Tag: Mastiii

Mastiii proposes 30-45% hike in ad rates following better reach

MUMBAI: Music and youth channel Mastiii claims to have retained its dominance in the music & youth arena for over two years. With a reported reach of 136 million and 30 GRP in the genre, Mastiii recently announced a 30 to 45 per cent hike in advertising rates.

Mastiii claims to commands a market share of 18 per cent. Tapping into originality, the channel is at the forefront of innovation as it has introduced several ‘firsts’ to the audiences – like Mastiii Specials. The channel’s holistic and innovative approach to music, in addition to the consistent growth in ratings makes it the ideal platform for advertisers.

In a move to capitalise on the channel’s growing popularity, attributed to leading shows like ‘Mastiii Doubles’ & ‘Love Aajkal’, the ad rate hike has been well accepted. Recent releases like See TaareMastiiiMein, a celebrity chat show that had fun-filled viewer engagements with the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and many more; as well as the weekend special Mastiii Movie review has guaranteed buzz among the existing audience.

SABGROUP Group CEO Manav Dhanda said, “Mastiii stands out across almost all possible age-groups in HSM urban, with a dominance in NCCS AB. We are also the largest youth audience aggregator in the music & youth genre across age cuts like 15+ and 22+. We have received positive response from advertisers.”

May 30, 2017
Mastiii unbeaten, 9XM trumps B4U in BARC week 18

MUMBAI: In week 18 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), all India (U+R) Mastiii dipped in numbers from 162998 Impressions (‘000s) to 154900 Impressions (‘000s) but it retained the number one spot.

Last week’s third place holder 9XM increased its numbers from 94866 Impressions (‘000s) and surpassed B4U Music in week 18 with 96891 Impressions (‘000s) and got the second place. B4U Music witnessed a dip from 102453 Impressions (‘000s) to 94564 Impressions (‘000s). It claimed the third place.

For detailed report, read here:

BARC Week 18: Mastiii remains matchless, 9XM beats B4U Music

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May 12, 2017
How niche channels have fared so far in 2017

BENGALURU: A number of brands often advertise on niche or speciality television channels to target specific audiences. A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic. In this paper, the author has attempted to study the performance of five genres based on Broadcast India Research Council of India (BARC) data in terms of Weekly Impressions (000s) Sumsfor the top five channels for weeks 1 to 12 of 2017 through statistical analysis.

The five genre are (in alphabetical order)

(1) English Entertainment (6 Mega Cities : NCCS AB : 2+ Individuals)
(2) Infotainment (6 Mega Cities : NCCS AB : 2+ Individuals)
(3) Kids’ (All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2 – 14 years Individuals)
(4) Lifestyle (6 Mega Cities : NCCS AB : 2+ Individuals)
(5) Music (All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals)

This paper must be read with a caveat: It deals only with the players present in BARC’s top 5 lists of channels per week and programmes per week for each genre. The sums/percentages of other genres/players’/channels of other players as well other channels of players in this paper ratings or Impressions (000s) Sums other than those indicated in BARC’s top 5 lists of channels and programmes have not been considered/mentioned in this paper during the period under consideration and those numbers could be more/higher. Further, Combined Total Impressions or Combined Weekly Impressions mentioned in this paper means the sum of all the Impressions (000s) Sums for all the weeks under consideration of a network and/or channel and/or programme/s.

In terms of Combined Weekly Impressions in (000s) Sums of the top five channels of each genre during the 12 week period under consideration in this paper, Music is the biggest genre, followed by the Kids genre. Please refer to the following table: It may be noted that BARC data for both these genres is from both urban and rural markets, as compared to data from 6 Mega Cities : NCCS AB : 2+ Individuals for the other three genres.BARC provides data for the most successful programmes for the Kids’ genre only.

Music Genre

The top channels that have appeared in the top 5 Music channels – All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2+ Individuals list during weeks 1 to 12 of 2017 generally play Hindi Music. Some of the channels play pure Bollywood music, others a mixture of Bollywood and Hindi Music, and Hindi Classical Music while some others play a mix of Bollywood with a spattering of other Indian language and international music.

Five channels – Mastiii, B4U Music, 9XM, Sony MIX, 9X Jalwa have generally been present in the list during the 12 weeks under consideration, except during week 11, when MTV Beats came in at rank 5, while 9X Jalwa exited it in that week.

Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network’s subsidiary TV Vision’s music channel Mastiii– (Hindi Classic Music) has been the top channel in the Music genre during all the 12 weeks of 2017 as per BARC data for the period. B4U Music from the B4U Group, owned by Lakshmi Mittal, Kishore Lulla and GokulBinani was the second most watched channel during the period. The9X Group’s music channel 9XM came at third spot followed by Sony Pictures Network India’s Hindi film music channel Sony MIX. The 9X Group’s Hindi Classic Music channel 9X Jalwa was the fifth most watched channel during the first 12 weeks of 2017.

Please refer to the chart below for channels and ranking.

Kids’ genre

Five channels have been consistently present in the top 5 Kids channels list All India (U+R) : NCCS All : 2 – 14 years Individuals during all the first 12 weeks of 2017. They are NICK, Cartoon Network, Pogo TV, Hungama and Disney Channel.

Viacom’schildren’s 24-hour pay channel in Hindi, with the option of English, Tamil and Telugu audio feed on DTH, NICK (Nickelodeon) has topped the top 5 channels list during the period under consideration in this paper. Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting’s Cartoon Network India was the second most watched children’s channel during weeks 1 to 12 of 2017. The channel primarily airs animated shows in four different languages: English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. Turner’s Pogo TV was the third most watched kids channel during the period, followed by Disney Channels Worldwide’sHungama TV having Hindi, Telugu and Tamil dubbed content at fourth place. The Walt Disney Company’s Disney Channel available in English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil(although many shows broadcast on the channel are only available in Hindi) was ranked fifth during the period under consideration.

Please refer to the list below.

As mentioned above, BARC provides data for the most successful programmes for the Kids’ genre only. Hindi films and programs based on the Indian animated series Motu Patlu on NICK and Pogo TV and Indian animated comedy adventure ChhotaBheem on Pogo TV were among the most successful children’s programs during the weeks under consideration.

Infotainment

Five channels from the Infotainment genre – Discovery Channel, History TV 18, National Geographic Channel, Animal Planet and Nat Geo Wildfound a place in the top 5 channels list in terms of Combined Weekly Impressions (000s) Sums during the first 12 weeks of 2017.

Discovery Communications Discovery Channel in Hindi, Telugu and Bengali along with English and a dedicated channel in Tamil was the most watched Infotainment channel during the first twelve weeks of 2017. Viacom’s History TV18 in eight languages – English, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu was the second most watched channel during the period under consideration. 21st Century Fox and National Geographic Society’s National Geographic Channel came next, followed by Discovery Communications Animal Planet. 21st Century Fox and National Geographic Society’s Nat Geo Wild was the fifth most watched channel during the period under consideration in this paper.

Lifestyle

Five channels have been consistently present in the top Lifestyle channel list (6 Mega Cities : NCCS AB : 2+ Individuals) during the first twelve weeks of 2017. They wereLiving Foodz, Fox Life, Food Food, FYI TV18 and TLC.

The Essel Group’s Living Foodz channel was the most watched Lifestyle channel in weeks 1 to 12 of 2017. Fox Broadcasting Company’s Fox Life was the second most lifestyle channel during the same period. Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Malaysian Astro, and Mogae Consultantschannel Food Food came next, followed by A+E Networks and TV18’s FYI TV18 channel that is available in 8 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali at fourth place. Discovery Communications TLC was the fifth most watched Lifestyle channel during the first 12 weeks of 2017.

Please see the list below:

English Entertainment

During the first twelve weeks of 2017, the English Entertainment genre was dominated mainly by five channels – Comedy Central, STAR World, Zee Café, Colors Infinity SD and AXN, except for 3 of the 12 weeks when Fox’s FX channel entered the list, while AXN exited it.

Viacom’s Comedy Central topped the lists in seven of the twelve weeks under consideration, followed by Star India’s Star World which topped the lists for five weeks. The Essel Group’s Zee Café was third, with Viacom 18’s Colors Infinity SD. Sony Pictures Network India’s AXN at fifth place.

Please refer to the chart below:

April 3, 2017
Valentine’s line-up on TV channels

MUMBAI: Cupid has struck the TV channels in India this Valentine’s Day as they dish out a unique line-up for entertaining the audience. If you are dating or are single, grab some popcorn and celebrate the season as English entertainment and movies channels plan to sweep the screens with syrupy tales of love.

As the week culminates with Valentine’s Day, channels have been enabling their viewers in expressing and showcasing their love with a special line up of shows.

Let’s take a look on what various channels are doing this Valentine’s Day.

AXN

The channel will air The Amazing Race season 26 every Monday-Friday at 9 pm.

Hosted by Emmy Award-nominated host Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race S26 will have 11 teams of dating couples (six existing couples and five blind date teams who met for the first time at the start of the race) race from one destination to the other for the grand prize. At every destination, each team will have to compete in a series of challenges, some mental and some physical, and only when they are able to pull through the hurdles, will they learn of their next location. This season expands over a distance of 35,000 miles (56,000 km) including visits to cities like Japan, Thailand, Namibia, Germany and for the first time Monaco.

Comedy Central

If Cupid’s arrows evade you, Comedy Central has the perfect substitute!

This Valentine’s Day, watch Seed and you’ll soon realize that you needn’t wait around for “love”, as it can be found even in the most unlikely places. The show will air on 14 February at 10 am.

Mastiii

Mastiii has come up with a unique proposition Mastiii Ka Love Angle on this day of love, where eight beautiful real life love stories from couples across India come alive.

For the special programming the channel reached out to its viewers asking them to share their sweet memories with their soulmates, entries to which closed on the 10 February, 2017. Having received a tremendous response, the Mastiii team captured and shortlisted some of the most beautiful love stories that will be played on the channel and its social platforms throughout Valentine’s Day.

Movies Now

Known for being home to Hollywood Blockbusters, Movies Now, has a property called Crazy Love with films like Knight & Day, WALL – E, Jack The Giant Slayer, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Get Smart, and Spiderman 2.

Movies Now 2

The channel will showcase a property about love for friends called Bromance with movies likeR.I.P.D, Dumb & Dumber To, Sherlock Holmes, The Hangover, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay and Ride Along.

Romedy Now

Known as the destination for love and laughter, the channel will show movies like French Kiss, Serendipity, Pretty Woman, Just Go With It and The Note Book on 14 February.

Sony Le Plex HD
The channel will air following movies on the Valentine’s Day.
Trainwreck
6:00 am
Ex-Machina
8:00 am
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
9:30 am
Bridget Jones’s Diary
11:30 am
Ugly, Truth, The
1:00 pm
Holiday
3:00 pm
Maid In Manhattan
5:00 pm
Definitely, Maybe
7:00 pm
Notting Hill
9:00 pm
Eat Pray Love
11:00 pn

Sony Pix

The channel will air following movies on the Valentine’s Day.

6:30 AM HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2
8:30 AM MR. BEAN’S HOLIDAY
10:20 AM JURASSIC WORLD
12:55 PM MINIONS
2:30 PM FURIOUS 7
5:30 PM BATTLESHIP
8:25 PM THE MUMMY
11:00 PM MEN IN BLACK 3

Star World Premiere HD

Wondering what could be the schedule for a perfect Valentine’s Day? Star World Premiere HD has the ultimate plan for you! The channel will air the season three marathon of the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe award winning show The Affair all day on Valentine’s Day.

A one of its kind programming initiative to celebrate all kinds of love, The Affair, a series with an alternative story telling format of two couples, will air from 10 am onwards.

The series explores the emotional effects of an extramarital relationship between Noah Solloway (played by Screen Actors Guild and Critics Choice Award winner Dominic West) and Alison Lockhart (played by Golden Globe award winner Ruth Wilson) and their respective spouses Helen (Maura Tierney) and Cole (Joshua Jackson). The story of the affair is depicted from Noah, Alison, Cole and Helen’s perspectives respectively, complete with memory bias.

UTV Action

Considering its an all-action channel, it is bringing an engaging and unique approach to celebrating Valentine’s Day with an all-day block called as Dhak Dhak Dhulai.

While the world is celebrating love and everything that comes along with it, UTV Action is celebrating action heroes who fight and combat villains with love, passion and extremeness. In the promo, the bad guys can be seen teasing our heroes on Dhak Dhak Beats and Kisses and as response to that, our heroes get agitated and strike them down.

It will showcase movies like Masterpiece (Dubbed), The Super Khiladi 2, Ghajni, Supreme Khiladi (Dubbed), The Mermaid, Hell Bo, etc throughout the day.

UTV Movies

The festival, Dilkashi where romantic/love centric movies will be aired on the channel between 13 to 17 February every night at 8pm.

The festival ends with the channel premiere of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil on 18 Feb at 8 pm.

Schedule :

13 Feb – Jab We Met

14 Feb – R.. Rajkumar

15 Feb – Yeh Hai Jalwa

16 Feb – Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania

17 Feb – Kis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon

As sponsors, it currently has Nissan Motors and Apple ( associate sponsor).

Vh1

Let’s face it, our generation seems to be bit jaded when it comes to love. What better time to channel your inner romantic than this Valentine’s Day? Lucky for you we’ve compiled the perfect love songs countdown to do just that! From swooning ballads to contemporary pop songs, Vh1 brings to you Top20 love songs to ensure you have one heck of a romantic playlist to celebrate valentine’s day. Vh1 Count on Me – Valentine’s Day Special will air on 14 February 12 pm onwards.

February 13, 2017
#BanoDheet to inspire youngsters to make a better India

MUMBAI: Music and Youth channel Mastiii has launched an awareness initiative by the name of Karo Theek #BanoDheet as part of its resolve to bring about a positive change in society this New Year.

The campaign was flagged off on 26 December 2016 and focuses on making the youth ‘Dheet’ to not just bring about a change in themselves, but also in around everyone around them, thus targeting the entire nation.

The campaign was conceptualized and produced internally by the young team of SAB group. It will be spread through four TVCs telecasted on all the channels of the network, including Mastiii, Dabangg, Dhamaal Gujarat, Maiboli & Dillagi. The campaign is expected to have a reach of about 173 million viewers in India.

As #BanoDheet wants to build awareness and instill the thought of being stubborn to achieve a larger goal of pushing the youth to make a better India, it has taken into consideration four key pressing issues out of a bouquet of concerns in the country: Eve Teasing, Corruption, Littering and Drinking & Driving.

Each concern is portrayed through impactful and thought provoking TVCs which instill the thought that one should not be passive anymore but should be stubborn and bold to do or make others do the right thing when the time calls for it.

The campaign tries to evoke the passion within the youth of India to do what is right and also take ownership in the light of building a young and powerful nation. To amplify this objective and thoughts of the campaign, support was garnered from various media partners — RED FM 93.5 as Radio Partner, DNA & Dainik Savera as Print Partners, Minimax Ads Pvt. Ltd. and Coral Media as Outdoor Partner, Vyoma Technologies Pvt. Ltd. as Digital Screen Partner and Spykar as Apparel Partner.

SAB group CEO Manav Dhanda said: “Through #BanoDheet initiative we stand to rekindle the inner spirit of the youth to build a better nation and a new India in 2017 by becoming Dheet/Stubborn to do the right thing always. The TVCs produced by Katalyst Creates a division of SAB group; attempt to bring about a ‘behavioural and attitudinal change’ in society as an extension to our PM’s vision of a conscientious nation. We highly appreciate the media partners who have associated with us in our efforts to achieve our objective with our campaign.”

December 27, 2016
#BanoDheet to inspire youngsters to make a better India

MUMBAI: Music and Youth channel Mastiii has launched an awareness initiative by the name of Karo Theek #BanoDheet as part of its resolve to bring about a positive change in society this New Year.

The campaign was flagged off on 26 December 2016 and focuses on making the youth ‘Dheet’ to not just bring about a change in themselves, but also in around everyone around them, thus targeting the entire nation.

The campaign was conceptualized and produced internally by the young team of SAB group. It will be spread through four TVCs telecasted on all the channels of the network, including Mastiii, Dabangg, Dhamaal Gujarat, Maiboli & Dillagi. The campaign is expected to have a reach of about 173 million viewers in India.

As #BanoDheet wants to build awareness and instill the thought of being stubborn to achieve a larger goal of pushing the youth to make a better India, it has taken into consideration four key pressing issues out of a bouquet of concerns in the country: Eve Teasing, Corruption, Littering and Drinking & Driving.

Each concern is portrayed through impactful and thought provoking TVCs which instill the thought that one should not be passive anymore but should be stubborn and bold to do or make others do the right thing when the time calls for it.

The campaign tries to evoke the passion within the youth of India to do what is right and also take ownership in the light of building a young and powerful nation. To amplify this objective and thoughts of the campaign, support was garnered from various media partners — RED FM 93.5 as Radio Partner, DNA & Dainik Savera as Print Partners, Minimax Ads Pvt. Ltd. and Coral Media as Outdoor Partner, Vyoma Technologies Pvt. Ltd. as Digital Screen Partner and Spykar as Apparel Partner.

SAB group CEO Manav Dhanda said: “Through #BanoDheet initiative we stand to rekindle the inner spirit of the youth to build a better nation and a new India in 2017 by becoming Dheet/Stubborn to do the right thing always. The TVCs produced by Katalyst Creates a division of SAB group; attempt to bring about a ‘behavioural and attitudinal change’ in society as an extension to our PM’s vision of a conscientious nation. We highly appreciate the media partners who have associated with us in our efforts to achieve our objective with our campaign.”

December 27, 2016
Mastiii to launch two new shows: Mastiii Star Wars and Mastiii Doubles.

MUMBAI: Mastiii, the music channel is all set to launch two new shows namely Mastiii Star Wars and Mastiii Doubles.

Mastiii Star Wars is a one-of-its-kind musical war between the stars of Bollywood, which within its very first week of telecast, has witnessed a 80% GRP rise in viewership. Aired every Sunday from 6 pm to 7 pm, the show will have a predefined theme or situation within which the stars will be pitted against each other. For example, if the theme selected is college romance, then two back-to-back songs of different actors will be played on the channel. Viewers will have to judge the stars by voting for the best star in college romance.

A real time voting mechanism has been implemented where the viewers can vote on the Twitter handle and Facebook page of Mastiii channel while the show is going on. The winners amongst the stars will be announced throughout the next week from Monday to Friday. The link to vote for the stars will be reflected on the screen during the show. This one hour show will have approximately 10 songs per show along with 5 predefined themes.

Mastiii Doubles will have two songs from the same actor, actress, singer or music composer back-to-back.The show is already shaking grounds by leading the music genre in that given day part by bagging an incremental gain of 83% where as competitors like 9XM and Sony Mix were faced with a decline. Mastiii Doubles will be telecast twice in a day from Monday to Saturday between 9am to 10am in morning and 5pm to 7pm in evening. On Sunday, the show will be aired at 9 am to 10 am in the morning and 5 pm to 6 pm in the evening.

Sab Group CEO Manav Dhanda said, “At Sab Group, innovation is the basis of our foundation. Mastiii being the number one channel in its category, the onus to evolve music as a genre lies on us; which we continue to do with our two new shows. Our focus remains on providing unique content with an aim to engage and interact with the viewer.”

Other shows on the channel include Hit Hai Toh Bajega, Hit Melodies, Just Arrived, Just Mohabbat, Love AajKalAurKal, Evergreen Hits and the Golden Era by Anu Kapoor. Mastiii has been dominating the music genre with their channel’s unique programming being the differentiating factor.

April 13, 2016
Mastiii to launch two new shows: Mastiii Star Wars and Mastiii Doubles.

MUMBAI: Mastiii, the music channel is all set to launch two new shows namely Mastiii Star Wars and Mastiii Doubles.

Mastiii Star Wars is a one-of-its-kind musical war between the stars of Bollywood, which within its very first week of telecast, has witnessed a 80% GRP rise in viewership. Aired every Sunday from 6 pm to 7 pm, the show will have a predefined theme or situation within which the stars will be pitted against each other. For example, if the theme selected is college romance, then two back-to-back songs of different actors will be played on the channel. Viewers will have to judge the stars by voting for the best star in college romance.

A real time voting mechanism has been implemented where the viewers can vote on the Twitter handle and Facebook page of Mastiii channel while the show is going on. The winners amongst the stars will be announced throughout the next week from Monday to Friday. The link to vote for the stars will be reflected on the screen during the show. This one hour show will have approximately 10 songs per show along with 5 predefined themes.

Mastiii Doubles will have two songs from the same actor, actress, singer or music composer back-to-back.The show is already shaking grounds by leading the music genre in that given day part by bagging an incremental gain of 83% where as competitors like 9XM and Sony Mix were faced with a decline. Mastiii Doubles will be telecast twice in a day from Monday to Saturday between 9am to 10am in morning and 5pm to 7pm in evening. On Sunday, the show will be aired at 9 am to 10 am in the morning and 5 pm to 6 pm in the evening.

Sab Group CEO Manav Dhanda said, “At Sab Group, innovation is the basis of our foundation. Mastiii being the number one channel in its category, the onus to evolve music as a genre lies on us; which we continue to do with our two new shows. Our focus remains on providing unique content with an aim to engage and interact with the viewer.”

Other shows on the channel include Hit Hai Toh Bajega, Hit Melodies, Just Arrived, Just Mohabbat, Love AajKalAurKal, Evergreen Hits and the Golden Era by Anu Kapoor. Mastiii has been dominating the music genre with their channel’s unique programming being the differentiating factor.

April 13, 2016
Sri Adhikari Bros aims to break into Bollywood with 7-8 films in 2016

MUMBAI: Markand Adhikari and Gautam Adhikara – the promoters of Sri Adhikari Brothers – first tasted success as TV producers when they produced some of the most commercial shows on television around 15-20 years ago. Then they launched a television channel SAB, which Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment) bought over. Following that they unrolled several television channels, which have slowly been getting traction. Among these: Mastiii, MaiBoli, Dabang, Dillagi, and Dhamaal. A print magazine – Governance Now – is also under their umbrella.

Now the company is aspiring to get a foothold in the competitive film production and distribution business and plans to unveil seven to eight films into theatres worldwide in the next year.

As match practice, it co-distributed the now-running Pyar Ka Punchnama 2 (released on 16 October) along with the Anand Pandit promoted Lotus Group, which it acquired from Viacom18 Pictures and Luv Films.

The final filming schedule of its first co-production Great Grand Mastiii (the sequel to Grand Masti) along with Indra Kumar and Askhok Thakeria is in the process of being completed.

Sri Adhikari Brothers vice-chairman and managing director Markand Adhikari says that the company would like to produce one or two films with big stars with the rest being medium budget ones. “Arre yaar, the masses want fun and entertainment, mazaa, and we want to give them that through our films. They already enjoy our content on television,” he says. “I understand the film business is competitive, but we are sure we can make a mark. The more the merrier.”

Adds the company’s group CEO Manav Dhanda, “The reason behind entering into film distribution is to expand our business across all media verticals and not limit access to television. A few other films, which are in the pipeline, will also be announced in due course of time.”

It is also looking at inking a few distribution deals just as it partnered with Lotus Group for Pyar Ka Punchnama 2. Each one will depend on the money involved as the film business is extremely dynamic, says Dhanda. “We are not looking at distributing any low-budget films, which will not make an impact on the viewers.”

“At SAB, it is our relentless drive to facilitate accessibility of world class entertainment to the Indian audience across media verticals. Having engaged in production already, the distribution vertical would only be a progressive component in order to complete the value chain of the cinema business,” points out Dhanda. “This umbrella corporation has housed the film exhibition division as its key drivers in 2016 and will be seeing aggressive expansion in the years to come.”

The Sri Adhikari Brothers share closed at around Rs 300 over the weekend and the company has a market capitalisation of around Rs 1,000 crore.

October 25, 2015
What the music channels said on the ad cap issue

MUMBAI: After the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) presented its side of the story, it was the turn of the music channels to present their case in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) regarding the troublesome 12 minute ad cap regulation that is being enforced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The hearing that went on for two days (Monday and Tuesday) had the music channels counsel speaking on behalf of the four music channels – 9XM, B4U, M Tunes and Mastiii. The main point raised was violation of Article 14 of the constitution of India by the TRAI. The Article states: “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth”.

According to counsel, the TRAI is violating Article 14 by putting all the channels in the same basket. There are different types of broadcasters delivering both free to air and pay channels in the genres of news, sports, music etc. It is inappropriate to be treating ‘unequals as equals’ by classifying all channels in the same category, counsel emphasized. To support his argument, he said that FTA channels don’t get subscription revenue and work on purely advertising while pay channels have the benefit of both.

Apart from this, other issues raised during the hearing were similar to the ones the NBA counsel had raised such as the jurisdiction of the TRAI to come out with such a regulation, unregulated and high carriage fees and high cost of content production.

There is a long list of channels that will now present their cases in front of the TDSAT bench of Justice Aftab Ahmed and member Kuldip Singh including Reliance Big Broadcasting, Sun TV Network, Raj TV, E24 Glamour, Eenadu Television and Polimer Media.

After this, TRAI will defend itself. The hearing is set to continue today.

This is surely one case that will take much time to resolve.

To read about previous reports on the case scroll down.

December 19, 2013