ITV

Tag: Broadcast

  • Here’s why news genre works for advertisers

    Here’s why news genre works for advertisers

    NEW DELHI: Covid2019 impacted brands across the board and as a result, ad volumes on television also took a hit. At that point, businesses were forced to realign their advertising budgets with an eye on future projections. However, advertising is once again on a roll and there is a year-on-year growth in ad volumes across some product categories. 

    In a session titled – ‘Advertising on News’ at Indiantelevision.com’s News Television Summit, co-powered by TVU Networks, eminent advertisers and agency heads conferred on the importance of news genre in a media plan for a CMO. They discussed why advertisers continue to reach out to their audiences via the news space. The panellists included FBB, Future Group CMO Prachi Mohapatra, Policy Bazaar head of brand marketing Samir Sethi, Wavemaker CEO – south Asia Ajay Gupte, Essence SVP & MD – India Anand Chakravarthy, ITV group CEO Varun Kohli. It was moderated by E&Y partner M&E Ashish Pherwani.

    Pherwani started off by asking Mohapatra how the brand looks at news genre and why they advertise on it. “We have been actively using this platform for a long time. I think it’s not a new category for us. For our campaigns, we have given our due respect to this genre as one of the highest reach provider for us. We are a young brand and reach out to the right kind of customer segment and news has worked for us. We have seen results,” said Mohapatra.

    She further added that the brand has been able to use both FCT and non-FCT space effectively. “It’s not about platform anymore but the content that you are associating with it. Of course it became a very pertinent place for us in the pre-Covid time but post-Covid it has definitely skewed a little more towards the digital platform but news is right up there for us,” explained Mohapatra.

    Echoing the sentiment, Sethi stated that news is the anchor genre on which Policy Bazaar advertises throughout the year. “News takes approximately one third of our TV spends. During the slump of Covid, when most categories were pulling out of their advertising plan, we were extremely bullish because insurance was one of the categories that were positively impacted by the pandemic. So, during the slump as well when the overall ad volumes were down, our share of voice also increased without spending extra on that. And we will continue to be extremely bullish on news because insurance is an extremely male dominated category in terms of shoppers and the audiences we find there is very relevant.”

    Next, Pherwani asked for the panellists’ take on the impact of the impending legislation on ad-cap in the news genre. Kohli shared his view that Covid2019 was a blessing for news channels in the sense that since people were not very clear whether the information in the digital space was right or not, they came back to the news channels.  Many channels also reinvented themselves during this period and that is why the reach of the genre went up considerably. “It is the cheapest way to reach out to the audience because it is FTA. I do not see the legislation happening for news cap on news channels in the next two-three years,” he added.

    But what do agencies think about advertising on news genre? To answer this question, Pherwani turned to Gupte from Wavemaker and Chakravarthy from Essence.

    Gupte shared that rates are effectively a function of viewership. “If you put more ads in a break, the viewership tends to drop in the middle of it, but if you shorten the break, the viewership is a lot higher, there is higher TVRs and eventually one gets better rates.”

    Chakravarthy pointed out that three Cs – clutter, context and cost – determine whether the platform is going to do a good job for the client or not. “Today on FTA channels we see advertisers ranging from all kinds of products – from high end cars to the ones speaking to the last mile audiences. I believe that context will be important because there are advertisers who for the right value of the right audiences will be willing to pay a premium price,” he said.

    He went on to add that people are not on news channels to watch advertising and a 15 minute ad-break will be too long because people will switch off and move to another genre; plus there is also the ever-present distraction of the smartphone. “So, I think it is important that our advertising environment becomes consumer friendly. Yes, consumers want ads but how much advertising and how you place it and what kind of breaks you have is very critical to give the right kind of experiences and value to the entire ecosystem,” concluded Chakravarthy.

  • MK Anand asserts that advertisers are reposing faith in news channels

    MK Anand asserts that advertisers are reposing faith in news channels

    NEW DELHI: Times Network MD and CEO M K Anand believes the TRP scandal couldn’t have come at a better time. In a virtual fireside chat with indiantelevision.com’s founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari during the NT Awards 2020 Summit powered by TVU Networks, Anand said the incident has given the TV news industry a time to pause to step back and evaluate itself. And the events that followed in light of the probe have presented a great opportunity for the entire system to put its house in order.

    “From what I’ve seen in the last four years, fixing the back-end of the measurement mechanism is required. BARC CEO Sunil Lulla has been trying to bring a lot of sense to the process.He has been continuously improving it. But whether it is inside BARC or outside, there are people who break ranks and resort to corrupt means. We have seen them use shortcuts to get to the numbers and that is not acceptable,” he said.

    Anand stressed the need to have legal remedies to deal with instances of tampering or malpractice. The Mumbai police’s investigation and action against those caught in the TRP racket was an unprecedented move, which should serve as a deterrent to wrongdoers."It is now a criminal offence to tamper with the ratings," he said. "In several instances in the past, when we wanted to register a complaint with the police, it was not possible. Hence it is good that it was registered as a police complaint for whatever reason."

    But if we were to dive deeper, what precipitated this problem in the first place?

    Gamification, coupled with a flux in the market, are major factors that contributed to the "TRP race," said Anand.

    "A brand is built over a period of time with activities, groundwork, standing up for causes. But new players don't have the luxury of quarters and years that established brands – like Times Now or Aaj Tak – have. They try to break into the noticeable set by getting the numbers. It’s easier to use numbers to make the argument that they’re as good," he explained.

    Read more news on Times Network

    The current break in measuring TRPs for news channels, while a welcome decision by BARC, is not on account of content quality, claimed Anand. “Had the TRP scam not been unearthed, there wouldn’t have been a break. I wouldn’t connect the two. A player like us hasn’t been besotted with ratings from a time spent viewing (TSV)  point of view.”

    He illustrated how, when the network lost its “prime asset” in 2016-17, that being the News Hour host Arnab Goswami, it dealt with that huge loss and managed to reach its current position in the market.

    “We have never, ever been time-spent focused, we have always gone the 'reach' route. We are content-focused and responsible to the viewers,” he added.

    Consequently, Times Now has not peddled the kind of lower end content that the industry, in general, is currently being ridiculed for, Anand stated. However, he went on to assert, it’s not fair to tar all journalists and reporters with the same brush, and social media is responsible for propagating this herd mentality.

    “Technology-empowered idiots are now dissing the experts in all fields. Same applies to journalism. People are coming onto social media with half-baked views and opinions and making the journalists out to be idiots. They get trolled by idiots sitting in an echo chamber – because that’s what social media is,” he said.

    But journalists should take heart. Smart reporters shouldn’t get directed by social media, they should just do what they’re good at, not pay attention to the noise, and they will enjoy the work, directed Anand.

    He pointed out that October advertising revenue numbers for his news channels and for those his industry colleagues are running are bouncing back. This despite the fact that the ratings are not being dished out. "Year to year the numbers are up clearly showing advertisers are reposing their faith in the category of news channels."

  • Viacom18 ropes in Network18’s Rajesh Iyer

    Viacom18 ropes in Network18’s Rajesh Iyer

    NEW DELHI: Viacom18 has appointed Rajesh Iyer to take on independent charge of Colors' regional portfolio of Bangla, Odia, Tamil and Gujarati.

    Network18 MD Rahul Joshi, said: “Regional broadcast entertainment is a key pillar in our endeavour to chart out a high-growth path for Viacom18. India is witnessing an unprecedented boom in the segment and agility is the need of the hour to get to leadership positions in our existing regional markets. With his years of leadership experience across TV and digital ecosystems, Rajesh is ably poised to take on the challenges presented by the genre and successfully grow the business.”

    Iyer joined Network18 in March 2019 and has worked closely with the leadership team to spearhead new initiatives. Prior to this and as part of the broadcast leadership team at ZEEL, Rajesh successfully launched its second GEC ‘&TV’ in 2015. He is no stranger to Viacom18, having served the organisation for six years when he led the marketing portfolio of the network’s flagship GEC Colors. He has also worked with Star, YuppTV and Ambience Publicis/Ogilvy & Mather.

    Ravish Kumar will continue to lead the network’s regional broadcast forays in Kannada and Marathi. Both Rajesh and Ravish will work closely to grow the regional broadcast footprint of Viacom18.

  • Pawan Soni quits National Geographic

    Pawan Soni quits National Geographic

    NEW DELHI: Pawan Soni, VP, head of programming & marketing has moved on from National Geographic. 

    At Nat Geo, Soni was responsible for overall P&L and building the network's content and marketing strategy along with overall business affairs. He spearheaded many campaigns involving various ministries dealing with central and state-level ministers while managing political sensitivities. He identified opportunities, led and built teams, improved business process flows and supervised daily operations.

    Prior to that, Soni was AVP at Fox International Channel, followed by a two year run as commercial head at Fox Networks Group Asia. He spent over 9 years at the group.

    Prior to joining Fox Channels, he worked with J Walter Thompson and Promodome Communications in his 15 year-long career.

  • Editors Guild cautions Republic TV to not compromise on safety of journalists

    Editors Guild cautions Republic TV to not compromise on safety of journalists

    NEW DELHI: ARG Outlier Media owned Republic TV and its founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami have been in the eye of a storm lately. Starting with the channel’s coverage of the Sushant Singh Rajput case to the recently unearthed TRP scam, Republic and its top honchos have been caught up in multiple accusations, FIRs, lawsuits and what not.

    Amid such a situation, the Editors Guild of India (EDI), a statutory body comprising of India’s leading current and former editors and journalists, has issued a statement expressing its concern at “the unedifying spectacle of hundreds of FIRs being filed against the journalists of Republic TV, which is under probe for allegedly manipulating the TRPs and spreading discontent against the Mumbai police.”

    EDI also urged the channel to behave responsibly and not compromise “the safety of its journalists”.  Stating that the body does not wish to influence the probe, it however called for an immediate end to the victimisation of journalists in the fraternity.

    The statement further referred to the case of late Sushant Singh Rajput and mentioned that the Right to Speech does not mean that one can spread ‘hate speech’.  Referring to the standoff between the Mumbai Police and TV channels, it said there is a need to maintain a balance between media freedom and the imperative to reside within the rule of law. “Republic TV’s high strung conduct during the unfortunate demise of the film actor also raises issues about media credibility and limits to reporting.”

    Read our coverage of the TRP scandal

    The guild went on to question the channels’ modus operandi of investigative journalism by bringing up the Bombay high court’s rejoinder – “Is this part of investigative journalism? Asking the public about their opinion on who should be arrested?”

    The body even went on to point to a channel (Republic TV in this case) to behave responsibly and not compromise on the safety of its journalists as well as hurt the credibility of the media.

    Mumbai police unearthed the TRP scam on 8 October and since then Republic TV and the law enforcement authorities have been at the loggerheads. They have repeatedly engaged in mud-slinging at each other and have even filed defamation suits against each other. The scam was uncovered earlier in October when the Broadcast Audience Research Council filed a complaint through Hansa Research Group, alleging that certain television channels were rigging TRP numbers.

     

     

    So far, the police has arrested several people in connection with the TRP scam including the owners of several channels – Box Cinema and Marathi channel Fakt Marathi.

  • Bombay High Court stays BARC order against India Today

    Bombay High Court stays BARC order against India Today

    NEW DELHI: The TRP manipulation row has embroiled several parties including news broadcasters, research agencies and police authorities. The row is getting murkier as it goes along.

    Last week, the Bombay high court stayed an order passed by BARC disciplinary committee and directed BARC India not to take any coercive action against India Today Group subject to a deposit of Rs 5 lakh with the court. Now, after various sections of news media purportedly misreported facts in the case, India Today has issued a clarification.

    Referring to the plea it filed against the BARC order, TV Today said in a statement, “The petition filed challenges an order passed by the BARC disciplinary committee on the grounds that it was without an appropriate quorum and without presenting evidence, among other criteria. The court has stayed the order and directed that no coercive action be taken subject to a deposit of 5 lakh with the court– and not with BARC– and without prejudice to our rights.”

    The media house pointed out the misinterpretation of the court order by several news outlets that TV Today must pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh to BARC. “It is unfortunate that certain sections of the media are misreporting the reasons for TV Today approaching the Bombay high court against BARC,” it said.

    The network also clarified that the Hansa report has nothing to do with the case filed by it against BARC. “Similarly, any mention of TV Today's name in the Hansa report is something we are completely unaware of. We are not privy to any such information, and neither has BARC informed us of the report.”

    The TRP manipulation scam was unearthed by the Mumbai police on 8 October. Since then, several news broadcasters have been reeled into the controversy surrounding the matter. Charges and allegations have freely flown and a string of law suits and FIRs have been filed, with no end seemingly in sight.

  • Digital expansion is beneficial for broadcast industry: Deepak Segal

    Digital expansion is beneficial for broadcast industry: Deepak Segal

    MUMBAI: Deepak Segal has over three decades experience in the film and television industry. His repertoire of work includes key positions to drive content strategy across media giants like Fox Television Studio India, Sahara Motion Pictures, Star India and Star Plus. Now, as head of content at Applause Entertainment, Deepak Segal drives the studio’s vision of building a content hub that tells great stories across mediums, catering to millions.

    Apart from creating good content, Segal is extremely passionate about aeroplanes. In fact, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of aircraft – be they World War II fighters or more modern airplanes. Segal was in the air force before he ventured into the broadcast industry. As the son of prolific Bollywood director Mohan Sehgal (who launched Rekha in Sawan Bhadon), he had film-making in his veins, and eventually decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.

    With Applause Entertainment riding high on the success of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Segal spent some time with Indiantelevision.com’s Shikha Singh, sharing his thoughts on OTT content and the broadcast industry, how it has evolved, and much more.

    Excerpts from the interview:

    On handling Covid2019:

    The Covid2019 pandemic is disrupting every industry. Due to the lockdown we stopped filming Criminal Justice. We have restarted the shoot 15 days back by strictly adhering to all the protocols laid down by the government. The pandemic has slowed down the overall process. We coordinated post production work over Zoom calls. The editing and soundtrack was completed remotely.

    For Scam 1992, we had barely finished the shooting when the virus struck; all the additional work like audio, soundtrack, visual effects and sound design happened during the lockdown. The team that was working on it stepped up during this new norm and we delivered the story in record time. The Applause Entertainment and SonyLiv teams did a brilliant job to make it happen.

    On the studio’s content strategy:

    At Applause Entertainment, we made a conscious decision to invest in creative content rather than make a pilot, develop concept around it and commission it. We have put all our creative and financial minds to make it work. Also, it is like a new way of working in the industry where you get the confidence in the platform as they are investing huge money into it. Now, we are in a position to partner with OTT platforms for scripted shows. In a way, you have proved to them that you can create a premium drama that India requires. So far we have 15 shows on air and it has worked for us in many ways. We are also in the process of developing the Indian version of the super hit British psychological drama series Luther. Currently, we are in the writing process. We are also developing The Seeker, it’s a bigger project than we’re used to and we are working with international writers for this.

    On upcoming original series Call My Agent:

    Call My Agent is the Indian adaptation of French workplace comedy Dix Pour Cent (Call My Agent), originally created by Fanny Herrero and showrunner Cedric Klapisch and represented by TF1 Studio and France TV Distribution. Narrated through the POV of four high-profile agents of celebrities, Call My Agent will tell the behind-the-scenes stories of the magic and the madness that keeps the star system running. Fragile egos, manipulation, shenanigans and insecurities come to the fore as the agents traverse the world of glitz and glamour. The series stars Rajat Kapoor, Soni Razdan, Aahana Kumra and Ayush Mehra and each episode will feature real-life celebrities who play a fun and exaggerated version of themselves. After having directed several films across genres featuring A-listers, Shaad Ali has decided to helm this project and leap into the world of premium drama storytelling. As far as the acquisition is concerned, we get formats from all sorts of markets. Acquiring an international series and adapting it to the taste of Indian audiences is also challenging. The show is set to go on the floors late October.

    On the challenges of adapting foreign IP:

    OTT has created a new set of audience that is looking for premium content. A lot of people have graduated from viewing daily soaps.

    While adapting international shows, you need to conceptualise it a little longer. The scale at which international content is filmed is very different from our scale. Every show has its own challenges. We need to adapt the characters and make it more relatable to Indian audiences. Apart from the main characters we also need to keep minute details in consideration like background, language and people. References have to be appropriate. A lot of things depend on the writing. The challenge is to make the script resonate with viewers by adding local elements. Our primary objective is to stick to the original story line. We want the story to travel across India, which is why understanding the universality of the story is crucial. 

    On the original vs adaptation conundrum:

    From the beginning we have been creating original shows. It is not like we only do adaptations, it is generally a mix of both. Undekhi, Avrodh and many other shows were original. Even when you buy the rights to a book and adapt it, you need to build the characters first and make the storyline impactful.  

    On collaborating with Banijay Asia:

    Banijay is the producer of the show Call My Agent. We are the studio and they are the producer. We have worked with them on Hostages and there are other shows in the pipeline as well. By now we have teamed up on a lot of projects, so there is a trust factor involved. For Call My Agent, Applause Entertainment holds the IP.

    On the rise in demand for OTT:

    OTT got a big boost due to the pandemic. Theatres were shut down, TV production was halted, so the only source of entertainment was OTT content. We churned out content during this period also. There are many studios who are capable of producing a huge volume of content, Applause is one such platform.
     
    On production houses shifting from linear TV to OTT:

    Yes, people are flocking to OTT content, but television shows are still immensely popular in India. Both mediums have different sets of audiences but they are not mutually exclusive. A viewer who watches linear television also watches OTT content. Various streaming platforms have become hugely popular among the Indian audience due to a number of reasons. For production houses it is always beneficial to diversify the segment and expand their footprint in the digital medium. Any expansion of the process helps to maximise the industry. Acting talent emerging on OTT content is quite phenomenal which is usually not available on film.

    On identifying stories:

    Story is one of the key factors, which is followed by the relevance and connectivity of the subject. Then we discuss with the creative team how we pan it out into 8-10 episodic series, keeping the audiences engaged and entertained with strong storytelling at its core. We observe how the characters scale and how much potential it offers us to create shades for them/build room for innovation.

    The irony is, there is nothing easy about selecting stories and how you want to tell them. While family dramedies are highly appreciated in our country, timing the witty remarks and the dynamic of character, the premise sets etc, make it imperative that they flow well. Else the simplest constructs can go unnoticed or not create an impact on the viewer.

    On picking genres:

    We are looking at all sorts of genres as we want to reach out to all buckets of audiences. Today the viewers are open in exploring different genres and as creators we want to have diverse content. With Scam 1992 – The Harshad Mehta Story we have created a financial thriller, Avrodh is a gritty and realistic account of the surgical strike, Mannphodganj Ki Binny is a dramedy set in the heartland and Hello Mini is a thriller. We are open to all sorts of genres.

    Of course, we listen to what the audience has to say. Digital has become a great way to gather insights, understand consumer psychology and their points of view on topics. It gives a leverage to mould out setup, characters and story telling.

    On competition in the content creation space:

    Competition is there in every field; you have to make sure your product stands out above all. A strong content is the deciding factor. If you are telling great stories, you will have an audience.

  • Republic TV set to sue Mumbai police commissioner for defamation

    Republic TV set to sue Mumbai police commissioner for defamation

    NEW DELHI: Accusations have flown thick and fast between the Mumbai police and its commissioner Param Bir Singh and the Republic Media Network over the past few months. The rancour between the two parties only intensified after the former accused the latter of rigging its viewership ratings by compromising the BARC sample and paying off viewers to watch the network.

    Now, Republic TV founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami has directed his legal team Phoenix Legal to initiate a suit against Singh seeking Rs 200 crore in damages. Rs 100 crore of this amount is for damaging the newsman’s reputation, while the other Rs 100 crore is for harming the network’s credibility.

    Republic says its legal teams are in the process of filing the defamation suit against the police commissioner. The company decided to take this step following the revelation that the FIR related to TRP manipulation does not include the name of Arnab Goswami and Republic Media.

    In the Bombay High Court hearing today, the two-man bench of justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik noted that Republic TV has not yet been arraigned as an accused in the FIR filed by the Mumbai police.

    Arguing on behalf of the Maharashtra government and the Mumbai police, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, "There is no mention of Republic TV in the FIR. So how can it be quashed? The FIR relates to an offence allegedly committed in relation to which several improprieties and illegalities by several may be found. That investigation is still in the nascent stage."

    He further mentioned that the press conference held by the Mumbai police commissioner exposing the TRP gaming racket did not refer to Goswami in particular, and that only Republic TV was mentioned.

    Harish Salve, arguing on behalf of Republic Media, assured that in case summons are issued to Arnab Goswami, the petitioner would cooperate with the authorities. He also urged the court to stay the investigation and restrain police from taking any coercive action against the petitioners pending hearing of their petition.

    Salve sought the court to grant Goswami protection from arrest. But Sibal rebutted, stating that no such relief can be granted in the matter since Goswami has not been arraigned as an accused as of now.

    The Republic team also stated that it is filing a contempt petition against the special executive magistrate and assistant police commissioner Sudhir Jambwadekar, on account of the fact that he initiated chapter proceedings with respect to FIRs that have been suspended by the orders of the Bombay high court.

    On 8 October, Singh addressed a press conference where he claimed that the police had busted a TRP manipulation scam that involved various channels including Republic TV.

    Republic has consistently maintained that it has done nothing of that sort and that Singh has it in for the channel on account of its founder and editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami airing “exposés” of the commissioner’s alleged laxity in performing his law-keeping duties.

  • NT Awards announces its jury

    NT Awards announces its jury

    NEW DELHI:Indiantelevision.com’s unique summit and award property that honours the crème de la crème of the television news industry is all geared up for its 2020 edition. Scheduled to be held over two days – 29-30 October 2020 – the News Television (NT) summit will focus on the overall industry and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of it. The award ceremony that will be held on 6 November will felicitate news channels and the technical and editorial talent.

    The summit and award ceremony is powered by TVU Networks.

    The important decision of screening and selecting the winners will be taken by our esteemed jury. Every member of the panel is a stalwart with considerable experience in the news, media, and the brand space.

    Here’s our honoured 37-member jury for NT Awards 2020:

    The awards will recognise the leading players in the news television space across 51 categories in news programming, personality, technical, and sales & marketing domains. For more information, head on to http://ntawards.tv/index.php

  • Republic Media provides proof of its innocence in TRP rigging charges

    Republic Media provides proof of its innocence in TRP rigging charges

    NEW DELHI: Republic Media Network has come out with a statement in which it is claiming a thumping victory against the “fake news propaganda being spread by the Mumbai police about it being found guilty of rigging viewership ratings.”

    Republic CEO Vikas Khanchandani has in his possession an official email from the viewership ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) in which it has said “there is not a single complaint or malpractice found against Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any other affiliate of the news network.”

    The Arnab Goswami founded news network has been claiming from day one of the TRP rigging press conference organised by the Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh that the law keeper has been perpetrating vendetta against him.

    The Republic Media release states that the email “crumbles the pack of lies floated and repeated over the last nine days by Param Bir Singh and a section of the media.”

    The statement mentions that Republic Media received an email from BARC on 17 October 2020, in which the agency has stated that: “If there was any disciplinary action initiated under the said Code against M/s ARG Outlier Media Private Ltd., then BARC India would have communicated the same to you along with necessary documents for your response.”

    With this documentary evidence by BARC out in the public domain, Republic says that three things have been proven: 

    ·   The Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh’s comments against Republic TV were “blatantly false, lies and an extension of political vendetta. It is now incumbent on him to apologise for his lie-ridden campaign against India’s Number 1 news network.”

    ·   That every word uttered across certain sections of the media is false, unsubstantiated and fake news. “Now that the truth is out in the public domain, the onus is now on those portals to correct themselves, apologise for the fake news and put out the truth.”

    ·   The Republic Media Network which runs on the highest professional and journalistic standards has been “vindicated after a nine day slander campaign curated by vested interests and we have been duly informed that there was never a case against us.”

    The news network has demanded that serious action needs to be taken against the police commissioner as well as the political masters behind him, should they be involved for going on a tirade against it based on a series of lies. It says that it is going to fight against any forces and come out unscathed, no matter how hard the Mumbai police or anyone else tries to intimidate and harass it. “We will comply with the law of the land, but not for a moment give in to the coercive attempts to shut down our pursuit for truth through our journalism. We will fight this campaign both in the courts of law and the court of public opinion, with the people of India by our side,” the statement further says.