• ESS gets the biggest cricket name of them all in Sachin as brand ambassador

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    It‘s hotting up out there in the sports broadcasting arena. The latest card has been thrown by ESPN Star Sports (ESS) which today announced the signing of Indian cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar onto his first ever exclusive TV channel contract.
    ESPN Software India managing director Manu Sawhney with Sachin Tendulkar at the signing ceremony in London announcing the batting maestro‘s exclusive TV channel contract with ESPN Star Sports.

    Under the three-year contract signed between WorldTel and ESPN Star Sports, Sachin will actively promote ESPN and Star Sports and join the channels on air in exclusive programming that will treat Indian cricket fans to Sachin in a new role on TV.

    Manu Sawhney, managing director of ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd. said: "It is our constant endeavor to innovate, create and bring compelling sports content from around the world for the millions of our loyal viewers. I?m sure our long-term association with Sachin will immensely enhance the value we bring to our viewers and business partners."

    Queried as to the terms of the deal, Sawhney, speaking to indiantelevision.com over the phone from London, said it was a three-year contract that had a renewable clause built in and ESS expected that this was just the beginning of a long association.

    Sawhney would not comment on the payout to Sachin which industry sources have put at Rs 50 million a year, but stressed the deal was not just about endorsements. According to Sawhney, "Sachin will be partnering us in excellence as far as cricketing programming is concerned."

    Programming would be created with Sachin and around him, Sawhney said, adding it was an integrated and interactive approach that would include on-air, online, on ground and in print activity.

    Asked how long the programme rollout would take, Sawhney said the shows were still under conceptualisation but would be on air before the end of the year.

    The timing though, is what has has led to questions being asked as to whether the sports channel‘s choice of India‘s greatest cricketer ever as brand ambassador is a panic reaction to competition in the form of Ten Sports and SET Max which have got sports properties such as the World Cup Football, cricket tournaments in Morocco and ICC World Cup. Sawhney clarified that talks had been on with Sachin for the last six months and stressed it was not a knee jerk reaction to Sony‘s recent signing of Kapil Dev as its brand ambassador.

    When asked wasn‘t there a BCCI stipulation that disallows contracted players from participating in any sort of promotional activities while matches are on, Sawhney said: "We will make sure that we do not break any rules and will abide by all ICC guidelines."

    There‘s no denying that ESPN-Star Sports‘ has been losing its edge in programming with little high-profile sports properties to talk about. And it could possibly try to fill in the gaps by creative innovative funky programming featuring Sachin. A coaching show, exclusive down memory lane series on the genius who has been compared to Bradman, talk shows, ground events, and what have you are just some of the possibilities that arise.

    For programming to succeed with Sachin as the host however, ESPN Star Sports will have to groom him no end, especially in voice modulation, something which he is sorely lacking. There‘s no doubt that Tendulkar is one of the better dressers and lookers in India, but some of the sheen is lost when he speaks.

    There is some irony in that Tendulkar as ESS brand ambassador will be battling himself on the field as far as viewership is concerned when he is playing World Cup matches which will be viewed on SET MAX.

    So there it is. Sony Entertainment has Kapil Dev, the man who brought home the World Cup way back in 1983 squaring up against today‘s hero. Two greats, but who will prove the greater in the viewership stakes? No contest? The audience will have to decide.

  • Speculation rife that Mahajan to replace Swaraj as I&B minister

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    Speculation is rife in the Capital that in the impending reshuffle of the Union Cabinet which Prime Minister AB Vajpayee is slated to undertake over the weekend to be announced around 1 July, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj may be relieved of her present responsibilities and entrusted with new work.

    I&B minister Sushma Swaraj. Is she in or out?

    Political sources told indiantelevision.com that the front-runner for the I&B minister‘s post is information technology, telecommunications and parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan.

    "But if Mahajan is given the additional responsibility of I&B ministry also, which will translate into a true "convergence ministry" of sorts, then he is likely to shed the parliamentary affairs portfolio," a political source close to the Prime Minister said.Though Mahajan has held the I&B portfolio earlier too, but if Swaraj exits from the present ministry to take up party work or other responsibilities, then the fate of several issues relating to media will become unknown.

    In the forefront is the issue of conditional access system (CAS) that Swaraj had been pushing through opposing legislators and political rivals passionately.

    The Bill relating to the amendments to the Cable TV (Networks) Regulation Act 1995, which will pave the way for final implementation of CAS in phases in the country, has been passed by Lok Sabha (the Lower House of Indian Parliament). But awaits the Rajya Sabha‘s (Upper House) okay that was earlier expected during the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning 15 July.
    IT, telecommunications and parliamentary affairs minister Pramod Mahajan. Eyeing the I&B portfolio as well?


    "If in the reshuffle Mrs Swaraj is shunted out of the I&B ministry (which as a stand alone ministry has been steadily losing its relevance in the era of convergence being piloted by the telecom sector), then the CAS issue may be buried and forgotten," said an independent cable operator in New Delhi.

    It is well known that amongst those few who had raised their voices against CAS is Mahajan.

    Political sources also say that in private, of late, Swaraj has been "thinking aloud that the human resources development ministry" would not be a bad place for her to go after the I&B ministry.

    " But if wishes were horses then the politicians would be on them instead of zipping around in their air-conditioned cars on the busy roads of the capital.

    Points out a political editor of a Calcutta-based newspaper: "Swaraj may want something, but whether that fits in with the gameplan of the Prime Minister is the big question."

  • Prasar Bharati running short on cash

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    Prasar Bharati Corporation, the autonomous body modelled on the UK pubcaster BBC and overseeing the work of Doordarshan (DD) and the All India Radio (AIR), is facing a cash crunch and will move the government to release the funds allotted to it.

    Admitting this fact, a senior Prasar Bharati Corporation official told indiantelevision.com, "There is a cash flow problem and we are taking up this issue with the government."

    According to the Corporation official, who is also part of the governing body, Prasar Bharati has mooted a proposal that it will sign a memorandum of understanding with the government to get released the grant-in-aid to it in two tranches. "This will ease the financial problems which the Corporation has been facing for quite some time now

    Though the official denied any knowledge of non-payment of dues for work which had been sourced from outside, Prasar Bharati insiders did reveal to indiantelevison.com that the funds crunch has resulted in arrears piling up.

    For example, the insiders said that casual reporters working for DD have not been paid their remuneration or get the payments late. Casual reporters are paid at the rate of Rs 750 per day and cannot be employed for more than ten days in a month.

    Similarly, it is also said that DD had contracted an outside agency to act as its research division and undertake research work for various reports, analysis and news features for which payment is pending.

    However, several efforts made by indiantelevision to elicit a response from the persons concerned who undertake research activities for DD proved futile.

    But there is no denying the question that Prasar Bharati, partially on an expansion mode under chief executive KS Sarma, who is now slightly over three months old in the Corporation, is facing a cash flow problems.

    Armed with a Rs 1000-million kitty for sourcing fresh programming, the Corporation will also soon start commissioning and buying programmes outright. "If we find, for example, a serial good then the Corporation will buy out the rights for it outright," the official said.

    The issue relating to finances and other matters will be discussed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation board meeting slated to be held on 3 July.

    There is also a proposal to re-launch DD News, closed down earlier this year on 26 January after over 18 months of existence. But whether this will find favour with the board members and also the government, which still retains control over the Corporation indirectly, is still to be seen.

  • BBC World announces array of programmes for coming season

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    BBC World has announced a wide range of shows to captivate viewers of different tastes and dislikes with a line up that includes special areas including the arts, travel and the environment.
    For people bitten by wanderlust, the channel will debut Fast Track next month, a show that examines tourist and business destinations. For people facinated with the Far East, there is the Arab World Direct, a show that takes a look at the culture and stories that make headlines in the region.

    Earth 2002 Season which kicks off in August in time for the World Summit for sustaineable development in South Africa will analyse the negotiations, the highlight being an Earth Summit Debate. Other programmes revolving around the environmental theme include ‘State of the Planet‘. Presented by David Attenborough, the three part series commences in mid August and examines the future of mankind. Film star Jackie Chan appears in Chasing the Tiger, while host Julian Pettifer looks at the condition of wild tigers and what the action star is doing to protect them. In the last week of August, Natures Numbers follows biologists in the Bolovian rainforest who try to find which species are in immediate danger of extinction.

    On a different track, bookworms can savour eight programmes in Great Writers Season next month. Writers profiled include Frankenstein writer Mary Shelley in the episode A Monstrous Life, children‘s author Lewis Carroll in Curiouser and curiouser and mystery novelist Iris Murdoch in Starnge Love.

    For those wanting a dose of harsh reality instead of Alice in Wonderland, the channel will air the documentary Breaking the Silence- Music in Afghanistan in August. It tells the tale of how Afghan music was devastated during 20 years of war. It sees how the first signs of revival of music started a few weeks after the Taliban government was given the boot.

    In September, the channel targets the marketing and ad community with the programming block ‘Branded‘ which examines the consumer world. The three part show The Ad Factor follows the journey of creating an ad from pitching to roll out of the final product. Logo takes viewers on the journey of how brands influence society and culture.

    In the lifestyle programming section, the channel will unveil ‘ The Bike‘s The Star‘ next month. It takes a look at classic motor bikes. Mary Anne Hobbs hosts Mary Anne‘s Bikes in August, which scrutinises all aspects of biker culture.

    BBC World announces array of programmes for coming season.

  • TV's first soap turns 50 on Sunday

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    We‘ve all heard of soaps that never seem to end. But try this one for sheer longevity. Guiding Light, the broadcast industry‘s longest-running daily programme, is all set to mark its 50th anniversary on television on 30 June.

    Guiding Light creator Irma Philips

    By this weekend, the show will have aired 13,941 episodes on CBS, and 16,401 episodes if radio shows are included. A new opening sequence was unveiled on the show on 24 June to celebrate the milestone.

    Created by Irma Phillips, The Guiding Light debuted during the second world war on 25 Jan 1937 as a 15 minute series on radio. Guiding Light was, and continues to be, produced by Procter & Gamble Productions, the company who put the "soap" in the soap opera.

    For six decades, Guiding Light has led its counterparts in daytime and prime-time drama in exploring a range of topical and timeless issues, says an official release. Beginning in 1962, the TV series tackled the first social issue-driven storyline: the early detection of Bert Bauer‘s uterine cancer via a pap smear. Since then, subjects covered included organ transplant, Down‘s syndrome, substance abuse and domestic violence, apart, of course, from love, romance, family and community.Guiding Light is the only daytime programme inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame. Recipient of 55 Daytime Emmy Awards, it is a weekday daily on CBS Television Network. The series‘ creators attribute the show‘s longevity to the fact that while the complexity of storytelling and production has evolved considerably over time, the simple, life-affirming issues and values the show began exploring 65 years ago still lie at the heart of the show and continue resonating with a new generation of viewers.
    A still from Guiding Light


    Currently, the always adventurous, Reva Shayne (played by three-time Emmy winner Kim Zimmer) and her soulmate, Josh Lewis (Robert Newman), are embarking on marriage for the third time; Dr. Rick Bauer (Michael O‘Leary), who suffers from a deteriorating heart condition, and former prince Richard Winslow (Bradley Cole), victim of a horrible car accident, fight for their lives; Beth Raines tries to rebuild her life by coming to terms with the past of her alternate personality, Lorelei Hills (both played by Beth Chamberlin); and the feisty Harley Cooper (Beth Ehlers) and the irksome Gus Aitoro (Ricky Paull Goldin) try to make a go of their new relationship despite the objections of everyone in town, including Harley‘s ex-husband, the wealthy Phillip Spaulding (Grant Aleksander).

  • SET-Discovery JV formalised; search on to get more channels on platform

    Submitted by ITV Production on Jun 27, 2002
    News Headline

    Sony Entertainment Television India (SET India) and Discovery Communications India (DCI) today announced the formation of their joint venture company - SET Discovery Pvt Ltd.
    And in a clear indication that Sony was on the lookout to add more channels to the "One Alliance" platform, the official release says SET "would continue to seek opportunities with other channels."

    As a continuance of the close involvement of its parent company in SET India, the JV includes two representatives from Columbia TriStar International Television - Martha Eberts and Michael March (both are also directors in SET India). The other two members of the SET Discovery management team are Kunal Dasgupta (who will be leading the company) and DCI CEO Deepak Shourie.

    Shantonu Aditya, currently SET India‘s head of the distribution business, will oversee day-to-day operations of the new company which will handle the distribution of both channels and will include ground cable and affiliate businesses.

    Announcing the newly formed venture, Aditya said: "With Discovery joining our existing bouquet of channels, The One Alliance partnership, announced earlier this year, is uniquely placed to offer our viewers an enhanced genre of programming supported by our combined distribution strength. We are now strategically positioned to be the No. 1 television network in the country."

    SET India holds 74 per cent of SET Discovery‘s equity with the remainder being with DCI. Today‘s announcement comes a little over a month after the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared the JV proposal.

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