Mumbai: Sahara One Media and Entertainment?s Hindi GEC Sahara One has increased its ad rates three times on account of improved performance over the last few months.

The channel?s ratings have increased from 45 GRPs in week 04 to 54 GRPs in week 08 (TAM, C&S, Females, 15+ ABC, HSM).

As a part of the strategy, Sahara One has not only raised the bar on some of the existing shows but have also got more banners on board to produce a couple of promising fiction shows, beginning with two horror shows which went on air on 20th Feb 2012 and a new daily soap which was launched on 27th Feb 2012.

Commenting on the new launches, Mr. Vikas Khanchandani ? Director, Aidem Ventures said, ?Sahara One has been consistently delivering numbers in the recent past, with almost all shows showing consistent growth. The 11PM to 12 PM slot in the horror genre with promising shows like Vikram Bhatt?s Haunted Nights and Yeh Kaali Kaali Raatein by Rajiv Mehra (Director and Producer of ?Chala Mussadi Office Office?) has made a strong debut delivering good numbers. The launch of Rajshri Productions? Jhilmil Sitaron Ka Aangan Hoga shows all the signs of a winner.?

Commenting on the ad rate hike, Gunjan Rege Karkera, Business head, Broadcast Media (Entertainment), Aidem Ventures said, ?Sahara One?s ratings have been increasing gradually but consistently over the last one year. The increase in ad rates was necessitated by rising cost of talent, increased cost of production, spiraling marketing expenditure and wider distribution platforms. Owing to this Sahara One?s advertiser base has widened substantially. We have got several new brands on board this year and we are looking forward to adding more to the list. Besides, owing to our wider distribution network the advertiser benefits from a lower cost of reaching 1000 people. This rate increase is a part correction in lieu of this growing network.?

The said increase has already come into effect. All proposals include fixed spots considering all the prime time shows have been performing consistently well.

MUMBAI: DID did it....!!! Mumbai witnessed an euphoric moment when a massive crowd of more than 5000 people along with Dance India Dance mentors and contestants broke the prestigious GUINNESS WORLD RECORD for the largest Bollywood Dance!! The adrenaline rush of participating and watching a live record breaking event along with the thrill of seeing live performances by Dance India Dance contestants had everyone heading to Mumbai?s KJ Somaiya College Grounds. Preparations were underway weeks in advance at hundreds of dance classes and every street corner as lakhs of viewers learnt the dance act to perform it precisely at the same time to make a world record. Time stopped still at 7:45 pm on 1 March 2012 as 4428 dance lovers in India successfully broke the Guinness World Records for the "Largest Bollywood Dance?. Zee TV created a historic moment by breaking the Guinness World Record with the objective to set a new benchmark for Indian television?s No 1 dance reality show, Dance India Dance! With this world record, Zee TV?s brand positioning ?Umeed Se Saje Zindagi? resounded strongly with its mission to entertain, educate and inspire its viewers!

Nearly 10000 people had already filled their entries online to rehearse the dance step while thousands more thronged the grounds be a part of this historical moment even before the doors opened at KJ Somaiya College Grounds,(Ghatkopar). The Masters, Terence Lewis and Remo D?Souza, along with DID Season 3 Terrific 13 contestants led the crowd through a rendition of "Dhinkachika Dhinkachika". The participants were invited through a free of cost registration process and received a quick two-hour dance lesson from the three Masters before doing the final jig in front of the Guinness officials.

Once the participants were schooled in these moves, the official attempt began. The previous record was 1336 participants, set by Master Terence in Mumbai in 2011. And, to break that record a head count of more than 1336 participants were expected to dance for three minutes in unison. The Masters had a challenging task to teach the teeming thousands of dance enthusiasts to gyrate on a Bollywood number in a single file for 3 minutes. DID anchor, the gorgeous Saumya Tandon, cheered and rooted for the participants who were rehearsing for hours to get the moves right.

The decibel level at the venue skyrocketed when Mr. Nikhil Shukla, the official adjudicator from Guinness, went up on stage and announced that Zee TV has successfully broken the record for the largest Bollywood dance at one place. The sheer number sounds daunting and achieving the feat was nothing less than exhilarating for everyone present! The energy was electric and after the record was broken, the crowds who participated to make the record attempt a success were treated to an entertaining concert by the fabulous Dance India Dance Season 3?s Terrific 13 - Sanam Johar, Mohena Singh, Vaibhav Ghughe, Neerav Bavlecha, Raghav Juyal, Sneha Gupta, Piyali Saha, Rajasmitha Kar, Abhik Bau, Paul Marshall and Pradeep Gurung.

Commenting on this world record breaking moment, ZEEL MD & CEO, Mr. Punit Goenka said, "It?s a proud moment for Zee TV, Dance India Dance and our viewers. With every new season of DID, we have always tried something innovative. I take immense pride in announcing that DID has accomplished a great feat today by attempting to enter the prestigious Guinness World Records. And, together we have broken the incredible Guinness World Record for the largest Bollywood Dance! My heartiest congratulations to every participant who has made it possible!"

"Through this initiative, our aim was to bring all dance lovers and DID supporters on one platform and give them an opportunity to dance with their favorite DID icons and win a Certificate from Guinness World Record Ltd. Dance India Dance as an iconic brand has set new benchmarks in the realms of reality programming. The superlative talent that the current DID Season 3 has is unmatched on Indian television. This new Guinness World Record will definitely go down in history and we can only promise that DID as a brand will only get bigger and better!"added ZEEL Head Marketing, National Channels, Mr. Akash Chawla.

The Masters could not believe that they along with enthusiastic dance lovers had created history. Terence Lewis, stumped at having broken his own record by a huge margin, said, "This has been one of the happiest moments of my life. I feel like dancing to Oops I did it again (grins)." An ecstatic Master Remo said, "Wow!!! I had never experienced such frenzy and huge crowds! The record breaking attempt is going to be etched in my memory forever and I?ve gone hoarse screaming that my show, Dance India Dance has set a Guinness World Record! The impressive efforts of all the participants present here proves that there?s no bigger brand for dance in India than Dance India Dance. Congratulations to Zee TV and everybody who made it happen!"

NEW DELHI: Third edition of the prestigious BCS Ratna awards concluded on 26 Feb 2012. The awards function was held at Mapple Emerald Gurgaon ? Jaipur highway from 7 pm onwards. Shri. Rajiv Shukla and Shri Muktar Abbas Naqvi graced the occasion with their presence and presented awards to the nominated persons. Heart throbbing and scintillating performances were show cased by artists from Paris and India. Entire Cable fraternity, Broadcasters, Hardware and services solution providers, Government representatives, witnessed the function with great enjoyment and enthusiasm.

All India Aavishkar Dish Antenna Sangh which is a largest association of cable TV operators in India has instituted these awards for honoring outstanding performers from cable and television industry. According to its founder president Dr. A.K. Rastogi previously cable TV operators were ignored by the society in general and Broadcasters in particular. BCS Ratna Awards has created a platform to build up networking and fellowship among all stake holders of the TV Broadcasting industr in India.

Earlier SATCAB symposium was held from 10 am till 5 pm. Symposium threw light on the current industry scenario and the future trends of the industry in general. CEO of Star India delivered the inaugural speech and valedictory speech was delivered by Ms. Supriya Sahu Joint Secretary Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India. Mrs. Sahu told that Digitalization has become a law now and every cable operator and MSO has to see that it is implemented in letter and spirit. Mr. Udhay Shankar assured the cable fraternity that Star and other broadcasters will provide best possible support to cable fraternity. Panelists discussed topics like Reforming and repurposing Electronic News. The discussion was moderated by Shri Satish Jacob and other panel members were Shri Ajit Anjum Managing Editor News 24 , Shri Satish. K.Singh Editor Zee News, Shri Ashutosh Editor in chief IBN 7 and Mr. Sudhir Chaudhary CEO Live India. They stressed they need to maintain quality in news content and not to treat news as an entertainment.

The other topics were Towards a Digital India by June 2012. Panelists discussed challenges and constraints in implementing digitalization. Supply of Set top Boxes, Investments on digital technology by cable operators, consumer challenges were discussed during this discussion. Another panel discussed convergence and VAS. The last topic of the symposium was focused on Cable TV future trends. Panelists discussed about revenue sources for cable operators post digitalization era. Various future trends of the industry were discussed during the discussion.

Cable TV industry was represented by its state associations from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh , Assam , West Bengal , Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra , Madhya Pradesh , Chhattisgarh , Orissa, Rajasthan, Haryana , Himachal Pradesh , Punjab, J&K, Delhi ? NCR etc. Positive things happened during the symposium. Lot of interaction held between panel members and the audience.

These events were organized by Avishkar Group. Aavishkar group is into publishing of Magazine and tabloid on TV Broadcasting Industry.

Mumbai: ArtistAloud.com, the digital platform for independent music has been entertaining audiences with the very best in Independent music. With support from the audience and musicians alike for two years since its inception, this digital destination comes to you in a brand new avatar. And to commemorate the 2nd Anniversary and the launch of the re-vamped website, ArtistAloud.com celebrates the Seagram?s Fuel Music Day on Friday, March 2nd 2012.

Music Day is going to be the longest webcert with around 50 independent artists performing live for the digital audience. 50 artists, 1 stage, Seagram?s Fuel Music Day is an attempt to connect artists and listeners closely. Also, for the first time ever 50 artists will share a stage and a venue to perform for all music lovers across cities, counties, language and genre.

Seagram?s Fuel Music Day on ArtistAloud.com The Seagram?s Fuel Music Day event that will start at 12 noon with artists like Suneeta Rao, Manasi Scott, Shefali Alvares, Shilpa Rao, Harshdeep Kaur, Neha Bhasin performing their favourite numbers.

This is the first time ever that 50 artists will come together to perform LIVE for the webcert. Besides the 50 artists, other stalwarts of music industry like Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher are also expected to attend Seagram?s Fuel Music Day to show their support for independent music in India. The 9- hour long webcert attempts to enthrall the audience with absolute mix of genres. From fusion to pop, Bollywood to rock, Seagram?s Fuel Music Day will have something special for every listener. The event will be relayed live to a global audience on www.artistaloud.com from Rang Sharada in Mumbai.

The idea of Seagram?s Fuel Music Day was conceptualized byArtistAloud.com to celebrate their 2nd anniversary. During the last two years, the website has emerged as the most preferred digital destination for independent music in India. With a promise to offer audiences access to more artists, new genres, multiple releases and music videos, ArtistAloud.com now comes in new avatar. The website has been revamped with a prime objective of offering unreleased singles - "Music First". Opening the 3rd year with a bang with Music Day, the year ahead is a bag full of surprises in terms of content and technology for all music enthusiasts digitally across the globe.

On the new ArtistAloud.com website With the new Artistaloud.com, the consumer now gets a chance to browse the home page that showcases multiple artists and multiple releases at the same time. With video consumption on the rise, users will now have access to high quality video content on the website. The new revamped website allows full streaming of songs as compared to the previous 30 second samples. Besides a new layout and structure, the new site will also subsequently introduce a plethora of properties that will live up to its brand promise- ?Music First.? One of the most attractive features of the new website is the upcoming event calendar which will alert the audience about all music events in the city.

ArtistAloud.com is now made accessible through 5 touch points- website, WAP, IVR, APPS and social media. The new website is built using HTML5 along with php, Javascript and Ajax. The main objective behind the revamp was to make the site device agnostic and compatible with any device- PC, mobile smart phone, tablets and connected televisions. With the help of latest Ajax feature, the site works much faster all connected devices.

The New ArtistAloud.com Logo The new ArtistAloud.com logo communicates a sense of dynamism and helps strike an instant connect with a generation that is used to accessing music through the internet at the click of a button. The simple typeface reflects the brand?s net-savvy, tech-friendly and constantly evolving image. The inclusion of the words, "Music First" mirrors the brand?s philosophy of promoting independent music in the country. The hues of blue along with the silver convey an independent, free-spirited vibe, synonymous with the kind of music the brand endorses.

NEW DELHI: The Publications Division should make efforts to make available the annual ?India Reference Annual? globally so that people can learn more about India and particularly in the Indian Diaspora, Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting C M Jatua said.

Releasing the 2012 volume which is the 56th edition, Jatua said it was an exhaustive repository of information about the States and Union Territories, Constitutional amendments and achievements in various fields.

The issue is brought out jointly the Publication Division and the Research, Reference and Training Division of the Ministry giving up-to-date information about the country. The Minister observed that the print run of the annual had been steadily increasing over the years with over 67000 copies printed in English and Hindi in the first stage this year.

Secretary Uday Kumar Varma said that the Publications Division should try to use technology to enhance the outreach of the publication. He suggested that for the next year, the Media Unit should try to introduce the book in three formats: the printed format, CDs, and the electronic version. The Secretary wanted the Division to increase the number of print copies and ensure better marketability of the product.

India 2012 is an updated and comprehensive edition of the Reference Annual edited, published and marketed by the Publications Division. The Research, Reference and Training Division (RR&TD) of the Ministry collects the base material for the Year Books. The material is collected from Central Ministries/Departments, State governments and Union Territories, PSUs and autonomous bodies.

The reference annual gives a panoramic view of country?s progress in the fields of rural and urban development, industry & infrastructure, science & technology, art & culture, economy, health, defence, education & mass communication. It incorporates sections on general knowledge, current affairs, sports, events of the past year and latest ones too.

The publication has been chronicling India?s march to prosperity and strength over this period. The main features covered in this edition of the year book are Census 2011 which is the 15th Census of India since 1872, village electrification, MNREGA, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, National Rural Health Mission, empowerment of women etc. It is a useful handbook for students, civil services aspirants, research scholars, academicians, authors, journalists and above all the general public.

Mumbai: The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) will present the Olive Crown awards for excellence in Green advertising on March 3 rd at a glittering function to be held at the Taj Lands End Bandra Mumbai.

These are the first and only awards in the country that celebrate excellence in communicating sustainability.

The event, will see a heady mix of creativity, entertainment, a touch of seriousness, a dash of Bollywood and some of the biggest names in the advertising, marketing and media industry walking the ?green carpet?.

The Guests of Honor at the function will be cine idol Kajol and Nita Ambani Chairperson Reliance Foundation.

A special Green Crusader award will be presented to Dr.Rajendra Pachauri who won the Nobel Prize as Chairman IPCC.

?The response from the industry has really warmed my heart? says Kaushik Roy President IAA. ?Everyone seems to have adopted these awards as their own cause and have been spontaneous in consenting to be with us at the function. In just its second year, the Olive Crowns will be the most happening and meaningful event in
our industry.?

Olive Crowns will be presented to winners in 14 categories and were judged by a panel of judges that included some of the most respected creative names in the business.

9XM is the title partner of this event.