News Broadcasting
TV France International to host 33 producers & distributors at MIPCOM
PARIS: An additional 43 TVFI members have their own stands. In all, 75 members of TV France International, out of a total membership of 157, will be represented at MipCom 2003.
Out of a total of 1179 registered exhibitors, as of 30 September, France ranks third in terms of representation with 158 French producers and distributors attending (13.4 per cent of total attendance). First and second on that list are the United States with 172 exhibitors (14.5 per cent) and the United Kingdom with 161 exhibitors (13.65 per cent). France clearly ranks well among the 50 countries represented at the 19th annual MipCom; it is followed by Canada (141 representatives), Spain (82), Germany (64), Italy (50), Japan (47), South Korea (39), and Belgium (39).
This year French producers and distributors will be presenting 160 programmes (21.7 per cent of the total number of programmes). Next in line are the UK, with 122 programmes (16.55 per cent); the USA, 110 (14.92 per cent); Canada, 75 (10.17 per cent); Spain, 43 (5.83 per cent); Germany, 43 (5.83 per cent); Japan, 28 (3.80 per cent); South Korea, 24 (3.25 per cent); and Denmark, 24 (3.25 per cent).
The video library at MIPCOM Junior 2003 has catalogued 737 programmes, the three most represented genres are: animated cartoons (508), drama-fiction (74), and educational programmes (47).
TV France International has placed on their Internet site all of the programmes contained in the digital video library compiled for Rendez-Vous 2003. For the first time ever at a television marketplace, acquisition executives were able to screen programmes in digital format that provided improved picture quality and high-performance functionality. The video library can be accessed by MIP COM participants at the TV France International stand (02-15).
The catalogue contains 675 new productions presented by 44 producers and distributors at this year’s Rendez-Vous (8-12 September 2003). It is also available on the TV France International – www.tvfrance-intl.com – web site and includes details of programme content and video excerpts or three-minute trailers.
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.
