ITV

Tag: Economic Times

  • What’s in a name: Should BARC India withdraw from trademark registry?

    What’s in a name: Should BARC India withdraw from trademark registry?

    MUMBAI: William Shakespeare once said, “What’s in a name,” but when he said that little did he know that even an acronym could become a cause of concern!

     

    In a recent development, the new television viewership measurement body, Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India was sent a letter by Trombay based nuclear research organisation Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Wondering why? Well, it was for using the same acronym: BARC.

     

    The newly launched television measurement body has been having a lot of teething problems. Not only does it have to deal with the anxiety of broadcasters and advertisers, who are still getting used to the numbers released every Wednesday starting 29 April, but it has also been in news for the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting asking it to stop releasing data till the registration process was complete. While this was resolved and BARC India continued releasing its data, it has got into trouble now for using the acronym BARC.

     

    As reported by Economic Times, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre controller R P Raju in his letter to the Broadcast Audience Research Council has said that the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre has been using the acronym for decades and is popularly known by it. Thus, according to Raju, the acronym ‘BARC’ should be for the exclusive use of the institution and not be used by the measurement body.

     

    Taking it a step further, Raju has now taken up the issue with the trademark registry for registration. BARC controller, vide his letter, has asked Broadcast Audience Research Council to immediately stop using the acronym ‘BARC’ and also withdraw applications filed by it with the trademark registry for registration of the same trademark.

     

    While BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta did not respond to Indiantelevision.com’s calls or messages, an industry source informed that the rating agency’s legal team is now looking into the issue.

     

    The big question now is: ‘Is there any need for BARC India to withdraw its registration?’

     

    According to media analysts, Broadcast Audience Research Council is far from any trouble. It can be recalled that the ratings body had in July 2014 changed its logo, giving it the shape of a Rubik’s Cube. Another change, which took place, then was that the word ‘India’ was added to the logo. Thus, BARC became BARC India. While its website URL always contained India (www.barcindia.co.in), the logo donned the acronym BARC, which all changed in July, last year.

     

    Another point, which can be noted is that Broadcast Audience Research Council is not the only one using the acronym BARC. For instance, Bangalore Analytical Research Centre, an engineering and environment service provider too uses the same acronym. Log on to www.barcindia.com and you can be introduced to another BARC. So will Bhabha Atomic Research Centre go behind it as well?

     

    Not only this, if one visits the television measurement body’s website, the acronym used is BARC India and not BARC.

     

    While the legal team at BARC India is busy framing their responses, we at Indiantelevision.com hope that the ratings body remains in news only for its television viewership numbers.

  • Gautam Bhanot joins NewsX as national revenue head

    Gautam Bhanot joins NewsX as national revenue head

    MUMBAI: ITV Network, which runs news channels NewsX and India News, has roped in Gautam Bhanot as the national revenue head for its English channel. He will be responsible for the overall sales and revenue generation of NewsX.

    He will focus on growing the top line while also looking at creating new revenue streams and opportunities. Bhanot has 16 years of experience with his last sting being at Network18 where he was national sales head for CNN-IBN for nine years.

    Prior to this, he was with CNN-IBN, CNBC-TV18 and CNBC Awaaz as VP sales for north region. He’s also worked with The Times of India, Economic Times and Tej Bandhu Group.

    ITV Network MD Kartikeya Sharma said, “Gautam brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will be invaluable in unlocking the potential value of brand NewsX. I am confident that Gautam with his in depth understanding of media sales combined with his dynamism and leadership as a sales professional will be a great asset to the organisation.”

    ITV Network group CEO RK Arora said, “We are delighted to have Gautam on board at this exciting time of growth and expansion at ITV Network. We are certain that his experience and understanding of the business will benefit NewsX as we strive to continue to be the market leader in English news genre, in line with ITV Network’s objective of becoming India’s profitable and largest TV news network.”

    Bhanot said, “I believe the industry is going through a transformational phase wherein programming formats, news consumption patterns, technology platforms all are evolving and hence the opportunity to learn and contribute is immense. My agenda will be to enhance the offerings of NewsX and partner with new and existing clients, to deliver delight and grow the revenue stream.”

  • TRAI rejects telcos’ proposal to charge popular apps

    TRAI rejects telcos’ proposal to charge popular apps

    MUMBAI: In a victory for the users of WhatsApp, Viber, Skype and other apps, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided against a proposal of carriers to impose extra fees on these popular services.

     

    The cellular service providers placed a proposal last month for these apps to share a part of their revenue with them or the government which allow users to route calls and messages via the internet.

     

    As reported by the Economic Times, TRAI has now rejected the idea and also cancelled plans to hold a consultation on the matter. According to the report, TRAI feels that revenue losses can be offset by growth in the usage of data services and that there is no need to intervene at this time. 

     

    The proposal was given on the basis that the mobile service providers were suffering a loss of revenue due to declining use of cellular voice and SMS services.

     

    With the rise over the-top players (OTTPs), many subscribers use these apps rather than their telecom operator’s normal voice call and SMS services, affecting the carrier’s revenue. Hence telcos, having invested billions of dollars in creating their network, want OTTPs to be regulated so that both parties operate on a level playing field.

     

    Operators want the OTTPs—which use their telecom networks— to pay the same fees that they pay to the government, which if implemented will force the app makers to charge for their services, currently available for free.

     

    The proposal by the telecom companies sparked widespread criticism from the consumers, raising objection to the very idea of imposing fees on specific apps, pointing out that the carriers already charge for internet connectivity.

     

    According to OTT players, seeking payment and the move to regulate them is against the concept of free internet or ‘net neutrality’.

     

    TRAI recently held a seminar titled ‘Regulatory Framework for OTT Services’ bringing several OTT players face-to-face with operators as a precursor to regulating the app space in India. This would have been the first step in a consultation process, which has now reportedly been called off.

  • Times Internet partners with Amazon Appstore for Android

    Times Internet partners with Amazon Appstore for Android

    MUMBAI: Times Internet Limited, India’s largest online network, has joined hands with the Amazon Appstore, a mobile application store for the Android operating system.  Apps like Gaana, ZigWheels, Economic Times, Speaking Tree, BoxTV and The Times of India by Times Internet (TIL) are now available on the Amazon Appstore. The apps that are downloadable on all Android devices including Kindle can be accessed from www.amazon.in/appstore.

     

    The Android OS is available in over 200 countries and accessible to over 240 million Amazon customers. It offers a great selection of localized content for customers on news, automotive, spirituality and entertainment.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Pratik Mazumder,Vice President & Head Marketing, Times Internet, said, “We are delighted to announce our new tie up with the Amazon Appstore. TIL has always been striving to innovate and implement ways to make the customer experience better. This is another endeavour by TIL that has set a new industry standard. We are confident that this partnership will benefit our users in a large way. This association will make searching and buying of various apps from the TIL stable easier and more convenient.”

     

    “We are extremely happy that TIL has chosen to partner with us for apps. As the Amazon Appstore celebrates its 3rd anniversary, we continue to add strong partnerships to bring locally relevant content to our users in nearly 200 countries worldwide. Now our users can download news, entertainment and other content from TIL directly to their Android phones and tablets, as well as Kindle Fire tablets. This is a win-win situation,” says Mr. Parag Gupta, Country Head, Amazon Appstore.

     

    The Times of India app brings you breaking news and unrivalled coverage of national, international, city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, health, science and technology topics from India’s most-read and most-trusted newspaper.

     

    Apps Selection available on the Amazon Appstore: Gaana,  ZigWheels , The Economic Times,   The Times of India,  Speaking Tree, BoxTV ,TimesCity

     

    Gaana App offers an endless collection of songs from Bollywood, International music and varied languages like Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali and many more Indian regional languages. ( International content For Indian geography only)

    ZigWheels App offers an ultimate source of information on automobiles. This app not only lets you research new cars, used cars, and bikes in the market but also brings you latest news, reviews, comparisons, photos, and videos of your favorite cars and bikes.

    Economic Times  app helps customers track latest business & economy news as it happens. The app gives a comprehensive and real time updates across markets, business, and industry to help consumers stay updated with an unrivalled coverage. The build in Portfolio tracker helps the consumers to simply track and manage their wealth on the go.

    Times of India App offers complete and up-to-date coverage of everything that is relevant and interesting — anytime, anywhere, bringing breaking news and unrivalled coverage of national, international, city, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, business, health, science and technology topics from India’s most-read and most-trusted newspaper.

    TimesCity   App is your comprehensive discovery destination which lets you to explore recommended restaurants, movies, bars, events etc. In your city.

     
    Speakingtree.in is India’s first spiritual social network online where spiritual enthusiasts discuss spirituality under the guidance of world renowned spiritual masters like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra, SadhguruJaggiVasudev, Andrew Cohen, MaulanaWahiduddin and many others.

    BoxTV is India’s premium online video streaming service for watching Hollywood, Bollywood and regional movies &TV shows on your kindle. It delivers premium movie watching experience with high quality streaming offering content across 9+ languages and 20+ genres.

     

  • Outbrain signs strategic partnership with Times Internet

    Outbrain signs strategic partnership with Times Internet

    NEW DELHI: Outbrain, a content discovery platform, has signed a multi-year strategic partnership agreement with Times Internet. The move will help Times Internet to advance its native content strategy that the group has pioneered for many years.

     

     Outbrain’s Engage, which is a platform that helps publishers deliver personalised content recommendations to its audiences, will be used across desktop, tablet and mobile devices on all of the Times Internet’s web properties including Times of India, Economic Times and India Times.

     

    “At Times Internet, we have always strived to give our readers what they wanted. We are delighted to announce TIL’s association with Outbrain, to fortify the values which we stand for. Outbrain’s proven technology places the right content in front of the right people at the right time enriching the users’ content experience,” said Times Internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

     

    “Outbrain’s mission is to help people discover the most interesting, relevant and trusted content wherever they are and so this deal is a major milestone. Our deep partnership with Times Internet showcases the full capability of our innovative technology which firmly demonstrates to the Indian publisher and media market that Content Marketing is here to stay. We are looking forward to working with Satyan and his team to grow this new space very quickly in India,” said Outbrain regional director Anthony Hearne.

     

     Outbrain Engage serves Times Internet viewers with the most interesting and personalised content recommendations possible.

  • The Economic Times unveils telecom news portal ETTelecom.com

    The Economic Times unveils telecom news portal ETTelecom.com

    MUMBAI: One of India’s leading business & economy news website, The Economic Times announced the launch of ETTelecom.com, a comprehensive news portal catering exclusively to the telecom sector.

    Launched by the Union Minister for Information Technology & Law, Kapil Sibal today in a press briefing at Sanchar Bhawan, New Delhi, and this initiative is a part of The Economic Times commitment to the telecom sector. ETTelecom.com has been launched with an objective to keep industry professionals updated with a comprehensive and focused round up on the telecom sector news – locally and globally; breaking new stories and in-depth analysis across varied topics such as technology, voice, VAS, and allied sectors.

    ETTelecom.com aims to redefine a new generation of focused business vertical news, information, data, tools and services to professionals in the telecom industry. The exclusive coverage by the portal, will be complimented by a daily mobile-friendly newsletter to its subscribers – updating them with the latest and trending stories across telecom sector, every morning.

    To facilitate deeper industry-engagement, ETTelecom.com will provide an interactive platform for the telecom professionals via forums and live discussions with the decision makers in telecom industry.

    Telecom minister Kapil Sibal congratulated The Economic Times and said that it was an important step for the sector and as well as nation.

    “I believe that the telecom and IT sectors are the infrastructure of empowerment that apply to all fields of human activity, because there is no field that is left out of cyberspace. This is a big challenge for us, while you provide the platform we will have spate of information on that platform that we will have to respond to,” he said.

    “There is a lot of information, and it should be analysed on a daily basis and put out on a right kind of platform so that there is informed decision making on the other end. The Economic Times has taken a step forward, and I congratulate the team on of ETTelecom.com,” added Sibal.

    “ETTelecom.com would be a quality news and information resource for people involved in India’s fast-growing ICT industry. We are extremely delighted to have such a dynamic and focused news portal catering to the entire telecom sector, and wish their team the very best in their endeavours,” said Telecom Commission DoT and chairman secretary MF Farooqui.

    “Our objective is to make ETTelecom.com a one-stop destination for industry leaders who want to keep themselves updated about the telecom sector in India. The portal will not only focus on voice and VAS, but also networks, broadband, DTH, IPTV, handsets and all related information. The Indian telecom industry is at a perfect stage of development now and with 3G and smart phones gradually taking the centre stage, it will have a lot of stories to tell in the coming time. As Internet access is poised for a dramatic turn, we see Times Internet diversifying into B2B news and adopting an aggressive strategy to redefine content delivery with a sector-wise approach said Times internet CEO Satyan Gajwani.

  • ASCI upheld complaints against 52 of 84 ads; healthcare

    ASCI upheld complaints against 52 of 84 ads; healthcare

    MUMBAI: ASCI‘s Consumer Complaints Council (CCC) upheld complaints against 52 out of 84 advertisements, which came under the scanner of the self regulatory body in March 2013. Taking a proactive measure to protect the interest of healthcare, education and personal care consumers, ASCI upheld complaints against those ads that were making misleading claims to engage clients, in forming pseudo brand image.

    The major brands that had come under ASCI‘s scanner, include Dabur India Ltd, Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Ltd, Ag Herbs (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Zaptech, Garima Career Foundation, Montfort Group of Institute, The Economic Times, Honda Siel Power Products Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd and Eureka Forbes Ltd.

    In March 2013, ASCI witnessed a surge in number of complaints against the deceiving ads, which had mounted to 84. However, all of them did not contravene ASCI‘s codes or guidelines, and 32 complaints were later taken back. Those which didn‘t trespass the code were, Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt Ltd- Idea 3 G, Applect Learning Systems Pvt Ltd– Meritnation.com, Cadbury (India) Ltd – Perk Glucose, Carrier Midea India Pvt Ltd – Midea Air Conditioners, Hindustan Unilever Ltd – Dove Elixir Hair Oil and Nitta Gelatin India Limited, Parle Products Pvt Ltd – Parle Londonderry.

    In the case of health & personal care products or services ASCI upheld complaints against those inadequate and unscientific print ads, which had violated the Chapter I of the ASCI code. Some of the healthcare product or services ads also contravened the provisions of the Drug & Magic Remedies Act. Due to which industry‘s major players, including Dabur India Limited, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Johnson & Johnson Ltd, Dr. Monga Clinic, ClinTech Medical & Aesthetic Center, Rvita Ayurveda Centre, Vaarid Herbal Face Pack and Soliel International came under the fire.

    On the educational fore, there were 14 advertisements that could prove its essence and had violated the ASCI Guidelines for Advertising of Educational Institutions. For instance, players like Zapak, Garima Career Foundation, Mazenet Solution Pvt Ltd and BS Abdur Rahman University, Montfort Group of Institute‘s claims came up futile in providing 100 per cent job to people.

    ASCI‘s regulation didn‘t spare India‘s biggest media conglomerate like Times Group, when ET Now came under scanner for its print ad saying, “ET Now is the undisputed leader on the budget date, and only our competitor will say it was a bad budget.” They have quoted ET Now has 64 per cent of the market share and CNBC TV18 has 36 per cent of the market share.The CCC noted the contents of the ad and concluded that the market share claimed by the advertiser was not adequately substantiated. The advertisement contravened Chapter I.1 of the Code; therefore, the complaint was upheld.

    Above all, there were some other companies from Automobile, FMCG and consumer durable products that flouted the codes of ASCI‘s Consumer Complaints Council (CCC).

  • IRS Q3 2012: 3 of top 10 Hindi as well as English newspapers lose readership

    MUMBAI: Three of the top ten Hindi daily newspapers and an equal number out of the top ten English dailies saw a fall in readership in the third quarter of 2012. The Hindi newspapers which lost readership in the third quarter are Amar Ujala, Patrika and Nai Duniya), while the English dailies are The Telegraph, The Economic Times, and The New Indian Express.

    These are the findings of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) Q3 2012, released by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and Hansa Research.

    Dainik Jagran continues to be the leader with all India readership (AIR) of 16.47 million in Q3 compared with 16.42 million in the preceding quarter. Dainik Bhaskar is in the second position with AIR of 14.5 million in the third quarter of calendar year 2012, up from 14.45 million in the preceding quarter.

    The newspaper with the third largest all India readership is Hindustan. Its AIR increased to 12.24 million in Q3 from 12.20 million in the preceding quarter.

    The pecking order of the publications has remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2012.

    Malayala Manorama was the fourth most read publication with AIR of 9.75 million in Q3, up from 9.71 million in the preceding quarter.

    Meanwhile, the AIR of Amar Ujala fell to 8.53 million in Q3 from 8.6 million in Q2 2012. The publication, however, remains the fifth most read.

    Amongst Hindi language publication, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan and Amar Ujala take the top four positions, respectively. They are followed by Rajasthan Patrika, AIR of which grew from 6.75 million in Q2 2012 to 6.8 million in Q3 2012.

    In case of the English dailies, the Times of India maintained its position at the top of the list with AIR of 7.65 million in Q3 as compared to 7.64 in Q2 2012. It is followed by Hindustan Times (AIR: 3.768 million) and the Hindu (AIR 2.258 million). The pecking order here too remains the same as last quarter‘s.

    The regional dailies saw some changes in the ranking order. Though Malayala Manorama continues to lead, Daily Thanthi with AIR of 7.41 million replaces Lokmat that witnessed AIR of 7.40 in the third quarter of 2012. Next in the ranking order is Mathrubhumi with AIR of 6.41 million. Seven out of the top ten Indian language dailies (Daily Thanthi, Lokmat, Mathrubhumi, Ananda Bazar Patrika, Gujarat Samachar, Dinakaran and Daily Sakal) lost readership.

  • Xrbia’s teaser campaign sells destination

    MUMBAI: Real estate company XRBIA Developers has launched the teaser campaign for its upcoming project by the same name.

    The campaign has been conceptualised by creative agency Ideas@work and the objective of the campaign is to promote ‘XRBIA as a country.’ The strategic marketing consultancy on the campaign was GroupM’s agency mConsult.

    As part of the concept to further this objective, the teaser campaign is made to look like a tourism advertising/promotion, inviting people to explore a new destination. To make it seem authentic and pique the audience’s curiosity, the campaign also uses the line ‘Visa on Arrival’ as a finishing touch.

    The idea draws inspiration from the etymology of the word Xrbia. The name of the project is derived from the word ‘exurb’ which denotes a location on the outskirts of a city. In keeping with the name’s origin, Xrbia Developers plans to focus the current and future projects at locales on the outskirts of the bustling cities.

    The campaign consists of a 360 degree campaign to reach the target audience and create maximum retention of the brand name and associations. For this purpose, the agency created content across TV, print, radio and digital medium in order to promote the brand and position XRBIA as an idyllic country.

    As part of the print leg of the campaign, the brand issued ads in publications like The Economic Times, Mumbai Mirror, Pune Times and Gujarat Samachar. On the online front, Xrbia featured on travel portals like Make my trip and Yatra apart from the usual mass reach portals like Yahoo, Google, YouTube and Facebook.

    The TVC was created to highlight a new place where people can lead a peaceful, laughter filled and stress free life and have a community of their own wherein they welcome their guests with warmth and affection.

    In case of radio, the campaign took the interactive route and held contests running for three days on different aspects of the Xrbian Life like food, music, nightlife etc. where people participated to win vouchers if they could guess correctly amongst the options given.

    The campaign received an encouraging response with 27,000 Facebook likes and enquires about the project. “Many of the Interactions were about people asking where the new country was, some asking if it was a rebranding campaign by Serbia, some even applying for a job in the country. The high amount of interaction with the page content just helped reinforce the success of the campaign,” said an official statement.