Etisalat mobile TV project will complement role of e-vision

The etisalat mobile TV project to deliver television directly to mobile phones will complement the role of e-vision and boost the viewer ship of channels listed on e-vision, said Humaid Rashid Sahoo, Chief Executive Officer, Emirates Cable TV and Multimedia (e-vision).

He said: "Those who regularly watch TV programmes, serials or football matches will be able to watch the same without disruption through their mobile phones. The etisalat project will complement rather than compete with e-vision."

E-vision has about 60 per cent of the domestic market share and within two years it will cover the entire UAE. Sahoo was speaking during an event announcing the official launch of NTV, the first Malayalam Cable TV channel in the UAE, which will be available on e-vision basic package from today.

Etisalat mobile TV is a new service that allows etisalat's prepaid and postpaid customers to view live selected television channels on their 3/3.5G-enabled GSM handsets. Subscribers will also get the basic 3G service when applying for mobile TV service. From June 8 to June 14, a month's subscription was available for Dh10 per month compared to Dh39, the normal rate.

The CEO said the number of Indian channels on e-vision has been increasing and NTV is the first Malayalam cable channel distributed through e-vision. He said recession has not affected any of these channels and four other Malayalam TV channels distributed through e-vision.

Elias John, Director NTV, said for the UAE viewers the channel will have current affairs programmes, comedy shows, cookery shows, popular movies, prime time serials, women's shows, health shows, children's shows, quiz programmes, news-based shows, reality shows, celebrity interviews and more. In NTV News, the channel will telecast, Aniyara (Behind the Scenes), a current affairs programme, Irattakkannan Saakshi, a political satire, Jalakam (Window), a show that takes up social issues, among others.

Leen B Jesmas, Director, NTV, said it will also have an interactive show connecting Non-Resident Indians with their families back home. NTV UAE will also have a platform to solve NRI issues.

Suresh Gopi, Malayalam film actor, said the new channel will telecast many film related programmes from the UAE, as other channels in India are not allowed to do so as per an agreement with the film chamber and Association of Malayalam Movie Artists, an association of Malayalam actors. He said the ban was introduce to help the Malayalam film industry, which is suffering due to the frequent telecasting of film-related programmes on TV and stage shows.

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