ITV

Tag: Anil Wanvari

  • IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar

    IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar

    GOA: Prasar Bharati has thrown an invitation to all private broadcasters and it reads: come and use our under-utilised resources and infrastructure to increase your reach in digital format terrestrially. What’s more, the Indian pubcaster will help in the distribution.

    According to Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, the best spectrum available for broadcasting was between 470-585  MHZ, which is with the pubcaster Doordarshan lying  highly underutilised. And, private TV channels can join hands as the organisation plans to make linear TV available to the public on their hand-held devices via digital terrestrial transmission (DTT).

    “Twenty  channels can be relayed per two antennas as such (via DTT) in four metros. All that people have to do with DVB-T2 is attach an affordable dongle on their mobile handsets and watch TV channels on the go. We can give it away free to consumers to experience it and then charge for it in the second year,” Sircar said while speaking at IDOS 2016 here on Friday.

    As Doordarshan has 1,400 broadcast towers and in the event of complete conversion to digital, DD may not need all those towers for the sake of broadcasting its own channels. The tower infrastructure could therefore be shared and private broadcasters could look at Prasar Bharati as an alternate delivery medium, Sircar explained. There would then be digitised cable, DTH and DTT on offer to the consumer.

    In conversation with indiantelevision.com founder CEO and editor-in-chief  Anil Wanvari, Sircar admitted that DD’s viewership may be falling and which was getting reflected in BARC’s audience measurement.

    “The grand days of DD happened not at the hands of DD’s personnel producing content but duringRamayan, Buniyaad, etc, all of which were made by private producers,” he said. “Hence DD should not make the content on its own. The people over here don’t know how to. The time slot sale to private producers is the best way to go,” he said, adding Prasar Bharati will primarily work on sharing its resources and reduce (in-house) content creation.

    To drive home his point on indifferent quality of present programming on DD, Sircar said the reach of the pubcaster’s resources hasn’t diminished and added, “We allowed private players to come on DD’s FreeDish platform. Yes, they are willing to pay from Rs 1.5 crore (Rs. 15 million) a year in the beginning to Rs 5.5 crore ( Rs. 55 million) today for a slot on FreeDish. That’s because it’s getting them viewership.”

    However, the former bureaucrat, now in the last lap of his present assignment, was evasive and forthcoming at the same time on FreeDish’s actual reach. “Nobody knows how many set top boxes for FreeDish are there, but the industry knows about missing subscribers of (private) DTH players. Those are our FreeDish subscribers. They could number 30 million or so,” he asserted, adding that DD had not initially put in CAS, but now  intends to do so with Indian CAS, take the boxes up to MPEG4 , and add more transponders for distribution, thereby increasing the DTH platform’s capacity to 250 channels in a phased manner.

    Asked about DD’s role as a pubcaster and obvious comparison with the BBC, Sircar was quick to point out that the British pubcaster gets thousands of crores of rupees every year from consumers  in licence fee, apart from government funding.

    Still, unable to restrain himself from taking a dig at the present Indian system regarding pubcasting, Sircar quipped, “They (BBC) know for sure what is expected from a pubcaster. The problem with DD is that we don’t know our real goal and mission.”

    Quizzed further on muddled policies and the pubcaster’s objectives, Sircar, with is tongue firmly in cheek, quipped, “I am Jawhar Sircar, not Bharat Sarkar.” The punning on his last name and Sarkar (Hindi for Indian government) was telling.

    Also read

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/trai/prasar-bharati-responds-to-trai-consultation-paper-open-to-sharing-dtt-infrastructure-160926

  • IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar

    IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar

    GOA: Prasar Bharati has thrown an invitation to all private broadcasters and it reads: come and use our under-utilised resources and infrastructure to increase your reach in digital format terrestrially. What’s more, the Indian pubcaster will help in the distribution.

    According to Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, the best spectrum available for broadcasting was between 470-585  MHZ, which is with the pubcaster Doordarshan lying  highly underutilised. And, private TV channels can join hands as the organisation plans to make linear TV available to the public on their hand-held devices via digital terrestrial transmission (DTT).

    “Twenty  channels can be relayed per two antennas as such (via DTT) in four metros. All that people have to do with DVB-T2 is attach an affordable dongle on their mobile handsets and watch TV channels on the go. We can give it away free to consumers to experience it and then charge for it in the second year,” Sircar said while speaking at IDOS 2016 here on Friday.

    As Doordarshan has 1,400 broadcast towers and in the event of complete conversion to digital, DD may not need all those towers for the sake of broadcasting its own channels. The tower infrastructure could therefore be shared and private broadcasters could look at Prasar Bharati as an alternate delivery medium, Sircar explained. There would then be digitised cable, DTH and DTT on offer to the consumer.

    In conversation with indiantelevision.com founder CEO and editor-in-chief  Anil Wanvari, Sircar admitted that DD’s viewership may be falling and which was getting reflected in BARC’s audience measurement.

    “The grand days of DD happened not at the hands of DD’s personnel producing content but duringRamayan, Buniyaad, etc, all of which were made by private producers,” he said. “Hence DD should not make the content on its own. The people over here don’t know how to. The time slot sale to private producers is the best way to go,” he said, adding Prasar Bharati will primarily work on sharing its resources and reduce (in-house) content creation.

    To drive home his point on indifferent quality of present programming on DD, Sircar said the reach of the pubcaster’s resources hasn’t diminished and added, “We allowed private players to come on DD’s FreeDish platform. Yes, they are willing to pay from Rs 1.5 crore (Rs. 15 million) a year in the beginning to Rs 5.5 crore ( Rs. 55 million) today for a slot on FreeDish. That’s because it’s getting them viewership.”

    However, the former bureaucrat, now in the last lap of his present assignment, was evasive and forthcoming at the same time on FreeDish’s actual reach. “Nobody knows how many set top boxes for FreeDish are there, but the industry knows about missing subscribers of (private) DTH players. Those are our FreeDish subscribers. They could number 30 million or so,” he asserted, adding that DD had not initially put in CAS, but now  intends to do so with Indian CAS, take the boxes up to MPEG4 , and add more transponders for distribution, thereby increasing the DTH platform’s capacity to 250 channels in a phased manner.

    Asked about DD’s role as a pubcaster and obvious comparison with the BBC, Sircar was quick to point out that the British pubcaster gets thousands of crores of rupees every year from consumers  in licence fee, apart from government funding.

    Still, unable to restrain himself from taking a dig at the present Indian system regarding pubcasting, Sircar quipped, “They (BBC) know for sure what is expected from a pubcaster. The problem with DD is that we don’t know our real goal and mission.”

    Quizzed further on muddled policies and the pubcaster’s objectives, Sircar, with is tongue firmly in cheek, quipped, “I am Jawhar Sircar, not Bharat Sarkar.” The punning on his last name and Sarkar (Hindi for Indian government) was telling.

    Also read

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/trai/prasar-bharati-responds-to-trai-consultation-paper-open-to-sharing-dtt-infrastructure-160926

  • Decoding the Indian online video watchers remains an enigma

    Decoding the Indian online video watchers remains an enigma

    MUMBAI: Perhaps the biggest challenge for programmers on online media is to define and segregate the online viewers who will take to OTT mediums in India.

    Following the presentation on OTT trends in the APAC region by Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto at VidNet, this question expectedly assumed importance.

    Indian Television Dot Com’s founder CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari flagged off the discussion by asking Isobar India MD Shamsuddin Jasani to define who is a customer for him?

    “A person who is consuming digital content through any medium be it TV, mobile, YouTube, Facebook, etc is my customer. I would spend dollars on a person who is consuming content via digital platforms, what is he consuming, time spent on that piece of content,” said Jasani.

    Adding his perspective on defining a digital customer was FoxyMoron co-founder Suveer Bajaj. He seconded the definition of an OTT consumer and added that he was one who migrated to the digital medium. “I have come across consumers who are consuming three hours on digital. There is a very powerful change that we are seeing right now. These people are plunging on digital than TV.”

    Citing example from his own personal experience, Jasani highlighted how his 6-year old kid consumes around six to seven hours of video content on various platforms like Voot, YouTube, etc. He opined that this is a powerful change that he is witnessing from TV which happens through demand. Bajaj further added that it is not just on demand but also on the go.

    dittoTV business head Archana Anand strongly believed on the platform’s subscription model. Underlining the success of ditto TV’s campaign and aggressive pricing, Anand believed that she and her team had grown the pie by reaching out to people who are not internet savvy audience and is very clear on not getting content for free. “We have marked the people who perhaps are not typical OTT audience to whom TV is being provided at a subscription of Rs 20. There is a huge audience who is alien to OTT in India and we are trying to get them on board by handholding them throughout the entire procedure of getting our app by just a missed call.

    Arre co-founder Ajay Chacko was sure he did not intend to become an OTT platform. “The way we are defining our consumers is not just through access and comfort but by creating new forms of content to drive change.”

    Voot, the AVOD platform from Viacom18 which is often credited with bolstering kids and originals apart from content from the various channels falling under the network, has targeted their digital natives. Their Head marketing and partnerships Akash Banerji dissected consumers into different categories depending upon-access and comfort, demographics and content business offers.

    Discussing the first point, he explained that there are 180 million TV households in India with an average of at least two persons in every house, meaning 350 million subscribers on Internet who are not necessarily active users. “In India, we have 120 video consumers out of which 20-30 million are native digital who are consuming videos online. It is up to a platform whether they are targeting digital natives or getting internet consumers who are not consuming videos or are looking at growing the pie of digital.”

    The discussion went a notch up with the panelists enlightening the audience on the regional content that the content providers have created so far.

    Even the consumers come from varied backgrounds. At the base of the pyramid is the young, college or office going people who are mostly from the metropolitans. The older males and women who are consuming on mobile and desktop are not consuming high velocity content like the youth comprise the mid level. Banerji said that in the past 18-24 months, he has also seen consumers evolving from tier 2 and tier 3 markets primarily consuming content on mobiles. “Rural consumers which are about 200 million i.e 80 per cent of India are also coming up on board in the next few years.”

    Voot follows clear cut understanding of content and is leveraging on its popular content library of TV shows from market. Kids content and Voot originals are the other two important key factors for the platform. “Our Voot originals do not have to follow any format or template. They have to resonate with the consumers”, he added.

    Banerji strongly believes that it is a myth for any business to chase app download numbers. “The players should work on active users and the video watch time.”

    With the second most important driver being content, focusing on just the demographics is not enough. Yash Raj Films Head of content and development Nikhil Taneja said the digital audience is primarily between the ages of 18 to 34. “We are not targeted at providing entertainment to the audiences through effective storytelling and providing emotions through content.”

    He also spoke about the different gender differences by sharing some interesting statistics about the traction and viewership of YRF’s shows. The platform, being a YouTube channel, manages to get some revenue from their channel but also has various other ways to make money. “We launch our own talent and if that talent gets picked by an advertiser, we are benefitted. Our show Love Shots has been picked up by airlines. It is definitely early for advertisers to invest but that does not stop us from creating good quality content.”

    Adding to that, Jasani said, “The customers are agnostic in accessing content and consume digital data through Wi-fi and other services available to them. The offline viewing space is also brewing up rapidly in India. If we are putting an advertiser on every stage of digital consumption, there is no need for him to be on TV.” With various service providers launching 4G, Jasani opined that within 18 months the data is going to become cheap. “Adding to cheap data rates is the launch of smartphones for Rs 2,000 which is also going to grow in the future.”

    Banerji also shed light on how the viewing dynamics are changing and why that change is happening. “With consumers in control of what they consume and content being the king, the need for quality content is just going to grow. The illusion that most of us have on the content that can go on a digital platform has to be broken”.

    The panel discussion also concentrated on the discovery of content in various languages which is currently difficult. The players said they were collectively working on the challenge.

    One thing that all the panelists accepted was to keep innovating and experimenting with content.

    Anand spoke of how asked how she is facing a challenge from payment gateways as they are in English which majority of the Indians do not understand. “Even if there is a potential customer, he has to be guided to pay for my subscription and so.80 per cent of my potential subscribers cannot be captured.” She opined that all the players in the eco-system and various payment platforms have to think in this direction.

    But are there advertisers willing to get on board? Bajaj said that it is no more about ads but content. Selective content will attract specific advertisers.

    “Advertisers are squeamish to put money. We decide after evaluating how it will help the brand after a year. We are no more selling a product but brand through its content,” said Taneja.

    “We are not finicky about not putting ads on dittoTV. There is an ad replacement technology through which I can have two different ads on TV and digital for the same content,” added Anand.

    Jasani said the digital advertising pie is small as the major audience is not yet online. The consumers are not ready to pay for content but the fact that innumerable content creators are evolving cannot be sidelined. With both AVOD and SVOD having their own perks and challenges, there is no tangible answer that any player can provide currently.

    It is an exciting space where everyone is experimenting and innovating. The panel discussion concluded by citing that both the models will co-exist at least for 10 years down the line.

  • Decoding the Indian online video watchers remains an enigma

    Decoding the Indian online video watchers remains an enigma

    MUMBAI: Perhaps the biggest challenge for programmers on online media is to define and segregate the online viewers who will take to OTT mediums in India.

    Following the presentation on OTT trends in the APAC region by Media Partners Asia executive director Vivek Couto at VidNet, this question expectedly assumed importance.

    Indian Television Dot Com’s founder CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari flagged off the discussion by asking Isobar India MD Shamsuddin Jasani to define who is a customer for him?

    “A person who is consuming digital content through any medium be it TV, mobile, YouTube, Facebook, etc is my customer. I would spend dollars on a person who is consuming content via digital platforms, what is he consuming, time spent on that piece of content,” said Jasani.

    Adding his perspective on defining a digital customer was FoxyMoron co-founder Suveer Bajaj. He seconded the definition of an OTT consumer and added that he was one who migrated to the digital medium. “I have come across consumers who are consuming three hours on digital. There is a very powerful change that we are seeing right now. These people are plunging on digital than TV.”

    Citing example from his own personal experience, Jasani highlighted how his 6-year old kid consumes around six to seven hours of video content on various platforms like Voot, YouTube, etc. He opined that this is a powerful change that he is witnessing from TV which happens through demand. Bajaj further added that it is not just on demand but also on the go.

    dittoTV business head Archana Anand strongly believed on the platform’s subscription model. Underlining the success of ditto TV’s campaign and aggressive pricing, Anand believed that she and her team had grown the pie by reaching out to people who are not internet savvy audience and is very clear on not getting content for free. “We have marked the people who perhaps are not typical OTT audience to whom TV is being provided at a subscription of Rs 20. There is a huge audience who is alien to OTT in India and we are trying to get them on board by handholding them throughout the entire procedure of getting our app by just a missed call.

    Arre co-founder Ajay Chacko was sure he did not intend to become an OTT platform. “The way we are defining our consumers is not just through access and comfort but by creating new forms of content to drive change.”

    Voot, the AVOD platform from Viacom18 which is often credited with bolstering kids and originals apart from content from the various channels falling under the network, has targeted their digital natives. Their Head marketing and partnerships Akash Banerji dissected consumers into different categories depending upon-access and comfort, demographics and content business offers.

    Discussing the first point, he explained that there are 180 million TV households in India with an average of at least two persons in every house, meaning 350 million subscribers on Internet who are not necessarily active users. “In India, we have 120 video consumers out of which 20-30 million are native digital who are consuming videos online. It is up to a platform whether they are targeting digital natives or getting internet consumers who are not consuming videos or are looking at growing the pie of digital.”

    The discussion went a notch up with the panelists enlightening the audience on the regional content that the content providers have created so far.

    Even the consumers come from varied backgrounds. At the base of the pyramid is the young, college or office going people who are mostly from the metropolitans. The older males and women who are consuming on mobile and desktop are not consuming high velocity content like the youth comprise the mid level. Banerji said that in the past 18-24 months, he has also seen consumers evolving from tier 2 and tier 3 markets primarily consuming content on mobiles. “Rural consumers which are about 200 million i.e 80 per cent of India are also coming up on board in the next few years.”

    Voot follows clear cut understanding of content and is leveraging on its popular content library of TV shows from market. Kids content and Voot originals are the other two important key factors for the platform. “Our Voot originals do not have to follow any format or template. They have to resonate with the consumers”, he added.

    Banerji strongly believes that it is a myth for any business to chase app download numbers. “The players should work on active users and the video watch time.”

    With the second most important driver being content, focusing on just the demographics is not enough. Yash Raj Films Head of content and development Nikhil Taneja said the digital audience is primarily between the ages of 18 to 34. “We are not targeted at providing entertainment to the audiences through effective storytelling and providing emotions through content.”

    He also spoke about the different gender differences by sharing some interesting statistics about the traction and viewership of YRF’s shows. The platform, being a YouTube channel, manages to get some revenue from their channel but also has various other ways to make money. “We launch our own talent and if that talent gets picked by an advertiser, we are benefitted. Our show Love Shots has been picked up by airlines. It is definitely early for advertisers to invest but that does not stop us from creating good quality content.”

    Adding to that, Jasani said, “The customers are agnostic in accessing content and consume digital data through Wi-fi and other services available to them. The offline viewing space is also brewing up rapidly in India. If we are putting an advertiser on every stage of digital consumption, there is no need for him to be on TV.” With various service providers launching 4G, Jasani opined that within 18 months the data is going to become cheap. “Adding to cheap data rates is the launch of smartphones for Rs 2,000 which is also going to grow in the future.”

    Banerji also shed light on how the viewing dynamics are changing and why that change is happening. “With consumers in control of what they consume and content being the king, the need for quality content is just going to grow. The illusion that most of us have on the content that can go on a digital platform has to be broken”.

    The panel discussion also concentrated on the discovery of content in various languages which is currently difficult. The players said they were collectively working on the challenge.

    One thing that all the panelists accepted was to keep innovating and experimenting with content.

    Anand spoke of how asked how she is facing a challenge from payment gateways as they are in English which majority of the Indians do not understand. “Even if there is a potential customer, he has to be guided to pay for my subscription and so.80 per cent of my potential subscribers cannot be captured.” She opined that all the players in the eco-system and various payment platforms have to think in this direction.

    But are there advertisers willing to get on board? Bajaj said that it is no more about ads but content. Selective content will attract specific advertisers.

    “Advertisers are squeamish to put money. We decide after evaluating how it will help the brand after a year. We are no more selling a product but brand through its content,” said Taneja.

    “We are not finicky about not putting ads on dittoTV. There is an ad replacement technology through which I can have two different ads on TV and digital for the same content,” added Anand.

    Jasani said the digital advertising pie is small as the major audience is not yet online. The consumers are not ready to pay for content but the fact that innumerable content creators are evolving cannot be sidelined. With both AVOD and SVOD having their own perks and challenges, there is no tangible answer that any player can provide currently.

    It is an exciting space where everyone is experimenting and innovating. The panel discussion concluded by citing that both the models will co-exist at least for 10 years down the line.

  • Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    MUMBAI: In today’s mobile-first-with-the-young-generation scenario, content creation, distribution and consumption is constantly evolving.

    Capturing the rapid emerging mood of innovation is Indiantelevision.com’s breakthrough conference, Vidnet 2016: Content on the Go which is to be held on 24 August at the swanky Westin Hotel in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Vidnet is a day-long congregation of the OTT ecosystem to discuss business models, tech trends, revenue streams, content creation and consumption patterns, success stories within the ecosystem and the way forward for its various constituents.

    The morning will begin with the Vidnet 2016 Summit, which will be followed / accompanied by a closed door VOD / OTT / broadcast CTO conference called Vidnet Tech.

    Vidnet Tech is chaired by Broadcast Media Consultant and Project Specialist, Vynsley Fernandes, Castle Media Pvt Ltd.

    Industry biggies and who’s who of the media and entertainment fraternity are set to attend the event in different capacities. Some confirmed attendees are Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama Digital, Uday Sodhi, Executive VP and Head, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network India, Abhimanyu Singh, CEO, Contiloe Entertainment, Ajay Chacko, Co-Founder, Arre, Archana Anand, Business Head, DittoTV, Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director, ISOBAR, Mahesh Narayan, Managing Director, Saavn, Salil Kapoor, Managing Director, Hooq India, Vivek Bhargava, MD & CEO, iProspect, Tushar Vyas, CSO, GroupM, Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder, Amagi, Gautam Mehra, Data Stack, Aparna Joshi, Radioandmusic.com.

    Vidnet will begin at 10.30 am with an introductory note by Anil Wanvari, CEO, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Indiantelevision.com Group.

    It will be followed by Presentation on OTT trends in the APAC Region by Vivek Couto, Media Partners Asia.

    The sessions and individual key notes will address holistically many pivotal issues and questions pertaining to the OTT and VOD ecosystem and usher new knowledge paradigms which will set industry trends in time to come.

    For full information on the agenda and list of speakers, visit http://vidnet.in/

    Speaking on the initiative, Anil Wanvari said: “There’s disruption in the video ecosystem, with viewers wanting to consume content wherever and on any device – at home or on the move. The industry has responded through independent or broadcaster affiliated on-demand offerings –either through an ad model or through subscription. Nobody knows what will work, what is needed to make it work and for how long. We hope that Vidnet – Content on the Go will help OTT players, content creators, advertisers, media buyers and planners, brands and the ad delivery measurement guys go a little further in their understanding of the way ahead.”

    In attendance will be major OTT players, individual content creators, advertising and media professionals, tech gurus, writers, journalists among others.

    Akamai is the CDN Partner for the event, Summit Partners include Hotstar and Voot, Elemental is Associate Partner and Amagi is Support Partner. Animationxpress.com, Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are Online Partners. The event is executed by ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    Vidnet 2016: India’s First Focused OTT Conference

    MUMBAI: In today’s mobile-first-with-the-young-generation scenario, content creation, distribution and consumption is constantly evolving.

    Capturing the rapid emerging mood of innovation is Indiantelevision.com’s breakthrough conference, Vidnet 2016: Content on the Go which is to be held on 24 August at the swanky Westin Hotel in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb.

    Indiantelevision.com’s Vidnet is a day-long congregation of the OTT ecosystem to discuss business models, tech trends, revenue streams, content creation and consumption patterns, success stories within the ecosystem and the way forward for its various constituents.

    The morning will begin with the Vidnet 2016 Summit, which will be followed / accompanied by a closed door VOD / OTT / broadcast CTO conference called Vidnet Tech.

    Vidnet Tech is chaired by Broadcast Media Consultant and Project Specialist, Vynsley Fernandes, Castle Media Pvt Ltd.

    Industry biggies and who’s who of the media and entertainment fraternity are set to attend the event in different capacities. Some confirmed attendees are Ajit Mohan, CEO, Hotstar, Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO, Hungama Digital, Uday Sodhi, Executive VP and Head, Digital Business, Sony Pictures Network India, Abhimanyu Singh, CEO, Contiloe Entertainment, Ajay Chacko, Co-Founder, Arre, Archana Anand, Business Head, DittoTV, Shamsuddin Jasani, Managing Director, ISOBAR, Mahesh Narayan, Managing Director, Saavn, Salil Kapoor, Managing Director, Hooq India, Vivek Bhargava, MD & CEO, iProspect, Tushar Vyas, CSO, GroupM, Baskar Subramanian, Co-founder, Amagi, Gautam Mehra, Data Stack, Aparna Joshi, Radioandmusic.com.

    Vidnet will begin at 10.30 am with an introductory note by Anil Wanvari, CEO, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Indiantelevision.com Group.

    It will be followed by Presentation on OTT trends in the APAC Region by Vivek Couto, Media Partners Asia.

    The sessions and individual key notes will address holistically many pivotal issues and questions pertaining to the OTT and VOD ecosystem and usher new knowledge paradigms which will set industry trends in time to come.

    For full information on the agenda and list of speakers, visit http://vidnet.in/

    Speaking on the initiative, Anil Wanvari said: “There’s disruption in the video ecosystem, with viewers wanting to consume content wherever and on any device – at home or on the move. The industry has responded through independent or broadcaster affiliated on-demand offerings –either through an ad model or through subscription. Nobody knows what will work, what is needed to make it work and for how long. We hope that Vidnet – Content on the Go will help OTT players, content creators, advertisers, media buyers and planners, brands and the ad delivery measurement guys go a little further in their understanding of the way ahead.”

    In attendance will be major OTT players, individual content creators, advertising and media professionals, tech gurus, writers, journalists among others.

    Akamai is the CDN Partner for the event, Summit Partners include Hotstar and Voot, Elemental is Associate Partner and Amagi is Support Partner. Animationxpress.com, Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are Online Partners. The event is executed by ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • Eighth NT Awards evening a roaring success

    Eighth NT Awards evening a roaring success

    It’s a night that the news industry will remember for a long time.

    The beautiful ballroom at The Lalit in New Delhi wore a dazzling look and excitement was in the air on 29 June 2016. The chandeliers above and mirrors reflected the gaiety of those in attendance: the who’s who of the Indian news television ecosystem. Cheers and applause broke out from time to time as peer and rival professionals went up on stage to receive their respective awards.

    The occasion: indiantelevision.com’s Eighth News Television Awards (NT Awards). CEOs, reporters, editors, tech executives and what have you all came out in droves to celebrate success and excellence for the work they put in while informing and entertaining their viewers daily.  Marathi, Hindi, English and Telugu channel reps all came together under one roof, forgetting deadlines and pressures of newsbreaks for a day, showing solidarity and unity at the extravaganza.

    The NT Awards 2016 received over 900 entries across 43 categories from more than 30 news channels operating in the space of English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. A stellar jury -consisting of senior print and television news professionals – completed the judging process recently.

    Price Waterhouse Coopers was the tabulator for the awards process.  

    The night of glory saw a packed house as over 100 awards in various categories were given by stalwarts from the fields of sports, politics, society and culture.

    Congratulating the winners, indiantelevision.com group founder & CEO Anil Wanvari said, “The news TV business in India is extremely vibrant and is evolving uniquely as compared to the rest of the world. We at indiantelevision.com have been responding to this evolution and are delighted to work with the industry and news veterans to recognise the best efforts that each of them is putting in. I trust our initiative will help raise the standards of the news industry talent further.”

    Some of the dignitaries present at the award function were Murli Manohar Joshi, Shashi Tharoor, Aroon Poorie, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sambit Patra, among others.

    Top domestic mobile handset maker Gionee was the title sponsor of indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards.  

    Commenting on the ceremony, Gionee India CEO & managing director Arvind R Vohra  stated, “The response to NT has been exceptional. Some of the most influential personalities of the country attended the night. I must congratulate Indiantelevision.com Group for putting up a great show. Looking forward to associate again next year.”

    indiantelevision.com group director (Revenue and Commercial) Anoop Wanvari said, “The NTs this year are bigger and better. It’s seen an immense growth in credibility and impact over the past eight years. We are glad to have Gionee as the title partner this year, taking the endeavour to even greater heights. We also would like to thank all our other support partners.”

    The evening saw around 500 guests – consisting of professionals from the TV news ecosystem – attend and cheer for the winners as they took away galores of prizes.

    Awards were given for the best in categories like crime shows, sports shows, technology, documentaries with limited episode, TV news presenter, TV news anchor, investigative feature, investigative news report, entertainment news show et al.

    Some of the big take aways for the night were Barkha Dutt-Best TV News Anchor (English), Ravish Kumar- Best TV News Anchor (Hindi), Rajeev Masand-Entertainment News Anchor, Harikrishna-TV News Presenter (Telugu), Vinayak Gaikwad- Best TV News Presenter (Marathi), ITV Editorial Special Award for TV News Presenter- Sudhir Chaudhary. Special Hall of Fame recognition went to Ashok Venkatramani of ABP NEWS.

    Click here for Full list of Winners:

    NT Awards 2016 was anchored by noted stand-up comedians Sorabh Pant and Angad Singh Ranyal, whose quips had everyone in splits throughout the evening.  

    The Spotlight Partners included CNNNEWS18, IBN7, Silver Partners ABP ASMITA, ABP LIVE, Akamai, Support Partners CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, TV9.Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com were the Online Media Partners. The event was executed and produced by indiantelevision.com’s ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • Eighth NT Awards evening a roaring success

    Eighth NT Awards evening a roaring success

    It’s a night that the news industry will remember for a long time.

    The beautiful ballroom at The Lalit in New Delhi wore a dazzling look and excitement was in the air on 29 June 2016. The chandeliers above and mirrors reflected the gaiety of those in attendance: the who’s who of the Indian news television ecosystem. Cheers and applause broke out from time to time as peer and rival professionals went up on stage to receive their respective awards.

    The occasion: indiantelevision.com’s Eighth News Television Awards (NT Awards). CEOs, reporters, editors, tech executives and what have you all came out in droves to celebrate success and excellence for the work they put in while informing and entertaining their viewers daily.  Marathi, Hindi, English and Telugu channel reps all came together under one roof, forgetting deadlines and pressures of newsbreaks for a day, showing solidarity and unity at the extravaganza.

    The NT Awards 2016 received over 900 entries across 43 categories from more than 30 news channels operating in the space of English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. A stellar jury -consisting of senior print and television news professionals – completed the judging process recently.

    Price Waterhouse Coopers was the tabulator for the awards process.  

    The night of glory saw a packed house as over 100 awards in various categories were given by stalwarts from the fields of sports, politics, society and culture.

    Congratulating the winners, indiantelevision.com group founder & CEO Anil Wanvari said, “The news TV business in India is extremely vibrant and is evolving uniquely as compared to the rest of the world. We at indiantelevision.com have been responding to this evolution and are delighted to work with the industry and news veterans to recognise the best efforts that each of them is putting in. I trust our initiative will help raise the standards of the news industry talent further.”

    Some of the dignitaries present at the award function were Murli Manohar Joshi, Shashi Tharoor, Aroon Poorie, Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sambit Patra, among others.

    Top domestic mobile handset maker Gionee was the title sponsor of indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards.  

    Commenting on the ceremony, Gionee India CEO & managing director Arvind R Vohra  stated, “The response to NT has been exceptional. Some of the most influential personalities of the country attended the night. I must congratulate Indiantelevision.com Group for putting up a great show. Looking forward to associate again next year.”

    indiantelevision.com group director (Revenue and Commercial) Anoop Wanvari said, “The NTs this year are bigger and better. It’s seen an immense growth in credibility and impact over the past eight years. We are glad to have Gionee as the title partner this year, taking the endeavour to even greater heights. We also would like to thank all our other support partners.”

    The evening saw around 500 guests – consisting of professionals from the TV news ecosystem – attend and cheer for the winners as they took away galores of prizes.

    Awards were given for the best in categories like crime shows, sports shows, technology, documentaries with limited episode, TV news presenter, TV news anchor, investigative feature, investigative news report, entertainment news show et al.

    Some of the big take aways for the night were Barkha Dutt-Best TV News Anchor (English), Ravish Kumar- Best TV News Anchor (Hindi), Rajeev Masand-Entertainment News Anchor, Harikrishna-TV News Presenter (Telugu), Vinayak Gaikwad- Best TV News Presenter (Marathi), ITV Editorial Special Award for TV News Presenter- Sudhir Chaudhary. Special Hall of Fame recognition went to Ashok Venkatramani of ABP NEWS.

    Click here for Full list of Winners:

    NT Awards 2016 was anchored by noted stand-up comedians Sorabh Pant and Angad Singh Ranyal, whose quips had everyone in splits throughout the evening.  

    The Spotlight Partners included CNNNEWS18, IBN7, Silver Partners ABP ASMITA, ABP LIVE, Akamai, Support Partners CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, TV9.Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com were the Online Media Partners. The event was executed and produced by indiantelevision.com’s ITV 2.0 Productions.

  • Countdown to the eighth ‘NT AWARDS’ speeds up!

    Countdown to the eighth ‘NT AWARDS’ speeds up!

    MUMBAI: It’s epic! And nothing could get bigger! There are less than 24 hours left for the eighth edition of biggest and most credible news television awards, indiantelevision.com’s News Television Awards to begin!

    The Who’s who and the movers & shakers of the Indian news television fraternity will assemble under one roof in New Delhi’s The Lalit on 29 June. The fabulous night will commence from 7pm onwards.

    The NT Awards 2016 received over 900 entries across 43 categories from more than 30 news channels operating in the space of English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. A stellar jury — consisting of senior print and television news professionals – completed the judging process recently. Price Waterhouse Coopers is the tabulator for the awards process. Top domestic mobile handset maker Gionee has come on board as title sponsor for indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards.

    “Over the years Indiantelevision.com’s NT Awards have emerged as ‘the memorable honour’ for those operating in the news television business. The judges are industry peers, and, we are the only ones that have taken this route for commemorating the truly vibrant Indian News Television ecosystem,” says Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO & editor in chief Anil Wanvari. “Our partnership with mobile manufacturer Gionee for the awards indicates the tremendous amount of respect the the company has for those operating in the news TV sector in an evolving scenario. The judging is over and we look forward to a fabulous evening with all the professionals from the news television business.”

    Owners, directors and CEOs’ of media companies and TV channels, politicians, editors, reporters, technicians, celebrities and sportsmen are expected to attend the function, which will be anchored by noted stand-up comedians Sorabh Pant and Angad Singh Ranyal.

    The Spotlight Partners include CNNNEWS18, IBN7, Silver Partners include ABP ASMITA, ABP LIVE, Akamai, Support Partners include CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, TV9. Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are the Online Media Partners. The event is executed and produced by indiantelevision.com’s ITV 2.0 Productions.

    So who will win the coveted Best Anchor Award, who will go home with Best The News Reporter recognition? For answers, stay logged on as we will update the winner list post the event. Till then, keep reading indiantelevision.com and as they say, all roads lead to the NT Awards!

  • Countdown to the eighth ‘NT AWARDS’ speeds up!

    Countdown to the eighth ‘NT AWARDS’ speeds up!

    MUMBAI: It’s epic! And nothing could get bigger! There are less than 24 hours left for the eighth edition of biggest and most credible news television awards, indiantelevision.com’s News Television Awards to begin!

    The Who’s who and the movers & shakers of the Indian news television fraternity will assemble under one roof in New Delhi’s The Lalit on 29 June. The fabulous night will commence from 7pm onwards.

    The NT Awards 2016 received over 900 entries across 43 categories from more than 30 news channels operating in the space of English, Hindi, Telugu and Marathi. A stellar jury — consisting of senior print and television news professionals – completed the judging process recently. Price Waterhouse Coopers is the tabulator for the awards process. Top domestic mobile handset maker Gionee has come on board as title sponsor for indiantelevision.com’s Eighth NT Awards.

    “Over the years Indiantelevision.com’s NT Awards have emerged as ‘the memorable honour’ for those operating in the news television business. The judges are industry peers, and, we are the only ones that have taken this route for commemorating the truly vibrant Indian News Television ecosystem,” says Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO & editor in chief Anil Wanvari. “Our partnership with mobile manufacturer Gionee for the awards indicates the tremendous amount of respect the the company has for those operating in the news TV sector in an evolving scenario. The judging is over and we look forward to a fabulous evening with all the professionals from the news television business.”

    Owners, directors and CEOs’ of media companies and TV channels, politicians, editors, reporters, technicians, celebrities and sportsmen are expected to attend the function, which will be anchored by noted stand-up comedians Sorabh Pant and Angad Singh Ranyal.

    The Spotlight Partners include CNNNEWS18, IBN7, Silver Partners include ABP ASMITA, ABP LIVE, Akamai, Support Partners include CNBC Awaaz, CNBC TV18, TV9. Tellychakkar.com and Radioandmusic.com are the Online Media Partners. The event is executed and produced by indiantelevision.com’s ITV 2.0 Productions.

    So who will win the coveted Best Anchor Award, who will go home with Best The News Reporter recognition? For answers, stay logged on as we will update the winner list post the event. Till then, keep reading indiantelevision.com and as they say, all roads lead to the NT Awards!