ABOUT US – NEWS - TV9
Benchmark are pleased to announce that TV9 Mumbai is on air – 24 / 7
Mumbai / New Delhi, February 10, 2009: Benchmark Broadcast Systems are pleased to announce that the Associated Broadcasting Company’s – owners of the TV9 group of channels – latest television station, TV9 Mumbai, went on air last month on January 09, 2009 at Mumbai – on schedule and on budget. A fully automated, digital broadcast facility that incorporates the latest, state-of-the-art technologies, TV9 Mumbai, is a 24 /7 Hindi Metro news channel.
TV9 awarded this systems integration project to Benchmark Broadcast Systems after an extensive and thorough evaluation process. What played a strong factor in the decision was Benchmark’s track record of setting up numerous, automated broadcast facilities both in India and across South Asia, South East Asia and China – on schedule, on budget and on specification.
The TV9 project has maintained that track record.
TV9 Mumbai is a 24/7 Hindi, Metro news channel. The multi-million dollar station has two studios, a news production facility, editing, graphics and post production facilities, a Production Control Room, Master Control Room and a Central Equipment.
Benchmark are Systems Integrators for the entire project – from the Electronic News Gathering (ENG) facilities to the earth station. The workflows embrace hardware and systems such as the Octopus Newsrooms System, Seachange Video Servers for ingest and playback, Apple Final Cut Pro for news editing, DataDirect Networks’ Storage Area Network (SAN), Vizrt for 2D & 3D broadcast graphics and tickers, teleprompters, etc., to name some. All systems are controlled by Aveco automation.
Mr Badari Prasad, Chief Technical Officer, TV9 said, “Benchmark has done a remarkable job of integrating these systems on a very tight schedule. And, what is important to note, is that Benchmark had us up and running 24/7, as promised, on schedule and on budget.
Mr Ashish Mukherjee, President – Benchmark Broadcast Systems, elaborating on why TV9 had opted for that particular systems combination said, “The solution comprises tried and tested hardware and software workflows. The new technologies have sound technical backing and a commitment to rapid response times in the event of teething issues. Moreover, we have ensured that each product integrates tightly with the other... The result to TV9 is an extremely cost effective and state-of-the-art facility with a very fast and easy workflow. The bottomline is, more work done faster and with less manpower.”
Mr Raghu Rajagopalan, Managing Director of Benchmark Broadcast Systems, added, “This has a positive impact both on the running cost as well as the effectiveness of the station. Further, the installation and integration of the latest state-of-the-art technology means a longer time-lag before upgradation. It is not by accident that most of the stations that we have installed became leaders and are now running extremely profitably".
About the TV9 Group
The Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (ABCL) is one of the fastest growing media companies in India today. Headquartered in Hyderabad, the Company started with a 24-hour news channel (TV9 AP) in Andhra Pradesh in 2004, and quickly became a ratings leader there with its unique brand of bold and fearless journalism. In just four years it added more channels to its bouquet, each a major player in its métier:
- TV9 Karnataka– the first news channel in Kannada, and a runaway TRP topper
- TV9 Gujarat – the only Gujarati news channel, and a resounding success
- Kolkata TV – path-breaking Bengali news channel
- Sanskriti – niche channel in Telugu devoted to faith and culture
Now, with the lunch of TV9 Mumbai, it has added another channel to its bouquet.
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