MUMBAI: Star India has announced that its sports channels Star Sports 2 and Star Cricket will have a slew of production and programming initiatives around the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2013.

There will be a dual feed. Star Sports 2 will broadcast the event in Hindi while Star Cricket and Star Cricket HD will showcase the tournament with English commentary. Live coverage will start on 30 May with warm up matches and will continue till the final on 23 June 2013. This is the last edition of the event.

The channels will add technical innovations to boost the viewer?s experience. UltraCam will bring to viewers super-slow, sharper and nuanced imagery. StarCam 360 will give viewers 360-degree camera angles and panoramic views of key match moments. The broadcaster intends to make StarCam 360 a regular feature in international cricket going forward.

Moreover, for the first time, Star Cricket HD will broadcast the ICC Champions Trophy 2013 with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound technology.

The commentary panel includes Sourav Ganguly, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Navjot Singh Sidhu; Nasser Hussain, Shane Warne; Michael Holding and Wasim Akram.

Analysts like Harsha Bhogle and Jatin Sapru will undertake the hosting duties for the English and Hindi telecast of this event.

Besides showcasing the live action, the channels have also wrap -around elements in order to analyse the game. The central wrap-around show has been rechristened as ?Cricket Live?. This will contain various segments and features such as ?Masterclass?, ?Faceoff?, ?Down the Memory Lane? and ?In the Nets?.

The ?Face-off? segment will see each commentator arguing for his national team?s strengths. In ?Masterclass?, commentators will coach the viewer and give tips on how to improve their understanding of the game. ?In the Nets? will offer coverage of how players get ready for the game while commentators will relive their memories/ experiences of previous English tours in ?Down the Memory Lane?.

ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput said, "The ICC Champions Trophy is a true test of cricketing excellence with the top eight ODI teams going head to head to be crowned - Champions. There is no room for error as a defeat can cost a team dearly. We will leave no stone unturned to make this tournament an unprecedented viewing experience and are working with the ICC to deliver a world-class telecast for viewers worldwide.

"With a range of special programming, on-air enhancements, brand new camera angles, state-of-the-art graphics along with a high quality team of analysts comprising some of the great names of international cricket we intend to take the fan engagement to a newer level by redefining the way international cricket has been showcased till date".

Meanwhile the event is set to reach a global audience of 1.5 billion, thanks to new and extended agreements secured by Star Sports. This includes the continuance of long-term partnerships with Fox Sports in Australia, BSkyB in the UK, Sky TV in New Zealand, SuperSport in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa and Pehla in the Middle East and North Africa. It also includes the partnership with ESPN in the US and Caribbean and the continued coverage of the ICC events on terrestrial television in Pakistan via PTV, Bangladesh via BTV and Sri Lanka via CSN.

ICC CEO David Richardson said, "The ICC Champions Trophy 2013 will showcase the best teams in the world and to complement the on-field action, ICC and Star Sports will ensure the best possible coverage to the widest audience ever for an international 50-over event."

"For those people around the world who can?t be in England and Wales in person this June, Star Sports? distribution efforts have ensured that 1.5 billion people across the globe can view every single ODI of the tournament from the comfort of their own home," he stated.

MUMBAI: As digitisation spreads, Star India is looking to boost its portfolio of English channels. It will launch a new channel Star Movies Action on 2 June. This replaces Fox Action Movies which stopped airing on 11 May.

The new channel targets males in the age group 15-35 years from SEC A and B. One big difference is that while Fox Action Movies mainly focused on martial arts, Star Movies Action will cover a broader spread within the action genre.

It will have 300 titles exclusive to it that will not air on Star Movies. Star has first output rights to the library of Fox, Universal and Disney. The Universal deal was struck last year and films from that studio started airing on Star Movies from 1 January this year. The broadcaster also has a second run output deal with Sony.
 
Star India business head- English channels Kevin Vaz said, "Action is the most consumable and popular genre in the English movie category in India. Action thrillers are the best rated amongst English movies, as they cut all barriers of language with their universally captivating action styles and are therefore highly viewed across all sections of society."

"With Star Movies Action, our objective is to cater to the growing demand for this genre by bringing the best of Hollywood action titles and fill the existing gap in the category. Moreover, we promise a lot of exciting engagement opportunities for our viewers which would further strengthen the channel?s position in the English entertainment category in the country," Vaz added.
 
In the first month there will be three premieres ?Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter?, the Jackie Chan starrer ?Chinese Zodiac? and sequel of the ?Taken? franchise ?Taken 2?.

There will be a 360 degree campaign to create buzz for the launch. Ads on TV will air across the Star network. There will also be promotion on print, cable and DTH platforms.

The broadcaster has also roped in rock group Pentagram who has composed an anthem- ?A Hero Will Rise?. A social media plan has also been developed to use the mediums of Facebook and Twitter to connect with the audiences.

Moreover an interactive video that resembles the spirit of Star Movies Action can be seen on the site.

MUMBAI: Vidyut Patra has joined Times Center for Learning (TCL), Times of India?s latest foray into the education business.

Patra joins the Times group as an associate vice president and will be reporting into Times Centre of Learning president Deepak Lamba. He will be responsible for setting up of one of the verticals under the TCL umbrella.

Prior to joining Times, Patra was Red FM station head-Mumbai.

Commenting on his appointment Lamba said, "Vidyut?s extensive experience across various business domains would add immense value in successfully running & managing this new venture."

On his new role Patra said, "I am looking forward to being a part of this business which is a first for any media house in India. With the strong values & backing of the Times group it surely holds a lot of promise."

Prior to joining Red FM Mumbai he was at Viacom18, INX Media and Star India.