Asia‘s first "pitch session" - Super Pitch 2001 - takes place in Singapore on 7 December during this year‘s Asia Television Forum.

The session, which invites programmers in Asia to pitch new ideas to a panel of commissioning editors and broadcasters, is being organised by Television Asia and Canada‘s BANFF Television Festival 2002.

The winning pitch will receive a cash prize towards the programme‘s production. The competition is open to all documentary, children‘s and entertainment programming.

Important Dates:
Deadline for receipt of submission form by Television Asia is October 31, 2001. The list of finalists will be posted on Television Asia‘s website on November 6, 2001.

Ideal Systems Asia Pacific Limited, a Hong Kong-based product distribution and system integration company, has started its Indian operations through its newly set up Indian affiliate - Ideal Broadcasting India Private Limited.

The main objective of setting up and affiliated company in India is to make available hi-end and hi-quality consulting, budgeting, design, integration, installation and commissioning services to the constantly expanding broadcast market, according to a company release.

Ideal Systems provides services in consultancy, system design, project management and integration. The company implements turnkey solutions in transmission, news rooms, post-production, studios, playout centers and Pay TV platforms for terrestrial and satellite broadcasters and post-production houses.

Among its partners are Irdeto Access, Minerva Networks, Thomsom Broadcast Systems, AP NEWS-ENPS, Louth Automation, Chyron-Probel, Pinnacle Systems, Mirands, Virage, Jacobs Rimell, Leitch Technology, Trilogy and Skystream Corporation, the release states.

National broadcaster Doordarshan has reissued a tender notice seeking for applicants for distribution and marketing of DD-World in USA, Canada, UK, rest of Europe and Australia on DTH Platform and through cable network.

This tender marks 30 October 2001 as the deadline. The applicants whose proposal will be accepted will have to sign an agreement with Doordarshan within 15 days of the issue of the award letter, failing which the next highest bidder will be awarded, according to a release.

Earlier the broadcaster had set 29 August as a deadline for UK and European countries.

As senior V-P programming and production Rekha Nigam gets ready to clear her desk over the next few days, the reports coming out of Sony Entertainment Television are that there is a major restructuring in the pipeline.

In the immediate term Nachiket Pantvaidya, VP programming, and Anupama Mandloi, director programming, have been assigned the task of holding fort as it were till a final decision is made on who will replace Nigam. Additionally, a senior executive from the Los Angeles headquarters is reportedly coming down to India to check on things.

And the man who reportedly initiated the hatchet job - Los Angeles-based Columbia Tristar Television International president Michael Grindon - in India for the last three days for the very purpose, flies back tonight.

An industry observer believes that the channel has 30 to 35 people in excess at the moment and over the coming weeks and months what is likely to be witnessed is a major jettisoning process. At the end of it all there is likely to be seen a leaner, meaner organisation.

This "rightsizing" will also involve the exit of quite a few senior executives who cannot claim to have a clear role to play. And some who do have well defined ones but are seen to have fallen short on deliveries.

Grindon had reportedly scheduled a senior level meeting this evening to discuss all issues linked to the restructuring but that appears to have been put out of joint following the bomb hoax that led to the evacuation of the Sony offices earlier in the evening.