MTV India threw cold water today on a recent report that it was seriously considering a proposal by the Hinduja-owned INCablenet whereby it would be able to insert local ads on the music channel carried on its cable network.
Sanjeev Hiremath, vice-president, network development, South Asia, licensing and merchandising, MTV India, while admitting such a proposal had come from INCablenet, said MTV had asked the MSO‘s officials to produce a practically workable model before taking matters ahead.

In the west, broadcasters enter into agreements with local cable operators since a single headend supplies the cable feed. In India, taking the example of an MSO like INCablenet, in a city like Mumbai it supplied its feed through mutiple headends which makes tracking how many times an ad appears, where it appears and when it appears, extremely complicated, Hiremath said.

According to Hiremath, ad insertion at local levels can be possible if:

1) There is consolidation - typically a single headend feed.

2) MSOs or cable operators install ad insertion equipment at individual headends. These are very expensive.

3) The broadcaster or channel has cue tone generation equipment (something no channel in India has at present) in place.

4) Broadcasters programme their channels such as to create bands for local ad insertion.

Despite repeated attempts, INCablenet officials were unavailable for comment on the issue.

Star has announced that its Star Movies channel has signed an output deal with DreamWorks Distribution to acquire the exclusive pay-television rights for 40 DreamWorks SKG films to be broadcast in India and Pakistan. The agreement extends the nine-picture deal brokered between Star and DreamWorks in June 2000.

Titles to premiere on Star Movies include "The Haunting" starring Liam Neeson, Best Picture Oscar-winner "American Beauty", rib-tickling Star Trek spoof "Galaxy Quest", animation classics "The Road To El Dorado" and "Chicken Run", and Peter Chan‘s poignant "The Love Letter", an official release states.

Founded by film and music industry giants Steven Spielberg, Jefferey Katzenberg and David Geffen, DreamWorks had a bountiful summer with the box office heat generated by "Shrek", the animated blockbuster featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", a Steven Spielberg film.

Jamie Davis, senior VP, programming, Star, said: "Building on the fantastic response the DreamWorks titles have generated for us thus far, we are very excited to add a long line of new DreamWorks titles for the benefit of our South Asian viewers."

Speaking on behalf of DreamWorks Distribution, Hal Richardson, head of Worldwide Television Distribution, expressed enthusiasm for the agreement, stating: "We are very pleased to have concluded this deal, securing a home for our motion picture product in pay television for India and Pakistan. We are especially happy that this arrangement has served to broaden the relationship with our friends at Star."

The DreamWorks agreement further expands a Star Movies library that consists of exclusive contributions from 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney (which includes the output of Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax), MGM/United Artists, Canal+ and over 100 independent distributors and production companies, the release says.

You can‘t miss the eyes. Splashed across hoardings in the city a mysterious woman, revealing only her forehead and eyes, asks: "Kaun hoon main (who am I)?" The question is also being asked in ad spots on all 15 channels of the Zee bouquet.

The campaign is part of a Rs 150-million marketing and promotional blitz across the north, west and east of the country in the lead-up to the unleashing of 24 new shows on Zee TV on 27 August (Monday), the relaunch date of the flagship channel of the Zee Group.

Next up on the promo trail are a series of "different but interesting" press ads that marketing director Partha Sinha refuses to divulge more details about, except to say that they will be appearing in various newspapers on Monday and Tuesday. Sinha says the press campaign copy is still being put together by Rediffusion-DY&R, the agency handling the Zee account.

Teaser ads have also been prepared for the FM stations of All-India Radio that are also set for take-off on Monday.

As for the hoardings themselves, they are to be pulled down on Sunday to be replaced with the full face of a woman representing the "young, vibrant personality" that is the new-look Zee.

Sinha is at pains to point out that 27 August represents not the end but the start of Zee‘s journey back to the top of the channel stakes, so any immediate turnaround of the channel‘s fortunes was not the aim.