ITV

Tag: TV

  • Bollywood goes mobile with Barcelona launch

    Bollywood goes mobile with Barcelona launch

    MUMBAI: The world’s largest film industry joined forces with the global mobile communications world today in spectacular fashion – as Bollywood premiered its first feature films for mobile viewers at the 3GSM World Congress (February 12-15) in Barcelona.

    The Congress marks the start of the adaptation of thousands of vibrant Bollywood productions for the mobile screen – a development that could have a huge impact on the global mobile entertainment market, already worth some $US23 billion.

    The Bollywood Mobile Initiative is driven by Roamware, the global leader in roaming and mobile connectivity solutions; Hungama Mobile, the world’s largest aggregator, developer and publisher of Indian entertainment and Bollywood content; Sanjay Gupta, a leading Bollywood director; and the GSM Association (GSMA), the global trade association for mobile operators.

    Roamware’s Media Call technology is providing the capability to integrate the cinematic content into the everyday mobile experience for film fans.

    “Media Call redefines mobile communications from voice to visual media, enabling the sharing and promotion of film clips to accelerate the growth of the mobile movie market,” said Bobby Srinivasan, CEO of Roamware.

    Two Bollywood short films “Zahir” & “Matriomony” were premiered in Barcelona today. These films are a part of the feature film ‘Dus Kahaniyaan’ (10 Stories) produced by Sanjay Gupta of White Feather Films, starring more than 20 leading Bollywood stars including Dia Mirza, Suneil Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Neha Mandira Bedi, Aftab Shivdasani and many others. Sanjay Gupta is one of Bollywood’s leading filmmakers who has produced and directed many hugely popular movies such as Kaante, Musafir and Zinda.

    The films demonstrate the viral potential for Bollywood movies on the ‘fourth screen’ –the mobile device. Set pieces with action and dialogue scenes interspersed with song and dance make the vibrant, fast moving movies a compelling entertainment experience for the mobile viewer.

    “Bollywood today is the world’s largest movie industry, producing more than a thousand movies a year with an audience of more than two billion viewers across 127 countries. Formatting that content for the mobile audience and ensuring simplicity of delivery and accessibility provides staggering reach and revenue possibilities,” said Bobby Srinivasan, CEO and Chairman, Roamware.

    “The GSMA is delighted to welcome the stars and directors from the Bollywood world to the world’s largest mobile event,” said Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer of the GSMA. “We are excited by the tremendous potential for Bollywood entertainment on mobile phones, and delighted to support the efforts of Roamware and Hungama Mobile in their commitment to bringing a rich array of Indian film entertainment to the fourth screen for a global audience of millions.”

    “India is the fastest growing market in the mobile world, and the world’s fourth largest market. It has the potential to be the largest market globally by 2010. It is the most logical market from which to launch the mobile movie industry and present a brand new avenue of cinematic entertainment for mobile users everywhere. The potential is truly amazing. Hungama Mobile has already launched a Bollywood channel directly on operator decks around the world in nearly 30 countries, with over 70 operators. This channel contains music, imagery, video and games from Bollywood. Showcasing Bollywood movies on mobile is a natural extension both as a tremendous new marketing opportunity as also revenue for all the stakeholders,” said Neeraj Roy, Managing Director & CEO, Hungama Mobile.

    Hungama Mobile’s content assets and a two year foray in taking Bollywood to the mobile world, coupled with Roamware’s global reach, holds huge promise for the mobile market. The dramatic evolution of communications technology, from download speeds and battery life to compact form factors, screen sizes and resolution, as well as memory enhancements, means mobile devices are now capable of delivering a compelling, high quality and uniquely personal viewing experience.

    Bollywood is one of the fastest growing entertainment industry segments and has an appeal not only for the 150 million mobile phone users in India but for markets across all continents. Indian cinema is now dubbed in over 35 languages and accounts for as much as 16.5% of theatrical business in markets such as UK. Indian films have made it into the top 10 charts in markets such as USA, UK, Germany, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. More than 3.6 billion admission tickets are sold each year, across the world and now Hungama Mobile and Roamware will take this to some 2.5 billion mobile screens.

  • Banff World Television Festival announces participants for Master Class series

    Banff World Television Festival announces participants for Master Class series

    MUMBAI: The Banff World Television Festival organisers have announced participants for its Master Class Series.

    The event takes place in Banff, Canada from 10-13 June 2007.

    The lineup will include Mike Clattenburg who wrote, directed and produced the comedy series The Trailer Park Boys, Greg Daniels who is an executive producer of The Office, Lifetime Entertainment Services president entertanment Susanne Daniels and Ben Silverman who is an executive producer of The Office, and Ugly Betty.

    Clattenburg and Daniels will participate in this year’s Master Class sessions, which focus on the development and production of TV’s most popular series and provide a framework for dialogue between the “Master” and the audience. Globe & Mail columnist John Doyle (in addition to taking part on a panel discussing TV criticism and its impact on the industry), will be interviewing Clattenburg for the latter’s Master Class appearance.

    Daniels and Silverman will be interviewed by New York Times reporter and best-selling author Bill Carter for the In Conversation… series at this year’s Festival. These one-hour forums are an opportunity for high profile television visionaries and creators to be interviewed one-on-one by equally engaging media personalities, in front of the Festival audience. These informal conversations draw out insights from participants and are among the most popular with delegates.

  • ESPN US in mobile deal with MediaFlo

    ESPN US in mobile deal with MediaFlo

    MUMBAI: MediaFlo USA, a subsidiary of Qualcomm has signed a deal with US sports broadcaster ESPN.

    The deal will bring sports programming to MediaFlo USA’s new mobile entertainment service.

    The new ESPN Mobile TV channel – ESPN’s first on a wireless service – will offer a selection of live, simulcast sports events; breaking sports news, commentary and analysis; and realtime sports scores and game updates. MediaFLO USA will deliver this content directly to subscribers’ mobile phones.

    ESPN Enterprises executive VP Salil Mehta says, “The time is right to offer the first-ever sports wireless channel, ESPN Mobile TV. Historically, ESPN has been the leader in adopting new technologies to serve sports fans, and MediaFLO USA’s mobile entertainment service will make ESPN’s world-class programming come to life on the newest generation of mobile phones.”

    MediaFlo USA president Gina Lombardi says, “MediaFlo USA is revolutionizing television by offering, for the first time, must-see programming from world-class entertainment brands in a crystal-clear mobile viewing environment.

    “One of the keys to the broad adoption of mobile TV is the availability of high-quality content, and our agreement with ESPN will be a compelling draw for sports fans who want anytime, anywhere access to unmatched sports programming.”

    Guided by primary market research and consumer trials, MediaFlo USA intends to secure familiar, full-length content from many of the world’s leading media companies and leverage its dedicated, nationwide multicast network to deliver live, full-length, TV-quality programming to mobile phones.

  • Sony Pictures TV Intl appoints Soojin Chung as executive director- licensing & head of Seoul operations

    Sony Pictures TV Intl appoints Soojin Chung as executive director- licensing & head of Seoul operations

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has announced that it is expanding its operations in Asia by opening a TV licensing office in Korea. Soojin Chung has been appointed as executive director of licensing and will head SPTI’s office in Seoul. She will report to SPTI’s senior vice president, distribution, Asia Ross Pollack.

    In her new position, Chung will be responsible for the licensing of SPTI’s series and features, along with the company’s lineup of international productions, to traditional and new media partners in Korea. In addition, she will provide support to SPTI’s Asian product acquisition efforts by assisting in the ongoing evaluation of, investment in and distribution of Korean content for SPTI in Asia and worldwide, informs an official release.

    “Opening a licensing office in Korea demonstrates our continued efforts to better serve our Korean clients and to offer more choices to our customers throughout Asia where SPTI already has numerous commitments,” said Pollack. “We are delighted to have Soojin join our team. Her experience and impressive track record as a TV executive is widely recognized in the Korean marketplace. She will be a great fit with the rest of our Asian team based in Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing.”

    Chung joins SPTI from Buena Vista International Television where she was head of sales for Korea since 2004. Prior to Buena Vista, she held a number of positions in Korea, including content acquisition manager at SBS Productions and acquisition manager at Hollyvision Saehan Media.

    SPTI currently has a Korean TV drama distribution deal with CJ Media in addition to distributing select movie titles from CJ and Korean anime from other partners.

  • TV homes in US to touch 163.7 mn by 2050: Nielsen

    TV homes in US to touch 163.7 mn by 2050: Nielsen

    MUMBAI: The total number of TV households in the US is expected grow 47 per cent from 111.4 million to 163.7 million by r 2050.

    Estimates have been released by Nielsen Media Research in its annual report `Projected Estimates of TV Households and Persons 2008 to 2050.’

    The report also includes projected estimates for African-American, Hispanic and, for the first time, Asian TV households in the US.

    The total number of TV households will grow 66 per cent for African-Americans, 167 per cent for Hispanics and 166 per cent for Asians.

    The number of people in the US living in TV households will grow by 40 per cent (from 283.5 million to 396.3 million). The number of African-Americans in TV households will increase 59 per cent, Hispanics 136 per cent and Asians 155 per cent.

  • Mattel unveils Barbie signature fragrance “B”; extends Hot Wheels & Barbie apparel range

    Mattel unveils Barbie signature fragrance “B”; extends Hot Wheels & Barbie apparel range

    MUMBAI: As a first time initiative, Mattel Toys India has extended it’s flagship girl centric brand Barbie with the launch of a signature fragrance called “B.” This was unveiled at a fashion event in Mumbai showcasing the new Spring Summer Hot Wheels and Barbie 2007 collection for boys and girls.

    As the market for kid’s branded apparel in India is expanding, this new category caters to the 2 to 14 years age group. The Hot Wheels range features casual wear, that consists of the Racer wear that emphasizes on graphics, the Madfast collection in flamboyant colours, Jackets and Attitude collection that strikes a balance between design and practicality and the Streetwear collection that exudes urban vibes. To complete the look, Hot Wheels sunglasses, ride-ons, schools bags and accessories.

    The Barbie Spring Summer collection emphasis the Spring-Meadow look with pretty pinks, the Sporty look complete with the racquets, scooters and shrugs, the Summery look with twist shrugs, vests and the Rock Star look with faded jeans, blazers and coats. Creative accessories like Barbie school bags, sunglasses, guitars, boom boxes, skateboards, surfboards and helmets have been added to the collection, states an official release.

    The signature fragrance “B” is packaged along with a sparkling Barbie “B” charm and is priced at Rs.650 and Rs. 500 for 75 ml and 40 ml respectively.

    Mattel Toys managing director Sanjay Luthra said, “Kids define their popularity and success by the brands they wear, play and live with. On an emotional level, Barbie is the ultimate aspirational figure for a little girl symbolizing intelligence, success and beauty.

    “Similarly, Hot Wheels as a brand embraces the natural competitive spirit that boys possess. Kids can easily identify with the inheritant qualities that these brands posses and I am ecstatic on the launch of this new collection…another new from Mattel.”

     

  • Taj Television, TNMG in interactive progamming, distribution agreement

    Taj Television, TNMG in interactive progamming, distribution agreement

    MUMBAI: The New Media Group (TNMG) and Taj Television, which owns sports channel Ten Sports, have formed a partnership.

    TNMG will distribute and market Taj Television’s assets to users in Japan and Korea.

    TNMG president Randy McGraw says, “We have been really impressed with the content that Ten Sports is producing, the company’s management, and its direction.

    “This strategic tie-up goes a long way toward our mission of establishing the preeminent IPTV and sports community management portal for the growing number of people that are under-serviced by legacy broadcasting, DTH and CATV systems in the markets where they live. We are happy to be working with Taj Television.”

    Under the agreement between companies, TNMG will distribute Ten Sports to a community of 200,000 South East Asian and Subcontinent community members living and working in Japan and Korea. Taking advantage of the regions broadband and 3G mobile infrastructure, TNMG will work with Taj Television Limited initially on TV offerings, and will eventually will develop offerings for consumption on TV, PC, and mobile phones.

    TNMG says that it will give its viewers the World On-Demand, and we are happy to have this solution. South Asians all over Asia will now be able to watch cricket, football, hockey, tennis, and see their favorite players and home teams doing it.

    The two companies will eventually collaborate on new, interactive offerings for consumers of Ten Sports’ content.

    The companies began services in Japan and other East Asian markets in December, 2006.

  • Cisco offers debt to cable operators, pushes Scientific Atlanta STBs

    Cisco offers debt to cable operators, pushes Scientific Atlanta STBs

    MUMBAI: Cable operators dry of cash for digital implementation can now look forward to Cisco Systems, Inc. The global networking equipment and network management giant is willing to finance cable operators in India as it sees opportunity in riding the digital cable wave to push its set-top boxes (STBs).

    There is a catch, though: operators will have access to the loan only if they use STBs from Scientific Atlanta, the company that Cisco acquired to bulk up on businesses that cater to consumers.

    The debt will be provided through its wholly owned subsidiary company, Cisco Capital.

    Cisco has approached several small and medium-sized operators in the Cas (conditional access system) areas, offering a variety of financing options. “We are willing to provide soft loans to cable operators which can be paid over a period of time. This way we can push our digital end-to-end solutions including headend, encryption system and boxes,” says a source in the company.

    The loan size will depend upon the credit worthiness of the operator and the funding will be made available in phases. “We won’t be funding the cable network in one go, but infuse it in several doses,” says the source.

    Cisco realises how tough it will be to evaluate the health of the cable networks. “Most of them do not have proper documents and it is difficult to rate their creditworthiness,” the source adds.

    Among the cable operators Cisco has initiated talks are Kolkata-based Manthan and JPR Network, an independent operator in Mumbai. But there are no takers yet.

    “We are more interested in equity than in debt. As we will have to subsidise the STBs, it will be very difficult to recover and repay the loan. The average revenue per user (ARPU) from Cas subscribers is also low. Besides, Scientific Atlanta boxes are more expensive than what is available in China and Korea,” says JPR Network promoter Raja Nadar.

    Cisco, however, believes its end-to-end digital solutions and the pressure cable operators face to put quality infrastructure in place will drive in good business. “There is just a 20 per cent difference between what we provide and what others are offering. But we have a better system and bridge an end-to-end requirement,” the source says.

    Rajan Raheja-promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom and Asianet are using the Scientific Atlanta headend, STBs and encryption system, the source adds. Hathway, in which Star has a 26 per cent stake, already has seeded Humax STBs and uses News Corp-owned NDS encryption systems.

    For Hathway, Scientific Atlanta is going to be a second supply vendor as the market for digital cable expands.

    Cisco acquired Scientific Atlanta so that it could tap the rapidly growing cable, satellite and IPTV markets across the world.

  • AIR’s digitalisation to stretch beyond 2015

    AIR’s digitalisation to stretch beyond 2015

    NEW DELHI: The All India Radio digitalisation programme may not be complete by 2015 due to shortage of funds, says AIR engineer-in-chief AS Guin.

    The Short Wave bands will be digitalised first and this can be achieved by 2015, provided the Planning Commission releases the entire amount, but medium wave “which is the poor man’s band” will not be fully digitalised and more specifically, there will not be complete switch off from analogue to digital radio, Guin explains.

    The AIR has asked for Rs 59 billion from the Commission under the 11th Five Year Plan. They feel the amount is huge, and the government may not be able to release the entire fund. To go for complete digitalisation would take much more funds – almost astronomical – and AIR mandarins feel that they should not ask for the moon, which is why no further plans are afoot for asking for more funds.

    Short wave transmitters that have been in use for more than 20 years will be replaced and these alone would be DRM compatible, not all.

    “But in any case, we shall not switch off the analogue mode for the medium wave by 2015, because that is the wave compatible with the radios costing Rs 50 or 100, the one used by the poorer section of the society. They will not be able to bear the cost, so we cannot deny them the only source of information and entertainment some of them have,” Guin stressed.

    In fact, as of date even the fairly well-to-do would not be able, or may not wish to spend money buying a digital radio set.

    “The ones available cost in today’s prices about $70, that is Rs 3,500,” Guin revealed, adding: “This is prohibitively costly.”

    So why bring in a technology that even the well-off may not opt for?

    “It is expected the prices will come down as we go by,” he averred. There are two factors at play here.

    First, as and when DRM technology goes national, prices will come down. “As of now, most countries are using DRM technology for SW for their external broadcasting. National lever SW DRM tests have been conducted in Mexico and other places,” Guin said. But when DRM goes national, the price will come down.

    The other factor is that as the new digital mode becomes popular, the prices of the sets would also come down.

    “The main thing will be the content,” Guin said. The content for SW and MW have to be different, because if the same content is run on both, why would anyone buy a costly handset to catch SW?” he asks.

    There have to be popular programmes specially developed for SW bands, he felt, otherwise the digital radio programme will not pick up in good earnest.

    The digitalisation process would start with all the studios. Each state capital would have one Short Wave transmitter and there will be three transmission complexes with five transmitters per complex for national digital radio coverage.

    These complexes will be suitably located., Each complex will transmit five digital channels across the country, including regional language channels. This will mean that these channels will be accessible across the country. So, a Bengali in Mumbai would not have a problem if he wishes to hear All India Radio Kolkata.

    Explaining the merits of such a costly technology, Guin said that interactive broadcasts and a number of value-added services will be possible. One of the most important things will be the pro-active role AIR will get to play in disaster management.

    AIR will introduce a system across the channels on the coastal belts, which will be integrated with the early warning systems.

    Thus, whenever an early warning is triggered off the computer linkage with the radio stations will ensure that the channel would automatically switch over to transmitting the warning, with the ongoing programme switched off.

    Once the warning has been issued, the radio station would switch over to the normal ongoing programme. This will give a huge lead time for people to evacuate.

  • Ficci gears up for Frames convention

    Ficci gears up for Frames convention

    MUMBAI: Frames, the convention for the business of Indian entertainment organised by Ficci, will take place from 26 – 28 March in Mumbai.

    Business delegation from over 20 countries is expected for the event which is in its eight year. This year Italy is a partner country.

    The television track kicks off with a plenary session – Regulatory Framework for Entertainment Industry on the opening day.

    There has been a regular debate among various stakeholders on regulation. How much of regulation should be there? Should the content regulation be consistent across all delivery mediums such as TV, radio, films and print? Should there be a price regulation? Or the industry should be left to market forces to evolve on its own?

    With the boom of news channels, there will be a session on Changing face of News. In order to survive, news channels along with newsworthiness should have something different. Along with managing editorial content, the gatekeepers are also acting as brand managers.

    Viewers wanting a global perspective of television can attend Fresh TV around the World. This special session, now a regular item at the television trade events in Cannes, France Mip TV and Mipcom, presents the world’s freshest and most popular TV shows of the season, specially edited for Frames participants.

    This includes clips from the world’s most successful, innovative and most talked about TV shows. Based on the monthly The Wit Fresh TV Report which spots new shows launched in more than 30 markets worldwide, the presentation also covers the most creative trends in different programming genres.

    With Cas and DTH already introduced, Frames will have a Plenary Session on The Last Mile: Battle of reaching consumers. The challenge of retaining existing consumers is going to be tough. Are existing distributors well equipped to take up this challenge?

    Another plenary session examines the importance of content. Innovative marketing and promotional campaigns can be of little hope unless it is fuelled with winning content. Irrespective of platform, the key to success is high quality content. Can anybody afford to disagree?

    There will also be a focus on the Asian TV Market in a session. Asia has common cultural values thereby having huge potential of sharing content with countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and Singapore. How the trade of content can be further strengthened among these countries?

    The Film Track kicks off with the crucial topic of marketing and distribution. This has always been an integral part of the business plan for film producers. The success of a film no longer depends on just the content, storyline and the starcast, but also on how well the film is marketed. The successes of Krissh, Don and Dhoom 2 in India scenario are prime example.

    The session will discuss the new methods employed to get to the target audience especially in international markets. Another session looks at digital cinema. From Celluloid to digital …Indian multiplexes and stand alone theatres are adopting the digital technology. Earlier business models were driving the technological applications. The scenario is just the opposite now, it’s the technology driving the business of Indian Cinema. The digital technology is changing the way the movies are being watched…. What lies in the future?

    Another session examines whether remakes and sequels revisits the past or is it the result of intellectual bankruptcy. Indian films now have a lot of sequels and remixes. Sequels of Munnabhai, Krissh, Hera Pheri, Dhoom and remakes like Don and Umrao Jaan and their success has added a new dimension to the Indian film industry. Some see it as a case of intellectual bankruptcy. In the era of commercialisation does storytelling hold a chance?

    What makes popular cinema tick? Is there a magic formula for success at box office? Increasingly the taste and sensibilities of the Indian audiences are changing. This is reflected in the different genres of movies making box office history this year. Films like Dhoom 2, Krishh, Rang De Basanti and Munnabhai have generated mass hysteria. There is a radical change in the scripts, treatment and presentation. The changing trends of Hindi films will be looked at in a session.