The new regional language addition to the Star bouquet - Vijay TV - which launched its new improved programme line-up from 1 October, has had an extensive advertising and promotions campaign built around it to push its programmes.

To draw a parallel, the Amitabh Bachchan hosted Kaun Banega Crorepati was the pivot around which Star Plus pushed itself as a channel after going 24-hour Hindi. For Vijay TV that role seems to have been taken by the blockbuster serial Marumugal, with filmstar Kushbhu in the lead.

Floats with cutouts of Kushboo were taken out in Chennai, Coimbatore and Salem on 1 October.

As an initiative to proactively involve the viewers, girls distributed leaflets with bindis attached outside select temples in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem Trichy, Erode and other cities across Tamil Nadu. This activity continued until 2 October.

At Foodworld (a popular eatery franchise in the south) goodies were distributed to patrons. Some people fanned out to the local kirana (provisions) stores while others went knocking on individual homes in different localities.

And an innovative kind of promotion is being done through 250,000 phone lines across Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. Vijay TV is calling up telephone subscribers and playing recorded voice messages of Khusbhoo using an interactive voice recorder. In the recorded message she informs them about her role in Marumagal where she emotes the role of a daughter-in-law, and also urges viewers to tune in to the channel during her serial‘s broadcast time.

Now its over to the viewer to make her call. Men don‘t really count in these matters anymore.

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.