MCCS picks up rich haul of 9 metals - 5 Golds, 3 Silver & 1 Bronze

MCCS picks up rich haul of 9 metals - 5 Golds, 3 Silver & 1 Bronze

Mumbai, June 28, 2006: The glittering PROMAX&BDA Awards function held at New York provided a rich haul of metals for MCCS (Media Content & Communications Services), which broadcasts STAR News, India's first homegrown news channel, and STAR Ananda, India's first 24-hour national Bengali news channel.

4 BDA GOLDS - MCCS won BDA Golds in the Best Image promo category for the STAR Ananda launch promo; in the Best Special Events promo category for the STAR News election special Kya Banega Muhyamantri promo; and in the On-air illustration category for Factoid-Right to Information. Besides, these 3 Golds, MCCS won a further BDA Gold in the Open category for STAR News special series Ek Shahar Ho Sapno Ka.

3 BDA SILVERS - Meanwhile, STAR News election special Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri won Silver for Special Events promo, and the STAR Ananda Teaser won silver in the ID category. The avidly watched STAR News sports programme series, Match Ke Mujrim, also notched Silver for Topical Promo.
Category Programme Channel Promax / BDA Award

1 Art Direction & Design: Image Promo Ananda Launch Promo STAR Ananda BDA Gold
2 Art Direction & Design: Special Events Promo Kya Banega Mukhyamantri STAR News BDA Gold
3 On-Air Illustration Factoid - Right to Information STAR News BDA Gold
4 Open Ek Shahar Ho Sapno Ka STAR News BDA Gold
5 News Campaign using one or more media Match Ke Mujrim STAR News Promax Gold
6 Art Direction & Design: Special Events Promo Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri STAR News BDA Silver
7 ID STAR Ananda Teaser STAR Ananda BDA Silver
8 Art Direction & Design: Topical Promo Match Ke Mujrim STAR News BDA Silver
9 Open Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri STAR News BDA Bronze

1 BDA BRONZE - Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri won Bronze in the Open Category. BDA is the world's leading association of designers involved in all aspects of electronic design for the broadcast, broadband, and multimedia world. The BDA World Gold Awards are in recognition of design excellence in electronic design.

1 PROMAX GOLD - Match Ke Mujrim was again the recipient of an award, this time a Promax Gold for the Best News Programme campaign using one or more media. PROMAX is the world's premier association of promotion and marketing professionals in electronic media - those responsible for building audiences and revenues for their organizations. The Promax World Gold awards are in universal recognition of such marketing contributions.

In the Indian participation, MCCS have outshone all other news networks, whether entertainment or news, with a haul of 5 Golds! This recognition is only further endorsement to the People's Channel's pursuit of excellence.

Promax/BDA is the worldwide association of entertainment marketers, promoters and designers, representing more than 500 television stations and all major broadcast and cable networks from the U. S. as well as more than 3,000 individual members in 70 countries.

ABOUT MCCS

Media Content & Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd. (MCCS) broadcasts STAR News, India's first homegrown news channel, and STAR Ananda, India's first 24-hour national Bengali news channel. MCCS is a 74:26 joint venture between ABP TV - a 100% subsidiary of ABP Pvt. Ltd., and STAR News Broadcasting Ltd., wholly-owned subsidiary of the STAR Group; two of the biggest brands in Indian media. Living up to its motto of "Aapko Rakhe Aagey", STAR News is a people's channel that focuses on relevant news in a cutting-edge format. Since its conception, the Channel has grown to command a viewership of over 20 million Indian homes and is the first and only Global Indian News Channel. In June 2005, MCCS launched another first, STAR Ananda, which immediately set a benchmark with its diverse, yet incisive news coverage. Introducing a paradigm shift in the broadcast of regional language news, STAR Ananda continues to consolidate, reaching out to over two and a half million discerning viewers.

For further information, please contact:
Navin Tauro / Swati Sundareswaran / Daylon D'Cruz
Vaishnavi Corporate Communications
Tel: 022 6656 8787 / Fax: 022 6656 8788