ITV

Tag: outside

  • Tough market forces Punjabi TV players to explore outside By BIJOY A K

    MUMBAI: Dealing with a stagnant market, Punjabi television players plan entry into non-Punjabi space for growth.

    While the J K Jain – promoted STV Enterprises is planning launch of two news channels covering Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir, the Mahendra Batla-owned MH1 is eyeing both Hindi and international viewers.

    STV Enterprises, which runs Punjabi language channels Balle Balle and Punjab Today, is targeting a December 2005 launch for the news channels, with an estimated investment of Rs 150 million. Jain told indiantelevision.com that the company was waiting for the uplinking licence from the I&B Ministry.

    “We are also setting up our own teleport on an investment of Rs 50 million. By launching two more regional channels, we are looking to explore the untouched markets,” says Jain.

    STV’s news channel Punjab Today currently has a one-hour news block for Haryana and a 30-minutes band for J&K viewers.

    Meanwhile, MH1 is planning to enter the Hindi as well as international markets with channels MH1 Gold and MH1 International respectively. MH1, which enjoys the second position behind ETC Punjabi in the regional space, will have news and entertainment programmes in its proposed Hindi channel.

    “MH1 Gold will compete with Hindi channels and will air news, current affairs and entertainment programmes. On the other hand, MH1 International will specially target natives of Punjab spread all over the world. The content will have an extra stress on the regional aspects”, says MH1 CEO Pradeep Gangal.

    Punjabi regional players are dealing with a stagnant market where Zee Network holds sway with two channels – ETC Channel Punjabi and Zee Punjabi. As already reported by this website, Zee is also planning to launch Khalsa World, a 24-hour religious channel.

  • At parties or outside, delegates swing to networking beat

    JAIPUR: Whether at the evening parties or at the convention centre, if there is one thing that all the delegates hope to get out of their stay at Jaipur, it is fresh contacts.

    And networking opportunities galore there were, what with so many countries represented at the convention. As is to be expected, most of the foreign delegates were from the Far East. However, it was not Singapore or Hong Kong that had the heaviest representation.

    Shankar of the Shankar-Ishan-Loy trio belts out an Indi-pop number

    The largest foreign contingent came from South Korea with 54, followed by Japan (33), Malaysia (28) and Indonesia with 26. Singapore was fifth with 20 while Taipei had 18. Only seven have come down from China though. Neighbours Sri Lanka had 13, Pakistan 12, Nepal 10 and Bangladesh six delegates in attendance.

    Seven have come from the US and six from the UK.

    As for the day’s activities, while today was a relatively light day with most delegates spending the second half of the day either sight-seeing or at the golf links, yesterday saw another grand gala dinner laid out.

    And while yesterday the theme was national dress reflected in the kind of entertainment on display, tonight it is sporty. Curious though as to just what that means! With a chill in the air, togging out in Bermudas and T-shirts at night is not a particularly attractive proposition.

    Incidentally, that was a complaint that a few guests last night had. A south India decked in dhoti and kurta said his legs were freezing. Another broadcast executive was chilled out more than figuratively, feeling more than just a nip in his lower extremities in the trendy silk sherwani he was decked up in.

    The music was great though with Shankar-Loy-Ehsaan belting out their Indi-pop numbers. Before the music kicked in there was Rajasthani contemporary folk dance routines by the mother-daughter team of Ila and Ishita Arun and their troupe.

    Ila Arun performs at the venue

    Like the previous night, it was the MTV VJs Cyrus Broacha and Sophiya who introduced the acts, and not surprisingly, there was another beauty queen on stage to do her preen routine. Diya Mirza, Miss Asia Pacific 2000, was there to give away some mementos. Since we had Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra on the first night and Mirza on the second, stands to reason that tonight we can expect Miss Universe 2000 Lara Dutta to strut on stage.

    But speaking of mementos, Euro RSCG’s Ishan Raina had something to smile about as he walked away with the grand prize of a Toyota Qualis in the lucky draw.