(22 September 2005 9:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia today announced the launch of the first ever India Television Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Mumbai on 29 September.

Endorsed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, this event will bring together leading industry executives and government agencies to discuss the commercial and regulatory factors shaping the future of the Rs 132 billion television industry in India, with comparative global perspectives.

Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said, "There are many summits that are undertaken each year but none of them focus primarily on television. FICCI Frames is too film focused, other summits like BES Expo, SCAT India, Broadcast India and Convergence India focus on technology and hence there was a need felt to have a summit that would focus entirely on the business of television and areas related to it."

Wanvari also added that the India Television Summit was going to be an annual affair.

The speakers for the one-day summit include - Federal Communications Commission (the United States regulator) commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting secretary SK Arora, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman Pradip Baijal, Sony Entertainment Television India CEO Kunal Dasgupta, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, Madison World chairman Sam Balsara, Sahara One CEO Shantonu Aditya, UTV CEO Ronnie Screwvala, Eastern Multimedia Co chairman Faizal N Syed, Reliance Infocomm president Prakash Bajpai, DSP Merrill Lynch Investment Banking/M&A senior vice president Saurabh Agarwal, Morgan Stanley TMT Investment Banking head Paul Aiello, CLSA Media Investment Banking head Simon Dewhurst, Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna, Tata Sky Ltd CEO Vikram Kaushik, NDS Asia Pacific vice president and general manager Sue Taylor, Group M South Asia CEO Ashutosh Srivastava, CNBC TV18 CEO Haresh Chawla, Turner Entertainment Networks Asia vice president ad sales Soumitra Saha and TAM India CEO LV Krishnan .

Wanvari added, "The Indian television industry is poised to leap forward in the coming months with the government discussing norms on uplinking, content regulation, and digitisation and with DTH expected to substantially grow in the future with the gradual success of Dish TV and the impending launch of Tata-Sky. Putting together the Summit was a good idea as it provides a platform for discussion and strategic exchange for various industry constituents with useful perspectives from global regulatory heavyweights such as the FCC in the US and various regional and international groups involved in cable, satellite and broadband TV distribution, technology and financing."

Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto said, "The Summit comes at a time when media regulation, competition and consumption is at a critical stage and the Indian economy is on the cusp of a period of sustained and significant expansion. India's TV industry has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, driven by entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. This, however, is only the beginning. TV has room for much greater expansion. The Summit provides a platform to assess whether future regulation, economic growth and competition in the distribution of TV channels cable, DTH satellite and broadband networks, will enable India to consolidate its status as Asia's leading media market along with China, extending its leadership in content, and, reversing its weakness in infrastructure development."

The India Television Summit has been divided into five panels:

1. Regulatory Panel
2. Strategic Panel
3. Digital and Distribution Presentation (International)
4. Digital and Distribution Presentation (Domestic)
5. Niche Content Panel
6. Media Financing Panel

The sponsors for the Summit include Cartoon Network, CSG Systems, NDS, Pogo, Sahara One, Star TV and Tandberg Television. Bright Advertising is the outdoor partner and NDTV Profit is the telecast partner.