• Consumer meeting on cable service called on 18 August in Mumbai

    Aug 10, 2002

    MUMBAI: Consumer body Mumbai Grahak Panchayat has called a meeting of all state-level consumer organisations and cabl

  • Star juggernaut rolls on; claims clean sweep of Top 20

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 10, 2002
    News Headline

    MUMBAI:"Mr Boombastic! Simply Fantastic!" That could well be the song


    New teen romance Kyun Hota Hai Pyaar.

    that the guys at Star Plus are playing after what it says has been a record breaking week for the channel.

    And these numbers have been achieved at a time when both Sony Entertainment Television and the Zee Network have brought in some high profile programming - the Madhuri marriage show Kahi Na Kahi Koi Hai on SET and motormouth Shekhar Suman‘s new talk show on Zee TV Simply Shekhar. Neither have been able to make inroads into the Star show.

    Kismey Kitna Hai Dam hits the high notes.

    Quoting market research agency AC Nielsen‘s TAM ratings covering cable and satellite homes in the nine main cities for the week 28 July to 3 August:

    Star Plus made a clean sweep of the Top 20 and 43 of its shows were in the Top 50.

    Its 24-hour channel shares touched an all time high of 15.

    Its all week prime time shares (8 pm - 11:30 pm) touched an all time high of 26. Delhi recorded 45, Kanpur 46 and Kolkata 22.

    Even in the 9 pm to 10 pm band where Sony‘s Balaji soaps Kkusum and


    Sssshhh...koi...hai makes its mark.

    Kutumb had made such an impression, the channel reasserted itself and is now claiming an 86-week high share of 25.44. Explaining the channel‘s strategy for this crucial slot after it was vacated by Kaun Banega Crorepati, Tarun Katial, V-P programming Star Plus, said the idea was to give variety in this band and that was why different genres were allotted for different days. And since all the shows were developed as weeklies, one hour was seen as just right for the shows, he added.

    Among the shows that the channel says hit all-time highs in the week were -

    * The celebrity karaoke show hosted by Sonu Nigam Kismey Kitna Hai Dam had a TVR of 10.71.

    * Kasauti Zindagi Kay had a weekly average TVR of 9.3.

    * Sssshhh...koi...hai registered an 8.92 TVR.

    * Avinash IPS managed a 4.84 TVR.


  • Star juggernaut rolls on; claims clean sweep of Top 20

    Aug 10, 2002

    MUMBAI:"Mr Boombastic! Simply Fantastic!" That could well be the song

  • 'Lagaan' to air on US cable television homes through STARZ! next week

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 10, 2002
    News Headline

    MUMBAI: STARZ! which claims to be the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium movie channels in the US, has announced that it will present the American television premiere of Aamir Khan‘s Lagaan on 12 August at 11:45 pm (ET/PT). The Oscar nominated film was distributed theatrically in the US by Sony Pictures Classics in May and is coming to STARZ! subscribers‘ television screens just three months later. In India Sony Entertainment Television holds the exclusive c&s rights.


    The film is being shown on STARZ! under the programme band Cinematheque. The band offers the best of highly acclaimed movies that break the Hollywood mould.

    The Starz Encore Group owns 15 domestic channels with approximately 121 million pay units. Starz Encore offers the Starz Super Pak, with up to 12 digital movie channels, and Starz On Demand the first premium subscription video-on-demand service.

    Starz Encore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation.

  • Panamsat introduces two digital services to improve worldwide delivery of video content

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 10, 2002
    News Headline

    MUMBAI: Panamsat, which claims to be the premier provider of global video and data broadcasting services via satellite, has introduced two new digital services designed to improve the way video content is delivered to customers around the world. Each of these products increases the flexibility, improves the speed and reduces the overall costs of the video distribution process.
    An official release informs that both the Video on Demand and Digital Store and Forward (DSF) services were developed in partnership with PanAmSat?s core video customers - who make up the majority of PanAmSat?s annual revenues. Panamsat says that the initiative came about as the company‘s large video providers were being asked by the consumer for movies, news and other entertainment when they want to view it not just when it is available. The new VOD service allows them to do just that. The video providers also have challenges in distributing their programming around the world - and that?s where Panamsat claims that its new DSF service and PanAmSat?s global distribution platform comes in.

    An official release informs that Intertainer which claims to be the leading broadband entertainment on demand content and services provider, is working with PanAmSat to distribute VOD content to its cable affiliate partners via satellite. By using PanAmSat?s satellites as the basis for the delivery of VOD content, Intertainer will substantially improve the efficiencies in its overall distribution process.

    Specifically, the use of satellite technology leveraging PanAmSat?s Power of 5 antenna program will eliminate the need for manual input of information at the cable head end. Each of the new services provides a secure turn-key solution for the delivery of video content to programmers, cable operators, film production houses and other media outlets. The services upgrade video content to a digital format, as well as provide an alternative to analogue transportation of programming, anywhere, anytime the release says.

    PanAmSat?s DSF service enables the digital storage and delivery of video content around the globe. It is specifically designed to support the needs of international video content providers such as film and television production companies. Currently, most video production companies use the dubbing and overnight shipping of tapes as the basis for the distribution of their product. This new solution enhances traditional means of video production and distribution, as it offers a satellite-based digital alternative and significantly reduces the need for traditional analogue tapes. Through the DSF service, customers can beam programming content from North America to production facilities around the globe. It claims to offer one of the fastest, efficient and most reliable means to distribute video content on a global basis.

  • Ganesh all set to complete 100 episodes on SET this Sunday

    Submitted by ITV Production on Aug 10, 2002
    News Headline

    MUMBAI: Religion is a stronger bait than marriage on the tube, it would seem. Madhuri Dixit‘s attempt at fixing marriages on Sony may have taken an initial beating, but the channel‘s viewers cannot have enough of the elephant headed god, Ganesh, it appears.

    Sony has announced that on 11 August at 8:30 pm, Shree Ganesh will complete its 100th episode. The serial aims at educating while keeping viewers entertained. The show is based on one of the country‘s most popular deities, Ganesh, who is said to epitomise everything
    related to wisdom with his small shrewd eyes, long ears that catch every bit of talk. His vehicle a mouse shows that a wise man pays attention to even small living creatures. He is revered as a clearer of obstacles across the country.

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