• 'A Suitable Boy' audio book bags 2 golden Spoken Words

    MUMBAI: BBC’s audiobook of Vikram Seth’s novel A Suitable Boy has won two Gold Awards at the 2002 Spoken Words Awards

  • Cable industry seeks government intervention

    MUMBAI: It's a cable industry versus br

  • Subhash Chandra's ASC Enterprises gets new chief in Punit Goenka

    MUMBAI: One more piece of the big picture that media mogul Subhash Chandra has envisioned for his group of companies

  • Cable industry seeks government intervention

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jan 30, 2002

    It‘s a cable industry versus broadcasters battle that promises to be long drawn if the government does not intervene soon.
    The Cable TV Equipment Traders and Manufacturers‘ Association (CTMA) which met in Kolkata this week, has urged the setting up of a regulatory body on the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. This umbrella authority should lay down guidelines for the cable TV industry in the country, determine fixed cable and pay channel tariffs and delve into issues that are of growing importance to the cable TV industry, the CTMA says.

    The National Cable and Telecommunication Association (NCTA), a consortium of cable ops in the Delhi region, holds similar opinions. The NCTA, which has filed a petition against a private broadcaster in the Delhi high court this week, has called upon the government to probe the legality of foreign pay TV channels in accordance with the prevailing laws of the land.

    An NCTA release says: "The Government must form uniform guidelines for governance, entry, and operations of all foreign pay channels," and goes on to claim that "while pay TV subscriptions have increased by over 1,000 per cent in the last five years, the government is yet to ensure a fair pricing mechanism and impose a freeze on current subscription rates till conditional access system is introduced." NCTA president Vikki Choudhry accuses private broadcasters of stalling the implementation of conditional access system for pay TV channels as recommended by a I&B ministry task force.

    CTMA secretary Sanjay Mansukhani also told a news conference on Tuesday that cable ops were hesitant to invest in upgradation programmes in the absence of specified laws and regulations governing the industry. The cable manufacturers have pinned their hopes on the Convergence Bill that may address some on their concerns. The CTMA claims to service nearly 36 million households across the country.

    The NCTA has issued an open letter also addressed to Chief Justice of India, leader of the opposition Sonia Gandhi, members of Parliament and ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Communications, Information and Broadcasting and Law asking for the Government to step in to resolve the issue.

  • Subhash Chandra's ASC Enterprises gets new chief in Punit Goenka

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jan 30, 2002

    One more piece of the big picture that media mogul Subhash Chandra has envisioned for his group of companies has been fit into its slot. Elder son Punit Goenka, who has been groomed for the job, formally takes over as group president & CEO of ASC Enterprises Limited (ASCEL) Group of Companies effective 1 February.

    Current CEO Jai Singh, who oversaw the building of the new ASC as a holding company for multiple businesses, steps down at close of business tomorrow. Singh will continue to be on the board of Agrani Satellite Services Limited (ASSL) in an advisory role but it will be Goenka, currently senior V-P business development, who will be running things.

    Punit Goenka takes over at a time when Chandra‘s long in gestation Agrani satellite project is all set to finally kick off with, according to Singh, financial closure just weeks away. Singh sees 18 months as the lead time required for the satellite to be up and operational once closure comes through.

    Announcing the change, Chandra "expressed his regret at Jai Singh‘s decision to step down in order to return to UK to spend more time with his family, but said that he understood the need. Chandra thanked Jai Singh for his leadership role in and contributions to the building of the new and expressed satisfaction that his advice and guidance will continue to be available," an official release states.

    Jai Singh said that it had been his privilege to have worked over the last 41 months with Chandra and the ASC Team in making the new ASCEL. The new, recast ASCEL as a holding Company has given birth to three companies - Agrani Convergence Ltd, rolling out Agrani Switch technology retail stores with 12 stores already in operation; Agrani Wireless Services Ltd which, with the acquisition of four operating public mobile radio trunking services (PMRTS) companies within the group in 2001, now has India‘s largest PMRTS operations; and Agrani Satellite at the threshold of transitioning into its implementation phase.

    In addition, during this period Chandra, through Agrani Holdings (Mauritius) Limited, also partnered Craig McCaw, the US Wireless Pioneer, in New ICO.

    With top class basic teams and leadership already in place in ASC and its enterprises, which are only going to get stronger with time, Jai Singh said it was a "convenient time for him as well as ASC for him to step down in order to return to his family in the UK."

    Punit Goenka began his career in 1993 with the Essel Group, he has held various senior full-time positions in other Group Companies. Since December 1997, he has been involved in ASCEL, initially as V-P, co-ordination and operations.

    Punit Goenka takes the reins at ASCEL exactly five months after Chandra‘s younger son Amit Goenka took over as MD of Zee Interactive Learning Systems Limited on 1 September 2001. Amit Goenka took over from Uma Ganesh who resigned from ZILS, after steering the company for a few years.

     

  • SAB Chalta Hai on SABe TV

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jan 29, 2002

    Continuing on its strategy to stand out as a "relief channel" SABe TV is introducing new programming concepts. SAB Chalta Hai is a one-minute comedy skit enacted by Saajid Khan. It will air every half hour on a daily.

    He will tickle the funny bone by impersonating famous personalities like Osama Bin Laden, film maker Subhash Ghai, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and the common man. He will also mock popular issues that concern India and the world.

    A channel spokesperson said that this represents Saajid‘s comeback on the small screen. The show ties into SABe TV‘s new baseline "Come Smile With Us" introduced this month.

     

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