Ntv7 has lined up several interesting programmes as part of its revamping and re-branding exercise.

Since February, the station has been airing Thursday Nite Live (Thursdays, 9pm), Prelude Kemuncak AIM 13 (Fridays, 8.30pm), Santai Selebriti (Mondays, 7.30pm), the second season of Seekers (Wednesdays, 10.45pm) and the new season of Phua Chu Kang (Sundays, 9.30pm)

The station has also re-introduced the news segment of Edisi 7 in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin early this month, whereby news is delivered in a fast-paced manner.

“Our motto in our news presentation is to be concise, compact and credible. Based on that, hopefully we can offer viewers something different in news reporting,” Ntv7 chief executive officer Amrin Awaluddin explained to members of the press.

He added that there will be some in-house productions with several joint productions in the second-half of the year.

Among the new series lined up on Ntv7 for this year is My Name is Earl, which stars (from left) Nadine Velazquez, Jason Lee, Jaime Pressley and Ethan Suplee. “We are also thinking of getting production houses such as Kuasatek Pictures or Warna Pictures to provide the content.

“One of our priorities is producing programmes in English, Mandarin and Cantonese,” said Amrin, adding that the station is in the final stage of signing an agreement with Singapore’s MediaCorp Studios for joint productions.

He added that Ntv7 is looking into dramas both in Cantonese and Mandarin, sitcoms and entertainment shows. If all goes well, viewers will get to enjoy these shows by September.

“I believe the keyword here is to have good content. Once you have that people will start to watch your programmes.”

He added that in the second-half of the year, Ntv7 will be screening C.S.I. Others are My Name Is Earl and Bones.

My Name Is Earl starring Jason Lee is about Earl Hickey, who wins a US$100,000 scratch-off lottery ticket and loses it just as fast upon being hit by a car. The twist of fate turns his life into a tailspin of life-renewing events as Earl sets out to correct every bad thing he’s ever done.

Bones is based on the real-life experiences of novelist-forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, who solves crime cases using evidence from skeletal remains. It stars Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz.

The station also has a few reality TV shows in the pipeline.

“For our reality shows, we are trying to move away from the entertainment-based genre.

“We have Gila Gila Shopping in which the contestants will be judged on how wisely they spend their money. It will be aired in May or June.

“There is Perhaps Love, which has urban non-Malay contestants. It is about finding the perfect date.

“Hopefully, these reality shows will be the new hallmark for Ntv7,” said Amrin.

He added that for the World Cup 2006, Ntv7 will be screening 25 matches. The station is working on getting the screening rights of star-studded events such as the American Music Awards.

Despite making losses for the past few years, he said Ntv7 has a strong brand name, with strong viewership.

Ntv7 currently attracts 30% of the total advertising expenditure in the country, the second highest after TV3. It also commands a 13% share of the nation’s TV audience.