ITV

Tag: GEC

  • Zee TV goes the edutainment way with Jodha Akbar

    Zee TV goes the edutainment way with Jodha Akbar

    MUMBAI: Whether it is being the first satellite television in India in 1992, or introducing non-fiction formats of singing and dance talent hunt shows that set the trend for competition to follow or producing fiction shows that address social issues in a poignant manner and drive societal change, Zee TV has been a pioneer in the Hindi GEC space.

     

    In the age of ‘on-the-go content consumption’, Zee TV has been carving a distinct niche for itself in the digital space through a slew of initiatives across its different shows over the last 5 years. Whether it is through Facebook and smartphone apps, augmented reality consoles at malls or innovations in the voting mechanism of its reality shows, Zee TV continues to be at the helm of innovation in the digital space too.

     

    Being the most widely followed and universally loved historical saga on Indian Television, Zee TV’s No. 1 showJodha Akbar has won the hearts of its viewers across India. With an unparalleled rating of 11019 TVTs last week, the show is the biggest historical ever on Indian television. Now, Zee TV takes the leadership initiative yet again and is all set to make history go digital in making its popular historical saga accessible to viewers and fans as a first-of-its-kind e-book and a mobile game.

     

    The digital rendition of India’s history opens up an exciting avenue for children who shy away from their History text-books … why just kids? How many of us adults remember the broad chapters of Indian history after having gone through the grind at school? Ensuring that its readers stay glued to it once they start, Jodha Akbar’s e-book titled‘The Zee TV Mughal Empire E-Book’ presents historical facts and figures through vibrant word pictures, an arresting narration and illustrations that entertain while educating. Starting from the times of Babar and spanning across various centuries, the e-book covers the glorious reign of Shehenshah Akbar right up to Prince Shahjahan. This entire saga of the Mughal reign in India is brought alive through this e-book.

     

    Comprising 6 mini-games, the Jodha-Akbar game has various fun, exciting elements all packed together, making it a must-have app on your phone. Challenge your knowledge about the Mughal Empire through a quiz game – The Grand Entry. Test your reflexes as you race along the battle field combating the enemy in ‘The Ride of your Life’ and ‘The Battle Royale’. ‘Fort Quest’ is a game that gives you a chance to step into the shoes of the great warrior Akbar and conquer the fort. With each threshold crossed in points your rank increases in the Mughal Army from ‘Mansabdar’ to a ‘Wazir’ to a ‘Jawaan’ and finally cross a score of 1 lac points to gain the title of the ‘Mughal Baadshah’ and unlock a secret game ‘The Nine Jewels’!

     

    Talking about launching the game and e-book, Akash Chawla – Head, Marketing – National Channels , ZEEL said, “Zee TV, has been at the forefront in the GEC space with its initiatives in the digital domain over the past 5 years. At a time when ‘on-demand’ and ‘on the go’ entertainment is the order of the day, we have been successful in providing our viewers with both, on-air as well as digital content that has kept them engrossed and engaged. While the innovative e-book packs in it the entire history of the Mughal Empire through vibrant pictorial depictions and a crisp narration, the game will test your knowledge of the Mughal era, ability to think like a warrior and transport you into the world of Jodha Akbar. While entertaining the masses with our on-air content remains our mainstay, we have gone the edutainment way while creating a digital footprint with Jodha Akbar.”

     

    Available now on Online at http://www.zeetv.com/jodha-akbar/ and on Android platforms as the ‘Jodha Akbar Game’ and ‘‘The Zee TV Mughal Empire E-Book’, the game and e-book will be available soon on the IOS platform as well. Even as the show’s popularity continues to soar on the tube, the game and e-book will get viewers of the show to experience the world of Jodha Akbar like never before.

     

    Do not miss Jodha Akbar, Every Monday – Friday at 8:00 PM, Only on Zee TV!

  • Ditto TV brings Zee Jaipur Literature Festival to your fingertips

    Ditto TV brings Zee Jaipur Literature Festival to your fingertips

    MUMBAI: Ditto TV, India’s first OTT (Over-The-Top) TV distribution platform from Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) will showcase events from the most eagerly awaited and the biggest annual literary event in Asia: Jaipur Literature Festival, this year. Viewers will be able to catch all the action from the five day literary commemoration including the keynote address, book readings, seminars, art and performances, and much more. It is indeed an exciting opportunity for avid book lovers, music and literary enthusiasts to experience the magic and euphoria of the festival on their mobile screens at their convenient time.  

    Speaking on this uniqueoffering, Manoj Padmanabhan, Business Head, Ditto TV said, “Zee Jaipur Literature Festival is one of the most sought after literary events in the year. Literature lovers can now watch videos of the festival at their convenience, anywhere, at any time.”

    The key events at the Jaipur festival will be packaged into multiple video clips and will be available for free.

    The Jaipur Literature Festival brings together some of the greatest thinkers and writers from across South Asia and the world. The festival which will be hosted at the beautiful Diggi Palace in Jaipur between January 17-21st, 2014 will have some of the world’s most celebrated personalities like AmartyaSen, Jason Burke, JhumpaLahiri speaking at the event. This year,the festival is expected to have about 2 lakh literature lovers from across the world and over 240 authors for five days of debate and discussion, from fiction to biography, history to music.

    Today, Ditto TV offers the largest collection of premium content through 67 LIVE TV channels spread across leading genres like GEC, Sports, Lifestyle, Regional and Newsalong with rich on-demand video capabilities. Ditto TV canbe downloaded from www.dittotv.com

     

  • MTG launches its first free-TV channel in Tanzania

    MTG launches its first free-TV channel in Tanzania

    STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG), the international entertainment group, today announced that it has launched its first ever advertising funded free-TV channel in Tanzania under the TV1 brand. The channel is available through Tanzania’s digital terrestrial network, and already reaches up to 30% of the 48 million people in the country.

     

    TV1 is a general entertainment channel with a mix of locally produced news and entertainment content, as well as international movies and TV series. The channel is focused on a broad, slightly female skewed, target audience of 15-49 year olds.

     

    TV1 will be MTG’s second African free-TV channel, and follows the launch of Viasat1 in Ghana in 2008. Viasat1 Ghana has grown rapidly since launch, and is now the country’s second largest free-TV channel with a 24% commercial share of viewing in the target audience group. The Ghanaian operation also reported its first quarterly profit already in 2013. Four of MTG’s Viasat thematic pay-TV channel brands are also available on networks in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Mozambique. MTG’s production company Modern African Productions (‘MAP’) also creates a wide range of content for a number of African markets, and will support the launch in Tanzania.

     

    J?rgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “We are proud to launch our second African free-TV channel. We are committed to further expanding our presence not just in Tanzania but also in other fast growing African countries and economies.  We will bring viewers a wide range of local and international shows that will provide top quality entertainment for the whole family.”

     

    Joseph Hundah, Executive Vice President of the Group’s African operations, commented: “TV1 is our second free-TV channel launch in Africa, and we have benefitted both from our experience of launching a channel in Ghana, and from our presence in Tanzania through our pay channels over the past few years. We have built everything from the ground up to ensure that we have the best possible local facilities, to provide the platform for future growth and, most important of all, to ensure that we deliver the most exciting, relevant and engaging TV experience for our audience.”

  • ETV Marathi’s Crorepati eyes double bonanza in Season II

    MUMBAI: Viacom 18 took its first bold step in the regional space after acquiring a clutch of ETV channels by introducing one of India’s biggest and boldest non-fiction shows on its Marathi channel. Thus, Kaun Banega Crorepati became Kon Hoeel Marathi Crorepati on ETV Marathi. Now back for a second run, just four months after the last season ended, the channel is looking at increasing its cash inflow as well as eyeballs from the flagship show.

     

    The second season will see Sachin Khedekar back as host but facing not one, but two contestants as the theme this year is about couples or jodis. The prize money has also been doubled to Rs 2 crore. “The dynamic of two people changes a lot of things. These two people may be anyone in a family,” says BIG Synergy MD Siddhartha Basu.

     

    A huge marketing campaign had rolled out on TV and radio about four weeks ago emphasising on the number ‘two’ that is the theme. 

     

    The print campaign will strike on 13 January, the day the show launches. A digital app is expected to roll out soon after the launch of the show that will try to engage the younger audiences through social media. With the response it received from season 1, this time the channel has gone overboard on its marketing, spending nearly about Rs 4 to Rs 5 crore.

     

    Airing on Monday and Tuesday from 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm, it will replace two shows on these two days, which will now air four times a week. The current season is expected to run for three months with 36 episodes in all. According to sources, the cost of production is approximately Rs 8-10 crore for season two.

     

    The studio set up was created in Film City in December and six episodes have been shot so far with average shoot hours daily totting up to 12 hours.

     

    Last season, KHMC garnered about 3 TRPs and this time the channel is looking at starting off at that and doubling it amongst Marathi speaking audiences.  “It is worthy to say that nonfiction shows don’t really get such high ratings in languages,” says Viacom 18 EVP and business head Anuj Poddar. Last year KHMC doubled the channel’s overall ratings.

     

    Conversations are on with a slew of advertisers and sponsors, with Lever brand Clinic plus already coming on board as the presenting sponsor and the target is to reach about five to six advertisers, this time. The average per 10 second rate for commercials has been pegged at Rs 70,000 that is about 60 to 70 per cent higher than last year.

     

    Although only Marathi speaking people are allowed to participate in the show, it has seen a 50 per cent increase in the participants claims the channel.

     

    “The show is a very generous one. Our average pay out per episode is about Rs 6.5 lakh,” says Basu. “With growing viewership not just broadcasters but also advertisers and sponsors are also putting their money into such formats. A broadcaster takes it as a game changer and it is a huge investment for him as well.”

     

    The targets it has set for itself are high but will the channel be able to live up to its own as well as the people’s expectations? We will soon find out as it launches this Monday.

  • Star Utsav gets a new business head in Pratik Seal

    Star Utsav gets a new business head in Pratik Seal

    MUMBAI: There’s some change at the top in the Star group of channels. Star Utsav, a sister channel of Star Plus, has got a new business head. Pratik Seal, who was working as Star Network’s second general entertainment channel (GEC), Life OK’s marketing head, will now take up the role of Star Utsav’s business head.

     

    Seal, who has already started working in the new role since last week, is reporting to Star Plus general manager Gaurav Banerjee. An official announcement about this would be made soon.

     

    Prior to joining Star Network, Seal was heading the marketing functions at Micromax. He has a total experience of 15 years.

     

    Seal, who started his career in 1998, has experience in brand management, strategic planning, advertising and communication, key account management, product development insights, media planning, event management and public relations.

     

    Seal started as an account executive with Basic4 Advertising. After spending two years with the company, he moved to Ties2Family.com as an assistant manager, marketing and then worked as senior account executive with FCB Ulka.

     

    After spending about two years with FCB Ulka, Seal joined Lowe Lintas as a senior brand services manager. Within three years, he was promoted to the position of senior brand services director. He later joined Vodafone as senior manager, marketing in April 2006. In December 2007, he joined as the senior manager – marketing in Samsung and then in Micromax as marketing head in April, 2010.

  • Lowe Lintas help spread love for LT Food

    Lowe Lintas help spread love for LT Food

    MUMBAI: LT Foods, a processor and exporter of packaged basmati rice and an upcoming FMCG company, has unveiled a new television commercial with actor Amitabh Bachchan for its flagship brand, Daawat.

     

    The new campaign is conceputalised by Lowe Lintas. The TVC titled “Pyaar ki Special Bhasha” brings to life the unique Indian way of expressing the love through the food we serve and eat and how this expression is incomplete without the finest basmati rice, Daawat.

     

    On the commercial, Lowe Lintas chief creative officer and chairman R Balki says, “Rice being at the centre of our food shoulders the responsibility of this expression of love. Daawat is the finest Basmati…the finest vehicle for this expression. Thus, the concept of ‘pyaar ki special bhasha’ and who better than Amitabh Bachchan to remind us about our expression of love through food which he does with his inimitable touch of humor.”

     

    In  a  fast growing and competitive category, where consumers are bombarded with messages on product superiority and attributes, brief was to develop a campaign  which  connects  to  the  heart  of  the  consumers and make them experience  the fulfillment that comes from cooking, serving and eating the finest basmati rice.

     

    Speaking about the TVC, LT Foods CEO Vivek Chandra says, “Daawat Basmati Rice understands the importance of rice in a family’s meal. Daawat Basmati has taken a step further and created a unique range of basmati rice for different dishes and cuisines. These grains are specifically picked, processed and packed, so that consumers can bring out the subtle wonder of each dish they prepare. This TVC strengthens the brand ethos by talking about the role a great dish plays in our life and how it helps us to express love.”

     

    The TVC is director by Shoojit Sircar and is a pan India campaign. “We will be taking leading TV channels across multiple genres like GECs, movie channels etc. to promote the campaign. A 360 approach will be developed to communicate to our target audience through relevant media vehicles that they are exposed to,” informs Chandra.

  • Amrita TVs short snippet Thattu Kada crosses 500 days of telecast

    Amrita TVs short snippet Thattu Kada crosses 500 days of telecast

    MUMBAI: BENGALURU: Malayalam GEC and news satellite FTA channel Amrita TV announced that its one to three minute snippets’ program on fast food eateries ‘Thattu Kada’ has completed 500 days. The show is aired seven times daily towards the end of each news bulletin.

     

    “Not everyone has the time to watch a 30 minute episode on eateries,” says a source at Amrita TV to www.indiantelevision.com. “Our focus has been on low cost, on variety, on hygienic places and food. We’ve had calls from across the country from people asking us for the location of a food joint in their area that has been aired by us,” informed the source.

     

    “Each snippet is produced by our various bureaus’ across the country, and we air Thattu Kada all days of the week, including Sundays’,” the source added further. “Since a snippet is a part of the news, we have not brought on separate sponsors’ for the show as yet.”

     

    The channels says that over 500 eateries have been aired on Amrita TV with a new joint being featured every day of the week. Fanning out in all districts of Kerala as well as Delhi ,Chennai, Bangalore ,Mumbai, Hyderabad, UP, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand , Gujarat and Assam, Amrita TV news reporters have discovered and highlighted unknown food joints which dish out culinary delights at affordable prices.

     

    The channel says that in an era where eating out has become a burden, the popularity of Amrita TV’s ‘Thattu Kada’ is a testimony of the common man’s preference for food which is cooked in front of one’s own eyes, served piping hot without any cosmetic frills, and at a value-for-money tariff.

  • Suvarna Plus launches two new comedy shows

    Suvarna Plus launches two new comedy shows

    BENGALURU: The Star network’s recently added Kannada GEC Suvarna Plus announced the launch of two new daily (Monday to Sunday) comedy shows – Singari Bangari and Jam‘n’Jelly that will go on air from December  2013. Singari Bangari will go on air at 9:00 pm followed by Jam`n’Jelly at 9:30 pm.

     

    Suvarna Plus business head Anup Chandrashekharan says, “The idea behind the two comedy shows is to provide a sense of relief to the audiences from their stressful lives. Jam‘n’Jelly is a first of its kind mute comedy offering in the Kannada market. Both these shows are light hearted comedies and I am sure that our audiences would enjoy them.”  

     

    Earlier, the channel re-ran the content broadcast by the Star Network’s first Kanada GEC Suvarna. Over a period of time the network plans to add more content exclusively for Suvarna Plus say sources at the channel.  

     

    “Since this is a new channel, we don’t have sponsors or new advertisers on board for the shows, but are sure to get them once the shows and the channel gain popularity,” revealed the sources, who also informed that generally the ad inventory in the case of Suvarna is fully booked.

     

    The channel says that Singari Bangari is a fun riot between mother-in-law (Singari) and daughter-in-law (Bangari).  The cat and mouse game between these two affects the family and leads them into comical situations more often than not. The never ending tussle between the two women is the crux of the show. The show is directed by Pavankumar and produced by Vasanthkumar.

     

     Jam‘n’Jelly is a mute comedy, a first of its kind in Kannada entertainment. The two characters Jam and Jelly are the highlights of the show. The show has a lot of firsts in it and is all set to create a new trend in the Kannada market with its unique treatment. The show is directed by Sachin Shetty and produced by Shivadhwaj.  

     

    Besides these new shows, the channel already has shows like Campus Connect, Bindas Bakra and Namma Parivara that are becoming popular names in every part of Karnataka.

  • Zee TV, Sab gain in week 46 TAM ratings

    Zee TV, Sab gain in week 46 TAM ratings

    MUMBAI: Week 46 of TAM TV ratings has not brought much happiness for the General Entertainment Channels (GEC) as most of them have seen a drop in its ratings.  However, there are few gainers as well — Zee TV scored 440,447 GVTs (428,610) but maintains its number three position; Sab at number five turned out to be the second gainer with 315,637 GVTs (310,534).

    Star Plus continued to lead the ratings chart despite of witnessing a drop in its score — 529,193 GVTs (536,270). Colors also maintained its number two position with 479,010 GVTs (486,423). Life OK too remained at number four with 340,200 GVTs (344,624) followed by Sab. Sony that escalated to number five last week is back to its number six position with 297,801 GVTs (341,054).

    Star Plus that is leading the chart witnessed few variations in the ratings of its popular shows — Diya Aur Baati Hum registered 11,223 TVTs (10,921), Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai too registered 7,335 TVTs (7,039). However, Pyar Ka Dard Hai maintained a stable position with 7,774 TVTs (7,754). Sath Nibhana Saathiya, one of the most popular shows in the pre-primetime slot trudged with 7,708 TVTs (7,518). The epic series Mahabharat too registered 5,807 TVTs (5,475). The ratings of Saraswati Chandra also didn’t see much change with 5,111 TVTs (5,170). The channel’s recently launched popular celebrity dance reality show Nach Baliye witnessed a drop in its ratings and registered 4,741 TVTs (6,034).

    There are few surprises in store for Colors’ as well. Its longest running fiction series, Balika Vadhu saw a dip and generated 7,298 TVTs (7,581), while Madhubala – Ek Ishq Ek Junoon scored 4,473 TVTs (4,594). Uttaran, another popular show on the channel also witnessed a significant rise and rated 4,096 TVTs (3,690). Comedy Nights with Kapil that has become one of the most popular shows across channels of late witnessed a huge rise with 8,588 TVTs (7,357), but contrarily, the much hyped Indian adaptation of the international series 24 starring Anil Kapoor saw a dip and scored 2,881 TVTs (3,222). The Bigg Boss bickering seems to be getting really popular as the celebrity reality show has again witnessed a slight increase in its ratings and marked 5,316 TVTs (5,133).

    Zee TV’s period drama Jodha Akbar and sitcom Bh Se Bhade seems to have worked some wonders for the channel. While the former registered 9,176 TVTs (8,989), the former too witnessed a rise with 2,080 TVTs (1,735). Even the channel’s fictional offering Qubool Hai witnessed a hike and registered 5,646 TVTs (5,397). Pavitra Rishta generated 4,879 TVTs (4,345), while its drama series, Do Dil Bandhe Ek Dori Se registered 5,622 TVTs (5,159). Its popular dance reality show, Dance India Dance 4 scored 5,075 TVTs (3,806) on Saturday and 5,547 TVTs (5,550) on a Sunday.

    Life OK witnessed a rise in its popular mythological series Mahadev. It scored 3,693 TVTs (3,073). Ek Boond Ishq also saw a massive rise and registered 3,112 TVTs (2,528). Shapath too seems to be becoming a favourite among the viewers. It generated 4,392 TVTs (3,418). Do Dil Ek Jaan registered 1,472 TVTs (1,438) while crime-based show Savdhaan India generated 2,848 TVTs (2,730). The channel’s new entrant Tumhari Paakhi saw a decent opening with 2,068 TVTs.

    Sab’s fiction show, Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah continues to get viewership as with 7,782 TVTs (7,135) it leads among all its other shows. Even Chidiya Ghar saw a significant rise and generated 3,265 TVTs (2,836). Lapataganj generated 1,986 TVTs (1,894) and Baalveer registered 3,134 TVTs (2,375).

    At the sixth position, Sony witnessed a drop in the ratings of its longest running crime series CID — 4,744 TVTs (5,501). Crime Patrol could manage only 3,887 TVTs (4,284). The channel’s historical show Maharana Pratap garnered 2,922 TVTs (2,668), while quiz show KBC witnessed a drop and recorded 3,738 TVTs (4,029). Other fiction shows either maintained a stable position or dipped marginally during the week. Its new horror flick, Bhoot Aaya registered 1,792 TVTs (1,583).

    In the movie channel genre, Zee Cinema reported 185,759 GVTs (218,568); Star Gold witnessed a drop and registered 174,020 TVTs (217,861) and Movies OK scored 130,641 TVTs (138,425). On the other hand, &pictures garnered 77,910 TVTs (71,225), Zee Anmol registered 44,457 TVTs (41,776) and Max scored 173,908 TVTs (197,869).

    While the GECs have maintained their positions this week, let’s see what’s in store for the channels in the coming weeks.

  • The TRAI, TDSAT and the ad cap story: Waiting for Godot?

    The TRAI, TDSAT and the ad cap story: Waiting for Godot?

    So everyone has bought themselves some more time. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) decided to postpone till 11 November the date of hearing for the 10+2 ad cap case filed by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), music channels as well as the regional channels on grounds of lack of information. The extra fortnight gave it more days to ruminate over what has clearly proved to be a major thorn in almost everyone’s side whether it is the government or broadcasters or agencies or advertisers.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) started it all when under the quality of services rules it decided to force broadcasters to limit commercial air time to 12 minutes per hour a year or so ago. The decision was postponed and rolled over until mid-2013 when it decided enough is enough and passed an order which would see general entertainment channels first reduce advertising airtime to 16 minutes per hour, while the news channels were to cut it down to 20 minutes per hour from 1 July till 30 September. Following this, the GECs from 1 October had to reduce the advertising airtime to 12 minutes per hour and the news channels to 16 minutes per hour.

     

    The decision was postponed and rolled over until mid-2013 when it decided enough is enough and passed an order which would see general entertainment channels first reduce advertising airtime to 16 minutes per hour, while the news channels were to cut it down to 20 minutes per hour from 1 July till 30 September.
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    Broadcasters – especially the news one – saw red instantly and screamed as if their life was being squeezed out of them. They obviously did not think about the viewer who was at times being inundated with almost 30 minutes or more of ads on TV to watch news. They went ahead and appealed to the TDSAT that what was being called for was draconian and unacceptable. Their claim that news could not have fixed time duration such as TV shows and hence such a restrictive law would sound the death knell for them. However, syncing it with the completion of digitisation was that found favour with them.

     

    The GECs seemed unperturbed and said that they were all right with the TRAI diktat and announced that they would compensate the inventory reduction by raising per 10 second rates by 20-30 per cent. They seemed a very united bunch until one day the management at Multi Screen Media (Sony) woke up and said it would walk its own path and not reduce air time. The music channels too followed and filed an appeal with TDSAT.

     

    In the meanwhile, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry too got into the act with minister Manish Tewari stating categorically that the reduction of air time should happen as digitisation gets completed by December 2014, giving the broadcasters some much needed support. The mandarins at Shastri Bhawan were asked to evaluate how the reduction of air time would impact the TV channels.

     

    Advertisers and agencies sucked in their collective breaths and protested as loudly as they could that the broadcast industry was unilaterally trying to raise rates without any rationale despite having contracts in place and that they would not allow that.

     

    The noise continued for weeks until the hearing date came up on 31 October morning. Everyone was expecting that the TDSAT would be supportive and would rule in favour of the broadcasters. Hence, the postponement of the hearing was quite anti-climactic, though many expected it to follow that course..

     

    The GECs seemed unperturbed and said that they were all right with the TRAI diktat and announced that they would compensate the inventory reduction by raising per 10 second rates by 20-30 per cent.
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    The argument that the NBA needs more time seems a little specious, but it worked with the TDSAT. They were anyway slated to be heard on 11 November itself but their case got advanced as the number of cases went up, so for them it is back to base one.

     

    The networks – Star India, Zee TV, and Viacom18 (who had earlier stated that they would toe the TRAI line) now filed an intervention with the tribunal but have been asked to come back with a separate case.

     

    Now what after 11 November? What are the various scenarios that could play out? One, the TDSAT will turn down the appeal and tell everyone to obey the TRAI. Right now and pronto!. Two, it could postpone the hearing further, thus giving everyone more time. Third, it could decide that the reduction of air time is a good move but needs more time to be implemented. Fourth, broadcasters, advertisers and agencies could file further cases and a decision could well be put in abeyance until all the cases get sorted. The TDSAT on its part could give a ruling in one case and say that it is applicable to others, but that does not look feasible because each television channel genre has its own set of challenges.

     

    The question on everyone’s minds is whether it would give rope till 2014 December. This is something that can be debated and be seen as wishful thinking. But who knows the TDSAT may well end up playing the fairy godmother.

     

    Now, let’s say the TDSAT rules against the broadcasters, it is quite likely that they will head to the higher courts. And knowing Indian courts, it won’t be easy to reach a quick decision. Industry experts expect the air time cap to take its own course and time. That it will happen is a given, but predicting how soon is like attempting to play Russian roulette. Welcome to the world of television which has become more of a gamble in recent times.