Consumer in a Fast Evolving Media Landscape and Corporate Social Opportunity– The Business Potential in Grassroots Outreach.

     

    Established in 2010, the India Football Forum, the flagship property of the SportzPower Knowledge Series (SKS) in partnership with Event Capital, brings together some of the best minds in the industry on one platform to deliberate on the business of football in this market.

     

    Industry stalwarts such as U Sports founder Ronnie Screwvala, DFL Sports Enterprises chief representative Asia Pacific Peter Leible, Future Brands MD & CEO Santosh Desai and Kukreja spoke on the various factors that indicate the rapid strides made by football, and the initiatives required to take it to the next level.

     

    Leible, who drew a parallel to the recent period of revival in German football to provide context to the Indian experience, said a similar widespread initiative, with emphasis on clubs doing their bit on the grassroots and academy side of things, could lead to a uniform growth of football in India though “patience” is the key criteria while implementing such programmes.

     

    Screwvala, in conversation with conference chair Ayaz Memon, said that with ISL, the changes are positive in Indian football, but there needs to be an effort to develop the game at the grassroots level to actually help improve the standards of Indian football.

  • Big Bro loses sponsor over racist bullying row

    Big Bro loses sponsor over racist bullying row

    MUMBAI: It has become the ‘big brother’ of all controversies, with accusations of racism, the parliaments of two country’s wading in, and the show’s producers Endemol and UK broadcaster Channel 4 on a fast ride to ratings nirvana.

    And it doesn’t stop there. The latest twist to the story comes with one of the major sponsors pulling the plug on Celebrity Big Brother, the low brow reality show that is at the centre of a storm over the treatment meted out to Bollywood starlet Shilpa Shetty by her fellow “housemates”.

    Carphone Warehouse, the biggest mobile phone retailer in Europe, has pulled out its sponsorship of the current series saying that it did not want its name associated with claims of racist bullying. “We had already made it clear to Channel 4 that were this to continue, we would have to consider our position. Nothing we saw last night gave us any comfort. Accordingly we have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect,” Carphone Warehouse said in a statement.

    The statement added, “Nothing we saw last night gave us any comfort. Accordingly we have instructed Channel 4 to remove our sponsorship name and branding with immediate effect.”

    Carphone Warehouse has sponsored the show since 2004. The deal with Channel 4 and programme makers Endemol is understood to be in the region of £3million, Britain’s Sun tabloid reported.

    What would come as no surprise to most media watchers is that the controversy has also fuelled the ratings for the show. Tuesday’s telecast of the show was watched by over 4.5 million viewers almost 1 million more than the previous day. Interest in the show has skyrocketed both within UK’s Asian and white communities.

    UK’s broadcasting watchdog Ofcom has received a record 27,000 complaints, while Channel 4 has received 3,000 about alleged racism by the house mates towards Shetty. The show has also become a hot topic amongst bloggers making sure the interest in the show is kept alive.

    Ratings and voting revenues are likely to soar further after Goody and Shetty are now pitted against one another and depending on the most nominations received, one will be evicted from the house.

    Meanwhile Channel 4 released a statement insisting that there had been no overt racism, and claiming that the clashes were based on class and cultural differences.

    Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards has made it clear that he would not conduct a “kangaroo court” over the row. Richards was responding to questions over what action his organisation would be taking following accusations of racism in the show after his keynote speech at the Oxford Media Convention.

    One of the more ridiculous ofshoots of the controversy that everyone and their big brother is trying to cash in on came from online community Gottabet.com which is offering £10,000 to anyone “who can get a custard pie in the face of any one of the trio of girls” – Jade Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O’Meara – who have been at the centre of allegations of bullying in the house.

    Celebrity Big Brother is now in its fifth season on UK’s Channel 4. Netherlands based Endemol is the series producer and had adapted the format to Indian television under the title Big Boss, currently running on Sony Television.

  • Optimystix’s ‘Nirvana’ rated amongst top 5 Mipcom formats by ‘Broadcast Magazine’

    Optimystix’s ‘Nirvana’ rated amongst top 5 Mipcom formats by ‘Broadcast Magazine’

    MUMBAI: Optimystix Entertainment’s format ‘Nirvana’ has been picked by Broadcast Magazine as one of the top five formats of Mipcom 2006.

    Whereas India is now a big player in sourcing formats from the world market, this will be the first time an Indian content producer has created content for the world market, informs an official release.

    Executive chairman of Optimystix, Sanjiv Sharma said “This is a format what we pitched to our fellow members at the Sparks Network at MIP TV in April this year. Whereas the format was extremely well received, it really exciting to be picked as one of the top five formats of the world’s biggest content market. We have serious interest for Nirvana from Networks in the US, France, Finland, Belgium, Poland and Italy.”

    Nirvana is a format where seekers from a country will come to India to seek spiritual solutions that will help them cope with modern life, the release adds.

    Managing Director and Head of Creative Services at Optimystix, Vipul D Shah said “This is matter of pride for the entire country. Whereas India will continue to consume creative ideas from the world market, it is very important to create content which can be pitted against the best of the best in the global arena.”

    Chairman of the Sparks Network, Nicola Soderlund said “This is the first time an Indian Format has hit the international TV market and this proves that Optimystix can compete with global players. We are very proud that Sparks has played a part in this achievement and expect several more original and ground breaking ideas to come out from this talented team. This is just the beginning.”