Shivani Shinde &Amp; Aminah Sheikh In Mumbai

Stories by Shivani Shinde &Amp; Aminah Sheikh In Mumbai

Illegal music downloads set to end

Illegal music downloads set to end

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2007

While this is a global phenomenon, it is for the first time that the Indian Music Industry (IMI) is making an effort to stop this before it erodes the revenue stream of music companies like it is already happening in the software, gaming and the movie segments.

Sony out to entice Indian gamers

Sony out to entice Indian gamers

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2007

Sony Computer Entertainment, an arm of Sony Pictures, is planning to increase its console-based business in India.The company - responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation - opened its India office four months back and is now getting its strategy in place to offer variety and a better experience to gamers.

IT cos focus on healthcare, pharma

IT cos focus on healthcare, pharma

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2007

Indian IT service providers are increasing their exposure in the healthcare and pharma segments. Multi-million dollar deals in this space by IT firms over the past three-four months only buttress this trend. Healthcare outsourcing has moved away from just undertaking medical transcription and business process outsourcing (BPO) work to core functions such as drug discovery, testing, research and development.

Diwali blockbusters face multiplex blackout

Diwali blockbusters face multiplex blackout

Rediff.com   24 Oct 2007

Diwali blockbusters Saawariya and Om Shanti Om may not be screened at a multiplex near you. Leading multiplex chains PVR Cinemas, Inox Lesiure, Cinemax India and Fame, which account for 80 per cent of the country's multiplex screens and half the box office collections, have rejected a demand for a higher revenue share by the films' distributors and have threatened a blackout.

Rising Rupee claims first BPO victim

Rising Rupee claims first BPO victim

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2007

US-based Spectrum Global Fund Administration, providing back-office operations to hedge funds in the US and the UK, is closing its facilities in India. The company had started its operations in India two years ago.

Mixed fortune for IT small, mid-caps in Q2

Mixed fortune for IT small, mid-caps in Q2

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2007

Unlike the first quarter of FY08 when Indian IT small- and mid-caps were hit hard due to a nearly 7 per cent appreciation in the rupee against the dollar, the July-September period was relatively kind to these firms. It spared them to some extent, since the rupee appreciated around 1.5 per cent over the period. However, the rupee rose around 12 per cent against the dollar over the last 12 months.

Mallya now pitches for Twenty-20 pie

Mallya now pitches for Twenty-20 pie

Rediff.com   18 Oct 2007

Liquor and airline baron Vijay Mallya, auto major Hero Honda and leading telecom company Reliance Communications have started negotiations with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to buy the rights of teams that will play in the Twenty20 tourney, which was announced to counter Subhash Chandra's Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Wizcraft game for setting up sports academies

Wizcraft game for setting up sports academies

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2007

Sports academies are catching the fancy of astute businessmen. Wizcraft International Entertainment, an event management and entertainment agency, plans to rollout around 8 sports academies with an outlay of nearly Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion). The non-sport company will panout the eight academics across eight cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad,Kolkata, Pune, Goa, Chennai - in a phased manner beginning early 2008.

How channels manage millions of SMSes

How channels manage millions of SMSes

Rediff.com   12 Oct 2007

Contrary to popular understanding, operators do not manage these incoming votes. It is the channel operators who manage and collate the results of these SMSes. Yet, in terms of revenue sharing, close to 70 per cent of the share goes to the telecom provider while the channels get only 30 per cent.

Laptop sales dent IT peripherals market

Laptop sales dent IT peripherals market

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2007

Indian notebook sales are moving at a scorching pace -- 73 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007 -- and this is affecting the volume growth in the IT peripherals market.

Clients prefer to stick to dollars

Clients prefer to stick to dollars

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2007

Close to 60 per cent of revenues of Indian IT service providers comes from the US market. With the rupee having appreciated more than 12 per cent over the past year, IT firms have increased billing rates, in most cases for new as well as existing clients.

Advertisers wary of rebel cricket league

Advertisers wary of rebel cricket league

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2007

The concerns have grown after the ICL decided to postpone its tournaments from October 1 to mid-November this year.

Advertisers make hay as Sun shines on Team India

Advertisers make hay as Sun shines on Team India

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2007

As the Men in Blue flew home to a hero's welcome in Mumbai, advertisers are betting over Rs 250 crore in the next 90 days on cricket TV broadcasts -- a hefty 16 per cent of average advertising spends in the festival season.

Twenty20 champs' endorsement fees to double

Twenty20 champs' endorsement fees to double

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2007

Players like Rohit Sharma or Dinesh Karthik who could never command more than Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh can now hope to hit Rs 30 lakh for new deals. Bowler Sreesanth's endorsement tag has shot up from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 40 lakh.

Can Indian IT cos retain cost advantage?

Can Indian IT cos retain cost advantage?

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2007

Indian IT firms have been announcing incremental increase in billing rates for quite some time now to counter wage hikes and rising visa costs, to name a few.

Patni stake sale stalled

Patni stake sale stalled

Rediff.com   18 Sep 2007

Mumbai-based Patni Computer System's stake sale has been stalled, perhaps indefinitely, according to sources close to the development.

BCCI asks $50-60 m for IPL team ownership

BCCI asks $50-60 m for IPL team ownership

Rediff.com   18 Sep 2007

In return, the BCCI is offering a revenue share from stadium advertising and gate money but not television rights.

Zee closes in on Star Plus top spot

Zee closes in on Star Plus top spot

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2007

Zee TV is fast closing in on general entertainment channel leader Star Plus in terms of viewership.

HCL bullish on retail growth

HCL bullish on retail growth

Rediff.com   10 Sep 2007

The company will be taking its total outsourcing offering to the retailers in the small and medium enterprise category, whereas for the large retailers, it will pitch the best-of-the-breed target solutions to cater to specific problems.

TV18 Group & movie rights purchases

TV18 Group & movie rights purchases

Rediff.com   6 Sep 2007

Raghav Bahl-promoted media company Television Eighteen Group is paying over Rs 340 crore to buy out the rights of films in two of Bollywood's biggest movie deals.