ITV

Category: News Broadcasting

  • ‘Young Turks’ to feature entrepreneurs from small cities

    MUMBAI: In a bid to highlight the fact that youth entrepreneurship has developed into a pan India phenomenon, CNBC TV18’s feature show Young Turks on young achievers in the Indian economic landscape will start its new season in a new avatar – Young Turks On The Road.

    As part of this, the show will now visit the emerging hotspots of entrepreneurial activity across the nation and will showcase talented young leaders in Bangalore, Goa, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, amongst other cities.

    Some of these young achievers who will be featured on the series are Zendle founder and CEO Vikram Narayan, Travel Tours director Shravan Gupta, Minglebox.com founders Kavita Iyer, Sushma and Sanjay, The Writers Block founders Rakesh and Helen Shukla, Rainwaterclub.org founder and water management expert S Vishwanath and Spectrum CEO I Badrinath.

    Said CNBC Universe marketing head Ajay Chacko, “At CNBC TV18, our focus on providing a value adding and powerful feature line up has always been strong. Young Turks has been a pioneering show in the area of entrepreneurship and this new season of Young Turk On The Road will strengthen our offering. The fact is that young entrepreneurship has indeed become pervasive nationwide, and this epitomizes the Indian growth story and demographic advantages the nation enjoys we believe Young Turk on the Road will provide a unique perspective on the individuals who are driving this change.”

    Young Turks is one of the oldest shows on CNBC TV18. It recently completed 150 episodes, which was celebrated with a ground event involving all featured guests.

  • BBC appoints Nazerali as controller of MC&A for global news

    MUMBAI: BBC has roped in Sanjay Nazerali as the controller of marketing, communications and audiences (MC&A) for its global news division.

    Nazerali who joins BBC in September will be leading the MC&A teams at BBC World Service, BBC World television, BBC Monitoring and the BBC’s international online news services.

    He will be responsible for building a single brand platform across the global news division. He will also be responsible for developing the marketing communications strategy to ensure that each part of the division has maximum impact in a converging media environment. He will directly report to BBC global news director Richard Sambrook.

    Sambrook said, “We created this pan-divisional post to enable us to communicate a unified and compelling global news message around the world. He has a wealth of international experience in developing brand strategies within the broadcast, entertainment and retail industries, and I believe that with Sanjay on board we are now ideally positioned to take our international news brands to the next level.”

    Nazerali said, “In an age where newspapers are becoming ‘viewspapers’ and the numbers of blogs are increasing exponentially, audiences around the world are crying out for credible news, but delivered in an engaging way. The time is absolutely right for the world’s best known news organisation to connect with these audiences as a compelling and dynamic brand in an increasingly competitive and complex news arena. I’m genuinely honoured to be part of this organisation, as I believe it can really make a difference to how the world receives and interacts with news in the future.”

    Earlier he was been working as the managing director of The Depot. The Depot is a marketing consultancy he co-founded in 1998. He has worked with media clients like Channel 4, ITV, Discovery, the Sci-fi Channel, FX Channel, BBC World Service and BBC World Television.

  • Associated Press is news agency for NBC Olympics

    MUMBAI: The Associated Press (AP) has reached an agreement with US broadcaster NBC Sports and NBC Olympics to be the exclusive news agency for the distribution of select, NBC-produced text content and video links related to the 2008 Olympic Games through a premium online product produced by the AP.

    NBC Universal holds the broadcast and video rights within the US for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. AP says that it has a history of Olympics coverage and will be covering the 2008 games in text, photos and multimedia.

    The joint effort will provide AP customers with Olympics coverage leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as during the 17 days of international Beijing competition. AP customers can receive a turnkey solution that will give their users, readers and viewers Olympic content matched with the exclusive video coverage and related content provided by NBC through its NBCOlympics.com Web Site.

    AP deputy managing editor for multimedia Lou Ferrara says, “We’re excited to have this relationship with NBC. When an athlete wins a gold medal, the customer will get the story and photo quickly from the AP, as much of the world has come to expect. But now, it will also be tied to video and other deep content that only NBC Sports and NBC Olympics can produce. This should make it easier for readers to get information while also creating a traffic exchange for NBC and stickiness on AP customer Web sites.”

    The AP’s online product will launch in the coming weeks with interactive graphics, multimedia and text content. This new product also will include links to exclusive video produced by NBC as well as text content produced by the NBCOlympics.com editorial staff. As the Games approach, the amount and depth of Olympics content both from NBC and AP will dramatically increase.

    NBC Universal will present more than 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, more than the combined total of every Summer Olympics ever televised in the United States. The Beijing Olympic Games will start 8 August 2008, with unprecedented around-the-clock coverage and, for the first time in the United States, live streaming of Olympic broadband video coverage.

  • User generated content builds on CNN

    MUMBAI: When news broadcaster CNN first invited its global audience to submit their own pictures and video of the news of the day via cell phones, cameras and other devices, the first i-Reports offered included a photograph of bomb damage in Israel, a portrait of a U.S. soldier in Iraq and an image of a squirrel coping with a heat wave in the U.S. Midwest.

    One year later, CNN’s i-Report has garnered more than 50,000 submissions from 189 countries and territories around the world, ranging from compelling to light-hearted to tragic to amazing. CNN’s citizen journalism initiative now pulls in an average of about 7,000 i-Reports each month.

    CNN Worldwide executive VP content development and strategy Susan M. Bunda says, “With i-Report, CNN tapped into the needs and desires of its audience to express a deeper connection to the news they get from our networks and services each and every day. Our i-Reporters have exceeded our expectations in regards to the sheer number and quality of submissions.”

    Launched in August 2006, CNN’s i-Reports experienced growth within the first few months as both on-air and online audiences found a new way to express themselves and to share their own observations about CNN news coverage and events around the world. Hundreds submitted i-Reports after Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin died in September 2006. Later that month, when a coup in Thailand attempted to halt the flow of information with the shutdown of the national media, i-Reports ensured that photographs and text were seen by the rest of the world.

    CNN adds that its i-Report created an impression upon viewers on the morning of the Virginia Tech shooting tragedy in April, particularly when graduate student Jamal Albarghouti captured dramatic video on his cell phone. CNN received about 420 submissions within 24 hours of the incident, and more than 600 in total.

    More recently, users shared their video, images and thoughts after the bridge collapse in Minneapolis on 1 August. To date, CNN has received more than 600 i-Reports related to that incident.

    In addition to CNN/U.S. and CNN.com, networks and services across CNN Worldwide employ the submissions on a regular basis. CNN International and CNN en Español made extensive use of user-generated materials for coverage of recent protests in Venezuela. Taking the i-Reports as a cue, Headline News developed the first cable news program comprised of user-generated video with News To Me. Launched in May and hosted by award-winning actor/producer Eric Lanford, News to Me airs on Headline News each Saturday and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (ET).

    Viewers submit i-Report material through a “Send Your i-Report” link at CNN.com or by e-mail at ireport@cnn.com. Submitted material undergoes the same extensive vetting process CNN employs for all content that goes on air or online.

  • BBC Learning English launches on Chinese portal Sina

    MUMBAI: Visitors to Chinese web portal, sina.com.cn, can now learn English with the BBC. The site offers its users direct access to the BBC Learning English content specially tailored for Chinese-speakers.

    BBC Learning English teaches various points of the English language through human interest stories and topics including UK lifestyle and culture.

    Visitors to sina.com.cn now can learn to read, write and speak English through the BBC’s four popular Learning English features: Take Away English, Quizzes, Ask About Britain and Off The Pitch.

    Take Away English consists of units which learners can literally “take away” as MP3 and PDF text downloads. Topics, which range from the latest Harry Potter book and online gaming to Chinese football players, include listening and reading exercises and an audio glossary.

    The Quizzes section offers learners an interactive test of their English vocabulary and grammar and helps them with teacher feedback. Ask About Britain answers users’ questions on British life and culture while Off The Pitch helps football enthusiasts to learn new words and phrases on the game.

    Commenting on the partnership deal with sina.com.cn, BBC World Service Business Development Manager for China and North Asia, Raymond Li said, “We are delighted to partner with sina.com.cn to provide quality English learning content in China. The Internet has become an increasingly popular and effective learning platform among young people, and to cater for this audience the BBC has been building up successful partnerships with a number of Chinese portals over last few years. This latest partnership with sina.com.cn will help us reach more online learners in China, therefore bringing more benefit to them, too.”

    sina.com.cn executive VP and chief editor Tong Chen says, “As the world’s number one Chinese portal site, sina.com.cn is very pleased to have BBC as our partner. This co-operation will enable us to provide online users in China with the most authoritative, professional, advanced English learning materials in the world, thus helping to improve English teaching and learning all over China.”

    BBC Learning English offers English language teaching programmes and online content for a global radio and online audience. English learning materials are available online at bbclearningenglish.com and, for Chinese speakers, on bbcchina.com.cn.

  • NDTV 24X7 now available in Europe on World TV

    MUMBAI: NDTV has expanded its presence in Europe with the launch of its English news channel NDTV 24X7 on GlobeCast’s WorldTV platform.

    “The channel launches as part of WorldTV’s bouquet of pay television channels across continental Europe. NDTV 24X7 is the only English news channel from India to be available in the region,” states an official release.

    With this, NDTV’s presence covers the UK, US, Europe, Canada, Middle East, South Africa, Australia-New Zealand and South Asian countries.

    NDTV head of distribution and affiliate sales Rahul Sood said, “With the channel having already established its presence in the UK on BSkyB, fulfilling the growing demand for a quality English news channel from India in continental Europe was our priority. Our alliance with WorldTV will now enable viewers across the region get live news and analysis from the subcontinent.”

    GlobeCast Asia CEO David Justin said, “With the addition of NDTV 24X7 in our bouquet for World TV Europe, we will be in a position to provide our World TV subscribers premium quality news and current affairs programs from India in the English language. We look forward to working closely with NDTV and expanding our relationship in the near future.”

    The World TV service currently delivers more than 210 television and radio channels in 35 languages, representing 42 countries from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, via direct-to-home satellite on Galaxy 25 in USA and IS 905 in Europe.

  • BBC programming to be off FM stations in Moscow

    MUMBAI: BBC World Service has been informed by the owners of the Moscow FM radio station Bolshoye Radio that BBC programming in Russian will no longer be broadcast on the station.

    This was BBC Russian Service’s last FM distribution partner station in Russia. It follows two
    other FM partner stations ceasing to take BBC programmes over the last nine months.

    The owners of Bolshoye Radio, financial group Finam, have told representatives of the BBC Russian Service that they are required to remove BBC programming at the request of Russian licensing authorities, or risk the station being taken off-air.

    The UK pubcaster says that it understands that this will take effect in advance of its scheduled block of programmes this afternoon at 17:00 Moscow time (MT).

    The BBC intends to appeal to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and Protection of Cultural Heritage. It will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.

    According to official warnings received by Finam from the regulatory body, the licence requires that all programming must be produced by Bolshoye Radio itself.

    However the BBC said that the detailed concept documents – the basis on which the licence was awarded in February 2006 – clearly state that only “60 per cent of the station’s total output will be original material produced by Bolshoye Radio.”

    The BBC also stated that according to the same concept documents, the station would also have up to 18 per cent foreign produced content. This percentage of foreign content is reflected in the station’s licence.

    The concept documents of the station include the BBC and Voice of Russia as content providers and as integral parts of the output – specifically in order to enable the station “to reflect many and often
    contradictory views on current affairs”.

    BBC Global News director Richard Sambrook said, “We are extremely disappointed that listeners to Bolshoye Radio in Moscow will be unable to listen to our impartial and independent news and information programming in the high quality audibility of FM.

    “The BBC has invested a great deal of energy and resources into developing high quality programming for the station. The BBC has similar broadcasting arrangements with partner stations around the world. Our services are available on FM in over 150 capital cities – some 75 per cent of the global total.

    “The BBC entered into the relationship with Bolshoye Radio in good faith, and the licence was won in a competitive tender in February 2006. We cannot understand how the licence is now interpreted in a way that does not reflect the original and thorough concept documents.

    “We are appealing to Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Mass Media, Communication and
    Protection of Cultural Heritage. We will ask for the decision to be reviewed and for the original concept of the station to be respected.”

    The BBC and Voice of Russia have been on Bolshoye Radio since May this year. The station, which was sold in July to financial investment company Finam, was currently at a test signal stage ahead of an official launch planned for the autumn.

    The BBC has had previous problems with FM broadcasting in Russia. At the end of 2006, Moscow station Radio Arsenal ceased taking BBC programming, and in early 2006 the St Petersburg station Radio Leningrad also stopped taking BBC programmes. Radio Leningrad informed the BBC that it had been required to stop broadcasting BBC programmes by local licensing authorities.

    BBC Russian programmes continue to be audio streamed online at bbcrussian.com.

  • Big Fight in Hindi news turf

    R iding high on the claim of carrying ‘exclusive’ and ‘breaking’ stories, news channels are rating their success stories. The route is not through digging a story from the rubles of Nandigram or Singur but the passing game of the pot of gold begins with high end stories on the World Cup, Shilpa Shetty winning the Big Brother title or being kissed by Richarsd Gere and the great Indian Abhi-Ash wedding.

    Indiantelevision.com’s analysis of Hindi news channels using Tam data (HSM, C&S 15 + years) during the six-month period beginning January 2007 throws up some interesting insights into the genre while the battle among the players intensifies.

    The reigning Hindi news channel in the category during this period is TV Today’s flagship channel Aaj Tak. The channel has held on to its top position. With a six month average of 21.3 per cent (Tam C&S 15 + years, HSM), it has topped the chart with a share of 23 in January. But it has yielded ground in June and has shared the top slot in this month with a 19 per cent share.

    Meanwhile, Aaj Tak’s sister concern Tez has managed to be consistent in its performance with an average of 4 per cent for the period. 

    Second in the ratings game performance is Star News which has been consistent and stable across the period. Securing the second spot in the January to May period, Star news has gripped the market with 17 per cent share. However, in the month of June, it soared to the very top, sharing position with Aaj Tak. Star News clocked a six month average of 16.8 per cent.

    But a closer look at the half-yearly score card (January -June 2007) of news channels across the Hindi speaking belt reveals grave concerns for some players.

    One that has seen the slide is NDTV India. From January to June, the relative market share has been dipping considerably. From a 13 per cent market share in January, the channel reached 9 in June, while the six-month average stood at 10.8 per cent, which does not even place the channel among the top three.

    Explains NDTV group CEO Narayan Rao, “It is a short term passing phase. In the long term for any news channel it is credibility and authencity that matters. Whatever the situation is, we never opted to go down a certain route. We still have the same philosophy as we had when we conceived the channel.” 

    The channel had the guts to stay out of sensationalism which was grabbing eyeballs. “News can be of any kind. It depends on the channel’s ideology to present the same story without sensationalising it. We strive to get the hard core stories. Dibang who was our managing editor, on his special request, is now sent on special assignment. He will travel across India and bring core issues into light,” Rao says.

    NDTV’s hope is that sensationalism would ease out in the long run. Says Rao, “Undoubtedly the differentiating factor is how we package the content. We never want to titillate the viewer but rather have a impact on him. On 14 and 15 August, when all the news channels were showing the footage of the gory fake encounter in Allahabad, we edited the video and showed it only for a limited number of times. This makes a difference in the long run.”

    As a rule, somebody’s loss is somebody’s gain. Giving tough competition to the other news channels, India TV has upped its status in the ranks. Holding 11 per cent share in January (Tam C&S 15 + years, HSM), the channel jumped up to 16 cent and 15 per cent in May and June to clutch the second position in the respective months.

    Is Hindi journalism in the electronic media going the tabloid way?

    A media observer says, “The division is like the caste system in India. When the bigger channels show anything exclusive, people say the channel deserved it. Yet, people call it ‘tabloidisation’ when a smaller channel shows anything of that sort.”

    The news is not so good for Zee News. A matter of concern is that Zee News has not been able to go beyond the third spot. In the January to June period, Zee News’ has been hovering around 13 to 11 per cent (Tam C&S 15 + years, HSM). However in the month of June, the channel lost its long held third position to IBN 7.

    IBN 7, a later entrant into the space, has been working hard to get into the top league. The channel leaped into the competition in the months of May and June with 12 per cent each, prior to which it accounted for merely 9 per cent of the market in the month of January.

    Says IBN 7 managing editor Ashutosh, “We were the first to expose the Nithari case. It was us first who brought to light the first case of cannibalism in India.”

    “These days hardcore news is disappearing from the channel. It is not that all the news channels are here to do moral lesson stories. The news stories are selected on the basis of popularity. However, we at IBN 7 have always invested in the hardcore stories. This is the USP of the channel,” he explains further.

    The other channels in the fray have not been able to stand the heat of the competition in the Hindi speaking belt. Whatever the reasons may be, the Hindi heartland fails to be satisfied by the likes of DD News, Sahara Samay Rashtriya and Janmat (now re-positioned as Live India).

    The figures of the government run DD News tells a sad story. Starting as low as three in the month of January, DD News could only manage a mere four per cent in June.

    Lagging further behind is Broadcast Initiatives’ Janmat with an average of 1.83 per cent over the six month period. Following its recent re-positioning from a ‘views’ channel to adopting the live news approach, the challenge ahead will be to make its mark in the market.

    Sahara Samay Rashtriya has also been losing its existing hold in the market with a share of 7 per cent in January, slipping down to 5 in the month of May.

    Currently obsessed with the three C’s – crime, cricket and cinema – another C (for comedy) has become the new found love of Hindi news channels.

    Meanwhile, the deadly Content Code proposed by the information and broadcasting ministry is threatening to whack news channels going astray. Facing much opposition from these channels, the restrictions of the Content Code might, in fact, turn the tables of the numbers game or even determine whether tabloidisation or credible and authentic journalism is what will rule the roost.

    Once the ‘big brother’ steps in, it will be interesting to see the strategy each news channel churns out to outdo competition and be ahead of the game.

    But that is another story we will have to wait for as the government is coming under increasing pressure to bow down on the Content Code.

    Graphs by Roshnni

  • Star takes up ad sales of Hindi news channel Live India

    MUMBAI: In its first ever advertising deal outside the network, Star India has inked a deal with Broadcast Initiatives Limited for its Hindi news channel Live India.

    Star will handle the ad sales of Live India, nationally and globally, with immediate effect. Live India plans to venture into international markets including the US, UK and Dubai.

    The announcement comes close on the heels of the re-positioning of Live India from a ‘views’ to a news channel with live content. The channel was previously known as Janmat.

    Broadcast Initiatives Limited vice chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari said that the company is soon looking to foray into International markets including US, UK and Dubai. Apart from India, Star’s ad sales teams across the globe will be fully functional in this regard.

    With a distribution platform already in place, the Star network is looking to adopt an integrated broadcast services approach through its first ad sales deal outside the network. 

    Star India Pvt. Ltd president – advertising sales and distribution Paritosh Joshi said, “This is the first time Star India has offered its advertising sales capabilities to a channel outside the Star Network. This is a major milestone for this division. It is our intent to quickly evolve into the region’s top integrated broadcast services organization and this deal underscores the seriousness of this intent.”

    Adhikari added, “This is a critical partnership for us and we consider it a significant asset to securing a strong advertising revenue base for our Live India.”

    For the Marathi channel Mi Marathi, Adhikari has assigned NDTV Media to handle the ad sales functions.

  • BBC kicks off sale process for BBC Resources

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC has announced today that the process for the sale of its commercial subsidiary, BBC Resources has begun and an advertisement is to appear in the Financial Times, Times and UK trade magazine Broadcast on Thursday, 16 August. The sale is subject to the necessary approvals by the BBC’s Executive Board and the BBC Trust.

    BBC Resources provides broadcast production facilities and services, and consists of three divisions: BBC Outside Broadcasts, BBC Studios and BBC Post Production.

    The sale comes as a result of the Commercial Review whereby the Corporation reviewed all its commercial businesses. The Commercial Review team concluded that the BBC should only own commercial businesses that either export or exploit the BBC brand or content; whilst the services provided by BBC Resources are vital to the BBC, they do not need to be owned by the BBC anymore.

    The BBC has already sold BBC Broadcast to Macquarie. The BBC believes that the combination of BBC Resources under new commercial ownership and a continued partnership with the BBC will mean the Corporation can leverage its strong relationship and heritage with BBC Resources.

    A new owner will provide the profitable and cash generative business with further opportunities for growth, which are not available whilst it is owned by the BBC, balanced with the stability of ongoing contracts with the BBC.

    BBC Worldwide CEO John Smith says, “We are committed to getting the best value for the BBC and licence fee payers, whilst putting staff interests at the heart of the process.”

    BBC project director Andrew Thornton who is leading the sale says, “This is a unique opportunity for any potential bidder; it’s not everyday such a treasure trove of outstanding expertise and skills comes on the market. We are looking for a partner that will nurture this and continue to work closely with us to provide the unrivalled quality of services we need, as well as to capitalise on this in the wider industry.”

    BBC Resources CEO Mike Southgate said, “BBC Resources is full of talent, with a world-class reputation for understanding production values and programme making, both at the BBC and across the media marketplace. Taking our BBC heritage, the sale offers us the chance to grow the business and continue to lead the rapid changes taking place.”

    It is expected that the sale of the business and transfer of BBC Resources staff to the successful bidder will take place by the end of March 2008, subject to contract negotiations and approvals.

    The BBC recognises the importance of staff in the sale process and says that it will fully consult with the Unions and work closely with staff to achieve a smooth transition during this process.