ITV

Tag: ABC

  • INS gives ultimatum; MRUC to meet tomorrow

    INS gives ultimatum; MRUC to meet tomorrow

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The revamped Indian Readership Survey (IRS) was supposed to create a new paradigm, but has instead turned out to be a nightmare for Media Research Users Council (MRUC).

     

    The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) today issued an ultimatum to MRUC, a not-for-profit body of advertisers, advertising agencies, publishers and broadcasters, to withdraw IRS 2013 within 24 hours or face total rejection of the findings of the survey by the publishers.

     

    Indiantelevision.com had reported earlier that the INS representatives would be meeting officials from MRUC today to discuss issues raised by publishers. Today’s meeting was held in two rounds: the first meeting had print publishers discuss the future course of action while the second one delivered the ultimatum to MRUC.

     

    The INS is unwilling to climb down from its demand for complete withdrawal of the survey within 24 hours, the contract for which was given to Nielsen.

     

    The INS representatives attending the meeting were unanimous in their demand for complete withdrawal of the IRS 2013 survey as the first corrective step. The publishers raised several questions regarding the methodology and mechanism based on which the survey findings were arrived at.

     

    To decide on what should be MRUC’s next course of action, its officials will have a meeting with the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI), a joint body of MRUC and Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC). INS Newspaper Society Chairman Mohit Jain confirmed the news and said: “We have also asked MRUC to conduct an extraordinary meeting tomorrow at 11.30 am and decide about today’s discussions.”

     

    “What happens next will be decided tomorrow by the RSCI,” says IRS Technical Committee Chairman Paritosh Joshi, who is personally saddened by the way things are taking shape.

     

    Sources say if MRUC fails to take action, INS may issue an advisory to its members asking them not to subscribe to IRS in the future and also not to use the mast heads of their newspapers in future surveys, and may consider supporting some newspapers going to court against the findings to get a stay order on the use of the latest IRS numbers by media planners and advertisers.

     

    A group of 18 publishers, which include The Times of India, Dainik Jagran, Bhaskar, India Today, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Lokmat, Outlook, Daily News and Analysis (DNA), Sakshi, The Hindu, Amar Ujala, The Tribune, Bartaman Patrika, Aaj Samaj, The Statesman, Mid Day, Nai Duniya and Dinakaran, have been vocal about their dismay with the numbers.

     

    The publishers felt that there was arbitrary decline in aggregate readership of certain publications. A majority of the publications are negatively affected by the 2013 survey which is based on a new methodology.

     

    Sources from the print industry shared the data, which shows how particular publications lost their Average Issue Readership (AIR) in a drastic way in some states.

  • IRS 2013 fate to be decided on Monday

    IRS 2013 fate to be decided on Monday

    MUMBAI: Early this week, when Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which was published after a year, the Indian print media waited with bated breath to see how has it done – good, bad or ugly?

     

    Since the survey conducted by Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and its new vendor Nielsen has been made public, things have turned ugly.

     

    A lot of publishers are not happy with the data and the new methodology used this time.  Many of them have openly voiced their dismay with it. For instance, the Hindu carried a piece from its editor-in-chief saying, “IRS, in relation to The Hindu, is riddled with inconsistencies and with findings that defy common sense and reach the level of absurdity that its credibility has been totally damaged.”

     

    Across the country, leading newspapers have said the new methodology used in the IRS has a lot of glitches and contradicts the figures of the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), which shows the number of copies printed.

     

    The issue has taken a serious turn. A group of 18 leading newspaper groups, including the Times of India, Jagran, Bhaskar, Outlook, Lokmat and The Hindu, on Jan 30 issued a joint statement rubbishing the findings of the 2013 IRS survey.

     

    The group of publishers has called upon MRUC to immediately withdraw the latest IRS results and put a stop to all future editions of the survey based on the new methodology.

     

    The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) will meet with the MRUC on Monday (3 January) to discuss the issues in the IRS survey.

     

    The chairman of MRUC, Ravi Rao, was unavailable for comment.

     

    Paritosh Joshi, the Chairman of IRS’ Technical Committee, didn’t hide his disappointment and said if data is recalled or any other similar step is taken, it will be “shattering” for him. “All I want to say is that technology-wise we have used the best methodology. We also checked upon it routinely. What is surprising is that publishers were aware of the process used and it wasn’t a bolt from the blue. It was all out in the open and we delivered best to our capabilities.”

     

    The fate of the survey would be decided on Monday, till then we can only wait to see what happens next.

  • ABC to block DirecTV, TWC, Dish subscribers from watching TV series online

    ABC to block DirecTV, TWC, Dish subscribers from watching TV series online

    MUMBAI: The American broadcasting company, ABC, has announced that it will start restricting access to complete episodes of new TV shows to customers of pay TV providers that it has signed to TV Everywhere authentication deals.

     

    This means that subscribers from DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Dish Network will not be able to watch new episodes of “Modern Family,” “The Bachelor” and other ABC series on ABC.com in the week after their premiere. However, the subscribers from AT&T, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Midcontinent and Verizon can continue watching new episodes on WatchABC.com or through the Watch ABC mobile video app the day after their premiere, according to a notice posted by ABC online in December 2013.

    The company will also stop offering free, ad-supported versions of new episodes through Hulu, but will allow premium Hulu Plus subscribers to watch new programs the day after their initial broadcast. At the cost of $2.99 per episode web surfers can download high-definition programs from Apple’s iTunes store or Amazon Instant Video.

     

    ABC isnt alone, in August 2011, Fox became the first major network to limit access to complete versions of new TV episodes to authenticated pay TV or Hulu Plus subscribers. Both Fox and ABC own equity stakes in Hulu.

  • Jamie Dornan to play Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey

    Jamie Dornan to play Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey

    MUMBAI: Jamie Dornan is all set to play Christian Grey in the film adaptation of the superhit novel, Fifty Shades of Grey that is expected to go on floor in November.

     

    Universal Pictures and Focus Features’ adaptation of the book was to have Charlie Hunnam as the lead earlier, who backed out of the project more than a week ago. Negotiations with Dornan are in progress.

     

    Dornan is the star of the UK series The Fall and is also known for playing The Huntsman in ABC’s Once Upon A Time. Dakota Johnson will be the female lead for the movie. A release date of August 1, 2014 has been set. If the first movie does well, then Dornan could stay on for the rest of the movies in the series as well.

     

    Juno Temple and Frank Grillo were also offered roles but they too turned it down. Dornan has been in the news earlier for dating Kiera Knightley for a while.

  • ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    ESPN Star Sports gives English football league the Hindi touch

    MUMBAI:  ESPN Star Sports seems to be scoring well with its viewers with the telecast of Barclays Premier League (BPL) this year. And it’s no plain statement. The broadcaster which is airing the football league in both English and Hindi this season says it has seen a 254 per cent jump in its ratings on the inaugural day. Not only this, it points out that it has recorded a 105 per cent increase in the time spent per viewer on the inaugural day.

     

    The league which went on air from 17 August on Star Sports and Star Cricket has also been made available in Hindi for the first time. “We believe there is a huge potential for growth in football viewership and that Indian fans would love to consume non-cricket sports as well if the product is packaged well, communicated and presented in an interesting manner,” said ESPN Software India COO Vijay Rajput.

    It is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable by the viewers expounds Vijay Rajput.

     

    According to the data received by Indiantelevision.com, BPL’s viewership in the 15 plus age group of men in the ABC segment rose from the previous season’s 324 TVTs (esimated) to 760 TVTs. Day 1 of the league saw it record a reported 206 per cent increase in its reach. The stickiness among the football crazy fans has also witnessed a jump in the league this time around. Though last year the inaugural matches of BPL recorded 10 minute TSV (Time Spent viewing), this year it went up to 16 minutes – a rise of 105 per cent.

     

    The launch of BPL in Hindi is in-line with the channel’s strategy of pushing multi-lingual content. “The focus on English commentary/graphics by sports broadcasters till date has been a big deterrent in the growth in viewership. For viewers to understand the nuances of football and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all,” stated Rajput.

     

    The Hindi commentary is in addition to the English commentary which will also be available for all the televised matches from the full season. Under the dual audio feed system,DTH/digital subscribers can choose the language of their preference.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has decided to select two matches every week and telecast them in Hindi and English. “We are targeting to telecast close to 140 matches live with Hindi commentary in this season. In addition, almost 50 matches with Hindi commentary will have delayed telecast. So, overall about 190 matches would be covered with Hindi commentary,” he informed.

     

    The sportscaster caster has identified UK based commentators of Indian origin who will describe the proceedings on the field in Hindi for BPL. The Hindi commentary is being done from the stadium itself. “For viewers to understand the nuances of soccer and the league itself, we feel it is important to explain the live action in a language and idiom which is clearly understandable to one and all.”

     

    A three-pronged strategy has been put in place to promote the BPL: this includes: appointing MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador, covering select matches with Hindi commentary and have non-live Hindi programming around the tournament to ensure that more and more sports fans sample and understand the league’s nuances, its clubs and its stars.

     

    “We roped in Dhoni as the brand ambassador to excite sports fans who consume a lot of cricket to sample BPL as well with an ultimate objective of expanding the fan base of BPL in the country,” he informed.

     

    ESPN Star Sports has launched a mix of shows based on highlights/goals/review and preview of the latest in BPL which will be showcased week on week through the season.

     

    “We started off with six episodes of a buildup show ‘Superstar Football’ which focuses on multiple facets of the league – famous owners, top clubs and top players in the league etc. We will also showcase highlight shows of BPL in Hindi through the season. This fast paced snapshot of happenings in BPL will make for interesting television,” informed Rajput.

     

    The broadcaster is also looking at magazine shows every week, which will be a review of the season gone-by and a preview of the coming week’s matches. “This show will have colour/ feature stories from BPL.We will also telecast a half an hour show on goals every week. All the Hindi programming around BPL will be produced in India.”

     

    The work done around BPL has helped the broadcaster in not only receiving good ratings, but has also lured in the advertising dollars.   “We have received a very positive advertiser interest for this season. Even before the start of the league, we had monetised close to 85 per cent of the annual available inventory,” he informed. Tata Motors, Pernod Ricard, Adidas, Tata Teleservices, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) and Nokia India are some of the big names to have come on board as associate sponsors on-air for the live telecast.

     

    ESPN Star Sports tack to go local with Hindi commentary simulcast has found favour with cricket fans by contributing 40 per cent of the overall ratings for the India-Australia test series. The test series delivered an average rating of 2.05 TVR which was the highest average rating for a test series played by India in the past four years. “We also had a very successful inaugural season of the Hero Hockey India League in both Hindi and English, which delivered an impressive reach of 41.4 million.”

     

    With even the on-going IBL which is being showcased in both Hindi and English, the sportscaster is surely eyeing an eyepopping increase in viewership numbers. It clearly is serving (its customers we mean) right.

  • DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    NEW DELHI: In an effort to reach its target of 97 channels by the end of this year, Prasar Bharati is auctioning six slots on its free-to-air direct-to-home platform DD Direct Plus by e-auction.

    A Bangalore based private firm – Synise Technologies – has been chosen to conduct the e-auction which commenced yesterday.

    It is also learnt that Prasar Bharati is considering carrying out a change in its policy to try and get the best of channels on its DTH service.

    Currently, Doordarshan’s DTH platform offers 59 channels of which 30 are private, 21 of DD, Lok Sabha TV, Rajya Sabha TV and two channels run by the UGC.

    Four foreign channels – NHK, ABC, France 24 and Russia Sunday – complete the bouquet of channels on the DTH wing.

    “The capacity to carry channels on our DTH wing is set to increase significantly as Doordarshan is planning to buy equipment that will allow it to utilise an additional transponder on satellite INSAT 4B,” a DD official told indiantelevision.com.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar has earlier said another aspect that the broadcaster is considering is how it can get better quality channels on its DTH wing. “We are considering framing a policy by next year which will allow the best of channels to be shown on our DTH platform,” Sircar said.

    There was a need to consider a new policy which would be transparent but also to ensure that the best of channels prefer to come to the Doordarshan platform so that they can be shown to viewers all across the country, he said.

  • Emmys moving to August in 2014 to avoid football conflict

    Emmys moving to August in 2014 to avoid football conflict

    MUMBAI: The 65th Primetime Emmys telecast is still more than a month away but plans already are afoot for next year’s show.

     

    According to media reports the 66th Primetime Emmys will be broadcast not in September, as in most years, but rather in late August 2014 to avoid a conflict with NBC’s Sunday Night Football. According to sources the TV Academy has fixed 24 August for the awards.

     

    The move is not a surprise. Each of the big four broadcast networks – ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC – get to air the Emmys once every four years. Next year is NBC’s turn, and the network has scheduled the show in August each of the last two times it hosted. (NBC aired the Emmys on Aug. 27, 2006 and Aug. 29, 2010; every other Emmys ceremony since 2002 has aired in Sept.)

     

    The reason for NBC’s preference for earlier air-dates is that, in 2006, the network acquired rights to air Sunday Night Football, and it does not want to have to pick between the two ratings magnets (the NFL season always kicks off in early Sept.). During the 2012-2013 season, SNF was the highest-rated, most-watched show on TV, according to Nielsen.

  • Dish Network and Raycom Media resolve retransmission dispute

    Dish Network and Raycom Media resolve retransmission dispute

    MUMBAI: The companies say that Raycom stations will be back on Dish Network “overnight,” and didn’t provide any details about the agreement.

    The broadcaster owns or controls 53 stations in 36 markets including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, CW, and MyNetworkTV affiliates in cities including Cleveland, Toledo, Honolulu, Tucson, Baton Rouge, West Palm Beach, Louisville, and Memphis.

    The stations went dark on Dish on 1 August when the previous carriage contract expired. Dish accounts for about 15 per cent of Raycom’s viewers, according to data from SNL Kagan.

  • Oscar makes rule change for animation

    Oscar makes rule change for animation

    MUMBAI: The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approved rule changes for the 86th Oscars. The most significant change affects the Animated Feature Film category.

    In this category, the new rule designates a maximum of two award recipients, one of whom must have a producer credit. The director and/or key creative individual shall continue to be a recipient, and in the circumstance of a two-person team with shared and equal director credit, a third statuette may be awarded.

    Previously announced rules changes for the 86th Academy Awards include allowing members to see the nominated documentary shorts and foreign language films either at a theatrical screening or on DVD. Prior to the final round of voting, the Academy will provide members with DVDs of the nominated films in five categories: Foreign Language Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Animated Short Film, and Live Action Short Film.

    Other adjustments to the rules include standard date and other routine changes.

    Rules are reviewed annually by individual branch and category committees. The awards rules committee then evaluates all proposed changes before presenting its recommendations to the Academy's board of governors for approval.

    Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of this year will be presented on 2 March, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center and televised on Star Movies and in the US on ABC. The presentation will also be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.

  • Andy Forssell is Hulu acting CEO

    Andy Forssell is Hulu acting CEO

    MUMBAI: Jason Kilar who stepped down as Hulu CEO has announced that Andy Forssell will be stepping up to lead Hulu as acting CEO.

    Hulu is a site and an OTT subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, TBS, and other networks and studios. It is co-owned by NBC, Fox and Disney.

    In a blog post Kilar wrote, “Andy has been a critical senior executive and has been here from the start of this great adventure. Andy exemplifies the Hulu culture and has been central to Hulu‘s journey, helping to grow this company from two content partners and no revenue to over 450 content partners and approximately $700 million revenue in 2012.

    “In his role, Andy has built strong relationships with many of our Board members. Andy has the Board‘s strong support in leading the team during this important time.”

    Kilar added that Disney and News Corp are currently finalising their forward-looking plans with Hulu, and the senior team has been working closely with them in that process. Once the plans are finalised, a permanent decision will be made regarding the CEO position.

    “As I mentioned to you all at the beginning of this year, Hulu‘s focus remains on delivering a fantastic 2013 for customers and shareholders. Hulu is well on its way, with new records being set in Q1 across both revenue and subscriber additions. The unwavering focus on delighting Hulu‘s customers is clearly showing up in the outputs of the business.”