SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2014
W H AT ’ S O N
OSN, Viacom partner to launch new kids, youth channels
O
SN, the leading pay-TV network in the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA), has strengthened
its portfolio of exclusive and premium content
with the addition of three new 24-hour channels that
appeal to youth and families through its partnership
with Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a
division of Viacom Inc.
OSN will expand its entertainment offering with two
kids and family channels, Nickelodeon HD (OSN channel
355) and Nick Jr. (OSN channel 356), and international
music channel MTV Live HD (OSN channel 300) on
January 5th, 2015. This brings the total number of VIMN
channels on OSN to four unique brands with the already
existing VH1, further strengthening OSN’s roster of HD
channels to a record 55.
Beginning in February 2015, both Nickelodeon HD
and Nick Jr. will be available in dual language (English
and Arabic) on OSN. VIMN’s Dubai Media City team will
take over the production of Nickelodeon HD, transforming it into the only international kids TV channel available in Arabic produced in the MENA region exclusively
for OSN. The partnership with OSN strengthens VIMN’s
ability to deliver high quality content appealing to different age-groups in MENA.
David Butorac, CEO of OSN, said: “We are consistently
strengthening our offering of premium and exclusive
content to create sustained value for our subscribers.
The launch of Nickelodeon HD and Nick Jr, both in
Arabic, and MTV Live HD strengthens OSN’s engagement
with two key demographics - children and youth.
“With over 200 million youth in the MENA region and
nearly 63 per cent of parents preferring to watch TV with
their children as per recent research*, the new additions
make OSN the go-to platform for entertainment for the
entire family. The new channels build on our portfolio of
family and children’s entertainment offering, further
underlining our commitment to offer content that
meets the demand and aspirations of our subscribers.”
Raffaele Annecchino, Executive Vice President and
Managing Director South Europe, Middle East and
oriented channels MTV Live HD and VH1, create a perfect balance and provide programming that appeal to
audiences ranging from preschoolers to the adult demographic.”
Africa, Viacom International Media Networks stated:
“This partnership with OSN provides an ideal opportunity for VIMN to deliver a wide range of entertainment
content to the MENA region. Our kids and family channels, Nickelodeon HD and Nick Jr., along with our music-
Andrea Castellari, Senior Vice President and General
Manager Italy, Middle East and Turkey, VIMN added: “The
launch of these three VIMN channels on OSN marks a
new, great era for us in MENA. We are excited to bring
some of our most valued content to the region, ranging
AUK launches first leadership
development program
T
he Center for Continuing Education at
the American University of Kuwait is
launching its first homegrown
Leadership and Supervisory Skills Certificate
Program, under the title: “Emerging Leaders”
Certificate Program. The program will be
offered to the public for the first time starting Spring Semester 2015.
The program has been developed in early 2014 and is offered exclusively for corporations on a customized basis. During the
past few months, CCE worked with their program instructors and program development
coordinators to create a “fit for purpose program” to accommodate the developmental
needs for all middle management professionals in any industry.
In this transformational program participants will study 8 modules throughout the
course. The program will start with an introductory model on leadership and will proceed to cover areas such as: Communication
in the Workplace, Building and Leading High
Performance Teams, Conflict Resolution,
Exceptional Customer Care, Creative
Problem Solving, Motivational Leadership,
Achieving Successful Results, Human
from beloved Nickelodeon programs to popular MTV
live global music events.”
Nickelodeon HD, one of the most globally recognized
and widely distributed kids and family channels, is the
ultimate entertainment destination for kids 7-14 years
old and combines the best in animation and live action
with popular shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Breadwinners, Henry
Danger and Sanjay and Craig. Nick Jr. provides a safe
and positive entertainment destination dedicated to
preschoolers 3-6 years old, featuring top programming
including Dora and Friends, Paw Patrol and Blaze and
the Monster Machines.
MTV Live HD offers a wide range of international
music and entertainment programming where viewers
can choose from concerts of the biggest international
stars, the best music festivals such as Isle of MTV and
Roskilde and the top music awards shows including MTV
Video Music Awards and MTV Europe Music Awards.
Premiere music programs will also be aired featuring top
music charts and thematic video countdowns, all in high
definition format. VH1 is also a music-oriented channel
that connects viewers to their favorite music, artists and
pop culture.
Content from the newly launched channels will also
be available on OSN Play, the region’s first online viewing platform. Not only does this strengthen the content
variety on the award-winning service, it also offers families the option to watch their favorite shows anytime,
anywhere on multiple devices. OSN Play is offered as a
free value-added service for OSN subscribers.
A dedicated Nickelodeon website, social media
accounts and an exclusive Nick app will also be
launched soon.
For more information about the new channels, please
visit www.osn.com.
Xcite.com launches biggest online promotion
Up to 70% off on everything
K
uwait’s leading e-commerce website
www.xcite.com has announced the commencement of its biggest sale of the year to
celebrate the festive ‘Year-End’ period which also
lines up with the website’s 3rd Year Anniversary.
With up to 70% off, xcite.com has given enough reason for customers to shop online and grab this
opportunity to get the best range of electronics at
great prices.
The sale is running exclusively online and applies
to a wide range of categories covering mobile
phones, computers & tablets, home appliances, TVs,
photography, fashion products and more. Each day
of the promotion would also feature special Star
offers valid for 24 hours only with limited stock. The
promotion starts today (December 21st) and ends
on December 26th.
Customers can enjoy this promotion with the
convenience and comfort of their homes by visiting
www.xcite.com or via the ‘Xcite Mobile App’ available on Google Play Store as well as iOS App Store.
To stay updated on the monthly promotions and
offers that run exclusively on xcite.com, customers
can simply subscribe to the daily newsletter on
xcite.com or follow X-cite’s social media channels on
Facebook.com/XcitebyAlGhanim, Instagram and
Twitter on @xcitealghanim.
Intelligences and Wellbeing and Carving the
Leader Within.
Instructions will be delivered at the
American University of Kuwait by Dr Amar A
Behbehani, holder of a PhD from Florida
State University [FSU], who will focus on
developing the leadership skills of the individual within and Dr Stacey Al-Ghawas, holder of a PHD from University of California at
Santa Barbara, will work on developing the
technical and management skills required
from a leader in the business environment.
Participants will receive a Professional
Certificate upon completion of this program
from the Center for Continuing Education at
American University of Kuwait.
The participants can enroll in the program either from the 18th to the 22nd of
January 2015 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm or
from the 25th of January to the 9th of
February 2015 from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm.
With an option for early registration discount and group discounts when registering
before 23rd Dec. 2014.
For more information on the program,
please visit
http://www.auk.edu.kw/cce/cce_main.jsp
The Times Football Tournament hailed a great success
T
he Times Football Tournament’s 2nd Edition held on
Friday, 12 December, was hotly contested by the sixteen participating teams for the glittering trophy and
was enjoyed by the large crowd gathered at the Al-Bayan
stadium. Massoud Michael Antoun, General Manager of
Kuwait International Bank (International Banking Division)
was the Chief Guest. A timely start for the opening matches as scheduled at 6:30 am. The participants were divided
up into two sets of teams with a brief introduction by
organizers, Santos United Football Club. Group ‘A’ featured
Rising Stars, Kerala Challengers, United Goans Centre, DHL
FC., Goa Maroons, F.C. Sparx, Soccer Kerala and host Santos
United whereas in Group ‘B’ Navelim Youth Centre, Kuwait
Goans Association, Curtorcares United, Indian Strikers,
Malabar United, Skynet Raiders, AVC Sports and Cultural
Association and Don Bosco Oratory. All teams showed
strong determination to fight it out with tactical football
prowess and fast play from the start in the knock-out format with most of the matches either ending in a goal-less
or in a draw. The top four teams that reached to play the
semifinals were Malabar United, Curtorcares United, Soccer
Kerala and DHL FC. Indian Football Referees Association
(IFRA) officiated the tournament under the guidance of
President Sarto Baptista. At the semi-final stages, Malabar
United defeated Curtorcares United by a 3:0 goal margin,
and Soccer Kerala had a tough time dealing with DHL FC
and the result was decided via tie breaker - sudden death,
final score being 3:2. A game of housie was conducted
where the two prizes were claimed by Darwin (Jaldi 5) and
Steven (Topline) and the prizes were given by Ex-KIFF Vice
President, C. Gaspar Almeida and well-known Konkani
writer, author and poet, Lino B. Dourado to the lucky winners. The organizers gave a breathing space in-between for
the teams reaching the finals and Goa Maroons conducted
the draw for their upcoming tournament. Navelim Villagers
also conducted the draw for their upcoming tournament.
Both organizers thanked Carmo Santos for giving them this
opportunity. The final game of the tournament had the
two teams from Kerala - Malabar United and Soccer Kerala
teams played superbly and aggressively, but Malabar
United with determination not to concede a single goal,
breaking forward on occasions won The Times Trophy by
scoring 3 goals. It was great to end the day on such a high
note..At the prize distribution ceremony, Santos United
President, Carmo Santos gracefully thanked the Al-Bayan
Stadium authorities, his fellow committee members and
players and the participating teams, KIFF committee members, IFRA officials and all those involved in making the
tournament a big success. A word of gratitude and special
mention was made for the tournament’s sponsors including Shivy Bhasin, Managing Director Bhasin Co, Al Mailem
Group of companies (TOYO Tyres), Kuldeep Singh Lamba,
Managing Director-Al Mailem Group, Deepak Malhotra,
General Manager - Ogab and Hamoud Malik Co, Canon Naser Al-Sayer Group, Kuwait Qatar Insurance Co, and The
Times Weekly Newspaper. Shyam Kumar (Kharafi National
Co) was presented a Memento by BM Viegas for his long
services with KIFF as Treasurer/Member. Sylvester Pereira
of Santos United was honored with a Memento by Carmo
Santos for his 10 years services. Individual prizes went to
Jibu Varghese of Malabar United for scoring the first goal of
the finals, Jinesh of Soccer Kerala was declared the player
of the match, the best goal keeper was awarded to
Shaneer of Malabar United. The best discipline team was
claimed by Curtorcares United. This was the second time
The Times publications has sponsored the tournament
organized by Santos United and a special mention of
Reaven D’Souza was made by the President Carmo Santos
for the generous gesture. While presenting the Times trophy to the captains, the chief guest Massoud Michael
Antoun congratulated the winners, Malabar United and
the runners-up Soccer Kerala. He expressed his appreciation to the organizers and highlighted that sporting spirit
and discipline should be continued, commenting further
that he enjoyed the tournament matches and being in the
company of football enthusiasts on the invitation of Santos
United. Gifts were given to the IFRA officials. Santos
United expressed their appreciation and thanks to
Blandino M. Viegas (KIFF President), Glen D’Souza and Fly,
Joseph Gomes (DHL), Tome Levino Gracias, Kenneth
Fernandes, Augusto Fernandes (Photographer), Rafael
Fernandes and Fly, Johnsy D’Mello, Xaverina Boys MadelMargao, the Arab Times, Kuwait Times, goa-world.com,
Indiansinkuwait.com, timeskuwait.com, frontliners.com,
Bernard Fernandes, and Domnic Pereira KIFF. All teams
appreciated Santos United for hosting a well-organized
tournament which ended at the scheduled time. Snacks,
tea and coffee was served to the attendees.