ITV

Tag: AajTak

  • DD Freedish confirms MPEG-4 next month, NDTV says no decision on going FTA on any of its channels

    DD Freedish confirms MPEG-4 next month, NDTV says no decision on going FTA on any of its channels

    New Delhi: Even as two pay channels – Aajtak and Big Magic – have come on Doordarshan Freedish as free-to-air channel, possibilities have opened up for more channels coming on the platform even as it prepares to complete its migratiom to MPEG-4 next month. A Prasar Bharati source confirmed that the switch-over to MPEG-4 will be in two phases and the aim was to take the total capacity to 112.

    Claiming that the Broadcast Audience Ratings Council (BARC) ratings had shown the importance of Freedish in reaching out to rural India, the source said that Aajtak and Big Magic which are pay channels are being run as FTA and have been accommodated in the current MPEG-2.

    Meanwhile, NDTV denied any decision on turning FTA and coming on Freedish next month. An NDTV source said that any such decision, if taken, would be communicated through the media. A senior official who did not want to be named also confirmed that no decision had been taken yet on any of the NDTV bouquet channels going free to air, since this kind of decision could only be taken at the management and board levels.

    Doordarshan sources also said that as all the 64 slots under MPEG-2 had been filled, there was no question of any other channel coming on. In any case, he said any channel which decided to come on the platform had to bid in the auctions that are held from time to time. All the slots under MPEG-2 were filled, the next auction date had not been finalized, the sources confirmed.

    Freedish is adopting the conditional access system designed by the Bangalore-based ByDesign India Pvt Ltd.

    The ByDesign model is totally indigenous and built for DVB-C setup. This CAS solution will enable broadcasters and network operators to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby enabling them to extend their business models to subscription based schemes.

    This will mean that the Freedish will become encrypted but will remain free to air. In addition to helping increase the number of channels on the platform, this will enable Freedish to gauge the exact number of households relying on Freedish as encrypted set top boxes will only be available with authorized dealers.

    The ByDesign CAS is provided by making access possible to content, depending on subscriber credentials, which are generated by this CAS and sent through the broadcast system to receivers in the field. 

  • India Today Television & Twitter partner to launch Town Halls

    India Today Television & Twitter partner to launch Town Halls

    MUMBAI: India Today Television has joined hands with Twitter in an exclusive partnership for conducting Town Halls on the social media platform.

    The Twitter Town Halls will give an opportunity to followers on Twitter to engage with news makers, opinion makers and other eminent personalities.

    Twitter followers can tweet their questions and the personality/guest will respond to the same during the Town Hall. This will be aired on India Today Television. The partnership also extends to the group’s Hindi news channel AajTak for relevant guests.

    The India Today Group and Twitter have already aired Town Halls with Shah Rukh Khan and Kamal Hassan. The third episode in the series featuring Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be aired this week-end.

    India Today Group group editorial director – broadcast & new media Kalli Purie said, “Our sole objective through social media is to engage our followers and viewers in a dialogue on issues of national and global importance. Twitter Town Hall is a great format to ideate, debate and celebrate the spirit of freedom of expression. We trust that our social media followers are equally well informed to ask the right questions of their leaders. We will be rolling out many such templates to empower our end users.”

    Twitter vice president – media for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa Rishi Jaitly added, “Twitter Town Halls have been used by global business and political leaders to connect with their followers and audiences at large for some time now. Twitter is the only platform in the world that is public, conversational, and real-time. The beauty of the platform is that it allows users to engage with influential personalities from different walks of life, and gives them a voice to be heard. This Twitter Town Hall will give users a chance to talk to and engage with influential icons and leaders from different walks of life for the first time.”

    The India Today Group has over 6.26 million Twitter followers across its news handles.

  • India Today Television & Twitter partner to launch Town Halls

    India Today Television & Twitter partner to launch Town Halls

    MUMBAI: India Today Television has joined hands with Twitter in an exclusive partnership for conducting Town Halls on the social media platform.

    The Twitter Town Halls will give an opportunity to followers on Twitter to engage with news makers, opinion makers and other eminent personalities.

    Twitter followers can tweet their questions and the personality/guest will respond to the same during the Town Hall. This will be aired on India Today Television. The partnership also extends to the group’s Hindi news channel AajTak for relevant guests.

    The India Today Group and Twitter have already aired Town Halls with Shah Rukh Khan and Kamal Hassan. The third episode in the series featuring Sri Sri Ravi Shankar will be aired this week-end.

    India Today Group group editorial director – broadcast & new media Kalli Purie said, “Our sole objective through social media is to engage our followers and viewers in a dialogue on issues of national and global importance. Twitter Town Hall is a great format to ideate, debate and celebrate the spirit of freedom of expression. We trust that our social media followers are equally well informed to ask the right questions of their leaders. We will be rolling out many such templates to empower our end users.”

    Twitter vice president – media for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and North Africa Rishi Jaitly added, “Twitter Town Halls have been used by global business and political leaders to connect with their followers and audiences at large for some time now. Twitter is the only platform in the world that is public, conversational, and real-time. The beauty of the platform is that it allows users to engage with influential personalities from different walks of life, and gives them a voice to be heard. This Twitter Town Hall will give users a chance to talk to and engage with influential icons and leaders from different walks of life for the first time.”

    The India Today Group has over 6.26 million Twitter followers across its news handles.

  • AajTak launches “AANDOLAN”

    AajTak launches “AANDOLAN”

    MUMBAI: The show ‘Andolan’, chronologically highlights & talks about the major movements & revolutions that proved to be a milestone in the Indian political scenario and changed the course of it.

     

    “Aandolan” kick starts from January 18, 2014 and would be aired in the prime time slot of 8-9 PM. The weekly show will be anchor based & will be narrated by the bollywood Actor Mr. Om Puri. The show will have a unique set-up and will carry footage of historical relevance to add originality to it while making it more interesting and closer to reality.

     

    The show will feature all the key movements in Indian politics like The JP Movement started by LoknayakJaiprakash Narayan in 1970 which gave a totally different direction to Indian politics, The Mandal Movement of 1990 (Aarakshan) around the reservation divide and the Kamandal Movement (Ram Mandir) concerning the communal tension in Ayodhya on the construction of the Ram Mandir.

     

    Aandolan, will not only cover the movements from the past but will also focus on the significant developments of the recent times such as the Lokpal Movement started by Anna Hazare in 2011 followed by the AamAadmi Movement, wherein Hon’ble Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal fought on a plank of a corruption free Delhi. One of the most significant movements, NirbhayaAndolan for which the whole country came together in huge numbers will also be aired.

     

    The show will not only reveal the interesting facts & stories surrounding the movements but will also tell the unheard tales & will bring to fore, the heroes of these revolutions & their impact on  the country.

  • AajTak bags the Best News Channel Award at the ITA Awards, 13th year in a row

    AajTak bags the Best News Channel Award at the ITA Awards, 13th year in a row

    MUMBAI: The undisputed leader in News Television, AajTak won the Best Hindi News Channel Award at the Indian Television Academy Awards 2013. This is the 13th year in a row that the channel has won the top honour at the prestigious ceremony.

    Commenting on the milestone, Mr.AroonPurie, Chairman and Editor in Chief, India Today Group said, “I congratulate the entire team of AajTak on winning the ITA, 13 years in a row. I’m glad not just for the leadership position enjoyed by AajTak but also the trust that our viewers place on us. The award highlights the team???s unwavering commitment towards unbiased journalism without fear or favor and the fact that Aajtak is untiringly living upto its promise of being SabseTez”

    Mr. Ashish Bagga, Group CEO India today Group added, The award is symbolic of the nation’s unshakeable faith in the Aajtak team. The channel’s coverage on issues ranging from the cloudburst in Uttarakhand, the Delhi Gang Rape verdict, elections programming and lately, the Cyclone Phailin hitting our country- has been exceptional. We are delighted by the ITA’s recognition of these efforts”. Known for its viewer friendly style of presentation and unmatched credibility, the channel continues to raise the bar in news delivery. The channel has been setting the news agenda for the country since its inception becoming the most preferred platform for 13 years in a row. According to the Indian Readership Survey (Q412 Individual, CS, All India) – AajTak leads the ranking in the News space with an impressive reach of 65.7 Mn, which is more than 6 times reach of its nearest competitor with a meagre 10.7 Mn. The story is no different in the ratings as per TAM, where AajTak holds the leadership position among Hindi News Channels with an average market share of 19.0% (TAM, All India, CS 15+, Wk 1-41 2013) with a consistently substantive margin over the other players.

    While AajTak took home the laurels in the Hindi News space, Headlines Today, the English News sister channel from the TV Today Network won Awards for Best anchor-Rahul Kanwal for Centre Stage, Best film and music based show- Shyaam talkies and Best documentary-Ballot Trail karnataka.

  • Wanted to become a soldier, became a cricketer: Dhoni

    Wanted to become a soldier, became a cricketer: Dhoni

    MUMBAI: The Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is making news again, after getting a new Mohawk look, he now reveals that he wanted to become a soldier since childhood. He used to visit Ranchi Kent area but destiny intervened, and he became a cricketer.

    Dhoni spent a day with military personnel in the Parachute Regiment and AajTak captured these special moments. He spoke with soldiers, learned a lot from them; saw what kind of military attack during the turn lock on the front is conducted. Dhoni is fond of shooting targets at a shooting range and heavily planted. Every shot was perfectly fitted to Dhoni, Dhoni smiled but missed once. In these talks Mahendra Singh Dhoni said that he is very afraid of heights. He said it came from the bottom up, “The uniform is something special. Maybe this is all in the uniform, I was not afraid.”

    Dhoni after the evening tea party did some singing and dancing with the troops. On being asked how does he manage to keep his cool Dhoni joked, “The day I have to press conference, a day before that I go and sit in the fridge, that’s how I always remain cool.”

    Dhoni’s emotional side also came about, when he met with the widows and the children of the soldiers. Dhoni spent time with the children of military widows, and met with all their demands and also gave autographs and posed for pictures.