ITV

Tag: TV

  • Ofcom launches PSP consultation

    Ofcom launches PSP consultation

    MUMBAI: UK media watchdog Ofcom has launched its planned consultation to consider the option of an online public service publisher (PSP).

    If given the go ahead, the service would compete with the online operations of Channel 4 and the BBC. The idea was muted by the regulator back in 2004.

    Ofcom notes that although public service content will be provided by the market, it may well not be enough either in terms of quantity or diversity – a market shortfall is likely to arise. This may have adverse implications for the level of UK-originated production, and for plurality in the public service system – the BBC is likely to play a material role in the digital media world of the future, but for a public service culture to flourish, effective competition for quality is needed.

    Ofcom states, ” We are open-minded about the best solution for the future of public service content – we will not report again on the how to maintain and strengthen the quality of Public Sservice Broadcasting (PSB) until the next PSB Review, which must be completed no later than 2009/10.

    “The primary purpose of this paper is to take the debate forward within the UK’s creative industries and policy environment. We continue to believe that there is a real opportunity for a new PSP to make a significant contribution to the public service system, and to create a lasting legacy for the future.

    ” We welcome the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s interest in the PSP concept in its inquiry into public service media content.”

    Ofcom has given 23 March 2007 as the last date for obtaining feedback. It is actively seeking responses on:

    – The appropriate nature of intervention in the digital media age, and the balance between TV and non-TV forms of public service content distribution

    – The potential role of the PSP and its creative remit

    – The operating model – in particular, the approach to rights management

    – The scale of funding required. Ofcom notes that the future of PSB in UK television is central to its remit. Its first statutory review of PSB was completed in 2005 and set out recommendations for maintaining and strengthening the quality of PSB against a backdrop of rapid change in broadcasting. The television market has continued to evolve at speed since the review, as a result of which it published Digital PSB in July 2006.

    Digital PSB highlighted a number of market developments affecting the future of public service broadcasting. One of these is that the rapid take-up of digital television is reducing the viewing share of the traditional public service broadcasters, and hence the value of the analogue spectrum

    Viewers – especially younger audiences – are increasingly watching content on internet and mobile platforms, and are starting to move away from traditional TV. Changes in spectrum policy will affect the way in which public service aims need to be financed in the future.

    In Ofcom’s view, these changes mean that the delivery of PSB in a fully digital television world needs to be rethought. While the core public purposes endure, the means of delivery and institutional framework may have to change. As a result, the challenge is to define the appropriate model for PSB for the future, not for the world as it is today – or as it has been in the past. The challenge is as much an opportunity for public service broadcasting as it is a threat to it.

  • CNN reveals the world of fashion photographer Mario Testino

    CNN reveals the world of fashion photographer Mario Testino

    MUMBAI: CNN will reveal the work of one of fashion’s most sought-after snappers, Mario Testino. He the channel says has never allowed television cameras to witness his photographic sessions – until now. On its show Revealed which airs on 10 Febraury 2007 at 6 pm, 11 February at 2 pm, 8 pm and on 12 February at 8 pm viewers meet the man who has photographed many of the world’s most iconic images.

    Testino has captured personalities including Princess Diana for her famous Vanity Fair cover in 1997, Madonna for designer label Versace, as well as playing a pivotal role in the careers of supermodels Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen. His work is seen worldwide in fashion magazines, at international exhibitions, on the walls of art galleries and in a number of books.

    The show offers viewers the opportunity to follow Testino at work, during the life-span of a high-profile campaign for Versace Spring 2007. It begins as models line up for a casting session with the top photographer in Paris, before he heads for a brainstorm with his Art Director and friend of twenty years, Patrick Kinmouth. The two men review their previous campaigns for Versace, which include Halle Berry, Demi Moore and Madonna, and consider whether to use models or celebrities in their latest project.

    The fashion spotlight next moves to Italy, for Milan Fashion week, where Testino visits Versace’s head office for a meeting with Donatella Versace, who tells Revealed that her choice of photographer is crucial to her success as a designer, “To me at the moment, Mario Testino is the only photographer with a sense of modernity and a sense of creativity combined with a knowledge of the market of fashion, which no one else has.”

    Attending Versace’s packed catwalk show, one of the centrepieces of Milan Fashion week, Testino finds himself amongst pop legend Prince, and with fashion royalty, present in the form of Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue. She tells REVEALED, “Mario is one of the very few photographers that we look on as a voice of the magazine photographer. He has such an extraordinary spirit, such a positive energy. The celebrities adore working with him, he loves fashion.”

    New York is the next stop, where the Versace fashion shoot takes place, with supermodels Kate Moss – Testino’s favourite model is straight off the red-eye plane from London to attend – and Carmen Kass, Caroline Murphy and Angela Lindvall. Revealed witnesses Testino at work as he coaxes the poses he needs from his supermodel cast, as he explains that models come into the studio with what they have, and, unless a photographer brings something additional out of the session, it remains the model’s photograph, not the photographer’s.

  • Big FM, IBN 7 to co-produce musical show

    Big FM, IBN 7 to co-produce musical show

    MUMBAI: In a first of its kind attempt, a radio station will partner with a television news channel to launch a musical show. Big FM and IBN 7 will come together to co produce ‘The BIG SHOW – Crazy Kiya Re’. The show will be broadcast on radio and television and will be hosted by RJ Aniruddh.

    The BIG SHOW – Crazy Kiya Re’ will have 13 episodes featuring musical talent in India in front of a studio audience. The show will premier on IBN 7 on Saturday 27 January at 10 pm with a repeat on Sunday at 7 pm.

    The show will be aired on the Delhi and Mumbai Big FM stations.BIG 92.7 FM is currently running its on-air contests to gather studio audience.

    The hour long BIG show – Crazy Kiya Re is a chat show featuring live performances by talented artists and accompanied by a top music band. The weekly show will see the RJ interact with the singers and get them to perform their favourite numbers. There will be six segments of the show and will have at least six different songs sung by the guest. Some of the guests lined up for the show include prominent singers like Kunal Ganjawala, Sudesh Bhosle and Sunidhi Chauhan.

    “We are excited to join hands with BIG 92.7 FM for such an innovative initiative which will help in synergizing relevant content for all viewers. We at IBN 7 constantly strive to provide our viewers with unique and enthralling entertainment, of which this is a perfect example. This initiative brings together the craft of TV and Radio to provide content, which is visually appealing, and at the same time maintains and strengthens that emotional connection with the viewers and listeners. We are very confident that this cross-media synergy will work very well!” added IBN7 managing director Ashutosh.

    Big FM marketing head Anand Chakravarthy said “Our association with IBN7 for such an exciting and appealing show will definitely give BIG 92.7 FM an opportunity to reach out to millions of our listeners. It is our constant endeavor to attempt to do things the BIG way in order to gain maximum brand visibility as the growing, dynamic and innovative radio station. We at Big FM want to help build a positive brand association with all our listeners. Also, we are proud to have undertaken such an initiative as this is the first time two mediums of entertainment have come together to take entertainment to a higher level”.

  • B4U bags exclusive rights to 3 Bachchan movies

    B4U bags exclusive rights to 3 Bachchan movies

    MUMBAI: B4U network has bought the global exclusive screening rights to three major Bollywood films – Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai starrers Umraon Jaan and Guru and the yet to be released film from RGV stable starring Amitabh Bachchan Nishabd.

    “We are absolutely delighted to have acquired exclusive rights for these three movies featuring the biggest names in the industry. It’s almost like a Bachchan movie festival. We are grateful to our loyal viewers and they can expect more exciting news like this from us in the coming months” said B4U Network CEO Sunil Rohra.

    B4U a Bollywood television network was incorporated in 1999 and launched B4U Music and B4U Movies simultaneously in UK. The channel went on to expand its operations in the US & UAE before launching in India in May 2000. The B4U network is available on more than 8 different satellites in over 100 countries including the US, UK, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Mauritius Canada and India. B4U Movies was launched in India on 2 October 2001.

  • Hearings continue in Trai rulings validity case

    Hearings continue in Trai rulings validity case

    NEW DELHI: The hearing on the constitutional aspects of the ongoing case on whether Trai can at all fix tariffs for pay channels continued today.

    Set Discovery counsel Afpi Chinay argued that there is no law in the country that allows the operations of broadcasters to be regulated. Chinay said that neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian act nor the Cable TV act has any provision for regulating the content providers, and the orders fixing tariff were thus automatically against the laws.

    This is a case of violation of freedom or speech and expression under Article 19 1 A of the Constitution, Chinay said. He challenged the proviso to section 21 K of the Trai act which originally said that the government could at a later date include any other service under the head of ‘telecom services’ but that would not include the broadcasters. He said that the amendment of the Act in 2000 gave the Trai the powers to regulate, but this did not apply to them as they were neither licensees nor service providers under the meaning of the Act.

    Chinay also challenged the Rules as amended on July 31, 2006, which gave the government the power to regulate and fix tariff.

    Chinay held that the Cable TV Act does not have this provision, and it says that though the government could control prices of the ‘basic tier’ only, that is, the free-to-air channels, it could not do the same for the pay channels.

    Chinay held that the rules cannot take over the Act under which they exist, hence the fixing of tariff under such rules were not acceptable.

    The hearing is to continue tomorrow. The original case had been filed by Star in 2005 and later, Sony joined issue, filing a separate appeal in 2006. The HC is hearing the range of cases under this new petition (No. 16913 of 2006), which is now being treated as the main petition.

    The contention of the broadcasters is that Trai or Cable TV act does not have regulatory powers whatever, so far as the pay channels are concerned, hence any order issued on this by Trai stands automatically struck down. Earlier, Soli Sorabjee had appeared for Sony and had placed his preliminary argument.

  • Kids & parents in the US vote TV as top relaxation tool: Nickelodeon study

    Kids & parents in the US vote TV as top relaxation tool: Nickelodeon study

    MUMBAI: A research study conducted by Nickelodeon in the US, titled “The Digital Family” suggests that kids and parents believe that the television has become their medium of choice to relax. Contrary to popular belief, parents are embracing technologies just as much as kids, and view cell phones as essential part of managing their lives, while also providing kids more freedom.

    “In today’s modern family, parents and kids identify technology as a homework helper, virtual babysitter, time-keeper and a center piece of a lot of family time,” said Nickelodeon and the MTVN Kids and Family Group president Cyma Zarghami. “We found that technology has brought the need for new skills while seemingly lessening the need for others. What is very apparent is the critical role technology is playing in helping modern families functions.”

    “The Digital Family” research incorporates findings from Nickelodeon’s “Living in a Digital World” research project (2006), which explores technologies including: the internet, television, cell phones, mp3 players and more. “The Digital Family” offers insights from kids 8-14 and parents of kids 0-14, and references several findings from Nickelodeon commissioned studies (Multicultural Kids Study 2006 and Nickelodeon Wireless Study 2006), as well as Nielsen Media Research.

    The research revealed that television is still front and center in family life. No other technology has been able to take its place. In fact, television usage has increased over the last four years (since 2002) by approximately two hours a week for both kids and parents.

    Out of all the tech devices, TV seems to serve a different purpose, not only entertaining but also providing a key tool of relaxation for kids and parents in their daily lives.
    Infact, 49 per cent of parents said that TV helps them escape from their daily lives, while a larger percentage of kids (75 per cent) said it helps them escape from stress.

    Due to the use of the computer and internet – 26 per cent of parents and 24 per cent of kids agreed that it’s no longer necessary to read the newspaper. Some kids and parents also believe that because of the internet, they no longer need to be good spellers or learn to read a map.

    What’s more, the effect of mp3 players suggests that:

    – 23 per cent of parents and 33 per cent of kids 8-14 think there is no longer a need to make casual conversation.
    – 21 per cent of parents and 31 per cent of kids think there is no need to listen to the radio anymore.
    – 55 per cent of parents and 45 per cent of kids no longer see the need to purchase musical albums or CDs.

    “The Digital Family” incorporated a deprivation study, where cell phones, the internet, television and mp3 players, among others, were taken away from participating kids and parents for a period of 10 days. The deprivation research identified how parents and kids value various technologies. In particular, it found that kids and parents equate safety and piece of mind to the cell phone and no other device provides these two values the way cell phones do. And because of “digital supervision” cell phones provide, kids are gaining more and more independence.

    One parent said, “It’s a tool for me to keep in touch with them and know where they are, and allow them a little more responsibility while still having my little claws on them.”

    Tech devices like computers and the internet have become essential tools in daily living, making kids and parents much more productive and self sufficient. In some instances, the internet has almost become part of the family.

    Kids are as likely to use the internet for informational purposes as they are for entertainment. Nearly three quarters of kids use the internet for school work, says the study.

    Challenging the conventional assumption that kids bring most of the newer technologies into the home and demonstrate to their parents how to use them, most parents interviewed reported that they are actually as tech savvy or more so than kids:

    Additionally, parents are actually own cell phones, mp3 players and other devices just as much, or more so than kids. Only 2 per cent of parents are not online users and 29 per cent of kids are not using the internet.

  • Zoom adds ‘Bollywood Laffs’ to humour quotient

    Zoom adds ‘Bollywood Laffs’ to humour quotient

    MUMBAI: Lifestyle channel Zoom kicks off a new comedy show Haff Hour Laff Hour on 26 January 2007 at 8:30 pm.

    Stand-up comedian Sajid Khan will host the show along with impersonator Suresh Menon. This show is a complete stand-up comical rhapsody with the funny twosome taking viewers on a laughter trip disguised as Bollywood, cricket, music personalities and celebrities from the entertainment world.

    Right from spoofing celebrity interviews, to reviewing Bollywood movies in their witty style, the hosts will give viewers their expert fake-take on the latest news trends, fashion, politicians and celebrities who are in the news for all kinds of reasons.

    Sajid says, “This association with Zoom is turning out to be a fabulous experience. We hope to offer a fresh twist to comedy via the show”.
     

  • BBC World introduces a new on-air look

    BBC World introduces a new on-air look

    MUMBAI: News channel BBC World is refreshing its on-screen look with new graphics and updated music and titles. The channel will also be launching a new bulletin structure. The aim is to give more clarity to viewers and allow more space for analysis and discussion of the day’s news.

    The key features of the new on-screen look include an updated logo, news ‘ticker’ and straps, which have been re-positioned to make better use of the available screen space. For the first time on BBC World, correspondents’ live reports from around the world will be accompanied by an on-screen display of the local time at their locations. This will give viewers a better sense of how the story is unfolding on the ground.

    BBC World head of presentation Neil Caldicott says, “The new on-screen look is much cleaner and crisper. The main aim is to allow more space on the screen so our viewers can see more of the award-winning news coverage and programming on the channel. Viewers will also notice the new headline sequences which are now accompanied by updated music and re-designed titles. Our priority is to deliver an uncluttered screen and enhanced graphics which will give more space for our reports and journalism.”

    The BBC News graphics team has been working on this project to rejuvenate the current on-air look across the BBC’s television news brands, including the domestic services, as part of a major move to achieve a more consistent look for all BBC News outlets.

  • Princess Diana TV interview voted number one in UK poll

    Princess Diana TV interview voted number one in UK poll

    MUMBAI: In a recent poll of about 3,000 television viewers in Britain conducted for UKTV Gold, Martin Bashir’s television interview of the late Princess Diana in 1995 was voted as the most memorable.

    Sir David Frost’s 1977 interview with post-Watergate Richard Nixon, in which the former American president admitted letting his country down, came second.

    The interview with Princess Diana was watched by an estimated 15 million people – a record for Panorama and one of the BBC’s highest-ever audience figures.

    She spoke frankly about her depression and bulimia, her children, the media and the future of the monarchy.

    She admitted to having an affair with her riding instructor, James Hewitt, and spoke of the hurt caused by Prince Charles’ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

    Actor Hugh Grant’s appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 1995 also made the top 10.
     

  • Ofcom faults BBC’s download plans

    Ofcom faults BBC’s download plans

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC’s plans to offer all its TV and radio shows on-demand via the internet and cable TV have been criticised by the media watchdog Ofcom. Ofcom said that certain aspects of the BBC’s on-demand service, which is due to start later this year, could have a negative effect on commercial rivals.

    The BBC’s proposed on-demand services consist of:

    – catch-up TV – offering viewers the chance to watch any BBC programme from the last seven days over NTL:Telewest, Homechoice and the internet at a time of their choosing. This would also allow series stacking – the ability to store and view an entire series of programmes;

    – simulcast TV – BBC channels that are broadcast on television would be made available at the same time over the internet; and

    – audio downloads – BBC radio programmes (excluding full-track commercial music) would be available to download from the internet.

    Ofcom conclusions are that the new services could account for almost four billion viewer and listener hours by 2011. A proportion of these hours – over half in the case of simulcast and audio download services – could represent additional viewer and listener activity over and above current levels.

    The proposed services are therefore likely to stimulate considerable interest in other new media services to the benefit of all UK consumers and businesses. They offer significant potential value to licence fee payers.

    However concerns have been expressed:

    Series stacking could discourage investment in commercial on-demand services and is likely to have an adverse effect on related markets such as DVD rentals and sales. Ofcom believes the scale of series stacking should therefore be substantially reduced or excluded altogether.

    In the case of catch-up TV on the internet, the ability to store programmes for up to 13 weeks could have negative effects on competition and therefore investment in consumer choice. Ofcom believes that this storage window should be reduced or removed. In the event of removal, viewers would still have up to 14 days to download and view the content.

    The ability to download free BBC audio content might have a serious adverse impact on specific markets; notably commercial classical music recordings and audio books. Ofcom believes the latter should be excluded from the proposed services and the availability of classical music recordings should either be constrained or removed; and the cost of providing extra broadband capacity to deliver the BBC’s proposed services to consumers is likely to be high, though any additional capacity would also be available for use by a wide range of other services including commercial on-demand services.