Dubai 8 September 2011: Etisalat, Middle East's leading telecom operator and TV services provider today announced the launch of FOODFOOD, the International Food Channel in Hindi language for Etisalat's eLife Triple Play customers. FoodFood, a joint venture between Asia's leading cross-media group, Astro Overseas Limited (Astro), Sanjeev Kapoor's Turmeric Vision Pvt Ltd (TVPL) & Mogae Consultants, is India's leading Hindi 24x7 Food Lifestyle Channel.

Etisalat is the first operator in the region to offer the FOODFOOD (channel # 681) to its customers in the UAE, as a part of eLife TV Asian Choice Basic package.

FOODFOOD is the brainchild of Masterchef Sanjeev Kapoor. The channel brings an entirely new and exciting repertoire of exquisite and mouth watering recipes and fun food shows to keep the family entertained and engrossed through each delectable episode. It is a channel not just about stand-and-stir kind of shows but features programming that is compellingly interactive with the audiences.

Commenting on the new channel addition, Mr. Humaid Rashid Sahoo, Chief Executive Officer, e-vision, Etisalat said: "At Etisalat, we always endeavor to provide the most refreshing and relevant content to our valuable customers. The addition of this exciting new Cookery and food channel with exciting new programming from the well known Master Chef, Sanjeev Kapoor, now a household name across the region will further enrich our bouquet of services, while offering unmatched entertainment to our viewers."

Commenting on expansion in the Middle East market, Mr. Sanjeev Kapoor said, "The Middle East (especially Abu Dhabi and Dubai) have become a must visit destination for tourists worldwide and  therefore form a very important and challenging market for food and cookery based television content in High Definition format. We are pleased to join hands as a regional television content partner with Etisalat, the largest and most experienced Telecom operator in the region, for distributing our content to the entire Hindi speaking population. We are confident that with the experience and expertise of our regional Partners, Mediastream MFZE, a Television Representation & Media marketing Services Company based in Dubai, we will have a prominent presence in the United Arab Emirates and other parts of the Middle East region.

All the shows on Foodfood are produced and shot in scintillating high definition. The content is personally researched, directed and supervised by Sanjeev Kapoor and his experienced team of Food Specialists. Says Mr. Kapoor, "Going forward we plan to enhance our appeal across the entire MENA and Africa region by customizing our offering and creating programming that meets the viewing preferences of the region".

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About Etisalat TV Services:
Etisalat offers eLife TV services through its fibre optic network. eLife TV is a leading source of regional entertainment in the UAE offering over 300 TV channels in 21 languages, TV channels ranging from sports to movies, from documentaries to music and kid's channels in addition to 30 high definition (HD) channels. The comprehensive entertainment offerings include 15 Premium TV packages from all the major TV providers like OSN, ART, Pehla, Firstnet, TFC, Pinoy Plus, Abu Dhabi Media, Al Jazeera and many more, in addition to the Choice Basic packages.

For more information, log on to http://www.etisalat.ae/.

About FoodFood 
FoodFood is a joint venture between Asia's leading cross-media group, Astro Overseas Limited (Astro), Turmeric Vision Pvt Ltd (TVPL) and Mogae Consultants

Astro Overseas Limited, the international business unit of Malaysia based Astro Holdings SB, an integrated multi-media group with interests in pay-TV, radio and traditional and digital content production, aggregation and distribution across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Turmeric Vision Pvt Ltd was conceptualized by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, the most celebrated face of Indian cuisine today, TV show host, author of best selling cookbooks, restaurant consultant, architect of unique range of food products and winner of numerous awards. Turmeric Vision intends to become India's first Food Content Company that will create Food Content and Food Entertainment Brands to be distributed through multiple platforms like Television, Web, Mobile etc.

Mogae Consultants is a diverse group with interests in advertising, media and online businesses. Mogae are JV partners with Dentsu Inc., the world's largest ad agency, in the Middle East. Till recently, Mogae were 26% partners in Dentsu's India operations. Mogae own Last Minute Media, a JV entity for remnant media selling, with Star Tv, Zee TV and the TOI Group as partners. Indian Fantasy League, the pioneer in online gaming is another Mogae JV with the TOI Group.

For More information log on to www.foodfood.com

About Mediastream FZE
MEDIASTREAM FZE is a multifaceted media house for representation & distribution of Tv stations/networks as well as a clearing house for digital media license rights of TV, audio and film content for distribution via DTH (Direct-to-Home), Mobile Telephony, Triple Play services, Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), PC Broadband, Video on Demand (VOD), Personal Handheld Devices (PHDs), Cable, Compounds, MMDS/MVDS, MUDS, Hotel rooms and Airlines; Mediastream  is also licensed for film & Tv Production as well as Internet content supply and operates out of the United Arab Emirates.

For more information log on to www.mediastreamme.com

© Press Release 2011