ITV

Tag: Star

  • ‘Rolling out of Cas has been the most significant development’

    ‘Rolling out of Cas has been the most significant development’

    One of the most significant developments of the year has been the re-emergence of Zee Network and especially Zee TV as a clear market leader in the entertainment segment when it surpassed its closest rival Star. Its ‘reality show’ Sa Re Ga Ma Pa registered an all time high TRP/viewership amongst different age groups.

    Zee Network has also launched a new youth centric family entertainment channel ‘Zee Next’ in December 2007. With BAG Films, NDTV, UTV and TV-18 also planning to bring channels of different genres, the viewers can expect a wide variety of content in 2008.

    However, the year has not been so good for sports channels having cricket/BCCI rights as after losing legal battle they had to compulsorily share their feed with Doordarshan in respect of One Day and Test matches under the downlinking guidelines.

    The attempt on the part of government to create consensus on the Broadcast Bill received a setback when certain entertainment channels and news channels opposed to the introduction of the Bill, forcing the government to defer its introduction. Most of the media houses have expressed the view that rather than the government stipulating content code by way of legislation, they would like to have a self-regulatory content code.

    With BAG Films, NDTV, UTV and TV-18 also planning to bring channels of different genres, the viewers can expect a wide variety of content in 2008
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    They apprehend that proposed bill and content code is an attempt on the part of the government to curb the freedom of press through the back door. However, at the same time there has been a vociferous demand from various section of society to impose some kind of control on the ‘unregulated content’ being currently beamed.

    I am of the view that there is an imperative need to have a regulatory regime in the broadcasting sector and the Broadcast Bill is a step in the right direction. The proposed legislation contains various provisions which are not only in the public interest but also in the interest of the broadcast sector, which would not only bring order in the sector but would also stimulate the much needed investment so as to provide an opportunity to the sector develop and grow in a focused manner.

    While there are certain provisions in the bill e.g. provisions pertaining to cross media ownership and restriction in holding shares within electronic media and distribution sector which may act as an impediment to the overall growth of the sector, the media sector has brought to the notice of the government that the present era is that of globalisation and consolidation by way of merger and acquisition, and these kind of restrictions act as barriers for accessing and optimally utilising the resources of capital formation for the growth and development of the sector.

    The Indian media industry, especially Indian broadcasters have to compete with global media companies. In order to match the might of those companies, they must have adequate technology, capital and manpower resources. Thus, the process of capital formation is one of the key ingredients to acquire and accumulate competitive strength and these kinds of restrictions are unwarranted. The government has fairly agreed to review these provisions and has also entrusted the task of developing a draft content code to News Broadcasters Association.

    In my view the industry should welcome the Broadcast Regulator, as an effective Regulator protects both consumer interest and the industry from arbitrariness
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    In my view the industry should welcome the institution of a Broadcast Regulator in as much as an effective Regulator protects the consumer interest and also protects the industry in question from arbitrariness and interference of the government of the day. The media industry has grown too large and too complex and as such it is in the interest of broadcasting sector itself to have a Regulator. However the Regulator must be autonomous, and independent of the Executive.

    Towards the fag end of the year certain court orders and judgments have also come, in which there have been observations that Broadcasters/Media need to observe general community standards of decency and civility in news content, taking particular care to protect the interests and sensitivities of children and general family viewing. The Courts have directed the government to expeditiously bring the content code in the Broadcasting sector.

    It is high time the industry responds to this and effectively works with the government in finalising an appropriate self-regulatory content code at the earliest.

    There have been a lot of regulatory developments during the year. Trai has brought out Quality of Service Regulations for DTH which outline service bench marks to be followed by DTH operators. This particular Regulation mandated the commercial inter-operability for Set Top Boxes (STB) in DTH service.

  • Prem and Pooja win Garnier Fructis Jodi No 1

    Prem and Pooja win Garnier Fructis Jodi No 1

    MUMBAI: Vijay TV Garnier Fructis Jodi No 1 has announced reel life couple Prem and Pooja as winners.

    The show on the Tamil channel owned by Star, which began with eight celebrity couples (four real life and four reel life jodis), came to a close on 30 December.

    Commenting on his win Prem said, “I am very excited that I now have a couple of movie offers up my sleeve. With a real life experience of this nature, I can confidently say that nothing is impossible when hardwork and perseverance are in place.”

    Pooja added, “I am very happy that we have been chosen as the Jodi No.1 by the viewers.”

    The viewers chose their favourite jodi by voting for them across various platforms i.e. IVR, SMS, televoting and online. Actor Dhanush along with the judges handed over the prize money of Rs 100 million to the winning jodi.

    The three finalists Vijay Adhiraj – Rashana, Raghav – Preetha and Prem – Pooja performed for the last time in the grand finale on 23 December.

    While Vijay Adhiraj-Rashana performed a thematic love story, Raghav-Preetha performed the jolly theives theme and Prem-Pooja incorporated the pirates theme. The show also witnessed performances by Ragasiya, Priyamani and Lakshmi Rai and a special performance by Yogi B and the Natchathira Boys; a Tamil hip-hop band from Malaysia and a dance performance by the cast of teen-soap Kanaa Kaanum Kaalangal.

    Following the response received for Garnier Fructis Jodi No 1 has paved way to another reality dance competition Garnier Fructis Jodi No1 – Challenge kicking off on 5 January at 8 pm.

    This show will feature six popular jodis who would take on the challenge. The show would have four rounds of performance with on the spot elimination, asserts an official release.

  • TV ad revenue marches ahead of print: Credit Suisse

    TV ad revenue marches ahead of print: Credit Suisse

    NEW DELHI: The Indian television market has been steadily eating into the advertising revenue and has sliced off a significant chunk from the traditional advertisement giant, newspapers and this is likely to grow, but for a one per cent slump expected in 2008, says the Credit Suisse report, “Opportunities of Hollywood in Bollywood.”

    And a large share of the advertisement revenue for TV will be shared by the top two, with Star and Zee dominating, and the former expecting to make up on recent slump because of their blockbuster game show KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati) being off the channel for sometime now. The pick-up is also likely to be because of KBC returning on the channel.

    The report says that the advertisement market share of newspapers in 1994 was 61 per cent, while that of TV was 30 per cent.

    That scaled up for TV to 43 per cent over the next five years (2004), while newspapers slumped to 49 per cent.
    The current year’s figures for newspapers and TV are 42 and 44 per cent respectively, but while the former has stayed at 42 per cent since 2004, TV has improved one per cent over the figures for the same period.
    Interestingly, Credit Suisse predicts that while newspapers will retain their market share at 42 per cent in 2008, TV shall lose one per cent of the share for the same period.

    The top 10 advertisers on TV are Hindustan Lever, Paras Pharmaceuticals, Proctor&Gamble, Radio Benckiser (India) Ltd, Dabur India Ltd, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsico, Nokia Corp., L’Oreal India Pvt Ltd and Colgate Palmolive. While the FMCG sector has remained the largest contributor of advertising revenue, the report sees a certain change coming up with telecom, auto and financial (credit cards, mutual funds) companies becoming good players in the market. And Credit Suisse expects that with the lowering of barriers for foreign companies to enter the retail market, packaged food items (which have already started making a mark) are likely to contribute a bit more than it does now.

    The report says that Star TV is the leading broadcaster, with the largest distribution of all cable networks, having a footprint of 44 million households. It gets paid for 10 million households, though, due to underdeclaration by cable operators. But this is still double the amount that other broadcasters get paid for, says the report.

    “In FY07E to date, Star has suffered for not having Millionaire (KBC)…Q2 of FY07E is expected to have the added difficulty of Champions Trophy Cricket taking revenue out of the market,” the report predicts. Adding, “Easier comps are predicted for H2 when Millionaire is likely to return to the schedule. However, the difficult comparisons of H1 are likely to slow advertising revenue in FY07F growth rates versus FY06 growth rates.”
    Zee Telefilms’ domestic serials is giving some competition to Star, but its market position “remains exceptionally strong, with double the gross ratings points that of Zee and four times that of Sony.

    While Star’s future programming is likely to revolve around regional channels, rival Zee – the largest listed media company in the country – will be there too and for the same reason: that is where the most rapid growth is expected in terms of households, and already, that is where a third of the TV ad pie goes: local language channels.

    Interestingly, Star is already there with Star Vijay and Star Ananda, Telugu and Bengali channels already doing well.

    Disney has cornered the best of the kiddies segment in Hindi, and is strategically increasing its locally produced content. During vacations, its locally produced content peaks to about 25 to 30 hours out of the 168-hour week, while during school periods it goes down to 12 to 13 hours. It has leadership (50 per cent) in the kids space, says the report.

    Sahara One is the fourth player in the TV market after Star, Zee and SET. Times of India owns six per cent of shares and Siva owns 14.9 per cent. However, it is being reportedly eyed by Viacom and the management is interested to dilute the 51 per cent ownership. It is set to launch six new programmes as part of a revamp, but none of its programmes happen to be in the top 100.

    SET (61 per cent Sony Pictures, 31 per cent Indian shareholders and eight per cent Capital Group), is likely to see some changes in the ownership pattern as well, “to provide for an exit option for the Indian shareholders” and this is likely in the form of IPO, the Credit Suisse report suggests.

  • Tata Sky upping subscription rate to Rs 300

    Tata Sky upping subscription rate to Rs 300

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky is increasing the monthly subscription rate of its direct-to-home (DTH) service to Rs 300, sources in the industry say. The revised rate, up from Rs 200, is likely to come into effect from 1 December.

    Tata Sky, however, has decided not to offer “tiered” channel packages at this stage of the DTH market. “Bundling channels and fixing different rates is confusing to the consumers. The mobile telephony market has shown that to everybody in this country. Tata Sky will continue to offer a single package unlike its competitor Dish TV,” sources add.

    When contacted for a comment on the developments,Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik remained noncommital.

    Tata Sky offers 102 channels (including Star, Sony, Zee, Discovery, Cartoon Network, Disney, ESPN Star Sports and National Geographic) and six interactive services (Actve Khabar, Actve Newsroom, Actve Star News, Actve Games, Actve Sports and an on-screen guide).

    Tata Sky had stuck to the introductory offer price of Rs 200 even after Zee Turner’s 32 channels had hopped on to the DTH platform in late September. As the interim pricing of these group of channels (fixed by The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal till the dispute gets resolved) was Rs 75, a rate revision was in the pipeline. But the debate was whether Tata Sky would subsidise the content cost to the subscribers in the wake of CAS (conditional access system) being introduced on 1 January with a la carte choice of channels that would pull down cable TV rates.

    Tata Sky claims to have a subscriber base of 250,000 and says it is on target to achieve one million within a year of operations. The southern region continues to be a weak spot with the Sun group of channels yet to join the platform. Tata Sky has moved the TDSAT, hoping to get a positive verdict which would ensure the supply of the channels from the Sun stable.

    The Tata Sky set-top box (supplied by News Corp owned NDS), hardware and installation cost has been priced at Rs 3,999 (inclusive of taxes) with a full service warranty for one year.

  • Disney’s dance contest ‘My School Rocks’ kicks off in Mumbai

    Disney’s dance contest ‘My School Rocks’ kicks off in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Disney Channel’s interschool group-dance competition ‘My School Rocks’ kicked off in Mumbai today with students from over 50 schools in Mumbai competing to enter the semi finals of the contest.

    The performances from Mumbai kids will be pitted against schools from four other cities including Kolkata, Amritsar, New Delhi and Ahmedabad. Bollywood dance queen Saroj Khan will judge the competition and pronounce five schools with the best dancing talent as semi finalists.

    Vignettes of these five semi finalists’ performances will then be aired for audience poll via various voting mechanisms. The school to win the hearts of the viewers will take away the title – ‘My School Rocks’, states an official release.

    In addition, the winning group will star in a special music video which will be choreographed by Saroj Khan and will premier on Disney Channel on 25 December.

    Walt Disney Television International (India) executive director – programming and production Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “Disney Channel reflects real kids’ lives, their aspirations and dreams. ‘My School Rocks’ is all about encouraging kids to express themselves while learning the value of teamwork. As in the movie High School Musical, this contest is about believing in yourself and following your dreams.”

    “We believe in creating multiple touch points for our young viewers to experience our brand in an engaging and fun way. My School Rocks is an extension of our on-air programming philosophy,” he adds.

    Drawing inspiration from this year’s Disney Channel original movie High School Musical, particiapnts for My School Rocks were required to choreograph their own dance sequences to the High School Musical song ‘Ho ek hi aim’.

    The music of the High School Musical was rendered in Hindi by Sunidhi Chauhan, Naresh Kamath, Shweta Pandit, Neuman Pinto, and directed by John Stewart, programmed by DJ G and John Stewart.s

  • Arvind Agarwal to head finance at Neo Sports

    Arvind Agarwal to head finance at Neo Sports

    MUMBAI: Neo Sports the upcoming cricket channel from Nimbus has appointed Arvind Agarwal as senior VP – finance.

    Agarwal will oversee the finance, accounting and secretarial functions and also be a part of the core think tank on strategic planning, acquisitions, distribution and regulatory matters. He comes to Neo Sports from Star where he was VP finance, heading the budgeting and treasury functions for Star.

    Neo Sports CEO designate Shashi Kalathil said, “As we build the ‘A’ team of sports broadcasting, we are fortunate to have found in Arvind an outstanding fit given his domain expertise in broadcasting and capabilities that go well beyond the finance function. Arvind typifies the culture of Neo Sports which has become a magnet for top talent in the industry.”

    Agarwal says, “I am excited about the new enhanced role at Neo Sports. Nimbus has a vision of becoming by 2010 India’s first globally operating billion-dollar revenues company in the sector & I look forward to combining my experience in broadcasting with my passion for sport to contribute significantly to the realisation of that vision.”

  • Star replants ‘Nach Baliye’ in Tamil; Vijay TV set to launch ‘Jodi No.1’

    Star replants ‘Nach Baliye’ in Tamil; Vijay TV set to launch ‘Jodi No.1’

    MUMBAI: If it is Nach Baliye 2 set to sizzle television’s Hindi entertainment space, the Tamil language will soon get its own celebrity couple dance show. Star India’s Tamil language channel Vijay TV is all set to launch Jodi No.1, the Tamil version of Nach Baliye.

    Jodi No.1, launching on 7 October, will run Friday-Saturday at 8 pm.

    “Jodi No.1 is going to be a revolutionary show for Tamil general entertainment television. It’s going to change the way media looks at television stars here. Like Super Singer, we will push the envelope every time we come up with a new show,” says Vijay TV GM Ravinath Menon.

    Vijay TV has roped in four real life couples and four reel life couples for the show. There will be both reality and studio episodes on this version as well. The reality episodes will capture the candid moments, while the studio episodes will reveal the performance episodes on the set where the celebrity showcase their dancing talents in front of the judges, states an official release.

    The introductory episode of the show will witness the performance of all the pairs. Each pair would be assisted by a dedicated choreographer. Every week one couple gets eliminated. There would be a wildcard round in the seventh episode, which would provide an opportunity to one of the eliminated couples to have a look in again.The wildcard winner would then compete with the final shortlisted couples for the title. Interesting themes have been planned for the couples to perform, the release adds.

    The 4 reel life couples: Shilpa & Bharat Kalyan / Kutty Pooja & Prem / Pooja & Rishi / Tharika & Deepak

    The 4 real life couples: Devadarshini & Chetan / Rashna & Vijay Adhiraj / Latha Rao & Rajkamal / Preetha & Raghav

  • Star appoints David Butorac as president, Platforms

    Star appoints David Butorac as president, Platforms

    MUMBAI: Star has appointed David Butorac as its president, Platforms. Butorac will report to Star CEO Michelle Guthrie.

    In this newly created role, Butorac will be responsible for developing opportunities in platform businesses across Asia to enhance the delivery of Star’s content to the consumer. He will also work to strengthen the operations of Star’s joint venture platforms, especially in light of the recent launch of the Tata Sky satellite service in India.

    Commenting on the appointment, Guthrie said, “As we continue to drive more quality content to more people across Asia, the distribution platform side of our business has become increasingly important to the success of our future growth. The need for someone of David’s calibre became apparent. David’s pay-TV experience in Asia, as well as with News Corporation platforms Foxtel and BSkyB, gives him credentials that are unmatched, and we feel very fortunate to have attracted him to Star.”

    Butorac said, “With diverse services and businesses that span Asia and beyond, Star is a unique media company, and I am very excited to come on board and work with Michelle as well as with the rest of Star’s talented team. With a lot of growth still to come in the region, I look very much forward to playing a part in Star’s further development, particularly with its platform businesses.”

    Butorac will join Star in November, upon the completion of his current duties as Group COO, Astro Asia Allnetworks Plc.

    Butorac, 44, has vast experience in the field of broadcasting. Prior to joining Astro as COO in 2002, he worked for 14 years at British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) where he held a series of positions, including head of Operations, BSkyB, from 1992 to 1995 and Station Manager from 1995 to 2002. While on temporary reassignment from BSkyB, he served as Operations director for the launch of Foxtel in Australia in 1995 and undertook consultant roles for other News Corporation broadcast companies. Prior to 1989, Butorac worked in television news broadcasting in Australia and the UK, states an official release.

  • Star’s portal indya.com partners with ICC

    Star’s portal indya.com partners with ICC

    MUMBAI: In a bid to create greater visibility, Star’s portal indya.com has tied up with the International Cricket Council (ICC). Indya.com will be the internet partner for both the Champions Trophy that kicks off next month in India and for next year’s World Cup in the West Indies.

    Indya.com has developed and will maintain the site www.iccchampionstrophy.com.

    The site will allow net users in India and globally access to audio and video packages. There are country specific packages will allow internet subscribers to buy a match pack. This will give them live clips of ongoing games, deferred live highlight packages and archives of previous editions of the Champions Trophy. For Indians though there is no subscription fee.

    The site will have a feature called Matchcast. This allows viewers to watch live scores, ball-by-ball updates, player profiles, team profiles etc. The other contenders for ICC web partner were cricinfo.com and Yahoo! Star CEO Sameer Nair noted that Star’s parent News Corp is getting increasingly active in the internet arena. A case in point is the leading community social networking site Myspace. News Corp through Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) has worked closely with the ICC. The site he said can among other things provide an alternative to viewers in those countries who find cricket too expensive to buy on television or in regions that do not have access. The site he says allows indya.com to continue its goal of providing superior and distinctive content.

    One interactive feature that the site will have is called Voice Of The World Cup. The contest requires participants to provide commentary to a piece of archived footage which has had its commentary removed.

    The winners will be judged by a public poll as well as by experts. Two winners will get to go the West Indies for the World Cup. They will get the chance to officially commentate for the site. The site will also have daily contests when the Champions Trophy is on. There will also be a fantasy based game.

    Nair says that indya.com gets around 40 million page views a month. He expects this to at least treble when the champions Trophy is going on. For the World Cup the figure will be much more. When asked about sponsors for the site he said that indya.com is negotiating with certain parties. He said that indya.com is looking to learn from what Myspace and News Corp’s other net properties are doing. He noted that at the moment lack of bandwith is hampering the growth of broadband in India at the moment.

    ICC CEO Malcolm Speed noted that the net is an important communication tool that is growing. As it is a source of information to millions of people globally partnering with indua.com gives the ICC the chance to provide high quality coverage of the Champions Trophy through another medium.

  • Star, Zee both claim rights to ‘Betiyaan’ concept; issue set to reach Court

    Star, Zee both claim rights to ‘Betiyaan’ concept; issue set to reach Court

    MUMBAI: The Diwali fireworks have already hit Indian television’s Hindi Entertainment space with archrivals Star India and Zee Network locking horns over a copyright issue.

    The “war” was kicked off with Zee Telefilms issuing a notice to Star demanding it withdraw all activites around its upcoming soap, tentatively titled Betiyaan, claiming ownership of the concept.

    Star dismissed Zee’s charges, asserting that the show’s writer Rekha Modi had registered the titles and the concept with various copyright bodies well before Zee made its own registration.

    In its legal notice sent to Star, Zee has said that its upcoming prime time soap Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan, produced by Creative Eye, would face serious market implications if Star went ahead with its prime time project carrying a similar title Betiyaan.

    Revealing the registration dates of the Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan title and concept with various copyright and industry bodies such as Film Writers Association, Film and Television Producers Guild of India and Society for Copyright regulation of Indian Producers for Film and Television, Zee has warned Star that, “Use of key elements or concept or format in your programme/series may constitute a violation of applicable intellactual property laws, including without limitation those regarding copyright infringement and passing off.”

    Buttressing its case, Star made available to Indiantelevision.com copies of the registrations made with the Film Writers Association on 5 April, 2006; 12 April, 2006 & 27 July, 2006. The show concept, characters and scripts were registered with the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers on 29 July 2006 with the titles Betiyaan and Ghar Ki Lakshmi…Betiyaan. A copy of this document was also furnished.

    Zee’s notice to Star further states, “We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the television programme ‘Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyaan’ is owned by Zee Telefilms Ltd. We have already started the promotions on 5 August, and have incurred and/or committed substantial sums on business promotion / advertising and publicity etc for the programme. Our right to the programme is highly valuable to us as we have invested a lot of resources in the programme in building up awareness and goodwill in the said programme.

    “We state that, on 2 August 2006, our programme was registered with the “Film Writers Association” and on 21 August, registered with the Film and Television Producers Guild of India and Society for Copyright regulation of Indian Producers for Film and Television (SCRIPT). We understand that, this registration was done by the Guild after confirming with Association of Motion Pictures & TV Programme Producers.”

    A Star spokesperson countered, “We have been working with Rekha Modi on a show which she has registered with various industry bodies. The show concept and script of Betiyaan was registered with the Film Writers Association on 5 April, 2006; 12 April, 2006 & 27 July, 2006. The show concept, characters and scripts have also been registered with the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers on 29 July 2006 with the titles Betiyaan and Ghar Ki Lakshmi…Betiyaan.”

    Star has further said that, it would be sticking to its original plan of launching Betiyaan very soon. “We will be launching this show very soon, though we are yet to finalise the title of the same. As far as the show is concerned, we are convinced that this is Rekha Modi’s original concept and will take all steps necessary to protect our position in this regard,” the company said.

    As per the Zee notice, the Star soap will be telecast by Star One. However, the star spokesperson refused to divulge any more details regarding the programme.