ITV

Tag: Star World

  • Star World to air Gillette football show

    Star World to air Gillette football show

    MUMBAI: One of English general entertainment channel Star World’s strategies to hook viewers is to offer entertaining specials around current events.

    The biggest event coming up is the Football World Cup. As a run up to the event, Star World will air the Gillette 2006 Fifa World Cup.

    The 12 part half an hour show will air every Saturday from 3 June at 7 pm. Gillette had commissioned UK production firm Sunset+Vine to make the show.

    Information available with Indiantelevision.com indicates that the show will provide a comprehensive overview of the tournament. Viewers will learn a lot about the teams and players who’ll be travelling to Germany to take part in football’s greatest competition. From David Beckham to Zinadine Zidane, Argentina to Trinidad and Tobago the show will present the biggest stars, teams and most exciting new talent playing the game.

    The aim of each episode is to be diverse and fast moving. It will contain a number of features, some of which are regular items, others will appear on a bi-weekly basis.

  • Channel 4 signs Vod deal for ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’

    Channel 4 signs Vod deal for ‘Lost’, ‘Desperate Housewives’

    MUMBAI: UK broadcaster Channel 4 has announced an agreement with Buena Vista International Television (BVITV), the international TV distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company, to acquire the exclusive UK video-on-demand rights to Lost and Desperate Housewives.

    In India, the shows airs on Star Movies and Star World respectively.

    This deal is Disney’s first in Europe for VOD rights to its network series and is in line with Disney’s focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution.

    The pay per view Vod service will launch tomorrow 27 April when the entire series of Lost season one will be available on-demand at www.channel4.com/lost and to digital TV customers via ntl Telewest’s on-demand service. Episodes of the hit series can be purchased for 99p and watched an unlimited number of times within a 24 hour period.

    Access to the service will be limited to the UK. ntl Telewest has also secured the rights for content to be shown in high-definition.

    Channel 4 CEO Andy Duncan said, “Channel 4 is the most distinctive brand in UK television and we want to protect and enhance this reputation by making our award-winning content available across multiple platforms. By partnering exclusively on the VOD rights to two of the biggest shows on TV, we will work together to reach and grow on-demand audiences. This deal with BVITV reinforces Channel 4’s plans to make content available ‘anytime, anywhere’ and is a fantastic way of demonstrating our ambitions in this area.”

    BVITV VP, MD Europe, Middle East and Africa Tom Toumazis said, “This ground-breaking agreement represents our first step in launching our network series on Vod to the European market. We’re committed to working with partners with strong new media strategies, such as Channel 4, to harness new technology in bringing our hit programming to viewers in fresh and innovative ways. We also remain committed to providing legitimate ways in which to download content, and believe that offering these two series in this way is a significant step.”

    Touchstone Television president Mark Pedowitz says, “The creative appeal of Lost and Desperate Housewives transcends borders and we are thrilled the content will be available on-demand to UK consumers”.

    Channel 4 new business director Rod Henwood said, “This is a significant step in Channel 4’s plans to launch a full video-on-demand service across multiple platforms later this year. Partnering with Disney on these two stand-out shows illustrates the critical strategic importance of VOD to Channel 4.”

    Also, Lost season two will be available via www.channel4.com and to subscribers of ntl Telewest 14 days after their first UK broadcast and to promote the service for a two week period the first two episodes will be offered to viewers free of charge. Episodes will be streamed on Channel4.com and can be viewed on a PC using Windows Media Player.

    On demand episodes of Desperate Housewives season two will be available from 4 May with episodes of the first season available later that month.

  • Britain’s television exports growing from strength to strength

    Britain’s television exports growing from strength to strength

    MUMBAI: British trade body Pact has put out a report on the state of Britain’s television industry.

    Revenues from the export of British television programs rose 21 per cent in 2005 to £632 million. The business was particularly strong in western Europe.
    The top British shows that found acceptance abroad were the Bafta Awards which aired in India on Star World, and Granada natural history documentaries Chimps – The Dark Side and Wild Sex.

    Other British hits include Midsomer Murders, Wild At Heart – the ITV drama starring Amanda Holden – and the business based reality show The Apprentice. Television sales to the US rose by 10 per cent , while there was an 85 per cent growth in western Europe. Agatha Christie’s Marple also featured in the Top 20.

    There was a 31 per cent increase in exports to Germany following a 14 per cent decrease in 2004, while sales to Spain rose by four per cent. The sale of TV formats rose by a healthy 60 per cent to £42 million last year.

    Straight television sales accounted for the bulk of the revenues, with £275 million, a 25 percent increase. Licensing revenues brought in £159 million, a 20 percent gain. Home video/DVD revenues were up 14 percent to £99 million. However, revenues from co-productions fell by four per cent to £52 million.

  • Star World celebrates ‘Dance Fever’; unveils a world of luxury

    Star World celebrates ‘Dance Fever’; unveils a world of luxury

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World is looking to capitalise on the success of American Idol through another music based show.

    The difference is that instead of singing, the contestants on Dance Fever show off their skills on the dance floor.
    The show will air every Tuesday from 9 May at 8 pm. The mission of this dance competition is to find out America’s best dancers. The ultimate Dance Fever contestant or team champion will strut away with a $100,000 grand prize.

    Auditions for Dance Fever were held in New York, L.A., Chicago, Miami, and Atlanta. Of these auditioners, only 48 individuals or teams will make it past the initial audition process and head to Las Vegas for their chance at dancing stardom. The Top 48 can consist of individual dancers, or teams of two to four dancers. Once the elimination rounds begin in Las Vegas, the contestants will meet host Eric Niles.

    The contestants will also face, for the first time, the Dance Fever judges: actress and singer Carmen Electra (Baywatch, Starsky & Hutch); Grammy-winning artist MC Hammer; and director/choreographer Jamie King, who has worked with Madonna, Britney Spears and Ricky Martin.

    The channel will also boost its lifestyle offerings by exposing viewers to a world of luxury. Luxury Unveiled airs every Sunday from 28 May at 7:30 pm. This is a reality – documentary series that goes behind the scenes to find out how these brands swept the world, how they got there, how they keep the magic alive and why men and women from very different countries, cultures and lifestyles spend thousands buying into them.

    Each episode will concentrate on one luxury brand. The cameras will follow as the brands prepare for the latest show; as the designers, the marketers and the manufacturers create the house’s new look. Over the hour, viewers will watch the creation, production and unveiling of a haute couture collection or a new line of accessories or a new scent and all the pain and expectation along the way. At the same time, using historical footage and interviews, the show explains how the brand got here and how many of these firms transformed themselves from provincial family-run shops into huge multi-nationals.

    More reality on air with Beauty and The Geek. The show kicks off on 31 May and airs every Wednesday at 8 pm. It teams up a group of beautiful girls with a bunch of genius guys in the hopes that one group’s strengths will help overcome the other group’s weaknesses. The “Beauties” are a group of stunningly attractive young women who use their looks to manipulate every situation. What they lack in intelligence they more than make up for in beauty.

    Each “Geek” is one of the country’s next brain surgeons, rocket scientists and philosophers, who will create cures and technology that will change the world. But despite their massive intellects, these guys don’t possess the confidence or social skills to even talk to a girl or ask her out on a date. Partnered into Beauty/Geek teams, each will train the other to develop his or her brains or charisma. In a series of hilarious contests, the incredibly hot women go head to head in a battle of smarts, while the troop of genius guys compete to prove who can be the coolest, hippest and sexiest.

  • US women’s channel Lifetime gets ‘Desperate Housewives’

    US women’s channel Lifetime gets ‘Desperate Housewives’

    MUMBAI: The women of Wisteria Lane have just found a second home! US women’s broadcaster Lifetime Television has acquired the basic cable rights from Buena Vista Television, along with the repurposing rights, for the show Desperate Housewives.

    In India the show airs on Star World while in the US it helped turn around the fortunes of ABC.

    Along with the repurposing rights starting in September 2008, Lifetime will begin airing the first season of Desperate Housewives on a weekly basis this August.

    The show is in its second season on ABC and Star World. Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan star in this comedic look at suburbia — where the secret lives of housewives aren’t always what they seem. It averages 22.5 million total viewers and 8.3 million women ages 18-49 during its run on ABC and is the number one scripted series among that age group in the current 2005-06 broadcast season.

    Lifetime Entertainment Services senior VP, planning, scheduling and acquisitions Leslie Glenn-Chesloff, , said, “This brilliant water-cooler series makes us laugh and makes us cry with its insightful windows into the lives, emotions, dreams and disappointments of diverse women. As a pop-culture icon with powerful appeal to women viewers, Desperate Housewives is a perfect addition to our schedule.”

    Buena Vista Television executive VP, general sales manager Jed Cohen says, “We view Lifetime, the leader in women’s television, as the ideal partner for Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives has had a tremendous impact on the primetime landscape and we believe that Lifetime Television is the perfect environment to extend the success of this distinguished and popular series.”

  • Star World to kick off medical soap ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ on 12 April

    Star World to kick off medical soap ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ on 12 April

    MUMBAI: English general entertainment channel Star World will start airing the medical soap Grey’s Anatomy every Wednesday at 9 pm from 12 April.

    Nominated for three Emmy awards and winner of a Golden Globe Award for Sandra Oh as supporting actress, the medical drama following the lives of first year surgical interns Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers).It is the sexual tensions and relationship foibles in the hospital that’s making this one of the most exciting series to hit TV screens in recent years.

    Also adding to the eye candy and star power is Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd – the flirtatious but very capable surgeon who shares a forbidden but undeniable sexual attraction with Meredith. The channel says that 16 million viewers tuned into the debut in the US.

    The first episode is called A Hard Day’s Night. The interns are guided by an established team of doctors who are determined to shape them into skilled surgeons or break them: Miranda Bailey, a senior resident responsible for training them, is so tough that she’s nicknamed “The Nazi” and Preston Burke’s arrogance is second only to his skill with a scalpel. Overseeing them all is Dr. Richard Webber, Seattle Grace’s paternal, but no-nonsense chief of surgery.

    On the next episode called The First Cut is the Deepest, the surgical staff tries to be optimistic as a young woman clings to life after a brutal attack. Meanwhile, Meredith puts her career on the line to save a newborn in the hospital nursery, and the other interns learn that it takes more than just medical knowledge to be good at their jobs.

  • NBC to air back to back episodes of ‘The Apprentice’ on Monday

    NBC to air back to back episodes of ‘The Apprentice’ on Monday

    MUMBAI: For one night only, US broadcaster NBC will air back-to-back episodes of the business based reality show The Apprentice on 10 April.

    The candidates in the first hour hammer it out in the renovation business as the teams are given their seventh task – create an activity area in a local Boys & Girls Club as part of Ace Hardware’s charity program. In the second hour, the candidates launch a new pizza sandwich and a losing team gains an opposing teammate. In India, the show airs on Star World.

    In the first hour, Gold Rush tries to nail down a win when Lenny volunteers to be the project manager, hoping to prove to Donald that he can lead the team to victory – but he is troubled with managing a negative teammate. Michael, the project manager for Synergy, has a good concept, but drives his team crazy. The winners help make a child’s dream come true by partnering with the “Make A Wish Foundation,” while the losers face a hammering in the boardroom.

    In the second episode, the remaining candidates launch a new pizza sandwich for 7-Eleven, one candidate volunteers to switch sides to help out a losing team, while the team tries to make the biggest sale imaginable. The winners jet out of town to dine with US Senator Chuck Schumer, while the losers get grilled in the boardroom.

  • ‘Rendezvous’ with Imran Khan on Star World

    ‘Rendezvous’ with Imran Khan on Star World

    The charismatic Pathan finally opens up on his life, love and dreams
    A very special three part Rendezvous with Imran Khan, kicks off this Sunday Catch the living legend of Pakistan, Imran Khan, on ‘A Rendezvous with Simi Garewal’
    Sunday, April 9th at 9.30 pm on Star World

    Mumbai, April 4, 2006: Legends do not come any bigger than this. Arguably Pakistan’s greatest ever cricketer, today he is a charismatic politician fighting against injustice and autocracy. While his personal life has seen quite a bit of upheaval in the recent past, he has characteristically maintained a dignified silence till now.
    In a special three part Rendezvous, the legendary Imran Khan opens up like never before, and provides the answers to all the speculation. The first part of this exclusive Rendezvous kicks off this Sunday, April 9th at 9.30 pm only on Star World.

    In this first episode, the focus is on Imran, the cricketer and Imran, the son. Here are a few excerpts from the conversation…

    Excerpts from the interview:
    Simi: Cricketers entertain, but you always want to do serious things. Does it affect the way people look at you?
    Imran: Actually it depends on your credibility. Fame helps you with name recognition. But ultimately it is the credibility, which counts.

    Simi: You were ambitious, even as a young boy… is it true?
    Imran: Oh yeah, I was always a dreamer. Age of nine onwards, I had no doubts that I would play for Pakistan. It was just the question of when. I thought I’d be the youngest cricketer ever. And then when I started playing at the age of 18, I had this ambition of taking 10 wickets in a match!

    Simi: You discovered new talents, didn’t you?
    Imran: Well, I discovered because I had these scouts who used to tell me which player is doing well. That’s how Inzamam-ul-Haq was discovered. I knew he was a great talent when I saw him play for just 5 minutes.

     

    Simi: What has changed in cricket since your innings?
    Imran: The positive change is the quality of fielding, which has gone way up. The negative side is the quality of fast bowling has gone down a bit. We need more wicket-taking bowlers. Someone like Shoaib Akhtar concentrates more on the bowling speed rather than the wicket taking part.

    Simi: In whom do you see the potential today? Here I am talking about the Indian cricketers.
    Imran: Irfan Pathan. He very much reminds me of young Wasim Akram. You can have all the talent but if you do not have the character to translate that talent into performance then it’s wasted. Irfan has it. He is a lion hearted cricketer.

    Simi: You dated some of the most glamorous woman of those times… movie stars, models, Emma Sergeant, the painter. They were obviously attracted to you. But were you attracted by them because of their glamour?
    Imran: What attracts other people, you will never know. There can be some glamorous people who are unattractive. Because they become quite self-centered, self-obsessed, actually boring. It’s actually the personality, which is the key.

    Always written about and never heard, here is your chance to find out how Imran Khan sees himself. Rendezvous with Simi Garewal on Sunday, April 9th at 9.30 pm.

    About Star
    STAR is a leading media and entertainment company in Asia. STAR broadcasts over 50 television services in nine languages to more than 300 million viewers across 53 Asian countries. STAR channels cover all genres including general entertainment (Star Plus, Xing Kong, Star Chinese Channel, Star One, Star Utsav, Star World, Vijay, Phoenix Chinese), sports (ESPN, Star Sports), movies (Star Chinese Movies, Star Gold, Star Movies), music (Channel [V]), and news and current affairs (Star News, Star Ananda, Phoenix InfoNews Channel). STAR controls over 20,000 hours of Indian and Chinese programming and also owns the world’s largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 600 titles, featuring superstars including Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat and Bruce Lee. In partnership with leading companies in Asia, STAR businesses extend to filmed entertainment, television production, cable systems, direct-to-home services, terrestrial TV broadcasting, wireless and digital services. STAR is a wholly owned subsidiary of News Corporation. www.startv.com

    For further information please contact:
    In Mumbai
    Zeenat Khan Shiraz Bhavnani / Aditi Chada
    Asst Vice President, Publicity Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
    STAR (India) Ltd. Tel: 91-22-5656 8787
    Tel No. 91-22-56305555 Fax: 91-22-5656 8788
    Email:sbhavnani@vccpl.com / achada@vccpl.com

     

  • Star World to air Kanye West concert

    Star World to air Kanye West concert

    MUMBAI: Controversial, obnoxious, gifted, brash. American pop star Kanye West has been called many names, but he’s never been called safe or boring.

    A hip-hop producer and songwriter, he has already won six Grammy Awards for just two albums, two years in a row. Star World will air his concert tonight 29 March at 9 pm.
    He burst onto the scene as a singer-songwriter a couple of years ago. In this special, he once again approaches old music with new arrangements.

    Backed by an all-female 17-piece orchestra in an intimate gig at London’s famous Abbey Road studios, he belts out songs from his albums College Dropout and Late Registration, but with a twist. It also features special guest, neo-soul singer/pianist John Legend. Viewers can also check out West’s superstar friends in the audience, like Jay-Z & Beyoncé.

    Drawing from musical influences as diverse as Franz Ferdinand to classical music, West counts Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Janet Jackson, Ludacris, Prodigy, Mariah Carey and Mos Def among his collaborators, whether as a producer or as a songwriter. His own record label, G.O.O.D. (Getting Out Our Dreams) Music has already signed acts like Common and John Legend – both of whom earned Grammy nominations alongside him this year.

    He once posed in a crown of thorns as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone. He has also been quoted saying, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on American television in a Hurricane Katrina benefit. He is not afraid to speak out against hip-hop’s discrimination against homosexuals, and rant about political correctness.