National Geographic Channel Is Most Liked On Facebook

National Geographic Channel has become the most liked television channel on Facebook in India.

With more than 6.6 million (66 lacs) likes and around 0.6 million (6 lacs) people talking about it, the National Geographic Channel Facebook Page is currently the most interactive page onFacebook amongst all general entertainment channel’s, infotainment and news channels, thus making it the leading infotainment channel. National Geographic Channel has established itself as the most liked television channel on Facebook.

National Geographic Channel, commercially abbreviated as Nat Geo, is an Indian subscription television channel that features non-fiction, factual programming involving nature, science, culture, and history, produced by the National Geographic Society, just like History and the Discovery Channel.

Today National Geographic Channel is available in five languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali.

Ms. Debarpita Banerjee, Vice President, Marketing, National Geographic Channel andFox Traveller said, “It’s great news for all of us and we thank our viewers for contributing to our success. The page is a perfect platform for likeminded brands to reach and engage with their target audience. The exciting communication on a day-to-day basis attracts and retains fans from across the country. With each post reaching out to over 6,48,961 people, the page serves as the perfect medium for us to communicate with our viewers.”

National Geographic Channel interacts with its audiences and keeps them engaged through its path breaking and specially developed content for the digital medium.

Interesting and breath-taking imagery and video sharing has contributed to its success amongst fans across the country. The page also brings fans closer to the iconic infotainment channel and satiates their hunger for knowledge through exciting contests, games and gratifications in form of classic National Geographic Channel souvenirs and memorabilia.

National Geographic India has four Channels in total. The channels that are available in India are National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Adventure.

Walt Disney Ties Up With Shanghai Media Group To Make Inroads Into Chinese Market

American movie-making studio Walt Disney is gearing up to expand its presence in the Chinese market, with a freshly inked deal that has just been signed between it and the Shanghai Media Group Pictures. Disney-branded movies under the collaboration will incorporate Chinese themes into Disney films, said the Studio in a new statement.

In a move to enhance training opportunities between the two superpower nations, the deal will see U.S.-based writers and filmmakers teaming up with their Chinese counterparts, to develop new stories in Disney films.

The move seemingly comes on the back of the deals made by Hollywood’s famed production companies, like Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation SKG tying up with Chinese actors and directors, and setting up co-productions with local firms.

As per the report, Tony To, Executive Vice President Production, will oversee the multi-year development program. Sources indicate the move will aim to boost the ease of release of English films in the Asian nation.

Currently, China’s censorship norms are among the most stringent in the world, with a 37-member Film Censorship Committee vetting every film released in China on the parameters of nudity, violence and anything that is deemed “politically sensitive”.

So far, Disney has made some inroads in the Chinese market, when Disney was made the founding partner of a National Chinese Animation Creative R&D project in 2012. The collaboration was aimed at providing stimulus to the Chinese animation industry, and to train local talent.

Then in December 2013, came the news of Walt Disney Co and BesTV New Media signing on the dotted line of a joint venture, to use the technical and marketing expertise of both companies, for the development of the entertainment industry.

In 2013, Hollywood made giant strides into China, releasing Disney’s superhero flick Iron Man 3, which featured a leading Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, and a chunk of the film shot in China, which somehow seemed to win over local censors.

Interestingly, China’s entertainment and media market was pegged at around $120 billion last year, and is expected to swell to $148 billion by 2015, according to Pricewater House Coopers outlook for the Global Entertainment and media business 2011-2015.

Zee Music Company Acquires Music Rights Of Akshay Kumar’s Holiday

 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has now ventured into the music label space with its latest venture, the Zee Music Company (ZMC) with plans to acquire the music rights of over twenty major motion pictures in the financial year 2014-15.

Zee Music Company has already acquired the rights to the music of the Akshay Kumar andSonakshi Sinha starrer film Holiday which is jointly produced by Reliance Big Entertainment,Sunshine Pictures and Hari Om Entertainment Company.

Zee Music Company has also partnered with Fox Star Studios and signed the latter for the music of five of its Hindi releases for the year, including the Saif Ali Khan and Riteish Deshmukhstarrer Humshakals, Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif starrer Bang Bang and Bombay Velvetthat stars Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

Punit Goenka, Managing Director and Chief Executive Office, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited said, “Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited has always been a leader in the media and entertainment space, be it films or television, and branching out into the music label space gives us an opportunity to widen our business. The music industry is a large playing field and there is scope for us to explore the opportunity in this market. Technology has also emerged as a key transformer of the music industry and digital revenues are driving growth in the market. Since we are a content company, it is essential to own intellectual property as content is the king.”

The industry is however currently struggling with transitioning from physical sales to other streams of revenue like selling music libraries in the B2B space, talent management, music based events and even film productions. The B2B sales sector is growing mostly robustly for most companies since platforms like iTunes and Saavn are popular avenues to access music online for download and streaming respectively.

Future partnerships of Zee Music Company include the big players; Dharma Productions,Excel Entertainment and other top studios.

Subrata Roy Unable To Pay For His Bail; Remains In Custody

Sahara Group have expressed its inability before the Supreme Court pay Rs 10,000 crore for securing bail of its chief Subrata Roy and its two directors, Ravi Shankar Dubey and Ashok Roy Choudhary, who have been in custody since March 04. 2014.

Sahara Group told a bench of justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and J.S. Khehar that they can pay a sum of Rs 2,500 crore immediately and rest Rs 2,500 crore in cash within three weeks after release of Subrata Roy and the two directors.

The Supreme Court had earlier imposed a condition that Subrata Roy will be freed on bail only if he pays Rs 10,000 crore out of which Rs 5,000 crore has to be in bank guarantee and rest Rs 5,000 crore in cash. The Supreme Court, however, asked The Sahara Group to file its proposal before the registry and then it will consider it.

Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd. and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. had collected Rs.24,780 crores from their 3.3 crore investors through optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) which the apex court by its August 31, 2012 order had directed it to return to investors by routing it through market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

However, Subrata Roy‘s counsel later told media persons that even for the payment of initialRs.2,500 crore would require lifting of the freeze of the accounts.

The court was also asked to allow Subrata Roy to stay under house arrest instead of his continued detention in Tihar jail. Senior counsel Rajiv Dhawan told the court that it would facilitateSubrata Roy meeting people for arranging the finances for his release.

The application will come up for hearing on April 09, 2014 when court would hear the petition bySubrata Roy challenging the March 04, 2104 order by the court sending him to judicial detention.

The court by its March 04, 2104 order had said: “Preservation of market integrity is extremely important for economic growth of this country and for national interest.”

David Fincher Wants Christian Bale To Essay The Role Of Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Director David Fincher, who directed Fight Club and The Social Network, reportedly wantsChristian Bale to essay the role of Late Steve Jobs in the new film written by Aaron Sorkin and would be produced by Guymon Casady, Mark Gordon and Scott Rudin.

David Fincher is likely to direct the film only if they manage to get the Oscar winning star ofChristian Bale who is best known for The Dark Knight trilogy and American Hustle to perform the role of the Late Apple Chief Executive Officer.

Previously, actor Ashton Kutcher has essayed the character of Steve Jobs in the film titledJobs (2013). Steve Jobs, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, eventually died losing his battle to the disease in the year 2011.

Jobs, that released on August 16, 2103 was written by Matt Whiteley, who began work on the screenplay around the time Steve Jobs took medical leave from Apple to battle pancreatic cancer. Director Joshua Michael Stern had stated in an interview that all material for the screenplay was collected via research and his interviews.

Let’s hope the next attempt at making a movie about the life of American entrepreneur and Late Chief Executive Officer Of Apple; Steve Jobs is an improvement on the last one. Ashton Kutcher tackled the role in 2013’s Jobs, which did not do well at the Box Office. However, the fate of Jobs hasn’t deterred Sony, who believes that there is still money to be made with a new script and a new actor.

Many were not pleased that Ashton Kutcher had been chosen to play the role; perhaps they’ll be happier to hear that this time Christian Bale is rumored to play Steve Jobs.

All said and done, one has to admit that Christian Bale quite resembles Steve Jobs, and we all know that he has the acting scope to take on any role, so he is a sensible choice.

Christian Bale Rates Above Johnny Depp!

Batman star Christian Bale is a lot more in demand in Hollywood, than is usually let on. For now it has been learnt that Bale was the first choice for Wally Pfister‘s upcoming film Transcendence.

Transcendence was eventually bagged by Hollywood biggie Johnny Depp, known for his fabulous performances in films like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of The Caribbean and many others. However, sources have now revealed that Depp was not the first choice for the upcoming science fiction thriller.

Christian Bale, who had previously worked with Pfister in films like The Prestige, Memento, and the Batman films, was in talks with the banner for a role in the film. However, when talks and negotiations with him fell threw, the role eventually landed up in Johnny Depp’s kitty.

Directed by Pfister, Transcendence will hit theatres in April this year. The executive producer on the film is none other than Christopher Nolan, and Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall and Kate Mara will be seen in Transcendence along with Johnny Depp.

Transcendence is the story of Dr. Will Caster, an artificial intelligence researcher who strives to create a machine that possesses sentience and collective intelligence. Extremists who oppose technological advancement target him, but their actions drive him toward his goal

Justin Bieber Spends Quality Time With Ex, Miley Cyrus

The “beliebers” aren’t particularly going to like this bit of news. If a recent tweet from his fatherJeremy Bieber is to be believed, Justin Bieber spend some quality time with his ex, Miley Cyrus, before heading out to the recording studio.

Ardent fans may believe that Justin is trying to make girlfriend Selena Gomez jealous, by hanging out with his ex. We recently reported that Justin Bieber gifted Selena a gold ring, fuelling speculation that the two were engaged, but it now seems like all is not well in teen-ville.

Reportedly, Justin Bieber had some free time on his hands last evening, and chose to spend it with Miley. His father Jeremy Bieber allegedly accompanied the young star to meet Miley. We now know where Justin gets his way with women!

Jeremy tweeted: “Change of plans. Quick hello to @mileycyrus and off to the studio with @Justinbieber @JazmynBieber”

Selena will surely not like to learn about her boyfriend’s latest afternoon out with Miley. We just hope that this doesn’t impede their possible union in the near future.