Border tensions are calling for some hasty programming changes in the subcontinent.

The Beeb has voluntarily put on hold its reality series Commando on the Indian army, bowing to geo political pressures in the region. Doordarshan, on the other hand, will air a special programme today that delves deep into the trying conditions the Indian defence forces operate under. Both programmes, incidentally, have been produced by Miditech, which also makes the adventure reality series Romance Adventure Aaap Aur Hum (Raaah) that premiered on Zee TV on Sunday. Sahara TV is also looking at a series Fateh (victory) which trains its guns on war heroes. However, this is not expected to go on air before February-March.

The BBC meanwhile, has to wait some more to air the 13-part docudrama that covers the six-week training course at the Commando Training School in Belgaum, Karnataka, considered one of the toughest in the world. The show was to have given viewers a unique access to the Indian army, although some details of the training have been deleted due to security reasons.

Big. Very big. That is what the third edition of the annual global convention on the business of entertainment, Ficci Frames 2002, promises to be.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) convention, which has been growing in stature every year since its inception in 2000, will be held on 15 and 16 March, 2002 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Powai, in Mumbai.

According to the organisers, Frames 2002 will witness the largest ever gathering in India of some of the best national and international minds in the business - media and entertainment barons, movie moguls, stars, producers, directors, broadcasters, musicians, studio bosses and other global leaders in the business of film finance and insurance, a well media gathering was informed today.

There are 24 sessions scheduled with more than 25 overseas speakers from countries such as US, UK, France Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE having confirmed their participation. Some prominent names are James Murdoch, chairman & CEO, Star Group; Dr Patrick Cross, MD, BBC Worldwide; Yoshinori Imai, director-general, NHK, Japan; William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG; Jon Kirchner, president & COO, DTS, USA; Michael Connors, Sr. V-P (Asia Pacific), Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).

Ficci‘s "knowledge partner" -Arthur Andersen will be presenting the third edition of its report on the entertainment industry. The report will rank the states in terms of their investor friendliness and also focus on convergence. The other knowledge partner, solicitors Amarchand Mangaldas, will present a report on legal issues affecting all segments of the entertainment industry. This report proposes to deal with four key issues:

i) Rationalization of entertainment tax - legal issues and way forward.
ii) Corporatisation models for the film industry and other television and radio content producers.
iii) Model guidelines for banks/financial institutions for facilitating lending to this sector.
iv) Model guidelines for executive orders for protection of IPR & structured anti-piracy campaign by the government.

For the first time in India, in conjunction with Frames 2002, Ficci is also organizing a Digital Cinema screening of a feature film.

The session on marketing will have some very eminent speakers from India and abroad including William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG, Jane Gorard, director, marketing, BBC Worldwide, Sanjiv Gupta from Coca Cola, Sameer Nair from Star and Brian Tellis from Fountainhead. The session will be chaired by Sunil Alagh, MD, Britannia Industries Ltd. The session will focus on the key marketing trends in the entertainment sector and how entertainment products can be leveraged for value creation.

Finance and legal issues once again assume significance in view of the focus of Ficci and Frames on corporatisation of the Indian entertainment industry. The entire gamut of financing, valuations, insurance, legal framework, governing entertainment industry will be discussed by eminent experts both from India and abroad.

The Technology session of Frames 2002 includes many distinguished speakers such as John Kirchner of Digital Theater Systems, USA who will discuss the advances in the technology of multichannel sound for film and television and how this enhances the audience‘s involvement in a program.

James Butler of Ideal Broadcasting will discuss the design aspects of television studios and Avinash Fotedar of SGI India will discuss some of the advancements in the tools available to film-makers today including powerful 3D modelling, editing, compositing and special effects hardware and software that allows the creation of virtually any environment that one can imagine.

Stephane Jauroyou of SeaChange International will make a presentation on the technology of video and audio servers that can open new markets in video on demand, selective advertising, broadcast playout and internet streaming. Other speakers will discuss the latest developments in the film, video and audio technology and the coming advances of the digital future. The Technology session will be chaired by AK Das of Snell and Wilcox; a manufacturer of high quality digital video processing equipment.

Frames 2002 will have a trading hub at the convention venue on 15 & 16 March 2002. The trading hub is seen as a networking opportunity where several professionals would be able establish contacts, gather information concerning new technologies and development of markets, establish international co-production and possibly lay the foundation for new partnerships.

Big. Very big. That is what the third edition of the annual global convention on the business of entertainment, Ficci Frames 2002, promises to be.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) convention, which has been growing in stature every year since its inception in 2000, will be held on 15 and 16 March, 2002 at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Centre, Powai, in Mumbai.

According to the organisers, Frames 2002 will witness the largest ever gathering in India of some of the best national and international minds in the business - media and entertainment barons, movie moguls, stars, producers, directors, broadcasters, musicians, studio bosses and other global leaders in the business of film finance and insurance, a well media gathering was informed today.

There are 24 sessions scheduled with more than 25 overseas speakers from countries such as US, UK, France Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE having confirmed their participation. Some prominent names are James Murdoch, chairman & CEO, Star Group; Dr Patrick Cross, MD, BBC Worldwide; Yoshinori Imai, director-general, NHK, Japan; William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG; Jon Kirchner, president & COO, DTS, USA; Michael Connors, Sr. V-P (Asia Pacific), Motion Pictures Association of America (MPAA).

Ficci‘s "knowledge partner" -Arthur Andersen will be presenting the third edition of its report on the entertainment industry. The report will rank the states in terms of their investor friendliness and also focus on convergence. The other knowledge partner, solicitors Amarchand Mangaldas, will present a report on legal issues affecting all segments of the entertainment industry. This report proposes to deal with four key issues:

i) Rationalization of entertainment tax - legal issues and way forward.
ii) Corporatisation models for the film industry and other television and radio content producers.
iii) Model guidelines for banks/financial institutions for facilitating lending to this sector.
iv) Model guidelines for executive orders for protection of IPR & structured anti-piracy campaign by the government.

For the first time in India, in conjunction with Frames 2002, Ficci is also organizing a Digital Cinema screening of a feature film.

The session on marketing will have some very eminent speakers from India and abroad including William Sinrich, president & COO, IMG, Jane Gorard, director, marketing, BBC Worldwide, Sanjiv Gupta from Coca Cola, Sameer Nair from Star and Brian Tellis from Fountainhead. The session will be chaired by Sunil Alagh, MD, Britannia Industries Ltd. The session will focus on the key marketing trends in the entertainment sector and how entertainment products can be leveraged for value creation.

Finance and legal issues once again assume significance in view of the focus of Ficci and Frames on corporatisation of the Indian entertainment industry. The entire gamut of financing, valuations, insurance, legal framework, governing entertainment industry will be discussed by eminent experts both from India and abroad.

The Technology session of Frames 2002 includes many distinguished speakers such as John Kirchner of Digital Theater Systems, USA who will discuss the advances in the technology of multichannel sound for film and television and how this enhances the audience‘s involvement in a program.

James Butler of Ideal Broadcasting will discuss the design aspects of television studios and Avinash Fotedar of SGI India will discuss some of the advancements in the tools available to film-makers today including powerful 3D modelling, editing, compositing and special effects hardware and software that allows the creation of virtually any environment that one can imagine.

Stephane Jauroyou of SeaChange International will make a presentation on the technology of video and audio servers that can open new markets in video on demand, selective advertising, broadcast playout and internet streaming. Other speakers will discuss the latest developments in the film, video and audio technology and the coming advances of the digital future. The Technology session will be chaired by AK Das of Snell and Wilcox; a manufacturer of high quality digital video processing equipment.

Frames 2002 will have a trading hub at the convention venue on 15 & 16 March 2002. The trading hub is seen as a networking opportunity where several professionals would be able establish contacts, gather information concerning new technologies and development of markets, establish international co-production and possibly lay the foundation for new partnerships.

Justice Patil of the Bombay High Court today posted for Friday the hearing of the contempt case filed by Hinduja Group MSO InCableNet against ESPN Software over increased subscription rates.

InCableNet had taken the matter to court after ESPN Star Sports switched off its signals on 5 January, 2002, saying the MSO had refused to sign on to the increased subscription package that went into effect from 1 January where the monthly tariff for the ESPN and Star Sports channels was pegged at Rs 24 from the earlier Rs 16.

InCableNet however says ESPN Software has not forwarded the contract after the sports broadcaster was sent a letter seeking details about the terms and conditions of the renewal.

And there the matter rests waiting for the final judgment which might well be on Friday.

PROTEST MARCH: The Maharashtra Cable Sena and the TV-satellite and Broadband Cell of the BJP have announced they will take out a protest march tomorrow to the ESPN Star sports office to protest against the recent subscription hike.

"The hike, made without any prior notice or negotiatons, is completely unwarranted and makes the services unaffordable to the common man and small cable operators," Maharashtra Cable Sena president Ramakrishna Keny and BJP‘s TV-satellite and Broadband Cell convenor Ashok Singh have been quoted as saying.

The hike from Rs 16 to Rs 24 per subscriber per month comes less than nine months after the last increase, Keny and Singh have said, pointing out that it is unaffordable for the consumers.

The Cable Sena has further called for a complete blackout of ESPN-Star Sports channels from Wednesday if the hike in charges is not withdrawn.

Viewers can now spice up their breakfasts with business and technology news from around the world with CNN‘s new breakfast show that goes on air from 28 January.

Titled News Biz Today, the programme will provide a continual mix of live breaking and headline news, business stories, sport, weather and analysis. The new show may however be of little use to Indian viewers as it will be aired between 6 and 9:30 am Hong Kong time, which works out to 3:30 am to 7 am IST.

Anchors Stan Grant and Jill Neubronner will include new technology segments on the fast paced shows, introducing a new programming format to the network‘s Asia Pacific line up. CNN‘s technology correspondent Kristie Lu-Stout and other staffers from across the region will feed live updates into the show, which will also feature live crosses to US, European and other key financial markets to update viewers on the latest international business and financial developments and their impact on the region.

The new show comes close on the heels of a recent Pan Asian research conducted by Asia Market Intelligence, which shows CNN as the leader among international news channels in Asia for the fifth consecutive year, according to CNN International Asia Pacific senior VP Ian Macintosh. The new morning show will help viewers start their day well informed, he says.

CNN in the Asia Pacific operates from a fully integrated digital newsroom in Hong Kong, where more than 32 hours a week of programming are produced, including six prime-time regional programs broadcast live daily.