ITV

Tag: Broadcasting

  • Services sector in I&B shows significant growth in FDI inflows: Economic Survey

    Services sector in I&B shows significant growth in FDI inflows: Economic Survey

    NEW DELHI: The services sector in the field of Information and Broadcasting earned $515.1 million as inflow of foreign direct investment between April and October of 2015-16.
     
    According to the Economic Survey for 2015-16 presented to Parliament, this was in comparison to $255 million in 2014-15.
     
    The figures also showed that the total FDI inflow between April 2000 and October 2015 was $4484.5 million in this sector. 
     
    The largest growth was in computer software and hardware, going up from $2296 million in 2014-15 to $4122.5 in 2015-16 up to October 2015. Thus the total growth from April 2000 to October 2015 was $19139.8 million. 
     
    The Survey said the government had made significant changes in the FDI policy regime in recent times to ensure that India remains an increasingly attractive investment destination.
     
    In order to provide simplicity to the FDI policy and bring clarity on application of conditionalities and approval requirements across various sectors, different kinds of foreign investments have been made fungible under one composite cap. 
     
    Significant FDI-related liberalisation has taken place in a number of sectors/areas of the economy including some services and service-related sectors like construction development, broadcasting, civil aviation, cash and carry wholesale trading, wholesale trading (including sourcing from micro and small enterprises [MSE]), single brand retail trading and duty free shops, private sector banking, and credit information companies.
  • Services sector in I&B shows significant growth in FDI inflows: Economic Survey

    Services sector in I&B shows significant growth in FDI inflows: Economic Survey

    NEW DELHI: The services sector in the field of Information and Broadcasting earned $515.1 million as inflow of foreign direct investment between April and October of 2015-16.
     
    According to the Economic Survey for 2015-16 presented to Parliament, this was in comparison to $255 million in 2014-15.
     
    The figures also showed that the total FDI inflow between April 2000 and October 2015 was $4484.5 million in this sector. 
     
    The largest growth was in computer software and hardware, going up from $2296 million in 2014-15 to $4122.5 in 2015-16 up to October 2015. Thus the total growth from April 2000 to October 2015 was $19139.8 million. 
     
    The Survey said the government had made significant changes in the FDI policy regime in recent times to ensure that India remains an increasingly attractive investment destination.
     
    In order to provide simplicity to the FDI policy and bring clarity on application of conditionalities and approval requirements across various sectors, different kinds of foreign investments have been made fungible under one composite cap. 
     
    Significant FDI-related liberalisation has taken place in a number of sectors/areas of the economy including some services and service-related sectors like construction development, broadcasting, civil aviation, cash and carry wholesale trading, wholesale trading (including sourcing from micro and small enterprises [MSE]), single brand retail trading and duty free shops, private sector banking, and credit information companies.
  • Supriya Sahu & F Sheheryar to take over as full-time DGs of Doordarshan and AIR

    Supriya Sahu & F Sheheryar to take over as full-time DGs of Doordarshan and AIR

    NEW DELHI: Former Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Supriya Sahu, and F Sheheryar, who has been holding additional charge for two years, have been named as the new full-time Directors-General of Doordarshan and All India Radio respectively.

    This decision is understood to have been taken after the Prasar Bharati Board today interviewed 10 candidates for the two posts.

    Sheheryar, Deputy Director General, had taken over as interim DG in February 2014 in AIR, while C Lalrosanga was inducted in April last year as interim DG in Doordarshan. Thus, Sheheryar has been confirmed for the post he was holding as additional charge.

    Prasar Bharati sources told Indiantelevision.com that there were six persons from the Indian Broadcasting (Programme) Service, three from the Indian Information Service, and one from the Indian Administrative Service.

    The interviews were held in the backdrop of a decision by the Board earlier last year that the posts for full-time DGs would not be held until the composition of the Board would be complete.

    With two part-time members being appointed, the strength of part-time members of the Board is now complete.

    While Shashi Shekhar Vempathi, former Principal Architect of Infosys Technologies, who now heads an online media company Niti Digital, formally joined the Board today, actor Kajol will join when she comes back from overseas where she is shooting for a film.

    Under the Prasar Bharati Act, the pubcaster should have six-part time members on its Board, which is headed by its chairman.

    Early last year, chairman Dr A Surya Prakash had informed this website that he had made it clear to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that there would be no full time appointments for the posts of the two Directors-General until the composition of the Board was completed.

  • Supriya Sahu & F Sheheryar to take over as full-time DGs of Doordarshan and AIR

    Supriya Sahu & F Sheheryar to take over as full-time DGs of Doordarshan and AIR

    NEW DELHI: Former Joint Secretary (Broadcasting) in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry Supriya Sahu, and F Sheheryar, who has been holding additional charge for two years, have been named as the new full-time Directors-General of Doordarshan and All India Radio respectively.

    This decision is understood to have been taken after the Prasar Bharati Board today interviewed 10 candidates for the two posts.

    Sheheryar, Deputy Director General, had taken over as interim DG in February 2014 in AIR, while C Lalrosanga was inducted in April last year as interim DG in Doordarshan. Thus, Sheheryar has been confirmed for the post he was holding as additional charge.

    Prasar Bharati sources told Indiantelevision.com that there were six persons from the Indian Broadcasting (Programme) Service, three from the Indian Information Service, and one from the Indian Administrative Service.

    The interviews were held in the backdrop of a decision by the Board earlier last year that the posts for full-time DGs would not be held until the composition of the Board would be complete.

    With two part-time members being appointed, the strength of part-time members of the Board is now complete.

    While Shashi Shekhar Vempathi, former Principal Architect of Infosys Technologies, who now heads an online media company Niti Digital, formally joined the Board today, actor Kajol will join when she comes back from overseas where she is shooting for a film.

    Under the Prasar Bharati Act, the pubcaster should have six-part time members on its Board, which is headed by its chairman.

    Early last year, chairman Dr A Surya Prakash had informed this website that he had made it clear to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that there would be no full time appointments for the posts of the two Directors-General until the composition of the Board was completed.

  • Broadcast expenditure 4x that of MIB’s information, film & secretariat sectors

    Broadcast expenditure 4x that of MIB’s information, film & secretariat sectors

    NEW DELHI: Expenditure on the broadcasting sector alone in the past three years up to March 2015 has been more than three to four times the total expenditure on the other sectors covered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB): secretariat, film and information.

    An audit of the Ministry’s accounts has revealed that during 2014-15, a total of Rs 2467.4 crore (including Rs 2004.41 crore as non-plan expenditure) as was set aside for broadcasting alone, while the expenditure on the information sector was Rs 466.4 crore (including Rs 269.84 non-plan); Rs 176.33 crore (including Rs 97.16 crore non-plan) on film and Rs 48.4 crore (including Rs 46.35 crore non-plan) on secretariat expenses.

    During 2013-14, expenditure on broadcasting was Rs 2157.19 crore (including Rs 1733.38 crore non-plan) as against Rs 474.73 crore (including Rs 247.83 crore non-plan) on information; Rs 153.99 crore (of which Rs 90.32 crore was non-plan) on film; and Rs 42.31 crore (including Rs 41.47 crore non-plan) on Secretariat expenses.

    The expenditure on broadcasting in 2012-13 was Rs 2069.09 crore (of which Rs 1654.33 crore was non-plan), as against Rs  381.22 crore (including Rs 234.75 crore non-plan); Rs 133.02 crore (including Rs 83.72 crore as non-plan); and Rs 41.93 crore (including Rs 40.36 crore non-plan) on Secretarial expenses.

     

  • Broadcast expenditure 4x that of MIB’s information, film & secretariat sectors

    Broadcast expenditure 4x that of MIB’s information, film & secretariat sectors

    NEW DELHI: Expenditure on the broadcasting sector alone in the past three years up to March 2015 has been more than three to four times the total expenditure on the other sectors covered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB): secretariat, film and information.

    An audit of the Ministry’s accounts has revealed that during 2014-15, a total of Rs 2467.4 crore (including Rs 2004.41 crore as non-plan expenditure) as was set aside for broadcasting alone, while the expenditure on the information sector was Rs 466.4 crore (including Rs 269.84 non-plan); Rs 176.33 crore (including Rs 97.16 crore non-plan) on film and Rs 48.4 crore (including Rs 46.35 crore non-plan) on secretariat expenses.

    During 2013-14, expenditure on broadcasting was Rs 2157.19 crore (including Rs 1733.38 crore non-plan) as against Rs 474.73 crore (including Rs 247.83 crore non-plan) on information; Rs 153.99 crore (of which Rs 90.32 crore was non-plan) on film; and Rs 42.31 crore (including Rs 41.47 crore non-plan) on Secretariat expenses.

    The expenditure on broadcasting in 2012-13 was Rs 2069.09 crore (of which Rs 1654.33 crore was non-plan), as against Rs  381.22 crore (including Rs 234.75 crore non-plan); Rs 133.02 crore (including Rs 83.72 crore as non-plan); and Rs 41.93 crore (including Rs 40.36 crore non-plan) on Secretarial expenses.

     

  • MSM bags six Gold trophies at PromaxBDA India Awards 2015

    MSM bags six Gold trophies at PromaxBDA India Awards 2015

    MUMBAI: The second day of PromaxBDA ended with the PromaxBDA India Awards 2015 in Westin Garden City on 13 May, 2015. Shining bright was Multi-Screen Media (MSM), which managed to tot the maximum number of Gold awards for their creative showcase.

     

    UTV Entertainment Television’s Disney Channel brand campaign won Gold in Most Outstanding Station Image Campaign category while MSM’s Max 2 Brand Campaign  #JabDekhoTabNaya won the Silver in the category.

     

    MSM’s Sony Entertainment Television also won Golds galore. The first one was for Encounter_Dhobi Ghat in the Best Drama Promo category, whereas Sony bagged the second Gold for Itna Na Karo Mujhse Pyar in the Best Drama Campaign category. KBC – Neighbours also picked up a Gold in the Best Reality Promo.

     

    Times Network won a Gold for its Social Network campaign in the Best Movie Promo category. Star India also bagged a Gold for their 1st Champion – Indian Super League in the Best Sports Promo category. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited bagged a Gold for Saregama Pa Lill Champs launch in the Best Children’s Programme Category.

     

    NGC Network India’s Brain Games – 9.02 Campaign won Gold in the Most Outstanding Programme Image Campaign. Viacom18 Media’s MTV bagged Gold for Indiepedia – Hipster in the Best Interstitial category.

     

    Click here to view the detailed winners list

  • FY-2014: Broadcasting & digital segments drive 55% EPS growth for Gannett

    FY-2014: Broadcasting & digital segments drive 55% EPS growth for Gannett

    BENGALURU: Gannett Company Inc., (Gannett) reported a 55 per cent increase in its non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) and a 57 per cent increase in adjusted EBIDTA for the 13 weeks ended 28 December, 2014 (Q4-2014, current quarter) as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

     

    Earnings totalled $2.92 per share, and on a non-GAAP basis, EPS for Q4-2014 was $1.02. Gannett’s revenue grew 24.3 per cent driven by strong broadcast and digital segment results, says the company. Gannett reported revenue of $1700.97 million in the current quarter, for Q4-2013, the company had reported revenue of $1368.04 million.

     

    On a pro forma basis (had Gannett owned the Belo and London television stations and Cars.com during the same quarter last year and excluding the impact of the sale of a print business and Apartments.com), total company revenues were 4.2 per cent higher in the quarter due primarily to substantial revenue growth at the expanded television station portfolio and strong growth at Cars.com.

     

    Broadcast Segment

     

    Gannet’s broadcast segment revenue increased 117 per cent (went up 2.17 times) in Q4-2014 to $495.27 million as compared to the $228.21 million in Q4-2013. The increase was fuelled by the expansion of the TV station portfolio, as well as significant increases in politically related advertising and retransmission revenues. On a pro forma basis, Broadcasting segment revenues were up 25.0 per cent compared to the fourth quarter in 2013. Substantially higher retransmission revenue that totalled $94.3 million, a 56.3 per cent increase, as well as $92.4 million of political advertising drove the increase. Pro forma digital revenues in the Broadcasting Segment were 16.5 per cent higher reflecting primarily growth in digital marketing services products.

     

    Digital segment

     

    Digital segment increased 76.6 per cent to $345.35 million in the current quarter as compared to the $195.57 million in Q3-2013. Gannett says that the substantial increase reflects primarily the impact of the Classified Ventures acquisition and strong results at Cars.com. Revenues on a pro forma basis in the Digital Segment were up 9.7 per cent driven in large part by revenue growth of 24.8 per cent at Cars.com and 3.8 per cent at CareerBuilder.

     

    Publishing

     

    Publishing segment revenues on a pro forma basis declined 5.9 per cent reflecting primarily softer display advertising partially offset by an increase in digital marketing solutions revenue and digital advertising.

     

    Publishing advertising segment, publishing circulation segment and all other publishing segment revenues dropped 7.8, 2.2 and 9.9 per cent respectively in Q4-2014 as compared to the year ago quarter.

     

    Publishing Advertisement

     

    Publishing advertising revenues were: $543.80 million in Q4-2014 and 589.56 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. The company says that Pro forma advertising revenues declined 8.3 per cent year-over-year. On the same basis all domestic classified advertising category comparisons in the fourth quarter were better than third quarter comparisons. Employment advertising was up 1.5 per cent in the quarter maintaining its positive trend with growth domestically and at Newsquest in the UK.

     

    Publication Circulation segment

     

    Publishing circulation segment revenues were: $282 million in Q4-2014 and $288.43 million in Q4-2013. An increase in circulation revenue at local domestic publishing sites reflecting the beneficial impact of pricing strategies as well as continued strength of the All Access Content Subscription Model was offset by circulation revenue declines at Newsquest, due to the cycling of cover price increases, and USA Today.

     

    All other publishing

     

    All other publishing segment revenues were: $59.68 million in the current quarter and $66.27 million in the year ago quarter. Pro forma Publishing Segment digital revenues increased 2.9 per cent in the quarter reflecting continued growth in digital marketing solutions and digital advertising. Digital revenues at Newsquest were up 20.4 per cent in local currency while digital revenues at USA Today and its associated businesses increased 8.4 per cent. Pro forma digital advertising revenues at local domestic publishing operations were up 6.6 per cent.

     

    Company Speak

     

    Gannett president and chief executive officer Gracia Martore said, “Our strong fourth quarter results cap a milestone year for Gannett -reflecting our bold strategy and continued focus on reshaping and reinventing the company to accelerate growth in today’s multiplatform media landscape. Based on our strong operating performance and balance sheet strength, we are resuming our share buyback program, well ahead of the timeline we had previously anticipated. Our broader and more diverse footprint drove record revenue in Broadcasting for the fourth consecutive quarter and resulted in our highest political revenues ever in a non-presidential election year. We also posted record-breaking Digital Segment revenues, driven by our full ownership of Cars.com, which had a terrific quarter, as well as continued growth at CareerBuilder. On the Publishing side, we continue to innovate and find ways to deepen our connections with our audiences and advertisers through initiatives like USA Today local content editions, which have delighted customers and substantially exceeded our revenue expectations. Even as we achieved this tremendous revenue growth, we remain committed to operating as efficiently as possible, which has continued to improve profitability, including a 57 per cent increase in Adjusted EBITDA as compared to the fourth quarter last year.”

     

    Martore added, “The terrific progress we’ve made across each of our businesses since the launch of our transformation plan three years ago culminated in our biggest news of 2014 – the announcement of our plan to separate into two highly focused public companies. Each company will be a leader in its respective industry with impressive scale and greater freedom to focus its strategy and resources on the most promising, value-enhancing areas of the business. We are on track with the separation and will share more details of our plans for the Publishing and Broadcasting/Digital companies in the coming months.”

     

    FY-2014 Numbers in Brief 

     

    Total operating revenues for the full year were 16.4 per cent higher compared to 2013 and totalled $6.01 billion. The increase reflects substantially higher revenue growth in the Broadcasting and Digital Segments to record levels partially offset by a decline in the Publishing Segment. Broadcasting Segment revenues were 102.6 per cent higher due to the Belo acquisition and significant increases in Olympic and political spending as well as retransmission revenue. Digital Segment revenues in 2014 were up 22.8 per cent reflecting the acquisition of Classified Ventures including strong growth at Cars.com and solid revenue growth at CareerBuilder. Company-wide digital revenues totalled $2.05 billion, an increase of 7.4 per cent on a pro forma basis compared to 2013. Publishing Segment revenues were 4.4 per cent lower as advertising revenues declined 5.8 per cent and circulation revenues were down 0.9 per cent.

  • Sony Six’s Prasana Krishnan upbeat about African Cup Of Nations broadcast

    Sony Six’s Prasana Krishnan upbeat about African Cup Of Nations broadcast

    MUMBAI: After generating considerable revenue and viewership with the FIFA World Cup and EURO, Sony Six continues to extend its catalogue of international football and this time it has invaded a new territory.

     

    The channel has added to its kitty the African Cup of Nations, which started in 1957 and comprises 16 nations from the African continent. This will be the first time that the tournament will be aired on Indian television. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said that he was “quite surprised” that an event filled with numerous stars has never been broadcast in India until now.

     
    The tournament kicks off on 17 January, 2015 with a match between the host Nation Equatorial Guinea and Congo. The tournament clashes with all the major club leagues across the globe and certainly raises a question mark if Indian football lovers will miss their favorite club action in order to catch up with the African Cup.

     

    When asked about this, Krishnan said, “We will always have multiple action going on at the same time but it is up to the viewers to decide what they want to follow. International football is always respected and people love to see their stars playing in country colours for their respective nations.”
     
    Many big club managers have started to blame the African Cup of Nations due to their recent failures as the core of many teams took a blow when strong performers were not available for selection. All other major international football events are played during the June – July calendar gap and there is a long term debate going on if AFCON should also be conducted during such a gap. Krishnan explains, “As a broadcaster, I would have certainly loved a gap but I see this scenario in a very positive way. The viewers are already in a football-watching mood as all the action is on and hence we don’t need to put some special efforts to engage their attention. Moreover, managers were well aware that the players will leave during this period to serve their nations and hence they should have no reasons to be upset. The long going debate about calendar gap is FIFA’s prerogative to solve.”

     

    While traditionally, broadcasters acquire sporting events’ rights for the long-term, in this case Sony Six has picked up the rights only for 2015. This is an experiment for both the hosting organization and the broadcaster. The viewership numbers and popularity of the aired matches will, in turn, determine whether the association will grow further.
     
    With this acquisition Sony Six aims at establishing itself as a home for international football. Krishnan sees this increased football coverage as a positive move towards improvising the sport in basic level. “The final goal is to see India playing in tournaments with international importance and as we broadcast more of the sport in India, we will see kids following them and someday we may have a strong football team. As far as Sony Six is concerned, we will not only restrict ourselves to international football. Whenever we see an opportunity to acquire club action, we will catch on to it.”

     

    No media or marketing campaign to promote the tournament to viewers is on the cards as of now. “We didn’t have too much time to promote the tournament so we are not looking at a specific marketing campaign.”

     

    Though the tournament is filled with established stars, one will have to wait and watch how AFCON establishes itself in the midst of action packed Club football.

     

  • TRAI ready to consider proposal for e-commerce but says it is already over-burdened

    TRAI ready to consider proposal for e-commerce but says it is already over-burdened

    NEW DELHI: With more and more people depending on their computers and smart phones to transact business transactions and transfer money, the Government appears to have woken up to the need for someone to regulate this.
     
    While confirming this, a source in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) told indiantelevision.com that the role of the regulator had remained confined to telecom until 2004 when it was asked to also look into issues relating to broadcasting and had later drawn up regulations relating to telemarketing following complaints by telecom consumers about mobile calls.
     
    The need for an e-commerce regulator was felt after the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) sought the Commerce Ministry’s intervention over ‘predatory pricing’ strategies of e-tailers during festival sales last year. It asked the government to set up a taskforce to “probe into the working and business model of e-commerce companies” and to set up a regulatory authority to monitor the business.
     
    The source said TRAI will consider the proposal but will have to consider that it is already burdened with issues like spectrum e-auction and the digital addressable system for cable television.
     
    Now, an inter-ministerial panel has requested the Authority to take up the role or suggest if there is a need for a separate regulator for e-commerce. The panel has sought an update from the Consumer Affairs Ministry on measures taken to introduce online dispute resolution in e-commerce.

     

    The inter-ministerial panel will prepare a paper, sought by the Data Security Council of India, on imposing restrictions on the location of servers and on getting companies like Google and Amazon to set up data centres in India.

     

    The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has informed the committee there is no plan to change the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in e-commerce. The Department is understood to have said there was no lack of clarity in the FDI policy for e-commerce. If required, the Department noted, issues related to e-commerce funding and operations could be addressed by formulating guidelines for the sector rather than by modifying the FDI policy.

     

    Last month, the DIPP had suggested up to 49 per cent FDI in consumer e-commerce following representations by several US companies. FDI is barred in e-commerce companies selling directly to consumers and there are restrictions on sourcing from local manufacturers. The DIPP also suggested a mechanism to facilitate US investments in India after Amazon, which has invested about $300 million in India, sought the government’s approval for further investments.

     

    Foreign e-commerce companies are allowed to operate as online marketplaces. FDI of up to 100 per cent is permitted in business-to-business e-commerce.