• Scientific Atlanta forges alliance with
    cable operator Susquehanna

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 09, 2001
    News Headline

    Cable TV viewers in the US will now be able to play interactive games like backgammon, checkers and poker on Explorer digital interactive set-tops, thanks to Scientific Atlanta‘s alliance with Susquehanna Communications.

    Susquehanna subscribers, who play on its Classic Games channel, will be able to compare their performance with other system subscribers on top 10 leader boards.

    Scientific-Atlanta, a leading supplier of digital content distribution systems, gave the cable operator Classic Games through a simple software download to a cable headend. It is stored on an application server and delivered as per the subscriber‘s requirement to the Explorer digital interactive set-top.

    Susquehanna is among the top 20 cable companies in America with a 2,00,000 customer base. The service is first being offered in York and Williamsport, Pennsylvania and Brunswick, Maine.

    The deal comes shortly after an ITV gaming report, predicting the market for interactive television games in Europe and America to cross 8.5 million users by the end of the year. By offering enhanced facilities like interactive games, Susquehanna expects increased digital penetration and subscriber loyalty, by ensuring active participation.

    Susquehanna‘s Digital Premium Services gives subscribers 14 showtime channels, The Movie Channel, nine HBO channels, six channels of Cinemax, as also a maximum of 45 channels airing commercial-free digital music, an interactive on-screen guide and parental controls. 38 digital pay per view channels are also on Susquehanna‘s offer list.

     
  • DD national

    TV production companies, DD get investigative agency's stick

    Nov 09, 2001

    The cricket match fixing saga has spilled over into the television industry.

  • Doordarshan notches up higher earnings, plans programming revamp

    Nov 09, 2001

    Public broadcaster Doordarshan has already earned Rs 400 million more in the first six months of the current fiscal o

  • ICE

    Entertainment industry to converge at ICE summit

    Nov 09, 2001

    Kolkata will host th

  • Doordarshan notches up higher earnings, plans programming revamp

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 09, 2001
    News Headline

    Public broadcaster Doordarshan has already earned Rs 400 million more in the first six months of the current fiscal over the same period last year.

    Prasar Bharati CEO
    Anil Baijal

    Despite the severance of ties with Channel 9 Gold earlier this year, DD‘s revenues have gone up from Rs 2310 million to Rs 2705 million for the half-year ending September, according to Prasar Bharati CEO Anil Baijal.

    In his first comprehensive interview to the media after taking over, Baijal announced that the pubcaster is planning a complete revamp of programming across its different channels. Speaking to the Business Standard, Baijal said each channel would be given an identity of its own, and that successful programme ideas from different regional channels would be carried over to others. He added that the public broadcaster had decided to take a ruthless stand on programmes that were not performing well. "After 26 weeks of coming on board, if a programme is not doing well, we will take it off. So far, DD has been seen as jilted by producers, but all that is going to change now," he declared.

    During a recent meeting of 10 top-performing DD Kendras, it was decided that some time slots would be branded for specific genres of programmes, that could be uniformly telecast by different channels in their respective languages.

    Baijal said nearly one third of DD National‘s programming would focus on news and current affairs, as soon as DD News, the sinking news channel, is wound up. "We are bringing news on DD National in a big way", he said. Besides, a new look DD Metro would also be unleashed by December end, Baijal said. "We are gradually taking out those programmes which are not picking up TRPs and replacing them with new ones", he said. 49 of 92 new programme proposals have already been approved.

    DD is also looking at interactive shows and knowledge based game shows that will work as channel drivers. Baijal said Hum Haazir Hain, a show that features a panel of personalities facing a barrage of questions from viewers, has received a good response from viewers despite poor marketing.

    Prasar Bharati has also pulled its three year old digital terrestrial broadcasting project out of the deep freezer. Baijal said that a pilot project would be initiated in Delhi by December and would be later extended to all four metros. A task force to negotiate with private players for setting up a six-channel bouquet has been put in place, he said. Prasar Bharati is also currently reviewing the quality and content of programmes on all its radio channels and exploring ways of raking in more revenue, he said.

     

  • Entertainment industry to converge at ICE summit

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 09, 2001
    News Headline

    Kolkata will host the ICE (Information Technology, Communications and Entertainment) summit on 18-19 November this year.

    Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Summit will try to forecast the period of the ongoing global slowdown and the effects of the events of September 11.

    The summit will focus on ways in which Indian companies can shift their focus away from the USA and reduce our dependence on the superpower. The Convergence Bill will be discussed with respect to its benefits to consumers and suppliers. The consequences of the bill and the role of the proposed regulator will be examined. It will also look at the viability of the bill, given the shifting media scenario in the country.

    Broadband, the new mantra of the Indian entertainment sector, will also be tackled head on. Other topics that will discussed include business ideas and latest technologies for the Internet as well as the increasing importance given to wireless. It will also analyse consumer and producer trends. The dotcom collapse will be looked into, and new markets that infotech companies can tap will be explored. The summit will showcase corporate conglomerates which are using the web to expand their customer base.

    Some personalities expected to put across their point of view include actor Aamir Khan, RPG vice chairman Sanjiv Goenka, Reliance Telecom president Subodh Saxena, Bharti Enterprises MD Sunil Bharti Mittal, SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta, Zee CEO R K Singh, Balaji creative director Ektaa Kapoor, and UTV Net Solutions CEO Biren Ghose.

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