ITV

Tag: TV

  • Anil’s Reliance ups stake in TV Today to 11.93 per cent

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani’s interest in the media sector seems to be growing. Reliance Capital’s subsidiary Sonata Investments has taken its shareholding in TV Today to 11.93 per cent, after buying an additional 1 per cent stake on Monday.

    Sonata bought 583,000 shares in an open market transaction. With this, the company now has 6.9 million shares of TV Today, up from 6.3 million. Earlier on 12 February, the company had purchased 557,000 shares, or 0.96 per cent stake, of TV Today for an estimated Rs 65 million.

    Ambani’s Reliance Capital has also taken an exposure in Global Broadcast News, recently acquiring 6.27 per cent stake for an estimated Rs 870 million.

  • Zoom adds movies to prime time slot

    Zoom adds movies to prime time slot

    MUMBAI: Zoom, the Times Group’s glamour and lifestyle Hindi entertainment channel, has crafted a movie band called Zoom Theatres. The movie band between 9 p.m to 12 midnight will showcase hits from Bollywood everyday.

    Although the channel began airing movies from last month, it was in the afternoon band and was called Do Se Paanch. The channel has now rescheduled its programmes in the evening time slot.It has also repackaged this slot and called it Zoom Theatres.In the 7 to 9 pm slot in the evening, the channel will air its premier shows and the post 9 pm slot will have the channel air movies like Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein & Joggers Park to Shabd & Chameli. Earlier this slot featured repeats of the premier shows.

    With its latest feature the channel promises to bring the latest in Bollywood from romantic comedies, crossover movies to art films.

  • TDSAT adjourns hearing as Nimbus approaches SC

    TDSAT adjourns hearing as Nimbus approaches SC

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today adjourned its hearing in the case by sports broadcaster Nimbus challenging the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) direction to its channels Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus to reduce their subscriber price.

    The adjournment till the second week of next month came after TDSAT was informed that Nimbus had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order fixing Rs 37.25 as bouquet price for the two channels.

    Earlier on 22 January, the High Court had dismissed an application by Nimbus and upheld the Trai order of 11 January fixing Rs 37.25 as bouquet price for the two channels. The order of the High Court had also made it clear that Nimbus could recover its cost at the rate of Rs 58.50 if its appeal before the TDSAT was accepted. The Trai order had also asked Nimbus to charge Rs 5 per channel in the areas covered by Conditional Access System (Cas).

    Nimbus contended that Trai can fix the rates only under Section 11(2) of the Trai Act after due hearing to the concerned broadcaster, and not arbitrarily under Section 13 (2).

  • India, Germany sign co-production agreement

    India, Germany sign co-production agreement

    NEW DELHI : India and Germany have signed an agreement on audio-visual co-production.

    Information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi and German foreign minister Dr Frank Walter Steinmeier signed the Agreement.

    The agreeement would contribute to facilitating co-operation in the film, videography, documentary, animation and audio industry in the two countries.
    Some of the salient features of the agreement are:

    – Films which are produced within the framework of this agreement shall be deemed national films. These films shall be entitled to claim the all state support benefits available to the film and video industries and the privileges granted by the provisions in force in the respective countries.

    – Contribution of the co-production partners includes at least one leading actor, one supporting actor and/or one qualified technical staff person.

    – The original soundtrack of each co-production film shall be made in Hindi language or dialect or, in English or German or in any combination of those permitted languages.

    – In the case of multilateral co-productions, the minority contribution may not be less than 10 per cent and the majority contribution may not exceed 70 per cent of the total cost of the film.

    – Even those films, which are produced in one of the two countries and where the minority contribution is limited to financial investment, may be granted co-production status according to this agreement.

    – The expenses incurred in the territories of both countries for the promotion of co-productions will be compensated within 2 years of the completion of the project.

    – A Joint Commission, which will be composed of representatives from the government and from the film, television and video industries of both countries will supervise and review the implementation and operation of the Agreement and will make the any proposals considered necessary to improve the implementation of the Agreement.

    – For approved co-productions, each country will facilitate entry into and temporary residence in its territory for technical and artistic personnel of the other country as well as the import into and export from its territory of technical and other film making equipment and materials by producers of the other country.

    – Applications for qualification of a film for co-production benefits must be made simultaneously to the competent authorities in both countries at least 30 days before the shooting begins. They should be accompanied by the final scripts and synopsis, documentary proof of having legally acquired the rights to produce the co-production and a copy of the co-production contract signed by the two co-producers for the sharing of revenues, markets, media or a combination of these.

  • PCCW bags rights for Italian Serie A soccer

    PCCW bags rights for Italian Serie A soccer

    MUMBAI: Hong Kong communications firm PCCW has announced that its broadband platform now TV has won the media rights to broadcast Italy’s soccer event – the Serie A Championship – in the 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons.

    Serie A is contested by 20 clubs in a round-robin competition format and comprises a total of 380 matches per season. Under the package acquired from Media Partners & Silva /Dentsu which jointly distribute serie A media rights in Asia, now TV has the television, broadband, IPTV and mobile TV rights for not less than 130 live matches, including most home games featuring major Italian teams such as AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Roma.

    All Serie A matches available on now TV will be included as further enhancements to the Mega Sports Pack offered for $218 per month on a 12-month term plan. Customers subscribing to the Mega Sports Pack before 30 April, 2007 will be able to enjoy an early bird offer of $178 per month (mini-pack price), with five months’ free viewing if they sign for 18 months.

    The Mega Sports Pack includes not only soccer championships, such as Uefa Champions League, English FA Cup and Serie A, but also other top sporting events like the 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix, 2007 FIVB World Cup and
    IAAF Grand Prix Athletics 2007

    Now TV currently serves an installed customer base of more than 700,000 and offers a choice of more than 120 channels including HBO, Star Movies, ESPN and Star Sports.
     

  • Big FM brings Cricketainment to radio

    Big FM brings Cricketainment to radio

    MUMBAI: With cricket fever gripping the nation, radio has decided to jump onto the bandwagon as well. Big FM today announced two new shows based on cricket in the run up to the World Cup.

    The FM has on board cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle and actor Shekhar Suman hosting two news shows on cricket.

    ‘Big Googly’ hosted by Shekhar Suman is a funny take on everything to do with cricket- the sponsors, the locker room brawls, the hits and near misses. The show to be aired during drive time in the evenings will keep listeners entertained with all the gossip around cricket and World Cup.

    Says Shekhar Suman, “Cricket has always been about entertainment and this show is about viewing the game in a lighter vein.” For good measure he also adds, “Thank God for radio, or it would have been someone in noodle straps who would be doing the show.”

    Cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle is not new to the medium. He started his career on AIR, Hyderabad before moving to television.

    On what Big Cricket expert would feature Bhogle pointed out that, “The whole question of cricketainment being debated today is quite strange. Cricket has always been all about entertainment. Until such time as we can have ball by ball commentary on private FM, radio will do a great job of providing analysis and updates on the matches.”

    Big Cricket Expert hosted by Bhogle will include a pre match show on the days of the match. He will also present a ‘Breakfast Show’ with post match analysis the following day.

    Big FM also plans to get in celebrities to give their take on the World Cup and its players.

    Speaking on this celebrity mix for ‘cricketainment’, Big FM national programming head Manav Dhanda said, “Cricket is believed to be a purists game for a lot of people in our country and therefore we have the best in the business to talk about the serious side of cricket- the matches et al. Shekhar Suman clearly brings in the fun element with his own brand of humour.”

    Big Googly and Big Cricket Expert are both national properties and will be aired across all the 12 Big FM stations operating across the country. The FM has also planned a series of a contests and interactive features around the two shows.

  • CNN goes live for the first time with 3G

    CNN goes live for the first time with 3G

    MUMBAI: CNN International has made its first ever global television broadcast from a mobile phone, live from the 3GSM conference in Barcelona. As part of CNN’s coverage from the conference, CNN went live to millions worldwide via the 3G network shortly after 7pm Hong Kong time, Monday February 12.

    The ‘live via phone’ ninety second piece was broadcast by CNN International correspondent Jim Boulden for the daily news show, ‘Business International’ and opened CNN’s coverage from 3GSM trade show.

    Tony Maddox senior vice president of news operations for CNN International said: “This new development underlines CNN’s clear commitment to developing 3G technology in news gathering. By adopting emerging technologies, CNN continues to lead the way in reporting from the field. 3G technology is enabling our correspondents to deliver packages and live broadcasts both quickly and easily from wherever they are in the world. This is an important demonstration of how we are evolving our newsgathering abilities using the latest technologies.”

    Working with mobile technology partner Ericsson, CNN has invested in digital newsgathering which enables its global correspondents to add 3G phones to their reporting tools. The technology has already been tested through live reports on CNN’s broadband service, CNN Pipeline, but this is the first time the news network has used mobile devices for live television.

  • TV remote inventor Robert Adler passes away

    TV remote inventor Robert Adler passes away

    MUMBAI: Robert Adler, co-inventor of the TV remote, has passed away.

    Adler, who won an Emmy Award along with fellow engineer Eugene Polley for the device that made the couch potato possible, died a few days ago of heart failure at a Boise nursing home at the age of 93
    His developments spanned from the Golden Age of Television into the High-Definition Era, earning him more than 180 US patents. The US Patent and Trademark Office published his most recent patent application, for advances in touch-screen technology, on 1 February 2007.

    His six-decade career with Zenith Electronics Corporation began in 1941 when he joined Zenith’s research division. He was named associate director in 1952, vice president in 1959, and vice president and director of research in 1963. He retired as research vice president in 1979, and served Zenith as a technical consultant until 1999, when Zenith merged with LG Electronics.

    In the consumer electronics field, Dr. Adler has been widely recognised as the co-inventor (with fellow Zenith engineer Eugene Polley) of the wireless TV remote. Dr. Adler’s ‘Space Command’ ultrasonic remote control for TV sets was introduced by Zenith in 1956. He received the 1958 Outstanding Technical Achievement Award of the Institute of Radio Engineers (now the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE) for his “original work on ultrasonic remote controls” for television state media reports.

  • Echostar buys a stake in South Korea’s TU Media

    Echostar buys a stake in South Korea’s TU Media

    MUMBAI: US satellite service provider Echostar has become the second-largest shareholder in South Korea’s TU Media.

    It operates a satellite digital mobile broadcasting (S-DMB) service.

    TU Media has raised $74.7 million.

    The company said that its largest shareholder, SK Telecom, and Echostar purchased 9.95 million new shares of TU Media to raise the company’s capital to 288.2 billion won.

    TU Media said that the partnership with Echostar would help accelerate its efforts to make inroads in overseas markets.

    In 2005, TU Media started the S-DMB service. This allows users to watch TV on a mobile device.

    The company cliams to have attracted more than 1 million subscribers for the fee-based mobile broadcasting service since its launch. It aims to raise the number to two million this year.

  • Ofcom to review Sky’s DTT plan

    Ofcom to review Sky’s DTT plan

     MUMBAI: Last week UK pay TV service provider Sky had announced that it proposes to launch a new service on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform.

    Following a series of requests for clarity on the regulatory process regarding the proposed launch, UK media regulatory body Ofcom confirms that it will consult on any such proposals.

    Sky’s announcement noted that the launch of the new service will be subject to approval by Ofcom including the necessary variations to licences held by Sky and National Grid Wireless, which provides Sky with DTT transmission and multiplexing services.

    When Ofcom receives a request for approval of the necessary variations, the issues that would require consultation are likely to include:

    – Firstly, the impact on consumers of Sky’s proposal to use MPEG4 compression technology via new set-top boxes, in order to increase the amount of content which can be carried. Ofcom would need to assess:

    – The potential benefit of a rapid migration from the current compression standard MPEG2, to MPEG4 which will ultimately increase the number of channels available on digital terrestrial television.

    – The potential detriment associated with a reduction in the number of channels received by existing set-top boxes or digital televisions; The risk that existing set-top boxes or digital televisions might be incompatible with multiplexes broadcast using a combination of MPEG2 and MPEG4 coding;

    – The overall effect on consumer confidence in the digital switchover process.

    – Whether any variation to the channel line-up might unacceptably diminish the appeal of the channels to a variety of tastes and interests and whether a reduction in the current range of free-to-air channels would be compensated for by the proposed introduction of the new pay television channels.

    – Finally, the effect of any change to existing licence conditions and / or the need to include any new licence conditions to ensure fair and effective competition for the benefit of consumers.

    The content of the consultation and its timing will be announced once a request for an approval has been received. Ofcom’s normal consultation period is 10 weeks.