NEW DELHI: Essel Group’s Zee TV has received the much-awaited landing rights in China which will enable the media firm to cater to audience in the mandarin country.

“Zee TV has got the landing rights in China,” a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said while briefing reporters on the talks between India’s Foreign Minister S M Krishna and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jeichi here.

To view the complete article, please visit http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-01/news/31113664_1_zee-tv-landing-rights-electronic-media-space

SPT Networks, Asia’s beTV is the New Place to Be

Singapore, 7 March 2012 – Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, home to leading regional pay-TV channels including AXN, Sony Entertainment Television, Animax and ONE, is rebranding AXN Beyond as beTV across Asia. Beginning 2 April 2012, the new beTV channel will feature an expanded content line-up and a new on- and off-air look and feel, with a channel ‘personality’ to match.

“We have been broadening the appeal of AXN Beyond by introducing a wider range of programming such as Pan Am, Necessary Roughness and A Gifted Man. Renaming the channel to beTV better reflects the broad general entertainment service that it offers. We believe beTV will soon become the new entertainment ‘hang-out’ for viewers to relax, laugh, catch up with their favourite characters and shows, or just unwind after a long day,” said Mr Ricky Ow, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Networks, Asia, Sony Pictures Television.

A broad slate of fresh light entertainment programming – engaging and easy-to-watch shows – will be added including Rob, Rob Schneider’s latest sitcom based loosely on his real-life whirlwind romance and marriage; while reality show I Get That A Lot sets up celebrities like Heidi Klum, Martha Stewart, LeAnn Rimes and Jessica Simpson in everyday jobs such as wait and sales staff, with hidden cameras capturing reactions of unsuspecting customers and passers-by. Scripted favourites such as Everybody Loves Raymond featuring Ray Romano and Touched by an Angel starring Roma Downey and Della Reese will be familiar additions.

beTV viewers can also continue to enjoy returning seasons of some of the best drama series television including Sherlock featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, sci-fi themed shows Teen Wolf and Supernatural, comedy dramas Chuck and How to be a Gentleman, along with medical drama Grey’s Anatomy.

beTV will sport a logo and identity in vibrant orange complemented by a set of warm colours to offer an on-air look that is both casual and contemporary. The beTV rebrand will be seen in 15 markets including Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

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About beTV

beTV is the place to be for the best of light entertainment – engaging and easy-to-watch programs – where viewers can ‘hang out’ with their favorite new and familiar characters and shows, laugh, or just unwind after a long day.

Casual and comfortable yet with a hip and cool pulse, beTV serves up drama, comedy, lifestyle and reality series and movies that are soothing and relaxing. beTV is enjoyed by male and female audiences 18 and over, and especially by PMEB viewers across Asia.

Currently available in 15 markets across Asia, beTV is wholly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and managed by Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, which also operates AXN, Animax, Sony Entertainment Television and ONE. For more about beTV, see www.betvasia.com.

Media Contact

Madison Communications for Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia

David Chau
Tel: +852 2881 1787
Email: david@madison.asia

Peter Ip
Tel: +852 2881 8790
Email: peter@madison.asia

Ben 10 Destroy All Aliens Movie Set to Premiere on Cartoon Network Globally in March 2012

HONG KONG (March 5, 2012): Ben Tennyson and his alter-aliens are set to upgrade like never before this month with the intergalactic premiere of his first ever CG-animated television movie, Ben 10TM – Destroy All Aliens, on Cartoon Network channels globally.

A trans-Pacific collaboration between Cartoon Network Asia and Cartoon Network Studios U.S, Ben 10TM – Destroy All Aliens was written by Marty Isenberg (Ben 10, Transformers Animated, G.I. Joe Renegades) directed by Victor Cook (The Spectacular Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated) and executive produced by Silas Hickey, Regional Creative Director of Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc. The movie features the original voice actors from the Ben 10 animated series.

“This movie has been a truly global effort for Cartoon Network and will transport viewers from all corners of the world to a whole new galaxy as Ben upgrades his alien adventures with unexpected twists. The finished product is simply awesome, from Marty’s clever script, to the 3D modelling, vivid lighting techniques and life-like animation, this is a movie premiere that kids won’t want to miss,” said Mr. Hickey.

The movie turns the clock back to 10-year-old Ben Tennyson, struggling with detention, school bullies and the dreadful fate of missing his fishing trip with Grandpa Max, when grounded by his parents. Desperate times call for desperate measures as Ben jumps at the chance to escape from it all at the Total Alien Immersion training programme on the far side of the galaxy. Little does Ben realize the irreversible consequences of the programme which send him crashing back to earth stuck in his alien forms battling an all-new alien, Mechamorph Warrior.

Ben 10TM – Destroy All Aliens premieres in Asia Pacific on March 11 and will screen across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America during March and April, including the UK on April 7. In the US, it will premiere on March 23, 2012.

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Cast list and credits

• Victor Cook is Supervising Producer and Director
• Silas Hickey is Executive Producer
• Tara Strong as Ben and Upgrade
• Meagan Smith as Gwen
• Paul Eiding as Grandpa Max
• Steve Blum as Heatblast
• Dee Bradley Baker as Stinkfly and Wildmutt
• Richard McGonagle as Fourarms
• Richard Horvitz as Grey Matter
• Jim Ward as Diamondhead

 

About Cartoon Network Asia Pacific

Cartoon Network, the number one kids’ channel in Asia Pacific, offers the best in original animated entertainment while drawing from the world’s most iconic cartoon library of Warner Bros., MGM and Hanna-Barbera titles. Original series showcased on Cartoon Network include the globally popular series Ben 10, Ben 10 Alien Force, Ben 10 Ultimate Alien, Adventure Time, The Amazing World of Gumball, Chowder, The Powerpuff Girls and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Cartoon Network is available in 23 territories throughout the Asia Pacific and is currently seen in over 63 million cable homes in the region. Online, Cartoon Network reaches nearly five million unique visitors a month in Asia Pacific.

Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of multiplatform news and entertainment content around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

CartoonNetworkAsia.com

For media enquiries please contact:
James Moore
Turner Broadcasting Systems Asia Pacific, Inc.
Tel: (852) 3128-3720
Email: james.moore@turner.com

MTV LIVE HD LAUNCHES ON CIGNAL IN THE PHILIPPINES
MTV Continues to Roll-Out The High Definition Music Experience in Asia

SINGAPORE / MANILA, 5 March 2012 – Viacom International Media Networks Asia, a division of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB) today announced MTV Live HD’s launch in the Philippines through Cignal, owned and operated by MediaScape Inc., a subsidiary of MediaQuestHoldings, the investment arm of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. From 1 March, Cignal subscribers will be able to enjoy premium music content that will be broadcast in 1080i High-Definition and crystal clear Dolby Surround 5.1 on the state-of-the-art channel. Cignal is the country’s first ever high definition (HD) satellite provider that offers the most number of HD channels nationwide.

MTV Live HD programming line-up consists of music-based programming that is original, acquired and from the vast MTV library, such as music festivals, live performances, music documentaries and original productions. First launched in 2008, MTV Live HD is now available in 36 countries, reaching more than 8 million households worldwide. The channel library boasts over 1,000 hours of native HD content including key shows MTV World Stage, Isle of MTV, Rock am Ring, Live Vibrations, MTV EMA and many more.

The launch of MTV Live HD introduces the first HD music offering on one of Philippines’ fastest growing Pay TV platforms and will be available 24 hours a day on Cignal’s Plan 1590. MTV Live HD’s debut in the Philippines marks the third territory in Asia following launches in Singapore and Malaysia last year.

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About Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is comprised of many of the world’s most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, BET, non-premium Paramount Pictures branded channels, VH1, VIVA, MTVHD, COLORS, Game One and Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más, a channel for US Hispanic audiences. Viacom brands are seen globally in more than 600 million households in over 160 territories and 34 languages via more than 160 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties.

Press Contact:
Ching Yee Wong
Communications Manager
Viacom International Media Networks
t: (65) 6420 7154 f: (65) 6221 9795 m: (65) 9796 2104
email: wong.chingyee@vimn.com

Al Jazeera English Named News Channel of the Year at RTS Awards

• Global news channel wins the prestigious award ahead of BBC News and Sky News only five years since its launch.
• Al Jazeera English’s ground-breaking social media programme, The Stream, also wins the Innovative News Award.

 

London, UK | 22 February, 2012 – Al Jazeera English was today named News Channel of the Year at this year’s Royal Television Society Awards, fending off competition from Sky News and BBC News.

The channel, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, received praise for its outstanding contribution to journalism, specifically its frontline coverage of landmark events including the Arab Awakening, the Tahrir Square protests and being the first on the scene to report the death of former Libyan dictator, Muammar Gaddafi.

“This is excellent news – and a tribute to the outstanding work of our dedicated staff who have helped to make Al Jazeera English one of the world’s leading global news broadcasters ,” Managing Director of Al Jazeera English, Al Anstey, said.

“Al Jazeera English has had the most incredible year: a year where people took to the streets in protest, the economic crisis unfolded across Europe, and the world witnessed the devastating impact of the tsunami in Japan. Al Jazeera English was there to capture every moment, and it is a great privilege for our reporters and bureaus across the world to receive this award in recognition of our hard work. We look forward to continue providing in-depth, award-winning coverage as Al Jazeera English grows in reach and popularity across the world.”

Al Jazeera English’s social media programme, The Stream, also won the Innovative News Award for its in-depth analysis of the struggle between government loyalists and opposition supporters in Bahrain.

The programme, which relies heavily on social media platforms and Skype interviews for its content, brought the ongoing protests in Bahrain to the forefront and featured an intense Skype debate between Suhail Algosaibi, a government loyalist, and Zainab al-Khawajah, a Bahraini activist.

“Programmes like The Stream continue to raise the bar in news reporting,” Paul Eedle, Director of Programmes at Al Jazeera English, said. “The Stream allowed people to share their experiences and air their views in the midst of government crackdowns across the Middle East. The Stream was created for this very purpose, because we acknowledged the power of social media and citizen journalism and wanted to harness it. We share this award with everyone that has contributed to the show and its success.”

The prestigious RTS award follows a number of awards the channel received last year. Amongst these was the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award for the documentary “Haiti: Six Months On” on Al Jazeera English’s flagship U.S. current affairs show Fault Lines. The channel also received the Columbia Journalism Award – the award given annually by Columbia University – in recognition of Al Jazeera English’s overall depth and quality of its coverage of the ongoing developments in the Middle East.

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About Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is the first English language world news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Launched in November 2006, Al Jazeera English seeks to present every side and every angle to its stories and provide a voice to the voiceless. With over 70 bureaus across the world, Al Jazeera English provides independent and impartial news for a global audience – giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.

Al Jazeera English is available in more than 130 countries to more than 260 million households worldwide. The channel was awarded ‘Best 24 Hour News Programme’ at the Annual Monte Carlo Television Festival and has received awards various international organisations including: from Amnesty International, Huffington Post, Rory Peck, Foreign Press Association and YouTube. Al Jazeera English has for five years running been nominated as ‘News Channel of the Year’ at the Royal Television Society Awards and has retained the title of ‘News Channel of the Year’ for three successive years at the Freesat Awards.

The Al Jazeera English film “Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark” secured the 2011 Foreign Press Association Award for TV Feature/Documentary and the 2012 George Polk Award for Television Documentary. Al Jazeera English’s flagship U.S. current affairs show Fault Lines in 2011 won an Alfred I. DuPont award for the documentary “Haiti: Six Months On.” The same year, the channel also received the Columbia Journalism Award – the award given annually by Columbia University – in recognition of Al Jazeera English’s overall depth and quality of its coverage of the ongoing developments in the Middle East.

Al Jazeera English is part of the Al Jazeera Network, which now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), Al Jazeera Mobile and Al Jazeera Balkans.

Al Jazeera English broadcasts in the UK on Freeview channel 89, Sky channel 514 and Freesat channel 203.

Visit www.aljazeera.com for more details.

For further information contact:
Noman Tahir
+974 4489 2609
press.int@aljazeera.net