MUMBAI: P7 News Channel celebrated its ?First Anniversary? recently. The event was organized at The Imperial Hotel, New Delhi to commemorate the milestones and achievements and to celebrate the ?One Year? successful journey of the channel.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Jyoti Narain, Director, P7 News Channel, said ?We began with a vision to present a credible and authentic News Channel and our first year has been a great success. Through serious programming and authentic reporting we have created a niche for ourselves in India?s dynamic news and entertainment environment. It is our vision, and must say, a mission to be close to every Indian home and that?s why we have launched and supported programmes and events that are close to wide section of society?.

Opening the act was, the famous and talented musician - Raghav Sachar showing his music skills by playing various different instruments. He also performed a few of his self composed songs. The entertainment was followed by an enigmatic dance performance by Ms. Uma Sharma & Group which also included a team of western dancers. They captivated the guests with a ?Kathak Bhaav Nritya? ? a dance performance based on the poetry of Mirza Ghalib. Closing the curtains was the melodious - Ustad Iqbal Ahmed Khan who enthralled the audience with his melodic voice which left everyone mesmerized.

The channel was launched on 27th March?09 and the channel has not looked back since then. With a prime focus on social and development stories across the country, P7 news channel has provided an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers, a value that is well captured in its tagline ? ?Ek Umeed? (A ray of Hope).

?Pearls Group? entered the world of Infotainment and Media in November? 08, and launched P7 News channel on 27th March ?09. After the channel?s success in Delhi, it also launched it in Mumbai on 23rd September ?09.

In terms of viewership numbers and popularity, P7 News Channel consistently outdid all the news channels that were launched in the similar period, and on quite a few occasions topped the charts even when compared to the established market leaders.

Just to state a few examples, P7 News channel was rated as Mumbai?s most watched ?Hindi News Channel? with 14.4% viewership in the 48th week. (Source: TAM.) By January? 10, P7 News Channel became the most watched ?Hindi News Channel? in major states of India. With its team of trusted experts and wide network of correspondents, P7 emerged as the most watched ?Hindi News Channel? in major cities of India. (Source: TAM).

To quote a few numbers, P7?s reach point has been tremendous within a short span of time. In Orissa, P7 is ahead with 17 points, in Gujarat it is 16 points, in Chattisgarh it is 12 points, in Uttar Pradesh it is 6 points and in Mumbai it is 13 points. The channel has had a huge success with its wide reach.

Another point that measures the popularity of a channel is the time spent by viewer on the channel, also known as TSV. In this scale also P7 performed exceedingly well, becoming a leader in various regions. Today, ?P7 News Channel? reach in Hindi speaking language market is 8.5 million. In the latest TAM report, P7 News Channel is the ?Number One? channel in Rajasthan (One million plus market) in TSV. The channel is among the top channels in the regions of Rajasthan, Maharashtra & Gujarat.

Some of the programmes that have become hugely popular today are lifestyle show Stylista, Bindia ? a show for women, Grahon Ki Shatranj, Batain Zamin Jayadat Ki ? a real estate show, Real Estate, Kaida Kanoon and Speed.

P7 News Channel?s success in the first year is not limited to the numbers and effective and thought provoking programming alone. The channel has been associated with a lot of events and activities ranging from social cause, to sports and entertainment. Some of the highlights are listed below:

P7 News Channel was the exclusive official broadcaster of ?Wills India Fashion Week‘ 09?. P7 also supported designer Sanjana Jon‘s ‘Save the Girl Child‘ collection.

Brett Lee became the Brand Ambassador of P7 News Channel.

P7 became the ?Official Broadcasters? of IPL team ?Mumbai Indians?.

P7 presented ?Pearls Wave Awards? to salute ?Indian Women against Violence?. The gala event held in Mumbai, was attended by Bollywood superstars like Saif Ali Khan and Katrina Kaif. Prominent awardees in various categories included Delhi CM Mrs. Shiela Dixit, Priya Dutt, Bollywood stars Frieda Pinto and Genelia D?Souza and designer Ritu Kumar, and small screen star Avika Gaur, amongst others.

P7 News Channel supported hockey by becoming the ?Official Media Partner? of the ?Hockey World Cup 2010? held in New Delhi.

P7 participated in MAMI where P7 presented ?P7 Audience Choice Awards?, and the winner ?Road to Sangam? got prize money of worth Rs. 10, 00,000.

P7 News Channel presented a fashion show by Suneet Varma showcasing his ?Resort Collection?.

P7 News Channel is the ?Official Media Partner? of ?Wills India Fashion Week 2010?, held in Delhi.

P7 presented the NT awards in Delhi.

P7 has consistently been delivering very good ratings. The channel has shown consistent growth and is ahead of various other Hindi channels. The ratings have proven the channels zest for better and healthier news which reaches out to large number of masses.

?P7 is setting principles for better journalism and inclusive exposure on the issues that matters to the viewers. The ratings only go towards passing our leadership amongst Hindi News Channels. The outcome imitates the viewers? buoyancy that the channel will always bring them news that they can trust" adds Mr. Jyoti Narain, Director, P7 News Channel.

MUMBAI: CNN-IBN?S show ?30 minutes? received top honours in 4 categories at the News Television Awards, making it the program with the maximum number of wins across all news channels. The show which examines issues of national interest in a 30 minutes capsule, made a clean sweep of the major categories including; Best Business News Programme, Best News Documentary Programme, Best Crime Show and Best Sports News Programme.

The following episodes of the program were lauded for their informative, incisive and intelligent content:

News Documentary Programme ? 30 Minutes-True lies in Manipur: A brave, unbiased and from the ground documentary that unearths the shocking facts surrounding the blatant ?Fake Encounters? in Manipur

Crime Show ? 30 Minutes-Killed in the name of honour: The programme analysed & looked at the numerous cases of honour killings that take place in UP and Haryana with alarming regularity.

Business News Programme of the year ? 30 Minutes-Diamonds not forever: The Documentary that put `faces? to the millions of anonymous workers & businessmen who were badly hit by the recession and collapse of demand in the West.

Sports News Show of the year- 30 Minutes-Boys in the bubble: Some of India?s top cricketers admit that Fame and Game are tough to handle. They spoke about their life in a unique documentary - `Boys in the Bubble?.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief, IBN18 Network said, ?30 Minutes is a show which turns the spotlight on the burning issues of this day which impact the nation. Their multiple wins at the News Television Awards are a tribute to their dedication to the spirit of courageous, relevant and insightful reporting.?
 

MUMBAI: The movie channel genre, which has always been considered a male dominated area, has finally established that women could prove to be great audiences if provided with the right content. Zee Cinema the leader of the Hindi Movie Genre, took an innovative step towards entertainment of housewives thorough Lady Raaj which introduced interesting break content exclusively for women during weekdays, 12 noon to 4 p.m. Launched barely three weeks ago, Lady Raaj has helped the channel GRPs grow by over 40% during the time period from pre launch (week 7-10) to post launch week(week11-13) (CS 4+ Female). Zee Cinema has not only surpassed direct competitors but also outdone major GECs like Colors, Star Plus, Sony and Imagine TV during the time band.

Lady Raaj features experts from different fields like Bollywood, Lifestyle, Health & Wellness, Astrology and many such who offer interesting tips on the specified topics to the viewers, thereby making the movie-watching an unique and educational experience.

Mohan Gopinath, Business Head, Zee Cinema, said, ?We are extremely happy that our women audiences have shown a positive response to our content as it was exclusively designed for them. Such great enthusiasm only helps us to further innovate and produce interesting concepts for our viewers.?

MUMBAI: It is going to be an all male affair, a stag party at the Grand Finale of Amrita TV?s flagship reality show, Super Star-2 that will be telecast live on Saturday, April 3rd, from 7.00 pm onwards.

The finalists who will cross musical antlers in the triangular contest to decide the next Super Star are Nikhil, the exceptionally talented BCom graduate, Sidhesh the BA Music student who was specially handpicked through the Super Star-2 Express and Sujith Lal whose passion for music was so overwhelming, he married a music teacher.

The Final 3 who are the pick of the crop were isolated through a profusion of rounds spread over 17 stages, in which the competition got tighter by the session.

Even after ensuring safe passage to the Finals, they had to pass through a grueling last level that stretched their skills on the rack and demonstrated the contestant?s real stuff .

Duet with a Playback Singer showed how they fared by comparison to seasoned pros; Classical Groove in which they sang Carnatic Classical Keerthanas to keyboard accompaniment; Playback Singing where each competitor had to ?learn? the song on the spot and render it on stage immediately

On the decisive evening of the Finale, millions of die hard Super Star fans around the globe will witness the 3-cornered combat in which the contestants have to face 3 rounds of two solos and one group in their last conclusive showdown.

Dotting the efforts of the Super Star hopefuls will be celebrity displays from the 3 Judges, M.Jayachandran, Alphonse and Deepak Dev ; solo keyboard performances from Stephen ;group medleys from the top ten eliminated participants of

Super Star-2 etc that will help cool down the soaring heat of the competition.

While Super Star-2 is coasting to its final run down, the Final three will be dredging the very depths of their talent to bring up their best for the head-on musical confrontation that awaits them, on the fateful evening of April 3rd .

MUMBAI: The stage is set for combat; the Roadies are on their final sin and the pride & glory is just one task away! After battling it out from India to Africa the sinners have gone from 14 to just 2 and then back to 4! After Irrfan Khan brings in an unexpected twist in the very last stage, the game changes yet again! Who will be crowned the winner of MTV Hero Honda Roadies 7? Don?t miss the grand finale of MTV Hero Honda Roadies 7 as the cast of Housefull - Deepika Padukone, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal along with director Sajid Khan, cheer on the Roadies!

On the Roadies 7 Judgment Day, Mohit?s team will be up against Meghna?s team in a daunting ?spider web? task. The two teams will comprise of all the other 12 roadies that were previously voted out. The team member will have to push each other off the web along with collecting flags on the way! Following which the top 3 performers along with the leader of the winning team, will fight for ultimate recognition through back-to-back adrenaline rushing tasks.

Previously on Roadies 7, the contestants had a face-off with some horrific creatures of Africa! While in Cairo, the Roadies thought that the Lions were as bad as it could get, but they even had to face the 2 most feared creatures in Africa ? snakes & scorpions! In the freezing cold streets, the Roadies felt the heat of fear, competition and the spiciest pickled chilies in Egypt!

This year on MTV Hero Honda Roadies 7 the contestants were shortlisted online on the basis of their profiles. They were then further shortlisted through a group discussion session followed by a personal interview with none other than Nikhil Chinapa, Cyrus Sahukar & Cyrus Broacha. After a long and careful selection process the chosen 14 began their race in India and then moved on to the wilderness of Africa. After 4 months of relentless scheming, plotting and high voltage performances in the middle of all the adventure, MTV Hero Honda Roadies 7 is finally nearing its end and you cannot miss the nail biting finale!

The wild safari ends on Sunday, April 4th @ 7pm, exclusively on MTV.

Get ready for the most sinful finale of Roadies - the Baap of Reality shows!

MUMBAI: Zee Cinema, renowned for its extensive library of Bollywood films and its expansive reach to South Asian homes around the world, is pleased to announce its ?Indian? panel discussion at the 5th Annual Women?s International Film & Arts Festival in Miami, FL.

On Monday, March 29, independent filmmaker and actor Paras Chaudhari and up-and-coming television and film actress Ami Sheth will join Zee Cinema executives in a lively discussion on the history and future of Indian cinema, while examining the evolution of cinematic portrayals of women in India.

?We?re proud to be associated with an event dedicated to celebrating the dreams, visions and voices of women around the world,? says Subroto Bhattacharya, CEO of Zee TV USA, Inc. ?Our partnership with WIFF further solidifies Zee Cinema?s commitment to recognizing, engaging and empowering women in a variety of roles ? mothers, sisters, daughters, writers, directors and even actors ? to strive to achieve their goals.?

Since co-founding Crescent Street Films, Paras Chaudhari has produced three short films, three web series, and over twenty commercial ad campaigns for clients ranging from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week to the rock group Black Lips. Rising star Ami Sheth embodies rich non-Hollywood talent, exotic beauty and versatility to each television and film role she undertakes.

?We believe that the images of women in film directly influence how they are perceived, valued and treated in society,? says Yvonne McCormack-Lyons, Executive Director of the Women?s International Film & Arts Festival. ?As the South Asian entertainment network synonymous with providing the ?Best of Bollywood? entertainment experience, Zee Cinema is a perfect fit to create ongoing dialogue and debate about women?s roles in film.?

This year?s event will feature the festival?s ?WIFF Around the Globe? theme, a nightly celebration focusing on regions of the world: North America, Africa & Its Diaspora, Europe, India, Asia and the Caribbean with films, food, drinks and other cultural components. In addition, there will be a Celebration of Women Concert/Family Fun Fest featuring Sony Latin America Artists on March 28.

Held during Women?s History Month from March 26 ? April 3, the annual festival has evolved from a one-day film showcase in 2005 to its current 9-day program of film exhibits, seminars, and panel discussion of films from across the globe.

Zee Cinema is available on Dish Network across the United States.