MUMBAI: TIMES NOW, has created history by recording the highest viewership during the General Elections. The channel achieved the spectacular benchmark as it stayed ahead of its competitors by a huge margin across Target groups.
Commenting on the channel‘s performance, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief said, "Being India‘s most trusted news channel, the responsibility of showcasing the factual realities lies with us. TIMES NOW‘s direct, honest and unbiased reporting coupled with consistent delivery of the best programming during major events, has brought us immense credibility. During the Elections, TIMES NOW has stood out by delivering excellent content through a mix of news, analysis, debates and an unmatched expert panel. The audience trusts TIMES NOW and the figures prove the fact!!."

According to data from TAM for the three phases of the General Elections 2009 so far, TIMES NOW scores 35% channel share compared to just 21% of NDTV 24X7 and 26% of CNN-IBN (CS M 25+ AB, 1 Mn+ markets All India, April 16th,April 23rd and April 30th All day).

Mr Sandeep Sharma,Senior Vice-President Sales and Marketing elaborates, "The ratings clearly echo the viewer confidence that TIMES NOW enjoys.With eight sponsors on Decision 09,TIMES NOW has achieved record revenues for the month of April 2009. TIMES NOW is also the advertiser‘s first choice as it has consistently delivered superior impact and efficacy to the clients‘ advertising plan. This is ratified with the highest secondage and number of clients investing in TIMES NOW every week".

Establishing an astounding win across markets, this colossal surge in the viewership of TIMES NOW displays the loyalty the channel enjoys. For this election, TIMES NOW has drawn the widest, most respected panel of political experts, with stalwarts like Mahesh Ranagrajan, Dileep Padgaonkar, Vinod Mehta, Swapan Dasgupta, Swaminathan Aiyer, Nalini Singh, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Sanjeev Srivastav, Manini Chatterjee, Vinod Sharma, Javed Ansari,Gautam Adhikari joining Arnab Goswami and Navika Kumar in the last leg of the campaign.The channel‘s programming, which is branded Decision 09, will spring into "total live" mode as the counting day draws closer.

MUMBAI: "EXCELLENCE KO BAHUMAT MILEGA, TABHI ADVERTISING SALAAMAT RAHEGA"

This is the message that Radio Mirchi is taking to all advertising agencies through the Mirchi Kaan Sabha Morcha.

With the 6th Mirchi KAAN Awards round the corner, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, India Hottest Radio station is now giving a wake up call to all Advertising Agencies by performing a street play at their premises.

Scheduled from May 04-07, 2009, Radio Mirchi is organising a humorous street play that is motivating people to be part of this year‘s most interesting elections - The Mirchi Kaan Sabha Elections. The Mirchi Morcha party is campaigning in full swing across the election terrain (Creative Agencies) , conducting rallies, shouting slogans, discussing the need to vote against mediocrity and reminding them again that the day they can witness mediocrity being defeated is round the corner.

The 6th Mirchi KAAN Awards would be held on Friday, May 8, 2009 at The Trident in Mumbai.

According to Prashant Panday, CEO, ENIL (Radio Mirchi), "Radio Mirchi is known for doing things in a unique inimitable style. To keep our spirit of innovation and entertainment going, this year too, we have come up with something unusual. Keeping Election 2009 in mind, we decided to do an interesting take on the election fever raging across the country. We are happy to see such an encouraging response from the agencies and will look forward to their presence at the KAAN Sabha Elections."

The 6th Mirchi KAAN Awards has received a heartening response with more than 750 entries across 15 categories vying with each other for the Gold, Silver & Bronze awards. The other awards include Client of the Year for the most outstanding advertiser of 2008, Radio writer of the year, Agency of the year, Production House of the year and the Voice of the Year awards. And to top the list, the prestigious Crystal Award will be awarded to the most outstanding Radio commercial of the year.

MUMBAI: Kids are all set to rule the roost with Chillar Party. This upcoming flick from UTV Spotboy has gone on floors on 3rd May. Ushering in oodles of laughter, a bunch of notorious kids add to the fun quotient in the small society of Chandan Nagar. The movie is being directed by Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl.

Chillar Party is the story of a bunch of kids from Chandan Nagar called Encyclopedia, Jhanghia, Akram, Secondhand, Panauti, Silencer, Aflatoon and Shaolin in whose lives enter two strangers Fatka and Bheedu. And together they alter the course of their future by never giving up on what they believe in.

Commenting on his debut directorial venture, Vikas Bahl, Chief Creative Officer, UTV - Spotboy said, "Offering a movie viewing experience with accentuated appeal, ‘Chillar Party‘ is all set to take our dedicated audience to cloud nine. Presenting humour spiced simplicity, ‘Chillar Party‘ will be the children‘s comedy of the year to watch out for."

Director Nitesh Tiwari said, "For me Chillar Party is like chocolate. Kids and grownups will love it equally. We‘re hoping this film will change the way kids are looked at in films and the way kids‘ films are looked at in this country."

With the dynamic director - duo and musician Amit Trivedi teaming up, this comedy riot is sure to have the audiences in splits of laughter.

MUMBAI: The awareness for the effectiveness of radio does not remain restricted only to the metros and has reached the tier II markets too, thanks to BIG 92.7 FM and its enormous network spread across 44 cities of India. The cost effectiveness and penetration of the medium, coupled with the ability to get completely local is what is drawing newer customers to the medium and this time it is none other than the North Central Railways. They have joined hands with BIG 92.7 FM, Allahabad to spread messages on safe journey to travelers, when using the mode of transport. The awareness campaign apart from hosting interesting communication through voice overs will also see the Station jocks communicating with listeners on hazards of track crossing, unmanned crossing, fire, roof top travel and much more. The whole idea is to drive awareness on safety tips thereby ensuring a safe journey.

Besides Allahabad, the campaign will run across the cities of Kanpur, Agra, Jhansi, Gwalior and Aligarh. Railways has now begun using the FM Station effectively to spread awareness among the commoners given that they see it as an appropriate means to reach its target audience. BIG 92.7 FM - Allahabad has seen some remarkable growth on this front, attracting earlier unexplored businesses to radio.

Speaking about the experience of the advertising with BIG 92.7 FM and the new trend of advertising amongst the North Central Railways, Mr. Rajesh Dutt Bajpai ? CPRO ? North Central Railways said, ?This medium is a very effective way for communicating socially useful messages across society. This drive is undertaken to create awareness on train safety measures and security amongst public. This is one medium of communication which is reachable to all the sections and classes of the society. People can listen to the information even while traveling. As a strong medium of advertising, I am confident that through BIG FM, we are reaching our target audience and are able to influence their thought process positively.?

Speaking about this positive trend, Mr. Suresh Singh - Station Director- BIG 92.7 FM Allahabad, said, ?Radio is an extremely local medium which ensures high penetration, while offering economic viability. It offers an excellent platform for local players, who wish to target clearly defined local audiences. We have offered solutions to various sectors and now public sector is on board, which otherwise only looked at traditional forms of advertising and was never exposed to radio. We have put together an extremely robust offering to ensure the communication pegs for a safe journey are encapsulated.?

MUMBAI: Ekta Choudhary ? Miss India Universe 2009 supporting the Fight Against Cervical Cancer (FACC) today called for immediate action against cervical cancer and urged women to go in for regular check-ups and pap smears. Statistics indicate Cervical Cancer kills eight women every waking hour in India. FACC is a CSR initiative of The PRactice, a leading communications consulting firm that aims to generate awareness about cervical cancer amongst the Indian masses and encourage women to get pap smears. On the occasion of Mother?s Day (May 10, 2009), this campaign is also supported by the Fortis Group of hospitals who will provide pap smears at discounted prices.

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in Indian women. According to WHO estimates, every year 132,082 women are diagnosed with cancer and 74,118 women die from this disease. Currently there are about 365.71 million aged over 15 years and each one of them is at the risk of contracting this cancer. Globally it affects 500,000 women and a fifth of them reside in India. The Pap smear can be the greatest defense against cervical cancer. The Pap smear can detect cervical changes early before they turn into cancer.

Ekta Choudhary - Miss India Universe 2009, said, ?Cervical cancer is a danger to the growth of our society. Women being the nurturer need to be protected from this danger; due to lack of knowledge a large number of women are suffering from deadly diseases like cervical cancer. For the future of our country we must educate our fellow sisters about the dangers of cervical cancer. Only when we come together to protect and help each other we can make a difference. Precaution is better than cure, lets educate ourselves for a better future .We owe it to ourselves .Let us join hands together to save the ones who are the reason for our existence. Get a Pap smear test now. A gynaecologist should be your best friend for the rest of your life.?

On the occasion of Mothers Day, May 10, 2009 Fortis La Femme, GK- II and Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital Vasant Kunj are offering pap smears at a discounted rate of Rs. 240 a test.

?As a centre dedicated to womens‘ health, we are doing our bit to create awareness on cervical cancer. A simple test like pap smear can help detect this disease that is taking upto 70,000 lives a year. We will initiate talks on cervical cancer in schools, colleges and other ladies organisations to promote awareness. We are also offering a discounted price on Pap smear on Mothers‘ Day? said Gurrit Kaur, Facility Director, Fortis La Femme.

Sunil Kapur, Head-Sales & Marketing, Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj, said: ?Cervical Cancer is a silent killer in India. Due to the low levels of awareness in India, 8 women dying every waking hour due to cervical cancer. These statistics should prompt Indian women to regularly visit their gynaecologist and get pap smears. As a tribute to mothers‘, Fortis Flt. Lt. Rajan Dhall Hospital, Vasant Kunj supports the fight against cervical cancer and will be offering pap smears at a discounted rate on Mothers? Day, May 10, 2009.?

MUMBAI: Twenty20 Cricket comes to Dubai for the first time, as Pakistan take on Australia in a one-off tie on the 7th of May. After an absorbing 5-match ODI series that Australia won 3-2, it?s now time to shift focus to the shortest version of the game. And the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, which hosted the first two ODIs of the Chapal Cup and impressed everyone ? from the commentators to the fans to the players to the experts, has been decked up especially for this occasion. The T20 will give another chance to Cricketing aficionadi all over the world to catch a glimpse of the stadium?s unique lighting system, dubbed the ?Ring of Fire?.

All the action will be live and exclusive on TEN Sports, the most widely watched sports channel in the subcontinent.

With the T20 World coming up next month, this game is of special significance to both sides. Brett Lee, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, is likely to don a yellow-and-green jersey for the first time since Boxing Day 2008. And with Michael Clarke returning home, Brad Haddin will take on the mantle of Australian skipper. Having lost 2 of their 5 T20s so far this year, the Kangaroos know they have quite a few aspects to work on; and this match will provide them the perfect opportunity to see which of their youngsters can perform when thrown into the deep end of the pool

Pakistan, the runners-up at the last T20 World held in South Africa, always fancy themselves in this format; and with an ebullient bunch of youngsters in their side including the gifted Ahmad Shehzad, they see this as a great opportunity to test their developing squad against one of the best sides in the world. And having won 4 of their 5 matches in 2008, they?re eager to prove themselves to be strong contenders for this year?s T20 world.