Media/Entertainment Industry

[kronik]

Anyone in India havesubscription to Worldspace Satellite Radio? I have listened to it a couple of times, and i've been pretty impressed by a few of their channels.

They have a sports channel, and I was pretty sure that it would be full of cricket, but was positively surprised to hear a show where they were discussing hockey. The same with their old Hindi music station - quality music all around.

[Euromast]

Originally Posted by kronik

Anyone in India havesubscription to Worldspace Satellite Radio? I have listened to it a couple of times, and i've been pretty impressed by a few of their channels.

They have a sports channel, and I was pretty sure that it would be full of cricket, but was positively surprised to hear a show where they were discussing hockey. The same with their old Hindi music station - quality music all around.

One year back when i was in india, it was available in the shops in my city. But i m not subscriber.

[ferrari_fan]

yup i have Worldspace - definitely very enjoyable - decent selection of music on most channels, and continuous good quality..

[kronik]

Small towns become battle grounds for national FM radio

As many as 13 key vacant private FM radio stations in five towns are likely to become the battle ground for six big national private FM radio companies in the next month’s financial bidding of 96 vacant stations across 48 cities.

These 13 vacant stations (or frequencies) are spread between Dehradun, Patna, Cuttack, Jhansi and Mysore and are expected to attract over Rs 60 crore in licence fees (over Rs 4 crore per station) from the leading FM radio companies including Big FM, Radio Mirchi, Radio City, Red FM, South Asia FM, sources said.

These stations remained vacant after the last years bidding of 337 FM stations of which licences were awarded for 266 stations.

The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has already generated Rs 1,537 crore in revenue by awarding 266 stations to over 30 companies (about Rs 5.7 crore per station).

Other smaller cities like Akola, Bilaspur, Agartala, Imphal, among others, that also have vacant FM radio stations, may not see any large FM radio company bid, sources added.

Overall, 96 remaining vacant stations in 48 cities will be opened for financial bidding next month, the tenders for which have already been submitted by most current FM radio operators.

Currently, of the total of 266 station licences issued, about 80 FM stations are already operational, while another 186 will be operational by the end of next year.

According to industry estimates, these five cities alone will be able to generate about 30 per cent of the total licence fee expected to be raised from the 96 frequencies that remained vacant after the second phase bidding held in February 2006.

“We see Dehradun and Cuttack as a big market for FM radio and every radio company is expected to bid,” says a senior executive in Radio Mirchi that has licence to operate FM stations in over 30 towns.

“A radio licence in towns like Patna and Dehradun will be crucial for the leading FM companies gain a national footprint. FM radio companies will be able to recover their licence fee investments within 3-5 years in these cities,” a FM radio observer said.

[phaedrus]

All posts related to the rapidly growing entertainment industry of the country

[phaedrus]

Reliance Entertainment to rock the regional film circuit

Entertainment is big business for Anil Ambani-controlled ADAG. After a series of measures aimed at building ownership in various forms of cinema — the latest being the acquisition of leading animation company Anirights Infomedia — Reliance Entertainment has decided to focus on regional language films for film production.

Big Motion Picture, a subsidiary production company will now focus on Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi and Bhojpuri languages for film productions during 2008-2010, Reliance Entertainment President Rajesh Sawhney told ET recently.

[phaedrus]

Bollywood rakes in Rs 4 bn profit in 2007

Detours from convention, digitisation and a ringing till! Bollywood never had it so good.

The year 2007 rained largesse on the world's second largest movie industry with hits like "Chak De! India", "Bheja Fry" and "Taare Zameen Par", three medium-budget movies with rather unconventional plots. Bollywood raked in a profit of Rs 4 billion. And there's quite a lot that's waiting to happen in 2008.

[phaedrus]

Percept to set up Animation studio in Mumbai

Striding ahead with the release of Return of Hanuman, the next release after the torch bearer of Indian animation feature film success Hanuman, Percept Holdings is now making even bigger plans for animation. The company has announced its intention to set up its own high-end animation studio in Mumbai.

Preet Bedi, CEO, Percept Holdings informed, “Yes we have taken forward our plan to start our own animation studio. As a company we have the most experience in terms of track record for succesfull Indian animation feature film IP. The focus will be on building in knowledge, ability and experience into the set up."

“Presently we are planning to invest about Rs 100 crores in the animation studio project,” stated Shailendra Singh, joint managing director, Percept Holdings. The funding for the project will be supported by the recent stakes acquired by Future Group (12.5%) and Morgan Stanley (10%) in the company.

[phaedrus]

Sun Direct, 5 new channels mark the year 2007 in TN

The launch of the first-ever Direct to Home (DTH) service by a south Indian television network and the five new satellite channels intensified the 'channel war' in Tamil Nadu in a year which also saw the state government deciding to start a Cable TV Corporation.

The new channels launched in 2007 are: Chutti TV, a channel exclusively for children from Sun Network, Kalaingar TV, promoted by DMK's first family, Mega TV of Congress leader K V Thangabalu and Jaya Plus and Jaya Max from Jaya TV group.

[phaedrus]

BBC children's series confirms India is centre of animation

India has long been known as an outsourcing hub for call centres and computer support. Now a new BBC children's series airing this week will cement its position as a global centre for animators.

With a £10m budget, India-animated Freefonix is one of the BBC's biggest ever animation projects. The futuristic tale of mismatched musicians was two years in the making across three continents and involved more than 200 people.

The Bollywood-BBC tie-up on Freefonix is the first of many, according to the series' UK-based producers Cinnamon Entertainment. Managing director Anthony Bouchier says more readily available funding and skilled animation teams are drawing TV show-makers to India.

[india]

IMAGINE… A Masterpiece Retold on Television

NDTV IMAGINE presents India`s Greatest Epic now on an Epic New Scale



Starting January 21, 2008, NDTV Imagine presents Ramayan – A brand new series based on Valmiki's Ramayan and Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas. Produced by Sagar Arts, the family that introduced mythology on television, this age old classic is retold with grand sets, new star cast and lilting music. The all-new Ramayan will air Monday to Thursday at 9:30 p.m. only on NDTV Imagine.

The enthralling production values and fresh approach to the storytelling gives the new Ramayan an appeal that will entertain and delight viewers across all age groups. The entire production is being executed at Sagar Film City in Baroda where grand sets have been erected to depict key areas in the kingdom of Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Ram. This new version has the advantage of being produced in times of huge technical advancements which will greatly enhance the story telling in a compelling new way.

Announcing the launch of the show, Mr. Sameer Nair, CEO, NDTV Imagine said, "Ramayan is a tale for every generation. It is multi-layered, multi-faceted, multi-dimensional... and this brand new daily version of the timeless classic has been interpreted to cater to the taste of a shining, modern India. Television is all about great stories well told, and for us, Ramayan is India's greatest story ever and we hope to re-tell it in a compelling, entertaining manner."

The characters in Ramayan will be essayed by a new generation of actors – Gurmeet Choudhary will play the lead of Lord Ram, while Debina Bonnerjee plays Sita. The 3 key characters - Lakshman, Bharat and Shatrughan will be played by Ankit Arora, Vije Bhatia and Lalit Negi respectively.

Some of the country's best talent is associated with the show:

• The music of Ramayan has been composed by Ravindra Jain.

• The extravagant sets have been designed by renowned art director Omang Kumar.

• Celebrated designer Nisha Sagar has created the costumes and accessories.

• Kavita Krishnamurthy and Suresh Wadkar have lent their voices for the title track.

Commenting on the show announcement, Mr. Prem Sagar said, "Ramayan like river Ganga is sacred, timeless and unmeasureable. A dip in the values of idealism and sacrifice embodied in Ramayan is like a bath in the Ganga that purifies your thought, speech and action and washes away all evil gathered as time has moved life. Twenty years ago, our revered father Dr. Ramanand Sagar created a revolution through a blockbuster show. Now, we… the second and third generation hope to recreate the same magic".

Adds Mr. Nair, " Ramayan has a huge connect with audiences across the country and has all the elements that will deliver on our promise to entertain and delight. The Sagar's are powerful storytellers and the final word in creating mythological epics for television and we believe that our partnership has the potential to make Ramayan a show that the whole family will watch together every evening."

NDTV Imagine will hit TV screens on 21 st January, 2008. It will offer programming across genres, ranging from light-hearted family soaps to period dramas and from high voltage music and dance entertainers to the most glamorous events in the entertainment business.

[phaedrus]

Toonz co-pro Freefonix goes on air on CBBC and BBC One

The animation created at Trivandrum based Toonz Animation India is going all over the place these days. Close on the heels of its co production with Percept, Return of Hanuman which released nationwide last week, now its International co production Freefonix (3D, toon rendered 40 * 24 mins) is going live on airwaves on CBBC and BBC One. Five episodes are ready and delivered, and the rest are on their way in different stages of production and post.

[phaedrus]

Animation companies to release 25 movies in 2 years

It's going to rain animation movies on Indian celluloid, with all major studios and animation companies lining up a slew of releases to keep one entertained till 2009. According to industry estimates, more than 25 movies are up for release in 2008 and 2009. According to NASSCOM estimates, the animation industry is likely to become a $950-million business in the country by 2010.

While international major Disney Studios will foray into the Indian animation space with co-production tie-ups with Yash Raj Films and Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, ADAG’s Adlabs Films, Pritish Nandy Communications, Percept and Shemaroo are others big companies that are producing animation movies for release within the next two years. The Indian Film Company has also firmed up plans in collaboration with Richard Branson & Shekhar Kapoor’s Virgin Comics to make three horror animation movies.

According to AT Kearney, the animation industry would largely be fuelled by a large IT skilled workforce. In addition, India has the low-cost advantage—a full-length animation movie is likely to cost around $15-25 million as compared to $100-125 million in a developed country like the US. Says Percept’s movie marketing arm, P9, CEO Navin Shah, “The cost of making animation movies has not risen in India as much as the cost of making a live action movie has and therefore, it’s easier to make an animation movie here than abroad.”

an interesting read, even though the reporter puts her foot in her mouth by saying the animation industry is fuelled by an IT workforce

[phaedrus]

Coming soon, India's first online serial

It is time to switch off your TV and log on to the Internet because the country's first online serial would be launched very soon.

"The serial should be launched by early mid of next year. It will be a revolution in the online medium," says Puneet Johar, MD, Tangerine Digital Entertainment, the brain behind the concept.

What is also new about the online serial is that the cast and crew would be selected through an online talent hunt.

[phaedrus]

Tollywood eyes big ticket releases in 2008

Tollywood is likely to see at least five multi-lingual movies in 2008 and investment in excess of Rs 50 crore.

With 10 movies slated for release this year, Tollywood in 2008 is ready to see actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Priety Zinta, Arjun Rampal, Jaya Bachchan, Sameera Reddy, and others, working across English, Bengali and Hindi dialects.

According to industry bodies, with producers such as Saregama Films, Planman Motion Pictures, BAG Films, Adlabs, and Moxie Entertainments, Tollywood box office is expected to rake in over Rs 70 crore this year.

According to a spokesperson of Eastern India Motion Pictures Association, till 2007, Tollywood would make movies with a budget of Rs 1 to Rs 3 crore, with one or two exceptions a year which would be made with a budget of Rs 8-12 crore.

Directors like Rituparno Ghosh and Goutam Ghose are among the fore-runners in making multi-lingual movies with budget in excess of Rs 10 crore, primarily with Bollywood stars.

Movies like Raincoat and Chokher Bali, directed by Rituparno Ghose, and Yatra directed by Goutam Ghose, are reportedly made with a budget of Rs 8-12 crore which was recovered within the first one month of their respective release dates.

[phaedrus]

DQ ranked in Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Apac Cos yet again

DQ Entertainment, one of the largest animation and gaming companies in India has been awarded the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific 2007 for the second consecutive year. The companies were ranked based on their steady growth rate, skilled manpower and expansion initiatives.

DQE was also ranked last year among the top 50 Technology fast companies in the Indian sector of the Deloitte rankings. The companies are ranked on different areas like software, communication & networking, computers & peripherals, instrumentation and many more with business locations in Taiwan, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, New Zealand and Thailand.

[dreadathecontrols]

Imagine... the old testement being re told yet again on TV in the UK...

[VaastuShastra]

Originally Posted by india

IMAGINE… A Masterpiece Retold on Television

Wonder if it will actually be any good?

[Cov Boy]

The story is the same only new people, new sets, new technology used etc.

Its just been updated but nice anyway.

[robin_a_p]

From Trivandrum Thread

Originally Posted by Ajit Devan

Compact Disc`s Kerala centre to be ready by year-end