MUMBAI: Olympics takes first priority over cricket as pubcaster Doordarshan decides to give the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series a miss.

DD declined to telecast the bilateral series which coincides with the London Olympics that will see the largest ever Indian contingent taking part in the world?s biggest sporting event.
?We approached Doordarshan with a bid for the India-Sri Lanka series but they have refused since they will be focusing on the London Olympics,? Zeel chief sales officer Ashish Sehgal tells Indiantelevision.com. The Sri Lanka cricket series falls under the mandatory sharing of telecast rights provision under which private sports broadcasters will have to give the live feed to DD.

With DD out of the fray, the bilateral series involving five ODIs and lone Twenty20 match will be televised exclusively by Ten Cricket, the cricket dedicated channel from Zee.

The India-Sri Lanka series, which will be played from 21 July to 7 August, will clash with the London Olympics starting from 27 July and closing on 12 August.

Zee is looking at an advertising revenue of Rs 800 million from the series. Ten Cricket, the official broadcast rights holder for cricket in Sri Lanka, has roped in five broadcast sponsors. Hero MotoCorp is the presenting sponsor while talks are on with a telecom operator to take the other presenting sponsorship slot.

The broadcaster has roped in Royal Seagram, Lenovo, Reliance Netconnect, and Manipal University as associate sponsors. Besides the official sponsors, there are 20 other advertisers who have bought airtime on the property.

?We have got good response from advertisers. The fact that it?s a short series involving ODI and T20 format of the game and will be telecast only on Ten Cricket is working in our favour,? Sehgal says.

Hindi general entertainment channels like Star Plus and Colors have also shown interest in buying airtime to promote their shows, Sehgal adds.

The channel has got three more on-ground associate sponsors in addition to Royal Stag Cricket Gear which includes Hero MotoCorp, Zuari Cement and Renault. Handset manufacturer Micromax is the title sponsor of the series. Sources say Micromax has paid Rs 50-60 million to take the title sponsorship.

One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign

Ten Cricket?s overall marketing spends on promoting the series will be around Rs 55-60 million, including promotions on network channels.

The sportscaster is giving the series an aggressive marketing push through its One India. One Jersey. marketing campaign.

The campaign celebrates the fact that the India team is coming together after a long gap through a series of four TVC based on real life experiences.

The creative idea showcases how cricket unites people from various walks of life despite all the differences that exist. It will be driven primarily through television promos and digital initiatives.

?The campaign is based on various contradictions in life and how we as a society are divided on various things but when it comes to cricket we are all one so it could be politicians from two opposition political parties with different views but they have same views when it comes to cricket (Indian team),? Ten Sports CEO Atul Pande says.

Pande believes that the campaign needed to have a strong theme since there was lot of negativity around the Indian team due to back-to-back defeats against England and Australia.

?We are primarily focusing on television particularly News channels because this property has got a male skew. We are also looking to reach out to female viewers through channels like TLC and lifestyle channels. Then we have our network channels to drive it we are topping this with a digital campaign,? he avers.

NEW DELHI: TLC, the lifestyle channel, has roped in Adhuna Akhtar and her brother Osh Bhabani to groom women particular about their hair styles and needing a general makeover.

The six-episodic ?Be Blunt with Adhuna Akhtar? will be aired from 16 July at 10 pm with a repeat every day at 2 pm. The show is being produced by Red Chillies Entertainment.

Each woman who will feature in the episodes will later get to meet a star personality who has been groomed for some film or another by the brother-sister duo who began their career with ?Dil Chahata Hai? with Farhan Akhtar.

?Be Blunt with Adhuna Akhtar? will showcases the transformation of the girls selected from across India into dazzling divas.

The Bollywood stars appearing on the show include Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Abhay Deol, Arjun Rampal, Farhan Akhtar, and Chitrangadha Singh.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific SVP and GM- India, South Asia Rahul Johri claimed that a year-long preparation had gone into the show. He said the show could be extended if found popular with the masses. He also claimed that research was done to study what the young audiences who were the niche audiences of TLC wanted to see.

"TLC has successfully presented and entertained Indian audience with the perfect blend of global and India themed programming through a range of innovative formats and unmatched personalities", he said.

MUMBAI: Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey captures her experience in India in a two-part show, ?Oprah?s Next Chapter?, that will simulcast on Discovery Channel, TLC and Discovery Channel Tamil from 20-21 July at 8 pm.

In Oprah?s Next Chapter, she discloses her emotional link that she could feel for the people and culture during her visit to first India this year.

Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri said, ?Discovery Channel takes viewers to rediscover India with one of the most iconic television personalities in the world. Oprah has connected with audience through her chat shows and in Oprah?s Next Chapter, she transitions to a new phase in her life. Audience will see her embrace Indian culture through in-depth conversations with people from different walks of life.?

Upon arrival in Mumbai, Oprah accompanies Australian author Gregory David Roberts of bestselling novel Shantaram to make a trip to the slums and to meet a family of five members living on a meagre salary. She is moved by the aspirations of the family which lives, eats, cooks and sleeps in a 10-foot-by-10-foot concrete room.

Oprah also gets enthused by the close-knit Indian families when she is invited to visit an upper-middle-class family which has four generations living happily under one roof. She also dines her first traditional Indian meal in a thali.

Oprah is invited to a party hosted by industrialist Parmeshwar and Adi Godrej and is pleasantly surprised by the grandeur of the night which has celebrated guests from Mumbai?s glitterati and Bollywood including A.R. Rahman, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and others. On her way to the party, Oprah halts to meet leading Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai and the Bachchan family. She also reveals her favourite fit as she is draped in a traditional saree designed by leading designer Tarun Tahiliani.

In the second episode, Opray travels to Taj Mahal in Agra to see the epitome of love. Her next destination is Jaipur, where she is mesmerised by the land of extremes to see camels wandering along other vehicles on its metropolitan city streets. She sits down with spiritual guru Deepak Chopra for a thought-provoking conversation on spirituality, karma, aging and meditation.

Oprah is invited to the Palace walls of Jaipur where the Royal Family gives her a traditional Indian regal welcome. She travels to Vrindavan and goes inside a shelter run by Dr. V. Mohini Giri?s Guild for Service, which provides safe haven, job training and dignity to more than 100 displaced women.

Oprah gets inspired by the spirituality and harmony and draws her views on the paradox realities.

It is after 25 years of her stint with television and having interviewed over 28,000 guests that Oprah has stepped out of the studio to have conversation with newsmakers, celebrities and ordinary people.

Oprah said, "After 25 years I got myself out of the studio chairs. I moved into the next chapter, and I am having more fun than ever - moving around the country and the world talking to people I?m really interested in getting to know and I think viewers will be, too. It is so energising to be out and about in the world exploring new people, new places and new ideas."

Meanwhile, Discovery will air a four part special on the Olympic Games every Sunday at 7 pm from 8 July. This will show the amount of preparation that London has done to get ready for the sporting spectacle in terms of things like logistics, engineering and preparing various facilities.

MUMBAI: Lifestyle channel TLC will showcase the cuisine of Spain peppered with its history and cultural influences in a new series - ?Rick Stein?s Spain?.

The series is showcased through the lens of one of the most applauded Chefs, Rick Stein, who travels the length and breadth of the country in an old campervan, going off the beaten track to discover the authentic soul (?duende?) of Spanish cooking.

The show will air every Thursday at 9 pm.starting 5 July. The show follows the course that Rick Stein embarks on to discover if it is still the old Spain he visited as a young boy or is Spain becoming more like the new Europe. He unravels the traditions of Spain and learns if Spanish cuisine is changing or is it sill the old sort of beans, stews and quite heavy peasant food.

Discovery South Asia senior VP, GM Rahul Johri said, ?TLC was the first international lifestyle channel to introduce food programming in India. It offers the finest repertoire of food shows hosted by iconic personalities such as Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain, Bobby Chinn amongst many others. We are delighted to present a new host Rick Stein who will enthrall the audience with his culinary expedition of Spain.?

Stein wanders around the country and the restaurants, giving a sneak peek into the unparalleled recipes and ingredients that are sure to excite viewers about the country?s unique cuisine. According to Rick, no one cooks fish with more respect or grills meat better.

In the past, French and Italian cooking have been seen to have more finesse, but thanks to a handful of really dedicated Spanish chefs and a growing enthusiasm for its rugged flavours, that has all begun to change. Rick introduces the viewers to contrasting recipes and offbeat ingredients, like Valencia paella, Monkfish, Manchego cheese and others.

MUMBAI: Discovery Networks International (DNI) has announced that Betty, the UK production house that it acquired last year, will produce new lifestyle series ?Taste Off? and ?Ultimate Shopper?.

These series, commissioned by DNI head of production & development Julian Bellamy, will air on TLC internationally and available in over 150 markets across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.

DNI chief content officer, executive VP Luis Silberwasser said, ?Fashion and food are two of TLC?s most popular genres, and the commissioning of ?Taste Off? and ?Ultimate Shopper? ? inspired by Real Time Italy?s hit series ?Shopping Night??taps into the essence of what our female flagship channels are all about. We are excited for these series to be infused with betty?s creativity and unique perspective, and feel fortunate to have a solid built-in production partner for our world-class programming.?

Betty CEO Liz Warner said, "We are thrilled to have won these series so early on in our relationship with Discovery?our development slate is very much in tune with TLC and Julian?s commissioning compass. These series are totally in our blood?being a sassy and competitive take on fashion, and a food show with a great twist taking on the local experts. Both will feature great presenting talent we have found, which is one of our known strengths.?

Part-travelogue, part competitive culinary show, ?Taste Off? follows self-taught British chef, restaurateur and author Aaron Craze, as he takes on homegrown food heroes around the world to prove he can cook up beloved national dishes as tasty and authentic as the locals.

In each episode, Craze?known to international audiences for his popular show Rude Boy Food and for winning Jamie?s Chef?learns the local culinary dish before competing against the locally crowned master, from head chefs at a 5-star restaurant, to family foodies to roadside cooks.

Each episode culminates with a blind taste test where the discerning local audience will make the final call?can an outside chef outdo the experts on their own soil? In the series? final episode, Craze will visit Australia where all dishes will be cooked and judged against each other to become king.

Confirmed locales for ?Taste Off? include Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia and Australia, with other locations to be announced at a later date.

?Ultimate Shopper? is being positioned as being every girl?s fantasy ? unleashing slaves-to-fashion in their ultimate dream store. With DNI and Magnolia Productions? ?Shopping Night? as a muse, ?Ultimate Shopper? aims to give new meaning to the phrase ?dressed to kill.?

Each episode pits four fashionist as head-to-head in a series of three style-based challenges to be judged by our fabulous panel of experts: singer and modern pop culture icon Holly Valance, fashion expert Brix Smith Start and photographer Paul Hartnett, along with a special guest judge.

From crafting the perfect look for a first date to donning just the right duds for a second job interview, contestants?and their style?will be judged on their chic creativity and quick-thinking fashion sense. At the end of each episode, the final two contestants will face off ?and the last shopper standing will be rewarded with a dream wardrobe of all their chosen pieces.

MUMBAI: Discovery network?s travel and lifestyle channel, TLC, is bringing back Hairy Bikers: Mum Knows Best!

Starting 23 May, the second season of the show will air every Wednesday at 8 pm.

The show follows ?star mums? as they share their family recipes and also give the ?Hairy Bikers? a taste of the same. Standing at the heart of each episode is the Mums Know Best Recipe Fair, where the Hairy Bikers do a live cookery demonstration and visitors bring their own family recipes to share with each other.

"The series celebrates the best of British family recipes, many of which have been passed down from one generation to the other. These dishes represent the best of home cooking from the kitchens of Britain?s mothers. These recipes are also a precious insight into the way people have been cooking in Britain for centuries," says TLC.