News Broadcasting
MTV has roped in Westlife as a star international act for the Immies
MUMBAI: MTV Immies are all set to heat up the music scene with some international sensations. Latest news is that the youth channel has roped in Westlife, Safari Duo, Outlandish, Rishi Rich and Panjabi MC for the international acts.
The first ever music awards from the Viacom’s Indian music arm, establish to coincide with 100 years of recording music.
One of the popular boy bands of the international music scene, Westlife have sold 18 million albums and seven million singles The five member team is set to woo MTV viewers at their first ever performance in India when they perform at the Indian Music Excellence Awards – MTV IMMIES presented by AirTel, on 12 December, 2003, says a company release.
Besides Westlife, the Immies boasts of international acts comprising percussion pop duo Safri Duo, the popular Danish group – Outlandish, Asian music sensation – Rishi Rich and international king of Bhangra – Panjabi MC.
While the channel has unveiled its international acts, the local acts are still kept under the wraps but the release hints that the Immies will bring together a galaxy of international and local acts sprinkled liberally with performances from Bollywood.
Presented by AirTel, the MTV Immies is exclusively supported by the Indian Music Industry (IMI) and is brought in association with LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd, Kinetic Zing and Maruti – for the brand Alto. The hospitality partner is J W Marriott while the radio partner is Radio Mirchi.
The stars of the evening Nicky, Shane, Bryan, Kian and Mark have sold over 250,000 units of their albums in India alone. The popular Irish boy band is creating waves across the globe with ‘Mandy’ and ‘Hey Whatever’ from their forthcoming album ‘Turnaround’.
The Safri Duo comprising Morten Friis and Uffe Savery are said to be poised to get the crowd in action with performance. The bongo banging duo has won a pile of awards and was the first ever Danish act to win an MTV Award. Next in the line is the ‘not regular hip-hop band’ Outlandish. With their recent release Aicha making rounds of the music channels, the dynamic trio is raring to deliver a superb performance for the first time in India, says the release.
While Rishi Rich, whose claim to fame is not just Asian fusion tracks, but pure hip-hop beats for the likes of Fallacy and Estelle is amongst the star line line up for the d-day. Currently, Rishi Rich is working on productions for Britney Spears, Ricky Martin and Mary J Blige.
Last in the line is the International king of Bhangra, Panjabi MC. Having established himself as a household name on the UK and international Bhangra scene, Panjabi MC has
gaining huge recognition and popularity with his hip hop and real ‘desi’ mix in India too.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
