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Tag: NBA

  • MIB has eyes on digital media publishers too

    MIB has eyes on digital media publishers too

    KOLKATA: The social media-Indian government tussle regarding compliance of new IT rules has hogged all the limelight lately. Along with these platforms, digital media, OTT platforms were also given a three-month window to comply with a new set of rules.

    The digital media division of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has sent a notice to digital media publishers seeking information under Rule 18 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021.

    The ministry has asked publishers to furnish information in the applicable format within 15 days of the notice as different formats were devised for traditional media publishing news and current affairs on digital media, pure-play digital publishers, and OTT platforms.

    A total of around 60 publishers, and their associations, have also informed the ministry that they have already initiated the process of formation of self-regulatory bodies under the new rules. Some publishers have also written to the ministry regarding registration with the ministry under the rules, MIB noted in its missive.

    The notice highlighted that the ministry held interactions with the publishers of online curated content, as well as the publishers of news on digital media duly after notifying the new rules.

    Meanwhile, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has written to MIB requesting exclusion of traditional television news media and its extended presence on digital news platforms from the aforementioned rules, as per reports.

    “While NBA appreciates the need for regulations, the traditional news media need not be subjected to and/ or covered under the scope of the IT Rules 2021, since it is already sufficiently regulated by various statutes, laws, guidelines and codes, regulations, and judgments set,” NBA said in a letter.

    The electronic news media is no different from print media and majority of content hosted on their digital platforms is nothing but a replica of content which is already a part of the broadcast, the body argued.

  • NBA welcomes free vaccination drive for journalists

    NBA welcomes free vaccination drive for journalists

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasting Association (NBA), has welcomed the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to organise a Covid vaccination camp exclusively for media personnel in Noida on Monday. 

    NBA president Rajat Sharma thanked UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath for the initiative.

    The camp was held at Indra Gandhi Kala Kendra Noida where personnel from various media houses including India TV, ABP, TV Today, News 24 got their first dose of vaccine. The Covid vaccination camp witnessed the presence of MP Mahesh Sharma and state cabinet minister – medical and health, family welfare maternal and child welfare department, Jai Pratap Singh.

    Earlier this month the Uttar Pradesh government had decided that media officials will be given priority during the vaccination drive against Covid2019. The state government has said that journalists should be allotted separate centres for inoculation, adding that necessary arrangements should also be made at their workplace to administer the vaccine for free of cost if required.

    Notably, several states including Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and others as Uttar Pradesh have declared journalists as ‘frontline workers’ and decided to give priority in the vaccination drive as the second wave of pandemic rages across the country.

  • MIB directs private TV channels to spread Covid awareness

    MIB directs private TV channels to spread Covid awareness

    NEW DELHI: After showing strong signs of flattening the curve, India is again struggling to bring Covid2019 to heel. On 6 April, the country recorded more than 1,15,000 positive cases; a strong indication that the pandemic has returned with a vengeance. 

    Amid the second wave of Covid cases, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has written a letter to all private channels, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) urging them to disseminate messages for Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination of the eligible age groups to generate greater awareness among people. 

    The ministry's advisory sent to private channels cited a meeting under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi on 4 April taking stock of the current pandemic situation in India. During the meeting, it was also decided to focus on a five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccine roll-out to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

    "It is, therefore, imperative that all stakeholders take forward the communication strategy with a renewed emphasis on Dawai Bhi, Kadai Bhi (medicines and preventive measures)," said the MIB in its letter. 

    The ministry also lauded the leadership role played by private media houses in spreading messages in the public interesinterest.

    ​​​​"Private TV channels have always been at the forefront of spreading important messages in the larger public interest. It is, therefore, requested that private channels may appropriately disseminate messages for Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination of the eligible age group so as to create greater awareness among the citizens of the country," stated the advisory. 

  • NBA writes to Google, calls for universal parity in dealing with news content

    NBA writes to Google, calls for universal parity in dealing with news content

    New Delhi: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has written to Google highlighting an urgent need to create an equitable relationship and a level playing field between global tech monopolies and traditional media/news organisations.

    The development comes days after Australia passed a law requiring Google and Facebook to pay media companies for content. Apart from Australia, the tech giant has also agreed to compensate and pay publishers in France and the European Union.

    In a letter addressed to Google India country manager Sanjay Gupta, NBA president Rajat Sharma said the advertising revenues which form the backbone of the news broadcasters have been shrinking in the digital space since technology giants are taking away the major chunk.

    “News organisations make heavy investments in employing anchors, journalists and reporters to gather, verify and deliver credible information but are inadequately compensated — the largest share of advertising revenue flows disproportionately to intermediary technology platforms. Google plays a key role in this value chain as an intermediary and plays a part in delivering this news content to its audiences albeit without sufficiently compensating the content owners,” the letter reads.

    One of the largest self-regulatory bodies for TV news channels in the country, the NBA noted that the present situation reflects the unfair distribution of advertising revenues which is causing the digital news businesses to come under tremendous pressure.

    “Being a multinational organisation following global best practices in all the countries it operates, the expectation is that Google will employ principles of universal parity in dealing with news content owners and employ similar norms in India,” the letter read, highlighting that countries like Australia, France and other European countries have already taken the lead in addressing this power imbalance through legislative enactments which ensure that the tech giants adequately pay news publishers for their highest quality news content.

    The NBA requested the tech giant to urgently look into the matter and examine the issues at play to ensure the ecosystem remains sustainable. “We would be happy to have a meeting through VC in this regard,” wrote Sharma.

    Last month, the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) had also asked Google to pay Indian newspapers comprehensively for the use of their content and to share details of its advertising revenue and demanded that publisher’s share of advertising revenue be increased to 85 per cent.

  • NBA condemns Arnab Goswami’s arrest

    NBA condemns Arnab Goswami’s arrest

    NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has condemned the manner in which Republic TV editor in chief Arnab Goswami was arrested by the police. According to the police, Goswami was arrested in a 2018 abetment to suicide case.

    The association released a statement noting, “NBA condemns the manner in which Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV, was arrested by the Raigarh police. Even though the NBA does not agree with his type of journalism, we denounce retaliatory action, if any by the authorities against a media editor. Media is not above the law but due process must be followed." 

    NBA also appealed to the chief minister of Maharashtra to ensure that Goswami is treated fairly and state power is not misused for vendetta.

    NBA president Rajat Sharma also tweeted his views on the same.

     

     

    For the record, earlier in the day, Republic TV founder & editor in chief Arnab Goswami was picked up from his residence  by the Mumbai police. According to Republic TV, 10 policemen entered Goswami’s residence and pushed him around, before taking him away. According to the media firm, the police had no summons or arrest warrants at the time of his arrest. It has been said that Arnab has been arrested in connection with an old abetment to suicide case of a 53-year-old interior designer. A Mumbai police official said that an architect and his mother committed suicide in 2018 over alleged non-payment of dues by Republic TV. 

    Goswami, it says, has been arrested under Section 306 and Section 34 of IPC. Goswami has been taken to Raigad for questioning.

    However, the Republic Media has issued clarifications on the subject and pointed out that it is a false case and has been made as part of a larger vindictive exercise against an independent journalist and an independent news organisation.

    Several bureaucrats and ministers have also lent their support to Goswami and condemned the act.

  • A forgettable 10 days for the news broadcasting industry

    A forgettable 10 days for the news broadcasting industry

    KOLKATA: This past week saw news channels become the breaking news. It all started with the Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh claiming to have uncovered a TRP rigging con. Matters came to a head when BARC decided to hit the pause button on weekly news channel ratings.

    Here are the important twists that shook the industry:

    The Mumbai Police on 8 October announced they have busted a TRP manipulation racket involving Republic TV and two Marathi channels. Hansa Research CEO Praveen Nijhara said the agency conducted an investigation with BARC which resulted in Hansa Research filing an FIR against an ex-employee who was engaged in some wrongdoing.

    However, the Arnab Goswami-led Republic TV denied any allegation of manipulating BARC data and accused the police of “personal vendetta." The channel stated that its name was not mentioned in the FIR for this case at all.

    At the same time, the TV viewership measurement body BARC also re-emphasised that it has always remained accurate and faithful. The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) called an emergency meeting of its board to discuss the TRP manipulation case.

    Read more news on BARC

    There was also a rumour that India Today had been named in the FIR as indulging in TRP gaming. But they issued a clarification: the channel’s name was mentioned but there was no evidence or witnesses to substantiate the allegation.

    Soon after, top executives from two major brands said that they would pull out advertisements from channels that promote toxic content. Many other brands came forward in support of the decision, reminding news channels about the need to improve content quality. The NBA also praised the move saying it would help the fight against toxic content.

    As the controversy dragged on, BARC board proposed that it’s technical committee (TechComm) would review and augment the current standards of measuring and reporting the data of niche genres, to improve their statistical robustness and to significantly hamper the  potential attempts of infiltrating the panel homes. This exercise would cover all Hindi, regional, English news and business news channels with immediate effect.

    Therefore, starting with the ‘news genre’, BARC decided to cease publishing the weekly individual ratings for all news channels during the exercise. The process is expected to take around eight-twelve weeks including validation and testing under the supervision of Tech Comm. BARC will continue to release weekly audience estimates for the genre of news by state and language.

    Following the announcement, NBA came forward in support of BARC. It is of the view that the suspension is an important step in the right direction. On the other hand, the News Broadcasters Federation (NBF), objected to the decision to pause audience estimates (ratings) of news channels.

    Meanwhile, a regulatory intervention could strike the industry soon. The parliamentary standing committee on information technology that met on Thursday to discuss ‘ethical standards in media coverage’ seemed none too happy about the TV viewership measurement system. It opined that the current metric of measuring audience estimates through TRPs is flawed, that the technology it depends on is outdated, and that the system is easily manipulated.

  • News Broadcasters Association welcomes suspension of TV ratings

    News Broadcasters Association welcomes suspension of TV ratings

    KOLKATA :The NBA welcomes the decisions of BARC to suspend the measurement of television viewership ratings of news channels for a period of twelve weeks. NBA, which represents the news channels believes that the suspension is an important step in the right direction.

    BARC which measures TV viewership on behalf of broadcasters, advertisers and advertising agencies should use twelve weeks to completely overhaul its systems and restore the credibility of the information it collects about What India Watches.

    Earlier, the NBA also stood in favour of brands like Bajaj, Parle, Dollar and Amul for their decision of boycotting news channels spreading 'toxicity, abuse and fake news'. NBA president Rajat Sharma said such a decision would contribute to the association's fight against this menace.   

  • THE NBA UNVEILS NEW SPOT FOR SEASON RESTART #WHOLENEWGAME

    THE NBA UNVEILS NEW SPOT FOR SEASON RESTART #WHOLENEWGAME

    After a long hiatus, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is back with a ‘Whole New Game’, a campaign that inspires fans to reimagine the game of basketball in its purest form for the rest of the 2019-2020 season. The heart of the game remains unchanged but everything else will be different.  With 22 teams set up in the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, the season restarts on July 31, 2020. The games will be available live for Indian fans on SONY SIX SD & HD, SonyLIV, FanCode and NBA League Pass. 

    The restart of the 2019-20 season will be one for the books given the never-seen-before elements, be it the broadcast innovations or the immersive fan experiences. The high energy global campaign film opens with empty arena pondering on the profound changes that the world has witnessed this year, reminding fans where we left off the last season and building anticipation for the restart. With no fans or the sparkling glamour in the court, the game we all love is like we have never seen before echoes through the story.

    The NBA has introduced never-before-seen camera angles and enhanced audio of players and coaches. With digital video boards in the stands, fans can virtually live the game experience along with an all-encompassing sound system, the restart will be nothing short of a modern-day miracle. 

    The US only version of the film features prominent American actress, writer and producer, Issa Rae, literally walking the fans through the Whole New Game. Translated in more than 10 languages including Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico) and Thai, the campaign has also been integrated throughout the NBA Campus in Orlando and will be an integral part of the comprehensive social media activation amplifying the user-generated content on @NBA platforms. 

    Fan all over the world including Bollywood superstar Ranveer Singh, Indian cricketer and LA Lakers fan Mayank Agarwal, star YouTuber Bhuvan Bam and actor Rannvijay Singha expressed their awe and excitement by sharing the campaign film minutes after it was launched.  

    It’s a new world and yes, it’s a Whole New Game! 

    Block your calendars and catch the action live starting July 31, on SONY SIX, SONYLIV, FanCode and NBA League Pass.

    Schedule of the game:

    DAY

    DATE

    MATCH

    IST

    Fri

    7-31-20

    New Orleans vs. Utah

    4:00 AM

    Fri

    7-31-20

    L.A. Lakers vs. LA Clippers

    6:30 AM

    Sat

    8-1-20

    Milwaukee vs. Boston

    4:00 AM

    Sat

    8-1-20

    Dallas vs. Houston

    6:30 AM

    Sun

    8-2-20

    Toronto vs. L.A. Lakers

    6:00 AM

    Sun

    8-2-20

    Brooklyn vs. Washington

    11:30 PM

    Mon

    8-3-20

    Houston vs. Milwaukee

    6:00 AM

    Mon

    8-3-20

    Miami vs. Toronto

    11:00 PM

    Tue

    8-4-20

    Utah vs. L.A. Lakers

    6:30 AM

    Wed

    8-5-20

    Miami vs. Boston

    4:00 AM

    Wed

    8-5-20

    Portland vs. Houston

    6:30 AM

    Thu

    8-6-20

    L.A. Lakers vs. Oklahoma City

    4:00 AM

    Thu

    8-6-20

    Boston vs. Brooklyn

    6:30 AM

    Fri

    8-7-20

    Dallas vs. LA Clippers

    4:00 AM

    Fri

    8-7-20

    Houston vs. L.A. Lakers

    6:30 AM
  • TV9 Bharatvarsh CEO Barun Das fires back at NBA

    TV9 Bharatvarsh CEO Barun Das fires back at NBA

    MUMBAI: The young and wiry-looking Barun Das is in a pretty belligerent mood. The CEO of Associated Broadcast Networks that runs the No 2 news channel in India TV9 Bharatvarsh has responded to the allegations that have been hurled against its meteoric rise by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

    In a release issued today, Das has stated that the NBA’s reasoning about TV9 Baratvarsh’s rise in ratings possibly reveals “a lack of basic understanding of the television news business. The fundamental reason behind our success is a concerted strategy of content, distribution and promotion aided by the astronomical rise in viewership during the early weeks of the lockdown.”

    Das has added in the release that the NBA is incorrectly giving “credence to anonymous WhatsApp videos and messages doing the rounds to defame the TV9 network. These videos have already been dismissed as fake by BARC as per media reports. The network has already lodged an official complaint against this with the Telangana police.”

    According to Das, there is no question of TV9 rigging viewership numbers as it was he who wrote to the NBA to suspend the viewership measurement of news channels on 22 March, two days before the lockdown, so that lives of journalists and camera persons would not be impacted by the coronavirus in the quest for ratings by the news channels.

    His request was turned down by the NBA committee. “Now that TV9 Bharatvarsh has garnered the biggest share of the market during the pandemic, obviously the shoe is on the other foot,” he says.

    Das has questioned if the NBA through these efforts is trying to coerce him to renew his membership of the association. “After much persuasion, we chose not to renew it in June and one month later we are in the NBA’s bad books,” he has alleged in the press release.

    The 50-year-old executive who has seen many a battle in his previous associations with media companies such as Zee News, ABP News and India Today has said there are some allegations which the NBA has made against the TV9 network which are defamatory and they will be addressed in an appropriate manner very soon.

    Earlier in the day, the NBA officially sent out a release asking third party intervention into BARC to investigate any hanky panky associated with TV9 Bharatvarsh’s sudden rise.

    On 14 July, Das also got into a conversation with Indiantelevision.com group founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari on all things related to news television and the current controversy.

    You can watch the fireside chat here:

  • NBA targets 31 July as return of season

    NBA targets 31 July as return of season

    MUMBAI: NBA fans finally have reason to rejoice as NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league office have intimated the board of governors about the new date, 31 July, for the season to return, according to Shams Charania of The Athletics.

    During a meeting, Charania reports that the board of governors, and the league discussed four competition scenarios for resuming the season that includes 16 teams going directly to the playoffs, 20 teams participating in group/stage play or 22 teams competing to determine playoff seeding with a play-in tournament. This also includes holding a 72-game regular season with all 30 teams and a play-in tournament.

    Recently, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Friday's Board of Governors meeting was not expected to arrive at a conclusion on a final play plan. On his official twitter account, he wrote, “As hard as owners and teams are pushing for proposals rooted in some level of self-interest, there's still a sense they'll give Silver the latitude to implement the plan that he lands on with the NBPA. Most expect that'll come inside the next week.”

    https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1266437666926661632  

    In fact, Hornets owner Michael Jordan advocated for players’ safety, Charania reports. According to Charania, given that the NBA is prioritizing health and safety first and foremost, a 30-team return is unlikely.

    The league's plans also include holding a 24-team playoff in two hub cities with games to begin when things are back to normal.