In a bid to get rid of some of the negative publicity that its association with Bharat Shah has got it, the B4U Television group has gone in for a bout of restructuring. It is in the process of transferring all its businesses from B4U Multimedia (earlier VIP Enterprises, a firm owned by Bharat Shah) to B4U Television Networks, a company owned by a Mauritian firm (which has Lakshmi Mittal, Gokul Binani, and Kishore Lulla as its owners).

Says B4U Television Network Ltd CEO Ravi Gupta: "We had initially floated B4U Television Networks but our investment bankers advised to instead find a profit making company as a special purpose vehicle to enable us to raise funds from the public. After due diligence, they opted for the Bharat Shah promoted VIP Enterprises, which was renamed as B4U Multimedia. Now with the crisis we have decided to revert everything back to the earlier company B4U Television Networks under advise from our investment bankers once again.."

The restructuring has meant that Gupta has been given additional responsibility. Earlier he oversaw primarily the India operations; now the entire B4U global activities have come under his belt. Among the markets he will be responsible for: UK, Africa, West Asia, and the US.

This one is for cable TV operators who are looking at providing value-added services to their subscribers. And it is coming courtesy Aegis Broadband, which has launched iVision, a set-top appliance which incorporates a cable TV tuner for "in the clear" television programming with access to authorised premium TV services and Internet capabilities.

Connectors facilitate the interconnection of iVision with other appliances such as home computers, printers and cable modems, a company release says.

"The iVision is an innovative merging of television with the capabilities of the Internet for a whole new viewing experience. The iVision facilitates enhanced revenue opportunities for cable operators by allowing television viewers to access the Internet without purchasing a PC," says D George Stathakis, president and CEO of Aegis Broadband.

The iVision is based on Aegis Broadband‘s SIGMA 4000 series, a highly respected conditional access technology with the encoding and decoding functions of a Premium TV system. The control system interface of the iVision is backward compatible with Aegis 4500 decoders and iBOSS Control System.

The iVision supports the standard POP3 and SMTP e-mail protocols and features the option of alternate languages and translations. Standards based HTML environment allows easy customization of applications such as a TV program Guide, Stock Ticker, or News and Sports.

Zee News, which has secured exclusive rights to the full transcript of the explosive Tehelka tapes, will be screening the tapes beginning Thursday, industry sources confirmed today.

The full tapes were compiled after a sting operation to expose corruption in defence deals carried out by the website tehelka.com and come to four and a half hours of footage. The tapes are to be shown in one-and-a-half-hour segments (ads and breaks included) on prime time Thursday through to Sunday.

The tapes, which have shaken up the government and led to the resignation of India‘s defence minister George Fernandes as its biggest fallout, have been at the centre of a bidding war that included rival channels Star News and Aaj Tak from the India Today group.

Responding to growing viewer demand, Cartoon Network will expand to a 24-hour television service effective 1 July 2001, it was announced today by Ian Diamond, senior vice-president and general manager, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia, Inc. (TENA).

TENA is pursuing content aggregation across multiple platforms including television, interactive media, publishing, consumer products and promotional licensing, with a view to establishing Cartoon Network as an entertainment superbrand in this region.

The company is currently exploring alternative distribution platforms to deliver TCM Turner Classic Movies as a premium offering in markets that present that opportunity. Until now, TCM and Cartoon Network have been a shared service in most Asian markets, with the Hollywood classic movies being featured from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am.

"The 24-hour service is in line with Cartoon Network‘s global strategic mission to elevate cartoons and animation to the level of general entertainment that appeals to both kids and grownups at different levels. The enhanced daypart will enable us to customise our programming and marketing efforts to better suit viewer needs," said Ian Diamond.

The 24-hour launch will be marked by the debut of several new programme franchises and an enhanced lineup of Cartoon Network originals, Japanese animation and other acquired shows. 2001 Network premieres include new Cartoon Network shows Sheep in the Big City, Samurai Jack, Time Squad, The Powerpuff Girls, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ed Edd n Eddy, and Mike Lu n Og; and new programme franchises Boomerang, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, Toonami, Acme Hour and Power Zone. External acquisitions include Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Trouble Chocolate and GI Joe. Many of these are also Asian television premieres.