BSNL launch mobile TV application

Digital Media Convergence Limited (DMCL), part of Essel Group, today announced the launch of mobile TV application service 'ISEE' in partnership with BSNL in the northern region here.

"With this partnership, BSNL subscribers having GPRS facility will be able to watch Zee group of TV channels on the prescribed mobile handsets," DMCL Project Head (ISEE) Satyabrata Das told reporters here on Thursday.

ISEE, which is a video portal, would offer streamed content from ZEE group of channels and it would also allow the subscribers to view current affairs, news and sports highlights, fashion trends and soap operas.
"A distinguished feature of ISEE is that one can watch Zee news and Zee sports live with a difference of just 15-20 seconds from the live feed," he said.

Initially, this service is available free of cost for the first 30 days and subsequently, it would be charged at a monthly price of Rs 150, he said adding that subscription grants unlimited access to all content within the portal for BSNL customers and does not require the user to pay additional data tariff changes.

During the first phase, this service would be made available to northern states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Rajastahan.

"By December, this service will be available across India," BSNL General Manager (Mobile) M S Dhillon said.

DMCL has launched ISEE service on the existing network infrastructure-2G and 2.5 G and it is also powered by U-Turn Media Group technology.

TV18 Group & NDTV win top honours at Indian News Television Awards; Prannoy Roy gets Lifetime Achievement

It was a night of nights for the TV18 Group of news channels for having pocketed 16 awards at the first Indian News Television Awards hosted by Indiantelevision.com. The NDTV Group followed closely behind with a total tally of 14 awards.

Dr. Prannoy Roy, who has truly written television history in India on his own terms, received a standing ovation as he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to the medium.


Another person who had also ventured out on his own to tread new paths – Rajdeep Sardesai – received the Newsmaker of the Year Award at the gala function.

Prasar Bharati chief executive officer B S Lalli was given an award for having pioneered the introduction of television on mobile phones in the country. BBC's Nick Gowing was given a Special Award in recognition of his work in international news reporting and coverage.

While CNN-IBN received seven awards, CNBC-TV18 got four, CNBC Awaaz received three. From the NDTV Group, NDTV 24x7 received four metals, NDTV India got nine and NDTV Profit bagged one. Meanwhile, Star News pocketed five and Times Now four awards, Aaj Tak bagged two and IBN7 and Zee News received one each. IBNLive took home the award for best news channel website.

The well-known MTV duo Cyrus Brocha and Cyrus Sahukar had the audience in splits with their inimitable style taking digs at all channels and styles of presentation. There were also short humorous clips that were showcased on the way news channels present investigative stories, weather reports, and entertainment news.

The awards were given away by Indiantelevision.com chief executive officer and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari and general manager Anoop Wanwari, editorial director Thomas Abraham, member of Parliament Rajiv Shukla and Bag Films head Anuradha Prasad, B S Lalli, cricket commentator Charu Sharma, Phil and Diana from Al Jazeera channel, Madison chairman Sam Balsara, television actors Rajiv Paul and Pawan Shankar and entrepreneurs Durgam Arora, Balram Mahendra and Monica Burman.

The awards function which went late into the night was a culmination of a day-long Indian News Television Summit which commenced in the morning with a keynote address by Information and Broadcasting ministry secretary Asha Swarup. The summit was endorsed by the ministry. The morning session was followed by a session on content and another on generating revenues, in which several senior persons from different channels participated.

source-indiantelevision.com

UTV-Astro To launch second channel bindaas movies by october

Close on the heels of the announcement of UTV and Astro's first youth television channel Bindass, to be rolled out in August, the company is gearing up to launch its second channel titled Bindass Movies. The channel is likely to be unveiled in October this year.

Bindass Movies, will be the second of four television channels that the JV company Genx Entertainment is looking to roll out by April 2009.


Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, Bindass CEO Zarina Mehta said, "We will launch a second channel under the Bindass brand called Bindass Movies. This is part of the four channel launch that we are targeting by April 2009. We are still yet to decide the format for remaining two channels, though we are considering either a regional offering or another separate genre."


The company has already acquired a library of 150 International films to kick off, however the channel is looking to stay away from Bollywood flicks. The youth movie channel has zeroed in on Hollywood blockbusters along with some Japanese and Chinese films which will be dubbed.

"We have chosen to stay away from Bollywood movies, atleast initially, as it will not make for differentiated viewing. Later on we may infuse some Hindi movies as well," she opines.

What was an eye opener for us was that our analysis of over a year's ratings indicated that a dubbed Hollywood movie gets three times the ratings of the undubbed version of the same movie. While a Bollywood film gets only double of that, so from a cost benefit perspective, this is the way to go, Mehta adds.



Mehta's second Bindass TV venture has been backed by research that states that youth (15-34 year-olds) watch six hours of movies a week. She has specially chosen to take the dubbed movie route as analysis supports larger untapped audiences for dubbed movies as opposed to English and Hindi flicks. All the Bindass television channels will be launched as pay channels.

The four television channels are part of the 360 degree youth brand Bindass targeted at young India. The brand will be extended and promoted across multiple media platforms including web, mobile, café's and events.

source -Indiantelevision.com

Microsoft launches Windows Mobile 6 in India

Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. today announced the launch of Windows Mobile 6, the latest version of its mobile software platform.


According to an official release, the new platform delivers enhanced communications, productivity, security and device management capabilities, enabling users to work and play when they are on the move.


By improving usability and added support for Microsoft Office features previously available only on PCs, Windows Mobile 6 delivers to the small screen. Hewett Packard (HP), Hi Tech Computers (HTC), O2, iMate and Motorola are Microsoft’s device partners in India.

The release quotes IDC Worldwide Converged Mobile Device 2006-2011 Forecast and Analysis, May 2007 - Windows Mobile will see a CAGR of 57.0 per cent, the highest rate of growth among the top 5 platforms through 2011.

In India Windows Mobile leads the messaging segment with a 30.5 per cent market share in Q1 2007 (source: IDC quarterly tracker).

Windows Mobile with its new look and feel offers the following key benefits to the users which include first platform to offer the ability to read HTML mail, direct push technology for up-to-date e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization of Outlook calendars, tasks and contacts through Microsoft Exchange Server.

It also offers chat with multiple contacts at one time, express more through emoticons, quickly send a file or image, as well as record and send voice notes through a new instant messaging application.

Another feature is 'Day Glance' that helps manage calendar tasks, seamless integration with SharePoint and active links, support for storage card encryption and storage card wipe, a rich set of Windows Live services including mail, messenger, search, contacts and spaces, ease of viewing and editing of Office system documents.


The platform offers a variety of security options, giving IT departments ways to help secure a device, including new Exchange Server policies and certificate options, storage card encryption, and continued support for remote and local device wipe.

It also has protected content features wherein organizations using Information Rights Management (IRM) technology are assisted to control the viewing, storing and printing of confidential information on PCs and the same can be extended to Windows Mobile 6 powered devices, a feature not available on any other mobile phone platform.

.NET Compact Framework and Microsoft SQL Server are built into Windows Mobile 6, making it even easier to create and access sales tools, inventory tracking and many other applications from a Windows Mobile 6 powered smartphone. A new built-in application makes using a Windows Mobile 6 powered smartphone as a laptop’s high-speed modem "one-click easy" with either a Bluetooth wireless or cable connection.

Windows Mobile 6 makes it easier for operators and device-makers to integrate a voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) solution into devices they are building. Windows Mobile provides people with more choice of operators and phone styles for nearly any business or personal need.

In India Windows Mobile is available on a diverse range of 30 form factors including both stylus and PDA phones which is the widest range of smart phones available in the country.