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Tag: covid-19

  • COVID-19 not to impact quarter registers much: INOX

    COVID-19 not to impact quarter registers much: INOX

    NEW DELHI: The ongoing crisis because of the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has been impacting global businesses adversely. In India, several places, including Delhi, Bangalore, and Maharashtra, have taken actions like shutting down malls and cinema halls to control the epidemic that has taken more than seven thousand lives globally. Along with it, several big production houses have deferred the releases of films, including Sooryavanshi and A Quiet Place 2, to contain the situation. Additionally, the box office numbers were below average for latest releases Baaghi 3 and English Medium.

    This certainly is straining the business of cinema houses and can appear as a red mark in their cash registers when the quarter closes. However, the officials at INOX are not bothered about monetary losses right now and are hoping that they will be able to make up for it when the situation settles down. In an exclusive interaction with Indiantelevision.com, INOX revealed, “Our financials are a function of content. The better the content, the better will be the numbers. The quarter so far has seen the influence of good content, moderate content, and health-related concerns. We completely respect and appreciate the health concerns, and hope that we are able to compensate their hunger for cinematic entertainment once the concerns wane off.”

    The cinema chain is positive that after this momentary glitch, people flock the cinemas once normalcy settles. “There is no doubt that the current situation demands a lot of our attention and focus, and therefore, we are channelising and committing our energies into ensuring a safe and healthy cinema-viewing experience for our guests. But at the same time, we firmly believe that with all the precautions and medical know-how, collectively, we will see through this impermanent phase. Thanks to the unparalleled passion and love for the cinemas, we have always been extremely optimistic about the business. Once the situation normalises, and the movie releases get back on their schedule, we are sure that our guests will start thronging the cinemas as they do always.”

    For those cinema houses that are still functioning across the country, INOX is taking special preventive measures to take care of the health of their employees and customers. “We have increased the frequency of our housekeeping and daily deep cleaning routines. Disinfectants are being used for sanitising and wiping all touchpoints like food countertops, box office counters, armrests, grab rails, door handles & knobs, light switches, and other frequently used equipment. Kitchen stewarding processes have been intensified and are being carried out with utmost care,” said an Inox spokesperson. 

  • Cannes Lions postpones Festival of Creativity as coronavirus crisis deepens

    Cannes Lions postpones Festival of Creativity as coronavirus crisis deepens

    MUMBAI: Cannes Lions has postponed the International Festival of Creativity at the south of France to October. The festival was scheduled to be held in June. France the other day had asked citizens not to leave their homes in a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19 which has killed 148 peopld and infected more than 6,000 in the country.

    The decision to postpone the festival from June "comes following much deliberation with our partners and customers, as well as, consultation with public health officials, the mayoral office of Cannes and the French Authorities," said a statement from Cannes Lions. 

    The statement further states that the "health, safety and wellbeing of our customers, employees, sponsors and partners remains our first priority." 

    Ascential, the parent company of Cannes Lions, had directed its employees to work from home as the coronavirus outbreak worsened.

  • COVID-19: Producers Guild sets up relief fund for daily workers affected by shutdown

    COVID-19: Producers Guild sets up relief fund for daily workers affected by shutdown

    MUMBAI: The Producers Guild of India has set up a Relief Fund for daily wage earners impacted by the complete shutdown of film, television and OTT productions owing to the COVID-19 epidemic.

    "In light of the complete shutdown of all production-related activities for the foreseeable future due to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is bound to be a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of daily wage earners in the industry. The Producers Guild has decided to set up a Relief Fund to help support those most affected by the shutdown. We would encourage the entire fraternity to contribute to the Fund, to ensure that we can do all we can to minimise the disruption in the lives of our valued colleagues and associates in this difficult time," said The Producers Guild of India President Siddharth Roy Kapur in a press release.

    The release said that anyone intending to contribute can mail the Guild at support@producersguildindia.com.

    Meanwhile, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has decided to organise the distribution of ration and basic materials of daily needs for the needy members of all its affiliates for a week from 22 Sunday March.

    The federation has appealed to all the producers, technicians and others film and television personalities to come forward and lend a hand in its fight against Coronavirus.

  • OOH ad industry could take a hit due to COVID-19

    OOH ad industry could take a hit due to COVID-19

    MUMBAI: The pandemic of COVID19 continues to take a toll on every possible industry; the advertising world is no exception. With people being asked to stay indoors, the impact on the OOH industry could be huge. Though the cases are currently restricted to just a few cities in the country, further escalation could damage the OOH segment.

    Laqshya Media  group CEO Atul Shrivastava says: “OOH ad spending could feel a negative impact if the social distancing and isolation measures that have emerged in some cities expand to larger territories. Consumers in India with significant numbers of reported COVID-19 cases are already actively avoiding large public places and gatherings, and that may eventually impact advertisers’ willingness to advertise there as well. For now, however, we are not making any other major adjustments to our business forecasts because of the COVID-19 outbreak. Our forecasts are for the full year, and there is still a strong possibility that the virus could be contained in the coming months, allowing for a rebound in H2 2020. Most of the times, the bulk of ad spending takes place in the latter part of the year for the holiday & festive season.”

    Meanwhile, the impact of COVID-19 is likely to cause a significant growth in viewership on YouTube, OTT platforms and television. This will come as an alternative to the 3-hour travel journey each day.

    "With the disappointment of IPL being postponed, OTT and other online content platforms will be the only space. People will catch up with series, movies and podcasts they have missed and explore new content. Online classes will prosper as people may set out to learn a new language or skill, as will a lot of the content on YouTube, especially children's content as parents will try to find a way to keep kids indoors and busy,” says GoBisbo Broadcasting Network founder Shakir Ebrahim.

    Akund Communications founder Sadiya Khan differs in her view. She says that considering the self-imposed isolation that we are all moving towards, people in the coming days would spend more time at home with family while watching news channels. Most online content that's viewed on mobile devices in transit would be a second priority to this.

    “As consumers try to keep themselves informed and entertained at home, advertisers too would bring down ad spends on online platforms and opt for mainstream coverage,” she further adds.

    The spread of coronavirus has caused a sense of unprecedented uncertainty for Indian advertising. The ad world is already pivoting and adapting a few measures as a result of the outbreak. Overall brand spending could take at least a temporary hit, and agencies and brands need to think proactively about how to tackle the situation.

  • Marketing world cautious over NTO 2.0, Coronavirus

    Marketing world cautious over NTO 2.0, Coronavirus

    NEW DELHI/ MUMBAI: It has been less than a year since the dust around NTO had settled, which even resulted in a dip in TV ad spends last year, and the hay has once again been unsettled with uncertainties raised by NTO 2.0. With broadcasters taking up the case legally against the new pricing regime, the marketing world has to deal with a new set of confusions.

    Elaborating on the situation, Carat SVP Vinita Pachisia notes, “Advertisers usually earmark budgets for each medium before the new financial year begins. A change in the tariff regime will again disrupt the viewership. Last year when the NTO was implemented it took almost 6-8 weeks for the data to stabilise and for the advertisers to use it for plan evaluations. The new NTO amendments could again lead to similar fluctuations as it aims to bring in more viewership options to the audiences at a lower cost and higher FTA channels access. This in turn will lead to the advertisers to rethink on the advertising options before committing any spends.”

    According to Update Geotarget MD and founder Sharad Alwe, marketers are looking for alternate and effective mediums to deliver impactful messaging as people are moving to other platforms.

    He says: “It is no secret that since NTO 1.0, the availability of broadcast channels in GEC and movies genres has dropped appreciably in households. DTH has also shown a slight downtrend and is undergoing consolidation. Viewers are either happy with the mandatory Free-To-Air channels that come with the base NCF package, or, in the case of metros and Tier 1, some are moving to OTT.”

    Havas Media CEO India and South East Asia Anita Nayyar shares similar sentiments, “The ad spends (on TV) will get affected given the changes in NTO 2.0. The total cost to choose the channels will impact TV viewing. The other platforms will tend to gain viewership as they become more viable for the viewer's pocket.”

    Godrej Consumer Products Ltd VP and head media services Subha Iyer says that there have been cuts on ad spends. “It (NTO 2.0) will definitely cause an impact when we consider the fact that consumer offering in the form of multiple bouquets, pricing, etc. will go through another round of change. In the current scenario, one has to plan for multiple events affecting all of us with their implications in the market, business as well,”

    However, Nayyar believes what is impacting media planning and ad spends more than NTO is the novel Coronavirus COVID-19. She says, “There is a lot of caution on ad spends in the market. The cumulative impact is far higher than the NTO impact. And the YES bank fiasco is just adding fuel to fire. Advertisers are waiting and only undertaking crucial spends.”

    Pachisia also adds, “Currently the market sentiments are very low due to the present situation of Coronavirus across the world. Advertisers have been affected due to the ban on imports and this in turn has affected the advertising spends. The furore on IPL is another major factor to consider here. Hence it would be very difficult to gauge right now if the advertising spends have reduced due to NTO 2.0 or all the other current factors in the market.”

    The whole industry is in a jittery considering the ongoing climate of crisis and the advertisers prefer  to tread the waters extremely carefully. Alwe and Pachisia feel that there is going to be a structural shift in the advertising market shares.

    Alwe says, “While TV has always been the traditional medium for national awareness, marketers we speak with are constantly looking for a smarter way to deliver their message. Hyperlocal geo-targeting, multilingual communication and ROI are what marketers expect from their media plan. We believe that while TV, digital and print will continue to have their presence in a media plan, marketers will look for other options to complement their traditional strategy, and there will be a structural shift in market share.”

    Pachisia concludes, “The new NTO amendments would definitely force advertisers to rethink their strategies, resulting in a realignment of media plans which would definitely impact spends on TV. Clients who have specific quarter-wise budgets may look to spend it on other mediums till such time that the data settles and is comparable. The niche genres are already facing stiff competition from the OTT platforms and factors like these, and so many amendments to the NTO, are fuelling the decision to some extent.”

  • COVID-19: SWA suspends offline script registration till 31 March

    COVID-19: SWA suspends offline script registration till 31 March

    MUMBAI: Script registration (offline) and new admission procedure at Screen Writers Association (SWA) office will remain closed for two weeks, from 16 to 31 March, 2020 as a precautionary measure against the spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to a press release. 

    During this period, SWA's Legal Officer will not be available for appointments as well, but shall provide consultation on email. In case the situation demands further preventive actions, the SWA will update accordingly, said the release.

    In the meanwhile, Online Script Registration at SWA website www.swaindia.org will be active 24 by 7. 

     

  • Cine employees federation urges using masks, sanitizers at work

    Cine employees federation urges using masks, sanitizers at work

    MUMBAI:  The federation of western India cine employees (FWICE) has issued a notice asking companies to provide employees with face masks while at work in order to reduce direct exposure to the coronavirus.

    It also urges them to provide hand sanitizers to disinfect themselves.

    The letter goes on to state: “We have also requested the producers' association to make the masks and sanitizers available to the workers on the sets/shootings/studios. In the case of non-compliance by the production houses or producers, you are requested to inform FWICE and it shall take up the matter with the respective production house or producer."

    In case an emergency, FWICE states that the shooting/setting work will have to be stopped till the emergency is lifted and things get back to normal. “We shall ensure complete safety of our workers and technicians,” it said.

    With more confirmed cases, India has also upped its safety measures by restricting travel, urging people to adopt work-from-home policies and using proper hygiene. The spread of COVID-19 has also led to the postponement of the Indian Premier League to 15 April as well as the suspension of the India-South Africa series. 

  • I&B ministry asks TV channels to publicise travel advisory for COVID-19 affected countries

    I&B ministry asks TV channels to publicise travel advisory for COVID-19 affected countries

    MUMBAI: The deadly corona virus with its epicentre in Wuhan, China has slowly crept into several parts of the world. Just this week, cases of Indians who have contracted this infectious disease came to light and put the government on alert. The health ministry has finally issued an advisory regarding Covid-19 and the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has requested the electronic media to help spread the message.

    “Electronic media has always been in the forefront to carry such message as it is a powerful tool to reach out to the people across the country. In order to make this effort successful, it has been felt that support, assistance and contribution of TV channels and FM radio channels will be of immense use,” the advisory reads.

    The following are the tickers TV channels are advised to carry:

    1. Indian citizens are advised to refrain from travel to China, Iran, Republic of Korea, Italy and Japan.

    2. Indian citizens are advised to avoid travel to other COVID-19 affected countries.

    3. Passengers coming from abroad to India need to furnish duly filled self-declaration form and travel history to health and immigration officials at all ports and airports.

    4. For any health-related query call at ministry of health and family welfare, GOI’s 24X7 control room number +91-11-23978046 or email at ncov2019@gmail.com.

    “Keeping in view the significance and meaningfulness of this cause, all private satellite news TV channels and their associations are requested to give adequate publicity to the revised travel advisory issued by the ministry of health and family welfare,” it adds. 

  • The Most Extensive Global Coverage on Coronavirus by WION

    The Most Extensive Global Coverage on Coronavirus by WION

    MUMBAI: While the world battles a global pandemic that threatens India, WION is the only news channel that is covering the Coronavirus (COVID 19) continuously and comprehensively. Thousands of cases of the virus have been confirmed in more than 25 countries and it is spreading rapidly throughout the world.

    Based on thorough research and fact-based reportage, WION brings you the latest on the Coronavirus. WION has partnered with CGTN (China Global Television Network) group to bring updates from China on the epidemic. WION is the only channel to have their correspondents on-ground at the epicentre in Wuhan. 

    It also has its correspondents giving ground reports across countries and continents from Beijing, Russia, America, Europe and Africa. From experts to locals and students, a 360-degree view is offered of the pandemic. 

    The reports cover the global state of affairs in combating the virus and even exclusive detailed reports from quarantine centers in Wuhan. The news coverage also deals with the key stakeholders and agencies like the MEA, WHO and India's response to the virus, how are neighbouring countries dealing with it and how whistle-blowers are going missing in China. 

    WION’s primetime show Gravitas has gone viral online with several videos among which a video that details how China is failing to combat the virus has over 1.25 lakh views on Twitter. 

    Key global issues like the Coronavirus are often not extensively covered by Indian national news channels and are covered by WION which is India’s International News Channel providing an Indian perspective on global news. 

    The reports can be viewed on WION, and digitally on their social media pages and on their website https://www.wionews.com/