ITV

Tag: ABC

  • Stiff competition from TV & digital has little impact on print, 2.4 cr copies added in 10 yrs

    MUMBAI: Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) has been continuously certifying circulation figures of member publications every six months. The trend of certified circulation figures by ABC show that the print medium (member publications of ABC) is thriving, growing and expanding in India inspite of stiff competition from all other mediums namely, Television, Radio and Digital.

    Publishers voluntarily enroll themselves as members of ABC to get their circulation figures audited. Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) certifies circulation figures after a stringent audit process through more than 90 empanelled Chartered Accountants, audit firms. ABC also has a provision for surprise press and market visits by empanelled firms of Chartered Accountants which further strengthens the audit process.

    As on date, ABC certifies:-
    – Daily & Weekly Newspapers 910
    – Magazines & Annuals 57

    Other members of ABC:-
    • Media and Ad Agencies
    • Print medium Advertisers
    • Govt. Organisations & DAVP

    ABC certified circulation figures are of immense value to advertisers, marketers and government departments (DAVP) whilst preparing their media plans since they are available across geographies for any town/district/state spread all over India.

    A few reasons why print publications are growing in circulation:-
     Impact of education – Growth in literacy and education have created substantial -headroom for growth of newspapers.

     Advantage of India’s Economic growth – It is believed that the growth of-
    newspapers in India is directly related to urbanization leading to higher aspirations, heightened interest in buying assets etc.

     Reading newspaper a part of daily routine combines well with ease of reading at -your own time.

     Easily accessible and available at home – newspapers are home delivered in -India, unlike in the West

     Competitive pricing – newspapers are the cheapest source of news.-

     Customized sections and pull outs cater to various segments of readers together -with localised content.

     Power of the written word – Newspapers have continued their strong traditions -over the years to provide accurate and reliable news to their readers.

    As compared to the world print market, India is one of the brightest spots in the print media:

    • India one of the few countries where print advertising revenue is growing

    • India’s paid-for daily circulation is growing whilst most other countries are declining

    • No. of paid-for titles in India highest in the world & growing while no. of titles in other countries declining More details of certified circulation figures of member publications are available on Bureau’s website:
    www.auditbureau.org

    INDIAN PERSPECTIVE
    Print is growing at an incredible 4.87% increase in CAGR over a 10 year period. 2.37 crore copies added in the last 10 years accompanied by
    an increase of 251 publishing centres.

    TOP 10 PUBLICATIONS AS CERTIFIED BY ABC FOR THE AUDIT
    PERIOD JULY-DECEMBER 2016

    1 Dainik Jagran Hindi 3,921,267
    2 Dainik Bhaskar Hindi 3,813,271
    3 The Times of India English 3,184,727
    4 Amar Ujala Hindi 2,961,833
    5 Hindustan Hindi 2,611,261
    6 Malayala Manorama Malayalam 2,441,417
    7 Eenadu Telugu 1,866,661
    8 Rajasthan Patrika Hindi 1,840,917
    9 Daily Thanthi Tamil 1,710,621
    10 Mathrubhumi Malayalam 1,473,053

     

  • SintecMedia & Lotame bring dynamic audience targeting to broadcast TV

    MUMBAI: SintecMedia and Lotame have announced plans for an integration that will deliver audience segments from the Lotame DMP directly to SintecMedia’s frontend proposal system, OnBoard. SintecMedia is the preferred broadcast management for linear and digital, and a software partner for over 300 of the top media brands including CBS, ABC, AT&T, Star India, Seven Australia and Sky.

    By connecting detailed viewership data with Lotame’s audience data, local sellers can offer enhanced targeting to clients. The partnership enables media companies to understand how targets overlay with their available inventory for more accurate pricing and scale during the proposal phase, and then optimize delivery across TV, video and mobile platforms for added value end-to-end.

    As major media companies announce cross-channel audience targeting products for advertisers, local broadcasters have been largely left out of such offerings, even as they compete most directly with digital audience targeting options such as search and social media. This partnership delivers a competitive product that unlocks audience targeting across TV, video and mobile platforms, creating a game changing offering for media companies.

    “As broadcasters, we are very pleased to see these kinds of partnerships develop because it shows that innovative companies are investing in the broadcast advertising ecosystem. These solutions provide a key benefit – a one-stop answer that enables cross-screen audience sales and improved yield optimisation for our advertising clients,” said Pearl TV MD Anne Schelle. Pearl is a business organisation of eight local TV broadcasting companies who operate more than 220 local stations.

    The partnership allows sellers to build audience-targeted proposals in real-time and deliver against audience goals more accurately using continually refreshed audience data. Clients who use Lotame’s TV DMP can now more easily index audiences against day-parts and programs on linear programming by passing that data to SintecMedia for execution and optimization. Additionally, SintecMedia clients can now use Lotame’s TV DMP to access and send 1st, 2nd and 3rd party audience data to SintecMedia’s platform. Sellers will be able to deliver competitive products to buyers, streamline and automate audience-based sales, and increase inventory demand and profit.

    “The partnership delivers the next level of multi-platform audience targeting at scale to local broadcasters,” said Lotame director of television & video innovation Ryan Reed. “SintecMedia and Lotame are both focused on maximizing profitability and control for media companies across TV, digital and mobile, and this partnership gives broadcasters the tools to compete in today’s fragmented marketplace.”

    “Workflow is the major issue facing broadcasters as they move to offer audience targeted products to buyers,” said SintecMedia president Lorne Brown. “This partnership drives the kind of ‘fast, easy, and big’ solutions that sellers need to compete with the walled gardens at the local level.”

  • US polls: TV channels, social media & streaming – all broke their own viewership records

    US polls: TV channels, social media & streaming – all broke their own viewership records

    MUMBAI: It’s an example of how significant is television when it comes to national and international events. In what was one of the most surprising US election results in history, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. Tuesday was the most-watched night in the US in both CNN and Fox News’ histories.

    Around 72 million Americans watched the poll results on broadcast or cable television during primetime, according to TV viewership agency Nielsen. This year’s tight race has been good for ratings all fall, delivering an average audience of 74 million for the presidential debates, including a record-setting 84 million for Trump’s first faceoff with Hillary Clinton.

    Considered by many poll and media pundits to have had no chance at victory, Trump’s message of political change and fighting for the masses resonated with more than 58 million Americans. It’s clear that the social media played a crucial part in Trump’s rise to power. The actual part that media played in the process will be debated for years, but it’s interesting to look at the basic outline of what the new media landscape means for the electoral process and how it played out across the various platforms.

    On the election night, The Young Turks – targeted at those who consume content on digital – broke records with 4.5 million views, according to Tubefilter. On 8 November, the news channel had a big night; across three separate live streams — on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter — it drew more than 4.5 million total hits, breaking its own viewership record.

    The television number — 72 million — includes CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, Univision, Telemundo, MSNBC, Fox Business Network, CNN, Fox News, CNBC and TV One but does not include PBS. This number compares well with with a similar number of Americans who witnessed Barack Obama become the first African-American person elected as the president in 2008, according to Nielsen tally of 14 networks’ viewership.

    Election night was an apt conclusion to a campaign that intrigued television viewers for over a year. Two of the three most-watched presidential debates in history were between Trump and Clinton. Trump’s proven value as a ratings-grabber led to cable networks giving what some critics regarded as an inordinate amount of attention to his appearances as his campaign was first catching on.

    Excluding PBS, Nielsen’s final count for 2016 included viewership on Lifetime’s live “The View” special. The average audience for the 2012 election was 66.8 million when viewing across 13 networks was tallied by Nielsen.

    All networks’ coverage except Fox broadcasting continued into the small hours. The Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton did not concede to the Republican nominee until after 2am EST, and Trump did not gave his victory speech till 3am.

    CNN had the biggest night of all the networks in primetime, drawing an average audience of 13.26 million from 8-11 pm EST. Fox News followed with 12.11 million total viewers. MSNBC came in third in the cable race with 5.95 million. The same pecking order followed in the coveted-by-news-advertisers 25-54 demographic: CNN had 6.66 million viewers in that demo, Fox News had 4.64 million, and MSNBC had 2.37 million.

    In coverage from 7pm–3am, the numbers were slightly different. Fox News drew the biggest total audience in that time-frame, with 12.2 million viewers. CNN came in with an average audience of 11.17 million during that time, and MSNBC had an audience of 5.2 million. CNN did still lead in the 25-54 demo, though, with 5.65 million to Fox News’ 4.76 million. (MSNBC brought in 2.13 million viewers in the 25-54 demo in that period.)

    However, viewers did begin tuning out after seeing several key swing states called, and by the time the 2 a.m. hour rolled around, viewership on the three big cable nets was at 19.1 million. Fox News had the most, with 9.78 million. CNN followed with 6.45 million, with MSNBC coming in at 2.86 million.

    Another 38.67 million watched the election results come in on one of the broadcast networks. That number, from Nielsen’s final primetime ratings, includes ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox (from 8-10 p.m.), Univision and Telemundo. ABC had an average audience of 9.23 million viewers. CBS pulled in 8.09 million. Fox’s two hours of results coverage drew 4.28 million. NBC had the largest total audience, 11.15 million. Telemundo averaged 2.02 million.

    These ratings don’t include viewers who streamed election night coverage.

    Here’s how the broadcast networks’ election coverage ranked in total viewership:

    CNN 13.26 million
    Fox News 12.11 million
    NBC 11.97 million
    ABC 9.68 million
    CBS 8.8 million
    MSNBC 5.95 million
    Fox 4.27 million
    Univision 3.89 million
    Telemundo 2.16 million
    Fox Business Network 1.07 million
    CNBC 319,000

    Social media too was inundated on election night and through the campaign. According to available data, 75 million tweets were sent out on #electionnight up to the time Trump came and made his winning address – more than double the previous day stats of 31 million done in 2012. Overall, through the campaign since the primary debates began in August last year more than a billion election-related tweets were generated, according to social media today. Facebook traffic increased by 30 per cent during this period.

    And lo and behold one fact that has emerged according to research from the University of Southern California is the use of bots on social media by the two camps, (though Trump used them more) according to Social Media Today. According to the research, millions of election-related tweets were posted by more than 400,000 social bots during the campaign. The USC research also found that many of these shared highly positive messages about either candidate, which may actually have influenced voter outcomes by creating “the false impression that there’s grassroots, positive, sustained support for a certain candidate”. So while bot traffic no doubt contributed to the overall share of voice stats, it may actually have been beneficial, even if it was coming non-human operators.

  • US polls: TV channels, social media & streaming – all broke their own viewership records

    US polls: TV channels, social media & streaming – all broke their own viewership records

    MUMBAI: It’s an example of how significant is television when it comes to national and international events. In what was one of the most surprising US election results in history, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton to become the 45th president of the United States. Tuesday was the most-watched night in the US in both CNN and Fox News’ histories.

    Around 72 million Americans watched the poll results on broadcast or cable television during primetime, according to TV viewership agency Nielsen. This year’s tight race has been good for ratings all fall, delivering an average audience of 74 million for the presidential debates, including a record-setting 84 million for Trump’s first faceoff with Hillary Clinton.

    Considered by many poll and media pundits to have had no chance at victory, Trump’s message of political change and fighting for the masses resonated with more than 58 million Americans. It’s clear that the social media played a crucial part in Trump’s rise to power. The actual part that media played in the process will be debated for years, but it’s interesting to look at the basic outline of what the new media landscape means for the electoral process and how it played out across the various platforms.

    On the election night, The Young Turks – targeted at those who consume content on digital – broke records with 4.5 million views, according to Tubefilter. On 8 November, the news channel had a big night; across three separate live streams — on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter — it drew more than 4.5 million total hits, breaking its own viewership record.

    The television number — 72 million — includes CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, Univision, Telemundo, MSNBC, Fox Business Network, CNN, Fox News, CNBC and TV One but does not include PBS. This number compares well with with a similar number of Americans who witnessed Barack Obama become the first African-American person elected as the president in 2008, according to Nielsen tally of 14 networks’ viewership.

    Election night was an apt conclusion to a campaign that intrigued television viewers for over a year. Two of the three most-watched presidential debates in history were between Trump and Clinton. Trump’s proven value as a ratings-grabber led to cable networks giving what some critics regarded as an inordinate amount of attention to his appearances as his campaign was first catching on.

    Excluding PBS, Nielsen’s final count for 2016 included viewership on Lifetime’s live “The View” special. The average audience for the 2012 election was 66.8 million when viewing across 13 networks was tallied by Nielsen.

    All networks’ coverage except Fox broadcasting continued into the small hours. The Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton did not concede to the Republican nominee until after 2am EST, and Trump did not gave his victory speech till 3am.

    CNN had the biggest night of all the networks in primetime, drawing an average audience of 13.26 million from 8-11 pm EST. Fox News followed with 12.11 million total viewers. MSNBC came in third in the cable race with 5.95 million. The same pecking order followed in the coveted-by-news-advertisers 25-54 demographic: CNN had 6.66 million viewers in that demo, Fox News had 4.64 million, and MSNBC had 2.37 million.

    In coverage from 7pm–3am, the numbers were slightly different. Fox News drew the biggest total audience in that time-frame, with 12.2 million viewers. CNN came in with an average audience of 11.17 million during that time, and MSNBC had an audience of 5.2 million. CNN did still lead in the 25-54 demo, though, with 5.65 million to Fox News’ 4.76 million. (MSNBC brought in 2.13 million viewers in the 25-54 demo in that period.)

    However, viewers did begin tuning out after seeing several key swing states called, and by the time the 2 a.m. hour rolled around, viewership on the three big cable nets was at 19.1 million. Fox News had the most, with 9.78 million. CNN followed with 6.45 million, with MSNBC coming in at 2.86 million.

    Another 38.67 million watched the election results come in on one of the broadcast networks. That number, from Nielsen’s final primetime ratings, includes ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox (from 8-10 p.m.), Univision and Telemundo. ABC had an average audience of 9.23 million viewers. CBS pulled in 8.09 million. Fox’s two hours of results coverage drew 4.28 million. NBC had the largest total audience, 11.15 million. Telemundo averaged 2.02 million.

    These ratings don’t include viewers who streamed election night coverage.

    Here’s how the broadcast networks’ election coverage ranked in total viewership:

    CNN 13.26 million
    Fox News 12.11 million
    NBC 11.97 million
    ABC 9.68 million
    CBS 8.8 million
    MSNBC 5.95 million
    Fox 4.27 million
    Univision 3.89 million
    Telemundo 2.16 million
    Fox Business Network 1.07 million
    CNBC 319,000

    Social media too was inundated on election night and through the campaign. According to available data, 75 million tweets were sent out on #electionnight up to the time Trump came and made his winning address – more than double the previous day stats of 31 million done in 2012. Overall, through the campaign since the primary debates began in August last year more than a billion election-related tweets were generated, according to social media today. Facebook traffic increased by 30 per cent during this period.

    And lo and behold one fact that has emerged according to research from the University of Southern California is the use of bots on social media by the two camps, (though Trump used them more) according to Social Media Today. According to the research, millions of election-related tweets were posted by more than 400,000 social bots during the campaign. The USC research also found that many of these shared highly positive messages about either candidate, which may actually have influenced voter outcomes by creating “the false impression that there’s grassroots, positive, sustained support for a certain candidate”. So while bot traffic no doubt contributed to the overall share of voice stats, it may actually have been beneficial, even if it was coming non-human operators.

  • Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    MUMBAI: Hulu has announced pacts with The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox. This deal means that Hulu will offer content from Fox, ABC, FX, FXX, Freeform, Disney Channel, Fox News, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, making more than 35 networks available to stream live and watch on-demand through its new streaming service, set to debut in early 2017.

    It has already signed a deal with Time Warner, which will bring TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and CNN to the service as well.

    Though the date of the launch is not yet announced, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins has stated that there are additional partners to come.

    Hopkins and the team plans to build a service that can offer subscribers good quality programming on TV. With these two new deals in place, Hulu plans to provide TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favourite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way.

    Only time can say whether this service proves to become a threat to the cable companies.

  • Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    Hulu signs deal with Walt Disney & Fox

    MUMBAI: Hulu has announced pacts with The Walt Disney Company and 21st Century Fox. This deal means that Hulu will offer content from Fox, ABC, FX, FXX, Freeform, Disney Channel, Fox News, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, making more than 35 networks available to stream live and watch on-demand through its new streaming service, set to debut in early 2017.

    It has already signed a deal with Time Warner, which will bring TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network and CNN to the service as well.

    Though the date of the launch is not yet announced, Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins has stated that there are additional partners to come.

    Hopkins and the team plans to build a service that can offer subscribers good quality programming on TV. With these two new deals in place, Hulu plans to provide TV fans of all ages live and on-demand access to their favourite programs in a whole new, more flexible, highly personalized way.

    Only time can say whether this service proves to become a threat to the cable companies.

  • Verizon Digital Media partners with Airtel for POPs

    Verizon Digital Media partners with Airtel for POPs

    MUMBAI: Verizon Digital Media Services, the next-generation digital media platform, and Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, have partnered to launch new points of presence (PoPs) in four cities in India: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi.

    The four PoP installations mark Verizon Digital Media Services’ significant investment into expanding throughout the country, leveraging Airtel’s digital infrastructure as a gateway to India. This partnership will ensure that content on the Verizon Digital Media Services platform can be accessed by digital media consumers in a fast, seamless and reliable way and will improve the experience for users in India.

    “We are expanding our content delivery network in strategic markets that our customers care about, and we have found a long-term partner in Airtel Business,” said Verizon Digital Media Services Chief Technology Officer Rob Peters. “The launch of these strategic PoPs marks the beginning of a strong partnership between Verizon and Airtel Business and further cements our commitment to providing consumers in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for digital media consumption, with exceptional services and quality.”

    In addition to Airtel’s world-class data center services and unparalleled network across the country, this move enables Verizon Digital Media Services to provide superior digital media experiences to millions of internet users in India.

    The newly installed PoPs have already yielded exceptional outcomes. Using third-party Cedexis measurement tools, Verizon Digital Media Services has observed significant network improvements when comparing its network performance in India before and after the PoP installations. The amount of time required on Verizon Digital Media Services’ servers to receive users’ requests, respond and deliver results has significantly decreased.

    “India is fast emerging as a large regional IP Hub and we are excited to enable Verizon Digital Media Services to provide best-in-class digital services in India. This collaboration ensures superior user experiences and seamlessly handles traffic spikes as connected devices, subscribers and content size continue to grow. We are delighted by the positive results seen in a very short time and we are confident that in the long term, Indian mobile Internet users are going to immensely benefit from this partnership,” said Bharti Airtel director & CEO-global voice & data business Ajay Chitkara.

    Airtel has a presence that spans 18 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and 15 countries in Africa. It offers both B2C and B2B telecom services, including wireless and fixed line technology, national and international long-distance connectivity, Digital TV and IPTV services, and complete integrated telecom solutions to enterprise customers. Airtel’s global network runs across 225,000 Rkms, covering 50 countries and five continents.

    Verizon Digital Media Services has points of presence in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. More than 3,000 interconnections help to ensure that content is delivered reliably and securely — anytime, anywhere, on any device.

    The company’s exclusive end-to-end platform also provides a variety of solutions, including the Video Lifecycle Solution, the Web Acceleration Solution and the Commerce Acceleration Solution, for broadcast, enterprise and commerce businesses, respectively.

    Some of the clients which are using Verizon Digital Media’s services include: ABC, SoundCloud, Hearst Television, tumblr, twitter, Pintrest,among many others.

  • Verizon Digital Media partners with Airtel for POPs

    Verizon Digital Media partners with Airtel for POPs

    MUMBAI: Verizon Digital Media Services, the next-generation digital media platform, and Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, have partnered to launch new points of presence (PoPs) in four cities in India: Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and New Delhi.

    The four PoP installations mark Verizon Digital Media Services’ significant investment into expanding throughout the country, leveraging Airtel’s digital infrastructure as a gateway to India. This partnership will ensure that content on the Verizon Digital Media Services platform can be accessed by digital media consumers in a fast, seamless and reliable way and will improve the experience for users in India.

    “We are expanding our content delivery network in strategic markets that our customers care about, and we have found a long-term partner in Airtel Business,” said Verizon Digital Media Services Chief Technology Officer Rob Peters. “The launch of these strategic PoPs marks the beginning of a strong partnership between Verizon and Airtel Business and further cements our commitment to providing consumers in India, one of the fastest-growing markets for digital media consumption, with exceptional services and quality.”

    In addition to Airtel’s world-class data center services and unparalleled network across the country, this move enables Verizon Digital Media Services to provide superior digital media experiences to millions of internet users in India.

    The newly installed PoPs have already yielded exceptional outcomes. Using third-party Cedexis measurement tools, Verizon Digital Media Services has observed significant network improvements when comparing its network performance in India before and after the PoP installations. The amount of time required on Verizon Digital Media Services’ servers to receive users’ requests, respond and deliver results has significantly decreased.

    “India is fast emerging as a large regional IP Hub and we are excited to enable Verizon Digital Media Services to provide best-in-class digital services in India. This collaboration ensures superior user experiences and seamlessly handles traffic spikes as connected devices, subscribers and content size continue to grow. We are delighted by the positive results seen in a very short time and we are confident that in the long term, Indian mobile Internet users are going to immensely benefit from this partnership,” said Bharti Airtel director & CEO-global voice & data business Ajay Chitkara.

    Airtel has a presence that spans 18 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and 15 countries in Africa. It offers both B2C and B2B telecom services, including wireless and fixed line technology, national and international long-distance connectivity, Digital TV and IPTV services, and complete integrated telecom solutions to enterprise customers. Airtel’s global network runs across 225,000 Rkms, covering 50 countries and five continents.

    Verizon Digital Media Services has points of presence in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. More than 3,000 interconnections help to ensure that content is delivered reliably and securely — anytime, anywhere, on any device.

    The company’s exclusive end-to-end platform also provides a variety of solutions, including the Video Lifecycle Solution, the Web Acceleration Solution and the Commerce Acceleration Solution, for broadcast, enterprise and commerce businesses, respectively.

    Some of the clients which are using Verizon Digital Media’s services include: ABC, SoundCloud, Hearst Television, tumblr, twitter, Pintrest,among many others.

  • YouTube ‘Unplugged’ likely to launch in 2017; ESPN, ABC, CBS ready to sign

    YouTube ‘Unplugged’ likely to launch in 2017; ESPN, ABC, CBS ready to sign

    MUMBAI: YouTube is working on deals with a few broadcasters including ESPN, ABC, and CBS for providing their TV service online without payment of any cable subscription.

    While these three broadcasters seem closest to confirmation, there are reports that other large networks are also expected to soon get in on the action. The launch is expected in six to nine months or early next year.

    The online streaming service may choose to give up smaller networks like HGTV, and try to replicate them with similar channels made up of YouTube videos.

    A Bloomberg report said YouTube plans to call the service Unplugged and hopes to offer it for under $35 per month. The plan is to include a selection of key channels and to potentially sell small bundles of additional channels as add-ons.

    However, YouTube Unplugged is bound to face some stiff competition whenever it eventually launches, with so many other established online TV services. It is learnt that YouTube’s plans might not go off completely without a hitch, as they are certainly not the only players in the space. There is Dish Network, Sony, and Hulu.com that are also offering similar deals for those who do not want to subscribe to cable.

    YouTube Red, a subscription service that offers access to original shows, “doesn’t appear to be a hit.” And reports say this is “not surprising, given that many of YouTube’s one billion-plus visitors a month grew up not paying for anything on YouTube.”

    It will be interesting to see how well the bigger broadcasters can play with major web streaming services.

  • YouTube ‘Unplugged’ likely to launch in 2017; ESPN, ABC, CBS ready to sign

    YouTube ‘Unplugged’ likely to launch in 2017; ESPN, ABC, CBS ready to sign

    MUMBAI: YouTube is working on deals with a few broadcasters including ESPN, ABC, and CBS for providing their TV service online without payment of any cable subscription.

    While these three broadcasters seem closest to confirmation, there are reports that other large networks are also expected to soon get in on the action. The launch is expected in six to nine months or early next year.

    The online streaming service may choose to give up smaller networks like HGTV, and try to replicate them with similar channels made up of YouTube videos.

    A Bloomberg report said YouTube plans to call the service Unplugged and hopes to offer it for under $35 per month. The plan is to include a selection of key channels and to potentially sell small bundles of additional channels as add-ons.

    However, YouTube Unplugged is bound to face some stiff competition whenever it eventually launches, with so many other established online TV services. It is learnt that YouTube’s plans might not go off completely without a hitch, as they are certainly not the only players in the space. There is Dish Network, Sony, and Hulu.com that are also offering similar deals for those who do not want to subscribe to cable.

    YouTube Red, a subscription service that offers access to original shows, “doesn’t appear to be a hit.” And reports say this is “not surprising, given that many of YouTube’s one billion-plus visitors a month grew up not paying for anything on YouTube.”

    It will be interesting to see how well the bigger broadcasters can play with major web streaming services.