ITV

Tag: Arnab Goswami

  • Arnab to start ‘original VR journalism’ on Republic World

    MUMBAI: For the first-ever time in India, Republic TV is all set to launch VR television next week. This was announced at Zee Melt, one of the biggest festival for disruptive marketing and communications under way at Mumbai.

    Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami said that VR will have a separate and original feed on Republic World digital platform.

    “We have got cameras, we have studios and we are shooting in VR. It will be available on all native devices and will take us to a new level — it is going to be principally journalism,” Goswami said.

    “It will come to you free of cost but you will have to use your VR gear,” he added. Republic World has tied up with American and Canadian companies on the technology front, he said.

    Virtual Reality (VR) is the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors.

    Is VR really how we will all watch TV in years to come? At an earlier media industry’s annual meet in Cannes, VR was discussed as the next mass medium that will take TV to a new level.

    Films such as The Lawnmower Man and The Matrix, as well as books such as Ready Player One presented visions of technology whereby strapping on a VR headset enabled people to explore virtual, computer-generated worlds, the Guardian had reported.

    In 2017, these cultural highs are fresh in mind for the television industry, as it tries to understand whether real-life headsets can be used to deliver new forms of documentary, drama, and storytelling.

    Several attempts to make VR a real-world success had failed. The release of a new-generation VR headsets, however, from Sony, HTC, Google, Samsung, and Facebook-owned Oculus VR has brought the technology back to prominence.

    At MIPTV industry conference in Cannes, VR was a major theme for producers, broadcasters and tech companies alike. HTC’s Rikard Steiber had said that VR, the new computing platform, was going to be the next mass medium.

    VR is however far less popular than apps. YouTube has over a billion monthly viewers and Instagram has over 600 million. VR experts however agree that only around 20 million headsets have been sold, including fewer than two million of the “tethered” devices, which require a connection to a powerful computer.

    Republic TV COO Jay Chauhan said: “Virtual Reality is the first of our initiatives to bring new content experiences to the audience. It’s a cool way of storytelling because it transports people right to where the action is – no barriers stand in the way. Besides it also opens up new monetisation opportunities for us.”

    He further added, “The VR content will be available on RepublicWorld.com, as a new stream and the company’s newly-constituted VR Cell built in collaboration with experts from across the globe will begin rolling out amazing VR content in the weeks ahead.”

  • Republic TV files contempt petition against Times Group

    NEW DELHI: The Republic TV–Times Now war took yet another turn with Arnab Goswami’s channel filing a contempt petition against the Times Group alleging violation of court orders in the ongoing civil suit.

    Earlier, in the case by Bennett Coleman Company Ltd (owner of Times Now Channel) against Republic TV and Goswami alleging theft and infringement of intellectual property, Justice Manmohan had on 26 May passed an order restraining both the channels from broadcasting or publishing the day-to-day proceedings of the case. They were only allowed to reproduce the court order.

    However, Republic TV has alleged in the contempt petition that BCCL have published an article in their newspaper Times of India pertaining to the proceedings of the case. The same has been circulated through their website as well.

    The Court had directed BCCL to publish the order in question in their newspaper within three days. However, an irked Justice Manmohan observed that both the parties should bring down the temperature. He said, “There is scope for everyone in this profession.”

    Referring to Republic TV, he observed: “The more people attack you, the more publicity you will get.”

    The petition says the article gave the impression that BCCL secured some relief from the Court. The petition also states that Times had maligned Republic, “…by publishing coloured information pertaining to the sub judice proceedings, giving the general public at large the impression that the Court had issued favourable orders to the detriment of the petitioner, with the intention of maligning and tarnishing his image. This was in spite of the express observation of this Court that BCCL had brought no document on record to show that the impugned audio tapes were part of their data base.”

    Appearing for the Times Group, senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar expressing regret submitted that the publishing of the said article was an error and happened due to a communication gap.

    Republic TV has now asked the high court to restrain the Times Group from reporting the case till the disposal of the suit. It has also sought a direction to make the alleged contemnors publish an article in ToI, “apologising for deliberately misreporting and misleading the general public about the outcome of the proceedings…” It has also asked for exemplary costs in its favour.

    The Republic TV petition was filed by Phoenix Legal, through Partners Saket Shukla, Mrinal Ojha, Trinath Tadakamalla and Debarshi Dutta.

  • Delhi HC notice to Goswami, asks for avoiding rhetoric in Tharoor-Sunanda story

    NEW DELHI: Even as it asked him to avoid rhetoric in his reports, the Delhi High Court today issued notice to Republic TV and Arnab Goswami over the Congress leader Shashi Tharoor’s defamation plea.

    Fixing the next date of hearing to 16 August, Justice Manmohan observed: “Bring down the rhetoric. You can put out your story. You can put out the facts. You cannot call him names. That is uncalled for.”

    Lok Sabha MP Tharoor had filed a civil defamation suit late last week against Goswami and the TV channel, seeking damages and compensation of Rs 20 million for allegedly making defamatory remarks against him during a news broadcast related to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar.

    The lawsuit filed through advocates Muhammad Ali Khan and Gaurav Gupta claimed that the recordings were released in a sensational manner and created a ‘non-existing controversy’ by maligning Tharoor’s public life and image.

    The petition said, “It is not out of place to say that Goswami and the TV channel broadcast news reports and ‘alleged expose’ which were intended to lead the viewers to believe that the deceased was murdered either by Tharoor or at his instance. Such a broadcast ‘clearly has the potential of adversely impacting the ongoing investigation into the death of the deceased’,” the plea said.

    Tharoor said Goswami had earlier aired similar news when he was the editor-in-chief with another TV news channel (Times Now), which was restrained by the National Broadcasting Standards Authority.

    The Congress MP also said the police was investigating the matter and had also registered an FIR. “It is pertinent to mention that the Delhi Police took statements from a number of people, including him,” the suit said. It also stated that during the probe not a single allegation has been made by the investigating authorities against the MP.

  • Times Now gives its POV on Republic TV IPR case

    MUMBAI: Now, it’s the turn of Bennet Coleman & Co to give its perspective on the civil case it has filed in the Delhi High Court against ARG Outlier Media, the company that runs Republic TV.

    Sources at Times Now state that Justice Manmohan was of the view that the employment agreement between the parties would have to be upheld and the defendants (read Arnab Goswami and Prema Sridevi) cannot be permitted to breach that. The lawyers for the defendants stated that the ex-employees have no intention of violating the same. The judge took this statement on record.

    This came as a huge relief for it, says the Times group, as it has been wary of misappropriation and violation of its IPR by Arnab and his company and that confidential information should not be disclosed.

    The court, while admitting the matter against Arnab and his company, granted them six weeks’ time to file their written statement in the matter.

  • Shashi Tharoor files defamation case against Arnab Goswami’s Republic

    NEW DELHI:On Friday, the Delhi High Court gave some relief to Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami in a case of IPR theft filed by Times of India group, but was petitioned by Congress leader and Thiruvanthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor who filed a defamation case against Goswami and his Republic.

    Tharoor in the petition has claimed from Goswami damages and compensation of Rs 20 million (Rs 2 crore) for allegedly making defamatory remarks towards him while airing news on Republic TV relating to the death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar. The case would be taken up on Monday.      

    According to a PTI report, Tharoor has also sought a direction from the high court to restrain the TV channel from broadcasting any show relating to the death of his wife till the investigation is completed by the Delhi Police.

    While the news was broken by a TV news channel, Tharoor used the channel’s tweet on the development to confirm by tweeting: “Pleased to confirm this story. We filed today in Delhi High Court. Had enough of his campaign of calumny.”

    The Congress leader, in his lawsuit, has made Goswami and Arg Outlier Media- Asianet News Private Limited, the company which owns Republic TV, as parties. The petition referred to the broadcasting of news items from 8 to 13 May 2017 when the TV channel claimed to air an expose connected to the death of Pushkar, PTI reported.

    “It is not out of place to say that defendants (Goswami and TV channel) broadcast news reports and alleged expose’ which were intended to lead the viewers to believe that the deceased was murdered either by plaintiff (Tharoor) or at the instance of the plaintiff.  Such a broadcast clearly has the potential of adversely impacting the ongoing investigation into the death of the deceased,” PTI quoted sections of the plea in the high court.

    However, Goswami seemed to remain unfazed on Friday. Via Republic TV’s Twitter handle he sent across his message on the civil defamation case to the world.

    “The people of India know that Sunanda Pushkar was murdered and Republic TV has a right to investigate the case,” Goswami said in a tweet, adding in another emphatically: “Determined to pursue the truth in the Sunanda Pushkar murder case, despite Tharoor’s attempts to block us.”  

    Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in a suite of a five star hotel in south Delhi under mysterious circumstances on the night of 17 January, 2014.

    ALSO READ:

    Delhi HC refuses to entertain injunction sought by Times group against Republic TV

    Delhi HC notice to Arnab Goswami on ‘theft’ suit by Times group

  • India Today gives its POV on Republic TV writ petition

    MUMBAI: TV Today which runs a clutch of channels, including the English language news channel India Today, announced that it has withdrawn its petition in the Delhi high court against the Arnab Goswami-led Republic TV.

    In a note sent out to the media, the network said that Republic TV had assured the Delhi high court that it does not do multiple placement of its channels in different genres in response to India Today’s writ petition in the capital’s High court naming Republic TV, the ministry of information & broadcasting, TRAI and BARC as respondents a week ago.

    Based on that assurance, and the fact that TRAI is investigating channels allegedly doing multiple placements, India Today, says it decided to withdraw its petition.

    India Today has further stated in the note that “anything to the contrary suggested by Republic TV is a patent distortion and misrepresentation of the Delhi High Court order.”

  • Delhi HC notice to Arnab Goswami on ‘theft’ suit by Times group

    NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court, which had earlier issued summons, has now issued a notice to Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami in a case filed against him by former employer Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL), owners of Times Now news channel. The complainant had alleged breach of employment contract and misusing intellectual property belonging to BCCL.

    Goswami and his colleague Prema Sridevi, who was also in Times Now, are accused of having played audio tapes during a story on the mysterious death of Congress Party member and MP Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda Pushkar. Times Now claims the audio tapes were its property. This development has been reported by legal news portal Live Law.

    BCCL has alleged the Sunanda Pushkar tapes and those played out during a story done by Republic TV on its debut day on Lalu Prasad were ‘procured and accessed’ by Goswami and Sridevi while they were employed by Times Now.

    While the court observed that an employee has to maintain confidentiality and utmost fidelity towards his employer and they cannot breach contract, it said that since the Times Group hasn’t submitted anything on record to prove that the audio recordings used by Goswami were parts of its database, it has only issued a short notice.

    Earlier, the court had issued summons to Goswami, Sridevi and the ARG Outlier Media Private Limited, the company that owns Republic TV, in the matter.

    ALSO READ:

    IPR case: HC issues summons to Republic TV, hearing on 26 May

  • News channel controversy: BARC India fires riposte to NBA

    MUMBAI: The muck is flying thick and fast in the English news channel genre. Yesterday, the English news channel members of the News Broadcasters Association decided to pull out of the Broadcast Audience Research Council’s (BARC) viewership monitoring by removing its watermark from their channels. This followed the BARC’s decision to release data for week 19 despite the NBA urging it not to do so as debutante the Arnab Goswami headed Republic TV had resorted to dual and multiple LCN placement of the channel to pump up its viewership.
    The net result: Republic TV emerged as the leader in the genre beating back old time vets such as Times Now, India Today, NDTV 24×7, NewsX and CNN News 18.

    A short while ago, BARC issued a clarification to indiantelevision.com stating that multiple LCN placement is rampant in the news television industry and nobody can call the kettle black. Said it in a statement:

    “The fact is that this is a common distribution strategy among various TV channels, particularly News Broadcasters, to place their channels on multiple LCNs and across genres in the past, and they continue to do so even now.

    Based on information collected from various monitoring agencies we have seen that multiple English news channels on different occasions have placed themselves on multiple LCNs viz across 64 distribution networks during rebranding/revamp, across 16 networks during budget coverage, across 12 networks during UP elections etc. It has become a usual practice.”

    “We have a transparent policy on the matter of measuring channels, (which is available on our website http://bit.ly/2dllmIp). This policy has been consistently applied to all channels who subscribe to our measurement.

    “We are clear about our position – we measure viewership of channels basis their unique Watermark ID, irrespective of the platform the channel is available on or the number of instances within the platform. For channels having same watermark on more than one LCN, viewership gets aggregated and reported as a single channel and not multiple channels. BARC India neither monitors channel placements across the various DTH platforms/cable head-ends in the country, nor does it have the mandate to do so.

    “In the past, we have measured multiple LCN instances of channels as per our policy, and reported them as one channel and the same principle has been applied to our data released yesterday. BARC India is not the regulatory body for resolving issues concerning multiplicity of LCNs for a channel.

    “Ideally these issues should be sorted among broadcasters themselves rather than dragging BARC India into these.

    BARC India will continue to measure what India watches.”

  • IPR case: HC issues summons to Republic TV, hearing on 26 May

    MUMBAI: “Times Now” Channel owner Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), owner of, on Thursday, filed a suit against Arnab Goswami’s “Republic TV” in the Delhi High Court for infringement of intellectual property and violation of contract of employment. After a hearing, the matter was scheduled for next hearing on 26 May.

    The court however questioned BCCL as to why, for over two years, they had not telecast these stories themselves even though they had the information, now allegedly used by Republic TV. Justice Manmohan stated that these stories were of national interest and public disclosure of such stories was important, Bar and Bench reported.

    BCCL said that Arnab and his team were using intellectual property at Republic TV, which they had acquired during the course of their employment with Times Now. BCCL showed the court a few clippings of “Republic TV” telecast regarding the circumstances of Sunanda Pushkar’s death.

    BCCL advocate Rajiv Nayyar stated that Republic TV must not act contrary to the clauses of the contract of employment. He also mentioned that BCCL had already filed a police complaint in Mumbai under sections 378, 379, 403, 405, with sections 406, 409, 411, 414 and 418 of the IPC, besides Section 66-B, 72 and 72-A of the IT Act, alleging theft, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of property and infringement of intellectual property.

    High Court justice Manmohan issued summons to the defendants Republic TV and observed that it was well settled that an employee had to maintain confidentiality after he left the employment. He also observed that misuse and misappropriation of trade information would amount to infringement.

    However, stating that it was a preliminary stage, and he could not proceed against Republic TV without hearing them, Justice Manmohan questioned BCCL as to why they had not given a notice to Republic TV before marching to court. He also observed that the evidence produced before the court was insufficient, the Bar and Bench report added.

    Justice Manmohan maintained that if it was proved later that there was a misuse of data by Republic TV, appropriate relief would be granted.

  • “The NBA is a toothless group,” says Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami

    MUMBAI: “You are speaking to Arnab Goswami” his voice rose a few decibels as he chose to use a tactic that he has deployed on his TV debate shows time and again – in a bid to intimidate the one asking the question. The fact is that when Arnab is under the spotlight and he does not want to answer, he resorts to every trick in the book – and out of it, to get out of an uncomfortable spot/question.

    We are at the Republic TV office in central Mumbai and Arnab has invited you for a tete a tete. When Arnab invites you, you of course go. You expect a juicy quote/s or copy which will jump out of your pages and suck the reader into his soliloquy. Like he does during his debates where he cuts down the powers that be to size, and pumps up others to larger than life.

    Before reaching the venue, one wondered if it were going to be a party and the spelling out of Republic TV’s strategy, going forward — it was neither. Did he want to reply to Times Group through the media? Probably, yes. One was promised a one-on-one with the man, but for the second time in 10 days that did not happen; the entire trade journalists pack was in attendance, whom Arnab has chosen to give audience

    Despite this, the bespectacled geek-looking-journalist-turned-news celebrity did not disappoint once again.

    Arnab’s quick repartee to allegations of copyright theft and violation by Times Now is that Prema Sridevi had recorded the Lalu-Shahabuddin etc. conversations on her private phone during the period of employment with Times Now. His logic is that a reporter can cross over channels smoothly without having to stand scrutiny of copyright violation or unethical behaviour so long s/he is pursuing journalism.

    On pointing out that a journalist is a nobody until s/he is associated with an accredited media house, Goswami diverted the topic to lack of courage in the rival channel — Times Now to do stories/expose on the basis of the tapes they had.

    “Did Times Now have an arrangement with Lalu or Shahabuddin?,” he asked his voice booming. He claimed he was then under pressure from the Times management to refrain from exposing the neta-gangster nexus.

    “My editorial independence was infringed upon (at Times Now),” he claimed while discarding Times Now’s new plans (Mirrow Now), strategies and lack of good stories.

    Playing victim to the T. He stated that: “They have sent me a legal notice not to use the name — “Arnab Goswami’s Newshour” on Republic TV — I can show you the papers,” which he did not. He said the group has not paid former Times (now Republic) journalists their pending salaries and provident fund.

    “My team is being harassed,” he says.

    Arnab said that he was open and willing to have a joint press conference with Vineet Jain, wherein he may be forced to disclose some facts and practices at the Times Group.

    On allegations that he resorted to alleged illegal distribution tactics to get the viewership spike for his channel, Arnab informed that Republic TV’s viewership was evenly distributed throughout the country. “It was 40-45-50% throughout the day, and hiked to 60% during prime time,” Goswami said.

    Generally appreciative of his incredible team, Goswami especially lauded his distribution executive Priya Mukherjee, who now seems to be set for a significant promotion.

    And he was very acerbic about the role that the News Broadcasters Association is playing today. The NBA had written to BARC India not to publish the new channel’s data until it’s cleared of wrongdoing on allegations of multiple feeds (LCNs).

    Arnab, however, discounts the importance of the NBA, calling it a “cabal. It’s a toothless body now used for lobbying and run by four or five people,” he exclaimed. (At the time of the press conference he probably had no idea that the English TV news channel members of the NBA had taken a decision to back out of being monitored by BARC; leaving Republic TV as the only Indian English TV news channel being monitored for viewership. So this topic was not broached at all.)

    Arnab , who doesn’t even remember applying for membership, says. “I was the one who discussed with Harish Salve the draft of NBA rules and regulations during its formation,” he says.

    Refusing to be drawn into a pro-establishment discussion, he said Republic TV was the only media company whose shareholding pattern was in the public domain. Before the media persons could ask any more questions, Goswami left for his on-air session, promising to be back to take questions in between sessions. He did not return.