ITV

Tag: US

  • Internet TV ‘Speaking Channel’ debuts in the US

    Internet TV ‘Speaking Channel’ debuts in the US

    MUMBAI: The US-based TVWorldwide.com, in cooperation with Media Training Worldwide, has announced the details for the formal launch of The Speaking Channel, www.speakingchannel.tv, an internet TV channel featuring live and on-demand content for people who want to learn from great speakers and improve on their own speaking skills.

    The companies stated the channel would feature a free video webcast during today’s launch party, live from The Speaking Channel studios near Times Square in New York City, beginning at 6:30 pm, ET. The Speaking Channel was soft-launched during TV Worldwide’s webcast of Streaming Media East in New York City, on the 23 and 24 May.

    Since that time, this internet TV channel has leveraged compelling new content to attract strong audience participation from those interested in honing their presentation skills, whether they are speaking to large or small audiences, the news media or in civic or social arenas, states an official release.

    The channel features content that addresses speaking excellence to build individual presentation skills in the following areas. 1. Business (large and small group presentations). 2. Public life (civic affairs and politics). 3. Work life (employee communication/job interviews). 4. Family/social communication (parties/networking events). The Channel will continue to feature television programming that celebrates outstanding spoken communication and gives viewers learning tools on how to build and improve their own speaking skills, the release adds.

    “This Internet TV Channel has attracted healthy audiences since we soft-launched it in May and we’re excited about the prospects of working with Media Training Worldwide on The Speaking Channel as we launch with the webcast from the Channel’s Times Square Studios,” states TVWorldwide.com CEO Dave Gardy. “By creating and deploying global/local, ‘lean-in’ interactive content for speaking enthusiasts as we’ve done for our other Internet TV channels, we believe we can effectively present a whole new forum for the community of those interested in speaking excellence and improvement. Most important, we know The Speaking Channel will offer our industry partners a unique innovative avenue for communicating with their target demographic audiences through viral on-line distribution as we build the channel’s community.”

  • Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    Stop! representatives meet European officials on piracy menace

    MUMBAI: Representatives from seven US government agencies are meeting European Commission officials to discuss anti-piracy initiatives.

    This is the second leg of the Strategy Targetting Organised Piracy (Stop!) initiative. Stop is an attempt to dry up the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, which is estimated at over $600 billion per year. Stop will target large-scale operations as opposed to individual file traders. In addition, the US is looking to apply pressure on foreign governments where piracy is rampant.

    Among the tools to be used by Stop! are the publication of annual lists of foreign companies profiting from pirated goods, targeting organised criminal groups involved in piracy, and overhauling US intellectual property laws.

    Stop! states that its outreach to Europe marks the continuation of the Administrations sustained global effort to build international cooperation against piracy and counterfeiting. Piracy hurts the marketplace for legitimate producers, discourages innovation and threatens the safety and well-being of consumers.

    Among the topics scheduled to be discussed with European officials are strengthening border control measures, boosting investigation and prosecution of money laundering crimes associated with trade in fakes, improving law enforcement methods and standardising the trademark registration process.

    Stop was formed last October to enhance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement globally. Earlier this year in April members of Stop! had toured Asia to build a coalition of nations to join an international fight against IPR thieves. Stop! is looking to make life as miserable as possible for the counterfeiters and pirates.

    Since 2001, annual seizures of counterfeit goods at US ports have increased by 81 per cent. The value of the seized assets rose by 64 per cent to $90 million in 2003. In 2004, there was a 60 per cent increase in criminal IPR-related arrests.
     

  • Five news organizations and US government settle privacy suit

    MUMBAI: Can a journalist be forced to reveal his sources? A journalist holds the right to refuse to reveal his source, but in this connection he should be willing to face a trail. A court battle, which featured news organisations and the US government, and its climax have proved that protecting the source can be a costly affair.

    Five news organisations namely ABC News, The Associated Press, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times and The Washington Post has agreed to join forces with the US government towards the settlement on invasion of privacy with the former scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Wen Ho Lee who was falsely accused of being a Chinese spy.

    The US government is paying $1,645,000 and the five news organizations are paying $750,000 to avoid contempt sanctions against their reporters, who refused to disclose the sources of their stories about the espionage investigation. 

    The reporters of the five media organisations were not named in the suit as defendants, but had been held in contempt by the court for refusing to testify and had been ordered to pay fines of $500 per day for refusing to name their sources.

    Lee brought his case against the government and the five news media organisation in 1999,when the federal investigators accused him of giving nuclear secrets to China. He spent nine months in solitary confinement awaiting trial.

    Lee contended that the government had violated privacy laws by telling reporters about his employment history, finances, travels and polygraph tests.

     

  • Subhash Chandra meets US senators on Capitol Hill

    Subhash Chandra meets US senators on Capitol Hill

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra has said that, the passing of the US-India civil nuclear deal is pivotal to sustain India’s burgeoning economy and its special energy needs.

    Addressing lawmakers from both houses of the US Congress at a reception held on the Capitol Hill, Chandra made a “compelling” case as to why the nuclear deal was important in the larger economic interests of both the countries and to furthering bilateral relations.

    The reception, hosted by New York hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal, was held on 17 May. The guest list included Hillary Clinton and Atlanta hotelier Mike Patel.

    According to an official release from Zee, Chandra pointed out that if India continues to consume traditional energy resources at current pace, it could soon adversely impact international oil and energy prices and cripple the economies of many developing countries. Such a scenario could hit the US economy as well global economic growth and result in the US having to spend an additional $500 billion annually in sustaining higher energy costs. The US-India civil nuclear deal, he said, would also spawn many business opportunities in India for several US energy companies.

    While the presence of large numbers of senators and representatives reaffirmed wide bi-partisan support for the civil nuclear deal in both houses of the Congress, the lobbying efforts are far from over. Some lawmakers said they were watching the developments closely and hoped whatever reservations they had about the deal would be dealt with positively during such interactions with business leaders from both countries and their colleagues on the Capitol, adds the release.

    The lawmakers made their points in support of the deal and largely acknowledged that the civil nuclear deal will help both India and the US prosper, sustaining the global economy its growth. They called on their colleagues, many of whom have traveled to India on several occasions before and after President Bush’s historic India visit, to support the nuclear cooperation agreement.

    Among the notable senators at the reception were: John Kerry, Joe Biden, Charles Schumer, Hillary Clinton, John Cornyn and Lamar Alexander. The House of Representatives was represented, among others, by Joseph Crowley, Joe Wilson, Roy Blunt Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and many more.

  • Broadband applications in the US put networked homes on a strong growth trajectory

    Broadband applications in the US put networked homes on a strong growth trajectory

    MUMBAI: As the networked home market in the US reaches the mass-market adoption stage, multimedia and entertainment-centric networking solutions are likely to drive the demand for home networking and become strong revenue generators.

    Moreover, increasing broadband penetration and expanding range of applications and services are ushering in new growth opportunities for all stakeholders in this nascent market.

    Research firm Frost and Sullivan finds that spurred by the increase in multiple PC households, falling hardware prices, increasing number of IP applications and rise in broadband adoption; the number of networked homes in North America is likely to increase from 22.5 million in 2005 to 63.8 million in 2012.

    Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Piyush Arora notes, “Entertainment-based home networks and emerging broadband services and applications such as IPTV and personal video recording are likely to be key contributors to future growth of home networking. The growth in network-enabled consumer electronic devices and the burgeoning online and offline digital content, will also fuel this trend.”

    Last year only five per cent of total networked homes had a multimedia network with at least one non-PC networked device such as a television, DVD player or set-top box. However, by 2012, multimedia networks are likely to post a stronger growth and increase their share to 25 per cent of total networked homes.

    The increasing penetration of broadband is also expanding the range of potential applications of home networks — from sharing broadband access between computers to streaming multimedia content between networked consumer electronic devices. Networked storage, home automation and home security are also likely to become strong contributors to home networking growth.

    Furthermore, networked homes will be ideal for service providers to deliver triple-play services and other service bundles to attract new customers. In fact, service providers are becoming an important component of the distribution channel for networking products and solutions.

    Last year, around 15 per cent of total home networking equipment revenues in North America came from the service provider channel. This share is likely to increase to 37 per cent by 2012 as service providers — including cable companies, telcos, and other broadband ISPs — increase their service bundling initiatives and start playing a more active role in offering home networking solutions.

    In the long term, it is essential for service providers, networking equipment vendors, and other stakeholders to forge more effective partnerships and develop networking solutions that provide a simpler set-up experience for consumers and reduce ongoing maintenance issues.

    “Given the complexity of setup, installation, and troubleshooting, developing a more lucid support management framework and new customer support tools are crucial for the widespread adoption of home networks,” concludes Arora.

  • Microsoft awarded US patent for Multimode Interactive Television Chat

    Microsoft awarded US patent for Multimode Interactive Television Chat

    MUMBAI: Microsoft has been awarded a US patent for a Multimode Interactive Television Chat system. The patent was filed in 1999 by Zenith and subsequently assigned to Microsoft.

    The idea is to combine the experience of TV watching with that of fan chartrooms and discussion areas, where viewers can interactively discus the development of a TV program without having to run all the way to their computer.

    According to the US Patent and Trademark Office document, “The system has a graphical user interface that can simultaneously display a combination of television and Internet content in various display modes. The display modes may have different proportions, positioning or other features of the Internet and television content. A viewer of the user interface device may change display modes, such as by selecting a link available in each of the display modes.”

    The television content being displayed may be a broadcast show and the Internet content may be chat from a chat room corresponding to the television show. Various display modes are provided for displaying the television show and corresponding chat, ranging from maximal television display and minimal chat display to minimal television display and maximal chat display.
    Changing television channels may initiate a corresponding change in the chat room being participated in and the content being displayed.

  • Optibase provides SmartVideo to Verizon & Cingular cell users in US

     

    MUMBAI: A provider of advanced digital video high-end solutions, Optibase Ltd has announced that its IPTV streaming platforms are enabling SmartVideo to provide full motion TV to Verizon and Cingular mobile subscribers in the United States. SmartVideo is a provider of management and delivery solutions of content to mobile and cellular devices.

     

    Georgia-based SmartVideo is using the Optibase MGW 5100 TV streaming platform to encode and transmit live video received from satellite provider Crawford Communications over a dedicated network to SmartVideo‘s facilities.

     

    At SmartVideo, the video is decoded using Optibase‘s MGW 200 decoders and transmitted using SmartVideo‘s proprietary technology to cell phones and other smart handheld devices. The content offering includes news, weather, sports and children‘s programming from ABC news, NBC Universal, Fox Sports, The Weather Channel and others, informs an official release.

     

    “We are excited about the prospects in the cellular streaming market and this opportunity to take part in an innovative broadcast service that provides high quality live television directly to mobile devices,” said Optibase Inc president Adam Schadle. “SmartVideo benefits from the combination of our encoding and decoding offerings that yield a high quality, end-to-end video streaming solution.”

     

    “SmartVideo has distinguished itself from other service providers by its ability to deliver high-quality, reliable interactive video, audio and graphics simultaneously,” said SmartVideo president David Ross. “The Optibase platforms provide 24×7 services ensuring our customers receive the best possible service.”

  • Endemol USA secures game show deals with ABC, NBC, Fox

    Endemol USA secures game show deals with ABC, NBC, Fox

    MUMBAI: Format owner Endemol USA has sold three game shows to ABC, Fox and NBC.

    Two of the shows, For The Rest of Your Life for ABC and Show Me The Money for Fox, are new formats from Dick de Rijk. He created Deal Or No Deal.

    1 versus 100 for NBC is from the Endemol catalogue. The shows are expected to air in the second half of this year initially in short runs of between five and 10 shows.

    Endemol USA president and CEO David Goldberg said, “There is undoubtedly a resurgence of game shows in the US and Endemol is leading the charge.”

  • NBC to air back to back episodes of ‘The Apprentice’ on Monday

    NBC to air back to back episodes of ‘The Apprentice’ on Monday

    MUMBAI: For one night only, US broadcaster NBC will air back-to-back episodes of the business based reality show The Apprentice on 10 April.

    The candidates in the first hour hammer it out in the renovation business as the teams are given their seventh task – create an activity area in a local Boys & Girls Club as part of Ace Hardware’s charity program. In the second hour, the candidates launch a new pizza sandwich and a losing team gains an opposing teammate. In India, the show airs on Star World.

    In the first hour, Gold Rush tries to nail down a win when Lenny volunteers to be the project manager, hoping to prove to Donald that he can lead the team to victory – but he is troubled with managing a negative teammate. Michael, the project manager for Synergy, has a good concept, but drives his team crazy. The winners help make a child’s dream come true by partnering with the “Make A Wish Foundation,” while the losers face a hammering in the boardroom.

    In the second episode, the remaining candidates launch a new pizza sandwich for 7-Eleven, one candidate volunteers to switch sides to help out a losing team, while the team tries to make the biggest sale imaginable. The winners jet out of town to dine with US Senator Chuck Schumer, while the losers get grilled in the boardroom.

  • Animal Planet announces search for Hero of the Year

    Animal Planet announces search for Hero of the Year

    MUMBAI: Animal Planet in the US has announced the launch of its nationwide search for Hero of the Year, which is presented in partnership with the makers of Fresh Step litter. The campaign recognizes and celebrates animal lovers across the country who invest their time, talent and spirit to help animals in their community.

    The campaign will run for eight months and nominations will be accepted from now through 27 August 2006. Anyone who works to improve animal welfare, from veterinarians to a neighbor who helps strays, is eligible for nomination. Once the nomination process closes, a panel of judges will select 10 finalists.

    People’s choice voting on the finalists begins 25 September and runs through 8 October. The winner will be announced in the week of 30 October, in conjunction with Heroes Week and the airing of premiere episodes of Animal Planet Heroes programming. The winner will receive a trip to Hawaii for two, and Animal Planet will donate $10,000 to his or her favorite animal related charity.

    “Many people have a connection to animals, but some people rise to the challenge and take that connection to another level by dedicating their time and energy to the protection and preservation of animals. Honouring individuals who are making a difference for animal welfare in their communities is just one way to show Animal Planet’s commitment, and we are pleased the makers of Fresh Step litter have partnered with us on this initiative,” said Animal Planet executive vice president and general manager Maureen Smith.

    As part of Animal Planet’s Hero of the Year campaign, AnimalPlanet.com features Guido Daniele’s amazing transformations of human hands into animals. Guido uses traditional portrait techniques – photography and oil paints – to help him create life-like looking animals on people’s hands such as dogs, elephants and birds. Nominees for Hero of the Year are lending a hand to improve animal welfare, and Guido’s art symbolizes their efforts. In addition, AnimalPlanet.com contains information on how anyone can be a hero to animals in their own community.

    To nominate a hero, viewers must submit a 250-word or less essay to AnimalPlanet.com that describes the cause the nominee supports; the activities and actions that demonstrate the nominee’s commitment to the cause; the accomplishment and impact of the actions, and how the nominee’s actions may have inspired others to get involved with the cause.