The 4th Cable TV India Show 2001, a trade event for the cable industry, will be held in New Delhi‘s Pragati Maidan beginning 13 September.
Dr AK Rastogi, promoter of Aavishkar Business Network, cable operator and publisher of cable trade magazine Avishkar is one of the main people behind this annual event. The 4th Cable TV India Show and All India Cable TV Operator‘s Samagram will be held in over three days on 13, 14, 15 September.

Rastogi says the show will provide the ideal platform to delve into issues related to cable industry and also cater to the needs of all cable TV operator in India.

The event will cover issues like: Entertainment Tax, Film Piracy on VCR Channels, Government Policies, DTH, Future of Cable TV Operators, Convergence Bill, Pay Channels, Technical Perspective, and Value added services like Video on Demand, Internet over cable, optical-fiber and telephony service.

Cable TV operators, hardware manufacturers, suppliers, traders, dealers, broadcasters, satellite channel distributors, infotech organisations, internet service providers and companies related to ground networking distribution are expected to attend the Samagram, Rastogi adds.

The organisers are also seeking sponsorship for the event. About 13 avenues are open for sponsorship with Rs 5000 per sq.ft as tariff for setting up stalls. The stall tariff varies according to the stall size and location.

Moved but not shaken is Shekhar Suman, former anchor of Sony Entertainment‘s hit talk show Movers and Shakers. Suman is all set to get back to doing what he does best - entertaining with his rib-tickling chat show. The actor has joined hands with Star India and will anchor as well as produce the show, which has tentatively been titled Simply Shekhar.

The show is going to be on a much bigger scale. It‘s lively, interactive, and fun-filled, promises Suman. "There‘ll be a live audience, people will even come on the floor to participate," says Suman, who apart from chatting with ‘real‘ celebrities also will be out on the road visiting people‘s house. The show will also have a glamorous band, and elegant ambience but unlike Movers and Shakers, which has 14 guests per week, this show will have only two celebrity guests per week.

Suman‘s show on the other hand is being produced by his Seven Thirty Entertainment Ltd. Suman is closely involved with the production apart from anchoring the show. "We are in the process of getting together the production team. We hope to get the cinematographers, writers, editors? under one umbrella very soon. Things are still at the nascent stage but the first episode should be produced by August-end," says Suman, who is currently shooting for David Dhavan‘s forthcoming movie.

Though the date and time of the show is yet to be finalised, Suman promises that in another two weeks, everything should fall in place.

"It is going to be on a big canvas and a very expensive show but we still have to sit down and work out the economics of it all," Shekhar replied when asked about the kind of investment going into the production. About the contract Suman said: "Things are yet to be finalised the talks with Star are still going."

Office Office, the leading weekly sitcom from the Sabe TV stable, is all set to become a daily. According to Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network Ltd (SABTNL) vice-chairman Markand Adhikari, nothing definite has been decided about the frequency of the show.

"It could be three to four times a week," Adhikari says. "But the days have not been pinpointed yet." However, information from within the network indicate a tentative schedule has already been drawn up. The show is likely to be aired thrice a week Mondays through to Wednesday at 8:00 PM

"The official material will be sent out to potential advertisers very shortly," Adhikari says. Among the sponsors who have so far been backing the show are Kodak , Cello, and Nirma.

Adhikari says that the show is being extended because once a week shows get lost in the crowd of dailies. "We want to further develop the audience that Office Office has and make it a habit for them," he says. "Making it a daily can go a long way in furthering our aim."

He adds that efforts are being put in took to keep the storyline strong enough to retain viewers‘ interest. "It is not a dishum dishum (lots of fighting) show," he says. "It is a show with certain production values and Eagle Video, the producers, are taking care to retain that flavour."

Adhikari added that the move to change the show over to a daily was just one of a basket of efforts which were being worked out to strengthen the channel.

If the show works, it will be an office coup for Sabe TV.