ITV

Tag: Tamil Nadu

  • Zee Tamizh rebranded as Zee Tamil

    Zee Tamizh rebranded as Zee Tamil

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) has rebranded its Tamil language channel Zee Tamizh as Zee Tamil.

     

    The channel recently sported an all new logo reflecting the color of Manjal (turmeric) and Kunkumam (kum kum), the two most auspicious colors and symbols in Tamil Nadu.

     

    With the re-branding, the channel plans to have a uniform communication across all platforms with better understanding and easy pronunciation of its name thereby enabling the brand building exercise. 

     

    Zee Tamil has in its kitty new content offerings like Genes 2, Mella Thiranthathu Kathavu as well as the premiere of Kamal Haasan’s movie Uthama Villain.

  • Who Will Bihar Vote For?

    Who Will Bihar Vote For?

    MUMBAI:  CNN-IBN and IBN7’s programming on the upcoming Bihar Elections is focused on bringing the actual picture from the Ground Zero. In continuation of this, the channels will bring a special pre-poll survey to comprehend the overall scenario, likely seat wise outcome and key issues which will matter in these elections. The findings of the survey are set to telecast on 8th October, 2015 on both the channels.

     

    Given the high decibel campaigns and presence of star campaigners, Bihar elections will be a crucial event in the political firmament of the country. Both the BJP and the Grand Alliance are pulling out all stops in an attempt to win in the state. The results of this election could also set the tone for several key state elections that are to happen over the next 2 years including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

     

    Conducted by Axis MyIndia across 38 districts of Bihar, covering all 243 constituencies with a sample size of over 24,000 respondents, the survey intends to delve deep into what the electorate in Bihar in thinking. The survey comprises of a comprehensive set of questions to assess various factors, which could play an important role in influencing the choice of the voters.

     

    To know the findings of this study, tune into CNN-IBN’s ‘Battle for Bihar: The Pre-Poll Survey’ and IBN7’s ‘Mahasangram Ka Mahasurvey’ on 8th October 2015, from 7pm to 10pm.

  • Tamil Nadu calls for review of Supreme Court judgment on government ads

    Tamil Nadu calls for review of Supreme Court judgment on government ads

    NEW DELHI: The Tamil Nadu government has sought a review of the Supreme Court judgment restraining both Central and State government from publishing photographs of political leaders and ministers, except the President, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.

     

    The apex Court had pronounced the judgment on 13 May on the basis of the recommendations of an expert panel set up by it last year following public interest litigations by two NGOs.

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, DMK chief and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi had lashed out at the Supreme Court’s ban on the photos of politicians in government ads.

     

    In its review petition, the State government said the judgment contradicts the federal structure based on grounds of “parity” between the Centre and States.

     

    It contends that Chief Ministers and State Governors are also constitutional authorities and by allowing publication of photographs of only the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India, the apex Court has disregarded the equal share of powers enjoyed between the Centre and the States.

     

    The petition requests the apex court to set aside the judgment on the ground that it gives an impression that the judiciary is intruding into policy decisions of the executive.

     

    It said the party in power has the right to publish the Chief Minister’s photograph in a government advertisement regarding the achievements of the State government.

     

    The petition, filed by advocate Yogesh Kanna for the State, further contends that the Supreme Court overlooks the recommendations made by its own committee, which said that the photos of Chief Ministers and State Governors should be allowed along with the other constitutional authorities.

     

    The judgment had said that such photos tend to portray a government project as the achievement of a particular individual and thus pave the way for making of a “personality cult.” Such personal glorification and image-making on public expenses is a “direct antithesis of democratic functioning,” it held.

     

    However the court had said that the Prime Minister, the President and the Chief Justice of India have to decide themselves on whether their photographs should appear in a government advertisement or not. By this, the judgment, in a way, had made them personally accountable for the publication of their photographs.

     

    Drawing a distinction between “government messaging” and “politically motivated ads” in this context, the Supreme Court had said that such a curb is unnecessary on election eve provided the advertisement serves public interest and enables dissemination of information. 

  • Zee Tamil dons fresh look; lines up new content offering

    Zee Tamil dons fresh look; lines up new content offering

    MUMBAI: Zee Tamil is all set to don a fresh look and feel with its new packaging, which is aligned with its new content offering.

     

    The channel’s refreshed logo reflects the colour of Manjal (turmeric) and Kunkumam (kum kum), the two most auspicious colours and symbols in Tamil Nadu. The channel has positioned itself as people’s favourite channel with the new positioning statement “Ithu Namma Channel” (It is Our Channel).

     

    At the content level, new programmes include entertaining game shows, serials as well as reality and star-studded shows. The channel has recently launched two new serials namely Lakshmi Vanthachu and Annakodiyum Ainthu Pengalum in tune with the new positioning.

     

    The new upcoming serials will have differential and aspirational storylines appealing to the entire family. A new format game show Genes, is slated to launch in April. This will be the first of its kind show in Tamil GECs where celebrities play the game along with their relations. The show will be anchored by Suma, the most popular anchor in Telugu television, who is making her foray into Tamil Nadu market through this show.

     

    Tamil Nadu being a film market, movies play a key role in contributing to the overall television viewership. Zee Tamil has also expanded its movie library with the acquisition of blockbusters like Vikram Prabhu’s Vellaikara Durai, Kamal Haasan’s Uthama Villain, critically acclaimed Kayal and Sidharth’s Enakul Oruvan.

     

    Elaborating on the need for the new look, Zee Tamil business head Easwaran said, “Understanding the pulse of Tamil Nadu has been the strength of Zee Tamil. Every few years, a new set of audience come into television. The challenge lies in embracing the new audience into the existing one. The aim is to capture the hearts and minds of Tamil Nadu in its entirety and to make Zee Tamil the most watched general entertainment channel in Tamil Nadu.”

  • Arasu Cable to run subscriber awareness campaigns

    Arasu Cable to run subscriber awareness campaigns

    MUMBAI: The state owned multi system operator (MSO) from Tamil Nadu (TN), Arasu Cable, is looking at running awareness campaign for its subscribers. The campaign will urge them to demand printed receipts from their local cable operators (LCOs).

     

    The MSO is doing this in order to ensure that no one is charged more than the monthly fee of Rs 70. The campaign will begin with a poster campaign from Kancheepuram and will be displayed at government buildings, ration shops, government hospitals and schools, regional transport offices and civic body offices.

     

    Subscribers can lodge complaints over the phone on 044 28221233 if the LCO doesn’t provide a receipt or demands for more money. There are more than 65 lakh Arasu cable subscribers in TN. Printing books have already been handed to LCOs for the same.

     

    Arasu has been awaiting its DAS licence from the ministry for quite some time now. The MSO owned by the Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK has been writing several letters to the central government to allow its licence go to go through so that it could switch over from analogue to digital.

  • Tamil GECs ring in the New Year

    Tamil GECs ring in the New Year

    MUMBAI: As the state of Tamil Nadu and Tamilians across the country gear up to celebrate the New Year or the ‘Varsha Pirappu’, channels have lined up a slew of entertainment shows bypassing the usual shows. The New Year falling on a Monday has given some of them the chance to also start the special programming from Sunday itself. Here is what three leading GECs plan to showcase on 14 April 2014.

     

    Raj TV

    The morning will be freshened up with a chat show with Vishal and Lakshmi, from Naan Sigappu Manithan at 8:30 am followed by a ‘Patti Mandram’ with Piraosoodan, famous lyricist. This will be followed by a Kamal Haasan and Rajnikanth movie Ninaithale Inikkum. An interview with actress Ramya, of Damaal Dumeel fame is also scheduled at 2:30 pm. Then is the mega show ‘Rajavin Sangeetha Thirunal’, which is a concert conducted by Ilayaraja that was shot on 5 April in Madurai and Raj TV has the exclusive telecast rights.

     

     

    Star Vijay

    The day kicks off with a ‘Patti Mandram’ on the topic ‘who sacrifices most for the family’s welfare-men or women’. The speakers include Sivakasi Ramachandran, Mohana Sundaram, Sumathi, Manikandan, Uma Maheswari, TS Prema and the moderator is Arivoli. This is followed by a chat show with Vishal and Lakshmi. The afternoon time will see ‘Maan Karate – Making’ that will feature some promising actors. The movies that will be telecast include Kalyana Samayal Saadham on 13 April, Irandaam Ulagam, Ivan Vera Maadri and Kamal Haasan starrer Viswaroopam on 14 April.

     

    Zee Tamizh

     

    The celebrations will begin on 13 April with ‘Superstar Challenge’ at 3:00 pm which is an international Tamil singing competition held at Singapore. This will be followed by the movie Endrendrum Punnagai at 5:00 pm. The New Year shows will begin on Monday morning with ‘Balu Mahendravin Kanavu Pattarai’ which is a tribute to filmmaker Balu Mahendra. Up next will be a chat show with upcoming star Sivakarthikeyan. The afternoon will see the premiere of Jaggubhai starring Sarath Kumar and Shreya Saran. The evening will have a chat show with cast and crew of Vaaya Moodi Pesalam. A comedy show Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga will be on at 5:00 pm and the end event will be a special musical event Innisai Thamizh featuring prominent singers from Tamil industry.

     

    Jaya TV

    The channel has done an exclusive interview with Tamil superstar Rajnikanth on his movie Kochadaiiyaan at 10:00 am. The movie Vallinum is to premiere on the channel at 2:00 pm.

     

    Looks like the broadcasters down South are ready to serve the best in entertainment to the viewers on the occasion of the Tamil New Year.    

  • Raj TV looking at raising Rs 200 crore through stake sale

    Raj TV looking at raising Rs 200 crore through stake sale

    MUMBAI: Raj TV Network is keen on further strengthening its presence in its core market of south India and also expanding its reach to the diaspora from the four states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

     

    The television network is on the lookout for equity investors – financial or strategic – to fund its growth plans. The company has appointed Destimony Securities as its advisor for the equity stake sale.

     

    “By getting in investors, we are looking at raising approximately Rs 200 crore,” Destimony Securities MD and CEO Sudip Bandhopadhyay told Indiantelevision.com.

     

    Raj TV Network plans to revamp its clutch of south Indian GECs, music and news channels and also on furthering its brand in the Telugu market.

     

    The network operates 12 channels – four in Tamil, three in Telugu, two in Kannada, two in Malayalam and one in Hindi.

     

    Raj TV Network also has a large library of Tamil movies which has not yet been tapped gainfully.

     

    “We have a huge inventory of Tamil movies that needs to be monetised. Alongside, the large diaspora of the four states in the South needs to be captured,” Bandhopadhyay said.

     

    Ernst & Young had in 2007 valued Raj TV Network’s movie collections at Rs 325 crore.

     

    The network is currently busy revamping its Telugu channels  —  Raj Musix Telugu, Raj Telugu News and Vissa.  The relaunch of the Telugu channels is expected sometime next month. Raj TV Network also plans to rebrand Vissa to prefix the Raj brand.

     

    Apart from this, Raj TV Network has ambitious plans to make its presence felt in northern parts of the country.

     

    “We don’t just want to build the brand name in the south but also move to other regional markets as well,” says Raj TV MD M Raajhendhran.

     

    The network is already present in a few Hindi speaking markets with Raj Parivar, which currently features only songs. It has long term plans to start GECs and other regional music channels as well in north India. Bhojpuri is one of the markets Raj TV Network is considering. Additionally, it is also looking at the Bengali market.

     

    In the third quarter ended 31 December 2013, Raj TV Network reported a 53.98 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 4.99 crore (20.01 per cent of revenue during the quarter) from Rs 3.24 crore (18.55 per cent of revenue of that quarter) a year ago.

  • TRAI awaits call from Madras High Court for Arasu hearing

    TRAI awaits call from Madras High Court for Arasu hearing

    MUMBAI: More than four weeks have passed since the Madras High Court gave the interim order restraining the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from taking any coercive steps against the Tamil Nadu state government-owned MSO Arasu Cable TV Corp for giving analogue signals in Chennai.

     

    However, there has been no follow up by the Madras HC on what it intends to do following the stay. 

     

    Anticipating a date soon, TRAI lawyers are already up on their toes and are compiling their response so that it can be submitted to the court. “We are still waiting for a date of the hearing. We haven’t heard anything from the court,” says a senior TRAI official.

     

    The case filed against two parties – the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and the TRAI will hopefully be  heard soon where the respondents from both the parties will get a chance to present their individual viewpoints. 

     

    The entire issue cropped up because Arasu has not been granted a digital addressable system (DAS) licence to run its business in the state even after continuous efforts to secure it. The MSO is still giving out analogue signals, thus keeping Chennai as the only city from Phase I to not go the whole hog on digitisation. 

     

    In its order which it passed late December 2013, the court states that the Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) formed to decide the fate of Arasu has to move quickly on it. The order also mentions that Arasu abided by the rules and applied for a licence even after the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 was amended in 2012.

     

    “It is not known to this Court as to why the first respondent (MIB) has not taken any decision so far on the application of the petitioner,” states the order. 

     

    The TRAI view on this is quite clear. Says a senior official at the regulator: “The decision on granting the licence lies with the MIB. In our recommendation we said that state governments should not be given the licence. The IMC is working on it but we haven’t yet got any response from them.” 

     

    The HC also states that since Arasu had followed the rules for applying for a licence, the MIB is not justified in keeping the matter pending and not arriving at a conclusion. It has also directed the Ministry to come out with a decision at the earliest.

     

    If MIB follows the TRAI’s cue and bars Arasu from securing a licence, the regulator  can take action against the MSO, according to the official. “If the MIB disqualifies Arasu from getting a licence, it cannot operate and if they do, they will be in violation of the law,” he says.

     

    As of now, nothing can be done against Arasu due to the interim order given by the Madras HC. But which direction this case moves is extremely crucial as the country is soon entering phase III and IV of digitisation. And it will decide whether the city of Chennai remains an analogue island in a sea of digitised India. 

  • TRAI gives final deadlines for filling subscriber details in DAS Phase II cities

    TRAI gives final deadlines for filling subscriber details in DAS Phase II cities

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) may have once again extended the rope for stakeholders of digitisation but with a warning that they would get no further extension. In a recently issued notice, fresh and “final” deadlines have been given out for entering the subscriber details in the subscriber management system (SMS) in DAS phase II cities.

     

    The regulator has already given two extensions of the deadlines earlier for collecting customer application forms (CAF) and entry of these details in the SMS. However, this comes as a warning from the regulator. It says that 23 cities (Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Faridabad, Mysore, Aurangabad, Nasik, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, Sholapur, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh and Howrah) have completed 90 per cent of the task and the MSOs in these cities have been ordered to cut off signals from 27 January to subscribers who haven’t given their CAFs.

     

    7 February is the last date for Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh; while Vishakhapatnam and Srinagar have time till 28 February. However, state of Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad city have not been given any date due to litigation processes that are pending regarding DAS.

     

    Eight other cities (Patna, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Kalyan-Dombivali, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai and Thane) have been given 31 January as the last date. Subscribers have been requested to cooperate with the process and submit their CAFs, failing which MSOs will have to cut off signals to their TVs or will be in breach of law.

     

    MSOs will have to provide bills with exact breakup of charges and subscribers will have to insist for a bill and receipt or see blackout on their screens.

     

    Click here to read the full notice

  • BSNL, MTNL to get financial help on surrender of BWA Spectrum

    BSNL, MTNL to get financial help on surrender of BWA Spectrum

    NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have got the approval for financial support from the Union Cabinet on surrender of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum.

     

    Upfront charges paid for such spectrum would be refunded.

     

    The objective of this decision is to provide financial support to the extent of one-time upfront charges paid for BWA spectrum for six service areas of BSNL and both service areas of MTNL on surrender of the spectrum. The six licensed service areas of BSNL are Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kolkata.

     

    The amount to be refunded to BSNL is Rs 6724.51 crore and Rs 4533.97 crore for MTNL. The refund will be made to ensure support for the revival and revitalisation of BSNL and MTNL in the competitive telecom sector. It shall also help these PSUs to arrange finances to meet basic financial commitments such as operation and maintenance of their telecom network.