CNN is all set for the launch of its new South Asia channel on 3 July. The launch will see a new region-specific schedule, featuring a five hour prime-time block comprising of international and regional news bulletins presented by Anand Naidoo and the two new presenters Shihab Rattansi and Zain Verjee.

CNN International will also reschedule some of the network‘s most popular programmes for daily prime-time television viewing in South Asia including Biz Asia, CNNdotCOM, Style with Elsa Klensch, CNN Hotspots, the art club, World Beat, Business Unusual, Science & Technology and Earth Matters.

CNN International will introduce locally produced programmes on the South Asian channel by the fourth quarter of 2000. The programmes will be produced by local production companies and will be a part of the new channel‘s regional news bulletins and CNN‘s popular shows at prime-time.

The network will fully upgrade its current signal to the advanced digital mode, which, the network claims, will significantly improve the signal for local audiences. The CNNI South Asia signal will be available via the PanAmSat-4 satellite.

Star Plus, the flagship channel of the Star Network, completes a year of turning a 24-hour Hindi channel 3 July.

Yesterday, the team behind what has been an eventful year for the Rupert Murdoch-promoted channel were out in strength at the Taj Hotel in South Mumbai and made no bones about the fact that they intended to put even more "blue sky" between themselves and rivals Zee and Sony.

And the new strategy that Sameer Nair, executive vice-president, head of content & communication, Star India has chalked out for the immediate term is on two fronts. Star is sitting pretty on the 9:00pm to 11:00pm band Mondays to Thursdays (gameshow Kaun Banega Crorepati airs 9-10pm Monday to Wednesday; followed by the superhit soaps from the Balaji stable Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki - both four days). But next month will see the launch of a slew of new shows on Fridays - what Star Plus has termed power-packed Friday nights. Nair calls it Friday entertainment for the family. And for Sunday mornings Star has lined up devotional inspiration. Till 10:00am that is. Which is when Junior KBC comes on air where it‘s back to pure greed as the driving force.

For the Friday slot, starting 27 July, Star Plus is launching a talent show, Kya Masti Kya Doon with film star Sonali Bendre as the anchor at 8:00 PM At 9:00 PM is Khulja Sim Sim, an Indian version of Lets Make a Deal. And at 10:00pm it will be Ssshhhh... Koi Hai..., a horror series. In Masti Kya Dhoom,comparisons to Sony‘s popular dance talent hunt show Boogie Woogie are inevitable but Star
officials are quick to point out that it is not only dance which will be showcased, but also music, mimicry, acting, etc. The differentiation in the viewer‘s mind will be important because a me-too dance talent show that Zee launched with former Channel [V] host Ruby Bhatia as the presenter sank without a trace almost before it went on air.

Masti is produced by Vandana Malik and the Television Eighteen team, better known as the content providers for CNBC India.

Khulja Sim Sim, up next at 9pm, is a licenced copy of Let‘s Make A Deal, a popular show which ran successfully in the USA from 1963 to 1990. It is currently on air in Germany, Greece, Hungary, Spain and Italy. The show is presented by popular TV actor Aman Verma of Kyunki Saas... fame.

Khulja is produced by Optimystix Productions and directed by Vipul Shah.

Sunday mornings, on the other hand, are devoted to devotional shows. From Aatma, discourses from Bhagwat Gita, at 7:00am, to Dharam Aur Hum, a devotional musical journey with Anup Jalota, to mythological Jap Tap Vratt at 9:00 am.

Next on the agenda for the Star team? To push back the evening prime time band from the current 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM slot.

Star is looking to launch a new show at 7:30 PM sometime in the middle of August, Nair says. The show is a situational comedy being produced by Shrey Guleri who also made the popular Tu Tu Mein Mein sitcom, according to Nair.

This is a first as far as channels go, Nair says, pointing to the fact that the 7-8pm slot doesn‘t normally have fresh content as it is considered a non prime time slot.

And that is how Nair hopes Star will retain its numero uno position - by constantly executing innovative concepts.

Now all one has to do is switch on your TV to know about the God, religion or peace of mind. A new satellite digital channel, Aastha, catering to the spiritual kind was launched recently.
The channel will focus on the elderly audience and will air content like spiritual discourses, bhajans, nature-healing, Indian culture, religions, philosophy, mythology etc. Besides this the channel will take the viewer to the various holy places in the country. Currently the channel is being telecast only for three hours in the morning and evening. But according to the channel officials, the channel will soon be on-air for 24 hours.

The channel is also looking at luring the youth by showing the programmes which will touch the right cord amongst the youth. Aastha aims at imbedding into the youth the Indian culture and respect for Indian heritage.

Currently the only channel, which has this type of niche audience, is the 24-hour satellite channel is the Maharshi Veda Vision channel.

The long-fraught-with-controversy ICC cricket telecast rights issue has finally been decided. And the winner is not Zee TV, rather it is its staunch rival News Corp which is supporting the World Sport Group (a front company for Murdoch‘s media conglomerate).
ICC Development (International) Ltd made the announcement yesterday in Paris. The World Sport Group will for the next seven years represent it for the sale of commercial rights for several major ICC cricket events. Among them figure:

* the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

The winning bid of a minimum guarantee of $550 million by WSG/News Corp was much lower than the Zee Multimedia Worldwide-TWI combine‘s widely reported $625 million. The announcement was issued by David Richards Managing Director of ICC Development (International) Ltd in Paris yesterday.

The loss could come as a major blow to Zee TV which was banking heavily on the ICC rights to launch its sports channel. In the alternative it is quite likely that it will launch rebel parallel cricket tournaments just as Kerry Packer did in the late seventies-early eighties.

Corporate restructuring seems to be the name of the game at MTV these days.

Recently having appointed five new Vice Presidents for MTV India, this time, MTV Networks have announced a newly created position of President, MTV Networks International. And taking us this duty will be Bill Roedy who is currently President, MTV/VH1 International. Under his new title, Bill Roedy will be responsible for leading the international operations of Nickelodeon, MTV and VH1.

Mr Roedy will be based in London and will report directly to MTV Networks Chairman Tom Freston. Tom Freston said that a more close co-ordination of the business was required by putting all their brands under one executive mirroring the organization in the US and felt that Bill Roedy was uniquely qualified for the job having pioneered MTV and VH1‘s great international success.