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Tag: India

  • MSM moves to court over exclusive media rights for IND-NZ cric series

    MSM moves to court over exclusive media rights for IND-NZ cric series

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports arm Sony Six bagged the exclusive broadcast rights for the highly anticipated India’s tour of New Zealand just 10 days prior to the first match.

     

    However, after the first One Day International (ODI) which was played at Napier on 19 January where the Kiwis decimated the boys in blue by a margin of 24 runs, MSM discovered that few website operators and a radio operator were providing live and contemporaneous text and audio commentary and detailed ball-by-ball update of the match without obtaining any authorisation from MSM.

     

    While ESPNCricinfo was providing live and simultaneous text commentary over the internet, Cricbuzz was providing audio and text commentary online, and RadioOne was providing audio commentary through internet and mobile. Since the Network has exclusive copyright over the content, MSM moved the Delhi High Court (HC) against these three entities seeking inter alia for permanent injunction restraining violation of its exclusive media rights, damages and rendition of accounts.

     

    The New Zealand Cricket Board had granted exclusive media rights including television, internet, mobile and data rights pertaining to the India tour of New Zealand cricket matches series being played in January/February 2014 to Multi Screen Media along with its affiliates (MSM) for telecast in the Indian subcontinent.

     

    MSM general counsel Ashok Nambissan says, “We are happy that the Hon’ble High Court has granted us an injunction preventing the flagrant violation of the exclusivity of our rights in the ongoing cricket series between India and New Zealand. These rights are acquired at great cost in our efforts to bring international sports events live to our viewers. We will continue to be vigilant and take action as per law to protect our rights.”

     

    The above-mentioned matter came up before Justice GS Sistani of the Delhi High Court on 21 January, 2014. Upon hearing the submissions made on behalf of MSM, the Judge – plaintiff – issued a notice to the operators (ESPNCricinfo, Cricbuzz and RadioOne) – defendants – and passed an ex-parte ad-interim orders.

     

    The relevant portion of the aforementioned order reads as below:-

     

    “Accordingly, defendant, its agents, servants, employees are restrained from:

     

    * Making available, through any medium whatsoever, live/contemporaneous audio commentary of the matches played in the cricket series between India-New Zealand;

     

    * Exploiting or authorising the exploitation of cricket match-related material/information/details including but not limited to current cricket score, ball-by-ball updates, score cards, score updates, alerts etc, contemporaneous with match situations/events, as they happen in relation to the matches played in the cricket series between India- New Zealand.”

     

    The Delhi High Court has directed these websites and radio channel to obtain licenses from MSM if they wish to provide live commentary on their websites and apps and/or provide score updates, scorecards or any other match information.

  • Gartner Says Mobile Advertising Spending Will Reach $18 Billion in 2014

    Gartner Says Mobile Advertising Spending Will Reach $18 Billion in 2014

    MUMBAI: Growth from 2015 to 2017 Will Be Fueled by Improved Market Conditions

     

    Global mobile advertising spending is forecast to reach $18.0 billion in 2014, up from the estimated $13.1 billion in 2013, according to Gartner, Inc. The market is expected to grow to $41.9 billion by 2017. Gartner said that display formats will make up most of the revenue, but video will show the highest growth.

     

    “Over the next few years, growth in mobile advertising spending will slow due to ad space inventory supply growing faster than demand, as the number of mobile websites and applications increases faster than brands request ad space on mobile device screens,” said Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner. “However, from 2015 to 2017, growth will be fueled by improved market conditions, such as provider consolidation, measurement standardization and new targeting technologies, along with a sustained interest in the mobile medium from advertisers.”

     

    With regard to the different ad formats used in the mobile sector, mobile display ad formats are collectively the single biggest category of ads, and will remain so throughout the forecast period, although this category will shift to mobile Web display after several years of higher growth in in-app display. Uptake of the audio/video format by the end of the forecast period is higher because the tablet form factor will drive video, and the tablet market continues to grow.

     

    In addition, search/map ad types will benefit from increased use of location data gathered from users, either through them opting into being located automatically through their devices or because they proactively check in the places they visit using apps such as Foursquare and Pinterest. As a result, local advertisers will be more interested in the mobile channel as a means of pushing ads. The split between in-app and Web display is taking longer to shift in favor of the latter, as the use of HTML5 tools in mobile website development is taking longer to impact the market.

     

    All regions of the world will experience strong growth in mobile advertising spend, although North America is where most of growth will come from, due to the sheer scale of its advertising budgets and their shift to mobile.

     

    “North America is the region with the strongest general advertising focus and investment. It is also the region where online advertising is most mature,” said Mike McGuire, research vice president at Gartner. “Overall advertising budgets are the highest, so when a portion shifts to mobile, in a multiplatform approach, it immediately impacts the market’s scale.”

     

    Western Europe’s market for mobile advertising will remain similar to North America’s, albeit at a slightly lower scale, for the duration of the forecast period. “The mobile channel will become more and more integrated into 360-degree advertising campaigns, eating up budget historically allocated to print and radio advertising,” said Ms. Baghdassarian.

     

    Asia/Pacific and Japan is the most mature region for mobile advertising, and therefore growth will slow between 2012 and 2017, averaging 30 percent a year. Historically, the unusually high adoption of handsets for digital content consumption in Japan and South Korea has given the Asia/Pacific region an early lead in mobile advertising. Looking forward, Gartner expects the high-growth economies of China and India to contribute increasingly to mobile advertising growth as their expanding middle classes present attractive markets for global and local brands.

     

    In the emerging markets of Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, mobile advertising growth will largely track the technology adoption and stabilization of emerging economies, but will mostly be driven by large markets such as Russia, Brazil and Mexico. From 2015, growth rates in this region will exceed the worldwide average.

     

    More detailed analysis is available in the report “Forecast: Mobile Advertising, Worldwide, 2010-2017.” The report is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/document/2642816.

  • Global fashion and lifestyle brand “Smiley” to enter India

    Global fashion and lifestyle brand “Smiley” to enter India

    MUMBAI: Smiley, one of the most recognized icons in the world and an iconic global and lifestyle fashion brand, today announced its plans to enter India market through its anchor brand Smiley. The company’s plan is to set up exclusive Smiley stores which would have the complete merchandise of The Smiley Company – apparel, sportswear, shoes, bags, jewellery, school merchandise, accessories and even Smiley branded chocolates and confectionery.

    Brandspoke is seeking Indian partners including distributors, manufacturers, and franchise partners to establish Smiley as the preferred fashion and lifestyle brand.

    Smiley was founded in 1972 by creator Franklin Loufrani. Owner of the iconic smiley logo and emoticons, in 1997, Franklin’s son Nicolas Loufrani introduced the first emoticons which later became the universe of Smiley¬ World. Its products are sold worldwide with strong trademark and copyright protection.

    Smiley has already registered its trademark in over 100 countries and active in more than 25 different industries. The Smiley brand and logo have significant exposure through licensees in sectors like clothing, home decoration, perfumery, plush, stationery, publishing, and through promotional campaigns.

     
    Speaking on the Smiley Company’s strategy for India market, Mr. Nicolas Loufrani, CEO, Smiley said, “Smiley’s number one market in the digital world is currently India which represents almost 15% of our entire global fan base. Having started to seed our positive values online and seeing the tremendous interaction with our Indian fans we feel it is now time to extend our activities here and provide them with the Smiley products they all dearly wish to see”.

    About “Smiley London” and Smiley “Happy Sports” product ranges showcased at India Fashion Forum 2014, Mumbai, India.

    “Smiley London” is a daring revival of the Smiley heritage born out of the Brit¬ish electronic and house music scene, where Smiley ruled the dance floors. Smiley London revisits back in the day when it was about unity and togeth¬erness and revives the spirit of wearing your smiley with pride and keeping the beats alive.

    Smiley “Happy Sports” delivers a colourful and vibrant alternative to an overtly branded sports fashion market, drawing from the original concept behind sports fashion and reminding people that sport and activity is about movement, teamwork, togetherness, enjoyment and making the most of your life. Happy Sports works with bold and bright colour ways to deliver a collection which catches the eye.

    The ever expanding collection targeted at a young 18-to-35 years fashion audience is bang on trend stylish high quality tee’s, tops, hoodies, varsity jackets, baseball caps, beanies all with on trend print applications, such as metallic foils, urban camo’s and classic smiley prints.

    The designs are positive and energetic which is both universal and accessible, appealing to all ages and sporting interests. Smiley ‘Happy Sports’ sells a philosophy of ‘Stay Active, Stay Happy’.

     

  • ICLP announces Mark Spicer as new General Manager, India

    ICLP announces Mark Spicer as new General Manager, India

    MUMBAI: Global loyalty marketing and CRM specialist, ICLP is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Spicer as General Manager for its India operation.
     

    Based in Mumbai he will report to Dion Maritz, ICLP’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and India.
     

    Mark joins ICLP from Aimia in the Middle East where he managed the leading telecom loyalty programme for Mobily in Saudi Arabia. He has in excess of 20 years’ experience in the loyalty and incentives industry across all sectors with previous roles at Maritz, Grass Roots and Skybridge Group. With particular experience in the telecoms and financial services sectors he has managed and delivered programmes for clients including T-Mobile (USA), O2 (UK) and Vodafone (UK) in addition to Nectar and other pre-plastic card products.

     
    Mark will be responsible for managing existing client relationships and driving continued commercial growth in the country. The last few years has seen ICLP continue to invest in India and its comprehensive range of loyalty solutions and services will help develop the local loyalty market. ICLP provide loyalty solutions across varied sectors including Travel & Hospitality, Retail and Technology, Its client base has steadily increased to include both local and international brands such as Air India, Ethiopian Airlines and Café Coffee Day to name a few.  ICLP in India is also a regional centre of excellence across the Middle East, Europe and Africa for data analytics, insight and operational services, supporting international clients such as Hilton and Avios.

    Commenting on his appointment Mark Spicer, General Manager India, ICLP, said: “India’s vibrant market is going through considerable change and with consumers being even more aware and informed, competition between brands to acquire and drive customer loyalty is stronger than ever. ICLP research has shown that consumers are demanding greater value, instant gratification and choice, but also want communication that is more personalised. Brands have to adapt to the speed of the market to drive customer engagement on a more emotional level, but also to ensure the customer returns for that vital next purchase. Driving insight through data analytics is of vital importance in enabling engagement success and ICLP has a proven track record in analysing and understanding customer behaviour to increase loyalty and profitability for its clients.

    Dion Maritz, ICLP’s Regional Director for Middle East, Africa and India said: “Mark’s background and depth of international experience will be a real asset to ICLP in India as we invest more in the region. We recognise the value our product and service offering has for the region and we plan to leverage our group skills and assets to capitalise on the increasing demand of companies and brands for best practice loyalty initiatives in local markets.”

     

    Mark will be delivering a keynote presentation and is also a member of the judging panel at the forthcoming Loyalty Summit Awards on January 29-30th in Mumbai.

  • Digital Media India to discuss issues relating to challenges of digital technology to print media

    Digital Media India to discuss issues relating to challenges of digital technology to print media

    NEW DELHI: Mediapersons from various parts of the world are converging on Chennai to attend the Digital Media India 2014 Conference next month.

     

    The meet is being held on 5 and 6 February and has been organised by WAN-IFRA in Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and India. 

     

    It will address various issues relating to the growth of the internet ad, its impact on newspaper publishers, leveraging content and technology sharing experiences, social and mobile, digital revenues, models and metrics, content monetisation, audience engagement, and opportunities and threats: copyright issues, owning the data, digital brand protection.

     

    The advent of internet has paved the way for newspaper publishers to develop into news publishers. The seismic shift brought in by the digital technology presented new opportunities.

     

    Internet subscribers in India are expected to surpass 380 million by 2017. Though this is still a long-way to go to reach all 1.27 billion people but it is clear that the Indian Internet market is growing at a pace of 22 per cent year on year in unique visitor terms and is now at 80 million unique visitors as of the end of September 2013 (ComScore Media Metrix).

     

    The total number of active wireless subscribers in India grew 5 per cent over the last year to reach 731.4 million in July 2013, while broadband subscription grew 4 per cent in the last one year to reach 15.24 million at the end of July 2013 (according to a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India report). Around 79 million mobile subscribers have access to the Internet on their mobile phone (as reported by IMRB I-Cube 2012 report).

     

    If predictions are true that more digital advertising will be purchased through automated exchanges at a lower price point, then higher traffic volumes are required to maintain or increase online revenues. To increase traffic on websites, more content is required but with limited newsroom staff, who has to maintain the daily print rhythm too. 

     

    Indian language dailies are in the forefront to deliver a ‘digital-first strategy’ for building a digital business in the long term. Limited reach of the Internet, incompatibility with regional languages and fewer audiences that kept vernacular Indian dailies from making the most out of digital are now becoming a thing of the past. 

    Innovative use of technology, diversity and more pictorial in content, more tabloid in look and feel, breaking news, pushing up trending stories, add-on applications such as classifieds real estate, online shopping, travel etc., have given a greater emphasis of digital content. With page views in crores and unique visits in millions for the news sites of Indian language dailies, the success story has been marked. 

    ‘Journalism in the age of digital surveillance’ is one of the discussions lined up for 5 February, and speakers will include Anant Goenka, head of New Media in the Indian Express Group; Hindustan Times Executive Rajesh Mahapatra, Adobe India Creative Consultant Rajesh Patil; America’s OPUBCO Communication Group (The Oklahoman) CIO and VP Audience Development Dan Barth, Norway’s Verdens Gang (VG) Chief of Staff Oyvind Naess, Israel’s RBG Media CEO Grig Davidovitz, and America’s Knight Foundation Journalism and Media Innovation Programme VP Michael Maness among others.

     

    Naess will also present a case study on how they made use of the opportunities that came up in the digital revolution to their advantage and the challenges they are going to face in the future. Apart from the dramatic changes in readership, VG also sees the possibilities for non-linear TV and has made up plans to double the staff, video inventory, acquisition of programs, series and shows, to give a bigger push to live-TV. To get a closer focus on this development, they have established VG TV as a subsidiary company, effective from 1 January 2014. 

     

    Davidovitz will also address a workshop on content monetization strategies in a pre-meet on 4 February.

     

    Mathrubhumi Deputy Editor N P Rajendran will present a case study on how Mathrubhumi ventured into online space and created a niche for itself. Rajendran is a journalist for the past 32 years and heads the online desk of Mathrubhumi since 2005. 

     

    Speakers from two other successful vernacular dailies from the North and East of India, Dainik Jagran and Anandabazar Patrika will share the stage with Rajendran thus providing a comprehensive picture on this topic. 

    There will be sessions on content monetization in a digital era; innovative uses of social media; creating blog communities; the use by Indian Express – which has received the Digital Media Award – of social media in news dissemination; Revenue models and tablet metrics; and whether advertising works best online, in print, or mobile or a combination.

     

    Other participants will also include Times of India Group CIO Sachin Gupta, Jagran Prakashan MMI Online CEO Sukriti Gupta, India Today Digital CEO Salil Kumar, and ABP India IT and Technology Practice – Digital Head Amitabha Sinha.

  • Triumph Motorcycles India ties up with HDFC Bank

    Triumph Motorcycles India ties up with HDFC Bank

    MUMBAI: The British iconic motorcycle brand, Triumph Motorcycles recently announced their foray into India. To ensure potential buyers have the perfect finance option, Triumph Motorcycles has tied up with one of the leading Indian bank, HDFC Bank for providing a number of attractive finance schemes.

     

    HDFC will offer exclusive finance options to Triumph customers for up to 80% of the loan value, attracting a 12.9% rate of interest and flexible repayment options that will range from 24-60 months. In addition, prospective customers can expect accelerated loan processing and personalized doorstep service by the bank staff.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Vimal Sumbly, Managing Director, Triumph Motorcycles India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are extremely pleased to have tied-up with a reputed financial institution like HDFC. We are committed to provide a complete experience from financing to after sales to all our customers and this tie-up is a further indication of the work that has gone on behind the scenes. The financing options will certainly help our patrons to realize their dream of owning a Triumph Motorcycle.”

     

    Mr. Deepak Shinde, Sr. Vice President, Business Manager TW & Superbike Loans, HDFC Bank, said, “It gives us great pride to be associated with a legendary brand like Triumph Motorcycles. Both HDFC and Triumph Motorcycles as brands lay utmost importance to customer satisfaction and hence, we feel it is a perfect alliance. Our quick and tailor-made financing options will provide consumers a hassle free and convenient buying experience. We are looking forward to having a long standing and mutually rewarding relationship with both, the consumers and the brand”.

     

    Also present at the occasion of the tie up was Mr. Tarun Sachdev, Director-Finance, Triumph Motorcycles India Pvt. Ltd., “HDFC’s commitment towards customer service and their large nationwide network is what led to this partnership. The finance options are quick, easy and convenient, aimed to provide our customers with a hassle free and comfortable buying experience.”

     

    Triumph Motorcycles launched 10 motorcycles for the Indian market in November last year. The much sought after line-up includes the classic Bonneville and Bonneville T100, the legendary Speed Triple, the largest production motorcycle the Rocket III Roadster, the class leading Street Triple, the cool café racer the Thruxton, the go anywhere Tiger 800 XC and Tiger Explorer, the stripped back and black Thunderbird Storm and the king of super sports bikes, the Daytona 675R.

     

    Triumph’s exclusive dealerships will be operational from mid-January 2014 in Bangalore and Hyderabad. Thereafter, there will be more dealerships that will open up across India in key cities like Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Cochin and Delhi, ensuring that customers from various parts of the country are able to enjoy the Triumph experience. From genuine parts and seamless after-sales services, to authentic merchandise and accessories; Triumph will ensure that a complete biking experience will soon be available to Indian riders.

  • SONY SIX bags the exclusive rights to the New Zealand – India cricket Series

    SONY SIX bags the exclusive rights to the New Zealand – India cricket Series

    MUMBAI: SONY SIX, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to the New Zealand vs India cricket series. The series will be held in New Zealand and is scheduled from the 19th January 2014 to the 18th February 2014. The 30 day tour starts with five ODIs followed by two Test Matches.

     

     

    Commenting on this acquisition, Mr. N.P Singh, CEO, MSM said, “We are delighted to partner New Zealand Cricket as the official broadcaster to this series. With this acquisition we are staying true to our objective of delivering high octane sporting events. Sony SIX viewers can now look forward to some of the best cricketing action from two of the most stellar cricket teams in the world.”

     

     

    Mr. Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, SONY SIX, said, “We are delighted to have this series come our way early into the New Year. Through this acquisition we will give our viewers direct action to one of the most awaited cricket series in 2014. Both New Zealand and India play exciting brand of cricket and we are thrilled to be the exclusive partner to this promising series.”
     

    Mr. David White, CEO, New Zealand Cricket, said, “We are delighted to partner with Sony SIX for the series. India is home to the most passionate and dedicated cricket fans, and with Sony SIX as partners for the series, we are assured to reach out to the fans in the best manner.”
     

     

    The India tour of New Zealand 2014 bilateral series is a part of the Future Cricket Tour Program (FTP) prepared by International Cricket Council (ICC). This is the first series for the Indian team in the 2014 calendar. The two teams last met in New Zealand five years back in 2009 where India were able to register a series win in New Zealand after 41 years.
     

    Sony SIX, India’s Premier Sports Entertainment Channel is owned and operated by MSM India. The company is well known to exclusively broadcast some of the world’s largest as well as renowned international sporting properties like The Pepsi IPL, UEFA EURO 2016, Qualifiers for UEFA EURO 2016 and the European Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2018, The Australian Open, TNA, The NBA and The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Since its inception, the channel has successfully managed to target the youth of India through a mix of sports and entertainment.

  • Lukup Media and Warner Bros partner to create India’s first on demand TV channel

    Lukup Media and Warner Bros partner to create India’s first on demand TV channel

    NEW DELHI: Lukup Media has teamed up with Warner Bros Digital Distribution to offer its newly released movies such as Gravity and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and a selection of many new releases, catalogue titles and popular TV series, will be offered to viewers via an on-demand TV channel powered by a new product called the Lukup Player.

     

    The Lukup Player delivers a combination of live and on-demand content on television and other devices people use to consume content.

     

    The deal will see titles made available through the on-demand service from February 2014, as well as future new releases. Users will have access to more than 200 films and TV series from the Warner Bros. library.

     

    Lukuo Media CEO Kallol Borah said: “We are very happy to partner Warner Bros. and bring a wide selection of popular and new movies and TV shows which will be available through India’s first on-demand TV channel. The channel will allow people to choose titles from their TV program guide, pay for them and view them at a time of their choice.”

     

    Chris Dyde, Senior Vice President, International Licensee Markets, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group said: “Providing consumers with more choices and improving the movie experience at home is at the heart of Warner Bros.’ Digital strategy and we’re delighted to be working with Lukup Media, which will see a fantastic selection of both new and library movies offered to viewers in India”.

     

    Lukup Media plans to launch the Lukup Player in February 2014 and it will carry multiple on-demand channels that it will deliver on TV in addition to the live TV channels carried by satellite and cable platforms.

  • Raheel Khursheed joins Twitter India

    Raheel Khursheed joins Twitter India

    MUMBAI: Although Twitter India started its operations two years ago, it has always kept a low profile in the country. Subtly it keeps adding people to its organisation that is currently headed by Rishi Jaitley who is the director of the social media here. The recent appointment is former Times Now and CNN-IBN senior correspondent Raheel Khursheed as head of news, politics and government.

     

    According to a MediaNama report he will provide front-line technical support to journalists, politicians and governmental agencies. Twitter sources confirmed that he had joined the company but could not reveal any more details.

     

    Both Jaitley and Khursheed have mentioned his appointment on their Twitter pages. Prior to this Khursheed was with change.org where he was heading the communication strategy around campaigns in India and building its brand.

     

    The article also states that his role would be to work on expanding Twitter’s relation with journalists, government officials and politicians to increase their usage of the popular social media website.

     

    Twitter India has also hired Arvinder Gujral to head its mobile business development for India and south East Asia, Aneesh Madani to handle sports partnerships and Pratiksha Rao as associate partnerships manager.

  • When ads are better than soaps!

    When ads are better than soaps!

    By Ramanujam Sridhar

    It’s that time of year when we reflect on the old year, As an avid television viewer (and may my tribe flourish), I continue to find TV commercials often more entertaining than the soaps and serials my wife seems glued to. The advertising industry realizes that the remote control is an even more potent destroyer of poor advertising than clients and is hence pushing the envelope more and more to ensure that we don’t switch channels. Social issues have been sensitively portrayed and subtle brand messages conveyed. What better tribute to creativity than the Tanishq remarriage ad. Beautifully shot, it shows a woman doing the saat phere with her husband even as a child keeps calling her and trying to join the holy walk. We realize that it is the woman’s daughter from her first marriage perhaps, and the husband cheerfully asks the child to join in. Commercials like these need a lot of courage to create and more importantly, run, and I doff my hat to my friends in advertising and marketing who have the guts to push the envelope in more ways than one. The Google ad for Tanjore paintings is another one that created ripples as did some of the commercials for Idea Cellular and the latest Vodafone video streaming ad is as cute as advertising can get.

    Advertising which sucks

    And yet, I find a lot of advertising quite convoluted, where the idea seems to be stretched needlessly like some of the TV soaps that have long outlived their sell by date. The new campaigns for Fevikwik – a brand that had great advertising for years – seem to be that of an agency and a creative team which is too full of itself. Equally annoying are the new five star commercials. Some of the big budget ones like Pepsi’s much touted ‘Yes Abhi’ too hardly set the Indian pulse racing. While celebrity endorsements keep multiplying, there seems to be an inverse relationship between the amount paid to the celebrity by way of fees and the creativity of the commercials that they are involved in. Why are advertising agencies giving up so easily on celebrity scripts and coming up with such inane stuff?

    What’s with the programming?

    I am not a great follower of TV programming so I really should be the last person to complain, but our big anchors are becoming quite insufferable as they play God, passing judgments on people and events with impunity. They also seem to flit from topic to topic with the attention span of a few days and issues are just buried as they worry least about sensitivities and only about TRPs. Soaps are extended mindlessly for ages on end, timings are changed, characters dumped, and just about every possible character mayhem is managed with ease. The sports programming that I watch a lot is really cloying as India is shown to be the greatest superpower of all time based on a few home series wins and it seems really weird given the poor performances abroad.

    To hell with editorial responsibility

    The old issues of ‘paid editorials’ and ‘irresponsible journalism’ continue to haunt poor viewers like me. Unfortunately, the TV channels don’t seem to care as they keep outwitting each other in their quest for TRPs and viewer eyeballs. Self regulation will never work and I guess, the time is right for viewers to be more discerning, more militant even, and when their sensitivities are not respected, we must exercise our rights and instead of switching channels, maybe the channels will learn only if we switch off the TV set entirely!

    May that never come to pass however! Here’s wishing you all a wonderful year of TV viewing!

    (Ramanujam Sridhar is the founder CEO of brand-comm and director of Custommerce. The views expressed in the above article are the author’s personal views)