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Tag: Sawhney

  • ESS Sawhney moving to Singapore, to be replaced by former Kellog India MD

    ESS Sawhney moving to Singapore, to be replaced by former Kellog India MD

    MUMBAI: ESPN Star Sports bossman in India Manu Sawhney has been promoted and is moving to Singapore.

    Sawhney, currently ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd managing director, has been promoted to ESS’ senior V-P programming and event management group and will be operating out of Singapore.

    Succeeding Sawhney as MD is RC Venkateish, formerly MD of Kellogg India. He will be responsible for advertising sales, marketing and distribution of ESPN India and Star Sports India networks and will report to Rik Dovey, MD ESS.

    Venkateish appointment comes at a critical time, what with the CAS rollout just over a month away. To smoothen the transition, Sawhney will be based in India for at least the next couple of months working closely with Venkateish and the management team to ensure a smooth transition.

    Even after that period Sawhney will be closely associated with operations in India as his brief is to oversee programming, acquisitions and scheduling of all the nine channels broadcast by ESS across Asia. That includes ESPN India and STAR Sports India as well.

    Once he makes the move to Singapore, Sawhney will be responsible for acquiring, managing and scheduling programming across nine ESS networks in the region –ESPN Asia, ESPN India, ESPN Taiwan, ESPN Philippines, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Taiwan and STAR Sports S.E.A. All nine feeds are customized in line with local audience preferences.

    Sawhney will also oversee the ESS Event Management Group (EMG) that specialises in creating, managing, promoting, producing and syndicating sporting events such as the Asian X Games Qualifier and Tour, Asian 9-Ball Tour, Asian Bowling Tour and English Premier League Asia Cup.

    Sawhney joined ESPN Software India in 1996, and has been instrumental in building the India and South Asia operations. As the MD, he was responsible for ESPN India and Star Sports India networks including advertising sales, marketing and distribution.

    Said Sawhney, “I have seen the India operations grow from a start up to the highest paid penetrated services across India. We redefined sports viewing in India to become the biggest niche channel bouquet and undisputed leader of sports broadcasting. I am happy that the company has now entrusted me with one of the most challenging functions to oversee event management and programming of all the regional networks of ESPN STAR Sports.”

    Venkateish, meanwhile, is an alumnae of IIT Madras and IIM Kolkata, Venkateish has over 20 years’ experience in the FMCG business and has worked with Kellogg, Oral B, Nestle and Smith Kline Beecham with stints both in India and abroad. Venkateish said: “Sports has been a passion with me since childhood. I look forward to the exciting opportunity at ESPN Software India Ltd.”

  • Broadcast India symposium concludes in Mumbai

    Broadcast India symposium concludes in Mumbai

    Professionals of broadcast, film and multimedia industries from all over the city converged at the Y B Chavan auditorium to participate in the 11th Broadcast India 2001 Technical Symposium that culminated on Wednesday evening.

    The penultimate talk of the two-day symposium centered on media asset management, a topic that offers vast potential in the burgeoning broadcasting industry in India. Dinesh Sawhney, the Hong Kong based manager with Sony Corporation, dwelt on the company’s product offerings, which help convert analog video archives into digital tapes that are easily catalogued, accessible and secure.

    According to Sawhney, CNN has already used Sony software in a two-year-old project to convert 50,000 hours of video archives in this fashion. Analog tapes, the conventional method of storing data, suffer from quality deterioration as well as outmoded methods of searching for particular files. The Peta site mass storage system and the Peta serve HSM system, patented by Sony, allows search and re-purposing of content, enables news broadcasters to provide comprehensive information, as well as allows them to prepare for video on demand (VOD) services that may enter India in the near future.

    Archive migration in digital mode thus allows organizations to create a multi media repository, which will allow local as well as remote access using web browsers to trawl for data. Sony’s HSM system also enables partial retrieval of files, making broadcasting newsrooms more efficient while searching archives, Sawhney said.

    Citing another example, Sawhney said that HBO too has used the Peta serve system for video archive storage, and uses its automated facility for pre-programming up to 48 hours of its promos, so that no manual intervention is necessary to play them on the channel during that period.

    The symposium’s other sessions focused on interactive TV, routing technology, content management, digital cinema, screen writing and film editing, among other topics. The symposium will be followed by a three-day exhibition on broadcasting equipment at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai.

    Sony and Panasonic are to exhibit the equipment and technology used by George Lucas to digitally shoot the latest episode of Star Wars. Brand names like JVC, SGI, Discreet, Thomson Broadcast and Seagate will present their wares at the exhibition, covering the trades of TV, radio, video, film, cable, satellite, multimedia, transmission, computer graphics, animation and broadband.

    For the first time the annual trade event will present the Seagate Technical awards for excellence in digital technology for films and television. The awards will be presented on 2 November 2, in conjunction with the Radio Advertisers and TV Practitioners Association of India and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees.