ITV

Tag: NDTV

  • Taproot Dentsu appoints Bashir as VP

    Taproot Dentsu appoints Bashir as VP

    MUMBAI: Taproot Dentsu, the creative and communication agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has strengthened its planning prowess with the appointment of Farah Bashir as Vice President, Strategic Planning. She will be based out of Taproot Dentsu’s Gurgaon office, and will work closely with Anand Murty – head of planning at Taproot Dentsu, to ensure that stellar creative and deep insightful thinking go hand-in-hand to create the best work possible for all clients.

    Prior to joining Taproot Dentsu, Farah was the general manager – planning at Cheil India, where she helped lead the Insights division.

    Armed with more than 13 years of experience, Farah has worked as a journalist with Reuters, as a marketing professional with Unilever Asia (across India, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil), as a research analyst with Quantum Market Research and as a strategic planner with DDB Mudra and Lowe Lintas. She has worked on various brands including Samsung, Wills Lifestyle, OLX, Hindustan Times, Volini, Revital, Reckitt Benckiser, NDTV, Hindustan Times, MTS, Microsoft, Singapore Health Promotion Board (HPB), Singtel, Zopper, Twinings, Cisco, GPI and Dabur.

    Commenting on her appointment, Taproot Dentsu CEO Umesh Shrikhande said, “Farah brings with her wonderfully eclectic influences and perspective, thus adding more power to our ability to think different.”

    “Strategic planning can help inform the creation of powerful, motivating work that Taproot is known for and also provide clear, incisive counsel to clients with respect to the brand and business challenges they face. Farah’s track record and skill set is an asset to our team and we look forward to an exciting year ahead,” said Murty.

    Speaking on joining Taproot Dentsu, Farah said, “Taproot Dentsu, well-known as the creative powerhouse, is equally focused on the rigour and thinking on brands that it works on. Very rarely does the archetype of a planner and agency converge.”

  • Barkha Dutt bids adieu to NDTV; hints at new venture

    Barkha Dutt bids adieu to NDTV; hints at new venture

    NEW DELHI: It’s the season for saying good-byes and starting afresh. It’s now Barkha Dutt’s turn to do so.

    “It’s been a super ride at NDTV but new beginning in 2017. I shall be moving on from NDTV to explore new opportunities & my own ventures!” on a cold and partially grey Sunday tweeted Dutt, one of the few public faces of NDTV media house and one of the most trolled journalists of recent times.

    In a series of tweets, evoking reactions ranging from puerile to dismissive to congratulatory to scepticism, Dutt said, “As I move on after 21 Great NDTV yrs; a team I’m SO proud of, an Emmy Nomination & many other awards to cap it all, I count on your wishes… Did my last `We The People’. At 16 yrs its longest running TV show which I built from scratch, won scores of awards for & am hugely proud of.”

    In a co-ordinated move, NDTV put out an official statement, which too surfaced on Dutt’s Twitter TL. The two paragraph statement read: “In 1995, Barkha Dutt joined NDTV straight out of college, and now, after 21 wonderful years together, Barkha has requested that she would like to explore some new opportunities, pursue other interests and work on her own ventures.

    “In all her years with NDTV, she has been hugely productive and has grown with the organisation, becoming an acclaimed, award-winning journalist of repute across India and many parts of the world. We are certain that Barkha will go from strength to strength and NDTV wishes her all the very best.”

    Though criticised within her fraternity too for many of her actions, Dutt is said to have inspired a couple of Hindi film characters, including that of Rani Mukherjee in `Nobody Killed Jessica’ and that of Preity Zinta in Farhan Akhtar-directed ‘Lakshya’ based on the reclaiming of Tiger Hill by the Indian Army during Kargil War.

    In recent times, NDTV, built by a team lead by Prannoy Roy, one of Indian news television’s original poster boys, has been under pressure from several quarters, including financial. Considered by the followers of the present BJP-led government in New Delhi a product of Congress-era, NDTV has been a nursery for several television journalists and anchors, many of whom went on to become as big a celebrity as a movie actor or a cricketer in India and household names, while quite a few moved on to start their own successful ventures in the media. And this list includes the likes of Arnab Goswami, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vikram Chandra, Arup Ghosh and Sonia Singh.

    If the gossip in Capital’s favourite watering hole for journalists is to be believed, then the top management of a financially-beleaguered NDTV, including Dr. Prannoy Roy and Executive VC and CEO Narayan Rao, recently took a decision to shed sizable manpower weight. The target list for pruning staff was said to include many of those drawing a monthly salary of over Rs. 100,000.

    However, it must be admitted that Indiantelevision.com could not independently confirm these rumours from NDTV, always considered to be a leading flag-bearer for impartial journalism in a world when old school professional values are being shed and being OTT (over-the-top) is considered to be the new normal.

    She wrote on her FB page:

    A new year means that new beginnings beckon. After a great two decades at NDTV I will be moving on to explore new opportunities, diversify my interests and build my own multi media content and events company as well as special projects. It’s been an eventful and super ride at NDTV with an Emmy Nomination among the multiple awards capping a wonderful journey. I am especially proud of We The People the last episode of which I hosted today – at sixteen years it’s the longest running show on Indian TV. But am hugely excited about the many adventures that await me. And I now count on everyone’s best wishes for my next new and wonderful innings. Excited wish me luck !!

  • Barkha Dutt bids adieu to NDTV; hints at new venture

    Barkha Dutt bids adieu to NDTV; hints at new venture

    NEW DELHI: It’s the season for saying good-byes and starting afresh. It’s now Barkha Dutt’s turn to do so.

    “It’s been a super ride at NDTV but new beginning in 2017. I shall be moving on from NDTV to explore new opportunities & my own ventures!” on a cold and partially grey Sunday tweeted Dutt, one of the few public faces of NDTV media house and one of the most trolled journalists of recent times.

    In a series of tweets, evoking reactions ranging from puerile to dismissive to congratulatory to scepticism, Dutt said, “As I move on after 21 Great NDTV yrs; a team I’m SO proud of, an Emmy Nomination & many other awards to cap it all, I count on your wishes… Did my last `We The People’. At 16 yrs its longest running TV show which I built from scratch, won scores of awards for & am hugely proud of.”

    In a co-ordinated move, NDTV put out an official statement, which too surfaced on Dutt’s Twitter TL. The two paragraph statement read: “In 1995, Barkha Dutt joined NDTV straight out of college, and now, after 21 wonderful years together, Barkha has requested that she would like to explore some new opportunities, pursue other interests and work on her own ventures.

    “In all her years with NDTV, she has been hugely productive and has grown with the organisation, becoming an acclaimed, award-winning journalist of repute across India and many parts of the world. We are certain that Barkha will go from strength to strength and NDTV wishes her all the very best.”

    Though criticised within her fraternity too for many of her actions, Dutt is said to have inspired a couple of Hindi film characters, including that of Rani Mukherjee in `Nobody Killed Jessica’ and that of Preity Zinta in Farhan Akhtar-directed ‘Lakshya’ based on the reclaiming of Tiger Hill by the Indian Army during Kargil War.

    In recent times, NDTV, built by a team lead by Prannoy Roy, one of Indian news television’s original poster boys, has been under pressure from several quarters, including financial. Considered by the followers of the present BJP-led government in New Delhi a product of Congress-era, NDTV has been a nursery for several television journalists and anchors, many of whom went on to become as big a celebrity as a movie actor or a cricketer in India and household names, while quite a few moved on to start their own successful ventures in the media. And this list includes the likes of Arnab Goswami, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vikram Chandra, Arup Ghosh and Sonia Singh.

    If the gossip in Capital’s favourite watering hole for journalists is to be believed, then the top management of a financially-beleaguered NDTV, including Dr. Prannoy Roy and Executive VC and CEO Narayan Rao, recently took a decision to shed sizable manpower weight. The target list for pruning staff was said to include many of those drawing a monthly salary of over Rs. 100,000.

    However, it must be admitted that Indiantelevision.com could not independently confirm these rumours from NDTV, always considered to be a leading flag-bearer for impartial journalism in a world when old school professional values are being shed and being OTT (over-the-top) is considered to be the new normal.

    She wrote on her FB page:

    A new year means that new beginnings beckon. After a great two decades at NDTV I will be moving on to explore new opportunities, diversify my interests and build my own multi media content and events company as well as special projects. It’s been an eventful and super ride at NDTV with an Emmy Nomination among the multiple awards capping a wonderful journey. I am especially proud of We The People the last episode of which I hosted today – at sixteen years it’s the longest running show on Indian TV. But am hugely excited about the many adventures that await me. And I now count on everyone’s best wishes for my next new and wonderful innings. Excited wish me luck !!

  • NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

    NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court in New Delhi is on Monday scheduled to hear the appeal filed by NDTV against the ban imposed on its NDTV India channel for telecasting security-related information linked to the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base earlier this year.

    India’s highest court had, on November 6, deferred the hearing in the case to 5 December, citing reason of no urgency for its hearing. Information and broadcasting ministry had asked NDTV India to go off-air on 9 November after the government accused it of airing sensitive information related to the terror attack on Pathankot base in January.

    NDTV had, however, refuted the allegations stating that other channels had also reported the same. Information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu however supported the ban, stating that it was in the interest of India’s security.

    Major media organisations and journalists condemned the ban and protested against it, comparing it with the emergency when the right of the freedom of press was violated.

    Naidu had earlier said that there have been only two cases in the past two years and the current year where the government put on hold its orders asking TV channels to prohibit transmission for limited time.

    These relate to channel DY 365 for a news broadcast on 12 June 2014 and the NDTV India for a report on 4 January 2016, Naidu told the Parliament. In both cases, he said, the channels had made representations to the ministry which were under consideration.

    In a separate case, Prannoy Roy and family-controlled NDTV heaved a sigh of relief. The channel had got a notice from SEBI in June 2016 for alleged violation of takeover norms with respect to timely disclosure of share transactions of its promoters. With regards to their petition to the Delhi High Court, the date of the hearing, which was 29 November. was adjourned to 17 January 2017.

    Also read

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/ib-ministry/telecast-ban-withheld-in-two-of-31-cases-no-imc-recast-plan-161203

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/limited-punitive-action-taken-against-31-tv-channels-in-11-years-161126

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/ndtv-india-ban-sc-to-hear-appeal-on-5-dec-govt-may-restructure-review-panel-161109

  • NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

    NDTV ban: SC to hear appeal today

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court in New Delhi is on Monday scheduled to hear the appeal filed by NDTV against the ban imposed on its NDTV India channel for telecasting security-related information linked to the terrorist attack on the Pathankot air force base earlier this year.

    India’s highest court had, on November 6, deferred the hearing in the case to 5 December, citing reason of no urgency for its hearing. Information and broadcasting ministry had asked NDTV India to go off-air on 9 November after the government accused it of airing sensitive information related to the terror attack on Pathankot base in January.

    NDTV had, however, refuted the allegations stating that other channels had also reported the same. Information and broadcasting minister M. Venkaiah Naidu however supported the ban, stating that it was in the interest of India’s security.

    Major media organisations and journalists condemned the ban and protested against it, comparing it with the emergency when the right of the freedom of press was violated.

    Naidu had earlier said that there have been only two cases in the past two years and the current year where the government put on hold its orders asking TV channels to prohibit transmission for limited time.

    These relate to channel DY 365 for a news broadcast on 12 June 2014 and the NDTV India for a report on 4 January 2016, Naidu told the Parliament. In both cases, he said, the channels had made representations to the ministry which were under consideration.

    In a separate case, Prannoy Roy and family-controlled NDTV heaved a sigh of relief. The channel had got a notice from SEBI in June 2016 for alleged violation of takeover norms with respect to timely disclosure of share transactions of its promoters. With regards to their petition to the Delhi High Court, the date of the hearing, which was 29 November. was adjourned to 17 January 2017.

    Also read

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/ib-ministry/telecast-ban-withheld-in-two-of-31-cases-no-imc-recast-plan-161203

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/limited-punitive-action-taken-against-31-tv-channels-in-11-years-161126

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/ndtv-india-ban-sc-to-hear-appeal-on-5-dec-govt-may-restructure-review-panel-161109

  • 9X Media sale: Pradeep Guha & Rajat Sharma rubbish reports

    9X Media sale: Pradeep Guha & Rajat Sharma rubbish reports

    MUMBAI: The entities that were said to be involved in acquisition talks have no clue about the development. It seems to be pure speculation.

    The media and entertainment industry was since morning rife with speculation that India TV promoter Rajat Sharma is acquiring a controlling stake in the New Silk Route (NSR)-backed 9X Media. Reports emerged in the last few hours that also state the value of the deal was Rs 200 crore (Rs. 2,000 million).

    9X Media’s CEO Pradeep Guha, however, rubbished this news. He told Indiantelevision.com, “All the reports are absolutely rubbish. We are not selling 9X Media.” When Rajat Sharma was contacted, he retorted: “I have no idea where these reports are coming from. I am out of the country. All these reports are absolutely false.”

    Though, Sharma has been keen on evaluating several opportunities to diversify the business portfolio of Independent News Service, which depends entirely on advertising revenue from India TV, acquiring 9X Media is not in his list. Yet. Sharma and his wife Ritu Dhawan are the largest shareholders of INS, which is the parent company of India TV. They own close to 60 per cent stake in the company.

    According to reports that are making the rounds in the industry, Sharma may seek help for the fund transaction from existing investors in INS like the Silicon Valley-based media investor Keyur Patel who also owns a stake in NDTV through his CV Global Holdings, a Mauritius based investment arm.

    NSR was earlier looking to sell its 80 per cent stake in 9X Media to Sony Pictures Networks in August. Its CEO Pradeep Guha directly owns five per cent stake whereas 9X Media Employee Trust has a 13 per cent stake. NSR has Drag Along/Tag rights over Guha’s shareholding and can cause him to sell his entire holding if the transaction materialises.

    9X Media was founded in 2007 by Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea and owns a bouquet of music channels that include regional language channels in Marathi and Punjabi. Its flagship channels are 9XM and 9X Jalwa.

    The rise of India TV as India’s leading news channel within a fairly short span of its existence owes a lot to the vision of its chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma who, along with his wife Ritu, leads a team of professionals.

    Sharma, considered close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, co-founded India TV with his wife Ritu Dhawan in April, 2004 from a swanky studio-cum-office in Film City, Noida. Sharma and Dhawan had set up their own production house, Independent News Service (INS), the parent company which owns India TV, in 1997 that has now transformed into a broadcasting company — a la NDTV and TV18/Network18.

  • 9X Media sale: Pradeep Guha & Rajat Sharma rubbish reports

    9X Media sale: Pradeep Guha & Rajat Sharma rubbish reports

    MUMBAI: The entities that were said to be involved in acquisition talks have no clue about the development. It seems to be pure speculation.

    The media and entertainment industry was since morning rife with speculation that India TV promoter Rajat Sharma is acquiring a controlling stake in the New Silk Route (NSR)-backed 9X Media. Reports emerged in the last few hours that also state the value of the deal was Rs 200 crore (Rs. 2,000 million).

    9X Media’s CEO Pradeep Guha, however, rubbished this news. He told Indiantelevision.com, “All the reports are absolutely rubbish. We are not selling 9X Media.” When Rajat Sharma was contacted, he retorted: “I have no idea where these reports are coming from. I am out of the country. All these reports are absolutely false.”

    Though, Sharma has been keen on evaluating several opportunities to diversify the business portfolio of Independent News Service, which depends entirely on advertising revenue from India TV, acquiring 9X Media is not in his list. Yet. Sharma and his wife Ritu Dhawan are the largest shareholders of INS, which is the parent company of India TV. They own close to 60 per cent stake in the company.

    According to reports that are making the rounds in the industry, Sharma may seek help for the fund transaction from existing investors in INS like the Silicon Valley-based media investor Keyur Patel who also owns a stake in NDTV through his CV Global Holdings, a Mauritius based investment arm.

    NSR was earlier looking to sell its 80 per cent stake in 9X Media to Sony Pictures Networks in August. Its CEO Pradeep Guha directly owns five per cent stake whereas 9X Media Employee Trust has a 13 per cent stake. NSR has Drag Along/Tag rights over Guha’s shareholding and can cause him to sell his entire holding if the transaction materialises.

    9X Media was founded in 2007 by Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea and owns a bouquet of music channels that include regional language channels in Marathi and Punjabi. Its flagship channels are 9XM and 9X Jalwa.

    The rise of India TV as India’s leading news channel within a fairly short span of its existence owes a lot to the vision of its chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma who, along with his wife Ritu, leads a team of professionals.

    Sharma, considered close to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, co-founded India TV with his wife Ritu Dhawan in April, 2004 from a swanky studio-cum-office in Film City, Noida. Sharma and Dhawan had set up their own production house, Independent News Service (INS), the parent company which owns India TV, in 1997 that has now transformed into a broadcasting company — a la NDTV and TV18/Network18.

  • NDTV-Fortis campaign has ‘More To Give’

    NDTV-Fortis campaign has ‘More To Give’

    MUMBAI: The television network that is known for taking up social issues through awareness campaigns is adding another to its cap.

    NDTV, in partnership with Fortis Healthcare, has hosted the More To Give walkathon. The campaign intends to promote and raise awareness about organ donation, in lieu of the low rate of organ donation compared to a high rate of requirement for organ transplants in our country on the occasion of Indian Organ Donation Day.

    The walkathon was flagged off by actor and the ambassador for the NDTV Fortis More To Give campaign Irrfan Khan along with Paralympic silver medalist Deepa Malik. “Every year, about four lakh people die awaiting organ transplants because of non-availability of organs. With More to Give, we aim to raise awareness about the pressing need for organ donations and encourage people to join this cause,” said NDTV group CEO and executive vice chairperson K V L Narayan Rao.

    The campaign was launched earlier this year decided to take up the cause of organ donation in an effort to positively impact the well-being of the nation. It aimed at sensitizing the eco-system, raising awareness around organ donation, creating a nationwide movement for people to pledge their organs and to make the process of pledging easily accessible to the masses.

    Malik said, “When people like Irrfan promote such a campaign it becomes an instrument of awareness. We must initiate such campaigns. The Walkathon is not about walking, the message should prevail.”

    According to current statistics, in India, the current organ donation rate is 0.5 donors per million population as compared to more than 30 donors per million in some western countries.

    Fortis Healthcare CEO Bhavdeep Singh asserted, “There is a widening chasm between the demand of organs for people at end stages and their availability. Adding to the complexity is the lack of awareness, simultaneously surrounded by superstitions which present themselves as the key obstacles. Donating organs is a humanitarian cause that will gain momentum with increasing awareness in society. At Fortis, we will continue to contribute as much as we can by educating people and saving more and more lives. This walkathon is a reminder that each one of us has more to give.”

    As a culmination of the four-month long campaign, the walkathon was organized across 5 cities – New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Mohali and Chennai which saw people from all walks of life including students, Corporates, etc. participating in the event.

    “I talk about Organ Donation to everybody who is around me. My relatives have faced problems, my nephew’s wife has suffered organ failure. Please donate your organs, make someone else live their life: Irrfan Khan, Actor and #MoreToGive Campaign Ambassador,” added Khan.

  • NDTV-Fortis campaign has ‘More To Give’

    NDTV-Fortis campaign has ‘More To Give’

    MUMBAI: The television network that is known for taking up social issues through awareness campaigns is adding another to its cap.

    NDTV, in partnership with Fortis Healthcare, has hosted the More To Give walkathon. The campaign intends to promote and raise awareness about organ donation, in lieu of the low rate of organ donation compared to a high rate of requirement for organ transplants in our country on the occasion of Indian Organ Donation Day.

    The walkathon was flagged off by actor and the ambassador for the NDTV Fortis More To Give campaign Irrfan Khan along with Paralympic silver medalist Deepa Malik. “Every year, about four lakh people die awaiting organ transplants because of non-availability of organs. With More to Give, we aim to raise awareness about the pressing need for organ donations and encourage people to join this cause,” said NDTV group CEO and executive vice chairperson K V L Narayan Rao.

    The campaign was launched earlier this year decided to take up the cause of organ donation in an effort to positively impact the well-being of the nation. It aimed at sensitizing the eco-system, raising awareness around organ donation, creating a nationwide movement for people to pledge their organs and to make the process of pledging easily accessible to the masses.

    Malik said, “When people like Irrfan promote such a campaign it becomes an instrument of awareness. We must initiate such campaigns. The Walkathon is not about walking, the message should prevail.”

    According to current statistics, in India, the current organ donation rate is 0.5 donors per million population as compared to more than 30 donors per million in some western countries.

    Fortis Healthcare CEO Bhavdeep Singh asserted, “There is a widening chasm between the demand of organs for people at end stages and their availability. Adding to the complexity is the lack of awareness, simultaneously surrounded by superstitions which present themselves as the key obstacles. Donating organs is a humanitarian cause that will gain momentum with increasing awareness in society. At Fortis, we will continue to contribute as much as we can by educating people and saving more and more lives. This walkathon is a reminder that each one of us has more to give.”

    As a culmination of the four-month long campaign, the walkathon was organized across 5 cities – New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Mohali and Chennai which saw people from all walks of life including students, Corporates, etc. participating in the event.

    “I talk about Organ Donation to everybody who is around me. My relatives have faced problems, my nephew’s wife has suffered organ failure. Please donate your organs, make someone else live their life: Irrfan Khan, Actor and #MoreToGive Campaign Ambassador,” added Khan.

  • Limited punitive action taken against 31 TV channels in 11 years

    Limited punitive action taken against 31 TV channels in 11 years

    NEW DELHI: As many as 31 TV channels were asked to stop transmission for specific period of time ranging from one day to 60 days including news channel for 30 days between 2005 and 2016.

    Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ministry Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that 22 private television channels including one channel for three different programmes and another for two programmes were asked to suspend transmission for duration ranging from one day to 30 days for telecasting content in violation of the Programme Code during the last three years and the current year.

    This included 14 in 2013, one in 2014, four in 2015, and three in 2016 (till November), Rathore said.

    The three in the current year are — NDTV India and Care World India with one violation each, and News Time Assam for three violations. The orders relating to NDTV and Care World India have been challenged in the courts of law. Earlier, in 2014, Manoranjan TV was punished twice.

    The channels punished in 2014 and 2015 are — Enterr 10, Zing, Mahua, SS TV, AXN, FTV, Movies OK, Comedy Central, Zoom TV, ABN Andhra Jyoti, UTV Bindass, WB, NTV, Big CBS Love, Jai Hind, Al Jazeera, and Satlon News.

    Action is taken against TV channels whenever any violation of the Programme and Advertising Codes is noticed or brought to the notice of the Ministry. The Ministry generally issues warnings or advisories to comply with the Codes or asks the channels to run an apology scroll on their channel.

    But, Rathore said the channels are occasionally taken off air temporarily for a limited period depending on the gravity of the violation.