MUMBAI: Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Indian telecom major Airtel, has sealed a partnership agreement with African pay TV platform DSTV that sees the two organisations working together to air a weekly TV football show, Airtel Rising Stars.

Grassroots football is part of Airtel Africa?s vision to develop and nurture young football talent and compliments Africa?s largest pan African youth football initiative, the Airtel Rising Stars, which is supported by Airtel and Manchester United.

DSTV will cover live football matches in various countries, leading towards a pan African inter-country final of the Airtel Rising Stars youth tournament being held in Nairobi later this year. The show will also trace the career paths of African footballers, demonstrating sporting journeys that have led to fame and success.

?We have always believed that football has the ability to develop and connect youth across the continent. This was the rationale behind our pan African football tournament and talent development program, Airtel Rising Stars, which is now into its second year. The enthusiasm Africa has for the sport is undeniable. Our decision to be involved in this new show compliments our ongoing commitment to support the passions of our young adult consumers," explains Airtel Africa CMO Andre Beyers.

?Airtel Football? focuses on different aspects of the sport across the continent and airs on Super Sport 9 every Monday.

Aside from profiling African footballers, the fast-paced half hour show explores a wide range of topics including insights on the sports fraternity, culture across various African countries and major tournaments/games being played on the continent. The show will run for 44 weeks and is also available to viewers in high definition.

MUMBAI: US-based creative crowd sourcing platform Talenthouse has raised $4.2 million from a series of investors in a new round of funding. The investors include director and film producer Brett Ratner, Jean Piggozzi, Est?e Lauder chairman William Lauder, Eric Schmidt?s Innovation Endeavors and 3TS Cisco Growth Fund.

The company had raised a total of $15.1 million in the two earlier rounds.

Telenthouse said that this round was not meant to be a "big raise" but should simply be seen as an investment by a group of people that identified Talenthouse as "the first platform for peer-to-peer engagement at scale". The company currently has about 1.5 million members.

Meanwhile, Talenthouse has also announced the global launch of its social engagement engine. It gives marketers the ability to launch customised campaigns on the site and attach their brands to content.

It aims to provide a link between web influencers and content creators and brands.

Anil Ambani?s Reliance Big Entertainment had bought some stake in Talenthouse last year. It also entered into a joint venture to launch Talenthouse India in October last year.

Based in Mumbai, Talenthouse India oversees growth and business in India and Southeast Asia. It has already collaborated with celebrities like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vipul Shah, Shaan, Rocky S, Metallica and brands like Pepsi, Axe, Kurkure, Airtel, and Micromax.

Mumbai: Movies Now will showcase films of Charlie Chaplin under the initiative called ?Chaplin Chapters?.

The initiative begins with ?Modern Times? on 8 March at 9 pm where he takes viewers through the journey of industrialisation. He turns against modern society, the machine age and progress. He frantically tries to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts! He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine and a number of mishaps follow one after the other.

Another movie that will be showcased is ?The Circus? on 15 March at the same time. This movie was written and directed by Chaplin himself It?s a story of a penniless and hungry Tramp (Chaplin) who is mistaken for a pickpocket and is chased by both the police and the real crook (the latter having stashed a stolen wallet and watch in the Tramp?s pocket to avoid detection). Running away, the Tramp stumbles into the middle of a performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show.

One of Chaplin?s most commercially successful films, The Great Dictator, will be showcased on 22 March.

?Chaplin Chapters? is presented by Airtel and powered by Nestle ? Maggi Juicy Specialz in association with ICI Dulux, Johnson?s baby top-to-toe wash, LIC, Head & Shoulders, Parle Agro and Standard Chartered.