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For the first time, diamond jewellery sales in India will touch about Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal, which is a massive shift for the troubled industry as India has traditionally been a gold jewellery market.

What has made these possible for Kaushik is his Personal Video Recorder (PVR), which his company brought into the market a year ago branding it Tata Sky+.

Hindustan, the fastest growing Hindi daily of the HT Media group, will launch its Bareilly edition in the first week of October.

Pande will report to the group's chairman, Subhash Chandra for Essel Sports Business and Punit Goenka, CEO, ZEEL for the broadcasting business.

The agency will be responsible for talking about the anti-virus product that is offered by the company, which has set aside Rs 8 crore for its marketing objectives.

The proposed entity will combine assets like the Force India Formula-1 team, Royal Challengers Indian Premier League (IPL) team and ownership of football clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.

Sports management firm Percept announced that it had roped in the Olympic bronze medallist to promote adventure sports in a deal said to be between Rs 5 to 7 crore.

Crayons Advertising has won the Congress' contract for the October 13 Maharashtra State Assembly Elections for advertising (creative and media) duties.

He has been with the leading marketer of dairy products and fruit and vegetable products for four years and now plans to relocate to Dubai, where he will handle marketing for a global food brand.

Rao visited some studios in Hyderabad and Mumbai to scout for a suitable low cost channel.

He will be reporting to Prasun Basu, executive director, consumer research and vice-president, BASES, The Nielsen Company.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 35 for the four RAM markets - Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore - is out.

The Directorate of Adult Education, under the Ministry of HRD, has roped in Percept/H, Delhi as its creative agency for the adult education programme for a period of two years.

Following a multi-agency pitch, Span Communications has won the creative and media mandates for India Post. The agency will have the account for the next two years.

Unitech Wireless, a 67:33 joint venture between Norway-based telecom group Telenor and Gurgaon-based realty firm Unitech, has appointed ZenithOptimedia as its media partner.

The incumbent agency is Oxygen Advertising, which worked with the brand for about four months.

Ravi Menon, executive vice-president and general manager, Star One, has called it a day at the Hindi general entertainment channel.

Cutesy actors in itsy bitsy dresses, slick programming and an urban approach to shows, this is what viewers once associated satellite television with.

Big Cinemas, a division of Adlabs Films Ltd, has announced the reorganization of its operations into two strategic business units based on geographical division.

Bloomberg, a leading player in business news and information, and UTV News will jointly collaborate for the business news channel UTVi, to deliver real-time business, economic and political news to households across India.

Marketing gurus feel that experiential marketing will be the next big tool to reach the rural section of the Indian consumer market.

The corporate office was in stark contrast to the air of general gloom that seems to be serenading most of corporate India and the world.

Crayons Advertising has been mandated with the creative duties for the domestic campaign of Incredible India and it will look at the campaign execution in print media.

Following concerns of promoting certain drugs as regular contraceptives and misrepresent abortion, two TVCs of morningafter pills have been placed under the scanner of the ASCI.

The company which has launched the innovative 'Kya aapko KILB hai?' campaign last year and a Pension Plan television commercial featuring actor Irfan Khan is back with an new 'intelligent' campaign.

Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel from Viacom18 stable, is at number one position in the Week 36, as per TAM Media Research.

Star CJ Network India, the equal joint venture between Star India and CJ Home Shopping Co of Seoul, has appointed Starcom Worldwide as its media agency, following a mult-agency pitch.

Direct-to-home players - Dish TV, Tata Sky, Big TV, Airtel digital TV, Sun Direct and state-owned DD Direct Plus - are building up their subscriber base by targeting viewers outside the big cities

The 12 teams taking part in the upcoming Champions League Twenty20 tournament named their respective 15-member squads on Tuesday evening.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, who is hosting the second season of Fear Factor - Khatron Ke Khiladi, will be seen all across the Mumbai city now.

It was Onida's pride and their competitors' envy, but now the devil may be given a quiet burial, yet again.

Hindustan Times has launched a new multimedia campaign, conceptualised and executed by Lowe, to capture the mind space of the youth and highlight the change.

Mahima Bhanukumar joins the media agency as South head; while Abhishek Jain joins as investments director in Delhi.

The tag line, make.believe, will be used for all consumer communication to further reinforce the brand's collaboration with its parent group.

ESPN Star Sports has rolled out a new look for its existing mainstream channels, on Sunday midnight, for the entire region of the continent.

On September 7, Real Global Broadcasting officials issued a statement about plans to downsize operations.

Gone are the glorious days of Doordarshan when people switched on their black and white TV sets to tune into shows like Hum Log, Buniyaad, Bharat Ek Khoj and Mahabharat.

Taking a cue from the success of Slumdog Millionaire, UTV Bindass will launch a new reality show, titled The Big Switch.

Big FM, the radio initiative from Adlabs Films Ltd, has appointed Raj Kambhoj as director, rural activation.

Animated films like Roadside Romeo, Hanuman, My Friend Ganesha and the series Little Krishna definitely had little children dance with joy.

Radio City to strengthen its market share amidst fierce competition and to augment its interaction with the listeners has launched a slew of new initiatives.

Multi Screen Media India has ended its search for a chief executive officer. Man Jit Singh, chairman of the MSM India board, has been appointed as new CEO, with immediate effect.

The WPP Group is one of the world's largest communications services companies with companies in the group including JWT, Ogilvy & Mather and GroupM among others.

After four years off the small screen, Bollywood's biggest icon, Amitabh Bachchan, has returned to the Indian television.

The small screen is sizzling with television rating points wars with the launch of myriad of new shows on Hindi general entertainment channels.

Currently, he is serving his notice period at the agency till September 30, 2009.

The $ 45 billion Japanese photographic and digital imaging solutions major, Canon, is gunning for the numero uno slot in the domestic digital camera and laser printers market by 2010.

Dalda, the edible oil brand that was born in Kolkata 75 years ago, is being relaunched with a health proposition.

The Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 34 for the four cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore - is out.

As per a government resolution (GR) issued last week, producers stand to lose only Rs 50,000 from the subsidy if they fail to comply with the rule pertaining to shooting locations.

Star Plus, the flagship Hindi GEC of the company, after nine years at the top in terms of GRPs, has been upstaged for eight consecutive weeks in July and August by new entrant Colors and arch rival Zee TV.

After appointing Ajay Vidyasagar and Sanjay Reddy, Sun TV Network has roped in LV Navaneeth for a newly created post of vice-president, content and revenue.

The slightest sneeze is enough to make one run to the doctor to test for swine flu. And brand advertisers not to miss this opportunity to cash in on the panic.

The Delhi office of BBDO India has been assigned the advertising duties for Aviva Life Insurance, a joint venture between Dabur and Aviva Plc (UK's largest insurance group).

Virgin Atlantic has appointed Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe Y&R and its affiliates to handle its $ 65 million global advertising account.

The Bangalore office of JWT India has partnered with the Karnataka state government to prepare an marketing communication on attracting more investments into Karnataka.

NBC Universal has formed a digital content partnership with Dubai-based sports channel Ten Sports.

The Nielsen Company India launched its first of a kind survey, Upper Middle And Rich (UMAR), detailing mass and emerging media consumption, and the lifestyle habits of the affluent in Indian society.

To essay different facets of product line and to appeal to varied age groups, brands are donning a fresh coat of paint. Take Tata Do Co Mo, Loop, Reliance Communications and Godrej, and their multi-coloured logos.

There finally seems to be some action at Reliance ADAG's broadcast stable, Reliance Big Broadcasting (RBB).

Stefan Persson sucked hard to bag the Mirinda television commercial. That's neither erotica nor street speak - he literally had to suck (or pretend to) on a ping-pong ball before the production company cast him in the lead.

There is a great deal of excitement about sports in India, especially cricket. For many, it is only a medium of fun and entertainment.

Ralph Simon, chairman, Emeritus; and founder of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Americas, has joined the board of directors at Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.

Life insurance company Max New York Life has roped in veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador for its product, Max Vijay.

Disney-ABC International Television (DAIT) Asia Pacific has appointed Nicholas Wodtke as vice-president, business strategy and development and new media.

Two years back, to counter the Zee Group's breakaway Indian Cricket League, the BCCI decided to unleash it's own Twenty20 extravaganza and handed over the project to Lalit Modi.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board in the Finance Ministry will review the Travel Channel's application.

Sony Entertainment Television, will launch a dance competition show called, Dance Premiere League (DPL), which is produced by Cineyug.

PepsiCo India plans to scale up distribution and the presence of Nimbooz, its packaged lemon juice drink and aggressively drive trials to popularise the product.

Axis Bank, the fourth-largest private bank in India, has appointed Lowe Lintas as its new creative agency, without calling any pitch.

The company is in the process of finalising a media buying and planning agency.

His mandate at Grey was to maintain the pace of expansion at the branch by capturing a substantial market share and consolidate a team of skilled advertising professionals.

The Indian edition of Entrepreneur will be made available on stands by Infomedia18, the publishing arm of Network18, in the first week of September.

Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc for $ 4 billion in the year's biggest media deal.

India's largest media company, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd begun about four years ago, an innovative innovation, called Times Private Treaties, which has been gathering ever greater pastures and momentum.

State-run broadcaster Doordarshan not only commands the highest channel share compared to private networks, but also attracts a far greater number of viewers.

Dish TV, the direct-to-home arm of Essel group, will raise Rs 1,000 crore from foreign markets, issuing foreign currency convertible bonds by the end of this quarter.

Shoppers Stop, the first retailer in India to adopt and practice ERP solution, will increase the advertising spend on its private labels and will position them as brands.

Highly acclaimed journalist, author and editor-in-chief of Hindi daily Dainik Hindustan, Mrinal Pande has put in her papers at HT Media.

BBC World News will investigate the impact of the economic meltdown, one of the vital factors in which was New York-based Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy.

The Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 33 for the four cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore- is out.

Idea Cellular has launched a new virtual character, Zac, to help it interact with the large online youth community.

WPP, the world's largest advertising group, has suffered a big blow after losing out on a global contract with Vodafone, which has appointed OMD, a division of Omnicom, to handle its global media planning and buying account.

No matter how pathologic it sounds, the death of Michael Jackson has given a new lease of life to Hollywood's economy.

Airtel digital TV, the direct-to-home service from Bharti Airtel, has been one of the late entrants in the DTH industry.

Investment or dis-investment; the first foremost consideration is valuation. How do we arrive at the valuation of an unlisted media conglomerate such as the Times Group?

Vikram Malhotra, general manager, marketing, Kingfisher Airlines has put in his papers.

He will be responsible for the southern operations of the agency's Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad offices.

Apollo DKV, the health insurance joint venture between Apollo Hospital's group and Germany's DKV, has appointed JWT India, New Delhi as its creative partner.

It is simple to lose your first mover advantage in a dynamic market. But it is not as easy to live with the knowledge of that loss.

In the age of 24x7 TV news channels, the print media still scores a upper hand.

The Mumbai-based company has also moved away from focusing on bigger brands, and has deployed its entire portfolio in the marketplace to regain lost market share and drive growth.

The per-second billing system for calls has the potential to bring down the sector's revenues by 10-15 per cent if other operators follow suit.

UTVi, the one and half year old English business news channel from the UTV stable, has edged past NDTV Profit and ET Now in the six metro markets.

Bombay High Court ruled that beverage major Coca Cola India could set off the service tax it pays on advertisements against excise duty.

Birla Sun Life Insurance, a part of the Aditya Birla group, announced four leading Indian cricketers as its brand ambassadors.

Today, the dog fight for consumer monies in the financial sector is being played out between insurance and mutual funds brands.

Alok Kumar Ghosh, aka Dada, has has put in his papers as senior creative director at the Chennai office of Bates 141.

The Ministry of Tourism's Incredible India has started a media buying and placement review.

Chief executive officers and marketing directors will disagree, but as a writer on that beat, I am tempted to label this decade, even before it ends, as an unexciting one.

Pix is an example of creating innovative properties to grab eyeballs at various viewer touch points such as clubs, malls, restaurants and theatres.

Zee TV has completed the revamping exercise for its prime time slot with the launch of its new show, called 12/24 Karol Bagh.

In a season of reality shows, where women face polygraph tests to prove their marital fidelity and men slug it out to win over Rakhi Sawant, this one stands out for sure.

Ormax Media has formulated a survey, called Characters India Loves, which ranks 125 characters from Hindi general entertainment channels.

In addition, as a part of its restructuring plan, PSTL has also decided to demerge its television content production company and is planning to sell its American exhibition company, also.

Tata Tea, with the help of its advertising and marketing initiative Jaago Re, now takes up the issue of corruption and red tapism.

Product of the Year India, which rewards products sold in retail outlets on the basis of their innovativeness, will now also judge the advertising campaigns behind the products also.

Starcom MediaVest Group and K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research have launched SSIMCAP-360°.

The Association of Radio Operators for India says that the last Copyright Board order in 2002 favours the music industry.

Samir Miglani, group business director, McCann Erickson has quit the Delhi branch of the agency.

In her new role, Kale spearhead the new business development function as well.

OMD India has won the media planning and buying duties of Henkel India, following a pitch for the account, which is valued at roughly Rs 30 crore in annualized billing.

Following a multi-agency pitch, Percept/H has won the creative duties for Good Morning, a premium tea brand owned by Wagh Bakri Group.

Under the Prasar Bharti Act, the CEO has to implement the decisions taken by the Prasar Bharti board.

The economic slowdown is not the best of times for Indian social networking websites as most are fast losing market share to international goliaths.

Ramoji Film City has been the shooting destination for the makers of all these Bollywood blockbusters.

India's two rival print readership surveys - the biannual Indian Readership Survey and the annual National Readership Study, have finally decided to create a single research for the print industry.

WPP-owned media agencies sweeped the Ad Club of Bombay's Emvies 2009 media awards, presented on Friday August 21 evening in Mumbai.

Sanjay Reddy, chief operating officer (COO), Zee South channels, who has put in his papers last week, has joined Sun TV Network.

The restructuring arises from the demise of Daniel Ginsburg, 53, who was co-founder, chairperson and chief executive officer (CEO) of TAG Media Network.

Following a multi-agency pitch, JWT India has bagged the creative duties for Sony Walkman, the personal music player brand Sony Electronics.

The initiative by private news and current affairs broadcasters to self regulate their editorial content has come.

Star Plus has launched an new emotional and heart warming chat show, called Tere Mere Beach Mein, which speaks about celebrities lives away from the arc lights.

A new show MTV Stripped, and two vignettes Mentos MTV Mute and MTV Gone in 60 Seconds were introduced during the last weekend.

The Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 32 for four metro cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore - has been announced.

Big Pictures has acquired distribution rights of two of the year's biggest blockbusters - Kites and 3 Idiots.

Bourbon, a biscuit brand from Britannia, has been tantalising the taste buds of kids and elders alike with a chocolate cream between two chocolate biscuits since over five decades now.

IBN18 Broadcast Ltd has under performed the broader markets in the last one month, falling 2.6 per cent against a 2 per cent rise in the BSE Sensex.

In his acceptance speech, Agarwal thanked the late former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, for the technological advancements made by the country.

Colors, the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) from Viacom18 stable, has announced its new show, 100 % - De Dhana Dhan.

In his new role, his key focus will be inorganic growth, talent management and the creative product. He will report to Ranji Cherian, who looks after the southern region for Mudra.

Robin Carruthers, chief executive officer, Square Circle Media Outdoors, has been elevated as director of the out-of-home specialist sister concern unit of Shlok Media, which is run by Mayur Patel and Sapna Patel.

Google India has thrown open a competition, called Doodle 4 Google, for school children's from classes 1 to 10 - to design their own Google doodles around the theme, 'My India'.

SET Max, the movie and special events channel from MSM India, has vanquished arch rival Zee Cinema in terms of channel share and prime time viewership in July-August period.

In today's business environment demands specialisation even when it comes to the vendors angle.

Titan Eye +, the two-year-old eyewear brand from watch-to-jewellery major Titan Industries, has appointed Ogilvy India as its new creative agency, following a multi-agency pitch.

The Gujarat government is all set to form a high-profile industrial advisory committee comprising top industrialists, experts and consultants apart from a leading creative agency to take forward the communication needs.

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has short listed two companies for production and coverage of Commonwealth Games 2010.

There are two at the top, as per the latest data from TAM Media Research on the genre.

With the saas-bahu sagas making an exit from the small screen, it is a new genre of serials based on the girl child, which has filled the prime time slots.

Sanjaya Baru, former media advisor to the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh, will join Business Standard, a financial daily.

Venkat joins Rapp from PRS-Permacel, an Johnson & Johnson company, where he was business head of the brand risk management business.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) will be hiking its advertising rates by up to 10 per cent across the network channels in September 2009.

Cricket will rule the Indian television once again from September 2009 to March 2010.

He was based in New Delhi and was also the member of the Publicis management board.

The pitch called by the Bhaskar Group last month for its radio brand, My FM, has reached a conclusion.

Saatchi & Saatchi - Bangalore has won the creative businesses for The Collective and Value Designbuild.

Nielsen's annual Trust In Advertising research study reveals that consumer trust in advertising is low on a global front.

Sab TV, the family comedy entertainment channel from MSM India, is back with the next phase of its brand campaign, 'Asli Mazaa Sab Ke Saath Aata Hai'.

Reader's Digest Association Inc, the publisher of the pocket-sized magazine, will file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy under an agreement with a majority of its secured lenders to reduce debt by 75 %.

Mumbai-based Movietime Cineplex Pvt Ltd (MCPL) will launch its first multiplex in Kolkata.

News Corp will restructure its Asian broadcast businesses into three units – Star India, Star Greater China and Fox International Channels.

Hyderabad-based Breeze Advertising has added three new clients – Andhra Pradesh Real Estate Developers' Association, HaaiLand and HarNeedi.com to its bouquet.

Call it the third wave or the power shift, the viewer, has made it happen. Televisionpoint.com does a future analysis of what the face of television would be in financial year 2009-2010.

And it is this strategy, Sharma says, which has helped Leo Burnett grow by 10 per cent even in a tough environment.

Over six decades since Independence, what does the world make of India?

With the Brigade Group and the Puravankara Group acquiring the two Bangalore franchisees, the successful sponsorship bid by Mantri Developers marks the entry of another real estate player into the KPL.

Zee Marathi, the Marathi general entertainment channel from the Essel Group, has completed 10 years of its dominant existence on August 15, 2009.

The channel has roped in a few leading institutes of India to participate in the hunt by inviting teams of students to submit their innovative ideas focusing on environment, technology, human issues and re-engineering.

The new packaging is conceived and designed in-house by Filmy, which looks at depicting alter egos and mirror images through the audio-visual medium.

Sanjay Reddy, who was promoted as chief operating officer for the Zee South channels in July this year, has put in his papers.

TBWA India, which had been working on Max for the past two years, will no longer do so; the account has moved to JWT India, following a pitch process.

MPG India, Mumbai, has bagged the media duties for the Maxx Mobile Communications business after a multi-agency pitch.

Lowe Lintas is the incumbent agency on the account. The size of the business is above Rs 3 crore.

The first thing that you notice when you meet Sanjay Behl, chief executive officer, Big TV and group head, brand and marketing, Reliance Communications is his height.

Amitabh Kant was a Joint Secretary in the Tourism Ministry, when it was called upon to confront the challenge of slump in foreign tourist arrivals at the turn of the millennium because of a deadly cocktail of negatives in the country

Dettol, the germ-protection soap from Reckitt Benckiser, gained maximum value market share among soap brands in the last 12 months ended June 2009.

When you get a call from an unknown number, more often than not it's a marketing executive trying to sell you credit cards, loans or holidays.

TBWA India has finally got a disruption head in the name of Kalyanram Challipalli, who comes with nearly eight years of experience in the advertising industry.

Even as India celebrated its 63rd Independence Day on August 15, the country also embarked on an advertising blitzkrieg across the world.

Chlorophyll has launched a brand alignment tool, called Litmosi, which aims to help CEOs to measure the difference between corporate beliefs and corporate behaviour.

Importantly, it maybe noted that Big FM, entered the radio sector with a big bang with its mass roll-out and marketing strategy to capture airwaves and bidding for 45 licences.

The quarter witnessed a 65-day standoff between producers and multiplex owners, leading to no new movies being released.

Star India has appointed Ravish Kumar as executive vice-president and general manager to oversee its regional business.

Porsche Automobile-owned Volkswagen has appointed DDB Mudra to handle the creative duties for its new brand Beetle in India.

Home appliances giant Whirlpool India has called for a pitch for its products. This pitch is a creative one; the media duties for all the product lines will stay with Whirlpool's existing media agency, Lodestar Universal.

Charles Cadell, chief executive officer, Lowe Lintas, admits to exploring a number of ideas over the last six months, with a focus on expanding Lintas' service offerings.

Just when we thought that the death knell had been sounded for reality shows, the programming genre is trying to script a comeback.

Associated Broadcasting Company, which owns the TV9 brand, has completed the acquisition of a 86 per cent stake in Kolkata TV, a Bengali news channel, for Rs 25 crore.

As India celebrates its 62nd Independence Day, news channels are presenting a series of special programmes that will reflect on the last 62 years of independence and its importance.

Radio stations are celebrating the spirit of Independence Day throughout the nation.

Radio Misty, the FM station in North Bengal and Sikkim, has revamped its programming strategy and has introduced two new programmes.

Offisial Atyachaar anthem, an audio clip of 2 minutes and 30 seconds duration, is spreading in the Internet space.

Eros International Plc, UK has appointed A P Parigi as group chief executive officer for its India operations. Based in Mumbai, he will take up his new role from October 1, 2009.

He joins the agency from TBWA India, where he was senior creative director and creative head – West India.

Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Orkut, Ibibo, Bharatstudent, Bigadda, Apnacircle, DesiMartini .., the list of social sites taking India by storm is inexhaustible.

The Union Commerce Ministry has called for tender for creative duties of an new division, which would be an umbrella organisation to promote Indian trade on the lines of the UK Trade & Investment.

Rediffusion - Y&R, Delhi has won the creative duties of HDFC Home Loans, without any call for a pitch.

Dhiren Amin, director, strategic planning, Euro RSCG India, has been appointed as brand partner, Bartle Bogle Hegarty India.

There finally seems to be some 'breaking news' from the company, which specialises in and swears by that term.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific will launch three new 24-hour channels in India - Discovery Science, Discovery Turbo and Discovery HD.

In the concert, where Rahman performed some of his compositions along with singers like Hariharan, Kailash Kher and Sadhana Sargam. Sivamani, the percussion powerhouse, was also a part of this enthralling evening.

All the 38 stations of SFM - which comprise 23 stations of South Asia FM, 14 stations of Kal Radio and one station of Udaya FM - will undergo a change in identity.

To maintain the performance consistency of the channel via the Rakhi factor, the channel is coming up with yet another show centered around marriage.

A degree in mass communication opens up a plethora of exciting work opportunities.

The size of the account is estimated at Rs 8-10 crore. The business will be handled out of the Mumbai office of Ogilvy.

Come March 2011, and the Indian Premier League will be bigger and better. The IPL Governing Council has announced the addition of two new franchises as well as an increase in the number of matches to 94.

The direct-to-home sector is set for a scorching pace of growth in subscriber additions, on the back of aggressive growth strategies of new players such as Airtel digital TV, Reliance Big TV and the Videocon Group.

Mudra South has been roped in as the creative agency for Madura Garments' brand, Peter England People.

No more blast from the past, it's time to look ahead. The 62th year of Independence is an opportune occasion to prepare for the future.

Keeping an eye on the phase III FM rollout, Hello FM, owned by Malar Publications Group, has changed its name to Radio Hello FM.

Dainik Bhaskar has made an yet another senior level appointment by roping in Alok Purohit as chief operating officer, for the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh region.

Rediff.com, the general interest website, has succumbed to the 13-year itch and has recently launched an new look.

Zee Cinema, the 24 hour movie channel of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, has launched an mobile game, called Cinema Ka Baadshah.

JC Giri, executive vice-president, and general manager, regional channels, Star India, has returned to Ogilvy as regional director, Unilever business for Ogilvy & Mather - Asia Pacific.

Ogilvy India has elevated its long-time creative hands - Abhijit Avasthi and Rajiv Rao to national creative directors.

Following a multi-agency pitch, Brand Curry has won the creative and media duties for four brands from the Fena Pvt Ltd stable - Fena, Impact, Nip and Para; for a period of two years.

"What's in a name?" wrote William Shakespeare in his historic love saga Romeo and Juliet about 400 years ago, but the question still remains the same even today.

The industry is caught in a double whammy - clients getting more demanding and the global recession forcing companies to cut down on their media spends.

The Emvies, organised by the Advertising Club of Bombay, have announced the shortlisted agencies for the 2009 honours.

Channel V, which languishes at the bottom of the Music channels pile, needs to do something new to garner eyeballs.

Many current commercials are using Bollywood songs instead of creating jingles for the purpose.

The smart phone category has become the talk of town, with a slew of launches.

National Thermal Power Corporation, India's biggest power utility company, has empanelled 15 agencies for its creative duties, following a pitch process, which began earlier in May this year.

Strategic investments in the Indian Premier League teams is turning into an attractive proposition, with the brand valuation of IPL growing.

The recent slew of new programmes across Hindi general entertainment channels has offered a sumptuous treat to viewers, with the channels taking full advantage of this cricket-free period to bask in the limelight.

Highly acclaimed journalist, author and editor of Hindi daily Dainik Hindustan, Mrinal Pande, who was in Pune on August 7 to grace a function organised to mark the 20th anniversary of Marathi magazine - Miloon Saryajani.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry, which is mulling a third phase roll-out of FM stations, has earned a whooping Rs 52.71 crore from private radio channels during 2008-09.

The Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 30 for the four cities - Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore - is out.

The owners of Team Mangalore in the Karnataka Premier League will tap the power of the television to scout for rural talent.

i next, the bilingual daily from the Jagran Prakashan Group has entered into an annual and renewable partnership with Mid-Day, the afternooner from Mid-Day Multimedia, to pick the latter's entertainment content.

Tata Sky has announced a content alliance with The Walt Disney Company India to bring the favourite characters of Disney on its interactive platform - Actve Stories and Actve Wizkids

DEN Network, a cable TV company with a pan-India presence, is looking to mop up around Rs 500 crore through an initial public offering.

Winners for the Promotional Marketing Awards of Asia 2009 has been announced for the best promotional marketing campaigns undertaken in the last one year.

Amar Chitra Katha Media has formed a content partnership with Turner International India, to introduce the Amar Chitra Katha stories as television shows and short films.

With Lowe on-board, the SPV is looking at television, print and outdoor advertising. However, the ad spends could be ascertained at the time of filing this report. The media for the project is handled in-house.

Kinley, the packaged drinking water brand from Coca-Cola India, has taken a step further on its trust quotient, a pitch that the company has stuck to since its launch six years back- one step forward.

Coca-Cola India has launched an new digital campaign for Sprite, the second-largest selling carbonated drink in India.

Bhaskar Das, executive president, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, has been unanimously re-elected as president, Ad Club of Bombay.

Here is another reason for us to save the tigers. The Incredible India campaign featuring the tiger is a bigger hit abroad than those based on the Taj Mahal and Buddha - the traditional symbols associated with India.

One97 Communications, an telecom application provider, has announced its partnership with Media Content & Communications Services India.

The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association has signed a two-year deal with cellular operator Aircel, which will make the telecom company the title sponsors of the ATP Tour Chennai Open for 2010 and 2011.

Prior to this, Acharya was based in India as the president, TME, the media arm of Rediffusion - Y&R.

The Indian government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that there are no hurdles or obstacles in the inflow of foreign direct investment in the country.

From Silicon Plateau to Silicon Valley, it has been a long and interesting journey for this alumnus of St Joseph's Boys' School in Bangalore.

Leading corporate houses and financial institutions are rushing to sponsor snake boats participating in the Nehru Trophy boat race.

Platinum Outdoor, the out-of-home (OOH) specialist unit of Madison World, has won the OOH duties for Idea Cellular in Kolkata and West Bengal circles.

Bollywood actress, Kajol has been signed up by Yakult Danone India as the endorser for its probiotic health drink, Yakult, in the Indian market.

Vodafone Essar has launched an on-ground campaign, in association with My FM, with the common objective to showcase their network strength.

For the first quarter of 2010, PVR reported a decline in consolidated top-line of 46.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 43.6 crore largely impacted by the 63-day strike between multiplex-producers due to which most movie releases were stalled.

JS Mani, president and head, DDB Mudra, has put in his papers at the agency on August 02, 2009.

Manajit Ghoshal, CEO, Mid-Day Multimedia, who has been associated with Mid-Day for eight years, has been given the additional responsibility of managing director, Mid-Day Infomedia.

Jaypee Cement, a subsidiary of the Jaypee Group, has called for a creative pitch. About eight creative agencies have been shortlisted by the company.

For the first quarter of 2010, Balaji Telefilms posted a 56.6 per cent year-on-year decline in top-line to Rs 39.7 crore, on a standalone basis.

Aap Ki Kachehri on Star Plus, in its season two, will start from today August 05, 2009 at 8 pm.

Despite recession hitting the media and entertainment industry, 143 television channels have sought permission from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to uplink from India.

Tequila India, the integrated marketing services arm of TBWA India, has made two key changes in its management.

Starcom IP, the digital arm of the Starcom MediaVest Group, has bagged the digital marketing duties of Kaya Skin Care, a brand owned by Marico Industries.

ITC Infotech, a IT services company and a fully owned subsidiary of FMCG major ITC, has introduced an application for the media and entertainment industry, called Metatag+.

Classified advertisement in cinema is an old concept, wherein communication messages are displayed, with or without audio, using slides on the cinema screen.

Jivox will provide an online video ad platform, which will not only enable ZeeNews.com to play video ads in its own branded video player, but, also help it in offering additional video solutions to clients and advertisers.

Leading financial investors like Standard Chartered, Providence, Carlyle and Bain and are in the race to acquire Indian promoters' 32 per cent stake in Multi Screen Media for $225-250 million.

Auto makers are increasingly moving to a new form of advertising to attract buyers – content related TV shows. This move has brought good results for the auto makers like Bajaj Auto, Hindustan Motor and TVS Motors.

As Rakhi Ka Swayamvar on NDTV Imagine came to its logical conclusion on August 2, data from aMap reveals that a whooping 15.7 million viewers tuned into the reality show.

Don't know how to get rid of encroachers upon your land? Don't worry as top judges in Kerala are now just a phone call away.

Vij joined the agency in July last year to head the HP business - the agency won the creative duties for the brand's imaging and printing solutions from Publicis India following a global realignment.

Jena has joined the group from BBDO, Berlin, where he was international account director, looking after the global business of the Allianz Group in more than 40 countries.

He assumed his new responsibilities from August 03, 2009. He would be reporting to Vineet Jain, chairman, Times Internet and managing director of Bennett, Coleman.

Agencies, ad professionals as well as freelancers can take part in this initiative. Entries will be accepted till August 31.

The digital online media industry will grow at a 80 per cent year-on-year basis as the base is quite small.

Rohit Misra, president, Rediffusion – Y&R, for the Indian and Sri Lankan operations, has called it a quit at the agency. He who is presently serving his notice period at Rediffusion.

However, Parigi will continue to be a member of the board of directors of Bennett Coleman & Company Ltd.

Working closely with Ruchira Raina, managing director, Dentsu Communications and Dentsu Media, Nagesh's mandate would be to steer Dentsu India's media business both organically and inorganically.

The win comes on the heels of a multi-agency pitch that also saw the participation of T.A.G., Capital, Dentsu and Lowe Lintas, Rediffusion - Y&R and Contract.

Dish TV India has reported its first quarter fiscal 2010 revenues of Rs 252.1 crore, representing a 53 per cent growth over the corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal.

TV Today Network has reported an 81 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 16.64 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.

Entertainment Network India, which owns and operates popular radio station Radio Mirchi, has reported revenues of Rs 50.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009.

According to the Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 29 for four cities - Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore, Radio Mirchi continues to lead in all four RAM markets.

Bharti Airtel has signed up the title sponsorship of the upcoming Champions League T20 tournament for a whooping Rs 150 crore for five years.

Nabendu Bhattacharyya, president, OgilvyAction, has quit the organisation where he has spent close to a decade. He is currently serving his notice period.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertisers are less hopeful that the India's newly constructed architectural marvel, the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, can generate revenue equivalent to the hype it has created.

Zoom TV, the leading lifestyle and glamour channel has joined hands with Big Bazaar to launch a new reality show, called India Ka Fashion Star.

Kalaignar Asia will cater to the entertainment demands of the Tamil people in Southeast Asian countries.

Jagran Prakashan, which publishes Dainik Jagran, has announced its first quarter results for the period ending June 2009.

OOH Media, the out-of-home television company, has made few key appointments in the name of Rajesh Kumar and Vinay Varma.

In January this year, Water Consulting, Mudra Group's design arm, had won the Creative Lantern Award.

Fox Star Studios (FSS) has shelled out a whopping Rs 100 crore to acquire global distribution rights of the superstars upcoming film, My Name Is Khan.

India's entertainment and media (E&M) industry continues to grow in the time of a slowdown

Uttar Pradesh (UP) based distributors of direct-to-home (DTH) services of the five DTH operators - Dish TV, Tata Sky, Reliance Big TV, Airtel digital TV and Sun Direct - have threatened to freeze sales.

Everest Brand Solutions (EBS) has won the creative duties for Tata Housing's low-cost housing township in Boisar, 98 km from south Mumbai and six stations after Virar on the western line.

Following a multi-agency pitch, Lintas Media Group (LMG) has bagged the media duties for Hindustan Sanitarywarethe & Industries (Hindware).

Star Plus has regained its No. 1 spot in Week 30. Its relative channel share has increased to 22 per cent, from 21 per cent last week.

HT Media has announced its first quarter results for the period April to June 2009.

Sun TV Network has announced its first quarter results for the period April to June 2009.

Radio Mirchi has devised a humorous way of promoting soon to be released movie, Love Aaj Kal, directed by Imtiaz Ali.

Facebook, the world's largest social networking site, will continue to focus on India as a major growth market.

Post the relocation of Venkatesh Kini, from being vice-president, marketing, Coca-Cola India, to Atlanta in March this year, there has been speculation on who would land one of the most coveted jobs in Indian marketing space.

Following an multi-agency pitch, Rediffusion - Y&R has been appointed as creative partner; while the media duties will be handled by GroupM's Motivator.

The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch, which included names such as Ogilvy India, JWT, Landora and Mudra, among the estimated 11-12 agencies invited for the pitch.

Jiggy George, executive director, Cartoon Network Enterprises - South Asia, has decided to quit the company.

Sudarshan Banerjee, branch head, Mumbai, Genesis Advertising, has been appointed as the new vice-president at Mudra Mumbai.

Arindam Sengupta will step in the shoes of of Amarnath Pingalay, the outgoing head of TBWA India's Chennai office.

Madison Media's second out-of-home agency, Platinum Outdoor, has made few key appointments, which include that of Sonal Pradhan and Vijay Cavale.

By 2012, the Asia Pacific region will lead mobile marketing and advertising spend at $ 7.7 billion of the overall global figure of $ 16 billion.

Yash Raj Films (YRF) has finally hit pay dirt with New York. Not just in terms of critical verdict, but also going by the new terms of agreement.

Sourav Ganguly, former captain of the Indian cricket team and 'dada' of West Bengal's cricket fans will anchor Dadagiri Unlimited, a reality show on Zee Bangla.

I next, the bilingual daily from Jagran Prakashan, has brought out a Leisure Time series of books.

Manoj Malkani, vice-president, media, Dentsu Media, has joined MPG India - Mumbai, as vice-president.

2ergo, a global provider of mobile marketing, mCRM and media solutions, has entered the Indian market with the acquisition of Activemedia Technology.

Advertisements across traditional mediums - television, print and radio - have grown during the quarter ending June 2009. A further boost in advertising revenues is expected in the coming months.

The perception is the reality. Everything else is an illusion, writes marketing guru Jack Trout in his latest book In Search of the Obvious - The Antidote for Today's Marketing Mess.

After the debacle of Big Street in August last year, the authority failed to get more than a single bidder for its skywalk in Bandra east and Bandra west.

Consumers across 50 markets, including India, have given a high-five to editorial content, terming it and newspaper articles as being the most trusted form of brand advertising.

Fox History and Entertainment channel has taken upon itself to educate people about the history and the different aspects of money and its management.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan directed the board to convene a meeting within 15 days.

If you are a parent of a daughter, be proud, very proud. If you are a daughter, raise a toast to yourself.

In the private sector one of the best things that we have is our flexibility. The fact that we can change our content, include new stuff and discard what is obsolete, keeps our programme content contemporary and relevant.

Sach Ka Saamna, a reality show which airs on Star Plus, has opened to big TRPs. It has also opened up a big debate, with detractors claiming that the reality show promotes voyeurism and is against Indian culture.

The channel shot the wedding sequence in front of a 700 plus live audience at RK Studios in Mumbai.

It wasn't meant to be history in the making and it wasn't the well-publicised soap opera that the audience was waiting for with bated breath. Its star quotient was zilch and its makers were unfamiliar with a concept called TRP.

Suresh Iyer, chief executive officer, Raj TV, has quit the company after a small one-year stint. At the moment, it is not certain who will be taking over his position.

The Radio Audience Measurement data for Week 28 for four cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore is out.

9.9 Mediaworx, promoted by Pramath Raj Sinha, has taken over School of Convergence from Kaleidoscope Entertainment, headed by Bobby Bedi. The institute is being rebranded as 9.9 School of Convergence.

The News Broadcasters Association, which represents key news television channels in the country, has objected to draft rules framed by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for keeping a tab on websites.

We live in the phenomena of the three-day box-office. So trying to anchor with our cinematic past or attempting to put a valuation to it, seems ironical to say the least.

Unitech Wireless, a 67:33 joint venture between Norway-based telecom group Telenor and Gurgaon-based realty firm Unitech, has appointed Leo Burnett India - New Delhi, as its communication partner.

Dabur India, one of the oldest FMCG companies in India, is rapidly emerging as a leading consumer goods manufacturer, and to sustain its position, has been shuffling its creative agencies.

A day after Star Plus was slapped with a show cause notice over its recently launched reality show Sach Ka Saamna, television broadcasters have asked the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to let viewers decide what they want to watch.

Law & Kenneth has made a few appointments for its Mumbai and Delhi branches.

First it was Bollywood flicks lifting hit Hollywood plots. Now, it's our television channels seeking inspiration to make their reality shows a hit.

An animated television serial, called Bommi and Friends, produced by a Chennai firm, is all set to go on air in the coming few months.

Datta has been responsible for implementing the growth strategies of both the publications in the East India.

Kids edutainment channel Spacetoon has integrated its indigenously developed characters - Fafa and Juno to the print medium.

Zee News has reported first quarter fiscal 2010 consolidated revenues of Rs 140 crore, representing a 21.9 per cent growth over the corresponding period last fiscal.

Profit after tax for the first quarter was a loss of Rs 46.93 crore as compared to Rs 18.92 crore during the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Now that the partnership between Britannia Industries and Groupe Danone is over, the French bottled mineral water, biscuits and yoghurt maker is looking at India with a clean slate.

As per TAM Media Research data for C&S 4+, HSM, Colors has managed to cross the 300 GRP mark in Week 29.

A section of senior Parliamentarians in the Upper House belonging to Opposition parties took serious objection to the telecast of Star Plus's new reality show.

Star India Pvt. Ltd., which manages regional channels like Vijay TV, Star Jalsha and Star Pravah, is betting high on consolidating its market position by introducing new shows.

Many marketing professionals believe Fido Dido to be 7Up's brand mnemonic much like the Michelin Man or the Amul girl.

In her new role, Sablok will be responsible to create a strong, consumer insight driven marketing strategy that will convert Web18's digital properties into great consumer brands.

The recent turmoil in the media industry coupled with acquisition and expansion costs have weighed heavily on New Delhi Television in its financial results.

After the buyback, outstanding shares of a company declines while the promoters' holding goes up.

Speak about creative partnerships and here is one long association in advertising land which has come to an end.

The government plans to raise Foreign Direct Investment limit in FM radio broadcasters and direct-to-home service providers, despite reservations expressed by several departments, including the Planning Commission of India.

Television viewers have received an fantastic option of PPV, which allows them to view movies or individual programmes for a nominal fee.

The Bhaskar Group will invest about Rs 300 crore to upgrade its printing infrastructure, starting with Jaipur, which is already functional.

Discovery Channel, in a bid to lend a 'contemporary and youngish' edge to the brand, is stressing more on its one-off programs strategy.

The hope with which cable TV operators joined the Tamil Nadu government promoted Arasu Cable Corporation at the height of the feud within the state's first family is fast receding.

Nava Bharat, the Hindi daily, will launch its new edition from Nasik on August 15, 2009, which would be its fourth edition in Maharashtra and twelfth in India.

The award has been instituted for the very first time, just as the festival is being held, away from the usual venue in the United States, for the first time at Shanghai this year.

Big Pictures, an arm of Anil Ambani's Reliance Big Entertainment, is exploring a two-pronged strategy in its business of Bollywood movie productions.

John Philip Jones, advertising guru and a well-known name in branding management, spent close to 25 years at the European operations of JWT.

Over the past few years, leading brands known for their iconic and creative advertising have put out what can be described as a creative encore.

UTV Motion Pictures, a division of UTV Software Communications, will buy the remaining stake in UMP Plc for about $ 195 million as it tries to integrate its movie business.

Dish TV, the direct-to-home venture of Essel Group, is going for a Rs 100 price hike in its set top boxes triggered by the increase in customs duty on import of STBs from zero levels to 5 per cent.

Following consumer complaints of offensive sexual overtones, two television commercials of deodorants for men have been placed under the scanner of the Advertising Standards Council of India.

Dr Padgaonkar, who is currently in Spain on vacation, started his fourth stint with the Group on July 6, 2009.

The position is a newly formed one at GroupM, wherein all the agencies under its umbrella will have individual trading heads reporting to Prasanth Kumar, overall trading head, GroupM and T Gangadhar, managing director, Mediaedge:cia.

Their exposure to the media, especially the omnipresent television has rendered today's kids to truly be the father of man, according to an old wise saying.

Vdopia, an online video advertising solutions provider, has launched a new feature, called Talk to me, which aims to empower viewers to click on the various elements.

Zapak.com in a move to expand and diversify its user base and revenue from its casual games, is betting big on the content partnership or syndication route.

From driving expectations to delivering experience, the advertising and marketing honchos have traversed a long windy path.

Zee South, the arm of Zee News Ltd, which consists of Zee Kannada, Zee Telugu, Zee Tamil and Zee 24 Gantalu channels, is eyeing the overseas market to earn additional revenue from the content syndication business.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has shortlisted five companies for production and coverage of Commonwealth Games 2010.

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative, the largest fertiliser PSU unit, has called for a multi-agency creative pitch.

Rajasthan Tourism board has empanelled four agencies – PDM, Wizcraft International Entertainment, Crayons Advertising and Adlabs Films.

Mid-Day, the leading afternooner, has won four awards at the Asian Multimedia Publishing Awards 2009, which recognizes best multimedia publishing practices in the Asia Pacific region.

According to the Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 27, Radio Mirchi is the number one player in all four RAM markets, once again.

Vh1, which had undergone a makeover in May this year, has launched its second phase of programming with the addition of five 30-minute shows.

Madhusudan Anand, executive editor, Navbharat Times, the Hindi daily from the Times Group, has put in his papers.

Lowry Digital, a division of Adlabs Films and a member of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, was behind the restored footage of the Apollo 11 moon mission released by NASA last week.

Noted brand expert John Philip Jones said the current trend among local FMCG firms to reduce pack sizes to counter the slowdown could have dangerous repercussions as it could lead to customers shifting their preferences to unbranded offerings.

Connect, the relationship marketing division of JWT India, will cease to exist as a separate division, as per a decision by holding company WPP.

Though the global forecast for advertising expenditure is at 8.5 per cent plunge, ZenithOptimedia's projection for India shows that the nation is bucking the trend with a healthy 7.7 per cent jump, despite an economic correction.

Sanchayeeta Verma has been appointed as general manager (GM), Maxus - South India. She will be based in Bangalore, and will report to Ajit Varghese, managing director, Maxus India.

He will spearhead the agency's creative function across its offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki has attempted to give a fillip to its best-selling yet ageing brand Wagon R, by adopting a mascot.

The News Broadcasters Association has extended an olive branch to India TV, the Rajat Sharma-promoted channel that withdrew its NBA membership in April this year, after being fined by the NBSDRA.

Prakash Jha and former Adlabs chairman Manmohan Shetty are ready to launch their news and current affairs channel Maurya TV in Bihar through the newly formed company P&M Group.

The half an hour shows will be aired from Monday to Wednesday. For the Thursday 10 pm slot, the channel will air FIR, which till now was being aired on Fridays at 8.30 pm.

Rolling Stone, the music magazine brought to India under licence from Wenner Media, will roll out a 30-minute television show, called The Rolling Stone Show, on NDTV Good Times, starting July 19, every Sunday at 9.30 pm.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd has reported its first quarter fiscal 2010 consolidated revenues of Rs 475.9 crore, representing a 12 per cent reduction over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

Rediffusion - Y&R has promoted Minakshi Achan to co-chair the chief creative officer position and partner Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar, the current CCO.

Mobile Internet is now quickly going mass, mostly on account of the drop in phone prices with surfing capabilities and some very attractive rates for the usage of Internet on mobile phones.

Network18, which has channels like CNBC-TV18, CNN-IBN and CNBC Awaaz, were the most watched news channels in the English business news segment, in the English generic news segment and in the Hindi business news segment respectively on July 6, 2009.

According to TAM Media Research data for Week 28, Star Plus and Colors are at par with 22 per cent market share each in the Hindi general entertainment channel genre.

After introducing a new 8 pm prime time band, called The Hunt, in May, Animal Planet, to further strengthen its prime time programming, has launched a 9 pm time band, called Masters of the Jungle.

Allied Media has appointed Suresh Shah as investment director. He has already taken on the role at the media planning, evaluation and buying arm of Percept Ltd.

Following a a multi-agency pitch, Grey Worldwide, New Delhi, has won the creative duties for the Sri Lanka-based John Keells Food. The size of account could not be ascertained, as the brand is new.

Anil Ambani took the country's media and entertainment sector to a new global horizon on Wednesday, when his Reliance Big Entertainment inked a $ 825 million production deal with Hollywood director Steven Spielberg in a plan to make about 4-6 movies a year.

Srigro Interactive has launched a monthly legal and corporate affairs magazine, called Witness, which will hit the stands today July 16.

The Upper Storey, an digital advertising agency based in Singapore, has set up a unit in Mumbai, marking its second overseas office in the past three months, the previous office being Studio TUS in Kuala Lumpur.

Business Consulting Services aims to combine high-value business consulting with fact-based analytic-driven recommendations to help clients identify and optimize growth opportunities.

Soni is the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Government of India. Having studies BA from Delhi University, the stylish Soni is known to be extremely well organised and receptive to new ideas.

The next block will see Rs 414.52 crore being generated, while the final chunk will see another Rs 414.52 crore being collected.

Leading media agencies from the Interpublic, Publicis Groupe and Omnicom groups are pitching for the account, which has an annual advertising spend of Rs 100 crore.

The Rs 10 coin is likely to breach the consumer's psychological barrier, prompting her to spend more easily on products of this value in a metal currency form than when it exists in a note currency form.

Alongside the multitude flocking to empty their wallets in any supermarket, hypermarket or a shopping mall, there is another queue of people lining up

The Gujarat government spent a whopping Rs 13.90 crore over the last three years for publishing "Gujarat" fortnightly magazine, its main propaganda mouthpiece.

BBC World Service has appointed Amit Baruah as head of its Hindi Service, which has a significant presence in the radio and online medium in India.

Pottermania is back as the bespectacled boy wizard will take us on yet another journey to the magical world of Hogwarts, hexes and horcruxes.

News Corp. is doing a major restructuring of Star TV, its Asian TV entertainment business based in Hong Kong, which owns and operates Star India Private Limited in India.

The launch of ET Now is causing more than a stir in a genre that has had a minuscule share in the total television viewership and the advertising pie.

Imagine a common man, like you or me, standing on a terrace and saying, "Wish karo, dish karo."

Telecom operator Idea, which belongs to the Aditya Birla Group, has come up with a simple and effective solution to get people to move around more – 'Just walk when you talk' - exercise and indulge at the same time.

All eight franchises of the Indian Premier League have filed applications before government authorities in 15 cricket playing countries seeking exclusive trademark rights for their brand names.

Pune-based Yureekah Software Technologies has come out with an another end-to-end solution that enables a person to design, create and also launch an online campaign on his own.

It may be recalled that TBWA Worldwide acquired complete stake in TBWA Anthem, after which the local shareholders George John and Kurien Matthews moved out of the agency last year. N Krishnan was the only partner remaining with the agency.

There was excitement in the air as Hrishikesh Ranade has won the sixth edition of Zee Marathi's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Mahrashtracha Aajcha Sarvotkrushta Awaaj.

Acting in India comes with brashness, jinx and above all celebrity status. We through the times have heard of many names enshrouding with fame yet a few.

Though personal computers have become a ubiquitous part of our homes and workplaces today, cyber cafes still remain the sole Internet access point for around 40 per cent of Indian Internet users.

HT Media has launched a redesigned version of its flagship newspaper, the Hindustan Times, with more use of colour, new layouts and type faces and a new line-up of features and columnists.

Low-cost flights players such as SpiceJet Ltd and GoAirlines are embarking on new campaigns and rebranding exercises to retain their unique selling preposition in an industry.

Are you worried about sickness? Then, don't worry, because you are not the only one. Indians are the fourth-most people in the world after the Japanese, Russians and Americans.

The 24-hour music channel from Zee Entertainment Enterprises after being rebranded as Zing from Zee Muzic three months back is launching a slate of new shows.

Prasar Bharati, the state broadcaster, will broadcast the prestigious World badminton championships to be held at the Gachibowli Stadium.

Radio Mirchi maintains its lead in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata; while Big FM has overtaken Radio Mirchi to become the numero uno in Bangalore.

Big FM has entered Shimla, which marks the completion of its phase II plans and also makes it the first private FM station in Himachal Pradesh.

It is said that after the influx of electronic media, radio listeners shifted to television and radio lost its charm.

5th VAS Asia 2009, organised by Bharat Exhibitions and presented by OnMobile, aimed at exploring and analysing the role of value added services in the ecosystem, and figuring out where it is heading.

Unitech Wireless, a 67:33 joint venture between Norway-based telecom group Telenor and Gurgaon-based realty firm Unitech, has called for a creative and media pitch to create strong communication in the country.

Life insurance business may take over eight years to break even, but, venturing into life insurance is turning out to be extremely profitable for banks, which are also very aggressive in the marketing space.

The economy may be witnessing a downturn, but the Indian Space Research Organisation is hopeful of registering a 25 per cent top line during 2009-10. During 2008-09.

Sach Ka Saamna is the Indian version of the popular American game show, The Moment of Truth, which debuted on Fox network in January last year.

The series will show the misadventures of a young chef's apprenticeship in the magical city of Dakaarpur.

The service, called Monster Jobs Active, will be available on Dish TV's interactive channel by the end of July.

Murali Raaman, vice-president, programmes and operations, Jaya TV, has joined as chief executive officer, Polimer Media.

141 Sercon, the below-the-line marketing services company, has announced the opening of a new office in Vietnam, which is its second office in South East Asia.

After a very long partnership with GroupM's Mindshare Fulcrum, Hindustan Unilever Ltd is looking at others to handle its media business.

According to TAM Media Research data for Week 27, the Hindi general entertainment channel genre has grown by a whooping 143 GRPs.

Many mobile phone users say the number of advertisements being sent to their handsets has increased sharply. In the months to come, the numbers could go up many times more.

Direct-to-home players Dish TV and Reliance Big TV, in an bid to offer tributes to the 'king of pop' Michael Jackson, will air one of his most memorable concerts - 'Live In Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour'.

Mudra Marketing Services integrated out-of-home communication solutions agency, PrimeSite, has retained the OOH media duties of HT Media.

To steward this function in India, BBH has roped in Chandrashekhar L from Walt Disney, as brand partner, engagement planning.

So, we now have Ghar Ki Lakshmi - Betiyann, Chhoti Bahu - Sindoor Bin Suhagan, Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya Hi Kijo and so on, all popular shows on Zee TV.

The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has given its nod to the Indian edition of British magazine Spectator under title Spectator India.

Bollywood makes over a thousand movies and sells over three billion tickets every year, but, it monetarily realised just Rs 109 billion, pointing the huge untapped opportunity it promises.

Top-line growth was impacted by the weak macro-economic conditions, stiffer competition and severe slowdown in national advertising as volumes have dipped significantly.

Employees who were working at Hathway's Chennai office have confirmed the development.

Zee Kannada, the Kannada general entertainment channel (GEC), is launching three format shows - Yariguntu Yarigilla, Gunagaana and Gramophone - in July.

Take a look at Vimal, Rasna, Dhara, Dermicool, Krack, Aava, Symphony, Livon, Recova, Nutralite, Ramdev Masala, Itchguard and Ajanta Clocks. Top brands, great success stories of entrepreneurship and lively commercials.

Since its inception two years ago, Apollo DKV has been serviced by Mudra and its communication, has been based around the 'Let's stay healthy' positioning.

New York Festival (NYF) 2009, has declared the winners for the Radio Programming and Promotions category and two Indian stations - Big FM and Radio Mango - have managed to bag metals in this category.

OOH Media has created larger than life mobile phones for the Nokia E75, currently displayed on its screens at select locations in three metros.

The appointment was announced at the fourth annual general meeting (AGM) of the association held in Delhi. Kashyap takes over the reins of the association for two years (2009-10) after having served as its vice-president.

Neville Taraporewalla, chief executive officer (CEO) and online media director, Publicitas Digital - Asia-Pacific, has decided to call it quits.

Big Cinemas, has tied up with Sambhaav Media in Gujarat and Media Prophet India in Uttar Pradesh to tap the regional and local advertisers in these markets.

The edition is Mint's seventh after Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Pune and Kolkata.

Sony Entertainment Television, which was revamped in May, will launch an new reality television show that will be entirely shot in the jungles of Malaysia.

Sun Pictures, the film production arm of Sun TV Network, has some reason to cheer.

The win for the agency comes in the wake of a multi-agency pitch which was called for following end of the global relationship of Samsonite with its eight year old creative partner, TBWA.

The nationwide campaign, called Sponge, is being aired across 40 television and 28 radio channels until July 2009 in five languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali.

Margulis has joined the company from July 01, 2009 and is reporting Shekhar Swamy, chief executive officer, R K Swamy Group.

He moves from Motorola India, where he was head of communications and corporate affairs.

The demand of Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector for an exemption from paying fringe benefit tax (FBT), has come true.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave some shock to the direct-to-home (DTH) players, as his Ministry has hiked customs duty on set-top-boxes (STBs) by 5 per cent from the present nil.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee gave some much needed boost to the print media, when he extended the economic stimulus package for the print media by six months till December 31, 2009.

DQ Entertainment is on the lookout for possible acquisitions in the US, Canada and Europe to make it easier to bag co-production deals with global majors.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 25 for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore is out.

Prior to this elevation, Reddy was chief executive officer (CEO), Zee Telugu.

The channel, which so far had focused on music and comedy-based shows, is now looking at having a good mix of reality shows.

As part of the overall re-branding exercise, the company released a new logo and a new positioning statement in San Francisco last week, coupled with a new proposition – 'Experience Change'.

Hegerman will be based out of Mumbai and will oversee Tribal DDB India's operations across five cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Ahmedabad.

The outfit which is into online and offline movie rentals and video on demand (VoD), is seeing its membership grow significantly.

Realise the potential and help us grow and develop. That seems to be the message that the Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector is trying to convey to the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The Indian media and entertainment (M&E) sector has urged the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for paying heed to its demand for sops, especially an exemption from paying fringe benefit tax.

The application is launched in association with Reliance Money, which created a unique iStock zone on the DTH platform.

The company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 51 crore for the year ended March 2009 against a net profit of Rs 47.5 crore last year.

PepsiCo India has also come on board to promote its brand, Kurkure Desi Beats.

Sources reveal that 12 agencies from among the 18 empanelled ones were invited to share their ideas in the initial phase.

Global communications consultancy Hill & Knowlton has expanded its operations into India by taking over the management responsibility of IPAN from JWT India.

Omnicom Group has appointed Tim Love as its new CEO, in charge of its Asia Pacific India Middle East Africa operations, effective July 1, 2009.

Mediabrands, created by IPG Media to manage its global media related assets and operational in 90 countries, has launched a holistic advertising platform in association with Microsoft.

Zee TV has added 16 GRPs over the last week. Both Colors and Zee TV command a 21 per cent share, as per the TAM Media Research data on C&S 4+, HSM audiences.

He's an engineer, management grad, thespian, model, marketer and academician, all rolled into one.

The university will offer PhD in journalism and mass communication, Master's in journalism and mass communication and Master's in electronic media production and management.

Cadbury India is 'paying' a tribute to the salaried employees by giving them another reason to celebrate the payday, which falls on the first day of every month.

The agencies will look into the planning, buying and execution of outdoor media solutions.

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released its report for the period January-March 2009 on controversial advertisements.

Based in Mumbai, Lobo will directly report to Siddharth Jain, vice-president and deputy general manager, distribution and business operations, Turner International India.

He replaces TN Prabhu, who quit as the company's CEO in the second week of May this year and has moved to another company.

AdMob, an US-based mobile advertising network, has appointed Mahesh Narayanan as country manager for its Indian operations.

In the run up to Budget 2009, the industry is looking forward to some positive developments during her tenure and some definitive decisions on several issues.

Thakur would be reporting to NP Singh, chief operating officer, MSM India. He will be based out of Mumbai and will assume his new responsibility from July 1.

Following a multi-agency pitch, JWT India's Mumbai office has won the creative duties for Thomas Cook India.

The account is valued at more than Rs 10 crore and will be handled by TBWA Bangalore, with a satellite operation in Kochi.

Fiat Grande Punto, which had its first Indian drive in June, will be endorsed by cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

Pizza Hut, a casual dining restaurant chain from the Yum! Restaurants, has roped in actor Lara Dutta to promote its latest product – Cheesy Bites.

Webchutney, an interactive agency, has released the findings of its first annual report, called Digital Media Outlook 2009.

As benchmarks continue to evolve in this industry and challenges multiply the expectations from the people who drive this business are fast changing.

Mexican multiplex chain Cinepolis, which recently announced its India entry plans, will introduce a no-frills multiplex concept to target the tier II and III cities.

Reliance Big TV Ltd, the promoter of Big TV direct-to-home (DTH) services of Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications, is in final talks with private equity (PE) firms.

It is the best of times with the television industry experiencing a multiplier effect.

It has largely remained a metro-centric brand, but for the past two years, Bournvita, the flavored energy drink powder from Cadbury India, has been making inroads into the semi urban markets across North and West India.

TME - Kolkata, the media agency of Rediffusion - Y&R, has bagged two new businesses of Tata Steel and Lafarge Cements.

Saleem Mobhani, chief operating officer, Hungama Mobile has put in his papers.

Not very long ago, public relations (PR) was a profession that did not merit serious consideration.

Four new channels of National Geographic and three regional news channels of Network18 Group are among the 22 channels.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 24 for four cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore - has been announced.

Mid-Day, the leading afternooner that incepted on June 27, 1971 from Mumbai, celebrated its 30th anniversary on Saturday.

Music is a universal language that bonds unmistakably. And JWT India and The Times of India (TOI) - Chennai know that for sure.

The auditorium was choc-a-block with delegates pouring in to listen to global marketing directors from four major brands - Procter & Gamble (P&G), McDonald's, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and Kraft Foods.

The presidential campaign of Barack Obama, president, United States of America, has won the Grand Prix in both the categories of Titanium and Integrated Lions.

Colors will celebrate its successful first anniversary (July 21), by thanking the viewers through an interactive campaign.

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), in its general body meeting held on June 26, has decided to go ahead with several changes in the decades old rules and regulations of the Association.

Even though Indian advertising agencies had 11 pieces of work in the Titanium and Integrated Lions category, there is none that has made the cut to get into the shortlist.

King of Pop Michael Jackson , born in 1958, American singer, dancer, and songwriter, died last night less than a fortnight before he was due to start a record-breaking 50-concert tour in Britain.

Producers are gearing up to unleash a string of titles at the theatres in the next few months.

By Saturday, one will know if India's largest advertising agency can add more metals to its tally, its chances definitely look bright with the shortlist of the Films category announced on Thursday.

Brands which talk about digital being the next big thing when it comes to connecting with youth could see a live demo.

Come this weekend, the 29 Vodafone Zoozoo's will be aired back to back on several channels over the weekend.

The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) has announced the launch of IAA's Young Professional (YP) Membership.

In the run up to Budget 2009, expectations from the digital media and online services sector are running really high.

Hungama Digital Media, a Mumbai-based mobile and digital entertainment company, has won the 'Mobile First Innovation' award at the Meffys Awards 2009.

In Week 26, Star Plus and Colors are at par, with a relative channel share of 21 per cent each in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre.

Hit FM has launched the Michael Jackson This Is It Challenge, which asks its listeners to come on-air and sing Michael Jackson's records.

SAMTL had in January 2008 indirectly picked up 6.98 per cent stake. The other major shareholder of the South Asia FM is Red FM of NDTV group.

News channels are ready with a platter of new programming around one of the most significant events of the year - the Union Budget 2009, which unfolds on July 6.

JWT India won the second Gold for India by winning the Design Gold Lion at the International Advertising Festival, Cannes.

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) won a Silver Lion for Perfetti Van Melle's Sour Marbels candies, while Rediffusion - Y&R Delhi won a Bronze for Bharti Airtel .

Nationalised banks are continuously feeling the need to go in for a repositioning and a contemporary look.

Hopenhagen is powered by the people and created in the voice of global citizens.

With Ambika Soni as the new Information and Broadcasting Minister, the Ministry is coming down heavily on broadcasters for content code violations.

The Indian media does not share in the blame attributed to the Western media for doing a poor job of warning the public of the economic crisis.

Ten Sports, the host broadcaster for India's upcoming tour of the West Indies, claims to have sold off 85 per cent of its inventory.

It was the media agencies which brought the elusive Gold Lion for India with Mediacom India winning the Gold for Gillette Mach 3.

he Vandana radio spot for the American Indian Foundation, a Delhi based NGO, for which Rediffusion - Y&R had done a proactive work, won a bronze at the Radio Lions this year.

Dhoni, after his team's dismal performance in the World T20 and currently on a tour of the West Indies, has now got to fight another battle.

Live1 has bagged the creative duties for the Delhi based Triveni Media, which has a set of national and regional news channels in its bouquet.

New York Festivals (NYF) has announced the finalists for its Radio Programming and Promotion Awards 2009.

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has elected Rajiv Hiranandani, co-founder and executive director, Mobile2Win - Altruist and Kunal Bajaj, managing director, BDA Connect as co-chairs.

The entries that have made it to the shortlists of Design Lions and Cyber Lions categories were announced at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival today.

The beginning from India may not be spectacular, but there's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming categories 2 at the International Advertising Festival, Cannes.

The euphoria that came with 63 Indian entries making it to the media, outdoor, press and radio shortlist's, was very volatile enough to evaporate.

Many believed that the Direct Lions category afforded Indian advertising the best choice to win a medal, given that same entries made it to the shortlist.

According to sources, Britannia's yearly ad spends are estimated to be about Rs 40 crore.

Media Contacts, the global interactive media network of Havas Digital will deliver effective marketing insights across digital media.

Based in Mumbai, Prabhu will report to Ravi Kiran, chief executive officer, SMG - South Asia.

She will continue to report into Mahesh Chauhan, group chief executive officer (CEO), Rediffusion – Y&R.

Twenty-20 (T20) matches were created to give maximum entertainment to fans of the cricket game.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 23 for four cities has been announced.

Film piracy, an estimated Rs 5,000 crore business, remains unchecked despite technology being available to curb the menace.

TV Today Network has announced its fourth quarter results ending March 31, 2009.

Cartoon Network is wooing kids with a new set of characters, called Snaptoons, from the start of June.

The mecca of the global advertising fraternity has seen a 20 per cent drop in entries this year on the back of a slowing economy.

It was a disappointing start for the Indian delegates at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival 2009 with India scoring nil in the inaugural PR Lions category.

The long-awaited rebranding of Satyam Computer Services by its new owner Tech Mahindra (TechM) has been officially unveiled.

M&C Saatchi is the incumbent agency, which won the account in 2007.

Promodome Communications - Delhi has won the creative and media duties of Bata India, the subsidiary of the Switzerland based Bata Shoes Organisation.

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (WCCLG) has appointed Mudra Connext as its media agency

The company has reduced its net loss to Rs 78.66 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, from Rs 115.06 crore in the same period last year.

Prior to this, she was president and national creative director at RMG Connect, JWT's direct marketing, customer relationship management and digital solutions company.

The new division will be headed by Anurag Gupta, in addition to his role as president, strategic initiatives and integration, Mudra Group.

However, back in India, the brand with ad spends in the region of Rs 200 crore, will continue to be handled by GroupM's Maxus.

Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) Delhi has bagged the entire brand portfolio for Vandana Luthra Curls & Curves (VLCC).

a multi-agency pitch, Subway, the sandwich quick service restaurant (QSR), has appointed Arms Communications and Alliance Advertising as its creative and media partners, respectively.

Gaming Hungama, a gaming portal, has recently launched four interactive online cricket games, free of cost, for its consumers.

Star Plus has regained its number one position in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre in Week 24.

The ambitious journey, taking place between June 19-20, 2009 in Mumbai, will include visits to a number of grassroots HIV prevention projects.

Graphics chip manufacturer Nvidia is stepping up its two year old 'Digital Bollywood' initiative in India.

It is exciting, interesting and definitely the next big thing as far as upcoming careers are concerned for the students.

Jagran Prakashan reported a growth of 41 per cent in its net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31 to Rs 21.81 crore.

The majors in this segment are hiking their advertising budgets to gain high visibility for their brands in an increasingly competitive market.

It is the first sports-based property of the radio station and the activation division plans to turn it into an annual championship.

The channel has had its share of crest and troughs to make a room of its own in the teleshopping networks segment.

CNE is divided into three businesses – merchandising (apparel, stationary, publishing and console gaming), home entertainment and toys.

B S Lalli may have to be bailed out by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry in another case.

Marathi cinema has just about emerged from the shadows of Bollywood.

Pinstorm Technologies, set up in 2004 by Passionfund's Mahesh Murthy who's currently its CEO, was perhaps the only pure-play search engine marketing firm since inception.

The study was conducted with a sample of 800 viewers across eight IPL franchisee cities, between May 27-30, with the help of TAM data.

It comes as a planning software that provides details on 4,500 outdoor sites in 1,000 road stretches in Mumbai based on its research.

Yash Khanna, former executive vice-president, corporate communications, Star India, has joined CMCG India, one of the leading public relations consultancies in the country.

BSMotoring.com will now have more exclusive content, in addition to the content from the magazine.

It was a cold wintry evening when Ajay Gehlaut, creative head, O&M was assigned the Limca campaign.

After the success of Times Now, India's number one English news channel, Times Global Broadcasting is setting out on yet another adventure.

Maharashtra assembly panel has come down heavily on the government for understaffing the division that collects tax from cable TV operators.

3i Infotech, the mid-tier IT services and products firm, has diversified into the media and entertainment sector as a system integrator.

Prior to joining Sun TV, he was associated with Star India as president, content and new media, where he worked for 14 years.

A Letter of Intent (LOI) has been issued to these four companies earlier this month.

The awards recognise the best of Promotion Marketing Award programmes, organised by Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) Worldwide.

Mega Reach carries cable content from T-Series consisting of tracks in various languages and genre.

TRAI will seek public opinion from all concerned, including viewers and consumer advocacy groups in the country.

Radio Mirchi continues to lead in Delhi and Kolkata. Red FM manages to hold its position in Mumbai and Big FM continues to rule in Bangalore.

It has the famous twin brothers, Raghu Ram and Rajiv Lakshman as judges and Nikhil Chinappa as the host.

The win follows a multi-agency pitch that also included Saatchi & Saatchi, Contract and McCann Erickson.

He would be reporting to Manoj Kumar Sonthalia, chairman and managing director, Express Group.

Internet services companies, which have been among the most targeted sectors by venture capital (VC) funds in the country, have not quite lived up to the expectations set two years ago, rue VCs.

Richard Pinder, chief operating officer, Publicis Worldwide, emphasises the importance of India as one of the few growth markets.

Raj Bhattacharya has been appointed as business head, all India, Selvel One Group, an outdoor media company.

Middle East based jewellery retailer Damas and Indian jewellery maker and exporter Gitanjali group, which have recently formed a second joint venture, DamasGitanjali, has called for a creative pitch.

Frito-Lay India, the food division of PepsiCo India, will leverage the success of Kurkure and Lays for its recently introduced Aliva brand of crackers.

The new communication campaign 'Library' is the first international film of the global campaign to be aired in India.

With a clutter of over 100 films being released every year, it's a number game out there.

We have been thinking about trends lately. Not in how we might identify them, but in observing how other people think about them.

Colors has maintained its position as the most watched Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), as per Week 23 data from TAM Media Research (C&S, 4+, HSM audiences).

Prior to this, Colaco was executive vice-president, Nimbus Sport.

Private sector life and general insurance company Bajaj Allianz is going in for a new communication strategy.

Prior to his elevation, Kukian was national head - sales at the organisation, which he joined in 2005.

The new venture, called ClozR Communications, is a joint partnership between Dentsu India and Serco BPO.

Some call them "internet buses", and they are turning out to be a powerful medium to educate folks in smaller towns about the power of the computer and the internet.

TPT was voted as one of the seven most innovative business models by the PubliGroupe and INMA, who successfully launched the second edition of their 'Innovative Business Models Contest' this year.

Madhur Mittal, chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director, Triveni Group, owns the remaining balance of 50 per cent in the media company.

Channa, who is presently based out of Singapore, will shift base to New Delhi and will assume his new role from July 1

Founded in 2005, the organisation now covers more than 300 television channels and powers millions of set top boxes of DTH, cable and IPTV.

Multiplex Association of India has signed an agreement with the United Producers and Distributors Forum (UPDF) ending a nine-week dispute.

Today's audience is more aware and better informed about the latest developments around the world.

Through block deal counter of the stock exchanges, the company has sold about 5.51 crore shares at a price of Rs 49 a piece.

A new community radio station (CRS) would be functioning at Wayanad Social Service Society, Mananthvady in Kerala.

Aegis Media has launched its media brand, Vizeum, in India. Vizeum will have operations in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai, to begin with.

Chattopadhyay will report to Arvind Mohan, group chief strategy officer, Rediffusion Y&R, and Nisha Singhania, executive vice-president, Rediffusion Y&R.

Viral Pandya, executive creative director, Cheil Communications, has quit the agency after a short stint of one and half years.

The brand has announced actors Preity Zinta and Neil Nitin Mukesh as its ambassadors.

Apart from Publicis, the agencies that were involved in the pitch included Leo Burnett, DraftFCB Ulka, Euro RSCG, Saatchi & Saatchi and Planman Consulting.

The agency will roll out a new marketing campaign for the company in a few days, which will highlight the benefits that the insurance company offers to its customers.

Radio Mirchi continues to lead in Delhi and Kolkata. Red FM has regained its lost stance in Mumbai, Big FM continues to rule in Bangalore.

The bane of contention was over revenue sharing and the deadlock had prevented new films from being shown in Indian and global multiplexes since April 4.

Among the primary reasons for people moving out of the advertising industry is the condescending attitude that prevails between the client and the advertising agency.

Century Plyboards (I) has decided to shed its staid image of a utility product manufacturer.

The judging for the awards, which would be done online, will begin from mid-July.

Affle has launched a new technology, which allows advertisers to derive significantly higher ROI from their mobile advertising campaigns.

But there could not be a better time for corporate marriages (M&As), as weaker companies are ready to sell themselves off for a pittance.

He will be based in Mumbai and will report to Harish Thawani, chairperson, Neo Sports Broadcast.

In a disc submitted by the firm, the display and voiceover time of the warning in the advertisement for Reliance Infrastructure Fund is less than five seconds.

Beginning today, countries will battle for supremacy in ICC World Twenty20, England 2009.

Mediaedge:cia (MEC) India has strengthened its regional structure with the promotion of Shubha George as chief operating officer.

The new entity, called Portland Mudra, will start operating in July from its Mumbai office.

The company had bagged the BEST contract to install screens and CCTVs in these buses for 20 years. The contract is to be renewed after 10 years.

The size of the account could not be ascertained at the time of filing this report.

Indians are willing to experiment with value-added services (VAS), including chatting, video gaming and watching live TV.

Leading sports entertainment company ESPN has rebranded its cricket site, Cricinfo.com to ESPNCricinfo.com.

The Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) battle has intensified with the three major players locked in a bitter close fight for the top spots.

He has over nine years of editorial experience with tech media companies in India and the Middle East.

Vikassheel Bharat, the third publication from DLA Group of Agra, will hit the stands on June 16, 2009.

The company will allot equity or an equity linked convertible instrument to the PE firm on a preferential allotment.

Tamil Nadu government has announced the constitution of a seven-member committee to go into the entire gamut of issues relating to the industry.

He will continue to be based out of New Delhi and will report to Ashwin Padmanabhan, station director, Big FM - Delhi.

Vadilal Industries Ltd, a leading ice-cream producer based out of Gujarat, will not be able to sell its 'American Dry Fruits' brand anymore.

Bharti Airtel has launched an on-ground initiative to help its customers understand the company's various offerings of fixed line and broadband services.

The Audio Cinema service will be available across all major telephone operators in India.

The battleground for direct-to-home (DTH) companies is expected to soon shift to semi-urban and rural India.

Adlabs Films Ltd, the Reliance ADAG promoted firm, is re-crafting its various business verticals.

The new-look paper hit newsstands on May 25, 2009 and the changes were based on extensive six months research findings.

The Cannes market seems to be the best destination before Bollywood packs its bag for a summer break.

The winners of Promax/BDA Awards 2009 were announced at an event held in Mumbai recently.

He comes in with 16 years of experience and was vice-president, Out Of Home Media India before joining TME.

Mudra Delhi has won the creative duties for Vimal Pan Masala, the flagship brand from the Lalwani Group.

UTV World Movies, the international movie channel from UTV Entertainment Television, on May 30 conducted a yacht racing competition for some media agencies.

Elephant Strategy+Design has bagged the ReBrand 100 Global Award 2009 for re-branding the Britannia Pure Magic brand of biscuits and Panacea Biotech.

Currently, each player pays the government 10 per cent of the gross revenue earned as licence fee every year.

Anil Srivatsa, chief operating officer (COO), Meow FM, the radio venture of India Today Group, has put in his papers.

She will report to Anupam Vasudev, executive vice-president, Star India.

Hakuhodo Percept has bagged the creative and media duties for Daikin air conditioners.

The Unitech Group has awarded the creative duties for its real estate vertical to Law & Kenneth.

Linc has commissioned Mumbai-based creative agency, The Republic, to make a new set of television commercials with SRK.

Lexi Pens has signed up M&C Saatchi Communications for the launch of its new brand of world pens.

Sinha will report to Rima Gupta, country head, The Futures Company.

Reliance Big TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) arm of the Reliance ADA group, has expanded its channel bouquet with the addition of 10 new channels.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 20 for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore is out.

With the ICC World Twenty20 tournament just five days away, ESPN Star Sports, the official broadcaster, is gearing up to hype the event.

If the India telecom story is making waves overseas, in the country, it's nothing short of aggressive moves and counter moves by players.

The agency will be responsible for all the advertising activities for the brand, above-the-line and below-the-line planning.

Leo Burnett has elevated two copywriters - Amod Dani and Vikram Pandey - to the position of creative directors.

Rasna has created what it calls 'Sabse Bada Glass' (World's biggest glass) during an event at DLF Saket Mall in New Delhi on May 28.

Integrated brand communications agency brand-comm has announced the results of its 'Recession Reactions Study 2009'.

Ambika Soni has made a remarkable comeback with a portfolio said to be reserved for the biggest loyalist: That of Information and Broadcasting.

Zee TV's proximity to the top two channels has brought cheer to media planners and buyers since it allows them better negotiating power on air-time rates.

The Indian Excellence in Radio Awards were given away at a ceremony in Mumbai on May 27, 2009. A total 28 awards were given in 13 categories.

IPL has seen increased examples of cricketers managing to promote rival brands and getting away with it - without flouting any contractual obligations.

Intel has unveiled a new global multi-million dollar marketing campaign with a new tagline, called Sponsors of Tomorrow.

The creative duties for ABP have been entrusted with Rediffusion Y&R - Kolkata, which does not come following a multi agency pitch.

Himanshu Saxena, group business director, McCann, has assumed a new role in the agency.

Conceptualised by McCann Erickson, the campaign stresses on the 'Fitness is Fun' element. It has been directed by Mintoo Singh and produced by Classics Film.

He had re-joined the Times Group in 2007 as editorial advisor and Dean of The Times School of Journalism and was based in Delhi.

The development comes in the wake of G Krishnan, chief executive officer, TV Today Group, stepping down as the JWC chairman.

Arun Bhatnagar, chairman, Prasar Bharati, who has been at loggerheads with the public broadcaster's chief executive officer BS Lalli.

The event, to be telecast by Star Cricket, the cricket centric channel from the ESPN Star Sports bouquet, is tipped to generate a lot of viewer interest and advertisers too.

A study by Lintas Media Group and Aaren Initiative shows that there was significant OOH television viewership for the IPL season two event.

He will be responsible for the management and development of the Lenovo brand, and overseeing the marketing strategy for Lenovo's product line-up.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an effective way of building goodwill for a company, according to a study conducted by Nielsen spanning the whole of last year.

He also serves on the advisory board of the online advertising network, Komli Media, where he was appointed in April 2009.

Fickle are the ways of the Indian advertising world and it was not so long ago when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was put on a pedestal by starcrazy brand merchants.

Fever FM has maintained its lead in Mumbai and Big FM emerges as the undisputed leader in Bangalore.

It started in 2008 itself with the industry witnessing a spate of big-budget flops, this year is no better. With a strike rate of just three hits in 50 releases so far, Tamil film industry seems to be going through a rough patch.

Jaitly had been managing strategic marketing and ad sales for the media business of DB Corp.

The incumbent agency was Aaren Initiative, which was also part of the pitch, as were Outdoor Advertising Professionals (OAP), Mudra, Street Culture, TDI, Outdoor Media Integrated, Laqshya and Navia.

Euro RSCG India has appointed Ashok Lalla as its president, digital.

Bucking the economic correction trends, Mint, the English business daily from HT Media is set to capture the Eastern market. Mint hit the stands in Kolkata today, May 25, 2009.

Touted as the betting battle royale between Venkatram Reddy and Vijaya Mallya, it was Reddy who had the last laugh even though Mallya had drawn first blood.

The three founder members of the Champions League Twenty20 have announced in Johannesburg, South Africa that twelve teams.

Aegis Media has been on a growing spree since Ashish Bhasin took over as chairman and chief executive officer last year, joining from Lowe Lintas.

Mumbai based agency, Cornerstone Communications was the incumbent agency.

The channel has garnered 258 GRPs this week, which is 10 GRPs more than Week 19.

After forging an alliance in December 2007, Network18 and Forbes Media launched the Indian edition of Forbes on May 21, 2009.

Yatish Rajawat has been promoted as managing editor, Dainik Bhaskar, from the post of executive editor, Business Bhaskar.

The investor, who will be offered up to 50 per cent stake, will help the company part fund its ambitious $ 100 million, three-year investment to acquire rights to Bollywood and regional movies.

With seven new shows, a changed look after 14 long years and the high voltage marketing campaigns, Sony is all set to fight it out in the Hindi GEC space come May 25.

The deal will mean a foray into regional movie space in India for Fox Star Studios.

Recently launched Warner branded Hollywood channel, WB from Turner is all set to roll out a multi-layered marketing campaign starting May 25, 2009.

The Videocon Group has awarded its media duties to ZenithOptimedia. The account is estimated to be in the region of Rs 200 crore.

Earlier this year, Bates 141 roped in Russell Barrett as executive creative director. Ever since, the Virgin Mobile team has been undergoing restructuring process.

He will be based out of New Delhi and will report to Anil Verma, executive creative director, Mudra Delhi.

HCL Technologies, part of the Rs 24,000 crore HCL Group, has signed a global outsourcing deal with MTV Networks (MTVN) to develop and support its online media platforms.

A clean victory for UPA in the 15th Lok Sabha elections may have been unexpected for everyone, but not so the viewer turnout for television channels on May 16.

Marketing of future film releases too hasn't taken off, while regional films have been holding the fort.

Entertainment Network (India) Ltd, which owns popular radio station Radio Mirchi, has posted a 3 per cent growth in consolidated revenue at Rs 427 crore in 2008-09.

Radio One, the joint venture between Mid-Day Multimedia and BBC Worldwide, has announced its financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.

Godrej Group has joined hands with Star India and Big Synergy to launch an new reality game show, titled as Godrej Khelo Jeeto Jiyo.

In addition to this portfolio, Gavarasana will also spearhead the Toyota business for the Indian market.

Colors, Viacom18's general entertainment channel (GEC), has chosen Maxus as its media agency, without calling any pitch process.

Publicis Dialog has won the 2009 mandate of promoting olive oil and table olives in India from International Olive Council (IOC).

In its ninth consecutive year, the competition, supported by the Times Group, is a national initiative aimed at providing an opportunity for international exposure.

International Data Group (IDG) has expanded the presence of its international online advertising network, called IDG TechNetwork, to India.

Post the decision of Government to allow up to 100 per cent FDI, foreign newspapers are venturing into India with their facsimile editions.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 18 for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore is out.

UTV Software Communications is considering delisting its wholly-owned subsidiary, UTV Motion Pictures (UMP) from the Alternate Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.

HT Media Ltd has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended March 31, 2009.

Recently, a screaming headline in a tabloid grabbed my attention. Out of work Sushmita Sen loses advertising deal to petite Asin.

Leroy Alvares has been appointed as chief executive officer, Wunderman India, the direct marketing arm of Rediffusion – Y&R.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare is undertaking a special campaign this summer to drive growth in the health food drinks category, consisting of the Boost and Horlicks brands.

Mid-Day has won the maximum number of awards among Indian entries at the International News Media Marketing Association (INMA) Awards held at Miami USA.

Based in Los Angeles, Nigam will report to Ellen Agress, senior vice-president and deputy general counsel, News Corp.

One of the big Hollywood summer releases, 20th Century Fox's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, has been enjoying its outing at the box office for over two weeks across the world, but not in India.

Diamond Comics has entertained generations through its popular characters such as Chacha Choudhary, Sabu, Pinki and others.

The survey was conducted on behalf of MTVNI, Nokia, 20th Century Fox, Fox Mobile Group and Channel 4.

T3, the gadget lifestyle magazine from Infomedia 18 Ltd, has launched its new-look issue this month, which has been overhauled from top to bottom.

Politics may be our most preferred topic of debate and discussion, but it hasn't quite got viewers' votes as prime time material.

Over the last couple of years, the boisterous Punjabi family was replaced on the television by the often humorous and affable Gujarati one.

Television actress Smriti Irani is looking forward to her new avatar as a comedy actor in Maniben.com, a Gujarati play, which will soon be aired as a full-fledged serial on Sab TV.

Dentsu India has launched a new customer relationship management (CRM) and loyalty practice arm.

Henkel India has roped in actor Bipasha Basu as the brand ambassador for its recently launched Fa Men Xtreme range.

NDTV Ltd and The Hindu have come together to launch Chennai's city-specific English news channel, called NDTV Hindu, which goes live from May 16.

In a significant ruling, which will have a long term impact on the pricing of channels for the DTH platform, TDSAT has backed sports broadcaster ESPN,

From the time Reliance Big Entertainment announced its creative partnership at the Cannes Film Festival last year, more than 20 individual film projects of the company have been approved.

The company had a net profit of Rs 23.85 crore during the same quarter last year.

The decision will be out on May 16, when months of hectic campaigning and country-wide trudging by political leaders of all hues will bear fruit.

The activity, called Go Play John + You, was carried out in Phoenix Mills in Mumbai and Ansal Plaza in Delhi on May 9-10.

The Clio Awards has announced the winners for the year 2009.

OOH Media has made two new appointments in the top level management of the company, hiring Raju Sarin as director and Shamik Talukder as business director.

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has appointed Shailesh Rao, managing director, Google India, as its chairperson.

Both Star Plus and Colors have garnered 22 per cent share each, as per the latest TAM report, for C&S 4+, HSM audiences.

The Supreme Court has allowed the TRAI to work out a fresh tariff regime for cable services in general cable TV (non-CAS) areas.

TV18 India Ltd, said on Wednesday its board approved raising Rs 501 crore via rights issue, which will be used primarily for re-paying debt.

Lines from a new TVC scripted by Prasoon Joshi, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and delivered by Bollywood's little big man, Aamir Khan seems to be incredible.

After winning a bronze medal at at the Beijing Olympics, Vijender Singh has been now signed on by Pepsi as its brand ambassador.

Zee News will broadcast the General Elections 2009 live on the Internet from May 15 to May 17.

Since its establishment, Indian media is known as a tool for promoting democracy and exposing the ill giving's that may be happening within government bodies.

WorldSpace, US based satellite radio company, plans to launch satellite car radio service in India by 2010.

Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in India has started to reflect the sentiments of consumers in the rest of the world.

The IPL has stopped the controversial SMS game, 6UP, following accusations from the government that it encouraged gambling and betting.

The company has announced the launch of many cricket-centric exclusive value-added services (VAS) for its customers.

The creativity behind the campaign centres on the hope inherent in the word 'yes!', highlighting the tangible acts that bring the brand to life.

Hyperspace was established in 2002 in the UK to help amplify out-of-home (OOH) communications using cutting-edge solutions.

Euro RSCG has announced a new APAC Strategic Council in its Global Leadership Meeting, which was held in Shanghai recently.

He has earlier been with Rediff for over thirteen years and had moved to Percept H as senior creative director last year.

Gandhi will be primarily involved in strengthening the digital function.

The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) data for Week 17 for Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore is out.

Guess what's pulling eyeballs and bringing in the bucks on telly these days ?

Once merely a device for voice calls, mobile phones are now used for browsing, gaming and other non-voice purposes almost 90% of the time.

The Coir Board of India has empanelled six agencies to handle its creative account for a three year period.

Ashok Vidyasagar, branch head and senior vice-president, Bates 141 - Bangalore and country lead for Enfatico, has put in his papers.

Through this advertising campaign, Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade will reach a niche audience of over 25 million viewers in 6600 towns across India.

Starting today, the channel will have a brand new avatar, including a new look, new positioning, new shows, and a new tag line 'Vh1 - Get with it'.

Sarma was the chairman of Telecom Commission from June 2005 to July 2006. He was later appointed as TDSAT member on July 28, 2008.

Aroon Purie, chairman and editor-in-chief, India Today Group, has been elected as the chairman of the Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP).

Gitanjali Group has said that it has no intention of backing out of sponsoring the beleaguered Knight Riders team in the next edition of the IPL.

The minister said the BCCI was using a cash-rich IPL to mint money by encouraging betting.

Earlier this month, he put in his papers as the co- chief creative officer of Rediffusion – Y&R.

eBus has branches in Singapore and Thailand and has now commenced Indian operations recently

The awards for the best in radio advertising played against the backdrop of the General Elections at the 6th Mirchi Kaan Awards last week in Mumbai.

The One Show Interactive Awards 2009 awards winners have been announced and Leo Burnett India is the only agency from India to win an award.

Televisionpoint.com Correspondent | Mumbai
The US-India Business Council (USIBC) has appointed Shailesh Rao, managing director, Google India, to its board of directors.

The inception of the event management industry in India can be traced back to the time when, following liberalisation of the economy, multinationals started entrenching themselves in India.

Dainik Jagran continues as the No. 1 Hindi daily with a total readership (TR) of 5.45 crore, while The Times of India maintains its lead among the English dailies with a TR of 1.33 crore.

It will employ 1200 employees within a year and will comply with MPAA (Motion Pictures Association of America) standards.

After launching a slew of specialist units over the last one year, Mudra Group has finally integrated all its 12 specialist offerings under the Mudra MAX umbrella.

He had joined the company in February 2008, when he took over the function from Girish Agarwal, director, DB Corp.

Yesudas had been with the company since its inception, which is about three years.

The new product line offers a range of grooming products designed specifically for men and India has pioneered the launch of this new brand worldwide.

The One Show 2009 awards winners have been announced and DDB Mudra is the only agency from India to win an award.

ikram and Sona are shopping at a departmental store, when suddenly Vikram spots a board announcing the Godrej Eon, caption 'Bharo Fridge Jeeto Contest'.

She will report directly to Rajiv Verma, chief executive officer, HT Media Ltd and will be based out of Mumbai.

The Walt Disney Company (India) has announced a direct to retail model for its home entertainment business in India.

In the ongoing poll season, Indian politics has taken over Bollywood and it's not just actors contesting and campaigning.

ZenithOptimedia has released its annual media forecast report for 2009, which provides advertising spends and revenue earned by various sections of the media.

Earlier, the media duties were with Mudra Max. Media spends for the year is pegged at Rs 25 crore.

Iqbal Raj, national creative director; Dilip Marathe, creative head; and Ajay Verma, senior vice-president and branch head, Mumbai all have all moved out.

has turned entrepreneur and has set up his own venture, SNJ Media Services Pvt Ltd, which will operate under the brand name Synergy.

Badhniwalla will report to Ravi Kiran, chief executive officer, South Asia and Pushkar Sane, chief digital officer, North and South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group.

The India Local Council aims to serve the growing needs of the mobile marketing communities in the country.

Through Time Shift, subscribers can access recorded programmes and live events without having to go through the hassle of having to time the recording themselves.

Not only the Indian advertising industry, even our international counterpart is an ardent follower of the same trend.

Tripathi moves in from Big FM, where she was station director for Delhi.

The inaugural issue of the magazine has 148 pages with a print run of 45,000 copies.

Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has picked up 26 per cent stake in Indira TV, a Telugu news channel launched recently.

More companies are coming up with below-the-line (BTL) promotions to get maximum bang from the marketing spend.

This is aimed at the small and medium business (SMB) entrepreneurs and future leaders from business schools across the country.

He is based at Silicon Valley and will head the international market for the video-on-demand (VoD) division of the business.

While every other industry is hit by recession, the gaming business appears to be one that is playing well and actually growing, Jim Ryan of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe explains.

Shah, head of branding, Reliance ADAG, has been nominated to the CMO Council Worldwide's Asia Pacific Advisory Council.

Robin Carruthers, CEO, Clear Channel India, has been appointed as CEO, Square Circle Media Outdoors, the new out-of-home (OOH) specialist sister concern unit of Shlok Media

The nominations and in-book status for the D&AD Awards 2009 has been announced.

Despite an enormous state police force, India lacked the confidence to hold the second innings of the Indian Premiere League (IPL) tournament.

The Indian T20 cricket season is on now but in all the hype surrounding the BCCI-sponsored IPL, it is worth noting that its increasingly marginalised rival - the ICL is in trouble.

While DTH operators say that tariff structures need to be rationalised by the TRAI, which also regulates the DTH industry, broadcasters feel the move would be counter-productive.

Gitanjali Murari, content head, Real, has quit from the newly-launched Hindi GEC. She joined the channel in May 2008 and was responsible for developing and producing content for the channel.

NDTV has announced its fourth quarter results and has reported consolidated revenues of Rs 123.30 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2009.

The political script for the Tamil Nadu 'power' stage has always included a delightful mix of corporate patronage and power play by silver screen veterans.

Seshadri has held several positions at the Club over the years, including that of secretary, before he was elected the 37th president of the Club last year.

The buying and selling trend started by the Indian Premier League (IPL) is getting all virtual and giving way to a platform for social networking.

Sequoia Capital India and Silicon Valley Bank have jointly acquired a minority stake in Ideacts Innovations, a Mumbai-based Internet media firm.

The new division is headquartered in Delhi and will have offices in Mumbai and Bangalore.

National Geographic Channel (NGC) is eyeing the mobile platform to expand its audience base and to earn additional revenue.

ICC is in favour of a resolution to the issue of ICL, as that is in the best interest of cricket.

Dish TV, the Essel Group owned DTH company, has revamped its programme packaging in three tiers - Silver, Gold and Platinum - by structuring the channels genre wise.

The Videocon group's direct-to-home (DTH) venture, called D2H+, has launched its services on April 27 and is aiming a subscription of 10 per cent in the first year.

A chef in California who tossed salads is now in Mumbai, albeit, not as a chef but to try his luck in Bollywood.

Software Communications has announced its fourth quarter results, which has shown a sharp fall in profits, led by losses in broadcasting, gaming and new media divisions.

If Sun TV can promote its kids channel called Chutti TV then the holiday market must be something worth cashing in on.

eo Burnett, one of the world's largest advertising agencies, is planning to make India a global outsourcing hub, as clients look at cutting cost.

Dentsu India has launched ContactPoint Management, which helps to evaluate the efficacy of various contact points chosen by the brands.

Yash Khanna, executive vice-president, corporate communications, Star India, has decided to quit after a 17 years stint.

Emami, the fifth largest FMCG company in India, is targeting Rs 300 crore sales from its summer care brands.

Kingfisher Airlines has created a presence on Twitter.com, a social networking and micro-blogging website, at .

The international broadcaster is already collaborating with various FM radio stations, and Incablenet allows the Indian public to access RNW programmes via cable for the first time.

Telecom brands are calling a new tune with the Indian Premier League (IPL) second season, high tailing it across television screens and dominating commercials.

OOH Media has tailored a special, first-of-its-kind character for its out of home digital screens.

World Sports Group (WSG), the global media rights owner of the Indian Premier League (IPL), has awarded the official radio rights to Primetime Kagiso.

GroupM, the media buying arm of the UK-based marketing communications conglomerate WPP Group Plc, has released a study on Indian media for 2008 and 2009.

Advertising, branding, positioning, geographical outreach and any other progressive act that you could possibly cook up.

India has managed a total tally of nine shortlisted entries this year, with agencies such as Publicis Ambience, O&M, Leo Burnett and Contract figuring in the final tally.

Vdopia has partnered with NDTV Convergence to power video advertising on Tubaah.com, the newly launched repository of NDTV video content and on NDTVProfit.com.

Lipton Yellow Label, a tea brand of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), is using the interactive medium to put across its brand message that helps a person to stay sharp and focused.

When Mamata Banerjee made a statement saying the Nano was launched to spite her, we couldn't help but titter.

The pay cuts across the organisation were announced internally by R Jagannathan, editor, DNA.

The first major development after INX News found new ownership took place on April 24, 2009, when it was announced that Arup Ghosh, head of news room, would be exiting the company.

Pubali Chaudhari, a Film and Television Institute of India, (FTII) Pune pass-out made it big in Bollywood with her work in Rock On!!

Close on the heels of coming under Emami's umbrella, Zandu Pharma is set for an African safari.

This platform aims to give viewers an opportunity to be experts as they call in and share their opinions, views.

About a quarter of a century ago, the 'fear factor' entered the holy citadels of marketing strategy in India.

Kalanithi Maran's Sun TV Network and Subhash Chandra's Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the two homegrown media companies, have managed to de-throne Rupert Murdoch's Star Group as the leading Asia-Pacific pay broadcaster.

For a channel that was dismissed by many, it has beaten rivals and stayed at the top successively for five of the past six months, reaching an average 36 per cent channel share in February and March.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Nirmal N. Kotecha, the promoter and one of the largest stakeholders in Pyramid Saimira Theatre from dealing in the securities market till further directions.

According to TAM Media Research, the match played on April 19 (Sunday) between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils garnered a TVR of 5.08 (C&S 4+, six metros).

In May, a whacky edible oil campaign will hit the Indian television screens. Capitalising on taste, the TVC will compare the oil brand with a washing powder and pose a question.

The company has been facing an unprecedented downturn in domestic sales for the last many months and the new promotion may revive customer interest in the brand Bajaj.

From India, Starcom MediaVest, MediaCom and Madison Media have secured places in the winners list for the Festival of Media Awards, which was held in Valencia, Spain on April 19-21.

Star Jalsha, the Bengali general entertainment channel (GEC) from Star Entertainment Media, has garnered a 34 per cent relative channel share among all Bengali GECs.

Saam Marathi, the Marathi general entertainment channel (GEC) from the Sakal Group, has launched new shows to boost its afternoon programming.

ee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has reported its fourth quarter 2009 consolidated revenues of Rs 513.7 crore, representing a 2 per cent reduction over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

The next time any of Gujarat's top business houses want to bid for a team from Gujarat in the IPL, there is one aspect they will not have to worry about - the name of the team.

esign Bridge, the international branding agency and Brandscapes Worldwide Consultancy, the global data analytics and insight consulting firm, have entered into a strategic partnership in India.

Whether advertising drives reality or reflects it remains a ball-breaker and one of life's enduring and unsolved mysteries.

With telecom companies planning to bank on value-added services (VAS) to shore up revenues generated per subscriber – simply creating awareness could be the first step.

Indian pay-television industry is facing a shake-out amid intense competition during the economic crisis.

NDTV Good Times, the lifestyle channel from the NDTV Group, is now available in Singapore on mio TV, a digital pay TV service of telecom giant SingTel.

The show will be aired at 7 pm, from Monday to Friday, starting April 20, 2009. The game show has replaced Maa, a daily soap on the Hindi GEC.

The new series will air on Animal Planet, the entertainment brand dedicated to building a relationship between people and animals, every Sunday at 9 pm, starting April 26.

They did it last year. Grabbed eyeballs with pompoms and pinch-hitters at prime time, weaning away even true blue soap loyalists from their daily diet of saas-bahu entertainment.

Mudra Connext has appointed Pradeep Ramakrishnan as its vice-president and national strategic planning head.

Meanwhile, TBWA India has reportedly already identified Mishra's replacement and would announce the appointment soon.

DTV Convergence, the new media arm of NDTV Group, has launched the new version its general news site - NDTV.com.

SET is riding on the popularity of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the relaunch, which will include a new look as well as a new programming line-up.

Backward integration is the new business for the NDTV Group, which runs a general entertainment channel NDTV Imagine.

Few of the leading media companies across the country have joined hands and made an effort to break down boundary and language barriers between geographically distant states of India.

Independent News & Media (INM) is considering a sale of its 20 per cent stake in Jagran Prakashan Limited (JPL), which publishes the world's largest read newspaper Dainik Jagran.

It was a strange sight indeed on Sunday, when Brendon McCullum, and not Saurav Ganguly, walked out for the toss with Team Hyderabad skipper Adam Gilchrist, the burning golden helmet printed prominently on his shirt.

The media industry is obsessed with measurement tools like TAM and RAM, which measures television viewing and radio audiences.

Carruthers was promoted to the post of CEO in September 2008, around the same time that Adille Sumariwalla, chairman and managing director, Clear Channel India, had resigned, with the intention of taking a break to pursue other interests.

She will be based in Delhi and will report to Jishnu Sen, chief operating officer, Grey India.

Indian Terrain, the men's wear brand from Celebrity Fashion, has awarded its creative duties to Law & Kenneth.

The Lokmat Group will be launching its Goa edition on April 21, with an initial print run of 50,000 copies.

National Geographic Channel has started a week of celebrations to propagate and create awareness about the current state of planet Earth.

The TAM Media Research data for both the matches are out. Although, TAM data is out every week, this time, it has reported data in just one day keeping the interest around IPL in mind.

The Indian Cricket League's (ICL) bid for official recognition was rejected last week during a meeting of the executive board of International Cricket Council (ICC).

Why do kids love jumping in a puddle, even though the sides of the roads are pretty clean ?

Call it the bane of the poll season. Election hoarding's have propped up at every corner, trying to outdo each other in grabbing voters' attention.

TBWA India has appointed Nandini Nair as the group creative director for its southern operations.

Fox Network's Someone's Gotta Go, in which employees of a recession-hit firm will vote each other out, takes things too far, believe professionals here.

Mumbai Indians' (MI) owner Nita Ambani expects the team to recover all its investments and achieve a break even in 3 years.

However, TMT retains the development of the official IPL website, www.iplt20.com.

irst the bad news: For the first time since 1998, advertising revenue in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) will fall by 1.1 per cent in 2009. However, it could recover to a 5.3 per cent growth in 2010.

Britannia Industries has decided to review its media duties, following which an AOR pitch has been called for.

Manjiri Kamat, managing director, mediaedge:cia Malaysia, has been mandated to lead the Mumbai and Bangalore operations of the company in India as general manager.

The agency will service eight clients including Cadila, Color Plus, Essar Retail and the Richemont Group. Offices in Delhi and Ahmedabad are next on the cards.

For the Mirchi Kaan Awards 2009, the juries undertook a rigorous evaluation process, which involved listening to over 750 entries across 15 categories.

Arun Tadanki has been appointed as managing director for Yahoo, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, ending the search for a replacement for George Zacharias.

Colors, with its unique and innovative programming, has finally done it, by surpassing Star Plus by 25 GRPs.

Disney Publishing Worldwide (India), has announced a licensing agreement with local publisher Junior Diamond to publish Disney comic books.

The venue for the IPL might have shifted to South Africa, but the promoters of the teams promise fans as much fun as before.

Money minting audience research company TAM Media Research has launched TAM Sports, which will track the performance of sports.

If by now you haven't seen BPO guru Raman Roy or NIIT's R Rajendran endorsing Dell products, you must be in some other world.

Three years ago the Group snapped up advertising executive Santosh Desai, it is now further strengthening its ties with advertising.

It all started with Mr Natwarlal 30 years back when the Big B, Bollywood titan Amitabh Bachchan, first sang in a movie whose lyrics ran Mere Paas Ao Mere Dosto.

If you go to a kiddie's game, you could find a big ad on it for the BJP, saying it's the greenest Indian political party and with a picture of L K Advani.

Kunal Lalani, a Commerce graduate from Delhi University, single handedly set up Crayons Advertising in 1986 with meager resources.

Election Commission (EC) on April 14, 2009 has banned distribution of results of opinion polls and exit polls by the media.

Space India has sought five-year time to migrate into the new licensing regime once it is finalised.

English fashion and lifestyle magazine Jade, a recent entrant in the print media, has completed six successful editions.

a sting operation carried out by Telugu news channel NTV, resulted in its woman reporter being jostled right in the Praja Rajyam (PR) political party headquarters.

Starting this week, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan is been seen drinking and promoting Sprite, Coca-Cola's clear lemon drink, in TV commercials.

Wrigley India, known for chewing gum brands such as Boomer and Orbit, has tied up with all the eight IPL franchisees to become their official gum partner.

Cement, construction and power major Jaiprakash Associates has signed Tendulkar for its Cement brand.

A magician displaying a gold ring to a group of electorate, said, "This ring depicts a politician who is seen whenever elections are scheduled."

After roping in Bollywood actor Genelia D'Souza as the brand ambassador, Cadbury India has now taken the brand Perk online with their website www.takeitlightly.com

Doctors and lawyers apart, another set of people largely unaffected by the slowdown scare are India's teeming bunch of limo riding politicians.

And, the incidents are almost as dramatic as the soaps the channels air. Such wars were at their peak in the late 90s.

The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards were given away at a ceremony held in the Capital on April 13, 2009.

Emirates will be the team's title sponsors with eight other brands - Gulf Oil, Nimbooz, Netlinkblue, Reebok, Springbok Intl, Royal Challenge, Dabur Glucose-D and Orbit being sponsors too.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority of India (NPPA) will start a nationwide consumer mass media campaign to create awareness about drug pricing.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has empanelled three creative agencies – Dentsu, Percept's AMO Communications and Mumbai based Inter Publicity for its communication needs.

Sanjay Trehan, chief executive officer, NDTV Convergence, has put in his papers at the organisation after a two years stint.

UTV has launched a music video channel, called UTVatPlay on mobile TV, which is an extension of its online music portal, UTVatPlay.com.

Sarbajit Sarbajna, senior creative director, Solutions Digitas, as a special editor of Classroom section of Televisionpoint.com says that the future of advertising lies in retail and direct marketing.

Up till now, Bollywood has largely been recession proof, a point proven repeatedly ever since the Great Depression of the 1920s.

The B2B monthly magazine is targeted at professionals in the real-estate sector, real-estate developers, private equity investors and home loan providers.

The much hyped launch of TOI Chennai last year had created quite a stir and jolted the status quo of newspaper readership in the city.

Research studies by two media buying firms - mediaedge:cia and Maxus - say that the IPL will attract more viewers than the election coverage.

Will Indian advertisements do even better than they did in the last edition of the Cannes Lions International when they bagged 20 awards ?

Electronic products major Panasonic India, which caters to consumer, business and industrial needs, had called for a creative and media pitch about three months ago.

In his new role, Dey will have a pan-India responsibility and will continue to work closely with Kamal Basu, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi India.

The unit comes in two models with a price tag of Rs 79,000 and Rs 1,49,000 and can be fitted on a car, bus or any sports utility vehicle.

NBA issued the same on April 6 to Independent News Service Pvt Ltd, the owner of India TV, a Hindi news channel which is known to sensationalise uncommon news.

The daily already runs its editions from Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

The show is a competition between two families who will be asked simple questions that get tougher as the rounds progress.

The ICL players keen to return to the mainstream of international cricket face a mandatory one-year exile from the game before they can be considered for national selection by their respective boards.

The star-studded Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will gather in South Africa, ready for their first match at Cape Town on April 18.

Sandesh, a Gujarati news daily with about 50 lakh readers across Gujarat, has kicked off a campaign, titled Vote India Vote.

He moves from Bharti Airtel, where he was the chief marketing officer. He will join the company from May 01, 2009.

Sun Direct, the direct-to-home (DTH) service of Sun TV Network and Astro Group, has become the first player to launch high definition (HD) services in India.

Zee News has announced a voter awareness campaign, called Aapka Vote Aapki Taaqat, which has received the Election Commission of India's support.

IBN7, the Hindi news channel by Network18, and Hindustan, the Hindi newspaper by HT Media, have launched a campaign to draw the viewers' attention to politicians with criminal records.

This initiative aims to deliver its international audiences a range of news from across India during the General Election.

Careers360, the monthly educational magazine published by Pathfinder Publishing, was launched by APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, recently.

In a first of its kind experience on Indian television, Imagine is launching a new reality show that traces the journey of a bride-to-be, all captured on the small screen.

UltraTech Cement, the cement brand from Aditya Birla Group, has associated itself with the Indian Premier League (IPL) team.

Taj TV will syndicate to Fox Sports its entire portfolio of international cricket rights for the territory of Australia.

ESPN Star Sports has signed Sanjay Manjrekar, former Indian batsman, as an presenter and commentator for its cricket related programming in the country.

Starcom IP, the digital marketing practice of Starcom MediaVest Group, has relocated Suyesh Shankar from Singapore to India as national strategy director.

Aegis Media has expanded its network in the region by signing new affiliations with agencies in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam.

4P's Business and Marketing magazine announced the Power 2009 Awards at a ceremony held in Mumbai on April 8.

SeaChange began offering its services on the Smart Digivision based MyWay IPTV of telecom operators in 2008.

Zee News Ltd has launched a new 24 hour Hindi news and current affairs channel, Zee News Uttar Pradesh (UP), which will cater to areas in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

He replaces SN Chaterjee, who's next move could not be ascertained.

Recession is remarkably similar to slip-disc – you always think it's something that happens to others before you know it, you can't stand straight.

He steps into Gargi Kaul's shoes, who has decided to move on after a six year stint at the organisation.

Earlier, he was vice-president, Indian Cricket League (ICL), where he handled sponsorships.

The Lok Sabha elections have provided a ray of hope to advertising agencies to generate business during the otherwise difficult times.

It intends to plug a huge information gap in the Indian television industry by introducing the concept of awareness scores for programmes.

MTV India, the youth music channel from Viacom18 Media, has announced its plans to realign itself, structurally as well as strategically, for 2009-10.

To make up for the loss of box office sales at multiplexes, Eros has inked a revenue sharing deal with Dish TV to showcase the movie.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry says the channel is not registered with the ministry and so it's illegal.

Disney Channel will launch a new original production, called Kya Mast Hai Life, mirroring the lives of tweens.

While sponsors are looking out for long-term deals with lower fees, team franchisees are opting for one–year deal if the sponsorship fee is less attractive.

California-based Twitter.com offers an SMS-based service that allows people to send short text messages to a network of friends.

The government's directive to achieve 20 million broadband subscribers by 2010 is an instance where the 'plan' fell short of the 'vision'.

Imagine has managed to grab 7 per cent share, while the relative share of Sony stands at 6 per cent with 79 GRPs. Sony had 80 GRPs in the last week.

Sun Direct, the DTH service provider owned by the Maran family and Astro Group, will offer the Fox bouquet of international channels in India.

Sandipan Deb is the editor of the magazine, who was one of the founder editors of Outlook, more than a decade ago.

Sanjay Sharma has been re-designated as operations director, Network18 and chief operating officer, IBN Lokmat.

The new simulativeis an endeavour by the channel to bring to light the current state of the garden city.

Cashing in on the IPL craze, many travel houses are offering discounts and travel packages to South Africa (SA).

They may not have been Slum dog Millionaire stars but for three kids from the same Mumbai slums performing before a crowd of reporters and TV cameras was no less an achievement.

The party's campaign with the slogan, 'Strong leader, decisive government' will run on Dish TV's interactive channel, 999.

He will advise the company on future direction, ideas for growth and the overall business strategy.

Radio Mirchi hosted a glittering award show to honour excellence in Hindi film music and thereby felicitate deserving artists in the Indian music industry.

The budget estimate is ball parked at $ 7 million to be jointly financed by both the parties.

The duration of the IPL could just be longer than the usual as their are plans to have two additional breaks and extend the duration of the match by 10 minutes.

Pune will host the inaugural Lokmat Maharashtra Cricket Championship (LMCC) T20 event, an IPL style cricket tournament in November this year.

Stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea. That about sums up the conundrum that advertising agencies find themselves in these days.

Over 400 celebrities were ranked on five parameters — popularity, image attributes, power of persuasion, media presence and overexposure.

The Media Edge (TME), the media planning arm of Rediffusion Y&R, has restructured its senior level leadership.

Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Health Care Ltd, manufacturer of Horlicks, had in 2004, filed a suit against a HIL advertisement.

Advertisers will be allowed to target and reach consumers based on the type of industry and work they are engaged in.

Zee Muzic has been around for quite a few years now. But because of fierce competition, the channel never found priority among either viewers or advertisers.

While, CNBC will showcase important Mint stories on TV, every issue of Mint will feature key CNBC stories.

While they may be upping the TRPs for the channels, are they really making an impact when it comes to spreading the right message ?

One brand, two different ads, two different messages and with different brand ambassadors – all at the same time.

Farid Kureshi, founder, VIA OOH, who was chief executive officer of the new Essel venture, has confirmed the development to Televisionpoint.com.

Malkani comes from Bates 141, where he served as creative director on the Virgin Mobile account.

For the uninformed, the Seattle-based company is all set to unleash a concept that brings it back to the basic 'brick and mortar' model.

Media discourse in relation to contemporary social and political issues, particularly in recent times, has met with considerable criticism.

Mowgli and his friends will come alive again by 2010 in a high-definition 3D animated format.

The two companies will co-operatively offer pre-integrated solutions that are quick to implement and integrate.

UTV World Movies is saluting women of World cinema with a special screening at Film & Television Institute of India (FTII) on March 29 and 30, 2009.

The global financial meltdown has claimed several victims, among them backers of Formula One race teams.

Though the demand for merchandise and in-stadia branding are likely to fall with the IPL moving to South Africa, the company sees its association with the sport as a long-term affair.

He will continue to report to Ravi Kiran, chief executive officer - South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group.

It aims to provide consultancy to media companies and will deal in three verticals – sales and marketing, research and distribution placement and unique content.

Mudra South has won the Agency of the Year award in the third edition of Pepper Awards 2009, the annual creative award competition of Advertising Club of Cochin.

His last working day at TIL will be April 30, 2009. He joined TIL in 2006 and will move to US to augment his professional career in May.

He has a good exposure in managing research, creative operations, business development and strategizing.

Neerja Chowdhury, columnist with the Indian Express newspaper and TK Rajalakshmi of Frontline magazine have been elected as president and general secretary, respectively.

The product can also be useful in the form of back grounders and ready reckoner for bureaus, research teams and editors.

If Kollywood were asked to name the biggest blockbuster of last summer, the stock reply would be IPL 2008.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has restructured its advertising sales division.

division is operational in markets such as the UK, Russia and Germany, and a few other market as well.

Outlook Group India and Café Coffee Day (CCD) have join hands for a contest, called Coffee Quest, which got underway last week.

An LCD featuring a mobile digital scroller measuring 10 x 15 inches will be fitted behind the driver, facing the commuter.

VAS includes features like mobile broadband, mobile television, online gaming, video streaming, full track downloading and video telephony.

BSNL has launched an entertainment broadband value added service (VAS) with Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.

The company plans to launch premium STBs for home theatre owners, apart from offering live TV on-the-go to car owners.

Prior to joining Dish TV, he was associated with Grindwell Norton, a Saint-Gobain Group company, as president, abrasives.

Zee TV, in a bid to regain its lost number two place, has witnessed an rise in GRPs from 192 in Week 11 to 222 in Week 12.

Neo Sports Broadcast's plan to invest Rs 258.53 crore is among the proposals approved on the recommendation of FIPB.

HT Media Ltd has received the Delhi High Court's approval for demerger of its radio business, known for its FM channel Fever 104.

This has not been officially communicated it to the franchisees, but sources said that IPL officials are working overtime to work out the figures.

Munjal categorically stated that the relocation of the tournament was detrimental not only for his company, but also for the future of IPL.

SBI has been the highest spender among banks spending Rs 292.92 crore in 2008.

There's something that pricks our conscience and urges us to be more responsible towards the environment.

Thomas Cook, the travel company, is currently in the process of reviewing its creative and media duties.

He is doing it jointly with the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO.

Bharti Airtel launched its DTH services as part of its media foray in October 2008.

Heather Gupta, VP, HRD, UTV Group, has been given additional responsibility of Bindass and Bindass Movies as business head.

Kids Media India, the subsidiary of the Dubai based Spacetoon Media Group, has entered into a partnership with Paws Incorporated, Indiana.

Blame it on lower-quality content and the exam season, which have led to lower occupancies.

All matches will be during 4 pm IST and at 8 pm IST in the evening to coincide with prime time for television audiences in India.

The group owns popular brands like Asmi, D'damas, Nakshatra, Gili, Diya and Sangini.

An deal to this effect was signed between Taj TV and the Sri Lankan Rugby and Football Union (SLRFU).

The business will be handled by the Delhi branch of TBWA. The account size is expected to be Rs 12 crore.

Candid Marketing has announced a management buyout of the company from majority shareholder International Marketing & Sales Group.

The change is to simplify its communication process through structural, system and operational changes, which the company understood very late.

Ajay will report to Sandeep Madan, executive vice-president, Rediffusion Y&R - Delhi and will be based out of New Delhi.

He will be based in Mumbai and will report directly to Sonali Chatterjee, sales director for India and South Asia.

Gurneet Singh had nicely got into the habit of waking up to soothing Gurbani that plays on ETC Punjabi every morning.

The new channel offers a mix of European lifestyle, culture and arts as well as in-depth reports from business and politics through major Indian cable operators.

The new brand identity continues to use the signature globe, which is linked into the letter 'D' of Discovery in the current logo.

Aruna is a Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer and former joint secretary in the National Human Rights Commission.

The reality series dedicated to the Miss India contestants, right from day one to the biggest day of their lives- the Miss India pageant, will start from March 25, airing from 8 pm to 8.30 pm.

The suspense is over and it is South Africa that will host the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

As a build up to the Bingo! Red FM Bajaate Raho Awards, Red FM has rolled out a series of on-ground initiatives to involve the listeners in an innovative voting process.

The advertising budget for these brands is estimated to be Rs 30 crore.

The AAAI and the Advertising Club Bombay have announced the names of jury chairpersons for the categories of Film, Film Craft and Design.

The agency won the account following a multi-agency pitch, which began in February 2009 and included O&M and Draft-FCB-Ulka.

He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Hari V Krishnan, country head, MySpace India.

The week that went by was a particularly intriguing one. Two issues dominated the print and the television media and drove up a mass frenzy.

Sanjay Behl, brand and marketing head, Reliance Communications, has been given additional responsibilities of Big TV as its CEO.

The first stage will be the launch of the Star-CJ home shopping channel, which is slated for the second half of 2009.

Customers joy of getting cable services at minimum amount seems to have come to an end.

As India prepares for the five phased Lok Sabha Elections, news channels have announced a series of special shows on General Elections 2009 for their viewers.

The Bombay High Court on Monday denied to grant any relief to Multi Screen Media, in the IPL telecast rights row.

To some extent, even eyeballs may not be as high as in the inaugural season of IPL.

After many delays, Venugopal Dhoot has decided the launch date for his much-talked about businesses - DTH venture to April 27.

The assessment for the certification was conducted by Intertek Systems Certification, the management systems registration business unit of Intertek Group

DirecTV will be the exclusive satellite provider of the channel in the US. UTV Movies is available on the two Hindi packages offered by the DTH provider.

Bad news for movie fans across the country. Because of the stand-off between film producers and distributors, no films are scheduled to be released after April 4.

It was only when media professional Asma began working with NGOs in the field of HIV/AIDS that she realised how little she actually knew about the disease.

9999, 7232, 7474, 555.... These aren't any profit or loss figures but licence plates of some of the jet black Maybach and Mercs of the IPL franchisee owners and cricket honchos.

It's not something that the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) bosses were expecting, but given the circumstances, they will take it.

Last year, the MoU was performance based and structured payments were to be released on the team reaching the various stages of the tournament.

Not many remember much about the 2007 Bollywood flick, except perhaps the role Saif played of a NASCAR driver.

With General Elections round the corner, political parties are busy touching base with professional business consultants, seeking help in image building.

It aims to bring to life the thrill and excitement of a Delhi 's first night rally.

NewsX, the news channel owned by Indi Media Company, has entered into a two-year distribution deal with FAMS.

The channel will showcase events occurring in the southern states of India in English, Hindi and Urdu languages.

Late last year, the venerable Kamadhenu cinema theatre in Chennai's Mylapore area screened a movie for the final time.

But, there is a but in the story, as this development may not restore broadcast rights automatically to MSM India.

The GMR owned Delhi Daredevils team has announced its association with some of the biggest brands and top players in the corporate sector.

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club Bombay have announced the jury chairpersons for the Integrated, Interactive Digital and Direct categories.

Star Aviation, the Indian aviation wing of the Dubai based conglomerate, ETA Star Holdings, has signed up Oscar winner, A R Rahman as the brand ambassador.

He has been with Star India for the past 14 years and has 17 years of experience in the media and marketing industry.

He joined the company on October 01, 2007 and is currently serving his notice period till March 31, 2009.

It is a three month property that will air Hollywood box office hits everyday, most of them premieres, begriming from April 1.

The three shows are Choti Khushi Motha Fun, Hasya Katta and Chinya.

The broadcaster has submitted a new offer to the organizers of the IPL and has sought an out-of-court settlement with them.

Taj Television and the Essel Group jointly own Ten Sports, the sports channel.

MPG India won the account following an long-drawn multi-agency pitch that also saw the participation of agencies like Starcom Worldwide and Motivator

In an multi-agency pitch, Brand Curry, a communication specialist outfit, has won the creative duties for Zee News Uttar Pradesh (UP), which will be launched by the end of this month.

Ahead of Indian advertising industry's annual advertising awards festival Goafest 2009, the jury heads for three of the nine categories of creative Abby Awards have been announced.

When a month ago they announced Rohit Misra as the new president of the creative agency, they had indicated having identified a successor to him in Sri Lanka.

He has been with Hungama for the past five years and has 15 years of experience in the promotional marketing industry.

Ignitee Digital Solutions, in association with IAMAI, had organised a round table conference, titled 'Digital Media: Experimentation to Practice'.

The Indian direct-to-home (DTH) industry is adding 7 lakh subscribers every month compared to 2.5-3 lakh subscribers in early 2008.

This position will make her the principal spokesperson of the Government of India.

Mega Reach Distributors India has bagged the distribution rights for Complete News & Entertainment Broadcast (CNEB).

Sa Re Ga Ma India will substantially cut the budget for its much-hyped Bollywood foray for film production.

TV Today Network will not cut its advertisement rates because of low volumes.

The High Court has asked BCCI to keep the newly signed deal with World Sports Group (WSG)-Mauritius on hold.

The company's corporate identity has undergone a complete overhaul to re-enforce BPL Mobile as a fresh new brand.

It is learnt that he will join Mahindra & Mahindra Entertainment, which Popli refused to comment on.

The ongoing global economic correction has not spared the media giant Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL) too.

The deal unites the most widely read financial publication in the country, The Economic Times, and Thomson Reuters' global real-time content, via the ET Now channel.

The first show to roll out is Planet Rock Profiles, which gives viewers a glimpse into the lives of the world's most sought-after rock stars.

Dammara Seidigal, Big Lollu, Situation Chinnaraasu and Major Manikkam, have been introduced to boost the music being played on the radio station.

Lalit Modi, chairman and commissioner, Indian Premier League (IPL), has recently admitted that he constantly has to juggle his timings in order to get a few hours of rest

Mid-Day had received 68 registration forms along with entry fees from companies across Mumbai, since it opened registrations a month ago.

Levi Strauss Signature has roped in Shahid Kapoor as its brand ambassador, who is seen as an aspirational figure.

India has long been known for a community where games are only left to be played by the growing-ups.

The campaign through Doordarshan and Akashvani will have to be vetted by the screening committee appointed by the ECI.

Colors has been in a neck and neck race with Star Plus, which was the unshakable ruler for a long time with its saas-bahu formula serials.

Sources in the board said when it had met last on February 16, the consensus was that it could meet again on March 2 and March 3.

Of the total 29 applications, 13 candidates have been shortlisted by the committee.

In a bid to strengthen its number one GEC position, Star Plus will launch two fresh shows - Bure Bhi Hum Bhale Bhi Hum and Chehra.

Zee News is going ahead with its expansion plans and the listed company is now concentrating on Zee 24 Gantalu and Zee News UP.

The Twenty20 format has created more excitement around the sport, giving it the potential to be packaged as a full fledged entertainment programme for the better halves too.

It is learn that the advertising spend for Jazz in the Indian market would be Rs 15 crore.

He will continue to operate from Mumbai and will report directly to J C Giri, executive vice-president of Star Entertainment Media.

TRAI has amended the Direct to Home Broadcasting Services (Standards of Quality of Service and Redressal of Grievances) Regulations 2007.

Red FM has announced the Bingo! Red FM Bajaate Raho Awards, which celebrate mediocrity in Bollywood, television, music and cricket.

The number of new launches, having a girl child as a protagonist, has proved too much for the audience.

Apart from on-field measures, the team is going that extra mile to engage its fans for the coming season.

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and the Future Group have ended their relationship, in an mutual way.

Abhishek Bachchan teaching village children English via mobile phone. Juhi Chawla trying to fix up a village marriage,

Five Indian entries have made it to the final shortlist of the Festival of Media Awards, which will be held in Valencia, Spain from April 19-21, 2009.

He will report to Kamal Gianchandani, chief operating officer, BigFlix.com.

9XM, the leading music channel from INX Network, has launched a mobile site, which can be accessed at "wap.9xm.in".

The year 2008 has not been the best of times for Balaji Telefilms and its promoters – Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Jeetendra and Tusshar Kapoor.

Hathway, a digital cable provider, has launched its digital box plus DVR solution, based on NDS XTV DVR technology.

PVR Cinemas has opened Blu-O bowling alley, which will now bring fashion bowling to Indian consumers.

Comedy programming has emerged as the new flavour of Tamil television,

The security issue will not be left to individual franchisees, as was the case last year.

In a move to to engage the consumer with the product more actively, brand marketer's tend to innovate with selective opportunities.

MediaMix has been developed with the aim of delivering India-specific web statistics for media planners, media buyers, and marketers.

Immediate beneficiaries include consumers of 3G technology, and people who are on the move, using personal media players and television sets in their vehicles.

Indrani Mukerjea and Peter Mukerjea have step down from the management roles at INX Media.

The annual event provides valuable insight to the students through seminars and workshops on contemporary issues in the media.

The winners were felicitated at a function held at Ravindra Natya Mandir in Mumbai.

Rajasthan Royals, the winner of last year's India Premier League (IPL), is betting big on merchandising and hopes to sign more sponsors this season.

Venkatesh Kini, vice-president, marketing, Coca-Cola India has relocated to the Coca-Cola Company's headquarters in Atlanta.

Visa Inc has unveiled its campaign with the tag line 'More people around the world go with Visa', reflecting the company's evolution to a single, global company.

The size of the account is estimated to be worth Rs 12 crore. OMS is the incumbent agency.

This comes shortly after Genelia delivered her first Bollywood hit, Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na in 2008, and went on to score an instantaneous fan following among the youth.

Aksh has already signed a deal with Sony Pictures International Television for its Hollywood content on icontrol service.

He was second-in-command to R Sundar, chief executive officer of the company.

Viewers in the Conditional Access System (CAS) areas pay a fixed amount per channel for receiving digital TV signals through a set-top box.

The North-East TV Group, which has bouquet of channels like NE TV, NE Bangla and NE Hi-fi, has launched Focus TV on Women's Day, March 8, 2009.

Mid-Day, the leading afternoon tabloid, has revamped its Saturday issue in Mumbai, which will be also available a little earlier than in the afternoon.

Radio Mirchi has announced the Hindi film industry's first music awards.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) is planning to partially or fully sell any of its subsidiaries, to help the company bridge its working capital gap of Rs 60 crore.

The show will see nine boys and nine girls competing to win as a couple, who are entitled to get Rs 10 lakhs.

Some of the match venues could also be different from those that hosted Season 1 of the IPL games, a thumping success.

Certain segments, such as fast moving consumer goods, have always kept the woman consumer in mind.

Ravi Krishnan will be joining as managing director and senior vice-president, IMG South Asia with effect from April 1, 2009.

The Bridge, the specialist entertainment and embedded marketing unit of Starcom MediaVest Group and ZenithOptimedia, has hired Rajesh Iyer as business director.

Bhaskar Group has appointed Ashu Phakey as its new state head for Punjab and Haryana region.

Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) has acquired Channel 8, the only Bengali language film channel in India.

Albert Almeida, executive vice-president and business head, SET India, has put in his papers and is serving his notice period at the company till March 13.

Colors, the Hindi GEC from Network18, has claimed the number one position jointly with Star Plus in the GEC space, according to TAM Media Research.

The channel will showcase programming licensed from Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD).

The Kannada film industry has decided to hold a film-awareness rally across the Karnataka state and ask multiplexes to screen at least four Kannada shows daily.

The populace has been engulfed in pessimism as the financial correction creates an unprecedented hole in its pocket.

While traditional advertising mediums have seen a drop in advertising volume and rate cuts, advertising on mobile and Internet, with its low cost and target delivery of the message seems to be going strong.

The radio broadcaster hopes to woo the metro audience with this new offering.

TV Today Network Ltd, will spend up to Rs 29.3 crore for a buyback of up to 10 per cent of equity of shares.

The channel has introduced a club Shut Up And Watch for movie enthusiasts in Mumbai and has plans of extending it across the other metros in the country.

Discovery Travel & Living has launched three travel series - Rough Guides, Walking the World and Things to Try before You Die, all of which focus on different travel experiences.

CNBC Awaaz, the Hindi business news channel from the house of Network18, will launch a corporate reality show, called Chota Business Bade Sapne - Ban Jao Biyani.

With nationwide elections slated between April 16 and May 13, right alongside the IPL, there are worries that security may become an issue for the inter-city Twenty20 tournament as well.

Radio, Internet and cinema (RIC) are emerging as viable contenders for the consumer's divided attention.

This is the second win for T.A.G. since its launch in November last year, it won the Videocon consumer electronics and appliances account a month ago.

"Desi Beats naam hai product ka, so launch film should have 'tadka'". That was the briefing that the creative brains at JWT India got from their client Pepsico India a few months ago.

In her new role, she will be handling strategic planning initiatives and the international trade business and reporting to Atul Singh, president and CEO, Coca-Cola India.

Eros International is looking to get into the production of TV content to expand business, a company executive said.

Sandeep Jain, chief financial officer, Balaji Telefilms Ltd has resigned from his prestigious position effective from February 28.

The serial is based on the life of social reformer Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and was produced by the Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati Krutadnyata Pratishthan founded in 1993.

A simple action plan that Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev and ICL will adopt in the coming months in the wake of the rebel league's failed bid to gain recognition from the BCCI.

Summer has arrived in South India and the Cola majors - Coca Cola India and PepsiCo India - are ready for an massive marketing war in these four southern states.

The promotion seeks participation through a contest where customers have to complete a slogan on why they love digital TV.

Reporting to CEO Namit Malhotra, he'll be instrumental in the development of the company's brand positioning and oversee partner & supplier relationships.

The 220-page magazine hit the newsstands from February 27, 2009 and is priced at Rs 100.

It is an advanced asset management system, with built-in collaboration tools.

For the past four months, the channel was surviving on re-runs of its old shows in the absence of any fresh programming.

In many places, blue whales are so rare that experts know very little about them, but in most places we do know their future is threatened.

The channel has also lined up new episodes of Kiteretsu and Tensai Bakabon and a new show called Backyard Science in time for the summer fare.

Ten Sports has signed a multi-year digital content syndication deal with SuperSport, the leading sports broadcaster of the dark continent.

Atul has been in the activation industry for 13 years and has worked on brand activation programmes, events and promotions.

The sponsorship encompasses Eco Solutions' weekly on-air segments and vignettes across CNN's network.

The brand identity change consists of a new logo and tag line, coupled with innovative offerings to students, which range from Kindergarten to Employment Skill Training.

With the recent global slowdown becoming a topic of concern for all, planners from JWT's offices worldwide have decided to provide their views, learning's and strategies to counter these tough times.

The modified site features such as a video section providing coaching and fitness tips from renowned experts, a revamped blog section, quizzes, contests and a exhaustive cricket calendar.

Restrictions on vertical integration in the media and entertainment sector is in the offing.

Wider choice of digital channels and better service at affordable prices could soon be a reality.

Singh replaces Amit Jain, who has moved on to handle special projects within MTVNI.

The Sunday supplement offers its readers the best of both newspapers and magazines, with crisp news stories on its news pages and more relaxed features in The Mag On Sunday.

They are young, cute, naughty and most importantly, they have given us reason enough to stay glued to the television.

It aims to reach out to the youth and take up issues concerning the young in India. UTV roped in John Abraham to associate with the cause.

Soumitra Bhattacharyya, chief executive officer, Laqshya Group, has called it a day at the leading out of home (OOH) company in the advertising space.

The Starcom MediaVest Group has promoted Ashish Limaye, deputy general manager, Navia to the newly created post of general manager, marketing.

representation from the Indian radio industry has been sought on the jury for the Radio category at the New York Festivals (NYF).

The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it," is what George Orwell once said. But this logic is certainly not applicable to the ongoing war in the Indian direct-to-home (DTH) sector.

Cable operators must issue bills and receipts for the services they provide, put in place a complaint handling mechanism and maintain service standards with six-hour power backup.

In addition, Zee News was also honoured with the Finalist Certificate for its TVC in the News Promotion category.

legal battle has broken out between last year's Indian Premier League (IPL) winner, Emerging Media-owned Rajasthan Royals, and the insurance major Bajaj Allianz.

Aircel, a cellular service provider, is planning to expand into six new telecom circles by mid-April and double its subscriber base to 30 million by end 2009.

Pix, the English movie channel from Multi Screen Media (MSM) India, is telling great stories through below-the-line (BTL) activities.

Rediffusion - Y&R, Bangalore has bagged the creative duties for Arrow, a men's wear offering from Arvind Brands.

Bates 141 has released its thought leadership report, called ChangeBite, which discusses the top 10 changes that are to take place in 2009, and that have already begun to take shape.

Coca-Cola has unveiled 'Open Happiness' campaign, which is designed to serve as a platform for all integrated marketing initiatives for the brand globally.

Some called it the Inflection Point in the history of Indian cinema, while some slammed it as Poverty Porn.

Peter Chernin, president and chief operating officer, News Corp will leave after 12 years on the job, depriving the media conglomerate of its second-highest ranking executive as it deals with a severe decline in advertising revenue.

So what if there's a slowdown? That's not deterring the Rs 3,500-crore jewellery manufacturer and retailer Gitanjali Group from planning to raise its involvement with the IPL season two.

The Chennai IPL team earned close to Rs 20 crore through sponsorships last year and expects to notch up a much higher figure this time.

National carrier Air India is reviewing its creative duties and it also intends to have a separate media agency to handle its media duties.

The size of the business is estimated to be Rs 30 crore. The media for Eveready was earlier handled by Lintas Media Group.

AMO Communications, a Percept-Hakuhodo Company, has bagged the creative duties for Wella, a international hair care brand.

ITVI's first acquisition comes within just three months of its creation and adds Studio Brahma's entire resources ranging from architecture to animation into the group.

Last month after watching the Russell Peters Show at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, two things were very clear.

The CNBC-TV18-BA CCI is defined as the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that consumers are expressing through their activities of savings and spending.

Jaganmohan Reddy, son of Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, has launched a Telugu news channel, Sakshi TV.

The infrastructure created at a cost of Rs 128 crore for the Tamil Nadu state-run ACC will end up in SCV hands of the Maran brothers.

The only difference this time around is that the cards won't be held so close to the chest as had been the case all along.

Auditions for the cheerleaders were conducted across the country, but eventually only six would be selected for the cheerleading squad.

SMS GupShup, a mobile community, is the team's SMS, WAP and web community platform partner.

This is the question that the new insurance kid on the block Aegon Religare, has asked the Indians in its campaign to create a buzz around the company in August last year.

The vignette, which is christened as Bindass Reality Table, will be shown from Monday to Thursday at 7:30 pm on the channel, with high rotation throughout the day.

Omnicom Group Inc agencies have won about $ 200 million in advertising, marketing and media work for Hewlett-Packard (HP), after a global media review last week.

Just imagine a regulation where no single company can sell more than one variant of a chocolate brand or any other product or service.

Could not catch the latest Abhay Deol or Akshay Kumar movie? Don't worry, television is right up there.

It has also disclosed that Raghav Bahl, who is also a promoter, has pledged a 1.5% stake TV 18 India.

The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) is launching a media and marketing network for the Asia-Pacific region.

The objective of the campaign was to highlight the Civil Aviation Ministry's achievement over the last five years.

The Ad Club Bombay (ACB) will organize the Global Effie Awards Round One jury in Mumbai, the first time it will be held in India.

Saurabh Dasgupta, executive creative director, Innocean Worldwide, has been appointed on the jury panel for the New York Festivals (NYF) 2009.

Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, Multi Screen Media India (earlier known as Sony Entertainment Television India) has called it quits.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry on Wednesday said it had no intention to control the news content of television channels, but can look into the their number space.

MSM Discovery distributes 19 channels including Sony, SET Max, Discovery, Animal Planet, NDTV India and Aaj Tak.

DEN offers both analog and digital distribution of TV channels. On its digital network, it distributes Digitelly, available to 10 million subscribers.

The show that premiered on February 2, garnered a share of 0.59 at the seven metro level, according to the data provided by TAM Media Research.

KKR has formalised a three-year sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola's clear lemon drink Sprite as the team's associate sponsor and pouring partner.

Live telecast of the tournament on starts at 11:00 am on February 19, while the weekend rounds starts 8:30 am IST.

This series will feature India playing five One Day Internationals, two Twenty20 and three Test matches.

He will be based in Gurgaon and will report to Ajit Varghese, managing director, Maxus.

The agency won the account, estimated to be worth Rs 150 crore, following a multi agency pitch involving two more agencies - Zenith Optimedia and TME.

The agency, bagged one Gold for Godfrey Phillips India, one Silver for VISA International and one Bronze for Jindal Hissar, in the Local-Multi category.

Events such as the Twenty20, ICC Champions Trophy and ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 are included in the partnership.

The minister added the government would raise the issue before the Empowered Committee on value-added tax.

Anil Ambani promoted Reliance Entertainment will not put its ambitious broadcasting foray on the backburner.

The business sector, which grew 12.3 per cent over 2007 to Rs 58,400 crore in 2008, will grow 7 per cent in 2009, and in 2010, it will grow 10 per cent.

Acting on a Supreme Court order, the Election Commission on Tuesday issued fresh guidelines on opinion and exit polls.

With less than a week to the Oscars, punters are betting big money on Slumdog Millionaire winning the best picture award.

The channels' launch in the US follows its launch in India, UK and the Middle East and North African Region.

The DTH sponsorship rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) is heading for a massive controversy, even before the advent of its second season.

Deepika Padukone has taken Preity Zinta's place in the BSNL ad; it's Katrina Kaif instead of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for Pantene and Nakshatra respectively.

Neil Stewart has been appointed as chief executive officer, Maxus Asia Pacific, effective immediately.

Giving a boost to public broadcaster, the government has hiked the loan allocation to Prasar Bharati by more than Rs 400 crore in its Interim Budget.

The position at Channel [V] has been vacant since Mohit Anand quit the channel in November last year, after a six-month stint.

Prakash Iyer, chief executive officer, Infomedia18, has put in his papers after a five years stint with the company.

HBPI was launched recently with the aim of reaching out to the Indian market more directly.

The family comedy entertainment channel, will launch a comic show, Bhootwala Serial, which promises to create a laugh riot from February 23.

Following a flurry of requests from multiplexes across the country, the IPL has decided to float tenders to sell the rights for the 2009 season of the tournament commencing on April 10.

One man's legal problems have turned out to be Ahmedabad's biggest boon, simply because that man happens to be Lalit Modi, chairman, IPL.

She will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Kartik Iyer, managing director, Carat India.

The agency won the pitch against the other three roster agencies – Lowe, Capital Advertising and Hakuhodo Percept.

The Rural Marketing Association of India (RMAI), in association with MART, had conducted a study to understand the impact of "Economic Slowdown on Rural Markets in India".

Pepper 2009, the annual creative awards function of Cochin Advertising Club, has invited entries from advertising agencies in south India.

The Supreme Court has ordered status quo till February 27 on the issue of cable TV pricing on the plea of the TRAI.

Findings from the 10th Edelman Trust Barometer has revealed that respondents in India give all forms of media higher scores for credibility than other countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Vijay Mallya owned Force India Formula One Team has partnered with MTV to launch a reality show, called MTV Force India –The Fast and the Gorgeous.

The poll will give state by state analysis and the big picture in a week long programming from February 16 - 21.

The signals of popular channels were being switched off owing to large outstanding payments from Asianet.

"It's not cricket," muttered a former player, reacting to players being brought off for ridiculous amount during the second Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Goa earlier this month.

A wise man had once said, "Good things don't come too easy in life," and this ad preaches the same.

Both will have the added responsibility of looking after the creative duties of the agency for the southern region.

Joshi is the first Indian to be part of this jury and will be judging the entries along with nine other admen from across the globe.

In India, teleshopping is a sizeable and credible industry growing at an estimated 20-25 per cent annually.

The packages will be available on the iTravel interactive channel of the DTH service provider.

Real will be the 13th entrant in the Hindi GEC genre and is targeted the age group of 14-34, men and women.

From a relative share of 26 per cent in Week 5, the channel now claims 25 per cent in the latest week, as per TAM data on C&S homes, 4+ HSM audiences.

Starting March 2, Sony Entertainment Television will bring a experience for TV viewers for 12 week nights, transforming the small screen to silver screen.

CNBC-TV18 and UTVi will present a special bouquet of shows to highlight, analyse and understand the Interim Budget and beyond.

Apart from promotional clippings from the movies and promos, the show will also feature footage from the making of the films.

The channel will launch three new shows - Char Chaughi, Daar Ughada Na Gade and Jodi Jamli Re.

Big TV bagged the DTH partnership for the T20 cricket Indian Premier League (IPL) with a bid of $ 31.16 million for four years.

The Grand Championship has been now packaged the World Series Twenty20, to be played in October-November 2009.

The DAVP rates will be increased by another 10-12 per cent. The proposal has been cleared by the Finance Ministry also and will come into effect from March 1, 2009.

Once a small and nascent section of the media, today radio is a medium to watch out for.

This is for the first time that the channel is having a brand extension with an advertiser for a contest.

The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has come out with fresh set of guidelines for reportage that cover reportage of crime, depiction of women and children.

These concessions have been announced in view of the current economic slowdown particularly affecting the newspaper industry.

The two newspapers will be published by Wall Street Journal India Publishing Pvt. Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of the US-based Dow Jones and Co. Inc.

9X is available on all of private DTH platforms like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Big TV, Sun TV Direct and Digital TV.

While Colors is planning to create an afternoon slot, Star Plus is strengthening its afternoon slot with three new shows - Phool Kamal Ke, Shradhha and Star Vivaah.

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 brings together celebrities from different walks of life such as sports, films, fashion, music and magic to perform with professional dance partners on a competitive stage.

This follows the drop in profit margins witnessed by some of these companies in the last quarter ending December 2008.

He will be reporting to Sue Taylor, senior vice-president and general manager, NDS Asia Pacific.

The winners would get a chance to co-host a show on the radio station, be the face of Sony Ericsson W595 print ads in their city and get a chance to win the Walkman phone.

Mobile2win, co-founded by Rajiv Hiranandani in 1998, will become part of the Altruist Group.

The media player was launched with an objective to enhance the video streaming capabilities for advertisements and other online content on the website.

NDTV Convergence, the digital arm of NDTV group, has partnered with Quikr to launch an dedicated classifieds website called NDTVClassifieds.com.

The channel is also looking at beginning feeds in international markets such as the US, UK, Middle East and Africa.

Nexus India Capital, an early stage fund company, has appointed Pradeep Guha, a media professional, as venture advisor.

The effort for the environment received an overwhelming response by leading corporates, Bollywood stars, musicians, environmentalists, NGOs and educational institutions.

The three show are Kayamath, Karam Apnaa Apnaa and Kasturi, which have been shown the door, as they have not been faring well in ratings.

Naidu has accused the CM of investing nearly Rs 356 crore of his 'ill-gotten' money in the vernacular Telugu daily.

At Zee South, Ramprasad saw through the launch of Zee Tamil, a Tamil GEC, in October 2008.

The agreement includes India's 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 1 Twenty20 international in South Africa during 2010 and 2011.

The company is also in advanced stages to close an acquisition deal with an Indian VAS player.

From iconic slogans to new emotions, and from Fear Factor to new positioning nectar, 2008 saw marketers try every trick to ensnare more consumers.

The three-day event was a complete package of fun and entertainment with media seminars, crazy games, cultural events and other activities, which also aimed at imparting education.

Nachiket will be joining Balaji Telefilms as its CEO, replacing Punnet Kinra, who quit the company earlier this month.

Creation of a media ombudsman to monitor the functioning of media is only a proposal and the BS Yeddyurappa led BJP regime in Karnataka has not taken any firm position as yet.

The occasion will also be used to pay homage and honour the doyens of Kannada cinema.

The campaign will celebrate creative excellence in the advertising industry and will take into account the current economic turmoil and the recent terror attacks.

research is an extension of OOH Metrics, the first ever research on digital out-of-home media in India released last year.

Cadbury India has released its new advertising campaign 'Jo Khaaye, Kho Jaaye' for its 5 Star brand.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has expanded its digital offering in the Asian markets with a new regional home page for India.

Print media industry in India has joined the growing list of businesses seeking a bailout from the government to combat a sudden downturn in the economy after three years of rapid growth.

The editor of Loksatta said that despite the advent of television channels in big numbers, the importance of print journalism would remain unaffected.

Last year, Reliance ADAG had separate deals with seven Hollywood production houses run by top actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks.

Eminent personalities from Mumbai have come together to create a platform in different cities in India.

Sun TV Network, MSM India and Star India last week agreed to share their signals with Arasu Cable Corporation

Last year, when a tsunami alert spread panic across Nagapattinam, a tiny radio station on Vizhundamavadi Square set to work.

Kapuria will closely understand a brand's endorser requirement before going on to suggest a suitable fit.

He will look after the national creative function for Dentsu Marcom, Dentsu Communications and Dentsu Creative Impact.

He will oversee the group's sales and business operations in Western region of India and will be based at Mumbai.

Beginning February 09, the channel has introduced a rapid fire news bulletin, Non Stop At Nine.

What's common between the movies Luck By Chance, Drona, Chandni Chowk to China, Ghajini, Slumdog Millionaire, Billu Barber and Dev D?

For the fifth week of 2009, the broadcast ratings brings out miniscule developments in the overall Hindi general entertainment space.

The programme currently has no takers after Star Plus auctioned out the rights of the show very recently.

Sony Network has bought the rights through a recently concluded license deal with Fox Star Studios (FSS).

The channel is celebrating the 10th anniversary for the awards, which recognises and rewards the Marathi cinema and theatre industry.

The multi-agency pitch process required agencies to submit a media plan proposal which was followed by a bidding process – the account would be awarded to the lowest bidder.

Big Boom aims to be the one-stop-shop for all marketing solutions for films, ranging from associative marketing to publicity design, PR, promotions and merchandise.

Star TV has appointed Yeshpal Sharma as vice-president, distribution and advertising sales for the UK and continental Europe.

The campaign has been conceptualised by Emmanuel Upputuru, national creative director, Publicis India and Shailendra Uniyal, founder, InGandhisShoes.org.

The name of the portal, Tubaah, is a mix of two words: 'Tube', which has now become generic for videos and 'Aah', which signifies pleasure.

TNS was the research partner and the study was based on a sample of 3500 consumers across 15 metro and tier 1 cities.

The shares of Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd (WWIL) and Dish TV India Ltd, the two cable television distribution firms of Essel group, rose sharply on Wednesday.

Following in the footsteps of other media houses like TV Today, Times Group and Zee Entertainment, NDTV too has ventured into media education.

Big FM has launched an initiative by tuning its entire gamut of programmes and music to address the issue.

The onus of the next wave of expansion lies in the much talked about third phase of licensing, which is said to arrive soon.

The Lipper Awards were constituted to deliver information tailored to fit the buy-side requirements to provide the most comprehensive coverage and analysis of the global collective funds industry.

In the present form, the show is also looking for viewers to participate, apart from the celebrities.

"We have issued a charge memo against the officer. He will have to respond within 15 days," a senior government official confirmed.

The revenue by non-Kannada films - English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam - in the last three years has witnessed a whopping growth of 25 per cent annually.

It will be an anchor and celebrity based face-to-face talk show that will be telecasted every Saturday at 10.30 pm.

This comes close on the heels of being a jury member at the Cannes International Advertising Awards last year.

BASES offers new product sales forecasting and provides consultancy towards optimizing product launches.

With 30 films already on the floor this month, industry experts feel the investments this year will exceed Rs 160 crore.

RCSB offers a 6 month Certificate Course in Radio Jockeying and Radio Production, which comprises 3 months class room training followed by a 3 month internship at the radio station

The show is love story of a young girl whose quite and simple life changes into a roller coaster ride filled with suspense, thrill and mystery.

Shetty has invested in the venture in her capacity as the chief executive officer of S2 Global Productions, which is her home film production company.

The radio operator had collaborated with the Delhi team during the inaugural edition of the IPL, though it was not exclusive as Radio Mirchi also had a similar tie up.

his new role, his responsibilities will include leading the creative agency nationally in India as well as its Sri Lankan operations.

However, the names of the agencies could not be ascertained. The account size is estimated to be worth Rs 8-10 crore.

The joint venture has a slew of launches this year that include a social-networking portal for mobile phones, games and comics for mobiles and a local search engine

Internet has partnered with Unicell, a mobile application service and content provider, to develop the application.

Google is all set to leverage high Tamil content on the Internet to increase the awareness about Internet and thereby its penetration in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will get its flag-off in April and auctions for players will begin in Goa from February 6.

The CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 awards were given away at a glittering ceremony on February 2 in New Delhi.

January 30, 2009 was his last working day at the organization, and his last stint at Zee spanned two years.

Arasu Cable has estimated the total loss due to continuous damage to its OFCs over the past one month at a whopping Rs 15.67 crore.

FIFA's decision to stick to the Hyderabad based company is seen as a big positive for the latter.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council has suspended Pakistan's cricketers from participating in the cash-rich Twenty20 championship.

Raju Udupa, executive vice-president, Neo Cricket has replaced Sunil, effective February 02, 2009.

Ravi Deshpande, chairman and chief creative officer, Contract Advertising and filmmaker Abhinay Deo from Ramesh Deo Productions will be part of the jury for the D&AD Awards 2009.

Bollywood actress Genelia D'Souza has been appointed as brand ambassador for Fanta, the orange drink brand from Coca Cola.

January month passed by with eyeballs glued to the Obama swearing in ceremony, and reminds one of Lady Diana's fashion sense.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Adlabs Films Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

PVR Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Last year, the ICC had asked the BCCI and ICL to sort out the issue between themselves but talks between the two bodies had ended in a stalemate.

Star Vijay, the Tamil entertainment channel from Star India, has partnered with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the India Cements owned IPL team.

Big Street, the outdoor advertising arm of Reliance Big Entertainment, is in for some bad publicity to its own brand.

Chandradeep Mitra, president, Mudra Max, a unit of Mudra Communications, has quit the agency.

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator by subscribers and market value, has hired Shireesh Joshi from beverages and chips maker PepsiCo China.

Key highlight of the evening was a high-powered panel discussion on one of the most topical issues today, 'Building Brands in a Slowdown'.

The leadership ladder in the Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC) genre is all set for a significant makeover as Colors has emerged as a dominant contender for the top slot.

Trace is a high-end music and lifestyle channel and is currently distributed in 130 countries.

The paper is priced at Rs 3.50 and is e targeting a circulation of 50, 000 copies.

Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18), a part of leading media group Network18, has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Star Plus will launch a new reality show, based on matchmaking between eligible couples, and it will soon be aired in a prime time slot on the weekends.

Castellino moves from Rajasthan Royals, the Indian Premier League (IPL) team, where was CEO.

This is the first time any representative from India has been included in the Y&R global board in a professional capacity.

He was earlier the associate vice-president and branch head of the Bangalore branch of Lintas Personal.

Ketaki Gupte, managing director, Korn/Ferry - Mumbai, and senior client partner at the agency, has decided to quit.

The third edition of Disney's KidSense has unveiled the new tween 'codes' that are replacing the old tenets for tweens in India.

The afternoon daily, Mid-Day will do away with its morning edition in Mumbai from February 2.

IBN18 Broadcast has acquired 43.4 percent stake in Vaicom18 Media Pvt Ltd from a unit of Television Eighteen India Ltd for $ 62.5 million.

Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL) has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Balaji Telefilms Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

The comedy series is inspired from the 1980's hit television series Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi.

Pix will also have a BAFTA movie-marathon every night from February 1-9.

Mukherjee will continue to be based in Mumbai and will report to MK Anand, business head, Zoom.

Prior to this development, he had been the branch head of the Mumbai office since 2007.

According to Agnello Dias, the decision had been taken on a certain advice from their consultants.

Star India in a bid to expand its viewership through the Internet and generate additional revenues, has tied up with Nautanki.tv.

mKhoj will provide ads on Vuclip's mobile website and popularise Vuclip's mobile video search and delivery platform.

The deal will help the Japanese electronics and entertainment firm Sony to compete with the likes of Star India and Zee Entertainment in Indian regional entertainment space.

The three year-old company has already established its presence in the US, South America, Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia and India, besides Israel.

New York-based magazine for chief executives of fast-growing private companies, Inc., will soon be launched in India.

The supplement has a mix of local news stories and soft features such as entertainment, Bollywood, fashion, shopping, personal and professional grooming and relationships.

Total income rose to Rs 285.27 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 231.99 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

The company has posted a 29 per cent rise in net profit, led by gains in television content and gaming, but its broadcast division continued to make losses, pressuring margins.

It has recorded 10.1 per cent growth in revenues at Rs 178.7 crore for nine months ended December 2008.

It reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2.28 crore in the third quarter as against Rs 66.6 lakh in the corresponding quarter of FY08.

L'Oreal India has unveiled an exhibition in Mumbai, which takes visitors a long way in understanding the hair of Homo sapiens.

The animated series is based on an illustrated comic called The 99, which is owned and published by Kuwait-based Teshkeel Media Group.

Big TV has decided that it will not go ahead with the proposed deal, if the broadcast rights for the league are given to its competitor.

India's top five advertisers in 2008 include only one FMCG player, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), while two telecom companies, Nokia and Airtel, also figured in the list.

He was actively involved in the growth and transformation of Laqshya and also in raising capital for it.

Orchard Advertising has won the creative duties for Combe's Just for Men hair dyes.

Access from cyber cafes recorded an increase of 1 per cent over last year. However, it was far below the peak of 52 per cent in 2003.

The website is an mix of the personal and the professional, recognising the modern woman's innermost needs, solving her everyday issues.

The Padma Awards for 2009 were announced in New Delhi on January 25. Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief, The Indian Express, has been conferred the Padma Bhushan.

It will be the only magazine of its kind in the country to be brought out by a premier institute for general reading.

Dish TV India, which proposed to raise Rs 1,140 crore through a rights issue priced at Rs 22 per share, has been bailed out by the promoters.

NDTV Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

TV Today Network Ltd has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Indian television channels, including general entertainment channels (GECs) and news channels, have geared up to celebrate Republic Day with a special line-up.

The series consists of seven stunning episodes which give an insight into the lives of the brave men who patrol and protect our country.

According to the series, Shakuntala was the daughter of celestial beauty Menaka and sage Vishwamitra.

The ODI series would be called the IDBI Fortis Wealthsurance Cup and will be followed by the IDBI Fortis Wealthsurance Twenty20.

As part of this deal, the cellular company will make available the 54th IDEA Filmfare Awards content on its mobile platform.

IAA and The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), headed by Dr Rajendra Pachauri, have come together to give away the award for the Lighting A Billion Lives campaign.

Bahl talks about the tough days ahead and tries to build a high level of confidence among the employees, in abid to conquer 2009.

Screwvala is worried about the economic meltdown and its impact on the outlook of the company.

For the third week of 2009, only 8 GRP (gross rating points) separates Colors from the current leader Star Plus.

The NDTV Indian of the Year Awards 2008 were announced on January 21 in New Delhi.

Hukmani will continue in his present role as CEO of Radio One.

Kumar was addressing a gathering of government telecom officials during a seminar on Expectations and Experiences on Dispute Resolution.

Zee News Ltd (ZNL) has reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31 2008.

Dish TV India Ltd has reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2008.

Colors, the number two Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC), is now betting on the FremantleMedia's format, Got Talent.

Televisionpoint.com first reported in December 2008, that Neo Sports Broadcast has called for a creative pitch, which saw the participation of seven agencies.

Reaching out to the office category of consumers has always been a challenge for advertisers, as it is the place where they spend a major part of their day.

The activity was part of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative by the airline in association with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

The positioning of the channel will be 'Real People, Real Stories and Real Entertainment'. The logo has a vibrant feel and depicts friendliness and approachability.

BBC World News is hosting the event in association with the Tourism Ministry, which has been associated with the tournament since its inception.

CNBC-TV18, India's number one business news channel, will present the India Business Leader Awards on January 22.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd (WWIL) has announced its results for the third quarter of financial year 2009.

Nimbus Sport International has won the global broadcasting and sponsorship rights of India-Sri Lanka series 2009 for a sum of Rs 45 crore.

The total bill for the massive ad-assault is estimated by industry sources at upwards of Rs 200 crore.

A print campaign, conceptualised by JWT and featuring Shetty, will be released on January 23. The campaign will utilise newspapers and general interest, lifestyle, travel and auto magazines.

Roy comes to TBWA from Grey Worldwide, where she was responsible for brands such as Pantene, Bharti Axa, Sara Lee and Parle G.

The Dry Ideas contest, organised by Dainik Bhaskar and Divya Bhaskar, is back for the fourth consecutive year.

Broadcasters have been assured that the ball still remains in their court, the role of self-censorship has become paramount.

While raiding the operator's control room in Lal Darvaja, the local police found enough evidence of piracy happening.

Metro Now would now be converted from a daily to a weekly community paper, beginning with the Gurgaon market from January 24.

HT Media Ltd has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2008.

Radio One has announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2008.

The print campaign will break on January 21, which is a call for entries and will be featured in The Times of India and The Economic Times.

This is the first time a backlit large format with display space of 5400 sq ft has been built at any airport in the country.

The aim of the project is to help the organisation arrive at a vision.

Black Curtain Screenings allows MySpace users to watch eagerly awaited new releases for free.

Dish TV, India's number one direct-to-home (DTH) company, will invest an estimated Rs 1,600 crore in 2009-10 to acquire new customers and improve back-end operations.

ET Now hopes to bring alive the Economic Times newspaper onto viewers' television sets.

Till now, Datta was heading the editorial function of ABP web and telecom digital.

The aim of Forum was to focus on the growing newsroom challenge of 'Doing More with Less'.

The tour comprises three one day internationals in the first leg in January, and two Test matches in February 2009.

Lintas Media Group (LMG) has undergone some significant changes in its top management.

She will be based in New Delhi and will report to Rajiv Jaitly, president, marketing and advertising sales, Bhaskar Group.

Product of the Year (POY) India, an independent survey on product innovation, held its first awards night on January 17, 2009 at an event held in Mumbai.

TTSL aims to take the campaign to the virtual world, Second Life, through a marketing initiative comprising an interactive virtual talent hunt competition.

The new partnership ensures that NDTV Convergence creates significant revenues from monetizing the growing traffic on the Active service.

Bhasin moves from V&S Broadcasting, a subsidiary of UTV Broadcasting, where he was vice-president, network sales, UTV channels.

Krishna Kumar, CEO of Media2win, also joins the Hover board

The NDTV Indian of the Year Awards 2008 will be announced on January 21 in the Capital.

He is deputy president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), and founder president of the Association of Indian Magazines (AIM).

The olding of Nirmal Kotecha has come down to just 67,502 shares which is 0.24 per cent stake in PSTL.

The Union government appears to have started downsizing the Press Information Bureau (PIB) before perhaps phasing it out slowly into oblivion.

Cropped marketing budgets are forcing outdoor advertisers to renegotiate rentals and drop profit margins.

The hunt for CBF Stunner 10 started from November 17, 2008 all across India in 23 cities.

The campaign adds fresh content and music to the station's repertoire in tune with listener preference in the various markets.

Airtel may announce launch of services in next few days. IPTV refers to TV delivered through broadband.

Khan is now training fitness freaks to sculpt a body like his character in his recently-released film.

The website offers film trivia, information, news, reviews and celebrity gossip.

Once upon a time, not very long ago, there were celebrities and there were consumer brands.

If you've ever dreamt of creating unforgettable characters like Shrek or Aslan of Chronicles of Narnia, animation is the way to go.

Naked refuses to be called either an advertising firm or a media planning agency.

The year 2009 is going to be a cautious year for all sectors particularly Bollywood.

Gandhi assured the delegation that she herself believed that the media should be free, without any restrictions imposed on it.

TDSAT also asked TRAI to study afresh the issue of allowing MSOs to choose channels for distribution in non-CAS areas in the next six months.

a few months of re-revamping its avatar, Sab TV seems to have finally got it right on account of its differentiated programming strategy.

Education and social lessons along with entertainment are supposed to be the real idea behind making cartoon films and shows.

He will be based in Mumbai and report to Joy Chakraborthy, chief revenue officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).

She will work closely with the company's chairperson and managing director, Anurradha Prasad.

The BSNL Tamil Nadu circle views it as just yet another VAS for its 1,64,000 broadband users, of whom only 5-10 per cent are expected to subscribe to IPTV at all.

Big TV, which launched last August, claims to have gained a million customers within 100 days of its launch.

Radio City will introduce a six day contest, Superstars Nimma Manege Minchi Neev Avar Jothege (Shine with the stars in your own home).

Times Global Broadcasting has appointed Lowe Lintas India to handle the creative duties for ET Now.

Mindshare India has made few key developments in its top level management.

The six firms are Flex/the innovative LAB, Lava Graphics Studios, Saffron, InDeed, Dixonbaxi and Ryan+Deslauriers.

E 24 is a 24 hours Bollywood entertainment channel owned by BAG Glamour.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry's controversial move to gag Indian television news channels has been put on hold.

The policy for FDI in publication of facsimile editions of foreign newspapers include permitting 100 per cent FDI with prior approval of the Government.

Amidst the global economic meltdown, times have become harder for media companies and the NDTV story is not different.

Spacetoon Media Group, a Dubai based entertainment company, has launched its kids channel, Spacetoon, in India, through its company Kids Media India.

The magazine, which is published by Twenty Onwards Media, has been bringing humor to stands across the country since June 2008.

Intel Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of chip maker Intel, has invested a total of $ 23 million in three Indian companies.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is seeking proposals from media companies interested in producing official audio programming.

The HC has not given any relief to industry, which has filed a petition against a law enforced by state government in 2005, which levies stamp duty on advertising contracts.

It's been three years since the launch of Times Now. The channel's launch campaign focused on 'Feel the News' to create a sense of curiosity.

He will report to Kamal Basu, chief executive officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, and work with Sanjib Dey, executive vice-president and branch head, Delhi.

Vij will now champion knowledge management and thought leadership initiatives across the entire Mudra Group.

The regulator has turned down the long-pending demand of VAS companies that TRAI interfere in the commercial agreements between the telecom companies and them.

The results seems to be encouraging, especially since 5.5 million people actually claimed that they used Internet.

Mehta has moved in from Yahoo, where he was vice-president and head of monetisation, emerging markets.

Television channels were criticised by security agencies for showing live pictures of November's Mumbai siege.

Both will report to Marcus W Brauchli, executive editor, the Washington Post.

Johnson was responsible for the company's events such as MIPTV, MIPCOM, MIPDOC and MIPJunior events.

This is not direct selling by promoters, and the sale was at the prevailing market price.

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, reaches to about 20 million viewers, and that the 14-week season three will feature 12 contestants.

The Tamil Nadu government has passed a ruling that the Tamil new year be celebrated along with Pongal on January 14 and not April 14.

Star Plus, the undisputed number one Hindi general entertainment channel, has launched an new marketing initiative to promote its latest offering.

The sixth edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) will take place on January 18, 2009.

The awards that celebrated the achievements of the automobile industry adjudged O&M's Pulsar TVC as the best commercial in auto sector.

The total GRPs for the GEC genre stands at 1,222 for C&S homes and 1,319 for digital homes in the Hindi speaking markets.

Launched on December 1, 2008, Aap Ki Kachehri has 47 per cent viewership coming from a male audience.

The channel will air Hole in the Wall – Season II, M.A.D. Big Picture Special along with a special block Kabhi Crash, Kabhi Splash.

Now, the ruling Congress party and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) have taken this fight to the small screen.

Chennai listeners will now wake up to the notes of Suprabhatam sung by the nightingale of Carnatic music M. S. Subbulakshmi.

Experts say that this category may be the last to take a hit as parents prefer to cut back on their own spends first.

Fever FM will also run contests to establish connect with the listeners across New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The company's former chairman and CEO, Anantha Krishnan (Krish), will move into the role of a strategic advisor.

Ram will be based out of Delhi and will partner with Karl Gomes, national creative director, digital in strengthening their service offering.

NDTVAuto.com aims to help its audience save time and money when buying or selling cars, securing loan financing and insurance.

The website will also now provide daily schedules, detailed show info and behind-the-scenes exclusives.

Bombay HC verdict that held that "exporting the right for exhibition of a positive print was nothing but sale of goods or merchandise".

However, on the closing day the stock fell 6.4 per cent and closed at Rs 19, which is lower by Rs 3 than the rights issue price of Rs 22.

Do the plots and sub-plots in the soaps today remind you of a popular Bollywood movie?

CNN-IBN Indian of the Year is an award that involves the citizens of the country to participate in every stage from nominations to final award winner.

The initiative will reward the five best school teams across five cities with a grant of Rs 1 lakh to each team and a Jetix Action League Games Trophy.

Called RC Live, the initiative was a platform to bring Hindi music bands into the limelight, and a nationwide talent hunt was held last year.

Big FM Bangalore has embarked on an initiative to ease the financial burden through a contest christened as 'Bitti Harusha Idi Varusha'.

Brands and Bollywood go back a long way, back to the days of the 'Bobby bike' in the 1973 hit Bobby, or perhaps even earlier.

Both businesses are relatively new to large-scale organised branding efforts and are looking to VGC as a complete solutions provider in this area.

Harita was earlier the vice-president of the club, she has been associated with the club for six years and has served there in various capacities.

Indi Media, a company promoted by Vinay Chhajlani and Jehangir Pocha, has acquired 100 per cent stake of INX News, the television news venture of INX Network.

The company is investing Rs 20 crore in the Hindi news and current affairs urban channel TV9 Mumbai and Rs 15 crore in the English news channel News 9.

Jehangir Pocha, editor, Businessworld, who had taken charge in March 2007, has quit the leading English business magazine.

The series will be hosted by Ramesh Damani, member, BSE and a well-known name in the market.

Bandini is an invigorating tale of a young girl who is forced into a marriage of convenience with an elderly man twice her age.

The show will telecast every Saturday at 11.30 am and 7.30 pm; on Sundays, it will air at 1.30 pm and 6.30 pm.

UTV World Movies has bagged the rights to telecast the Golden Globe Awards for the next three years in SAARC region, excluding Pakistan.

Farid Kureshi, founder, VIA OOH, will continue as chief executive officer of the new venture, and will be based in Delhi.

The championship will provide opportunities to enthusiasts to compete against the best in the country along with prizes worth Rs 1 crore.

Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster, is expanding its television services in Asia, including India.

A signal audit commissioned recently proves that Fever FM Digisound has the best average signal in Mumbai.

The series brings stories from the farthest corners of the country on India's most endangered wild animals encapsulated.

This is the highest ticket price charged by any theatre in the AP state.

The revelation comes after much speculation about the company's solvency, and the disappointment is rife among the investors as well as employees.

The suit in the Delhi High Court had been filed by GSK in response to advertisements by released by Heinz in December last year.

The section gives a peppy round-up of marketing and advertising industry and reports on the people behind the brands and the process they follow.

The meet will firm up the generic requirement (GR) for interoperable Internet protocol television (IPTV).

The website will also list the self-regulatory norms that the entertainment and media sector has outlined.

The website has sections like Movies, Audio, Photos, Videos, ClubCurry, Celebzone and Curry Reels.

Discovery Channel's popular series Man Vs Wild has recorded impressive ratings, surpassing all its earlier records in the year.

Shareholders would meet on January 28 to consider the de-merger of its radio business from HT Music and Entertainment Company and merge it with itself.

Star Plus and Zee TV will launch new shows on January 12, 2009.

At Zee South, Ramprasad saw through the launch of Zee Tamil, a Tamil GEC, in October 2008.

The annual World Editors Forum, will be held in Hyderabad from March 22-25, 2009 and will focus on the growing newsroom challenge of 'Doing More with Less'.

Here's a poser? Why would you buy a Nike over a Reebok, or a Colgate over Pepsodent or the other way round?

Advertising in mediums like magazines and cinema will see a steep decline in 2009, while spends on the outdoor are unlikely to grow.

The TVC stresses on being future ready when inflation would push up prices much beyond today's comfortable affordability.

IMRB International, one of the pioneers in market research, has promoted two of its senior executives.

The alliance with Future Group will entail marketing promotions and schemes to all customers of Pantaloon Retail.

The new partnership is based on a revenue sharing model, and both the agencies are not ready to disclose any monetary details.

The promotion said that viewers should ask their cable operators to provide their favourite entertainment incase of not getting these channels.

The centre was formally inaugurated on January 5, 2009, by Steve Morris, chairman, president and CEO, Arbitron Inc, at Tejomaya.

The channel will launch a new show, Monica Mogre Case Files, which is the personification of a brave woman cop who stands in the face of adversity.

Movie channels, both Hindi and English, have unveiled new lineup of movies for January 2009, which includes blockbusters and premieres.

The new logo, that retains the original colours but has different symbol size, will be seen in Rajasthan Royals' advertising and marketing campaigns.

Singh is in charge of two publications, Dainik Bhaskar and Divya Bhaskar, and will report to Rajiv Jaitley.

At a time when companies are actually turning enemies of scale, PepsiCo India is actually continuing its untethered initiatives to achieve it in India.

According to industry sources, the size of the business is estimated to be Rs 10-12 crore.

In Week 51, it had shared this position with Zee TV, which moved up a rank post high ratings achieved by the Hindi feature film, Taare Zameen Par.

Congress MLA accuses Sukhbir Singh Badal, president, SAD of "forcefully taking over the cable TV business in Punjab.

City Plus is targeted at the upper middle class and is being distributed at select commercial and residential areas.

The Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan, was postponed after teams refused to travel citing security concern.

The government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is about to go on a fresh brand-building binge across its entire services portfolio.

Industry sources have confirmed the development, neither the company, nor the agency were ready to comment on the issue.

Web18 will use Vdopia video ad platform VDOAd for delivering ads on its video content.

TRAI has decided to extend the deadline from stakeholders to send in their comments on the QoS issues.

media spends are pegged to be close to Rs 2-3 crore. JWT Chennai handles the creative duties and will continue to do so.

NDTV Convergence has joined hands with widget developer SocialTwist to promote its content online via word of mouth.

Dasmunsi is still in the ICU of the Indraprastha Apollo hospital and his neurological condition remains to be the same.

Times Now garnered an average channel share of 28 per cent in comparison to NDTV 24x7's 26 per cent and CNN-IBN's 22 per cent for the entire year.

The survey was conducted by Hindi daily, Hindustan of the HT Media group, and Sharma cornered 17 per cent votes in his favour.

The moot points would cover film budgets, actor salaries and production schedule.

A Special Award and a Music Icon of the Year 2008 Award will be given to the most famous names in the Kannada film industry for significant contributions.

The end result was the world's cheapest car, Nano, which will be on roads this year.

Last week, the leading mobile phone supplier announced a Take Back campaign to initiate an e-waste recycling programme.

The company will also offer customers an extensive movie library with Hollywood and Bollywood titles at no extra cost.

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Span Communications wins advertising mandate for India Post

Unitech Wireless ropes in ZenithOptimedia as media partner

Amar Ujala appoints D&H Blurb as its creative partner

Big Cinemas reorganises into two strategic business units

UTVi to be rebranded as Bloomberg-UTV from October 1

Experiential marketing: Buy it or leave it, but try it with pleasure

Reebok has just done it with great strategies

Crayons to handle Incredible India's domestic campaign

Unwanted-72, I-Pill TVCs under ASCI scanner

GEC Genre: Colors rules the space in Week 36

DTH players building up subscriber base from rural areas

Its 'round the clock' marketing for Khatron Ke Khiladi

Hindustan Times communicates 'pause, think and change'

MPG India ropes in Mahima Bhanukumar, Abhishek Jain

Sony Ericsson adapts to Sony's brand message of make.believe

ESPN Star rolls out new look for mainstream channels

Turner and Alva Brothers reassessing Real's business plans

Big FM ropes in Raj Kambhoj and Sailesh Bijlani

Is animation industry here to stay on Bollywood basis only?

MSM India appoints Man Jit Singh as CEO

Sir Martin Sorrell: You can't decouple India from world

TAM Media and aMap raise the temperature of TV town

Wasim Basir quits Rediffusion - Y&R as EVP

Canon guns for No. 1 slot in camera and printers market

Radio Point: Mirchi leads in 3 RAM cities in Week 34

Marathi films producers have a reason to cheer with new GR

Brand advertisers cash on swine flu scare

BBDO India wins creative duties for Aviva Life Insurance

Virgin Atlantic flies to Everest in India

Affluent class prefers regional TV, English newspapers

Colourful journey: Brands don a fresh coat of paint

Reliance Big Broadcasting to launch 33 news channels

Moonlighters journey to advertising stardom augments

Entrepreneurs to translate sportsmanship into opportunities

Max New York Life ropes in Big B as brand ambassador

Disney-ABC TV appoints Nicholas Wodtke as VP

IPL: Franchisees against IMG's contract termination

Travel Channel International desires an Indian foray

Axis Bank appoints Lowe Lintas as its creative agency

eBay India appoints W+K as its creative agency

Hari Krishnan quits Grey Bangalore as GM and branch head

Infomedia18 launches Indian edition of Entrepreneur

International: Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $ 4 billion

An innovative innovation called Times Private Treaties

Shoppers Stop to increase ad spends on private labels

Shashi Shekhar replaces Mrinal Pande as editor-in-chief, Hindustan

Aftershock: BBC World News investigates impact of recession

Radio Point: Mirchi leads in 3 RAM cities in Week 33

WPP looses Vodafone's global media account to Omnicom

Brand managers say 'Happy Birthday, Michael Jackson'

Airtel digital TV on a growth trajectory

Paritosh Srivastava elevated as VP, South at Rediffusion

Apollo DKV appoints JWT India as new creative partner

GEC Genre: Zee TV rules the entertainment in Week 34

Hormusji N Cama: You can take a newspaper to bed with you

Advertising valorem formula for Hindustan Unilever

Business genre: UTVi aims for inclusive growth

Coke can set off service tax on ads against excise duty

Birla Sun Life ropes in four cricket brand ambassadors

ICICI Prudential Life launches rural activation programme

Alok Ghosh quits Bates 141 Chennai

Incredible India: Ministry of Tourism starts media review

Brand rivalry: Aggression of yesteryears holds good today

Pix creates innovative properties to grab eyeballs

Zee TV completes revamping with 12/24 Karol Bagh

Indiavision ropes in street singers for reality show

Anandi is the most liked character on Indian TV

Tata Tea's Jaago Re campaign says 'Ab Se Khilana Bandh, Pilana Shuru'

POY India to judge advertising campaigns too

Marketing communication: SMG launches graduate programme

Music royalty: AROI proposes revenue sharing structure

McCann's Samir Miglani joins Unitech Wireless as brand head

Neeraja Kale joins Law & Kenneth as SVP

OMD wins media duties of Henkel India

Percept/H wins creative duties for Good Morning tea

Apex Court: Follow Prasar Bharti Act for day-to-day functioning

Bollywood traffic depletes to Ramoji Film City

Readership numbers: IRS and NRS surveys gets a merger push

Emvies 2009: Mindshare bags top honours at media awards

Zee's Sanjay Reddy joins Sun TV Network