MUMBAI: History TV18, a joint venture between A+E Networks and TV18, is launching its eighth regional-language feed, this time in Urdu.

In another major move, the factual entertainment channel has readied a local show to air for the first time. Titled The
Greatest Indian, the show will be in conjunction with CNN IBN and BBC Worldwide from whom the format rights have been bought. The initiative is on the lines of the greatest Briton where people vote for whom they think is their greatest Indian.

A+E Networks TV18 president Ajay Chacko believes that Urdu is not a small market; 27 million people watch Urdu content.

Indiantelevision.com had reported in January 2012 that the channel was planning to launch two more language feeds.

History TV18 channel has the widest regional language spread. The other language feeds include Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi, English and Gujarati.

The aim of the local show is to celebrate the idea of India and its diversity. Said IBN18 editor in chief Rajdeep Sardesai, "We want to find out who people think is the greatest Indian after 1948 since Mahatma
Gandhi. People can compare greats of the past to the present like Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar and Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh. The aim is to have fun, entertaining and informative content.

AETN 18 programming head Ritu Kapur said that pre-production work has started and the initiative will kick off in April. There will be debates and discussions.

?History Har Din? is a social media initiative and a site has been created, historyhardin.in.com, which went live today. People can upload photos and videos where they feel that they have made history.

"History is personal. A woman might feel that she has made history with the birth of her first child, for instance. People can share their stories and experiences. We hope to create vignettes which will air on the
channel. We are doing a lot of social media marketing to push this initiative. We are also using our own channels. We will use themes. For instance when the IPL is on, we could ask people to share their experiences in terms of history being made at the IPL" said Kapur.

The channel?s brand ambassador Salman Khan, who was present at a pres conference here, uploaded a photo of himself on a horse. "People who have a made a big contribution to humanity qualify for being The Greatest Indian like Mother Theresa," he said.

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History TV18 plans to add two language feeds, boost rev

MUMBAI: Viacom18, the joint venture between Network18 Group and Viacom, has posted a third straight quarterly loss as operating expenses have surged 47 per cent mainly on account of launch of new channels.

The company, which runs a clutch of entertainment channels including flagship Hindi general entertainment channel Colors, widened its net loss to Rs 532 million for three months ended December, versus a profit of Rs 460 million in the year-earlier period. In the first two quarters of this fiscal, it had slipped into the red with a net loss of Rs 10 million and Rs 284 million.

Operating expenses jumped to Rs 4 billion for the quarter, from Rs 2.72 billion a year ago. Marketing, distribution and promotional expenses made a big leap from Rs 450 million to Rs 926 million. The main trigger in this was an expense of Rs 200 million incurred from the launch of Sonic, Comedy Central and Colors HD. The launch cost and operating loss from new channel History TV18 amounted to Rs 250 million.

The positive thing is that the television business has stayed operationally profitable, primarily led by Colors. The operating profit from this segment has, however, narrowed to Rs 385 million, from Rs 520 million in the year-earlier period.

The movie business suffered an operating loss of Rs 739 million compared to Rs 200 million in the trailing quarter. In the year-ago third quarter, the company had stayed dormant on the movie front, taking an operating loss of just Rs 20 million.

Viacom18 said it has incurred a one-time expense of Rs 390 million in relation to the deferment of the Hindi movie channel. It has also taken write-offs at TIFC (The Indian Film Company) of Rs 146 million.

Overall, the company?s operating loss was Rs 355 million for the quarter, reversing from an operating profit of Rs 510 million a year earlier.

Says Network18 Group CEO Sai Kumar, "During the last quarter, our profits from continuing operations were offset by largely one-time costs incurred towards investments in the expansion of our television channel portfolio and the conscious impairment of our film library given the deferment of our Hindi movies channel. We strengthened our television stable further with launch of new services such as History TV18, Sonic and our HD bouquet comprising Colors HD, History TV18 HD and CNBC-TV18 Prime HD."

The spike in expenses overrided the growth in operating revenues which swung higher to Rs 3.65 billion for the fiscal third quarter compared to Rs 3.23 billion a year ago.

The television segment reported a revenue of Rs 3.54 billion (from Rs 3.23 billion a year ago) while the motion picture arm pocketed just Rs 109 million.

Adertising could continue to show a sluggish trend for the next few months. Says Kumar, "It has clearly been a sluggish phase for the industry as a whole. Advertising revenues continue to exhibit lacklustre growth and may continue at the same pace over the next few months. Our subscription revenues, however, are on track as projected."

MUMBAI: Factual entertainment channel History TV18 is launching a new show, Accidental Heroes, on 19 January.

The show will air at 9 pm. It is a docu-drama that brings forth re-enactments of extreme accidents, real-life stories that narrate tragic of human tribulations and the strength of the human spirit to overcome against all odds.

From a group of cricketers who come to the aid of a woman trapped under a car after a horrific road accident to how a 10-year-old boy helps his best friend after he slashes his neck with broken glass in a freak accident, the series encompasses it all.

Accidental Heroes showcases select stories of people who have beaten the odds and have escaped death.

MUMBAI: Factual entertainment channel History TV18 has announced the launch of its Gujarati feed.

History TV18 is the first international channel to launch in Gujarati. With this launch, it is also the only factual entertainment channel to be available in an unprecedented seven languages ? Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Hindi and English.

All the programmes and the fixed programme chart (FPC) schedule will remain identical in all the language feeds.

Viewers using digital platforms will be able to choose their preferred language through the remote control.

A+E Networks TV18 president Ajay Chacko said, ?Our objective is to grow the genre and make it a relatively main stream alternative for viewers in the near future. With this objective in mind, we intend to make the channel available in every Indian language possible and entertain audiences all across India.?

A+E Networks | TV18 JV VP. programming Sudheer KG said, ?As Indian audiences mature and seek out more international content in their own languages, there is no better a time than now to launch our Gujarati feed. The incredible level of aspirations of people speaking that language and a large youth population make it all the more appealing and lucrative. We have taken care to ensure that the translation retains a certain local flavor, making the channel more accessible and relatable."

Gujarat is an important market for factual entertainment after Mumbai and Delhi contributing as much as seven per cent to the genre in 1 Mn+ towns, according to estimates.

History TV18 said it has been a strong player here with the highest viewership in 0.1-1Mn market cluster and also highest time spent per viewer in 1Mn+ market cluster. Through this initiative, the channel hopes to strengthen its position.

MUMBAI: History TV18, the factual entertainment channel from the AETN18 stable, is gearing up to air a special two-hour episode Secrets of Body Language on 11 January at 7 pm.

The episode will decode body language as an important tool to interpret regular gestures, physiological signs, postures, and facial expressions, which reveal a lot of what a person is trying to say.

In this show, video clips of events in political and pop culture history are deconstructed by a group of experts. These experts will analyse the body language of hard-to-decode celebrities and decipher secret codes of verbal and non-verbal cues.

From former US President Franklin D Roosevelt to former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to the 2008 President-elect Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, the programme will show how politicians and celebrities use their subtle movements of body language to persuade masses, establish power and advance careers without anyone having a clue as to what?s going on.

The show will have a repeat telecast on 14 January at 4 pm.