All articles by Bhuvan Lall – Page 11
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India opens doors to DTH broadcast services
After years of indecision, India's government has finally given the go-ahead for Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast services in India. In addition, foreign investment in the DTH sector has been allowed but is capped at 49%. "The total foreign investment in the DTH broadcasting sector shall not be more than 49% of ...
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Indian film sector wins industry status
India's information and broadcasting minister, Sushma Swaraj, plans to grant the Indian film sector with "industry" status, thus enabling it to receive loans from banks and financial institutions. Indian films can now also be insured, as is the practice in the west. The move is part of the on-going corporatisation ...
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B4U signs Doordarshan supply deal
International Hindi movie channel B4U has signed a three-year contract with Indian state broadcaster Doordarshan to supply 35 big blockbusters to the national network. The two partners will share advertising revenues generated from broadcast of the movies. B4U, which claims to have built a subscriber base of more than 40,000 ...
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Sony to distribute Hindi movies worldwide
Sony's Indian channel, Sony Entertainment Television (SET), is moving into international theatrical distribution of Hindi films, starting with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir which opens in the UK on October 26.The film, which features Indian star Hrithik Roshan, opens in the US the following day, before rolling out to six ...
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MIPCOM: SBS signs output deal with Buena Vista
The Dutch arm of broadcasting giant SBS has signed a multi-year output deal with Buena Vista International Television (BVI-TV) for terrestrial rights to all movies from Walt Disney Pictures.The deal, which replaces an earlier pact due to expire next year, also covers titles from Walt Disney Co subsidiaries Hollywood Pictures, ...
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MIPCOM: TVB to launch in the Netherlands
TVB Europe, owned by Hong Kong-based broadcaster TVB, is entering the Dutch market where it will be carried by cable operators Mediakabel and UPC.The channel, which will reach 500,000 households in the Netherlands, is aimed at expat Chinese. Programming includes news from Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China along with ...
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Zee Telefilms to offload stake in cable network
Indian cable and satellite broadcaster Zee Telefilms plans to sell up to 20% of its fully-owned cable network, Siticable. According to chairman Subhash Chandra, the company has appointed investment bank AIA Capital to oversee the sale.The move will help finance Zee's ambitious expansion plans which include investing $1bn in building ...
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Tax inspectors swoop on Indian film stars
The Indian Directorate of Investigation, Income Tax, raided the houses and offices of several leading Hindi film personalities yesterday (September 27). A team of 150 officers fanned out to raid more than 30 premises belonging to film stars, directors and one distributor. Among those targeted were actresses Aishwarya Rai, Urmila ...
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Star, PacNet in talks for Indian internet venture
Star TV and Asian internet service provider (ISP) Pacific Internet (PacNet) are in talks about forming a joint venture to launch internet services in India according to local press reports.According to Indian daily The Economic Times, Star and PacNet - a US-listed company which is 42% owned by Singapore's SembCorp ...
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Indian film star kidnap talks break down
Negotiations to secure the release of Indian film star Rajkumar, kidnapped by bandit king Veerappan, broke down this week after the Indian Supreme Court refused to release 127 of the outlaw's accomplicesVeerappan said he would not free his hostages until the aides and Tamil Nadu Liberation Army activists had been ...
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Indian state mulls tax exemption for multiplexes
The government of the Indian state of Maharashtra is considering a proposal to grant tax exemption to proposed multiplex projects in order to encourage investment in the region’s cinema sector.Maharashtra currently has about 1,300 cinema halls but few are equipped with high-tech projection and sound systems. Modi Entertainment, Zee Telefilms ...
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B4U launches entertainment channel in India
International Hindi movie channel B4U launched a free-to-air entertainment channel - B4U Digital Entertainment Channel - in India on September 3. The company, jointly owned by UK-based Kishore Lulla of Eros Entertainment, Laxmi Mittal of the Ispat Group and Indian film producer and distributor Bharat Shah, also plans to launch ...
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Indian stars offer to plead for Rajkumar's release
Prominent Indian film stars - including Tamil superstar Rajnikanth - have offered to walk into the jungle to plead with bandit Veerappan for the release of Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar.Veerappan kidnapped Rajkumar and three of his relatives near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border on July 30. Only one group of hostages ...
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MGM, Zee join forces for Indian movie channel
MGM has formed a joint venture with India's largest private broadcaster Zee Telefilms to establish a 24-hour movie channel for South Asia in the third quarter of this year. Through the partnership, Zee's existing English-language film channel, Zee Movies, will be relaunched as Zee-MGM. "Zee will have a dominant equity ...
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Indian filmmakers turn to bilingual period epics
In a bid to penetrate the international film market, Indian filmmakers are taking the historical route with several Hindi and English period pieces now going into production.Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan is producing and acting in a film on the ancient Indian emperor, Ashoka, directed by Santosh Sivan who earlier ...
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Sagar to launch India's first pay-per-view portal
Ramanand Sagar's Sagar Entertainment plans to launch India's first pay-per-view broadband entertainment portal within the next two months. The company, which is investing $3m in the project, is in the process of acquiring bandwidth spread across Europe, US and South-East Asia, in order to provide high-quality streaming to global audiences. ...
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Channel Nine bags second slot on Doordarshan
Kerry Packer's Channel Nine has won a second primetime slot on state broadcaster Doordarshan's Metro channel, from 21.00 to 22.00, to add to its existing slot between 19.00 and 21.00.The Australian broadcaster paid about $14m for the extra hour. It will have to meet programming restrictions specified by Doordarshan which ...
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Vivendi Universal eyes Indian content
Following the merger of Seagram, Vivendi and Canal Plus, the new entity, Vivendi Universal, plans to invest in Indian film and TV production and build up an Indian music catalogue, according to local press reports. The entertainment powerhouse will reportedly produce local-language TV programming and has already committed $7m to ...
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B4U plans private placement ahead of Indian launch
B4U Multimedia International, which owns Hindi film channel Bollywood For You (B4U), is planning a private placement of equity with non-resident Indians (NRI) and overseas corporate bodies (OCBs) ahead of its proposed $120m float and Indian launch.The company, which operates movie channels in the US and UK, is aiming to ...
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Star to launch classic movies channel in India
Star TV plans to launch a classic Hindi film channel, Star Gold, in India on August 15.The News Corp-owned broadcaster has reportedly acquired a library of around 500 Hindi films for the launch which kicks off with Indian classic Mugul E Azam, described as a Hindi Gone With The Wind. ...