News Broadcasting
News Corp launches Mobizzo; MTV, CBS in separate cell phone deals
MUMBAI: A slew of announcements made yesterday looks as if everyone wants in on the mobile TV bandwagon. Media conglomerate News Corp. owners of Fox TV and Sky TV, has announced the launch of a new mobile content portal Mobizzo, to carry entertainment, games and music content on mobile telephones in the U.S.
Media magnate Rupert Murdoch’s group News Corp said Mobizzo would provide a single home for all of its mobile content ,and is currently available on Cingular and T-Mobile phones in the US before it rolls out worldwide.
Further, Mobizzo is planning to open a studio to develop ‘mobisodes’ like those developed for the VCAST launch.
Collections from popular Fox brands, such as “Family Guy,” “American Dad” and “Napoleon Dynamite” will be available as content for download on Mobizzo. It will also feature content from movie brands along with downloaded games and music from labels such as Warner Music.
Says News Corp president and chief operating officer Peter Chernin.”The mobile market is exploding and it makes perfect sense for a media company like ours to create a real content destination for the billions of cell phone users around the world. From Fox television and movie properties, to original content produced directly for the mobile audience, we think we can create a unique and compelling mobile entertainment offering and deliver it directly to the consumer.”
With Mobizzo, consumers can download individual content likedownloads of videos, artwork, music and games for a fee charged directly to their monthly mobile phone bills. Pricing for the various products range from $1.99 to $2.49 and monthly subscription plans averaging $5.99 per month.
Murdoch has ruled out offering Fox shows via Apple Computer’s hit iTunes service.
Also announced was an agreement by Viacom Inc.’s MTV Networks and wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. to provide programming from four cable networks to Sprint’s mobile device.
Music and programming will be available from CMT, MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central on Sprint TV. Sprint subscribers will be able to select clips from, “CMT Insider”, “The Daily Show with John Stewart”, and Laguna Beach”, among others.
Under the deal, Sprint customers would pay $5.95 per month to subscribe to mobile versions from the four cable networks. The Sprint TV Channel lineup is:
” CMT – Channel 46
” COMEDY CENTRAL – Channel 15
” MTV – Channel 36
” VH1 – Channel 26
Earlier, CBS had announced its plans to introduce a mobile video alert services as well as mobile soap opera’s for mobile devices. CBS would offer news or entertainment alerts to mobile customers, beginning next week.
Users can subscribe to the CBS News mobile-alert service for 99 cents a month or to the Entertainment Tonight mobile-alert service for $3.99 per month. Once subscribed, they will receive up to five alerts daily, with photos and video if the user’s mobile device supports such technology.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
