ITV

Tag: Jawhar Sircar

  • Expedite Prasar CEO appointment, govt urged

    Expedite Prasar CEO appointment, govt urged

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati chairman Surya Prakash has written to the government to expedite the selection of a new CEO and member (personnel) in the pubcaster.

    Prakash told the indiantelevision.com that he had sought from the government to ensure the vacancies are filled soon to facilitate decision-making.

    A high-level committee headed by India’s vice-president Hamid Ansari is needed to meet as stipulated in the Prasar Bharati Act 1990 to select a new CEO and other members.

    Meanwhile, member (finance) Rajeev Singh is scheduled to take over as the interim chief executive officer of the pubcaster from 6 February. He succeeds Suresh C Panda who was the member (personnel) and is due to retire on 4 February.

    The decision was taken at a board meeting held recently in Hyderabad. Panda had been appointed as the acting CEO after Jawhar Sircar demitted office on 4 November.

    Singh, who has been serving Prasar Bharati as member (finance) since April 2015, was previously with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd in different roles for a little over nine years. Singh is an engineering graduate from Nagpur University and is a post-graduate in business administration from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

    Singh’s appointment comes at a time when the public broadcaster is all set to revamp Doordarshan by introducing new prime time programming in February following e-auctions for these slots.

    The information and broadcasting ministry had issued an advertisement, calling applications for the post of member (personnel) and received 56 applications.

  • Expedite Prasar CEO appointment, govt urged

    Expedite Prasar CEO appointment, govt urged

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati chairman Surya Prakash has written to the government to expedite the selection of a new CEO and member (personnel) in the pubcaster.

    Prakash told the indiantelevision.com that he had sought from the government to ensure the vacancies are filled soon to facilitate decision-making.

    A high-level committee headed by India’s vice-president Hamid Ansari is needed to meet as stipulated in the Prasar Bharati Act 1990 to select a new CEO and other members.

    Meanwhile, member (finance) Rajeev Singh is scheduled to take over as the interim chief executive officer of the pubcaster from 6 February. He succeeds Suresh C Panda who was the member (personnel) and is due to retire on 4 February.

    The decision was taken at a board meeting held recently in Hyderabad. Panda had been appointed as the acting CEO after Jawhar Sircar demitted office on 4 November.

    Singh, who has been serving Prasar Bharati as member (finance) since April 2015, was previously with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd in different roles for a little over nine years. Singh is an engineering graduate from Nagpur University and is a post-graduate in business administration from Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi.

    Singh’s appointment comes at a time when the public broadcaster is all set to revamp Doordarshan by introducing new prime time programming in February following e-auctions for these slots.

    The information and broadcasting ministry had issued an advertisement, calling applications for the post of member (personnel) and received 56 applications.

  • TRAI for pvt players in DTT, suggests capping of transmitters

    TRAI for pvt players in DTT, suggests capping of transmitters

    NEW DELHI: The telecom regulator TRAI has made it clear that it was in favour of private players being permitted to provide digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) services along with the public service broadcaster (Doordarshan) to ensure plurality and competition in the market.

    Private participation is expected to bring in investment and speed up the digitisation process, thereby benefiting the consumers by providing variety of TV channels and value added services, it said. TRAI said the maximum number of DTT providers may be capped at five (one public broadcaster and four private broadcasters) at a particular place as per availability of spectrum.

    DTT has been recommended to be introduced in three phases by 31 December 2023, beginning with metro cities by 31 December 2019. Seven months after it suo moto released a consultation paper on the subject on 24 June last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today said in its recommendations that a total of seven DTT transmitters may be allowed in a particular service area for making DTT as a competitive platform for providing rich bouquet of services including SDTV, HDTV channels, Mobile TV services and value added services.

    Stressing that DTT services ‘may be introduced throughout the country in a time-bound manner to provide alternate affordable platform to consumers in accessing TV channels, Mobile TV services and other value added services’, the regulator said that after the first phase, the second phase will cover (cities having more than 10 lakh population as per Census 2011) by 31 December 2021.

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry in consultation with Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of Department of Telecommunications and other technical agency such as Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) may carry out comprehensive frequency planning for roll out of DTT services in a time bound manner.

    A maximum overlap of three month must be provided as simulcast period for migration from Analog to digital platform before analog switch off, the recommendations on “Issues related to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in India” said.

    A Coordination Committee may be set up by the I and B Ministry to steer implementation of DTT as a mission mode project to ensure creation of a facilitating environment and timely completion for digitisation of terrestrial broadcasting.

    It said terrestrial television broadcasting is the preferred method for providing free-to-air TV services to the people in most of the countries.

    At present, Terrestrial TV broadcasting in India is under the exclusive domain of pubcaster Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati) and it is predominantly analogue.

    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar as saying that the pubcaster had given the idea of DTT going private about two years before TRAI came out with its paper.

    While a large number of TV channels are available to the consumers through various delivery platforms such as DTH, Cable TV, IPTV, HITS etc, the existing terrestrial TV platform provides only a few channels which do not offer a value proposition to the viewers.

    But in the digital era, consumers prefer to have access to number of TV channels on various devices such as mobile phone and other handheld devices. However, terrestrial viewers are deprived of such benefits due to non availability of digital terrestrial broadcasting services.

    Analogue terrestrial broadcasting is being phased out world over due to poor quality of service, inefficient use of spectrum and obsolescence of analog technologies.

    In order to exploit benefits of digitization several countries have already switched off analog terrestrial TV broadcasting while many others are in the process of digitization as per the roadmaps laid down by them.

    In India, although the work for digitization of analog terrestrial transmission has already begun, a clear roadmap is yet to be formulated to ensure an early migration to digital.

    The regulator also listed the advantages of DTT over existing analogue TV services apart from better quality of TV reception – with enhanced quality of picture and sound.

    This will also provide for more efficient use of frequency spectrum – one DTT transmitter can broadcast multiple TV channels (20 to 30 SD TV Channels in a given slot of 7 to 8 Mhz by using latest compression technologies). In analog , one transmitter broadcast only one TV channel.

    There can be more efficient reception of TV channels in portable environment such as on moving vehicles and TV channels can also be received on mobile phones and handheld devices without requiring internet and broadband connection.

    A combination of multiple DTT transmitters at a location can provide a rich bouquet of SDTV, HDTV, UHTV, mobile TV channels, radio service and other value added services. The recommendations follow an open house discussion after various stakeholders had sent in their comments.

     

  • TRAI for pvt players in DTT, suggests capping of transmitters

    TRAI for pvt players in DTT, suggests capping of transmitters

    NEW DELHI: The telecom regulator TRAI has made it clear that it was in favour of private players being permitted to provide digital terrestrial transmission (DTT) services along with the public service broadcaster (Doordarshan) to ensure plurality and competition in the market.

    Private participation is expected to bring in investment and speed up the digitisation process, thereby benefiting the consumers by providing variety of TV channels and value added services, it said. TRAI said the maximum number of DTT providers may be capped at five (one public broadcaster and four private broadcasters) at a particular place as per availability of spectrum.

    DTT has been recommended to be introduced in three phases by 31 December 2023, beginning with metro cities by 31 December 2019. Seven months after it suo moto released a consultation paper on the subject on 24 June last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today said in its recommendations that a total of seven DTT transmitters may be allowed in a particular service area for making DTT as a competitive platform for providing rich bouquet of services including SDTV, HDTV channels, Mobile TV services and value added services.

    Stressing that DTT services ‘may be introduced throughout the country in a time-bound manner to provide alternate affordable platform to consumers in accessing TV channels, Mobile TV services and other value added services’, the regulator said that after the first phase, the second phase will cover (cities having more than 10 lakh population as per Census 2011) by 31 December 2021.

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry in consultation with Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of Department of Telecommunications and other technical agency such as Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) may carry out comprehensive frequency planning for roll out of DTT services in a time bound manner.

    A maximum overlap of three month must be provided as simulcast period for migration from Analog to digital platform before analog switch off, the recommendations on “Issues related to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in India” said.

    A Coordination Committee may be set up by the I and B Ministry to steer implementation of DTT as a mission mode project to ensure creation of a facilitating environment and timely completion for digitisation of terrestrial broadcasting.

    It said terrestrial television broadcasting is the preferred method for providing free-to-air TV services to the people in most of the countries.

    At present, Terrestrial TV broadcasting in India is under the exclusive domain of pubcaster Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati) and it is predominantly analogue.

    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar as saying that the pubcaster had given the idea of DTT going private about two years before TRAI came out with its paper.

    While a large number of TV channels are available to the consumers through various delivery platforms such as DTH, Cable TV, IPTV, HITS etc, the existing terrestrial TV platform provides only a few channels which do not offer a value proposition to the viewers.

    But in the digital era, consumers prefer to have access to number of TV channels on various devices such as mobile phone and other handheld devices. However, terrestrial viewers are deprived of such benefits due to non availability of digital terrestrial broadcasting services.

    Analogue terrestrial broadcasting is being phased out world over due to poor quality of service, inefficient use of spectrum and obsolescence of analog technologies.

    In order to exploit benefits of digitization several countries have already switched off analog terrestrial TV broadcasting while many others are in the process of digitization as per the roadmaps laid down by them.

    In India, although the work for digitization of analog terrestrial transmission has already begun, a clear roadmap is yet to be formulated to ensure an early migration to digital.

    The regulator also listed the advantages of DTT over existing analogue TV services apart from better quality of TV reception – with enhanced quality of picture and sound.

    This will also provide for more efficient use of frequency spectrum – one DTT transmitter can broadcast multiple TV channels (20 to 30 SD TV Channels in a given slot of 7 to 8 Mhz by using latest compression technologies). In analog , one transmitter broadcast only one TV channel.

    There can be more efficient reception of TV channels in portable environment such as on moving vehicles and TV channels can also be received on mobile phones and handheld devices without requiring internet and broadband connection.

    A combination of multiple DTT transmitters at a location can provide a rich bouquet of SDTV, HDTV, UHTV, mobile TV channels, radio service and other value added services. The recommendations follow an open house discussion after various stakeholders had sent in their comments.

     

  • High profile executive departures in 2016

    High profile executive departures in 2016

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: As the year comes to a close, let’s take a dekko at the major parting of ways between individuals and companies and also in companies themselves that hit the Indian broadcast, cable, satellite TV sectors. The list is definitely not comprehensive but the effort has been to try and cover what we at indiantelevision.com consider major split ups, including in the government.

    Arun Jaitley: One of the most powerful politicians in the country was entrusted by PM Modi some very important portfolios when the BJP-led government came to power mid-2014.

    In a cabinet reshuffle in November 2014, Jaitley was also handed the important ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and he headed three ministries at one time, including the all-powerful Ministry of Finance.

    However mid-2016, MIB was handed to M. Venkaiah Naidu. Critics said it was PM’s way of sending a message to Jaitley, but with three ministries under him, it was asking too much from the man even as brilliant as he is. Jaitley retains the portfolios of  Corporate Affairs and Finance — and, probably, could turn out to be PM Modi’s best lieutenant in the all-out war on black economy declared via  demonetisation of high-value currency notes and other proposed measures .  

    Jawhar Sircar: A senior bureaucrat-academecian, he quit the government to take up in 2012 the challenging post of CEO of India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati, overseeing the monolithic Doordarshan and the widely-reached All India Radio.

    An outspoken person and a hard taskmaster, Sircar attempted to bring about a revolution in Prasar Bharati’s way of functioning and improve its revenue and reach.

    Partially successful, he met with lot of resistance trying to change a slothful giant. In private, he admitted that what frustrated him was that the pubcaster is manned by a bunch corrupt, no-good, job-for-life-security-seeking blokes, who wanted to retain the status quo.

    With his tenure scheduled to end in first quarter of 2017, a “tired” Sircar (as per his own admissions on social media) finally threw in the towel and sought early retirement in October 2016, which was granted by the government. Sircar returned to his home base in Kolkata to lead a  retired life and giving talks on issues related to primarily arts. 

    Arnab Goswami: The popular anchor had made shouting out his guests as the trademark of his prime time show – News Hour on Times Now. So one only expected his departure to be as noisy – though it was unfathomable by many who thought he and the channel were one – conjoined at the hip.

    And Arnab did not disappoint. The media went berserk: mainline and trade portals, social media, could not stop talking about his departure for weeks, months, and they have not stopped even as the year is coming to a close.

    Goswami’s new venture, believed to be on the cutting edge of technology — and news – is christened Republic.

    Ashok Venkatramani: The CEO of ABP News saw the news network being reinvented, rebranded and recreated from Star News to ABP News a few years ago without losing viewership and business. Venkatramani strengthened the companys financials, brough in systems and rigour making ABP News a viable business operation. He improved the company’s margins, keeping costs under control, even as he expanded ABP News Network’s portfolio to five TV channels, six mobile products, six websites and three additional revenue verticals. Venkatramani quietly resigned without any hullabaloo in November after serving out his notice period. He was replaced by Atideb Sarkar, the son of ABP editor in chief Arup Sarkar.

    Rahul Shivshankar: He left News X in November 2016 to fill the the big shoes left behind by Arnab Goswami. The Kartikeya Sharma owned NewsX flourished under his ediorial leadershup of three years during the TAM era. The journey after BARC’s evolution was not  as good, but the former Headlines Today journalist has his own following.

    Known to be an insightful, incisive journalist, Shivshankar joined Times Now on 15 December as Chief Editor, returning to the company after six years.

    Shivshankar was Senior Editor in his previous stint at the Times Now. And he seems to have done well as Arnab’s replacement. Times Television Network CEO MK Anand has come on record to state that the news network’s viewership share has stayed intact, unaffected by the larger than life news anchor’s departure.

    Sameer Ahluwalia: In one of the more controversial moves, Zee Business head Sameer Ahluwalia parted ways with Zee Media Corp Ltd (ZMCL)  Ahluwalia was associated with the Zee Network for 19 years  and was known to be a close confidante of ZMCL chairman Subhash Chandra.

    Samir’s name was embroiled in the case of the alleged extortion of Rs 100 crore along with Zee News Editor-in-chief Sudheer Chaudhary. To make matters clear, the management had immediately accepted his resignation.

    RK Arora: Zee Media has seen a lot of changes in 2016, with RK Arora being one of those who made an entry and then an exit. Known for his industry acumen and powerful contacts, RK Arora quit Zee Media as executive director and chief cxecutive officer after a stint of around 15 months.

    Arora had joined Zee in May 2015 and parted ways in August 2016. The former News Nation strategic and operational head and ITV Network senior executive has moved onto a new venture JK Media and got into the business of running television news once again.

    Zee Media Group CEO News cluster Bhaskar Das: Leadership to him means delivering outcomes and not outputs. Identifying and mitigating pain-points come naturally to him. With a career spanning over three years, he was responsible for driving up the revenue of all news channels from the cluster that includes channels such as Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas (Marathi) and 24 Ghanta (Bengali).

    Earlier this year, he was moved to Zee Entertainment’s media sales arm, Zee Unimedia. As the president and chief growth and innovation officer, he heads the group’s news business operations, including the digital properties.

    CNBC TV18 CEO Anil Uniyal: After working with the TV18 Broadcast for more than 15 years, Uniyal decided to hop on to the Raghav Bahl-Bloomberg venture. An insight provocateur, catalyst, a leader, he  served the network in various positions such as business director for Forbes, head of TV 18 Media operations, COO for Network 18 and lastly CEO for CNBC TV 18 and CNBC Awaaz. Uniyal joined as the CEO to lead Bahl’s joint venture with  Bloomberg.

    CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bazaar editor Sanjay Pugalia: Right after the exit of Uniyal, Pugalia called it a day at Network18. He moved on after 12 years as editor of CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar. Further, under his leadership CNBC Awaaz went to the number 1 position in its segment. Pugalia played an important role in the launch of Star News in India. He went on to join as president and editorial director of both, Raghav Bahl’s The Quint and Bloomberg Quint.

    India TV  CEO Paritosh Joshi: It’s all about respect and relationships for him. Acting as a strategist at India TV since 2012, he was brought on board as CEO in November 2015. While everyone hoped that this would be a long association, it was clearly taxing for him as he continued to commute between two metros. He has completed the circle and is back to being a strategist. The primary reason behind his exit was to return to his family in Mumbai. After quitting as the CEO of Star CJ Network in 2012, Joshi planned on starting his own venture in the media and entertainment space. He founded Principal, an advisory to advise clients on corporate strategy, marketing, revenue enhancement and other issues.

    Zee Digital Debashish Ghosh: With the explosion in the OTT and VOD ecosystem, opportunities are coming a-plenty for professionals. Zee Digital Convergence CEO Debashish Ghosh put in his papers at Zee Digital and hopped on board the Chinese tech and consumer electronics major LeEco. The salt and pepper coloured hair head took over as the new COO at LeEco’s India outfit in June 2016. While at Zee, he had taken charge of all the digital businesses of the Essel Group in India as CEO and whole time board director of India.com network in February 2013. He started his career with the Times of India Group in 1990 and worked as head of technology and advertising operations to becoming Times Business Solutions CEO in 2012.

    Zee TV Business Head Pradeep Hejmadi: From a broadcasting company to an audience measurement system and back to broadcasting, Hejmadi has seen it all. With multi-dimensional understanding of the media businesses, he moved from Nickelodeon India as director for business and operations to spearhead TAM media research as senior VP. He was responsible for revenue generation, client management, new business development and new product development. In July 2014, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) appointed him as the business head of its flagship Hindi entertainment channel Zee TV.  Hejmadi called his last at Zee in May  2016 after spending two years with the company.

    Disney India CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur:  Kapur was one of the newsmakers  of the year 2016. He is married to the beuatiful Vidya Balan and his brothrs Aditya and Kunal have made a mark for themselves in Bollywood as on-screen talent.

    Siddharth quit Disney India as managing director in October to explore his own business interests. He was replaced by Mahesh Samat, the former CEO, who returned to the position that he held between 2008 and 2012, and officially took charge on November 28.

    While working for the company, Kapur introduced the Indian Broadway version of the timeless classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’, which was a huge success, apart from launching a slate of Bollywood projects for the studio and fine tuning the network’s channel bouquet.

    He joined UTV in 2005, took over as chief executive officer of UTV Motion Pictures in 2008 and after the integration of UTV with The Walt Disney Co. (India) in 2012, held the role of managing director-studios.

    He was promoted as managing director of Disney India in 2014.

     

    S.N. Sharma: He left a company he helped cofound to assist Reliance Industries boss Mukesh Ambani’s Jio to roll out a national cable TV and broadband network. But earlier this year, cable vet SN Sharma quit Jio to go back to his  original home DEN Networks.

    His former boss  Sameer Manchanda gave him a call and told him he needed his help to whip the floundering national MSO into shape. SN – not one to ignore a challenge – took up the assignment. Pradeep Parmeswaran the DEN CEO stepped down,  paving  the way for Sharma to come back, and continued  as an advisor to the company.

    Sharma has his task cut out but he has been taking strong but effective  steps with the company’s national jont ventures and he is steering it strongly into broadband. He  has confessed his stint at Reliance Jio has imbibed in him a telecom rigour which should go a long way in helping steer  DEN Networks into the fast lane.

     

    Jagdish Kumar Pillai: The buzz was anyway gaining in strength; that Jagdish Kumar was counting his days at the national MSO – probably the most respected nationally. And that he had got the go-ahead to depart from both the Hathway Cable & Datacom management and director Viren Raheja who has been spearheading his father Rajan  Rahejas’s  cable TV venture.

    With cable TV ARPUs being restrained the company is being restructured with Jagidish quitting and being replaced by Hathway broadband president  Rajan Gupta who was named the managing director. President – video business T. Panesar was also elevated as CEO-video business.

    Jagdish who was with the MSO for around half a decade said he was taking a sabbatical before making his  next move.

     

  • High profile executive departures in 2016

    High profile executive departures in 2016

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: As the year comes to a close, let’s take a dekko at the major parting of ways between individuals and companies and also in companies themselves that hit the Indian broadcast, cable, satellite TV sectors. The list is definitely not comprehensive but the effort has been to try and cover what we at indiantelevision.com consider major split ups, including in the government.

    Arun Jaitley: One of the most powerful politicians in the country was entrusted by PM Modi some very important portfolios when the BJP-led government came to power mid-2014.

    In a cabinet reshuffle in November 2014, Jaitley was also handed the important ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and he headed three ministries at one time, including the all-powerful Ministry of Finance.

    However mid-2016, MIB was handed to M. Venkaiah Naidu. Critics said it was PM’s way of sending a message to Jaitley, but with three ministries under him, it was asking too much from the man even as brilliant as he is. Jaitley retains the portfolios of  Corporate Affairs and Finance — and, probably, could turn out to be PM Modi’s best lieutenant in the all-out war on black economy declared via  demonetisation of high-value currency notes and other proposed measures .  

    Jawhar Sircar: A senior bureaucrat-academecian, he quit the government to take up in 2012 the challenging post of CEO of India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati, overseeing the monolithic Doordarshan and the widely-reached All India Radio.

    An outspoken person and a hard taskmaster, Sircar attempted to bring about a revolution in Prasar Bharati’s way of functioning and improve its revenue and reach.

    Partially successful, he met with lot of resistance trying to change a slothful giant. In private, he admitted that what frustrated him was that the pubcaster is manned by a bunch corrupt, no-good, job-for-life-security-seeking blokes, who wanted to retain the status quo.

    With his tenure scheduled to end in first quarter of 2017, a “tired” Sircar (as per his own admissions on social media) finally threw in the towel and sought early retirement in October 2016, which was granted by the government. Sircar returned to his home base in Kolkata to lead a  retired life and giving talks on issues related to primarily arts. 

    Arnab Goswami: The popular anchor had made shouting out his guests as the trademark of his prime time show – News Hour on Times Now. So one only expected his departure to be as noisy – though it was unfathomable by many who thought he and the channel were one – conjoined at the hip.

    And Arnab did not disappoint. The media went berserk: mainline and trade portals, social media, could not stop talking about his departure for weeks, months, and they have not stopped even as the year is coming to a close.

    Goswami’s new venture, believed to be on the cutting edge of technology — and news – is christened Republic.

    Ashok Venkatramani: The CEO of ABP News saw the news network being reinvented, rebranded and recreated from Star News to ABP News a few years ago without losing viewership and business. Venkatramani strengthened the companys financials, brough in systems and rigour making ABP News a viable business operation. He improved the company’s margins, keeping costs under control, even as he expanded ABP News Network’s portfolio to five TV channels, six mobile products, six websites and three additional revenue verticals. Venkatramani quietly resigned without any hullabaloo in November after serving out his notice period. He was replaced by Atideb Sarkar, the son of ABP editor in chief Arup Sarkar.

    Rahul Shivshankar: He left News X in November 2016 to fill the the big shoes left behind by Arnab Goswami. The Kartikeya Sharma owned NewsX flourished under his ediorial leadershup of three years during the TAM era. The journey after BARC’s evolution was not  as good, but the former Headlines Today journalist has his own following.

    Known to be an insightful, incisive journalist, Shivshankar joined Times Now on 15 December as Chief Editor, returning to the company after six years.

    Shivshankar was Senior Editor in his previous stint at the Times Now. And he seems to have done well as Arnab’s replacement. Times Television Network CEO MK Anand has come on record to state that the news network’s viewership share has stayed intact, unaffected by the larger than life news anchor’s departure.

    Sameer Ahluwalia: In one of the more controversial moves, Zee Business head Sameer Ahluwalia parted ways with Zee Media Corp Ltd (ZMCL)  Ahluwalia was associated with the Zee Network for 19 years  and was known to be a close confidante of ZMCL chairman Subhash Chandra.

    Samir’s name was embroiled in the case of the alleged extortion of Rs 100 crore along with Zee News Editor-in-chief Sudheer Chaudhary. To make matters clear, the management had immediately accepted his resignation.

    RK Arora: Zee Media has seen a lot of changes in 2016, with RK Arora being one of those who made an entry and then an exit. Known for his industry acumen and powerful contacts, RK Arora quit Zee Media as executive director and chief cxecutive officer after a stint of around 15 months.

    Arora had joined Zee in May 2015 and parted ways in August 2016. The former News Nation strategic and operational head and ITV Network senior executive has moved onto a new venture JK Media and got into the business of running television news once again.

    Zee Media Group CEO News cluster Bhaskar Das: Leadership to him means delivering outcomes and not outputs. Identifying and mitigating pain-points come naturally to him. With a career spanning over three years, he was responsible for driving up the revenue of all news channels from the cluster that includes channels such as Zee News, Zee Business, Zee 24 Taas (Marathi) and 24 Ghanta (Bengali).

    Earlier this year, he was moved to Zee Entertainment’s media sales arm, Zee Unimedia. As the president and chief growth and innovation officer, he heads the group’s news business operations, including the digital properties.

    CNBC TV18 CEO Anil Uniyal: After working with the TV18 Broadcast for more than 15 years, Uniyal decided to hop on to the Raghav Bahl-Bloomberg venture. An insight provocateur, catalyst, a leader, he  served the network in various positions such as business director for Forbes, head of TV 18 Media operations, COO for Network 18 and lastly CEO for CNBC TV 18 and CNBC Awaaz. Uniyal joined as the CEO to lead Bahl’s joint venture with  Bloomberg.

    CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bazaar editor Sanjay Pugalia: Right after the exit of Uniyal, Pugalia called it a day at Network18. He moved on after 12 years as editor of CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar. Further, under his leadership CNBC Awaaz went to the number 1 position in its segment. Pugalia played an important role in the launch of Star News in India. He went on to join as president and editorial director of both, Raghav Bahl’s The Quint and Bloomberg Quint.

    India TV  CEO Paritosh Joshi: It’s all about respect and relationships for him. Acting as a strategist at India TV since 2012, he was brought on board as CEO in November 2015. While everyone hoped that this would be a long association, it was clearly taxing for him as he continued to commute between two metros. He has completed the circle and is back to being a strategist. The primary reason behind his exit was to return to his family in Mumbai. After quitting as the CEO of Star CJ Network in 2012, Joshi planned on starting his own venture in the media and entertainment space. He founded Principal, an advisory to advise clients on corporate strategy, marketing, revenue enhancement and other issues.

    Zee Digital Debashish Ghosh: With the explosion in the OTT and VOD ecosystem, opportunities are coming a-plenty for professionals. Zee Digital Convergence CEO Debashish Ghosh put in his papers at Zee Digital and hopped on board the Chinese tech and consumer electronics major LeEco. The salt and pepper coloured hair head took over as the new COO at LeEco’s India outfit in June 2016. While at Zee, he had taken charge of all the digital businesses of the Essel Group in India as CEO and whole time board director of India.com network in February 2013. He started his career with the Times of India Group in 1990 and worked as head of technology and advertising operations to becoming Times Business Solutions CEO in 2012.

    Zee TV Business Head Pradeep Hejmadi: From a broadcasting company to an audience measurement system and back to broadcasting, Hejmadi has seen it all. With multi-dimensional understanding of the media businesses, he moved from Nickelodeon India as director for business and operations to spearhead TAM media research as senior VP. He was responsible for revenue generation, client management, new business development and new product development. In July 2014, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) appointed him as the business head of its flagship Hindi entertainment channel Zee TV.  Hejmadi called his last at Zee in May  2016 after spending two years with the company.

    Disney India CEO Siddharth Roy Kapur:  Kapur was one of the newsmakers  of the year 2016. He is married to the beuatiful Vidya Balan and his brothrs Aditya and Kunal have made a mark for themselves in Bollywood as on-screen talent.

    Siddharth quit Disney India as managing director in October to explore his own business interests. He was replaced by Mahesh Samat, the former CEO, who returned to the position that he held between 2008 and 2012, and officially took charge on November 28.

    While working for the company, Kapur introduced the Indian Broadway version of the timeless classic ‘Beauty and the Beast’, which was a huge success, apart from launching a slate of Bollywood projects for the studio and fine tuning the network’s channel bouquet.

    He joined UTV in 2005, took over as chief executive officer of UTV Motion Pictures in 2008 and after the integration of UTV with The Walt Disney Co. (India) in 2012, held the role of managing director-studios.

    He was promoted as managing director of Disney India in 2014.

     

    S.N. Sharma: He left a company he helped cofound to assist Reliance Industries boss Mukesh Ambani’s Jio to roll out a national cable TV and broadband network. But earlier this year, cable vet SN Sharma quit Jio to go back to his  original home DEN Networks.

    His former boss  Sameer Manchanda gave him a call and told him he needed his help to whip the floundering national MSO into shape. SN – not one to ignore a challenge – took up the assignment. Pradeep Parmeswaran the DEN CEO stepped down,  paving  the way for Sharma to come back, and continued  as an advisor to the company.

    Sharma has his task cut out but he has been taking strong but effective  steps with the company’s national jont ventures and he is steering it strongly into broadband. He  has confessed his stint at Reliance Jio has imbibed in him a telecom rigour which should go a long way in helping steer  DEN Networks into the fast lane.

     

    Jagdish Kumar Pillai: The buzz was anyway gaining in strength; that Jagdish Kumar was counting his days at the national MSO – probably the most respected nationally. And that he had got the go-ahead to depart from both the Hathway Cable & Datacom management and director Viren Raheja who has been spearheading his father Rajan  Rahejas’s  cable TV venture.

    With cable TV ARPUs being restrained the company is being restructured with Jagidish quitting and being replaced by Hathway broadband president  Rajan Gupta who was named the managing director. President – video business T. Panesar was also elevated as CEO-video business.

    Jagdish who was with the MSO for around half a decade said he was taking a sabbatical before making his  next move.

     

  • DD’s digital terrestrial transmission meet today as TRAI paper awaits finalisation

    DD’s digital terrestrial transmission meet today as TRAI paper awaits finalisation

    NEW DELHI: Even as a consultation paper on Digital Terrestrial Transmission by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is pending finalisation, Doordarshan is holding a workshop with stakeholders to explore the potential of DTT services.

    The workshop on “Digital Terrestrial Transmission: Business Opportunities” is being organized on 23 December 2016 in the capital and will be addressed by experts.

    Experts from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, various stakeholders including Content providers, private broadcasters, receiver manufactures, and officers at Doordarshan will be participating in this workshop.

    In the paper issued on 22 June 2016, TRAI wanted to know if stakeholders perceive the need for introduction of DTT in multiple broadcasting distribution platforms and what the appropriate strategy for DTT implementation across the country should be.

    indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that the government was in the final stages of this exercise. Later, the website quoted then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar as saying that the pubcaster had itself cleared this more than a year earlier, even while pointing out that this would necessitate use of the Prasar Bharati infrastructure.

    DD, which presently has exclusive domain over terrestrial broadcasting, ranks amongst the world’s largest terrestrial television networks. It has a network of 1412 analog transmitters that provide TV services through two national channels namely, DD National and DD News. In addition to this, the network also broadcast several regional TV channels over the terrestrial network in a time sharing mode to meet the local and regional needs of people in different parts of the country. All TV channels provided by DD are free-to-air.

    In its paper, TRAI had asked whether DTT broadcasting should be opened for participation by the private players, and which model or a combination thereof for Dtt will be most suitable in Indian context.

    Trai also wanted to know what the approach for implementing DTT network (MFN/SFN/Hybrid) should be and how many digital multiplex per DTT operator should be planned for metro, major cities, urban and rural areas.

    Expert opinion had also been sought on the most appropriate frequency band as per National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011 for implementation of Digital terrestrial transmission including mobile TV.

    The DTT platform is flexible and content format agnostic – newer formats of TV channels such as HD TV, 3D TV, UHD TV, data and radio services etc. can thus be delivered with reduced transmission power requirements. Digitisation also allows for government bodies to reclaim spectrum and repurpose it.

    With standardized DTT transmission and clear advantages in terms of effective frequency utilization as well as enhanced TV quality, many countries the world over have laid down clear roadmaps to switch-off analog terrestrial TV transmission with a transition to DTT. In India, though work for changeover from Analog terrestrial transmission to digital terrestrial transmission by DD has already commenced, a clear roadmap is however unavailable.

  • DD’s digital terrestrial transmission meet today as TRAI paper awaits finalisation

    DD’s digital terrestrial transmission meet today as TRAI paper awaits finalisation

    NEW DELHI: Even as a consultation paper on Digital Terrestrial Transmission by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is pending finalisation, Doordarshan is holding a workshop with stakeholders to explore the potential of DTT services.

    The workshop on “Digital Terrestrial Transmission: Business Opportunities” is being organized on 23 December 2016 in the capital and will be addressed by experts.

    Experts from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, various stakeholders including Content providers, private broadcasters, receiver manufactures, and officers at Doordarshan will be participating in this workshop.

    In the paper issued on 22 June 2016, TRAI wanted to know if stakeholders perceive the need for introduction of DTT in multiple broadcasting distribution platforms and what the appropriate strategy for DTT implementation across the country should be.

    indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that the government was in the final stages of this exercise. Later, the website quoted then Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar as saying that the pubcaster had itself cleared this more than a year earlier, even while pointing out that this would necessitate use of the Prasar Bharati infrastructure.

    DD, which presently has exclusive domain over terrestrial broadcasting, ranks amongst the world’s largest terrestrial television networks. It has a network of 1412 analog transmitters that provide TV services through two national channels namely, DD National and DD News. In addition to this, the network also broadcast several regional TV channels over the terrestrial network in a time sharing mode to meet the local and regional needs of people in different parts of the country. All TV channels provided by DD are free-to-air.

    In its paper, TRAI had asked whether DTT broadcasting should be opened for participation by the private players, and which model or a combination thereof for Dtt will be most suitable in Indian context.

    Trai also wanted to know what the approach for implementing DTT network (MFN/SFN/Hybrid) should be and how many digital multiplex per DTT operator should be planned for metro, major cities, urban and rural areas.

    Expert opinion had also been sought on the most appropriate frequency band as per National Frequency Allocation Plan 2011 for implementation of Digital terrestrial transmission including mobile TV.

    The DTT platform is flexible and content format agnostic – newer formats of TV channels such as HD TV, 3D TV, UHD TV, data and radio services etc. can thus be delivered with reduced transmission power requirements. Digitisation also allows for government bodies to reclaim spectrum and repurpose it.

    With standardized DTT transmission and clear advantages in terms of effective frequency utilization as well as enhanced TV quality, many countries the world over have laid down clear roadmaps to switch-off analog terrestrial TV transmission with a transition to DTT. In India, though work for changeover from Analog terrestrial transmission to digital terrestrial transmission by DD has already commenced, a clear roadmap is however unavailable.

  • Broadcasters not opposed to DTT, but want safeguards

    Broadcasters not opposed to DTT, but want safeguards

    NEW DELHI: Views were sharply divided particularly on the issue of sharing infrastructure during an open house discussion today on a Consultation Paper on “Opening Up Digital Terrestrial Transmission” organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    However, broadcasting sector sources said that the stakeholders were in principle not opposed to opening up of digital terrestrial television (DTT). Around 40 stakeholders, a majority of them representing broadcasters, were present at the meet. Unlike previous OHDs held by TRAI, Prasar Bharati was also represented at this meet, since it is the only digital terrestrial transmission stakeholder in the country.

    TRAI sources said the objective of the meet was to hear all points of view, though the sources added that the views were by the large the same as expressed in their comments to the paper, which are available on the TRAI website.

    The paper by the TRAI was issued on 24 June 2016, about a year after Prasar Bharati – which is the only terrestrial broadcaster in the country – unanimously recommended that DTT should be opened up to the private channels. Apart from Prasar Bharati, several private channels have already responded to the paper, which was followed by a linked paper on sharing infrastructure issued on 21 September 2016.

    In its response to the DTT paper, the pubcaster said even as it supports the move, it feels that the potential of available distribution options need to be critically analysed to fulfill their requirements (for example coverage, capacity, reception mode, and type of service etc).

    The public broadcaster has also said that the terrestrial broadcast platform will be relevant in the long term if its usage offers veritable benefits to the broadcasters, the audiences and the society as a whole. Even in countries where cable, satellite or broadband hold a significant market share, terrestrial broadcasting is usually regarded as an essential, flexible and reliable way of delivering broadcast content to a mass audience.

    In its response to 11 questions asked by TRAI in its Consultation Paper on ‘Issues related to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in India,’ the pubcaster says that the terrestrial platform must be digital to remain viable in the long term.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, who had told indiantelevision.com in an interview earlier that it had cleared DTT for the private sector more than a year ago, said at the recent Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) in Goa that it was willing to give its infrastructure to the private TV and radio channels.

    Also read:  Opening DTT to private sector; discussion planned

    Also read:  IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar

  • Broadcasters not opposed to DTT, but want safeguards

    Broadcasters not opposed to DTT, but want safeguards

    NEW DELHI: Views were sharply divided particularly on the issue of sharing infrastructure during an open house discussion today on a Consultation Paper on “Opening Up Digital Terrestrial Transmission” organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    However, broadcasting sector sources said that the stakeholders were in principle not opposed to opening up of digital terrestrial television (DTT). Around 40 stakeholders, a majority of them representing broadcasters, were present at the meet. Unlike previous OHDs held by TRAI, Prasar Bharati was also represented at this meet, since it is the only digital terrestrial transmission stakeholder in the country.

    TRAI sources said the objective of the meet was to hear all points of view, though the sources added that the views were by the large the same as expressed in their comments to the paper, which are available on the TRAI website.

    The paper by the TRAI was issued on 24 June 2016, about a year after Prasar Bharati – which is the only terrestrial broadcaster in the country – unanimously recommended that DTT should be opened up to the private channels. Apart from Prasar Bharati, several private channels have already responded to the paper, which was followed by a linked paper on sharing infrastructure issued on 21 September 2016.

    In its response to the DTT paper, the pubcaster said even as it supports the move, it feels that the potential of available distribution options need to be critically analysed to fulfill their requirements (for example coverage, capacity, reception mode, and type of service etc).

    The public broadcaster has also said that the terrestrial broadcast platform will be relevant in the long term if its usage offers veritable benefits to the broadcasters, the audiences and the society as a whole. Even in countries where cable, satellite or broadband hold a significant market share, terrestrial broadcasting is usually regarded as an essential, flexible and reliable way of delivering broadcast content to a mass audience.

    In its response to 11 questions asked by TRAI in its Consultation Paper on ‘Issues related to Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting in India,’ the pubcaster says that the terrestrial platform must be digital to remain viable in the long term.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar, who had told indiantelevision.com in an interview earlier that it had cleared DTT for the private sector more than a year ago, said at the recent Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) in Goa that it was willing to give its infrastructure to the private TV and radio channels.

    Also read:  Opening DTT to private sector; discussion planned

    Also read:  IDOS 2016: Prasar Bharati could share infra with private players: Sircar