UTV has announced the launch of its latest business venture UTV Palador - a 360-degree initiative in world cinema under the brand name of ‘Olive Collection’ that will have three verticals including a television channel, a DVD label and theatre presence.

The company will invest $15 million (Rs 700 million) for acquiring 1000 titles across 20 countries. “We will be investing this over 3 years. Our immediate funding requirement is $3.5 million,” says UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala.

The non-Indian language movie segment is estimated to Rs 15 billion by 2009 and UTV Palador believes that World Cinema in their model could account for 20 per cent of that. (more…)

india cricket rights holder Nimbus today warned the BCCi that it would demand compensation for “dilution of the value of its property” if the issue of encryption of Doordarshan’s terrestrial signal is not sorted out.

The move by the sports broadcaster to protect its $ 612 million acquisition came even as Prasar Bharati today failed to reach a consensus on the issue of setting encryption mandates for Doordarshan’s terrestrial signals.

in a letter sent to the BCCi today, Nimbus has demanded that the indian cricket board sort out the encryption issue with Doordarshan. it argues that unless the feed is encrypted, other channels in the region can pick it up and not pay a penny. (more…)

Shewta Bachchan Nanda, the only member of the Bachchan family to have remained away from the camera so far, is all set to begin a new innings by anchoring a show in NDTV’s business channel.

“i had never planned on facing the camera. All these years, i was happy being a mother to my kids and staying in the background. But now that my children are grown up, i have the time on my hands and the concept of the show really excited me, so i decided to go for it,” 30-year-old shweta, mother of two children, told reporters here on Monday.

Looking demure in a plain shirt and jeans, Shweta answered questions with elan, saying she agreed to the show only because the channel agreed to revolve schedules around her children’s timings so that she could devote time to them. (more…)

In celebration of the festival of colours Holi, Turner’s second channel Pogo will bring a back-to-back telecast of the best episodes of its creative show M.A.D. (Music, Art and Dance) from 6 - 7:30 pm on 3 March.

Titled M.A.D. on Demand, this specially designed programming package promises to enthrall kids with its entertaining and enlightening art and craft tips, dolled out by the eclectic and popular host of M.A.D. - Rob, informs an official release.

Turner international india Pvt. Ltd. vice president, advertising sales and networks, india and South Asia Monica Tata said, “Holi is a joyful and fun-filled festival for all indians, especially for kids who enjoy playing with colours on this wonderful day. As a channel that prides itself on being well integrated in the lives of our viewers, Pogo is happy to extend the fun of Holi, till later in the evening by airing some of the choicest and most exclusive episodes of M.A.D. (more…)

The New York-based production and development unit of Lion Television USA has received an 80-episode order from US broadcaster Discovery for the Cash Cab series..

Hosted by comedian Ben Bailey, each half-hour episode sees suspecting commuters step inside a seemingly ordinary cab. They suddenly discover they are on national television with a chance to win cash on the way to their destination.

As the questions get harder, they fetch in more money, but if contestants get three questions wrong, they are kicked out of the cab, before reaching their destination. (more…)

Channel 4’s alternative Christmas message will this year be given by a Muslim woman wearing a full face veil.

The 10-minute alternative Christmas message will be given by a freelance teacher and lecturer in islamic studies and the Qur’an, who has worn the niqab for 10 years, named only as Khadija.

Channel 4 said she was born in Zimbabwe but is now a British citizen.

Channel 4 said her message would reflect on the controversy of the past year, with the continuing controversy about the wearing of the face veil sparked by the intervention of former foreign secretary Jack Straw. (more…)

The Hindi News channel from TV18 group and Jagran TV Channel 7 is coming with a new look from June 5, created by Florida based VDO, a broadcast design and branding company. The environment, including the channel ID, show openers, and on-air graphic packages, has been changed to give the channel a more contemporary look and feel. The new logo in red, black and silver is bold, impact full, sophisticated and distinct “The idea behind the new logo is to give it a contemporary look. The new logo is also aimed at communicating the core brand values of the channel and its philosophy,” said Dilip Venkatraman, Director Marketing, TV18 Group.

Senior Producer of VDO Dianne Streyer, added, “The idea behind changing the on-air look of the channel was to make it more modern and connect with the viewers. The Indian market is cluttered with a plethora of news channels and it was important to give it a distinctive look to create a unique identity for Channel 7.”

VDO was also instrumental in developing the on-air look for CNN-IBN channel. Clearwater, the unique brand packaging solutions for networks, broadcast groups, stations and cable channels. The company’s client portfolio includes well-known broadcasters like NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX, among others.

Channel 7 is coming with a new logo, new programming and new graphics from June 5. TV 18 Group has, for the time being, put on the backburner its plans to change the brand name of Channel 7, the new channel in its kitty, owing to certain technical reasons, but will move ahead with the relaunch of the channel on June 5, 2006.

The channel will change its baseline to ‘Khabar Har Kimat Par’ from the present ‘Zindagi Live’, in line with the ‘Whatever it Takes’ baseline of CNN-IBN, the English offering from the group. Sardesai said, “I will host shows infrequently, when I feel strappingly about it, like the Aamir Khan interview. I expect to do it at least once in a month. But at a later stage, I may host a special programme.”

Ashutosh the Managing Editor of Channel 7 said that “Our Focus will be on hard news as we deel sharpness in news has vanished from Hindi news channels. Our precedence will be to preserve the stability in Channel 7 with a unique brand positioning. The greatest advantage with Channel 7 is its association with Dainik Jagran, which is rooted at the grassroots level. We have great synergy with Jagran and we will only strengthen the bond. Our association with the TV18 Group, which already has three offerings, will only work towards our advantage.”

For the violating of the advertising and program code, six music channels including MTV and Channel V have been summoned by the information and Broadcasting (IandB) ministry. Including MH1 Alpha Punjabi, ETC and B4U have been asked to appear by the end of this month before ministry to explain the repeated violations.

The Music channels have been apprehended up for telecasting offensive remix Hindi film songs in violation of programme code approved under Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, and IandB Ministry said in a statement.

The Complaints received by the NGOs and women’s’ groups the ministry has asked the channels for explanation. The Complaints fluctuate from substitute advertising for cigarettes and other forms of tobacco utilization to glamorizing liquor, wine and other intoxicants.

Zee Teleflims launched its much predictable Kannada channel Zee Kannada on 11 May. The 24-hour channel will hit the airwaves at 5 am. Zee South said that the new channel was slated to confine the needs, moods, sentiments and aspirations of Kannadigas. Zee Kannada is the second south Indian language channel that Zee is launching after Zee Telugu, which was launched in May 2005.

Zee Group has been working in the northern India for the last 14 years and now it is making the invasion in the south. Punit Gonenka the Director of Zee Teleflims said that we are resolute to stay here for a long time, and after a detailed survey this new channel was vacant to the people of Karnataka after studying their needs and their choice.

After Sun TV’s Udaya channel and Eenadu’s ETV Zee Kannada is the 3rd satellite channel in the state of Karnataka. The Sun group also operates a music channel U2 in the state. Previously, Zee had the occurrence in the Kannada TV industry through its Kaveri channel venture, which had abrasion up. Zee Kannada channel is the self-governing channel and absolutely belonging to the Zee Group.”

Venkat Giridhar, the business head of Zee Kannada said that, Zee Kannada is a dream come true for us. We are highly appreciative to the spectators across Karnataka whose response has been of enormous and help in deciding on the content and superiority of our programmes. We are sure that the people of Karnataka will be arrogant to see the channel of their substitute.”