Welcome to the world of Desi Adda, Sony India's latest brainchild to attract gamers with six made-in-India games.
TV moghuls are ramping up the home shopping segment as it sees 35 per cent annual growth. While shopping on TV has been available for years now, a majority of Indian shoppers still prefer to touch and feel before buying a product.
The mobile gaming industry has taken rapid strides, and with the market growing faster than expected, it's no surprise that the consumer is getting access to a better and a broader game base. Though most people prefer to play games which are free to download, the paid ones too are gaining popularity. These games can be downloaded for Rs 50-99.
To attract Indian women, companies are coming up with games specially designed for them.
The 2009 survey, that covers the gadgets that people use on a daily basis, showed that dependence on the Net has grown. Two years ago, only 9 per cent of the respondents said they cannot survive without the internet. In 2009, the figure has jumped five-fold to 44 per cent. Email is the currency of communications and online search is crucial to the internet experience. There's a three-fold increase in people who said they can't do without gaming sites.
Today, when you check into a hotel, be sure to expect more than just a helpful bell-boy and a smiling concierge. As it is, the category of business travellers has been growing at a healthy clip. However, the rise of low-cost airlines and the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi has now given the entire travelling space a shot in the arm.
The facsimile edition of The Wall Street Journal and the Indian edition of Forbes, the magazine famous for its global billionaires' list, will be launched next week. A look at what to expect.
Online travel agencies are offering packages that make this summer the best season to go places. Mayur Oberoi, makemytrip.com's associate vice president, outbound tour, says they are seeing some good traction this summer season despite the slowdown. "This year we have seen short-haul destinations do considerably well in our international section, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Bali, Hong Kong and Macau."
Channel also acquires rights to Slumdog Millionnaire.
The TDSAT scrapping the Trai's judgement on channel pricing is a major victory for broadcasters, but could also see consumer prices moving up.
The dispute involves a UK-based hedge fund, Altima Partners, and the company's principal promoter Raghav Bahl, founder and largest shareholder of Network18, the broadcasting group which runs TV channels such as CNBC-TV18, Colors and Awaaz.
The move has surprised the print media industry which is reeling under recession with most newspaper publishers having put their expansion plans on hold.
D B Corp, the owner of the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar, is in advanced discussions with broadcaster INX Media to acquire a stake in the company that operates the entertainment channels as well as a majority stake in its English language news channel NewsX. Both companies are promoted by Indrani and Peter Mukerjea, the former Star India CEO.
Sakaal Times is in the news for the wrong reasons. The paper has shut down its Delhi office leaving a little over 60 people jobless.
Hooked to their computers, young Indian gamers are getting good enough to compete in the World Cyber Games.
Rupert Murdoch's international financial daily The Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones & Company, is all set to launch its facsimile edition in India next month. The newspaper, to be launched in Mumbai, is likely to be priced at Rs 30 a copy.
The business model is going through a reality check; expansion plans on hold and manpower rationalisation is on the cards. Checking expenditure is critical now as advertising is already on a downswing, though CEOs insist that the real impact will be felt in the next quarter. On condition of anonymity, an advertising sales executive admits to a 15 to 20 per cent decline in news channel advertising.
An interview with BMR partners and media specialists Nitin Atroley and Vivek Gupta
The challenge has been thrown by Mahesh Prasad Agarwal, brother of the late Dwarka Prasad Agarwal, who claims he owns 30 per cent in Dwarka Prasad Agarwal & Brothers, the company that holds the Dainik Bhaskar title. His son, Sanjay, says, "If D B Corp does not fully own the Dainik Bhaskar title, how can it use the brand name to raise money?" However, D B Corp executives claimed there was no dispute over the title as it had been settled by the Supreme Court order of July 2003.
With advertising a little less robust than last year and television ad rates not showing any sign of climbing up, thanks to viewership fragmentation and increased competition, the Hindi general entertainment channels are tapping non-advertising revenue streams to shore up incomes. This includes content-repurposing, overseas subscription, and licensing and merchandising.