• Apex entertainment body mooted at ICE summit in Kolkata

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 21, 2001

    An effort is being made to set up a unified apex body for the Indian entertainment industry. The professional mooting the exercise: UTV Net Solutions CEO Biren Ghose.

    Ghose, who is the chairman of CII media and infotainment committee (Western Region) says a draft for this apex body formation is being prepared which will be put up before the CII board at a similar presentation session and the modalities for creating a working model will be established.

    The proposed organisation, along the lines of Nasscom, will seek to have representatives from all sectors of the industry, and will press for the formulation of a national entertainment strategy. The proposed apex body agenda would be to draw up a future course of action and enlighten policymakers regarding the changes required to remain competitive in the world market.

    Ghose made this proposal at the CII-backed ICE Summit in Kolkata (18-19 November 2001) during the session "New paradigms for the content and entertainment players." His proposal got the backing of other panel members consisting of Saregama CEO Abhik Mitra, Zee CEO R. K. Singh and Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad.

    Ghose says that the apex body will have a governing body comprising of industry members themselves and will not offer competition to any existing body. This organization will be an alliance between all organizations where everybody related to media will be partners. Production houses, animation units, broadcasters, advertisers, event management companies, music companies, irrespective of size or budgets will automatically become members. A draft action plan is likely to be approved by January 2002.

    Ghose additionally proposed a four-pronged core growth code. This includes changing social norms and mindsets, introducing policy changes, unifying the entertainment industry and conducting a national branding exercise for Indian entertainment globally.

    Elaborating on the growth codes, Ghose says the first code involves changing social norms and instituting a mindset change in Indians. Entertainment is not viewed as a national priority like other sectors, although it rakes in an estimated turnover of Rs 10 billion. The inner guilt feeling for entertainment needs to be removed from people‘s minds, he said.

    The second code, Ghose says, is to redefine the Indian entertainment industry as a whole. "The idea is to migrate it from current practices and to make it an identifiable entity through a formal process," he points out.

    The entertainment industry itself needs to market India as the destination for production companies. The government on its part should induce changes in its policies to present India properly and introduce the necessary regulatory sops, he says.

    The third growth code is governance and process. All resources within the industry should come together in a common pool and create one organization networking together for common causes. Membership should not be restricted based on investment, venture capital, or sales figures.

    The fourth code is to create a national branding exercise for India, which will position the country as a logical choice across the value chain. The industry should be seen to be speaking in one voice globally.

    Adherence to the growth codes will result in advantages and applications on varied fronts, says Ghose. One problem which could be curtailed is piracy. Entertainment companies are losing Rs 3 billion in revenue due to piracy on account of illegitimate CDs, DVDs, FTP downloads, video cassettes, cable TV etc.

    He points out that business growth for pirates is 45 per cent while the legitimate sector growth is at only 25 per cent.

    Another area which the apex body could play a role is in ensuring better financing options for the unorganised entertainment sector, Ghose points out. So far financial institutions such IDBI and banks have been chary of lending to entertainment companies as they operate mainly in the cash domain.

    His view is that by bringing in a rating agency, which will rate the risk behind each entertainment project, say a movie, institutions may be more conducive to extending funding. The apex body will play a role in backing and mooting such as risk rating agency.

  • Apex entertainment body mooted at ICE summit in Kolkata

    An effort is being made to set up a unified apex body for the Indian entertainment industry.

  • Septuagenarian Murdoch becomes proud papa

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 21, 2001

    You are never too old to be a parent. At least that‘s the message global media baron Rupert Murdoch seems to be sending out to other septuagenarians. The News Corp owner became a father of a nine-pound girl on Monday evening in New York. His third wife Wendi Deng delivered a healthy baby who has since been named Grace Helen, according to media reports.

    Grace Helen Murdoch is Rupert Murdoch‘s fifth child and first through Wendi. His eldest is Prudence MacLeod (38) through first wife Patricia, Elisabeth (33), Lachlan (30), and James Murdoch (28) were born during his 31 year marriage with second wife Anna, who he divorced two years ago surprisingly to marry Wendi who worked within Star TV in Asia.

    Sources indicate that Grace will be handed a stake in News Corp some time in future through Murdoch‘s holding company Cruden Investments.


    The parents at the time of their wedding two years ago
    Pix courtesy: The Guardian, London

    Additionally, Grace is likely to inherit a 10 per cent stake in Cruden held by Rupert‘s mother Dame Elizabeth Murdoch. Cruden Investment‘s holds a 30 per cent stake in News Corp.

    News Corp is run by President & COO Peter Chernin, though Lachlan and James both hold key position in the Murdoch empire. His daughter Elisabeth runs a production house independent of her father‘s media interests, while eldest daughter Prudence also does her own thing.

    This is what she had told AFP a couple of years ago describing her father: "I‘m sure he can be unpleasant, but dad is not evil... he is very fit and very much in control of everybody and he ain‘t going to retire. I can‘t ever see him slowing down."

    Shall we say Amen to that?

  • Septuagenarian Murdoch becomes proud papa

    You are never too old to be a parent.

  • Zee changes programme timings in a bid to improve ratings

    In a bid to find some of that old magic with viewers, Zee TV has once again gone in for a change in its programming s

  • Zee changes programme timings in a bid to improve ratings

    Submitted by ITV Production on Nov 21, 2001

    In a bid to find some of that old magic with viewers, Zee TV has once again gone in for a change in its programming schedule. One show has been pulled off midway, another introduced in its place and existing shows have had their timings changed. Deewane To Deewane Hai has been pulled off air from 14 November and Hip Hip Hurray, earlier telecast on Thursdays and Fridays at 7:30 pm, will now be shown only on Fridays.
    Aan, a new serial that‘s all about old world traditions, has stepped into the 7:30 pm slot on weekdays from 19 November. Produced by Anand Mahendroo‘s Advance Entertainment, the weekly soap is directed by Sunil Salgia and stars Dimple Inamdar, Ela Bhate and Sushil Johri and has a repeat telecast at 12:30 pm.

    Sarhadein has been shuttled around once again. It has been pulled out of the late night 10:45 pm slot into the 8:00 pm slot from 19 November. Daily soap Ek Tukda Chaand Ka finds itself removed from the prime time slot of 8:00 pm and pushed further back to the 11:00 pm slot.

    Zee Telefilms senior vice president Partha Sinha justifies the move thus: "Ek Tukda Chaand Ka has been forwarded to the 11:00 pm slot, as it is aimed at a more mature audience. Since Sarhadein is doing well we have brought it forward to 8:00 pm."

    Sinha claims that Kohi Apna Sa,Choti Maa - Ek Anokha Bandhan are doing well, Nilaamghar is looking up, and Justajoo and Sansaar are picking up slowly. About its interactive experiment Aap Jo Bole Haan To Haan,Aap Jo Bole Na To Na, Sinha says: "We will be doing something to increase the value of Aap Jo Bole Haan?, but the plans are still on the drawing board."

    The juggling exercise is not new to Zee. Barely two months after its relaunch campaign, the channel shifted three shows in October to increase its audience share. Nilaamghar, hosted by the irrepressible Shekhar Suman, was shifted from the weekend (Saturday-Sunday 7:00 pm) to a weekly slot - Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00 pm, with effect from 16 October. Sarhadein, earlier telecast at 11:00 pm Mondays to Wednesdays, was shifted to 10:45 pm from 15 October.

    At the time, Aap Jo Bole? was cut down from four days a week to two days. Instead of Sundays to Wednesdays, it was telecast only Sunday and Monday from 14 October.

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